The Cool Kids, CSS, Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, Radiohead

THE COOL KIDS
The Cool Kids may boast that throwback ’80s hip-hop sound, but they’re also the most refreshingly new shit to come by way of Chi-Town since Lupe Fiasco. The duo, a.k.a. Mikey Rocks and Chuck Inglish, keep it old school (read: grammar school) in their flows as well with raps about BMX bikes, pagers, Fruity Pebbles and Street Fighter. After a fateful gig at Chicago’s Town Hall Pub, The Cool Kids released their debut material in the form of the Totally Flossed Out EP and eventually hooked up with Chocolate Industries for a re-release featuring extra tracks entitled The Bake Sale. Now, no strangers to glossy fashion spreads and high-profile tours with M.I.A. and 2008’s Rock The Bells festival, possibilities seem limitless for these humble hip-hop enthusiasts. Word has it that their official LP, When Fish Ride Bicycles, will see the light of day sometime this year. (Friday, 7:00-8:00, BMI Stage) –text: Mike Scales

CSS
If you like dancing, lighthearted electro-pop and/or sexy women, CSS should be at the top of your list of must-see bands at Lollapalooza. The Brazilian girl group (excluding pudgy, moustached bassist/drummer Adriano Cintra and drummer Jon Harper…but who’s looking at them?) aren’t known for their musical prowess, but they’re a hell of a lot of fun. Lead singer Lovefoxxx (that’s right, one word, three “x”s), prances around stage like the hyped-up party girl of your dreams and while you might not be able to understand many of her lyrics, there’s little to misunderstand about the sequenced/rainbow body suits she likes to strap to her body. CSS (short for Cansei de ser Sexy, or “tired of being sexy”) just released their sophomore effort, Donkey, on Sub Pop. While it’s hard to imagine the group could top the wonderful, funky-freak tracks like “Let’s Make Love and Listen to Death From Above” and “Music Is My Hot, Hot Sex” (from their 2006 self-titled debut), you just never really know what they’re capable of. (Friday, 7:00-8:00, Citi Stage) –text: Justine Reisinger

STEPHEN MALKMUS & THE JICKS
It’s not hard to see why former Sleater-Kinney drummer Janet Weiss teamed up with former Pavement singer Stephen Malkmus on Malkmus’ latest album, Real Emotional Trash. They’re both from Portland, they both come from iconic and dissolved indie rock bands and they both enjoy expansive mind-bending psychedelic rock. Perhaps that’s why Malkmus’ fifth solo album since leaving Pavement falls into the category of lavish guitar solos and dreamy musical landscapes that are generally reserved for the jammiest of jam bands. Though at times Malkmus and his group of stellar musicians known as the Jicks sound a little self-indulgent, it is hard to find an objective fault in any of their elongated Sonic Youth-style jams. Malkmus’ sly and autobiographical lyrics provide excellent context to the Jicks as they assemble and disassemble song after song. Whoever thinks psychedelic rock is a thing of the past has probably never listened to Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks. (Friday, 7:15-8:00, MySpace Stage) –text: James H. Ewert Jr.–photo: David Torch

RADIOHEAD
If you are actually wondering what Radiohead sounds like, put down this magazine, insert earplugs and place a bag over your head until the band takes the stage. This will help you witness history in a musically sterile state of disbelief and vertigo. If that’s too intense for you, I suggest simply pulling your head out from under whatever rock it’s been under for the past decade. Still not following? I guess Radiohead could be likened to Pink Floyd, but maybe with Kim Deal on bass, Miles Davis on sax, Tom Waits on piano, Ian Curtis dancing/seizuring, Beethoven conducting and an odd little man named Thom in the center of it all reading A Brave New World aloud. At this point, what more can be said about Radiohead that hasn’t already been said? They suck? If you believe that, you may not be human after all. (Friday, 8:00-10:00, AT&T Stage) –text: James H. Ewert Jr.–photo: Kevin Westenberg