[ aquarius records

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MF Doom has to be one of the most important rappers around. As cliched as it sounds, he is one of the only hip hop artists taking shit to a whole 'nother level. Everyone's all gaga for Kanye West, and sure, he's doing his part to subvert MTV and commercial radio, but ultimately he's making mainstream pop music, no matter how creative it is. But Doom is the true subversive, his confusing raspy slur, spitting brilliantly garbled non sequiturs, his pacing and cadence so damaged and off kilter, but at the same time so funky and perfectly catchy. And his choice of musical partners is impeccable. Madvilllainy was absolutely brilliant with Doom teaming up with Madlib, for a drowsy, laid back jazzadelic joint, equal parts smooth jazz, funky R+B, spy movie soundtracks and far out alien funk. Every track a dense assemblage of killer loops, horns and flutes, porno wah guitar, and Doom's killer laconic flow. So we were all a bit excited when we found out Doom would be teaming up with the DJ of the moment, Dangermouse, who most folks have only heard on the DM and Jemini record from a few years back, but who is way more (in)famous for his unofficial and so far unreleased Grey Album, a wicked mash up of the Beatles White Album and Jay-Z's Black Album. The perfect choice to go up against Doom. But even more perfect is that this disc also teams Doom up with various characters from The Cartoon Network's late night adult oriented Adult Swim cartoons, considering Doom is sort of a cartoon character himself. Present and accounted for: Master Shake and Meatwad from the Aqua Teen Hunger Force, also their surly New Jersey neighbor Karl, Space Ghost, Thundercleese, Brak and Zorak, Harvey Birdman Attorney At Law, the cast of Sealab 2021 and our favorites, Ignignokt and Err, the Mooninites. For those unfamiliar with all those characters, it may just sound like a bunch of crazy characters adding flavor to Doom's bizarre universe, but for fans, it's pretty exciting to hear Meatwad rap in his weird high pitched gurgly voice, or hear Brak do a little rhyming, or Master Shake's continual indignant phone calls to Doom trying top get on this record. This could have all gone seriously south and ended up as nothing but a commercial for the Cartoon Network, but it of course transcends its parts and becomes one of the coolest craziest rap records of the last couple years. The music is dense and catchy as fuck, weird loops, and stuttering rhythms are woven into perfect backing tracks for Doom and his cartoon counterparts, bouncy and fun, fun and funky without being totally goofy. Just a teensy bit malevolent too, with random characters (Shake and Space Ghost) pitted as Doom's foes, while others, like Meatwad and Karl just sort of go along for the ride. And a wild ride it is, samples are brilliantly sliced and diced and re-assembled (check the chorus of "Mince Meat"), repeated listens reveal all sorts of little sonic details, and then Doom just seals the deal, with some of the most amazing rhymes ever (check "Vats Of Urine") and a cartoon personality that might make you wonder when he'll be getting his own show. Sure the year's almost over, but wouldn't really make any difference... HIP HOP RECORD OF THE YEAR!

MPEG stream: The Mask
MPEG stream: Aqua Teen Hunger Force
MPEG stream: Mince Meat
MPEG stream: Vats Of Urine

Yet another review courtesy of former Outpunk label head, current A.C.R.O.N.Y.M. label mastermind, gay gangsta and AQ pal Matt Wobensmith: It's the gayest hip hop album of all time! And when we say the gayest, we mean it in only the best way, of course. Not a novelty record, but a genuinely filthy -- yet sincere and highly addictive -- commercial hip hop album a la Missy/Timba, or maybe even Lil' Kim. Can people even handle that? Johnny is a precocious and foul mouthed dude, spitting nasty and controversial rhymes over hot, funked out 303s and club jams, including a tribute to Sheila E ("Sugar Daddy") and a posse cut over Digable Planet's "Rebirth of Slick". Best track could be "Crack Hit" -- a raunchy duet with LA homo horrorcore rapper Deadlee (album due out soon on A.C.R.O.N.Y.M.)... worth the price alone if just for the best line ever in the track "Crack Hit" -- "you thought I was talking about drugs? My ass IS a drug!" If there was any justice, people like Johnny Dangerous would be all over the airwaves, spreading hilarious fun and gay sex over the overblown Eminems and DMXs and 50 Cents of the planet.

MPEG stream: Crack Hit
MPEG stream: Not Black Enough

It all started with a joke, a dumb joke, but a pretty funny one nonetheless. you'd have to be living under a rock to have not heard Das Racist's internet/mixtape hit "Combination Pizza Hut And Taco Bell", which was essentially a simple looped beat, with the group rapping "We at the Pizza Hut, we at the Taco Bell, we at the combination Pizza Hut And Taco Bell" over and over and over. After millions of downloads/listens, as well as a couple of killer free mixtapes, it was only a matter of time before the rest of the world got hip to what the world of blogs had been freaking out over for ages. And you know what, often the hype turns out to be just that, but in the case of Das Racist, they sorta deserve it. Alongside the stupid silly sense of humor, these guys have skills, wicked flows, hilarious / ridiculous / super smart lyrics, and they put together some killer jams, the hype is sorta too bad, cuz inevitably hipsters worldwide will decide these guys suck, now that they're getting some mainstream popularity, which is a shame, but what can you do, that seems to be the way (talking to you witch house). But fuck it. Check out "Michael Jackson" and see if you can resist, a wicked skittery beat, and a killer Bollywood loop, some amazing lines, including the goofy line delivered so dramatically: "I'm fucking great at raaaaaaapping!!!" (That's rapping, not raping, btw, don't want anyone to get the wrong idea.) Or "Rainbow In The Dark", with another irresistible loop, and more ridiculous, and ridiculously good lines, including references to Jeff Mangum, Kool G Rap, Donkey Kong, Schlomo, Pocky candies, and more whatthefuckness. Falling somewhere between Antipop Consortium and Odd Future, smart and surreal, this shit rules, popular or not. Check it out. Haters be damned.

MPEG stream: Michael Jackson
MPEG stream: Rainbow In The Dark
MPEG stream: Relax

Reissue of one of the few hip hop records everyone can agree on (another is probably PE's 'A Nation Of Millions...'). This record is so clever, so catchy and so kick ass, that even the heads who can't stand 'positive hop-hop' (like me) love this record. Unless

RealAudio clip: Me, Myself and I (Oblapos Mode)
RealAudio clip: Brain Washed Follower

The less said about this album the better. Unless you're saying, "It ain't no 3 Feet High and Rising."

Xzibit, Redman, Busta Rhymes, Chaka Khan (whom you may have seen at the Republican National Convention), Mike D & Ad Rock, Busy Bee, Freddie Foxx, others all guest on this new De La Soul album. So it's a party.

De La Soul are down off their '90s Nubian high. Can they can still play collegiate Spring Flings with this stuff? Probably not. But who cares! Holy crap, this is good fucking hip-hop! Production on The Grind Date is pretty organic albeit star-studded, with beats often steeping before getting all heavy and crazed. I can't stress how good this album is straight through from beginning to end. If this is De La's last record it'll be one of their best, by far their strongest.

MPEG stream: Verbal Clap
MPEG stream: The Grind Date

Dead Prez fucking rule. Politically, musically. One of the best and seriously right-on groups in hip hop today. West Coast funk swagger, big ass, trunk busting beats, and classic loops, with biting lyrics that spare NO ONE. Another instant classic from a group doomed to stay way underground because of their unwavering politics. No "Hey Ya" for these guys. Fuck yeah! Slightly puerile aside: You'da thunk they would have noticed that the title Revolutionary But Gangsta (say it aloud) is just a little too close to Revolutionary Butt Gangsta, eh? Especially in a genre rife with homophbia and continuous sexual boasting. Then again, maybe they did it on purpose. In that case, fuck yeah again!

MPEG stream: Walk Like A Warrior
MPEG stream: I Have A Dream Too

Gay gangsta rap. Gayngsta rap. That's right. You may not have known it, but the gay gangsta rap scene is apparently blowing up all over the place. Assault With A Deadlee Weapon is Deadlee's second album and first for AQ pal Matt Wobensmith's new label A.C.R.O.N.Y.M. (he used to run Outpunk back in the day). Deadlee is a hard-ass East LA "homothug", complete with a sneer, tough tattoos and doo-rag. His lyrics? Over-the-top violent sex and gang-banger tales, mixed in with stories of personal strife and gay identity. In fact, the record starts out with some un-named record exec telling Deadlee she has no idea how to sell his stuff because it's so "offensive". And well, it's definitely not an easy listen, but it is pretty fascinating. Sonically, the whole breakbeats over metal riffing sound is very reminiscent of Cypress Hill or the Boo Yaa Tribe. But the lyrics....There's Deadlee's dissing of 50 Cent and DMX in "Suck Muh Gun"? And the tongue-in-cheek "No Fags Allowed", a song whose subtlety is definitely lost if you don't know what you're listening to? Guests on this album include a who's who of the "homohop" scene, including Johnny Dangerous, Tori Fixx and lots more.

MPEG stream: Suck Muh Gun
MPEG stream: Gay Pac

Kick ass collection of dark East Coast hip hop, blunted beats and brooding atmospherics, from this bizarre collective made up of experimental hip hop outfit Dalek, East Coast spaced out dronescapers Destructo Swarmbots, and hop hop weirdo Oddateee. Tons of guests too...

Yet another far out release from the genius Public Guilt label, this one an experimental hip hop avant drone soundscape record from a group called dEADVERSE MASSIVE, made up of experimental hip hop outfit Dalek, East Coast spaced out dronescapers Destructo Swarmbots, and hop hop weirdo Oddateee. And you know it sort of sounds just how you might expect. Dark and droney, stretched out and abstract. Only the first track really sounds very hip hop, and even then it's freaked out and pretty far out. A grinding low end, a squelchy electro beat, a long stretch of some dude swearing and cursing a blue streak, eventually the rapping comes in, a mellow, laid back flow, perfectly complimenting the washed out murky drones in the background. That track segues into something way more abstract, bits of wah guitar and fragments of melody drift aimlessly in a shimmery expanse, with what sounds like a muted song, or a mysterious radio broadcast unfurling way in the background. The side finishes off with a strange looped soundscape of hiccupping guitar riffs, chopped into little pieces, then strewn over a lengthy stretch of near nothingness, a haunting minimal jam for sure. The flip side, is all one track, but moves through all sorts of moods and movements. Beginning with a muddy DJ Shadow-esque soundscape but with a bit more drone and glitch, a thumping blurred rhythm way down in the mix, a constant drone of fluttering guitar and washed out keyboards drifting over the top. This murky midnight groove turns into a swirling morass of disembodied guitars and keyboard chaos, over the top a confusional mix of voices, spoken, sampled, some right up front, some distorted and buried beneath the music, three, maybe four voices, constantly drifting in and out of earshot, eventually fading away, leaving a melancholy, minor key stretch of backwards guitar, looped and dreamlike that unwinds until the disc ends. Really cool stuff. Maybe more for weird music fans than hip hop headz, but either way, would love to hear some of this in some crazy DJ set... Gorgeous picture disc, original Paul Romano artwork (you know, the guy who did those Mastodon covers), in a thick plastic sleeve with a metallic silver sticker along the top.

Death Comet Crew (aka Arena Sex Death, aka Death Star Crew) were experimental New York club DJS in the late '70s / early '80s which is pretty key when thinking about the context surrounding the DCC sound. New York was in the midst of a serious recession, hip-hop was breaking out of Harlem, all-city trains were bombed and tagged and almost everyone was reacting against disco -- violently. The city was a vibrant gritty dirty trashy outrageously rocking Hell. In all its years of being a virtual toilet, New York at this time was at its most aggressively funky. Scene set. DCC fed off pioneering Detroit DJ's that were slamming together Kraftwerk, Parliament and Tangerine Dream which laid down some preliminary ground-work for techno, New York bands like ESG and Liquid Liquid, and other artists embracing the type of deconstructive / reconstructive experimentation of the time. The DCC sound was dirty dark Frankenstein funk. Live electronic drums and long layers of sound-collage created a schizoid sonic atmosphere. They worked on deconstructing the rigidity of breakbeat and loop structures set up by hip-hop, while simultaneously providing inspiration for Public Enemy's production team, The Bomb Squad. Special guest vocals were often provided by MC and graf artist Rammellzee, adding a bit of human tangibilty. Overall, this is an awesome time capsule of New York, musically-speaking. Thanks to Troubleman for dusting off these tracks recorded live from The Pyramid Club in 1984 and presenting them for some historical consideration.

MPEG stream: At The Marble Bar
MPEG stream: Scratching Galaxies

This record has been floating around for a while now, in various permutations, tapes, downloads, and now finally an lp, and a cassette again, maybe in anticipation of Death Grips' Epic label debut which is slated to drop later this month. And if you've yet to hear Death Grips, you might be a little surprised that they got snapped up by a major, cuz this is some fierce, grim, mean sounding shit. This Sacramento crew specializes in a twisted hybrid of hip hop and experimental electronics, the sound a dizzying assemblage of buzzing metal guitars, skittery programmed beats, bizarre samples, fractured glitched out buzz, twisted loops, seriously raw and lo-fi, but at the same time urgent and intense and fucking far out and super original. The vocals are fierce and furious, not so much just rapped as bellowed, and howled, which suits the heavy sounds in the background. While much of the drumming is programmed, the drummer in Death Grips is none other than Hella's Zach Hill, but don't be expecting much of that furious Lightning Bolt style frantic drumming, this is after all a hip hop record, so most of the beats are spare and stretched out, as much about their tone and timbre as the rhythms themselves. Opener "Beware" is about as close to perfect as the troublesome hybridization of hip hop and metal has ever gotten, with big chiming distorted chords, an epic almost rock song arrangement, skittery rhythms, and DG mainman Stefan Burnett laying down a fierce flow over the top. "Guillotine" sounds more like a super charged Sensational jam, the beat spare and skittery, the main loop a thick buzzing low end synth, the track laced with little flurries of sci-fi FX, and weird random blasts of psychedelic sound, not to mention a having chain clatter crunch and some motorcycle rev thrum, and the rapping, twisted and deliriously off kilter. "Spread Eagle Cross The Block" is a dizzying assemblage of looped pop song, big sing along verses, stuttery handclap beats, while "Lord Of The Game" is a head spinning shuffle with the main loop made from sliced and diced vocals, there's also Beastie Boys horn bleats, and a Crazy World Of Arthur Brown sample, all tangled up into a crazy rapid fire blast of rhythmic crush. The rest of the record is just as twisted and all over the map, and while we could go song by song and describe each one in turn, it should be obvious by now if this is your cup of seriously spiked tea or not, we'd be surprised if it wasn't, this is the sort of hip hop record that sounds like it was made for aQ, fucked up and funky, heavy and tripped out, groovy and super twisted. For a genre that seems to do less boundary pushing than it should, this is the sort of hip hop record that shakes shit up big time, and suddenly it's not such a surprise that this is getting the big underground buzz AND major label attention it so strangely deserves. Quite possibly our hip hop record of the year, and yeah it came out last year, but it's our favorite this year so far too!

MPEG stream: Beware
MPEG stream: Guillotine
MPEG stream: Spread Eagle Cross The Block
MPEG stream: Lord Of The Game
MPEG stream: Blood Creepin'

Originally released on vinyl for this year's Record Store Day, the Money Store is record number two from this weirdo outsider punk/noise/electro/hip hop trio from across the bay, whose debut, the twisted noise drenched Ex-Military was a huge hit around here, and The Money Store seems poised to follow suit. Although in some ways, this new record is a lot less weird, and a lot more polished, and while it's still fierce and fucked up, it's definitely not as outwardly angry, less a sonic brick in the face, and more like a carefully plotted and meticulously executed throat slitting, which we would imagine is a comparison these guys would dig. As with Ex-Military, Zach Hill from Hella is one of the guys behind the production, and while there may be live drumming, it definitely sounds like he spent more time programming beats, the sound more electro than anything, and even moreso that Ex-Military, the sound much more fully realized, more lush and layered, opener "Get Got" has a loop and a beat that sounds like it could've gone in an entirely different direction, and been sort of weird pop radio hit, but with Stefan Burnett's twisted flow and frenetic delivery, it helps transform the songs' shoegazey electro-jitter into something more jittery and dizzying, like some malfunctioning double dutch jam. "The Fever" hews closer to the first record, the flow more of a belligerent bellow, the beat a stuttery skitter, but again, the production is super slick and makes the song a bit more palatable, without taking away from the ferocity, which is definitely a delicate line to toe. The whole record is killer, every track here, all weirdo loops, twisted flow, sick beats, massive production, this is the sort of shit you imagine being blasted from a booming system in the car of THEE scariest dude in the hood, fucked up and fierce, but also groovy and funky, a little bit loopy and twisted, especially when they do the whole sped up soul sample thing, which here just makes things sound weirder then ever. Lots of this record remind us of one of our favorite weirdo outsider hip hop records EVER, Too Bad But True, by Fever, released on DHR way back in 1998, the same sort of disregard for standard song structure, typical rapping, lots of distortion and murk, fractured beats, twisted loops, almost like both groups decided to reinvent the genre from the ground up, and just inadvertently touched on the various elements that DEFINE the genre in most cases, but here those bits and bobs just got all fucked up and came out the other side practically unrecognizable, and got all tangled up into an already head spinning, bafflingly brilliant sound. Hip hop record of the year? Quite possibly, but word is there's gonna be ANOTHER Death Grips later this year, so we might have to reserve judgment until then!

MPEG stream: Get Got
MPEG stream: The Fever
MPEG stream: Double Helix
MPEG stream: System Blower

We loved the Death Grips debut, Exmilitary, and the follow up, Money Store, but to be honest, we never thought we'd see this new-ish one actually come out. Considering it was meant to be released ages ago, but the band went ahead and released it online for free, without their (major) label's consent, which resulted in them being dropped. They also publicly shared private emails from their label. Then of course there's the X-rated cover art, that features the album title written in sharpie on an erect penis. There's also the recent Death Grips 'tour', which seemed like some sort of art punk prank, with the shows consisting of prerecorded music, a projection of a suicide note, and a lonely drum kit. Which often resulted in crowds freaking out, and at least at one show, trashing what little DG gear there was to be trashed. But then really, these guys have been all about stirring up shit, almost to the point where the music seemed more a vehicle for all that shit stirring. But even if that's true, the bottom line is that the music is pretty goddamn great, and weird as fuck, warped and woozy and confusional, and we can safely say, that as damaged and demented as those first two records were, No Love Deep Web still manages to up the ante. Swirling synths, blown out bass buzz, stuttering beats, but it's still all about DG mainman Stefan Burnett's insane ranting, which is even more unhinged this time around, to the point that on the opening track he begins to shriek wildly, his voice cracking hysterically, while the tense buzz and lurching beats add their own sonic pathos. And so it goes, the sonic palette remains pretty consistent throughout, thick swaths of synth buzz, and brittle electro beats, all sorts of FX and electronic filigree, the sound dense and thick and layered, with Burnett going nuts over the top, at some points, his vocals, are captured and looped and sent spinning through clouds of effects into the ether, multiple vocal lines collide, and get all tangled up, dizzying demented and fierce as fuck. A few of the tracks strip it way down, leaving mostly just clipped beats and vox, others sound almost dubsteppy, minus the actual dubstep, thick gouts of fuzzed out bass, and swirling clouds of crumbling, distorted low end, but really, the bulk of the record is just mean as fuck, dark and droney, buzzing and blown out, the sort of super sick, bass heavy, industrial laced, electro-hop we can't ever seem to get enough of... Let's also hope their even newer album, Government Plates, sees a physical release soon too. Housed in an artless black vinyl sleeve, to hide the sharpied erect cock cover art inside!

MPEG stream: Come Up And Get Me
MPEG stream: Lil Boy
MPEG stream: No Love

It's been a long time since we've heard a full on solo outing from Del. When he first hit the scene in the early '90s he really helped ignite the renaissance of West Coast underground hip-hop which would soon spawn the likes of Jurassic 5, Souls Of Mischief, Dilated Peoples and Blackalicious. While it's been about 8 years since Del released his first solo joint, he's been keeping busy collaborating with Dan The Automator and Kid Koala for the awesome Deltron 3030 project, as well as doing guest spots for the Gorillaz. Eleventh Hour is a really nice return to form for Del. His first outing for Def Jux flows so sweet as his beats and rhymes come out so effortlessly and with flair. While so many modern day hip-hop albums boast only few good songs amid so much filler and tired skits, it's so nice to hear a record that is super strong from start to finish. Fresh for '08!

MPEG stream: Bubble Pop
MPEG stream: Workin' It

Here's the label-supplied blurb: "'Positive Contact' is the new single from the most talked-about Space Age Hip Hop Opera of the 31st Century, Deltron 3030. Featuring remixes of both 'Positive Contact' and 'Time Keeps On Slipping' (featuring Damon Albarn of Blur). Track listing includes radio edits, instrumentals, acapellas. Remixes by Charlie Clouser (Nince Inch Nails), Cut Chemist

Back in October of 2000 when the Deltron 3030 album came out we expressed our sadness that an album of such great potential was sullied by the pedestrian vocal stylings of Del "Tha Funky Homosapien" and hoped that at some point Dan The Automator would

RealAudio clip: 3030
RealAudio clip: Madness
RealAudio clip: Time Keeps on Slipping

New supergroup project conceived 'n produced by AQ-fave Dan The Automator and featuring AQ-fave Kid Koala on turntables. With more hot shot cameos than you can shake a Technics 1200 at -- including Prince Paul, Sean Lennon, Peanut Butter Wolf & Mark Bell -- you'd think this has got to be the record of the century. Sadly, all it takes is one bad needle to destroy a record and this one is played all the way through with the dullest needle in the cabinet: Del "The Funky" Homosapien. While Jake (Allan and Andee's bowling partner) claims that Del is "a way better rapper than Ice Cube", where he gets this idea we don't know. Del is not only one of the most "unfunky" rappers, but his vocalizings this time around are so totally derivative of Kool Keith's Dr. Octagon schtick as to be flush red embarrassing; lots of poorly written outer-space, 'wacky' scientific, non-sequitir raps that lack originality (repeated shouts of'3000, 3000!' ala Dr. Octagon) and are delivered stiffly Will Smith/Fresh Prince style. We hope that Dan and Kid Koala will work on an instrumental version of this album, cos the instrumental accompaniment is stunning, full of great sweeping washes of emotive grooves and inspired beatmaking. Bravo to the Automator, at least.

RealAudio clip: 3030

We love Nate Denver. And his Neck. How could we not? He's so cool and cute and funny and nice and he's one talented motherfucker. From wielding a string-ed stick in the free skronk noise merchants Total Shutdown, to his strummy folk warblings, to his fucked up metal obsessed weirdness, to his masterful vocalizing in the now defunct Dig That Body Up It's Alive, to his weird rambling white boy hip hop, to his amazing artwork and completely demented stories, hard to resist. So here we have Nate's latest project, a book of short stories, 50x50 stories he calls 'em, which means 50 stories, each 50 words long, accompanied by 50 drawings. The stories are awesome. From wacked and surreal, to simple and poignant, from awww shucks to what the fuck. Sweet and sour, happy and sad, usually somehow both. Nate's gorgeous and mesmerizing mini elephant artwork is all over the place too, but let's give some props to Mr. Zak Sally, formerly of slowcore legends Low, now master of the La Mano publishing house, the man who helped layout, design and print this puppy, cuz it is one beautiful looking little tome. The pages are all rough edged, printed on gorgeous thick textured paper stock. The cover is a sort of irridescent grey, with a dizzying mini elephant design printed in metallic silver ink, with built in dust jacket, and more printed metallic elephants on the end papers. And all over the book there are really funny little testimonials from Mick Turner of The Dirty Three, Mark Whiteley, the editor of Slap Skateboarding magazine, MF Grimm and Tom Araya of Slayer ("I hate this book.") as well as an introduction by Adam Jones of Tool! As if that weren't enough, also included is a brand new Nate Denver's Neck full length album, "Ghost Alarm", packed with Denver's sweet folky ramblings, seriously funky hip hop jams, his playful white boy flow in full effect (he teams up with MF Grimm on one track!!), lots of little random snippets, Nate as a child, a botched shout out from the GZA, a killer introduction with a bunch of super stars giving Nate a shout out (see if you can figure out who's who), and all sorts of other random sonic weirdness. Absolutely fucking amazing, looking AND sounding. All Hail Nate Denver!! And his all powerful Neck!!

MPEG stream: Introducing
MPEG stream: Mace
MPEG stream: Agony (Featuring MF Grimm)
MPEG stream: Ballad Of The Bullied Demons (Extended)
MPEG stream: Who?

No doubt you've at least heard 'Survivor', and you've most definitely heard the Charlie's Angels song. And unfortunately, outside of a track or two, those happen to be the best songs on the record. So while it is a good record, it maybe doesn't measure up to the last one. Windy loves it, and thinks it actually might be better than the last one. But Allan and Andee are yet to be

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. Bay area "dub" band (which may actually be called Ben Wa, it's hard to tell) that features the likes of Buckethead, DJ Disk, Brain, and M.I.R.V.

MPEG stream: To The X-Treme
MPEG stream: Cooter Brown

Calling all spuds!! If you consider yourself a Devo-tee, you're gonna want this. Heck everyone should want this, a live recording by one of the best bands EVER (really!) at the height of their powers. Originally released on limited vinyl for Record Store Day 2012, at long last Devo's own Booji Boy label has put this out on compact disc too, nice also since that coveted RSD vinyl version went instantly out of print. Recorded live November 28th, 1981 at Seattle Center Arena, during the tour for New Traditionalists, these unique new wave art punk weirdos, always a great live band, rip it up here with a good, synth-laden selection of some of the best songs from their first four albums, like "Girl U Want", "Uncontrollable Urge", "Mongoloid", "Jocko Homo", "Through Being Cool" and of course "Whip It". Includes 2 bonus tracks from another show in '81 at The Orpheum in Boston, not found on the vinyl version, for twenty tracks in all - including, since it's a live show, an "Opening Theme" and also a "Set Change Countdown" interlude. Packaged in a nice digipack, which includes liner notes by Devo's Gerald V. Casale. Not really much more to say - if you're into Devo it's no-brainer, and it's nice to hear these songs again sounding so fresh, delivered with loads of energy. Or, if somehow you've yet to become a fan, this might do the trick, check it out.

MPEG stream: Going Under
MPEG stream: Uncontrollable Urge
MPEG stream: Gates Of Steel

As we mentioned in our review of the teaser ep that preceded this full length, unless you are seriously disconnected, you no doubt have seen or heard Die Antwoord (which means THE ANSWER), who are one of the most baffling, brilliant, raddest, silliest, goofiest, most exciting rap trios we've heard in ages. South African rednecks, one a tall gangly track suit wearing rapper called Ninja, covered in homemade tattoos and prone to performing in just boxers and sneakers, his 'hypeman', an ultra cute diminutive helium voiced elfin pixie called Yo-Landi, and finally DJ Hi-Tek, whose inclusion in the group was based on the fact that he "owned a PC computer" and made "next level" beats. And the best part about DJ Hi-Tek, a chubby baby faced dude, is that if you see them now, DJ Hi-Tek is inexplicably a tall skinny good looking guy, which is the first clue that everything is maybe not on the up and up. When we first saw one of their videos, besides being totally blown away, and immediately crushed out on Yo-Landi, all we could think was "please be real, please be real" cuz, c'mon, it seemed way too weird and awesomely fucked up to be genuine. Some research revealed that Ninja and Yo-Landi are long time partners, who supposedly have a kid together, but more importantly, have been performing for years, in various permutations, different groups, on TV shows, art collectives, there are some amazing videos you can dig up if you know what to look for, but the bottom line was sadly, that Die Antwoord was all an elaborate prank, but which somehow really actually just made them that much cooler. There was only two ways it could go after all, it was impossibly real, or it was the most perfectly executed art project / prank ever. And to be honest, either way, we were gonna be totally into it. But really, none of it would work if the music didn't rule, they are a band after all, and $O$ seals the deal, regardless of who they are, and where they come from, these jams slay, "Enter The Ninja" is the video that launched their career, having been viewed about a gazillion times, and with bands like this, the videos are so good, and so over the top, and they're such characters, that sometimes none of that translates to the music, but that definitely is NOT the case here, and the "Enter The Ninja" song sans visuals still slays, and yet it's not even the best jam here. And actually, to pick the best jam would be a tough one, so much good stuff here, there's the Diplo produced "Evil Boy", which also has a head spinning over the top video, but the song itself is all over the place, featuring a young South African guest rapper and Ninja and Yo-Landi on fire, rapping about penises and underpants and whatever other weirdness they can whip up, and besides Yo-Landi's chorus refrain, her closing rap is KILLER, sexy and sinister, all delivered in her strange squeaky chirp. There's also "Rich B***h", an awesomely stripped down synth driven groover, woozy and low slung, "Beat Boy", most notable for the 'swinging Dark Side Of The Moon boxers' video, but which features an awesomely twisted off kilter production, some robotic electro shimmer, and another killer Yo-Landi chorus, or the heavy synth raver "Wat Kyk Jy?" with a crazy anthemic chorus and cool brooding minimal verses, fuck, they're all so good. The closer, is some sort of wheezing accordion driven chunk of sea shanty cabaret, which leads into a few minutes of silence, which hides a secret bonus track that's killer and sounds like Zombi, all super sci-fi Carpenter / Goblin synth disco. Believe the hype. Overdose on the videos, and play this record to death. BTW: Allan and Andee saw them play an instore at another record store in SF, and they DESTROYED, whipping a crowd of hundreds into a near riot-ready frenzy, A + A included!!

MPEG stream: Evil Boy
MPEG stream: Rich B***h
MPEG stream: Enter The Ninja
MPEG stream: Fish Paste

Unless you've been living under a rock for the last year, or don't have ANY access to the internet at all, you no doubt know all about these guys, South African rappers, whose video for their jam "Enter The Ninja" seems like maybe the most watched video on YouTube, and hell, it makes sense, besides being a goofy jam, with some ridiculous rapping, the video itself is incredible, besides frontman Ninja's wild gesticulating delivery and weird homemade tattoos, there's the strange figure who pops up throughout, a weird looking dude suffering from progeria (the premature aging disease), the set decorated with strange Keith Haring style drawings, and best of all the utterly crushworthy Yo-Landi, who sings the refrain, a little elfen pixie with super angular haircut, who over the course of the video, lays on the bed in a school girl uniform, eventually stripping down to a flash dance T-shirt and some dollar sign panties, the whole time doing ninja sword moves. Even more notably, Yo-Landi was offered the leading role in the American remake of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (which she sadly turned down). Besides all that, the jams are often, goofy, funky, over the top, catchy as hell, it seemed too good to be true, and it sort of was. It was eventually revealed that Die Antwoord was a high concept musical art project, Ninja and Yo-Landi having both been members of an art collective, and active performers in the South African hip hop scene for years, and doing TV comedy, but fuck it, that almost makes it even cooler, that all those tattoos are fake, that the whole South African redneck angle is a put on, but it's no more of a put on than some satanic devil worshipping black metal band, it's all theater, and Ninja and crew are masters. This little 5 song teaser is pretty great, but as with most bands who rely heavily on image, without the videos, it's a whole 'nother situation. And for most of us, who have spent the last year obsessively watching Die Antwoord videos, and worshipping Yo-Landi from afar, it's just not the same without the visuals, that said, this is some pretty serious synth driven hip hop techno synth groove, "Enter The Ninja" is the most commercial of the bunch, which makes it the least interesting, definitely a Die Antwoord gateway jam, but then "Wat Kyk Jy?" makes it all better, thick synths, pounding rave beats, goofy raps, strange voices, intense thick bass lines, then there's the autotuned "I Don't Need You", a sort of Kanye style hip hop ballad, but "Fish Paste" is THEE jam here, formerly titled Jou Ma Se Poes In A Fish Paste Jar", which translated is "Your Mom's Pussy...", yep, ridiculous, but the track itself is a stripped down Miami Bass style strutter with some bad ass rapping from both Ninja and Yo-Landi, and some more thick synths, deeeeep bass, and some totally over the top lyrics. The record finishes off with a remix of "Enter The Ninja", which is pretty cool, but we still find ourselves listening to "Fish Paste", watching the videos, and waiting patiently for the full length. For those who did somehow miss out, peep this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_pS46YRMIQ (keep an eye on those Dark Side Of The Moon boxers!) and of course this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc3f4xU_FfQ Real or not, Die Antwoord might just be our new favorite band. And yours...

MPEG stream: Enter The Ninja
MPEG stream: Fish Paste

What really needs to be said about Die Antwoord at this point? An elaborate art-prank, that turned into a YouTube sensation, but rather than a brief flash in the pan, South African rap duo Die Antwoord have managed to make some pretty amazing records, to go with their next level batshit genius videos. For most groups who traffic in similarly image heavy hype, the music is secondary, and exists simply as an excuse to create elaborate visuals, and while few bands reach the level of Die Antwoord when it comes to whatthefuck videos, their records are still manage to be routinely pretty goddamn great. A mix of old school hip-hopisms, and twisted modern weirdo electronica, it helps that the two members of Die Antwoord, Ninja and Yo-Landi are both crazy cartoon characters, who have at this point essentially totally disappeared into their characters, Ninja, a gangly, tattooed thug, who is usually clad in just a pair of boxers, and the extremely crushworthy Yo-Landi, a seriously stacked pixie, with a weird shaved head / mullet, and a whispery sexy flow, the perfect compliment to Ninja's twisted gangsta delivery, and then the music, sometimes minimal electro, other times over the top, rib cage rattling big beats, some tracks relentlessly high energy, buzzing synths over stuttery beats, others sounding like some redneck South African Eminem, and others like the 'hit' on this record "Pitbull Terrier", impossibly catchy, twisted electro-hop blowouts, with a production that rivals most better known producers, and might just be a big part of why this band has the legs it does. That and the videos of course. Seriously, if you've been living under a rock, and have somehow missed out on Die Antwoord's videos, all it will take is one or two to win you over, and once those get burned into your brain, you'll find the records doing the same thing to your ears.

MPEG stream: Pitbull Terrier
MPEG stream: Ugly Boy
MPEG stream: Girl I Want 2 Eat U
MPEG stream: Donker Mag

We've written a lot about super hyped YouTube phenoms, South African rave rappers Die Antwoord, do a quick search on the aQ site and check out the other DA reviews, we were pretty much obsessed with them from day one, as were most of our friends. It was hard not to be, especially after seeing the group's over the top videos, the tall gangly goofy tattooed redneck mainman, the impossibly cute elfin hype-girl, the over the top imagery, the ridiculous art design, the larger than life characters, the ridiculous rapping, the synth driven goofball anthems that actually KILLED, and were catchy as all get out. The band seemed to wear out their welcome, already dropped from their label, and with a sizable backlash, with people either proclaiming them stupid, or fakes, but as we mention in the other reviews, it doesn't matter. When we thought they were real South African ghetto rappers, we loved it, when we discovered it was a super well crafted musical art prank, we liked it even more. And you know what, the music STILL kills, the videos are still totally nuts, Yo-Landi, the elfin pixie with the coat made out of dead rats and the super severe (but impossibly hot) bleached white mullet, just gets more and more crush worthy, especially now what she's handling much of the vocal duties, before we go any further, take a second and watch the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Uee_mcxvrw How can you not be totally obsessed?! Still? Or AGAIN?! That's some total mindfuck / whatthefuck genius right there. And yeah, there is something to be said for Die Antwoord relying heavily on the visuals, and that removed from the videos, and without the larger than life characters, it's maybe not as immediate, but we defy folks who say the music sucks. Sure it's goofy and silly and dumb, puerile and ridiculous, but that's what makes it so goddamn fun. If you were in club, what would get your blood pumping more, a Rhianna song, some Lady Gaga hit, or "I Fink U Freeky", with that pulsing euro-rave synth, that inane but hypnotic chorus, that crazy rap, that speeds up weirdly midway through? No contest. And the record's pretty much overflowing with jams like that, huge buzzing synths, big dumb funky as fuck beats, bizarre vocals, over the top raps, if this was a record by some unknown producer, people would be flipping their shit, and rightfully so. Fuck the haters, and fuck the backlash, we love this shit, and it's pretty much all we want to listen to. And if we actually danced, you can bet this would be our JAM.

MPEG stream: Never Le Nkemise
MPEG stream: I Fink U Freaky
MPEG stream: Fatty Boom Boom

Truth be told, back in the day we didn't pay too much attention to Digable Planets after their first record Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space) from 1993 and its hit single "Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)". Their blend of jazz and hip hop was admirable and breezy, but they came across back then more as a novelty, than an act in it for the long haul. Listening now two decades later to their follow-up effort from 1994, Blowout Comb, we realize we should have paid way more attention. Newly reissued by Light In The Attic, Blowout Comb is a stellar missive from the nineties golden era of hip hop, right up there with the best of Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Jungle Brothers and The Pharcyde. The tone here more gritty, the beats harder. The jazz samples are still present, but augmented by live musicians and complex urban rap structures between the three main players, Ladybug, Butterfly (also of Shabazz Palaces), and Doodlebug. While Reachin' brought them a large audience, Blowout Comb is their masterpiece, and though they broke up soon after this release, it holds up amazingly well. Forget Daft Punk, this is our new summer jam right here!!!!

MPEG stream: Black Ego
MPEG stream: Jettin'

This LA-based trio, made up of rappers Iriscience and Evidence, and world-class turntablist DJ Babu (also of BeatJunkies) drop their second full length. The rhymes are very deft, the hook-laden samples are creative and fun, and the record will appeal to

RealAudio clip: Expansion Team Theme
RealAudio clip: Worst Comes to Worst

Top Ranking Santogold, mixed by Diplo, is a full blown Santogold medley. So if you were into her latest release, you'll definitely be skankin' to this ragga, pop, dub influenced mega mix which ties some of the Santogold favorites, b-sides, remixes and mash-ups together into a rude 35 track mixture of gold goodness. The mix runs seamless from start to finish with plenty of overlapping blends that somehow someway work wonders together. Picture Santogold vocals, singing/rapping over the likes of dubstep wonders Benga and Skream's shakey slumpers or the Celtic synth grooves of electro pop jam band Ratatat, with added appropriate yet unsuspected jams from Devo, The Dixie Cups, and The Clash mashed against Cutty Ranks, Sister Nancy, and Three Six Mafia betwixt and between, what!? Oh and did we mention, a little Sir Mix-A-Lot action for good measure? Trust us, the line-up looks semi-disaterous but Diplo definitely makes it work effortlessly. We dare you to stay in one place while this album is a bumpin'! Recommended!!

MPEG stream: ANNE
MPEG stream: IKO IKO
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THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. From Shiggerfraggar and Invisibl Skratch Piklz fame! Currently DJing for Primus, MCM and the Monster and GR2, Disk has finally released his solo debut album on the friendly Bomb label, based in Noe Valley believe it or not. This is not nearly as hyper as the Mixmaster Mike record, preferring mellow and subtle trickery that just begs for a club DJ to mess with.

Eww.

Yet another band from Brooklyn, who seem to have mastered that eighties shoegaze / new wave sound, and these guys might be the best yet. Featuring members of aQ faves the Smith Westerns Dive offer up a gorgeous A side, all warm and jangly, lush chiming melodies, super washed out and blissy, driving and minimal, the sort of song that could go on for a whole lp side and we'd never get tired of it. The flipside is a bit more downtempo, a little moodier, with some gorgeous darkly driving basslines, and some hazy ethereal vocals, gorgeously fuzzy and woozy, still shot through with those chiming melodies from the A side. Definitely dying for a full length, as it is, been playing these two songs to death!

MPEG stream: Big Game
MPEG stream: Under The Hammer

So by now, you've probably at least heard of Dizzee Rascal. He has been the talk of hip-hop / underground music circles for the last year, having won the 'prestigious' Mercury Prize, made every critic's best of list, all before he turned 20. And as with most things like that we had steeled ourselves to be bitterly and utterly disappointed. Look at that Streets record from a year or two back. We were fully ready to have our socks knocked off, but sadly, the socks stayed on. Way on. So we're happy to report, that Dizzee totally lives up to the hype, and then some! Taking the root of his sound from UK garage (pronounced GAIR-ij, we're not talking White Stripes here, ya know), a bastardized (and super simplified) varient of drum 'n bass, with pounding two step rhythms, fat distorted synths, and huge rolling bass lines, but all super spare and stripped down. Very similar (to our ears at least) to ragga/dancehall. Super repetitive and ultra danceable (in a robotic head banging hip shaking sort of way) each song is basically one or two parts, drilled maniacally into your skull, pounding and bouncing, hiccupping and stuttering, while Dizzee flows crazily, in his high pitched Jamaican / Cockney drawl. So crazy and so wickedly addictive. Fairly sample free except for the amazing "Fix Up Look Sharp", which is built entirely from a Billy Squier song, complete with the vocals! We know we don't tell you this often, so please believe us when we say, believe the hype.

MPEG stream: Sittin' Here
MPEG stream: I Luv U
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[ aquarius records — Hiphop ]