AEON GREY - PRIMATE CURRICULUM (A+9 Records)
This is the second or third album I\'ve reviewed from the Iowa-based MC Aeon Grey, and this kid just continues to get better with every outing. On an album that was backed by a grant from the Iowa Arts Council, Grey proves that he\'s worth every dime they handed over, and then some. The beats are back and the rhymes are smart as always, but the overall feel and production of this album feels more well thought out and mature than earlier work. Feel the heaviness of \"American Dreams\" and the intelligence of \"Apocalypse How?\", and remember the name Aeon Grey while you do so. Because if he keeps up at the pace he\'s been maintaining the past couple years, it won\'t be long before the rest of the world catches on.
BLACKBALLED: THE BOBBY DUKES STORY (Shout! Factory)
I\'m a fan of both The Daily Show and most of the people on it. This includes Rob Corddry, whose balding head and childlike demeanor reminds me remarkably of someone else who is also hot as fuck. So when I got the Corddry-studded (Ooo... dirty.) Blackballed: The Bobby Dukes Story for review, I was pretty excited. This mockumentary follows the return of paintball master Bobby Dukes after a controversial \"wiping\" cheat during a championship game a decade prior. Now don\'t get me wrong, this movie is a million times funnier than most of what Hollywood pumps out under the genre of \"humor\", but I\'d be lying if I said that it lived up to the comedic level I had hoped for. There are some great one-liners and some wonderful improv, but most of it comes from other actors, including a Rob duo of Rob Riggle and Rob Huebel. And, of course, Corddry is funny. That goes without saying. But the supporting characters he is surrounded by make his lead character pale in comparison.
BRIAN POSEHN - LIVE IN: NERD RAGE (Relapse Records)
I had heard most of this material before on the Comedians Of Comedy documentary, but it\'s still fucking funny. This live set captures Posehn at his finest (and possibly most cynical): spewing hatred for George Lucas, and giving a true story about how his dog licked his girlfriend downstairs while she was taking a number two. The disc shows us what\'s great about Posehn: that he\'s able to make the everyday hilarious, without having to rely on screaming or being vulgar just for vulgar\'s sake. He\'s one of the few genuinely funny comedians alive, and this disc proves it. Although, I could have done without the Adam Sandler-esque skit and two songs at the end.
CHICKA CHICKA 1-2-3... AND MORE STORIES ABOUT COUNTING (Scholastic Video Collection)
When reviewing a DVD that was intended for a preschool audience, I have to think like a young child. Luckily for me, that\'s not much of a stretch. Collected here are four children\'s stories that help kids learn all about numbers. Author Bill Martin Jr. and artist Lois Ehlert-- who collaborated on Chicka Chicka Boom Boom-- bring us Chicka Chicka 1-2-3, which is a cute story about numbers who climb an apple tree. How Much Is A Million?, by David M. Schwartz and Steven Kellogg, features my favorite character from the DVD-- Marvelosissimo the Mathematical Magician-- who uses visual examples to help kids grasp the concept of bigger numbers, like millions, billions, and even trillions. And If You Made A Million teaches kids all about currency and banking basics, like interest, loans, and savings accounts. All it\'s missing is a ten-step guide on how to stay out of credit card debt! And lastly, there is a bonus book-- Millions Of Cats, which is a narrated slide show presentation of black-and-white images that tells the tale of two old folks as they try and pick out the most perfect cat out of a field of a million. Each story is playful and short, which is perfect for a younger audience, or a 30-year-old with a short attention span. Scholastic is doing a great job bringing these stories to DVD format. They\'re perfect for kids, which I don\'t yet have, but these DVDs make me almost wish I had kids just so I could watch it with them. Okay, that was a lie. Still, they are pretty darn good.
IIO - POETICA (Made Records)
This New York-based duo breaks the tradition of what the typical idea of what dance club electronica is, delving into a whole new realm, and vocalist Nadia Ali is greatly responsible for a lot of that. Don\'t get me wrong, producer and founder Markus Moser-- who started up the collective that has now become known as iiO (pronounced \"eye-oh\")-- definitely has a style and sound of his own. Poetica is not your typical club album, as Moser manages to balance that fine line between genre-defining and genre-defying. But Ali takes it even a step further, making you forget about what genre this album is rooted in, and concentrating more on the sound that is coming from your speakers. While \"Rapture\" is the obvious single of this disc, tracks like \"Chastity\" and \"Give It Up\" are better examples of what exactly makes this album take that extra leap forward.
MORNING 40 FEDERATION - TICONDEROGA (M80 Music)
I dug the debut release from these guys, and Ticonderoga is a damn fine sophomore follow-up. These New Orleans-based musicians (actually from the now-decimated Ninth Ward) have created a sound that is all their own, mashing jazz into punk, blues into rock, and keeping every goddamn ounce of it funky. Ticonderoga serves up a dozen tracks, from the booze-soaked opener \"Gin Instead Of Whiskey\", to the hot and wet \"Conversation Whore\", and it does so while keeping your ear interested all the way through. And as if these kids weren\'t badassed enough, word is they have just recently recorded some music with R&B deity Andre Williams. So keep an eye out for a nationwide tour sometime this year, and in the meantime pick up this disc and start memorizing the lyrics.
PEEPING TOM - PEEPING TOM (Ipecac Records)
There are some musicians out there that are so disgustingly talented that their very name makes people giddy with excitement. Mike Patton is one of those people. If he\'s not fucking up the world of music with one of his many projects (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, General Patton vs. The X-Ecutioners, etc.) he\'s... well, fucking up the world of music with one of his other projects. A project like the highly-anticipated Peeping Tom, which is probably as close to a Patton solo act as you\'re going to get. Of course, he\'s aligned himself with a plethora of talented guest artists: Rahzel, Norah Jones, Kool Keith, etc. And while most albums have a standout track or two to seal the deal, this disc is a perfect whole. Don\'t even fucking buy it if you\'re only going to listen to the first single, \"Mojo\". Listen to it the way God intended: as one perfect musical amalgamation of sound. For being so anticipated you might think that the actual end product wouldn\'t live up to the hype, and in most cases you\'d be correct in thinking so. Here, however, you\'d be wrong.
THE HYLOZOISTS - LA FIN DU MONDE (Boompa Records)
Yes yes yes yes! This is a great album, so I\'m just gonna give it to you straight: a Canadian-based band of one (producer/multi-instrumentalist Paul Aucoin) creates multi-layered, orchestral-like gems that remain light in the ears yet dense in their structure. Aucoin then enlists the help of a ton of musical cohorts to contribute everything from vibraphones to glockenspiels. And he does it all without adding the one element that so often fucks up otherwise great instrumental pieces: unnecessary vocals. There is the occasional guest vocal thrown in, but they\'re well thought out and not overdone. Most instrumentalists could learn a thing or six from Aucoin. And to think, this is his sophomore album! Must find more....
THE PROCUSSIONS - 5 SPARROWS FOR 2 CENTS (Rawkus Records)
I\'m sick and tired of reading press releases for discs before I review them. So for this review I\'m going to use my ears, and my ears only. I don\'t know where The Procussions are from, what their story is, or how many people are even involved. But none of that shit matters when you are responsible for as much good music as there is on this disc. It\'s partly rooted in old school bass and beats, but The Procussions don\'t rely solely on that gimmick. Intertwined with the old is a bunch of the new: sounds and rhyme styles that from now on will only be described as being \"Procussions-esque\". By way of the old sound, this is the new sound, and I like what I hear. Listen to the whole thing ten times over, but be sure to pay special attention to my two favorite tracks: the hilarious and playful \"Track 10\", and \"Miss January\", which features a guest appearance from Talib Kweli.
WILLIE NELSON - THE COMPLETE ATLANTIC SESSIONS (Rhino/Wea)
If this isn\'t one of the prettiest goddamn things I\'ve ever received for review, I don\'t know what is. Let\'s just look at how completely perfect this set is. First, it\'s Willie Nelson. Already, big points. Second, it\'s a three-disc box set collecting his complete early work with Atlantic Records, including Shotgun Willie, the brilliant gender tug-of-war that is Phases And Stages, and a live disc from the Texas Opry House. Add to all that the fact that each disc almost doubles its original tracklisting, this time including alternate takes, band and solo outtakes, and electric guitar versions of some of the songs. And as if that weren\'t enough, you also get a forty-four page booklet of photos and album info. I\'m telling you, this is the set that can do no wrong. In a word, perfection.