Run The Jewels video - Banana Clipper (ft. Big Boi)

Proud owners of one of the year's best LPs, Run The Jewels (Killer Mike and El-P if you forgot ... okay you didn't forget) debuted the new video for album standout "Banana Clipper" featuring Big Boi.

The video (courtesy of Complex) features the two pounding heady verses amid clouds of exhaust and dust until Big Boi bursts through in the end to hold his own. It was already one of the year's best tracks, and the video does a lot to reinforce that.

Check it out below and download Run The Jewels now via Fool's Gold.

El-P on "Rhythm Roulette"

El-P was the most recent victim (or whatever you make of it) on Mass Appeal's Rhythm Roulette web series.

The Brooklyn rapper, known as well for his solo efforts as he is for the monstrously good Run The Jewels (never forget that), is also one of rap's finest producers. Fans familiar with the series will note the premise; a producer picks three random LP's blindfolded and warps them into something of a beat. El-P's collection comes with soul and Beethoven, so how he weaves that into something remotely good is insane. Check it out below.

Run The Jewels video - 36" Chain

Go back to May of last year. Then, El-P debuted the video for "Full Retard," starring himself and his obscene puppet counterpart, Mr. Killums, who went missing by the video's end. A year later, with Run The Jewels in full force, director Tim Saccenti starts to unravel the mystery of his disappearance with the new video for "36" Chain."

The video follows El-P and counterpart Killer Mike searching for answers through a seedy apartment complex, getting answers from Andrew W.K., Amber Tamblyn, Heems, and others through all the violence necessary.

Watch the video below and grab (you gotta) Run The Jewels today for free at Fool's Gold.

Run The Jewels - Banana Clipper (ft. Big Boi)

Over the weekend, the ultimate duo of Killer Mike + El-P, better known as Run The Jewels, released the killer second track from the duo's upcoming self-titled release Run The Jewels, "Banana Clipper." Fans would note that this isn't the first listen of the track we've gotten, but now the full-blown version with Big Boi is readily available to stream and download. Drool away.

Run The Jewels (El-P and Killer Mike) - Get It

After swapping assistant services on each of the other's excellent 2012 LPs, El-P and Killer Mike have finally debuted a the first full track as Run The Jewels.

The long-awaited compilation piece, which has been talked about for several months now, debuted "Get It," a dark-stormed beat with the two partners trading off hard edge verses. The duo, which debuted a small clip of "Banana Clipper" earlier this month, will be releasing a free album in a few months through Fool's Gold.

But for now, head over to Stereogum to download the new track.

Sasquatch! 2013 lineup revealed

The always underrated Sasquatch! music festival, held every Memorial Day weekend in May, has announced its 2013 lineup.

Headliners this year include Mumford & Sons, the recently reunited Postal Service, Vampire Weekend, The XX, Sigur Ros, and Mackelmore & Ryan Lewis - who are placed pretty high on the billing.

Included in the usually stellar mid-card are: Empire Of The Sun, Cake, Grimes, Andrew Bird, Built To Spill, Danny Brown, Schoolboy Q + Ab Soul, El-P, Japandroids, Death Grips, and plenty others (comedians a plenty, too). Click the poster above to see the whole lineup.

Tickets for the May 24-27 event, held in the stupidly gorgeous Gorge Ampitheatre in Washington, will go on sale February 9 via the festival website.

Bears And Bullets Albums Of The Year (#10-#1)

Continuing from yesterday, here are the top ten selections for Bears and Bullets Top Albums Of 2012:

New El-P video - Stay Down

The video prequel to El-P's "Full Retard" is basically a three-minute plus jab at MTV's ravenous pop culture. El-P raps his newest single "Stay Down" to a frustrated and furiously disinterested crowd while TV On The Radio's Jaleel Bunton (who sings the chorus on the track) plays the role of pop icon. In the end, the fans get the better of the situation, exercising their passion on Mr. Killums (the puppet you'll recognize) before El-P can save him. Check it out below.

El-P and Zola Jesus team up on Conan

Last night, El-P, promoting his spectacular Cancer For Cure, appeared on Conan alongside special guest Zola Jesus, and Conan's horn-section, for a rousing rendition of "Works Every Time." Check it out below.

Albums of the Month: May 2012

Albums of the Month - May 2012

Without much question, May has been the standout month of 2012 in terms of new music. There have been quite a few masterful releases during the span, including the highly-anticipated Beach House and Sigur Ros albums. But just like last month, the most-expected releases didn't make my final three. Here are my three favorite albums from last month.

3.) Royal Headache (Self-Titled)
It's tough to say there's anything more to Royal Headache's self-titled reissue than conveniently well-packaged, murky garage rock. There's an inherit vagueness that plagues most of the lo-fi structure of the genre, meddling much of the West Sydney punk vocalist known as 'Shogun.' But despite the near-classic muffled choke of vocals, you can get an easy sense that there's more style thrown into the album than what the lo-fi template originally offered. Songs like "Down the Lane" and "Distant and Vague," despite following a fuzz-rush of garage punk tracks, stick to a soulful idea, sounding as eternally sweet as the other songs filter their vigor. The attachment is there, despite only 26 minutes of endurance to the album's more endearing finishers, culminating with "Honey Joy," the most sincere the band has ever sounded.

2.) Japandroids - Celebration Rock

There's a total vibrancy that comes with the exhausting youth that is Japandroids. Two men, Brian King and drummer David Prowse, sound bigger than themselves, parlaying echoed chorus in between energetic crashes, as they had on their previous release Post-Nothing. But with Celebration Rock (Insound), an album that follows much of the same structure (eight tracks, youthful sentiments), everything begins to resonate a little more. The fury is more clear, the emotions more bright and earnest. But what made Japandroids so profound in 2009 is the same in 2012; unhinged, accessible, and flourishing with potential.

1.) El-P - Cancer For Cure
It's not simply the verses for EL-P (Jaime Meline) that do him justice anymore, or since his last studio album, 2007's I'll Sleep When You're Dead. There's a chasm of industrial technique behind his Brooklyn-centric diatribes, not merely settling for dead-end typical hip-hop production. With the album's first half, culminating with all-star standout "Tougher Colder Killer" featuring Killer Mike and Despot, Cancer For Cure (Insound) kills as much with eye-popping verses as it does with claustrophobic metal beats. There's so much packed together within the first six tracks, that if it had stopped it there it would almost seem acceptable. But the songs continue to trek with sophistication unreal to the rest of modern hip-hop, spilling mind-out-of-matter lines from the alter egos that we, and El-P, understand.

New videos from M83, The Walkmen, Andrew Bird, and El-P

A direct video sequel for M83's "Midnight City," the newest video from directors Fleur & Manu has to be Akira inspired in some form (with an Adam Yauch tribute Easter egg thrown in as well). Check it out below.



Another future Lollapalooza alum, The Walkmen, just released their seventh studio album yesterday, along with a video for the title track "Heaven," directed by Alex Southam.



Despite the fact that Andrew Bird's latest album, Break It Yourself, has already been out a few months, until today we haven't seen any official video from the album. Check out the brain-exploding animation (done by Yu Morita) for "Eyeoneye" below.



And finally, from one of the best albums of 2012 so far, El-P released the video for his heavy single "The Full Retard," which ends up being more NSFW than you might think. Check it out below and grab Cancer for the Cure now.

Wednesday Bears: El-P - Tougher Colder Killer (ft. Killer Mike and Despot)

From El-P's upcoming Cancer for the Cure album, set for release next month, we've heard "The Full Retard," the first solo cut from the Brooklyn rapper since 2007. The newest release, a full-fledged go hard "Tougher Colder Killer" featuring help from Killer Mike and frequent EL-P linked rapper Despot, is goddamn insatiable.

Listen below and grab Cancer for the Cure May 22 via Fat Possum.

Bears and Bullets Top 25 Songs of 2011: Part I

With less than a week remaining in 2011, it's finally that time again for Bears and Bullets to unleash its 25 favorite songs of the year. As it was for the previous three years, there are certain rules that qualify a song for the list.

1.) The song must have been released during the calendar year.
2.) Even if the song was technically released during 2011, if it was leaked prior to January 1, 2011, then it also does not qualify for the list.

Last year, Vampire Weekend, in a decision that surprised even me, landed the #1 overall spot with "Giving Up the Gun." Something tells me that this time around it'll be a little more predictable. Let's see.

#25: Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire - The Last Huzzah! (Remix - ft. Despot, Das Racist, Danny Brown, and El-P)
Maybe it's the extensive collaborative effort put forward by Youtube rapper Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire that makes "Huzzah!" stand out more than anything else. Maybe it's the fact that the aforementioned eXquire lets the more well-known names stand up to the plate first, including El-P, who just flat out steals the scene with his '16-Step' verse that makes everyone take a little more notice. Maybe the points are drowned out through the sheer number of people getting their voice out here, but damn if every voice has something worth-while to say. Having one of the best videos of the year helps too.



#24: Kurt Vile - In My Time
"In My Time" seems split on itself. On one side, Kurt Vile ranges through the memories of his youth, both in a positive light  as "young and crazy"  hinting at "discreet mistakes," but never finding solace in his adult life. On the other, he isn't concerned with why he was who he is. It's the kid in all of us (or at least the adult version of one we try to be), flailing between responsibility and self-inflicted reality. There's no definite answer, as "In My Time" drifts endlessly toward the end, repeating its cycles. The question doesn't need to be answered. It never has.

#23: The Field - Then It's White
Not every good song needs emphatic moments of resound brilliance. For The Field's "Then It's White," the surrounding stills of looping echoes and piano seamlessly gravitate through the nearly eight minute session. There's a feeling of emptiness throughout, but not because the listener is waiting for something else, but because "Then It's White" reminds what those empty moments mean. The people, the sounds, the movement. It's all there without a word to be said.

The Field - Then It's White by Bears and Bullets

#22: The Joy Formidable - Whirring
Everyone's favorite surprise act from last August's Lollapalooza, The Joy Formidable made heads turn (or faces bleed) with "Whirring," a jarring, near-seven minute blast that spends nearly half of its time cruising through wonderfully surprising shoe-gaze. There's a bit of nostalgia here, to more-attuned versions of My Bloody Valentine and Sonic Youth playing through, but to an audience that doesn't expect it. It may not be the genre's prime anymore, but songs like "Whirring" make you forget what you're missing.



#21: Wavves - I Wanna Meet Dave Grohl
With Wavves Life Sux EP, Nathan Williams (slightly) ditched the super-DIY attitude of the group's previous work to something with a little more form behind it. That isn't to say that the band has completely ditched their "who gives a fuck, let's smoke" sensibilities (they wouldn't be Wavves without it), but just tried to sound them out a little more clearly. The song isn't totally about Dave Grohl, sans the chorus, but rather Williams deferring to his childhood dream while meandering through life's daily misery of living with his mistakes. I'm not gonna go out on a limb and say he's growing up, because I doubt it too, but it sounds like it for a minute.

Wavves - I Wanna Meet Dave Grohl by Bears and Bullets

We'll continue tomorrow with songs #20-#16 ...

Friday Bears: EL-P - Rush Over BKLYN

Recognize the title? If you do, you may recall El-P's "Drones Over Brooklyn," part of Adult Swim's 2011 Singles Program. This version has El-P versing over Rush's "Tom Sawyer" (you know, "do-da-do-do-do, do-da-do-da-do-do) - legally, might I add.

The mix was a sample-based push put through Legitmix, which lets DJ's and others legally sample things, for whatever reason I haven't figured out.

Also, BUY the single. It'll help fellow DJ Mr. Dibbs who has liver disease. Listen below.

Video of the Year?

Mr. Muthafuckin eXquire enlisted the help of a large crew for the new video "The Last Huzzah,' including: Despot, Das Racist, Danny Brown and El-P. Funny, long, awesome. Give it a shot.