1. Lil Mama, "Lip Gloss." Clickety-clacking hand-clapping early contender for single of the summer, from 17 year old Niatia Kirkland. On YouTube, and iTunes.
2. Lifesavas, Gutterfly. Portland, Ore. alt-hip-hop duo of Vursatyl and Jumbo the Garbage Man get trippy on Gutterly, their new CD which utilizes cameos by Vernon Reid and Angelo Moore (of Fishbone). The seriously funky soundtrack to a make-believe blaxploitation film concerning characters named Bumpy Johnson and Sleepy Floyd, who try to keep their wits about them and stay alive in the mythical metropolis Razorblade City. At the Khyber on Thursday.
3. Black Book. Paul Verhoeven’s crackerjack Perils of Pauline pulp fiction set during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands stars the fabulous Carice van Houten as the endlessly resourceful Jewish heroine Rachel Steinn. It’s the best Verhoeven since Starship Troopers, and that’s saying something. I saw it at Ritz 5 last weekend, with about five other people in the audience, so it won’t be there long.
4. Bob Dylan, “Huck’s Tune.” The new Dylan song from the soundtrack of Curtis Hanson’s poker flick Lucky You, where it sits alongside choices cuts from Bruce Springsteen and George Jones, and the regrettable recording debut of Drew Barrymore. “All the merry little elves can go hang themselves/My faith is as cold as can be.” Thanks Bob, we know we can always count on you for a cup of good cheer. On iTunes.
5. Jon Savage, Teenage: The Creation of Youth Culture. More diffuse in its arguments and not as thoroughly excellent as Savage's punk rock history England's Dreaming, Teenage explores the roots of the pop culture explosion of the 1950s through the first half of the 20th Century. The 576 page book is slow going at first, but picks up speed as it moves over the globe and discusses F. Scott Fitzgerald and flapper culture of the 1920s, the L.A. zoot suit riots, and the rise, and resistance to, Hitler Youth in Nazi Germany. ($29.95, Viking Adult).
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