Video: Method Man and Street Life – ODB Tribute

More promo for ODB’s new album, out this past week – Meth and Street Life performing “Brooklyn Zoo.”

Watch here.

Video: Dres of Black Sheep – “Forever LuvLee”

New video for Dres‘ new song, “Forever LuvLee,” first single of his new EP, due out 12/1, From The Black Pool Of Genius.

Review: Annie – Don’t Stop (Smalltown Supersound)

Norwegian electro-pop star Annie has a new album out this week. Eh. Read why here or below.

Annie’s new effort, Don’t Stop, is an album that you might want to like more than you actually do. The Norwegian songstress became something of an indie-electro-pop sensation [and semi-official Pitchfork pet rock - Ed.] on the strength of her debut, Anniemal, a charmer built upon hooky production filled with recognizable nods to the ‘80s. Don’t Stop, while employing a few nifty bells and whistles (like Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos playing guitar on the track “My Love is Better”), suffers from a lack of energy and innovation.

Annie’s hushed vocals sound best over a bouncing beat, as they lack the strength to shine on their own. That wasn’t a problem in the past on songs like “Heartbeat” and “Chewing Gum,” but tracks like the guitar-driven “Bad Times” don’t do her justice, fading into the nebulous ether of mediocre pop. The title track, on the other hand, is a perky bubble-tech vision of dance-floor bliss, Annie singing down a chromatic scale about kisses before hitting it off with a catchy chorus. “I Don’t Like Your Band” is another success, based on the strength of Paul Epworth-produced electro beat.

There are more introspective moments peppered throughout, such as “Marie Cherie,” a softly focused track that, according to the press release, is about an abused girl who commits suicide. Serious subject matter aside, these subdued interludes don’t hold a candle to the percussive tech-house of a track like “Songs Remind Me of You.” But again, you have to give credit where credit is due – it’s the production that elevates Annie’s relatively weak vocals. But hey, if Madonna could do it, why can’t Annie?

Review: Kid Sister – Ultraviolet (Downtown)

Kid Sister’s debut was shelved last year, but it’s finally out. This is club hip-hop, dance-rap, and I like it. Read why here or below.

How many times has Kid Sister’s debut album been delayed now? It sounds unbelievable, but it’s been about a year since Ultraviolet was supposed to have been released. There better be a damn good reason why she and her producers, including France’s Yuksek, the ubiquitous Lil’ Wayne, and longtime champion A-Trak, pushed this one back for so long. To be honest, having reviewed the original shelved album, it’s not immediately evident why. The track selection is different, and this new version plays more like a mixtape than a regular album, a nice touch. But, for the most part, the differences are probably more evident to Kid Sister herself than to the listener. But hey, an artist tweaks her work.

Ultraviolet is club hip-hop through and through, the bubbling, techno-influenced beats providing a perfect backdrop for Kid Sister’s playful, bouncing cadence and party rhymes. The album’s opening track, “Right Hand Hi,” encompasses this aesthetic perfectly. Euro-house keyboards provide an epic background for the sung chorus, before Miami bass and a syncopated kick drum find Kid Sister matching the sportive tone with her rapping. The same goes for “Big N Bad,” an early-morning Stockholm nightclub banger if you’ve ever heard one.

“Life on TV” is one of the album’s best songs, a holdover from the original track list, reaching levels of unadulterated exhilaration when Sister jubilantly shouts out phrases like “Peep game!” or “The bass, the bass, the treble, treble!” “Pro Nails,” another holdover featuring Kanye West, is a track you’ve probably heard if you’ve been tracking the album’s delay. But some of the new additions are key collaborations, including “Step,” featuring Estelle of “American Boy” fame (actually a substitution for another collaboration from the original), and “Daydreaming,” featuring Gnarls Barkley’s Cee-Lo. David Banner’s guest spot from the original album, however, didn’t make the cut.

Ultraviolet is a fresh, inspired, silly, infectious, danceable hip-hop record. Its club leanings may make it a hard sell for hardcore hip-hop heads, but the masses, primed by Lady Gaga and M.I.A., may ultimately embrace Kid Sister’s dance-floor rap.

Weird Doom Promo

Um, Doom? This promo is just weird. Make it go away.

MP3: Ol’ Dirty Bastard feat. Method Man – “Live On The Air Pt. 2″

OK, if this is what ODB’s new album is gonna sound like (we talked about it here), I’m down. Fresh (but old) freestyle with Dirty and Meth here.

Message To The Other Side (Osirus Part 1) – Tracklist:

1. Intro
2. Reunited
3. Live On The Air Part 1
4. Dirty
5. Child Seek Em Ft: Pleaz
6. Skrilla Ft: Rza
7. Wanna Bees Ft: Pleaz
8. Black Mamba Ft: Rza & Masta Killa
9. One Shot, Two Shot Ft: Thirstin Howl The 3rd
10. Got Love For You Ft: J-Love & Meyhem Lauren
11. Interlude
12. Say NO
13. Live On The Air Part 2 Ft: Method Man
14. All Coast
15. Stomp Ft: Rza
16. Live On The Air Part 3 Ft: Rza
17. Bam Bam
18. Osirus
19. Hot Sauce FT: Timbo King
20. Fort Green Projects Ft: FreeMurder, The Rza & Shacrone
21. Destiny Ft: Lesk One

MP3: Aaliyah – “Try Again” (Belief Remix)

Aaliyah was tragically killed in a plane crash in 2001, but her work with the pre-Timberlake Timbaland was ahead of its time. Her voice was always a bit soft, it never felt strong enough for my liking, especially in comparison to some of her contemporaries, but her production selection carried her into the Billboard charts. “Try Again” was no “Are You That Somebody?” with its signature baby coo, but it was a r’n'b classic of its time. Listen to the first installment of the Aaliyah remix project below.

MP3: Wolf People – “October Fires”

Are you fucking kidding me? Another band with Wolf in their name? Fine, whatever. This shit sounds like it could play on Axis: Bold as Love. Wolf People’s debut album for Jagjaguwar, Tidings, will come out on February 23. Listen to “October Fire” here.

Mixtape: Freeway – The Beat Made Me Do It

Freeway has joined the Rhymesayers family and will release a new album, The Stimulus Package, on Feb. 16, produced entirely by Jake One. To pump your shit up for this, Freeway and the annoying/energetic Don Cannon are giving a mixtape, The Beat Made Me Do It, away for free. Download here.

Review: Digital Leather – Warm Brother (Fat Possum)

Managed by Jay Reatard, kicking lo-fi ass: Digital Leather. Read my review here or below.

You could argue that Guided By Voices is largely responsible for today’s lo-fi revival, or at least that Robert Pollard and company planted the seed in lots of kids’ heads. And now, when recording a record at home is as easy as making a bowl of cereal, anyone with a tune in his or her head and a laptop can create a supposed masterpiece. The thing is that many bands lack the ability to write the catchy hooks that Mr. Pollard seemed to think up every time he took a dump. Instead, Wavves and Vivian Girls make popular but questionable minimal punk rock and noisy mush that was probably as easy to write as it sounds. Fortunately, every now and then a Digital Leather rears its head.

The snotty, irascible Jay Reatard manages the group, which has surely given it a healthy dose of PR and blog rocket fuel. But it’s mostly deserved. Shawn Foree is the driving force behind the music. From his singing voice to his song construction, GBV’s fingerprints are evident, but so are those of The Cure, The Pixies, and years of DIY tradition. He somehow manages to combine all of these influences into something enjoyably propulsive and creative, finding his own voice amidst the ghosts of many others. Take the pensive “Not Now,” a creepy dirge with synth and effected guitar, during which Foree explains that he feels like he’s “in a pornographic soap opera.” Just prior to this, the driving “Modern Castles” joins new wave, fuzzed-out chords with a storyteller’s penchant for narrative lyrics. There are moments of experimental meandering, as indicated by the intro of “Bugs on Glue,” but it’s not long before the song breaks into fast-paced synth-punk. Foree just can’t help himself.

Thank God for that. If you’re gonna make a record, especially a lo-fi, experimental, bashed-out-in-your-bedroom-sounding record, you gotta have at least a semblance of the ability to make music people are actually gonna want to listen to and not just say they want to listen to. And in that, Digital Leather has undoubtedly succeeded.

MP3: Dres (Black Sheep) – “Forever Luvlee”

Dres is back, and this time he sounds pretty good – a big change from pretty much everything he’s done since Black Sheep’s A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing. Is anyone gonna care this time around? Probably not. Here’s what he has to say about “Forever Luvlee” – “Don’t put things before people, keep God in your heart always (whatever you call him). Try to find balance in these chaotic days – be Luvlee.” Sure, why not. The EP, From the Black Pool of Genius: The Prelude, will be released on 12/1.

Listen here.

New Sister Blog: Tour Support

I am putting together a new sister blog today called Tour Support, which will focus exclusively on tour dates, show info, and ticket availability for a wide variety of genres and bands. Visit here to check it out.

Review: DJ/Rupture and Matt Shadetek – Solar Life Raft (The Agriculture)

Sometimes, a mixtape is not just a mixtape. It’s a cohesive, flowing, logical, exhilarating work of art. For example, DJ/Rupture and Matt Shadetek’s Solar Life Raft. Read my review here or below.

DJ / Rupture and Matt Shadetek, innovative producers and DJs in their own right, have made this year’s ultimate mixtape, a combination of dubstep, reggae, and experimental electronic, ambient, and techno. A sampling of the artists reworked, remixed, and blended into this seamless flowchart of beats and soundwaves include Gang Gang Dance, Jahdan Blakkamore, Nico Muhly, and Matty G.

Solar Life Raft begins breathlessly but subdued, with Shadetek’s “Strength in Numbers” softly pulsating, an ambient dancehall anthem. It’s really not until Stagga’s stuttering “The Bad Dance” begins that the beats get wicked and heavy. From that point on, Rupture and Shadetek’s mix sheds its baby teeth for True Blood fangs, swirling through Caroline Bergvall’s weird, spoken-word “More Pets,” Cardopusher’s acid-infused “Green Disorder,” and culminating with Telepathe’s neo-R&B “In Your Line.” Clearly, this isn’t your typical mixtape.

The two DJs used three turntables to create the album, which was recorded over two days at Rupture’s home studio. It’s clear from the sequencing and selection that this was a labor of love for its creators, who have managed to take some truly weird and unconventional songs and make them bump.

Claude VonStroke in SF Weekly

I have an article on Claude VonStroke running this week in SF Weekly, which you can read right here.

MP3: Madlib and Guilty Simpson – “The Paper”

Madlib has crafted a sinister, fuzzy beat for Detroit’s Guilty Simpson to rap over, part of The Madlib Medicine Show, “a once-a-month, twelve-CD, six-LP series” he’ll be releasing for Stones Throw.

Listen here.