spirit of apollo yo...

what do over 40 different artists ranging from Tom Waits to Ol' Dirty Bastard have in common? specifically what do Kanye West, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Karen O (Yeah Yeah Yeahs), David Byrne (Talking Heads), RZA, Lykke Li, George Clinton, Method Man, Tom Waits, M.I.A., Chuck D, E-40, KRS-One, Sizzla, Lovefoxxx (CSS), Del tha Funkee Homosapien, Fatlip (Pharcyde), Slim Kid Tre (Pharcyde), Chali 2na (Jurassic 5), John Frusciante, Nina Persson (Cardigans), Gift of Gab (Blackalicious), Spank Rock, DJ AM, The Cool Kids, Seu Jorge, Kool Keith, Ghostface Killah, Scarface, Z-Trip, DJ Swamp, Barbie Hatch, Amanda Blank, Santogold, Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs), Kool Kojak, DJ Babão, DJ Qbert, Ras Congo among a few others have in common?

A crazy musical collaboration project called N.A.S.A. that's what.

N.A.S.A.'s spirit of apollo album released a little over a year ago, so it's nothing super new. however, it's definitely worth bumping to the top of your playlist if you haven't listened to it recently, or acquiring it if you're a slacker.

I play at least one track off of it on any given friday night FUNK'd and happened to give the whole album another play through today while working away. dag. nearly every track is crazy good. i think spacious thoughts (with Tom Waits and Kook Keith) is the only track i don't like. i'm not a big Tom Waits fan, but it is interesting to hear him growl over Kool Keith.

in case you are in fact a slacker, N.A.S.A. stands for North America South America and is the creation of Sam "Squeak E. Clean" Spiegel of North America and Ze "DJ Zegon" Gonzales' of South America. as Sam Spiegel is the brother of this movie maker guy named Spike Jonze (born Adam Spiegel), you can imagine the videos were pretty creative. here's a few of my favs...

gifted - N.A.S.A. (featuring Kanye West, Santogold, & Lykke Li)

money - N.A.S.A. (featuring. David Byrne, Chuck D, Ras Congo, Seu Jorge, & Z-Trip)

hip-hop - N.A.S.A. (featuring KRS-One, Fatlip, & Slim Kid Tre)

way down - N.A.S.A. (featuring RZA, Barbie Hatch, & John Frusciante)