Sunset in the Rearview | A Music Blog With Free MP3 Downloads

3 Sep 2010

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“Check It Out” (ft. Will.i.Am) - Nicki Minaj

FRIDAY! FIVE! YEEEEEEEEE! So, I’m sure in about 5 minutes I’m going to totally regret posting this song, but right this minute I’m totally grooving to this one. Probably because I have never-ending love for “Video Killed the Radio Star,” but maybe because I also have a lady-crush on Nicki Minaj. Sometimes. Other times she pisses me off and we get in girl fights. (In my head, anyway.) But we’re good right now. Like I said, we’ll come back to this issue in 5 minutes. Put this on your rotation tonight and blast it, I’ll open my windows and listen for yall all the way from North Carolina.

Download “Check It Out”

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3 Sep 2010

His music inspires me to decimate random objects and travel back in time only to pillage small European villages.

The Glitch Mob - “Drive It Like You Stole It” (King Fantastic Remix)

There is not much I know about this King Fantastic other than his music inspires me to decimate random objects and travel back in time only to pillage small European villages. When he laces a track with his West-Coast clean cut voice it immediately turns into an auditory grenade.

There are many artists who don a facade when they rap. There are many artists who you doubt will do what they say. King Fantastic is not one of them, and when you listen to the way he rides a beat you will understand why. He is the exact definition of a beast and when he starts delivering his lyrics, mayhem and chaos ensue. #ThatIsAll

Direct Download

Hit the jump to stream/download his debut album “Finger Snaps and Gun Claps.” Trust me, there is nothing that will inspire you more to participate in debauchery or various forms of lawlessness.

Written by Falade

Twitter | Falade@SunsetInTheRearview.com| Official.FM | Myspace | SoundCloud DropBox

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2 Sep 2010

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“Tithe” - Menomena

I’ve come across another album that’s taken me to the same point of excitement as the Tame Impala album, InnerSpeaker, and the Arcade Fire album, The Suburbs. It’s by a band called Menomena on their new album called Mines, released under Barsuk Records. I’ll have an official album review out in the next few days, but for now, I just HAVE to share this song “Tithe” with yall. I hope you don’t mind my artsy fartsy review - I find it more fun to describe how I feel than what the music sounds like, at times. By the way…it’s practically imperative to listen to this song on nice speakers/headphones to hear it how it deserves to be heard.

When I close my eyes and listen to this song, at first I feel like I’m all by myself in an attic and playing with the old toys that were intended to be children’s instruments, but that are appearing more and more in today’s music. Reminds me a bit of Freelance Whales. As the music builds, I find myself outside, floating. The wind is picking up, leaves start to come off the trees. It gets faster. And then, BOOM. A clap of thunder. Two claps. Three. Four. Again, it repeats.

Spending the best years of a childhood horizontal on the floor
Like a bobsled minus the teamwork and the televised support

And then lightning strikes. Thunder and lightning at the same time. It can be frightening, can’t it? But thrilling at the same time.

The winds come and go. Pick up, die down. Pick up again. But wont you know, the calm after the storm is the best part of it all. Makes the experience seem worthwhile. In hindsight, the whole adventure was pretty fun, wasn’t it? Your past is thicker, richer because of it all. Once I get to catch my breath and think about what happened, I would definitely go through it all over again.

Luckily, all it takes in this case is pressing play and listening to “Tithe” all over again.

And if that wasn’t enough to convince you that this album is one of the best things in recent times, maybe I should mention that this band, made up of three progressive musicians, uses a computer program that one of the band members INVENTED. And if THAT isn’t cool enough for you, well…go away.

Download “Tithe”

—

Like it? Heart it!

And if you REALLY love this track and trust me when I say this is something you will NOT regret: Purchase Mines (Bonus Version) - Menomena

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2 Sep 2010

Bill Withers: You know his voice but not his name

There are those songs that need no introduction, no preface. To me, they are not the stuff of legends. They are simply songs that have endured throughout the years. They are the tracks that everybody knows the words too, yet nobody can remember how or when they first learned them.

“Lovely Day,” “Just The Two of Us,” and “Ain’t No Sunshine” are three such tunes and as I caught myself singing their lyrics, I realized that I had no idea who originally sung them. As I asked around, I soon came to realize that I was not alone in my ignorance. This is not how it should be.

So I took my love of music a step further and learned that the voice behind these timeless track belongs to Bill Withers. A man with with numerous accolades to his name yet unknown to many who sing his songs off tune such as I. Hit the jump, below the streams, for more information on Bill Withers or just listen, download, and live on, my friends.

“Lovely Day” Direct Download

“Ain’t No Sunshine” Direct Download

“Just The Two Of Us” Direct Download

Written by Falade

Twitter | suchdualities@gmail.com | Official.FM | Myspace | SoundCloud DropBox

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2 Sep 2010

MUSIC VIDEO: “A.I.A.” - Dylan Synclaire

I hadn’t heard of Dylan Synclaire before today, but I turned on this video and was totally captured by the fun production of it. And the fact that the energy in the video was matched by Mr. Synclaire’s performance. He seems to be having a fun time making this energetic song (with an awesome beat), and I like that. So it’s Thursday afternoon, college kids are probably gearing up for a night on the town, and maybe Dylan Synclaire’s energy can get you excited for some fun.

Download Dylan Synclaire’s Mixtape

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2 Sep 2010

Upcoming Music Festival in North Carolina: MoogFest

First we’ve got Hopscotch Music Festival in Raleigh. Going to be a blast. Then, after that, we’ve got MoogFest from October 29-31 in Asheville, NC, a festival filled with headliners and big names. Plus, the list is still growing. Are yall ready for this?

My favorites who will be there:

MGMT. Big Boi. Girl Talk. Panda Bear. RJD2. Massive Attack. Jonsi. Caribou. School of Seven Bells. Jon Hopkins. Cee-Lo. Hot Chip. Sleigh Bells. El-P.

And this is just a snippet. Check their website for the complete list (that’s been decided so far, anyway), and I’ll keep yall updated. It’s DEFINITELY worth buying a ticket.

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2 Sep 2010

Super Smooth Hip Hop from Qwel & Maker

I feel like it’s been a while since I posted some good ole easy listening hip hop. The pretty stuff that isn’t too heavy, that’s built off the skeletal structure of the old school stuff, but tends to be a bit more fluid. Beats that are influenced by jazz music, voices that tell the day to days of life in a poetic manner.

So I’m back with a keeper from two dudes out of Chicago named Qwel & Maker. Qwel provides lyrics that tell of the realities of life while Maker provides the beat that is, truly, quite beautiful.

Qwel & Maker’s album, Owl, drops September 14th of this year through Galapagos4.

Name looking strange in the limelight
Chamber what you trying to change
Sitting here soaking in hindsight
It’s the road
It’s the life I chose

[Download the song on the player]

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1 Sep 2010

Another Contest…This is Awesome

Let me start by saying that, despite the fact that I said the Arcade Fire video was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen, this is also the coolest thing I have ever seen. Don’t say I’m losing legitimacy because I have now said that about two different things, I don’t want to hear it. Just roll with me. This is just cool. Because you know what? Music blogs are cool. And what happens when you make cool out of cool? You create the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. Check it.

Zach, from We Listen For You, has created this video (I can’t even begin to imagine how long this must have taken) where he used the creative names of over 30 music blogs/sites and had humans impersonate those names while at a house party. So that’s already fun, but to make it MORE fun, he turned it into a contest where the person who can identify the most music blog/music site references wins. Now, to punish the snooty people who think they’re so knowledgeable that they can just throw out the names of a thousand different music blogs to win it, the catch is that you get -1 points if you name a site that isn’t featured. And for every site you get right, you get +1. Answers are to be emailed to guesstheblogs@gmail.com.

The winner will receive a $50 gift certificate to Insound and a CD copy of The Pass debut BURST.

Example of what you might see/say: If he was referencing Sunset in the Rearview (which, sadly, is not referenced), you might see somebody looking in their rearview mirror and spotting a sunset.

Cool? I’m not sure why I’m sharing this, because that lowers my chances of winning, but then again…I like sharing cool stuff. So, go for it. And leave me a comment and let me know how many you get. If you’re lucky, I might just let you know how many I got, too.

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1 Sep 2010

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“In The Dirt” - S. Carey

S. Carey’s debut solo album, All We Grow, just dropped on Jagjaguwar a week ago today. A further review of the entire album is in the making, but for now, sit back and enjoy the sincere beauty of this song. I feel as though I am sitting on a reclining lawn chair in a screened-in porch at a lakehouse. The sun is going down, and not a bug is in sight. If you asked me to describe a setting more perfect than this one, I will respect your request and think about it, but hardly anything will come to mind. With simply a piano, a guitar, light percussion, and a drawn-out voice that soothes, S. Carey has managed to sweep me off my feet.

As stated, more information will come with the album review, but for any curious about S. Carey’s past, just keep in mind that he works alongside Justin Vernon as part of Bon Iver.

Download “In The Dirt”

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31 Aug 2010

MGM Grand Get A Life Contest

All of the sudden MGM Grand is getting in touch with their humanitarian roots? Well, sort of. They’ve created a contest, open to all, that allows people to document their lives in a short video, and the person whose life is deemed “the lamest” gets a trip to Vegas, all expenses paid.

So I figured this contest could produce some pretty stellar/hilarious results. Thing is, 99% of the videos I’ve seen so far have been stupid. Just people talking, describing how lame their lives are. Come on people, you gotta get CREATIVE!

And then I stumbled across this video. And I nearly died laughing. This is spectacular! A catchy song and it’s funny? Dude. The beat is fire, done by the ever-impressive Commissioner Gordon and the lyrics are hilarious. I’d say the deserved winner of this contest is a no-brainer.

Vote for HeavyE by clicking here and then clicking “Deserves It” - it takes no more than 2 seconds, and you have to admit, this video is the shit.

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31 Aug 2010

Cheap Thrills provides a fresh new beat for Kanye West. It’s a little repetitive in the instrumentals, but I like the drums a lot, so why the heck not share it with all of you? What are your thoughts?

Download “Diamonds from Sierra Leone” (Cheap Thrills Remix)