10/03 – 10/07

Opeth, Ghost Reveries Opeth’s 8th album seems the most accessible, but try as I might, I’ve never been able to articulate why. The songs are still epic, regularly surpassing ten minutes. The music is still their unique mix of death metal and acoustic passages. But even though the songs are long and intricate, they somehow feel more immediate to me, more visceral. I put on Opeth albums to appreciate all the time, but this is about the only one I put on to rock out. I don’t know. It’s good! Opeth, “Ghost of Perdition” 9th Wonder, The Wonder Years The long delayed “official solo debut” of ubiquitous producer 9th Wonder, The Wonder Years has about 6 million guest vocalists on it. 9th produces the whole package, bringing his signature soul sound to give the album unity, and appear as his rapper alias “9thmatic” on the opening track, but the vocals are almost entirely by well known associates like Raekwon, Phonte, and MURS as well as various artists from 9th’s It’s A Wonderful World Music Group like Skyzoo, Rapsody, Actual Proof and Thee Tom Hardy. It’s a breezy, feel-good affair. The remix of Erykah Badu’s “20 Feet Tall,” now featuring Rapsody, cleverly lays a faster beat under Badu’s original vocal, changing the timing of her delivering without actually changing anything. It’s a good time. 9th Wonder with Khrysis, “Make It Big” Turquoise Jeep, Keep The Jeep Ridin’ I’m surprised this hasn’t made it to one of these yet. Turquoise Jeep has managed to remain surprisingly mysterious for this day and age. Their videos have become viral hits, they’ve begun to tour, the joke has turned kind of serious, and they won’t even say where they’re from (But I’m guessing Atlanta). They wear ridiculous costumes, fake bears, wigs, masks. Rapper Flynt Flossy and producer Tummiscratch Beats could be some one you know, even, so complete is their disguise. But whatever’s going on behind the scenes, they’re pretty funny, and they know how to make a particular kind of perfectly absurd video. Keep The Jeep Ridin’ is a collection of songs by all the participants, and you can almost hear how the group evolved. From the gleefully amateur recording and awkward rhyming by Flossy and singer Whatchamacallit on “Strechty Pants” to the additions of rapper Young Humma on “Fried or Fertilized” and singer Pretty Raheem on “Wifey Boo”, to the very important addition of Tummiscratch Beats making their songs sound much more real, to the seemingly recent addition of singer Slick Mahoney, the newest songs sound more and polished and believable. Mahoney’s “Go Grab My Belt” is hilarious, but I wouldn’t think twice if I heard it on the radio. It’s a perfect parody of the kind of songs people release dead serious these days. Pretty Raheem never even seems like he’s trying to be funny in his lyrics, and yet he’s the most outlandish one in their videos with his brightly colored hair. Turquoise Jeep is a complicated joke, but it’s a really good one. Yung Humma with Flynt Flossy, “Lemme Smang It” Flight of the Conchords, I Told You I Was Freaky I’ve been enjoying The Conchords’ unique perspective since all I could watch was a bunch of concert videos on youtube. Since their mainstream explosion via TV, their songwriting hasn’t suffered a bit. If anything, I think the versions of their old material that made it into season one of their show weren’t as good, but the new material for seasons two is a worthy follow-up to their classic songs. With quite a few more hip hop-influenced songs than I expected, as well as other, somewhat less surprising experiments, they build on what’s come before and explore new territory without straying too far from the oddly sweet formula that got them where they are today. Flight of the Conchords, “Carol Brown” Evil Cowards, Love Pigs Evil Cowards is a side project of Mr. Dick Valentine, singer/mastermind for Electric Six. Released in early 2008, it was better, funnier, and more engaging than the last couple Electric Six albums, and preceded their fine return to form on KILL by only about six months. Evil Cowards isn’t all that different from E6. More of a focus on electronic music and production, but the guitars are still there, and most importantly, the hilarious lyrics and deadpan delivery are still there. But several of these songs allow Valentine to get really weird in ways he doesn’t in his day job, and the results are fantastic. “Classon Ave. Robots” is one of my favorite songs from any project Valentine has ever been a part of, alongside “I’m Not Scared of Flying Saucers,” “You Really Like Me,” and “Love Pigs.” There’s allegedly a new Evil Cowards album coming soon, and I can’t wait. Evil Cowards, “I’m Not Scared of Flying Saucers” and "Sex Wars, Many clips from this live show, in which they mostly lip sync the album while doing ridiculous dance routines, are on youtube. You should watch them.