1. Ben Frost – Theory of Machines
Ben Frost is an electronic/instrumental musician who has worked in
production on some Bjork music. This album is a frightening, paced
trip that builds at all the right places. This is post-rock for
thinkers and Ben Frost rewards.

2. Icy Demons – Tears of a Clone
Created from members of Man Man (drummer Pow Pow), Bablicon (Blue
Hawaii), and Need New Body (both), this Chicago based project delves
into post-rock in the least noticeable sense. The songs are not built
on climactic, emotional pitches but instead revel in creepily
beautiful strings and percussion. The album draws on jazz and avant-
rock, mixing them into un-recognition.

3. Old Time Relijun – Catharsis in Crisis
Old Time Relijun is true to its name in the most literal level. The
religiosity of this band draws from primal, pagan religion devoted to
nature in all of its contradictions. The name, derived from a Captain
Beefheart song, speaks soundly of the offbeat and off key guitars. The
lead singer, a music ethnologist, howls like each word is the most
important for survival.

4. Santa Dads – Anima Mundi
Santa Dads are a duo from Baltimore’s Wham City collective (which
features musicians such as Dan Deacon). One plays the ukulele and the
other beat boxes, which is interesting in itself. This CD tracks the
duo’s learning process (neither knew how to play their instruments
before this album) but most remarkably shows the shift from
traditional song structures to Gregorian chant-like, circular songs
(specifically, the second half of the album entitled The Second
Beast: Dog).

5. Busdriver – Roadkillovercoat
Somewhere along the line, popular rap lost its roots in social
awareness and actually saying something. Busdriver (along with many
underground rappers) does this and more. His lyrics are sprawling
works of gab and in this, his latest, album, his nasally voice is
counterpointed with booming and more electric beats.

6. Glenn Kotche – Mobile
The latest album from Wilco’s drummer proves that Glenn Kotche holds
his own as one of the better American rock drummers. This album takes
ideas from the phase-shifts of Steve Reich among other influences and
stretches them into mesmerizing percussive works that feel coherent,
unified, and nothing like an extended jam.

7. Daedelus – Exquisite Corpse
Less recent (05), but worth getting. Daedelus is a hip-hop
instrumentalist in a more refined sense. Originally a multi-
instrumentalist considering jazz or classical training, Daedelus
combines older, smooth music with perfect downtempo or uptempo beats
and occasionally features rappers like MF Doom.

8. Ultralyd – Conditions for a Piece of Music
Ultralyd is a band that transcends the philosophical divides of the
day. Combining structure and post-structuralism, Ultralyd often
features a wailing, free jazz saxophone and harsh ambient guitars
over a steady, structured drumbeat. The best of both worlds.

9. Tim Fite – Over the Counterculture
Fite actually released this album for free-download on his website in
a growing frustration with Music-As-Business. Over the Counterculture
documents political and social struggles in America through the
twisted witticism of Fite’s rapping. A good example is in the
fashionable military song Camouflage where Fite raps, “Does anybody
got a bag for this? Does anybody got a bag for this? Body bag, Body
bag, Body Body Body bag for this?”

10. Wilderness – self-titled
Wilderness is another Wham City band with a very different feel from
Santa Dads. Santa Dads whimsy is replaced by layered guitars and a
voice trying to push through the atmosphere of music. This is a rock
album of the most dense kind. Great songs that eschew traditional
structures without the listener really noticing or missing them.

The teams are advised by Prof. Michael Peshkin, who along with Prof. Kevin Lynch hold office hours to help the participants make their robots. There are very specific rules for the construction of the robots, such as it must be fully autonomous and have no interference with other robots is allowed during the competition. The Engineering students use computer programing and lasers, among many other techniques, to make their robots pursue a small ball and try to make it score points to win the game.

And everyone can be a winner in this competition, as students may earn course credit by following strict guidelines.