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Monday, May 20, 2013
Chicago rapper/producer Tree flips a sample of the Elvis classic "Can't Help Falling in Love" and makes the track his own with his gruff, elastic vocal delivery and alternately tough and clever lyricism.

An Elvis song, let alone the schmaltzy classic “Can’t Help Falling in Love”, seems an odd choice at best for a rap sample (at worst, we’re talking Dipset “Built This City” territory). But Chicago rapper/producer Tree manages to flip the sample into a soul-trap hybrid that, I don’t know, just works. He spits gruff, elastic, occasionally pinch-voiced tough-talk and hippie street guru bars, slipping in affecting lyrics like “Drunk as hell, man / I probably shouldn’t have a pistol.” As much as the drill scene has dominated its recent rap coverage, Chicago is a city of many voices just like any other, and Tree happens to be, along with steadily rising Chance the Rapper, one of its more interesting and talented.



Friday, May 17, 2013
by PopMatters Staff
Hawaii's Mr Carmack aka Aaron Carmack melds hip-hop and dance into a futuristic concoction. Blips trade boasts with MCs in a way that's just as eminently a form of headphone candy as well as dancefloor fodder.





Friday, May 17, 2013
Grab your denim cutoffs, the Bluth Family is returning whether you like it or not.

As an Arrested Development fan, you’ve probably already seen the Season 4 trailer. When we defended the return of Arrested Development we shared the trailer for the return of the series on Netflix and we’re gonna share it again now in case you missed it.


Even if you had seen it before, are you fan enough to go out and BE a banana grabber? Or unashamed enough to prove you are a Never Nude to the public? Or brave enough to ride the stair car? Or confident enough to do the chicken dance at your biggest rival? If you follow the show’s official Twitter account (@ArrestedDev), or those of various cast members, you may be an even bigger fan. But if you live in a major metropolitan area, you may get lucky enough to participate in join the Bluth family for some fun. The first activities followed the pop-up Bluth Banana Stand, which made its debut in London before it stopped a few times in New York City, including at Columbus Circle, Yankee Stadium and finally in Times Square. Jason Bateman gave a clue the day before he was thinking to show up and, sure enough, he did—making many a fan into a banana grabber. He tossed chocolate covered bananas into the crowds alongside co-star Will Arnett on the hot early summer day. Delicious.


Friday, May 17, 2013
Enter our contest for a chance to win a pair of tickets to the Postal Service at the Barclays Center in New York City on June 15th.

From their press release, “In the wake of a rapturous response to an opening week of its 10th anniversary tour including two show-stopping Coachella sets (see above), the Postal Service has confirmed the addition of five new arena and amphitheater dates in Seattle, Santa Barbara, San Diego and Los Angeles”. The Postal Service begin their summer tour this weekend with dates in Europe before returning to the US (full dates are below). When they reach New York, they’ll be playing two shows at the Barclays Center; the first on June 14th is sold out already but we’ve got a pair of tickets for you to see them on June 15th. We’d rather you not dally and miss the chance to see the band (who knows when they’ll tour again?) so you should probably head over to Ticketmaster and pick up tickets now. But if you’re patient, and lucky, you can use the widget below to enter the contest for tickets to the second NYC show!


Friday, May 17, 2013
by PopMatters Staff
This is the video for Natalie Maines' superb take on the Eddie Vedder tune "Without You", one of the many high points on Maines' new album, 'Mother'.

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