Crib Notes

Of all the musical combos that will probably never occur, a collaboration between the Carpenters, Metallica and Lil Mama has to top the list.

But thanks to Pittsburgh-based Greg Gillis — the man behind Girl Talk — such aural fantasies can finally come to fruition. (Don’t tell me it’s not a combo you’ve lain awake nights dreaming of?)

His newest album, the 14-track Feed the Animals, continues the trend that gained popularity with his ’06 release Night Ripper — a CD that featured him mashing together absurdly diverse elements to create infectious pop music. The new album is currently available for download from Illegal Art in the same name-your-own-price format Radiohead used last year with the successful release of In Rainbows.

The more you pay for Feed the Animals, the more features you’ll get. Five dollars buys mp3s or the option of FLAC files, plus a one-file seamless mix of the album; $10 gets you mp3s, FLAC files and the physical CD when it is released.

Those who choose to download the mp3s for free are forwarded to a rather guilt-inducing option list where they must check why they prefer not to pay. It reads:

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Fri., June 20

Lizz Wright with Heston. $21. 9 p.m. Center Stage, 1374 W. Peachtree St. 404-249-6400. www.centerstage-atlanta.com. — Saucy and seductive, Lizz Wright mixes jazz with contemporary R&B in her third album, The Orchard. She teams up with singer/songwriter Heston, who seasons soul with an original island flare.

Shawn Colvin with Paul Thorn. $35. 8 p.m. Atlanta Botanical Garden, 1345 Piedmont Ave. 404-876-5859. www.atlantabotanicalgarden.org. — Shawn Colvin spins her original pop-folk sound into songs like Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy.” Former pro boxer turned blues singer/songwriter Paul Thorn opens as part of SunTrust Concerts in the Garden.

Raheem DeVaughn and Chrisette Michele. $32.50-37.00 8 p.m. The Tabernacle, 152 Luckie St. 404-659-9022. www.tabernacleatl.com. With two smoking vocalists, there’s no need to wonder why its billed the Art of Love tour. DeVaughn delivers ecstatic R&B licks, while Michele puts an exquisite, contemporary twist on classic soul.

Florez, Ben Deignan, Rantings of Eva. $10. 9 p.m. Smith’s Olde Bar, 1578 Piedmont Ave. 404-875-1522. www.smithsoldebar.com. — Rock duo Florez combines driven chords with catchy lyrics for a classic sound. Heartthrob and soul junky Ben Deignan and indie rockers Rantings of Eva complete the bill at Smith’s.

Sat., June 21

moe. with Keller Williams. $33. 6:30 p.m. Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park, 2200 Encore Pkwy. 404-733-5010. www.vzwamp.com — The lineup says it all. Over 19 years and 17 albums, jam band quintet moe. and the quarky, one-man band Keller Williams is sure to spark metro-Atlanta’s newest outdoor venue.

Groove Stain, BPM, Suburban Soul. Free. 10 p.m. Luby’s Bar and Grill, 1098 Herrington Road. 678-442-0088. www.lubys.us. — A two-time part reggae, part rock night with Groove Stain and BPM. Alternative quartet Suburban Soul will kick off the night at Luby’s.

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Criminal Records
466 Moreland Avenue
404.215.9511

To 10 Album Sales for week ending 6/20/2008

1. Cold Play Viva La Vida
2. Silver Jews Lookout Mountain Lookout Sea
3. Wolf Parade At Mt Zoomer
4. Fleet Foxes S/T
5. Black Angels Directions to See a Ghost
6. Mudhoney The Lucky Ones
7. Supergrass Diamond Hoo Ha
8. Portishead Third
9. Vampire Weekend We, Vampire
10. OM Live at Jerusalem

Ella Guru Records
2993 N. Druid Hills Road
404.325.1350

For week ending 6/16/2008

1. My Morning Jacket Evil Urges
2. James Hunter The Hard Way
3. Emmylou Harris All I intended to Be
4. Orchestra Baobab Made in Dakar
5. Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes
6. Supergrass Diamond Hoo Ha
7. Sloan Parallel Play
8. Wooden Shjips Vol. I
9. Mogwai Young Team (Reissue)
10. Aimee Mann @#%&! Smilers

Decatur CD
356 W. Ponce de Leon Ave.
404.371.9090

For week ending 6/19/2008

1. Coldplay Viva la Vida
2. Emmylou Harris All I Intended to Be
3. My Morning Jacket Evil Urges
4. Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes
5. Teddy Thompson A Piece of What You Need
6. Lil Wayne Tha Carter III
7. The Homemade Jamz Blues Band Pay Me No Mind
8. Ladytron Velocifero
9. Martha Wainwright I Know You’re Married But I’ve Got Feelings Too
10. Aimee Mann @#%&! Smilers

Wuxtry Records
2096 N. Decatur Road
404-329-0020

1. Coldplay Viva la Vida
2. Death Cab for Cutie Narrow Stairs
3. Bonnie “Prince” Billy Lie Down in the Light
4. Portishead Third
5. Weezer Red Album
6. She & Him Vol. 1
7. Dark Meat Universal Indians
8. My Morning Jacket Evil Urges
9. Wedding Present El Rey
10. Emmylou Harris All I Intended To Be

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Today’s Air Loaf features CL’s Chanté LaGon and Chad Radford chatting about the concerts happening around town this weekend including AthFest, Gentleman Jesse, Dion Farris and Hubcap City.

Air Loaf is broadcast weekdays on 1690 WMLB-AM at approximately 8:10 a.m., 12:20 p.m. and 6:20 p.m.

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In its July issue, Decatur-based Paste magazine celebrates its list of the 17 coolest record stores that have outlasted the digital era, and Atlanta’s own Criminal Records made the cut with its enormous inventory of CDs, vinyl, magazines, comic books and DVDs.

“The resources on the Internet are supplements to actual record stores, not replacements,” said Josh Jackson, Paste editor in chief. “The digital era has its benefits, but I hope we can keep opening up new ways of discovering music without losing the best of the old.”

Look out for the soon-to-be released July issue of Paste for its complete listing of the 17 Coolest Record Stores in America, or click here to read it online.

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(Photos by Perry Julien)

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True Colors

(Photos by Perry Julien)

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I just got an email from former CL music editor Heather Kuldell titled “greatest movie ever?” and a link to this page:

www.lemmymovie.com

Ahhh, Lemmy. My heart goes pitty-pat.

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R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills gave his honest assessment on Michael Stipe’s lyrics, and also talked about the band’s well-reviewed recent tour during a conversation with CL contributor, Ben Westhoff.

You’ve said before that you generally don’t ask Stipe about his lyrics. Do you sometimes feel like you don’t know exactly what he’s talking about?

There are occasions what I’m not exactly sure what he was thinking when he wrote the lyrics, but that doesn’t matter. The only important thing is that the songs give you a sense of passion, or some sort of image within your own mind. What Michael’s thinking is not always that important. And that’s not to diminish what his intent is with the lyrics in any way, I’m just saying that it’s the listener’s perception that’s most important.

THREE-HEADED MONSTER: Peter Buck (left to right), Michael Stipe and Mike Mills. R.E.M. performs w/Modest Mouse and the National this Sat., June 21. $35-$75. 6:30 p.m. Lakewood Amphitheatre, 2002 Lakewood Way. 404-443-5000. www.livenation.com.

Many songs on Accelerate seem fairly political. Does that make them easier to understand?

You know, I generally know what he’s talking about on almost every song. There may be one song per record where I don’t know where he’s coming from. But again it doesn’t matter, because as long as I get some sort of mental picture, it doesn’t have to be the same one he has. And, really, there’s only been one or two songs in the history of R.E.M. where I’ve ever actually felt like I needed to ask him what he was thinking. Usually I just take my own interpretation of it and I’m happy with that.

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Today’s Air Loaf features CL’s Chanté LaGon and staff photographer Joeff Davis chatting about this week’s cover story which details in words and photos the four days Davis spent on the road with local band Gringo Star.

Air Loaf is broadcast weekdays on 1690 WMLB-AM at approximately 8:10 a.m., 12:20 p.m. and 6:20 p.m.

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Grandmaster Flash appears in Atlanta today for a Q&A and booksigning. Free. 7:30 p.m. Tues., June 17. Borders, 3637 Peachtree Road. 404-659-1949.

Grandmaster Flash’s story has been told time and time again. But never like this.

In his new memoir, “The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash: My Life, My Beats,” Joseph Saddler (a.k.a Flash) and co-author David Ritz (“Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye”) dig deep into the history of one of hip-hop’s founding fathers.

Past the Quick Mix Theory he invented in the early ’70s that elevated DJing from an art to a science. Past the success of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, the first hip-hop group to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Past the music and straight to “The Message” behind it.

In the following interview snippet, I talked to Flash about just that. The song, “The Message” is still known as one of the greatest hip-hop songs ever. When it was released in 1982, “The Message” was the first rap song that stepped outside of hip-hop’s party and rhyme-toasting roots to detail the ugly side of the streets: “Don’t push me ’cause I’m close to the edge / I’m trying not to lose my head / It’s like a jungle sometimes it makes me wonder how I keep from going under.”

While the hook transfixed listeners across the nation, giving birth to the raw reality reports it would take the music industry another decade to exploit and market as gangsta rap, Grandmaster Flash was quickly descending into his own uninhabitable jungle of record label woes, drug abuse and self-destruction that it took him years to escape.

Rodney Carmichael: Talk to me about the song “The Message.” After 25 years, I still think that’s the greatest hip-hop song ever. But in your book you talk about how it was like the beginning of the end for Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, and I know you were starting to dabble pretty heavy in [cocaine] at the time.

Grandmaster Flash: At that time — at least for me — when we first signed to the label Sugar Hill [Records], we were craftsmen. We were craftsmen of our art. What did we know about business? So we made ‘Freedom,’ which did pretty well for us. We did ‘Nasty.’ It did pretty well for us. ‘Scorpio.’ All the joints, all the jams that you guys made big songs for us.

By the time it was time to make [‘The Message’], this is where the nightmare came in. (more…)

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“Retail Girls” was recorded in the spring 2008 at The Living Room, by Ed Rawls and Justin McNeight. The song mashes up the music of polyrhythymic funk of Noot d’ Noot and the down South vocal stylings of Grip Plyaz and the pop whir of Muffy. All three parties were brought into the studio for a musical endeavor that was spearheaded by Atlanta DJ Rob Wonder A.K.A. “No Static At All.”

To listen to the song, click here.

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HOT DIGGITY: A random Corndogorama flier spotted at Bonnaroo.

(Photo by Brooke Hatfield)

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