Boom Boom Vid

I've gone on about this song so much that there is nothing else to say. Other than the final third (after Fergie's scream) sounds like a Chemical Brothers record. LET THE BEAT ROCK

Josh Weller- Push

I genuinely have two friends who are professional musicians. My guess is most other music journos are much cooler and regularly hang out with bands. I'm just not trendy enough.

This guy Josh is one of the two. We both lived in a converted schoolhouse in Greenwich over two years ago and met when there was a power cut and everyone came out into the hallway. True story.

This week he's in Music Week and has been featured as Record of The Day's er, record of the day. His single launch is next week. This video was made for £120- the cost of a make up artist and lunch! MYSPACE HERE

Clipse & Kanye

This is a fairly dodgy picture of me with Clipse (and one of the Re-Up gang) from last summer where I watched them from the side of stage- next to Pharrell- at a festival in Oslo. It was a career highlight.

The duo are crack (or perhaps coke) rappers whose lyrics mostly concern drug dealing. But for an example of their unique, complex and often philosophical lyrics listen to Momma I'm Sorry. Clipse also benefit from some of the Neptunes most out there and gritty beats.

Here is a taste of their LONG awaited new album- Till The Casket Drops. Kanye's guest spot shows you how well they're regarded among rappers and rap fans.

CLIPSE ft KANYE WEST- KINDA LIKE A BIG DEAL

Eminem Artwork

His head is made of pills. They were prescribed by Dr Dre. This could be the album of the year. (Props to Nah Right)

New Basement Jaxx

Duo Basement Jaxx get unfairly hated on sometimes. I'm not sure why as I think they've made some very good albums. Rooty and Remedy especially.

I guess people get annoyed by constant guest vocallists and think that they just make brash genre-mashing party records. Their albums have a lot more depth and some really gorgeous chilled moments- perfect for the summer. Plus I saw them at Plan B in Brixton a while back where they pull off a great DJ set.

Live the group are excellent as well with a superb group of vocallists, dancers and musicians. They were great at Glastonbury when they replaced Kylie. Check out their new track Raindrops over at their myspace now and if you can see them at Wireless this July- supported by Dizzee Rascal and The Streets.

New Streets

A recent Tweet from Mike Skinner (@skinnermike) said: "I am going to tweet 3 new songs this week. I can't be bothered with all this trying to sell you music. It wastes valuable time." Which i'm sure pleased his record label Atlantic.

The first is I Love My Phone which has no discernible hook and a scruffy beat. The verses are pretty deep especially given the superficial subject matter. I guess that was always what The Streets did best though.

DOWNLOAD: THE STREETS- I LOVE MY PHONE

UPDATE: The second track is better. Its got really tight funky production and some great rhyming couplets. In short it bodes well for his fifth album- which will be called Computers and Blues.

DOWNLOAD: THE STREETS- TRUST ME

Camp Pop

I watched Disney teen flick Camp Rock Earlier. Yeah I know, but it's Easter Sunday so any shit movies are fair game!

I can really see why the soundtracks to this and the High School Musical films shift so many copies. The songs are spot on rip offs of the work of Max Martin, Cathy Dennis, Dr Luke and other leading pop writer-producers. Even the urban styled numbers are Timbaland-lite.

Who knew the films could give something back though? Cos the above section of Camp Rock must surely have been Interscope's inspiration for the Lady GaGa project. Sing along...

Three Rap Tracks

Three hip hop tracks for your bank holiday weekend. A straight club tune featuring our own Estelle from Busta's new album. Asher Roth and the legend that is Cee Lo Green The Soul Machine from new boy Asher's debut disc- which is due this month. I just love the title and cover (above).

Finally a straight banger from Raekwon and Ghostface which i've had about 6 months. No idea what album/ project its from but it's best listened to in a car with tinted windows and a sub in the boot. Spliff in hand. Maybe a gun in the other. I'm joking, but seriously....

RAEKWON/ GHOSTFACE- NECRO

BUSTA RHYMES ft ESTELLE- WORLD GO ROUND (Nah Right)

ASHER ROTH ft CEE LO GREEN- BE BY MYSELF(Prefix)

Two Remixes

Justice have revamped the U2 single Get On Your Boots. As Stereogum point out 'For thirty seconds you'll swear The Edge's riff is about to fuck you like an animal' but then it goes all pop. The disco strings and keys similar to those on D.A.N.C.E and the French duo make the track much better. U2 should have released this as the single.

U2- Get On Your Boots (Justice Remix) via Stereogum or Download Here

Next up is Erol Alkan's reworking of Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Zero. I Interviewed the band this week and realised what men in much skinnier jeans than me have known for years- Karen O is a bit gorgeous. Zero is a great song already but Erol (as usual) does a job on it making it build and then bang over seven sweet minutes. Compare it to the mstrkrft remix here.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs- Zero (Erol Alkan Remix) (via Abeano.com)

Guess Who's Back? Back Again?

So here it is the proper single from Relapse with a video we've come to expect from Slim Shady. Here's my opinion for what it's worth- Eminem has three types of flows, three voices and therefore three distinct types of song.

He's angry, hard-done-by white trash (Lose Yourself/ White America/ Mosh/ Stan). In medium mode he's calm, thoughtful and self aware (Hailie's Song/ Toy Soldiers). Then as on We Made You (plus Just Lose It, Without Me and Real Slim Shady) Marshall is funny, bitchy and often offensive.

I like Dre's production and particularly the chorus on this new song. I also find the lyrics mostly witty and of course they're a good excuse for the ridiculous video. The only problem is when he raps in this high pitched voice it sometimes turns into a whine. I've said this before but I can't wait to hear Relapse which will hopefully be returning to the form of The Eminem Show and Marshall Mathers.

Bruno Trailer

Like the Where The Wild Things Are trailer this must be the most blogged about thing around right now. Loved Baron Cohen for a long time. Ali G In Da House was awful but thankfully he teamed with Larry Charles (Entourage/ Curb Your Enthusiasm) for Borat and now Bruno. Can't wait to see it.

On a Slope

Some pics from Snowbombing where the highlight was undoubtedly 2ManyDjs performing in a forest clearing in front of a few thousand Brits in fancy dress....

ON A BOAT

Okay so this has been around ages. But its pretty damn funny and spot on as a parody of ridiculous overblown hip hop videos. T-Pain is a legend for gettin involved too- I love his verse at the end.