Worldwide Underground is every Sunday at Amoeba Hollywood from noon til one. Here is my set list.
You can also hear or download my set by clicking here. Thanks to Jayme for recording it.

"Nana de Colores"-Diego Carrasco
"Oye Mi Olelole"-Celina Y Reutilio
"Senor Presidente"-Los Cojolites
"Tres Golopes"-Toto La Moposina
"Oualahila Ar Teninam"-Tinariwen
"Osman Pehlivan"-Arif Sag
"Sonido Amazonico"-Los Mirlos
"Usti, Usti Baba" - Senor Coconut Vs. Kocani Orkestar
"Cumbia"-Columna De Fuego
"Watergate"-Tipica 73
"Astronautas A Mercurio"-Sonara Casino
"Tifit Hayed"-Wganda Kenya
"Che Che Cole"-Antibalas
"Afrobeatnik?"-Gecko Turner
"Paloma"-Sidestepper
"Cumbia Sapuesana"-Aniceto Molina
"Volaron Las Brujas"-Los Erederos De La Cumbia
"Cologiala" - Rodolfo y su Tipica R.A.7
"Rebellion"-Joe Arroyo
"Lloraras"-Dimension Latina
"Bacalo Con Pan"-Irakere
"Rico Suave Bossa Nova"-J Dilla
"Wanda Vidal"-Marcos Valle
"Pe Da Roseira"-Gilberto Gil
"Tive Razao"-Seu Jorge

Last week it was Eric's (also known as Majix to some) birthday. You might know him as the guy who works in Amoeba Hollywood's Reggae & Soul sections.  A few of us got together on a Tuesday night at his pad to celebrate the birth of this very righteous gentleman. We had turntables, courtesy of DJ Doleak who works in our Hip-Hop section. Doleak just destroyed it on the turntables for most of the night while Ray Ricky Rivera, Eric and myself jumped in from time to time to give Doleak a breather. Some members of local bands Aztlan Underground and Buyepongo (more on this amazing group later) showed up as well.

Being a gracious host, Eric supplied a great spread & there were plenty of spirits. It was a Tuesday night that felt like a Friday night. Some of us (well..not me) even started a little freestyle session. Can't say anyone was that inspired at four in the morning, but it was fun nonetheless.

Wednesday, however...was a little rough on some of us who had to work the next day.

Check out some photos that I took at the party:

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I am still catching up with all the releases from the last couple of weeks, but there is really only one release to worry yourself about this week -- the full length debut from Flight of the Conchords. I know there are still some of you out there who have not yet seen the television show, but you really have no excuse. The 12 episode first season came out on DVD in November, so you have had plenty of time to watch it. Put it on your Netflix, go rent it from your favorite video store, or just go buy it. It really is that good that you might find yourself wanting to watch it over and over again. They released an EP of music from the show a couple of months ago on Sub Pop. But the full album Flight of the Conchords just came out this week.  The album is packaged beautifully. I really appreciate when bands actually spend some time figuring out how they want the LP and CD to look. The artsy cartoonish drawings are perfect for this album, and the cartoon images of Bret and Jemaine look exactly like them. When you open up the CD they actually pop up at you, sort of like a pop up book. You also get a poster folded up in the inside of the CD. It is always nice to get a sort of unexpected surprise once you open up the album. The illustrations are by Tyler Stout and the art direction is by Jeff Kleinsmith and Dusty Summers. I seriously would not normally care to find out who did the artwork but I really am in love with the look of this album.

I have come to the realization that you may not really "get" this album unless you have seen the show, but maybe I am wrong. It is possible that millions of people will pick up the album and just appreciate the songs for what they are, or just treat it like buying a comedy album without actually ever seeing the comedian perform live. I listened to their original BBC radio series yesterday. Before the show was ever filmed they did this radio show. It is still hilarious and is done like an old radio show with a narrator. Some of the same sketches were also used in the TV show that followed.  Just in case you are still confused, the show is about two musicians from New Zealand who are in a band called Flight of the Conchords. They move to New York to try to make it in the music world. Their music is sometimes a bit folky but they cover all sorts of music from electro to hip hop. They have one crazy fan who comes to all their shows, but not very many more. They have a horrible part time manager who has no idea how to manage a band. Each episode usually contains two music videos.

Here is an idea that goes into the “Why didn’t I think of that?” pile:

This is from exclaim.ca. Pretty funny as well.

Nick Cave Named Rough Trade's Inaugural "Counter Culture Icon" 
2/29/2008 By Brock Thiessen

In efforts to give hipsters their very own Walk of Fame, Nick Cave will be stopping by London’s Rough Trade East shop on Monday to be sworn in as its first “Counter Culture Icon.”

Sources from shop today told Drowned in Sound that Cave and his no pussy blues would leave his “prints” at the renowned record shop, marking the first of many enlistees to participate in the fame campaign. The Bad Seed will then reportedly be “hanging out in the store,” presumably kicking against the pricks.

Thus far, Rough Trade has remained tight-lipped over the names of future Counter Culture Icons. But we can make some educated guesses. Perhaps be Morrissey? No, the concrete would be too “icky.” Mark E. Smith? Well, maybe he’d leave a fresh butt.

And just in case you were curious, Hollywood’s Walk of Fame now has more than 2,000 five-pointed stars featuring the names of celebrities, human and fictional, according to Wikipedia. The first star was awarded February 9, 1960, to Mrs. Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, star of the 1996 film Even If a Hundred Ogres...

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Yeah, I get the irony, (oh, the English are soooo ironic!) but don’t you think Amoeba Hollywood should have their very own “Counter Culture Icon Walk Of Fame?” Amoeba could hit 2000 selections in one day.