Have rappers graduated from 70s funk?

Anybody noticing a new trend in the hip-hop industry? After years and years of jacking beats from every good funk song of the 70s - James Brown, Parliament, Earth Wind & Fire - , it seems like hip-hoppers have decided that 80s-kitsch has now become 00s -gold.

Case in point: the latest hit single from Flo Rida, "Right Round" (as in, "you spin me right round, baby, right round..."...)



Not to mention, Rihanna's "S.O.S." (thanks, Soft Cell!), Trick Daddy's "Let's Go" (i-i-i!!), and Sean Kingston's "I Can Feel It" (In the words of Phil Collins, "Oh Lord...").

It's only a matter of time before they start exhausting the 90s, and then the aughts, and before you know it they'll have to start coming up with - GASP! - original material...

When concert documentaries become art: LaBlogotheque

I'm sure this is old news to a lot of you indie heads, but lately I've really been digging LaBlogotheque, a pretty incredible French rock blog that films perhaps the most inventive concert footage around. Below are a few of my favs: Grizzly Bear strolling the streets of Paris singing an a cappella version of "Knife," Arcade Fire playing "Neon Bible" in an elevator, and - perhaps most touching of all - a video of Bon Iver's "Skinny Love," filmed from behind him and spotlighting the intimate, candlelit circle of crosslegged hippies grooving to the track like it was '67 again. There's also some great tunes from the likes of Sufjan Stevens, the Fleet Foxes, etc. Take a look here.

Grizzly Bear


Arcade Fire


Bon Iver

Six Auto-Tune songs I kinda actually maybe like...(just a little!)

Lil' Wayne - Lollipop

Okay, we heard this thing all over the radio last year. That doesn't change the fact that its use is gloriously, unabashedly over-the-top - and, somehow, strangely alluring. He doesn't pitch-correct every word, but the ones that he does - the gutteral sounds of "hair" and "her," for instance - pack a punch.

Natasha Bedingfield f. Sean Kingston - Love Like This
This sun-kissed pop ditty is a sharp contrast to the heavy, crunk-tastic T-Pain-ization of the device. It's subtle but pervasive on bubblegum-sweet lines like "That's why you keep on running in and out of my m-i-i-ind" (0:34).

Snoop Dogg's "Sensual Seduction"


As the video showcases, Snoop is hardly aping contemporary Auto-Tune stylings. With a laidback 70s-soul vibe and the rapper's borderline (GASP!) romantic come-ons, this tune stands out from the pack. Who cares if he's being ironic! The song buries into your head like no other Snoop song before it...

Kanye West f. Lil Wayne, "See You In My Nightmares"

The horror-film synths gives the two rappers' generic boasts a dramatic flourish, while the lack of a drum beat makes this sound like the world's longest intro - which somehow works.

T-Pain f. Ludacris, "Chopped N Screwed"
Jamie Foxx f. T-Pain, "Blame It"

On these two tunes, T-Pain acknowledges once and for all that pitch-correction is a gimmick, embracing and reveling in its ridiculousness. Both include deliciously Auto-Tuned choruses-> the first, "Chopped and Screwed," sounds like a turntablist having a bit too much fun with the scratching. The second, "Blame It," features perhaps the best over-enunciated nonsense catch-phrase since Rihanna's "Umbrella" (ella...ella...), as it somehow stretches "alcohol" into an eight-syllable word. Sing it with me, now: "Blame it on the ah, ah-ah, ah, ah, alcohol"

Six Songs About Sucking - That Don't

In light of Kelly Clarkson's cheeky pop smash "My Life Would Suck Without You," I give you the following tribute to non-sucky suck songs.



1. Reel Big Fish, "Everything Sucks"
It's hard not to bop your head to this delicious slice of ska-pop goodness. Sure, there's less substance than a half-hour of Hannity & Colmes (excuse me, Hannity), but what do you expect from a group whose (arguably) biggest song is an ode to their favorite alcohol beverage?



2. Mark Ronson (featuring Rivers Cuomo), "I Suck"
Catchy, funk-inflected power-punk that features the unlikely pairing of soul-obsessed celebrity DJ Mark Ronson and the lead
singer of Weezer. This track comes from an album, "Here Comes the Fuzz", that also lists Jack White, Sean Paul and Ghostface Killah among its guest appearances. Man, would I love to have ten minutes with Ronson's rolodex...



3. Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Suck My Kiss"
Stop-and-go funk-rock with a filthy bass line and Anthony Keidis ' quintiessentially exuberant white-boy scat raps.

(You also gotta love the naked bass-playing Flea in this clip from Woodstock 99...)



4. Run-DMC, "Sucker MCs"
The minimalist snare-and-bass drumbeat set the standard for hip-hoppers 20 years to come. Even in its musical and lyrical simplicity, this track out-gangstas anything by Jeezy, Weezy, Yeezy or Eazy.



5. Stevie Wonder, "All Day Sucker"
This organ-driven soul-funk workout features Stevie at his most brazenly sexual, offering up eyebrow-raising commands to "get me horny for your love." (Though it should be mentioned that the title is a figure of speech rather than a dirty come-on...)



6. Nine Inch Nails, "Suck"
"How does it feel?" Trent Reznor snarls. If this downtrodden bit of industrial metal is any indication, the answer is "not so good." It rocks, if glumly. The suckiest of the bunch - hence, it's 6th-place positioning - but a no-less-worthy addition to the cannon of suck-related songs.

Should Steve Jobs do A&R...?

I reviewed the Asteroids' first single for MusicOMH here, but their latest "Around the Bend" ups the ante. It's already getting some buzz from its much-deserved inclusion in a recent iPod commercial. Lead singer Mette Lindberg sounds like a long-lost B-52, purring lines like "I could stay forever" with energy and a healthy dose of grrlish spunk. Complemented by a plucky 80s keyboard riff and a funky bunch of horns, "Around the Bend" follows the tried-and-true iPod formula of catchy, danceable indie-rock in the vein of The Caesar's "Jerk It Out" and the Fratellis' "Flathead" .

Song In The Head: Matt Costa's "Sunshine"

An oldie - well, 2006 - but a goodie. (Sorry, no embedding on this one...)

PS Has it really been three weeks since my last post? Damn, this 9-to-5er is a serious time-sap! (As opposed to blogging, which is sacred and all-important and entirely useful...)

My latest story about post-election news flashes

Check it out. I got to interview a managing editor at Newsweek and generally rouse some rabbles.