Jul
31

Great Scott: The Day the Music Died

Scott Towler has spent the last few months at the Canadian Grammar Rodeo and catching Andy Williams shows while talking to Samson in Branson, Mo. Don Mclean was never a hippie, but I was. At least I thought I was. I wore patchouli oil. I had patchwork pants and parkas. I tried to turn my… Continue reading »

Jul
31

Fela Kuti-”Coffin For Head of State”

Probably in bad form to post a 20-minute MP3, but this is just one track and let’s just presume that you download it, you love it and you go see Seun Kuti. Everyone wins, it stays in the family, etc. etc. Honestly, I haven’t been able to go three hours in the last week without… Continue reading »

Jul
30

Tricky-Knowle West Boy

The first fifteen seconds of “Council Estate,” the lead single off of Knowle West Boy neatly recapitulate the past decade of Tricky’s maddening, mystifying career. For those few seconds, the eccentric strings and clattering home-baked percussion out of which Tricky constructed his most enduring work fumble out of the speakers, but before tension takes hold,… Continue reading »

Jul
29

On Their Grizzly (Bear)

Credit Stephen Colbert’s least favorite band, Grizzly Bear, for intuitively understanding the nature of the Internet better than nearly anyone else after performing brilliant new cut, “2 Weeks” on Letterman last week and then immediately posting it for free download on their website. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think it’s some savvy ursine hype-stoking… Continue reading »

Jul
28

Exclusive New Shit: The Knux-”Bang! Bang!”

Since it’s rare that I post something that hasn’t already been shared by at least a half dozen other blogs, the fact that I’ve got the new Knux single first has me running around my apartment doing my Best DJ Clue impression. Granted, there are probably a few other places the song has already appeared… Continue reading »

Jul
28

Da Capo Status

Thanks to an intense campaign filled with blackmail, bribery, intimidation, coaxing and more than a little wheedling, my LA Weekly essay, “Soulja Boy: Cranking the Chain,” was chosen for this year’s Da Capo Best Music Writing Anthology. Needless to say, I’m very excited and have already begun to compose a thank-you speech big-upping the academy,… Continue reading »

Jul
27

The Weekend Song: Prafit-”Nice Weather”

While New York has gotten rocked by thunderstorms all day long, our weather in Los Angeles is picture-perfect. 80 degrees, spectacular sunshine, fulfilling every cliche you could ever conjure about the SoCal summer. Unfortunately, while my friends are headed to the beach, I’m on deadline furiously attempting to finish a Rock the Bells preview for… Continue reading »

Jul
25

Genius/GZA-”Alphabets”

This is why they call him the Genius. (No Leaping Lanny Poffo). On “Alphabets,” the first single off Pro Tools, Gary Grice goes in hard off the haunted soul loop from True Master, who imitates early Rza probably better than Rza can at this point. Consider me cautiously optimistic for the record, considering in my… Continue reading »

Jul
25

Karl Hector + The Malcouns-Sahara Swing

For the last six weeks, I’ve spent my drive time cloistered within the soothing cocoon of Fela Kuti’s Expensive Shit/He Miss Road. Accordingly, few contemporary albums have battered through that hermetically sealed, parallel universe where I smoke acres of trees at the Kalakuta Republic circa 1975 while inventing a plethora of dance moves, including the… Continue reading »

Jul
24

Video: Besnard Lakes-Devastation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FA5gIS3a08 Things I am a sucker for. 1. Stoner prog-rock. 2. Cool animated music videos. 3. The Besnard Lakes. Henceforth, I really like the video for “Devastation” from their sorely-slept on, 2007 LP, The Besnard Lakes are the Dark Horse.  Plus, it features an actual animated dark horse, one ostensibly named Buttercup who likes funions.  … Continue reading »

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