Music Report

Welcome to the “excessive pollen is the downside of Spring” edition of the Music Report. Jury is still out on whether that theme will resurface as we proceed.

Tonight at The Knitting Factory NYC Main Space, West Coast “party rappers” Tha Alkaholiks will appear . . . and perform. This represents a rare East Coast show for the trio who have recently reunited after a three year hiatus. The Alkaholiks notably sold out when they released the X.O. Experience album as Tha Liks with the hope of increased radio play but certainly, “!#&&@* gotta get paid.” See “Hip Hop Drunkies” off the Likwidation release for an excellent collaboration with the late ODB.
http://www.alkaholiks.com/

Hip hop producer extraordinaire Madlib dropped a set on the winter music conference in Miami a couple weeks back which his label Stones Throw was kind enough to record and offer as a podcast. An enthusiastic crate digger, with a deep reverence for jazz and soul, Madlib’s most recent work is that with MF Doom as part of Madvillian and with Talib Kweli on “Liberation.” Interestingly, Madlib’s first group, Lootpack, formed in his hometown of Oxnard, CA, made their debut on the Alkaholik’s 21 and Over in 1993. While you’re at it, Stones Throw has also digitally preserved a mellower set Madlib did on KCRW’s Chocolate City.
http://stonesthrow.com/podcast/stonesthrow_31_madlib.mp3
http://www.stonesthrow.com/news/chocolatecity/index.html

For more hot West Coast action, but this time from some unshaven white guys, there’s Birds & Batteries. NPR describe’s the group’s music as “rock and country with warm keys and glitchy beats.” The Music Report has not before come across a group that has so seamlessly integrated electronic instrumentation while maintaining a predominantly country sound.
http://www.birdsandbatteries.com/

M83 is a French electronic artist whose draws on a number of collaborators to create music that blends electronica with more traditional indie rock, frequently incorporating vocals to keep things interesting. M83 draws from the “shoegaze” genre with extensive use of reverb effects and lyrics spoken softly over instrumentals. Tunes have been featured in the trailer for A Scanner Darkly and a commercial for Pontiac. The new album Saturdays = Youth will be released this Tuesday. In case you were wondering, the name comes from a galaxy about 15 million light-years away discovered in 1752. M83 plays the New York area June 2 and 3.
http://www.ilovem83.com

Skate videos: A thing of the past? Perhaps. But also of the present. Four years in the making, Lakai Limited Footwear’s Fully Flared was partially directed by Spike Jonze and it’s got a soundtrack to match including new and old, hip hop and rock, and explosions. Bad Brains, Bowie, Public Enemy, Arcade Fire, Three 6 Mafia & M83.
http://www.lakai.com/06/arhives/movies.html

New Kids on the Block superfans should get tickets now for their reunion show May 17th at the IZOD Center, formerly Continental Airlines Arena.
http://zootopia.z100.com