One must appreciate the vital significance of a soundtrack, especially when the maestro is The Flaming Lips. This is no regular Flaming Lips album. The band directed, filmed and starred in a science-fiction film with an indie-budget feel, almost seven years in the making. The package is an epic score to an instant cult classic–that is, if you’re a fan of The Lips’ psychedelic lushes. Put it on the wish list and check it three times because the CD/DVD bundle comes in three differently decorated packages. (JH)
The Knux Remind Me in 3 Days (Interscope)
Drawing from new wave and grungy electro as much as rap’s godfathers, The Knux has made an album that doesn’t stick to the hip-hop playbook. The beats are as likely to feature metal guitar as a funk bass line, though it’s incorrect to label it rap-rock. The flows are charmingly self-conscious and drip with witticism. (“I’m the nerd with glasses that will make that Gat clap” is a gem.) Remind Me in 3 Days is what happens when hip-hop becomes less insular and lets a grab bag of influences go to work. (SM)
Billy Miles Brooke All Dressed Up ... and Nowhere to Go (Toad Ranch Records)
Awesome! With instructions like "grab a bottle of Jack, pull on those ol’ snakeskin boots, light up a smoke and crank it up," I’m pretty sure Santa Fe glam rock man Billy Miles Brooke is the kind of person I want to party with. Seriously–glittery guitars accompanied by all of the 1969-era Rolling Stones-informed flamboyance you could ask for would result in nothing other than raunchy good times. This weekend, Brooke celebrates the release of his album with shows on Friday at Atomic Cantina and on Saturday at Santa Fe Brewing Company. See instructions above. (JCC)
