Whenever I get paid, I go straight to the CD shop. (Many of you have heard my wacky tale about choosing new music over food money.) I was actually looking for the new Dead Prez disc -- but instead I found Babbletron. Wow! Think equal parts New Kingdom and EPMD, with a little Goats thrown in for fun. Just listen to the first line from Need To Be and try to turn it off.

Yeah, what. Track 6, "Space Tech Banana Clip," is the best treatment of the ever-overdone SF theme in hip-hop since ATLiens. And from some other track (I don't remember which one, honestly -- and it's out in the car), there's some line about "I was married to mary jane / it was a lust for me / it didn't work out / but i got joint custody." Glory. This is why rap exists. (And hopefully you already heard from "Need To Be" -- "We're down with change / we use it to buy food / My thoughts could change the world / I'm just not in the mood.")

A student also lent me a disc by Madison's own theCrest. It's not bad (hey, it even samples Lisa singing the Power Plant Protest Song), but after finding Babbletron, it must simply be a distant second. The sobering part of finding theCrest is also finding MadisonHipHop.com. Naive of me to think I could just open up on Madtown with lyrics whenever I get done with the new album. Oh well -- someday perhaps.

Important

Check out KillerCoke.org. Not to be confused with the pro-Coke KllerCoke.com.

TimeWaster™

The Hospital. I don't know. The "about" link doesn't really help.

Today I'm listening to: Like you don't know! ("I need to be vindicated!")