The fifth album from Bay Area hip-hop duo Blackalicious begins with MC Gift of Gab playing the actual role of an emcee. “We’d like to welcome you all again to the world of vibrations,” raps Gab on the opening cut, “World of Vibrations.” The track is a blissfully syncopated affair, with producer Chief Xcel serving up a relentless, piano-heavy beat to Gab, who blows it to smithereens with his astounding, triplet-heavy flow. It’s a slamming introduction that embodies everything unique and true about Blackalicious: loose, funky arrangements, intense mic skills and lyrics spiked with spiritualism, adoration of the art form, pop-culture references and some old-school egotism (remember when rappers would brag about their skills instead of their bank accounts?). And the rest of the LP doesn’t disappoint. As if previous efforts like Nia and Blazing Arrow weren’t convincing enough, The Craft is undeniable evidence that this duo is as innovative and jaw-droppingly talented as any group in all of hip-hop.

“Come on kids and grab my song, and just hang on,” Phil Avalos urges during “Hang On,” one of fourteen concise, crunchy nuggets of inviting, addictive pop covered in grungy guitar that comprise Don’t Shake Me Up. Anyone with a love for the musical junction where hooky power-pop merges with raw, honest indie-rock sound quality and the hyper thrust of punk should follow Avalos’ lyrical advice. It seems that the main goal of Avalos and his backing band, The Quiet Lanes, is to make songs that are short but sweet enough to stick in minds for a long time. Don’t Shake Me Up is loaded with choruses that keep coming back like boomerangs. The fact is, even if you don’t grab Avalos’ tunes, they’re likely to grab onto you, they’re so relentlessly catchy. They’re the kind of songs you find yourself spontaneously humming before you’re even aware of it. This disc is liable to satisfy fans of early Green Day and Weezer as well as lesser known, but no less influential, bands like Superchunk, Guided By Voices, and The Promise Ring. Sometimes the inspiration is mined from bands as far back as The Jam, but the reference points here come from the mid ’90s, when the most exciting music emanated from basements and garages in college towns. For more info visit www.philavalos.com.

When Ministry front-man Al Jourgensen sang, “Well anytime, any place, anywhere that I go/All the people seem to stop and stare/They say why are you dressed like it’s Halloween/You look so absurd, you look so obscene,” his words accurately portrayed the disenchanted reality of 1980s-Goth culture. Two decades later, as the introductory track to The Suicide Girls Black Heart Retrospective compilation, Ministry’s “Every Day Is Halloween” classic is the perfect mantra for rebellious Goth girls shedding those costumes in front of crowds of the disenchanted. Spawned from the popular adult web site, The Suicide Girls traveling burlesque show revels in the fetishism of the Goth culture while maintaining its non-conformity. Even Jourgensen’s notoriously nasty mind probably didn’t see this delightful twist-of-fate coming. The show’s accompanying Retrospective CD, compiled by Skinny Puppy front-man Dave Ogilvie, features several of the finest club classics from the ’80s and ’90s. As expected, The Cure, Bauhaus and Nine Inch Nails make excellent appearances, yet surprisingly, these cultural icons aren't the highlights of the disc. Instead, Siouxsie & The Banshees’ glorious gem “Cities In Dust” stands out while The Cult’s mainstream rock classic “She Sells Sanctuary” reminds us of the band’s great origins. Most surprising, however, are pop-punkers Alkaline Trio who offer up the best work on this compilation by covering Sisters Of Mercy’s atmospheric “Lucretia My Reflection.” For The Suicide Girls and their adoring legions, it is a sexy celebration of a lifestyle that is more than just skin deep.