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1. Redskins, “Kick Over the Statues!” Socialist party music from 1986, and note that I didn’t capitalize the “p” in “party.” Yeah, the idea of setting Trotsky boilerplate to music sounds like a swift dash to Boredomland, but “Kick Over the Statues!” is some furious, horn-fueled soul-punk action. This was from their only album, Neither Washington Nor Moscow. The Redskins promptly broke up after its release, but it’s worth the time and energy to find it.

2. Isobel Campbell, “Over the Wheat and Barley.”

3. Emiliana Torrini, “Serenade.”

4. Josh Rouse and Paz Suay, “The Ocean Always Wins.” This is from Rouse’s EP from early last year, She’s Spanish, I’m American, recorded with his girlfriend using GarageBand loops as the basis for the songs. Oddly enough, it doesn’t not sound nearly as artificial as all that, and Rouse should get the lead-off track, “Car Crash,” some more exposure — great, big and beautiful.

5. Kasabian, “Processed Beats.”

6. Hey Willpower and Annie, “Chewing Gum.”

7. Ian Dury and the Blockheads, “Clevor Trever.”

8. Midlake, “Branches.”

9. Eric Matthews, “Lust Takes Time.”

10. Black Kids, “I’m Not Going to Teach My Boyfriend How to Dance With You.” Fans of The Go! Team should be all over this: pure lo-fi beauty from a Jacksonville, Fla. band that sounds like they grew up digging the Northern Soul in old Blighty. So far, they only have an EP out, Wizard of Ahhs, and it’s free at BlackKidsMusic.com.

Nothing satisfies quite like a raw feed from a mundane moment in history. In this case, a random posting from the excellent music blog Idolator sent me into a three-hour fugue state.

An early MTV viewer with fastidious and deeply geeky archiving tendencies recorded three hours of footage from the music video network — with commercials — in 1983, and apparently preserved his VHS or Beta tape with quality standards worthy of a museum. It is now lodged in Google Video for viewing by incredulous future generations.

It is a safe bet that I was there during those three hours, splayed in front of the old Sony Trinitron with a bowl of chips balanced on my bony chest, mainly because MTV arrived just in time to help chart my course. If I had a free minute back then, the old plastic switchbox from Green Country Cable got switched to Channel 26, provided there wasn’t an R-rated movie playing on The Movie Channel.

So watching 25-year-old footage from a station that continues to exist in name only triggered some long-dormant sense memories: I seemed to know too well which clip of a horrid soft-rock hit was coming up next on an ad for Sessions Records’ not-available-in-stores “Greatest Hits Album,” and did not need to be told why Safeguard is “the smallest soap in the house.” I could call out the shots on Huey Lewis and the News’ “Heart and Soul” video as if I had personally drawn up the storyboard. Sick.

But here are a few artifacts dredged up by this video journey that even the sharpest mind is unlikely to recall.

The short-lived phenomenon that was 1-800-HOT-ROCK. I’m certain that even back in 1983, that sounded like porn. “Now, you can buy the hottest records and tapes anytime, just by calling 1-800-HOT-ROCK,” the announcer promises while flogging the second
Asia album for $6.99. That wasn’t even a bargain back then.

The Police’s Syncronicity Tour was sponsored by Cambridge Cologne. Original MTV VJ Mark Goodman announces this before dates start scrolling, including a Nov. 20, 1983 concert at the Myriad. You could also buy an exclusive MTV/Police tour shirt for $12. A quarter-century later, the Police are back, but you cannot smell like their sponsor anymore.

It was possible to have an “Almost All-Genesis Weekend” without it being an intentional joke. Yes, MTV played a Genesis concert on Saturday, then a Phil Collins special on Sunday. And when that was announced, that probably sounded awesome to a teenager with questionable social skills and no car.

You could see a Bow Wow Wow video directly after a Quiet Riot video. It’s as magical as it sounds.

But the most profound realization that came out of my 1983 immersion is how ridiculous the concept of “MTV editing” seems today. In those days, sociologists and media analysts would wring their hands over attenuated attention spans brought on by flashy jump-cuts.

Well, having just let the doors fly open on my Delorean, I’m back to tell you that original MTV feels like a Terrence Malick film compared to what we see today. This was a slow three hours, and with their laissez faire, anything goes delivery, Goodman and Martha Quinn would not qualify for current MTV duty. With that slow attitude, they probably wouldn’t be allowed in Manhattan, much less the Times Square studio.

But this extended video is absolutely worth the trip. In MTV’s mythology and VH1’s “I Love the ‘80s,” the images and ideas of the time have been filtered and processed through today’s snarky historical revisionism. To understand what it was really like, it’s best to go back there yourself.

Music lovers, welcome to the Wild West. Yes, the future of the record business could be a post-apocalyptic “Road Warrior” landscape where musicians “shoot” first and ask questions later. And the beautiful thing about such a breakdown in the system is that we’re going to hear some amazing music emanating from the rubble.

All this comes to mind because of Rhymefest. On his amazing “Man in the Mirror,” a free “dedication album” that at press time was available at his Rhymefeststore, the Chicago rapper tells lucky downloaders that “labels is falling in the streets.” But that attitude is probably the least remarkable element of “Man in the Mirror.” Chiefly, this is art made purely for art’s sake, a sly tribute to Michael Jackson that derives its energy from the sheer joy of creation, unsullied by red tape and market concerns.

“Man in the Mirror” could not be more unauthorized. Rhymefest, producer Mark Ronson and guests including Talib Kweli, Ghostface Killah and singer Daniel Merriwether crafted a touching, hilarious and refreshingly rebellious album built around classic Jacko songs, recorded interviews with the singer and bootlegged outtakes from the “Thriller” sessions. Getting clearance for these samples would take years, if they happened at all, and the clock is ticking — authorities could shut down this joint like a Chicago speakeasy at any moment.

The magically carefree tone is set with the opening track, “Cipher,” featuring Jackson beat-boxing on a static-filled recording with Rhymefest, complete with “hee-hees” and rhythmic glottal stops. The “Thriller Skit,” featuring obscure recordings of Jackson recording voiceovers for his biggest album, segues into some hot mid-’70s Jackson 5 grooves rapped over by ‘Fest and worked over by Ronson, the producer behind Lily Allen’s “Alright, Still” and Amy Winehouse’s “Back to Black.”

It’s anyone’s guess where Rhymefest and Ronson got some of these dialogue snippets and loose tracks — archivists who hear this tribute must be salivating. But “Man in the Mirror” is important because it could be the shape of things to come.

Rhymefest’s 2006 disc “Blue Collar” only moved modest numbers, so what is a rapper to do when his completed second disc, “El Che,” gets delayed by J Records and, as he raps on “Breakadawn,” it’s not going to be available until “spring or summer, or whenever J Records gets that thing together”? Simple — you go renegade and release your own thing.

The most obvious historical predecessor is Danger Mouse’s “The Grey Album,” a disc that took samples from The Beatles’ “White Album” and mixed them with raps from Jay-Z’s “Black Album.” Cease-and-desist letters shut down the collection, but not before it was downloaded millions of times and established Danger Mouse as a superstar producer. With those kinds of stories in the pop music history books, Rhymefest’s move makes solid sense. Not only could he put rocket boosters under his career, but he’s also created a stone-cold underground classic. If “Man in the Mirror” represents a lawless future for music, well, viva anarchy.

David Lee Roth flies the flag Tuesday night at the Ford Center. (photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman) 

From the moment David Lee Roth appeared at the top of a giant runway that snaked through the Ford Center audience Tuesday night, he wore the one thing that told every Van Halen fan that everything was right with the world. It was a maniacal Cheshire cat smile announcing happiness and enthusiasm that cannot be faked. Not only was the old band back together, it was thriving.

Roth’s smile spread like a contagion and did not go away for well over two hours as he and Eddie, Alex and Wolfgang Van Halen put shock paddles on the band’s 1978-84 catalog and jolted it back to life. Michael Anthony’s absence on bass could not be avoided, but as Roth announced after tearing through “You Really Got Me” and “I’m the One,” this was a line-up that was “three quarters original, one quarter inevitable.”

Wolfgang, 16, was born squarely in the Sammy Hagar era, but he did what he was supposed to do: he held the bottom down, blowing out the thunderous bass and singing the high harmonies that all those classics required. His father, Eddie, looked and sounded thoroughly rejuvenated on “Runnin’ With the Devil” and “Somebody Get Me a Doctor” — any reported deficiencies from late-period “Van Hagar” shows could not be heard this time around.

The big lovefest just kept coming: “Beautiful Girls,” “Dance the Night Away,” “Everybody Wants Some,” “So This is Love?” and “Mean Street” were all played enthusiastically and sung back to the band by the capacity crowd. All the while, Roth harpooned the air with his mike stand and strutted like a proud rock peacock.

Van Halen barreled through a slew of classics, including “Unchained,” “I’ll Wait,” “Little Guitars” and “Jamie’s Cryin’.” Then Roth, wearing a matador jacket, tight pants and that wicked smile, took the stage solo with an acoustic guitar, told a story about bicycling around Oklahoma City on the band’s first visit in 1977 before launching into an August-hot version of “Ice Cream Man.” The crowd went bonkers for “Panama,” an extended version of “Eruption” and “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” before the band left the stage, readying their final leap.

Everyone knew what it would be, but it didn’t make it any less special. As the opening synths from “1984” played, Roth appeared at the top of the catwalk, brandishing a giant red flag as the chords to “Jump” hit the air. Confetti blew out of the ceiling as Roth bellowed the band’s biggest pop hit, performed his signature roundhouse kicks and stalked the stage wearing a spangled captain’s hat, reveling in the moment.

As the crowd left, many were still wearing big smiles borrowed from Diamond Dave. Older and having lived through breakups, recrimination and disappointment, Van Halen was not the same band that they were in 1978, but they were exactly the band they wanted and needed to be in 2008.

1. Lush featuring Jarvis Cocker, “Ciao!” One of the great, nasty kiss-off songs of all time. As Sound Opinions said in a recent “Desert Island” tribute, Lush was a first-rate 4AD shoegazer band, but by the time of 1996’s Love Life, the group had almost completely abandoned its My Bloody Valentine-isms in favor of direct Brit-pop. Arguably, they were better for it, and “Ciao!” “Ladykillers” and “500″ were some of the best on the disc. Not long after the release of Love Life, drummer Chris Aclund hanged himself, and the band split up immediately. Singer Miki Berenyi left music altogether and went to work for the BBC.  

2. Justice, “D.A.N.C.E.”

3. Simian, “Over the Hills.”

4. Miles Davis, “Jeru.”

5. Basia Bulat, “In the Night.” This would sound almost campfire folky if it weren’t for the odd autoharp strumming over the top and the big drums. Bulat is part of the family of eccentric Canadians that gave us Arcade Fire, but much, much happier. Win Butler would bust a blood vessel if he smiled this big. See the video here.

6. Liam Finn, “I’ll Be Lightning.”

7. Lupe Fiasco, “Superstar.”

8. Graham Parker, “Local Girls.”

9. TV On the Radio, “Things You Can Do.”

10. Rhymefest, “No Sunshine.” This is from the completely unauthorized, download-only album Man in the Mirror from the Chicago emcee, which is available for free at Rhymefest’s Web site here. It’s amazing fun, and I’ll be writing more about this great little act of rebellious semi-tribute tomorrow. Until then, enjoy some free music until the cease-and-desist orders arrive.

Not one we saw coming: Heath Ledger, star of “I’m Not There,” “Brokeback Mountain” and the upcoming “The Dark Knight,” in which he played the Joker, was found dead in a Manhattan apartment this morning in what police are characterizing as a possible drug-related incident. Beyond this, not much more is known, but I’ll write as soon as I learn more.

Big winners, big losers and even bigger uncertainty greeted Tuesday’s announcement of the 80th Annual Academy Awards nominations in Los Angeles. “No Country For Old Men,” “Juno,” “Michael Clayton” and “There Will Be Blood” dominated the major award categories, while few critical favorites — Josh Brolin in “No Country” and Angelina Jolie in “A Mighty Heart” – came up empty for their performances.

But the real question surrounds the fate of the awards themselves: will the Oscars even happen on Feb. 24, and if so, will it all boil down to a bare-bones press conference such as the recent scaled-down Golden Globes broadcast? The three-month-old Writers Guild of America strike could derail the traditionally glamorous, star-filled ceremony — the Screen Actors Guild has pledged solidarity with the WGA, with its members agreeing to honor any picket lines in front of the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles.

Despite the ticking clock on the Oscar situation, Bob Berney, the Oklahoma City native who is now president of Picturehouse, said he is optimistic that a deal will be in place before the red carpet is rolled out. Berney’s company distributes “La Vie En Rose,” whose star, Marion Cotillard, is nominated in the best actress category. He said that last week’s successful agreement between the Directors Guild of America and major film and television production companies bodes well for a writers’ strike resolution.

“When I was out there for the Golden Globes, it was pretty bleak generally in town,” Berney said from the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. “But since the DGA made their deal, there’s been a lot of optimism. The academy is putting on a pretty good brave face that it’s all going to happen. And I kind of feel it will. I feel better about it now.”

Gray Frederickson, the Oklahoma City-based Oscar-winning producer of “The Godfather” and “Apocalypse Now,” said he believes the writers are using the possibility of a scuttled Oscar ceremony as a bargaining chip in the negotiations.

“They are using that, I think, for leverage to get this strike settled,” Frederickson said. “The actors have already agreed to honor the picket line and not go to the Oscars if they’re still striking, so that gives them some leverage. But the producers have a little leverage in that they’ve made this agreement with the Directors Guild.”

Frederickson said that if a tentative agreement is not reached, the show still could go on with clips from films substituting for acceptance speeches. While he remains optimistic and reports of a new wave of hope throughout industry players at Sundance, Berney said that it could be an 11th hour agreement. 

“It may be kind of be down to the wire, but it feels better now, just in talking to people today and the last couple of days,” Berney said.

Complete list of 80th annual Academy Award nominations announced Tuesday:

1. Best Picture: “Atonement,” “Juno,” “Michael Clayton,” “No Country for Old Men,” “There Will Be Blood.”

2. Actor: George Clooney, “Michael Clayton”; Daniel Day-Lewis, “There Will Be Blood”; Johnny Depp, “Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street”; Tommy Lee Jones, “In the Valley of Elah”; Viggo Mortensen, “Eastern Promises.”

3. Actress: Cate Blanchett, “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”; Julie Christie, “Away From Her”; Marion Cotillard, “La Vie en Rose”; Laura Linney, “The Savages”; Ellen Page, “Juno.”

4. Supporting Actor: Casey Affleck, “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”; Javier Bardem, “No Country for Old Men”; Hal Holbrook, “Into the Wild”; Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Charlie Wilson’s War”; Tom Wilkinson, “Michael Clayton.”

5. Supporting Actress: Cate Blanchett, “I’m Not There”; Ruby Dee, “American Gangster”; Saoirse Ronan, “Atonement”; Amy Ryan, “Gone Baby Gone”; Tilda Swinton, “Michael Clayton.”

6. Director: Julian Schnabel, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”; Jason Reitman, “Juno”; Tony Gilroy, “Michael Clayton”; Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, “No Country for Old Men”; Paul Thomas Anderson, “There Will Be Blood.”

7. Foreign Film: “Beaufort,” Israel; “The Counterfeiters,” Austria; “Katyn,” Poland; “Mongol,” Kazakhstan; “12,” Russia.

8. Adapted Screenplay: Christopher Hampton, “Atonement”; Sarah Polley, “Away from Her”; Ronald Harwood, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”; Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, “No Country for Old Men”; Paul Thomas Anderson, “There Will Be Blood.”

9. Original Screenplay: Diablo Cody, “Juno”; Nancy Oliver, “Lars and the Real Girl”; Tony Gilroy, “Michael Clayton”; Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava and Jim Capobianco, “Ratatouille”; Tamara Jenkins, “The Savages.”

10. Animated Feature Film: “Persepolis”; “Ratatouille”; “Surf’s Up.”

11. Art Direction: “American Gangster,” “Atonement,” “The Golden Compass,” “Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” “There Will Be Blood.”

12. Cinematography: “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,” “Atonement,” “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” “No Country for Old Men,” “There Will Be Blood.”

13. Sound Mixing: “The Bourne Ultimatum,” “No Country for Old Men,” “Ratatouille,” “3:10 to Yuma,” “Transformers.”

14. Sound Editing: “The Bourne Ultimatum,” “No Country for Old Men,” “Ratatouille,” “There Will Be Blood,” “Transformers.”

15. Original Score: “Atonement,” Dario Marianelli; “The Kite Runner,” Alberto Iglesias; “Michael Clayton,” James Newton Howard; “Ratatouille,” Michael Giacchino; “3:10 to Yuma,” Marco Beltrami.

16. Original Song: “Falling Slowly” from “Once,” Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova; “Happy Working Song” from “Enchanted,” Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz; “Raise It Up” from “August Rush,” Nominees to be determined; “So Close” from “Enchanted,” Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz; “That’s How You Know” from “Enchanted,” Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz.

17. Costume: “Across the Universe,” “Atonement,” “Elizabeth: The Golden Age,” “La Vie en Rose,” “Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street.”

18. Documentary Feature: “No End in Sight,” “Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience,” “Sicko,” “Taxi to the Dark Side,” “War/Dance.”

19. Documentary (short subject): “Freeheld,” “La Corona (The Crown),” “Salim Baba,” “Sari’s Mother.”

20. Film Editing: “The Bourne Ultimatum,” “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” “Into the Wild,” “No Country for Old Men,” “There Will Be Blood.”

21. Makeup: “La Vie en Rose,” “Norbit,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.”

22. Animated Short Film: “I Met the Walrus,” “Madame Tutli-Putli,” “Meme Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven),” “My Love (Moya Lyubov),” “Peter & the Wolf.”

23. Live Action Short Film: “At Night,” “Il Supplente (The Substitute),” “Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets),” “Tanghi Argentini,” “The Tonto Woman.”

24. Visual Effects: “The Golden Compass,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” “Transformers.”

Shelby Lynne could not sing a dishonest syllable if she tried, but whether it’s record labels that don’t know what they’ve got or producers with misguided notions of material or arrangements, the right elements rarely come together for the countrypolitan siren. Lynne’s 10^th disc, Just a Little Lovin’, puts her emotion-drenched vocals to work on songs made famous by the late Dusty Springfield, but the music surrounding Lynne rarely matches the singer’s clear passion for the songs.

Roughly half the material on Just a Little Lovin’ appeared on Springfield’s 1969 classic, Dusty in Memphis, and the cover art echoes that vaunted blue-eyed soul landmark, as well. But the deficiencies become obvious on the opening title track: the lushness of Springfield’s original is replaced by Phil Ramone’s twilight acoustic production. Lynne brings ache and longing to the song, but it lacks the sensuality of the Memphis arrangements by Arif Mardin, Jerry Wexler and Tom Dowd.

Ramone’s approach works best on “The Look of Love” and “Anyone Who Had a Heart,” songs that generally benefit from a low-key tone. It’s not as if Lynne is averse of big production — Just a Little Lovin’ could have been transcendent if Lynne had enlisted Bill Bottrell, the gifted eccentric who produced her 2000 comeback, I Am Shelby Lynne. Ramone’s sleepy and spare arrangements could court fans of Norah Jones, but Lynne deserves to be surrounded in sounds as big as her personality. As it is, Just a Little Lovin’ is a mild affair that could have been a torrid romance.

The teaser trailer for J.J. Abrams’ “Star Trek” is up at Yahoo! Movies.

1. Jay-Z + Danger Mouse + Beatles, “Encore.” This is probably a tie with “Change Clothes” for the most astonishing recontextualization (or mash-up, if you like) of The Grey Album. The irony is that it took “Savoy Truffle” by a quartet of pasty Scouse boys to give Sean Carter’s track real soul.

2. David Holmes, “Lifting the Building.”

3. The Jam, “Eton Rifles.”

4. Stars, “Ageless Beauty.”

5. Ratatat, “Wildcat.” As near as I can tell, what is happening here is the confluence of Daft Punk roboticism with wanky ’70s guitar heroics. This alone would makes it absolutely amazing, but then the recurring sample of a tiger or some other jungle cat pushes it into absolutely amazing hilarity.

6. Radar Bros., “Papillon.”

7. Ashby, “Horizon.”

8. Pulp, “Common People.”

9. Bebel Gilberto, “Tanto Tempo.” Languid, sensual tropicalia from Joao Gilberto’s daughter. Her latest disc, 2007’s Momento, includes a collaboration with the Brazilian Girls, who are not Brazilian and only one is a girl. Discuss.

10. April March, “Laisse Tomber Le Filles.”