Get an Education

The arts are alive and well in America's public schools. How do I know? Witness this priceless video from PS22 in Staten Island, birthplace of my wife and three out of seven original cast members of the Jersey Shore. These cute little guys do quite a cover of Ariel Pink's "Round and Round," my #3 song of 2010. This is America, people, and the President says these kids are going to win us the future one day. If the PS22 chorus is any indication, the future looks mighty bright indeed.



While I'm on this positive educational note, check out this documentary from 2006 that I happened to catch on Cambridge Community Television (CCTV9) last night. It's a very thought-provoking and challenging look at misogyny, homophobia, masculinity, and race in hip-hop. Oh, the things you watch when you don't have cable. See rappers like Mos Def and Busta Rhymes squirm as filmmaker Byron Hurt tries to get them to discuss the unfortunate and oft-overlooked prevalence of these destructive themes in hip-hop culture. The film was an eye-opening and sobering reminder for me as a fan of some of the social consequences of music that I love to listen to, and it's definitely given me something to thing about until they air a documentary next week on consumerism and the environment or the dangers of genetically modified food. Fight the power!

From Russia With Love

From the untamed, murky depths of the internet, I bring you a wondrous and unique pearl. Meet Alexander Goryachev, nom de guerre "813", a Russian superagent armed to the teeth with grimy beats and scouring the planet in pursuit of the secrets of rhythm. First exposed by an Estonian operative, 813 came to my attention with "Asia," a beat so dirty it could be condemned. This track should be considered armed and dangerous, and has undoubtedly had listeners begging for mercy from Moscow to Tallinn.

813 - Asia by Eight One Three

Next is the much more upbeat (and ambiguously named) "purpur way." Reminiscent perhaps of Passion Pit at their best, "purpur way" sounds like what might happen if Mega Man quit battling Robot Lords and tried his hand at DJing. 813 revealed through his SoundCloud that the track in fact contains a sample from another timeless classic, Street Fighter.

813 - purpur way by Eight One Three

I'll be keeping 813 under close surveillance from now on. He is clearly in possession of highly explosive material and has demonstrated that his operation is transnational in nature. I'd advise all readers to remain on high alert - there's no telling where 813 will pop up next.

Keep Shelly in Athens

Check out this new track from Greek duo Keep Shelly in Athens, courtesy of Gorilla vs. Bear. The first single I heard from this group was last year's "Fokionos Negri Street," a straight instrumental jam that's heavy on the keyboard grooves. The new single "Hauntin' Me," due out next month, is very different but similarly entrancing. The vocals are striking enough to compete with the powerful, multilayered musical backing; the track has a minor identity crisis, but that tension fosters a sense of unpredictability in the song that really makes it worth a listen. Around the 2:30 mark I hear echoes of Ray Manzarek, and that psychedelic influence takes this track to the next level.

Keep Shelly in Athens - Hauntin' Me


And previously: Keep Shelly in Athens - Fokionos Negri Street (2010)


CONCERT NOTE!!! The Radio Dept., proud owners of the prestigious Pursuit of Catchiness #1 Song of 2010, are performing at the Middle East in Cambridge on February 4th. Oh yes.

The Doctor Is In

I was too busy with the Countdown to comment on the new Girl Talk album when it came out back in November. The consensus seems to be overwhelmingly positive, and I think All Day is his best work yet. The mash-up genre is a tricky one. When it goes well, it can throw a whole new light on some already beloved songs. It’s like hearing them for the first time all over again. But when it doesn’t come off right, it just sounds like I have one song playing in my bedroom and another in the kitchen while I’m standing in the hallway. 

There are a lot of inspired moments of mash-up synergy on All Day. The combination of Nicki Minaj and the music from “Don’t Fear The Reaper” on “Steady Shock” is almost awesome enough to make Nicki Minaj tolerable. Notorious B.I.G. and Cream mashed up on “On and On” is pretty priceless too, and Big Boi’s verse from “Shutterbug," featured on "Jump On Stage," would sound good over just about anything.

My favorite moment on the album comes courtesy of Lukasz Gottwald, better known as Dr. Luke. Whether you realize it or not, you are very familiar with Dr. Luke’s body of work. He is the evil genius responsible for some of the biggest stuck-in-your-head-and-can’t-get-them-out hits of the last five years. Taio Cruz’s “Dynamite,” Katy Perry’s “California Gurls,” Kelly Clarkson’s “Since You’ve Been Gone,” and Miley Cyrus’s “Party in the U.S.A.” are all his handiwork, among many other huge hits.

In a less civilized time, a seducer like Dr. Luke might have been burned at the stake as a warlock. But there’s more to the good doctor than the ability to surgically implant pop hooks into the deepest reaches of your amygdalae. Before selling his soul to the devil in exchange for the power to make teenage girls dance, Dr. Luke was involved in the production some of the best underground hip-hop of the last 15 years. He was connected with Rawkus Records during that label’s golden age, and had a hand in some pretty groundbreaking work by Mos Def, Talib Kweli, and KRS-One. 

Black Star - Respiration (Dr Luke Remix - 1999)

KRS One, Zack De La Rocha, and the Last Emperor - C. Ia. (2000)


Dr. Luke’s hip-hop sensibility is in full effect on "That's Right." On the track, Girl Talk takes the two elements of Luke’s professional persona - the pop and the rap - and unites them in a moment of sublime syzygy. At the 4:00 mark, the unmistakably infectious opening to “Party in the U.S.A.” rings out – accompanied by the full-speed-ahead stylings of Brooklyn rappers M.O.P. The high energy and all-around sweetness of the mash-up makes you wish Dr. Luke would go back into private practice with a more discriminating set of clients, and let Britney and Kelly Clarkson seek treatment elsewhere. 

Girl Talk - That's Right

It says a lot about the trajectory of pop music over the last decade or so that the undisputed god of pop music is, fundamentally, a hip-hop producer. And while Kelly Clarkson isn't really my cup of tea, I certainly think there is a healthy space in the world of music for a song like Taio Cruz's "Dynamite," scientifically proven to get the party jumping. Like it or not, Dr. Luke’s two spoonfuls of sugar help his medicine go down smooth every time.

Yea Yeah

For a solid six-month period when I lived in Jerusalem, I made sure to have "Daylight" by Matt & Kim playing on my iPod whenever I stepped out into the sun on the way to work. Even that relatively simple joyfest of a track was somewhat more complex than my original Matt & Kim favorite, "Yea Yeah" from their 2006 self-titled debut. Nothing but synth, drums, and yelling, "Yea Yeah" and songs of its ilk were straight party jams. When their unpolished sound rocked the walls of the Terrace F. Club back in March 2007, I knew it wouldn't be long before they hit it big.

Fast-forward to 2009's Grand, and my beloved "Daylight" was showing up in commercials before reruns of Everybody Loves Raymond. The indie rock halls of Brooklyn, it seemed, weren't so far from Madison Avenue after all. But I don't blame Matt & Kim (or Grizzly Bear, or Arcade Fire) for "selling out" - we consumers don't leave them much choice when the average single is illegally downloaded 8 times for every legitimate sale.

Besides, even a super-slick Bacardi commercial couldn't take the edge off of Matt & Kim. "Red Paint," the second single from their November 2010 album Sidewalks, shows that the band haven't let success get to their head. Their music is still all about celebrating the good life, and Matt's childlike inflection evokes the simple pleasures of youth in every earnestly belted note. They throw caution to the wind, and like a boomerang it comes back loaded up with bouncy synth lines and choruses that you don't sing along with - you yell.

Matt and Kim - Red Paint


Matt and Kim are living the dream - a boyfriend-girlfriend couple who achieved legitimate musical success basically by building up a following on MySpace and sticking with their independent label. As the good times keep rolling, they've blessed us with another jam for the soundtrack to the lives we wish we had. Turn it up and yell along.