Iman Lababedi

The great Cam’ron’s former partner in crime returns with an old fashioned drugs and hustle epic. Part III it says here. It is that widescreen scarface shoot em up and dramatic stuff. Very old fashioned, very brutal not broody. Rapping is pretty great on stuff like “Kill Or Be Killed”. If I was 40 years younger, this would be my jam – ALBUM OF THE WEEK – B+

Congrats to Avenged Sevenfold who have taken me by surprise though come to think of it, their album before this was the one that broke em. And congrats to Dylan, who 50 years on is still releasing hit albums

This is a disappointing little chart, isn’t it. It is like there is a mammoth lull (if you see what I mean) and nothing has come along to fill it) and so we are left with Ellie and Lana, like it was 2011 all over again.

Electric Zoo was not the first time somebody has died at a show I’ve been too. Somebody had a heart attack and died at a Patti Lupone show. It was near the start. “Let’s begin again”, she said. “He would have probably wanted it that way.” But TWO people…

So despite Tomas being a great guitarist, songwriter, record producer, band leader and all round good guy as well as a true groove friend of mine (who namechecked me on Power Of Trinity… A Slight Return), he is also the last of the independents: he lives and breathes music and his music matters.

Chloe (You’re The One I want) – Emblem3 – They are a modern LFO and if that doesn’t do it for you, I have no idea what does,. This sounds like the same pen that brought us “Summer Girls”

Americana Festival – Damrosch Park – August 10th, 2013 – The evening, headlined by Nick Lowe and featuring James Burton, belonged to Jason Isbell, whose performance announced the arrival of one of the greats.

Home – Rudimental – Honestly, you may have to see them live to dig them on record as much as I do, but once you do you will be mouth agape and in wonder that a dance band can be so much fun in the modern age. A terrific and fun set of songs.

The first two singles are terrific but streaming it on NRP, it doesn’t sustain the same level of raucousness. Still, as a guy who never saw either Bikini Kill or Le Tigre, the Tuesday Bowery Ballroom gig is an event show

The first song is a terrific piece of country pop and the alternative version on Bootleg Vol 10 just proves how something so simply on the ears can be so difficult to achieve

Bono and The Edge come off as amiable dunces. They know nothing about musicals, so David Garfinkle, the show’s hapless producer, sends them a CD with 60 famous Broadway tunes. They find them dopey and maudlin”

It is like having car that keeps on breaking down. However good the care looks, it isn’t performing its function. Gaga and Perry aren’t performing their function

This is King Krule’s week, we just lived through it and more is the pity. The 21st century Billy Bragg looks like he is nine and sings like he is 90. Krule is everything Rolling Stone claimed Jake Buggs is.

The Gram Parson song is a complete masterpiece and I never remember it by name, I always call it “I’m Your Toy” which makes a lot more sense than “Hot Burrito # 1” which makes zero sense to me in passing strange

Flashdance… More Than A Feeling– Irene Cara – 1983 – The sight of puberty comes to life in a dancers mover and with Cara of “Fame” fame nailing the exuberant pop plus beats – B+

The two best songs of the week are here, two shout outs to Neil Young is here, two songs from one of the best rock and roll albums of the year is here, two crazy chicks, and two from a top UK disco band called Rudimental who were so great Wednesday night in Central Park.

The single is like the boy in the club you slowed danced with and kissed around 3am in the morning, you took his number but have no attention of speaking to him again. The single is Mr. Right Now; the album requires a commitment.

Top heavy on the crapola but nothing there is gonna last more than a week and next week there may be some good stuff awaiting to usurp the throne. In the interim, it is exceedingly difficult to take Luke, John and G too seriously

King Krule’s debut album may be major, people are talking about the new Franz Ferdinand and I actually like that album a lot, but Krule sounds like a modern day variant on the Billy Bragg that brought us Life’s A Riot With Spy Vs Spy

Jen Lewis’ of Buzzfeeds hysterical and awesome pictures putting Miley Cyrus in great works of art here, works as art, works as satire, works as cultural artifact and is just plain brilliant

Starting with the desire to bring things back to the beginning, the beginning is way too well and Mathew Mathers 2 won’t do that, if only because Rubin (if not Dre) ain’t gonna let him

Franz Ferdinand who haven’t released new material in four years, have ground to make up and surprisingly enough appear to have done just that but just about everything on this playlist is worth your time.

From what I’ve heard of this EP (EP? You mean he ain’t dropping an album?), well I am very impressed. The beats, Rick Rubin and Dr. Dre at work, are really alarmingly powerful. They sound heavy hevay heavy. The EP drops November 5th.

I am not a huge Big Sean fan but still, he is probably the poppiest arrogant bastard this side of Fabolous and what I’ve heard has been pretty good

1 thru 7 were played at the VMAs on Sunday night and # 1 was a song I was least conceived of on Kweezy’s latest album, now revealed as another flat out masterpiece.

The week belonged to Earl Sweatshirt, who singlehandedly released the best Odd Future album since Goblin and the most popular since Channel Orange. PS: Earl was on Channel Orange’s best track as well.

Can I take a moment of your valuable time to spew contempt on tedious and poorly written Supergroup (if a Snow Patrol and an REM not named Stipes constitutes the bastard) lame-o Tired Pony

Familiarity breeds indifference and this is weak gruel. Goulding is not the exception, Lady Gaga may be but I have docked her a notch for failing to turn on the world. And where is Katy???

Sean, Ellie, Klanarussell and Matt are all off the current UK charts, Paulie is part of my continuing rundown of the best selling songs in the past 55 years, George Jones is part of Spotify’s ongoing attempt to get his entire catalog in one place

Say Say Say – Paul McCartney And Michael Jackson – 1983 – This is not great disco but it isn’t as terrible as I remember it by any stretch of the imagination. The beat is disco 101 and much more than on “The Girl Is Mine”, it cuts the cute for vocal high medium interplay – C+

The antecedent here is Best Coasts wildly underrated The Only Place, another album where the L.A. sun soaks you into a quiet disturbed place. One more question: who on earth listens to either album for fun? ALBUM OF THE WEEK – A-

David Guetta? I’ve seen him twice. The first time opening for Black Eyed Peas and the other time at Jingle Ball. Both performances were great. And together they are the reason I am going to Electric Zoo’s EDM festival at Randall’s Island this Saturday

Three of these are a reflection of Friday’s Amy gig, and one of these is a reflection of Steve Crawford’s Jerry Lee Essential list elsewhere here

I guess what he decided to do, rather than pick up and check into rehab three, six months before. Instead he kept drinking and a cool $250K a week couldn’t straighten him out