Breaking: The Knux

Who: The Knux, a pair of brothers from New Orleans’ Ninth Ward who show their band geek chops on their debut Remind Me in Three Days….
Sounds Like: With influences as far ranging as Led Zeppelin and the Cash Money crew, the Knux mix experimental Native Tongues rap with live instruments and the sample savviness of Portishead to form supercatchy tunes with densely referential lyrics. “I can’t listen to new hip-hop — it’s too fucking clean,” Alvin “Rah Almillio” Lindsey says. “We want to be extra-grimy, extra-raw. That’s why we compare ourselves to the Strokes.”
Vital Stats:

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Uncut’s Top 50 & Mojo’s Top 50 of 2008

I subscribed to Uncut for almost a decade (we finally parted ways this summer, though I still have every CD) and while many issues went unread in recent years, I got to know their editors’ tastes pretty well. Unlike NME, which is obsessed with hyping the next Oasis, Uncut has a predilection for bands they deem authentically, unquestionably American, which means lots of coverage of nu-folkies like Fleet Foxes and bar bands like Hold Steady, but never hip-hop. So with that in mind, I don’t see many surprises on the mag’s year-end list. Mojo, on the other hand, threw a few welcome curveballs in their Top 50, including Flying Lotus, The Week That Was, and a handful of LPs I’ve never heard of. And for those keeping score, the only band who has received countdown kudos in every rock monthly we’ve looked at so far is TV On The Radio.
WEEKEND [...]

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Uncut’s Top 20 & Mojo’s Top 50 of 2008

I subscribed to Uncut for almost a decade (we finally parted ways this summer, though I still have every CD) and while many issues went unread in recent years, I got to know their editors’ tastes pretty well. Unlike NME, which is obsessed with hyping the next Oasis, Uncut has a predilection for bands they deem authentically, unquestionably American, which means lots of coverage of nu-folkies like Fleet Foxes and bar bands like Hold Steady, but never hip-hop. So with that in mind, I don’t see many surprises on the mag’s Top 20 list. Mojo, on the other hand, threw a few welcome curveballs in their Top 50, including Flying Lotus, The Week That Was, and a handful of LPs I’ve never heard of. And for those keeping score, the only band who has received countdown kudos in every rock monthly we’ve looked at so far is TV On The [...]

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Q’s Top 50 Of 2008

Paste’s pasty top 50 created a commotion and folks got bent out of shape over Blender’s 33 (a Jesus homage?), but for my devalued American buck, nothing’s as strange as what you’ll find topping Q’s end-of-the-year list. Which is why they get the “Shit List” designation. (That’s not the only reason.) Actually, they forgot to list album #45: Maybe once we discover what that is, everything else will make sense.

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Britney Returns

Britney Returns

There’s an understanding among those who
know Britney well: When she’s blond, she’s happy. When she’s
brunette, she’s sad. When she’s pink, she’s crazy. Her hair was
back to glowing and golden this fall, when she spent her time
diligently shuttling back and forth from her Beverly Hills mansion
to dance rehearsals and video shoots and recording studios, in
preparation for her new album, Circus. It was a complete
transformation, following a year in which she spent a month in
rehab, endured a…

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Ted Leo’s Indie Rock Karaoke Playlist

As mentioned, New York Mag’s all set up for the third installment of their too-much-fun Indie Rock Karaoke series: Andrew W.K. as host, with a full set + a karaoke jam by Ted Leo + RX. After losing it to host Michael Showalter alongside Paul Rudd, Craig Wedren, and random audience members singing with of Montreal as their backing band, we thought maybe the event peaked early. We took a pass on the Thermals’ go at it. We now think maybe the event didn’t peak early after all. Ted Leo knows from covers, and obviously we have love for the recently betrothed Mr. W.K. This should be fun.
The show’s at Studio B in Brooklyn on 12/3, doors at 8PM. For you get a ticket and a one-year subscription to New York. Buy ‘em at nymag.com/nyxny. (There’s a one-hour free vodka bar from 8-9PM, too, but that’s can [...]

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Download Goldfrapp’s Live “Clowns” From the “Seventh Tree” Special Edition

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Powderfinger - Dream Days At The Hotel Existence

Artist:
Powderfinger
Review:
“I was bored listening to the same chords,” Powderfinger’s
Bernard Fanning sings in “Lost and Running.” He doesn’t mean it.
The Australian band, together since the mid-Nineties, spiritually
hails from an older intersection: mid-Eighties U2 and (no shock,
given Powderfinger’s name) the fuzz-toned Seventies of Neil Young’s
Crazy Horse. The best songs here do not stray far. Dirty-guitar
shriek and burnt jangle fortify Fanning’s earnest romanticism in
“Head Up in the Clouds” and “Long Way to Go.”…

Rating:
3 Stars

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Get Your Free Dr. Pepper

As promised, every American gets a free Dr. Pepper (or Diet Dr. Pepper!) to commemorate the release of Chinese Democracy. But you have to claim it today, the album’s official release date. Sign up for a coupon here and don’t say Axl never did anything for you.

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Beyonce

Beyonce Knowles, the leader of Destiny’s Child, always knew she wanted to be a star. She formed the first incarnation of Destiny’s Child in 1990 — when she was 9 years old. By 2001, the group began to dissolve. Knowles nabbed a lead role in Mike Myers’ Austin Powers: Goldmember; an appearance in MTV’s Carmen: A Hip Hopera cemented her reputation as a formidable entertainer. Her solo debut, Dangerously in Love, came out in 2003. The first single, “Crazy in Love,” was a duet with beau Jay-Z that zoomed to the top of the charts. B’Day, her stunning 2006 sophomore turn, featured hits like “Deja Vu” and “Ring the Alarm.” Later that year, Beyonce starred as Deena Jones in the Oscar-winning movie musical Dreamgirls. In 2007, Beyonce made a Latin-crossover attempt, dueting with Shakira on “Beautiful Liar” and releasing a deluxe edition of B’Day, featuring “Amor Gitano” with Mexican crooner [...]

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