IN THE MIX: DJ Sub Par Loves Rap '09

Mos Def - Priority
Brother Ali - Tightrope
Blakroc - Done Did It (ft. Nicole Wray & NOE) (Edit)
BK-One - Philly Boy (ft. Black Thought)
P.O.S. - Goodbye
Big Boi - Shine Blockas (ft. Gucci Mane)
Mos Def - History (ft. Talib Kweli)
DOOM - Gazillion Ear
BK-One - Blood Drive (ft. Slug)
Brother Ali - House Keys
P.O.S. - Optimist (We Are Not For Them)
DJ Quik & Kurupt - 9x's Outta 10
Raekwon - Ason Jones
Blakroc - Ain't Nothing Like You (Hoochie Coo) (ft. Jim Jones & Mos Def)
KiD CuDi - Alive (ft. Ratatat)
Tanya Morgan - Morgan Blu (ft. Blu)
K'naan - Somalia
Wale - 90210
Sol.illaquists of Sound - Bulletproof
Brother Ali - Begin Here

WORTH A LISTEN: New Pornographers - "Valkyrie in the Roller Disco"

New Pornographers get all Iron & Wine on "Valkyrie in the Roller Disco," the most restrained and immediately memorable cut of their much-hyped Together. Enjoy.

THE iTUNES TOP 100 & THE END OF THE WORLD: Birdman - 4 My Town (ft. Drake & Lil' Wayne)

Faux-urban radio pop at its finest. Birdman is old as shit and can't get over the product placement, consumerism name-dropping. Drake is the worst and/or least coolest lip sync-er ever. And Lil' Wayne can't help but drop sweet lines like "young money, like Ben Frank's baby pictures" and "I'm the shit, y'all janitors." It's a glass half full kind of thing.

FYI...Art Is Everywhere

Or so says MGMT, via Nickelodean quasi-stoner children's program Yo Gabba Gabba!

See here.

Also: Of Montreal somehow-hip dental anthem "Brush Brush Brush"

Also: Chromeo's no-more-tongue-in-cheek-sounding-than-their-usual-songs homage to hand washing, "Nice N Clean"

THE iTUNES TOP 100 & THE END OF THE WORLD: T.I. - I'm Back

He's back. But pay no mind. Go about your business. This is as bland as white rice.

QUICK RIFFS: Pantha du Prince - Black Noise

Black Noise is a sumptuous affair. Everything is lush and atmospheric and bedazzling. If it weren't so repetitive, it'd be a classic.

Pantha du Prince is overly reliant on his trademark chimes/bells techno technique (which probably peaked with 2007's brilliant single "Saturn Strobe"). Black Noise's "Bohemian Forest," a perfectly intoxicating song in its own right, gets lost alongisde better tracks like "Satellie Snyper" and "The Splendour." "A Nomad's Retreat," subtly though significantly outside the typical oeuvre, is successful in large part due to its uniqueness. Even the vocals brought into a song like "Stick to my Side" can't stem the feeling of circular motion implicit to Pantha's production.

In other words, Black Noise's singles are perfect techno mixtape fodder.

Essential Track:

"Satellite Snyper"

IN THE NEWS: Apple shutting down Lala (Boo!)

Apple, which recently bought the Lala music service that I so consistently use to supplement my musical hype digestion, is closing down the site. I say Boo-urns. Lala was a great way to get a single, full sampling of a song or album, to see if you dig a band's vibe and are ready to make to the necessary emotional and financial investment.

So you'll be seeing a lot more YouTube links on the site.

30 second samples are for pansies.