You could make the case that Adam Yauch, also known as MCA, who died today, was the most important Beastie Boy. The other two—Ad Rock and Mike D—in the three-card-monty lyrical shuffle, you could be forgiven for confusing them. But there was never any doubt about which one was MCA. While the other two were clearly educated white boys trying to rap, Yauch was gifted with a gravelly soulfulness they simply didn’t have and never would. Yauch had a danger about him in the early days: The other two guys looked like jokers, city kids having hipster-ironic fun before we called it that, but MCA invoked the classic street hood. There was nothing ironic about his leather jacket and scraggly beard — the irony (different kind) came later, when the seeming Beastie-est of the Beastie Boys turned out Buddhist.

Mix the Bass Ale with the Guinness Stout, and pour some out… for Yauch.

Is it time for crazy clowns? Well, that depends. Is it time for a Salvador Dali mustache, flaming mohawk, football player and topless ladies all over the place? If it is time for those things, then it is Crazy Clown Time.

No, it doesn’t make sense—it’s David Lynch. According to davidlynch.com, his new album Crazy Clown Time is “a majestic, yet powerfully idiosyncratic vision of ‘modern blues’ that could only be drawn from the mind of David Lynch. Filled with foreboding soundscapes, hypnotic rhythms and enigmatic lyrics, this is music that will resonate not only with fans of Lynch’s films, but also to listeners who appreciate daring, experimental music.”

So is he just… fucking with us? We think yes.

Enter Shikari may be one of the best and most popular bands that you have never heard of.  These Brits really know how to melt several genres into one amazing style.  

Not a new band, but not necessarily and old band, Enter Shikari has been together making music since 2003.  They blend together metalcore with electronica, and a little dubstep with an alt-rock chaser.

Their new album, A Flash Flood of Colour is 11 tracks of music that gets you moving and keeps is going.  This being Enter Shikari’s third studio release, the band has kept up with their original sound, while cleaning it up to a more mature sound.  I do caution you though, listening to A Flash Flood of Colour may cause seizures if you do suffer from epilepsy.  You have been warned.

Recently finishing up a tour with The Devil Wears Prada, they are embarking on their Headlining tour.  Yes, I included dates at the bottom but I’m not finished talking about this album.  Their dubstep serenade, “Gandhi Mate, Gandhi” was their first single released.  Its a thrilling jolt of heart pumping beats, with a political undertone.  A great song to jam out to if you are just having one of those days.  Yeah, you know the ones…

The song I’m currently rocking though is “Arguing With Thermometers.”  Its heavy, its metal and it has more emotion flowing through it than at Whitney Houston’s funeral.  Getting ready to embark on their headlining tour, they are bringing along fellow rockers letlive and At The Skylines for what I can only assume will be one of the greatest, most energetic tours of 2012.

Apr 1 The Masquerade Atlanta, GA

Apr 3 Paradise Rock Club Boston, MA

Apr 4 The Loft Poughkeepsie, NY

Apr 5 Theater of Living Arts Philadelphia, PA

Apr 6 Irving Plaza New York, NY

Apr 7 La Tulipe Montreal, QC

Apr 8 Annex Wreckroom Toronto, ON

Apr 10 Infinity Hall Buffalo, NY

Apr 11 iLounge Pontiac, MI

Apr 12 The Bottom Lounge Chicago, IL

Apr 13 Station 4 St. Paul, MN

Apr 15 WECC Winnepeg, MB

Apr 17 The Den Calgary, AB

Apr 18 The Starlite Room Edmonton, AB

Apr 21 El Corazon Seattle, WA

Apr 22 Branx Portland, OR

Apr 24 Catalyst Atrium Santa Cruz, CA

Apr 25 The Roxy Los Angeles, CA

Apr 27 Soma Sidestage San Diego,CA

Apr 28 The Glass House Pomona, CA

Apr 29 Nile Theatre Mesa, AZ

May 1 The Aruba Las Vegas, NV

May 2 Club Sound Salt Lake City, UT

May 3 The Marquis Theatre Denver, CO

May 5 The Door Dallas, TX

May 6 White Rabbit San Antonio, TX

May 7 The Studio @ Warehouse Live Houston, TX

May 9 State Theatre St. Petersburg, FL

May 10 Rocketown Pompano Beach, FL

May 11 Jack Rabbits Jacksonville, FL

May 12 The Social Orlando, FL

I will be attending their show at the Irving Plaza in NYC.  If you’d like to come please shoot me a line at LilNubi@RoyalFlushMagazine.Com.

The album “A Flash Flood of Colour” by Enter Shikari is OUT NOW!  Get your ass over to iTunes, or Best Buy or wherever you crazy kids are getting your music these days and get it!

If you’ve heard of Odd Future, you’ve likely heard about its issues. Some people will tell you that Odd Future is the end of rap. A sort of hip hop anti-Christ the likes of which we’ve never seen before.

Worse, even, than the last hip hop anti-Christ. Hip hop experts Esquire said: “They make Eminem sound about as violent as Wolf Blitzer. They are intent on terrifying every parent and Republican in America. And they just might.”

The Village Voice covered some of that territory in “On Odd Future, Rape and Murder, And Why We Sometimes Like the Things That Repel Us”

Ok, so Odd Future makes some people a little queasy. But as the Voice article points out, while these very young rappers rhyme about serial killers, Nazis, drug-dealing, and, uh, rape — “the real line of defense most listeners have for stuff like this is they didn’t actually do it.”

Here we have this big mega-weird video that delivers visually on the Odd Future lyrical content. It’s, ah, all in good fun except, whoa, what is that dude shooting out of his crotch onto those girls? And yikes, did that other guy just slap that girl?

Honestly, we’re still figuring out how we feel about this.

It’s simply easy to see that I am more than a little addicted to Kinect titles. The Kinect isn’t  a novelty to me. It’s definitely a new way for me to interact with games in a way that used be thought of as impossible. With “your body as the controller,” you can easily immerse yourself in whole new genre that you would have been scared to attempt on your own. Sometimes dancing or even working out is just simply better and more effective from the comfort of your own home.

It’s easy to just pawn off the Kinect as gimicky:

“Oh, it makes my arms hurt why do this when I can easily play with the controller…”
“Why do I have to scream at it like a dummy? This is just plain silly!”

And while some Kinect functionality might be considered gimmicky, it’s through recent titles like Twister Mania, Dance Central 2 and the newly released Zumba Fitness Rush that are able to tap into the uniqueness of the Kinect and bring us that an immersive experience that we are constantly searching for.

So, before I go any further, why not check out this quick video on some of the gameplay. It features some Zumba instructors going through a routine in Zumba Fitness Rush.

While most brush this off as another dance game, it’s hard to just turn a blind eye to Zumba Fitness Rush. There are many more dance styles available which ends up meaning that there’s a lot more than just hip-hop styles at your disposal. All of the dance routines are designed to give you a personalized workout that’s similar to a typical workout you would get by going to an actual Zumba class. All the songs are incredibly upbeat to keep you moving and feature actual routines from real Zumba instructors.

Additionally, it’s refreshing to see things like the score and those pesky red outlines that usually mean you’re doing the move incorrectly simply abolished from the screen while you play. It’s typically distracting and more often annoying to see scores when you’re playing. Removing these simple distractions opens up the player to focus on the music and get into the rhythm of the game like the dancers in the video above.

Even though people might move this title to the back burner, I definitely feel that Zumba Fitness Rush is an awesome title for anyone looking for an inexpensive fitness routine. From the privacy of your own home you’ll be able to dance your way through various dance styles with many Zumba instructors available at your fingertips.

Stay tuned for a more in depth review when I pick up the game later on this week…

Publisher: Majesco Entertainment | Developer: Zoë Mode | Platform: Kinect for Xbox 360 | Genre: Dance/Fitness
Release Date: February 13, 2012  | Price / Rating: $49.99 / E10+ |  For more details, please visit: http://www.ZumbaFitnessGame.com

News broke yesterday that Don Cornelius of Soul Train (allegedly) committed suicide. Sad day.

Love, Peace and Soul, Mr. Cornelius.

Beastie Boys

Chubb Rock

Stevie Wonder

Craig Finn of The Hold Steady’s solo album Clear Heart, Full Eyes, comes out today (it’s been available for pre-order for a good while).

Listen to the first single on SoundCloud: Craig Finn – Honolulu Blues

Label site: Vagrant Records

Come on, who else do you think would be doing this review? “Dance Central” is back and better than ever with tons of new add-ons including something we have all been waiting for since the original: Simultaneous Multiplayer! If you couple that with all-new Voice Commands,  revamped Dance and Fitness Modes as well as a Campaign Mode; “Dance Central 2″ is poised to become a new stable in your Kinect library.

Voice Commands

Since the announcement of Kinect, we have seen demo after demo featuring ‘Voice Commands’. I wondered if this would be the least bit intuitive and even wondered if I would become utterly frustrated with the Kinect’s lack of responsiveness. I also wondered if I would look like an absolute dummy shouting at my TV because I know I will be shouting at it as a last resort.

And shockingly, the answer is unbelievably yes to all three.

I became frustrated at the Kinect’s inability to pick up my voice at times. I began yelling at the TV to compensate for the Kinect’s ignorance. However, I did find the available commands quite easy to remember. So, it won me over on the intuitive front. Simple commands to jump straight into a song, set the difficulty, or even the song’s speed in the game’s “Break It Down” mode are all pretty easy to remember. Think along the lines of saying “XBOX Dance” to bring up the song selection screen then simply selecting your song to play.Truly nifty and it’s one step closer to totally ditching your controller.

Simultaneous Dancing

It’s been something we all have been waiting for and now we finally have it! Now if only I could get some people to come over to my place to play! But that’s another story…

Not only can two players dance at the same time but they can each set their own difficulties. Finally leveling the playing field and allowing both dancers to play at their own pace without bothering each other. The only issue here is space. When people dance and don’t really know the routines, they are all over the place, often colliding with one another during the game. I didn’t see this as much when two players happened to have some familiarity with a particular song. And let’s face it, it’s bond to happen no matter which dancing game you happen to be playing. I’m just putting it out there as a warning for anyone who wants to start having dance battles right out the gate. Perhaps let each player dance through the song before battling. You may come out with less bruises this way.

Fitness Mode

This particular mode was a favorite of mine, more so than the simultaneous dancing. Why? Because I learned that people are shy when it comes to dancing in front of others, even if it’s among friends. So, the “Fitness Mode” is a mode that I can just jump into.

Literally.

What’s different this time around is the fact that you don’t just turn it on and randomly play songs until you burn your desired calorie count. Instead you select the workout type and it’s already set for a designated time frame. Simply dance your way through the songs and watch the calories burn! But it doesn’t stop there, once you initialize the calorie counter, it continues to tell you your progress while playing through the other modes, including how long you have been playing and how many calories you have burned. Totally love this!

Crew Challenges

Take your moves to the streets in this new campaign mode! Prove you are worthy enough to rep different dance crews while trying to earn stars along the way. Unlock new dancers and extras while other dance crews take notice. Since I recently watched a bunch of dance movies while writing this review, I can totally see this as a campaign mode. You dance you way through the ranks as more and more people take note of your talent. Then you gain more and more notoriety amongst the crews.

The Bottom Line

If you got Dance Central, you will most likely pick up Dance Central 2.

With the new campaign, fitness, and multiplayer modes, Dance Central 2 has enough to keep you dancing long after 5 starring all the songs.

It’s been a while since I have become utterly obsessed with a foreign import. “Muse” has set my live concert bar fairly high but after catching “The Wombats” play Bowery Ballroom, I knew I was in love! (Sorry, hun if you happen to be reading this!)

The irresistibly danceable yet gloomy lyrics may spark you to try to compare them to a few other bands. But their non-stop energy on stage is what sets them apart from other bands I have seen at previous CMJs. And when you mix that with their geeky aura, then you can see why this girl fell in love and abandoned her games for the night!

Why not try to imagine yourself at the show by checking out the pictures below! And be sure to check out the band’s website for tour dates!

 
The Wombats – Kill the Director (Live @ Webster Hall)

 
The Wombats – Moving to New York (Live @ Webster Hall)