Issue 125

When we learned that legendary composer and Looney Tunes songsmith Raymond Scott was the subject of a new documentary, we just about fell out of our chairs (to pratfall-appropriate woodwind riffage, of course). Just as quickly, we dusted ourselves off and got in touch with the doc's director — Scott's son, Stan Warnow — to find out what he has in store. Scott's influence shines like a cartoon lightbulb over contemporary pop and electronic music, from Ratatat's toytronic melodies and sonic marble games to the Chap, whose Mega Breakfast sounds like power pop for Pachinko parlors — and, of course, Girl Talk, who tones down the ADD on his follow-up to 2006's Night Ripper. Hyper-jazzist Daniel Zelonky certainly learned a trick or two about hairpin turns; Scott's momentum carries him from Detroit to Jamaica and India in this issue's annotated Chart. Equally global, the Mali Music crew spanned continents, genres, and even eras in a recent performance — or, as Honest Jon's would have it, a "chop up" — at London's Barbican. Finally, we sit down with Ben Watt, whose Buzzin' Fly label crafts what might almost be termed — apologies to Scott — soothing sounds for baby-making.

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