Song: “This Time (I’m Gonna Try It My Way)”

I have to work late tonight, so I thought I’d take this moment to put on my headphones, pour a glass of wine and let the latest DJ Shadow album create the ambient beats that’ll keep me writing, my head floating away into different worlds.

But, um. DJ Shadow’s changed.

After the blockbuster-trailer sounding intro (skits and chattiness… why they’re so important to rap albums, I’ll never understand), “This Time,” is great, sounding like a song you heard a long time ago.

And since then, I’ve been listening to rap. Kind of clunky, loud, beeping-clangy-cowbell-happy rap. According to this, if I hang with it, I’ll hear a few things that remind me of why I like DJ Shadow, and particularly his work with UNKLE, but right now I’m listening to a song about enemies, and some kind of “acting” in the background where people are shooting at each other and cops are coming and…I’m going to have to move on to a different cd I bought on New Music Tuesday, because this one isn’t going to help me get any work done.”DJ Shadow up in this motherfucker”? Really? This is what happens after “Rabbit In Your Headlights”? I’m so confused. DJ Shadow got all dirrrty, and it’s killing my writing buzz. I’ll have to save this one for a late night in the car when it’s raining and I want to do an angry drive home. But for tonight, in order to get my work done, I might have to resort to Radiohead again.

Oh, man. Track 7: Sound bites from Katrina. That’s it. Eject.