EOIN BUTLER's guide to downloads, singles and free audiostreams
TUPAC
Hail Mary/2 of Amerika's Most Wanted ("Live" at Coachella)*
Since his death in 1996, rapper Tupac Shakur has enjoyed such a prolific posthumous career that it may seem rather late in the day for one suddenly to cry exploitation. But the Tupac hologram that “performed” at Coachella last weekend does represents a departure, given that it’s entirely computer- generated. If we tolerate this, then Elvis, John Lennon, Kurt Cobain and Bob Marley will (eventually) all be next.
VIOLET
Y.O.U.Luv Luv Luv **
Socialite-turned-musician Pixie Geldof has a lot going for her: good looks, a little talent and the fact that her band’s debut single really only needs to compare favourable to Paris Hilton’s Stars Are Blind in order to be adjudged “surprisingly decent”. Y.O.U., then, is surprisingly decent.
tUnE-yArDs
My Country4AD ****
The kids in this amazing video are having a hell of a lot more fun in school than I ever remember having. Merril Garbus plays Dublin’s Vicar Street on June 15th.
THE MIGHTY STEF
If You Can't Give Me EverythingFirstborn Recordings ****
The opening track from The Mighty Stef and Cheap Freaks’ Bad Bad Men EP, a 7” split tribute to Memphis underground hero Greg Cartwright, is the bitter, vainglorious lament of a man who is hard to live with. Only 250 vinyl copies have been pressed. But the Dublin singer, and the object of this tribute, both deserve a wider audience.
RITA ORA ft TINIE TEMPAH
R.I.P. Roc Nation *
Since it debuted on YouTube earlier this year, the Kosovan singer’s moronic party anthem Hot Right Now has been viewed 18 million times. R.I.P., the even more tuneless, and lyrically objectionable follow-up (originally written by Drake for Rihanna’s last album) has notched up four and a half million hits in the past two weeks alone. The science behind the Tupac hologram is probably easier to comprehend than the appeal of this artist.
