1. Knocked Up is worthy of the crazy hype being thrown its way. Yes, like 40 Year Old Virgin it seemed a bit plot-heavy and maybe even a little saccharine at times. However, at this moment in time Judd Apatow owns the world of mainstream comedy. The dialogue is painfully honest and razor-sharp, the situations are hilariously absurd (especially a hallucinogenic journey to Cirque De Soleil), and for all practical purposes, it might be the funniest depiction of stoners since Half Baked. Easily the best comedy I’ve seen since Borat.
2. The new Caribou album is kinda’ sorta’ mind-blowingly great and if I re-made my Top 10 list again, it’d be top 5. As Stylus staffer Tal Rosenberg pointed out, “along with Edan, Caribou uses “color, or at least the interpretation of colors through music, better than nearly any musician I’ve heard.” Sad gorgeous 60’s psychedelic vocals and swirling candy-colored walls of sound. I’m not going to post MP3′ s but I know where you can get them.
3. The new Black Moth Super Rainbow is also one of the best psychedelic records I’ve heard in a long time. How this came out of Pittsburgh, I’m not sure. Think Brightblack Morning light, crossed with Prefuse 73, divided by Edan. Sadly, their name reminds me like something the South Park guys would come up with to make fun of hippies.
In other news being, the hippies that they are, Black Moth Super Rainbow are having a bubble gum blowing contest to promote “Dandelion Gum.” So if you want free tickets and a lot of cool stuff from the band, click here and start blowing bubbles (No Weezy Fitzgerald Baby).
Download:
MP3:Black Moth Super Rainbow: “Sun Lips”
Black Moth Super Rainbow: With Album Covers now Designed by a Team of Vaguely Artistic 4th Graders on Peyote
4. I can’t say that I’ve managed to tackle the entire mad bloat of R. Kelly’s 19 track, hour and fifteen minute opus, Double Up yet. But I will second Billy Sunday’s dead-on call that “Real Talk” is the most batshit insane, hilarious, and yet brilliant thing I’ve ever heard. If nothing else for the part when Kells starts screaming “Milton” apropos to nothing. I also like that he calls his girl “bogus.” Which just reminds me of this.
Download:
MP3: R. Kelly-“Real Talk”
5. New blog Soul Psychedelicyde gets my vote of confidence for consecutive posts on Doom/Viktor Vaughn’s Vaudeville Villain record and Hot Chip’s DJ Kicks.
6. The blogosphere will sorely miss Slack Lalane, whose Ace Cowboy recently decided to send Slack into that great blog graveyard in the sky. The good news is Ace continues to blog at Glide Magazine’s, Hidden Track, which in just a matter of a few months has become one of the best music websites in existence.
7. I re-listened to the old Canibus record, Second Round Knockout this weekend and have decided that it is much much better than I remembered it being. Save for the fact that it has a song called “Get Retarded.” And that horrifically dated Mike Tyson cameo on the title track.
Download:
MP3: Canibus-“I Honor U”
Presumably, “Get Retarded,” was about Iron Mike
8. Duke, You Set the Scene, and I were at the same mind-blowingly great Hold Steady show last Thursday at the El Rey. And even though Duke likes them way less than I do (to paraphrase Jay-Z, if they’re not better than M.M.J., they’re the closest one), even he had to come around on Craig Finn & Co. The always on-point Scott Sterling also agrees. On another note, how come Hold Steady shows’ audiences are 93 percent dudes?
9. As Dodge points out, there might be no more unlikeable athlete on earth than Kobe Bryant (other than maybe Barry Bonds)? By making his trade demands so public not only made Kobe a shoo-in for the title of biggest prima donna in the league, he’s also single-handedly insured that the Lakers won’t get premium value for him. Don’t let the door hit you on your way out of town, dude.
10. The great Dan Love of From Da’ Bricks talks some Naughty by Nature. If any early 90s hip-hop group is in dire need of a critical re-evaluation it might be Naughty. Just listen to “Yoke the Joker” and remember how great Treach, Vinnie and Kay Gee actually were.
Download:
MP3: Naughty by Nature-“Yoke the Joker”
But Overalls? Not so Naughty By Nature
11. Clean Guns, who have rightfully gotten a lot of love in the hip-hop blogging world have collaborated with another Internet favorite, Jamie Radford. The track in question “Tuba Thump,” might contain some of the best verses I’ve heard from either rapper. And Jamie’s beat is phenomenal. Definitely one of my favorite underground tracks of the year.
Download:
MP3: Clean Guns & Jamie Radford-“Tuba Thump”
12. Who knew that flammable and inflammable mean the same thing?
