N.A.S.A., 'The Spirit of Apollo'

The buzz: N.A.S.A. are practically all buzz—a celebratory, multicultural collaboration between DJ/producer Sam Spiegel (a.k.a. “Squeak E. Clean”) and Brazilian DJ Zegon. If you’re unimpressed by those names, then check their guest list: Kanye West, M.I.A., David Byrne, Tom Waits, Chuck D, Karen O and more. Lots more.

The verdict: “The Spirit of Apollo” is a hodgepodge album, giddily cramming as many cameos into each song as possible. A lot of the guests phone it in (that’s your cue, Kanye) and seem utterly unconnected to their musical surroundings, like voiceover artists who haven’t seen the full script. Karen O laughs in the midst of her nails-on-chalkboard contribution to “Strange Enough,” which seems to indicate how seriously the A-listers are taking this thing. With that spirit, though, N.A.S.A. manages to have some loose fun; it’s hard to entirely resist beats so heavily and enthusiastically rooted in old-school hip-hop and en vogue Brazilian pop. Amidst all the of-the-moment names—Santogold, Lykke Li, Lovefoxxx, etc.—it’s two old-timers, George Clinton and David Byrne, who anchor the most cohesive and festive tracks.

Did you know? N.A.S.A.’s celebrity friends aren’t just musicians: five artists did covers for “The Spirit of Apollo”—including iconic Obama portrait maker Shepard Fairey.

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