the dope report

In these shitty weeks before Daylight Savings Time ends and we set our clocks back one hour, the mornings are cold and dark: all the more perfect for the release of Berlin producer Apparat’s superb new entry in the DJ-KiCKS mix-CD series from !K7. Mix CDs are a penny a dozen these days, but Apparat’s work mandates so many repeat plays it’ll wear the lasers out of CD players with some of the best chill electronic beats the world has to offer in 2010. [Read more after the jump]

WikiLeaks’ just-released Afghan War Diary paints a picture of failed drug interdiction in the most drug-addled region on the globe. United States soldiers stop a negligible fraction of the tonnage of Afghan opium and cannabis grown in the region. Meanwhile profits from Afghanistan’s drug trade fuels the Taliban and the associated war, which has claimed thousands of civilian lives. Amid the 91,000 plus documents of the Afhan War Diary are just six reports classified as drug crimes.

Most notably, soldiers met with small arms fire from irate poppy farmers irritated about the U.S. crackdown on the country’s leading cash crops. Other times, the U.S. intercepted as much as 60 kilograms of heroin in one action. But the sum of drug crime reports indicate most of Afghanistan’s drug trade goes largely unchecked.

Civilization and its malcontents meet their maker in this sepia-toned, bullet-time, bloodbath

From the makers of Grand Theft Auto IV, new western title Red Dead Redemption is quickly becoming legend.

The game’s bleak realness, tragic arc, and notable glitches might be why makers Rockstar and publisher Take-Two soft-peddled its release. It was a profoundly difficult game to make, and few review copies of the game went out before ship date in May. The game was expected to sell five million copies within one year of release.

Shocking watchers, the game has sold five million copies in less than three weeks. It’s single-handedly boosted the stock outlook of Take-Two. It’s become a most-talked about game on the web, trumping even World Cup fever in the UK. This is not just because of its copious bounty, treasure and sport hunting.

Red Dead Redemption accomplishes the near-impossible. The ambitious, $100 million sleeper of a mega-hit manages to make all its precedents feel like antecedents. From this point forward, an entire generation will refer to a game as the major landmark in an increasingly vibrant, violent genre.

Aficionados of beat literature, indie film, or hawt man-on-man James Franco action are probably going to enjoy the 2010 quasi-documentary Howl. It stars Franco as poet Allen Ginsberg circa 1955, going down on Neal Cassady and going on trial for the obscenity in his landmark poem.

They may be dirtbags when it comes to international labor laws, but damned if Nike can’t put together a great commercial. This current ad celebrates Kobe Bryant’s fifth run at an NBA title with a montage of career highlights set to Andre 3000’s cover of the Beatles’ “All Together Now.” The ATLien takes one of the Beatles’ trippiest songs from Yellow Submarine and adds a little taste of funk to it. Add that to a Kobe highlight reel that succinctly captures a legendary 14 year career spanning three NBA eras in just one minute.

TDR supports Kobe, cognac drinker Ron Artest, cannabis enthusiast Lamar Odom and the rest of the Los Angeles Lakers in this year’s finals against the detested Boston Celtics. [Nike Basketball]

Earlier this month, a new collaboration between two of the most creative forces in the electronic music scene – Brendan Angelides known as Eskmo and Amon Tobin produced their first single under the guise of Eskamon. The single “Fine Objects” can be purchased at Eskamon.com along with a free WAV package of the field recorded sounds they used to compose the music. You can also watch an Ableton tutorial on what to do with sounds created by Ill Gates. Amon Tobin was traveling during the time of our inquiries and could not be reached but Mr. Angelides was kind enough to spend some time with us in a recent interview and give away some of the finer points of the project.

After two years of playing music together in and around the Oakland rock scene, The Splinters released their first full length album “Kick” in March on Double Negative Records. They have quickly built an audience ecstatic for these four girls singing and twisting their way through infectious two-minute garage-bop songs full of just as much rocker whimsy as they are in grit. Their charm couldn’t be any more eloquently expressed as it is in their debut video for the tune Splintered Bridges. Guitarist and Bassist Caroline Partamian graced us with a lovely interview earlier this month and the rest of the group – Lauren Stern, Ashley Thomas and Courtney Grey chimed in later with a few clarifying comments.

Note the album art by Shepard Fairey, above. A-Trak is no longer just “Kanye West’s DJ”. The Montreal-born turntablist is a full-on tastemaker through label Fool’s Gold and his web site code is on another level, compared to other attempts. Check the ‘Dirty South Dance 2’ tracklist, stream the album, or download it after the jump.