Party Ben’s Music Picks: March Madness Edition

Whether you buy CDs or download, these are some upcoming releases you ought to check out.

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Hey, my last roundup of albums-to-watch-out-for turned out pretty well, didn’t it? Everybody’s got Arcade Fire Fever! Although now that I’ve heard the Ken Andrews CD in its entirety I may have to rescind that recommendation (sorry Ken–too syrupy). But let’s not look back in anger. Let’s look forward… in anticipation, at some more CDs coming out soon-ish, along with a brief description, similar artists, and pertinent links. Let that raga drop:

Tuesday, March 6:

mojo-cover-%21%21%21.jpghere

mojo-cover-rj.jpgRJD2The Third Hand (Definitive Jux)
• Ohio hip-hop producer morphs into multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter
• For fans of: Moby, Brian Wilson, chilling on rooftops
• Again, stream three tracks at his MySpace page

Tuesday, March 20:

mojo-cover-dilla.gifJ DillaRuff Draft (Stones Throw)
• Re-release of hard-to-find first solo effort from late hip-hop innovator
• For fans of: DJ Shadow, Marvin Gaye, having your life changed
• Everybody’s got a MySpace page!

Tuesday, March 27:

mojo-photo-timba.jpgTimbalandShock Value (Interscope)
• Studio genius takes center stage with high-profile guests
• For fans of: Missy Elliott, Nelly Furtado, bringing sexy back
• Stream the first single, “Give It To Me,” here

Tuesday 4/10/07:

mojo-photo-blonde.jpgBlonde Redhead23 (4AD)
• NY art-rock trio gets shoegazey (again)
• For fans of: My Bloody Valentine, Serge Gainsbourg, the pot
• Grab an mp3 of the first single, “23,” here

Tuesday 4/24/07:

mojo-photo-arctic.jpgArctic MonkeysFavourite Worst Nightmare (Domino)
• Hyped (and hyper) Brit foursome gets serious on sophomore album
• For fans of: Franz Ferdinand, The Jam, dancing to electropop like a robot from 1984

Here’s a blog where somebody posted an mp3 (recorded from the radio) of a new song, “Brianstorm” (sic)

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We need to start raising significantly more in donations from our online community of readers, especially from those who read Mother Jones regularly but have never decided to pitch in because you figured others always will. We also need long-time and new donors, everyone, to keep showing up for us.

In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

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