XLR8R

Get ’em while they’re hot—new tunes from Mavado, Meanderthals, and Prefuse 73.

Now that the pesky winter season has finally packed up its bags for its annual, and unfortunately short-lived, hibernation, the thought of cruising down to the tropics sounds like just what the doctor ordered. The mouthwatering cocktails, the steel drums, the chiseled, tan bods—as the great Solomon Burke once said, “It don’t get no better than this.” For this month’s contest, we’ll award five lucky winners a taste of the tropics with a pair of hot albums from cover star Mavado (Gangster for Life: The Symphony of David Brooks and Mr. Brooks…A Better Tomorrow, both on VP Records, and copies of Meanderthals’ Desire Lines (Smalltown Supersound) and Prefuse 73’s Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian (Warp). All you have to do to get your hands on these goodies is answer this one question:

Tell us the name of your dream beachside concert blowout and the five artists you would want to see headline it.

Contestants with the best answers will receive a copy of the four CDs listed.

Entries will be accepted via standard mail and email, and must be received by July 30, 2009. Send your entry to: XLR8R’s Taste of the Tropics Contest, 3180 18th St. #207, San Francisco, CA 94110 or email contest@xlr8r.com with “XLR8R’s Taste of the Tropics Contest” in the subject line.