Jens Lekman is not one to be accused of failing to give fans their money's worth. At shows on his current tour in support of the postcard-worthy Night Falls Over Kortedala, the sample-minded Swedish crooner has taken to telling audiences his set will be 14 songs, but that he'd like to keep playing afterward if someone can find a space. His offer has led to such unforgettable performances as a rendition of "Pocketful of Money" in a Malmö, Sweden, parking lot. Or a late-night concert last month on a rooftop in Brooklyn.

After his show the other night at Chicago's Logan Square Auditorium, Lekman accepted an invitation to sing a few more at someone's apartment. Intimately rendered on just an acoustic guitar, the selections included "Julie", an upbeat song comparing romance with a student to commerce-- from 2004's Julie EP, but compiled on Oh You're So Silent Jens in 2005-- and the yearning, romantic "Tram #7 to Heaven", which as the lead track on 2004 debut LP When I Said I Wanted to Be Your Dog is swathed in harp and vinyl crackle, but here is all Jens. Although, really, the samples are Jens, too. Just saying. I'm a little jealous of the people in this video, is all. (Video shot and edited by Mike and Stacey for Analog Monkey.)

[original tracks from Oh You're So Silent Jens and When I Said I Wanted to Be Your Dog; both out now on Service/Secretly Canadian]

Soundwalk is a company that creates walking tours of neighborhoods in New York and Paris, presenting listeners with new perspectives on everyday places. For their "Take Away Show" for La Blogotheque, which commissions live performances in unlikely places, Department of Eagles chose to perform a trio of songs while walking the route of Soundwalk's Chinatown tour. Why? Who but Daniel Rossen and Fred Nicolaus know? But the bustle of the neighborhood-- buses zooming by, children playing, men unloading trucks, a police van idling ominously-- makes a wonderful visual and musical accompaniment to their stripped-down acoustic renderings of new songs as well as tracks from their recently reissued Cold Nose LP.

On Part One, opener "No One Does It Like You" simply follows Rossen and Nicolaus as they walk down a busy sidewalk, "Bittersweet Symphony"-style, as the camera paces alongside and behind them. Rossen-- who is also a member of Grizzly Bear-- performs the next two songs alone, wandering around a playground during "Deep Blue Sea" and along shop windows for "You Move Too Fast". Serendipity plays a crucial role in these clips: Rossen couldn't have playfully kicked away that soccer ball if it hadn't rolled toward him, and "Deep Blue Sea" wouldn't have its finale if that girl hadn't jumped from that low railing at just that moment, giggling with a joy at odds with the song's dark lyrics.

Part Two features more mobile busking in and around Chinatown, with performances of "Sailing by Night", "What Can Be Done", and "Balmy Nights" that offering the duo's own personal consideration of the neighborhood.

Anticon instrumental music that favors thick atmospheres, repetition, and dramatic tension over structure doesn't always withstand scrutiny on its own terms, but it makes for an effective soundtrack. This, of course, is not a bad thing, and in the case of label vet Odd Nosdam (né David Madson), it almost seems like a pre-compositional consideration. "Kill Tone", from his latest record Level Live Wires, mixes dreamlike plucked strings atop a dissonant sound-bed suggesting factory ambience sent through a patchy cell-phone signal, slowly building toward a frantic climax.

The crisp, well-produced video takes the opposite tack of the song's title, imagining the cycle of life through the tale of an infant doll running through what appears to be a desolate snow-globe, guided by a bee. The nature-oriented symbology is as obvious as the digitized camera-shakes moving along with the throbbing drums, and just as rewarding. The superimposed stomach cell-division toward the end is a bit forced, but I'd be lying if I denied feeling a little touch of sentimentality at the conclusion, when the baby takes flight, leaves appear, and, I'm assuming, the cycle starts anew. Ravi Zupa directs.

In what should come as a surprise to no one by now, the video for "Pu$$y", from Spank Rock and Benny Blanco's 2 Live Crew-inspired Bangers and Cash EP, is crass, NSFW, and ultimately idiotic. What remains a valid question is why this stuff should be rewarded critically (and blogger-ly) when it's so spineless and predictable. The "Pu$$y" video, like the EP, carefully distances any supposed shock value it might have behind multiple get-away-with-misogyny free cards. The first is irony, and the second is 2 Live Crew, who-- despite being total knuckleheads-- at least actually shocked people.

Hey, two mixtapes in a row here on Forkcast. This is the latest in the Radiomix Series posted to the DFA's website, and it's a recording of the label's Tim Goldsworthy and New York DJ Tim Sweeney spinning together as "T&T" at a DFA/Ghostly International Halloween party last week. Tracklisting is on the download page-- it includes a version of the "Theme from the Exorcist, tracks from Inner City and Daft Punk, and the SMD remix of Klaxons' "Magick", among others.

MP3:> Various Artists: "T&T Halloween Mix"

Photo by William Kirk

Wu-Tang Clan's 8 Diagrams is due December 11, and they're priming the pump with the 8 Diagrams Mixtape, available for free download as a zip file from Loud.com. Tracklisting below.

MP3s:> Wu-Tang Clan: 8 Diagrams Mixtape

1) Intro feat. Method Man
2) Watch Ur Mouf (Wu-Tang Exclusive)
3) State Of Grace (Raekwon Exclusive)
4) Break That Break (Unreleased)
5) Wu Banga 101 Remix (Unreleased)
6) My Corner (Raekwon Exclusive)
7) Stick Me 4 My Riches (Wu-Tang Exclusive)
8) Thug World (Wu-Tang Exclusive)
9) Maxine Remix (Unreleased)
10) King Toast Queen (Unreleased)
11) Strawberries & Cream Remix
12) Weak Spot (Wu-Tang Exclusive)
13) Intoxicated feat Macy Gray (ODB Exclusive)
14) Crooklyn Dodgers (Ghostface Exclusive)
15) The "W" Remix (Unreleased)
16) Real Nillaz
17) Ghost Is Back
18) Don't Go Breaking My Heart ODB feat Macy Gray
19) Violent Skit
20) Life Changes (Wu-Tang Exclusive)
21) Treez (Unreleased)
22) The Abduction
23) John 3:16
24) Good
25) Da Destroyer (Raekwon Freestyle)
26) Iron God Chamber
27) 4:20
28) Wise (Unreleased)
29) Presidential M.C. (Bonus Track - The Heart Gently Weeps)

[8 Diagrams is due 12/11/07 on SRC]

Someday, Jay-Z might invite you to a party. If this happens, you will attend. The video for second American Gangster single "Roc Boys (And the Winner Is)" has hit the internet, and it has all the self-confident grandeur necessary to keep the excitement about the rapper's latest album mounting. Diddy, Nas, Mariah Carey, Freeway... there's barely time to notice all the hip-hop guest stars in the house, let alone recognize them (taking notes, Common?). "This is black superheroes' music," Jay proclaims, as action-hero horns blare.

I still slightly prefer preceding single "Blue Magic" for its knotty wordplay and stark beats, but there's no denying the triumphant exuberance of "Roc Boys"-- and in terms of videos, there's hardly any comparison. "I get away with murder when I sling yay," (i.e., cocaine), Jay declares, as the video recounts a young drug-dealer's rise to become a legendary kingpin. Starting with a snippet of Lil Wayne-guesting "Hello Brooklyn", the video ends with the whole "to be continued" cliffhanger thing, but for once, this is a rap video you suspect might actually get a sequel. "Hovie's home," Jay concludes. Everybody know who the winner is?

[from American Gangster; out now on Def Jam]

Dave Grohl's willingness to be a ham was part of what made old Foo Fighters videos like "Everlong" or "Learn to Fly" so endearing, and this quality is in full evidence again here. When tensions run high on the set of hospital soap opera "Long Road to Ruin", mustachioed actor Davy Grolton starts a rock band to win back his love interest. He also cries a lot, cruising in his convertible down that aforementioned road.

The charming video, for the song from Foo Fighters' new Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace, can't compensate for a tune I've already forgotten. Still, directed by "Big Me" and "Learn to Fly" guy Jesse Peretz, with the acting talents of Rashida Jones from "The Office", this clip is a damn sight better than the band's previous rock-cliché monstrosity for "The Pretender". On the other hand, even though that video was pretty bad, it was nothing worth pulling a Thelma and Louise crash-landing over. You had your whole soap-opera career ahead of you, Grolton! Don't do it, reconsider, read some literature on the subject.

Video:> Foo Fighters: "Long Road to Ruin"
[from Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace; out now on Roswell/RCA]

As previously reported, Jay-Z recently got his James Taylor on, recording a session for VH1's "Storytellers" last month at Steiner Studios in Brooklyn. The cable channel has posted a sneak preview of the show (set to air Nov. 8 at 9 p.m.) over at its blog, and the clips have also made their way to YouTube. Jay's new, 1970s soul-steeped American Gangster is out today; if you're still trying to figure out whether it's another Kingdom Come-style letdown or a return to form for the Def Jam chieftain, check out these videos.

Backed by a 12-piece lineup he calls the Roc Band, Hova performs the songs against a projected backdrop with images synced up to the songs. "American Dreamin'" uses a Marvin Gaye sample to great effect, "Fallin'" describes the mistakes of a gangster through references to Sudoku and classic films, and Neptunes-produced "I Know" blurs the line between addiction and lust: "She fiends for me nightly." The YouTube clips below, via Nah Right, might not be up for long, so also head over to VH1's blog to see the official video streams.

Jay-Z: "American Dreamin'"

Jay-Z: "Fallin'"

Jay-Z: "I Know"

[original tracks from American Gangster; out now on Def Jam]

On the just-released Friend EP, Grizzly Bear's "Little Brother" gets born again, "electric". What was-- on last year's stunning Yellow House-- a wispy, acoustic guitar-led piece of pastoral psych-pop is now an obliterating elemental force. It's a standout from the Brooklyn group's latest record, an unusually accomplished artistic statement disguised as a throwaway odds 'n' sods ('n' guest covers) disc. But you don't have take my word for it.

Awarding the album 8.5 and Best New Music honors, Pitchfork's Ryan Schreiber writes: "Though roughly the same length as the Yellow House version, Friend's "Electric" is written almost from scratch. Now a thundering pop powerhouse, it shows Grizzly Bear at the absolute peak of their present powers. Eviscerating the song's earlier structure, 'Little Brother (Electric)' revisits just one of the original sections, building everything around it-- including its stunning, explosive fireworks finale-- from the ground up. Here, Grizzly Bear transform from purveyors of delicate fairytale psych to steamrolling rock juggernauts, resulting in the most immediate, accessible, and concrete track in their current catalog."

Now that Ryan has magnanimously done my Forkcast work for me, that leaves more time to listen to this new EP (and figure out which song to do for Pitchfork karaoke). You can listen to the entire thing right now over at Grizzly Bear's MySpace, where all 10 tracks are currently streaming. 'Cause the Friend EP is for lovers.

[from the Friend EP; out now on Warp]

Lupe Fiasco falls asleep and wakes up a superstar on the excellent, Hype Williams-directed video for the Chicago rapper's latest single. In shots as quick and blinding as camera flashes, the "Superstar" clip shows stars, women in shiny dresses, luxury automobiles, and smoke-wreathed guest vocalist Matthew Santos belting out the hook. Fiasco strolls down the red carpet with ridiculous sunglasses on, like he's his pal Kanye West. "Well, your name ain't on the guest list, who brung you?/ You, the more famous person, you come through/ And the sexy lady next to you, you come, too," he rhymes, eventually ending up in a limo for the sing-song closing verse.

We previously said of the song: "Lupe Fiasco contemplates the nature of modern celebrity culture on 'Superstar', the first proper single from his forthcoming sophomore album The Cool. More serious and brooding, if less witty, than preceding 'street' single 'Dumb It Down', and with a more melodic hook, 'Superstar' looks at what we expect of stars in the TMZ age: 'If you are what you say you are, a superstar/ Have no fear, the camera's here,' sings Santos. There's some audience applause and a jittery beat, and some decent wordplay." (via Nah Right)

[from The Cool; due 12/18/07 on 1st & 15th/Atlantic]

In the Marvel comic-book universe, Melter was a villain who used some type of raygun to, y'know, melt stuff. "Melter", off of noisily psychedelic California rockers Clipd Beaks' latest album Hoarse Lords, certainly could be about a weapon. These former Minnesotans have found only a new frontier of dank, thick gloom in the Golden State, and that choking darkness presses in on "Melter" until a relatively coherent, groove-oriented introduction shatters into a mess of fractured noise that recalls This Heat. Like labelmates HEALTH, Clipd Beaks wreak havoc with thundering percussion, chaotic waves of guitars, and lo-fi howls that sound like vocalist Nic Barbeln is about to slam his head into a wall. Make sure to point your melting device at the drywall first, man.

MP3:> Clipd Beaks: "Melter"
[from Hoarse Lords; out now on Lovepump United]