Category Archives: Jam of the Day

September 22, 2009 · 5:16 PM

Jam of the Day – Watch Out for Monsters

Watch out! There are all kinds of monsters lurking about today:

(Where the Wild Things Are trailer; this excerpt of Dave Eggers’ new novel edition of the screenplay that he wrote with director Spike Jonze of the Sendak classic is pretty great too)

(random video; the scariness of these monsters goes down by about 20 points because of the Blink-182 soundtrack, for sure)

Monsters of Folk – Ahead of the Curve:

But wait, what are those sweet sounds I hear? These last ones don’t seem to be monsters at all..

Oh that’s right, it’s because they’re Monsters of Folk! The “supergroup” Monsters of Folk, which consists of Coner Oberst and Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes, Jim James of My Morning Jacket (performing here as Yim Yames), and M. Ward (most recently performing as part of She & Him with Zooey Deschanel), apparently doesn’t like to be called a “supergroup” (but will accept super group as a moniker). And admittedly, after a listen to the whole album, Monsters of Folk, which was released today, I wouldn’t necessarily categorize the project as “super” whether there’s a space in between the words or not. But still, there are a lot of solid tracks here, especially the track above, “Ahead of the Curve,” which is probably my favorite on the album (hence Jam of the Day status). Other standouts are the opener, “Dear God (sincerely M.O.F.),” and “Temezcal.”

Monsters of Folk perform on Conan tonight, and you can listen to the entire new record on their myspace page. Don’t be scared, it’s just folk.

-Drew

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September 21, 2009 · 7:38 AM

Jam of the Day – Keeping It Fresh By Breaking It Down

Everyone has been saying for years that print media, particularly book publishing, is a dying art form. But, for those adept at using new media to get people excited about books, (like the creators of the Amazon Kindle) there is hope. Today, the publisher Hachette Audio will begin releasing on iTunes a serialized version of a new book “Transition” by Iain M. Banks, a day before the book’s hardcover release. The abridged versions will be broken down into 23 episodes, uploaded two days a week for 12 weeks. This is the first attempt by a publisher to give part of the book away for free with the hope that listeners will like what they hear and be willing to pay for more. If they have enough impatient people on their hands, this could work. As Anthony Goff, publisher and director of Hachette Audio and Digital Media, explained to the Times “the promotion began with the book’s publication there on Sept. 3, and where the free episodes are the eighth-most downloaded podcast on iTunes; the full-length version is the 11th best-selling audio book.”

Another attempt to keep an old-school art form current and fresh is happening tomorrow night, when L.A.’s hip-hop duo People Under the Stairs play at the new Knitting Factory. The two MCs, who has released five albums since 1998, was called “one of the best acts in hip-hop’s underground” by Spin Magazine back in June after playing amped-up gigs at Bonnaroo and Coachella. They have been able to hold on to their old-school sound, partly because the beats, chorus, rhymes, and scratching, are all done by PUTS’ members Thes One and Double K themselves. According to their MySpace page, their new album, Carried Away, was also produced old-school style and was recorded entirely on reel to reel with tons of rock samples, distorted vocals, yelling, drum machines, etc.

The album is due out in early October, but today’s Jam is from their 2002 release, O.S.T. (Original Soundtrack). Ease into the week with a listen…

People Under the Stairs – The Breakdown:

-Melissa

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September 18, 2009 · 9:54 PM

Jam of the Day – Rebel in the 11th Dimension

jc_cover_phrazesfortheyoung

Today, Julian Casablancas, frontman for The Strokes, debuted a video on his website of the first track off of his first solo album Phrazes For The Young called “11th Dimension.” The album is not set to drop until October 20th but he gave a sneak preview of his new sound at a short eight-song show at small venue in Tokyo at the end of August. From what we’ve heard, he sounds really solid on his own. “11th Dimension” is complex and catchy and it grows on you more with every listen.

The undeniable influence on the verses of this track is David Bowie’s “Rebel Rebel,” which is ironic since Bowie’s “Rebel Rebel,” which marked the end of his “glam rock” Ziggy Stardust phase, was his first hit since 1969 to not feature Mick Ronson on guitar and he played all the instruments himself…..kind of like Casablancas is doing here sans Strokes? As he says in a video on his MySpace page, his intention with Phrazes for the Young was “to capture the catchiness of modern music but at the same time was to get the power and seriousness of classical music or older music.” Bowie was the first thing I heard at the start of this song and he built on and changed it in a really interesting way so it seems like he accomplished his goal, and we’re happy he did- this album promises to be hot.

Julian Casablancas – 11th Dimension:

-ev2bk

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September 17, 2009 · 12:00 PM

Jam of the Day – Gotta Believe Just Blaze Brings Another Hot Beat

I’m not totally sold on this song – Saigon’s lyrics seem a little cheesy to me – but you gotta believe that I’m loving this Just Blaze beat. Check it out and tell us what you think! “Gotta Believe It” will be on the new album from Saigon titled Warning Shots 2, which drops on September 29, 2009.

Saigon – Gotta Believe It (Produced by Just Blaze):

-Drew

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September 16, 2009 · 8:08 PM

Jam of the Day – BlakRoc Is Way Cooler Than BlackRock

Recently it was reported that BlackRock Inc., an investment management firm and pioneer of mortgage backed securities in the United States, plans to set up a global trading network in order to cut costs for clients, and reduce the firm’s reliance on Wall Street brokers to buy and sell securities. So I guess that sounds pretty cool? I don’t know, I should ask my green friend.

But let me tell you what is really dope – BlakRoc!!! Basically, Damon Dash met up with The Black Keys because he dug their sound, and it all sort of snowballed from an initial possible collaboration with Jim Jones into a whole record. Damon Dash was so into this project that he’s formed a new record label with The Black Keys (his first re-entry into the business since launching Roc-A-Fella with Jay-Z) to produce the record, called BlakRoc. The project will feature The Black Keys laying down the blues rock underbelly and a whole slew of hip hop titans – including Ludacris, RZA, Raekwon, Mos Def, Jim Jones, the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Pharaohe Monk, Billy Danze of M.O.P., and Q-Tip – dropping verses. The whole thing has just got me all amped up and I can’t wait for the planned release on Black Friday (ha!) so I can spin this on repeat for a while. Check out the “trailer” for the record and you’ll understand what I’m getting at here:

And just because EV2BK loves you, check out the jam of the day right here for a preview of one of the tracks off the record, titled “Ain’t Nothing Like You (Hoochie Coo).” Mighty Mos! Jim Jones! The Black Keys! Get some!

BlakRoc – Ain’t Nothing Like You (Hoochie Coo):

-Drew

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September 15, 2009 · 7:48 AM

Jam of the Day – Animals Rule!

For those of you living under a rock today, you may have missed that there was a HUGE UPSET last night at the U.S. Open. Twenty-year-old Juan Martín del Potro defeated reigning U.S. Open champion Roger Federer. Known for his savage forehand and enormous stature, del Potro is a bit of an animal, but maybe that’s just what it takes to play some really exciting tennis and defeat a champion player like Federer.

Other foreigners making names for themselves as animals tonight in New York City are the members of Sweden’s Miike Snow. Their first album was recorded in Stockholm and released in May 2009 by Downtown Records, and their debut U.S. single, “Animal,” is excellent. Singer/songwriter Andrew Wyatt worked with producing team Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg to create the album. I would tell you to check out the show they are playing with Jack Panete tonight at the Mercury Lounge, but their shows today and tomorrow are both sold out, so you’ll have to settle for enjoying this jam here and checking them out the next time they’re in town…

Miike Snow – Animal:

They also did a pretty cool remix of another ev2bk favorite jam, Passion Pit’s “The Reeling”, which you can listen to here:

-Melissa

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