Ears pricked

Well the year-end hip-hop list will probably come later, but as of now you can check the Nas timeline piece I wrote for Exclaim! ahead of the release of Streets' Disciple. I must be one of the last people to have not heard this record in full yet, but the tracks I've heard indicate that it's pretty good. The Kobe-skewering "Coon Picnic" and the simply dope "Nazareth Savage" have definitely pricked up my ears.

A bunch of tunes that Gilles Peterson has picked for his Worldwide Music Awards have also done the same trick for me. Omar's "It's So" is IMHO one of his best ever. Also feeling the Bugz in the Attic joint "Booty La La" and the Ty remix of "U Want More" with Roots Manuva.

Talking of Roots, it's exciting to hear he has a new album dropping in January.
Judging by the weird brilliance of the video for "Colossal Insight" it looks like 2005 just might be his year.

There's a lot of UK content in this particular post, but I can't front I have to give it up to TOTP. That's right I said it, Top of The Pops. Back in the day, when I was too young to know any better living in Bristol I used to be transfixed watching the corny dancing and lip-synched performances. So the news the show is pretty much gone is surprising in a way, but not really. I haven't been living in the UK for a while now and I know this show has been off the radar for most of that time. Given the rise of 24-hour music channels and the rise of music on the Internet it's actually surprising it lasted this long.

OK enough about the show that was so bad it was good. Next time more Canadian content.