The name of their album is: Dog Problems.
Can you beat that? It's evocative and playful. I like that. And evocative and playful does a nice job of describing this tune.

More
Later

Check out the video here:

Ooooooh, man. Maybe this should have hit the "Rockin' Tha Rap" post from a few days ago, but I dunno, I think it's good enough to stand on its own.

Pigeon John is another rapper that doesn't take himself to seriously, but that doesn't mean he can't wind his way around a mic. In this song, he seems to have so much fun. And c'mon, ladies, wouldn't you like this guy hitting on you? Funny, sincere, and he seems to be able to rhyme anything! (Okay, that last part might grow old after a while...)

My fave part of this? Black Francis is in it! Yes, Mr. Thompson, a.k.a. Frank Black, is caught singing in a sample, because this song ably tackles the Pixies "Hey!" to find its backbone. How cool is that? It's indie hip-hop cribbin' from indie rock. It's synergy baby!

Again, click the heading of the post for a taste of this fab song.
Dig.

Again again, this week's AC1s are goin' back to the end of 2006, to try and fill in some gaps, so enjoy!

Or....

All Assail!

Welcome to the Third Annual AC1 Week!

I can't believe I've been doing this for so long! Ya see, folks: It takes commitment to do a blog. I haven't found stats on this yet, but it seems that most blogs that are out there don't make it very far. Almost every blog I find on blogger either only has one entry, is a spam blog, or hasn't been updated in 2 or 3 years. For those that make it, they usually have a rabid readership that keeps the discussion afloat, and a benign, benevolent moderator that has attained demigod status. That kind of thing can keep you propped up for a while, too, I would guess.

But imagine how much effort it takes to come back and post to a blog that you know is NOT going to be read? That, I believe, is the truest form of commitment you could ever witness. Blind faith in the process is what that is. So now, once again, to honor that blind faith, I will spend time each day this week (and maybe beyond, since I have so many songs I want to share with you) telling you about music I lovers.

I'm gonna kick off with something fresh, but then I'm gonna jump back in time and do a little of that catching up. So hang with me:

I've liked Spoon for quite a few years. Ever since I discovered "Lines in the Suit."
And though I wasn't overwhelmed by Gimme Fiction. I was very excited to see Spoon join up with Merge records for that release. Most folks don't care too much about labels. Even in the indie scene where a label can define a scene even better than a savvy concert promoter or club owner. Labels only seem to matter when someone leaves an indie and goes major (like the furor over Death Cab or Modest Mouse, and I dare you to find a review of the new Interpol album that doesn't mention that this is their major label debut).

But for me, I've paid some reasonable attention to labels over the years, mainly because I've been on mailing lists for SubPop, Mammoth, Bar None, V2, Barsuk, and naturally: Merge. So I have seen their efforts in promoting and building image with their acts.

Merge must have done something right in the last few years. I mean, I'm sure that they are artist-friendly and great to work with. But how can you just use those categories to explain a roster like: M. Ward, Matt Suggs, Magnetic Fields, Dinosaur Jr. and Lou Barlow, Imperial Teens, American Music Club, and (OMG!) The Arcade Fire.

I was a fan of Merge when they had a small roster that was mostly made of the superb Superchunk. I never imagined that they would end up the nexus not of a "scene" but of an amazing tapestry-like world of music and art.

But indeed, they have. And this album from Spoon (Austinites, if you wanna talk about scenes...), called Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is a great reflection of Merge's new place in the music industry. And they do have a place. Unlike all of the other labels I mentioned, only Merge has scored multiple top-10 Billboard Album debuts in 2007. Nice.

This track is wonderful. It keeps the stripped Spoon feel but nicely flourishes with horns and spasmodic experimental percussion. It's actually a pretty nice summer road trip song. This one will keep me going for a while, and for that reason, it's today's.... AC1!

And in a special note:

Hey all. I would love to be one of those cool MP3 blogs that you see all over the place, but I just can't bear stealing other people's music and then giving it away. Though I love those blogs, because (natch), they help me find new music that I can hear and have NOW, I am not that brave... But, from now on, I am going to try and find links so you can connect to a stream or a video or something, to be able to hear the song. Today's song can be seen(!) and heard by clicking the title for this post.

Happy AC1 WEEK!

Over the course of the last few months, a small, but dedicated group of Rap songs have kept me feelin' fresh (you know, in that dope sort of way).
They're mixed in with all the other hot stuff on my playlists, so I don't really think about them in any sort of meta-analysis sort of way. But today, for some reason,
I heard one of them, and wanted to hear one of the others, and then quickly found myself hankerin' for the last one. Though the songs have NOTHING do to with each other, they do actually work in concert, unwittingly creating a continuum of oddity that I find refreshing and amusing.

Odd: Lupe Fiasco - Kick Push

'K. This is actually the real deal. It's not that odd... Chicago boy Lupe got skillz, and still manages to have a really good time doing something that seems to make a lot of other professionals in his field bitter and mysoganistic. His voice is pleasing and honest, and this tale of a skateboarder coming of age is excessively charming. It's got verses and choruses, but when I listen to it, I love it so much that when the verses are rolling, I want to be singing the chorus, and when the chorus is playing, I feel like it's holding me back from singing the clever verses. I realize the song's not too street. But c'mon, Rap is supposed to speak for people that don't have a voice otherwise, and we know not all skateboarders are punks. So just because he's not getting shot, shooting, shooting up, or hurting women, it doesn't mean the story doesn't need to be told. I grew up listening to the still-underappreciated talents of DJ Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince (pre-"Summertime," please), so I know that a balance between the slapstick and the serious can pay great dividends. Though the story isn't really meant to be funny or outlandish, it's off-center enough to stand out, and in the end, be amazing.

Why haven't I AC1'd this yet?

Odder: Mistah Fab - Ghost Ride It

This one is also serious, well, at least to the San Francisco subbacultcha that is willing to risk their lives to participate in one of the craziest car culture displays of outlandish superiority. You can get a quick glimpse of Mistah F.A.B.'s participation in "Ghost Riding" on his myspace page. Essentially, this involves showing off your ride (or "whip") by cutting the power, letting it coast, and getting out and dancing on the car as your admirers look on. Do not try this at home: there have already been 3 fatalities attributed to Ghost Riding. So, instead, listen to this insanely catchy tune, backed by bleeps and blips from the Ghostbusters theme song.

Riddle me this, though: Who gets royalties for the Ghostbusters sample? I mean, they are OBVIOUSLY sampling the song for the ghost angle, but didn't all the royalties from that song go to Huey Lewis?

Oddest: 2 Many Knives - Crack Stuntman

This one: not serious at all. This was a homestarrunner.com short cartoon. Apparently, Crack Stuntman is the stunt man/voice power for the Cheat Commmandos show, and this is his PSA. It's wack. Wiggity-wiggity. But I honestly think Lupe and Mistah F.A.B. would be down wit' it.

So I am too.

Kids, please, don't play with too many knives.
Please.

I got my confirmation from Amazon today that my copy of Harry Potter 7 is being processed for shipping.

But I think they know something that the rest of us will need to wait a few more days to find out...

Here is the description of my order:

There you can:
* View the status of unshipped items
* Cancel unshipped items
* Return items
* And do much more
The following items are being prepared for shipment by Amazon.com:
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Qty Item Price Shipping Subtotal
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Amazon.com items (Sold by Amazon.com, LLC) :
2 Harry Potter and the Death... $17.99 2 $35.98


See That? Harry Potter and the Death!
Tell us what you know, Jeff Bezos! Tell us!!!


...Be warned, fair muggle.
Be warned

First off, if anyone knows if other Evens songs sound as good as this, please let me know. If so, I'm-a gonna have to go CD shopping.

This song is so effortlessly cool. From it's very first second, it seems like the listener is being invited into an impromptu practice session: there's someone announcing the date, there's a rumble of thunder, and then, the jangly, loose guitar chords bleed us in as an intro. By the time the kit starts asserting itself, though, the song fully gels, and you know that they're doing more than practicing. This is a tight bit of cool. The song has an amazing plotting, even if everything sounds accidental and loose. It's at the same time rigid...and fluid. It has to take a great amount of talent, and quite a decent amount of camaraderie to pull that off. Add to that an excellently airy outro, and you've got a very charming three minutes. It's irrefutable madness.

The lyrics have a world-weariness to them that also fits the chaos. The song is a tale of alienation amidst a world that should be familiar. And the singer's delivery is at times growling and at other times shaky and disruptive. And at one point, he even sounds like Paul McCartney. And I can't quite tell, but it appears that at different times, different people appear to be doing different backing vocals. That's pretty cool.

With all of this confusion, how does the song not completely fall apart? I can't put my finger on it. It certainly doesn't have a life as a dancefloor anthem. But it will make me happy to hear it, whenever it shows up in a mix, for many years to come.

Please note: The Third Annual AC1 week is coming. Though It should be a whole freakin' month. I'm soooo far behind.