Up to 11: May Flowers

So there is an Imeem epidemic in which lotsa songs are getting cut down to 30 seconds in an embedded playlist. So click here to listen to the whole playlist proper. Anyways, a roughly contested playlist this month, with eight or nine very good tracks getting cut. Here's what we have for you this month:

- Ciara's Fantasy Ride is awesome. And "High Price" is in a few senses "Oh Part 2," those senses being Ludacris, the grinding machine beat, and the Atlanta reppin'. This is a Dream/Tricky production and is quiet odd, even for Ciara. A lot of it is in sung in this weird chirpy voice and the pre-chorus has what to me sound like hints of M.I.A. It's dope.

- The Future of the Left (ex-Mclusky reppin') has a new album coming out, and it fires right out of the gate with the massive "Arming Eritrea". Guitars on a rampage.

- Green Velvet drops yet another Chicago house gem with "The Case. of the Lost Jacksters". His Prince fixation is in full effect, to great effect.

- I've written about Kelly Clarkson's "I Do Not Hook Up" here, but it has to be repped for on YMD as well. King sized chorus on this one.

- Rick Ross' Deeper Than Rap is another solid LP. Rawse has somehow developed into an even more cartoonish character since his last album, but the beats are solid all the way through and, while no one's accusing him of being the GOAT, he's not a bad rapper either. The highlight though is the all-star "Maybach Music 2", with Kanye, T-Pain, and Weezy. Ye rips it, and J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League comes through with an appropriately huge beat. BAWSE!

- Redman & Method Man's forthcoming Blackout 2 has me kinda psyched, not least of all because of this recently leaked collabo with Ghost and Rae. New York/New Jersey stand up.

- You know we get excited when news of The Field making a new record comes out. Apparently Yesterday & Today is gonna be out at the end of the month, and this is the first single, "The More That I Do". Hooky, maximalist, pretty much what we expected, this really is huge, shameless, and wonderful.

- On a slightly more restrained note, I've been bouncing happily along to this new Mountain People release for the last few weeks. Could really see this going well outdoors this summer.

- New potty-mouthed Nina Sky hotness is "On Some Bullshit". Could really see this going well indoor with neon lights this summer.

- Swedish vocalist El Perro Del Mar put out a mini-LP produced by Rasmus Hägg of balearic wizards Studio and I got all excited. Then I heard it and I chilled out in the best way possible. Deep, groovy, and as emotional as you'd expect from EPdM. "L is For Love" is our choice cut here.

- Finally, something we hope to hear at this summer's P-fork Festival, the Flaming Lips doing a wonderful cover of Madonna's "Borderline" on Warner Bros' preposterously named Covered: A Revolution in Sound compilation. It brings the joy. Check the video here. Check the video.

Fill up your ears.