With the arrival of a video clip for his new single "L.A." rapper Murs has proven himself to be the reincarnation of Ice Cube's southern-Cali everyman that I always new him to be.

Though it wasn't necessarily my first choice ( because as a DJ I find songs dedicated to a specific city or state to be annoyingly topic-specific and difficult ot fit into a themed set ) for first single off of 'Murray's Revenge,' his new collaborative LP with producer 9th Wonder, "L.A." is a certified banger. It's one of the songs off the LP which saw 9th Wonder stretching out and flipping a track that wasn't formualaic ( critics often accuse him of making beats that all sound the same ) but still bore his trademark stamp. And the way he flipped that sample is just wicked. While Murs took the opporunity to stick close to home and really represent for his Mid-City roots.

It's one of those signature non-G-Funk Cali homeboy anthem type of joints like "Steady Mobbin'" or "Today Was A Good Day" which the afforementioned O'Shea Jackson used to make before he fell the fuck off. The video is pretty fuckin' fresh too, bigging up all the locales Murs mentions in the song and ending on a triumphant note with a clip of a live performance.

Now let's just hope Murs doesn't wind up fighting a deer in some family-friendly comedy in a decade or so.

...it loves you THIS MUCH.

The folks over at Adult Swim have done it again. They are giving away free MP3s from Danger Doom's new EP.

Danger Doom 'Occult Hymn' ( .ZIP File )

Or you can go here and download the individual tracks.

I almost dropped "You Don't Want Yr Nails Done," the new single from Fryk Beat records' freaked-out indie-electro-soul artist Panther in the new podcast mix I put together this weekend. In the end I wound up going in a slightly different direction and the track wound up on the virtual cutting room floor. But that shouldn't stop you from peeping the super cool Whitey-directed video clip for the track.

Before you ask, yes, everything in the video is made out of cardboard. And yes, Panther is giving our man Jamie Lidell a run for his fly-suit and sexy-shoes money. He's also apparently just as good, if not better, at busting out "the robot" than I am.

Oh, and if YouTube's not to your liking there's also an embedded Quicktime version of the clip on Whitey's website. Of course it's got better video quality, but it's not as large, and it didn't want to play for me in Firefox. So do with that what you will.

Okay, so I paid a visit to the Vice Recordings MP3 blog Up Your Jaxxy to grab an MP3 of a new remix of Bloc Party's "Banquet" by Junior Sanchez the other day, right? Right. And that remix turned out to be pretty darn okay and everything, but while I was there I discovered something much better, and ( in it's own way ) much more disturbing. Ya see, they've apparently been giving away MP3's of all the tracks from Chromeo's limited edition 'Collected Remixes' mixtape since like the middle of March or something! How I missed out on that I have no fucking idea, but you can bet your ass I downloaded that shit with the quickness. And ya know what? You should too!

Here's a track by track blow by blow written by Chromeo themselves!

SIDE A
1. Me & My Man Whitey Remix
Everyone's favorite. Nuff said.

2. Needy Girl Bloc Party Remix
Russell finessed this one. You got the Blue Monday drums, a gritty bassline, and it's all topped off by a feel-good chord change at the end. We still owe those guys a remix.

3. You're So Gangsta Playgroup Remix
This one is special. Our first ever remix, courtesy of England's Larry David: Trevor Jackson. The music sounds like slowed down hip house, mixed with Gwen Guthrie's "Nothing Going On But The Rent". Bonanas. The vocal you hear is the full lyrics that were initially recorded, before we decided to just keep one line when the album came out two years later. We threw this one on in Turkey a couple of months ago and the crowd still went nuts.

4. Rage! Stretch Armstrong Remix
Ayo Stretch, what happened to Queensbridge? What's up with Tragedy Khadafi? Where's CNN, dunny? Is that really a fauxhawk?

SIDE B
1. Me & My Man Juan McLean Remix
The drum sounds on this are crazy. We can imagine cool people dancing to this, something which we've never seen because we stay at home listening to Gerard Levert "Casanova" all day.

2. Needy Girl Paper Faces Remix
Our manager Gil is responible for this one. He put it out on a single in the UK and it probably sold more over there than our album. And while we're on the topic of Paper Faces, let's give it up to the Rythmes Digitales album for starting this whole 80s shit.

3. Destination: Overdrive DFA Remix
Not exactly what we were expecting from those guys. Then we saw hundreds of chavs transing out to this when Optimo was playing it at V Festival, and we were like "ok, we get it".

4. Rage! Riton Remix
Intense!

And here's the link to download the whole damn thing as a nifty .ZIP file!

Chromeo 'Collected Remixes' ( .ZIP file )

Now all you "needy girls" out there in need of a Chromeo fix ( when the fuck are they gonna drop a new album though? ) don't have to feel so... well, needy, any more.

Ok, so everyone knows Paris Hilton gets what she wants. We get it.

It was bad enough when she got Fat Joe on her song. It was bad enough when she worked with Three 6 Mafia. Sadly, we've come to expect such antics from them.

But where does Paris Hilton get off ruining good music?

Hotel heiress and omnipresent celebutante Paris Hilton--whose only previous musical experience has been singing on 2004's underground club track "Screwed"--has been hard at work recording her debut album for Warner Bros. Records, tenatively titled Paris Is Burning. The album (which will reportedly include input from Three 6 Mafia, Lil Jon, JC Chasez, and Nick Carter) was previously slated for a summer '06 release, but according to the British tabloid The Daily Star, it's been delayed until at least September so that Hilton can include a cover of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" on the CD.

"It's just Paris's latest idea and because she shares a label with Gnarls, she thinks that it will all be a piece of cake," an unnamed source told The Daily Star. "The chances of it happening are minute, but everything has to go on pause again while it's all discussed...It keeps nearly getting finished and then something else happens."

( Source )

It was ok when Ray LaMontagne did a cover. Why? Because he can sing and he made it sound good. I'm having a hard time believing that Gnarls Barkley would let Paris Hilton get away with something like that.

But then again...

Desmond Dekker, who brought the sound of Jamaican ska music to the world with songs such as "Israelites," has died, his manager said Friday. He was 64.

Dekker, who lived in England, collapsed from an apparent heart attack at his home on Thursday, manager Delroy Williams said.

( Source )

Here's a couple of MP3s for your pain:

Desmond Dekker "Israelites"

Desmond Dekker "007 ( Shanty Town )"

Unbeknownst to me it's apparently become somewhat fashionable to mix UK Grime and good old-fashioned Rock 'n' Roll ( or the hipster approved Indie Rock variant ) into a new musical admixture that has, trendily enough, been dubbed by some "Grindie." The only example of such a clash of style that I had been aware of was Mike Skinner's "remix" of label-mates Bloc Party's "Banquet," which I posted on this very blog some time last year. But this week I've come across a couple more, and I have to admit that I'm digging what I've found.



First up, Lethal Bizzle teams up with The Rakes for a live "mashup" of their track "22 Grand Job." You should already be familiar with both Bizzle and The Rakes from a couple of posts here on Imageyenation and Miss Behavin's recent webisode of our Undertones podcast series. You should also think that this "Grindie" version of "22 Grand Job" fucking rocks! Not that I'm trying to tell you what to think or anything.

Second, and even more striking, is producer P Jam's "Spun A Web," which features emcees Big Narstie, Solo and Demon spitting fire all over a bouncy track which flaunts a very prominent sample of Coldplay's "Trouble." I first heard the track via a really terrible quality internet radio rip, but that didn't stop me from listening to it over and over again until a found a ( slightly ) better quality version of the white label bootleg. It hasn't left my WinAmp all night. And once you hear it I doubt it'll leave yours for a while either.

P Jam feat. Big Narstie, Solo & Demon "Spun A Web ( Coldplay Remix )"

From what I gather there's also a "Grindie" mixtape by DJ Statik ( who seems to be the main proponent of this whole "Grindie" thing ) featuring Indie hits accompanied by various Grime emcees floating around on the interweb. But alas, none of the links I've found to it online are currently working. So if you're tickled by these couple of "Grindie" tidbits I posted here you should keep an eye out for that in your travels around the world's wide-wide web. I know I will.

Update -- After speaking with a source close to producer Exile the word is that Interscope Records is the culprit behind the censorship. I was also told that neither Exile nor the guys from Mobb Deep are very happy about having their work butchered.

Last Thursday, while the electricity here at Imageyenation HQ was knocked out, a new issue of 'Blender' magazine came in the mail that happened to feature a review of the new Mobb Deep album 'Blood Money.' The review mentioned a track called "Pearly Gates" which it went on to say featured a guest-verse from the Mobb's new boss 50 Cent and, much more importantly, a verse from emcee Prodigy where he rapped about telling God to fuck off and beating up Jesus Christ. Despite hating pretty much everything G-Unit related and being ambivilent about the Infamous Mobb Deep's output for a number of years I was immediately intrigued by the incindiary subject matter that the song supposedly contained and filed it away as a "must download."

Then Friday rolled around, the electricity came back on, and I got the chance to jump on the interweb. Upon my reconnection to these internets one of the first messages I was greeted with was from one of the homies from ecclectic indie label Sound In Color who wanted to send me some preview tracks from the forthcoming production album, titled 'Dirty Science,' from Emanon producer/emcee Exile. While sending the tracks ( which are dope by the way ) he slipped me the news that Exile had also produced a track on the new Mobb Deep album. The track in question? Why "Pearly Gates" of course!

After hearing that one of the dopest up-and-coming producers on the underground hip-hop scene was responsible for the beat I just had to hear this song. So I went right to my nearest peer-to-peer file-sharing program and tracked a copy of the song down. Upon first listen it was obvious that this was the best song Mobb Deep had released since they dropped "Quite Storm" sometime torwards the end of the last century. I was immediately struck by how dope the production was. This beat is fuckin' fire! And whaddayaknow? 50 is actually spitting on here! Crazy! Of course Havoc comes through with a dope contribution. And then... Prodigy's verse just sort of passes me by with no real impact at all. Wait, how is it possible that I would barely even notice a near perfect verse that expresses some of the rawest urban nihilism ever commited to a beat? Trying to figure out why the power of Prodigy's supposedly blasphemous rhymes have no sting I listen to it over and over again.

Now homie if I go to hell and you make it to the pearly gates
Tell the boss-man we got beef
And tell his only son, I'mma see him when I see him
And when I see him, I'mma beat him like the movie
For leavin' us out to dry in straight poverty
For not showin' me no signs they watchin' over me
Look, we a new breed in two thousand six
We don't give a fuck about that religious bullshit
Nigga show me where the cash at
And nice whips with the three car garage to fit them shits
Man, my life is painfull
You pray to angels
I'm prayin' to myself, hopin' I ain't gotta spank you
My bullets'll shank you
And when my gun start cuttin', ain't nobody gonna save you
In the Bible times
They ain't had to deal with the shit we dealin' wit'
These survival times

I mean look at that verse! That shit is brilliant right? This little grimy motherfucker is telling God he ain't doing his job! He said he was gonna give Jesus a 'The Passion Of The Christ' style beatdown! He said there's no reason for people who are faced with poverty to believe in anything! Especially not "God" or "angels" or "religion!" This is unadulterated real talk like pretty much nobody else in the game is talking!

So why wasn't I noticing it?

Well, apparently somebody decided to clumsily edit all the references to God, Jesus and religion out of Prodigy's verse. After a couple of listens I noticed that I wasn't hearing the alleged verbal sacrelige because it just wasn't there. I mean, it was there, it was just backmasked in a way that basically raped Prodigy's words of all their power and direction. The song itself isn't otherwise edited in anyway, but when Prodigy utters the words "boss-man," "his only son," "beat him like the movie" and "religious bullshit" the censors go to work. So, while 50 Cent can boast about selling crack and admit that he "wanted to shoot a nigger so bad it was itching [his] hand," and Havoc can pepper his verse with the word "nigger" over and over again with impugnity the idea of expressing anger at God was apparently considered too offensive to possibly let slide.

What happened? Did 50 put the kibosh on that shit? Did they get a call from Jimmy Iovine saying that stuff like that just isn't cool? Did Exile say "hey, don't rap about God that way on my beat?" Did Prodigy have a change of heart and decide that Jesus is his home-boy after all? I can't call it. But whatever it was it was fucking wrong!

In this day and age when religion is used to prop up all sorts of hateful and inhuman behaviour ( be it denying other humans their basic rights, electing a monkey-faced imbecil to the presidency, going to war, etc ), even as the world plummets into a hellish pit of violence, poverty, polution and totalitarianism, the only natural response from humankind should be a rejection of organized religion and an exhaustive ( and possibly angry ) audit of "God" and his cronies, both human and divine, business practices. An emotional discussion ( which is what Prodigy's verse is ) of these issues is just as important a concept to introduce into the public-consciousness via pop-culture as Gnarls Barkley's similar take on depression, despair, helplessness, hopelessness and the fragile human psyche on their recent 'St. Elsewhere' LP. And it's a shame that anybody would consider themselves so self-important that they would deny the common ( urban ) man the right to hear statements on these issues emanating from the mouth of somebody who, for all intents and purposes, is just like them.

Luckily there's still an advance leak of 'Blood Money' floating around on the internet where the lyrics in question aren't edited. And of course I tracked the unedited "Pearly Gates" down for myself, and for you, and am giving you the opporunity to hear Prodigy's verse uncensored right here in this very post.

Mobb Deep feat. 50 Cent "Pearly Gates ( Uncensored )"

And if you want to check out the rest of the album Mobb Deep's 'Blood Money' is out now on the G-Unit/Interscope recording label. Producer Exile's 'Dirty Science' drops via the Sound In Color label later on this Summer.

The guys over at Adult Swim are giving away free MP3s!

From the new internet-only Danger Doom EP, here's a remix of "Sofa King."

Danger Doom "Sofa King ( Remix )"

Enjoy!

If you haven't already heard, The Artic Monkeys have been making waves. Their fast paced punk sound and their sassy, ironic. hipster style has been getting them a lot of notice. Not bad for four guys who look like they haven't even hit puberty. Now, not only have they been called "the next Beatles" but one of their songs has even inspired a series of short films.

'Scummy Man' is a short inspired by the song "When The Sun Goes Down." It shows the lives of young people who live in the shadows of night and somehow always manage to be in society's emotional blindspot. Written by Paul Fraser, the film was shot on Super 16 MM by award winning cinematographer Danny Cohen. Cohen's other films include 'Dead Man's Shoes' ( which I believe is coming out in the states this year ).

It's hard to say what 'Scummy Man' is about, but from the trailer ( see below ) and the Arctic Monkey's "When The Sun Goes Down" video, it seems to me that the short follows the life of a young unassuming prostitute, her pimp (?) ( played by Stephen Graham...Tommy from 'Snatch' ) and a motley crue of other outcasts who only come out at night.

Trailer

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The Arctic Monkeys "When The Sun Goes Down"

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If you would like to purchase the DVD of 'Scummy Man' you can buy it at Amazon. You can also check out the Arctic Monkeys on MySpace.

I know, I haven't posted an original mashup in dumb long. The last one I posted was my M.I.A. vs. Ghostface mashup which was meant to be a teaser for a "all mashup" podcast mix I was working on. That mix ( which features a plethora of really dope original mashups of a bunch of songs that are now too old for anybody to care about ) languishes on my hard-drive even as I type this. But just because I never managed to get that mix tweaked and finished to my own satisfaction doesn't mean I don't still try my hand at the occasional mashup. And whaddayaknow? I'm offering a brand-spankin'-new one for download in this very post!

This one comes from the unlikely pairing of UK dance-music producer Mylo and Bay Area legend ( and current ambassador of the Hyphy movement ) E-40 ( along with guests Turf Talk and Keak Da Sneak ) who both happen to have made songs bearing the title "Muscle Cars." The Mylo version is an uptempo, synth-fueled, house track. While the E-40 version is a bouncy, mid-tempo, crunk-influenced number. Oddly enough though they go together like Peanut Butter and Marshmallow Fluff! Don't believe me? Do like Dr. York always said and "check it out for yourself."

Mylo vs. E-40 ( feat. Keak Da Sneak & Turf Talk ) "Muscle Cars ( El Keter Mashup )"

And don't forget that Mylo's 'Destroy Rock & Roll' and E-40's 'My Ghetto Report Card' are both in stores, on the Breastfed/RCA and Warner Brothers labels respectively.

I trust the folks over at 3Hive when it comes to cool indie music. But I have to admit, I was a bit surprised to hear an artist whose sound is so sugary sweet pop, he makes Mandy Moore look dirty.

However, it's hard to resist a white guy with long hair who goes by the name of Bing Ji Ling ( Ice Cream in Chinese ) singing about love, puppies and...well...ice cream. Hailing from California, this guy's bio is like something out of a Roald Dahl book.

June 18th 1972, While en route to a rural Californian hospital, a baby plopped out of a nice lady in the back of her husband's Chinese ice cream truck. The child was named Bing Ji Ling, which is Chinese for "Ice Cream".

By age 2, the young parents discovered that their kid had a unique ability to measure the "pleasure factor" of any flavor of ice cream.

Says his mom;
"Certain flavors would cause baby Bing to cast loose unmistakably musical giggles, little songs of love, apparently, caused by ice cream --------- and ---- or --- nearly naked girls."

You can hear it in his music. Check out two of his songs here:

Bing Ji Ling "Can't We Be Friends"

Bing Ji Ling "Do What I Gotta Do" ( via 3Hive )

Also, check out his MySpace and add him as a friend.

"It's so unfair. So unreasonable."



Once again ( 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 ( again )...widely anticipated LP entitled 'In My Mind' which drops on November 15th...I mean February 2006...actually July 25th. Maybe.

This time he teamed up with our other favorite person in the world Mr. Kanye West. Dy-no-mite.

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

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

Pharrell Williams feat. Kanye West "Number 1"

Me and Emeyesi have been rocking 'Wishingbone,' the new EP from Anticon expatriates Subtle pretty hard on our Urban Alternatives radio show over the last month or two. And as it turns out, that EP is just a little "teaser" to get heads ready for their new full-length LP 'For Hero, For Fool' which is set to drop later this year on the Lex Records label. The disc will apparently be accompanied by a DVD that will feature 3 music videos by animation wizards SSSR which fit together to make a "dreamy story of giant robots, forest dwelling monsters and arcade machine inspired violence."

All 3 videos will be shown back-to-back at Midnight on May 22nd in the UK ( damn you pasty Brits ) on MTV2. But you can watch the first part, the video for "F.K.O." ( a polite abbreviation for "fuck Kelly Osborne" ) right now in streaming Quicktime format thanks to the wonders of the internets.

Subtle "F.K.O. ( Fuck Kelly Osborne )"

Quicktime

The link opens an embedded Quicktime player in a new window.

Ok so maybe the title doesn't make a whole lot of sense...

Robin Thicke recently released a remix of his latest single "Wanna Love You Girl" that features Busta Rhymes. It's okay...Busta's part isn't THAT huge, but he makes an impression.

Here are a couple links to the track:

Robin Thicke "Wanna Love You Girl ( Remix feat. Busta Rhymes )"

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So the other night I went to the Pretty Girls Make Graves concert at Dave Grohl's Black Cat. I had never seen PGMG before...well to be honest, I hadn't really heard any of their music until maybe a month or so ago when, on a whim, I bought their new album 'Elan Vital.' Needless to say, I was pretty much hooked after hearing the first song ("The Nocturnal House").

The concert last night was phenomenal. While I didn't see the first opening band The Joggers, I did happen to catch Giant Drag, a duo out of Los Angeles. Their song titles are kind of obscure ("My Dick Sux" or "Kevin Is Gay") and while they are good songs, they started to sound the same after a while. Annie, the lead singer, has this little-girl-lost approach that is charming but got kind of annoying after the first few songs. Her speaking voice (as opposed to her singing voice) was a nasal whine in which she spoke of losing her anal virginity at the tender age of 8 to a guy who later stole her song and played it on MTV.

My cell phone rang and I lost interest.

After a few other exciting events (my "date" showing up two hours late after an adventure with a missing oil tank cap, seeing a girl with hot pink eyeshadow and patent pleather pants and then a girl with a wifebeater and hot pink stilettos, buying a PGMG t-shirt from frontwoman Andrea Zollo and talking about how much we both wanted the 'Elan Vital' Ice Cream poster), it was finally time for Pretty Girls to make their pretty appearance. And boy did they ever.

Pretty Girls Make Graves music is amazing recorded. But hearing them live and seeing them in person is a totally different ball game. They exploded on-stage and in no time, had the nearly packed venue rocking out. They played new songs like "My Nocturnal House" and "The Number" as well as a few songs off their first album. I was kinda bummed they didn't play "Parade," but the high energy of the show was still very satisfying. There is something totally hot about how Leona Marrs plays both the accordian and the melodica. There's something totally hot about having a guitarist (Jason Clark) picking up a saxophone half way through the show. There's something totally hot about a man (Derek Fudesco) making sounds like a teenage school girl. There's something totally hot about Pretty Girls Make Graves and I hope that they decide to come back to DC real soon. Because...that would be totally hot.

MySpace Pages:

The Joggers

Giant Drag (2nd MySpace Page)

Pretty Girls Make Graves

MP3s:

The Joggers "Ziggurat Traffic"

Giant Drag "This Isn't It"

Pretty Girls Make Graves "Parade"

After releasing their full-length Adult Swim themed LP 'The Mouse & The Mask' to critical acclaim and widespread fan support, super-producer Danger Mouse and super-villain M.F. Doom are already preparing a follow up. The nine-track EP, which features a guest appearance from producer/emcee Madlib and character voices and skits from Adult Swim shows such as 'Aqua Teen Hunger Force,' 'Squidbillies' and 'Minoriteam,' is being made available for free download via the Adult Swim website starting this week. The first song "Korn Dogs" is already available for download and additional tracks from the EP will be made available on a weekly basis with the full EP being released on the website for download on May 30th. This free EP will only be available for a limited time.

Danger Doom "Korn Dogs"

Download "Korn Dogs" right now, look for a new song next week and keep your eyes on the Adult Swim website in the weeks to come as the rest of the tracks from the EP are released.

After establishing himself as a member of left-coast backpack-rap outfit Emanon emcee Aloe Blacc went on to show that he was a force to be reckoned with as a singer and producer by releasing a solo 12'' on Stones Throw. Since he dropped that piece of wax, "Want Me" backed with "Arrive," I've been fiending for another dose of slinky future soul from the brother. And with the arrival of his full-length Stones Throw debut 'Shine Through' on July 11th I should finally get it. The first video from the project, for a song called "Busking," goes in a very different direction though.



I'm actually not all that sure how wise a decision it was to make this the "feature" song from the forthcoming LP. His previous singles have relied on slinky electro-funk grooves, broken beats, futuristic hip-hop influenced electronic-soul beats and sort-of sleazy vibes. The songs have been dirty, and sexy and really funky. But "Busking" is basically a modern urban take on the traditional down-home "negro spiritual" delivered totally acapella! There's no beats, no sleaze, no sex and no funk, just Aloe crooning about riding the bus. And that's fine, for an album cut, but as a single or video it's not exactly ratcheting up anticipation for his album.

I mean, it's a good song, but I kept waiting for the beat to start... and then it never did. In a way I'm glad to see that Aloe plans to keep shit versatile, but I think he might be trying too hard to prove how versatile he is when all he really needs to do is churn up the synthesizer-fueled beats and sing about chicks having orgasms.

Okay, so this guy Ollie Byrd is one of my MySpace friends, right. Yeah, I said he's one of my bazillion MySpace friends. But of those bazillion he's one of only a handful whose bulletins I actually read. I even find myself entertained wnough by those bulletins to respond once in a while. Anyway, he's also a musician, and he's readying the release of his album, 'Barrel O' Fun' ( not to be confused with Cereffusion's album 'I Am Not A Barrel Of Laughs' ) which drops May 23rd on the Stereotype Records label. The music is actually good, good enough that I think you should hear it and maybe even give buying his album a thought. It's straight ahead post-punk, indie-rock, not at all ironic or precious as so much of the shit I like tends to be. But the shit's got beats. And dude reminds me a lot of Frank Black from The Pixies, both in appearance and in sound a little somethin' somethin'. So yeah, check out two songs from his album.

Ollie Byrd "Electricity"

Ollie Byrd "Arrives A Girl"

And don't forget to check out his MySpace page, where you can download a couple more songs and even offer the guy your friendship.

When I'm not preparing sets for my radio shows, encoding podcasts or listening to Hot Chip it's pretty much inevitable that I've got some weird indie-pop band from Sweden blaring out of my headphones. I dunno how or why, but Swedish bands all seem to share a certain knack for classic pop songwriting, a witty turn of phrase, an odd take on the English language, and really beatiful vocal styles. Not to mention a penchant for including electronic elements in their otherwise straightforward folk-influenced pop and an ability to write songs about shit that I can actually relate to. Why I relate to gawky indie-guys from Sweden I'll never know. But I know I like it. And you should like it too!



Herman Dune "This Will Never Happen"

Despite having a name that would seem to indicate they're a solo act, Herman Dune is in fact a group. An anti-folk group to be exact. I think a couple of them might be Jewish, and at least one of the guys has a really boss beard. And even though they wouldn't accept my friendship on MySpace their album 'Not On Top,' which is out now on the Track & Field label, is one of my favorite records of the year.



Loney, Dear "Le Fever"

On the other hand, Loney, Dear is in fact just one dude. Or at least he's one dude when he writes, performs and records his music. He apparently turns into a big group of people when he plays live gigs. Anyway, you might remember I posted a Loney, Dear song a few months back. Well, this is another really boss tune from the same album 'Sologne,' which is in stores now on the Dear John label.



Most Valuable Players "Guess My Name"

A newer find, Most Valuable Players really cross the line from traditional, folky, pop into indie/electronica territory. Blippy beats, sampled sounds, filters and other effects abound ( in addition to a lot of acoustic sounds ) on their Friendly Noises debut 'You In Honey,' which is in stores now. This track sounds almost like house music, only designed to make Swedish grandmothers shake their bootay. It's got synthesizers and accordians for chrissake!



Suburban Kids With Biblical Names "Little Boys In The Ghetto"

I already posted a review of Suburban Kids With Biblical Names' album '#3' earlier this year. These dude are like Hot Chip, but from Sweden, or Kings Of Convenience if Erlend Oye got all freaky with the electronics on their albums like he did on his solo shit. This track has beatboxing, acoustic guitars and a Swedish guy singing about "fresh emcees" and Sour Cream & Onion potato chips on it. It's super-the-shit, and so is the rest of the record, which is available now on the Labrador label.

If you like these songs you should really go cop the albums they're taken from. They're all really dope. And surprisingly enough they're all also pretty easy to get your hands on here in the states as all but one is listed on Amazon, and it's not too hard to find another online retailer that sells the other. So don't front, or Sweden might have to go and get all "impartial" on your bitch ass.

Lazy-eyed Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke has proven that the rest of his body isn't lazy at all by revealing that he'll be releasing a full-length solo LP titled 'The Eraser' in July via the XL Recordings label. Industry standard Billboard is reporting that Yorke is describing the set, which was produced and arranged by longtime Radiohead collaborator Nigel Godrich, as being "more beats and electronics, but it [is] songs."

"The elements have been kicking round now for a few years and needed to be finished and I have been itching to do something like this for ages," he continues. "It was fun and quick to do." One track, "Black Swan," will run over the end credits of director Richard Linklater's upcoming film, "A Scanner Darkly."

The announcement comes just as Radiohead have kicked off a European tour debuting new material recorded for their own forthcoming album, the making of which has been chronicled on their own weblog. Yorke assures that his project will have no adverse impact on the group or the release of their LP adding that it was "all done with their blessing" and that he doesn't want any "crap about me being a traitor or whatever splitting up blah blah."

If Radiohead can get their record finished up before too long this means that we may in fact be treated to two Yorke-helmed LPs within the year. It also means that even though the rumours that Radiohead would be scoring Linklater's cinematic adaptation of Philip K. Dick's 'A Scanner Darkly' may not have proven true we'll still be treated to some of Yorke's musical paranoia to go with the images on screen.

The emcee/producer duo of Baje One and Snafu, otherwise known as Junk Science, have been running shit on our Urban Alternatives radio show for a number of months thanks to their outstanding 'Feeding Einstein' LP. The record is nothing but that true-school rap shit, packed to the gills with chunky beats, inventive samples, funny and insightful lyrics and catchy choruses. It's one of those rare modern hip-hop albums that actually lives up to the promise the genre showed back in the days of De La Soul, K.M.D., Black Sheep and the Leaders Of The New School. One of the best cuts on the disc is "The Blaze-O," a twistedly limping groove topped with expert verses from emcee Baje One and guest-star Cool Calm Pete. The crew just posted a remix of the track, courtesy of Scott Thorough, on their MySpace page that reimagines it as a bombastic old-school electro-rap jam in the mold of early Run DMC. It's fresh, so you should probably download it and check it out.

Junk Science feat. Cool Calm Pete "The Blaze-O ( Scott the Computer Rock Remix )"

And don't hesitate to cop their LP 'Feeding Einstein' which is in stores now on the Embedded Records label.

Our own Emeyesi knows a girl ( it's Miss Behavin'... shhhh ) who likes weirdo-pop band Guillemots. And I know a girl who likes to listen to National Public Radio. And because the men of Imageyenation like impressing girls we know the occasion of a live Guillemots performance on National Public Radio just might be the kind of thing we'd link to. Which is basically what this post is all about.

The afformentioned Guillemots recently performed a three-song live set on the NPR program 'World Cafe.' If that sounds like something you might like just click this link to see the set-list ( "Trains To Brazil" is on it ) and listen to the performance.

I've been too busy wrangling with my web-host over the less-than-stellar service they've been giving us here at Imageyenation over the last couple of weeks to come up with any clever things to say here. I think you'd rather have music than clever shit to read anyway though, so just ignore me and download away!



Camera Obscura "Roman Holiday"

Camera Obscura's "Roman Holiday" has "summertime drive with the windows down" written all over it. It's sappy, jazz-flavored pop in a very sixties-ish style with a beatiful female vocal. It's just super-pretty and a lot of fun to listen to. It's a non-album bonus track found only on Camera Obscura's "Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken" single, which is the first single from the Glaswegian band's forthcoming album 'Let's Get Out Of This Country,' which drops June 6th via Merge Records.



Luisito Quintero feat. Anane "Our Love"

House music empresario Louie Vega presents a sweet slice of jazzy, samba-infused dance music from percussionist Luisito Quintero and vocalist Anane on "Our Love." It's one of those mid-tempo dance tracks with a really organic vibe and an uplifting message of love that it's impossible to not shake your hips to. Taken from the Louie Vega presents Luisito Quintero 'Percussion Maddness' LP out May 16th on the BBE/Rapster label.



Georgia Anne Muldrow "Cool World"

Experimental soulstress Georgia Anne Muldrow's DIY 'Worthnothings' EP finally got a proper release last month thanks to Stones Throw records. "Cool World" is the last track from that disc, a dizzy broken-soul tune with a punding drum-track and instrumentation that puts me in mind of a tripped out take on 'Parade' era Prince. The 'Worthnothings' EP is out now on the Stones Throw label.



Dudley Perkins "Me."

Sometimes rapper, sometimes singer Dudley Perkins ( also known as Declaime ) comes through with the Madlib-produced boom-bap-soul on the individuality-celebrating "Me." You can't go wrong with Madlib on the samples and drum-programming, and though Dudley comes off sort-of loopy himself a lot of the time his brand of inspiritional singing and spoken-wording is just too charming and honest not to dig. The full length LP 'Expressions ( 2012 a.d )' is in stores now on the Stones Throw label.

And please remember that these MP3s were culled from actual records that you can buy. So if you like what you hear make an effort to check out the actual albums from whence they came.

I'm not ashamed to admit that I love Grandaddy. No, I'm not talking about the California-based old-man who sired my mom ( even though he's pretty cool too ). I'm talking about the California-based weirdo-pop band who did a song about a guy with "weird cologne" and "magic hair" that automatically made Emeyesi think it was about me. Anyway, they're one of those bands, like Cake, The Flaming Lips and Of Montreal, who make really pretty, but really weird pop-songs. Or in other words, they make songs that I like to listen to. Sadly enough they're also not officially a band anymore. But before they go their seperate ways and fade into the Modesto sunset they're releasing their final opus, 'Just Like The Fambly Cat,' on May 9th.

You can get a non-kitty-flavored taste of the new album by downloading the synthy, AM-radio flavored "Jeez Louise" at the link below.

Grandaddy "Jeez Louise"

Or if you'd like to see why Grandaddy mastermind Jason Lytle is riding around with a weird kitty-cat on the front of his bicycle you might want to watch the video for "Where I'm Anymore." It's just the sort of weird song that made me love Grandaddy in the first place. And the video makes me laugh. Peep it.

Grandaddy "Where I'm Anymore"

Windows Media Lo

Windows Media Hi

Quicktime

Your Grandaddy's last will and testament, an album titled 'Just Like The Fambly Cat,' will be read by the fine folks at V2 Records on May 9th. I'm thinking you stand to inherit some catchy tunes with weird lyrics and wonky synthesizers. Your Grandaddy knew you liked that sort of thing.

So there I was, lying on the floor of my room, waiting for my phone to ring like some sort of lovelorn school-girl in desperate need of a date for Friday's dance. I looked at my watch. It was 5:15 PM. As usual, ( well, usual according to the various articles I'd read about him ) he was late. I was still working on a crossword puzzle when the phone finally rang. The woman on the other line said "Hey, hang on a second..." and then I heard her call "LUPE!"

And before I could say "Kick... Push... Coast... ," I was talking to Lupe Fiasco.

For the next half-hour or so, Lupe schooled me on skateboarding, sneakers, being Hip Hop's new darling, changing the world and of course, a robot named Seymour. Check it out:

Lady Glock: How you doin'?

Lupe Fiasco: Uh, I'm good, I'm good…

LG: Long day?

LF: Nah, short day, short day…

LG: Oh, that's good

LF: …very good day…

LG: Well, that's good…um…my first question is about skateboarding and how you got into that.

LF: Um, I got into skateboarding when I was like a shorty…it was a toy thing…( says what's up to someone else )…a toy thing, you know, like bikes…like riding bikes and scooters and all that stuff, it was like…a toy. I skated for a minute when I was really small and then like, you know like, it kinda like phase, phased out, I became like a teenager and left it alone and then I picked it like right back up when about like a year and a half ago cause I got back really heavy into collecting sneakers, and you know a lot of the dope sneakers are in like skate shops and stuff like that, so I was like "Yo, lemme get a board."

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Lily Allen is going to be big! Why? Because I said so...and well she also has what it takes to be a successful solo female artists in todays music world. She's got the sassy look, the attitude, the cheeky British accent and for a 20 year old she's got the musical talent as well! Picture this: Add a sprinkle of Leslie Feist, a hint of Morcheeba, with a dash of what I call the female version of Michael Skinner, frontman of "The Streets," roll it all together; bake it and you got a tasty musical treat called Lily Allen.

Recently signed to Regal/Parlophone records in December, Allen's first single "LDN" was released on April 24th 2006 and is already starting to get some great reviews. Her album, title not available yet, is due out this July. For now you can check out Lily's profile on Myspace.com for news, info, and video's from her latest singles.

Check out one of my favorite tunes by Allen... ( WARNING: this song may make you laugh and require you get up and dance )

Lily Allen "Knock 'Em Out"

( right click and "save as" to download or for Mac users click File and "save as" to download )

The title may be completely generic but the cover story from the latest Hippo Press is not a bad article on the allegedly emerging hiphop scene in my homestate of New Hampshire. Yes, I'm from NH. Shut up.

Thanks to their diverse cultures, Lowell and Lawrence, Mass., have been hotbeds for underground hip-hop for quite some time now. Many of these blue-collar Massachusetts folks have been moving north, through the gates of the Gate City. This migration has created a diverse population in Nashua, with diversity in its music. Suddenly Nashua has a demand for hip-hop venues. DJ Dax has tried to fill that void by bringing in acts to Cinco’s. High school students (like the duo HNF) are forming hip-hop groups. Twenty-somethings like J-Essential and female rapper Rappa Cappa manage to work day jobs while moonlighting as emcees. Computers and technology allow these part-time performers to produce their own beats, make their own albums and promote themselves.

Debbie Harry has a new song out, in which she raps and references Lil Kim. A lot. Which is kind of weird, but the result is a very interesting moderized take on the 80's pop tune.

Debbie Harry "Dirty Deep"

Harry will be re-joining her beloved, recent Rock & Roll Hall Of Famers Blondie for a tour with The New Cars, a band made up of two original Cars memebers and new members Todd Rundgren, Kasim Sultan and Prairie Prince. The tour will be called Road Rage 2006 and is presented by VH1.