Damon Albarn has taken fans many places on his almost twenty years of musicianship.  I can also say that as a musician myself, he frustrates me to no end, because I can hardly begin to imagine how a person can possess the same amount of creativity and direction he does.  From Blur to “The Good, The Bad, and The Queen”, and his solo work, Albarn likes to switch up his musical and conceptual direction, and the project, Gorillaz, might be the single most important part of his career in that respect.  But this isn’t about that, it’s about the newest release under the Gorillaz name, “Plastic Beach”.

Ride out the album review with one of the tracks from the album:

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Download: Gorillaz – Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach (feat. Snoop Dogg and Hypnotic Brass Ensemble)

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Official video to the Gorillaz single Stylo featuring Mos Def & Bobby Womack., off their upcoming third album Plastic Beach, which hits stores on March 9th in the U.S. The video is definitely in true Gorillaz  form with it’s great visual effects and outstanding animation as well , Bruce Willis cameo wasn’t a bad touch either. CHeck It Out and EnJOy !

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Download: Gorillaz – Stylo f. Mos Def & Bobby Womack

Gorillaz ft. Mos Def & Bobby Womack – Stylo

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This is your Daily 2% – Chilled and Ready to Serve. We will try to bring you one “chill” track every day. This is for when you get home and you are trying to unwind. You reach for that glass of wine or that unlit Black & Mild or maybe you reach for something more herbal. This track is for those times. We will try to bring you at least one a day. We are just your milkmen and I’m here to make a delivery. Chill…..

Today’s delivery is brought to you by machinedrum featuring Nami Unreal. I came across machinedrum through a friend and I’m glad for that day because I havent listened to much IDM (Intelligent Dance Music) but the more I hear some the more I really love it. machinedrum hails from New York and much like Flying Lotus; he has produced music for Adult Swim interludes and we all know Adult Swim has some of the best music sprinkled throughout their programming. The song i’m bringing to you today is called “Roll & Feel” and its from macinedrum’s album entitled  want to 1 2? I’ve also included the music video with this song which is what really got me liking the song. The song also featurs Nami Unreal who is a j-pop/electronica artist that hails from Tokyo. This song really tries to put you in a little trance so check out the song and chill…

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Download: machinedrum – Roll & Feel (feat. Nami Unreal)

http://www.vimeo.com/3216980machinedrum – Roll & Feel (feat. Nami Unreal)

• www.myspace.com/machinedrum
• www.myspace.com/namiunreal

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This is your Daily 2% – Chilled and Ready to Serve. We will try to bring you one “chill” track every day. This is for when you get home and you are trying to unwind. You reach for that glass of wine or that unlit Black & Mild or maybe you reach for something more herbal. This track is for those times. We will try to bring you at least one a day. We are just your milkmen and I’m here to make a delivery. Chill…..

Today’s delivery is brought to you by Sade. In celebration for her latest album dropping yesterday; I thought it’d be a good idea to post one of my all time favorite songs of hers. The song i’m bringing to you today is called “Cherish the Day” and this version is from her live album entitled Lovers Live which came out in 2002. This live version shows just how versatile Sade’s voice is and how close it is to the studio version of the song. Hopefully she goes on tour for her latest album, Soldier of Love, because seeing her live would be a once in a lifetime type thing and I would make every effort to attend regardless of the location. I would suggest using this song for cruising in the car at night, sexy time or when you are about to sleep and you can put on the headphones. Check out the track and relax…

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Download: Sade – Cherish the Day [Live]

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(New member) Angela Seo seems to be the one in-front of the new album, as she clearly portrays self loathing in the new Xiu Xiu Video for “Dear God, I Hate Myself“, the title track from their forthcoming album releasing February 23rd via Kill Rock Stars. As a new member of an infamously….*searches for a better word then weird*…. How does one explain Xiu Xiu?

If you’ve ever read a Bret Easton Ellis book you’ll know where Xiu Xiu is coming from. Californian, Moral decay, Experimental, Self Loathing, and Sex.

Xiu Xiu’s latest addition Angela Seo is credited on the record with “piano, synth, and drum programming”, and seems to have a pretty harsh initiation into the cult of Xiu in this new video where Jamie Stewart boyishly eats a chocolate bar and jests to the highs of the song while Angela induces vomiting over and over again – its pretty spun stuff but then again, thats what we’ve come to expect and love..

Xiu Xiu has always been a favourite of mine as it lives in a space that few bands occupy and even fewer succeed in – what that space is, is not exactly known to me. Sonics aside, the Xiu Xiu cannon (to me) has been ultra homosexual references (see Fabulous Muscles), vampires (Brian the Vampire), sex & relationships (every cross-section in there of), as well as the ever popular and plastic people of the “valley” (I Luv The Valley OH!)

I’ve collected 2 tracks from the new album, as well as some of the old favourites as a starter pack for those new comers to the Stewart stage.

VIDEO: Xiu Xiu – Dear God, I Hate Myself

Pre-order at xiuxiu.org. tip via stereogum

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Download: Xiu Xiu – Dear God, I Hate Myself

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Download: Xiu Xiu – Gray Death

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Download: Xiu Xiu – I Luv The Valley OH!

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Download: Xiu Xiu – Fabulous Muscles (Mama Black Widow Version)

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Download: Xiu Xiu – Brian The Vampire

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Download: Xiu Xiu – Hello From Eau Claire

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Download: Xiu Xiu – Bishop, CA

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Download: Xiu Xiu – Ceremony (New Order Cover)

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Download: Her Space Holiday – I Love The Valley OH! (Xiu Xiu Cover)

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Download: Gold Chains – Hello From Eau Claire (Xiu Xiu Cover)

Xiu Xiu 2010 Tour

03/06 – Atlanta, GA @ Drunken Unicorn #
03/07 – Birmingham, AL @ The Bottletree #
03/10 – Norman, OK @ Opolis Productions #
03/11 – Dallas, TX @ The Cavern #
03/12 – Houston, TX @ The Studio @ Warehouse Live #
03/13 – Austin, TX @ Red 7 #
03/16 – Tucson, AZ @ Solar Culture %
03/17 – San Diego, CA @ The Casbah $
03/18 – Los Angeles, CA @ Echo $
03/19 – Santa Cruz, CA @ The Crepe Place $
03/20 – San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill $
03/23 – Olympia, WA @ Northern ^^
03/24 – Portland, OR @ Holocene ^^
03/25 – Boise, ID @ Neurolux @
03/26 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge !!
03/27 – Denver, CO @ Hi-Dive !!
03/29 – Lawrence, KS @ Jackpot Saloon !!
03/30 – St. Louis, MO @ Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center !!
03/31 – Iowa City, IA @ The Picador !!
04/01 – Northfield, MN @ The Cave at Carleton College !!
04/02 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry !!
04/03 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall ##
04/05 – Oberlin, OH @ The Dionysus Discotheque !!
04/07 – Cleveland, OH @ The Spot !!
04/08 – Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk Place ^^
04/09 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom %%
04/10 – Cambridge, MA @ Middle East Downstairs ^^
04/13 – Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church ^^
04/14 – Washington, DC @ Rock and Roll Hotel ^^
04/15 – Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506 ^^
04/17 – Detroit, MI @ Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit
# w/ Noveller
% w/ Extra Life, Noveller
$ w/ Tune-Yards, Noveller
^^ w/ Tune-Yards
@ w/ Tune-Yards, Scout Niblet
!! w/ Tune-Yards, Talk Normal
## w/ Tune-Yards, Talk Normal, Zola Jesus
%% w/ Tune-Yards, Zola Jesus

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RJD2 is a busy man now that his latest album has officially been released. The album, The Colossus, was just released on the 19th so it was a great pleasure for us to be able to speak with him after such a major release even though we only had a chance to ask some rather softball type questions. Check out the interview below and definitely go buy his latest album, especially considering the fact that RJ is  in control of all aspects of his album release with his own label.

Here’s a track, from the new album, to ride on while you read the interview:

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RJD2 – Games You Can Win (Feat. Kenna)

EM: How many records do you have in your collection?

RJD2: Never counted, but probably in the range of 5000. Not a huge collection by any standards, really.

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