Orange Alert's Music Minute

1. Flosstradamus & Kid Sister offically added to the Lollapalooza line-up. Chicago hip-hop will be well represented at Lolla this year, with Flosstradamus and Kid Sister joining Rhymefest, Lupe Fiasco, and Matt Roan. The Cool Kids are also strongly rumored to be in attendance as well.

Flosstradamus - Laffy Grime (mp3)

Kid Sister - Southside (mp3)

The Cool Kids - Klever's Grill and a Pager (mp3)

Rhymefest - Dynomite (Going Postal) (mp3)

Lupe Fiasco - Much More (mp3)

2. Fields have been remixed! There is nothing better then a good remix.

“Song for the Fields” (Ewan Pearson Remix) (mp3)

“If You Fail We All Fail” (SebastiAn Remix) (mp3)

“If You Fail We All Fail” (Badlands Remix) (mp3)

3. The Decemberists will be performing a free concert with the Grant Park Orchestra on July 18th at 6:30pm at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park. For more information on the Grant Park Music Festival visit their website. Listen to: Yankee Bayonet (mp3)

4. The Magik Markers have set a release date and reveled the track list for the first studio album, "Boss".This album will be released via Ecstatic Peace on September 25th. The duo of Elisa Ambrosio and Pete Nolan will follow it up with an US tour beginning October 1st. Check out this video from Lee Ranaldo on the making of "Boss".

The Magik Markers - "Boss"

Axis Mundi/Body Rot/Last of the Lemach Line/Empty Bottles/Taste/Four/The Ballad of Harry Angstrom/Pat Garrett/Bad Dream/Hartford's Beat Suite/Circle

5. The Peel Back: Public Image Ltd. "Flowers of Romance"

In 1978, John Lydon left the Sex Pistols to forge his own path and continue to change the face and the sound of music. That same year Public Image Ltd. (PiL) released their debut single, Public Image, and the band consisted of Lydon, Jah Wobble, Keith Levine, and a cast of always changing drummers. A key element of their first two albums, was the bass play of Wobble, but by the time the band set out to record "Flowers of Evil", Wobble had left the band. With a bass player Lydon chose to present a more stripped down style of post-punk, placing the attention on drums and vocals. This created almost a tribal, especially when the organic sounds and primitive samples were added. The drummer used on three of the nine tracks was Martin Atkins of Pigface/Ministry/Killing Joke fame. On the other tracks Lydon and Levine handled the procussion, using any suface they could to create a sound. Lydon also played saxaphone and Stroh violin on this album, but he had never been trained on either instrument.

The album itself is dense, but nearly danceable and cadence that makes you want to chant along. The music is not all that accessible, not very commercial, but this was a neccassry step foward in the music timeline. I would say without this album the sound of bands like The Knife or Liars would probably be different.

Public Image Ltd. "Flowers of Romance"

Side One
"Four Enclosed Walls" – 4:44 (mp3)
"Track 8" – 3:15
"Phenagen" – 2:40
"Flowers of Romance" – 2:51 (mp3)
"Under The House" – 4:33

Side two
"Hymie's Him" – 3:18
"Banging the Door" – 4:49
"Go Back" – 3:46 (mp3)
"Francis Massacre" – 3:31

6. Lollapalooza Band of the Week: Dear and the Headlights

This Arizona group of friends is in the business of making anthems. Their songs soar in and out of teenage memories, landing firmly and dramatic in adulthood. This bands debut, Small Steps, Heavy Hooves, was released this pasted February, and it has gained them quite a bit of attention. Despite only being together for a year and a half, this band is rising fast and performing like pros. They are opening up Saturday mornings events at Lollapalozza this year performing at 11:15am. Their only competition is, I'm From Barcelona, don't start up until 11:45, so you can find me front and center tossing the balloons around! Listen to : Sweet Talk (mp3) and It's Getting Easy (mp3)