Pitchfork

Watching major labels try to come up with strategies to prevent filthy media whores from leaking promos to rabid fanatics on file-sharing networks is funnier than the grape-stomping news reporter video. Encoded CDs, planted mp3 loops, and early release dates are their security tactics de rigueur, but there is no way to stop me. I just traded the new Beck album for a brick of Afghani hash and a pair of Dunks made of kitten pelts and human skin. A Pegasus and the Ferrari it's hitched to both came courtesy of a really insane Fischerspooner fan in Belgium. If it weren't for file-sharing, I wouldn't have half the Coogi sweaters in my closet or the overwhelming female attention that comes along with them.

On the other hand, independent labels play it coy. They don't do much to mask the content or stymie the transfer, instead encouraging purchase with elaborate packaging, enhanced cd's, and various other golden ticket bonuses. With Aesop Rock's latest release, not only is Def Jux offering seven brand new tracks but a limited edition 88-page lyric book spanning Aes' catalog Float to Fast Cars. The book is a downtown Finnegan's Wake translated by Travis Bickle, presenting in black-and-white the emcee's dense urban loquacity, and the EP is a welcome back Jukie party compared to the hermetic epic of his last album.

If you're looking at the book as some magic decoder of the Brooklyn wordsmith's lyrical mazes, no such luck. He's saying exactly what you thought he was. From "Freeze" off 2003's conceptual Bazooka Tooth: "The robo-komodo promo Zen patience a-alike to this jittery drooling mess. Bitterly unruly on mud hugger alert, he usher dirt to the kick circus." Fuck what it means, the transcription alone must have been about as fun as a colonoscopy. Sideshow is proof of Aesop Rock as a verbal collagist, clipping slang and pasting it next to bastardized movie dialogue and sideways references to current affairs. If nothing else, the book illustrates his evolution from abstract storyteller to abstruse social commentator. Throw in some stylized photography and Edwardian clip-art, and you got yourself hip-hop's answer to McSweeney's.

Fast Cars, Danger, Fire and Knives furthers the template formulated on Bazooka Tooth. Aesop Rock produces three of the seven himself, longtime collaborator Blockhead handles three, and Rob Sonic cleans up with one. Aesop's takes are the standouts, future blends of Bomb Squad bulk and mid-tempo Eric. B rumble, that complement his cadence and intensity. "Zodiaccupuncture" matches funhouse organ with synth/guitar funk while Aes spews staccato indictments against the establishment and manages an Occam's Razor reference that actually makes sense within the context of a bunch of shit that doesn't. Camu Tao and El Producto join in on the one-upsmanship of "Rickety Rackety", a Mach-9 valentine to NYC, with each paying paranoid tribute to the Rotten Apple. Following along is exhausting as each emcee rips off speed-freak syllabic riffs on apathy, dishonesty, and escapism. "Food, Clothes, Medicine" stomps around like Mecha Sly Stone while Aes spits venom at either the homeless situation, or neglected veterans, or corrupt politicians. I really couldn't tell you which, and the lyric book didn't help much.

Blockhead and Rob Sonic's production is not as lively, but both provide enough of their usual sparse future funk to keep it interesting. The instrumental value of Aesop Rock's voice automatically fills any gaps left by a lazy production or rehash of an old idea. A lot of people cried foul after Bazooka Tooth, demanding more Blockhead less Aesop on the boards, but Fast Cars should silence some of that trash talk. Aesop's production here is clearly more confident, able and welcome, possibly indicating that his beatmaking may prove as idiosyncratic as his lyrical style.

With the quality and effort put into this release, Def Jux and Aesop Rock have done what every EP should do, provide something of unique value and create anticipation for future releases. Fast Cars is more than filler material between albums, and The Living Human Curiosity Sideshow is a thoughtfully packaged, worthwhile memento for fans. The question is, how much can I get for it on eBay? Jesus pieces don't pay for themselves.