POPLICKS RADIO: APRIL 2007
![](http://poplicks.com/images/brother-ali.jpg)
Keep your lip stiff / Keep your fist clenched
I've received emails from tons of cats asking the names of the songs that used to be on the Poplicks Radio playlist on the right-hand side of this blog.
Any by "tons of cats," I mean three people.
So that I may remain lazy about writing people back, I'll post the new playlist every time I change the records in the jukebox.
I'm firmly committed to not ever starting an audioblog -- who has time for my rambling thoughts on the nexus between leaked tracks from Suburban Kids with Biblical Names and the beats used on the first Spice Girls album? -- but I did add short commentary under each of the song titles.
In this month's mixtape:
"Rain Water" - Brother Ali
- Brother Ali gets my vote for releasing the best hip hop tracks of 2007 thus far. For those in the dark - no pun intended - Brother Ali is a legally-blind Albino Muslim rapper from Minnesota (pictured above). The weakest track on his new album, The Undisputed Truth, is better than the best track that M.I.M.S. will ever record. "Rain Water" is apparently an older track but still deserving of radio play today.
- Antje Duvekot is my favorite singer-songwriter of the moment. Not since Ani DiFranco's "Both Hands" has a woman's voice and her guitar compelled me to immediately buy a CD after hearing a song just once.
- I realize Amy Winehouse is now so popular that your grandmother is bumping her retro beats and the cool kids have long since moved on. But most people haven't heard Pharoahe Monch's soon-to-be-dated cameo on this remix, which makes this song even more incredibly timely. I look forward to "Take my black ass to Rehab" being sampled ten years from now.
- This musical orgy shouldn't work because the "Heartbreaker" riff has a minor third and the melody of"ABC" uses the major third. But it does. And this proves that studying over a decade of music theory has not helped me to predict what will sound brilliant on my iPod.
- At last, Timbaland stops ripping off Eastern musicians and finally shares the spotlight (and royalties?) with South Asian vocalist Amar. You might've already heard Amar on a Nelly Furtado remix.
- Art Hirahara is a Japanese American jazz pianist originally from the bay. I met him once because we share a few common friends and because JAs gather monthly to practice karaoke. The gorgeous "Cause and Effect" is one of many stand-out tracks from Edge of This Earth.
- Is there anything better than a Timbo and Bjork collabo? I can't wait for Volta to drop. Watching her dance on Saturday Night Live was kind of like watching an old friend at a wedding reception bust out the same awkward but charming dance moves unleashed at high school prom. Too bad Bjork's backup singers and horn section were stealing wardrobe ideas from the Polyphonic Spree. The music video -- which reminds me of Baby Einstein DVDs -- does nothing to shed light on the meaning of the lyrics.
- Despite a woman on the cover of their latest album, Tanya Morgan is a group of three male MCs who exploit people like me hoping to discover the next great female rapper. This "cover" of the Leaders of the New School classic was a free download from the group's webpage.
- I know absolutely nothing about this 70s song or the group. But it sho is funky.
- Too bad Peggy Lee passed away right when the Stooges reunited. This mashup suggests great potential.
By the way, why isn't Oliver contributing to this playlist, you ask? Since you're apparently one of two people in the galaxy who don't know about Soul Sides, you should check out Oliver's
Labels: Poplicks radio
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