No howling dogs in the background this week, we promise.  Instead, we have the lovely sounds of JP’s beard, unneccesary wordplay, and Gringos.  There’s also some music scattered in there somewhere.

Baker’s Dozen Contents 3/1/2010

1. Spank Rock - Bump
2. The Vita Ruins - Seven Suns
3. Unkle Feat. The Black Angels - Natural Selection
4. Caddywhompus - Fun Times At Whiskey Bay
5. Souvaris - Hello, Antelope
6. Sincabeza - Facile a Compter
7. The Do - On My Shoulders
8. Heartless Bastards - The Mountain
9. Converge - Dark Horse
10. High On Fire - Frost Hammer

Download it HERE

Song Of The Day: Meshuggah - Neurotica

“Neurotica” is the third song from 1998’s Chaosphere, an album that marked Meshuggah’s move away from the straight ahead thrash metal of their previous efforts towards more avant garde song structures and experimental instrumentation. When paired with its follow up Nothing, the two albums represent a divergent take on rhythmically complex heavy music and act as a fascinating complement to the creative output of more mainstream bands like Tool.

Also, how awesomely “Nuclear Blast Records” is that album artwork?

Song Of The Day: Gorillaz - Superfast Jellyfish (Radio Rip)

Our song of the day today is the bouncy, bizarre, and distinctly nautical lead track from the Gorillaz next release Plastic Beach, which is due out next week. Guest artists Gruff Rhys and De La Soul come together for the first (and my guess only) time to create a song that sounds pretty much unlike anything I’ve ever heard before. It kind of left me wishing that there was a cereal called “Superfast Jellyfish” out there somewhere.

In related news, the good folks over at NPR music have started streaming the entirety of Plastic Beach before its release next week. While you wont have the ability to select from the sixteen individual tracks, you will get the whole experience from its start, which features a classy turn from professional guest artist Snoop Dogg, to its modern age creep-rock ending.

The list of collaborators is extensive, as always, and includes the likes of Lou Reed, Guy Garvey, Mos Def, De La Soul, and the aforementioned Snoop Dogg. Suffice it to say that the sheer variety of musical heavyweights being brought to the table ensures that Plastic Beach will have something for every set of ears to enjoy (or at least appreciate), as has been the case with previous Gorillaz efforts. My worry is that the variety will detract from the quality of the collection as a whole, as both their 2001 debut and Demon Days suffered from a lack of cohesion and a number of decidedly “meh” moments, due in large part to the enormity of the guest list.

Listen to the full stream of the album here.

Some American Radio 2/22/2010

The full crew reunites once more for this week’s roundtable discussion of the music at hand. Also, a dog yelps in the background incessantly throughout the proceedings. Why? I guess you’ll just have to listen to find out.

Baker’s Dozen Contents:

1. Erykah Badu - Jump Up In The Air And Stay There Feat. Lil Wayne
2. The Morning Benders - Excuses
3. Cold Cave - Life Magazine
4. Controller.Controller - Poison/Safe
5. Thee Silver Mt. Zion Orchestra - I Built Myself A Metal Bird
6. Yuzo Kashiro - Intro (S.O.R. Super Mix)
7. Broken Social Scene - World Sick
8. Junk Culture - West Coast
9. Björk - Pluto
10. Balmorhea - Bowsprit

Download it HERE

Song Of The Day  |  Pantha Du Prince - “The Splendour”

“The Splendour” is a track from one of Germany’s most interesting techno producers, Pantha Du Prince, whose new album, Black Noise, is out now on Rough Trade. The backdrop is minimalist, the setting ambient though an unfussy beat keeps the metronome clicking, and the song itself is bristling with intriguing pops, clicks, and other odd, jangling noises. It also features an unconventional turn from bassist Tyler Pope of !!! and LCD Soundsystem.

Song Of The Day: UNKLE - Natural Selection

UNKLE, the duo of DJ legend James Lavelle and his grade-school buddy Tim Goldsworthy, has produced some of the most vital and interesting “trip hop” to ever see the light of day since the genres inception. I place them at the top of a rather illustrious list of artists (one that includes Portishead, Massive Attack, Tricky, and DJ Shadow) knowing full well that I will incur the internet’s considerable wrath by doing so. To that I say, bring it on.

“Natural Selection” is the first piece of music to be released from their latest lp entitled Where Did The Night Fall. Rather than delivering one of the tracks to feature Mark Lanegan, whose presence is said to be prominent throughout the collection, “Natural Selection” takes a distinctly different course. For one, it was made by an actual four or five piece band (The Black Angels) and for two, it actually sounds really upbeat. I’m not sure how much of this sonic shift can be accredited to The Black Angels, as their slow-burn style seems more closely aligned to the UNKLE I am familiar with from previous releases. But then again, UNKLE do seem to have an ability to change an artist’s tone, as the Josh Homme track “Restless” from War Stories demonstrated to full effect.

Where Did The Night Fall will be released on May 11th, 2010