Before P.D.A. (Public Display of Affection), Anthony Jenkin’s got his start on stage with the community opera. Say what?! He recorded his first CD at 17 and hasn’t stopped producing music since. Kid’s got talent. Check out his website, like him on facebook and go back stage with him below!

[Sarabeth here, back with some more jams to add to your iTunes library! Every Wednesday, I'm bringing you music suggestions - could be something new, old, hugely popular or fairly unknown -  to awesome-ify your  collection.]

It quite honestly feels like everyone here in Austin still has a Spring Break/SXSW hangover. There were just so many great bands this year that it’s really hard to get over it. And unfortunately, Powerade/greasy breakfast sandwiches just don’t help. The only remedy? More cowbell good bands.

And I’ve got just the perfect one.

Beats Antique is by far the most creative and original band that I’ve discovered in awhile, and so I share with you their second album, Collide.

About the Band:
Beats Antique is  a little-bit-of-everything group consisting of members David Satori, Zoe Jakes and Tommy “Sidecar” Cappel. Hailing from San Francisco, this band has been creating interesting cocktails of traditional world music with electronica and techno since 2007.

Top 3 Tracks:

Erase

Caterpillar

Slapdash Era

Why You Should Listen to It:
The one thing that impresses me about this album is that no matter where a song starts, it always seems to go to a different, yet interesting place. You can start off thinking you’re listening to a song  with sitar and belly dancing beats, and it can end up more hip-hop than anything else. This is great music for whenever you’re in a really chill mood, but can also be great to dance to. This album has a little bit of everything and no matter what your music taste, you can find something about it you like.

Want more awesome iPod suggestions?

This week’s artist is someone who’s totally inspired me growing up. While most people spent their college years drinking and dreaming about what they’ll be after they graduate (guilty!), MC Lars was doing something about his dreams. He spent his years at Stanford doing what he loved, making music in his dorm room. The Graduate is just one of many examples of this work.

About the Artist:
MC Lars, or Andrew Robert Neilson as he’s legally known, grew up in Berkley, California. He started his musical career in high school in the punk band Amphoteric. He then went on to Stanford University where he worked at the school’s radio station. He started making music on his laptop in his dorm, and still makes music that way to this day.

Top 3 Tracks:

Download This Song

Generic Crunk Rap

Ahab

Why You Should Listen to It:
Like I said, MC Lars is a huge inspiration to me for doing things that I love, and hopefully he’ll be the same to you. But the music itself is also pretty rad. It’s hip hop/rap that doesn’t take itself seriously, even sometimes making fun of the whole genre. It’s a great album, and come on, where else are you going to hear rhymes about Moby Dick, Sartre, and Kurt Cobain?

Want more awesome iPod suggestions? You got it!

Bill Clinton’s still got it.

Find those hidden calories and beat ‘em.

Lady Gaga and Beyonce sweep VMA nominations.

But Brit is close behind!

Is this the future of hip hop?

10 secrets men are keeping from us.

Now, I love my fiction, but sometimes I just get a hankering for a real fact-filled, non-fiction book. I was watching MTV Canada one day saw Rodrigo Bascunan, the author of a fantastic book called “Enter the Babylon System,” being interviewed. On a whim, I decided to get it from the library (if MTV likes him, then he must be bad ass, right?) and boy was I impressed!

Now, before you go grab this book yourself and stare blankly at the cover thinking “WTF is this sh*t?” let me explain something: the book is about guns.

Yeah, I know that you probably have no interest in guns, their history, or their evolution, but hear met out; the  book was seriously great.

Even if you have absolutely NO interest in guns, “Enter the Babylon System” will still entertain and inform you. I have no affiliation or opinion on guns and gun culture and was surprised by how easy the book was to understand despite this. Not to mention how interested I was in the topic once I began learning about it.

I learned so much, from the history of guns to their central role in the hip hop and rap industry today. Within this culture, most carry weapons, sometimes illegally, and many fatal shootings occur because of this easy access to firearms. The authors, who look more like the gang members they discuss than the scholarly men that they are, are vehemently opposed to this new gun culture and use their unique access and perspective to share their reasoning with the world.

I found the authors’ point of view the most interesting part of the book. It’s really nice to see two individuals who had many opportunities to immerse themselves in gun culture take a stance and tackle a national and international issue. They know what they are talking about and it shows, forcing many readers to give real thought to a topic they never considered before. It is a mature and thoughtful book, but as I said, one that can benefit even the least interested or knowledgeable in the topic. And I’m proud to say I now know who rappers are talking about when they name-drop Smith & Wesson or Colt.

Anyone who is looking for an informative, smart, yet entertaining summer read should pick up “Enter the Babylon System.” You’ll need something to make you think a bit after 8 hour days answering phones at that summer job and this book will give it to you in a way that isn’t dry or boring. I found it engrossing and unbiased and I highly recommend it for the non-fiction buff like myself.

I have to confess that I’m a sucker for talent. I mean, who isn’t? If all these dancing/singing/acting/yadda yadda reality shows are doing so well, then the American public is certainly thirsty for some grade-A pizzazz. But while the hometown hotties on such shows are nice, what’s really effable is someone who’s taken time to hone their skills and grow into the limelight. A self-made man. And who’s a better example of that than Mos Def?

This week, he’s totally tops on my effable charts.

The Brooklyn hip-hop lyricist, born Dante Terrell Smith, first started recording music alongside his brother and sister as part of a group called Urban Thermal Dynamics. He has since broken off as a solo artist, and his 1999 album Black on Both Sides was his breakout achievement. He has also collaborated with such big names as Talib Kweli, Kanye West, and Common. And his slick, sexy, introspective side acquired a lot of recognition for his work on Russell Simmon’s Def Poetry on HBO. Confidence + smooth delivery= ultra-effability.

But that’s not all. He’s a respected actor whose Hollywood resume includes roles on The Chappelle Show, The Italian Job, and the newest Michel Gondry flick, Be Kind Rewind. Mos Def has been nominated for an Emmy, a Golden Globe, and multiple Grammys. Yeah, you could say he knows his way around the entertainment industry. Meow!

Mos Def’s newest film, Cadillac Records, opens today. How am I excited? Let me count the ways: 1) It’s a ’50s period piece (retro movies are always fun), 2) there’s sure to be a great soundtrack (it’s about a recording studio!) and 3) Mos Def plays Chuck Berry, the dynamic early rock-n-roll star. So while my man will be singing “Johnny B. Goode,” I’ll be thinking: Mos Def, be good to me tonight!

We heard him say…he’s the voice of our generation?

New ladies are taking the reigns tonight on SNL.

Mariah wears holiday lingerie on her own.

Lindsay still likes dudes, and wants Sam to be okay with that.

Angelina giving up acting?

So hot right now: zipper booties!l

Will Spencer please STFU?!

Un-effable names for dudes.

So who’s a fan of Adult Swim? I know I am.

Ever wonder who the rapper with the high pitched voice is on ATHF? You know MC Peepants/MC Vald. That would be real Nerdcore rapper, MC Chris.

I know what you’re thinking right now: what the hell is “Nerdcore”? Well think Weird Al Yankovic’s “White and Nerdy,” but, you know, BETTER.

Nerdcore is a genre of hip hop, but instead of rapping about ho’s, bling, and money, they rap about games, computers, and other fun geek stuff. I mean they talk about boobies too, but it’s just different.

Don’t let the content of the songs throw you off, though; the beats are just as good as the more mainstream stuff on the radio, which means you will find yourself jamming/dancing to songs about compuers in no time. Want a little help? Check out these performers and their more popular jams (well, popular amongst geeks like me).

MC Chris

He’s perhaps the most well known of all Nerdcore rappers due to his work with voice acting, which, you know, makes his voice quite distinctive. He’s easy to listen to and, believe it or not, fun. Very catchy and poppy. For something new to play on that long road-trip home, check out “Fett’s Vette.”

MC Frontalot

He has a slightly different sound to him with a bit mor ]e rhythm based and very smart lyrics. His music is actually something you could listen to all the time. My favorite pick? Check out “Secrets from the Future.”

MC Router

My friend is totally geeked because he got to talk to her online. (It’s the little things.) In any case she’s a hardcore geek girl with techy beats that are fun to dance to. If you are in the mood for some chick music besides Britney and Rhianna, check out “Emmulation Station.”

Image courtesy of boingboing.net

Well, I just found a video that is the ultimate in one-upmanship when it comes to hot dance moves. A group of elderly women in China decided to form a hip-hop dance troupe for fun and for exercise. The Hip-Hop Grannies rock G-Unit tees and bandanas, and a third-place finish in the national Chinese hip-hop dance competition qualifier rocketed them to fame. Since their development in 2003, the Hip-Hop Grannies have shared the joy of dance, healthy living, and social activity with many senior ladies. Not to mention they’re good at it, too!

I hope I’m just as cool when I’m 65.

(Editor’s Note: I’m not this cool now.)

Then the designers find out they have to design for one another, which is when everything got really fun, because their designs had to be inspired by a certain genre of music.

And someone up above was watching over this situation and fulfilled my dreams of finally laughing at an episode of Project Runway by putting the most ridiculous pairings together.

Here’s the breakdown:

Jerell has to be dressed in rock and roll (where is Leatha Stella when you need her?)

Suede must be donned in punk rock attire.

Kenley is to look like a pop star

Korto has to go country.

Leanne has to rock the hip hop look.

Yeah, this is bonafide comedy fo sho.

The designers go to the fabric store where we see Kenley purchasing a floral fabric (SHOCK!) for a hip hop ensemble (Questionable…) We also find out that Suede classically trained cellist…and he’s dressed Britney Spears?

So much going on. So little time to care.

I really just want to get to the runway show. Until, of course, Tim comes in to do a little advising and totally bitch slaps that ugly red lipstick right off of Kenley’s face.

The problem with Kenley is that she can’t handle ANY criticism. She is like a guy in the bedroom; tell her she did something wrong and she turns her back to you and starts to cry (leaving you forced to finish everything yourself…wait…I think I took the analogy a step too far). I think the girl needs to step away from her hipster collection of vintage vinyl records and realize that she has NO IDEA what hip hop is.

Oh and she better respect Tim Gunn. No one talks back to that man and gets away with it. NO ONE.

So, as usual, Kenley decides she’s not gonna listen to Tim. And now it is time for the most amazing runway since the drag queens. The designers head to hair and makeup where Suede is given a multicolored front mullet, Kenley is totally turned into Britney Spears, Leanne is turned into a white girl trying too hard and Jerell….looks exactly the same.

The designers strut their stuff down the runway and I have to say – seeing Kenley dressed as a total slut, Korto in cowboy boots and Leanne do a “hip hop move” at the end of the runway makes this the best episode of all time. (Oh and did anyone else totally see Jerell’s junk in those pants?!)

Yes, I am including every single season. Even the whole “Andre, let’s go to Red Lobster” sitch.

Anyways, the judges (including LL Cool J…who totally put Kenley in her place…and is so effing hot) deliberated and crowned Korto’s punk design for Suede as the winning look.

Yayyy Korto!

The bottom 2 were Kenley and Suede. According to Heidi (and her terrible metaphor), Suede stayed too safe: “You could have turned up the volume but you stayed silent.” Get it? Cuz he was designing a rock and roll look? Heidi is so clever!

So, Suede was sent home. Wearing metallic green eyeshadow.

That’s just wackadoodle!

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