All quiet on the...

Little action on my part of late, partly due to my forgetting the password plus increasing pressure on school work. Just a few things to say. I'm planning a list of compilations of popular musical history, to introduce my other year-by-year lists. Other things to note is the newly aquired Beauty and the Beat by the lovely Edan. Neat nerd core if I ever heard it, cultured retro-beats and fancy word-play, with cameos by Mr. Lif among others. Also bought Duke Ellingtons Bubber Miley Era: 1924-1929, which has many of the same tracks collected on the fine double Okeh Ellington, among them "Black and Tan Fantasy" and "East St. Louis Toodle-O", albeit in different tapings and nearly every selection is superior on the Bubber-disc. Also of note, the fine Landslide by The Curtis Counce Group from 1956. Premium hard bop at cut-down price. Next weekend sees both Drive-By Truckers and Sleater Kinney gigs. Later.

Late night jam

I got bored, so I figured I'd report from the latest news on the net. The guys'n'gals at Pitchforkmedia reckons the new Out Hud record is good for an 8.0 rating. I haven't heard it yet, so I won't argue, but their previous offering, S.T.R.E.E.T.D.A.D., was a bit flat, though the title "The L Train Is a Swell Train and I Don't Want to Hear You Indies Complain" is still good for a laugh. Our own Jaga Jazzist gets some props too. I don't give a toss, though. Metacritic.com has M.I.A's Arular as the current highest scorer. (If you are not familiar with their rating system, you can find out about it here: http://www.metacritic.com/about/scoring.shtml). I just bought it while in New York, and have given it quite a few spins. She is articulate, hard-hitting and soft at once. The beats are mostly heavy and hardly let go, which can prove to be a problem. For now though, it's a rumpshaker of a record, and I hope it holds up. A more elaborate review on my part may come later. Also, trying to get a hold of Count Base-D's new album Begborrowsteel. I heard soundbits on the 'net, and it sounded pretty good. Alt-rap with MF Doom-leeanings. Also, the guy is based in Nashville!!! Tired now, more later.

Chris