saturday nite now 3 x more awesome


[First off, apologies to those of you who may have attempted to contact me via e-mail over the past couple weeks. Your messages bounced back because my .Mac account got clogged up, and I somehow didn't take notice of the problem until JRDN gave me a heads up (nice work). Having three e-mail accounts to manage greatly increases the chances of technical issues slipping by this oblivious young man. That said, my account overflowed largely because of mp3 files that senders attached to their messages (which I forgot to delete, of course). If you want to submit something to me that's over 1mb or so, please send me either a download link or make use of Dropload. Thanks in advance.]


George Washington joins The Dudes as they take their hilarity to... NBC?!?

Holy crap, I can't believe it took me two weeks to find all this out.

The bad news is that comedy trio The Lonely Island (who I have written about previously, as recently as earlier this month) did not get their sketch pilot picked up by Fox. However, the Dudes have posted two different versions of the lovingly-titled Awesometown on their website for all to watch & judge on its merits. The cut prepared for the network features live stage segments, an unfortunate laugh track, & the first episode of Channel 101 record-breaker The 'Bu (w/Elliot cameo). The shorter "Dudes' Cut" includes racier TLI segments like iTV Buzz Countdown, the music video for "My Pants", a behind-the-scenes look at the production w/Chez's "table dance", and a Kumar cameo (both versions include "Just 2 Guyz"). And yes, the theme song (available in mp3 format) does totally ape The 'Bu #8.

The good, if not shockingly amazing news is that the Dudes have been hired by friggin' Saturday Night Live. As detailed on Chez's blog & in the Chanel 101 public forum (also picked up by Boing Boing shortly thereafter), the Dudes will be moving back east as Jorm & Kiv are joining the writing staff, while former classmate Ardy will become a featured castmember. I haven't bothered to watch SNL much over the past few years as its lousy writing has turned the long-running variety show into a real trainwreck (I'm looking at you, head-writer Tina Fey), the show still has some incredibly talented people like Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph & Fred Armisen (and is thankfully Fallon-free). Hopefully the addition of the Dudes will spark some clever material & help turn the show around (though Mark McKinney failed to do so many years ago), but I'll be way more likely to tune in this season.

Much thanks to videos.anteville.org for finally clueing me into the news.


The new Junior Senior record appropriately begins with handclaps, and lots of 'em.

MP3 Junior Senior - "I Like Music (W.O.S.B.)"
Back in 2003, long before I Love the 90's: Part Deux, I randomly stumbled across a colorful cd while browsing around at the Fetus, and its silly-yet-infectious pop grooves nudged me into picking it up on a whim. Two years later, D-D-Don't Don't Stop The Beat is still one fun-ass record IMO. Well hey now, the sophomore album from Danish pop duo Junior Senior has been released in Japan & leaked on the internets. Hey Hey My My Yo Yo (or simply Brand New Album according to Amazon USA) is another party-inducing collection of danceable hooks & goofy lyrics that are designed to put a smile on your face & get your booty moving. Not suprisingly, Matt Fluxblog was a Junior Senior cheerleader back in 2003, and he was probably the first to post "Itch U Can't Skratch", the new album's lead single & probable best track, this past March. The song was likewise posted on Angels Twenty back in May, and is streamable via Junior Senior's MySpace. "I Like Music (W.O.S.B.)" is a Junior-dominated, disco-infused hodgepodge of hand claps (possibly even more than the song wihch precedes it, "We R The Handclaps"), clashing horns & guitars, ooh-ooh-ooh harmonies & a sweeping orchestral melody that brings the song to its feverish climax. Good sh**. MTV Europe has videos from Junior Senior's performance at Roskilde '05 that's worth a looksee. BTW: I too have been "working on something better", as I should have several posts (which I've been writing on-and-off for far too long now) ready to go this week (honestly).

ETA (8/30/05): As I said, no surprise here. Matt Fluxblog checks in today with another track off the new Junior Senior LP, "Take Your Time":

Much of the new Junior Senior record is exactly what you might expect from them, which isn't a bad thing at all, but sorta feels that way when it's contrasted with this track.. It's not exactly worlds apart from what they normally do, but the over the top tweeness is dialed down considerably, they pass the mic to an unknown woman (I have no liner notes, sorry) and the result is something like Off The Wall-era Michael Jackson with vocals by Kate Pierson from the B52s. Excellent stuff, and not nearly as selfconciously joycore as the rest of the songs from the album.

"Self-consciously joycore", huh? Sounds about right, not that I mind. Oh snap, Marathonpacks checks in with "No No No's" as well (via Stereogum).



All I have to say is last nite's Entourage was goddamn Piven-tacular.

[Good luck & stay safe today, New Orleans.]

howling at the moon, nite after nite


This recap is more than a month overdue, so I'll try to be concise.

Let's step into the way-back machine... all the way to July 17th @ the 400 Bar, where I took in a solid Sunday nite of rock & finally got to meet Kyle More Cowbell (who recognized me from my RANA workshirt, duh) in person. Kyle had seen The Wrens the previous nite at the Triple Rock, a show I regrettably missed due to a social engagement & a dog-chasing incident (which is a whole other story). Kyle filled me in some on the show, which was shot as part of the Wrens documentary (though Kathryn Yu was nowhere to be found) & apparently concluded with audience members on stage & wild sh** in general (see the buzzworthy YANP for his take on The Wrens' Intonation performance). And I missed it. Oh well. I did get to see them last year at the the Entry, so I ain't whining (too much, anyway).





MP3 Oxford Collapse - "1991 Kids"
Anyway, on to the show I did go to. I was already familiar with Brooklyn-based openers Oxford Collapse, because I both had their first album Some Wilderness (from which this track comes), and I went to school with a couple of guys in the band. Guitarist Michael Pace was a Gallatin man, while drummer Dan Fetherston slummed it with me over at Tisch, and now they are all Brooklyn residents. I previously posted about these NYU grads back in May 2004, and also included MP3 "Back in Com Again", another Some Wilderness track, in my first (of two) better Propaganda mix last August.

MP3 Oxford Collapse - "The Boys Go Home"
Oxford Collapse released their second full-length A Good Ground (which sports this track) back in mid-July, and I'm still sorting out my thoughts about it (Pace noted that the new disc is supposedly "a grower"). A large majority of their 400 Bar set was (not surprisingly) off that album, and likewise I wasn't entirely sure what to make of its songs (which were very new to me at the time), as they seemed to lack variety of riffs to help support their spazzy post-punk style (albeit more organic & less frenetic than, say, Thunderbirds Are Now!). However, when the guys broke free of the confines of song structure & started to stretch out, I was quite impressed with the band's ability to come together & make cohesive what was otherwise noisy & chaotic. Very nice. MP3's courtesy of Insound.





After kibbitzing a little with the Oxford Collapse guys during the setbreak, I made a beeline for the front of the stage in anticipation of the headlining act, underrated Toronto-based post-punks the Constantines (who I posted about previously in May & August of 2004). I had only seen the band once before, playing an opening set at the Triple Rock back in fall 2003, so I was psyched to see them again as the main attraction. The setlist:

DRAW
LIONS
TANK
LOVE IN
ON 2 U
LIZ
SHINE
THIEVES
HYACINTH
SOON
ARIZ
ELEVATOR
NITE
------
INSECT
7AM

MP3 The Constantines - "Draw Us Lines"
The Constantines began their set with the first track on their forthcoming Sup Pop release (out 10/11), Tournament of Hearts. It was a perfect opener, the thunderous drum beats & focused build-up of tension setting a brooding-yet-powerful mood. But it's the song's sparseness that is more representative of the new LP. I need to give Tournament of Hearts further listening time, but thus far I can't help but be wee bit disappointed with its more low-key tone that loses some of the balls-out dense-yet-melodic fierocity of their previous records (see MP3 "Nighttime / Anytime It's Allright"). Despite my hesitation with the new album, the Constantines were plenty fierce throughout their 400 Bar appearance, despite what they regarded as a fairly subdued crowd (hey, it was Sunday nite).





The band seemed to be in a fairly cheery mood, asking the audience for a waterpark recommendation since the two bands were going to be heading back east through the Wisconsin Dells (we told them to hit Noah's Ark, natch), and hoarse-voiced frontman Bry Webb pondering out louf how he got to be the band's defacto talker (dude, you're the lead singer). Older tunes, such as MP3 "Arizona" from the Constantines' 2001 self-titled debut, were played alongside the newer material, along with an Elevator To Hell cover ("Why I Didn't Like August '93") that the band also recorded for a compilation cd that accompanied the June/July issue of The Believer.

MP3 The Constantines - "On To You"
Tournament of Hearts deserves more of my patience, seeing as their previous LP, Shine A Light, started off as a moderately received Pitchfork recommendation & eventually ended up as my #2 album of 2003. This for-the-lovers song slowly became one of my favorite Shine A Light tracks, finding itself on more than a few mix cd's a year or two ago. What it may lack in punkishness, "On To You" more than makes up for in earnestness, sweeping melodies & airy, upbeat bounciness - not what you might expect.

Elsewhere, Sean at Said The Gramophone posted another track from Tournament of Hearts & WCS&MAAA reported on the Constantines/Oxford Collapse show at Madison WI's High Noon Saloon. The Constantines will be coming back to Mpls this fall, supporting local-by-way-of-Brooklyn faves The Hold Steady with a Mischief Night (10/30) double-bill at First Avenue.

And at long last, this recap is finally done. So much for concision.

dogs were barking, monkeys clapping




MP3 Gogol Bordello - "Think Locally, F**k Globally"
Despite some moshing morons, cousin Molly & I had a wild time with Gogol Bordello last nite at the Fine Line, as expected. The new songs off Gypsy Punks kicked serious ass, and there was much sweaty-sweaty debauchery throughout. I'll do my best to get a recap (w/a lot more pix) up ASAP.

there's a war on, you're gonna lose


Frank Rich's op-ed column in today's Sunday NY Times is blunt & downright ballsy. With President Bush on a five week vacation & Cindy Sheehan sitting in a ditch outside his ranch, have we reached a turning point in these dog days of August? Is the war really "over" as Rich suggests?

Nothing that happens on the ground in Iraq can turn around the fate of this war in America: not a shotgun constitution rushed to meet an arbitrary deadline, not another Iraqi election, not higher terrorist body counts, not another battle for Falluja (where insurgents may again regroup, The Los Angeles Times reported last week). A citizenry that was asked to accept tax cuts, not sacrifice, at the war's inception is hardly in the mood to start sacrificing now. There will be neither the volunteers nor the money required to field the wholesale additional American troops that might bolster the security situation in Iraq.

What lies ahead now in Iraq instead is not victory, which Mr. Bush has never clearly defined anyway, but an exit (or triage) strategy that may echo [Lyndon] Johnson's March 1968 plan for retreat from Vietnam: some kind of negotiations (in this case, with Sunni elements of the insurgency), followed by more inflated claims about the readiness of the local troops-in-training, whom we'll then throw to the wolves. Such an outcome may lead to even greater disaster, but this administration long ago squandered the credibility needed to make the difficult case that more human and financial resources might prevent Iraq from continuing its descent into civil war and its devolution into jihad central.

Via Daily Kos. Pretty bleak, huh? Damn incompetent f**kers.

MP3 Wilco - "War on War"
From Wilco's seminal 2002 LP, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.

MP3 Kings of Convenience - "Winning a Battle, Losing the War"
From Kings of Convenience's 2001 album, Quiet is the New Loud.

MP3 Pavement - "Bad Version of War"
Bonus Pavement track off disc two of last year's expanded 2CD re-issue, Crooked Rain Crooked Rain: L.A.'s Desert Origins.

[I'll expand on these songs further, have a little patience...] Eh, screw it.

hey pretty pretty, give us a smile




Pop77 & Web Nymph are both sporting nifty redesigns. Take a looksee.

Which begs the question: Is The Big Ticket in need of a sprucing up? Who of you out there think my current layout (which has been pretty much the same since May '04) is the definition of suckitude? Opinions / feedback are appreciated, though I'm not promising anything (who has the time?).

MP3 Jens Lekman - "Pretty Shoes"
This demo track comes courtesy of Secretly Canadian's Department of Forgotten Songs, a treasure trove of rare material from Swedish pop lothario Jens Lekman, whose latest album is 2004's excellent When I Said I Wanted to Be Your Dog. It has the word "pretty" in the title, duh.

MP3 Elliott Smith - "Pretty (Ugly Before)"
A somber, reflective, yet lovely song from the late Elliott Smith, off last year's posthumous from a basement on the hill album. As you see, it also has "pretty" in the title. So what do y'all think - should I feel pretty or ugly?

a quick one while i'm away (part six)


In case you didn't read Pitchfork today, be sure to drop by the Arts & Crafts store to download "7/4 (Shoreline)", the first advance track from Broken Social Scene's forthcoming self-titled album (out 10/4), which is apparently available for just one week. It's even got Feist, so what are you waiting for?

MP3 Broken Social Scene - "7/4 (Shoreline)"

More Cowbell & I are on the same wavelength.

FYI: Now this is bullsh**. Gilliard, Walcott & The Carpetbagger tell us why. I mean, come on people - a country music concert, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense? WTF? Tasteless, much? Via Atrios & Daily Kos.

Elsewhere, you go girl! Show Cindy some love.

ETA: Possibly the bravest person in America joins the blogosphere:

This is George Bush’s accountability moment. That’s why I’m here. The mainstream media aren’t holding him accountable. Neither is Congress. So I’m not leaving Crawford until he’s held accountable. It’s ironic, given the attacks leveled at me recently, how some in the media are so quick to scrutinize - and distort - the words and actions of a grieving mother but not the words and actions of the president of the United States.

But now it’s time for him to level with me and with the American people. I think that’s why there’s been such an outpouring of support. This is giving the 61 percent of Americans who feel that the war is wrong something to do - something that allows their voices to be heard. It’s a way for them to stand up and show that they DO want our troops home, and that they know this war IS a mistake… a mistake they want to see corrected. It’s too late to bring back the people who are already dead, but there are tens of thousands of people still in harm’s way.

There is too much at stake to worry about our own egos. When my son was killed, I had to face the fact that I was somehow also responsible for what happened. Every American that allows this to continue has, to some extent, blood on their hands. Some of us have a little bit, and some of us are soaked in it.

People have asked what it is I want to say to President Bush. Well, my message is a simple one. He’s said that my son - and the other children we’ve lost - died for a noble cause. I want to find out what that noble cause is. And I want to ask him: “If it’s such a noble cause, have you asked your daughters to enlist? Have you encouraged them to go take the place of soldiers who are on their third tour of duty?” I also want him to stop using my son’s name to justify the war. The idea that we have to “complete the mission” in Iraq to honor Casey’s sacrifice is, to me, a sacrilege to my son’s name. Besides, does the president any longer even know what “the mission” really is over there?

Casey knew that the war was wrong from the beginning. But he felt it was his duty to go, that his buddies were going, and that he had no choice. The people who send our young, honorable, brave soldiers to die in this war, have no skin in the game. They don’t have any loved ones in harm’s way. As for people like O’Reilly and Hannity and Michelle Malkin and Rush Limbaugh and all the others who are attacking me and parroting the administration line that we must complete the mission there -- they don’t have one thing at stake. They don’t suffer through sleepless nights worrying about their loved ones.

Before this all started, I used to think that one person couldn’t make a difference... but now I see that one person who has the backing and support of millions of people can make a huge difference.

That’s why I’m going to be out here until one of three things happens: It’s August 31st and the president’s vacation ends and he leaves Crawford. They take me away in a squad car. Or he finally agrees to speak with me.

If he does, he’d better be prepared for me to hold his feet to the fire. If he starts talking about freedom and democracy -- or about how the war in Iraq is protecting America - I’m not going to let him get away with it.

Like I said, this is George Bush’s accountability moment.

Lifted in its entirety from the Huffington Post, whose residents have Mrs. Sheehan's back & are wholeheartedly singing her praises, as we all should.

Crooks & Liars has video from Cindy's appearance tonite on MSNBC's Countdown, with the only cable news host I can actually stomach.

"i think that's bullsh** & i hate that"




In case you missed it, right wing hack & Jon Stewart's "Douchebag of Liberty" Robert Novak was suspended by CNN after swearing on-air & walking out of an interview. Notifed ahead of time that he would be asked about his role in Plamegate, Novak lost his cool during a rather banal back & forth with James Carville, blurting out, "Well, I think that's bullshit & I hate that. Just let it go." Novak then pushed his chair away from the table, stood up, took off his microphone & left the studio, leaving Carville to finish chatting with moderator Ed Henry. Novak was suspended shortly thereafter & CNN apologized for his potty mouth. Media Matters has a transcript and video, as does Crooks & Liars, who does a nice job of summing up the various responses to the slip-up from the lefty (reality-based) blogosphere. Novak's flip-out happened in the early afternoon, allowing The Daily Show to offer its take on it during last nite's show. Stewart recreates his response:



ETA: Crooks & Liars also have video of said Daily Show segment.

MP3 Atmosphere - "F**k The Bullsh**"
The only song in my damaged iTunes library with bullsh** in the title is this track by local Mpls hip-hop act Atmosphere, off this past winter's 2CD re-issue of Headshots: Se7en. To commomorate the album's re-release back in early January, Atmosphere played seven eight consecutive nites at First Avenue's smaller side venue, the 7th Street Entry. The week-plus run, which sold out so fast they added an additional show, featured a variety of local artists supporting & backing up MC Slug. I didn't even make it to one.

As I mentioned Wednesday, today's edition of Air America's Morning Sedition was broadcasting from the grimy confines of CBGB's. Well, I woke up way too early today (after already turning in late), so I turned on the stream to hear what all was going on. Guests included club owner Hilly Kristal, comedian Jim Gaffigan, songwriter/producer Jean Beauvoir & (holy crap) punk legend Richard Hell, with musical accompaniment from NYC (by way of Madison, WI) pop-rockers Locksley. I kinda tuned out when I started writing up this post, so perhaps I'll check out the podcast again sometime later.

MP3 Lifter Puller - "Kool NYC"
I wanted to post a song about NYC to go along with the CBGB thing, so I picked this short-but-sweet rocker from Mpls' now defunct Lifter Puller, former band of Brooklyn-based Hold Steady frontman Craig Finn. I like how this track starts off all full of energy with a great hook, but then slows down to a more anthemic pace for Finn's brief & simple verse about "New York City cool," as it sorta reminds me of all the various speed life seems to move at in NYC. Ah, nostalgia. I took "Kool NYC" from the 2002 singles collection Soft Rock, but originally appeared on 1997's Half Dead & Dynamite LP.

ETA: Dah, I totally forgot why I started this post. Here's some Richard Hell:

MP3 Richard Hell & The Voidoids - "Who Says?"
From the 1977 album Blank Generation. Check out the new compilation Spurts: The Best of Richard Hell, which includes a verson of the song "Blank Generation" performed at CBGB's by Hell's onetime band Television.



In other Air America happenings, actor/comedian/toublemaker David Cross is guest co-hosting tonite's Majority Report. Absent all this week was Janeane, who is out in LA until August 13th shooting some guest spots for the seventh (and likely last) season of The West Wing. She'll be portraying a campaign consultant for democrat Jimmy Smits, and I think she will do quite well playing off of longtime castmember Brad Whitford come this fall.



FYI: Cross was on the final two hours, starting at 38:41 on the podcast.

BTW: It is truly beautiful outside today. Go treat yourself to a smoothie.

i'm rich enough already, beeaatch!




R.I.P. Chappelle's Show

While it's not an "official" announcement, it looks like Dave Chappelle will be closing up shop for good on his wildly successful Comedy Central sketch comedy/music show. The AP reports on an interview TV Guide did with Chappelle's Show castmember (& Hollywood storyteller) Charlie Murphy:

Chappelle's Show is over, man. Done.

[...]

It took me a long time to be able to say those words, but I can say it pretty easy now, because it's the truth [...] I'm disappointed it ended the way it did, but I'm not angry with anybody.

[...]

Now I can go out and do stand-up. I'm getting movie offers. It's off the hook. Me getting to the next level or whatever's going to happen is going to come from the next things I do, but Chappelle's Show served its purpose and I'll always be grateful.

(heads up via the Huffington Post)

I guess we'll always have the DVD's. Perhaps someday the unaired-yet-finished season three material will see the light of day...probably on DVD.

If you haven't been following this story & you're wondering how it came to this, catch up on the saga over at Wikipedia. I wonder what really happened to Dave on that mysterious voyage to Africa. Theories, folks - I want 'em.

No music today out of respect for the dead. Express your grief on the Chappelle's Show soundboard. After all, it's a celebration bitches.

ETA: As if it wasn't frustrating enough that The Arcade Fire & M.I.A. are playing Mpls on the same freakin nite in September, but 10/22 brings the New Pornographers, American Analog Set & now Metric to town, all touring in support of new albums. I mention this only because I need to vent my fury. I'm leaning toward AmAnSet @ Varsity, but it's like Sophie's Choice.

Okay, maybe not. But having to pick is still maddening, albeit fortunate.

gabba gabba hey gabba gabba hey




The impressively prolific Brooklyn Vegan has been all over the whole CBGB's closing/benefit concerts situation, also dropping the heads up yesterday that Air America's Morning Sedition will be broadcasting from the famed NYC rock club on Friday morning. Tune in then, or just download the podcast later.

MP3 RANA - "Pinhead" (Live @ Tobacco Road NYC 11/3/03)
MP3 RANA - "Found A Job" (Live @ Wetlands Preserve NYC 3/3/01)

As the final month of CBGB's lease continues, RANA brings the rawk to the Bowery tonite, with solid support from Sound of Urchin (who also opened for them at the Entry) & Big Machine. I've seen RANA play there on a few occasions, and (as per usual) they aren't to be missed. I figured these Ramones & Talking Heads live covers were appropriate, given tonite's event.

ETA: A new RANA convert? Brooklyn Vegan made it out to said show & has loads of photos to prove it. It sounds like BV enjoyed his first dose of the live RANAROCK experience, as he also dropped the heads up that the band will be holding a Thursday nite residency at NYC's Tribeca Rock Club this fall (9/15, 9/22, 9/29, 10/6). BV pal The Outer Edges has more pix.

BTW: Happy 26th Birthday-after to my LA-via-NYC-via-Boston pal KM.



ETA: July 17th's Constantines recap forthcoming very shortly ASAP...

a quick one while i'm away (part five)


[ETA: Not seen this week's Six Feet Under, but plan to? By request, spoiler warning...]

Just some quick hits today...



R.I.P. Nathaniel Fisher Jr.

Well, people are talking about last nite's Six Feet Under. Frankly, I kinda agree with EW's Michael Slezak - maybe it was time for Nate to go. MN native Peter Krause had always been able to get me on Nate's side until this season, which has found his character whiny, miserable & floundering even more than usual. I kept waiting for Nate to come around, to get himself together a little, find some redemption - but instead he slid further into his own self-torture. Ugh. Why did he & Brenda need to get married anyway? They were already acting like the bickering McBickersons beforehand. Anyway, I'll be curious to see how Six Feet Under concludes now that its main protagonist out of the picture. Lastly, I'm still wondering - what was more shocking last nite: Nate croaking or Claire dating a republican?



While on the subject of HBO, I've got to say that the new season of the overhyped-yet-strangely addictive Entourage has been even more Piven-rific than the last. I'd demand an Emmy for the man, if it weren't for the tragicly un-nominated Will Arnett, but I'll get into my Emmy rant another day.

Finally got around to seeing War of the Worlds yesterday, starring most powerful actress in Hollywood Dakota Fanning & some other guy. It was pretty damn impressive, and I walked out of the theater feeling good & knocked around. And I was impressed that, despite the semi-happy ending, the film didn't go all-out Spielberg cheesy like some of the director's recent movies. It was far, far better than last week's action extravaganza, the rather lousy cloning (and Schiavo-baiting) juggernaut The Island. Thank god it had a decent cast, otherwise that movie might have been completely unwatchable. Ewan was funny & great (as-per-usual), especially in the scenes he was playing against himself. Director Michael Bay didn't really give the lovely Scarlett anything to do besides look pretty (which she certainly did) & constantly yell, "RUN!" I'll tell ya, I've never seen characters tell each other to "RUN" so much - like it wasn't obvious that they should run. Duh.

My congrats to the folks over at Channel 101, who were featured in EW last week. My only beef was that The Lonely Island dudes weren't mentioned in the article. Speaking of TLI, check out the eight "episode" of their record-breaking Channel 101 hit The 'Bu. Doesn't that wreckage look familiar?

MPG The Lonely Island - The 'Bu #8
MP4 The Lonely Island - The 'Bu #8
MP3 The Lonely Island - "We Didn't Do The 'Bu"



So yeah, that DangerDoom album is seriously the hotness. The MF Doom/Dangermouse collaboration would have been sweet enough, but basing the whole disc on Adult Swim is f**king brilliant. I'm not the hip hop fan that, say JRDN might be, but I'm really digging this record. Marv & I were playing it at the jobby-job over the weekend & got a great response. Unfortunately, I had to tell everybody that The Mouse & The Mask wouldn't be out until October. I'm not posting any tracks, since plenty of other folks like lemon-red, Razorblade Runner & Fredblog are doing a fine job already.

MP3 Billy Ocean - "Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car (extended)"
Oh yeah, I found this nine minute version of Billy Ocean's 1988 #1 hit at said jobby-job & thought I'd share it with y'all. The original version appears on the Tear Down These Walls LP. Doncha luv that 80's saxo-mo-phone?