some stuff i saw and/or heard this week:

rell featuring jay-z - "it's obvious"
timbaland beats don't always make themselves clear until the extended fade-outs where he brings out the little flourishes you've been (almost subliminally) hearing behind the vocal. rell is an usher clone. i haven't seen him yet, but i want him to be fat or something so if he comes on mtv we can say "its the fat usher!"

system of a down - "aerials" video
added to the list of songs that sound better coming out of a tv - it all suddenly made sense! and it struck me that s.o.a.d. are in an enviable position: they could get away with pretty much any wacky sound and still sell a few million as long as there is the anchor of an absurd, operatic vocal. (they are the new queen?!) the video possibly taps into cronenbergian body horror shit (as does the new korn vid) but i wasn't really paying enough attention to it (i was busy listening!).

ms dynamite - "dy-na-mi-tee"
self-consciously summery bit of fluff. i don't even know why this (and other similar confections like "turn off the light" by furtado and that "white boy with a feather" thing from last summer) annoy me so. i meant to get the dynamite track off the ed case album but the title eludes me - for the love of god, can someone tell me??

linkin park - "points of authority" (remix)
a modern technology blitz on your senses - so overcooked and triple-processed and so great! the remix makes the whole idea behind linkin park explicit: completely ego-free worship of impact. seriously, did you ever hear one instrument (including voice) impose itself above and beyond the feel you get from their songs? it's all there to service a single goal, a super-gratifying and hollow techno-rock rush effect they probably heard in a korn middle-eight once, which they now recreate in genius pop song form. its absolutely terrifying!

heather b - "steady rockin"
"i'ma tell how you livin', how your style be different/you be careful what you ask for cuz you just might get it" surely this is how good ms dynamite could sound if she employed the real dj premier instead of some lamer british primo wannabes!