Jadakiss, 'Kiss of Death' (Ruff Ryders/Interscope)

Yonkers goes bonkers, son!

Let this be known from the jump: Listening to Jadakiss will not stamp your ticket to heaven. His second solo album offers little in the way of social commentary, colorful storytelling, playful humor--all the hallmarks that make albums by your average God’s son or college dropout compelling.

Jason Forrest, 'The Unrelenting Songs of the 1979 Post Disco Crash' (Sonig)

Any smarmy hack can slap on a Fu Manchu and cop some Travolta moves, but it takes a fearless artist to turn the radio pop of the much-maligned ’70s into an aesthetic revelation. Here, former WFMU DJ and IDM miscreant Jason Forrest gives me-decade sound chunks--mirror-ball disco, classic rock, bubblegum pop--a loving blastoff.

Wilco: Live at Poughkeepsie, NY's The Chance

Thinking Inside the Box

Okay, quick history lesson: A decade ago, rock was rock and club

Various Artists, 'Old Enough to Know Better: 15 Years of Merge Records' (Merge)

It’s only appropriate that the mentor-minded underachievers of Superchunk open their label’s anniversary set with another band--Neutral Milk Hotel, whose leader Jeff Mangum disappeared after two intimately surreal indie-rock masterpieces.

Jadakiss - Kiss of Death

Jadakiss
Jadakiss
Kiss of Death
Ruff Ryders/Interscope

 

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