1. Will Smith Nice Clean Rap - Hip-hop's hardest gangsta: "Whoo! Ha-ha! I respect women when I'm on a date / I take 'em to the park or maybe a museum / And I only try to kiss 'em if they're ready / Whoo-hoo! What, what, what?" | Episode #106: "McStroke" (Season 6, Episode 8) 2. Fatty's in a Little Jam - Love 'em or hate 'em, Vern and Johnny are true showmen; they know the show must go on: "Fatty's in a...Oh, now, how the whiz-bang does the rest of it go? Quick! Make something up!" | Episode #68... [Read more]

Diplo is having a bit of a moment right now. After little more than a decade on the scene, Diplo’s influence is felt far and wide and his reputation as a fixer, trendsetter and professional hitman is unparalleled. You may remember a little meme that popped up on the web recently called the “Harlem Shake.” After hearing the song in a BBC Essential Mix it was Diplo who released it through a subsidiary of his label Mad Decent. When Justin Bieber was putting together a team for his highly antici... [Read more]

When Thom Yorke quietly released his first solo album The Eraser in 2006, it was not so much a revelation as an affirmation. This is what Thom Yorke sounds like. The pianos and fuzzy beats, the skittering, glitchy electronics and anxious lyrics that were evident in his larger body of work with Radiohead were front and center on The Eraser. Six and a half years and two Radiohead albums later, Yorke is back with a sequel of sorts. It’s not a solo album, technically. Radiohead producer Nigel G... [Read more]

For many it was a long awaited moment, the equivalent of the arrival of Warhol, Godot or the Dalai Lama, the Return of the King (of Carrot Flowers) after years in exile. It was the first time many of us had ever seen him in person. The sheer anticipation of seeing the man whose wailing, disembodied voice and Byzantine lyrics defined Neutral Milk Hotel’s two seminal albums evaporated when Jeff Magnum shambled out onstage and took his seat.Read more...

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, the mad crush of the holidays is over and there’s a full slate of music festival tickets to choose from. Break out your calendar and plot your escape to one of the many festival destinations listed below. 2013 Festival Rumors The Rolling Stones After teasing a 50th anniversary reunion tour with a few Parisian small venue warm-ups and a paltry three US Rolling Stones tour dates, the rumors are flying hot and heavy about a possible Coachella appeara... [Read more]

Atoms for Peace: Amok Release Date: February 25 Back in 2006, Radiohead lead singer Thom Yorke did what lead singers do, he wrote a solo record and called it The Eraser. True to his own words on a Radiohead fan site (“I don’t wanna hear the word solo”), Yorke went out and formed a supergroup to translate the electronic-leaning album for live performances. Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, Beck’s drummer Joey Waronker and Brazilian percussionist Mauro Reosco... [Read more]

5. M.I.A. at the Superbowl Some of us had a good year, some of us had a bad year, and some of us got upstaged at the Super Bowl when M.I.A. flipped the bird in the middle of our set. Madonna falls solidly into that last category. In the endless string of calculations that Madge’s career has become, her secret cadre of Kabbalah oracles couldn’t possibly have predicted that M.I.A. of all people would take the opportunity to make a statement on the world’s largest stage. Except, there she is in ... [Read more]

"Keep a bandana like the Ninja Turtles, I'm like a turtle, when I sip the purple." – Lil' Wayne Commonly known as the Purple Drank, sizzurp originally came to prominence in the underground hip hop scene in Houston, Texas before being popularized nationwide in rap lyrics. It is widely agreed that Houston’s own DJ Screw ushered “The Lean” into popular consciousness with his “Chopped and Screwed” remixes mimicking the effects of Texas Tea. The slowed tempo, scratching and jump cuts inspired othe... [Read more]

In retrospect, 1977 looks like the end of an era and the start of a period whose features still resonate over 30 years later. Apple incorporated and Star Wars was released. INTERPOL issued a mandate against the piracy of VHS cassettes and other media. EMI fired the Sex Pistols and Led Zepplin’s last American concert ended in a brawl and criminal assault charges for Jon Bonham perhaps signaling that the cultural pendulum was swinging in a direction that might allow for a California pop band wi... [Read more]

This Saturday, December 8th, is the 32nd anniversary of the day John Winston Lennon was shot to death outside the Dakota building in Manhattan. I remember the day it happened or, more correctly, the morning after; living in England, we were five hours ahead, so were in bed while the events of that New York night unfolded. The radio morning news was ranting in between Beatles and Lennon songs, and my mother shouted to me as I came downstairs, "John Lennon's been shot!" I was 15 years old at the t... [Read more]