Twista feat. R. Kelly - So Sexy (Chromeo Remix)
Not guilty, snitches!!!! You know I had to post something up in honor of The Pied Pipers' acquittal, but I thought the Chromeo connection would make this a little easier on all your hipster sensibilities than "I Believe I Can Fly." Here, A-Trak's brother and the other guy turn Twista and Kells' ode to "girls who like to keep the d up inside of 'em" in to the kind of white guy electro-funk extravaganza that fickle Vice readers loved last summer, but probably would feel snobby about this summer. Regardless, The R is free, 12 Play: Fourth Quarter will be out next month, and a late summer tour should be hitting an American Airlines Center near you. Mothers lock up your underage daughters!
Crystal Antlers - A Thousand Eyes
I'm extremely embarrassed to admit that I had never heard of Crystal Antlers prior to Pitchfork's review of their newish EP the other day. As disappointing as it was to find that my finger had briefly wandered off the musical pulse, I quickly forgot about it in favor of enjoying one of the better half hours of modern psychedelia I have heard in a while. Pummeling drums, screeching guitar freak outs, 60s-inspired organ lines, throat shredding vocals, it all adds up to a record that tightrope walks a precarious line of controlled chaos over a yawning abyss of sweaty, sloppy, self-indulgent wankery. Basically, Crystal Antlers are what your buddies' "space improv collective" think they sound like when they're on acid. This track is the moody midpoint of the EP and offers a more sedate take on the band's sound that I might be tempted to compare to a keyboard-less Wolf Parade if I was writing a review for Pitchfork.
Little Brother feat. Skillz and Carlitta Durand - Life Of The Party (Remix)
"Life Of The Party" has been floating around in various permutations since late 2006, but its inclusion on Little Brother's recently released quasi-compilation of new tunes and old mixtape joints, ...And Justus For All, seemed like a good enough excuse to give it a few spins this week and post it here. An ode to being the perpetual "next big thing," the track is a sly nod to Little Brothers' professional life as critical darlings who can't seem to make it past opening act status built around a celebratory hook provided by Carlitta Durand. This remix adds a solid verse by fellow also-ran Skillz to an already winning formula and turns out as my favorite thing Little Brother has ever done. Plus, the opening line is the funniest opening I'm aware of to a rap song.
Boy 8-Bit - Bulbs Burn Out (Original Mix)
Londoner Boy 8-Bit has been around for a while, but he didn't really start getting notice outside of serious dance nerd circles until late last year when his tune "Suspense Is Killing Me" started cropping up in the sets of taste maker DJs like Switch and Crookers. With a freshly released EP on Diplo's ultra-trendy (in a good way) Mad Decent label, Boy 8-Bit should join label mates Bonde Do Role, Blaqstarr, and DJ Sega on the list of dance music names dropped by cool kids who don't really keep up with dance music. In addition to two versions of the aforementioned "Suspense Is Killing Me," the EP is home to this track, which is one of the most strangely irresistible club tracks I've heard recently. It's something like a Baltimore club version of epic trance (or vice versa), minus the awful stomach turning that sounds like it would entail. It probably won't make any sense coming out of your computer speakers, but on a proper sound system at the right moment, this is the textbook definition of huge, expect to hear it a lot this summer.
Elvis Presley - (Marie's The Name) His Latest Flame
In honor of Father's Day, this one goes out to my pops. Although his unquenchable love for corny Southern gospel music leaves me perpetually scratching my head, it was his love of Elvis movies that taught me what rock and roll should be about and his old copy of Elvis' How Great Thou Art album that was the charter member of my record collection. This take on the Pomus/Shuman tune stands as the highlight of Elvis' less than stellar early 60s output and would provide the impetus for a storming live cover by The Smiths, as featured on their less than stellar swan song, Rank. A truly great tune for a truly great human being.
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