Newley Purnell

Bring it on.

“Han Bennink wears wooden shoes, plays a drum kit made of cheese. Possibly the Dutchest thing ever.”

I swore I’d never do something like this, but Wendy H. has tagged me with the “what 10 songs are on repeat in my iTunes” meme, and I feel compelled to respond. Here goes:

1. Beck, “Girl,” / Guero
2. Ozomatli, “Guerillero” / Embrace the Chaos
3. Golden Smog, “To Call My Own” / Weird Tales
4. Jay-Zeezer, “99 Luft Problems” / The Black and Blue Album (a brilliant mashup)
5. Morcheeba, “Part of the Process” / Big Calm
6. Beastie Boys, “Groove Holmes” / The In Sound from Way Out!
7. The Jesus and Mary Chain, “Just Like Honey” / Psychocandy
8. Pete Rock & CL Smooth, “They Reminisce Over You” / Mecca and the Soul Brother
9. Pavement, “Range Life” / Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
10. The Flaming Lips, “Fight Song” / Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots

So there. That was a lot more painful that I thought it’d be.

I’ll pass the misery on to Dana (who, given her recent week of hate, has already supplied a sort of “10 Rock Critics I Loathe” list), my brother Mechum (who may hook us up with some Korean flava), Ben P. (who I’m hoping will provide some perspective from Oz), and Miriam and Pete (in my old hometown of Kaohsiung, Taiwan).

And as for people who probably won’t respond but who I really hope will: The Taipei Kid, and Winkie.org (in Japan). (It’s a regular United Nations of Music in these parts, ain’t it?)

Don’t miss this touching — and hilarious — essay about “the enduring bond between Huey Lewis and the developmentally disabled.”

My brother Mechum was in town recently, and he shared an ass-load* of his mp3s with me. Of the many, many new (to me) artists now in heavy rotation on my iPod, I’ve found the most captivating to be the LA-based collective Ozomatli.

Their music is a blend of hip-hop, salsa, rock en espanol, and funk; their lyrics, which are mostly in Spanish, are imbued with the political consciousness of, say, Rage Against the Machine. I defy you to listen to the song “Guerrillero” from the album “Embrace the Chaos” and then tell me you’ve ever heard anything like it.

*technical term for seven gigabytes or roughly 2,000 songs.