What's that sound?

That my friends is the sound of the ultra-fresh combination of hand-claps and ass-fat jiggling sub-bass which backs up one Missy Elliot on her new single "Pass That Dutch."

Good lord!

This joint is on fire people!

I have it on repeat as I type this. I've probably listened to it 15 times in a row now.

If only I could hear this on a club system like the one at The Shelter, it'd be all over. I mean I'd probably be shaken to death by the bass vibrations, but I think I'd die a happy man.

If they ain't playing this at your local club just walk up to the DJ booth and shoot the fuckin' DJ right between the eyes. He'll have it coming for commiting such an attrocious crime against his dance-floor.

I don't know what disturbs me more, that so many of these fools are hating on Jay-Z's dope new single "Change Clothes" or that a number of them are managing to talk junk about "Frontin'," Jay's summertime callabo with Pharell Williams, in the process.

I mean c'mon, who the fuck didn't like "Frontin'"? That shit was hands down one of the best singles, produced in any genre, of the entire year.

National Public Radio does a feature on M.F. Doom's "Viktor Vaughn" album and it's the best thing ever.

From the average white guy narrator to the Doom in his own words soundbites, it just rules.

The fact that it's more informative, entertaining and generally on point than every M.F. Doom interview I've ever read by a supposed "hip-hop journalist" makes it all the more fresher.

Now if only The Urban Alternative Show could get an interview with the metal faced villain, then it'd really be on.

Legendary emcee Slick Rick is still behind bars and facing deportation.

You might remember me posting about his arrest more than a year ago.

Warning... clicking this link may cause, dancing and screaming of the phrase "holy shit!"

Oh yeah, it's Real Audio of "Change Clothes", the new single from Jay-Z featuring Pharrell Williams.

It was then that I knew I had found a kindred spirit of sorts.

I also like chicks, robots, funky beats and rocking my body.

But we'll get to that later.

When it comes to bloggers they say that the proof is in the posting, so the proof of the above statement should be the fact that I'm here posting at 3:19 a.m. on a Monday morning as I listen to a bunch of that glitchy electro beat topped with emo indy guy vocal music that certain music snobs ( such as myself ) have come to call "lap-pop."

Nothing says "you're one sad bastard" better than a lap-pop cover of a Smiths song. And that is exactly what I have blaring through my headphones right now in the form of "The Light 3000", a cover of The Smiths "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out" by German producer/vocalist Schneider TM. In fact, I've had "The Light 3000", from 'Binokular' his EP with fellow electronica beatsmith Kpt.michigan, and "Abyss", a track from his debut solo disc 'Zoomer,' on repeat in Winamp for the last ... lemme see ... 6 or so hours. With it's soundtrack of ringing keys, beeps, blips, bloops & clicks over deep humming bass, drenched in mechanical noise topped off by a vocoder infused vocal that breathes a whole new life into the lovelorn lyrics "The Light 3000" does something that cover songs rarely do, actually improves upon an already fantastic song. Don't get me wrong, I still love the Smiths original, but Schneider TM makes the song his own here and reimagines the track in a way that will make it forever distinct. "Abyss" isn't quite as sad, but it's still got a meloncholy edge to it. Handclaps, 808 kicks, and more of that fuzzy electro bass with the sticky synth lines on top are the bed for a song about discovering secrets that lovers keep and whether or not the "abyss of your lover" is a hole you should really go poking around in. The icing on this cupcake however is the enthusiastic "whoo-hoo" heard on the hook. It gives the track a sunny poppy edge, but it's only there to mock you as deep down you know that all the sunny pop songs in the world won't really help mend the broken mechanism inside your cold, lonely robot chest.

Pop music for brokenhearted robots? Yep, that's just what this is.

The fact that I'm a sad bastard and dig the whole emo indy guy thing aside, I think that one of the reasons I've developed a love for this particular brand of electronic pop is it's foundation in funky electronic rhythms, deep synthesized bass and thumping 808 drums which all have a real similar feel to the early electro tracks that I loved to dance to as a kid. See, in my younger, and decidedly less chubby, days I was fond of breakdancing and I loved the electro-rap tracks that were popular with the b-boy set of the early '80s. Some of the first tapes I ever bought contained tracks like "Jam On It" by Newcleus, "Planet Rock" by The Soulsonic Force, "Play At Your Own Risk" by The Jonzun Crew and "Electric Kingdom" by Twilight 22, among others, which all featured zappy synth stabs, spacey keys, electrofried basslines, cavernous drum kicks and vocoders aplenty. These songs were the soundtrack of my youth. They were the songs that made me "rock rock the planet rock" and chant "wicky wicky wicky." So I'm older now, I dance a lot less and I've seen my share of heartbreak, why shouldn't the same beats appeal to me, and all the more with some sad ass mofo singing over them about how sad a mofo he is ... in a robot voice no less.

We won't even get into the whole 'Star Wars' connection.

So go ahead, try to tell me that I'm not one sad ass melencholy wanna-be robot reminiscing about breakdancing while blogging at 4 a.m. bastard ... I dare you. ;-)

From MTV News comes word on Kanye West's work on Jay-Z's swan-song 'The Black Album' and Common's follow-up to last year's 'Electric Circus.'

Sounds like some tasty treats to me.

...you might want to note that it appears as though the Hip Hop Infinity Forums just may be headed for a meltdown.

It seems as if former staff-members have been done dirty by the operators of the popular online hip-hop retailer and they have decided to hold their tongues on the matter no longer.

I kind of feel like some of the cats that post on the board are blowing shit way out of proportion, but I'm glad that some of the problems that staff-members and moderators ( such as myself ) have been talking about behind the scenes for a while now finally has the chance of being resolved because it's out in the open.

Then again it all just may lead to the boards getting shut down or some other stupid shit like that.

If that happens there's always the forums here at good ol' Imageyenation though. ;-)

Heard While Rome Burned | Danger Mouse & Jemini 'Ghetto Pop Life' | Phuturistix "Beautiful ( Nu.Tone Mix )" | Aesop Rock 'Bazooka Tooth' | Lyrics Born 'Later That Day...' | London Elektricity "Main Ingredient"

Well, according to Rolling Stone shes's reportedly working on an album, and although no one is clear what stage of completion the tracks are in those who've heard the music describe it as thrilling. "What she's doing and where she's going with it, ain't nobody even touching her," says an industry insider. "Nobody's even thinking that way. In the sad state of music we're in, I feel deprived knowing that she's got some real flavor that she's holding back."

Just the other night me and Emeyesi were discussing the unlikely prospect of Ms. Hill releasing a follow-up to her classic 'The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill' any time before we die. We'll let you read the story and decide whether we should get our hopes up.

All I know is that the above quote gives me goosebumps of anticipation.