[PLAY THE PLAYLIST] Nothin But Fuckin Love Songs Vol. 2

People get so fuckin weird about Valentine’s Day.

It is such a wild thing to observe.

Personally….I love Valentine’s Day. I’ve always liked that there’s a day where we go out of our way to share our love with each other and allegedly it’s not weird to be as extra as you wanna be.

I say allegedly because like… well what the fuck is this Galentines/Palentines day bullshit? Are we serious? You’re really that worried someone is gonna misinterpret your intentions? Or is this a solidarity thing for people who aren’t yet legally bound to someone? What is that?

Either way, you’re fuckin with the vibe when you throw around this unnecessary bullshit. Grow the fuck up. It’s Valentine’s Day and there is more than enough love to go around today, okay?

Also, I’ve been partner-less for most of them, too, so don’t start coming at me with some bullshit like, “Well over here it’s been Single’s Awareness Day basically forever, Kibbe”.

And trust me fam, I get it. It’s so easy to forget that we were taught out of loving each other freely and fearlessly. Remember when your age was still in single digits? That night before your school observed Valentines Day you got that box of corny ass mass produced ✨meaningful messages✨ and you went one by one through all of them assigning little love notes to everyone in class. Friends got the fun ones, crushes got the ones that seemed a bit more direct, and anyone else got whatever was left. Next day in class everyone distributed their Valentines and there would be this fun chatter about the messages or which cartoon franchise you went with for your Valentines. We never thought fuckin twice about giving everyone a Valentine back then. At least that’s how I remember that shit, along with handing out Care Bear ones at some point.

ANYWAY

We know I’m a song hoarder and that I like being able to identify a song for every occasion if possible, especially because a lot of times songs articulate a feeling or thought I’ve been sitting with better than I had been able to land on. With love songs though, it’s so interesting. Like I said, not a ton of relationships over my way, yet when prompted I can always send at least 20 in your direction at all times. I wouldn’t necessarily say love songs feel as carelessly mass produced as my Care Bear Valentines from 1st grade, but there are definitely more love songs than there are people at this point.

Either way I can tell that I’ve grown a lot as person since the last time that I compiled love songs for Valentine’s Day because as I was putting together this round of songs that I thought about how silly it is that I am able do this so easily. I started asking myself questions like: Am I really just cataloging vibes so I can provide more thoughtful recommendations than The Algorithm™ ever could? Am I trying to study love so I ✨do it right✨ if it ever shows up? Even scarier, am I studying these to see if I’ve been doing something wrong? Do I want someone to send these songs to me? Do I think all of these songs encompass just one person?

I think that last question is really fascinating given how weird people are about Valentine’s Day. We often think that one single person is going to arrive in our lives and that will mean that everything is better or easier because we have found someone we enjoy being with so much that we’d draw up some paperwork so we can collectively own assets or make important medical decisions for each other. But in the real world that’s not how it works. Most people don’t get married and evaporate from their former lives, never speaking to their friends or family ever again. If anything the result is two communities, not just two people, become one. And when shit hits the fan, I mean yeah you have someone RIGHT THERE at your side immediately to look out for you, but the way that person shows up for you is the result of the way their community shaped them, for better or for worse (see what I did there?).

To be clear, finding ✨your person✨ is WONDERFUL. I’m not tryna discount that at all. But it’s not some cure all that a lot of people seem to think it is. I don’t think you’re “fixed” or something because you find your person, mostly because I don’t think anyone is “broken” to begin with. If anything this person is just someone you agree to get really fucking vulnerable with, which ideally you’re already practicing varying levels of vulnerability with select members of your community prior to identifying this person. A person who is so special that you throw a very fancy party to celebrate. Even that, weddings would be fuckin trash without your friends and family there, so why do we choose to spend this particular day treating love like it’s something incredibly exclusive? I will spare you a wall of text about the capitalism bit here and just say IT’S SO LAME THAT THIS EXISTS AND I HATE IT VERY MUCH.

This all to say…. Happy Valentine’s Day.

Not Single’s Awareness Day. Not Palentine’s Day. Not Galentine’s Day.

Fuckin Valentine’s Day.

I love you. 💖

[SONG OF THE DAY] Duck Sauce - "Smiley Face"

image courtesy of Duck Sauce

I know I’m a little late to properly celebrating this wondrous news but one of my favorite side projects to ever grace the planet, Duck Sauce has resurfaced with a new track and announced a few performances which leads me to believe that there HAS to be an album.

RIGHT!? No one would be that cruel!!

At any rate, “Smiley Face”, is a signature vivacious track from the dynamic duo and features a sample from the 1980 classic “Make Someone Feel Happy Today” from Two Tons O' Fun (who would later go by the name The Weather Girls. Yes, THE WEATHER GIRLS. As in, “It’s Raining Men”. “Hit The Road Jack”, etc. etc.) As previously mentioned, the group has unveiled that they will be performing both weekends at Coachella in addition to a Duck Sauce Block Party in San Francisco on May 9th featuring sets from Chromeo, Yung Bae, The Magician, Nancy Whang, Biscits, and DJ Dials. Not gonna lie, I’m definitely going to be wrapping up this post super quick so I can go look at flights to SF in May.

[Watch] Chromeo - "Old 45s" (Official Video)

I love that Chromeo took a track that almost didn't make the record, realized how much of a fan favorite it was, and turned it into one of the most fun videos I have seen in awhile. I will spare you any spoilers, but man oh man did I not see the ending coming at all. Pretttyyy funny stuff. Excellent cameo. Nice work, fellas! 

Also ladies you're welcome in advance because I spared you the time and effort to create a .GIF of Dave 1 shaking his booty at the jukebox:

Yepppp. This is a thing that I did. You go have fun with that on Tumblr now. 

[News] Parklife Announces Initial Line-Up including Snoop Dogg, Foals, Kendrick Lamar & More

As we mentioned earlier the festival line-ups are coming in thick and fast and Manchester's very own Parklife Weekender, organised by the people at Warehouse Project, have just released the initial bill. For an event that's been growing year on year since its inception, it seems they've delivered once again as it's pretty damn big! Snoop Dogg and Foals top the bill on the main stage in the evenings while throughout the bill are big names. Bastille, Disclosure, Katy B, Soul II Soul, Danny Brown, Public Enemy, Seth Troxler, Chromeo, Moderat, Maya Jane Coles, London Grammar, Mount Kimbie, and a UK festival exclusive from Kendrick Lamar. It's sure to be a huge weekend. Check out the full line-up so far here.

With more announcements to come, who knows what other surprises the team has in store. The event takes place in Manchester's Heaton Park on the weekend of June 7th-8th and you can pick up tickets from £79.50 for the full weekend, or £49.50 for a day ticket over on parklife.uk.com.

[News] Chromeo Announce Fourth LP, Titled 'White Women'

Yes. Yes. Yes. Chromeo is back and they're ready to unleash their follow-up to 2010's fantastic Business Casual, the questionably titled White Women.

It was great hearing Chromeo team up with Oliver a few weeks back, as their cover of Donna Summer's "Love Is In Control (Finger On The Trigger)" really reminded me how good this Montreal duo is. I've since revisited their discography and god damn, all three of their albums are amazing. Hell, nine years after their debut album She's in Control was released, "You're So Gangsta" still sounds fucking incredible. These guys have a timeless sound, and that's why today's news was so exciting.

While all we know is that the album is "coming soon," Dave 1 and P-Thugg have provided us with a humorous teaser trailer directed by Jérémie Rozan. And how aobut that song? The new jam is called "Over Your Shoulder" and boasts one hell of a guitar riff. Watch it below and check back for more on White Women!

[Listen] Chromeo and Oliver Remix Donna Summer's "Love Is In Control (Finger On The Trigger)"

Love to Love You Donna is a remix compilation dedicated to the late Donna Summer. These remixes see musicians from all across the world, including Giorgio Moroder, Hot Chip and more, coming together in memory of her musical legacy.

Chromeo and Oliver teamed up for their contribution, tackling Summer's 1982 hit "Love Is In Control (Finger On The Trigger)." Bringing their talents together, the remix vibrates with deep disco synths and hard-hitting percussion. Coupled with Summer's passionate vocals, this is the type of thing that'll keep you dancing all night long.

The Dahlia-Ambach Caplin and Randall Poster-produced Love to Love You Donna is out on October 22nd.

[Watch] Vampire Weekend Have Their Last Supper in the Clip for "Diane Young"

Vampire Weekend brought a bunch of their friends together and had one last supper. The ensuing debauchery sees the band, along with Chromeo, Santigold, Dirty Projectors' David Lonsgtreth, Sky Ferreira and The Walkmen's Hamilton Leithauser, partying lavishly. If there's one thing to take away from the "Diane Young" video, it's that saxophones make for good pipes. Check it out below.

Modern Vampires of the City, Vampire Weekend's third album, is out now.

[News] Governors Ball 2012 Lineup Announced: Beck, Passion Pit, Chromeo, And More

Earlier today the lineup for the second annual Governors Ball in New York City was announced. While last year's festival took place on Governors Island in New York City, this time around the festival has expanded to two days instead of one and will be held in Randall's Island Park. The lineup packs quite a wallop, including Beck, Passion Pit, Duck Sauce, Chromeo, Major Lazer, Santigold, Turf War, and more. For you fellow Beck fans out there, yes, this is his first time back into the city since 2008, so I am about to explode out of my seat in excitement right now.

In addition to the stellar lineup, the festival will also feature unique art installations from local and international artists, highly regarded NYC food trucks packed with killer food, and other fun activities to do while at the fest that will be announced in the weeks to come.

A select number of pre-sale tickets will go on sale at 5am EST tomorrow, Wednesday February 22nd, 2012 via Living Social. There will be a direct pre-sale link available on the GovBall.com site. General On Sale will begin on Friday, February 24th at 10am EST via GovBall.com.

For more information about the festival, make sure you head over to GovBall.com.

Check out all the confirmed artists in the lineup after the jump!

2012 Governors Ball Music Festival Confirmed Artists:
 
Saturday, June 23rd
Passion Pit (First NYC show in 2 years)
Duck Sauce (feat. A-Trak and Armand Van Helden)
Chromeo
Special Disco Version (James Murphy and Pat Mahoney of LCD Soundsystem)
Atmosphere
Major Lazer
Santigold
Big Gigantic
Penguin Prison
Walk the Moon
Art vs Science
K.Flay
Nobody Beats the Drum
 
Sunday, June 24th
Beck (First NYC show since 2008)
Modest Mouse
Explosions in the Sky
Devendra Banhart
Cage the Elephant
Built to Spill
Cults
Phantogram
Freelance Whales
Alberta Cross
The Jezabels
Turf War