mixtape maestro (2.0)

A trippy, world-pop excursion through tantalizing Afro-beat and house influences, “Tonight’s Today”, the new single from London singer-songwriter Jack Peñate, makes a helluva leap away from the sprightly, guitar-pop that defined his 2007 debut, Matinée, in turn launching all kinds of excitement for what other strange cookings he and producer Paul Epworth (Bloc Party, Sam Sparro, Kate Nash) have planned for his upcoming sophomore set.

It’s dense, yet loose-flowing, groove mastering an exotic beauty, “Tonight’s Today” is one of those records you can easily get lost in, inspiring a need to place it on loop just so you can try to figure out in what loony mind one must have been in to ever think of pasting it’s oddly attractive elements together.

Helpfully, Peñate gathers some meaning out of the mesmerizing arrangement’s mystery, using it as an effective illustration to a man’s post-party, zombie-like traipse through the streets as the night sky slowly gives way to daybreak. “The thought has just started dawning/
That there’s still so much more that I can do,” he explains, either unaware or without care of how much his dead-eyed demeanor is freaking out passersby.

Forewarning: After one spin, you probably won’t be able to get this creepy tune out of your head.

Jack Peñate – Tonight's Today

With so much attention (and question mark keys) centered on the confusingly still-set-for-release Rebirth, and polished leaks recently emerging from that long-awaited Juelz Santana/ Lil’ Wayne mixtape, we had almost forgot about that whole T-Wayne side deal that had started lighting up the blog circuit last fall. Newly un-earthed cut “He Raps, He Sings, It’s T-Wayne” serves the latest hint that that project is still on the horizon.

Here, the two flip their already-blurred positions over a generic, yet effective, back beat with T-Pain rapping an admittedly sturdy opening verse filled with goofy ménage à trois banter and faux-gangsta threats, and Wayne holding up the back-end with more of that ear-aching, Auto-Tuned gibberish-noise (We’ll gladly pay $100 to anyone that can take that damn thing from him!!!).

It’s nothing truly mind-blowing, but “He Raps…” still accomplishes enough to keep anticipation for this Best of Both Worlds-styled union alive.

DL: “He Raps, He Sings, It’s T-Wayne” (alt)

“I got a box of chocolates that’ll rock the socks off any girl that wanna come my way,” teases His Purple Majesty, right before he calls on the arrival of a killer Linn-Drum strut.

For any longtime Prince fan, all it takes is these simple intro ingredients from his new single “Chocolate Box” to set them in an over-excited frenzy, as they’re once again faced with the possibility that the musical icon is delivering what has been desired for far too long: a return to his late-70′s to early-90′s pop, rock, funk and soul heights with a fresh, modern twist.

For the most part, “Box” does exactly that, pulling together several familiar Prince signatures (the orgasmic moans and squeals; a fierce synthetic funk groove; the new wave-y breakdown accented with a lil’ electric guitar spark) into an enjoyable enough whole. We even get glimpses of Prince’s clever pimp gab (at times, via the Auto-Tuned effect) as he plays mind games with some hot dame desperate for his goodies (“You can try to get it/ But I can’t let you hit it, cause you’re never gonna be the same”; “What’s the deal?/ Are you gay or poppin’ pills?/ Why you still wanna take my hand”; “You know you can’t make chocolate cake if ain’t nobody ever showed you how”), as well as a solid sixteen from featured guest Q-Tip.

Of course, it’s only when it’s compared to “Erotic City”, “Baby I’m A Star”, “Gett Off”, “U Got The Look” or any one of the other numerous delights from his heyday that “Chocolate Box” comes up short. But A: that’s a bit unfair, B: we should REALLY come to grips with the sad reality that the ass-less chaps favoring, floor-grinding Prince we loved so hard is no more, and C: we should just be thankful that “Box” isn’t another one of those boring, self-indulgent, forever-long noodlers the man has fancied so much in recent years.

From the MPLSoUND portion of his newly released three-CD set (also including LOtUSFLOW3R and protegee Bria Valente showcase, Elixer), that’s only available via Target.

It may have taken an eternity but Keri Hilson‘s In A Perfect World finally managed to see the light of day thanks to it’s, what, eleventh pre-single/ video “Turnin’ Me On” being the one cut to trigger enough attention to become her first official solo smash. Yeah, it’s not exactly setting the music press world on fire, but, whatever, we’re just happy to see Hilson one step closer to becoming the top R&B diva she seemed destined to be years ago.

As with every other major R&B release these days though, World‘s endless tracklist reconfigurings resulted in several songs being left on the editing room floor…only to be “leaked” to the inter-webs in rapid time. One of those emerging casualties was “Hey Girl”, a T-Pain and Lil’ Jon-assisted ode to the drank that might not have been a perfect fit in Hilson’s final product, yet still deserves to be snatched up by somebody so it can get a proper club push.

A tad Pussycat Dolls-mimicking with it’s cheerleader chant elements and tabla-prominent backbeat, “Hey Girl” (a sort-of sister record to Jamie Foxx’ current jam “Blame It”) sees Keri once again pulling out the mannequin-esque monotone vocal to let the people know how she gets down when she hits the town. “I’m on Patron, tequila/ I’m drunk on Margaritas/…By the end of the night I’m-a have you so fucked up,” announces it’s winning hook.

Too bad we don’t know her, cause it seems like she would be the ideal tag-along when it comes to really painting the town red.

DL: “Hey Girl” (alt)

UK indie rock-ers the Noisettes might have been armed with an unapologetic, rebel blend of razor-sharp punk, classic rock, jazz and blues that drew heavy critical praise, and an eye-grabbing English/ Zimbabwean beauty of a frontwoman with a background in theater and the circus and an oh-so-cool government tag (Shingai Shoniwa), but sadly, all these elements combined weren’t enough to draw them much commercial fortune. With a sleeker re-formatting of their eclectic style on their latest cycle, though, the three-piece’s luck seems about to change.

Sounding a million years away from their earlier sound, new single “Don’t Upset The Rhythm” has already kicked off their year on a largely successful note. Mostly thanks to it’s inclusion in a new Mazda ad, but also due to it’s infectious indulgence in swirly, disco diva territory, the dance record has opened them up to pop audiences in a major way, looking to debut big on next week’s UK singles chart. This newfound mainstream success should only continue once ears get better trained on the equally peppy “Wild Young Hearts”.

The title cut off their upcoming album, “Hearts” isn’t as much of a giant leap from their previous sound as “Rhythm”, making it a better sell to the band’s longtime fans. Merging a Strokes-y garage pop feel with jazzy piano bits, the track nurses an appealing feelgood swing that’s perfect for Shoniwa’s ruminations on being young and having fun.

Yeah, she might have lost a boyfriend recently, but she “won’t weep” because “summer is here again” and, like every change of season, it brings with it the exciting potential for all kinds of new single-night adventures with members of the opposite sex. Every now and then, twinges of regret towards this frolicsome lifestyle float across her mind (“Somebody tell me tell me tell me, when will I learn?”), but she just as quickly casts off the sobering thoughts with a simple “Damn these wild young hearts” shake of the head, her interest in enjoying life while she’s still in her prime proving far too irresistible to give up.

A great tune to start the day off right.

Wild Young Hearts arrives in the UK, April 20th.

Wild Young Hearts

DL: “Wild Young Hearts” (alt)

Need another reason why the Noisettes need to be tagged as your favorite band of ’09? Below, catch their sublime Live Lounge cover of The Killers’ “When You Were Young”:

DL: “When You Were Young (The Killers Cover)” (alt)

The minute MIMS‘ uber-smash introduction “This Is Why I’m Hot” made it’s way to the top of the Pop singles chart and started being goofily mimicked by all of thirty-something-plus suburbia, the NYC newcomer’s status seemed to quickly morph from promising rap newcomer to one-hit wonder punchline.

Apparently, though, MIMS isn’t ready to simply fall off the edge of memory or be this decade’s version of Skee-Lo, making an enticing return with a record that makes a better case in proving (rather than endlessly stating) why he’s, indeed, “hot”.

“Move (If You Wanna)” is the first official single from his upcoming Guilt, and it’s a stunner, immediately awakening the senses with it’s minimalist bass and snare rumblings and a soft/ loud vocal gimmick reminiscent of Busta Rhyme’s “Touch It”.

With crosshairs fixed on the much-targeted anonymous “hater”, MIMS riddles out an uzi spray of tough talk one-liners (Sample: “Get you Biz-Marked up, turn you into vapors/ If you got a problem, get you swallowed like a chaser”) to get boots shaking. And while none of them really make strides in believably defining him as an intimidating force, their simplistic, Rhyming-101 attacks against the trash-can banging production do enough to draw your undivided attention, helping re-establish the once-dismissed idea that this cat might actually have some staying power.

Guilt is set for an April 7th release.

One of Prince’s slickest pop creations ever remains the 1980 Dirty Mind gem “When You Were Mine”, a quirky love letter to an ex framed in a buzzy new wave sheen. It might not hold ranking as an obvious Top 5 Prince pick (partly due to it’s never being released as an official single), but it’s nevertheless reigned as a fan favorite, spawning numerous cover versions over the years.

Up on par with Miss Cyndi Lauper’s brilliant take is this version from Animal Collective protegee/ Mississippi-born ukulele & retro-pop enthusiast Dent May.

May’s reading perfectly taps into the lyrics’ put-upon boyfriend woe: it’s sparse setting of handclaps and acoustic strums on the verses conveys a loneliness feel, while his cold, and quite odd, old crooner vocal gives him a dweeb-ish quality that makes believable the notion that he would be so head-over-heels in love he would allow his girlfriend to siphon away all his cash, stay mum despite being aware of her continued infidelity, and not even raise any questions when he wakes up post-threesome to see her spooned up with the other dude.

DL: “When You Were Mine (Prince Cover)” (alt)

…Alas, all hope is not lost on May finding someone new to shack up with, as proven on “Meet Me In The Garden”, an all-original tune from his band’s recently dropped LP, The Good Feeling Music of Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele.

Bathed in a dreamy Tropicália lilt that’s humorously accented with exotic bird calls, “Garden” sees May’s geek-chic persona getting some older blonde babe named “Miss Caroline” so hot and bothered, she makes sure to contact him “every Tuesday and every other Friday or so” to schedule their next freak session.

He may wink “I’m young but I can do things”, but beneath this faux-cool front, he’s pinching himself, unable to fully wrap his mind around the idea that he could hold so much power over such a sexy cougar (“Under the oak, she’s having a smoke/ Just for me!!!“).

We say relish in this very-pimp moment Dent, just make sure you don’t invite any other guys into the bedroom (or, in this case, garden) to distract her attention.

A buttery seduction of neo-soul smoove and cool poetic charm subtly fringed with old-school hip hop hype, Q Tip’s The Renaissance album cut “We Fight/ We Love”, like the rest of it’s trackmates, served as a welcome reminder of why Tip was so missed during that seemingly eternal between-album period.

Position nearly any aspect of it (from the vivid lyrical illustrations of it’s opening lines to the excellent second verse story of a young soldier’s tenure in Iraq (“You get to travel the world, its cheaper than college/ And you get guns, and you get knowledge/ Lookin for your soul, and WMD’s/ You can’t find nothing, cause its empty…”) to the way Tip’s relaxed flow nestles with such ease within it’s sublime groove) against about 90% of what’s currently being (over-)supported by your local rap station, and the gap in creativity presented is downright maddening.

What a sad world we live in when the beyond-corny club-pop exercises of Flo-Rida or instantly-tired frat-boy musings of “I Love College” represent to so many radio listeners what hip hop is while amazing gems like “Fight/ Love” struggle (usually unsuccessfully) for an inkling of airspace. Sigh.

Below, peep a performance of “We Fight/ We Love” from the Ellen show, then check out the remix featuring Tip’s cousin Consequence and the ever-busy Kanye West. Their appearance results in the sad omission of both original guest Raphael Saadiq and that aforementioned second verse, but the fact that West is actually rapping (YAAAAYYY!!!) here makes the changes less of a bummer.

DL: “We Fight/ We Love (Remix)” (alt)

On “Too Fake”, a indie-dance rock tune supplied by Portland, Oregon buzz band Hockey, it’s not entirely clear whether front-man Benjamin Grubin is either stricken with ADHD or peaks of drunken confusion as he stumbles his way through several doses of contradictory dialogue (“Everybody’s watching oh but nobody cares/ Oh wait…Nobody’s watching but everybody cares/…Oh whatever, talk to you later”).

What is firmly established, though, is that his sexy Mick Jagger-meets-Prince persona and “too cool for the room” ‘tude nicely flatters the track’s verse foundation of electro burbles and throbbing basslines; not to mention the way a certain Rod Stewart-rasp in his voice is exposed once “Fake”‘s thrilling new wave-built rush of a chorus arrives.

Grubin may not be able to figure out whether he’s “just too fake for this world” or just “got too much soul for this world” (or, somewhat confusingly, both), but with tracks like “Too Fake” and other MySpace-featured delights like “Song Away” and the slinky, disco-flirting romp “Work”, we get the sense that “this world” will definitely be better off as more and more people get in tune with what Hockey is cooking.

Look for their Mad Chaos LP to drop around May/ June.

Too Fake Music Video

DL: “Too Fake” (alt)

For those that are still not quite feeling “Prom Queen” or wish that Ciara and JT’s “Love Sex Magic” didn’t feel so FutureSex-like, producer/ remixer Russ Castella has come to your rescue, tinkering with both records in interesting enough ways they might reverse some listeners’ initial underwhelmed reception.

Of the two, “Prom Queen” is obviously in need of the most help, so it’s not surprising it gets the more drastic makeover. This involves Castella completely stripping away it’s “rock”-y sonic terrain, then orchestrating an entirely new backing arrangement based in moody piano dramatics.

Surprisingly, casting the song in this Evanescence AC ballad-like form ends up sounding far better than one might at first assume; but a delicate sprinkling of keys can’t really solve the major problem that is Wayne’s choked robo-vocal. The man still sounds horrid.

DL: “Prom Queen (Russ Castella Piano Remix)” (alt)

For “Love Sex Magic”, Castella simply colors within the lines of it’s taut funk strut a lil’ melodic synth groove. It’s a minor updating, but damn if it doesn’t wiggle the song out of it’s re-heated feel and elevate it to a whole new plateau of post-disco sexiness.

DL: “Love Sex Magic (Russ Castella Remix)” (alt)