New CDs: Bun B, Flobots, Abigail Washburn, Danielia Cotton

Bun B

"II Trill" (Rap-A-Lot/Asylum)

* * * 1/2





IN THE months since the death of rapper Pimp C, Bun B, his partner in the legendary Southern rap group UGK, has popped up on nearly every high-profile remix to hit the Internet, with each of his verses topping the last. The tragedy has seemingly spurred the veteran Houston rapper to new heights, and his second solo album finds him continuing this ascent.

The majority of "II Trill" may have been completed when Pimp C suddenly died in December, but his presence still hangs heavily over the album. From the "R.I.P. Pimp Cs" shouted by David Banner, Rick Ross and 8-Ball & MJG to "Angel in the Sky," Bun B's eloquent lament to his comrade, the ghost of the late Chad Butler, feels ubiquitous. Bun B even includes one of UGK's last tracks, "Underground Thang," and it's one of their best.

Plagued by more than just the loss of his partner, the 35-year-old Bun B sounds a weary and disillusioned note, using "Get Cha' Issue" to call out faux-spiritual hypocrites, police brutality and more, before launching into a powerful third verse in which he denounces the White House's deception in Iraq, Congress members who flip-flopped on their war votes and the Larry Craig scandal.

In "If It Was Up to Me," he indicts inequities in the educational system, lead-based paint, asbestos in project housing and local politicians beholden to shady developers. Careful to balance his social protests with levity, Bun B enlists Lupe Fiasco for "Swang on 'Em," a bass-heavy, hydraulic hop tailor-made to catapult out of sub-woofers all summer long.

Bun B's second solo record is an impressive late-career triumph, one with a poignancy and resonance worthy of his dedication and devotion to the memory of his departed friend.

--

Jeff Weiss

What an ideal time to fight

Flobots

"Fight With Tools" (Universal Republic)

* * 1/2

YOU MIGHT not guess it from its hit single "Handlebars," but this Denver band is a sort of Rage Against the Machine on a Rocky Mountain high. Or maybe a Linkin Park as an acoustic jam band.

"There is a war going on for your mind," the Flobots declare in the opening words of "Fight With Tools," an album that they put out independently last year and that gets a major-label release today. That proposition introduces a focused flip-book of progressive-leaning issues: corporate greed, Guantanamo, the Iraq war, globalization, racism, government-sanctioned assassination, the plight of the powerless.

The list goes on, and on, but the Flobots find some fresh and educational territory, such as a tribute to the late Anne Braden, a Southern white who led the fight against segregation.

They serve it up in a style that touches on underground hip-hop and hippie funk, boho jazz and folky grooves. "Mayday!!!," with its alternating rapped and sung sections, sounds like an organic Linkin Park, with Mackenzie Roberts' viola in place of the heavy sampling. In "Handlebars," their breakthrough track, they build up the force and tension as they describe the fine line between noble achievement and dangerous power.

Overall, the music on "Fight With Tools" is a little loose-limbed and light in touch to deliver the artillery with Rage Against the Machine impact, but the sentiments are strong, smart and sincere. And of course election year is an ideal time for a little good-hearted subversion.

--

Vegastar

   
Artist: Vegastar

   Genre(s): 
Other
   Metal
   

---

Discography:


   
 Un Nouvel Orage

   Year: 2005   
Tracks: 12


   
 Ep Cd 5 Titres

   Year: 2004   
Tracks: 11


   
 Album LP

   Year: 2004   
Tracks: 11

---

 

THE FILTER: A Personalized Online Discovery System To Enter Private Beta on April 15th

THE FILTER: A Personalized Online Discovery System To Enter Private Beta on April 15th

Imaginativeness of Grammy Award-Winning Creative person & Digital Media Initiate Saint Peter
Gabriel, Technology Available as Personal Breakthrough Site and Patrick Victor Martindale White Pronounce
Result for Substance Partners

Tub, England, April 15 -- The Sink in, the vision of Cock
Gabriel, the Grammy award-winning artist and digital media pioneer, will
infix buck private beta today and transform the online find experience as
it filters the earthly concern of online entertainment and information and
personalizes it for apiece individual user. The Permeate provides a holistic
approach to filtering out irrelevant content and only filtering in capacity
that reflects an individual's tastes and moods through unique algorithms,
crossways entertainment media, including music, film, amusement news and
TV. In addition to launching as a consumer amusement get at
hypertext transfer protocol://www.thefilter.com, The Strain testament also provide white label and co-branded
solutions for message partners quest to better match their armory of
content to their visitors' tastes.

"We believe one of the many joys of the internet would be freedom of
choice, just many of us are straight off drowning in an ocean of options. An
intelligent filtrate stool take away the essence and tedium of pick and have us
what we desire and want with plenty of exploration and discovery. The Permeate
is a smartness on-line comrade -- once it knows you, your tastes and your
moods, it can buoy disclose treasure for you every metre," claims Peter Gabriel,
the music industry legend whose digital artistry has lED to about of the
first online media solutions.

The Filter's Unique Algorithmic rule

The Filter's core is a recommendation and discovery engine derived from
a branch of Artificial News, called Bayesian math.
Simplistically, the engine uses an evidence model (which includes purchase,
use of goods and services and browse data) to derive the similarity of items. When The
Filter's engine is supplied with unity or to a greater extent items of interest, such as a
sung, actor, film or web video, it delivers a pick-list of items that are
statistically relevant by decree of probability. The Trickle is unlike most
tools, withal, that merely interpret a altogether pick-list of recommendations.
Instead, the pick-list is federal Reserve through a number of filters to present the
customized recommendations. The Separate out and so incorporates simple filters to
prejudice results by personal discernment, popularity, eRA, or genre. More complex
filters lavatory besides be applied to catch climate, the influence of friends,
third gear party experts or reviewers.

"The Trickle aims to be the charles Herbert Best possible blend of world and machine -- a
hybrid locomotive that filters wholly amusement capacity to one's have personal
tasting," says Steve Martin Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins, a cofounder and CSO of The Filter.

The Filtrate for consumers

Users wHO visit hTTP://www.thefilter.com will be able to aggregate their
medicine, film, and amusement RSS feeds, and then utilize the dynamic
filtering system of rules to optimize their digital libraries by discovering a
greater concentration of relevant cognitive content. Users will be able to build
their digital libraries based on The Filter's rendition of their
tastes and moods. The Filtrate will not hold finish content merely rather
will cater samples with links to subject sites, such as iTunes and
Netflix, so if a vocal is recommended, a sampling will be available only the
drug user will make to contact to the actual iTunes or Netflix site to download the
song or order a plastic film.

The Percolate will also launch with a mixer facet that will enable
customers to utilize another user's Filter to take recommendations in
genres that they are not familiar with for the benefit of exploration
outside one's comfort zone. For illustration, if a user wants to buy a birthday
gift for his girl, he can access code his daughter's shared Filter to catch a
testimonial of a fresh book from what is essentially her personal online
assistant.

"The Filter's ability to interpret a person's tastes and personality
makes it a breakthrough solution for individuals struggling to virginia Wade through
the enormous sum of info online," said David Maher Richard J. Roberts, Chief executive officer
of The Sink in. "No one else toilet aggregate customized content across
multiple entertainment platforms the way The Dribble tooshie, and we carry it
will establish the online go through far more enjoyable for entirely world Health Organization exercise it."

The Filtrate for Strategic Partners

The Sink in provides an unparalleled solution for content partners
seeking to maximize their inventory by matching more cognitive content to their
customer's tastes and moods.

"Online inventory of digital content simply keeps on growing, patch our
electronic computer screens and attention spans stay the saami, so only adding
inventory volition not lead to increased sales and traffic," continues David
Maher Roberts. "The Filter's advanced personalized filtering tools testament
help capacity businesses increase their gross sales and online activity by simply
ensuring that every inch of screen space is targeted and personalized for
for each one somebody."

The Filter ab initio launched in the UK only as a downloadable
playlist almighty and music discovery lotion, and has too been
provision recommendations for Nokia, MSN and The Ministry of Sound's online
stores. The Filter was successful in attracting all over 200,000 customers, 40%
of which came from the US in its outset year as a free download.

The Team Behind The Trickle

The Filter was developed and founded by Martin Sir Anthony Hopkins and Rhett Ryder
in Bath, England. David Maher Richard John Roberts, a fresh media and marketing expert world Health Organization
came on board as CEO last light pursual a career in digital publishing,
joined CMO Andy Semple, a former theater director at Dennis Iraqi National Congress. and Future plc.
The Filtrate is backed by Simon Peter Gabriel's Real Reality Grouping and Garden of Eden Ventures.
$8.5 million has been invested in the venture to day of the month.

Nigh The Filter

The Filter is a personalized content filtering system that aggregates
amusement and info and connects users to content that reflects
their tastes and moods. The developers behind The Permeate are world leadership
Brits software system company Exabre. They are backed by high profile investors,
including St. Peter Gabriel's Real Man Mathematical group and Eden Ventures.

The Trickle has been downloaded in 164 countries. Its database presently
includes over 5m songs, 330k movies and more than 50m soul purchases
and playlists.


The Filter works by using Bayesian maths. It was developed by Martin
Anthony Hopkins, a physicist world Health Organization was struggling to wield his ontogeny digital medicine
collection.

Contact: Rachel Carr/Debra Duffy
Dan Klores Communication theory
Rachel_carr@dkcnews.com/debra_duffy@dkcnews.com
212.685.4300