Steady taking advantage of the new world music has entered, Radiohead is throwing a remix competition for the release of their new single, "Naked." These are Culture System’s top choices.

By: Forced Movement

By: We Plants Are Happy Plants

These two selections were chosen from a review of nearly 200 entries out of the 650 entries currently submitted. (That number grew to 670 by the time CS was finished reviewing them.) Both deserve to make it to an actual "Naked" RMX release. After the jump, listen to some more notable mentions.

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Finding and spreading music hidden under the radar is a big reason Culture System exists. That’s probably why I was so excited to come across NozeBleed. If ever there were a sound that defined a genre, NozeBleed would do that for trip hop.

Homeboy’s album, Romantics of the Rhino, is probably equal to the overall body of work by RJD2, Shadow, or Prefuse - if not better. Problem is, it lacks any of the obvious hits or standout tracks that attributed to those artists. Not to be misunderstood: this album hits the spot, and I love to listen to it while I work. But it just never reaches that level of intricacy which would merit a long sit down where listening is the main activity.

Still, in a world where anybody can distribute their shit, and we’re not dependent on huge distribution systems, my man’s work should shine a little. When the dust from the digital revolution settles (as geeky as that sounds), hopefully dudes like this will be able to afford the entire alphabet for their soup. And maybe billion dollar, blockbusting, baby dropping Britneys wont exist either.

Anyway, I got a couple MP3’s here. These are two of the best songs off the Rhino joint.

"We Are Starbound"

"Pumpin’ Like Reeboks"

Originally hailing from the New York graf scene, Busy Bisc 1 has chosen the mic as his weapon of choice as of late. And this here cut, "Heavy Metal", is one of his best joints to date, possibly challenging some of his graffiti. "Heavy Metal", part of his free Stay Up Project, takes on the subject of guns. While Bisc is often on the stream of consciousness, inter galactic tip, his subject matter is consistent through this whole song. And the lyrics don’t glorify weapons, either, but  simply tell a story about what can happen when younger cats get a hold of one. The delivery is nasty, and the beats are hard as hell (true to the title, it samples a heavy metal riff). It’s even got the perfect "Tonz O’ Gunz" sample. 

Bisc 1, "Heavy Metal", The Stay Up Project

Emancipator

By using music with a rep for being more uplifting and sometimes ethereal like M83 and Sigur Ros, and mashing them up with artists like Mobb Deep and Three Six Mafia, Emancipator has developed an interesting flavor. The combinations lend a woefulness to a genre that is sometimes criticized as glamorizing violence and corruption. The mixes take the subject matter out of context and seem to lament the deplorable state of affairs articulated by the emcees.

No MP3’s. Sorry. Peep his MySpace page, and listen to "M836Mafia" and "Shook."

Emancipator’s unsigned, too.

B. Chen

While much of B. Chen’s music is ensconced in the 8-bit style of 80’s video games, his innovative use of the primitive electronic sounds, and his addition of piano and synth melodies, allows for more complexity and a depth of mood that keeps his songs interesting.

Chen - who’s alias is a shortening of his given name, Brandon Chen - is woefully under acknowledged by music heads at large. He boasts no label, and his MySpace profile clocks barely over a hundred views. But if talent means anything, he deserves more exposure than many of his more accoladed counterparts in the industry that have garnered attention for much, much less.

In the midst of working on an EP, the four songs currently on his profile are all worthwhile.

With a consistently nasty rhythm that’ll keep the head nodders happy, he rocks a pallet of longish melodies that are introduced as solos one after the other. While they get reused within the same song a little to often, he waits long enough to reintroduce them to ward of the repetitiveness that would otherwise ensue. Also, he layers them over one another so creatively that the act itself is interesting enough.

The songs possess a range of atmospheres that will keep anybody from tiring of his style. From the thoroughly 8-Bit, almost silly, “Dancing Squirrels” instrumental (made for his collaborative effort, The Bobby Brown), to the loungy, contemplative “Detour,” to the bouncy, up-rock-able “Etc.,” B. Chen keeps it movin.

Maybe he’ll put them up for sale on his MySpace pages eventually, but for now, they’re free. So show him some love and download them.

MYSPACE Profile: E. Victor

When I found this dude’s profile, I decided MySpace was worthwhile. I was randomly searching through the music database, and there it was: this profile that had maybe a hundred views, no label (at the time), and came out of Omaha, Nebraska (which apparently has a strong and progressive art scene, including graffiti.)

Make no mistake, this is high quality music. Every song on the profile is good.

A lot of it is like listening to the movie “The Terminator” interpreted through music, although it keeps a positive outlook, nonetheless.

“Blackshoe” is a “Verbal”-like song, that takes hip hop lyrics, and jumbles them all up so they become unintelligible, but keeps their musical quality intact. The beat is great, and it shuffles through a small library of samples and sounds, avoiding the monotonous, loopy quality of the lazy, beat stealing style of most hip hop. This song is like listening to a good rap cut without quarreling over the lyrics.

The only problem I have with E. Victor is the lead and end of “Symphonic Blank Stare.” The song begins with an apocalyptic sounding omen of war, but the rest of the song is summery in nature - except for the ending, which brings back the intro. It just seemed a bit unrelated to the rest of the song, which is great on its own.