Blount Harvey: "Live at The Station"

If you haven't been to a Blount Harvey show yet, well, first of all you need to go.

And while you're there, pick up their latest CD so you can relive the night while you wait in traffic or hang around the ECU tailgating lots this fall.

The largest band in town with a total of nine musicians — possibly the state — has just released a very-well put together album from a show they played at The Outer Banks Brewing Station in Kill Devil Hills.

With crowd cheering in the background, "The Station" gives you a taste of how seamlessly each member's talents meld together. MadShah-rhodes on the organ, Rudolph Lyrics rhyming, Lady Bri's stellar vocals, Nigel Cheeks on guitar, JohnBeez on the turntables, illWill drumming, Johnathan Caison on the trumpet, Pablo Nieves with the trombone and Ben Sparrow on the saxophone create collaborations of everything fun about hip-hop and R&B.

From beginning to end you may find yourself involuntarily head-bobbing.

Plus — and I speak from experience — Blount Harvey's music is the kind that can pick you up out on any emotional slump. And who doesn't love happy music?

mixer pick: "Tighten Up."

Camper Van Beethoven: "Popular Songs of Great Enduring Strength and Beauty"

Camper Van Beethoven's been around since the mid-'80s and have managed to remain the national music scene while keeping out of the mainstream the whole time.

Their latest release is their own version of a "Best of" CD, and a nice introduction to anyone who hasn't heard the alt-rock's off-the-wall lyricism over pop/ska/country/punk mixes before.

Throughout the compilation, you can picture them sitting around a smoky room writing down whatever happens to cross their minds and making it into a song. Such as, "There's not a line here that rhymes with anything" from "Take the Skin Heads Bowling" and, in the same song, "I had a dream I wanted to lick your knees."

Talk about imagery.

With song titles like "ZZtop Goes to Egypt," "Skinhead Stomp" and "The Day Lassie Went to the Moon," you know you're in for a trippy time.

mixer pick: "Opie Rides Again/Club Med Sucks."

Contact Kristin Day at 329-9579 or kday@coxnc.com.