Indie goes hip hop, and vice versa.

Big news for the meeting place that is rock and hip hop today...

The Black Keys, the other stellar two-piece blues-rock band to emerge earlier this decade, have spent most of this year working on solo projects. They'll come together in November with a host of guests for Blakroc, including Mos Def, Ludacris, Q-Tip and Ol' Dirty Bastard, who seems to have a lot more unreleased stuff than was expected when he died.

The other project, which is intriguing for totally different reasons, is what will surely be beautiful trainwreck of noise and obscenity: MF Doom and Dave Sitek (of TV On The Radio). This comes straight from the mouth of Doom's DJ. And you know the DJ always tells the truth.

Could this be the underground equivalent of the soundtracks to Judgment Night and Spawn?

I'm sure these two albums will get way better reviews than those two somewhat underrated collections did. If only Sir Mix-A-Lot were a little less well known...

(Blakroc in Billboard)

(Doom scoop from You Ain't No Picasso)

Guilty pleasure techno-pop.

This is the sort of thing I want to do drugs and dance around to. I'm sure there are people who are doing just that, right now, as I type this. Hell, they may be doing it in the video.



Late in the video Solveig and Dragonette are dancing on a rooftop. It was kind of a disappointing scene for me because I was hoping one of them might go flying off the side of the building.

Anyway, here's a remix of that very track as well.

I don't know what Dragonette does on tour, but if you're nearby I'm sure it could be interesting:


10.2 PETERBOROUGH, ON Red Dog
10.3 MONTREAL, PQ POP MONTREAL / LE Cabaret
10.5 HAMILTON, ON casbah
10.6 LONDON, ON Call the Office
10.7 WATERLOO, ON The Starlight
10.8 TORONTO, ON The Mod Club
10.12 WINNIPEG, MB west end cultural centre
10.14 CALGARY, AB The Whisky
10.15 EDMONTON, AB Starlite
10.16 NELSON, BC venue TBC
10.17 VANCOUVER, BC Venue
10.18 VICTORIA, BC Sugar
10.19 SEATTLE, WA @ Vera Project
10.20 PORTLAND, OR @ Doug fir
10.22 SAN FRANCISCO, CA @ Popscene / 330
10.23 LOS ANGELES, CA @ The Echo
10.24 COSTA MESA @ Detroit Bar
10.26 DENVER, CO @ Larimer Lounge
10.28 KANSAS CITY, MO @ Czar Bar
10.30 SPRINGFIELD, MO @ Outland
10.31 CHICAGO, IL @ Sonotheque
11.4 BOSTON, MA @ Great Scott
11.5 NEW YORK CITY, NY @ Santos
11.6 WASHINGTON DC @ DC9

The Aliens land. Again.

My introduction to the Beta Band came with the release of The Three EPs in the late 90s. For most, however, the first mention was via High Fidelity:



The band put out a few more great records before finally breaking up sometime in late 2004. After which, the members went on to other projects, as band members often do.

Robin Jones and John Maclean formed The Aliens, along with help from another former Beta Band member, Gordon Anderson - who became known as Lone Pigeon after BB broke up.

Unlike the Lone Pigeon work, or anything else on earth, The Aliens retain not only much of the magic, but much of the sound of Beta Band. Sort of a folky, sampleadelic, trip hop vibe that naturally radiates through your ears like a groove you didn't know you were feeling.

Last year, the band put out Luna, a great album if ever there was one. This year, they're release a special edition that comes with a 60-page book.

I'm sure the book - limited to 1000 signed copies - won't be cheap. I'm posting this so that ya'll can check out a great band that hasn't got much attention. So listen to the mp3 and get the records.

The Aliens - Sunlamp Show

The Aliens
The Aliens on Amazon

Thanks for the great marketing.

The real problem with great classic rock being used in commercials is that when I'm forced to listen to the radio, and my option is classic rock or Bubba the goddamn Love Sponge, I feel like Demolition Man the 1st time he gets in a car...

Demolition man - love commercials
by mediafun

Big106 - the classic rock station in South Florida - went from Pat Benetar's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot," which is in several commercials, to Led Zeppelin's "Rock n Roll," Cadillac's former comeback theme. My fear was that "Start Me Up" would come on next and all I'd be able to think about is Microsoft.

At least they're good songs.

Can somebody explain to me why I'm hearing two or three songs off the first Bush album every day? (I'm talking to you 93Rock.) Yes, it was a good album for a while. But seriously, did these people stop listening to new bands before the turn of the century? Come on!

Revolting Cocks return for more.

Maybe they were a jokey side project for Al Jourgensen to let out the sexual energy that has no place on a Ministry album, or maybe they're a serious work of music art. Either way, the Revolting Cocks return to action on their LuBriCaTouR - bringing the perversion on the road for the first time since a 2006 stint opening for the aforementioned Ministry.

Although Jourgensen will only appear with the band at it's Irving Plaza stop in New York, the trek takes the band across these continental United States, including to South Florida, which I never expect of any band. (Full dates below.)

The occasion, or maybe excuse, for the tour is the release of Sex-O MiXXX-O, a 10-track remix set. Contributing to the album are efforts from Chris Vrenna (Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails, Tweaker) and Dave “Rave” Olgilvie (Skinny Puppy), among others. The album is out September 29 on Jourgensen's 13th Planet Records.

From the album: I'm Not Gay (Blownload Prison Remix)

Here's the kicker - RevCo put out an album in March called Sex-O Olympic-O. Maybe I was just out of it at the time, but did anybody know that came out? Yeah, that's what I thought.

Revolting Cocks were a pretty decent side project for Jourgensen back in the day. The press release says icons. That word works for Ministry because, you know, it's an understatement. But it feels strong here.

Anyway, no doubt this will be worth checking out if they're in your town.

Also on the tour is Jim Rose, BlownLoad and Left Spine Down...

September 10 - El Paso, TX - Club 101
September 12 - Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theater
September 13 - Denver, CO - Gothic Theater
September 14 - Ft Collins, CO - Aggie Theater
September 15 - Salt Lake, UT - Club Vegas
September 17 - Coeur d'Alene, ID - The Grail
September 18 - Seattle, WA - Studio Seven
September 19 - Vancouver, BC - Rickshaw Theatre
September 20 - Portland, OR - Dante's
September 23 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
September 24 - Orangevale, CA - The Boardwalk
September 25 - San Diego, CA - Brick By Brick
September 26 - Tempe, AZ - The Clubhouse
September 27 - Los Angeles, CA - House of Blues
October 1 - San Antonio, TX - White Rabbit
October 2 - Oklahoma City, OK - Diamond Ballroom
October 3 - Kansas City, MO - The Beaumont
October 4 - St. Louis, MO - The Firebird
October 6 - Chicago, IL - House of Blues
October 7 - Detroit, MI - Blondie's
October 8 - Cleveland, OH - Peabody's
October 9 - St. Thomas, ON - Coolz Warehouse
October 10 - Ottawa, ON - Babylon
October 11 - Montreal, QC - Foufounes Electriques
October 12 - Toronto, ON - Reverb
October 14 - Pittsburgh, PA - Rex Theater
October 15 - Allentown, PA - Croc Rock
October 16 - Worcester, MA - The Palladium
October 17 - New York, NY - Irving Plaza
October 18 - Baltimore, MD - Ram's Head Live
October 20 - Jacksonville, FL - Jackrabbits
October 21 - Orlando, FL - Firestone
October 22 - Fort Lauderdale, FL - Revolution
October 23 - St. Petersburg, FL - The State Theatre
October 24 - Charlotte, NC - Tremont Music Hall
October 25 - New Orleans, LA - House of Blues
October 27- Houston, TX – Warehouse Live
October 29 - Fort Worth, TX - Ridglea Theater
October 30 - Austin, TX - Emo's

New for Tuesday (late).

Ahh, the wonders of Feller-time. It may be Wednesday but I've still got the Tuesday hook-up. At some point later today, Apple will unveil new iPods. What better way to introduce your new iPod to the world but with 7 songs hand-picked by The Gentleman.

Once again, we're all over the place with this thing. Should make for a good whiplash.

Feller Abides v2

Spoon - Got Nuffin

Britt Daniel is one of the best songwriters to emerge in recent years. I should have more to say about this song but I'm still half comatose so I'll offer some advice - listen to this song, then find the last three Spoon albums. You'll be glad you did.

Rain Machine - Give Blood

Kyp Malone's solo project has that TV on the Radio flavor but really doesn't sound or feel like TVOTR. World weary rock and roll that doesn't so much take off as pound along. Hand claps and female backing vocals complement Kyp's own. This raises the stakes for what I expect to be one of the year's best releases.

Raekwon - Black Mozart (ft. RZA & Inspectah Deck)

There's a dark side of life Raekwon focuses on when he's at his best. This is about as much as I want to experience it. RZA brings the gritty, gritty shit on here too. And yes, the whole album is this good.

Kid Cudi - Make Her Say (ft. Kanye West & Common)

Kudi feels stuff. On the album he's rapping AND singing (no auto-tune) about loneliness, unease with life and just making it through the day. Maybe it was the hour that I picked songs for the list, but this is upbeat and a little less introspective. Turn it up and make your license plate rattle.

Vivian Girls - Double Vision

Straight up galloping fuzzed-out punk rock. Some people like it, some people don't. The indie buzz around this band should be enough that you give this at least three listens to burrow into your brain. It's been stuck in mine for days.

The Black Crowes - A Train Still Makes A Lonely Sound

The Black Crowes have put out another album. If you have no interest, this won't change that. They're a band that reclaimed the magic and are having fun playing music again. It shows.

Lightning Bolt - Nation of Boar

Ah, the mighty Lightning Bolt. There's almost vocals on this track, or at least it sounds that way to my ears. Still no bottom end to the fast guitar buzz and faster hardcore drum work (and it is work!). This six minutes is an up and down exercise in what the band does best - rip out your guts, puke on them and shove them back up your ass. Talk about keeping the quality high!

Vultures trickling out.

Them Crooked Vultures sent out an update for what I'm sure is a growing legion of crazily expectant fans (including myself) who are expecting a musical revelation based on heresay and, well, almost nothing but reputation.

But this is Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age), John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) and the most consistently stable force in rock for two decades, Dave Grohl (Nirvana/Foo Fighters/whoever needs the best drummer alive). Based on the few live clips, and the clips these Vultures have released, it's hard not to believe. A lot.



That's the teaser for "Scumbag Blues," a link to which was included in the band's email update, The Crooked Times vol. 3. You can hear a bit of QOTSA in the sound, but it has a vastly different feel. The color scheme is also the similar to what was used for the videos the QOTSA album Songs for the Deaf spawned but the look is all new.

The Vulture-headed human is a brilliant and instantly recognizable image. And the three of them standing there, just waiting to slay you... It works. The enthralling obsession grows. But I digress. Focus on the music.

There's more going on here than just a remade QOTSA. Check out a few live clips...

"New Fang"



"Dead End Friends"



And finally, a full performance of "Scumbag Blues"



U.S. and European tour dates have been announced and shirts have been on sale for a while, though an album - which we all know is coming - has not actually been acknowledged. The rumors are we'll see it in October. I have no idea how anyone will wait that long.

Them Crooked Vultures
Crooked Vultures on Twitter
Them Crooked Vultures Official YouTube Channel (This includes far more studio and live clips than I've posted above.)