If there’s one thing you’d expect from an East St. Louis rap duo, it’s the ability to convincingly go dark, and on their full-length debut, The New Noise, Scripts ‘N Screwz deliver: for nearly an hour, the album envelops the listener in a grim, seedy wall of unforgiving sound that effectively frames their stark, socio-politically oriented rhymes. It’s distinctly inner-city stuff, with anger to spare, but it’s also a work of deep thought – and the probing lyrics are well matched by the steadily shifting production, which shifts from the dense, flashy barrage of tracks like “Brick” to the pared-down menace of “Eyes Wide Shut.” Scripts ‘N Screwz claim OutKast as a major influence, but don’t go into The New Noise expecting the freewheeling, genre-hopscotching whimsy that typifies OutKast’s albums; where releases like Aquameni and Stankonia tried to bring the street to the FM dial, Noise sits on the stoop and dares you to come to it. It isn’t always a happy journey, but it’s an unmistakably worthwhile one – if you like your hip-hop lyrically conscious and a little off the beaten path, this is Noise you need to hear. (The V.E. Company 2009)

Scripts ‘N Screwz MySpace page

I’ll be the first to admit that I am as far out of the hip hop window as any 40-year-old white man can be, but when this clip of P.O.S. covering Pearl Jam’s “Why Go” landed in my inbox, I just had to hear it for myself. He did the cover on the fly in his studio, with one pre-programmed beat and what looks like a one-octave keyboard. It isn’t perfect by any means, but it ain’t bad. He actually sings the track (smart), and even tries to add a guitar solo on that tiny keyboard of his (bonus points for trying). Try it — you might be surprised by the results.

To coincide with Black History Month, our friends at Red Music have launched Red Urban Music, a new site that covers exactly what you think it covers: their urban artists. They just rolled the site out, meaning it’s not exactly swarming with content yet (a temporary problem, we assure you), so they did what all awesome web sites do in order to attract attention: they’re giving away cool stuff.

What kind of cool stuff, you ask? How does a digital camera, an iPod and a USB turntable grab you? If we weren’t forbidden from entering the contest, you can bet that we’d be going for that USB turntable so we can convert all of our old wax. Entering the contest will also net you some new tunes, so whatcha, whatcha, whatcha waiting for? Go here and get yourself a USB turntable.

You can pretty much guarantee that any album whose back cover contains a painting of a lynching isn’t going to be a sunny listen – but even if you go into Dälek’s Gutter Tactics expecting to hear some strange fruit, it’ll still shock you with the brute force of its seething, brooding intensity. The album kicks off with the charmingly titled “Blessed are They Who Bash Your Children’s Heads Against a Rock,” built around a hot minute of an impassioned foreign policy sermon from the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, and descends from there into a woozy, nightmarish world of droning guitars, ferocious beats, and lyrics buried beneath layer after sinister layer of cacophonous noise. It might seem odd for a hip-hop album to shove its MC to the back of the room, but Dälek isn’t like most hip-hop acts – even those who flirt with the post-rock fringes – and Gutter Tactics goes against the grain, demanding to be played front-to-back with rapt attention rather than diced into shuffle-sized bits on your iPod. Listening to it is like watching a pack of rabid dogs rip their dinner apart in a back alley at midnight, and songs like “Atypical Stereotype” and the title track are so dark they make the Roots sound like “Addams Family Groove”-era MC Hammer. It is, in other words, one of the least friendly rap albums you’re likely to hear all year – and also one of the hardest to turn away from. (Ipecac 2009)

Dälek Myspace page

2008 was a year of many highly anticipated albums, from long-awaited follow-ups from big names to indie debuts. There were the albums I listened to most and felt left a lasting dent on the current musical landscape.

1. TV on the Radio: Dear Science
Brooklyn’s critical darlings hit it out of the borough again with their third full-length, Dear Science. They continue to defy even the most coherent explanations and descriptions. This is what the future sounds like - and it’s exciting.

2. Fleet Foxes: Ragged Wood
The Pacific Northwest is finally producing, once again, the caliber of music that its isolated atmosphere and gorgeous surrounds should be stimulating. Driven by front-man Robin Pecknold, but by no means a one man band, the Fleet Foxes have the best lockdown on vocal harmonies since a certain supergroup in the ’70s — and the songs do their fair share of standing out, as well.

3. Pattern Is Movement: All Together
Throw all notions of what a two-piece should sound like out of your mind. This Philidelphia duo is nothing like what you’d expect them - or anyone - to be. Avant-pop-rock meets classical form and textures in the most beautiful mess of an album. If, at first, you’re taken aback, don’t worry, just press repeat.

4. Dengue Fever: Venus on Earth
While there were bands that hit it bigtime with their exploration of international sounds (see below), Dengue Fever didn’t come nearly close enough to receiving the kind of attention they deserved. Boasting Chhom Nimol, a singer who actually sings in Khmer, the official language of Cambodia, the LA inhabitants’ mixture of Cambodian pop meets surfer pop and psych rock is not only legitimate but bred of some serious talent.

5. Wolf Parade: At Mount Zoomer
It could perhaps be argued that At Mount Zoomer, the follow up to Wolf Parade’s first album Apologies to the Queen Mary, doesn’t pack the same punch in terms of pop hooks. In many ways, this is true. In other ways, it doesn’t matter. The over-10-minute-long album closer “Kissing the Beehive” is just as memorable - if not more so - as any of their shorter tunes.

6. Deerhunter: Microcastle/Weird Era Cont.
One of the weirdest yet most beautiful, comforting yet most alienating albums in recent memory - or double-album, if we’re getting technical. Get lost in the repetition, then find yourself in the breakdowns and freakouts.

7. The Notwist: The Devil, You + Me
The highly, highly anticipated follow up to the German group’s earnestly romantic and soothing electro-pop album, Neon Golden. The Devil, You + Me continues in the same vein as the album that they broke out with. What more could anyone ask?

8. Vampire Weekend: Vampire Weekend
As pleasing as it might be to be able to deny the righteous climb of the afro-pop appropriating, stereotype-perpetuating ivy leaguers known as Vampire Weekend, the honest truth is, aside from its lack of emotion, their debut is pretty undeniable. And in a musical climate where one too many bands have been overly saturated in their feelings, perhaps a little break from them ain’t so bad.

9. Death Cab for Cutie: Narrow Stairs
Every year, there’s a band that gets the sentimental vote. This year, it’s this one. Seattle’s Death Cab for Cutie bounce back from glistening pop to a strangely inconsistent yet cohesive sixth album. Piano ballads, power pop and, of course, the experimental stalker jam first single - it’s all here.

10. Portishead: Third
The last slot is almost always the hardest. What pushed it over to Portishead were two things. Firstly, unsurprisingly, the group’s history. One of the most influential players in trip-hop, Portishead recorded a measly two albums (though there was nothing measly about the content). Secondly, they bounced back some 10 years later to deliver not just another album, but another groundbreakingly, strangely beautiful one. If only every long-term hiatus had such remarkable results.

1. “Put On,” Young Jeezy feat. Kanye West
The video alone would have warranted the number one spot on this list, but as it just so happens, “Put On” is a completely unforgettable song, the kind I heard blasted on my Brooklyn block night and day. Also noteworthy: the only time Kanye West used a vocoder this year that didn’t sound stupid.

2. “A Milli,” Lil’ Wayne / “A Billi,” Jay-Z
Weezy arguably had the more successful summer jam over Jeezy, but truth is, his voice is still slightly irritating, no matter how many times I hear this. Perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that I like Jay-Z’s freestyle cover just as much as Wayne’s original.

3. “U.R.A. Fever,” The Kills
This is the sexiest song released in 2008. Really.

4. “L.E.S. Artistes” / “I’m A Lady,” Santogold
I refuse to choose between the two hottest jams on the debut from Brooklyn’s Santogold. So I’m not going to.

5. “Take My Love With You,” Eli “Paperboy” Reed & The True Loves
Why wasn’t this song blasted from the speakers of every single person who loved retro-revival acts like Amy Winehouse and the Pipettes over the last year? It should have been. Also: people in long-distance relationships, you have a new jam. Trust me.

6. “Mr. Alladatshit,” Kidz in the Hall
Kidz in the Hall made my mid-year list, but the second half was just too strong and knocked them out of contention. That said, this song from the Chicago rap duo is, to quote the song, “flyer than giraffe’s [privates].” Assuming they meant that as a good thing…

7. “Touch Me I’m Going To Scream, Pt. 1,” My Morning Jacket
The My Morning Jacket album was a little too uneven, but its high points were very high, including this lilting, sensual jam that’s exemplary of everything the band does right.

8. “Many Shades of Black,” Raconteurs
Without as much influence from Brendan Benson, the Raconteurs are starting to sound like another White Stripes… which would be ok if there wasn’t already the White Stripes. Having said that, this soul-infused break-up tune is not just more of the same.

9. “Lately,” The Helio Sequence
The duo from Portland continue to evolve their sound with Keep Your Eyes Ahead, their most memorable album to-date, which boasts the repeat-worthy lead off track “Lately.”

10. “Sensual Seduction,” Snoop Dogg (or “Sexual Eruption,” if you have the unrated version)
It’s as if Snoop Dogg heard any of R. Kelly’s recent albums and said, “That man knows what he’s doing.”

It started as a simple “can you believe this?” post and soon morphed into a battle cry. Billboard announced their all-time songs of the Billboard era, and Chubby Checker’s “The Twist” topped the list (the song actually topped Billboard’s singles chart twice), followed by such timeless classics as “Smooth,” “How Do I Live,” “Macarena,” “We Belong Together” and “Un-Break My Heart.”

The Popdose staff, needless to say, was not amused.

And so, we (ESD writers David Medsker, Will Harris, Jeff Giles, Michael Fortes and Mojo Flucke, PhD are all Popdose contributors) set off to create our own list, one that would surely be just as flawed as Billboard’s list – women and non-whites are woefully underrepresented – but would have infinitely better taste. In the end, I think our list is a grand example of our extreme whiteness, but also a damned fine list. I’m still pissed that “The Air That I Breathe” didn’t make the cut, though.

To view Popdose’s Top 100 songs of the past 50 years, click here.

I don’t know who Saiah is, but his new disc Evolution starts off with a remixed version of a tune called “Nobody.” It doesn’t really matter, because this wannabe rapper doesn’t have a whole lot going for him. The mix on this track alone is atrocious, with generic squiggly synth notes farted out against a skeletal beat, both of which are mixed so low behind Saiah’s boring rhymes that it doesn’t even register as background noise. On the lamely-titled “H8,” we have to listen to yet another hip-hopper tell us how tough it is while hilariously bad synth cello lines mope around in the back. And when Saiah sings “Don’t walk out on me, baby / ‘Cause I’m about to be famous” on “Famous” while it sounds like some kid is listlessly pushing on piano keys, you just can’t take this dude seriously. So don’t. It doesn’t seem like anyone else is, anyway. Besides, you can tell the whole thing’s not worth your time thanks to the sleeve art that looks like it was made with the usual cheapo graphics kit available in the bargain bin at your local Wal-Mart. (April Fool Records)

Saiah MySpace page

Through a hazy funk of giant blunt smoke emerged the revolutionary sound of Cypress Hill in 1991, rap pioneers who blended trippy funk elements into the hip hop formula to create an unmistakable and infectious sound. Playlist culls tracks from each of their seven studio releases, with heavy reliance on the self-titled debut and the second release, Black Sunday (8 tracks of 14.) They talked tough and fronted the gangster attitude, but the delivery and the music never really felt menacing. You never got the feeling that they could snap themselves out of the ganja-induced haze to blow someone away as described in “How Could I Just Kill A Man.” The material is delivered as if hatched in a post pot party lyrical contest entitled, `Can you top this?’ The exception is “Looking through the Eyes of a Pig,” which could be the theme song for Vic Mackey, the anti-hero of “The Shield.” This song is a searing indictment of law enforcement; there is not a chuckle to be found. “Tequila Sunrise” is a stellar track featuring some eloquent Spanish guitar and horns as guest Barron Ricks trades rhymes about crime and droppin’ your enemies. I dare you to listen to “Insane in the Brain” without having it trapped inside your head for days. If you don’t have any Cypress Hill or own a greatest hits collection, this is must for you to add. (Columbia/Ruffhouse/Legacy)

Cypress Hill My Space page

Yes, his rhythmic style is little more than a combination of Jay-Z and Snoop Dogg, but there is something charming about Kentucky white boy Kasper from the K (Timothy Hoggard to his mother). Maybe it’s the fact that he accepts that he’s a white boy, and forgoes the cliché hardcore gangsta scene in favor of sleazy club jams. And man, are these songs sleazy: there isn’t a moment on the Whatcha Gondo EP where Kasper isn’t talking or thinking about getting’ him some freaky. The super freak path is a slippery one, though; go too far, and you come off as a serial rapist, but Kasper is more fast-talking himbo than roofie-slipping perv. And with a calling card like the super-catchy, “Obsession”-cribbing title track, he is going to be up to his eyeballs in women for the foreseeable future. Isn’t that the primary reason why guys get into music in the first place? Sure, “Whatcha Gondo” might wind up as the “Boom Boom (Let’s Go Back to My Room)” of the new millennium, but as long as it helps him score women, we doubt Kasper will care much about his long-term legacy. (EO Music)

Kasper from the K MySpace page

Holy Christ. Who even knew this dude was still making CDs? Look, plain and simple this is as bad as rap gets nowadays. Too $hort is still stuck in a bubble waxing about how great he is, what he has, and how he likes “big titties.” Yeah…go figure. Of course, what else to expect with tracks such as the stunning “Shittin’ On ‘Em” (”You a soldier, nigga I’m a vet, what?“) or how $hort embraces the English lexicon with the remarkable “F.U.C.K.Y.O.U.” (”Fuck you / Nigga, fuck you, too! / Nigga, F.U.C.K.Y.O.U.!“)? Yes, it’s all in a lazy, easy day’s work shitting out inconsequential track after inconsequential track and reaping the benefits of having absolutely no real talents and letting the record label pump money into your pockets. Must be real nice. But hey, who am I to complain when I can groove effortlessly to the sexy heat of “Pull Them Panties Down”? “Tryin’ to see you get naked,” exclaims Too at the beginning. Then the full-on erotica ensues: “Gotta see the pink now / G’wan pull them panties down” and “You need to let them panties leave ya ankles / Show ‘em you a bad bitch, fuck these stank hos.” Ready to pull out your wallet and let your money do the voting yet? No? Really? Why not? Doesn’t hearing $hort repeat “Gotta get a bitch and get my dick sucked” over and over on “Gangstas & Strippers” not get you horny, baby? Dayum! But really, who knew this dude was still making CDs? Yeesh. (Jive 2007)

Too $hort MySpace page.

Pop/rock band Augustana will release their new album, Can’t Love, Can’t Hurt, on April 29. And if you missed their performance at SXSW last week, fear not, because you can watch some of the show on www.crackle.com, or get there through the band’s MySpace page at www.myspace.com/augustana.

The Samsung Sound Check series of free private concerts will kick off March 27 with Ne-Yo performing at House of Blues in New Orleans. Other acts in the series are Jimmy Eat World in Charlotte on March 30, Gym Class Heroes in Chicago on April 10, Paramore in Houston on April 29, and Sean Kingston in Las Vegas on May 14. A limited number of tickets will be available through radio promotions, street teams and online registration.

In advance of their new album, Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings, Counting Crows will head out on tour Read the rest of this entry »

Yes, we know that writing about music is like dancing about architecture (even if we’re not convinced that Elvis Costello said it first), but let’s be realistic: if you’re a music fan who likes to read, you can achieve a very special level of bliss when you get the opportunity to dive into a book about music. The Bullz-Eye staff knocked their heads together and came up with a list of 45 books that span several musical genres and include autobiographies and biographies, histories of record companies and music magazines, essay collections, and straight-up reference tomes. It’s not intended to be all-encompassing, nor would we presume to call it a definitive list of the best music books of all time. It’s simply a selection of some of our personal favorites, none of which would be out of place on a music fan’s bookshelf…and you can find it right here.

We also got some of the authors in on the fun, as well as some of our favorite musicians, which resulted in enough responses from folks from Kyle Vincent to Henry Rollins to warrant Rock of Pages: Celebrity Edition.

But we know: we’ve missed one (or more) of your favorites. We always miss one (or more) of your favorites. So call us out already and leave a comment. We can always use another addition to our Barnes & Noble shopping list…

Hollywood Week began last night on “American Idol,” and they are definitely changing things up this season. For one, by tonight, if someone sucked on their initial Hollywood audition, they would be given a second chance a few days later. Secondly, we went from 164 contestants down to 50 after some brutal, immediate eliminations. Thirdly, no group performances. Fourthly, they could play an instrument while performing. And finally, we will have our 24 finalists by tonight. Geez, that was fast.

Anyway, in making short work of Hollywood Week, we were asked to give Fox an extra hour of our day, as it was a 2-hour episode, and tonight we go back to one hour. I’m not complaining, only telling you that there is a lot to summarize in short space here. So I’ll do it by telling you who looked great, who looked mediocre and who sucked and went home. Here we go….

Absolute finalists:

David Hernandez—I don’t remember this guy from the initial rounds, but he sang “Love the One You’re With,” with a really cool arrangement to boot. He was really, really good and I would definitely peg him as top 24 material.

Amanda Obermeyer, the biker nurse, threw another twist Read the rest of this entry »

Say hello to Atlanta rapper Rocko, who has apparently spent years writing, producing and developing major label talent (though curiously, the press release does not name a single one of these artists). He makes his solo debut with a song called, no joke, “Umma Do Me.” The press release goes on to talk about how Rocko is at “the forefront of the new Southern movement in hip-hop where business acumen and consumer awareness reign supreme.”

Scene from the “Umma Do Me” video

Uh huh. So that’s why he spends the entire video throwing Monopoly money at the camera? Or up into the air at the club? Because of his business acumen? Which is it, Rocko, are you a savvy businessman and phony playa, or splashy pimp with no fiscal common sense whatsoever? You can’t have it both ways, dawg. Guys who make it rain in da club are clowns, and eventually, they’re broke clowns. As for consumer awareness, doesn’t that just mean that Rocko knows what sells, and is pandering to the lowest common denominator for a buck? In other words, he doesn’t stand for anything more than making money. That’s not an example of business savvy. It just means he’s willing to whore himself.

Now, let’s talk about the lyrics. I’m no hip-hop scholar, but I’ve heard enough to know that this is lazy, lazy shit.

“I’m from the old school, you’re from the new school / My old school costs more than your new school”
“You really like her, you might wife her / I don’t like her, so I one-night her”
“You in my rear view, yeah, you history / First to second, two seconds, I love a six speed.”

I want to call up Chuck D and read these to him, just to see how angry it makes him. Here it is, bam! Chuck would say, “God damn! This is a wack jam.”

Now for my favorite part: the following line repeats during every chorus:

“Wanna see how’s it done? Watch me do me.”

Is this song an ode to self-love? If he’s doing himself, is that slang for masturbation? Naw, dude, I don’t want to watch you do you.

Ah, but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the comments on the video’s YouTube page (embedding, sadly, is disabled). Check out these gold-star props Rocko has received from his fans:

“nigga killed sayin u might wife her i one night her killin it. do what it do”

“This song is da shit! I just do me all day everyday!!Baby just rep yaself and where you from dont worry bout all des otha haters. they jus bitches”

I, on the other hand, will side with the following comment:

“haha do yaself bra! junior varsity shit nigga”

Enough of this phony gangster bullshit, already. No one’s impressed. Enjoy the moment while it lasts, Rocko, because your moment in the sun will be fleeting and unpleasant. For everyone.

To watch the video, click here.

Last night’s “American Idol” was, thankfully, the last round of the initial auditions before we head to Hollywood. Seven cities in four weeks, and what they did last night was essentially filler–a few great auditions and a few nut jobs from each city that they saved for one episode. Whew. After about two or three of those first shows, I’m begging for them to speed things up and get to Hollywood. Thankfully, we’re there and things usually move quickly at this point.

First, the freaks from last night…

26-year-old Luke was this really large dude in an even larger white T-shirt, and he sang George Michael’s “Faith” horribly out of tune. Simon said something about the “massive T-shirt” being too much, and he pretty much said what I was thinking.

21-year-old Tiffany McCampbell was a church choir singer who just shouted through her entire audition.

Then there was Ashley, 19, along with twin brothers Chris and Corey. Ashley is this cute blond who was dating one brother and then now, the other..I’m still confused by the whole dynamic, and I’m even more confused at why the brothers still like each other. Anyway, they all auditioned. First the brothers, who did some rap (one the beatbox, the other the rapping) about why they were better than last season’s Brittanum twins. If it weren’t for the rapping dude forgetting the lyrics, it wasn’t all that bad, but not good enough for Hollywood. Then Ashley took her turn, after letting Paula and Simon hold her dog (what is she, Paris Hilton?)….Ashley thought she was talented, but as Simon correctly pointed out, it was “excruciating.” Simon added that Ashley is probably used to getting what she wants, and she even agreed. Next..

Jay Smoove, whose real name Read the rest of this entry »