Hipster Olympics

This is beyond awesome, and it's applicable to places besides Williamsburg.



(thanks to Ingo for this)

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Now playing: Rachel's - Tea Merchants
via FoxyTunes

new Rilo Kiley

Looks like Jenny Lewis, et al. went and wrote a disco record. I'm only about halfway through it and so far it's my favorite thing of theirs I've heard. I can't tell how much influence Warner money has had yet - the title track is a little glossy sounding, and there are shades of...Fleetwood Mac, mabe? But still! It's got a funky beat, and I can dance to it.

I'm hearing some vocal harmonies that are a bit reminiscent of the Watson Twins' contribution to Jenny Lewis' terrific solo record, but outside of that, this is a very different beast.

"The Moneymaker" is the first single, but you'll probably be able to steal that from somewhere else on the internests, so take this one instead:

Rilo Kiley - "Close Call" [5.2mb]

edit: watch the video for "The Moneymaker". It's got porn starlets in it.

Cake Like

Kerri Kenney (from Cake Like/The State/Reno 911)'s dad was the voice of Lion-O from Thundercats. Who knew?

Cake Like was a great, totally underappreciated band. Their first album, Delicious, was put out by John Zorn's Japanese affiliate Avant. It's not as strong as their sophomore disc Bruiser Queen, which is the first of their recordings I purchased. It's also one of the first releases from Neil Young's Vapor imprint, as well as one of the first HDCD-format compact discs*. I saw them on the Conan O'Brien show and was blown away by their combination of weirdness and pop sensibility. Kenney's flat vocal delivery and their rudimentary playing could have made for a boring listening experience in clumsier hands, but their sense of humor and clever songwriting made Bruiser Queen one of my favorite records of the late 90s.

Their third disc, Goodbye, So What, wasn't quite as good as Bruiser Queen, but still had some rockers on it - namely "Dead To Me", which lyrics supply the title of the album, and became a mixtape favorite of mine.

Below is the video for their "hit" (perhaps only) single, "Lorraine's Car" from Bruiser Queen.




*don't ask me why I remember shit like this. I can't help it. It's part of the reason I have a music blog.

dead prez:

I cannot believe I slept on this group for so long. I'd been aware of them since Let's Get Free was released in 2000, but it's only been since my interest in hip-hop was renewed that I checked them out. As far as I'm concerned, Let's Get Free is the finest political hip-hop record since Fear Of A Black Planet. It manages to be menacing and funky as hell all at the same time.

Dead Prez's appearance in Dave Chappelle's Block Party is one of the highlights of the film. The mood is electric, energy practically arcing between the MCs, the band, and the crowd.

You should watch it: