In honor of the Rolling Stones' latest romp across the world (and not the ridiculous "Desperate Housewives" soundtrack that the song appears on), here's Liz Phair covering the Stones' "Little Mother's Helper" from their classic, "Aftermath." (Via Stereogum)
If this "Complete Idiot's Guide to Toto" doesn't convince you that they were much, much more than just "Africa," honestly nothing will -- it covers the whole of their nearly (so far) 30-year career, from 1978's "Toto" to 2002's "Through the Looking Glass." And there's good news for fans: The group is currently in the studio working on a record slated to come out in 2006 and to be called "Falling in Between." (Via Catchdubs)
In a recent interview, legendary hip-hop producer Prince Paul -- behind records from De La Soul to Gravediggaz to Handsome Boy Modeling School -- discusses his motivations, future projects and the setbacks of being behind the boards: As "an example of what makes it difficult, I did this remix for They Might Be Giants, it was a kids song for the letter E. I thought it came out really good, especially from the original. I had Wordsworth rhyme on it, played out this piano thing, it had bridges and everything else. I heard that they didn't like it, and I was like, "Are you crazy?! It far surpasses the original. What are you talking about?" (Via Synthesis)
We haven't heard the record, so this might be a bit premature, but the review of jailbound Lil' Kim's newest album, "Naked Truth," in the Source comes as kind of a surprise: Five mics? The buzz around the album has been mediocre at best. If the Source had any credibility remaining, it has disappeared as completely as Benzino's hairline -- though to be fair, Devendra Banhart's new record just got five mics in the Source, too. (Via Spine Magazine)
R. Kelly is a brilliant man. For "Trapped in the Closet," Kells made an epic video series in which he voiced all the characters in a melodramatic love triangle that involved gay preachers and crooked cops over a beat that sounded like water dripping from a faucet. Yet it nevertheless left all those who viewed it -- or his recent bananas performance at the VMAs -- awestruck by the spectacle. Well, every brilliant man's opus deserves Cliffs Notes, and now R. Kelly's day has finally come. Of course, as the intro warns, "Please keep in mind that there is no single correct interpretation of a complex work of literature like 'Trapped in the Closet,' so your own interpretation of the themes and events present in the work may differ from the one presented here."
-- Joe Charap
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