"Word to Mom, I'm in my own world. Galaxy raaays, powerful!"

Pioneering Soul and Funk singer, producer, bandleader and performer James Brown has passed away of pneumonia related complications at the age of 73.

In honour of the so-called "Godfather of Soul," enjoy a taste of his brand of Funk, taken from one of the original King Records 45rpm records in my collection.

James Brown "Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose"

We've been fans of Venezuelan Disco-Jazz band Los Amigos Invisibles for a number of years here at Imageyenation. Unfortunately we've sometimes found their music to be difficult to come by. Hopefully that'll change since they've been nominated for a Grammy for "Best Latin Rock, Alternative or Urban Album" for their most recent LP, the Dmitri from Paris produced collection of obscure Venezuelan cover songs 'Superpop Venezuela.'

They had a memorable video that was getting some pretty hefty play on MTV en Espanol ( now MTV Tres ) a couple years back. And they've recently released a pretty cool clip for one of their new tracks, a funky House workout called "Yo No Se." Check it out via streaming video at the links below.

Los Amigos Invisibles "Yo No Se"

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The Amigos will be celebrating along with their fans by hitting the road for a North American tour in 2007. Check out the early '07 dates below to see if they'll be stopping somewhere near you.

January 2nd - Jam Cruise - Ft. Lauderdale, FL
February 7th - Night Light Lounge - Bellingham, WA
February 9th - Commodore Ballroom - Vancouver, BC
February 10th - Neumo's - Seattle, WA
February 11th - Aladdin Theatre-Portland, OR
February 13th - The Independent - San Francisco, CA
February 14th - The Independent - San Francisco, CA
February 15th - House of Blues - Los Angeles, CA
February 16th - House of Blues - Anaheim, CA
February 17th - House of Blues - San Diego, CA
March 2nd - Regattabar - Boston, MA
March 3rd - World Cafe Live! - Philadelphia, PA

And don't forget to check out Los Amigos Invisibles' Grammy nominated LP 'Superpop Venezuela' in stores now on the Gozadera Records label.

Watch as they run through some of the biggest hits of 2006.

Who wins? It's too tough to decide. I do know that they both have quite a repertoire of dance moves, and that makes them both winners in my book.

Part 1



Part 2



Part 3



P.S. Yes it is ok to laugh, and yes you are going to hell.

Kicking off at Boston's Avalon Ballroom on February 17th and ending April 6th at New Orleans' House of Blues the "Darryl Hall For President Tour '07" will find Gym Class Heroes headlining a seven week cross-country tour with support on all dates from P.O.S. and K-Os! Tickets go on sale this Friday, December 22nd. Check the list of dates below to see if they're coming to your town!

FEBRUARY

17th - Boston, MA - Avalon Ballroom
18th - Troy, NY - Revolution Hall
20th - Indiana, PA - Ohio Room, IU
21th - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
22nd - New York, NY - Webster Hall
23rd - Rochester, NY - Douglas Hall
24th - Pittsburgh, PA - Duquesne University, Union Ballroom
25th - Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero
26th - Norfolk, VA - Norva Theater
27th - Jacksonville, FL - Freebird Live
28th - Fort Lauderdale, FL - Culture Room

MARCH

1st - Orlando, FL - The Club at Firestone
2nd - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade
3rd - Nashville, TN - Rocketown
4th - Cincinnati, OH - Bogart's
6th - Cleveland, OH - House of Blues
7th - Grand Rapids, MI - The Intersection
8th - Detroit, MI - St. Andrews Hall
9th - Toronto, ON - Opera House
10th - Montreal, QC - Le National
11th - Ottawa, ON - Babylon
13th - Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall
14th - Indianapolis, IN - The Irving Theater
15th - Chicago, IL - House of Blues
16th - Sauget, IL - Pop's
17th - Lawrence, KS - Granada
18th - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
20th - Englewood, CO - Gothic Theater
21st - Salt Lake City, UT - Avalon Theater
23rd - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
24th - Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theater
25th - Orangevale, CA - The Boardwalk
26th - West Hollywood, CA - House of Blues
27th - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
28th - San Diego, CA - Soma
29th - Anaheim, CA - House of Blues
30th - Phoenix, AZ - Marquee Theatre
31st - Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theatre

APRIL

1st - Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theater
3rd - Dallas, TX - Gypsy Ballroom
4th - San Antonio, TX - White Rabbit
5th - Houston, TX - Meridian
6th - New Orleans, LA - House of Blues

You'll also be able to catch Gym Class Heroes performing live as the musical guest on NBC's 'Late Night with Conan O'Brien' on Friday, January 12th. And don't forget that Gym Class Heroes' 'As Cruel As School Children' and P.O.S.'s 'Audition' are both in stores now on the Decaydance/Fueled By Ramen and Rhymesayers Entertainment labels respectively, and K-Os' 'Atlantis: Hymns for Disco' drops in the US on February 20th via Virgin Records.

After being wowed by his early solo 12'' singles and his work with Talib Kweli as Black Star I've been alternately impressed and disappointed by rapper/actor Mos Def over and over again. The first big disappointment came when he licensed his freedom anthem "Umi Says" to Jumpman, a subdivision of slave-labor exploiters Nike, for use in a series of commercials. Since then he's released a string of records that varied from decent, to piping hot, to downright wack. And while he hasn't necessarily plumbed the depths of wackness his Black Star compadre Talib Kweli has, he just hasn't always lived up to the standards set by his earliest work, or his own hype.

That said, and despite what some might think, I'm not the type of guy to hope artists I have a love-hate relationship with will fail. Which is why it puts a smile on my grill to hear tracks from Mos Def's forthcoming 'True Magic' LP, which drops Friday, December 29th on Geffen Records, that are on some authentic hip-hop shit and, more importantly, that are actually dope. "Fake Bonanza" and "Napoleon Dynamite" are two such tracks. The former finds Mos in rare form, dropping hopefully nihilistic jewels like the urban-boho-everyman we always knew he was over a guitar sample fueled beat reminiscent of Black Star's "Thieves In The Night." While the latter flips a new take on a familiar loop over which Mos kicks cinematic raps about crime and punishment reminiscent of Slick Ricks classic "A Children's Story." Check 'em both out below in streaming audio.

Mos Def "Fake Bonanza"

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Mos Def "Napoleon Dynamite"

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Plastic Little "Boys"

It took me way too long to get my hands on Philly crew Plastic Little's official full-length debut 'She's Mature. I had been banging the single "The Jump Off" pretty tough in my DJ sets since last spring, but I didn't get the album until earlier today. I guess that's okay because it got pushed back a bunch of times and only came out in late November, but still, I feel all late and shit. Anyway, the album is stupid-def. If you liked their 'Thug Paradise' joint, all that Baltimore shit like Spank Rock and Sweatheart ( both of whom make guest appearances ) you'll dig it. This track is just one of many that made me say "holy shit this is fresh" as I skimmed through it earlier today. Oh, and one of the other tracks features Ghostface Killah, and MF Doom's supposed to be on here too, but I don't hear him. The album's in stores now on Tonearm Records.



K-the-I??? "Go Go Girls"

I feel like I know K-the-I???, even if it's only from the internet. Like at some point he might have complimented me on my beats or some shit. But that could've been one of literally thousands of random underground Hip-Hop people I've come into contact with over the years, so who knows? Regardless, he makes the kind of Hip-Hop that people who hate and hate on underground Hip-Hop would like everybody to think all underground Hip-Hop sounds like. That is to say, the shit is crazy! It's like El-P got pregnant with Big Juss's baby and when his gut exploded in birth all these samples and syllables and lemurs jumping up and down on MPC's came pouring out of the gaping maw. The ill thing is that it's good. And fuck the people who can't handle it. They probably like Young Jeezy and shit. Anyway, this track is from his Mush label debut album 'Broken Love Letters' which is out now.



Icy Demons "This Is It!"

I have no idea what this is. I mean, Icy Demons is clearly a band from Chicago. They've put out records in association with the Elephant 6 collective and everything. But this shit is like Hip-Hop mixed with some ill psychedelic Electronica ( think Black Moth Super Rainbow ) but it's also Jazz ( horns, xylophone, acoustic bass, etc ) and some kind of New Wavey Rock too! There's vocoder singing and then a ill verse towards the end that's like half-singing and half-rapping that almost sounds like Del if he'd had been the lead vocalist of one of those New Romantic bands in the '80s. The rest of their new album, 'Tears of a Clone,' is equally, if not more-so inexplicable. It's on Prefuse 73's Eastern Developments label, which may or may not mean anything to you, and it's sitting on store shelves right now.



Herman Düne "No Master"

Yep, that's right, Swedish Anti-Folk band Herman Düne put out another album, in addition to their stellar 'Not On Top,' this year! It's called 'Giant,' and it's really different. If 'Not On Top' was a sharp and scathing modern take on the classic Folk of Bob Dylan wedded to a lo-fi Garage Rock version of Phil Spector's "wall of sound," 'Giant' is like a more universal, if just as analytically modern take on the marketably-boho Pop-Folk of Paul Simon's '70s solo albums. It's lush and warm and fleshy and... different. Just peep "No Master," one of my favorite cuts from the album, an incredible Nyabinghi style chant-down ( or is it a chant-up? ) replete with stunningly visual lyricism and that uniquely Swedish take on English ennunciation. It's a great track from a great album, which you can find in stores now on the Source Ent. label.

Surprise clip for one of the dopest tracks from Dilla's 'The Shining' LP, the smooth ode to polyamourous living "Won't Do."

The video used to be embedded here. Unfortunately it would disappear and reappear haphazardly. When it was here it would also play automatically whenever the page would load, which was annoying. So, if you want to see the video just visit the J. Dilla Imeem page and watch it there. Oh, and while you're there send an e-mail to Imeem telling them to make sure their embedded videos don't "autoplay" in the future. Thanks.

If you haven't already copped it, J. Dilla's posthumously released 'The Shining' is in stores now, and has been since this Summer, on the BBE label.

Parisian purveyors of Dance-Punk Ed Banger Records have been making a lot of noise with in-the-know DJs, nerdy bloggers, sweaty hipsters and pretty much anybody else who happens to be "too cool for school" for some time now. Records like Justice's "Waters of Nazareth," Justice vs. Simian's "Never Be Alone" and Uffie's "Pop The Glock" were particularly notable, but they've released a string of sucessful records from a whole slew of club rocking acts. That sucess has apparently garnered them the attention of the hipster friendly folks at Vice Records who are now preparing to bring Ed Banger's stable of eccentric dancefloor filling artists to the shores of the United States of America.

First in line from the Vice/Ed Banger partnership is the digital only release of 'Ed Rec Vol. 1,' a 12 song compilation of music from Ed Banger's growing roster. After that Vice will also be putting out 7 12" EPs including Justice "Steamulation," Krazy Baldhead "Bill's Break," Mr. Flash "Champions," Sebastian "Smoking Kills," Vicarious Bliss "Theme From Vicarious Bliss," Sebastian "Ross Ross Ross," DJ Mehdi feat. Chromeo "I Am Somebody" and Zongamin "Bongo Song."

Our own Lady Glock posted a YouTube of the video for DJ Mehdi's "I Am Somebody" a couple weeks back. But if you just can't get enough ( and I know I can't ) you can download the MP3 below.

DJ Mehdi feat. Chromeo "I Am Somebody"

The Britpop meets Afrobeat meets Punk meets Hip-Hop supergroup The Good, The Bad and The Queen, comprised of Damon Albarn, Tony Allen, Simon Tong and Paul Simonon ( with some production help from Brian "Danger Mouse" Burton ) won't be releasing their self titled Honest Jons/Parlophone debut until the 22nd of January. They'll be dropping another single, "Kingdom of Doom," a little before that on the 15th of January, but that's still a ways away in itself. To tide you over until then they've released a series of behind the scenes video documentaries showcasing the band coming together to create the landmark album, and they're all available on the web for you viewing pleasure. Check them out at the links below.

The Good, The Bad and The Queen ( Documentary 1 )

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The Good, The Bad and The Queen ( Documentary 2 )

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The Good, The Bad and The Queen ( Documentary 3 )

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You'll also have the opportunity to see The Good, The Bad and The Queen performing live from Wilton Hall over at the MySpace social networking site who will be webcasting the show as part of their new "The List" concert series. Send your thanks to your boy Tom, and his boy Rupert Murdoch, for that.

And don't forget that The Good, The Bad and The Queen's self titled debut will arrive on store shelves ( in the UK at least ) on January 22nd on the Honest Jons/Parlophone label.

Funny, I didn't think Mischa Barton was that tall.

No, no, the “hardest working midget in the game” hasn't gone and joined the cast of Fox's primetime soap-opera. But she has contributed a song to the soundtrack though. And oddly enough ( or appropriately enough depending on your viewpoint ) it's a cover of an old Sex Pistols song called “Pretty Vacant.”

Lady Sovereign “Pretty Vacant”

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The track is from the new soundtrack disc ‘The O.C. Mix 6: Covering Our Tracks,’ which as the title indicates is comprised entirely of cover songs. Other than the Sov joint the album also features bands I don't care about like Goldspot and Rock Kills Kid covering songs I do care about like Modest Mouse's “Float On” and Spoon's “I Turn My Camera On.” More interesting than that though is a cover of “California” ( a.k.a. ‘The O.C.’ theme-song ) by one of my favorite bands Mates Of State. I need to hear that shit post-haste!

Anyway, ‘The O.C. Mix 6: Covering Our Tracks’ and Lady Sovereign's ‘Public Warning’ are both in stores now on the Warner Brothers and Def Jam labels respectively.

You might not know it, but I was an early supporter of Waco, Texas based hip-hop crew The Strange Fruit Project. So much so in fact that I actually got thanked in the liner notes of their 2004 LP 'Soul Travelin'.' I put their joints on our Urban Alternatives mixtapes, spun their tunes on the radio, charted their records heavily, and even reviewed one of their 12'' singles here on Imageyenation. But for whatever reason their "big album" 'The Healing,' which came out earlier this year on Om Records and featured outside production from the likes of Illmind, Jake One, Vitimin D & 9th Wonder and guest appearances by Little Brother and Erykah Badu, just didn't catch on with me. I dunno, it just had a different vibe, the production just didn't knock as hard, and the group seemed to have fallen into the generic territory occupied by so many of those wannabe boho, Neo-Soul-ish Okayplayer acts.



Keeping that in mind, I was a little suprised to find out that the group had released a video for one of the tracks from the album called "Pinball." It's a decent track, and the beat is dope, but it sort of seems like The Strange Fruit Project and their producers ( this sounds like Vitimin D or Jake One to me ) woke up one day and decided to make their own "poor man's" version of all those "video game beats" that the Stones Throw producers like Madlib, Dilla ( R.I.P. ) and Oh No are known for. It's not a bad song. It just doesn't strike me in the same sort of authentic and original way that their earlier, warmer, more Soul and Jazz infused stuff did. The video itself is just okay. But they get respect from me for keeping it old-school and throwing the Pong graphics in there. If you're old enough to remember Pong, or pinball machines ( where the fuck did they all go? ) for that matter, stand up!

I can't say I'm a huge fan of Prog-Rock meets Pop-Punk dandies Minus The Bear's music. Sure, they had a song called "Monkey!!! Knife!!! Fight!!!," which is a pretty boss title ( and only a half-way decent song ). But I mainly gave their most recent LP 'Menos El Oso' a fair shake because they went on tour with P.O.S. ( whose 'Audition' LP, itself a mixture of Pop-Punk and Indie Rap, was far more palatable to me ) earlier this year.

I'm giving them some pub here because they've teamed up with P.O.S. ( and a whole host of outside artists ) again, this time on their new remix album 'Interpretacions Del Oso.' The remix disc finds them handing over tracks from their last album to the likes of P.O.S., FOG, IQU, Dalek, Alias, members of Pretty Girls Make Graves and The Blood Brothers and others to have their way with.

If P.O.S.'s "redo" of the song "Drilling" is any indication the results should be a striking improvement across the boards. It's a wonder what a little chopping, re-editing and drum programming can do for a song.

Minus The Bear "Drilling ( P.O.S. Redo )"

I'm psyched to hear what the rest of the remixers did with their tunes. And we'll all be able to hear just that when 'Interpretacions Del Oso' hits stores on February 20th, on the Suicide Squeeze label.

You can expect brand spankin' new full length LPs from Definitive Jux label-head El-P and DFA founder James Murphy's LCD Soundsystem some time in March of 2007. But I just can't resist giving you a sneak preview of some of the music both of them have in store for you right now!

El-P "Smithereens"

The track "Smithereens" is from El-P's 'I'll Sleep When You're Dead' and it's just as dope as the first single "Everything Must Go," which quiet as kept is my pick for best hip-hop 12'' of the 2006. Anyway, the track's intro is motherfucking Ron Burgundy for Christ's sake! Oh, and El-P sings at the end. No, really. It's an entire decade after 'Funcrusherplus' and this red-headed bastard is still bringing it harder than pretty much anybody else in the game. Inconceivable!

LCD Soundsystem "Time To Get Away"

The track "Time To Get Away" is from LCD Soundsystem's sophomore LP 'Sound Of Silver' and it stays true to bandleader James Murphy's proclamation on their debut album about their music featuring "a fat guy in a tee-shirt doing all the singing." He's still fat. He's still singing. And the shit is still funky as fuck! It's also still got cowbell too. And anybody who knows me knows that all it takes to please me is some fucking cowbell. It's weird in the bedroom, but it works on an LCD Soundsystem record.

I know, I know, you don't want to wait for either of these records to drop any more than I do. But you're just gonna have to! Both El-Producto's 'I'll Sleep When You're Dead' and LCD Soundsystem's 'Sound of Silver' hit stores on March 20th, 2007 on the Defintive Jux and DFA labels respectively.

You might have heard the track "A Dream" by Common and Will.i.am when it leaked onto the blogosphere a few weeks back. While I wasn't as impressed by it as I was by their collaboration for that Gap ad I didn't hate it either, though I did think it was sort of humorous that it recycled the bassline from Masta Ace's classic tune "Jeep Ass Nigguh." Anyway, there's footage of Com and Will performing the song live on YouTube for some reason, so peep it!



I've seen some folks around the internets saying this track will be on Common's forthcoming LP 'Finding Forever,' which I sort of hope isn't the case. It will however be on the soundtrack to a new film starring Oscar® winner Hilary Swank called 'Freedom Writers,' which hits theatres January 5th. It's one of those "inspired by a true story" flicks about a white teacher and her multi-racial students in the wake of the LA Riots and basically looks like 'Dangerous Minds 2007.' I guess that kind of makes Common the Coolio of 2007?

Kidz in the Hall feat. Mike Payne "Move On Up"

Who would have thought that venerable indie-rap label Rawkus Records would make their comeback with a pair of Ivy League hip-hoppers from the Okayplayer stable named after a Gay Canadian comedy troupe? Not I young fry, not I. Regardless, Chicago based emcee Naledge and New Jersey based beatmaker Double O of Kidz in the Hall have proven worthy enough of being charged with ressucitating the former backapacker favorite with their debut LP 'School Was My Hustle.' This track "Move On Up," a soulful declaration of individuality, independence and perserverence, is my favorite selection from the album.



Les Georges Leningrad "Sleek Answer"

A different kind of indie-rapping altogether is to be had on "Sleek Answer," a neo-Post-Punk jam that sounds fresh from the downtown NY art scene circa the early '80s from Montreal, Canada based art-punks Les Georges Leningrad. It's taken from their third full length LP 'Sangue Puro,' which is out now on the Tomlab label.



Lyrics Born "Knock Knock"

One of the greatest living entertainers ( I'm serious, the guy is a fucking beast on stage ) Lyrics Born of Cali-based label/collective Quannum Projects just released a landmark live concert disc titled 'Overnite Encore.' In addition to the live selections it includes three new studio tracks, with the "In The Club" ( done right ) sounding "Knock Knock" being the one that caught my ear. One of the other tracks is produced by Bay Area rising star Trackademicks, but it left me sort of underwhelmed. Hopefully LB and Trackademicks will collab on some other, doper, shit for LB's next studio LP.



O.Lamm feat. Zoé Wolf "Open Malice"

I was originally gonna post a glitchy 8-bit J-Pop meets Gameboy programmed Drum'n'Bass track called "Genius Boy" by French Electronica producer O.Lamm featuring Japanese vocalist Kumi Okamota. But then Imageyenation's Brooklyn homegirl Malice left a comment on a blog post yesterday and I decided to go with a track featuring vocalist Zoé Wolf called ( appropriately enough ) "Open Malice." It's a sort of Glitch-House affair that sounds like Gwen Stefani, Basement Jaxx and Daft Punk had a baby, and then the baby got remixed by some French guy... or maybe Herbert. Anyway, it's stoopid-def, and it's from O.Lamm's brand new Active Suspension label disc 'Monolith.'

Los Angeles based indie-rap guys The Visionaries have been favorites of the Imageyenation posse since they first made their mark on the underground hip-hop scene way back in the mid-nineties. Their newest album ( their fourth ) 'We Are The Ones ( We've Been Waiting For )' dropped back in October on their longtime home Up Above Records and their newest single from that LP is titled "In The Good." They've just released a new digital video clip for the track, and you can check it out right now below!



The track is about growing up in the "hood" in southern California and how, contrary to what some rappers might have you believe, that can actually be a good thing. The first two verses from 2Mex and LMNO basically murder the entire track but it's a cool joint all the way through and it's nice to hear a group like The Visionaries doing a joint like this because these are the types of cats I associate with southern Cali, more so than the big-time "gangsta" rappers like Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg. When I was hanging out in LA in the mid and late '90s shit like "California Love," the DPG'z and Mackavelli might have been the ubiquitous jams on the radio, but I was looking for Key Kool & Rhettmatic and Mannish 12'' vinyl and Beat Junkies mixtapes. And it's still music by the likes of The Visionaries and The Living Legends that never fails to put my mind right back in "The Golden State" whenever I hear it.

It was somewhat of a surprise when Reggae legend Bob Marley's youngest child Damian Marley busted the Reggae scene wide open a couple years back with the tuff-as-nails tune "Welcome To Jamrock." It was even more surprising when the American mainstream, which usually only embraces slick Dancehall not the more downtempo "rootsy" forms of Reggae, latched onto it, making it the most ubiquitous Jamaican export to the US this side of Red Stripe beer. Not surprsingly at all Damian and his brother Stephen ( who has been the Marley's recording and production mastermind since he was a teen ) attempted to ride the wave of "Jamrock" hype by releasing a full length LP last year. Thankfully that album, though successful, didn't catch on with Joe and Jane American the same way the single did though, which saved the Ghetto Youths branch of the Marley family from burning out quickly and wearing out their welcome as so many imported musical acts have before them.

After taking a little rest to let the "Jamrock" madness calm down, Stephen Marley is finally poised to take his own crack at the US market with a forthcoming LP titled 'Mind Control' which hits stores March 30th 2007 on the Tuff Gong imprint distributed by Universal Records. The album features cameos from Marley brothers Damian and Julian, Ben Harper, Mos Def, Maya Azucena, Mr. Cheeks and Spragga Benz. The track "Traffic Jam" finds Stephen and Damian joining forces over a rough, lo-fi computer/beatbox hybrid version of the Answer riddim chatting up lyrics about getting hassled by the police over the mystical herbs. Check it out in streaming audio at the links below.

Stephen Marley feat. Damian Marley "Traffic Jam"

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...but oddly frightening.

I found this video over at Not Ready For The World. It's Halfby's video for the track "Halfbeat. I have never heard of Halfby so I don't know if this is actually a musical act...a person...whatever. I just like the graphics. And it amuses me to no end that there's a head boppin' panda in it.

The video feels like 'Sim City' (or 'Sim Country?') on crack. It's also kind of like a 'Where's Waldo?' as there are tons of things for you to keep your eyes open for...like a little boy running away from a priest, a guy peeing, or a bunch of Cereffusion's little bunny cousins running around.

Check it out.

The event in question is De Hop, a party in Amsterdam where a producer, an emcee and and an artist/designer make a 12" in one night in front of a live audience. The producer makes the beat on the spot and the emcees write and record on the spot while the designer or artist is making the cover on the spot. People who attended the event can then pick up the 12" a few weeks later at a local store.

On Saturday November 25th legendary hip-hop group EPMD, their protege Keith Murray, their longtime turntablist DJ Scratch, DJ/producer Knowhow and graphic artist Dave White got together at a venue in Holland called Panama to do just that. The resulting track is called "The Main Event." It's smoking hot. And it can be downloaded as an MP3 ( sans special artwork of course ) thanks to the folks at the De Hop 2006 website.

EPMD feat. Keith Murray ( prod. by DJ Knowhow ) "The Main Event"

...and boy does it sound nice!

I'm not sure how old this MP3 is, but I found it on a few different blogs. It's a Hot Chip remix of British (and Jewish...yay!) diva Amy Winehouse's song "Rehab." If you get a chance, go out and pick up her album 'Back To Black.' It's definitely one of my picks for best album of the year.

Amy Winehouse "Rehab (Hot Chip Vocal Remix)"

Lullatone "Pajama Party Pop"

I think our own Add-Mmm and Kindra would call the kind of music Lullatone makes "sleepytime Techno" but the band themselves call it "pajama pop." In fact, their new Audio Dregs LP is titled 'Plays Pajama Pop Por Vous,' and the song in this post is called "Pajama Party Pop!" I haven't had a pajama party myself in decades, but if I did this is certainly the sort of record, replete with whispery female vocals, Japanese lyrics and funky but dreamy toy-electro beats, I would play if I threw one today.



Owusu and Hannibal "Upstairs, Downstairs"

It really is a shame that Jehovah forbade Prince from making sexy synthesizer and drum-machine fueled Electro-Funk. Luckily enough artists like Owasu and Hannibal have picked up the torch, blending icy electronics, fiery Funk and melodic Pop in the tradition of "his royal badness." Their debut LP 'Living With Owasu and Hannibal,' which is out now on the Ubiquity label, is packed with jams that sound like they were birthed from the loins of The Starr Company in the 1980s, but "Upstairs, Downstairs" with it's falsetto vocals, bubbling synths, electronic strings, Linn Drum beats and lyrics that proclaim "you've got such a Dirty Mind," certainly basks in a particularly Prince-influenced light.



The Bird and The Bee "Fucking Boyfriend"

Let me just say that this track, "Fucking Boyfriend" by California based duo The Bird and The Bee, is hands down my favorite Pop song of the moment. Yes, the title really is "Fucking Boyfriend," and yes the chorus does repeat the phrase "fucking boyfriend" a number of times, but this is some of the sweetest, catchiest, most infectious Pop music I've heard in a while. It's from their debut EP 'Again and Again and Again and Again,' which is in stores now on the Blue Note label ( no, I don't know why a foul-mouthed Electro-Pop record is on Blue Note ), and it's got me anticipating their forthcoming LP, which is due in the new year, in a big-big way.



Of Montreal "Bunny Ain't No Kind Of Rider"

While I'm saying things, and things about Pop music at that, it needs to be stated that Of Montreal is one of the best Pop bands ( indie, mainstream or "other" ) actively recording music and touring today. Their new album 'Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?,' which picks up right where 'Sunlandic Twins' left off, is due out in January on the Polyvinyl label ( go pre-order it now ) and it's really good ( which you would know if you visited their website and listened to the stream of the whole damn thing they currently have up )! The track, "Bunny Ain't No Kind Of Rider" ( no it's not about Cereffusion ) packs '60s style pop melodies, rhythms and psychedelia, wonky synths, drum machines, preciously pretty vocals, precocious lyrics and even a chilly dis from Kevin Barnes ( who declares he needs "a lover with soul power" only to inform his pursuer that she "ain't got no soul power" ) into a 3 minute and forty five second slice of musical bliss.

You probably know The Pack as the youthful Bay Area foursome responsible for the infectious hit song "Vans," dedicated to the ubiquitous skate-shoe brand of the same name. They're a bunch of guys who claim to represent a different side of the Bay and it's Hyphy scene, wearing the afforementioned Vans and posing in promo photos with skateboards.

Their new single "I'm Shining," which is from their forthcoming EP 'Skateboards 2 Scrapers' ( see, it even has skateboards in the title ) out December 19th on Up All Night/Jive, is about the tried and true hip-hop topics of having sex with hot chicks and wearing "blingy" jewelry though. Go ahead, listen to it at the links below if you don't believe me!

The Pack "I'm Shining"

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The Gym Class Heroes are another foursome, this time from upstate New York. They also have a "different" take on hip-hop, mixing emceeing with live instruments and heavy rock influences. In the past they've also rapped about being different, dressing different and I'd be willing to bet one of the tracks on their old MP3 page even talked about skateboarding. They've also gone on the Warped Tour... the VANS Warped Tour.

Their new single "Cupid's Chokehold," which is taken from their recent Decaydance/Fueled By Ramen LP 'As Cruel As School Children,' is a song about being in love. The video clip for the song features hot chicks and lead vocalist Travis McCoy wearing "blingy" jewelry though. If you don't believe me about that then once again I direct you to watch the video at the links below!

Gym Class Heroes "Cupid's Chokehold"

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So, to answer the question posed by the title of this post, The Pack and Gym Class Heroes both like skateboards, hot chicks and blingy jewelry, thus proving that no matter what they might rap about or claim in interviews all rap guys like hot chicks and blingy jewelry... whether they like skateboards or not.

The six-piece unit called The Cat Empire is a Melbourne, Australia based band that plays a Latin influenced fusion of Jazz, Reggae/Ska, Funk and Rock which I'm sure people who like smoking weed enjoy a whole lot. I don't smoke the hippie lettuce myself, but I think their track "The Car Song" and the video which accompanies it is pretty fucking dope. It's one of those songs that sounds like it could get played on the oldies station, except it's got scratching on it. It kind of reminded me of The Bees ( a.k.a. A Band of Bees ) a little something. The basketball themed video is just funny, on some Molotov "Amateur" hotdog eating contest shit. Check it out.

Cat Empire "The Car Song"

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The Cat Empire made their first attempt at spreading their influence to the shores of the US last month, when 'The Cat Empire EP,' a collection of songs from a number of their previous records was released by the Velour label. They're currently readying a new full length LP for stateside release in the new year.

Damon Albarn ( frontman for Blur and Gorillaz), Paul Simonon ( bassist for The Clash ), Tony Allen ( legendary drummer for Fela Kuti ), and Simon Tong ( guitarist for The Verve ) have joined forces with producer Brian "Danger Mouse" Burton ( production for Gorillaz, Danger Doom, Gnarls Barkley, etc ) under the name The Good, The Bad and The Queen. The project was born in 2004 when Albarn and Tong travelled to Lagos, Nigeria to record with veteran drummer and Afrobeat pioneer Tony Allen, recording an album's worth of material with local musicians in the process. Then the Gorillaz 'Demon Days' album got in the way of things and Albarn's feelings about the project changed. During this peroid Albarn handed the tracks over to Danger Mouse to tinker with, and his feelings changed again, leading him to write a number of songs specifically about his West London neighborhood. Finally, with the addition of neighbor Simonon's bass playing artistry, The Good, The Bad and The Queen, a "journey from the English music hall tradition, over to West Africa for Afrobeat, zigzagging through the West Indies and its Reggae and Dub, back to England and London's Punk scene, all the while taking in a strand of British beat music from the '50s right through to Britpop" really started to come together.

The first single from their forthcoming self-titled LP is a sweet, sweet tune called "Herculean" that's pretty and catchy in a classic Pop sense, spooky in a dystopian, post-apcalyptic sense and forwardly funky in a deconstructed post-modern sense. Surprisingly it doesn't make me think of the Gorillaz at all, but it's probably what they would sound like if they were a real band, and not a precious animated creation. It really does take in all the elements referenced in the "journey" quote above and is a dandy slice of thoroughly modern populist Pop music for the decidedly un-dumb. Check it out at the links below in your choice of streaming audio formats.

The Good, The Bad and The Queen "Herculean"

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The Good, The Bad and The Queen's self titled debut album will be released by Honest Jons/Parlophone on the 22nd of January, 2007. Their first single, "Herculean," is in stores now.

Viewers of NBC's hit fantasy series 'Heroes' were treated to a taste of UK artist Lily Allen's single "Smile" during last week's pivitol "Six Months Ago" episode. This caused a minor disagreement between me and another poster on the 9th Wonders boards ( yes, I post on a 'Heroes' fansite, I'll still beat your ass ) after he proclaimed this as "a mistake" since the song didn't exist six months ago, a fact I was forced to contest because I've had a bootleg-ass CDR with a bunch of her tracks, including "Smile," on it for at least that long. Anyway, musical cameos such as this are surely a sign of things to come, as Ms. Allen's debut album 'Alright, Still' is finally getting a stateside release on January 30th 2007 via Capitol Records.

There's already been plenty of hype surrounding the 21-year-old singer and sort-of-rapper emenating from her MySpace page all throughout the hipper-than-thou blogosphere for a while. But with her music now becoming available to average Joe and Jane American I can only assume her airy-but-edgy tracks ( think Jem meets Mike Skinner meets Amy Winehouse ) will continue to pop up on television shows and in commercials on a regular basis. So be prepared for a more widespread "Allenization" of these here United States of America.

The first step towards reaching American audiences is of course a video, and she's got one for the afforementioned "Smile." Our own Lady Glock posted a YouTube version of the video ( presumably when it was new in the UK ) a long time ago, but this time there's links to decent quality streams. So enjoy.

Lily Allen "Smile"

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As you might know, since I mentioned it earlier in this post, Lily Allen's debut full-length 'Alright, Still' will hit American store shelves on January 30th 2007, on the Capitol Records label.