Indie Bands You Should Know: OZMA
Credits to Brad for the post below!
OZMA (not pronounced as an acronym) is a Southern California rock band, more specifically classified as new wave/power pop, which was formed in 1995. The band’s music features vocal harmonies, blues elements, strong guitar riffs, and most notably a Casiotone keyboard which produces a sound that almost borders on chiptune. It’s very rare nowadays to see all of these elements combined, and consequently they aren’t the most popular band out there (although they did tour with Weezer and play on the Vans Warped tour a couple of years ago), but they have been living in Weezer’s shadow since they toured together. Nevertheless their distinctive sound is one that needs to be heard. Another facet that makes them such a great group is their lyrics. In a world where modern music is dominated by songs about alcohol, weed, money, and slutty women, it’s always nice to hear one that has meaningful lyrics. One of my favorites is from a song called Motorology 3:39: “I’m still dreaming of clock towers and synchronicity.” It sounds random, but if you look at the rest of the lyrics, you will see this song is actually about the novel 1984 by George Orwell, where the whole country, even peoples’ minds, are controlled by a corrupt government. It isn’t the first classic literature reference made by the band. In fact, it is a constant theme – even their name is derived from a popular novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. They are not only incredibly talented musicians and composers, but very cultured lyricists as well.
Click “Read More” to read more about OZMA and listen to their music.
Drake Interviewed by Google Music
Google talks to Drake before his performance at Google Music’s launch event in Los Angeles. Hear him share his thoughts on the strength of the Nicki Minaj/Lil Wayne/Drake trifecta, remember wise words from Kendrick Lamar and sing praise for his collaborators Jamie XX and Rihanna.
Check Out Drake’s Take Care Tracks.
Music Video: French Montana – ‘Shot Caller (Remix)’ (Feat. Diddy & Rick Ross)
Flex just dropped the remix to French Montana’s ‘Shot Caller’. This one features Diddy & The Boss. The music video for the official track is supposed to drop today also and we are waiting on that. Personally I think this track was decent but could have been better. Cop it on iTunes here.
EDIT: Watch the music video after the jump.
New Mixtape: Mac Miller – “Black Friday”
Mac just dropped his debut album Blue Slide Park at the beginning of the month and he is already back with more free music. Regardless of when it was recorded, if it is anything like that unreleased track that leaked last week then I’ll enjoy this tape. Mac Miller is one talented kid, he sold 144,000 copies of his album the first week with no major label. He really deserves the fame right now, he has been working hard for years and dropping great free mixtapes one after the other. I’m excited to listen through this mixtape, Mac Miller is here to stay. Make sure to cop Blue Slide Park on iTunes if you haven’t already. Hit the jump for the tracklist and download link.
Black Star- ‘Fix Up’
Black Star just dropped a new track entitled ‘Fix Up’ produced by Madlib. They have previewed this track at their live shows in the past and now its officially up in the iTunes store. Make sure to purchase their new single and look out for their new album in 2012. Black Star will always be one of my favorite albums ever!
Buy on iTunes
