Travis Morrison

Apparently Dismemberment Plan dude Travis Morrison once had another band called the Hellfluffers or something, and they had a song called "Moneytown" that could only be heard by people with cameraphones. Not for long! When Bad Friend Records puts out its retrospective Travis Morrison Hellfighters 7-inch, the original version of "Moneytown" will be the bonus download. You will not need a record player or a cameraphone to hear it. Also platform-agnostic is this dapper remix of "Moneytown" by Gavin Holland, a D.C. politician who is much better known as a disc jockey. Morrison's lyrics ("Credit cards bury the old/Sailboats glide on lakes of gold") are clunky, and his vocal performance is somewhat zany (natch), but Holland's mix pulls out the words and envelopes them in a pure dancepop context, which makes everything seem aesthetically sensible. (Same universe: "Buffalo Gals," "Puttin' On The Ritz," "Don't Fucking Tell Me What To Do.") And now that *everybody* is poor, the song gains a whiff of irony. That's entertainment!

VIDEO: "Don't Text Me," Boobe co-starring Da'Livia , Directed by DJ J-Scrilla and Chop N Shoot Films

MIXTAPE: Boobe Trap Gangsta Grillz Edition (Hosted by DJ Drama) on Oy Boyz Recordz

Update: I asked Hawkins for any extra information he could provide about the Qwartz awards. Here's what he sent:

I'm not entirely clear on the details myself, but it looks like the entire event covers three days and includes awards-presentation, live performances and a marketplace for labels & musicians to sell wares, network, etc. There are some youtube clips online of previous Qwartz events and it looks incredible.

Hawkins added that the nomination gives him and Jeff Surak—who performs as Violet and also founded Zeromoon Records, which released Negative Space—"a fine excuse to bring the gear and do a mini Euro-tour ... It would be my first time playing over there, so it's great fun."

... a couple of things contributed to me leaving. I don't think we were on the same page as far as goals, and I feel like communication could have been a lot better. I just felt like it was time to move on. And luckily I was blessed with some major offers as far as bands. Of course in the end I chose RE (Rare Essence).

Cal, who lately has been pushing his rap ghostwriting enterprise, Rhymesolvers Unit, says he sees himself as a "missing piece" for Rare Essence—which is probably more a comment on where RE wants to go, and not where it's been already. (There's video of Cal's first official gig with RE, and an iTunes single.)

Y'know how Prince occasionally veers toward self-parody, and nobody is sure if it's intentional, so the default response is, "It's still motherfucking Prince, so shut up," and then everybody goes back to enjoying Prince? That's kind of what this is like, except Wes Anderson is not Prince.

I think producers in the DMV have the skill and talent to produce for anyone in the industry. The DMV is often overlooked when it comes to creating music. This area is known to the majors as a big music consumer area. You can count on one hand the number of artists that have achieved major label status. But its just not about getting on a major. The producers I hand-picked for the project care about the music that represents them. Quality over quantity. You look at any terrestrial radio best MC poll, and you will never hear Oddisee, yU, Kaimbr, Kenn Starr or XO mentioned. We have a long way to if the people here don't know who we are. I picked Ghostface because he is undoubtedly one of the best MCs at picking good beats. Almost every producer shared the same sentiments. The producers on the project are by no means the only talented producers in the area. Some were busy and couldn't make the cutoff date in time. The project was created for two reasons: To showcase the producer talent in the D.C. area and to hopefully have Ghost hear the project and want to rhyme over every track!

Mims also runs Digital Hustle Films, which has shot a lot of DMV-related footage over the past few years.

1. SmCity featuring Pro'verb, "My Own Boss"
Of all the rap videos that prominently feature Malcolm X imagery, at least 99 percent are sincere.

2. Young Sir, "Don't Stop"
Back-alley cinematography. Humble body language. A midsong work-ethic monologue. A Ben's shot.

3. Phil Adé feat. Casey Veggies "P.O.P. Music (Paper Over Pussy)"
FACT: You might say that you put money ahead of sex, but sooner or later sex is gonna work its way back to the top of the priority list.

4. Laelo featuring Paradise, "Fly With Me"
Frank Sinatra was on the "Come Fly With Me" tip like 50 years ago. Oh wait, this song is about weed.

5. Luegar, "The New DC"
His shirt says "Captain Kirk." The ladies' shirts say "Goony Girls." He calls himself a warlock. It's all good, though.

6. Garvey The Chosen One,  "Beat It Like A Dog"
The outtakes from this shoot are probably hilarious.

HO HO WHO: A helium-voiced synth-pop outsider with a remarkably well-footnoted Wikipedia page.

THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING: Y'know how the American spirit encourages creativity, spontaneity and individualism? Well, sometimes those conditions foster genius. And sometimes we get a UFO Phil.

TRANQUILITY DEBASED: The core narrative of "Christmas on the Moon" is that Neil Armstrong crushed a tiny civilization of moon people with his first step onto the lunar surface. There are many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many holes in this story, even if Phil intends it to be a casual parable and not an airtight* work of fiction. In the end, he only has enough time to address a single inconsistency. According to Phil, although the first moon landing was in July of 1969, the moon people actually were celebrating Christmas then because of the "time difference" between the earth and the moon. Put that in your Carl Sagan bong and smoke it, kids!

CHEER FACTOR: 3/10. Rush should totally cover this song. Rush should cover every UFO Phil song.

* SPACE-TRAVEL PUN!

HO HO WHO: Some of the most highly regarded smart guys in D.C.'s indie-pop underground, The Caribbean. "What Child Is This" is their contribution to the never ending beginning, the free 2011 Christmas compilation by their label, Hometapes.

WHAT THE HELL IS THAT? Why, it's a complete reworking of the beloved 19th century English hymn by William Chatterton Dix. The Caribbean chops out several chunks of Dix's original text and nixes the original "Greensleeves" melody. But there's still plenty of reverence in the mix: Matthew Byars' monotone vocals are almost meditative, and the music—a repetitive acoustic-guitar riff, some abstract percussion, a few well-placed vocal overdubs—is sneakily majestic.

EASTBOUND AND DOWN: This ain't the spear-pierced Christ or the King of Kings enthroned; it's a fragile newborn in a dusty, cold, windswept Middle Eastern manger. Some long nights are ahead—as well as two millennia of cultural ascendancy on earth, filtered through the flaws of mankind. Maybe that's why it sounds a little ominous, too?

CHEER FACTOR: 8/10. The best "What Child Is This" remake since the one by The Wonderful World of Joey.

The Caribbean, "What Child Is This?"