On The Playground We Learn So Much

The Gossip “Listen Up!” – From the first time I saw The Gossip open up for Sleater-Kinney early in their career, it was obvious that they were a band intent on getting their audiences to move. Up until recently, they were working with a fairly limited musical palette, drawing mainly on rockabilly, blues, and punk moves. On their new album, they’ve opened up considerably, drawing heavily on elements from disco, funk, and soul (and punk variations on all three…), resulting in the most effective and impressive music in their discography to date. Make no mistake – they are treading on familiar ground covered by several bands new and old, but they make it work by avoiding the strangely oppressive sexlessness of most contempory punk-funkery and emphasizing the vocals of Beth Ditto, who sings with a confidence and authority owing more to Diana Ross or Kim Weston than most anyone in the indie rock universe. (Click here to pre-order it from Insound.)

Elsewhere: The aborted Britney Spears/DFA track has finally surfaced. If you’re interested, The Prettiest Pony has it, at least for a little while. Get on it. (Predictably, they had to take it down, but you really ought to go to that site anyway, they have a lot of quality tracks over there.)