we dig: Odelay Deluxe

"Hook me up with the mad phat beats"

Featuring 19 b-sides, remixes, and previously unreleased songs (plus an essay by Thurston Moore), the Deluxe Edition of Odelay is a treasure trove of the upbeat, kaleidoscopic sound that cemented Beck's reputation as a capital-A Artist. And while the music stands up to the test of time and then some, it is hard to deny that a lot of Odelay's appeal lies in the album's legendary cover art, which has been updated with doodles for the Deluxe pressing. Says Beck:

"The cover of the album was found in a book of dogs. It is in fact a dog, and it's a ridiculous dog, and you look at it and you ponder the... absurdity... the comedy... but the tragic comedy of this splenderous dog leaping over a hurdle and why such a dog is being made to leap over a hurdle. And you think to yourself, you know, all the splenderous dogs within ourselves, why we are made each day to leap over this hurdle that life constantly places before us."

While you let those words of wisdom sink in, stream "Diskobox", an Odelay-era rarity that was previously released, but for whatever reason did not make it on to the Deluxe Edition.

Midnight Vultures

"So Israeli"


Cross polinated classick. No explanation necessary.

Beck- Nicotine & Gravy

Sexx Laws

best beieve da hype: Blitzen trapper

"Join that Wild Mountain Nation/ You Can, You Can"

Psychadelic angels Blitzen Trapper have been receiving alot of praise for their new record Wild Mountain Nation. And while hype can prove both positive and negative for a young band, these scruffy gypsy bums from Portland are living up to it, and I mean L-I-V-I-N. No need to dismiss Blitzen Trapper as a Pitchfork branded flava of the week (8.5). Wild Mountain Nation is a platform for the 24-track loving, caravaning, jingle janglers to show off their righteous melodies, broken-jawed arrangements and kick-ass chops, proven on gems like "Wild Mountain Nation", "Future & Folly" and "Summer Town". The twangy pop of "Country Caravan" opens with a woozy pedal steel guitar riff reminiscent of the Shins "Gone for Good," and reveals why the Portland sextet has garnered comparisons to the Grateful Dead's country exploits (think "Dire Wolf"). "Sci-Fi Kid" invokes Bowie, Mellow Gold-era Beck and retro synths in a rapturous cornucopia of new-wavey rock. Always one to keep it interesting, the boys Blitzen follow "Sci- Fi Kid" with a hushed, lo-fi harmonica fueled bluegrass stomper ("Wild Mtn. Jam). These guys have a knack for rockin, whacked out alt-country, albeit an obscured, oddball's interpretation of Nashville's claim to fame. Like a cake with early-
Wilco frosting, Neutral Milk Hotel sprinkles and Gram Parsons-era Flying Burrito Brothers gumdrops. They can rock all bluesy like Exile/Sticky Fingers-era Stones and harmonize like the stoned Beach Boys. A unique, musical representation of dirty cowboy boots, paisley handkerchief neckties, day-glo face paint and the summer sun setting on the forest.

Blitzen Trapper- Sci-Fi Kid
Blitzen Trapper- Country Caravan