I know, I already explained how the Beastie Boys are a bunch of old guys this weekend. And yes, I also mentioned that like many old musician-type guys they are dropping a greatest-hits package, 'Solid Gold Hits,' in honor of their 24th anniversary on November 8th. And sure, you might assume that a post conveying that information was all the discussion such issues warranted. But you'd be wrong, because the Boys have officially announced the tracklist for the project and produced a short video documentary discussing all the songs included in the collection. So if you're the type of person who gets a kick out of watching three old guys sitting around in scientist costumes reminiscing about the "olden days" then you might be interested in this fresh and funny twenty-something minute video featuring MCA, Mike D and The King Adrock analyzing their 'Solid Gold Hits' tracklist song-by-song.

Beastie Boys 'Solid Gold Hits' Track by Track Analysis

Real Media Lo

Real Media Hi

Windows Media Lo

Windows Media Hi

Quicktime Lo

Quicktime Med

Quicktime Hi

After all, there really isn't anything more entertaining than a group of aging Jewish hipsters sitting around making fun of themselves, and everyone else, for close to a quarter of an hour.

Earlier today I was on the phone long-distance with the beloved Marlena and the subject of the Beastie Boys happened to come up. She was flipping through a bunch of music I had given her and one of the discs she happened upon was the Beastie's last album 'To The Five Boroughs.' Now keep in mind, she's a huge fan of the Boys' work, we sat and listened to the then brand-new 'Hello Nasty' on tape the first time we ever hung out with eachother for chrissakes! But as she thumbed past the group's not too old ode to New York City she made a confession. "I've only listened to this once, and I really don't want to listen to it again," she said, adding "maybe I'm missing something in the lyrics but the beats, the beats just..." before trailing off. I explained the Beasties' recent sample related woes and offered the excuse that they just didn't want to sample on this record when they started making it, adding "there are a couple of really good songs on there" as a somewhat half-assed defence before finally admitting that "they are pretty old now ya know... I mean, we're old too!" "I know, I know," she replied, "I guess we can't live in Paul's Boutique forever."

Though my special lady-friend's comments echo the sentiment of a lot of folks in the record buying public when it comes to 'To The Five Boroughs,' the fact of the matter is that we can live in "Paul's Boutique" forever. Yeah, it's true, Michael "Mike D" Diamond, Adam "Adrock" Horovitz and Adam "MCA" Yauch -- known collectively as Beastie Boys -- are old. In fact, they're real old, especially compared to the average rapper. But all that means is that they have a long, and almost always classic-laden, history behind them. So even as they grow older and change with time ( as they've done constantly throughout their career from gutter punks, to dookie-chain rap idiots, to sample mining hip-hop hipsters, back to rocking out, back to rapping, and now to whatever the fuck they want ) there's a font of deep and pure musical genuis to draw refreshment from. We'll always have 'Paul's Boutique' and the rest of the Beastie Boys incredible musical output no matter what.

Of course, that only goes for those of us with good-enough taste to cop the Beastie Boys' records to begin with. But if you don't own a 'Paul's Boutique,' a 'License To Ill,' a 'Hello Nasty,' a 'Check Your Head,' a 'Ill Communication' or that boss boxed set they put out a few years ago never fear, 'cause one of the many benefits of being old musicians with a catalog of well-worn hits behind you is that you get to release greatest hits packages. And that's exactly what the Beastie Boys and their long-time label Capitol Records are gonna do on November 8th when they drop 'Solid Gold Hits!' Released in celebration of the Beastie Boys 24th anniversary ( I told you they were old ) the infomercial-worthy 15-track set distills the trio's storied career into a sonic brew fine enough to be poured onto any extra in the "Fight For Your Right To Party" video, but it's probably better off being poured in your ear.

Speaking of videos though, I think the set might include some of the Boys' videos as well, as the record is being billed as an "audio visual experience" and some of the promotional materials mention Spike Jonze's "Sabotage" and Nathanial Hornblower's "Intergalactic" clips. What I know for a fact though is that you can check out a video clip of the Beasties performing their classic "Brass Monkey" live at Madison Square Garden back in 2004 right here. Apparently the Boys gave out 50 digital video cameras to the audience and what you see in this clip is the edited footage.

Beastie Boys "Brass Monkey ( 2004, Live at MSG )"

Real Media Lo

Real Media Hi

Windows Media Lo

Windows Media Hi

Quicktime Lo

Quicktime Med

Quicktime Hi

Covering the Boys hits from the rock-rap favorites "No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn" and "Fight For Your Right," through west coast detours "Shake Your Rump," "So What'cha Want" and "Sabotage," up to last year's return with "Ch-Check It Out," "An Open Letter To NYC" and "Triple Trouble," and all points between, 'Solid Gold Hits' will be in stores November 8th on Capitol Records.

After years spent on the low, Sean Price ( a.k.a. Ruck of Heltah Skeltah ) re-emerged earlier this year and dropped one of the best hip-hop LP's of 2005, his debut disc as a solo artist, 'Monkey Barz.' It had been 7 long years since last we'd heard from Ruck, on Heltah Skeltah's 'Magnum Force' back in 1998, but one listen to 'Monkey Barz' showed that he was sharper than ever and that all the album's egotistical chest-thumping was more than warranted. Apparently it's Sean's aim to keep those skills sharp, keep his chest sore, and most importantly keep his fans from having to wait another 7 years for another dose of "ignorance at it's finest." To that end, he's personally announced ( via a post on his own message-board forum ) that he's already got a sophomore LP reuniting him with Justus League beatmakers 9th Wonder and Khrysis, tentatively titled 'Mighty Flo Young,' on deck!

On another note.......mighty flo young is almost done peace 2 9th wonder(P!!) khrysis and my home skillet scram jones!!!! This album is not MONKEY BARZ!!!! Its not as funny (cause I wasn't playing this time) its hard body 2 the point I got songs called
Stop
King kong
You already know
Let it be known
PBODY
One
Violence
Hearing aid
Jamaican joint
Etc etc........................
I got 3 scram jones tracks........untitled!!!
I'm about 2 go back down south and wrap this bitch up this is going 2 be the quickest 2nd lp in bootcamp history....

Heads in a related thread on the Bootcamp Click forums are answering the skeptics who don't beleive Sean can deliver such a speedy follow-up with claims that the album should see a release early in '06.

While it's true that hip-hop music has seen it's fair share of rappers who claim to be psycho, sociopathic, or suicidal, most of them are not actually mentally deranged. Some of them are actually nice young men who've been let down by an uncaring society. The vast majority though are just actors playing a role that they think will make them a bunch of money. Kool Keith on the other hand is not like other rappers. You see, unlike most emcees who perpetrate a fraud about being a little "touched in the head" Kool Keith really is insane.

How insane? Insane enough to publicly declare that he's pissed off at the core fans who post on his web forum, jealous of his rap peers, and unhappy with his reception from the music press. In fact, he didn't just declare it, he wrote a song about it.

"Your girl is suckin' Atmosphere's dick... with M.F. Doom's mask... for a Kanye West cum-glass... "

That's one of the more memorable quotes from the song, called "The Forum," which you can listen to on a MySpace music page proclaiming that "The Doctor Is Back!" The "Doctor" in question is presumably "Doctor Doom," one of the many persona's he's recorded albums under over the years.

And it's just the sorta thing to make you misty-eyed for the days of "bees flying around rectums" and "half-man-half-alligator-man" isn't it?

The police in DC are skeptical about Killa Cam's claim that he was carjacked. Apparently, the 5-0 thinks it could all be some elaborate scheme with real gun wounds to promote Cam's upcoming album:

Cam’ron, whose new album 'Killa Season' is due in February, has made it clear that he was the victim of a “botched carjacking.” However, investigators say they are looking at other potential motives, and have not settled on one theory.

“If you are going to carjack a car, you don’t shoot first. You try to get the driver out of the car,” a police official told the Post, speaking on condition of anonymity because the case is under investigation. “You also wouldn’t do that in front of people.”

KILLA!

Girl in my office overhearing Common's "Testify" on my iPod.

"No this is a song by Common. The singing is a sample. It was taken from another record." - Me.

"Oh. I saw the video I thought that was Beyonce." - Her.

"No that was Taraji Henson, she's an actress. She was in 'Hustle & Flow' and 'Baby Boy.'" - Me

"Oh. I thought it was Beyonce." - Her

"She got an ass like a loaf of bread. You want a slice."



Pharrell Williams "She's An Angel"

Once again Imageyenation's favorite lil' skateboardin', beat-makin', hook-singin', ugly-ass sneaker rockin' person of all time is back with another track from his...dare I say it again...widely anticipated LP entitled 'In My Mind' which drops on November 15th.

If you're in need of more info hit up: http://www.skateboardp.com

For now rock out ( again ) to this joint until we get our grimy hands on another "For-Real" classic.

Known as the purple-rockin', piff-puffin' President and CEO of the Dipset movement, flamboyant Harlem-bred emcee Cam'ron was reportedly shot three times during an attempted car-jacking ( yes, he was driving his blue Lamborghini ) outside of a Washington DC area night-club!

While details are sketchy, eyewitnesses said the men were seeking the rapper’s pricey Lamborghini, which he was driving while in town for a performance over the weekend.

“They were after that car,” an eyewitness told AllHipHop.com. “Cam refused to give it up and attempted to drive away and they shot up the car.”

All indications are that his injures are not life threatening, but members of the Dipset are by his side as he receives treatment at Howard University Hospital.

I can't help but think that he'd have been much safer driving that "Range [that] look like Laffy Taffy" rather than that flashy sports-car though.

The Denver, Colorado based trio of emcee-musicians made up of Stro the 89th Key, Mr. J Medeiros, and Resonant, otherwise known as The Procussions, won't be ready to release their next album, titled '5 Sparrows for 2 Cents,' until early in 2006. But they're giving their fans a sneak-preview of what that sophomore release will have in store right now with an "advance leak" of the first single from the album, a groovy, bass-heavy, joint about telling a chick to "get lost" called "Miss January."

You can download an MP3 snippet of "Miss January" ( right click and "save as" ) right now, or you could just as easily visit the group's website where you can hear the tune in their built-in Flash player and download the full version from iTunes for the low-low price of 99 cents!

The vinyl-centric should also keep an eye out for a vinyl 12" featuring "Miss January" coming very soon.

Though he's never recorded a duet with R. Kelly and has likely never been featured on your BET, your MTV Jams, or even your VH1-Soul, much less your local corporate-run radio station that claims to be the "home of blazin' hip-hop and r&b," British singer, songwriter and producer Jamie Lidell is the face of authentic soul music for 2005. Yeah, I know he's not a black guy, he doesn't have corn-rows, and he's actually wearing a shirt in every photograph I've seen of him, but trust me, the motherfucker can sing, he writes really dope songs, and his beats are funky as hell! So much so in fact that the former Super_Collider button-pusher's album 'Multiply' ( available on Warp Records ) isn't just the best soul record you've heard ( or in all likelihood, haven't heard, so go listen chump ) all year, it just might be one of the best soul records you've heard in decades!

Of course, that also means that he's virtually unknown to the average music buyer here in America. As I said before, he's just not getting any love from the outlets that claim to be arbiters of all that is "soulful" here in the states. And unlike Ray Lamontagne, whose Otis Redding and Sam Cooke influenced music mined similarly clasically soulful territory to more folky effect, Lidell's funkier, electronic tinged ( think Sly & The Family Stone, Shuggie Otis, Prince, Stevie Wonder and Fela Kuti ), brand of classic soul hasn't necessarily caught on with the "open-minded-white-guy" class of music snobs just yet. The shit's caught on with me though ( as it has with others in the world of electronic music fandom, in-the-know DJ's, and select members of the hipster press ) and I've been burning the disc into the ground at every opportunity.

In a different world a nice video for one of the album's upbeat, sunny, soul numbers, like say the title track, would certainly make it into rotation everywhere it needs to be and garner the boy some much needed attention, thus propelling him into the wider record buying consciousness and resulting in smash success. Unfortunately, that's not the world we live in though, so you'll just have to settle for checking out his new video clip for "Multiply," the second single and title track from his album via streaming Quicktime video courtesy of his website.

From: Emeyesi
To: Keter Tzadik
Subject: La Planete Sauvage

aka Fantastic Planet

I've been meaning to cop the film after being intrigued by it during the
MF Doom/Jay Dee/Madlib show. I got the soundtrack by Alain Garaguer
though and I'll be damned if this shit ain't my new favorite "Dusty
Groove" dandy. Come to find out Mr. Madlib sampled this bad boy on
Quasimoto's album 'Unseen'. There's no question as to why as this joint
has some funky, groovy, moody, jazzy shit on it. On top of that it's got
that dark/spooky vibe going on.

I need to turn this into a blog when I get home.

But since a lot of you have already done that, and we don't have another episode on deck right now, I thought I'd hip you to this fresh multi-genre mix this cat Wuk of the group Melodic Scribes posted up on one of the many internet messageboards I read despite hating most of the opinions being espoused on them.

All messageboard related rants and critiques aside though, the mix is called the "Ryebread Loveless Mix" ( right click and "save as" ), and it features fifty-two minutes and some-odd seconds worth of tracks from the likes of Maker, Organized Konfusion, Brazilian Girls, Gorillaz, Lyrics Born, Sage Francis, Feist, Craig Mack, Beck, M.I.A., Bonobo, Dizzee Rascal, TV On The Radio, Yo La Tengo, Ratatat and plenty more, alll beat-mixed perfectly, interspersed with bits of fresh movie dialogue and other sound-bites.

It's qualitay listening material if ever I heard any. Matter of fact, I'm listening to it right now. You should listen to it too.

And buck buck like ya just don't care!

Somehow I don't think Mr. Sticky Fingaz will be throwing a certain 9mm in the air anytime soon. Turns out the rapper/actor has been "accused of leaving heat" (can you believe the article actually says that) in a New York hotel room. He might want to give his boy Fredro Starr a call so he can use some of that Dance 360 money to bail him out. TAG YA MAN! TAG YA MAN! (Sorry I just had to.) No word on if the gun was actually his but he issued this statement via his lawyer: "BACDAFUCUP!"

Sexy singin' man Robin Thicke has been signed to The Neptunes label Star Trak for a minute now. But other than the leaked track "Wanna Love U Girl" featuring label empresario Pharrell Williams not a lot has been heard about what Dr. Seaver's boy-child has been up to musically. That is, until now. Mr. Thicke's official website has just been updated with information on his new relationship with Star Trak and his upcoming sophomore LP for the label, tentatively titled 'The Evolution Of Robin Thicke.' Not only that though, the website also features streaming snippets of four new songs to give you a sneak preview of what he has in store on the forthcoming album, and a streaming video clip for "Wanna Love U Girl" which should have been all over television by now, thus propelling the song to the mega-hit status it warranted.

I'm definitely excited about the new music. If "Wanna Love U Girl" saw Thicke shedding the Stevie Wonder influence that was so prevelant on 'A Beautiful World' for a funkier, more elctro-fied sound more reminiscent of an early '80s Prince production, then "Got To Be Down" ( my favorite of the new tracks ) sees him trading in one Motown influence ( Stevie ) for another, as he freaks his falsetto delivery in an almost Marvin Gaye inspired fashion over a distinctly Tamla-ish funk track. The two slower jams "Lost Without U" and "I'm Not Loving You" strip things down and are likely to remind folks of the classic work of Smokey Robinson ( another Motown staple ) and the more mellow ballady tunes of Michael Jackson, respectively.

More than anything though it's just good to see that Pharrell and company aren't just sitting on Thicke like the people at Nu America and Interscope were. With the production acumen and built in cool factor of The Neptunes and Star Trak behind him hopefully he'll be able to evolve to the level of higher success he deserves.

I first got "hip" to VHS or Beta, one of a handful of bands who play traditionally electronically produced dance music with real instruments in a live setting, thanks to my radio station homie Mike "Spaceman" Jekot. He happened to have received an extra copy of the band's indie debut 'Le Funk' in his capacity as Rock Show guy extraordinaire and thought it'd be something I might like. He was right of course. A few years went by, and the band eventually released it's sophomore album 'Night On Fire' via Astralwerks. I got my hands on that one too, and was gleefully surprised to find the band adding a hefty dose of vocals to their mix, and tweaking their funky and sort of campy disco/house sound into a more hipster friendly post-punk/disco-punk/'80s throwback sort of a thing. It was good stuff, and I gave the record some fleeting love on Urban Alternatives, but I somehow missed out on the remixes of the first single ( including a smokin' mix from Urban Alternatives dandy Cut Copy ) which likely would have given it a little extra shelf-life with us.

Missed opportunities aside, the guys are back with another '80s post-punk/new wave/electro-pop flavored single ( with forthcoming remixes courtesy of Baby Daddy and The Juan Maclean, so don't miss out ) called "You Got Me." And they've even got a fun and funky little video about how much chicks suck -- and not in a good way either -- to accompany it! Since I know you're just as disappointed with chicks as me, and apparently the guys in VHS or Beta, you're gonna wanna watch it, which you can do via the following streaming video links.

VHS or Beta "You Got Me"

Real Media Lo

Real Media Hi

Windows Media Lo

Windows Media Hi

And if you're interested in hearing how it all started, Astralwerks has just re-released the band's debut disc 'Le Funk' in a newly remastered form, complete with bonus tracks. Both 'Le Funk' and 'Night On Fire' are available in stores now.

Just a few weeks after it's release and 'The Mouse and the Mask,' the collaborative effort teaming producer Danger Mouse with emcee M.F Doom under the moniker Danger Doom, is already a spectacular success. And when I say success I'm not just talking about accolades from internet messageboard posters, love from bloggers and lots of illegal downloads either. I'm talking about real world sales! And all you've got to do to see them for yourself is peep the Billboard charts, where the album, available everywhere on Epitaph records ( except overseas, where Lex is releasing it ), debuted this week at No. 2 on Billboard's Top Independent Albums chart and No. 41 on The Billboard 200! Billboard is also reporting that the album's warmer than warm reception from the listening public has group-member M.F. Doom clamoring to record another project with producer Danger Mouse centered around the Cartoon Network characters!

But next time around, Doom says he wants to rap from the perspective of the cartoons and in their voices, rather than simply create stories around them.

"I wanted to do that with this album," he tells Billboard.com. "I started to do some characters after I got the standard songs out of the way, but then [the label] said they needed all the songs in. On the next album, though, I'm doing some characters. I have enough beats from Danger to do half an album already."

The article also mentions Doom's plans for a Danger Doom tour featuring appearances from Adult Swim characters such as the Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Space Ghost in costumed form a-la 'Seasame Street Live,' Doom's forthcoming voice-work on the Adult Swim program 'Perfect Hair Forever,' and most importantly that he's begun work on a new Madvillain album with producer Madlib! What it doesn't mention though is that Doom's forthcoming collaborative effort with Wu Tang emcee Ghostface Killah finally has a title, 'Swift and Changeable,' and a tentative release date, Spring of '06. To read about that you'll have to check out the new issue of 'Mass Appeal' magazine with Doom and Ghost on the cover.

The Verve Music Group is known throughout the generations for being one of the Jazz era's touchstone labels. They're also known amongst the younger ( and possibly hipper... at least to themselves ) crowd for their successful 'Verve Remixed' series of remix projects. And now they're preparing the release of a brand new remix project, 'Impulsive! Revolutionary Jazz Reworked,' a collection of reworked songs from the esteemed catalog of legendary Jazz imprint Impulse! Records on October 25th!

The music of Impulse! was a crucial component to the development of Jazz music in the '60s and '70s, allowing it's artists a home to work out their most creative ideas, and with the 'Impulsive!' project they hope to continue that tradition. To that end, the set finds cutting-edge hip-hop, dance and IDM producers such as Wu Tang Clan's RZA, Sa-Ra Creative Partners, Prefuse 73, Mark De Clive-Lowe, Chief Xcel ( of Blackalicious ), Boozoo Bajou, Kid Koala and Telefon Tel Aviv amongst others, re-imagining legendary Jazz tracks from the like of Charles Mingus, Dizzy Gillespie, Pharoah Sanders, Yusef Lateef, Archie Shepp, John Coltrane, Gabor Szabo and more!

For a sneak preview of what 'Impulsive!' has to offer check out these audio streams of George Russell's "A Helluva Town," Charles Mingus' "II B.S.," Chico O'Farrill & Clark Terry's "Spanish Rice" and Pharaoh Sanders' "Astral Traveling" remixed by Sa-Ra Creative Partners, RZA, DJ Dolores and Boozoo Bajou. My personal pick out of these particular tracks is definitely Sa-Ra's insane electro-breaks mix of the George Russell tune. Fans of the Creative Partners will not be disappointed.

George Russell "A Helluva Town ( Sa-Ra's Go Remix )"

Real Audio

Windows Media

Quicktime

Charles Mingus "II B.S. ( RZA's Mingus Bounce Mix )"

Real Audio

Windows Media

Quicktime

Chico O'Farrill & Clark Terry "Spanish Rice ( DJ Dolores Remix )"

Real Audio

Windows Media

Quicktime

Pharaoh Sanders "Astral Travelling ( Boozoo Bajou Remix )"

Real Audio

Windows Media

Quicktime

The answer, surprisingly enough, is "not a god-damn soul!" Or at least not when Outkast member Big Boi's got the debut release from his new Purple Ribbon label, 'Big Boi Presents... Got Purp? Vol. 2,' on deck. The label compilation isn't set for release until November 22nd, but you can listen to streaming snippets of the entire album right the fuck now at the Purple Ribbon All-Stars website. At 22 tracks deep, the album features some really dope straight up hip-hop, smooth soul, slick pop, rhythm & quad, and grimey southern gangsta shit courtesy of Purple Ribbon All-Stars Big Boi, Killer Mike, C-Bone, Rock D, Konkrete, Super Nate, Sleepy Brown, Scar, Bubba Sparxxx & Janelle Monae, and guest-stars such as Goodie Mob, Bun B, Coool Breeeze, Cee Lo and more!

After listening to the snippets I think it's safe to say that tracks like Killer Mike's "Dungeon Family Dedication," Sleepy Brown's "Me, My Baby & My Cadillac," Scar & Big Boi's "You Got Me!!!," Janelle Monae's "Time Will Reveal," Goodie Mob's "Hold On," Big Boi's "808" feat Bun B, Big Gee and G-Rock, Janelle Monae's "Lettin' Go," and the first single "Kryptonite ( I'm On It )" from Big Boi, Killer Mike, C-Bone and Rock D are just a few of the highlights on what could turn out to be one of the better albums of the latter part of the year.

Much like "that kryptonite," I'm "on it." And you should be too!

Fans of bedreaded beat-making Hebrews and diety-voiced Midwestern emcees should take note! The new issue ( issue #5 ) of 'ESOPUS' magazine has just been released and should be hitting a news-stand near you sometime in the immediate future! Still not sure as to why you should care? Because silly, every issue of said magazine comes with a specially created music CD, and the music CD that comes with the new issue just happens to feature a track I produced for emcee Sankofa called "They All Die," and you know you're gonna be interested in hearing that! The disc also features music from fellow blogger Cadence Weapon, The Mountain Goats, Jim White, Grasshopper ( Mercury Rev ), Britta Phillips ( Luna ), Josephine Foster, and Kevin Blechdom, among others. The magazine itself is an artsy-fartsy affair ( like a 'Beautiful Decay' for the wearers of slightly fancier pants ) and this issue features the work of artists Richard Misrach ( including a ginormous removable poster of one of his images ), Fernando Bryce, and Mary Ellen Carroll, playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis, acclaimed lighting designer Jennifer Tipton, a Dungan ( Chinese Muslim ) folktale translated by Kenneth J. Yin with art by Ellen Berkenblit, the photographic work of upstate New York artist Mark Hogancamp, a complete set of preliminary drawings for one frame of the Disney classic 'Fantasia' from the collection of animator John Canemaker, and of course, the afforementioned themed CD, for which the afformentioned musicians ( including me and Sankofa... yay! ) were invited by 'ESOPUS' to choose a work of visual art and write a song inspired by it.

It just so happens that this momentous occasion has coincided with the release of Sankofa's sophomore solo disc 'Still Means Something,' which you know us folks here at Imageyenation have been championing for some time now. If you're so inclined, you can purchase the disc direct from him at his website. And I suggest you do so, as it will make it more likely that he will one day release another record with a bunch of my beats on it, and I definitely think that would be a good thing. As if that plea weren't convincing enough you can always download the dopeness that is the 'Still Means Something' album sampler ( right click and "save as" ), so the man's music can do it's own convincing. And if that still doesn't do the trick, well, Charles Bronson is coming for you... scumbag.

First up is a new video clip from British indie-rock darlings Bloc Party for the "Streets Remix" of their monster hit "Banquet." In all honesty, this isn't even a remix at all, it's more like a Streets song that just happens to sample the Bloc Party tune. The band is nowhere to be seen in the video ( wait, yes they are... d'oh ) or heard on the song ( other than that familiar guitar riff ) and all the vocals are handled by Mike Skinner of The Streets. Personally I have no problem with that as I'd take The Streets over Bloc Party any day, and I think the track is hot to death as Mike freaked the beat nicely and is spitting some fun shit on the mic, but I figured it was only fair that I point that out so you Bloc Party fans don't watch it and say "what the fuck, where's the black guy?" Regardless, just watch it.

Bloc Party feat. Mike Skinner "Banquet ( Streets Remix )"

Windows Media

After that you can continue your travels into the world of UK Garage, or Grime as it were, with the new video from Grime emcee Lethal Bizzle for his new tune "Fire." Flipping that old Stevie Wonder "It's a shame..." chorus ( also used by Monie Love for her song of the same name ) it doesn't really sound like your typical "garridge" tune at all, but Lethal still keeps the emceeing grimey. "It is a real tune, I'm explaining the whole More Fire situation in the lyrics." explains Lethal. "It's just something to show the haters that I'm still laughing, no matter what happens I'll pick myself up and carry on. The lyrics are raw but the feel of the track is quite light- I'm singing on the chorus as well as MCing, I like the contrast between the two." The video is sort of K-Os-esque actually, with the now ubiquitous b-boys and some cool animation. So why don't you watch it?

Lethal Bizzle "Fire"

Windows Media

I was excited to hear the announcement last year about a guest appearance by some of my favorite UK rock stars in the new Harry Potter film ‘Harry Potter And The Goblet of Fire.’ The director did originally want members of Franz Ferdinand to star in the movie as the band called “Wyrd Sisters” that played at the Hogwarts Yule Ball. However due to a tight schedule Franz backed out.

Though I adore Franz I’m thrilled that Jarvis Cocker, former singer of one of my favorite Brit bands Pulp, along with Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood and Phil Selway have decided to take on the role as the “Wyrd Sisters.”

Come to think of it this wouldn’t be the first time a Rock Star made an appearance in the Harry Potter films. Another Brit star I fancy, Ian Brown made an appearance in the third Harry Potter Movie ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.’ Can you figure out where he was in the movie? Here's a hint: He cathing up on some "Brief" reading on history. So I’m not the only adult dork after all who would like to be a wizard in a Harry Potter movie!

There is however some recent troubling news regarding the Brit stars, and Franz Ferdinand may have made the right decision on backing out on the movie. For it was announced that Greenwood, Selway, Cocker and the Warner Brothers are being SUED!

The UK stars are now facing charges by a Canadian folk group 'Wyrd Sisters' who have been together for 15 years and been known only by this name. The band wants to put a halt to the release of the Harry Potter film in Canada, which is due out November 18, until something is done. The band members want the name of the group in the upcoming movie to be changed or they want the studio to assist them with creating a way to understand the difference between them and the fictional band.

The Canadian 'Wyrd Sisters' were notified about the conflict back and June. “We're still talking,” said the bands lawyer Townley-Smith.

“We share the same mandate and philosophy that Radiohead does, and we certainly do not mean them any harm,” the group said in a posting on its Web site.“I think that if the Radiohead fellows really knew what was going on that they'd be as appalled and horrified as we are.”

Radiohead’s management had this to say about the situation:

[Johnny and Phil] were asked to be in the film to be The Wyrd Sisters, which is what J.K. Rowling called the band and then there's this [Canadian] band called The Wyrd Sisters, so now they can't be called The Wyrd Sisters. The [Canadian] Wyrd Sisters are just trying to sue them for namesake. The whole story is just a couple of people in a band trying to get some money."

Whatever the outcome is I hope I still get to see Cocker and Radiohead bandmates play in the film. If not I’ll be sure to leave a “magical” bag of flaming poop in front of the Canadian bands front porch!

Former boy-band-cornball and Britney Spears punani-licker turned Neptunes-produced funky white boy Justin Timberlake is negotiating the purchase of the legendary Stax and Sun record labels as part of a grand scheme to build a massive recording studio complex in Memphis, Tennessee.

Senior figures behind the project said Timberlake, 24, could launch a new record label to go alongside the revival of Sun and Stax, or dramatically expand the company he started up this summer, JayTee Records, which signed hip hop's Joshua B as its first act.

'Right now it is something that is in the works, but it's not something that can really be spoken about. It would be great, wonderful for Memphis,' said Jon Hornyak, senior executive director of the Memphis chapter of the Recording Academy, the body behind the Grammys music awards.

Timberlake, an area native, has recently been in Memphis filming 'Black Snake Moan,' the new film from 'Hustle & Flow' creator Craig Brewer, with Samuel L. Jackson and Christina Ricci. When he will go back in the studio with Mr. Pharrell Williams and knock out some more tracks that make Michael Jackson even more artistically irrelevant than ever remains to be seen.