Free Music Friday: The Drunk and Markered, Geographically West, Shel Silversteinish, Youth Amnesia, Trying Not to Get Lost Edition

Guy walks into a bar. Free Music Friday.

OK, that makes no sense, fair enough, but the fact remains: it's Free Music Friday, so shut your bitching hole.

Guess who got their grubby, little paws on a copy of the new PJ Harvey CD, Let England Shake? As someone who has been following Ms. Polly Jean for some years, with all her albums and a concert or two under my belt, i can unabashedly say i dig it. It's not the powerhouse freak PJ of her earlier days, but it still maintains the odd vibe that marks some of her best work. Call it heavy folk, perhaps? The opening eponymous track and "The Words That Maketh Murder" are the standouts here for me, with Harvey's slightly fuzzed vocals and guitars creating a subdued yet powerful sound. She's doing a handful of U.S. dates to promote the new one, but no 9:30 Club date as of this writing. Did i mention that the most packed show i've ever seen at the 9:30 was PJ? i believe i just did.

mp3: Written on the Forehead (PJ Harvey from Let England Shake)

It's no secret that i'm a beat freak, and i find myself in the midst of a Jaylib bender right now. How fortunate for me, and by extension, you, that Stones Throw just dropped a 14-track digital release of bonus beats from Madlib Medicine Show #11.

mp3: L.A. California (U.S.) (Madlib from Beat Konducta Around the World)

You know how broken up i am about the White Stripes calling it quits (yawn). Whoever shall pick up the banner for scuzz bucket blues? Oh, i dunno, maybe about a dozen better bands? One of my favorite garage punk blues bands these days (and for some time now) has been Left Lane Cruiser. The timing for their third LP, Junkyard Speed Ball, couldn't have been more fortuitous, i suppose. This time around, the duo of Freddy J. Evans IV (axe/vox) and Brenn "Sausage Paw" Beck (skins/vox) are joined by none other than Alive Naturalsound label mate Rev. James Leg of the Black Diamond Heavies on keys for five tracks. i, for one, cannot wait for the March 1 drop date.

mp3: Giving Tree (Left Land Cruiser from Junkyard Speed Ball)

Speaking of fuzzy duos, the Raveonettes are getting ready to drop another one, too. Raven in the Grave will hit shelves on April 5 in North America, April 4 everywhere else. Fate does go our local way this time, though, with a scheduled appearance at the Black Cat on 4-17. Which is nice.

mp3: Forget That You're Young (The Raveonettes from Raven in the Grave)

Lykke Li teaming up with Tyler the Creator? Say what now? OFWGKTA's top dog gives LL's "I Follow Rivers" the remix treatment, adding his trademark low end synths and overall dark vibe, as well as spitting some verses towards the end. On first listen, i didn't think i wanted his chocolate in her peanut butter, but i have to say, i'm really starting to dig the taste of this one.

mp3: I Follow You (Tyler the Creator Mix) (Lykke Li from the OFWGKTA Website)

The Smack Rabbit Edition

i suppose today's post could be labelled a lot of different things, but, quite frankly, let's just agree that i've stumbled upon some choice and tasty tunes to share of a somewhat hip-hoppish nature, with some juicy beat production swirled in for good measure. You know, like smack rabbit, a phrase i just totally made up when trying to think of something that combined "hippity hoppity" and "swirled in." i expect a far more vulgar definition to be up on Urban Dictionary shortly, so have at it, kids.

Tyler the Creator and Hodgy Beats are back with their latest foray into Don't-You-Fucking-Dare-Call-It-Horrorcore-Or-I'll-Fucking-Cut-Your-Baby's-Mama's-Throat-Wave you with "Sandwitches." The lyrics remain disturbing, yet well penned, and the beats displaying an ever increasing level of ass seizure inducement. Continuing with 2010's indie push for more nekkidness on singles covers, i give this the LET seal of approval (but don't tell Megan).

mp3: Sandwitches (Tyler the Creator and Hodgy Beats from OFWGKTA Website)

When last you heard from Ricky Eat Acid, he dropped some lovely, synth-driven HUGS on your collective ass. Since then, REA released and then asked us to hold onto another EP as it looks like old boy is getting some well deserved recognition in the form of an actual recording contract. While you were none the wiser, to make it up to, well, me, i guess, he teamed up with Teams and put together this spooky number for our collective ear holes.

mp3: Halls (Ricky Eat Acid ft. Teams from Halls)

Emay, Blackbird Blackbird and Star Slinger have joined forces to create Seeing Suge, which takes today's intro paragraph sound description to its logical conclusion. The group single, Breaking," comes with three solo tracks by the individuals. Star Slinger's "1987" is particularly good.

mp3: Breaking (Seeing Suge from Breaking (Single))

More Mixtape Love: Tyler, the Creator and the OFWGKTA Crew

Did i tell you that the We Did It Collective brings the noise or did i tell you the We Did It Collective brings the noise? Damn right, i did.

Hell, even when it's apparently not one of their own, they're still pointing readers in the direction of some of the dopest underground shit out there today.

Which brings me to Tyler, the Creator and his crew, Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All (OFWKTA, for short). Melonious Drunk over at We Did It recently posted the clip for "French," and i was immediately captivated. Who the hell was this young'un with all that bass and gravel in his voice? Fortunately, the end of the clip points one towards the Odd Future website, and guess what i found? Multiple mixtapes, videos, singles, pictures and more swagger than you could shake a pimp at.

i've got to be honest, i'm still getting through a lot of this so-far-excellent material, but i can tell you this. These homeboys have skills, plain and simple. Sure, the lyrics are dark, often homophobic, sometimes childish, but the delivery is crisp, and i hear an underlying sense of humor that's three dope. It's largely what you'd expect from some L.A. native teens from possibly the not best section of town. i read an excellent review comparing Tyler to some other dimensional bastard offspring of DOOM, and i'd say that's a pretty fair cop. Young boy isn't wearing a mask just yet, but that doesn't mean he can't hold his own. Much respect.

mp3: French (ft. Hodgy Beats) (Tyler, the Creator from Bastard)

mp3: Splatter (ft. Tyler, the Creator) (OFWGKTA from Radical)