September 2008 Archives

In celebration of VH1's Hip-Hop Honors show (which airs Monday, October 6 at 10 p.m. ET), Rhapsody talked to a variety of contemporary artists about this year's honorees. Here's Mr. Thanksgiving, DJ Drama, on De La Soul.

DJ Drama: I remember when motherf*ck*n’ “Me, Myself and I” first dropped. I think seeing the video was the first time I really [was exposed to De La Soul]. Clearly, they were a little different. It became known as the D.A.I.S.Y. Age. They may have gone over a lot of people’s heads, but when you go back and listen to them, they were groundbreaking. They were a little eccentric, eclectic, and it was something interesting. I liked their sound. You couldn’t pinpoint it. It didn’t sound like anything else. As far as an album goes, the way their album was put together was groundbreaking at the time because, nobody had really did like skits back then, so they really kind of introduced that to the game. I’ve been a fan of De La ever since.

What's new? What's good? What will you find here that you won't hear anywhere else this week? Sit back, relax and click through to the premieres, the originals and the exclusives available only on Rhapsody! This week:

F*cked Up, The Chemistry of Common Life (Rhapsody Premiere)
One of the most invigorating punk rock bands of the decade. In a rule-breaking genre, they break all the rules.

Jolie Holland, The Living And The Dead (Rhapsody Premiere)
Americana's dark angel warbles through a new effort of maudlin story-songs and jazz-inflected folk.

Paul Newman was one of the best screen and stage actors of all time. He also dedicated his life to charity work and his family. Part of his success was that he often played rebels who were beloved by members of all generations. Grandparents, hippies and punks all rooted for Newman’s onscreen fights against The Man. There are a number of movie themes that are associated with Newman, including works written by jazz artists such as Duke Ellington, Johnny Mandel and Lalo Schifrin (Newman was a lifelong jazz pianist and fan). This soft-rock gem from 1969’s Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid was a huge hit, earned an Oscar for Burt Bacharach, and has lyrics that speak of Paul Newman’s rebellious appeal.

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In celebration of VH1's Hip-Hop Honors show (which airs Monday, October 6 at 10 p.m. ET), Rhapsody talked to a variety of contemporary artists about this year's honorees. Here's Atlanta emcee Killer Mike on West Coast hardcore rap pioneers Cypress Hill.

Killer Mike: 1991, there was a mom and pop gospel and hip-hop store -- in the hood you find the same stores do well with both of those genres -- and there was one right up the street from my high school. I walked in there and saw, in the 99-cent bin, a single for "How I Could Just Kill a Man." "Pigs" was on the B-side, I think. It was a cassingle. I saw that in the bin, and I saw the skull logo and that grainy black and white image of Muggs and B-Real, and the other side was red. So, just based on the imagery, I was like, "I gotta hear this." I just grabbed the tape, unheard, and threw it in the walkman. The walk from the record store to the train station was about five minutes. And in the span of those five minutes, I was a fan. I was like, "This is the dopest sh*t ever." I wouldn't even let my man listen to it.

Really, a single song doesn't do this electronic outfit justice. Listen to the whole album and let their odd aural soundscapes suck you into a different world.

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by Philip Sherburne

Concentric Pleasures is a blog column dedicated to the best in electronic singles: house, techno, their cousins and offspring. Named in honor of vinyl's grooves, it's a weekly roundup of new releases and back-catalog finds.

Classic is back! The label, run by Chicago house mainstay Derrick Carter and U.K. house maverick Luke Solomon (of the duo Freaks), shut down in 2005, but not for the usual reasons. Instead, having begun with catalog number 100 and run, via reverse numerical order, down to 000, they pulled the plug on the series, and Classic became what its name had proclaimed all along. Now, finally, the label has made much of its back catalog available digitally. There's a wealth of material to revisit, from the crossover hits (Isolee's "Beau Mot Plage," Blaze's "Lovelee Dae," Markus Nikolai's "Bushes") to powerful, unconventional house tracks from Red Nail, Rob Mello, Gemini, DJ Sneak and many more. Here are a few of my favorites from over the years.

Modern hip-hop and electronic acts owe Art of Noise a huge debt. This English act artfully used the earliest digital samplers to painstakingly craft exquisite yet daftly original ditties made of everything from classical symphonies to old TV commercials. This was the hit that brought new wavers and break-dancers together. (The crazy destructo video rules, too.)

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At a glance, last night's performance by Argentinean/Swede folk phenom Jose Gonzalez wasn't much to see: the final set of a two-day, sold-out stand at Yoshi's in Oakland, CA, mostly featured Gonzalez at center stage, hunched over a nylon-string guitar. Sitting between a heavy red curtain and a curious mix of the jazz club's typical chardonnay-and-maki crowd and reverent doe-eyed fans, he was occasionally buttressed by singer Yukimi Nagamo and percussionist Erik Bodin. There was almost no banter ("This song," he said in the honeyed shush of a yoga instructor, "is about tribalism") and few frills beyond those inherent in Gonzalez's faux-traditional Brazilian finger-picking and melancholic evocation of Joao Gilberto. Even the setlist -- drawn from his similarly elegant, bare pair of albums and scattered with new material -- didn't raise eyebrows, save for a forceful cover of Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart" that was trotted out for an encore. But, Gonzalez demonstrated that he's one of the most commanding songwriters of recent years by achieving the difficult task of what architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe called "an interesting plainness." The set also made it plainly apparent, and never more serenely unobjectionable, that Gonzalez, is also someone who thrives in an industry that's seen the death of the album-based career. He could be the poster child of its passing.

The elephant in the heavy metal room, obviously, is that this band released a new album this month. For the record, it has a couple good guitar solos on it, and not a whole lot else. (Best summation I've read, from somebody posting here: "commendable, like a deadbeat dad finally paying half his child support.") So maybe check out these discs instead?

If ever an electronic group fused indie nerdism, Queen, Afrobeat and Tropicalia …

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Keri Hilson is like, "I have America's toughest job." That's not a direct quote, but I bet when people text message her and say, "What's good, Keri?" she says, "I have America's toughest job." Keri Hilson is a songwriter, which in and of itself, is like being an ice trucker (creatively speaking). You're sliding all over the place, trying to keep things straight and trying to deliver on deadline (I can't believe I threaded the needle on that simile). Never one to duck a challenge, Hilson has compounded the already daunting task of writing songs by making Britney Spears sound chemically balanced and making Diddy sound like he has a heart.

Rhapsody reported from the second annual Treasure Island Music Festival this past weekend, where TV on the Radio, Goldfrapp, Hot Chip, Okkervil River, CSS, Justice and more rocked the artificial island that sits cozily in the San Francisco Bay. Check out our coverage of the fest and listen to the artists who represented here. 

Oh, and favorite artist sighting: Jack White, looking too cool for school with arms crossed and sideburns greased, watching the fab Fleet Foxes perform.

Two house music acts, two '70s sludge-metal bands, three captains, some people who wish they were the Spice Girls and Springsteen, and more. When you're asking for musical artists whose 15 minutes of fame ran out a long time ago, isn't that enough?

In Taylor Swift's Romeo-and-Juliet story, the happy ending wins! This super-cute song will resonate with women of all ages -- and just might melt a few cold hearts along the way.

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Guess what: TV on the Radio manned up and put an album out today. While everybody is stopping and dropping and rolling with no money in their pockets, this Brooklyn beat combo put out their third full-length, Dear Science, in a brazen effort to energize the economy and national morale. MTV News sat down with the band to discuss the various tracks that make up Dear Science. It's an informative look at an awesome album; a director's commentary for a film that's actually a piece of music. Check it out above, and further scratch your TVOTR itch by listening to the album (with totally-worth-it bonus cuts) here.

What's new? What's good? What will you find here that you won't hear anywhere else this week? Sit back, relax and click through to the premieres, the originals and the exclusives available only on Rhapsody! This week:


Dungen, 4 (Rhapsody Premiere)
The Swedish psych-rock revivalists return. 4 is a more jammy sounding affair than previous outings, with an almost improvisational feel permeating the music.

David Byrne & Brian Eno, Everything That Happens... (Rhapsody Premiere)
Two of the most groundbreaking and influential artists in modern music reunite (for the first time since 1981's My Life In the Bush of Ghosts). Everything... is a mature album full of elegant, atmospheric pop.

Jesus & Mary Chain, The Power of Negative Thinking (Rhapsody Premiere)
The Power of Negative Thinking is an 82-track collection of B-Sides, single versions, alternate takes and remixes from the legendary post-punk/noise-pop icons.

Wasis Diop is the Senegalese Leonard Cohen and T-Bone Burnett, all wrapped up into one. Here he proves it, adapting Cohen's "Hallelujah" to sing about his quasi-mystical connection to his older brother Dibril. In a word, gorgeous.

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Jazz is now thought of as brainiac music, but it’s always been about liberating the hips, the mind and the soul. Here, the great Horace Silver celebrates his pop, Cape Verdean heritage, American home and people who like to gather in blissful celebration. You all know the central riff -- Silver fanatics Steely Dan nicked it to make “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” unforgettably catchy, and the chorus is both sweet and triumphant.

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Punk rock counts as metal by now, right? At least the old kind? Well, if not, it should. And anyway, only one of the four ferocious albums ketched up with below is punk per se, though some people are sure to disagree (some people always do). I guarantee that the rest are metal for sure.

Song: Swallow You Down
Album: Some Stupid With a Flare Gun
Artist: Ass Ponys
Selected by: Tim Quirk
Date: September 19, 2008

The band conjures up all kinds of ominous portents while Chuck Cleaver alternately chides a friend for being dramatic, worries that the same friend might actually be in trouble, and ultimately promises to follow the friend to hell and kick some demon ass if he has to. The honest assessment stops things from getting too cloying, and the chorus is both sweet and triumphant. We all need friends like this.

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In an age ruled by Miley Cyrus and Jonas Brothers, it's easy to forget that so much tween-pop thrives, as it always has in the Radio Disney era, well below the radar. A lot never even crosses over into Top 40 mass culture: Just ask Hope Partlow or Skye Sweetnam or Brie Larson or Jordan Pruitt or Meg & Dia or Sara Paxton or Sofia Loell or Rose Falcon (all of whom have released very-good-to-great music this decade) if you doubt me. So listening to the new soundtracks to the Nickelodeon TV series iCarly and the Warner Premiere direct-to-DVD release Another Cinderella Story, I'm tempted to tell you to remember the names Miranda Cosgrove and Selena Gomez. Then again, maybe you'll never hear them again.

Despite having a career spanning three decades, Motörhead – vocalist/bassist Lemmy Kilmister, guitarist Phil Campbell and drummer Mikkey Dee – are still far from the finish line. A metal band’s metal band rooted in rugged, blues-based rock 'n' roll, Motörhead's appeal spans generations with their timeless, whiskey-soaked anthems. And in 2008, this Grammy-nodded power trio is breaking their own career records, charting in the top 100 of the Billboard 200 for the first time ever. Catching up with a laidback, lighthearted Lemmy in New Mexico “still on the Metal Masters tour,” Rhapsody learns a thing or two about the new album, the band’s history (so far), and the life of a rock legend.

Song: Un Dia Otra Noche
Album: Es Tiempo
Artist: Alla
Selected by: Sarah Bardeen
Date: September 18, 2008

One of the dreamiest tracks to open any album this summer. These Chicago hipsters have their feet in Brazilian psychedelia but their heads in the indie-rock stars -- and the combination really works. Start here, but keep listening.

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It's dia de los muertos in Times Square today. TRL, MTV's decade-old daily countdown show, is calling it quits. After 10 years, it will air its final episode sometime in November. (MTV News' James Montgomery gives a thoughtful appraisal of the show here). Yes, TRL was little more than tweens and teens caterwauling inside a studio, interspersed with occasional appearances by music videos (often in truncated form). But it did have its pop-culture charms; moments like the above, wherein Soulja Boy teaches Natalie Portman how to superman the women of the night, or the infamous Mariah Carey Ice Cream Meltdown, which was seemingly fueled by a couple of pints of Ben & Jerry's short-lived Xanax Attack flavor.

Good times. There have also been a smattering of decent to awesome live performances. After the jump, check out two of them -- Paramore and Alicia Keys - -from what would be TRL's final year.

Song: The Kicking Machine
Album: Nude With Boots
Artist: Melvins
Selected by: Justin Farrar
Date: September 17, 2008

That opening riff is one of the best, most devastating Zep rips in years. But nothing is ever normal with the Melvins. They never play just heavy metal. No. The band warps it with freaky chants, layered howls and time signatures more in debt to Frank Zappa than '70s cowbell rock.

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It seems like everyone has one of those records, the album that caught them in crosshairs, at just the right moment. Usually the providence of 15-year-olds, it's some piece of music that connects in a nervy, serendipitous, oversized way to become not only a favorite, but a bellwether for life itself -- from personal style and social appointment. In a recent interview with Brian Wilson we talked about his, the Ronettes' "Be My Baby," a tune that he listened to obsessively as a youth and claims changed his life. For me, the moment came standing in (now defunct) Blue Moon Records, Traverse City, Michigan, with the Jayhawks' Hollywood Town Hall on the earphones. Taking in the sleeve -- black and white photos of a band that oozed nerd-tough, corduroy-sheathed Midwesterness, liner notes by Joe Henry (brilliant in themselves, you can read them on a similarly obsessed fan's Myspace profile here) -- I was no longer doomed to the fate of a rudderless, pimple-crusted teenager at the insufferable whims of the program director at Z-93 "Rock of Mid-Michigan."  I was born again. All I needed was that record and a new (used) corduroy jacket.

It’s tempting to say that Raphael Saadiq’s new album, The Way I See It is a musical stunt designed to ride the current wave of late '60s/early '70s funk-soul nostalgia. After all, the album does liberally mine a classic sound, taking bits and pieces (often-times verbatim) from the playbooks of Eddie Kendricks, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye and others. This particular brand of nostalgia is hardly new: Sharon Jones, Nicole Willis and Nino Moschella have made looking back chic for underground audiences, while Amy Winehouse, Joss Stone and Duffy made it profitable. But though you’d be forgiven for being cynical of Saadiq’s timing, it’s awfully hard to hate on the music. From Saadiq’s pleading lyrics to the quivering strings, organ swells and bouncy basslines, the music here is heavenly. It extricates hip-hop, R&B, disco, electro, polyrhythmic funk and all points in between, leaving the listener with droopy, love-struck soul. It's not so much a gimmick as a transformation, and listening to The Way I See It is like staring at a newborn. You can’t help but smile. We recently caught up with Saadiq and spoke with the man about his new album, his musical heroes and his future collaborations.

What's new? What's good? What will you find here that you won't hear anywhere else this week? Sit back, relax and click through to the premieres, the originals and the exclusives available only on Rhapsody! This week:

Incubus, VH1 Rock Honors: The Who (Rhapsody Exclusive)
Incubus cover two classics from the Who ("I Can See for Miles" and "Can't Explain") on this exclusive live EP recorded at the VH1s Rock Honors concert.

Rihanna, "Vogue" (Live From Fashion Rocks) (Rhapsody Exclusive)
Beyonce, "At Last" (Live From Fashion Rocks) (Rhapsody Exclusive)
Keith Urban, "You Look Good in My Shirt" (Live From Fashion Rocks) (Rhapsody Exclusive)
Beyoncé, "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" (Live From Fashion Rocks) (Rhapsody Exclusive)
Solange, "I Decided" (Live From Fashion Rocks) (Rhapsody Exclusive)
These exclusive tracks were recorded live at the annual Fashion Rocks Awards show. Check out some of pop's biggest stars covering some of the most stylish, sexy songs of all time.

Lesley Roy, "Unbeautiful" (Rhapsody Exclusive) This Irish-born singer-songwriter applies her smoky growl to this quiet-loud power ballad full of longing and regret.

Jazmine Sullivan, Bust Your Windows (Rhapsody Exclusive)
Check out the brand new single from Missy Elliot's Philadelphia soul protégé. This former gospel singer is certainly a rising soul star.

Song: Black Gold
Album: City That Care Forgot
Artist: Dr. John
Selected by: Nick Dedina
Date: September 16, 2008

Dr. John has always been a proud New Orleans resident. Years before Katrina hit, he worked tirelessly to get the region's wetlands restored. Destroyed for the benefit of the oil industry, the wetlands once were New Orleans’ natural hurricane shock absorbers. With this song, Dr. John artfully ties in the destruction of New Orleans, the Iraq war, big oil and government corruption. And you can dance to it!

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For some reason, I thought 2008 might be the year that country music helped articulate the Democrats’ Southern strategy. Guess I was wrong – for one thing, the Dems turned out not to have a Southern strategy. (Thanks, John Edwards!) Then John Rich, who not too long ago was explicitly circumventing the two-party system in “Love Train,” turned out to be music’s most sycophantic mouthpiece for certain corrupt and dangerous serial liars. Toby Keith’s embrace of Obama was admittedly unexpected good news, and it was stirring to hear Brooks & Dunn’s great “Only in America” after Obama’s convention speech (even if the duo’s not necessarily on his side). But none of this has really translated as new songs; my favorite politics moment of the country year is still Alan Jackson fondly remembering “Georgia boy just like me” Jimmy Carter in “1976.” Which doesn’t quite make up for "If Jesus Walked the World Today,” where Alan asserts that a modern-day Son of God would be a Chevy-driving hillbilly, and "preach in some little country church, outside the city." Wait, let me guess – he wouldn’t be a community organizer either, right? What bigoted bull. But at least it gives me a peg with which to deal with Jackson’s six-months-old Good Time album. (Neat how I did that, huh?)

Song: Love Is All Around
Album: Eight Miles High – Makes No Sense at All
Artist: Husker Du
Selected by: Linda Ryan
Date: September 15, 2008

When you take Hüsker Dü's noisy energy and channel it into a sugary pop song such as "Love Is All Around" (aka the Mary Tyler Moore theme song), you get one of those serendipitous your-chocolate-is-in-my-peanut-butter moments of sheer bliss. Enjoy every precious second of this 1:47 ditty.

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The four albums below -- released in August, August, September and August, respectively -- suggest that the past month has actually been a fairly intriguing one for loud rock bands associated with the second letter of the alphabet. A mere optical illusion? You decide.

Debuting once again on the top 10 of the Billboard 200 with Lost in the Sound of Separation, Christian metal trailblazers Underoath have expanded upon their foundation and waged a sonic war on the lyrical search for self. With a darker, heavier record, the Adam D./Matt Goldman-produced album is a stylistic shift for the once-dubbed-screamo  Florida sextet. Rhapsody checked in with bassist Grant Brandell to learn about what went into the new record, and where these lost twentysomethings find themselves as a band in 2008.

by Philip Sherburne

Concentric Pleasures is a blog column dedicated to the best in electronic singles: house, techno, their cousins and offspring. Named in honor of vinyl's grooves, it's a weekly roundup of new releases and back-catalog finds.

Alex Ridha's Boysnoize label has just announced its first compilation, the unobtrusively titled BNR Vol. 1. This is welcome news, and not just because it's always fun to see where Paul Snowden (of "Wasted German Youth" and "Minimal My Ass" fame) will take his Futura Bold theme and variations next. (In terms of graphic design, Boysnoize is sort of like the maximal-techno equivalent of Perlon.)

Ridha (who records as Boys Noize) and his label often get lumped in with Ed Banger and their ilk, largely for his fondness for overdriven synthesizers, and the way he makes his tracks seem to heave like a bellows, sucking all the air out of the room with every yawning chord. But Ridha, who hails from Hamburg and lives in Berlin, has a more purist dance-floor instinct than many of his peers: Chicago house and grinding German techno play significant roles in his music, which is as minimalist in its structure as it is maximalist in its attitude. The compilation is due out September 29; read on for some Boys Noize-related highlights to listen to now.

Song: Ammilana
Album: Ishumar
Artist: Toumast
Selected by: Rachel Devitt
Date: September 12, 2008

Gut-wrenching pathos marks this track from Toumast. Not surprising since the title of this desert blues outfit's debut translates to "unemployed," the slang name for the displaced, historically persecuted Touareg people of the Sahara. This is the land where the blues began and lives on.

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by Sam Chennault

In conjunction with his widely praised VMA performance, and in support of his upcoming single, the minimalist blast of auto-tuned despair entitled “Love Lockdown,” Kanye West unveiled his latest post-9/11, situationalist performance art piece today, “Arrest at LAX.” Other artists (Sean Pean and Britney come to mind) have explored similar themes of surveillance, anonymity and resistance within the modern media environment, but Kanye takes it one step further. Notice that in addition to the initial still photographer that he "attacks," there is another video cameraman lingering in the background,  thus negating Kanye's struggle and elevating the piece's themes to Sisyphean proportions.  And, of course, the coup de grace is that all of this is set at an airport, Bush's shadowy hub of dehumanization, and on the seventh anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. This touch adds an extra layer, making this more than a mere commentary on the tribulations of celebrity, but rather a meditation on our country's loss of personal autonomy and privacy. All in all, nicely played, Kanye West.

Further Viewing:
Kanye Gets Arrested [TMZ.com]

Further Reading:
Kanye New LP Title, Release Date Listed Online [MTVNews.com]

Song: River Is Waiting
Album: Simply Grand
Artist: Irma Thomas
Selected by: Sarah Bardeen
Date: September 11, 2008

When Irma Thomas sings about water -- whether it's rain, a rising river, what have you -- you know you're going to end up socked sideways. On her latest album, we count at least five water-related tracks. This is one of the best.

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by Toshitaka Kondo

The recession may be in full swing, but Young Jeezy is livin’ good. His first two albums, Let’s Get It: Thug Motivation 101 and The Inspiration, served as tutorials in gettin’ money and achieving success and made him a platinum trap star. His appearance on Usher’s number one single “Love in this Club” this year made him a pop star. But Jeezy isn’t one to gloat. His third album, The Recession, which debuted at number one on Soundscan, is a heartfelt effort urging people to not give up at a time when gas prices, the war in Iraq and the U.S. economy has everyone feeling uneasy. A day after being chauffeured onto the 2008 VMA red carpet by a driver in a John McCain mask, Rhapsody got the outspoken Obama supporter on the phone to talk about meeting Michael Phelps, questions he doesn’t like being asked during interviews, and Sarah Palin.

A couple of weeks ago, we (being Rhapsody) threw ourselves a nice ol' party, on our hometown turf (being San Francisco) and invited a few rock combos to provide the soundtrack. Check out video of the Rhapsody Rocks San Francisco event here and check out performances by Howlin' Rain, Two Gallants, Everest and Big Light.

Further Viewing:
Rhapsody Rock San Francisco Video

André 3000 recently took some time out with MTV's Mixtape Monday crew to talk about his Weekend Warrior approach to hip-hop. There once was a time when André regularly applied his rhymes to beats, attaining top-10-all-time status with Outkast classics like "Elevators (Me & You)" and "ATLiens" (both from their 1996 classic ATLiens), as well as making stand-up-and-golf-clap guest appearances on cuts like 8Ball & MJG's underrated anthem "Throw Ya Hands Up." But then he made "Hey Ya" and that allowed him to sit inside of a house made of money and listen to Aphex Twin records and do watercolors of Erykah Badu and appear in below-the-line roles in Will Ferrell movies (which, to be fair, sounds like a dynamite way to spend most of your time) and the rhymes became an infrequently tended-to garden.

In the latest installment of John Norris Interviews... our fearless grand inquisitor meets up with the mysterious and enigmatic rock 'n' roller King Khan. Norris speaks to the Berlin-based artist in Brooklyn about his progression from the brilliant garage minimalism of King Khan & BBQ Show to the soul revivalism of King Khan & the Shrines (who recently released the compilation The Supreme Genius of King Khan & the Shrines), as well as the infrequency of his U.S. tour jaunts (has something to do with his tour manager being a turtle). We don't wanna spoil all the fun. Check it out for yourself.

Further Viewing:
Additional installments of John Norris Interviews... [PLAY]

Further Reading:
King Khan Finally Brings His Live Show Stateside [MTV News]

Song: Bankrobber 
Album: The Story of the Clash, Vol 1
Artist: The Clash
Selected by: Tim Quirk
Date: September 10, 2008

As fine an example as any of how the Clash took inspiration from dub and reggae without trying to ape them precisely. A hypnotic groove, casually profound lyrics (“a lifetime serving one machine/is ten times worse than prison”), and Joe Strummer's heartfelt vocals make this one of their more affecting, if lesser known, tunes. Fun fact for new parents: it also makes a stellar lullaby for infants and toddlers. Really – put it on repeat and leave the room if you don’t believe us.

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Never having raved much, I hardly mourned when the hype that the U.S.biz labeled electronica fizzled away a few years back. But there was a time, oddly enough, that I was listening to scads of the stuff. And especially in the wake of the Prodigy’s 1997 chart success, the idea of rocking synth music seemed real smart: entities like Lo-Fidelity All-Stars and Hardknox and Uberzone and even (in his pre-Elvis-remix guise) Junkie XL put out techno albums I could totally sink my teeth into. Since then, I don’t doubt my crankiness has deafened me to plenty of worthy beeps and blips; I’ll gladly defer to specialists like Philip Sherburne on such issues. But from my particular vantage point, it sure seemed like techno snobs decided all that so-called “big beat” was too cheesy for its own good (apparently because it had actual hooks, for shame). So, before you knew it, it was gone. And unless I’ve been looking in all the wrong places, it still is – though at least albums I heard this summer from Londoners Dub Pistols and the Chap gave me a little hope.

What's new? What's good? What will you find here that you won't hear anywhere else this week? Sit back, relax and click through to the premieres, the originals and the exclusives available only on Rhapsody! This week:

Cut Copy, Rhapsody Originals (Rhapsody Exclusive)
The Australian electro-rock trio floss all their bright neon ghost colours on this live EP. The band plays four songs, including a sumptuous version of "Hearts on Fire."

No Age, Rhapsody Originals (Rhapsody Exclusive)
An epic exclusive live EP from the critically adored Los Angeles noiseniks. This guitar-and-drums duo kick up a storm of near-shoegazer noise over their garage barrage.

Jessica Lea Mayfield, With Blasphemy So Heartfelt, (Rhapsody Premiere)
This Ohio singer-songwriter has a plaintive, dreamy voice that calls to mind a more country-stained Chan Marshall (Cat Power). With Blasphemy..., her debut album, was produced by Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys.

Phil Vassar, "Prayer of a Common Man" (Rhapsody Exclusive)
In honor of Feeding America's National Hunger Action Month, Rhapsody is proud to be the exclusive online home for country artist Phil Vassar's new single, "Prayer of a Common Man." Part of the proceeds will go toward Feeding America's charitable work.

Song: I Get So Weary
Album: One Kind Favor
Artist: B.B. King
Selected by: Justin Farrar
Date: September 9, 2008

B.B.hasn’t sounded this heavy in, like, forever. Producer T Bone Burnett, a perfect choice, lays a rumbling block of concrete, while King growls, howls and beats his guitar into a pulp.

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by Angela Bruno

The very gracious Paramore.

Objective: Survive. Status: Just barely. [Ha!] As I began to ponder the last few days, I now know why celebs need to be bathed in unicorn's milk and massaged thrice weekly: Parties. Open bars. Free food. Late nights. No-problems-at-the-door. The sense of entitlement. Expensive hotels -- with turndown service and peanut butter cookies. What a tough life. [Sigh.]  Fame (or, well, the mere observation of it, in my case), you are a fickle mistress. But just like that -- the VMAs are over. You watched the show, you be the judge. There will be no VMA punditizing here. Just behind-the-scenes moments of the big day from the Patagonial regions of the red carpet. Walk in my (luckily flat) shoes -- for 12 hours on the Paramount lot.

Maybe last night you watched the 2008 MTV VMAs? And perhaps you came across our brand spanking new Rhapsody commercial? Well if you missed it, here's your chance to catch up with all the cool kids at your lunch table. And if you're already a veteran of the above commercial, then why not brighten up your Monday by reliving the magic.

Song: Modern Guilt
Album: Modern Guilt
Artist: Beck
Selected by: Nick Dedina
Date: September 8, 2008

Beck’s Modern Guilt has been knocked around by crit-idiots and ignored by the masses. That’s too bad because Beck has finally artfully merged his ironic party-man and melancholy guitar troubadour sides. He’s also found a perfect partner in producer Danger Mouse. The title track matches a ‘60s rock beat with distressed everyman jitters: “I don’t know what I’ve done but I feel ashamed.”

Play It Now

by Angela Bruno

Objective: Wind up in T-Pain's top hat by the end of the night. Status: A girl can dream. I started the evening off at the Lifebeat/Rock Band benefit show at House of Blues, where people were having the most wholesome time of their lives, playing Rock Band, watching other people play Rock Band, and waiting for Plain White T's and Panic at the Disco, who were looking Euro-crisp, to perform. But wholesome isn't the name of the game at the VMAs and T-Pain waits for no one, so I had to run to the Roxy for the Rhapsody Rocks party -- the most high-energy show of the pre-VMAs. Shoutout to DJ Stretch Armstrong, who warmed up the crowd of hipsters and cool kids like a polyurethane jogging suit. Photos, set list and everything you didnt know you ever wanted to know about T-Pain after the jump.

by Angela Bruno

Objective: Find tangible evidence that humans do, indeed, swing from chandeliers. Status: Negative. However, I did find that scenes from The Hills do, indeed, occur in nature. (See, the show is real!) L.A. culture shock set in around dinner time last night at Katana, a super swank pan-Asian situation. Or maybe it was before that, when I checked into my hotel room on the Sunset Strip and had to sign a waiver -- there's a $500 penalty for trashing the room. Aka, god knows what hath hit the fan here before, god knows what will hit the fan here again. Celebrity/model sightings at Katana were numerous, counting an ANTM finalist (they're everywhere) and Melissa Ford, aka Jessica Rabbit, who I saw again later at the Jermaine Dupri-hosted Boost Mobile -- I mean -- Tag Body Spray official VMA kickoff party at Avalon, where I ended up working/rubbernecking on the red carpet. A curious experience to say the least. Waited for Weezy. Didn't happen.

Despite JD's best efforts, the party itself was kinda weak sauce. But maybe I'm jaded. The event was also an intro to Tag Records' first artist, Q, who reminded me of a cross between Jeezy and Stephan Urquelle -- Steve Urkel's cool clone that almost wins Laura Winslow's heart. Operative word here being "almost." (Random, I know.) He performed a few songs, as did Fabolous. Polow da Don, Jazze Pha, Taye Diggs were corralled in the VIP. But not Paul Wall and Raekwon-- they walk amongst the people. JD's GF Janet Jackson was in the building -- and so was Perez Hilton, who walked out two seconds after walking in. Cheers and jeers to follow.

by Angela Bruno

Objective #1. See Calle 13. Status: Achieved. Objective #2: Sidle up next to Kim Kardashian. Status: Pending. Perhaps our paths will cross this weekend, but by the time I had arrived at Level 3 for the MTV Tr3s party, she and the rest of the VIPs that RSVP'ed had already departed (with the exception of possibly some dude from this season of Project Runway, Jade from ANTM, Judy Reyes of Scrubs fame and rapper Malverde -- all of which were on the dance floor).

Foolish, because they missed avant-garde emcees Calle 13. Oh, how I love thee. Let me count the ways: frontman Residente is fly (wife me!) and tatted up in a seemingly illogical way à la Marc Jacobs; their lyrics stand for something; they infuriate my mother with their X-rated euphemisms. And, oh yes, Colby O'Donis performed, too. (Check out his exclusive Rhapsody playlist here.) Semi-grown women stormed the stage. And quivered. The bumpin' and grindin' in my periphery made it impossible to get a good shot of him. A little, um, disturbing, but that is neither here nor there. Read on for few highlights and WTH (what the hell; trying to keep it clean) moments, both good and bad.

I took an informal poll recently among a few friends and IM acquaintances and asked what came to mind when I said “Baltimore." John Waters, The Wire and Michael Phelps were the most common answers (that’s what I would have said too), which I suppose means nothing except that we all watch a lot of TV. The point I’m trying to make here is that none of those things were on Aaron Lacrate's list. That’s because he’s from there.

Over the last year or so, we here at Rhapsody have gotten the chance to interview a handful of artists who have gone on to be nominated for awards at this year's VMAs. Check out some choice excerpts from the likes of Paramore, Katy Perry, Lupe Fiasco and the Ting Tings, and while you're at it, watch their nominated videos.

Video of the Year nominees the Ting Tings on "Shut Up and Let Me Go"
Jules De Martino: We were listening to quite a lot of electro-pop bands. Talking Heads. Tom Tom Club. All those kind of '80s pop songs were really quite big in our repertoire. A lot of this is about being so let down by what happened with our last band. We were a new band that just formed and we had written about four to five songs and had done two or three gigs. We got signed very quickly by a label, Mercury. After they signed us, they sacked everyone. All these new people started arriving and we started to meet them and asked, “Well, are we still signed? What’s going on?” They'd say, "Yeah, you’re still signed. The people love your music. You’re going to carry on with the band. We think you’re cool.” So, we stayed with the label for what felt like an eternity at times, doing nothing. We weren’t touring. We weren’t doing any work, apart from sitting there and writing more songs. We had tons of songs. And eventually, the label started signing new bands and they just dropped us. It felt like we had been conned and we’d wasted all this time. At that point, when we got dropped, the frustration kicked in. And the band inevitably fell apart because of that frustration. And that’s the power of the industry. It can be a nasty place.

It was really Katie that drove me to start writing properly again with her. We started the Ting Tings by just doing riffs at parties and before we knew it, we had some songs and we were touring and everyone was saying we were a great band. So, c’est la vie.

I have a confession to make. As may or may not be common knowledge, I wrote a book (ostensibly) about heavy metal once. But I have been shamefully neglectful, so far, in keeping up with recent metallic releases on this blog. Part of the problem is just that I'm constantly bombarded with the damn things and they keep piling up and all sound the same, or at least seem to at first. Another part of the problem is that maybe I haven't been depressed enough this year to listen to much metal. But enough excuses! It's time to rectify the situation! Hence, this new concept known as "Heavy Metal Ketchup." This entry is just the beginning (unless you count this other one I did a few months ago, but never mind) ...

Song: A Milli
Album: FNMTV Live
Artist: Lil' Wayne
Selected by: Toshi Kondo
Date: September 5, 2008

“Lollipop” may have been Lil’ Wayne’s first number one hit, but his FNMTV live performance of the hook-less “A Milli” cemented his pop-star status. Backed by a live band, Wayne blacks out with clever non-sequiturs as teenyboppers scream.

Play It Now

by Nate Cavalieri

An interview with Brian Wilson is best likened to a rickety thrill ride at the county fair: approached with some apprehension, experienced in a jarring haste and over in a blink. I recently had the chance to dial up Wilson and chat about the record he released this week, That Lucky Old Sun, a portrait of the southern California of Wilsons' youth. For the devoted, it's a sight better than most of the elder Beach Boy's late-day fare thanks to the heavy hand of arranger Van Dyke Parks and the carefully calibrated sentimentalism of Scott Bennett's lyrics.

What's new? What's good? What will you find here that you won't hear anywhere else this week? Sit back, relax and click through to the premieres, the originals and the exclusives available only on Rhapsody! This week:

Santogold, FNMTV (Rhapsody Exclusive)
One of the breakout stars of the year, Santogold performs her rollicking hip-hop-reggae-pop hybrid live on FNMTV. This exclusive single features "L.E.S. Artistes" and "Creator."

Tokyo Police Club, FNMTV (Rhapsody Exclusive)
These Canadian post-punks deliver an atmospheric and moody take on the garage rock of the Strokes on this live single. Recorded at FNMTV and featuring their fan-favorite, "Graves."

Donnie Klang, Just A Rolling Stone (Rhapsody Premiere)
Diddy's blue-eyed soul protégé makes his full-length debut. Filled with come-hither lyrics and bedroom beats and featuring the Wham!-sampling "Pretty Girls."

Tricky, Knowle West Boy (Rhapsody Premiere)
The trip-hop pioneer returns with a decidedly modern sound, aided by acclaimed producers Switch and Bernard Butler. Features the single "Council Estate."

Song: Vanorapa
Album: Rebel Woman
Artist: Chiwoniso
Selected by: Sarah Bardeen
Date: September 4, 2008

She grew up in the U.S., but when Chiwoniso returned to her parents' native Zimbabwe as a teenager, she'd found her musical home. Check out what happens when you're raised on soul music and take it back to Africa.

Play It Now

by Angela Bruno

Welcome to the first installment of Rhapsody's 2008 VMA coverage.You will walk away with the ramblings of a blogger's meanderings through red carpets, parties, live shows, etc. I, the fly (girl) on the wall, will walk away with my weight in press credentials, a few sleep-deprivation headaches, a few good stories and nary a libel suit. Hopefully! We're talking an action-packed couple of days. So, watch this space.

I did not have cable until 2002, so the VMAs are still something of a novelty to me. As I sit here anxiously anticipating the unknown (it's a little like the blind leading the blind 'round here in the lead-up), I ponder/hyperbolize what I do know: an albino python and the best pop-star abs on record, rock hard, and the rock upon which the VMAs got their new millenium second wind! We're talking Britney's historic "I'm a Slave for You" performance. She gave you a reason to believe again (2007's performance and whether she will redeem herself this year notwithstanding)! 'Twas/is/forever will be the ultimate VMA moment. But maybe 2008's Russell Brand-hosted VMAs will find a way to usurp this notion. Other than Brand's noir/predatory/second-coming-of-Jessie Camp stylings, here's a few possible reasons why.

by Jen Guyre

The Misery Signals may be considered math-core stalwarts, but when it comes to songwriting, mood matters as much as time signatures. Swiftly switching from crushing brutality to atmospheric breaks, their latest effort Controller has garnered them some serious buzz, including rotation on Headbangers Ball. When Rhapsody caught up with guitarist Ryan Morgan while on the Thrash and Burn Tour to put together a playlist, the moody mix that emerged provided insight into what these Wisconsin boys are all about. “The music we do is trying to be something really emotional, really melodic, but still heavy," explains Morgan. "I framed this playlist where the songs are dark and depressing, but create good vibes because that’s something I think is really powerful. If you can tell that music came from pain, it really translates well and makes for really good songs." Check out the full list of Morgan's cathartic song choices here, and read on for what he had to say about each one.

by Chuck Eddy

Song: Galway Girl
Album: Transcendental Blues 
Artist: Steve Earle
Selected by: Linda Ryan
Date: September 3, 2008

Steve Earle is surely raking in the bucks now that this Celtic love song is being used on the television spots for Magner's Irish Cider. If losing your heart makes you feel as giddy as this shuffling tin-whistle tune, then sign me up!

Play It Now

by Toshitaka Kondo

Kardinal Offishall is quite the paradox. He's been a heavyweight with music industry insiders for years but he remained largely unknown to the masses despite minor hits like “Bakardi Slang” and “Ol’ Time Killin’” from his 2001 debut, Quest for Fire: Firestarter. The Toronto native’s bellowing voice and unique style of spittin’ in English and Jamaican patois made fans of producers he’s worked with like Pharrell and Timbaland, and superstars that tried to ink him like Jay-Z and Akon, whose Konvict Music he eventually signed with. Kardinal was finally catapulted into the spotlight when he dropped the Akon-assisted 2008 summer anthem “Dangerous,” which reached the top five on the Billboard Hot 100. With his sophomore album, Not 4 Sale, about to drop, Rhapsody caught up with Kardinal to talk about what “Dangerous” has meant to his career, the difficulties he faces as a Canadian rapper, and the circumstances under which suing can be ill-advised.

by Philip Sherburne

Concentric Pleasures is a blog column dedicated to the best in electronic singles: house, techno, their cousins and offspring. Named in honor of vinyl's grooves, it's a weekly roundup of new releases and back-catalog finds.

Labor Day, schmabor day: heading back to work or school doesn't have to entail a return to real life. For Stateside readers, two September festivals, New York's Minitek and Seattle's Decibel, are about to bookend the country with advanced beats and high spirits. And while Ibiza's summer season is drawing to a close, there's no shortage of high octane tracks to carry us kicking and screaming into the fall, wherever we may be.

by Chuck Eddy

Nine more acts you've managed to successfully erase from your memory banks until now: four from the post-disco dancefloor, then four from the C&W chicken coop, then some big British pop stars that Americans never heard of. Most common last name: Brown.

Song: A Change Is Gonna Come
Album: Portrait of a Legend 
Artist: Sam Cooke
Selected by: Sam Chennault
Date: September 2, 2008

The opening strings are baroque, triumphant and strangely melancholy, setting the mood as Sam Cooke sweetly croons, “I was born by the river/ in a little tent/ and just like that river/ I’ve been running ever since.” Few songs are as weary or as hopeful. One of the most powerful tracks in the American songbook.

Play It Now