And you thought it was the first time again

Lifesavas - Happiness (Elliott Smith cover)

Hi. I live out here on the East Coast, somewhere in the BK. There a bunch of country to the left. Some Mormons at the halfway point, some mountains beyond that, Robot Mark is waaaay over there in LA, and if you head north from there, you'll hit Portland. My sister lives there. They also have a solid music scene there. Case and point, hip-hop devotees, team Quannum players and all-around nice guys, the Lifesavas. A.k.a. Jumbo and Vursatyl.

They've been featured on MFR before, but since way back then their musical migration from the Northwest to the East has been bafflingly slow. Their own original works are brilliant hand-crafted nuggets of positive hip-hop, but they've got range too. And they gave props to the late Elliott Smith on this track. And it's beautiful. In the way that hits you a little deeper than you expected. Like that time you rented Bambi II by accident, and ended up crying during the finale just when your crew walked in, and the pix they snapped with their cell phones ended up on Flickr. You had no idea, did you?

So once again, the Lifesavas. You can listen and download their entire album for free via eMusic (free signup earns you 50 free songs!), or iTunes. Also on eMusic, the tribute album this came from: To: Elliott, From: Portland And if they pop up on the East Coast (or if you're out left), see 'em live.