During a news conference this afternoon, Sarah Palin announced that she will not run for re-election in 2010 and will resign as Governor of Alaska. She stated, “We know we can affect positive change outside of government” to the media. Her resignation has also entertained the idea of a possible run for the Republican nominee for 2012.

The media is currently reporting this news as I type. Many are questioning Sarah’s resignation. Why did she quit and what caused her to announce this during a national holiday weekend? If McCain had won the election, would Palin bail out on Americans during a media frenzy about her family?

Photo Source: LA Progressive

Does the media have a role in this?

Many speculate that she is stepping down for 2012 but there are other factors that could serve as a cause for Palin’s decision. Both Sarah and her family have been humiliated in the headlines and a target subject for Saturday Night Live and the David Letterman Show. There are no confirmations of Sarah entering the race for the White House but I am sure that this public figure will not go away. It will be interesting to see what she will pursue next - becoming an actual “soccer mom” to her children?

Source: CNN

The Echo - Los Angeles
Live Review: 6/30/09
***

The Strange Boys have the youthful, wide-eyed good looks of a pop punk band, although once you start listening to their music, they are anything but twee and PG-rated. Jangly guitars, classic garage rock structures and scratchy vocals quickly make way for the kind of whiskey-fueled, devil-may-care nonchalance that bands like the Black Lips have popularized in recent years. By the time the band arrived on stage, the front row—previously occupied by flannel shirts, fedoras and aspiring groupies—made way for a younger, less suffocating crowd. While the previous opening band was all grubby, drunken posturing, the Strange Boys took the stage with a more grateful and easy-going demeanor. Cans of Tecate and bottles of Red Stripe already littered the stage amongst amps and effects pedals, with young fans of the band exchanging maudlin niceties with guitarist Greg Enlow, who amusedly likened the colorful flashing lights of The Echo to those at a rave.

Enlow may have been bemused at the set-up since The Strange Boys seem more likely to perform in smokey saloons and dive bars than they would at an all-ages show. The band’s music, however, has its own intoxicating effect. On record, the band plays a raucous, messy rendition of Nuggets-era garage rock that translates well on-stage. Guitarist/singer Ryan Sambol, wearing the tired, glazed look of a jaded frontman, had no trouble straining his voice to produce his high-pitched, smoke-weathered vocals, barely discernible above the band’s acoustics. Intelligibility aside, you get the sense that you know what Sambol’s singing about, whether it be the barroom romance (and fistfight) of “Heard You Wanna Beat Me Up” or the drunken commiserating of “Woe Is You and Me.”

Photo Credit: Judy Yoon

Throughout the set, The Strange Boys resembled a band taking its success with humility and high spirits, not quite erupting into the wild stage antics of their influences but dutifully producing music that had the audience, both sloshed and sober, dancing throughout their set. At stage right, a group of young fans took a swig of vodka and Tecate, toasting the band and loudly exclaiming, “Dude, how awesome is this?!” Their exclamations, becoming increasingly unintelligible, soon gave way to “Dude, how the hell are we getting home?!” Whatever their means of returning home, the kids seemed to have forgotten their concerns, letting loose to their intoxication and the appropriate soundtrack provided by The Strange Boys from Austin, Texas.

***
http://www.myspace.com/thestrangeboys

http://intheredrecords.com/pages/strangeboys.html

There comes a point where you need to stop waiting for what you want and take matters into your own hands.  That’s exactly what online menswear magazine h(y)r collective decided to do as they debut their new webstore.  Carefully tailored oxfords from Gitford Bros, Japanese Porter bags, and selvedge from APC are the start of something truly beautiful.

“The Shop,” as they call it, currently only features a handful of items, but each of them have been carefully selected with the greatest of care.  It’s as if a very tasteful man has gone, done all the shopping for you, and placed it in front of you for your own convenience.  You could very well select an item at random and come away with something that will satisfy.  Scented candles from (Malin+Goetz), white Achilles lows from Common Projects, crisp issues of Monocle magazine, it’s all very, very good.  The idea behind The Shop is to grow it slowly with items that are really worth your time.

h(y)r went one step further and decided to fill in the gaps for products you normally have to hunt for.  Perhaps the main attraction of the webstore is “THE collection by (y).”  The collection consists of oxfords they had made for them by seasoned American shirt maker Gitman Bros and the handmade duffles they commissioned from Vancouver artisan Tannis Hegan.  All are found at very reasonable prices for very special and well-thought out pieces.

If you have any love for quality menswear, “The Shop” will be a real treat.  I’m very excited to see what goods drop next.

***

Photos via “The Shop.”

h(y)r collective Magazine

“The Shop” webstore

Deastro
Ghostly International
(2009)
***
Deastro is the alter ego of Detroit native Randolph Chabot, a 22-year-old songwriter who made his grand debut with a “greatest hits” compilation of demos that he produced since the age of 17. It may seem presumptuous to release a record of hits even before producing a proper album, but given Chabot’s songwriting and producing talents, we can only hope that he’ll produce enough body of work in the near future for a real greatest hits compilation. Deastro plays an eclectic brand of synth-driven music that playfully recreates fantastic worlds and mythologies that are as equally indebted to science fiction as they are culled from his own imagination. The music has the spaced-out synth sounds and echoing vocals of lo-fi electronic pop band The Russian Futurists, although Deastro’s vocals are more eighties post-punk than the Futurists’ twee-pop structures.

A survey of Moondagger’s song titles allude to Deastro’s fixation on vintage arcade cosmology. “Biophelia” sounds like a reboot of Space Invaders with epic orchestrations of drums, bass, synth and strings. Chabot’s deep tenor reverbrates with just the right frequency, as if he’s en route to some distant planet. The blissfully warm “Parallelogram” sounds like the Magnetic Fields at their most upbeat, although by song’s end, the instruments and vocals acquire the familiar and almost indiscernible noise and echo of Animal Collective. “Pyramid Builders,” with its instrumental peculiarities and progressions, have the hallucinating effect of the latter, although its focus on  synth melodies are more grounded in the past than A.C.’s forward-looking aesthetic. Electric strings and synths expand and evolve into gentle harpsichords and chaotic loops, as if Chabot was imagining a baroque dance hall set in a sixties futurist utopia.

The tribute to songwriting savant Daniel Johnston, bemusingly titled “Daniel Johnston Was Stabbed in the Heart with the Moondagger by the King of Darkness and His Ghost Is Writing This Song as a Warning to All of Us,” channels the musician’s high tenor and childlike mythology, weaving an imagined battle between Johnston and Evil. Another instrumental track, “Rivers of Life” begins with a dizzying trancelike synth progression that weaves into a rhythm of shredded guitars and metal that softly concludes with a harpsichord bit. Title track “Moondagger” is a more somber addition, although Deastro’s songs never quite end in melancholy. The post-punk malaise of its opening melodies eventually give way to a more optimistic lull, as if in Deastro’s imagined world, the good win out in the end. For more good than bad, Moondagger is a collection of love songs obscured beneath their own cosmology, as if Daniel Johnston’s lyrical wit and George Clinton’s alien myth-making coalesced to ultimately form Deastro’s unique sound and imagination.

***
http://ghostly.com/artists/deastro

http://www.myspace.com/deastro

http://deastroband.blogspot.com/

Two men separated by an Irish civil war.  Their connection?  One murdered the other’s brother.  Now twenty-five years later, they meet for the first time.  Hold your breath, because Five Minutes of Heaven is anything but predictable and more plainly ninety minutes of curiously gripping drama.

Five Minutes of Heaven sounds like the name of a lighthearted comedy romance that should be starring Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler (oh what depths you have sunken to).  The title seems misleading when you discover what the film’s about, but once the lights dim and movie starts rolling it seems to make more sense.  Liam Neeson is Alistair Little, a Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) member who’s first big assignment is to eliminate a Catholic workers as a message–this man turns out to be the older brother Joe Griffen, played by James Nesbitt.  Twenty-five years later, a television show has arranged for their meeting in an effort to document a powerful moment of reconciliation.  It will be the first time the two have come face to face since the murder of Griffen’s brother and it’s evident that though a significant amount of time has passed since their initial meeting, it hasn’t all been water under the bridge.  Both men have struggled with incident and its aftermath to this day.  What will happen when these world’s collide?

The movie utilizes a context that many consider to be a very overlooked time in history: the bloody Irish battles between the UVF and IRA.  It’s a backdrop that brings a lot of reality to the story and another layer of depth to the characters.  The film really acts as a magnifying glass for the human condition, revealing motives, regret, bitterness, and character.  This is not your problem-climax-resolution-everyone goes home with their arms around each other skipping through daisy fields movie.  It’s a visceral drama that has no illusions of idealistic situations.  That’s probably what makes it so effective.

Liam Neeson is excellent but it’s James Nesbitt that really steals the show.  His brilliant performance is quirky and riveting, the type of rendition that causes you to sit frozen in total silence, carefully watching his every movement and word.  Ironically, both actors really are from Northern Ireland, and it’s refreshing to hear Neeson speaking in his “native tongue.”  Hirschbiegel shoots Five Minutes of Heaven in a way that enriches the characters and makes them the focal point of the movie.  The settings become more of a background that have the feel of everyday life you and I are familiar with while the two men struggle with issues most of us will never have to face.  Their story becomes the story-world, but it’s brought into reality by historical context and real-life situations.

After glowing reviews at Sundance, Five Minutes of Heaven is releasing to the larger public August 21.  It’s a movie of substance that will have you walking out refreshed.  Definitely worth more than five minutes of your time.

Can you remember where you were the first time you listened to My Bloody Valentine? I do. I was 14 and awkward and totally enamored with music. I never had any jaded, escapist older brothers or sisters of my own to look to for underground bands and the next big musical movement, so instead I ravaged magazine aisles and talked my friends into the dangerous task of rummaging through their sibling’s cd books and record shelves with me. Somewhere between Sonic Youth and Fugazi my search for new and moving bands became nothing short of inexhaustible. Sometimes I’d sneak one or two discs away to copy onto beat up cassette tapes, or if I was lucky my mom would give the ok to spend a bit of allowance money in the cd department of whatever electronics megastore we happened to be running errands by. It was in one such encounter that I stumbled upon Loveless, the shoegaze landmark from MBV and was forever changed.

Deep, loud and moving, Shield’s waning guitars and indecipherable vocals nearly melted me into my seat. To this day I still get the same dizzying rush I got the first time I heard “Sometimes” and it’s this song by The Big Pink that has my heart racing the same way it did as a teenage girl lying on my bedroom floor with my headphones pressed to my ears and the volume too loud. “Velvet” is dark and melodic, picking up where the dancey drone of Spiritualized and The Jesus and Mary Chain left off, and from the beginning of the opening synths I can’t help but let my eyes close and my mind rush. The thoughts and emotions evoked by the ethereal vocals and fuzzy guitars somehow teeter between those of falling in love and getting your heart broken…all at the same time. I haven’t been moved by a song in a long time, and I’m not even kind of stretching the truth when I say that the minute I step out the door and get my iPod in my hand “Velvet” is the first thing that fills my ears, and yes the volume is still at deafening levels.

In the times that we live in today, it’s apparent that corporate scandal affects our livelihood. This upcoming film starring Matt Damon provides comedy relief in an otherwise solemn subject.

About “The Informant”:
A rising star at agri-industry giant Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Whitacre suddenly turns whistleblower. Even as he exposes his companys multi-national price-fixing conspiracy to the FBI, Whitacre envisions himself being hailed as a hero of the common man and handed a promotion. But before all that can happen, the FBI needs evidence, so Whitacre eagerly agrees to wear a wire and carry a hidden tape recorder in his briefcase, imagining himself as a kind of de facto secret agent. Unfortunately for the FBI, their lead witness hasnt been quite so forthcoming about helping himself to the corporate coffers. Whitacres ever-changing account frustrates the agents and threatens the case against ADM as it becomes almost impossible to decipher what is real and what is the product of Whitacres rambling imagination. Based on the true story of the highest-ranking corporate whistleblower in U.S. history.

KCRW 89.9FM Presents NICKODEMUS
Zanzibar - Santa Monica, CA
7/2/09
***
After a strong first album release entitled, “Endangered Species,” Nickodemus is finally ready to unleash the second solo album, “SUN PEOPLE!” Inspired by the big fireball in the sky & some wonderful people, it features some uplifting dance music from all parts of the World including Guinea, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Romania, India, Turkey, UK & his hometown in Brooklyn, NYC! Some of the original Endangered Species cast is on the album including Jay Rodriguez, Quantic, Hector “Tempo” Alomar & the Candela Allstars, Zeb, Nappy G & Real Live Show. New additions to the signature Nickodemus sound on “Sun People” include Guinean born singer Ismael Kouyate, Indian classical & pop singer Falu, Richard Shepherd of Radio Mundial, Brazilian born singer Liliana of the band Maracatu, the versatile voice of Nuriya, the younger members of Taraf de Haidouks & The New York Gypsy Allstars.

From being a regular DJ in the early days of Giant Step, to running one of NYC’s longest running parties called Turntables on the Hudson, Nickodemus has been a steady force on the music scene for over 12 Years. He has travelled the World as a DJ since he’s 18 & has been dropping musical productions of his own since 1999 with his cult classics “Cleopatra in New York” & “Mariposa” in 2001. His last album featured “Mi Swing es Tropical” which was not only a Worldwide club anthem but was also featured in the itunes + ipod adverts in the Summer of 2007.

He’s weighed in heavy with remixes for Billy Holiday, Nina Simone, Thievery Corporation, Sultan Kahn, Omar Faruk Tekliebek, Balkan Beat Box, The Pimps of Joytime & many more… Like his live DJ sets, get ready to go on a musical journey through the World of funky- organic- urban dance music all seen through the eyes of a New York native who consistently makes music without borders for everyone to enjoy!

“SUN PEOPLE” will be released June 16th, 2009 & if you didn’t get enough of the Nickodemus sound by then, stay tuned for the reflection album of Sun People remixes & original songs inspired by the Moon called “MOON PEOPLE” in October 2009.

“Sun People reflects a rich musicality, while infectious rhythms keep the party live. Nickodemus truly knows no borders on this global dance floor.”
- Jason Bentley, Music Director, KCRW

http://www.nickodemus.com
http://www.eslmusic.com

Photo by Damien Dovarganes, Licensed under Creative Commons

Alex Sanchez, 37, the Executive Director of Homies Unidos, a violence and gang prevention organization, was arrested by the FBI on June 24, 2009. Alex is a highly respected gang intervention counselor and a longtime advocate for justice in the immigrant community. He also works closely with the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES) in the struggle against police violence throughout the Americas.

The following federal charges were brought against him: conspiring to kill Walter Lacinos, a MS member who was shot and killed in El Salvador (2006) and being targeted as a “shot caller” (an individual responsible for narcotic operations). You can view the full indictment here. The allegations conclude that he participated in “a series of phone conversations” that led to the eventual killing of Lacinos. No proof was offered to corroborate the charges relating to the narcotics operations.

Although Sanchez is barely mentioned throughout the 66-page indictment, the LA Times purport that Alex might be involved in a number of other crimes. The LA Times reads:

The arrests cap a three-year investigation into the gang and its cliques, which operated in the Lafayette Park area, west of downtown. Among the most serious allegations contained in a 16-count federal indictment unsealed today was the claim gang members conspired to murder veteran LAPD gang officer Frank Flores.

Those named in the indictment include Alex Sanchez, a nationally recognized anti-gang leader and Executive Director of Homies Unidos.

LAPD Chief William J. Bratton said the Sanchez case reinforces the thinking behind the city’s efforts to consolidate and more strongly regulate anti-gang funding.

Sanchez’s story is not fully illustrated. Moreover, it clearly associates him to the LAPD murder. In response, L.A. Police Chief Bill Bratton discussed Alex’s case and used it as a platform to raise issues with failed-anti-gang policies. Chief Bratton is known for favoring stringent anti-gang methods throughout the Los Angeles area. According to gang intervention specialists, “Neither [Chief Bratton] nor any other L.A. official has accepted responsibility for helping create Mara Salvatrucha in L.A. and El Salvador, a country with no previous history of gangs before LAPD collaborated with immigration authorities to deport Mara members. Rather than look more deeply into the charges, media, political and police personalities appear bent on assuming Alex’s guilt.” Prior to his arrest, Sanchez was routinely beaten, harassed, framed, and even deported, but returned by the aid of former state Senate Tom Hayden.

As a former gang member, Sanchez faces great danger while being held in jail. If he is put under Protective Custody (PC), gang members are likely to assume he is an informant and he will be susceptible to bodily harm, or even murder. Supporters are “concerned that the federal indictment against Alex follows in a long line of false charges against him and appears to be part of a pattern to target him for his work to promote an alternative strategy for combating violence than that of the LAPD and Salvadoran National Civilian Police (PNC), which over the years have chosen iron-fist tactics over crime prevention programs. While Alex and Homies Unidos have sought to promote reconciliation within their community, many politicians in El Salvador and the US have stood by a failed model of combating gang violence with indiscriminate police violence, criminalizing youth and utilizing institutions like the LAPD and PCN to attack suspected gang members and social movement leaders alike.”

Those who know and love Sanchez claim these charges are a bogus attempt initiated by law officials who are seeking retribution. I am not knowledgeable enough to support these claims, but this situation raises attention to lingering issues that are plaguing our communities.Davey D, a profound hip hop journalist and social critic, raises this point:

Programs like Homies Unidos are allocated $3.5 million annually…..and that’s for the entire City! (Check it for yourself). I bet you thought it was $24 million, the bogus number that you here in the media. Compare that to what “WE”, the tax payers paid in lawsuits for LAPD last year….. There is no comparison when you analyze $3.5 million to $60 million (These are lawsuits. I’m not mentioning the Billion dollar budget that LAPD has accrued).

The story of Alex Sanchez calls our attention to how immigrants and gangs are treated in the U.S. I am not discounting nor supporting criminal activity, but I am open to programs such as Homies Unidos, that allow former gang members to relate and positively build within their community. The idea of backing rehabilitated gang members and funding non-profits to educate current ones has spurred an on-going debate. One side argues there is a longstanding concern of police violence in economically deprived neighborhoods and the case of Alex Sanchez sheds light on this endemic. To fully understand why gangs developed in select neighborhoods or even the inception of L.A. gangs, it is important to evaluate the role of the police and how they most often interact and relate to urban communities. Others suggest that “ex-gang members should not be paid to conduct outreach.”

Sanchez is expected to enter a plea next week. The board of directors of Homies Unidos issued a statement expressing their “full support” for him and its members were “confident in [his] innocence.”

For further information on Los Angeles gang culture, I highly recommend watching the documentary Crips and Bloods.

Sources cited:
WorldPress
Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner
LA Times

EM:  Occupation and Position
SANTOYO: Creator of emiliospocket.com.

EM:  What neighborhood do you closely identify with?  What makes your community so unique?
I live and work out of Pasadena right now and I love it. Its calm, cozy, and still close to everything that is cool in Los Angeles. I feel like Pasadena turns into one of those places where you feel comfortable living in and you end up staying  a very long time. A good place to call home.

EM:  What’s the greatest item that you found at your local garage/estate sale?
Well I currently have made these small pouches that i call “Emilio’s Pocket Pouches” for my online store.  When people open them up, they can find random goods inside. This gives me an excuse to wonder around and collect small objects to put inside. I currently scored a bag full of  “Risk” board game pieces. My favorite is one is the big golden hawk that reminds of the bracelet that Ghostface has.

EM: If you could interview one unsung hero, who would it be? Why?
Jim Henson, because to this day every time I watch TMNT 2: Secret of the Ooze I am amazed.

EM: What’s your favorite youtube video.
Michael Jackson Does the Bartman with Bart Simpson

EM:  Where are your favorite local spots to eat?
If you are ever in Pasadena please drop by “Love Birds” for a sandwich. I recommend the Vermont on a croissant and if you are feel like taking it up one notch add bacon.  I am truly a fat boy no joke… you couldn’t tell if you saw me, but I love to eat.

EM:  What songs are at the top of your playlist at this very moment?
MF Doom feat. Ghostface Killah - “Angels”
Neon Indian - “Deadbeat Summer”
Cramps - “Human Fly”
Art Laboe - “Killer Oldies Show”

EM:  What is your current bedside read?
Low Moon by Jason (of the New York Times)… Amazing!

EM:  What is your favorite city to visit when you travel abroad? And why?
I need to travel more so that I can have a favorite first.  A few years back I went to London and had a great time. I found great comics and design books when I was there. I think next it stop might be Spain or Switzerland.

EM:  What new projects you are building on right now?
Currently I am hard at work getting ready for a show with some friends at Bandit Gallery, here in Echo Park on the 11th of July. Also I just got my banana skate board in the mail that I am suppose to paint on for a show in Canada. The show is to help kids who can not afford skate boards get skate boards. Where were these people when I was young?

***
www.emiliospocket.com

News of the company’s shutdown met its employees on Tuesday while most were still in the middle of work on what most considered to be one of the most significant issue of their careers: a Michael Jackson tribute.  The closing of Vibe is no soft illusion: the jobs of all 48 of its staff members are completely gone.

It’s no secret that the magazine market has been on the decline for awhile, with many companies downsizing their staff and issues–or simply folding.  With the demand for print advertising being completely outclassed by comparably cheap, real-time internet advertising and other sources of funding diminishing, keeping up with the financial demands of running a respectable editorial became increasingly difficult.  Not surprisingly, even ripples from the struggles of the flailing auto industry managed to affect the magazine, CEO Steve Aaron citing the significant loss of automobile advertising as one of the factors leading to the magazine’s demise in his parting letter to Vibe’s employees.  Vibe had tried to adjust to the changing times by increasing its web presence–which was actually growing very well–but unfortunately its financial profits from the internet were not enough to offset the losses the organization was suffering in print, nor could it support the present structure of the company.  The magazine closes the door “several millions of dollars” in debt.

It’s sad that the phrase “on the cover of Vibe” will now only be used in a limited fashion (similarly: “cover of King magazine” - sorry T-Pain!).  The fall of VIBE Media Group continues to manifest the reality that seems to hang like the growing shadow of a ghostly apparition over the editorial industry, seemingly intangible yet undeniable: print is slowly dying and it’s becoming starkly more apparent with the steady collapse of magazine after magazine.  Vibe is not the first and will surely not be the last.  Who will stand and who will fall?  How will existing editorials survive and how will new ones prosper?  What does the future of magazines and newspapers look like?

I don’t think print media will ever completely die out; human nostalgia shouldn’t permit that.  There’s something incredibly special and therapeutic about holding something physical in your hands.  But it’s obvious that old avenues for monetizing/funding editorial material are not adequate to carry organizations into the future.  It will be interesting to see how companies can adapt to yet another economic climate.

Nickelus F (aka Nick Fury) finally dropped his long-awaited–at least by me–Portishead remix album titled Reliving A Real Experience or R.A.R.E. where he spits over classic Porthishead tracks.  Nick does a great job riding the down-tempo beat. Rumor has it more collab work is on the way. Download here.

Fashionista and style blogger, Jane Aldridge is well on her way to making her mark in the world of fashion at the tender age of 17. Born and raised in Trophy Club, Texas, Jane always had a fascination with fashion — especially shoes.

Although her school requires her to wear a uniform during the week, you can bet she won’t be sporting a lame outfit outside school. Her passion has led to her admirable collection of shoes, which includes anything from YSL cage heels and Chanel bow-tie booties to Margiela clogs.

Her personal blog site titled Sea of Shoes has been a hot topic for fashion lovers and bloggers from all over the world. Not only is her site becoming a recognized name in the blogger world but it has allowed her to make a name for herself as well. In fact, she is currently working on her own shoe collection which will consist of three styles, with the help of Urban Outfitters. It will exclusively be sold at Urban Outfitters next month. Keep your eyes peeled for the capsule collection that screams Jane Aldridge.

There are skeptics who state that hip hop is dead. Well, Lushlife is here to counter that point, raising sonic mutiny in his second album, Cassette City. After Lushlife’s debut anthem “West Sounds,” a noteworthy mashup of Kanye West’s The College Drop Out with The Beach Boy’s Pet Sounds, the Philly-bred MC/multi-instrumentalist/producer returns with Cassette City, a classically driven, ’90s east coast hip hop prowess that defies the limitations placed on hip hop artists.

With a formidable background in music, Lushlife injects a hybridized free form of jazz balladries, organic, body-rocking beats and pop affections that encompass the ubiquity of music. Cassette City hosts a number of guests like Ariel Pink, and Greg Saunier of Deerhoof which reminds listeners that hip hop musicians do not always fit within a specific binary. Unlike mainstream battle rappers, whose craftsmanship rests mainly upon image and street cred, Lushlife opens himself to vulnerability. Reminiscent of the composer David Axelrod, Lushlife’s arrangements in “Daylight into Me” and “Until the Sun Dies” are mind bending tracks that drown themselves in a myriad of piercing instruments and layered sequences.

The tracks “Meridian Sound” [Parts One, Two and Three] stream along the atmospheric-pop sound of Grizzly Bear, the piano laden, conscious lyricism of Kanye and the soft, beachy harmonies of Brian Wilson. Although his rhyming style sets him apart from previous Philly MCs like Schoolly D, his delivery is sharp, crossing the divide between J-5’s deep, sepulchral tones and Lupe Fiasco’s articulated composition, which is simulated in “Another World of Paradise,” featuring Camp Lo. His experimentation with a folksy guitar in “The Songbird Athletic” measures well after quickly transitioning into a lively tempo which carries the remaining track into an underground, head nodding flow. And “The Fall of the Light Brigade” is a punchy, old school number that catapults into a melismatic rap narrative. Lushlife is as diversified and honest as they come. He blends elements from agit-prop hip hop to zippy, glockenspiel sounds of psychedelic rock, without compromising himself or the music he creates. If you are looking for an album that cascades to the indiscriminate rhythm of life’s beat, then indulge yourself in Cassette City.

***
http://www.myspace.com/lushlifemedia

What happens when you get The Edge, Jimmy Page and Jack White all in the same room? Magic happens. Sometimes the best form of communication is not talking at all, let the music lead the way.

About It Might Get Loud:
Rarely can a film penetrate the glamorous surface of rock legends. It Might Get Loud tells the personal stories, in their own words, of three generations of electric guitar virtuosos – The Edge (U2), Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), and Jack White (The White Stripes). It reveals how each developed his unique sound and style of playing favorite instruments, guitars both found and invented. Concentrating on the artist’s musical rebellion, traveling with him to influential locations, provoking rare discussion as to how and why he writes and plays, this film lets you witness intimate moments and hear new music from each artist. The movie revolves around a day when Jimmy Page, Jack White, and The Edge first met and sat down together to share their stories, teach and play.