[SONG OF THE DAY] Husky Loops - "Let Go For Nothing"

Husky Loops at Elsewhere (zone one) on 3/5/2019

Back in November I casually evangelized the wonders of London trio Husky Loops courtesy of some diSKOAver weekly loving. Since then some cool shit has happened for the fellas. On Friday the band has released a new offering unto us, “Let Go For Nothing”, a first taste of their forthcoming debut full-length Music That Makes the World Better, which is due out this summer. The piano-forward track showcases a softer side to the band than we’ve previously seen, all the while maintaining their experimental sound.

Earlier in the week the band also made their North American debut appearance at Elsewhere on Tuesday, which yours truly was in attendance and therefore can confirm for the rest of y’all that these dudes fucking slap. Their energy is insanely infectious. It was sort of impossible for anyone to sit still for too long.

In summary, if you don’t like Husky Loops then you’re dead wrong.

I’m not sorry, these are the rules.

If you happen to be heading to SXSW next week (unlike me who will be attending couch by couch west), please do yourself a favor and make it a point to go see these guys. You absolutely won’t be disappointed.

Also buy them some BBQ and margaritas on my behalf.

[SKOA Presents] Beats For Daze #2 (All Hallows Edition)

Once again back is the incredible, your neighborhood friendly Rocko Rock with a brand new installment of Beats For Daze. For those unfamiliar with the series, BFD is monthly playlist compiled based around producers (the unsung heroes of hip hop) who create some of my favorite head nodding tracks of the past and current along with some unreleased goodies as well, all rolled up into one nice hour plus mixture for your ear drums' enjoyment. I know that sounds like I just tried to pitch a TV show or product, sorry. Those that missed out on our first installment of the series (which hit 10,000 plays in month on 8tracks!) should check it out here.

Being October, we felt necessary to dedicate this month's mixture to the upcoming holiday, Halloween. That's right, this month we got 31 tracks of goodness all inspired from the most spooky fun day of the year. Don't worry the always obvious choice, Michael Jackson's "Thriller" will not make an appearance on the mixtape although I'm a bit sad I didn't just add Vincent Price's epic laugh. But I did find some nice a nice Halloween vinyl in my record crate to atmosphere of the total mix. It's a bit cheesy but whatever. Among these tracks we got some classics from Danger Mouse when he was known Pelican City, Dan The Automator when he just went by Automator, Portishead, Massive Attack, The Herbaliser and more. With the inclusion of some newer tunes from The Gaslamp Killer, Thavius Beck as well as others and one of my favorite creepy DJ Shadow jams "Give Me Back The Nights", a track so evil I had to take a picture of myself listening to it, which you view below. So set a spell for awhile and check out the full mix in the player above.

And if you are still reading this, I like to say thank you for taking the time and listening to our Beats For Daze playlist, it really means a lot to myself and SKoA. We're working on something super special for the next month as well as some more awesome things for the following months. So make sure you check out other mixtapes and if you are on 8Tracks.com follow us and spread the good music around. Have an awesome Halloween!

<3 Rocko loves you.

[News] The Black Keys Discuss the Year Ahead

The Black Keys have been consistently busy for quite some time, with three albums in four years and no plans on slowing down. When speaking to radio station KROQ, Patrick Carney revelead the band's plans for the next year, including a new album and supporting tours. Here's what Carney said:

We’re going to start making a new album in January and we’re going to tour a little more in the spring. Our plan is to have the new album done by the end of spring or earlier, then hopefully take a few months off to do normal things like go to bed early and wake up early, walk the dog, that kind of stuff. Then we’ll probably be back on the road starting next fall."

Carney continued, speaking on the band's friend and collaborator Danger Mouse:

I talked to him [Danger Mouse, aka Brian Burton] on the phone a couple weeks ago to see what his schedule is like. If we ever work with a producer, it’s always going to be him. We’ve been working with him since 2007, since Attack & Release, and we’re all really good friends. But he’s also really busy, producing so many records lately, so hopefully he has time. He’s producing U2′s record – that takes priority over us! [Laughs.]"

Here's hoping Carney and Auerbach can pry Danger Mouse away from U2 long enough to produce their new album.

[News] The Black Keys to Start Work on New LP in July

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Patrick Carney of The Black Keys revealed that the band will be back in the studio this July working on the follow-up to El Camino, which was released only six months ago. The band hopes to release this new album sometime in 2013, and given their tour schedule that time frame is much more likely.

Speaking of The Black Keys, the band has filed suit against Pizza Hut and their parent company Yum! Brands Inc. reports Bloomberg. The allegations stem from Pizza Hut's unauthorized use of the band's music in one of their recent commercials, an accusation that has also been aimed towards Home Depot. El Camino producer Danger Mouse claims that Pizza Hut used "Gold on the Ceiling" and Home Depot used "Lonely Boy" without permission, and, after the jump, you can watch the Pizza Hut commercial in question and judge for yourself.

[Watch] Norah Jones - "Happy Pills" (Official Video)

We could all use them every now and again, surely? "Happy Pills" that is, the new single from Norah Jones has just been given the official video treatment. The track is set to feature on her upcoming album Little Broken Hearts which was produced by Danger Mouse is is out via Blue Note on the 1st of May. The video is a little bit of a throwback to the 50's and can be watched at the top of the page via MTV.

[Listen] Norah Jones - "Say Goodbye" (Prod. By Danger Mouse)

At very rare times in my life have I ever found myself saying i'm excited for a Norah Jones album but after super producer Danger Mouse hooked up with the singer last year to collaborate on the Rome album, I knew her next LP was going to be magic in making. And that can't be further with the truth with the 2 songs ("Happy Pills" and "Travellin' On") previewed so far from Norah's forthcoming album Little Broken Hearts. Need more proof that this album will be amazing? Check out the newest track "Say Goodbye" from the upcoming Danger Mouse produced album above. It's quite beautiful.

Little Broken Hearts hits shelves May 1st. Preorder your copy now (iTunes/Amazon)

[Download] Mickey Factz - Mickey MauSe (Mixtape)

Mickey Factz is back with his long awaited mixtape Mickey MauSe. The concept tape tells the story of lead character graff writer Mickey Mau5e (a pseudo character created by Mickey Factz) and his upbringing and his struggles with drugs, art, HIV and his rise to fame in the golden era of 1980's New York City with the likes of Andy Warhol who serves as a mentor, while other artists like Jean-Michael Basquiat, Kenny Scharf and Keith Harring play the role of counterparts. 

The project consists of 17 tracks produced/arranged by Mickey Factz himself and features samples of productions from Deadmau5 and Danger Mouse (Gnarls Barkley, Broken Bells, The Grey Album, Beck, Pelican City and more). Take a listen this incredible project below and then head over DatPiff to download the tape for free.

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[Listen] Electric Guest - "Jenny" x Daytrotter Session

The end of April/beginning of may is going to be a wonderful time for fans of super producer Brian "Danger Mouse" Burton with the upcoming release of Norah Jones' Little Broken Hearts on May 1st and the debut album Mondo by Electric Guest dropping April 24th, both produced by Burton. Fans of Danger Mouse's work, especially his band Broken Bells formed alongside The Shins' James Mercer, will love the Los Angeles duo Electric Guest (Asa Taccone, Matthew Compton) and their recently released self titled EP.

The EP features the band's standout singles from their upcoming debut album Mondo ("This Head I Hold", "Troubleman" and "American Daydream") and also features a new track titled "Jenny" which you can stream below. The EP is available to pick up now iTunes. If you haven't got enough of the Electric Guest goodness, head over to Daytrotter.com to listen/download the group's live session which features 3 new songs "Amber", the KCRW loved track "The Bait" and "Holes" from the upcoming album as well as a live version of "This Head I Hold". Now sit back and enjoy some good music and pick this up when it drops next month.