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This Week's Soundtrack tries out the new and eagerly awaited releases in hip-hop as well as some legendary re-issues, says goodbye to old friends, and makes some new ones.
This Week's Soundtrack tries out the new and eagerly awaited releases in hip-hop as well as some legendary re-issues, says goodbye to old friends, and makes some new ones.
[Updated] 1.”Intro” - ?uestlove: The Roots drummer, joint frontman, and long time record producer, Qlove comes to play a DJ set at Tipitina's on Thursday, with New Orleans' own DJ Soul Sister.
2.”Fall Back (featuring DJ Tony Skratchere)” - Slangston Hughes: Hughes hosts Uniquity, a monthly hip-hop and spoken word showcase at Dragon's Den with live music provided for the artists by jazz band Fo on The Flo. This Saturday, Hughes collaborates with Beaucoup Juice for Sneaux Flow Four, bringing delicious fresh juice snoballs to the lineup.
3.”Strictly 4 My Jeeps” - Action Bronson: New music from Queens rapper, who counts gourmet chef among his previous careers. Also known for his lively show and interactive antics, watch a video from SXSW 2013. His new album Saaab Stories was just released.
4.”Sour/Sweet” - Lilacs & Champagne: From Danish & Blue, the second album from two members of instrumental band Grails.
5.”Call Me Up” -The Child of Lov: Debut album, self-titled, just released from this Dutch producer/musician, who doesn't foresee any touring in his near future. As a self-proclaimed “perfectionist,” he wants to translate his music to the live setting as accurately as possible. My Spilt Milk discusses this same challenge for electronic musicians later this week in a conversation with Superhumanoids.
6.”Mafungo” - Papa Grows Funk: After 13 years of a Funking Good Tiime, the band's show at Tipitina's on Saturday will be the last local one for these Maple Leaf residents. They'll set out on a national farewell tour in the fall.
7.”Teenage Tiger Cat” - CSS (or Cansei de ser sexy): New album, Planta, out from this Brazilian rock/new wave band, who's name is loosely based on a Beyonce quote, and translates to “I got tired of being sexy.”
8.”Guilt Trip” - Kanye West: The sixth album out from this mainstream rapper, Yeezus has been highly anticipated. He recently spoke at length with the New York Times about his career, regret, and minimalism.
9.”New Orleans” - The Dream: We here at Milk HQ are a little stumped by this one. Dream has co-written award winning songs for several female pop mega-stars. How does he go from “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” to this hyperbolic, melodramatic study in his feelings for this “bitch?” And is he referring to New Orleans as a verb because he's suggesting she's working some Voodoo on him? The song isn't offensive per se; it just doesn't feel like the best choices were made there. It got Atlanta'd.
10.”Power Trip” - J. Cole: On the other hand, this rapper from North Carolina composes and builds songs out of rhymes in a really refreshing way. It feels like it's been a while since a pop-rap song had some good lyrical meat on its bones. His new album, Born Sinner, just came out on Jay-Z's label Roc Nation.
11.”Sorcerer” - Norma Jean Wright: This pick was inspired by Fuse's Spotify playlist dedicated to Nile Rodgers, the guitarist from Chic, that also featured some of Wright's songs.
12.”Tenderness-Original Chic mix” - Diana Ross: From 1980 solo album Diana, produced by Nile Rodgers and Chic bandmate Bernard Edwards. The album was remixed at her the request of her management team to minimize the band's signature sound, which is clearer in this pre-remix version.
13.”The Throw”- Jagwar Ma: Pegged as “Madchester revivalists” by Pitchfork, this Australian duo releases their debut album Howlin'.
14.”Bugs Don't Buzz” - Majical Cloudz: From Impersonator, new album out from this Montreal musician, whose confessional but minimalist lyricism is arresting, and has been known to make people in the crowd start crying. Pair him with Action Bronson in a celebrity death match and watch the sparks fly.
15.”Skyclad” - Alvin Risk: Also known as Telemetrik, this electronic music producer and DJ comes to the Republic Thursday.
16.”Geri” - Superhumanoids: My Spilt Milk presents the L.A. electro-pop trio at the Circle Bar on Friday, and had a chance to interview them about the release of their new record (date has been pushed back to August 6) and the challenges of taking a show like theirs on the road. An extra perk for us here in New Orleans: The album hasn't been officially released yet, but the band showgoers get can buy it at the merch table before it hits the shelves.
17.”Viene de Mi-Captain Planet Remix” - La Yegros: Argentinian vocalist, known for her work in experimental theater, releases new album Viene de Mi.
18.”I'm Not Real (featuring Earl Sweathshirt)” - Mac Miller: The young rapper from Pittsburgh with his own reality TV show, comes to the Howlin' Wolf Friday, touring his new album Watching Movies with the Sound Off. He goes on tour with Lil' Wayne in the fall.
19.”Creep in a T-shirt” - Portugal. The Man: Based in Portland but from Alaska, the band recently released its 7th full-length album, Evil Friends, produced by Danger Mouse. They play House of Blues on Wednesday, and later this week singer John Gourley remembers what happened the last time the band played New Orleans.
20.”Low Life” - Public Image Ltd: From a recent re-issue of their 1978 debut First Issue, just after John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten) left the Sex Pistols. Pulling from personal music tastes (reggae, etc) Lydcon claims some of these songs were written even when he was still with the Pistols, which would come as a surprise to avid SP fans, who saw this as very different, logey, groove-oriented music.
21.”Husbands” - Savages: Another mouthy British post-punk crew, but this one's contemporary - all women, letting London know how they really feel with their new album Silence Yourself.
22.”Stare at the Sun” - Eleanor Friedberger: A member of the Fiery Furnaces. Her new solo album is out, Personal Record.
23.”Blair Witch” - Surfer Blood: From their new album Pythons.
24.”How the Ranks Was Won” - Brazos: New album Saltwater, from Brooklyn-based duo.
25.”Purple Poppies” - Super Water Sympathy: This Shreveport band brings their catchy pop hooks and shouted word sound (a la Rilo Kiley) to the House of Blues' Parish Saturday.
26.”Guided Tour of a Well-known Street” - Peter Jefferies: Reissue of 1990's The Last Great Challenge in a Dull World. Get nostalgic about the New Zealand post-punker with Pitchfork.
27.”Keep Your Eyes Peeled” - Queens of The Stone Age: From the new album ...Like Clockwork.
28.”Blood Drive” - ASG: From the the new album, Blood Drive.
29.”Super 8” - Jason Isbell: A native of Greenhill, Alabama, Isbell is a veteran member of The Drive-By Truckers, but has been recording his own Americana for the last several years, and touring with the 400 Unit. He was the subject of a New York Times Sunday magazine profile dealing with his sobriety shortly before the release of his new Southeastern.
30.”Curtis Mayfield” - Clarence Bucaro: Though residing in Brooklyn, and dropping a new record entitled Dreaming From the Heart of New York, Bucaro spent some time in New Orleans having moved here to meet one of his heroes, Anders Osborne. He returns this week to play Chickie Wah Wah's on Friday.
31.”Mandinga” - Panorama Jazz Band: From their new Latin-themed album, Dance of the Hot Earth. Play Hi Ho Lounge Thursday.
Updated 3:43 p.m.
In our description of J. Cole, we misidentified him as from New York City and wrote that he was "young." Since he was born in 1985, identifying him as young might be misleading. We changed the text to deal with these issues.
