D'Haene, Vinyl D'Haene's new disc is spring-loaded with hard-locked rhythms, chunky guitar riffing, and metalized melodies sung with a bluesy, soulful inflection. If, vocally, D'Haene tends to be a touch more convincing on more easy-going fare ("Took Me So Long"), that's because of the soulful quality that defines his vocal style. One of the CD's best points is the way many of the songs surprise you with unexpected bridges and codas, as in "Wouldn't You Like To Know," or with varied flavors like the Latin opening of "Brand New Threads!" The impeccable musicianship and harmony vocals are also a pleasure throughout. The soul influence becomes explicit with the nodding triplets and organ bed of "I'll Be Your Man," though D'Haene's characteristic guitar buzz remains, maintaining consistency with the disk's overall feel. The same thing happens in the jazzy underpinning of "Playin' It Cool," complete with muted trumpet. Bookended by the hard-rocking "Another Like You" and "My Woman," this set of solid songs and ace playing is worthy listen. June Moris, White Spot June Moris' seven-song disc is a hypnotic set; her quavery voice sounds as if it's bubbling up from an underground stream, accompanied by the hum of insects and distant bells ringing. The atmosphere ranges from a strained, thinly angry pounding, slightly reminiscent of PJ Harvey, to a techno coolness, to a thick Brian Eno drone, but Moris' fluty voice carries through all. It's an effective, even thrilling tactic through the first five songs. On the sixth track, "The Memory," Moris tries for melodramatic balladry, leaving what seems her natural, postmodern sonic habitat, and it doesn't work as well. At the end one is left, not with melodies to hang a memory on - Moris isn't about that - but with a pleasingly disturbing sense of disquiet. Shivery mission accomplished.page 1 | 2

Ah yes…the end of the year and critics, award shows, and news people galore are all chipping in to remind you of the best moments and memories that will forever be the personality of 2008. For me personally, this was an epic year in music for the mere fact that my taste buds were exposed to a plethora of new rock music thanks to the wicked invention of Rock Band (both 1 and 2). I developed a love for artists like Interpol, The Donnas, Paramore, Coheed and Cambria, Nine Inch Nails, Queens of the Stone Age, Metallica, and Disturbed. Being a massive Prince fan, I've always liked rock music but never quite new where to begin exploring the genre. Thanks to the crew at Harmonix (the Rock Band developers) and MTV, I can now comfortably delve into the world of rock, many of its classics and legends. Even before Rock Band became a daily part of my routine, though, I jumped on the bandwagon of a one-time Metallica cover band from the UK named Bullet For My Valentine. Their amazing sophomore album, Scream Aim Fire, is a high-energy, amazing effort that never leaves any of my metal playlists. Now, onto what I do truly know about: hip hop and soul music. And trust me, this was a big year for both. So let's get it going (in no particular order): Black Milk - Tronic Plain and simple, Black Milk is the next big producer/emcee in the hip hop game. With blazing production credits for Slum Village emcee Elzhi's debut CD (also a 2008 must have in the underground hip hop scene) as well as GZA/Genius, Busta Rhymes, Kardinal Offishall, Pharoahe Monch, and more, Black has managed to carve out a J Dilla-esque style that is both amazing and energetic. His emcee skills are also on display on this album, showing that he can hold his own while featuring the talents of fellow Detroit emcee and Eminem affiliate Royce Da 5'9". Standout tracks "The Matrix", "Bounce", "Losing Out", and "Reppin For You" are sure to shock the casual hip hop listener into becoming an underground aficionado. Muhsinah - Daybreak 2.0 Needless to say, this has been a huge year for this singer/songwriter/deejay/producer/artist. First of all, her above mentioned debut CD is an amazing blend of hip hop and soul music that flexes her affinity for complex harmonies and atypical percussion. In addition to that, she adds in an oddly appealing production style that involves reversing a track in a melodious fashion. This debut was so amazing that it prompted production and guest spots on Foreign Exchange, Stacy Epps, Bilal Salaam, and Common. J*Davey -  The Beauty in Distortion/The Land of the Lost I was kind of slow to jump on this bandwagon and I'm ashamed that I didn't find this duo of Jack Davey (aka Briana Cartwright) and Brooke D' Leau earlier. A double CD (yeah, you heard me) of music from two earlier released EP's of the same name, J*Davey manages to place funk and soul/electronica back on the map in a sexy, seductive kind of way. The confident and outrageous persona of the group shines in a way that shows that they are both looking to shock and inspire their listeners much in the same way that Cee-Lo Green and Danger Mouse do with their Gnarls Barkley project. Look out for these two.page 1 | 2

The Sony BMG label began its Remixed & Reimagined series in 2006 and the music of Nina Simone was the first release. The concept was to allow assorted club DJ's to recut songs of classic artists in modern form. It may seem like an odd idea, but the results proved at least interesting and, in places, excellent. This album was originally issued in CD form in 2006 and now it resurfaces on vinyl as part of the label’s Legacy series. Despite it being issued on regular (rather than 180 gram) vinyl, it still has a heavier feel. The sound is crystal clear and serves as  yet another example of how good record albums can sound when properly produced.  Remixed & Reimagined may be electronica and technological, but in its heart and soul it remains a Nina Simone album. Her music is difficult to place in one category, but it is safe to say that her legacy includes that of a distinguished jazz vocalist, having released nearly forty albums during her lengthy career. The tracks that comprise this release were taken from 1968-1974 when she was signed to the RCA label. Some purists may not appreciate this re-working of Simone’s music as it does remove the songs from their classic form. Rather than replacing her performances, though, this album updates them and ultimately allows these new creations to stand on their own alongside the old ones. This album can thus be enjoyed as a unique and stand-alone work. It should be noted that the vinyl issue is shorter than the CD as it only contains nine tracks. There are also three tracks that are only available through iTunes. The songs that work the best are “Ain’t Got No-I Got Life” Groovefinder Remix, “Here Come The Sun” Francois K. Remix, “To Love Somebody” Chris Coco’s Stadium Rocker Remix and “Obeah Woman” DJ Logic Remix. Each of the tracks retains the vocal integrity of the original while the music takes their sound in new directions. Remixed and Reimagined is a very different but enjoyable listen for any fan of Nina Simone. So crank up the old record player and enjoy.

After four acclaimed collections, the Verve Remixed series finally gets in the holiday spirit with Verve Remixed Christmas. This new collection lets loose a variety of remixers on holiday tracks by jazz greats like Nina Simone, Count Basie, and Ella Fitzgerald. While purists will probably bristle, fans of compilations like the Christmas Remixed series or Merry Mixmas will find another great disc to add to their not-so-traditional holiday music collection. Remix collections like this can often be a tricky proposition. It's quite easy to turn a classic song into something unlistenable and uninspired. Thankfully, the producers and remixers involved with Verve Remixed Christmas mostly avoid this… even when they sometimes stray very far from the original material. Some of the remixes enhance and modernize the spirit of the original song. The album opens with The Real Tuesday Weld's Clerkenwell remix of "Good Morning Blues" by Count Basie. He brings the piano of the song to the forefront while adding light electronic drums and strings to create a relaxed, somewhat dreamy mood that doesn't feel out of place. The band The Heavy remixes Louis Armstrong's "'Zat You Santa Claus?" and adds some energy with some well-placed guitar licks and horns. They fit perfectly with Armstrong's charismatic vocals. Other remixes put wonderful but radically different spins on the songs. Billie Holiday's take on "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm" is given a dub/reggae twist by production duo Yesking. Mel Torme's voice is twisted in a number of ways on the electronic remix of "The Christmas Song" by Sonny J. Despite this, the song doesn't deteriorate into a techno mess. Instead, it has a futuristic sheen that somehow works. Producer Oh No takes Jimmy Smith's version of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" and turns it into an instrumental hip-hop banger. It's one of the few Christmas tracks that would sound great on a loud stereo. The Brazilian Girls give Dinah Washington's version of the normally somber "Silent Night" a surprising (and danceable) samba-influenced groove. Washington's voice is barely used here, though, so it's probably one of the more "controversial" remixes.page 1 | 2

By the early 1990’s we had become familiar with the paradoxical idea of dance music that you couldn’t dance to. As rave ground to a nihilistic halt, the Warp label’s seminal Artificial Intelligence series precised a change of direction, it's roots deep in the eloquence/elegance of the first wave techno that had been originally crafted by europhile young black men from Detroit. A new crop of erudite but homogenous thinking artists such as Autechre, The Black Dog, and Richard D. James each released their own seminal, idiosyncratic chapters of a genre then clumsily defined as "intelligent dance music". Dismissed by hedonistic clubbing purists as an inauthentic abstraction of their experience, much to the totalitarians' chagrin it arguably became electronic music's in toto approach for much of the decade. Most of the criticisms which dogged it's parent movement however remained valid in the offspring; a lack of soul, the creator seeking expression purely in a pacifist, instrument-free process which owed more to an artisan's skill with software than any degree of proficiency. At it's most conformist, it was music with a prescient devotion to clarity, order and utilitarianism. Then in 1998 the release of one record deactivated a thousand of these clones at a stroke. Marcus and Mike Sandison - they finally revealed themselves to be brothers in a 2005 interview - had begun recording as Boards of Canada in 1987, naming themselves in part after the documentary works of The National Film Board of Canada, which they had avidly consumed during a two year long adolescent stay in Calgary with their parents. Relocating later to the scottish countryside, the duo became part of a hazily defined artists' collective known as Hexagon Sun and then set about creating an air of mystique around their work which bordered on information fascism. All of their output before 1995's Twoism - itself only initially released in a limited run of 200 vinyl copies until a 2003 CD reissue - remains tantalisingly unavailable. The brothers have given fewer than half a dozen interviews in the last decade and haven't played live this century. All of this tessellated with Warp's pathalogical devotion to the obscure and irascibly challenging. Following several releases on the uber cool Skam label, the people who had created the intelligent dance music framework in the first place then chose to deconstruct their own myth by releasing the brothers' groundbreaking Music Has The Right To Children. page 1 | 2

What a great, sprawling, glorious mess of an album this is. You never know what you’re going to get with Paul Weller – he’s one of music’s most prodigious dabblers, equally fluent in rock, soul, jazz, electronica, atonal contemporary, or acoustic folk. I know he’s not averse to the Grand Artistic Statement, either, so for weeks I’ve been poring over his latest album, wondering if there was some secret code or theme (for example: if it’s called 22 Dreams, why does it have 21 tracks? Why does it begin with “Light Nights” and end with “Night Lights”?). After all, Weller’s been pulling off this sort of high-handed artistic trick ever since he cast off the taut punk aesthetic of the Jam and went off on the long-winded soul- and jazz-inspired rambles of Style Council. But along the way, I found myself utterly seduced by something much simpler: melody. It's an old-fashioned concept, really, in this rap- and hip-hop dominated era, but there it is, staring me right in the face. I have to confess to a bad habit of trawling through an album on the first listen, looking for plum tracks to pluck off for my iPod (Ah, the curse of the digital age!). As I started working my way through 22 Dreams, I had to deal with a non-stop barrage of winners – the anthemic raga-flavored “Light Nights,” the buzzy uptempo rock-and-roll of “22 Dreams,” the loose-limbed syncopation of “All I Wanna Do (Is Be With You),” and the funky soul of “Have You Made Up Your Mind,” just to mention the first four tracks. These are songs that short-circuit your musical memory, with such satisfying melodic lines that you’re instantly certain you’ve known them for years. I have to surrender; they're all iPod-worthy.  That clear rock groove dissolves next into a stretch of jazzier pieces — the shimmery atmospheric “Empty Ring,” the tenderly mournful acoustic piano piece “Invisible,” and the infectious samba “Cold Moments.” We’re not in sing-along territory anymore, but there’s still a through-line of tunefulness that’s hard to resist. (I’ll admit I skip over “Song For Alice,” which despite an insistent rhythm track never fights its way out of the electronic haze of experimental sounds.) page 1 | 2

Get the party started any time of the year with Delicious Vinyl All-Stars RMXXOLOGY Deluxe Edition, a 30-track double CD that pumps through new remixes, classic cuts, and instrumentals that will make you go mental. Sound like a lot of loaded hype? It isn’t. This is one packed-to-the-rafters double-CD. Taking all the hits from this past summer’s RMXXOLOGY album and jamming it with instrumentals, unreleased remixes, and classics from the Delicious Vinyl vaults, this is one Deluxe Edition that ain’t just blowing smoke. RMXXOLOGY packs a generous helping of remixes of classic rap tracks. Imagine electro –freak Peaches mixing Tone Loc’s “Wild Thing” or Eminem turning the wheels of steel on a remix of the Masta Ace classic “Slaughtahouse” and you’ve got an idea of what awaits on this incredible compilation. The art of the remix can be tricky, even for the best DJs and artists around. Some remixes simply mess with perfection, destroying an original work’s efficacy through sloppy beats and obnoxious turntable showcasing. An effective remix, on the other hand, can boost the relevance of classic tracks and provoke new emotions from old favorites. Such is the case with RMXXOLOGY, as the artists take the best of these rap classics and make them even better. Don Rimini’s take on the Young MC standard “Bust a Move” does just that. It’s a total repackaging of the classic track, with new beats and new shiny surfaces designed to make your ass bounce on the dance floor. Don Rimini’s command over the pulse is impeccable, as we discovered earlier this year with Kick 'N Run. Here, he’s a dynamo, ripping the track up, building it again, and blowing the roof off. Other remixes find similar shit going on. The aforementioned Peaches does her thing all over “Wild Thing,” for instance. The original riff is kept intact, of course, but the electro diva messes with everything else and formulates a slinky, dirty remix. Peaches injects her own vocals, too, making the track a slick duet. Hot Chip takes on The Pharcyde’s “Passin’ Me By” and turns it into a haunting, provocative tune. Also included are remixes by Aaron LaCrate & Debonair Samir, Diplo, and Pink Enemy. The bonus disc features instrumentals of many of the remixes, ideal for pumping solid beats through your stereo system. And Delicious Vinyl cracked open the vaults for originals by Tone Loc, Young MC, Masta Ace, and The Pharcyde. The Delicious Vinyl All-Stars RMXXOLOGY Deluxe Edition is a slammin’ soundtrack to your Saturday night. Whether you’re old school or new school, you’ll find something to groove to on this scrumptious compilation of favorites.

Stephen Coates had a pair of bizarre dreams. In them, he was visited by film actress Tuesday Weld and 1930s British jazz singer Al Bowlly. From the mysterious reverie, Coates decided that he would donate his life to music and would submerge himself in another time in order to come up with a unique, gratifying sound. With keenness and a magic trunk full of tricks, Coates became The Real Tuesday Weld and the rest… well, that’s history, isn’t it? Describing the quintessence of The Real Tuesday Weld can be a bit of a pickle, although there is something about Coates that seems from another time. It is as though Bowlly inhabited his soul that night during the dream and never let go. Coates’ music is infused with a sense of jazz theatre, with touches of Tin Pan Alley cheek thrown in for kicks. With Coates’ latest release, The London Book of the Dead, he takes his whimsy, his moxie, and his gee-golly-goodness to a whole new level. Evocative, intricate, layered, immersive, riveting, forceful, affecting, tart, passionate, and sinister, The London Book of the Dead reads, at times, like the score to a silent movie and, at other times, like something wholly modern and wholly dreamlike. Coates is narrator, ringleader, conductor, and carny barker. He is the consummate showman and we are his spectators. And you can bet he has our attention. The title references Bardo Thodol (the Tibetan Book of the Dead) and carries the theme of the passage of a soul from one life to another. In effect, Coates’ record is about the course of the spiritual to the new. It is about change, yet he isn’t hesitant to mete out a dark sense of humour on the whole thing. Transferring the thoughtful Tibetan spirituality of Bardo Thodol to the locale of London, Coates can’t help but find the process comical. “I thought it would be funny if there were a book like that for the English,” he says. “The album felt like that to me – a way of moving from one state to another and all set against the backdrop of this city.” Discussing topics like religion, love, death, drugs, life, and disease is risky business, particularly within a musical milieu that sounds as though it was influenced by a hotchpotch of Tim Burton, pantomime, bowler hats, and musical theatre. Yet Coates does it marvelously, invoking a sense of earnestness and shade in conjunction with his dry smartness. Perhaps the most compelling facet of The Real Tuesday Weld is how rapidly and naturally he moves from realism to surrealism in a musical context. A track like “Dorothy Parker Blue” is emotional, gentle, and stirring. Smoothly, Coates slips into a hopping-mad spectacle of a ditty in “Cloud Cuckooland” and rolls deliciously into the “jazz hands” pace of “Kix.” The transitions flow like a dream, stylishly. In the end, that’s really what The London Book of the Dead is about. Deconstructing this bit into a selection of songs degrades the process, I think. Instead, listen for the transitions, the mood changes, the enthusiasm, the euphoria, the fashion, and the dark edges. The Real Tuesday Weld has put together a piece of art that is pensive without being insufferable and dark without being disheartening. It is an exciting, imaginative album.

I graduated high school in 1994. During my senior year, 10,000 Maniacs' Our Time In Eden still had a pretty solid grip on the airwaves. My song was "These Are Days." I have a sharp memory of driving into the parking lot of my high school for a speech tournament, cranking "These Are Days," feeling acutely on the precipice between youth and adulthood, between today and tomorrow, between nothing and everything. You know, just high school shit. Totally Michael is an artist who makes records for seniors in high school. This is not a bad thing. It means that I am not his target audience, as a 32-year-old father of one with a mortgage and a wife and a lawnmower. It just means he does what he does, and those who are of the right age and mind to receive what he does may derive great enjoyment from it. The best way to describe the sound of Totally Michael's self-titled debut album is probably "electro-punk." That may be marketing jargon I got from the PR materials, or something I read online someplace; wherever it came from, it fits. Totally Michael puts together his songs from the bleeps and blips of computer software, supported by his guitar and vocal; in a live setting, he sings and plays to a backing track running off his iPod. From a songwriting perspective, Totally Michael immediately made me think of blink -182, if blink-182 had come up in the year 2045 instead of the late nineties. Imagine Travis Barker and the boys inside their cryosuits of pliable microsteel, mentally transmitting three chords and some frat boy puns into a computer the size of a walnut. Fast, clean, direct tunes with the occasional clever line and a relentless focus on everything being awesome all the time. Lyrically, Totally Michael's songs are about going out, having fun, and living forever. What else do teenagers care about, really? On the lead single "Winona," he professes his love for Winona Ryder; I'd point out Matthew Sweet already did so, on his 1991 album Girlfriend, but that's gotta be ancient history to Mr. Michael. page 1 | 2

American screamo teams up with Japanese screamo on the recently released Thursday / Envy split EP on Temporary Residence.  The two powerhouse bands contribute songs to this limited release that is being sold strictly CD+LP only (there will not be a sole CD or LP available) and can only be found in independent record stores.  There is also a hand printed limited edition version that can be ordered exclusively on their website.  Both bands comprise exceptional tracks and really do a great job in doing so on this release. Formed in New Jersey around 1997, Thursday has been a staple in the post-hardcore scene.  Having released multiple albums, the band has had a very successful career despite ping ponging from record label to record label after mishaps and disputes.  Currently the band is signed with Epitaph records for this full length to be released in 2009. Screamo experimental rock act Envy, hailing from Japan, are unique in their own way with songs sung in their native tongue layered over post hardcore music, as well as a little experimental chill out on some tracks.  Well respected all over the world by many and commonly known for their explosions of screaming on songs, I was really looking forward to finally hearing them. So how did the two come to unite?  Truth is Thursday is a huge fan of the experimental Envy.  Back in April the Thursday posted news of the release on their site:"It's our pleasure to announce a split release with one of our favorite bands in the world.   We are currently in the studio recording tracks for a 12" release with Japan's Envy.  For those of you unfamiliar with Envy, they are an experimental, epic, lush post-rock band that's heavier than just about anything we've ever heard.  Despite the enormous geographical distances between us, the bands have evolved from the same thrashy underground post-hardcore scene.  Honestly, there's no way to properly describe them."   The split CD started out with four tracks by Thursday and opens with the impressive “As He Climbed The Dark Mountain”.  Geoff Rickly and crew provided a solid track full of the sporadic singing styles I grew accustomed to with their previous releases, layered with some sick guitar playing and insane drumming.  I really enjoyed this track a lot and after hearing this I can not wait to hear their next full length. The dark instrumental “In Silence” was more of something you would hear the Crystal Method crank out.  The techno strong song is far from the post-hardcore material the band is known for and I myself loved it.  Full of distorted synthesizers, electronic drum beats, and a mellow piano solo, this song really showed a different side to the band usually known for their screamo.page 1 | 2