Smoking Section: The Beastie Boys, Love as Laughter, James Hunter

The Smoking Section headed to the Beastie Boys' studio in Lower Manhattan, where we were shown Gunnin' for That #1 Spot, a new doc produced and directed by Adam Yauch, that follows the lives of 24 elite high school basketball players on their way to an MVP game at Harlem's Rucker Park, the street-ball mecca, in '06. "My friend asked me to be a coach, which I don't know how to do, but then he started asking me how to document the game," says Yauch, who's been ballin' recently, after a torn ACL sidelined him. "I thought, 'I should do this.'" To the sounds of vintage hip-hop and soul, Gunnin' delves into the lives of current NCAA stars such as UCLA's Kevin Love (nephew of Beach Boy Mike Love), and up-and-coming players like Brandon Jennings and Tyreke Evans. "It's powerful stuff," says Yauch, and we agree. He also reveals that the B-Boys are "40 percent" finished with a new disc. "It'll be a mix of things," he says. "We'll play on it, and there'll definitely be some hip-hop."

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For our weeklong absinthe-and-hashish-themed vacation in Barcelona, we loaded up the iPod with new albums that shall blow your mind this spring. We dug on Solomon Burke's Like a Fire, the upcoming reissue of Beach Boy Dennis Wilson's Pacific Ocean Blue, the Verve debut by Jessie Baylin (fiancée of Kings of Leon's Nathan Followill), hot Danish rockers the Fashion and Randy Newman's first disc in nine years, Harps and Angels. But what truly blew our mind was Holy, the new disc from unsung veterans Love as Laughter, featuring a guest spot from Isaac Brock (his Glacial Pace label will release Holy in June). "Isaac and I have been friends since high school," says singer Sam Jayne, who also cooks at Roberta's restaurant in Brooklyn. "We've always cross-influenced each other." But Brock claims that the album is all LAL. "I've been listening the shit out of that record," he says. "They didn't need my help."

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All it took was 10 seconds of listening to "The Hard Way," the title track from Brit soul man James Hunter's third U.S. album, before we knew the disc was unbelievably awesome. "Ten seconds?" says the cheeky singer. "We must be losing our touch." Recorded at Toe Rag Studios in London (where the White Stripes cut Elephant), accented by Hunter's tasty guitar and subtle horn arrangements, The Hard Way is a career achievement for the bandleader who broke through in 2006 with the Grammy-nominated People Gonna Talk. "When we listened back, we were quite pleased with ourselves," he says. What takes it to another level is Big Easy genius Allen Toussaint, who sings on the title track and plays piano on "Believe Me Baby." Says Hunter, "He wrote every song I like."

The Fashion: "Letters From the Ambulance"

Jessie Baylin: "Was I On Your Mind"

Solomon Burke: "Like a Fire" (featuring Ben Harper)

Love as Laughter: "Crosseyed Beautiful Youngunz"

James Hunter: "Don't Do Me No Favors"