THE SPIN MIX
Songs You Need to Download Now!
Go to SPIN.com for samples and links to these tunes, vid clips, and more

Jay-Z “ROC BOYS (AND THE WINNER IS...)” Rejuvenated by American Gangster, Jay’s again rapping exuberantly about selling drugs. As a result, the poetry is flowin’: “Bullet wounds will stop your buffoonery.” ¹

^{2 The Gossip} “^{CARELESS WHISPER}” ^{(LIVE) At Amsterdam’s Melkweg club, a barefoot Beth Ditto} turns the coy, guilty sway of George Michael’s ’80s ballad into a throbbing, stomping, existential barn burner.

3B _L3orn Ruffians “HUMMINGBIRD” There’s not a more eager indie-rock yelper than this Toronto trio’s Luke aLonde. Tight but ramshackle, the band hoots, “We’re not gonna die like this!” and you think, “What? You’re, like, 14!”

^{4 Oasis} “^{LORD DON’T SLOW ME DOWN}” ^{A thick money clip of guitars (more Yardbirds than Beatles) barrels} along fraternally, pausing for a couple of quick drum solos, while Noel Gallagher bids sobriety farewell—again.

^{5 Hot Chip} “^{SHAKE A FIS T}” ^{These Brit electro-poppers go from goofy hipsters to dance-floor-bleeping} eniuses with this headphone throwdown of synth bass and bizarre chants: “Let’s raid another chalice.” Huh?

^{6 Bucky Sinister} “^{LIKE A REAL LIFE ADAM SANDLER}” ^{Beware of hot tweaker punk girls who know} all the words to “Rapper’s Delight” and smell like cheap beer. So says this hilarious Bay Area comedian.

^{7 M.I.A., feat. Bun B and Rich Boy} “^{PAPER PLANES (REMIX)}” ^{M.I.A. and Diplo live their} gangsta-rap fantasy to the fullest, as Bun B gets his “Robin Hood on” over a mesmerizing Clash sample.

^{8 White Denim} “^{LET’S TALK ABOUT IT}” ^Shouting, “^{Let’s react to it!}” ^{these heady Austin, Texas garage} punks storm off in all directions at once, before sputtering to a stop over electronic gurgles. Whew!

9T _t9he Lady Tigra “SWITCHBLADE KIT T Y” Half of ’80s Miami bass duo L’Trimm (“Cars With the Boom”), he “stainless and flossy” Tigra is back with an eerily sweet-natured electro ditty about a not-so-concealed weapon.

^{10 Lil Wayne, feat. Twista} “^{BURN THIS CIT Y}” ^{Over a creepy, echoing sample of Franz Ferdinand’s} “This Fire,” Weezy revives his “Fireman” persona and blazes on randomly, getting “sicker than bird flu.”

^{11 Radioclit} “^{DIVINE GOSA (S WITCH REMIX)}” ^{Radioclit are a London-based production duo, and Switch} is the guy M.I.A. called after getting pissed at Diplo. Together, they concoct a brilliant electro squelchfest.

^{12 Nathaniel Mayer} “^{I WANT LOVE AND AFFECTION (NOT THE HOUSE OF CORRECTION)}” ^Mayer was a raspy-voiced 22-year-old in jail on a stolen-car rap when he cut this R&B scorcher, now reissued, in 1966.

13^1M

_Sp3odern Life Is War “F--K THE SEX PIS TOLS” These Iowa hardcore idealists give a brutish rejoinder to in’s ’ 77 punk issue: “Fuck the glory days!” “Stupid fucking jaded burnouts!” “Shut the fuck up!” Etc.

14 ^Etana “^{WRONG ADDRESS}” ^{A heartbreaking acoustic reggae lament about a woman who gets rejected} _{for a job because she comes from the wrong hood, i.e.,} “_{People die there every day.}”

^{15 Lightspeed Champion} “^XANADU” ^{Dev Hynes, one-third of art-drips Test Icicles (the worst band} ever on Domino Records) recasts himself as a folkie softy, covering Olivia Newton-John. And it’s kinda touching.

The Black Ghosts Final Fantasy “Some Way “Your Light Is Spent” ^{Through This}” In this installment of The Take- If there’s one thing the bar- Away Show—from French baric denizens of this video’s music blog La Blogothèque— dystopian Lego city love, it’s a Final Fantasy (a.k.a. Owen thick electro-pop groove. Pallett) strolls through Little yellow men and women the damp streets of Paris, dance, drink, patronize strip softly plucking his violin, clubs, ignore homeless crooning a quirky lullaby. It’s people, and kill one another. impressive how delicately The dark, pseudo-political clear the song sounds, message isn’t very subtle, and especially considering that it’s softened only by the Pallett constantly giggles kaleidoscopic psychosis of the and breaks into a jog about Gondry–biting gimmick. halfway through.

Babyshambles “French Dog Blues” Pete Doherty’s life often seems absurd, so it’s appropriate that he and his mates appear only as cartoon characters in this druggy jam. The band members watch a drunken, prison-striped, fez-wearing dog get beaned by a shuttlecock, share a wink with a Magritte painting, and get in the way of a falling piano. It’s all a frothy hallucination, no chemicals required.

Regina
Spektor
“ Better”
In the middle of this clip,
Spektor sings, “If you never
say your name out loud to
anyone / They can never,
ever call you by it.” That’s a
moot point when every-
body is Regina Spektor,
which is the case in this
video that finds her frolick-
ing with a dozen or so of
her look-alikes. It may be a
tribute to the possibilities
of stem-cell research, but
she’s probably just looking
to build a melancholy army
of like-minded friends.