It must have been a sign when I recently found a tape recording of an interview I did with Dr. Octagon (aka Kool Keith) circa Dr. Octagonecologyst. This is the same tape that provided such reliable mix drops as “ain’t nothing smellin’ in jazz” and the Doctor’s bizarre verbal recreation of “greasy” beats. I don’t have downloads of the interview outtakes, but I do have a track from The Return of Dr. Octagon due out later this month. My man’s still at it. Some ‘notherworld production and lyrics to match. He can, to quote Rakim, “take a phrase that’s rarely heard, flip it…now it’s a daily word.” Oh and say kids, who likes remixes? Cause we got ’em, from Her Space Holiday and Cassettes Won’t Listen among others.
P.S. Wonder if we’ll ever hear The Mountain Goats remix Dr. Octagon. Turns out he’s a big fan. Just when I thought I knew everything…
If you’re fluent in German you might enjoy the online magazine 
I promise this will be the last plug I give a Darla artist this week (gotcha…it’s Saturday!). Manual is Danish prodigy Jonas Munk. At age 22, he’s already got over a dozen releases to his name(s), many of them an epic 10+ minues in length. I always thought it was weird when music critics would use the term “big” to describe a sound. But that’s about the best way I can think of to describe Manual. Big and warm and familiar. In fact, Darla’s press release says: “In Jonas’ world there’s no line between dream pop and stadium rock…” So here I am, lighter held up high.
Isabelle Antena is a Parisian songbird whose bossa- and samba-inflected electro-Francopop is as glamorous as it is playful. And she’s been making hip jingles for almost three decades. Antena released Camino del Sol 25 years ago on Benelux, the continental stepchild of Factory Records. So while New Order et. al. were taking over clubs worldwide, Antena were mostly, and criminally, overlooked. Yet, you listen to the coy cover of “The Boy From Ipanema” and, beyond sounding like it could have been recorded this year in a Williamsburg loft, you realize where bands like Stereolab got their groove. Antena is back with Tujours de Soleil, ostensibly a follow-up to Camino. “Spinner” is perfect for urban adventures, but unfortunately the only version I can find for download is only two-thirds the length of the original. Fortunately, Isabelle has a career-spanning catalog of MP3s on her site, so make a sampler and plan that trip to Paris sooner than you thought.
No. 1 candidate for my new favorite song (at least for the month of June): “Noo Noo” by S.S. Cardiacs. Jessie Stein sounds like she’s about 12 years old until you hit that chorus, “Word play is the foreplay of the gods,” and then it’s like we’re all back in high school again. Off-kilter rock, bizarre brainy lyrics, lots of t’s and i’s left uncrossed or undotted; great fun. The suggestion for S.S. Cardiacs comes from 3hive alumni 
They’re back! After a seven year break, the Beatnik Filmstars, Sam’s and my favorite lo-fi noise pop band of the ’90s, have released a 23-song album, In Great Shape, that’s full of hooks, fuzz, crashing cymbals, strange noises, muffled voices, and buckets of pop. It’s like they never left!
The emerging theme from the last two days is unintentional: more electronic treats from Latin America. Today it’s Balún—Puerto Rico’s answer to Múm. You had no idea Puerto Rico had an answer to Múm, did you? I certainly didn’t. Consider ourselves clued in. Balún’s songs tend toward the cinematic: gentle textures unfolding into soft rhythms and child-like vocals. These downloads are from the past couple years, but they do have a new album coming out in June on Brilliante Records out of Chicago. The video below is their first from that release, Something Comes Our Way. Oh, and Sam, let’s hear you work this phrase into conversation, “hay una piscina en la nube (there’s a swimming pool in the cloud).”