Kool Keith's Time? Astonishing!

Kool Keith’s latest offering is thick with languid verses amongst old school movie samples and downtempo lounge beats served up by L’Orange, a producer who has been making some very interesting wax moves since 2011.

Keith fans let’s be clear. This is a “space and Mars album”. Kool Keith aficionados know that saying the rapper’s catalog is varied is an understatement. From the sexual revelry of albums like Spankmaster and Sex Style, to the horrorcore manifesto Nogotco Rd., it’s hard to keep consistent traction with Kool Keith’s musical output.

While some may be done with Kool Keith because he hasn’t come out with another Dr. Octogon or Black Elvis, one must only release their preconceptions of those albums being Keith’s best work, and give Time Astonishing a listen. Kool Keith has truly changed up his delivery here and has created lyrical work that marries the production seamlessly. He also features guests on most of the songs. While none of the names jump out as very recognizable (heads look out for Mr. Lif), they all kill their respective tracks.

Known for his notoriously short shows, this album is just a little over 35 minutes. It delivers all it needs to in that time. If Keith Thornton needed any redemption for his recent output, he earns it here. Time? Astonishing! is on Mello Music Group records and is available now.

New Order set to release new music, Peter Hook still doing Peter Hook

At long last, Oldwave fans can expect a new album from the Manchester darlings New Order, though lacking iconic bass player Peter Hook, who left the band in 2007.

Hook is in the company of quite a few other bassists who have left their respective bands and took its backbone with them. Interpol with Carlos Dengler, The Pixies with Kim Deal, even indie rock monsters Superchunk have had to announce a tour without their bass player (Laura Ballance didn't necessarily leave the band, but did have to sit the tour out due to some hearing loss). While these bands have done their best to acclimate their presentation to the rough change in the rhythm section, the loss of our favorite bassists leaves the listener apprehensive.

New Order's pedigree may be enough to earn the acceptance of a generation who got HOOKED on their sound that was rich in the signature high bass lines that distinguished the seminal Joy Division, and subsequent New Order. We do however, see the return of Gillian Gilbert, the one member of New Order who was not previously a Joy Division member. She helped usher in the dancier sound that we came to love from New Order. Check out The Perfect Kiss from their 1985 album Low-Life to dig her contribution.

The new album, entitled "Music Complete" will be released September 25th.

OP-ED: The Beatles, The Velvet Underground, and Throbbing Gristle

The Beatles are a fine band. Their music is consistently good. Excellent use of harmony, instrumentation, lyrical content can all be expected, regardless of album, regardless of career era. They have legitimately earned their place in the Pantheon of Rock and Roll. They do not challenge me.

The Velvet Underground is also a fine band. But their music asks a question: “Is this good music?” During the guitar segment of “European Son” one of the last few tracks of their debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico, a member of the band drags a chair across the studio floor and smashes it into a pile of aluminum plates; the resulting sound was recorded and added into the track. This is an example of the Velvet Underground asking the question “does this sound good?” They make the listener an active participant in the creation process. I, the listener, can answer “yes, this sounds good”. I am left with a sense of satisfaction. I approved the sound. And because of this, I love the music. It is a part of me. I was challenged and was asked for approval. Throbbing Gristle is arguably the definition of challenging music. An early incarnation of Genesis Breyer P. Orridge’s music vehicle, called COUM Transmissions, were called the “Wreckers of Western Civilization” with their multimedia confrontational exhibitions that often involved repurposed pornography, medical waste, and the beginnings of what would become Industrial music. Try their 20 Greatest Hits album. They will ask the aforementioned musical question several times. And you will notice that it’s okay to say no if you want. This is the virtue of Throbbing Gristle, and the crux of how to appreciate music. All you need is love.

The return of Ride

Oxford's Ride helped issue the first wave of Shoegaze music onto American shores in 1988. They never broke the heights of their descendents Oasis, formed from Ride's rib in bass player Andy Bell. Cornerstone jams such as "Going Blank Again" and "Twisterella" sketched the template that the Blurs and Oases of the next decades would follow and change. The ethereal foursome stopped creating music in 1996, in the midst of the alterna-scene they unwittingly helped create. Ride have dutifully reunited for festival shows on both sides of the pond; Yanks can look forward to dates in New York, Minneapolis, Detroit, and Cincinnati this Summer and Fall.