roads till redemption: ripping off the best.

ROADS TILL REDEMPTION kind of just seems like just a guy from Georgia who recorded some tunes in his bedroom. Because he is.

In his case, however, it's awfully charming. His music is quite good, but if he had been the product of a large music studio...I'd probably be bored. This isn't to say that I love him because he's so "exclusive and indie!" No. He's just one humble ass motherfucker. He downright admits that his sound isn't completely original, heavily influenced by artists such as Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd, The Postal Service, Bright Eyes, and The Doors. Together, influences like this form one of my favorite emerging sub-genres...electro-folk. Maybe even electro-alternative country, but who can keep track with all these genres these days? Not I.

But maybe Jeremy McCann-Deas could, because he is one multi-talented fellow. He plays guitar, bass, and harmonica. He programs! He produces! He edits! He sings! He dances...!? Okay, well I've yet to see him dance, but when would he even have time to dance with all that music on his brain?

Long story short, "93 Million Part One" is the laid-back jam of the summer. It makes me want to retreat to my porch, to rock alone and drink from a handle of Jack Daniels with my golden retriever at my feet. And I don't even have a porch! Or a dog. Or a rocking chair.

DOWNLOAD: ROADS TILL REDEMPTION- 93 Million Part One
DOWNLOAD: ROADS TILL REDEMPTION- Killing The Urge

FRIEND Roads Till Redemption

BLOGWATCH (french edition): Can you see the sunset from the southside? has a great song for those who enjoy modern new-wave, as well as a remix by Alan Braxe & Fred Falke. CallmeMICKEY has one of my fave French dance jams, "I Am Somebody" by DJ Mehdi f/ Chromeo, as well as an additional track from Mehdi's upcoming album Lucky Boy.

onili: making you say oh!...nili!

ONILI sounds like a pink rebellious rabbit, or at least that's what she says on the space. I'm not sure about rebellion, but everytime you hear onili it kind of feels like a tiny, microscopic pink mischievous rabbit goes inside of your brain and starts pushing buttons without looking.

With that sort of introduction, aren't you dying to hear what she has to offer? Well, if not, let me tell you her story. Onili was born in Israel, but has spent most of her life in Paris. She was in her first band by the age of 13, covering Iron Maiden and had always aspired to be a huge female rock star. At 16, she created her second band Story About the Clown with her best friend Jeremy. From there, she went on to collaborate with several artists, but by February 2002 she took it to the next level. With her first computer in hand, onili began composing her own songs and exploring her originality and influences. In need of nature, she relocated back to Israel and is working on finishing touches for a new album. Currently, onili can not go home, as her city is being bombed. No matter what you believe in, I ask that you pray and hope that she is doing well.

Onili's influences range from Busta Rhymes to Led Zeppelin to Bjork and are constantly changing. Despite her electro sound, you'd have a difficult time placing her within a specific genre. She's funky...but not in an annoying way. If I could easily describe her music I would...but considering even she has to resort to saying that it sounds like "a pink rebellious rabbit", I think you'll just have to listen to find out.

DOWNLOAD: ONILI- First Kiss
DOWNLOAD: ONILI- Games

Friend her: The Space
...Details on buying album to come

BLOGWATCH: Fluxblog has got a tune from Hello Stranger, formerly known as Vagenius. Said the Gramophone brings us the Ratatat remix of The Knife's "We Share Our Mother's Health". A while back, Analog Giant leaked one amazing track off of the upcoming album by The Roots.

girl talk: girls talk about the booty too

GIRL TALK isn't just a mediocre single by TLC released after Lefteye's tragic death. It's also not just a board game you ladies (and some fellas) used to play at sleepovers. Hell, if you bring this kind of Girl Talk to your sleepovers, this better be the kind of sleepover that involves booty-drops and doing the running man. Maybe even a stripper named Candy.

Girl Talk (aka Greg Gilllis) is beyond samples. He's not just a guy who does mash-ups...he turns mash-ups into art. On his new album Night Ripper, Mr. Gillis crafts 164 "pop culturally relevant samples" into 45 minutes of ass shaking fun. One minute you're pimping all over the world with Ludacris, and the next the Ying Yang Twins are whispering in your ear over the instrumental of The Verve's "Bittersweet Symphony". This is an album where Bow Wow does not stop believing, where Missy Elliott and Neutral Milk hotel meet face to face, where the phrases "Hey we want some pussy" and "I love you" overlap. It's the only time you'll hear Phil Collins and Junior Mafia on the same disc.

It's like those old Jock Jams mixes, but better. The hits of today meet the hits of yesterday flawlessly. One genre meets the other with no problems. You never know what to expect. It's as much of a joy recognizing every sample as it is dancing to the mix.

Honestly, the more I listen to it, the more I love it. I'm not alone...Girl Talk is blowing up all over the blogosphere. Peeps are saying that DJ Dangermouse (of The Grey Album, Gnarls Barkley) don't have shit next to him. I wasn't even going to post about him until I listened to the album in full. It's a necessity for any party you have this summer. It'll keep the hipsters and hip-hop heads dancing at the same time. Just downloading separate tracks won't do the trick. Each one flows into the other and you need them all for the full effect. COP THAT SHIT IMMEDIATELY.

DOWNLOAD: GIRL TALK- Once Again
DOWNLOAD: GIRL TALK- Minute By Minute

BUY Night Ripper, Friend on the space.

BLOGWATCH: Brooklyn Vegan has the lovely and taltented Regina Spektor doing a beautiful cover of "Chelsea Hotel". Music is art has a rarity by The Knife and that Lily Allen song that everyone is shitting themselves over.

passion boys: their music is make excite chicken dance feeling.

PASSION BOYS "make some music very much like name Passion Boys. They like make music about sexy ladie and nice music also." No, you haven't suddenly come down with a rare reading disorder. That is how they type.

Whether or not these boys from Bataszek, Hungary are punking the world a la Silvia Night is yet to be determined...but one thing is certain. I will gladly ride in a satellite (of love) with Gyorgy and Laszlo. Their major hit "Passion Boys are Firemans" is a delicious piece of European techno with a pure cheesiness that would make Le Sport jealous.

Even better than the actual song is a mash-up with Snoop Dogg's "Drop It Like It's Hot". In the past, I have encountered many mash-ups including the acappella from "Drop It Like It's Hot", but none of them can even come close to touching this one. None of them. NONE.

For those of you who have fallen in love and are prepared to ride on a satellite (of love)...head over to the "Passion Boys Appreciation Society". If that's not enough for you, I suggest that you friend them on the space and send them a nice message.

DOWNLOAD: PASSION BOYS- Passion Boys are Firemans
DOWNLOAD: PASSION BOYS vs. SNOOP DOGG- Firemans Drop It Hot

BLOGWATCH: You Ain't No Picasso has a link to the adorable music video for I'm From Barcelona's "We're From Barcelona". Over at stereogum, get a preview of what Lady Sovereign has to offer on her upcoming Def Jam release. Head over to fluxblog for the Richard X remix to Annie's new song "The Crush". Lastly, check out the new single "Show Stopper" from Making the Band 3's Danity Kane at Stars Are Blind...and proceed to wonder why Diddy insists on continuing this series.

boy crisis: let's get blogtastic.

Boy Crisis is old news in some communities at Wesleyan University, but as far as I know...they have yet to make their blogosphere debut. They claim that they sound like, "a computer having sex with a beautiful bird or something like that"...but I'd have to say that they sound more like a bunch of boys who make delightfully energetic, silly dance music that you can't take serious at all...literally. You really can't.

Maybe it's the ridiculous music video for the silly song "Let's Get Fantastic" or exciting, interactive music video for "The Feelings are Real" (which allows you to make a hot dog float in outer space) both created by Jordan Fish of Teen Homicide / Channel 1o2 fame? Maybe it's all in the music? Maybe it's the baby monkey photo or album release date of 3006 listed on their page? Either way, there's a certain humor of Boy Crisis that I can't quite put my finger on.

Boy Crisis is certainly an acquired taste for some, an immediate favorite for others. Upon first listen to Boy Crisis, I decided that the music was far too repetitive and annoying. The following day, I found myself tapping my foot and singing the song in my head. It was as if they had some 24 hour subliminal hypnotism on their myspace page. It was the sort of hunger you have for a song when you can't get it out of your head until you hear it again. And I was stuck at work...with no speakers. The need for the song began consuming me. I knew it was wrong, but it felt so right. It felt so...real. I just want to...feel...real.

DOWNLOAD: BOY CRISIS- The Feelings Are Real

TRIVIA: Boy Crisis member Alex Kestner created the song for video-director Jordan Fish's pilot Teen Homicide. Boy Crisis member Victor Vazquez appeared later in the series as a man in a penguin suit carrying a knife. Boy Crisis member Tal Rozen never appeared in Teen Homicide, but he made some paintings once or twice.

pdl: we all play happy, so let's all play "happiness", ok?

PdL does not stand for Punch-drunk Love. If you asked him what he stood for he'd tell you what he does not stand for---hate crimes...and the Pledge of Allegiance. If you were cool, you'd know that PdL stands for Perfidy de Licious, one half of the awesomely under-rated hip-hop duo The Mirror Boiyz (which I am totally unbiased about...of course). But you might not be cool...and that's why I'm here to help, because I'm SUCH a good friend.

On the proposed day of the world's end, PdL was featured on the lovely musical haven known as Fluxblog and everyone rejoiced in the sounds of "Happiness"...which goes to show you that one man can do a lot with a kazoo and a heart of gold. You can call it a summer jam or you can call it the jam of your life, but there's much more complexity existing beyond the sweet organ chords and catchy verse. Join me as I share the story...behind the music.

In spring of 2006, PdL was busy doing research for an ethnomusicology class at Wesleyan University. The final product of his readings and internet browsing was a song entitled "Shake that Bomb!" and a paper too, but that's not important. While developing "Shake that Bomb!", PdL came across samples of phone calls made on 9/11. He wanted to work the phone calls into the song by transforming samples from them into bass drums and snare drums. Once this was done, he liked the beat so much that he decided to use it for "Happiness". Are you offended? Are you appalled? Or are you still drawn in by the hypnotic glow the song offers? I vote the latter.

If "Happiness" becomes your jam of the summer, "Ambivalence" could easily become your token break-up jam...if you need one that is. The lyrics are quite simple, but the delivery captures the confusion you are left with at the end of a relationship. Pretending to be okay. Hating your ex. Reluctance to let go. These are among the themes hidden behind the electronic layers of de-Liciousness. Things we all go through and get over within a week or two once we recognize we can do much better. The song makes a blatant reference to the gay cowboy breakthrough film, Brokeback Mountain, but not in an annoying kind of way. It's nice to see that Mr. Licious hasn't forgotten his roots as an experimental gay rapper, taking the Notorious B.I.G.'s vocals and, um, making the late king of East Coast hip-hop sound like he's talking about gay sex. You read that right.

And how 'bout that bass line? It makes me feel like I'm back in church singing hymns in the choir. If you're not a disciple of PdL by the time those 3 minutes and 1 second pass, then we need to have a talk about what YOU stand for.

DOWNLOAD: PdL- Happiness
DOWNLOAD: PdL- Ambivalence

No album release date is set, but I will certainly keep you posted...by, er, posting.