During a lengthy discussion about records, a friend of mine once told me that music is so incredible because it is rewarding when experienced alone, but also when shared.
I couldn’t agree more. I rarely write or learn songs just to keep them locked inside my inner musical being. After spending time with a new track, I want to call over my friends and have a hootenanny. I want to stay up late in a garage drinking beers and recording whatever happens.
As we know, collaborations and supergroups are not a new trend by any means. Nevertheless, a slew of unlikely pairings have surfaced over the past week. I’ve summarized them below.
– Thom Yorke has recruited a band consisting of Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, REM collaborator Joey Waronker, and Brazilian instrumentalist Mauro Refosco. The band will back Yorke live as he tours in support of his solo material.
– Broken Bells is the new collaboration between Danger Mouse and Brian Mercer of the Shins. How this came about, I have no idea. Of all the recent match-ups, I’m most amped about this one. Hip hop mixed with jangly pop? Could work.
– On that note, what about hip hop merging with some dirty blues? The new Black Keys album, Blakroc, will feature Mos Def, Ludacris, RZA, Raekwon, Q-Tip, Pharoahe Monch, and many more.
– But Dr. Dre collaborating with Lady Gaga? Really? Sounds like a very smart move constructed by their publicists. However, I don’t really see the relevance, or the possibility of sonic magic coming from these two in the studio.
Ah, to play music every day and get paid for it…
“Where The Wild Things Are”is a classic for multiple generations, and many (present company included) frequently site it as their favorite book from childhood. So most likely the upcoming film adaptation will mean a lot to kids of all ages, unless it sucks. However, if the soundtrack is any indication to the broad appeal of the film, we probably have nothing to worry about.
The Happy Hollows’ world as laid out on their debut full-length album, Spells, is inhabited by monsters, horses, flowers that turn into radios, and all sorts of other colorful characters, both real and imaginary. Such is the place sometimes referred to as Negahdariland, the namesake inner world of the Happy Hollows’ mistress-mind, singer/guitarist Sarah Negahdari. 
