The Household EP
(Eastern Developments)
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Daedelus is undoubtedly a busy man. In February alone he released two EPs, and a full-length alongside L.A. flowmasters Busdriver and Radioinactive. Remember the first time you lost a tooth, placed it under your pillow, and magically received $5 the next morning? Daedelus' music brings back this sort of nostalgia by intertwining 1940s-era string arrangements, jungle derived elephant wails, and freshly constructed laptop glitch environments that together rival the inventiveness of the hit-making Elephant 6 era. Perhaps the EP's best track, "Busy Signal," is an arpeggio-dominated remix by Atlanta's MPC keypad aficionado Prefuse 73, which can be played at 45 or 33 RPM depending on your mood. All in all, the strikingly varied content of this brief EP makes it an honest and endearing achievement of sound that you must hear. KEVIN O'CONNOR
Beastie Boys
"In a World Gone Mad" download
www.beastieboys.com
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In response to the quickly approaching War on Iraq, the Beastie Boys felt it was their duty to rush out and release an anti-war cut, "In a World Gone Mad," slated for their new album. The song is available strictly through their website and easily downloadable in an MP3 format. So how is the song? Typical Beastie. It's fun, danceable, has a lot of emcee interplay, and the lyrics range from funny: "You and Saddam should kick it like back in the day/With the cocaine and Courvoisier"; to stupid: "George Bush you're looking like Zoolander/Trying to play tough for the camera." But is it poignant? No. Does blood rush to my face when I hear it? Nopers. Do I feel as though the Beastie Boys have dropped any new knowledge on me about GB or Iraq? Naw. It's a pretty good song though, and even if it's a little cheesy, at least they're saying something. KATIE SHIMER
* * * * Iceman
* * * Goose
* * Viper
* Maverick
