Siempre atribuyo mi pasión y amor para la música y entretenimiento a mi herencia mexicana y latino. La primera música que escuché fue la música latina. Es probable que bailé cumbias de repente después de andar por primera vez. Aunque he escuchado nuevos tipos de música, nunca he parado de escuchar la música latina. Quiero compartir 13 de mis videos favoritos, antiguos y actuales. Cada lleva significado para cualquiera razón. ¡Disfrute! 

13. Brownout – Slinky

12. Juanes – La Camisa Negra

11. Julieta Venegas – Andar Conmigo

10. Cafe Tacvba – Eres

09. Celso Pina – Cumbia Sobre El Rio

08. La Oreja de Van Gogh – Rosas

07. La Santa Cecilia – La Negra

06. Maná – Mariposa Traicionera

05. Celia Cruz – La Negra Tiene Tumbao

04. Shakira – ¿Donde estan los ladrones?

03. Thalia – Amora a La Mexicana

02. 3BallMTY – Inténtalo

01. Selena – Techno Cumbia

Crystal Castles have released a brand new video for their song “Suffocation.”  The video, directed by Ethan Kath, features singer Alice Glass solemnly singing in a black dress. The video was part of a collaboration with Vs. Magazine. The band is currently working on a third album due to come out this summer. You can watch the video below.

The Drums have released a new video for their single “Days.” Directed by Patrick Roberts, the grainy black-and-white 3d-esque video features Amanda Lepore and Marc Faiella. The subtle qualities of the video complement the song very well. “Days” is off the group’s sophomore effort Portamento. You can watch the video below.

Swedish artist iamamiwhoami is back with a new video entitled “sever.” As usual with previous videos, “sever” features singer Joanna Lee in a dreamy surreal setting. In “sever”, Lee dances with a huge hairy mop-like monster. Along with her other song “john;”, “sever” is definitely more accessible than previous efforts. It’s a very hypnotizing and beautiful song. The next single by iamamiwhoami “drops” is due to come out February 29, 2012. You can catch the video for “sever” below.

Whitney Houston was an artist that continually inspired and made me believe in music every day. Although I wouldn’t consider myself an expert on her catalog, anytime her music came on it was a joyous occasion as well as an emotional one, as she was one of the few artists that could give me chills after countless listens. From a young age until now, she was always that artist I would let the song play out if it came on the radio. It seemed almost criminal to change the station when something that perfect was coming out of it.

Many people laughed about her struggle with addiction in the past years and we continue to do that everyday with artists and celebrities.  This will always be a strange thing to me, because if any of our friends or family were struggling for years with addiction it certainly wouldn’t be a laughing matter. But I guess in the spotlight people use the troubles of others to prop up their own life.

Even through her troubled journey, Houston continued to put out incredible music, and no one can deny her impact on generations of singers. She was one the best voices of our time. So to all the haters and joke makers out there, take a listen and try to deny it. She was the soundtrack to many moments of my life, and I’d like to share that here.

1992: Like many people I was introduced to Whitney’s voice with her massive hit from the movie The Bodyguard. I loved the movie and the song, and if it is on TV, I have to watch it all the way through.

1995: Waiting to Exhale. I was 11 years old and was glued to MTV for hours at a time. Spent all my time watching music videos and listening to cds from my Dad’s cd club subscription. I noticed how Whitney’s mouth moved so differently from other singers in their videos.

1998: Ahh…highschool. Dating some loser that was kind of a jerk to me (sorry _____, but you were). Watching this video and thinking about the angst of teenage love. Also thinking about how Faith was once Biggie’s wife.

1998:  Your Love is My Love. Loved the message of this song. Listening to this in between The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.

2000:  Still casually thinking about above mentioned loser. Jamming this in my first car, thinking ‘Fuck off ______’ and loving how she smiles through every note in the video.

2001: Going to raves (yes, I know). Bad Boy Bill to DJ Irene would mix these chorus vocals over a heavy house beat and the crowd would sing along in the midst of trying to be cool. That warmth in her voice made this strange place I was in feel like an old home being revisited. The DJs felt it too.

2003: COLLEGE. Going to horrible bars that played a combination of top 40 and 80′s classics. This always made the cut. Every girl knew this song and starting doing the snap hand body sway when this came on. One of the best tracks of the saxophone solo era.

2005: More college, bad bars and 80′s classics. Lots of this playing in my college apartment.

2006: While I was getting into the beginnings of UK Grime I came across a remix of the song below and began to listen to Whitney again. No one can deny the sheer emotion of the chorus here.

2010: Inherit awesome Philips 1970′s turntable from Uncle Bill. Start purchasing the classics on vinyl.

2011: Major 90′s hip hop/r & b resurgence. This song still jams.

2012: Heard of her death and immediately looked up this song when I got home. I remembered this as one of my favorite vocal performances by her. So much power, so much control, all natural. From the 1989 Grammy’s:

Thanks for everything Whitney.

South African rave-rap group Die Antwoord share their latest track ”I Fink U Freeky” which is from their upcoming second LP Ten$ion. Die Antwoord goes full force on their track with ferocious insane electronic beats. Ten$ion is due February 7th via Zef Records. You can listen to the track below.

Masked producer SBTRKT took the internet by storm last year with his infectious track “Wildfire” and spectacular self-titled album.  A never released track titled “Atomic Peace” was just added to his soundcloud account recently. “Atomic Peace” was first heard in 2009 via his mix for XFM. You can listen to the track below.

sbtrkt – atomic peace (2009) by sbtrkt

Noise-pop duo Sleigh Bells reveal another song off of their anticipated sophomore effort Reign of Terror. “Comeback Kid” is currently being offered as a free download if you pre-order the new album via iTunes. “Comeback Kid” is everything expected from Sleigh Bells with it’s crunchy guitar infused pop sounds. Reign of Terror is expected to be out February 21st via Mom + Pop. You can listen to the track below.

Iggy Azalea, the female MC from Australia, puts her own spin on Nicki Minaj’s “Roman In Moscow.” Azalea adds more fire to the track and disses any haters. Azalea has recently been getting more attention due to talks of her getting signed to Def Jam and her confirmed relationship with A$AP Rocky. Azalea is definitely someone to be watching this year and you can check out her version of “Roman In Moscow” below.

UK based group Labyrinth Ear are getting ready to release their new EP entitled ‘Apparitions.’ The EP is expected to be out February 7th which you can pre-order from their bandcamp. “Humble Bones”, one of the songs off of the EP, is a ferociously catchy song with delicate vocals and pulsating beats. You can listen below.

Humble Bones by Labyrinth Ear