01/09 – 01/13:

El-P, I'll Sleep When You're Dead

El’s first solo outing, Fantastic Damage, was one of the densest productions you could find in hip hop. For his 2nd album, he smoothed it out a little bit. The paranoid, dark tone that is the backbone of his style remains in place, but the tracks have a little more room to breathe and simmer in the atmosphere. With a fantastic and varied guest list, consistent and memorable production and great songs, this album may not have been as frantic, but was at least as powerful.

El-P, “Smithereens”

Lakutis, I'm In The Forest EP

Lakutis, Das Racist’s associate who had a few scene-stealing verses in songs like “Amazing” and “Swate,” makes his solo debut with this free EP. The production, much of it by other DR associate Big Baby Gandhi, is frenetic and paranoid, and perfectly suited to Lakutis’ manic delivery. With rap catchphrases like “I’m a death shark,” “Oops,” and “I’m dead,” Lakutis is pretty out of the ordinary, but who else is going to clue you into the Seven Spiders of Hip Hop? Face it: you need Lakutis in your life. Get the EP here.

Lakutis, “Death Shark”

Prince, Sign O' The Times

Something very specific inspired me to listen to this, but that was a month ago, and I can’t remember what it was now. I think I heard a cover or sample from it or something. Ah, well, any excuse to listen to the sprawling masterpiece of Prince’s career is a good one. I find it curious that Sign O’ The Times doesn’t have “the hits.” Much like Stevie Wonder’s Music Of My Mind or The Rolling Stones Exile On Main Street, it’s a classic, well-regarded album, possibly the artist’s crowning achievement, but if you only know Prince from listening to the radio (presumably back when listening to the radio wasn’t such a bad idea), you might not know anything on it. I seem to recall “Hot Thing” being on the radio, maybe. Regardless, this is every Prince you ever liked. Sexy dance music Prince, subdued romantic ballad Prince, overdramatic Prince, and goofy, “what the hell is he doing?” Prince, all the aspects of his body of work are represented in fine form on Sign O’ The Times. One time he was on Muppets Tonight, that lesser known successor to The Muppet Show, as “The Artist...” and did “Starfish & Coffee” with Muppets. Hard to top that.

Prince, “The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker” (It’s nigh impossible to find a studio version of any Prince song on youtube. I just gave up)

Electric Six, Heartbeats & Brainwaves

The release of a new Electric Six album is cause for celebration. It is, in fact, the soundtrack to its own celebration. Heartbeats & Brainwaves is a more synth-driven album, taking the dance rock we’ve come to depend on and turning down the “rock” part a little. The result is more akin to 2nd album Senior Smoke than most of their catalog: glorious, bombastic, even catchier than usual. And lyrically, Dick Valentine really brought it this time, delivering some of the Six’s more absurd, delightful songs to date in songs like “Gridlock!,” “It Gets Hot,” and “Food Dog.” Electric Six songs that get really excited about mundane events tend to be homeruns, and “Free Samples” is no exception. It’s about getting free samples. Even moody opener “Psychic Visions” offers plenty of fun. The whole album is a great time from start to finish. The first three Electric Six albums are far and away the best, and a big part of that for me is they all sound different. The first is really rock oriented, the second more dance-based, and the third stretched out and tried some new genres. After that, until last year’s Zodiac, they’d mostly settled into a reliable, Fire-esque, dance rock sound. But Zodiac began and Heartbeats & Brainwaves continues a new era of experimentation, and I am all for it. Electric Six are on top of their game right now.

Electric Six, “Gridlock!”

Not a lot this week. Not a lot most weeks for awhile here, as I was in a mad rush to finish comics during December. But there you go.

--D