Summer Music Update

This article was recently submitted to RWU’s alternative online newspaper, the Birdcage:

With that early June heat wave monstrosity finally dissipated, we can all think straight and should carefully proceed to take a look at the latest musical offerings gracing the sunny season’s fine airwaves. This summer is certainly not much more interesting or exciting than previous summers, but it is not completely disappointing either: while your regular assortment of tonal foul-ups are available at your local music store, there are a few sparkling exceptions that once in a while might actually make it onto your MP3 player’s play list. Every aficionado should be aware of these few highlights, because believe it or not, if you stop playing the Beach Boys for all your friends, life will go on. Play these during your community Obama barbeque, or on your way to the Mass, and you’ll likely get some nods from that coworker who never cared about your opinion, or from that significant other who has hated your taste in music since the second date, or from that potential greater-than-friend who has been waiting to be pushed over the edge by way of aural ecstasy.

For those of you out there who like to get your groove on in as many ways as possible, check out Girl Talk’s third major release, the long-awaited Feed the Animals. DJ Gregg Gillis, the man who is Girl Talk, has outdone himself this time, trumping his last spectacular mash-up mix Night Ripper with a new selection of party lubricating hits. A handful of the countless artists Gillis has sampled include Nine Inch Nails, Kelly Clarkson, Birdman, Lil Wayne, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Queen. If you can imagine the most magically schizophrenic dance beat sequence melded into the backdrop of spitfire melodies and rearranged vocals, then you can start practicing your dance moves. If you can’t, download the album for free on Illegal Art and start taking notes. Your future as a party host depends on it.

If you want to ride with your top down (or your windows cranked into the lowest position they can physically go), you should start looking into the latest mainstream hip hop that has graced (see dictionary.com for A) defiled, and B) evolution) our wonderful nation. From the Dirty South, aforementioned Lil Wayne has released his newest full length, the eccentric Tha Carter 3. Many refer to Weezy as the most popular American hip hop artist, and with C3 rivaling Kanye West’s Graduation from last year, as well as the album going platinum within a week (even though it was leaked on the Internet a week before hitting the shelves!), it is hard to deny that our culture is obsessed with including Wayne on the bill. The question you have to ask yourself is “why?” I’m sure many were surprised that Lil Wayne’s newest is his strangest. The album features songs where Lil Wayne’s rasping (though enticingly nonsensical) voice spits about being a Martian from Outer Space, being attracted to and having sex with a female police officer, and being a hip hop doctor who is trained in saving emcees from poor flow. If he and a million other people think he is the greatest rapper alive, maybe it’s something you should check out. You can come to your own conclusions.

If you’re interested in other hip hop directions, Bun B’s new II Trill is a long compilation of club tracks that perfect the mainstream misogynistic gangsta attitude. Even as a poor white kid I can feel the money being shoved in my hand and the girls taking their clothes off as I turn up the bass boost on my Creative Zen and accelerate my Kia Sephia to forty miles an hour. While most contemporary southern rap is interchangeable, one track that might change your mind is the innovative “Swang On Em,” which features Chicago’s Lupe Fiasco melding his Chi-town ferocity with southern spice.

If you enjoy the more traditional rap that harkens back to the old school days through the focus of intelligent word play and intricate beats, check out Prolyphic’s new full-length release from Strange Famous, The Ugly Truth. “Survive Another Winter” (featuring slam poet and comedian Bernard Dolan, as well as hip hop legend Sage Francis, and California’s Alias) will probably fire up your morality with some philosophic jaw-clenching.

Interested in laying around on some romantic beach so you can catch some rays, groove to some music, and contribute absolutely nothing to society? Who doesn’t? If chilling is your idea of a good time, then Youth Novels, the debut album from Swedish group Lykke Li will impress. The album starts off through a strangely obscure poetic chant backed by a mysterious beat; the second song, “Dance Dance Dance,” is probably the most accessible and directly entertaining, as the female singer provides a nascent assortment of memorably unforgiving child-like glee. From there on, the songs melt into one another, from one groove to the next, becoming just what you need to progress through that romance novel, or to write that love sonnet for your one-night-stand.

Similarly, you might check out Animal Collective’s smooth and aquatic Water Curses EP if you missed it from the end of spring. Probably my favorite Animal Collective release, Water Curses combines the new psycho-electro pop insanity of their latest LP, Strawberry Jam, with a throw-back to the more organic arrangements of their earlier work—something die-hard fans thought was lost. Key member, singer, and composer Avey Tare bubbles up a myriad of passionate only-half-insane verses with irregular pitch change and frantic rhythm. Even at its most active and strange moments, the EP dominates the pleasure centers of the ears. Bring it to the volleyball court and watch the other team fall apart in confusion.

For indie rock kids, the new Wolf Parade, the new Cloud Cult, and the new Spiritualized are albums that will be put on repeat. Unless you like the Grateful Dead, avoid the new Bonnie “Prince” Billy. The new Shy Child is great for fans of Justice and LCD Soundsytem. Fleet Foxes and Shearwater hit the folk and folk-rock off without any hitches, and the new Erykah Badu will please R & B fans. Nine Inch Nails now have their newest album on the Internet for free, so if you’re a fan of new stuff and old stuff, it would be a mistake to not entertain that album.

Hopefully Dan Deacon and Of Montreal’s new disks will be out before the weather turns cold again. And hopefully I will have more to say about some harder stuff. The biggest problem is hearing the new Disturbed on the radio and realizing that the band has not changed at all in several years. Plus I am distracted by all those new Guns ‘n’ Roses leaks. But maybe the hot weather will make me angry enough to go back to some serious metal, for a change. Look for those insights, some more record reviews, a Fourth of July special, and some comments on the present-day importance of some older albums throughout the next few weeks—and Christ, please branch out and listen to something new for a change. I’ll see you on the streets of Newport, or on the Wood—that’s Wood Street in Bristol, if you didn’t know. Peace.