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Friday, May 21, 2004
street scene
"Mike Skinner, the musical mastermind behind The Streets, once again melds hip-hop, dub, ska, UK garage beats, and his unique rhyme style to deliver a sound like nothing else. Instead of the snapshot imagery of the last album, "Original Pirate Material," "A Grand..." is one continuous narrative, following Skinner through a day of victories, defeats, and battles. "On the new album Skinner steps away from scene affiliations and into more exploratory spaces. The result actually comes off more genuinely hip-hop than his debut…A 'Grand' suggests that Skinner is less England’s Eminem that its Beck, someone whose distinctive way with sound, song, and gesture is as much a part of his voice as his lyrics. A rap Ulysses."
luz vargas
"LU has found a niche between avant garde exploration and post-punk firepower. Still eschewing lyrics in favor of intricate guitar and keyboard melodies, "Share the Load," their second full-length release, transpires in movements. The first three tracks could each be singles in their own right. In fact, "A La Casa" was culled for Teenbeat Records' 2004 sampler. The next three tracks slow the tempo and darken the mood with dub-influenced reverbs and negative space. Then it's a return to a bump and grind mix of metronomic rhythms and angular guitar, suggesting a perforated future threatening to tear itself apart. On the whole, "Share the Load" is more contemplative and exploratory than LU's debut. It is road trip music for the rail commuter; liberation doled out one station stop at a time; furniture music taken outside of the house."mp3 a la casa
little green men
"Eighty-one times a year, sometimes more, Rich Maloney and Chris Elias spend four hours together in a dark, long, narrow room, perhaps five feet wide by 40 feet deep, with a sloping ceiling just high enough to walk under. It is, to be sure, an unusual place to report for work, but Rich and Chris have two of the best jobs in baseball. They are the men who work behind Fenway Park’s hand-operated scoreboard."
whats happening
"It's taken more than 50 years of TV evolution, but the prime-time rerun is rapidly becoming an endangered species."
brat worst
"And then there was this split ballot, comparing the George W. Bush presidencies failures in distinct areas. The George W. Bush presidency is the worst since:
“In terms of economic damage, Reagan.
In terms of imperialism, T Roosevelt.
In terms of dishonesty in government, Nixon.
In terms of affable incompetence, Harding.
In terms of corruption, Grant.
In terms of general lassitude and cluelessness, Coolidge.
In terms of personal dishonesty, Clinton.
In terms of religious arrogance, Wilson.”
Thursday, May 20, 2004
when the reunion?
i listened to about 30 seconds of the new morrissey and i thought he could really use a better producer. if only he would get stephen merritt to be jack white to his loretta lynn.
"MORRISSEY His new album, "You Are the Quarry" (Sanctuary), demonstrates more than ever that the best lyricist in rock, Morrissey, still surrounds himself with dull musicians incapable of properly filling out his introspective kitchen-sink dramas. Plodding generic rock 'n' roll accompanies "Where taxi drivers never stop talking, under slate-gray Victorian sky: Here you'll find despair and I." At this level of lyric artistry, these warmed-over arena rock backdrops are a waste. One longs to lock him up for a year with, say, the pop orchestra the High Llamas, so lyrics like "I've been dreaming of a time when to be English is not to be baneful, to be standing by the flag not feeling shameful, racist or martial" can be matched by equally thoughtful arrangements."
goodliness is next to godliness
the morning news awards for outstanding achievement (online) in the field of excellence.
well behind the curve
im late to this one but just in case you missed it, heres the start to the washingtonienne story. the pages cache can be accessed here.
is that a chalabi in your pocket?
"BAGHDAD, Iraq, May 20 — American soldiers and Iraqi police today raided the offices and home of Ahmad Chalabi, the Iraqi politician once favored by the Pentagon, and removed computers and documents."
stroker ace
electroclash may be doa but miss kitten bleeps on. some cuts streaming plus one download from the soon to be released cd, I Com.