Talk About Things You’d Like To Do

Dizzee Rascal “Dream” – Ever since Boy In Da Corner came out last year, I’ve been slightly mystified by some of the intense praise for Dizzee Rascal coming from several critics whom I respect and admire. With only a few exceptions, I think that record is only alright. It’s above average, for sure, but certainly not a work of genius. After hearing “Dream” from his forthcoming second album, I get it. Only a person of frightening brilliance could put something like this together; an archetypical “let me tell you about what I was like before I was famous, but in the context of my new success” rap (see: Notorious B.I.G. “Juicy”) matched with the chorus from Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Happy Talk”, accompanied by a backing track from the Captain Sensible cover version which sounds like something from a low budget children’s show. This could very well be the most adorable hip hop song of all time, and not just for how childlike the singing and the music sounds. Dizzee is relentlessly endearing from start to finish, reaching the peak of his cuteness when he tacks on a parenthetical “thank you” after announcing that over a 100,000 people bought his first album. This is essential listening, without a doubt one of the finest songs of 2004 thus far. (Click here to preorder from HMV UK.)

Baby “Free Los Angeles” – This is one of those songs which sounds as though it was engineered precisely to make riding around in cars in California seem like the summit of human achievement and spiritual fulfillment. Baby is Craig Wedren’s new band, and this song is taken from his first proper non-soundtrack album since Shudder To Think’s severely underrated swansong, 50,000 B.C. The Baby record picks up right where that album left off, with an emphasis on jubilant, summery glam pop, but this time around mixed with electronic textures and a occasional nod to glitch and broken beat. Though Wedren mostly leaves the proggy touches of his old band behind, he still has a fondness for unlikely song structures and sudden dynamic shifts. If you’re a fan of Wedren’s work, the album will certainly feel familiar in spite of its cosmetic differences – it’s a bit like meeting up with someone whom you’ve been out of touch with for years, and immediately falling back into the old rhythms of your relationship as though no time had passed at all. (Click here to buy it from the band’s website.)

Also: If you haven’t heard it yet, Into The Groove has “Chewing Gum” by Annie, which is so good that it makes me feel deliriously happy every time that I hear it.

As of today, everything is back to normal on Fluxblog. Thank you to everyone who helped out over the past week – Tom Scharpling, Tom Ewing, Ben Hoh, Maura Johnston, Hillary Brown, Paul Cox, Douglas Wolk, Joe Macare, Grant Balfour, Mike Barthel, Mark Slutsky, Fred Solinger, Jacob Wright, Geeta Dayal, and Chris Conroy. There were a handful of people who intended to post over the week, but never got around to it – hopefully they can participate in something else here another time.