In case you couldn't tell, I like sex, porn, filth and sleaze. I also like music. And if you can combine these two loves of mine in a way that makes me nod my head, sing along, and shake my ass ( yes, I shake my big Jewish ass once in a while ) I will call myself your fan, and quite possibly post about your band in my blog. Hence this very post, about a dude from Chicago named JaGoFF whose insidiously sleazy brand of house music I have only just now discovered, despite the fact that he's been my MySpace "friend" for more than a little while now.

His song "56 Pix of Chix," an infectiously funky house jam, with an outlandishly filthy vocal about jerking off to porn, and a really catchy Boz Skaggs interpolation, is sure to grab your attention and refuse to let go. At least that's what it did to me ( I still have it on repeat in WinAmp ) when I downloaded it. Why don't you download it and see for yourself though?

JaGoFF "56 Pix of Chix" [MP3]

There are a few more full MP3's from his album 'There's One Born Every Minute' that are sure to appeal to the types of urban hipsters who dig on stuff like Plantlife, Sa-Ra Creative Partners, that Baltimore club shit, and the grimier side of house on his website as well. So don't forget to go check them out when you have a chance. The little Flash intro on the site is pretty cool too... but then, when was a chick in an "I [heart] dick" t-shirt not cool though?

Oh, and don't forget to add dude as your MySpace pal either, alright?

Modern masters of lo-fi, analog, sleaze-rock, Louis XIV ( who's "Finding Out True Love Is Blind" was my New Year's womanizing anthem ) have released a new clip for "God Killed The Queen" from their 'The Best Little Secrets Are Kept' disc.

In keeping with their hyper-sexualized, dusty-but-digital image, the grainy, 8mm-style video flies in the face of political correctness and Powellian FCC censorhip by featuring a bunch of sexy ladies giving the guys in the band lap-dances in a state of full frontal nudity!

Thankfully, we've been given the opportunity to host the complete and unedited version of the video right here at Imageyenation in Quicktime format for your downloading pleasure.

Louis XIV "God Killed The Queen ( Uncut )"

Right click the link and "save as" to enjoy some erect nipples, shaved snatch, and dirty-dirty rock 'n' roll.

Animated hip-rockers the Gorillaz are back with a new video clip for their bouncy electro-pop ditty "Dare" featuring former Happy Mondays front-man Shaun Rider on vocals.

"Dare" reminds me a lot of the synth-pop hits ( Eddie Grant's "Electric Avenue" and the Tom Tom Club's "Genius Of Love" definitely spring to mind ) of my childhood in the early '80s, and the UK dance-rock ( a movement in which Ryder's Happy Mondays were certainly major players ) of my adolsecent and teen years back in the late '80s & early '90s. It's one of the few sort of mindless feel-good jams on the Gorillaz recent 'Demon Days' LP, and I like it.

Hopefully you like it too...

Gorillaz feat. Shaun Ryder "Dare"

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Emeyesi's favorite member of legendary old-school hip-hop crew Run DMC, Joseph "Rev. Run" Simmons, is back, sans DMC and Jam Master Jay ( RIP ), with "Mind On The Road," the first single from his forthcoming solo album 'Distortion!'

I got the "Mind On The Road" 12'' a minute ago myself, and I'm not even gonna front, when I pulled it out of the mail I was ready to hate it. But this shit is actually dope. Surprisingly enough Run is really Run on this, not Rev. Run, and not some washed-up rapper from back in the day making a comeback grab. He's got that fire. I'm shocked. I didn't think he still had it in him. And the production, which flips that old Joan Jett "I Love Rock & Roll" joint, is that real old-school Rick Rubin type shit that Run DMC's career was built on. This is exactly the type of record someone like Run should be making, one that is totally in keeping with his personality, the same type of record he always made, a classic Run DMC record, not some trendy emulation of the bullshit that's clogging today's charts. He stayed true to himself, and his legacy, and for that he definitely deserves props and respect.

Don't be sad if you don't have the 12'' yourself though, cuz you can check it out right here, right now...

Rev. Run "Mind On The Road"

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The album 'Distortion' is set to drop on September 13th via his brother Russell Simmons' newly formed Russell Simmons Music Group ( RSMG ). The release of which should roughly coincide with the premier of 'Run's House,' a reality show focusing on Rev. Run, his wife, and his five children, on MTV this fall.

There's a blurb up on CHAMBERMUSIK ( a site that seems somehow loosely affiliated with the Wu Tang Clan ) about the imminent release of a new project that finds various members of the Wu teaming up with a number of different indie-rap favorites.

They go on to claim the project, supposedly called 'Wu Tang Meets Indie Culture' ( which is a terrible title ), will feature a collaboration between GZA/Genius ( who also has an album with DJ Muggs called 'Grandmasters' on deck for an October 25th release ) and Ras Kass, a posse cut with U-God, Sean Price, C Ray Walz and Prodigal Sunn sharing the microphone, and ( hold your breath ) a song called "Biochemical Equation" from the RZA and M.F. Doom!

Reportedly, the album is set to drop on October 18th, on Koch Records, in association with Babygrande Records and Think Differently Music.

How true all of this may be is anyone's guess, but M.F. Doom has been working on Ghostface Killah's next album ( Ghostface is also going to make a guest-appearance on the upcoming Doom/Danger Mouse team-up ), and Ghostface was also seen hanging out in the studio with C-Rayz Walz on a recent episode of MTV's 'Made,' so it's certainly not oustide the realm of probability.

Fresh from The Crate, it's...

Masters Of Ceremony "Master Move"

When I found a copy of 'Dynamite,' the elusive 1988 full-length from Masters Of Ceremony ( the crew comprised of Dr. Who, Don Barron, DJ Shabazz, and a young Grand Puba Maxwell ) on a diggin' expedition at a local flea-market I immediately posted about my purchase in the "diggin' in the crates" thread on our little-used forum. A response from hip-hop message-board regular Frank B voiced the popular opinion that the album never in fact saw release, a-la K.M.D.'s 'Black Bastards.' I myself shared this opinion until I actually had a copy of the record in my hands. But since I was handing over cold hard cash ( violating my "no records over $3" rule by a measly $2 ) I had to face the reality that not only did the joint exist, I now owned a real, original, vinyl copy of it. One of the holy grails of my diggin' career had been unearthed. It was a good day.

I've been meaning to put something from the disc up on the blog for a while. And since Masters Of Ceremony "leader" Grand Puba Maxwell has been attempting something of a comeback of late I figured now would be a better time than ever to expose his musical roots dating back almost two decades. Most people will doubtlessly remember him as the founder of the group Brand Nubian, for his solo hits like "360 ( What Goes Around Comes Back Around )," and for his collaborations with hip-hop-soul diva Mary J. Blige. And I must admit that during the period between the release of the first Brand Nubian record, through his solo output, up until the release of the first Brand Nubian comeback LP 'Foundation,' Puba was one of my favorite emcees, and one of the biggest influences ( alongside dudes like Lord Finesse, Ras Kass, Kool G Rap, and many more ) on my own attempts at rhyming. He sorta faded into obscurity after that ( though his early work still garners near universal respect, and holds a place in my own pantheon of rap-classics ), releasing another ( little heard ) solo album in 2001 before reuniting with his Brand Nubian brothers Lord Jamar, Sadat X and Alamo again for an incredibly disappointing reunion album called 'Fire In The Hole' last year.

But like I said, Puba's doggedly treading that comeback trail, attempting to parlay the limited success of Brand Nubian's last LP ( I know some people who actually liked it... no, there's no accounting for taste ) into a renewed solo career. He recently announced plans to release a new solo LP ( the only way this will work in my mind is if he taps dudes like Edan and Ugly Duckling's Young Einstein for production... which I know he's not going to do ), and he can currently be heard alongside Sadat X on "Bread & Butter" from Philadelphia thug Beanie Seigel's new LP 'The B. Coming,' rapping with Missy Elliot on "My Struggles" from her new record 'The Cookbook,' and even doing the ol' back-n-forth thing on a song called "Wait A Minute" with Dipset/Purple City Byrdgang member Un Kasa of all people.

Only time will tell whether any of his current shenanigans will pay off, either financially for him or artistically for us ( the listeners ), but in the mean time we can all listen to this little slice of old school Puba ( and crew ) called "Master Move." At the time the use of dancehall chat was still considered new and groundbreaking, a fact which some may find hard to believe considering how ubiquitous the sounds of Jamaican dancehall ( and it's utterly abhorrent antecedent Reggaeton ) have become, not only in America's urban centers, but all over popular radio and television as well. There's a few of us who look back at the old days and wonder why it took so long ( not to mention the total commercialization - a-la hip-hop's shiny suite-era - of the art-form ) for everybody else to catch on though. But I digress... what I love about "Master Move" is how grimy it is. It sounds like the whole thing was recorded on a cassette deck, with DJ Shabazz cutting the breaks live on a shitty Gemini mixer in Puba's bedroom or something, and I like that.

That's how hip-hop is supposed to sound. And I can only hope that Puba's still got a little of that grimy old school spirit in him now. I mean who knows, if he does we just might wind up reading some idiot wax nostalgic about Grand Puba's 2005 comeback album on a blog 20 years from now... that idiot will probably be me... but still!

Has arrived.



The folks at Plates Animation blew me away with the video they did for The Arcade Fire song "Neighborhood #3 ( Power Out )." You may have seen Plates Animation's work before as they have done videos for El-P ( "Stepfather Factory" ) and The Shins ( "So Says I" ). This one for "Neighborhood #3 ( Power Out )" takes the cake though with it's shadow faced kids taking it to fucked up grown ups as they turn the "power out" on they ass.

Hopefully some hip kids see the video, hear the song or read this blog and become inspired to exact the same vengeance on the Holyoke Mall come September.

Maybe Imageyenation.com will even help to "light a candle for the kids"...or a molotov cocktail. Either or.

Okayplayer board poster Casamena has a cool little robo-house meets afro-latino remix of Common's "Go" over on his blog.

It reminds of those old school house remixes that used to be so ubiquitous in the urban music arena, and the latin tinges give it a sort-of cheesey reggaeton influenced flavor that lends it a tacky modernity.

But don't just sit there reading my babbling, go download it for yourself...

Common feat. Suashia "Go ( Casamena Basement Remix )" [MP3]

Right click and "save as."

And don't forget to peep Casamena's blog for more downloads.

Listening to this new remix of Kasabian's "L.S.F." sure does take me back.

I'm reminded of a time ( probably in 1990 ) when, if I happened to be riding around in my boy Bill's green VW bug on a particularly hot summer afternoon, it was extremely likely that I would hear UK dance-rock acts like EMF or The Soup Dragons rocking the air-waves with their feel-good, ecstasy-fueled rock hits.

It was also quite likely that I'd wind up singing along with said tunes, often despite my then almost entirely hip-hop-centric self.

Seriously though, it's a good memory for me, and hopefully it will be for you too.

Kasabian "L.S.F. ( Jagz Kooner Mix )"

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But for some reason listening to this mix also makes me want to put on some baggy shorts, a sideways hat, and go out looking for a gig DJing for some band of skinny British dudes.

Go figure.

Indie-rap super label Stones Throw will be releasing a 16 track full-length album called 'Be With' collecting the works of avant-hop producer Koushik on July 26th. The title track will also be available as a 4-track 12'' not too long after that, but you can peep "Be With" right now thanks to this handy MP3 download...

Koushik "Be With" [MP3]

Right click and "save as" to download.

And look for Koushik on tour with Fourtet ( who I think is way dope live, despite what Emeyesi and Miss Behavin' think ) this fall.

An ill animated video for "Bullyshit" by Madlib alter-ego Quasimoto is also online for your viewing pleasure. Though I've never seen a Stones Throw video on MTV or MTV2 ( though I did see "McNasty Filth" on "on demand" ) there's supposedly a bunch of clips ( whish I assume are those little psuedo-advertisements they show between videos ) featuring Quasimoto airing on MTV2, so keep you eyes peeled for that. In the meantime you should keep yours eyes on the "Bullyshit" video though...

Quasimoto "Bullyshit"

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Quicktime ( download )

Right click and "save as" to download.

Videos for Oh No's "Move" and M.E.D.'s "Push" are allegedly forthcoming, as are new 12'' singles from M.E.D., Rocc C, the legendary Percee P, and Madlib's new live-band project Sound Directions.

Courtesy of the Astralwerks label!

Because as many of you know, the Urban Alternatives Crew are whores for all things Astralwerks related.

First up we've got the video for "Chicken Payback" by A Band Of Bees. Emeyesi's been raving about this shit since he saw it on a giant screen at a concert ( was it Maroon 5? ) a couple months back but neither of us have been able to find a good link to it online... until now.

A Band Of Bees "Chicken Payback"

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Next is a sampler for 'The Understanding,' the new album from Icelandic production duo Royksopp. They've been Urban Alternatives dandies since I first started doing the show on a weekly basis lo those many years ago. And their new album is already all the rage with us. So peep it.

Royksopp 'The Understanding' album sampler

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Then we've got a video for "Tito's Way" by The Juan Maclean, the latest act to emerge from the DFA's stable of sleazy, robotic, disco punk artists, and doubtlessly a favorite of New Hampshire's most famous bearded hipster, our very own Cereffusion.

The Juan Maclean "Tito's Way"

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And finally, a new video for "Shot You Down" by another longtime Urban Alternatives favorite, UK garage producers Audio Bullys. Their 'Ego War' was a big record for us, so we're glad to see 'em back with another banger.

Audio Bullys "Shot You Down"

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Keep your ears open for... well... pretty much all of this junk, on the Urban Alternatives Show.

That's right!

You can find these cute lil Arctic animals and more on the latest animated video "All Night Disco Party" by Brakes who have a funky fresh sound similar to Franz Ferdinand.

I may despise the snow but if I got to rock out with dancing penguins all day I'd be a happy lil Eskimo!

ENJOY!

Breaks "All Night Disco Party"

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OR DOWNLOAD "All Night Disco Party" HERE! (faster)

Wednesday evening I had the chance to sit down at my laptop and have an online chat with the three fellows from up-and-coming hiphop trio Tanya Morgan. What ensued was nothing short of delightful, entertaining, and near-hysterical. We talked about their upcoming releases on Loud Minority Music called 'Sunset' and 'Moonlighting', why they released a cassette, how they met online, and what planet Ilyas is from. Ladies and gentleman, I present Donwill, Von Pea, and Ilyas, aka Tanya Morgan. Enjoy.



Cereffusion: Ok, so this is the question you probably get most often - and will continue to hear, but why "Tanya Morgan?" Where's it come from? Why'd you choose it?

Donwill: It's Von's fault.

Von Pea: Who wants to tell the story? Me?

Cereffusion: Apparently it's your fault.

Donwill: Go ahead, because we all got different takes on the name.

Von Pea: How tanya morgan usually works is that Donwill is the bridge between me and Il. Me and Il talk but its usually Von to Don to Il to Don. So me and Don were talking about a name, and I said "Hey lets use a person's name." To be funny. And we were throwing out names and Donwill said "Tanya Morgan" and it sounded right. We didn't know this would take us anywhere or else it may have been different, but I think it works. And when he told Il, he liked it.

Donwill: I ain't know I was the one who said it.

Von Pea: Yeah, that was you.

Donwill: Oh...

Von Pea: You said it, I said "That's It!" Then Il said, "What, like Lucy Pearl?"

Donwill: Yeah, just like Lucy Pearl (not the porn star but we love her to death).

Cereffusion: You just chose a woman's name?

Von Pea: Yeah, we decided on a woman, because women are the producers are life.

Donwill: Plus, it kind of takes emphasis off of our image. It's three dudes under a singular female psuedonym.

Cereffusion: I mean, the first dozen or so times I heard the name, "Tanya Morgan," I thought it was a singer and that you guys just really liked her.

Von Pea: That was the main idea.

Donwill: So it's working.

Von Pea: I think its just that people have it too easy sometimes, as far as acts being prepared nicely on a platter. I say make them work! Three men called one woman.

Ilyas: Tanya Morgan is the "Holy Grail." They say the "Holy Grail" is a woman, so Tanya Morgan is the "Holy Grail" of music.

Von Pea: We're the "Holy Grail?"

Ilyas: A dream come into fruition, the perfect bride.

Read More —

The official website for Danger Doom, the new collaborative project between rap super-villain M.F. Doom and 'Grey Album' producer Danger Mouse, finally has a little bit of news about the forthcoming 'The Mouse and the Mask' album.

Two of this generation's most respected hip-hop artists, Danger Mouse and MF DOOM, have come together to produce DANGERDOOM: The Mouse and the Mask, an album inspired by Adult Swim, Cartoon Network's popular late-night animation network. The album, set to debut in October 2005, will be released on Epitaph Records, in association with Adult Swim. The album will contain character voices and skits from Adult Swim's most popular original shows, including Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Sealab 2021 and Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law.

Oh, and they also slip in some completely new information about how the album will feature special guest appearances from Talib Kweli, Cee-Lo, and Ghostface Killah!

Stuff like fresh songs appearing in commercials.

For instance we have Iron and Wine covering The Postal Service's "Such Great Heights" rather beautifully in this M&M's ad. You can find the Iron and Wine version on the 'Garden State Soundtrack' which I highly recommend.

Or Chromeo's "Rage" appearing in an ad for McDonalds' PSP promotion. You can find "Rage" on Chromeo's 'She's In Control' album and the video for it is floating around on this very site!

Now here's the part of the blog where I cry and bitch and moan and holler "SELL OUT!" at the top of my lungs.

SIKE!

All you babies need to shut up.

Seriously. Shut your pie holes. I've had enough.

And you can be a part of that movement easily thanks to us. 'Cuz we've got streaming links to the new video for Dipset's "Get Down" and "The Best Out."

Dipset "Get Down"/"The Best Out"

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"Get Down" features Cam'Ron & Freeky Zeeky, while "The Best Out" showcases Hell Rell, JR Writer & 40 Cal. Both tracks are from Dipset's forthcoming album 'More Than Music, Vol. 1.'

After selling millions of records as one-half of legendary rap-duo Outkast, emcee-cum-entrepenuer Big Boi has made a major move into the realm of big-time music industry executives and formed his own Purple Ribbon record label. Killer Mike's sophomore album 'Ghetto Extraordinary,' which drops August 30th, will be the first release from the label. And if you heaven't heard "My Chrome," the first single from Mike's album, you should do whatever you need to do to recitfy that situation, because the shit is fire.

I was actually going to post that track here on the blog a few weeks ago, but then I got an e-mail with a new Purple Ribbon All Stars track attached and was sort of torn about which song I should upload. I sat on both joints for a while, but in the end, I just couldn't resist giving yall a heads up on what the label has to offer as a unit and decided "Kryptonite" by the Purple Ribbon All Stars was the track I'd let yall give the ol' right click and "save as" treatment.

Big Boy presents Purple Ribbon All Stars "Kryptonite"

The Purple Ribbon All Stars in question are Big Boi, Killer Mike, Konkrete, and I think Bubba Sparxxx. Reports have been conflicted about what the actual line-up is, but that's what it sounds like to me, so that's what I'm going with. Big Boi attacks the mic with a vigor that belies his veteran status and delivers the type of performance that should leave no doubt as to how Outkast can be loved by everybody from crusty rock critics to suburban school-girls, go ten-times platinum, and still retain the undying respect of underground hip-hop heads and backpack rap nerds. And the track, with the insane haunted house synths and rolling, old-school drum machine beat is just some other shit.

The joint is fire, and a great introduction to what the new label is all about. So keep an ear out for that new Killer Mike, and a forthcoming label compilation featuring contributions from the rest of the Purple Ribbon roster including Sleepy Brown, Konkrete, Scar, Bubba Sparxxx and Jonell.

Way better than that uncut MTV coverage from the other day, this site has all the bands you really wanted to see (SCISSOR SISTERS).

Internet message boards are often the scene of arguments about such innocuous trivialities as which rapper is better than the rest or what music is most suitable to be played at a backyard barbeque. Sometimes these arguments get heated. Names are called. Once in a while violence is threatened. But for the most part such "e-beef" never goes farther than the computer screen.

Apparently motherfuckers in the real world don't play that shit though.

Or at least that's what a series of events that resulted in mutiple gun-battles, a wounded cop, and at least one dead black man which occured over the last week in New York City would seem to prove.

Harris apparently began firing Wednesday when he spotted a man who had shot him Sunday after an argument at a barbecue, neighbors said.

"They put on some music. There was an argument over who was a better rapper," said a neighbor, who asked not to be identified. "One man went home and got his gun and Tyrell got shot."

The bullet grazed Harris' head and he was taken to Harlem Hospital where he refused to cooperate with detectives, police sources said.

"Unfortunately, he thought he could handle matters with his own hands," his aunt Tonya Harris, 41, said yesterday.

A poem written by slain rapper Tupac Shakur was pinned to Tyrell Harris' bedroom door after Wednesday's shootout.

"Today is filled with anger fueled with hidden hate scared of being outcast afraid of common fate," it read.

So all you smart-mouthed internet trolls better watch your asses out on these streets. 'Cuz you never know when talking shit about Tupac might get your ass in a whole heap of trouble that no ammount of "lol"'s or ";-)"'s can smooth over.

AllHipHop is reporting that Diplomat don Cam'Ron was arrested early this afternoon in New York City for allegedly driving his Lamborghini with a suspended license.

According to an unidentified police official, Cam'ron, real name is Cameron Giles, was stopped at the intersection of 110th and Lennox in the Italian sport car during a routine stop, when police discovered his license was suspended.

No bond was set at press time, but the unidentified police official said the rapper would be released without bond once he sees a judge.

Killa Cam had just appeared on BET's 106 & Park where he was talking some big man talk about his ownership of the flashy whip.

Despite the release of a number of solo projects from various group members, and a lackluster "comback" single from one of those Violator compilations, most hip-hop fans have been wishing for the release of another A Tribe Called Quest album since the group broke up just after the release of their album 'The Love Movement.'

Well, thanks to former A Tribe Called Quest member and frequent Kanye West collaborator Consequence all those hip-hop fans are about to have those wishes fullfilled... sort of.

Ya see, Consequence is dropping a new mixtape called 'A Tribe Called Quence' which features a bunch of ATCQ exclusives, remixes and collabos, not to mention a dope homage to Tribe's legendary 'Midnight Marauders' cover via Draft Records on July 12th 2005.

If you click on over to the Draft Records media dirctory you can download a couple of exclusive tracks from the tape in MP4 format.

And she's going to the Big House:

Rap star Lil' Kim, convicted of perjury and conspiracy in March, has been sentenced to a year in jail for lying to a grand jury to protect friends.

The jury was investigating two of her associates involved in a 2001 shooting outside a Manhattan radio station.

She had faced up to 20 years in jail on three counts of perjury and one count of conspiracy.

The super-dooper music machine that is M.I.A. shows no sign of slowing down.

In fact, just when you thought the hype had died she blasts back with a video for what just may be the rawest, most body rocking jam on her 'Arular' album.

That song is "Bucky Done Gun," and you can hit up the Flash-based M.I.A. media player to peep the new video clip for the song.

Why Interscope doesn't have her pretty brown ass on the bill of the upcoming Gewn Stefani tour instead of ( or better yet, in addition to ) those Black Eyed Peas is beyond me.

That heat sizzling the pavement outside must mean that it's summertime.

And when it's summertime there's no more fun an activity than putting on a skimpy tank-top, some brightly colored short shorts, a rainbow headband & your favorite pair of roller-skates and skating around the park listening to some "feel-good" electronic dance music.

Am I right?

Okay, maybe that's just me.

But if it's you too you just might want to give 'Love Won Another,' the new release from DJ Gavin Hardkiss under his Hawke alias on Eighth Dimension Records a listen. The tracks I've heard are mellow, melodic and tinged with folky, world-music influences. A perfect soundtrack for going out in the sweaty heat and loving your fellow man... or not.

Either way, you can check out this Flash-based "Hawke player" to peep a few tracks from the album, or check out the video clip for "Flower Girl" to get a feel for what Hawke's all about for yourself.

Hawke "Flower Girl"

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