First off, Happy Birthday to us. The Needle and the Groove celebrated our first birthday one week ago – June 12th of last year, we opened this website and shared with y’all the firstalbums we ever purchased – which were highly influential in our passion for music. Since then, our readership has grown substantially and we’ve received a lot more recognition than we (or at least, I) ever anticipated. Thanks to everyone for checking us out, we’ve loved every minute of it. If you are a new visitor, check out our old posts – we got some good stuff in the archives that I’m sure you will enjoy reading.
That being said, its been awhile since either of us posted – the Needle is currently in Greece with a broken computer, hoping to make a comeback soon – I quite frankly, just haven’t had a lot to share. Though I’ve been swamped the last six months with graduation and the like, I’ve also just not been that excited about any new releases. Highly anticipated albums came out and were rather disappointing – Drake, Clipse, even Wale fell short of my expectations. As I posted a few weeks ago though, one upcoming release has me seriously hyped – and that is the Roots’ How I Got Over.
Well, since then a couple more tracks and the tracklisting for the June 22nd album have been released – all of which have me quite excited about music again. First off, the tracklisting looks like it could be a sampling of the Needle’s posts over the past year – Joanna Newsom, Jim James, and the Dirty Projectors – added to quality hip-hop acts – Blu, Phonte, and Truck North and Peedi Crack.
Yesterday, the newest track to be released was “The Day” featuring Blu, Phonte, and Patty Cash. Phonte, a resident of North Carolina and part of the duo/trio Little Brother, and Blu are two of my favorites, and similar to Black Thought, highly underrated by the average hip-hop fan. Needless to say, the track does not disappoint. The mood and tempo of the track are perfect for all three emcees, where unlike typical hip-hop, emotion is not shied away from but rather exquisitely expressed and the imagery is impeccable. Its a sound few hip-hop acts could produce and even fewer could pull off genuinely.
The Roots – “The Day” featuring Blu, Phonte, and Patty Cash
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The second track to be widely released is “The Fire” featuring John Legend. An inspirational/motivational track that was debuted live for the Olympics – its one of the few rap tracks that would appropriately hype me up for a sporting event without coming off corny (shoutout to Fort Minor and “Remember the Name” - hearing that song at sporting events just makes me angry).
The Roots – “The Fire” featuring John Legend
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The entire cd has managed to not leak yet – a miracle – and hopefully gets people to go out and buy it on Tuesday. For a group that is eleven albums deep, and never succumbed to industry pressure is an amazing feat – one they cannot be applauded enough for. I’ll leave you with a live performance of Dear God 2.0 from last night’s Jimmy Fallon, a really great production.
Hopefully this next year is exciting as the last, filled with great music along the way. If you have any ideas of things we should post or add to make The Needle and The Groove a better experience – drop us a line – we are always looking for new ways to spruce up the site. Got artwork or some other creative thing you want us to share? Send it our way – we’ll be happy to put it up and spread the word. That being said, thanks to manmadediy.com for putting up my Pop-Art How To – awesome, awesome site over there.
They say what goes up, must come down….but don’t let me fall…
-B.o.B
Its been a long time since I’ve been able to put up a post. Fortunately I can return with a great album to share. B.o.B – an artist introduced here last summer – has released his first album, The Adventures of Bobby Ray. Like the mixtape reviewed last summer, this album has wide scale appeal. B.o.B has pushed the limits of the hip-hop genre and already released two hit singles in “Airplanes” and “Nothin’ on You”. The list of featured artists is just as diverse, included Eminem, Lupe Fiasco, Rivers Cuomo of Weezer, and Hayley Williams of Paramore.
“Bet I” – B.o.B featuring T.I. and Playboy Tre
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“Bet I” is by far the most hip-hop centered track on the album. The track enters with a distinctly unique flow from B.o.B a pretty awesome verse to start of the track. T.I.’s verse is equally impressive, with a rapid paced flow himself. Though my inclination is to not value overly accented southern-rappers, Playboy Tre finishes off the track well.
“Ghost in the Machine” – B.o.B
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Definitely a more somber track on the album, “Ghost in the Machine” is a quality produced track, with a long build up to a ballad like chorus. The track is beautifully made and a great addition to the album. B.o.B is truly bound to break into the mainstream, if he hasn’t already, and The Adventures of Bobby Ray is an amazing debut album.
On the day of the National Championship Game (Go Bulldogs!) its only fitting to announce the champ of our first, hopefully annual, Musical March Madness – Wale. Wale’s “New Soul” trumped Vandaveer mighty handily in the final matchup to take home the prize. Thanks everyone for your participation, we certainly enjoyed it and hope you did as well.
(2) “New Soul” – Wale
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The Championship round is finally here…the votes are in, and the final song from the Needle will now face the final song from the Groove. The match-up is below, and as with the earlier rounds, you can vote by clicking here, or getting in touch with one of us here. Get your votes in now, and as always, spread the word!
The Needle, Round 4:
(5) “A Mighty Leviathan Of Old” – Vandaveer
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As the Groove notes below, it is really tough to keep talking about songs that we clearly think are amazing. Vandaveer’s “A Mighty Leviathan of Old” is definitely one of those songs, so in the interest of the competition, we have simply left you the songs and some of the lyrics…the rest is up to you:
I found that I find the things that you find
Important rather peculiar
The space in between between you and me
Has grown darker and deep and bigger…
So I clawed through the dirt, the soil of the Earth
With bare hands that barely could shovel
And the canyon did flood with water and blood
From a thunderous storm up above
Yes and God spoke clearly for the very first time in my life
And the sounds he made were glorious and great
It was a tidal wave of rhythm
The Groove, Round 4:
(2) “New Soul” – Wale
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Tough to keep talking about a song I find so amazing. So I’ll just leave you with the ending words of the song from Wale, and hope to get your vote:
My pride is just why I resist,
It’s why I conflict,
With the why, when and ifs,
The Jiggas, and the Tips, and the Ems and the 50s,
And I’m the fuckin’ best, nevermind if you iffy,
So while the world goes Drake crazy,
I’m Danny Granger, I’m just working with a different pace or (Pacer),
Speed or patience, please cause,
Slow and steady wins this race,
Fuck leadin…
Get your votes in, and leave us some feedback. This is our first time doing this, so if you have any thoughts or suggestions, pass them along!
We’ve come at last to the Final Four! This round will decide the final two songs, which will pit the Needle against the Groove (let the trash talk begin!). The new match-ups are below, so be sure to get your votes in, and as always, spread the word. You can vote by clicking here, or getting in touch with one of use here.
The Needle, Round 3:
(4) “Home” – Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
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It seems that my half of the bracket has become a battle of the mid-majors. Neither Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros nor Vandaveer are what I would consider well-known bands. They both have loyal followings, but Edward Sharpe has only recently begun to explode onto the scene. Following appearances on late shows and substantial touring, the group definitely has the popular momentum heading into the Final Four.
(5) “A Mighty Leviathan Of Old” – Vandaveer
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This was definitely the closest match-up of Round 2. Vandaveer just barely pulled off the victory over Fanfarlo. It’s hard to deny that the people of Roanoke love the group, and why not? On their last tour, they started and ended their travels with great sets in Roanoke. It will definitely be hard for Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros to compete with the hometown favorite, but Vandaveer comes in as the 5 seed, so they will have their work cut-out for them.
The Groove, Round 3:
(1) “Empire State Of Mind” – Jay-Z (ft. Alicia Keys)
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No big surprise here, as the Jay-Z and Alicia Keys duet makes it to the Final Four. The New York ballad came behind from an early deficit and overcome the upstart Chiddy Bang. Could Empire State of Mind’s consistent radio play be hurting it now? We’ll have to see as it matches up with Wale in the Final Four.
(2) “New Soul” – Wale
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No major upsets this round, as Wale moved on to the Final Four as well. Again, as my favorite song of the year, New Soul bumped out Kid Cudi’s “Alive” in fairly overwhelming fashion. Though Kid Cudi had an overall more successful debut album, Wale will be facing Jay-Z for the right to compete for the song of year title.
Now that the Needle’s tunes have been given ample time to garner votes, its now time for my tracks to get their day in the first round spotlight. To vote, just leave a comment or contact us to let us know who your picks are. Vote early, vote often…and as always, feel free to share.
(1) “Empire State of Mind” – Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys
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Tabbed as my favorite track from Jay-Z’s Blueprint 3 upon first listen, “Empire State of Mind” has since blown up on the radio and heard worldwide. The perfect balance of quality music with commercial success – the only thing working against the track is the fact that it might be played out to many at this point.
(8) “I’ll Be in the Sky” – B.o.B a.k.a. Bobby Ray
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One of my favorite surprises of the summer was the mixtape release of B.o.B vs. Bobby Ray. As someone who has little respect for most southern artists, I expected this to be no different. Instead, B.o.B delivered a refreshing, alternative hip-hop track. Despite its quality, I doubt it can pull of the upset against one of the most successful albums of the year.
(4) “Grown Simba” – J. Cole
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In the 4-6 Matchup, we have the two newest artists to the scene. J. Cole blew me away when I first heard him at Cat’s Cradle in April. I have never seen an unknown opening act get as much crowd support as he did…instantly got the respect of the room. This track – Grown Simba, is definitely one of my favorites from his second mixtape – The Warm Up.
(6) “The Opposite of Adults (Kids Remix)” – Chiddy Bang
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Chiddy debuted on the scene at the beginning of the summer with this MGMT Remix. In the successful dance/electronica/hip-hop cross-over genre, this is definitely a track that sticks out to me, and its apparent it stuck out to others as Chiddy signed with EMI Music this week.
(3) “Alive” – Kid Cudi featuring Ratatat
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This matchup features two songs I never wrote about on here, but both are clearly deserving of their spot here in the bracket. Cudi’s debut album was incredibly unique, and definitely toed the line between alternative and hip-hop. This track, featuring Ratatat, is easily my favorite on the album – though I know it is not for many. I find the hook amazing and the Ratatat added instrumentation is instantly recognizable.
(5) “Watch My Shoes” – Lil Wayne
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Though I don’t put Lil Wayne in my upper echelon of rappers, his work on No Ceilings can’t go unrecognized. Returning to his critically acclaimed form, Wayne goes in on a number of tracks – “Watch My Shoes” being one of them.
(2) “New Soul” – Wale
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Easily my favorite tune of the year. I recognize my stannery, and couldn’t bring myself to make it the one seed. Though Wale’s Attention Deficit was a disappointment to me, this track reaffirms all my positive feelings for Wale’s future.
(7) “Casa Bey” – Mos Def
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Mos Def released his Ecstatic this summer. Though I am a big Mos fan the album didn’t completely do it for me. This track, however, stuck out to me as an ultimate display of Mos’ talent – both lyrically and in flow. Awesome track all around.
Excuse my absence of late – life is crazy. Anyhow, when talking to the Needle long ago in the process of conceptualizing this blog – the topic of love songs came up. Being the hip-hop head I am, I insisted that hip-hop loves song do exist, and no they don’t all include the word bitch. To start, I’d like to post not a song, but a poem from one of my favorite rappers, Blu. This was posted on his MySpace on Valentine’s Day of 08, forgive the formatting and the length, Blu is weird like that – but it is completely worth it.
I really don’t want to mess that up by adding commentary – I just love that poem.
Common – “The Light”
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Now onto more classics. Erykah Badu has had famous relationships with a plethora of rappers – dramatically altering their artwork in the process. One such case is “the Light” by Common. Produced by J. Dilla, “the Light” was one of those songs I knew I loved the first time I heard it. The line is filled with ‘cute’ lines and really could appeal to girls as easy as guys in a generally misogynistic genre.
Method Man – “All I Need” featuring Mary J Blige
Just another great song. Not nearly as adorable as “the Light” – “All I Need” is revealing of the sensitive side of the typical ‘gangster’ rapper, in this case Method Man. Despite its grittier nature, the message is still the same.
The Roots – “You Got Me” featuring Eve & Erykah Badu
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I’ve fallen in love with this song over and over again – each time I’ve heard it performed live not only by the Roots but covered by multiple bands as well. Featuring a younger Eve and Erykah Badu, Black Though speaks to the long distance relationship aspect of being an artist, but also the necessary trust within a relationship…pretty sweet stuff.
Jay-Z – “Song Cry (Unplugged)”
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Unfortunately, relationships don’t just consist of the great times – they end as well. Jay-Z’s “Song Cry” is a tremendously soulful record rehashing his mistakes in a past relationship and getting caught up in money and women. The live version from MTV’s Unplugged is even better, as he’s backed by the Roots and adds some commentary towards the end.
Hope these songs could change some perspectives out there.
