Artist: Madlib

Album: Beat Konducta Vol. 3-4: INdia

Release Date: Summer 2007 

I recently received this album from my friendly, gun-totin' mailperson the other day and popped this into the cd player while making some dinner. I was bobbin my head the entire time. If you are unfamiliar with Madlib and his various personas (such as Quasimoto, Yesterday's New Quintet, etc...) then this may be a little out there for you. However, for those of you who have been initiated into the seriously eclectic, then look no further. For a man who has as many incarnations as Madlib, an Indian, Bollywood-music themed, concept album is all the more fitting. Taking various musical cues from east asia, this album is sure to rock the heads of those folks who can appreciate this album. 34 tracks (the album is only an hour long) of swiftly moving, deeply bassed goodness. The tracks move at such a speed that sometimes one wishes each were just a hair longer, but after taking a full listen, you realise it shouldn't be any other way. Hip-hop instrumentals infused with traditional sitar. In a word awesome. Plunk down some rupees for this one and I promise you won't be disappointed.

Now for those of you who expecting deep, intellectual insight into music and its many forms, go to some other website. This is not anything close to that. This is just simply a section dedicated to music in my collection that I listen to and I notice that my daughter bobs her head to. If you want a more rounded view of my musical tastes, check out my Last.Fm account. With that said, here's a simple review:

Artist: The Sea and Cake

Album: Everybody

Release: Spring 2007

I bought this album off of amazon a few weeks ago and haven't stopped listening to it. Its great. Everytime I pop it in the cd player or fire up winamp, I am greeted with some excellent post-rock hailing from the Chicago area. Breezy pop tunes surrounded by an impeccable sense of timing and always infectious vocals. I have been a long time fan of this band thanks to my tenure at a local coffeehouse and the excellent musical taste of my good buddy Jeremy. He brought in a copy of Nassau (released in 1995) and I have been hooked ever since. The first track on the new album, "Up on Crutches", is infuriatingly catchy, with its excellent vocals from lead singer/ guitarist Sam Prekop. His vocals are surrounded by awesome bass lines and sweet drums. From here the album just sends out chill, relaxed movements that are sure to de-stress. This album tends to be more groove than rock and is an excellent accompaniment to a nice sit down with any number of Dr. Seuss books. My daughter bobs her head along with me as we sail through the cd, which is good in length and varied in speed. I advise all to check this out, especially those who have not heard of this band. You will be in for a nice treat.

The Plea:If any of you knows someone who lives in NYC and has either a copy of their cd or any musical nuggets from these guys, please let me know. I am willing to pay for the cd, plus shipping and handling through PayPal if so. I need their cd. I needed it yesterday.