I Like Turtles and Other News

First off, check out this awesome hour long mix put together by a man who seems to owns the internets these days, none other than Diplo. The I Like Turtles Mixed CD takes it’s name from the YouTube zombie Jonathan, and is chock-full of awesomeness, including Soulja Boy laced over DJ Shadow and Spoon laying the rhythm for Enur and M.I.A.’s rhymes. It’s currently out of stock, but sign up to be updated, and definitely grab yourself a copy. The mixtape also features my favorite Diplo mix ever, VNDLSM’s take on Rihanna’s “Umbrella”. When the beat drops at the 2:18 mark, I literally get chills down my spine.

MP3: VNDLSM – “Umbrella (DIPLO MIX)” [alt. link]

Next, my Redskins are in the playoffs. We are most definitely the dark horse, and I’m proud to root for such a resilient and hard-working team. Sean Taylor is watching over the Redskins, and as long as he is, we are in good hands. Seattle better watch out on Saturday.

MP3: Chris Paul – “Burgundy Boys (Jay-Z ‘Roc Boys’ Sample)”

Lastly, happy new years.

MP3: Bert Jansch – “The Bright New Year” [alt. link]
MP3: The Walkmen – “New Years Eve” [alt. link]

Love,
Zack

Sean Taylor in Critical Condition after Shooting

UPDATE: Sean Taylor passed away this morning due to excessive blood loss. It is a sad sad day for Redskins fans, football fans, and anyone with a soul. R.I.P. Sean Michael Maurice Taylor. You will be missed.

As if news for the Redskins could get any worse. A day after losing to the fucking Buccaneers (honestly, who likes the Bucs?), defensive stalwart and all-around badass Sean Taylor has been shot in the groin two times, during an attempted robbery/burglary of his house last night. According to the Washington Post:

“Miami-Dade police officials said police received a 1:45 a.m. call from a woman inside Taylor’s palatial residence in the affluent suburb of Palmetto Bay, saying that a man had been shot. Ambulance crews found the 24-year-old defensive star struck in the lower extremities.”

Taylor is now in critical condition, and is undergoing surgery in a Miami hospital. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Sean and his family right now, and, regardless of your football team affiliation, please pray for Sean Taylor.

On a side note, since many people have complained about not being able to download posted songs from my hosting service, I will be providing alternate links via sendspace for each song. You can grab them from now on by hitting the read more link below

MP3: Jay-Z – “Pray”
MP3: Sam Cooke – “Sad Mood”
MP3: Chris Paul – “Hey Scrappy Redskins”

I Hate Dallas

UPDATE: There is a special spot in hell reserved for Terrell Owens.

In completely non-music related news, my beloved Washington Redskins are up against their biggest (and loserist) rivals, the Dallas Cowboys. If you are a Dallas fan, please close your web-browser and never read my site again. Gone? Good. Now, for all you Redskins fans, check this Chris Paul remix of 50’s “I Get Money”, aptly titled “I Hate Dallas”. Chris Paul, a radio DJ for WGPC (DC’s finest radio station), has taken mainstream hip-hop songs and morphed them into Redskins tributes, using poignant and hilarious lyrics to create masterpieces such as week 6’s “Slay Green Bay” (adapted from “Ay Bay Bay”), or “Crank that Redskins Boy (from “Crank That”). So if you love the Redskins, or just hate Tony Romo and T.O., check out “I Hate Dallas” and pray for a Redskins victory tonight.

MP3: Chris Paul – “I Hate Dallas” [via]

Fuck Dallas,
Zack

TWO AND OH!

This post is for all those ESPN analysts out there who predicted my beautiful Redskins to be 0-2 after Week 2. Football season is my favorite time of the year, and sunday’s pounding of Donovan “People only think I’m bad ’cause I’m black” McNabb and the Eagles just made my season. LaRon Landry, Fred Smoot, Jason Campbell (the future), and Clinton Portis could go 2-14 this year (which is actually possible), but right now I’m riding high with a two game winning streak to start the season and a very easy (see: Giants, Arizona) schedule coming up.

STREAM: Washington Redskins Fight Song – “Hail to the Redskins”
Stream the audio and learn the words at the same time. You’re not an ATG fan until you know the words.

The only thing that could possibly get me more excited is Andrew Bird.

And God bless Andrew Bird for coming to Madison tommorow night and gracing me with his sweet sweet whistling and staccato violin. Expect a write-up on that, and get yourself a ticket.

MP3: Andrew Bird – “Tables and Chairs (Black Sessions)”

Hail to the Redskins,
Zack

Borat Contest Winners + New Features + New Music

It’s time to announce the winners of the Borat contest (finally)!

The third place winner is Peter. Peter chose Gilbert Arenas. Gil aka Agent Zero aka Captain Quirk aka Gil the Magnificent is by far my favorite Wizard, and is one of the five best players in the league. I’m even naming the dog we get in our apartment next year Gilbert, regardless of gender.

The second place winner is resident cutie-pie Charlie. Charlie chose my favorite offensive player on the Redskins, Santana Moss. I know a few others chose Santana as well, so Charlie upped the ante a little bit. He also created a movie plot featuring Budnik from Salute Your Shorts, which would’ve deserved second place even without the Santana choice.

AND THE GRAND PRIZE WINNER IS: James Christopher “Wawawewa” Rowe. Chris had a bit of inside information (being that he’s my second cousin/butt buddy) but his choices were too good to go unrewarded. He chose one of my favorite players ever to don the Burgundy and Gold, Fred Smoot. I am in love with this man, and how can you not be with famous quotes such as “66% of the Earth is covered by water. The rest is covered by Smoot.” Also, Chris chose Chris Cooley, my second favorite offensive weapon on the Skins and another beautiful man. Well done Christopher.

The three of you can expect e-mails from me today regarding your prizes. Now that the contest is out of the way, lets get to the rest of the post:

So, if you can’t tell already (or if you are new to ATG) this is a completely new layout from the old All Things Go (see here). With the new layout comes some new features. For example, the new pages at the top (Home, About Us, Contact Us) are available, and a Mixtapes page will be added so that all the Mixtapes will be readily accessible. Also, each post will be placed into categories by author (Zack or Adrian) so that, if you enjoy one writer’s music style over another you can read their posts alone. Also, at the end of every post, we will include links to where you can purchase the albums by the artists featured in the post, which we realize we should’ve done a while ago. There are a few other minor changes (including new and more reliable hosting) that you guys can figure out by exploring the site. We will also be updating all the outdated links in the coming days.

ALSO NOTE: http://www.allthingsgoblog.com is no longer redirecting here (we need it for hosting) so you can reach us at www.allthingsgo.wordpress.com or www.all-things-go.com. Now, on to some music!

I had to buckle down last night and try to write two papers and study for a math midterm. While I did almost no work, this was not due to a lack of quality studying music. I’ve been using these next few songs to help me through the studying process, so I’ll share them here with you in case any of you have some cramming to do before Thanksgiving break.

The Blow – Fists Up
This is the second time I’ve featured The Blow in one of these posts, but I can’t not give out this song. More fast-paced than “True Affection”, “Fists Up” balances upbeat-ness with a smooth melody to create a good studying song.

The Album Leaf – Always for You
I was going to do a writeup on the new Album Leaf release, Into the Blue Again, but I never really got around to it (I told you I was lazy). This album is one of my favorite releases of 2006, and it’s a perfect study-buddy. “Always For You” is a flawless single and the highlight of an underappreciated album from an underappreciated band.

Ray Lamontagne – Three More Days
Another great, underappreciated album that I was going to write about but never got around to it. Till the Sun Turns Black is an awesome folk album enjoyed by indie kids, girly girls and folk lovers alike. With an incredible, rough, soul-filled voice, Ray channels his passion into “Three More Days”, in my opinion his finest work to date. Many of you may know Ray only from his cover of Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy”, but this song truly demonstrates his amazing vocal skills.

The Inner Banks – Glittering Sky
I recently received an e-mail about these guys, and I must say that I enjoy their style. With airy, ethereal vocals and floaty piano melodies in the background, “Glittering Sky” is my kind of study song.

I hope that you’re studying goes better than mine, and if you aren’t studying, I hope you still can enjoy these tracks. Congratulations to the contest winners, and welcome to the new All Things Go.

The Blow: Buy Paper Television // official site
The Album Leaf: Buy Into the Blue Again // official site
Ray Lamontagne: Buy Till The Sun Turns Black // official site
The Inner Banks: official site // myspace

-Zack

Redskins 36, Jaguars 30 (OT)

Best….weekend…ever.

Music will return next week.

-Zack