There never will be another Chuck D. But this year has brought us some of the best work by two emcees who are the torchbearers of Public Enemy’s anti-establishment rhetoric: Boots Riley of the Coup and Mr. Lif.

I just got into Lif’s newest LP, Mo’ Mega (on Definitive Jux), on which he takes on the FCC, Bush and even McDonald’s (The Fries). During the KEXP interview, Lif said he wrote For You to the children he’s “not sure if I’ll ever have” – a statement (upsetting as it is) about his disgust with the government.

As for the production, well, Mo’ Mega has El-P’s fingerprints all over it: gritty beats that complement Lif’s serious yet steady flow.

You can buy Mr. Lif’s albums at The Pharmacy, Definitive Jux’s digital download store. Also, Lif is on tour with Cage. We’re gonna be checkin’ that out at the Pitchfork Festival in a little more than a week.

Lastly, kudos to KEXP (check out the blog here) for bringing in the underground hip-hop and exposing it to a wider audience.

Mr. Lif, live on KEXP, 7/16/06:

1. Brothaz
2. The Fries
3. For You

There’s been a great run of in-studio sets lately. If you haven’t visited already, rbally has Jose Gonzalez’s set from KCRW, including the interview (Jennings, you damn overachiver!).

Cold War Kids hit KEXP yesterday, just a mere four days after we saw them in Tucson. The KEXP set pretty much confirms my initial impression of them. That is to say, I enjoy their somewhat spastic compositions and the bluesy co-mingling of piano/drums/bass/guitar. Hopefully, a full album is in the works.

Cold War Kids, on KEXP, 6/20/06:

1. We Used to Vacation
2. Robbers
3. Saint John
4. Hospital Beds

Related:
Recap of Tapes/Cold War Kids/Figurines in Tucson.
Spank Rock on KEXP.
KEXP blog.

Also …

I first heard about Elvis Perkins via the KEXP Live Performances Podcast. Then Stereogum posted on him yesterday, and I had his While You Were Sleeping pretty much on repeat all night at work. That’s no lie.

Elvis Perkins | While You Were Sleeping (via Stereogum).

And here’s a random photo I took on the way out of Tucson last week:

Before Chris beat me to it, I really planned on getting this set posted in a prompt manner. Honest. However, as is the practice around here, I’ve split the one file WOXY offers into individual mp3s.

Until I can convince the Birdmonster boys that a show in Phoenix is really in their best interests, I’ll have to live off this set, which is packed with tremendous energy. Is it just me, or is there a lot of Springsteen in these guys? That is not a complaint. I admire the heft that drives the guitars and vocals on these tunes. Balcony is my favorite.

Check out Birdmonster’s blog. Or catch them on tour. Buy their debut LP No Midnight.

Birdmonster, WOXY Lounge Acts, 6/16/06:

1. Ice Age
2. ‘Cause You Can
3. The Bar in the Back of the Basement
4. Balcony
5. Resurrection Song
6. Spaceman

Related:
Jason Lytle on WOXY.
Clogs on WOXY.Rogue Wave on WOXY.

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I enjoyed this essay at The Big Takeover about how more (read: easier) access to music has fractured our love of albums, a topic I often think about when I buy music faster than I can consume it. McSweeney’s summed it up nicely in a recent recommendation:”Listening to that CD you haven’t heard in a while straight through
It seems like, in the era of digitized music, you never listen to a whole album straight through. Try it with something you haven’t heard in the last three years. Sounds fresh, doesn’t it?”

Alexi Murdoch’s Time Without Consequence appears to be a bit of a sleeper around blogs/media/etc. Might I recommend you not pass over it.

Murdoch’s British Scottish accent is warm, the acoustic guitars delicate and the writing plaintive and touching. The comparisons to Nick Drake are going to follow him like a shadow, but if you’re going to be compared to anyone, I’d say Drake isn’t such a terrible reference point, eh?

After you listen to this set on KCRW, pick up Murdoch’s Time Without Consequence at eMusic.

Alexi Murdoch, on KCRW, 6/8/06:
1. Never Let You Down
2. All My Days
3. Breathe
4. Song For You
5. Dream About Flying
6. untitled

Because my previous three posts on the Walkmen proved so popular (*cough* no comments *cough*), I thought you’d probably love some more. I’m a really nice guy.

If anything, I’m psyching myself up for next Saturday’s show at the Clubhouse in Tempe, Ariz., with the Walkmen, Talkdemonic and Richard Swift. Rumors (and flyers strewn about town) have it that the Walkmen will be special-guest DJs at a little post-show party at the Rogue in Scottsdale. We are so there.

Gotta say, the more I hear these new songs from A Hundred Miles Off, the more I find myself going back to their previous two albums. I think when we look back, Hundred Miles may prove to be that entry-point album for the band. You know, when people who haven’t listened to a band ask, “Which album should I buy?” Hundred Miles seems more accessible right off the bat (everybody loves horns!), but at the same time it’s making me dig deeper into their old stuff to see if I missed something along the way.

Props (as always) to KEXP for another great in-studio set.

The Walkmen, live on KEXP, 6/9/06:

1. Another One Goes By
2. Good For You’s Good For Me
3. All Hands and the Cook
4. Louisiana

Previously:
The Walkmen cover Mazarin
The Walkmen on NPR’s Live Concert Series, Part I
The Walkmen on NPR’s Live Concert Series, Part II

The Walkmen drummer Matt Barrick, ACL 2005.
My apologies for the abbreviated first part. It was a late night last night, and I’m out of sorts without my computer. Sad, really, how dependent I (we) have become. But that’s a story for another day.

To make up for that, here’s the rest of the show, from Washington D.C.’s 9:30 Club generously Webcast by NPR and offered as a full download here. I’d never thought much about this until I read NPR’s introduction to the group: “Bob Dylan meets indie rock in the music of The Walkmen.” The more I listened to this show, the more I can hear echoes of Dylan in Hamilton Leithauser’s voice, sometimes eerily so.

Anyway, if you’re concerned about the individual mp3s vs. the entire download, there really wasn’t too much chatter in between songs.

The Walkmen, on NPR’s Live Concert Series, 5/25/06:

Songs 1-4.

5. Thinking of a Dream I Had
6. Don’t Get Me Down (Come on Over Here)
7. This Job is Killing Me
8. Wake Up
9. Emma, Get Me a Lemon
10. Bows and Arrows
11. Louisiana
12. The Rat
13. Lost in Boston
ENCORE:
14. Rue the Day
15. That’s the Punchline
16. We’ve Been Had

The Walkmen’s Hamilton Leithauser, ACL 2005.
I’m running on emergency backup computer here: my brother and his wife’s laptop. Thank the God for them because NPR Webcast the Walkmen on Thursday night, and I was pretty much worried all week about whether I’d have access to this, what with my computer in the shop and all. I’ve listened to the new album A Hundred Miles Off, and, in my unprofessional opinion, it’s … well, awesome.

We were fortunate enough to be about 20 feet from these guys on the side of the stage while they played at Austin City Limits last year. Their intensity is unrivaled, and I’m eagerly anticipating their Tempe show on June 17.

Here’s the first four tracks from Thursday’s set split into individual mp3s; the rest is coming. The entire file is available from NPR here. (The eMac won’t be back until Monday … ack! This is plain torture!)

The Walkmen, on NPR’s Live Concert Series, 5/25/06:

1. All Hands and the Cook
2. Danny’s At the Wedding
3. Little House of Savages
4. Good For You’s Good For Me
Part II: Songs 5-16.

It’s been pretty well documented that Grandaddy is calling it quits with its newest/final LP Just Like the Fambly Cat.

Grandaddy’s dissolution is sad to me because I only really got into Jason Lytle and Co. in the past six months. (Yeah, my unhipness knows no bounds.) So, it’s hard for me to sit here and wax nostalgic about the group’s curtain call. In a way, I feel cheated more than anything: No, no, Grandaddy, you can’t go now that I’ve discovered you! Alas, the fault is mine. It’s just a little depressing to see a great band hang it up when so many other less-than marginal groups will move onward against our will.

I realize I’m only six years behind the curve here, but The Sophtware Slump? Sheesh. Greatness. Better late than never, I suppose.

For a little more on Grandaddy, check out Chromewaves here. Lytle has been doing solo acoustic in-store sets to promote the album – a farewell of sorts. Chris had pictures of his Dallas stop.

Here’s Lytle’s mini-set from WOXY’s Lounge Acts on May 15:

1. Go Progress Chrome
2. Elevate Myself
3. Disconnecty
4. Underneath the Weeping Willow

So, the album I’ve been eagerly awaiting, Carnavas from Silversun Pickups, is making its way to mailboxes of bloggers everywhere. Our good friend Dodge has a couple of tracks posted. And I do believe Chris may be posting a track today.

For some reason, I thought I had posted this KEXP set, but it appears I did not. (FYI, KEXP has a blog. Check it out. It’s good.) Anyway, I have posted on Silversun before, and I have a feeling I will again in the future. The band even included my post on the press section of its Web site. I’m flattered, and I’m hoping like hell they make that short jaunt from LA to Phoenix for a show. (Hi, Dangerbird Records. Hint, hint.)

I’ll spare you my ramblings about the fuzzy guitars, shoegaze revival, blah blah. Listen. I also have a KEXP set from Silversun’s performance at SXSW. Requests, anyone?

Silversun Pickups, Live on KEXP, 9/26/05:

1. … All the Go Inbetweens (my favorite)
2. Kissing Families
3. Comeback Kid
4. Lazy Eye