July 3, 2007

What this episode covers

You'd think the Tuesday before the Fourth of July would be a big day for the music industry, a time when record labels would dump new product on listeners eager to provide a soundtrack for outdoor grilling. Well, then you'd be wrong. This week is a notoriously slow one, with the only notable release coming from Southern rapper T.I. -- so this week's podcast is a mixed bag, looking back at a few releases covered last week and ahead to what's coming up next week. Up first? "Send You No Flowers" off the Bad Brains' comeback record, Build a Nation, which features the original lineup and was produced by Beastie Boy Adam Yauch. Bloggers are already buzzing about Vampire Weekend, an odd-ball blend of Paul Simon, world music and The Strokes. Hear what all the fuzz is about on "A Punk," off the band's download-only three-song EP. Also this week: A look at the charity-record Healing the Divide, featuring a duet between Tom Waits and the Kronos Quartet; Jonathan Richman's new instrumental music; and readers request another track from Kelly Willis' first album in five years.

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