Prolix - starring Jurassic 5, Opeth, Beats by Dre, psychedelic hip-hop, and beefs getting squashed!

Welcome to Prolix - short news for short attention spans. In this semi-regular series I will be rounding up music news, reviews, opinions, rumours, and much more in bite-sized chunks of 100 words or less. Because, let's face it, sometimes you need information fast! 

J5 are back in the house!

Back in 2007 many hip-hop fans gave a minute's silence for California legends Jurassic 5 when they declared they were going their separate ways over creative differences. Things looked up last year when they pulled it back together for an international tour. But now they have given us something much more precious and that is a new song called 'The Way We Do It'. Produced by the late Heavy D and featuring an inspired White Stripes sample, this marks the group's first single in eight years. Whether this leads to more new music is currently unknown but dreams are free.

 

The Cusp of Eternity is here

Sometimes you have to take the good with the bad. Just weeks after their new album had been delayed until August, somebody out there has let leak the new Opeth single a month ahead of schedule. 'Cusp of Eternity' has been uploaded onto and cut from Youtube multiple times since the writing of this article so hopefully this link is still working by the time you come to click on it. If this track is much to go by, Pale Communion will build upon what the band did on their divisive album Heritage. Bring on the naysayers, says I.

 

Power to the people ... and the Beats

It's being called one of the biggest purchases in music history and the ink hasn't barely dried on the dotted line. After months of speculation Apple has announced that they have bought the Beats headphone and music streaming service for a cool $3 billion. It seems like a smart move considering that Beats hauled in over a half a billion dollars in 2012 alone, making them the top headphone manufacturers in the world. Beats co-founders Jimmy Iovine and Dr Dre have also been awarded unspecified jobs at Apple as part of the deal. Godspeed, gentlemen.

FDR: Fear of Death and the Need for Reproduction

Emerging from the primordial ooze like evolution's very own blooper reel comes FDR, a new project from the very talented Godforbid (That Handsome Devil) and MC Thirtyseven. They are joined by the eccentric talents of DJs Dr Quandry and Louis Mackey. Well, they've gone well beyond a tease and have dropped an EP on us with the fetching title of Fear of Death and the Need for Reproduction. You can purchase this fine document from here if you are so inclined. Expect a review of some sort in the future (or don't, it's a free country).

Pat Carney, in 'Beef-Squash VII: This time it's personal'

Patrick Carney of the Black Keys sure has a knack for getting into trouble. Whether its with Jack White, Justin Beiber, Gaga fans, or the specter of Michael Jackson, he loves a good beef. On the back of some high profile bitch sessions, Carney has now struck out at the mastermind behind it all: gossip cesspit TMZ. “Honestly, they should be fucking ashamed of themselves, that they make a living dragging poor souls that have nothing, that aren't famous, into this world” (source Rolling Stone). Why fight the bees when you can just set the hive on fire?

That's it for another exciting installment of Prolix - short music for short attention spans. As always, watch out for new music and condescending opinions on said music at Eclectik Electrik. Until next time, keep it eclectic true believers.

- Professor Ricardo