Justice Ed Banger/Because Music

Some called it a fluke. Others, a tongue-in-cheek stab at French culture. I’m here this week to prove that my willingness to shine the musical spotlight on a member of the Francophone was not a mockery, nor a freak occurrence. How will I prove this? By showcasing Parisian electronica sensation Justice. Bam. Get some. The beat-mixing duo came to prominence doing remixes of popular dance and techno tracks for a French college radio station back in 2003. They gained momentum with that gameplan and went on to remix tracks by NERD, Ms. Spears, Daft Punk, Franz Ferdinand and Fatboy Slim before putting out their own tracks to much acclaim in 2005. From college radio station remix artists to 2007 Best Electronic/Dance Record Grammy nominees, these guys have been making a big name for themselves over the last year and a half. If you haven’t already, check out their track D.A.N.C.E. (as well as the video - available on youtube) and while you’re at it, might as well check out the video for the song I’ve given you (DVNO). Both are excellent songs and killer videos and I hope are just the beginning of what we can expect. See, told you it wasn’t a fluke… (stupid French)

Yelle EMI

France. The French. Have to say I’m not a fan of the people (usually), but France itself is quite a nice country. My mother always says “The French don’t deserve France”. There’s some truth in there, but I decided I need to better myself as a person, so I opened my mind a little and showcased a French act on the weekly spotlight. I’m building international bridges here. Yelle comes to us all the way from Paris where she first made a name for herself by sampling the beat from “Short Dick Man” on “Je Veux te Voir”. Using my sick French translation skills I can tell you that song title in English is: “I want to see you”. Respect me. Say what you want about the French, and I usually do, but Yelle is everything good about pop music. Simple lyrics, catchy beats and a profound recapturing of retro 80s style all come together to create something unique, yet pleasantly familiar. Plus her producer goes by the name GrandMarnier. Style points all over the place on that. The track I have selected for you today is the remix of “A Cause de Garcon” (Because of Boys) and has really grown on me the past month or so. It’s a little disjointed at first, but after a couple of listens you will hopefully start to appreciate it. Here’s hoping Yelle can be an ambassador of goodwill in your music collections and shed the negative stereotypes the French endure. Even though they’re still kind of lame. As a whole. You know what I’m saying…

Ludo Island

Ludo is named after a character from the movie Labyrinth, which may or may not be cool - it’s hard to say at this point. What is cool is the fact that these rising St. Louis-based indie rockers have put on holiday themed concerts entitled “HalLUDOween” and “Cinco de Moustache”. And what’s cooler than that is the fact that the song featured below has lines like “finger-banging my heart” and “you have the mark of the beast”. So just based on that alone I feel they are deserving of a little weekly spotlight. In all seriousness, the song below is a pretty sweet jam about love/hate relationships, as most of their songs are, and also incorporates something near and dear to my heart: a guitar solo. A pretty good one at that. So whether you’ve just broken up with your lady who turned out to be a raging psycho, or want to reminisce about an old girlfriend who’s currently boning someone else - crank it up to 11. (Mp3 plug-in below does not actually go to 11, in fact it does not have a numbered volume gradient at all)

Entertainment Weekly recently came out with an article listing the top 100 movies of the last 25 years. They’re deemed “The New Classics” and some of the entries may surprise you. Some of the omissions may surprise you. Someone jumping out from behind a bush may surprise you. Depends on you. Anyway, Rhett and John wanted to do a thorough analysis, so this particular show is an hour and a half long and features GTM to get things started the right way. Use their extreme knowledge to look like a genius when you debate the list with your friends. Word.

(The particular picture above is for a different EW top 100 list, but who can resist Hayden?)

Download: EW Top 100 Movies

Lilly Allen Regal, Capitol

Ah Lilly Allen. There’s just something about this west-London, pop-singing cutie that I like. Maybe it’s her ridiculously heavy British accent that comes through even on her most popular tracks - LDN and Smile - or maybe it’s her penchant for wearing full-length skirts with trainers (read: tennis shoes). Hard to say. Whatever the case, this 2008 Grammy nominee has a very down-to-earth, girl-you-used-to-sit-next-to-in-Spanish kind of quality about her. She also does a sweet remix of last week’s Music Spotlight guest, which I have made available for your listening pleasure. Note the use of the gun blasts for drum beats -before MIA’s Paperplanes. No word yet on a release date for her supposedly completed second album, but perhaps my ringing endorsement will help drive them to put it in stores. I have that kind of pull. I know people.

Rhett and John pay homage to our fine nation by discussing the most American entity in all of pop culture: superhero movies. Before they decide if Batman is better than Ironman, the entertainment gurus discuss some upcoming movies and television pilots. It’s a podcast the way our forefathers always wanted: Communism free.

Download: July 4th

Kaiser Chiefs MCA Music

A Mercury Proze nominee - which means they’re kind of a big deal in England - this new wave inspired rock band from Leeds was all the rage after their 2005 debut Employment garnered both critical and popular success. In just two short years they went from music industry Freshmen to headlining the prominent Isle of Wight festival in England. I like these guys because they have songs with titles like “Everyday I Love You Less and Less”, which really just says it all. Plus, they named themselves after a South African rugby team - which is also a pretty sweet thing to do. If I were going to name a band after a professional sports team it would be the Memphis Grizzlies, because that way we could be a metal band or a jug band. You can’t put a price on that kind of flexibility. “Now opening for Iron Maiden or The Fort Wayne Claim Jumpers…The Memphis Grizzlies!!!”. We would be so awesome. Stop being jealous of my sweet ideas. Talking to you, Kaiser Chiefs…