See Frank Ocean's Great "Late Night" Performance, Download 10-Minute Epic "Pyramids"

Photo by Lloyd Bishop (NBC)

Frank Ocean. You've probably heard the name quite a bit in the past week in one way or another. And while a lil 'ol blog like Mixtape Muse writing about a buzzed about artist might seem like an attempt to ride the coattails of that buzzwave in an attempt to increase our amount of hits, it's really not. We here at Mixtape Muse have been fans of Ocean (born Christopher Breaux) since last year's debut Nostalgia, Ultra mixtape. And so, I feel I must share Frank Ocean's performance from Monday night's "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon."

But why?

Top Albums of 2011 (Quinn)

Well, 2011 is over, and that's kind of scary, but I think I'm more thrown off by the fact that my birthday is tomorrow and that day always seems so far away. None of that matters though, because the end of the year really means year-end list time. I think I'm thrown off by this more than anything else because you've got to go over the whole year and decide which albums rank higher or lower than this album and that album. Generally, these lists seem predicated on what album is technically better than a group of others. I'd like to think that it should be a mix of that, but also what you actually listened to and enjoyed throughout the year. So, without further ado, here's my "Top 10 Albums of 2011."

Top Ten Albums 2011 (Simon)

When I finally found the time to start writing again, I realized how close we were to the end of the year. The end of the year at MM (and at pretty much all other music blogs) means choosing our Top Ten lists, and while 2011 had some great records to offer, the theme for this post is going to be, "Challenging". If nothing else, many of the records on this list (I'll note the exceptions) were at first markedly imposing -they were tough to get through the first spin. They're innovative, creative, and in a lot of ways unique, but none of them have the same easy groove of some of last year's picks (see Ray LaMontagne, Tallest Man on Earth, and others). So, without further ado, my top ten albums of 2011.

Yeah, The Roots' New Album Is Going to Be One of the Year's Best

If there was any doubt that The Roots' new album, undun, was going to be one of year's best albums, then just watch this video. It's a clip of new song "Tip the Scale," and it's, well, absolutely amazing. This clip, along with teaser clips for "Make My" and "Stomp", have been out for a bit now, but I really wanted to call "Tip the Scale" to your attention in case you haven't seen it, or rather heard it, yet.

Not much else to add on my end except undun is out December 6th via Def Jam. Get ready.

Quinn's Top Albums of 2010

Well, the year is over -- didn't see that coming. If there's one thing I can say about 2010, it's that it was the best and most productive year Mixtape Muse has had since it was born back in 2006. I'd like to thank all the artists, bands, and readers who helped make this year so awesome and successful. I would have never thought Mixtape Muse could have accomplished so much in a year. So, thank you all.

Now, my choices for the top albums of 2010. Oh, the year-end list. It's just a troublesome thing. Are we ranking them according to how great they are or how much we enjoyed them? In the end, isn't this all just a matter of opinion anyway? I must admit that if you've been following the site over the years, I have never before ranked my year-end choices. It all seems rather odd to me to say "oh, this album was the best" when you come from the perspective of a musician. So, please consider the fact that I have never exercised my right, or rather my ability, to rank albums (save for my "Top Albums of 2010...so far" list) and that I struggled with this bad boy up until the end. Furthermore, because this isn't my day job I didn't have the opportunity to listen to everything that I saw, heard, or read about. Alright? Alright.

Remember, folks, as people, all we can do is offer opinions when it comes to art. Facts are what we use to form opinions, not the other way around; all we know are the facts, not the opinions. I can't tell you what your opinion is, because that is something you must create with the facts before you (e.g. FACT: I love a lot of different genres of music that some people might not fancy in the least bit). Then again, I guess there are at least a few flaws in this logic. Hopefully, you get my point. In the words of Malcolm Gladwell, "The key to good decision making is not knowledge, it is understanding."

Simon's Top 5 Albums of 2010 (so far)

Drumroll please.



I don't do this very often, or ever really, but here's a look at the Top 5 albums that have wowed my pants (so far) this year. I'm happy to say that there's a wide range on here.

REVIEW: The Roots - How I Got Over

The Roots - How I Got Over
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The Roots have released nine, count 'em nine, full-length studio albums. They've also released two EPs and two live albums. Before I was ever a fan, they were playing house gigs at poetry slams, forging relationships with the likes of Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Common, and more. On top of that, legendary Roots crew percussion man ?uestlove was the lynchpin for all the acts at Dave Chappelle's Block Party, and the Roots remain the flyest house band ever on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.

Ok, so I'm a fan.

More recent releases from The Roots (Phrenology, Game Theory, and Rising Down) have often left me guessing. It's not that I don't like them, but the crew's journey through more experimental rock beats and disjointed tracks have never measured up to the powerful, tight, and rhythmically unmatched jazz markers The Tipping Point and Things Fall Apart (at least for this writer).

Also, some music history made live a few weeks ago...