Who remembers the good old days when you could buy a commercial hip-hop album and be safe in the knowledge that all you'd hear is some mindless rhymes about money, bitches and bling with a chorus sampled from a recent hit single, usually sung by a young female singer? Now it's all MGMT this and Ratatat that (hey, that rhymes!), with all these experimental production flourishes getting in the way of all the pimpin' and braggin'.
One recent exponent of this phenomena is Kid Cudi. Fresh from working with Italian dance producers The Crookers on 'Day 'N Nite', he's back with a new single called 'Pursuit of Happiness'. Produced by Ratatat and featuring MGMT on the chorus, it's a brilliantly stoned, skillfully executed fusion of rap and OTT guitars.
Lovely stuff.
Not to be outdone, Raps elder statesman Jay-Z has gone and employed a certain Luke Steele from Empire of The Sun fame on his Blueprint 3 album.
It's got a similarly spaced out beat, this time provided by Kanye West and No I.D. Perhaps it's the start of a whole new genre; Prog-Hop anyone?
So, how did we do this week? Well, following the triumph that was 'Bonkers' by Dizzee Rascal reaching number 1 off the back of being on this here blog, we're pleased to announce that the much-hyped, poll-topping, column-inch snaffling Little Boots and her A-listed single, 'New In Town', roared into the chart at number 13...oh. It doesn't matter of course, it's all relative, but missing out on the top 10 after all that talk is a little disappointing. Still, the album has about 5 other singles on it so it's fine.
BUY THIS
The Bachelor by Patrick Wolf
To some he's the elfin love child of Tilda Swinton and David Bowie, all artful posturing, lashings of make-up and a brilliant way with melody. To others he's no more than a brattish drama school student who professes to make high art when in fact his best musical moment was dancing around to a Status Quo track. Either way, the guy's an interesting character and The Bachelor is a vast improvement on the patchy, The Magic Position.
BUY THIS IF YOU LIKED ALL HIS OTHERS
Hombre Lobo by Eels 
Just under the title on the cover reads "12 songs of desire". That basically sums up an album that's not a million miles away from any of the other Eels albums you'd care to mention, with primal blues rubbing up alongside the usual desolate hymns to loneliness, death and lost love. It's the musical version of putting on some worn slippers, only to find they're a bit hairier than they were before. Or something.
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'We Are The People' by Empire of the Sun
Missing MGMT? Need to hear a slightly strained falsetto, some lazily strummed guitar and the patter of processed drums? Let Empire of the Sun be your musical balm. This has been all over Radio 2 and it's easy to hear why. It's about as inoffensive as a sleeping Leona Lewis dreaming about puppies, but it's perfect for a long summers evening doing nothing.
