The Round Table

More news from John Legend and The Roots as they unveiled the official album cover for their collaborative effort Wake Up! (Sept 21). The album will feature remakes of original classics including Marvin Gay’s “Wholy Holy” and all-star guest appearances from Common, Melanie Fiona, CL Smooth, and Black Thought. Check out the official tracklist below!

Official Tracklist:

01. Hard Times
02. Compared To What
03. Wake Up Everybody feat. Common & Melanie Fiona
04. Our Generation (The Hope Of the World) feat. CL Smooth
05. Little Ghetto Boy (Prelude) feat. Malik Yusef
06. Little Ghetto Boy feat. Black Thought
07. Hang On In There
08. Humanity (Love The Way It Should Be)
09. Wholy Holy
10. I Can’t Write Left Handed
11. I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free
12. Shine

[via ThisIsRNB.com]

Looks like The Roots are taking a page out of M.I.A.’s shock-the-world play book with their cannibalistic music video for “The Fire.”

Director Rik Cordero described the video as a chronicle of ” post-apocalyptic death march set in 1945 during the final stages of World War II in Europe. After a cataclysmic event renders the war futile, a paramilitary splinter group — led by a Kurtz-like figure known as The Commodore — forces the transfer of young men who will be used as labor…and food.”

Needless to say, the video is pretty graphic, but perhaps ill-conceived, as it leaves the viewer guessing at the end when one soldier hands over a mysterious white box. There’s really no closure, which might be the point, but honestly, I’m not into any more cliff-hangers after Lost. Check it out for yourself below — if you have any theories on the ending, I’m all ears.

Back with this week’s Mini Millah Mix and, let me tell you, this one is definitely a keeper. Don’t be scared off by a few unrecognizable names, cos I guarantee you’ll love every track. For example, I knew the second I heard Magic Kids‘ beautiful and aptly titled “Summer” (two weeks ago, via Gorilla vs Bear) that I had to share with y’all. Same goes for TRT fan favorite (and our first ever March Madness winner, natch!) Ashley Arrison‘s “California”. Arrison’s flawless Nashville-lite delivery and the ivory tickling counter melody speak to me like few songs have in a while, making it a fantastic nugget of pop with staying power. Then there’s “Made Of”, the new track from The Teenagers, which they’ve decided to release after you promote it on Twitter. Also included is another seemingly-random-yet-incredibly-excellent reinterpretation of a little-known indie folk song, by late night TV’s best backing band, The Roots. The Millah Mix from a few weeks back included Monsters of Folk‘s “Dear God [2.0]“, but this time we have a ‘remix’ of an even deeper cut from Joanna Newsom‘s debut album: “[The Book of] Right On” off Milk-Eyed Mender. And maybe I know very little of Murder Mystery, but the Human League-ness of “I Am (If You Are)” makes me want to know it all.

If those descriptions don’t sound promising to you, a) you’re crazy and b) check out the other tracks, cos here’s the latest Mini Millah Mix!

Now let’s get to it.
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Welcome to the new and improved Millah Mix format. These mixes will now be a weekly occurrence (!) wherein I post the latest music to which I’ve been rocking out, or the occasional themed grouping. They’ll be shorter, but it’s only so I can get the good stuff to you faster! (Besides, the monthly ones were getting looooong.) Oh, and now you can download individual songs as well as the whole mix, if you so choose to listen to a song or two out of their intended designed sequence. It breaks my heart to think about it, but hey, you gotta do what ya gotta do. Sike –no worries, y’all!

Behold, the very first Mini Millah Mix, of many more to come! Now let’s get to it. Download links, track list & more info after the cut.
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I’m having a rough time waking up this Monday morning. So, figured we’d ease into today’s music news with Daniel Merriweather performing “Change” with Allido label-mate Wale. The guys performed “Change” on Live with Jimmy Fallon last week with the help of Fallon’s on-set band, The Roots. Amazing. Enjoy it folks. If you don’t have Merriweather’s Love and War album — then you’re missing out.

So what’s rockin’ my speakers? At the moment it’s Philadelphia Slick’s Oil, the second album from the group based out of…well…Philly.  Pretty safe to say unless you’re into underground hip hop or live in Philly area, you haven’t heard of these guys, which is a damn shame.

Are you a fan of The Roots? If so, then you’re pretty much a Philadelphia Slick fan by default. While the group is very similar in design, a live band lead by a wicked emcee (Noesis), they’re not just some cheap knock off trying to ride coattails. Philadelphia Slick is looking to push the limits musicality by mixing smooth rhymes in their own right.

Standout track “Gonna Get Over,” mixes jazz with hip hop beats and hard hitting drums. If that all those elements don’t get you grooving add in a sick horn section, which is sure to have you nodding along. But it’s not all fun and games, there’s the socially aware “Hunt vs. Kill,” that includes sound bites of newscasts depicting violent acts in Philly dispersed through Noesis’ rhymes.

Philadelphia Slick’s music is a refreshing change from the current autotune trend, which you all know I’m anti. Having a live band as a backing gives this group the versatility to experiment sonically as well as help continue to extend the argument as to what qualifies as “hip hop” music these days. While the recorded album is solid, I imagine Philadelphia Slick really shine in the live show.

Be sure to check out some tracks below.

Gonna Get Over – Philadelphia Slick

Hunt V. Kill – Philadelphia Slick

Saturday night, I had tickets to check out one of my favorite up and coming bands, The Rural Alberta Advantage, at the Mercury Lounge. As it turned out, the $10 ticket also gave us entry to check out two other bands, Elevator Fight and I Was a King; both of which are flying under the radar, but not for long.

First up, Elevator Fight. Six members deep with a firecracker of a lead singer in Zoe Kravitz, yes Lenny’s daughter, Elevator Fight rocked the house. As the set started Kravitz realized the crowd was timidly standing way back from the stage and beckoned them forward. The crowd obliged and the group never looked back – jamming through 9 songs with ease and precision. It wasn’t until later that night when we chatted up the lead-singer that we realized her star-studded genes, but this girl is a star in her own right and the band has the sound that will resonate. Now, if only we can get some music from them, their myspace page only has 2 tracks up.

Next up: I Was a King, a Norwegian band that have been making a name for themselves in the indie pop world. The band squeezed maybe 15+ songs in a 45 minute set – with very little crowd interaction. The songs themselves were pretty hard-driven with distorted riffs that hit with the indie crowd. My only complaint, length of songs – some were at best 1 minute long, not exaggerating. By the time you got into the song, it was over.

The Rural Alberta Advantage aka The RAA, were the headliners of the night and they did not disappoint. The Canadian band is signed to Saddle Creek Records and their debut album Hometowns is set for release on July 7th. They’re a pretty stripped down indie-folk trio, but heavy on the percussive instruments. While frontman Nils Edenloff at times sounds like he’s straining his vocals it’s all part of the act as he strums away like mad on his guitar. Aside from my favorite “Don’t Haunt This Place (video below),” The RAA captivated the audience at the end of their set when they jumped off stage and walked to the center of the room for an unplugged song to close out the performance.

Be sure to check out all the bands at their respective websites. For those here in NYC, Elevator Fight will be opening for The Roots, tomorrow, June 2nd at the Highline Ballroom.

Welcome to The Local Scene. This will be a weekly post currently dedicated to who’s performing in the NYC, LA, Boston and Chicago areas (cities represented by RT contributors). We encourage all RT readers and fans to come back and comment on shows you’ve attended and what your experience was.

If there is any artist, city or venue you’d like us to add, please let us know by commenting below. We will do our best to accommodate your request… within reason. For example, no one cares if your school glee club is performing in the gymnasium or at the local retirement village. When they book The Bitter End or Troubadour we’ll re-evaluate

• Dave Matthews Band – Fenway Park
• Radio 92.9 Earthfest (feat. Seven Mary Three, Shawn Mullins, Soul Asylum & The Lemonheads) – Hatch Shell

5/31

• La Strad – O’Brien’s
• Phish – Fenway Park