Issue 35
Over here in the rose-tinted world of The FADER, the beginning of the year is less the time for a teary-eyed dusting of the stacks and more a moment of wild-eyed enthusiasm about what '06 has in store for us: New music! In-store credit at Sisley! Trapped In The Closet parts 37-56! Etc. We're not gonna lie to you: the NOW issue is our favorite issue of the year because we get the chance to really stretch out and uncover some hot new new hot hot and celebrate it unabashedly—this is the music that's really close to our heart. Extra specifically, our cover stars Lupe Fiasco and Jenny Lewis. You first heard Lupe on Kanye's "Touch The Sky" and his Chi-town skateboard anthem, "Kick, Push". But after checking his new solo album, Food & Liquor, we were sold. Eric Ducker trailed Fiasco from Beverly Hills to his hometown to get the story on the heavily focused (with or without glasses) hip-hop whiz kid. Likewise, you know we've always been suckers for heartwarming heartbreak, and after the first spin of Rilo Kiley singer Jenny Lewis's breakout, standout solo album Rabbit Fur Coat, Miss Lonelyhearts had us for life. Nick Barat talked French dip sandwiches, hot pants and musical inspirations with the former child star-turned-countryfied siren.
And between the sheets, you'll find a particularly heady sampling of the things we've been intrigued with/intoxicated by for the last coupla months: a survey on the state of New York City rap, some damn fine reporting on Bloomington, Indiana and why the indie kids have one of the most vibrant rock scenes around (hint: it involves trading blood for money). We also dug deep to bring you a Who's Who on our favorite sweaty, gritty rock remixers, and a profile on the sleeping genius of Tropicalista legend Tom Ze.
When you look at that list, it may seem a little daunting, but 'tis the season of hibernation after all, and what better way to whyle away the winter blues than with a smoky blend of conscious thuggery, rawk and country? Sooner than you think, you'll be seeing the dew-tipped buds of early spring—and we want you in fighting form for the knockout punches we have in store.
ALEX WAGNER
Cover 1: Lupe Fiasco
Grindin'
"Lupe Fiasco is the shit. The next hottest shit in the Chi and if Twista said it, ain't nothing else need to be talked about after that. Fucking everybody else up in the game. Shitting on them with a skateboard song."
Cover 2: Jenny Lewis
Songs You Know By Heart
"The first song I learned was [The Eagles'] 'Desperado'—and then I wrote about ten songs with the same chords," she says. "My mother's boyfriend at the time taught me guitar. And then I wrote a song called 'You Can't Trust Men Of Today.'"
Feature 1: Tom Zé
Bread And Circuses
"What they are suggesting doesn't matter to me one way or another. I am someone who does a different kind of cultural work. I can't get lost, because I myself am lost myself. I embody lost. I can't get lost, because I am lost itself."
Feature 2: New York Rap
State Of The Empire
"You can't kill the block but so many times. You kill the block on four records... everybody's dead now. Put the gun down. Take 'em to the hospital."
Feature 3: Rock Remixers
Dirty Work/Dirty Love
Bands like Bloc Party, Franz Ferdinand and Death From Above 1979 are not only out-croppings of the "I love the nightlife" rock movement, but seem predisposed to letting these remixers have their filthy way with them, leaving dancefloors battered and bathed in booze.
Feature 4: Bloomington, IN
Indie Rock Republic
"Right now this psychology guy at the college is interviewing me about my psychedelic experiences. I get paid ten dollars an hour to talk with him. I sell my plasma for fifty bucks a week, and you can get food at the community kitchen."
+ GEN F:
Head Of Femur / Statik / A Cloud Mireya / Black Spade / Psychic Paramount / Marty Stuart / Darkroom Productions / Dre
+ FASHION:
Prospect Park / Endless Summer
+ VINYL ARCHEOLOGY:
Slow Your Roll
The Anything Goes World of Lowerider Music
Selected by Johnny Sklute
