This coming Tuesday, one of dance/hip-hop's most recognizable imprints gets squished through a modern-day Play-Doh Pumper Number Nine with thick, slick, funky results. Back in the day, spotting the tasty Delicious Vinyl logo in a DJ's crate of 12-inch singles was a sign of good things to come, with a stable of artists that ranged from Masta Ace and Born Jamericans to Fatlip and Def Jef. Still kickin' up dust since 1987, the label has concocted a 15-track remix/tribute CD, RMXXOLOGY, after Peaches let the owners know she'd like to take a swipe at Tone Loc's infectious hit "Wild Thing." Highlights include Hot Chip's new imagination of The Pharcyde's "Passin' Me by" and Pink Enemy working the groove of The Brand New Heavies' "Never Stop." A RMXXOLOGY Volume 2 is in the works with influences revealed by Spank Rock, Bass Over Babylon, and DJ Medhi, as well as a worldwide tour.
David Byrne and Brian Eno have come together to produce a new album since last working on the recent remastered reissue of My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. Titled Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, the sessions are an online-only affair, offering a free track, "Strangle Overtones," at (http://www.everythinghappens.com) right now, and the entire album available August 18. Look for a physical edition to be released later this year, promising bonus discs and artwork by Stefan Sagmeister.
The July/August issue of the nifty literary magazine The Believer is the publication's annual music issue, worth the effort to hunt down with its bonus CD tucked inside. Featuring essays "A Brief Oral History of U.S. Black Metal" and "In Praise of Rap CDs Purchased on the Street," memories of music camp, an interview with Ian MacKaye of Dischord Records, and advice from Sara Quin of Tegan & Sara, the CD contains exclusive tracks from Beat Konducta, Dirty Projectors, Aceyalone, Skeletons & the Kings of All Cities, Lucky Dragons, and Animal Collective.
Legacy Recordings, the Sony/BMG reissue label, has created a new budget-priced greatest-hits CD series that comes ready for the digital age, housed in recycled-paper packaging and a hefty PDF file packed with photos, liner notes, discographies, PC wallpaper, and other bonus goodies. Titled Playlist: The Very Best of, the first batch of releases in April included Korn, John Denver, Quiet Riot, Miles Davis, Ginuwine, and Johnny Cash. New this past month, the second wave features Cypress Hill, Rick Astley, Lou Reed, Heart, and Tammy Wynette.
Television Alert
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno hosts Conor Oberst tonight, Solomon Burke on Thursday, and Chris Cornell on Friday; The Late Show with David Letterman boasts Randy Newman tonight and Alejandro Escovedo on Thursday; Late Night with Conan O'Brien unleashes The B-52's this evening and Al Green on Thursday overnight; Jimmy Kimmel Live presents Rev Theory tonight and Tommy Lee on Thursday overnight; Tavis Smiley sits down with Joe Cocker this evening; and look for Feist to take a stroll down Sesame Street this coming Monday.
New Releases Coming Tuesday, August 12
Bloc Party - "Mercury" (Wichita) CD, seven-inch, and 12-inch single, featuring remixes from CSS and Flosstrodamus
Clutch - Full Fathom Five (Weathermaker Music) released on the band's new artist-controlled label, the CD and DVD collects recent live performances, gearing up for a fall tour with The Sword and Graveyard
The Crash - Pony Ride (Ryko) domestic debut from this zesty Finnish quartet, cascading in the pop bliss of the 1980s dance floor with a sweet, refreshing snap
East Village Opera Company - Old School (Decca) Freddie Mercury would have loved this electronic-friendly theatre collective, taking flight with soaring interpretations of beloved compositions by Wagner, Mozart, Puccini, Handel, and Bach, drafted into a rock opera
The End Of The World - "Someone Else's Dollar" (Pretty Activity Records) seven-inch single with The Subjects on the flip side
Extreme - Saudades de Rock (Open E Records/Fontana) all new from the original members and new drummer Kevin Figueriedo, produced by guitarist Nuno Bettencourt
Blikk Fang - Aveh Tiger Roma (Polyvinyl) featuring a wild cover of the Misfits' "Where Eagles Dare" re-crafted as "Nuptial Eagles Sharpened"
The Final Solution - Brotherman OST (Numero Group) lost sessions from this Chicago group's 1975 soundtrack for the abandoned blaxploitation film
Inara George - An Invitation (Everloving) lush new collaboration between The Bird & the Bee vocalist and Beach Boy collaborator Van Dyke Parks, night dancing in the magical space of Walt Disney soundtracks, innocent Doris Day musicals, buttercups, and frilly, girly dresses, and lyrically gliding on sparkling ice with Costello-esque passages such as "I'm breaking up our house for firewood"
Goldfrapp - iTunes Originals session (iTunes) download-only 25-track anthology peppered with seven songs recorded live at the famed Electric Lady Studios, album selections, and an interview
The Gutter Twins - "God's Children" (Sub Pop) seven-inch single featuring the non-LP B side "Spanish Doors"
Zach Hill - Astrological Straits (Ipecac)
Adam Marsland - Daylight Kissing Night: Adam Marsland's Greatest Hits (Karma Frog) formerly of Cockeyed Ghost
New Kids On the Block - Greatest Hits (Columbia Legacy) with four bonus tracks, a 2008 Megamix, and a poster
Original Silence - The Second Original Silence (Smalltown Superjazzz) free-jazz combo led by Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore, recorded live in 2006 in Rome
The Pack A.D. - Funeral Mix Tape (Mint Records) highly anticipated return of the raw, gritty blues power duo of drummer Maya Miller and vocalist and eat-you-alive guitarist Becky Blank
Pete Rock - NY's Finest Instrumentals (Nature Sounds) with guests Papoose, Masta Killa, Raekwon, D-Block, Royal Flush, and Jim Jones
Cathy Rocco - You're Gonna Hear from Me (Resonance) featuring the jazz vocalist's dynamic take on Aretha Franklin's "Daydreaming," Tracy Chapman's "Give Me One Reason," and classics "For Once in My Life" and "Come Rain or Shine"
James "Munky" Schaffer - Fear & the Nervous System (Emotional Syphon) all-new from the Korn guitarist on his own artist-controlled label, featuring members of Black Light Burns, Faith No More, and Bad Religion
S.M.V. - Thunder (Heads Up) new jazz super-group from Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller, and Victor Wooten
Shock of Pleasure - It's About Time (Fontana) featuring ambient covers of The Carpenters' "Superstar" and the Classics IV's "Spooky"
Tab the Band - Long Weekend (North Street) sophomore release
Thistle - The Small Hours (Tiberius/Phratry) blistering wall-of-sound trio from Cincinnati led by the dark, swooping guitar of vocalist Mike Montgomery
Irma Thomas - Simply Grand (Rounder) one of the grand ladies of R&B returns with a relaxed, coy, slow burner, featuring beautiful covers of John Fogerty's "River Is Waiting" and Norah Jones' "Thinking About You"
Tittsworth - 12 Steps (Plant Music) the producer's debut, with guest vocalists Kid Sister, Santi White, Nina Sky, and Pase Rock
Ben Weaver - The Ax in the Oak (Bloodshot) the sixth studio album from the Twin Cities singer/songwriter, backed by cellist Julia Kent of Antony & the Johnsons and a hazy, dreamy band
