Category Archives: Music

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 18, 2009 · 9:54 PM

Jam of the Day – Rebel in the 11th Dimension

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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Tagged as david bowie, Jam of the Day, julian casablancas, the strokes

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

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

Jam of the Day – Drugs and Dominoes

About a month ago, in a move that some fear could lead to Mexico becoming a hot destination for so-called “drug tourism” (think: Harold and Kumar Go to Amsterdam), Mexico quietly decriminalized possession of small amounts of many types of drugs, including marijuana, cocaine, and heroin. The law sets out maximum “personal use” amounts for these and other drugs, partly as an attempt to help “differentiate drug addicts and casual users from the violent traffickers whose turf battles have contributed to the deaths of more than 11,000 people since President Felipe Calderon took office in late 2006.” Other Latin American countries, like Colombia and Argentina, have already passed similar laws, and I guess this seems radical enough to have caused antidrug groups in the U.S. to worry that this general sentiment of common sense might sweep into the U.S., leading to a drug-domino effect that will end with us all cracked out holding joints or something like that. Are these people not aware that similar measures already exist in the U.S., like in Mass. as of last year, for instance? Take a toke and find something else to worry about.

A different type of “Dominoes” toppled over today in the U.K., where electro-rock duo The Big Pink just dropped their debut album A Brief History of Love on 4AD Records (September 22 in the U.S.). Robbie Furze and Milo Cordell formed The Big Pink in 2007 (taking their name from the debut album by The Band), and have garnered praise from NME and the London Times alike. After hearing their current single, “Dominoes,” in all it’s catchy-as-hell glory, it’s easy to understand why.

The Big Pink – Dominoes:

-Drew

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September 11, 2009 · 5:42 PM

ev2bk Live Music – Bear Hands Perform “Belongings” at Rockefeller Center

Fashion's Night Out 2009 Banner on 30 Rock

We were excited to see Bear Hands play a show since their return from across the pond a few days ago, and they seem to have benefitted from the time on the road, as last night’s show at Rockefeller Center for Fashion’s Night Out 2009 was extra tight. It may have been the setting, but it seemed like Dylan, Ted, T.J. and Val were ready for the big time (and maybe some models? just kidding, gfs). Luckily, we were recording when they started in on a relatively new song, “Belongings,” and are dropping that exclusive shit once again. I can’t wait for this record.

Bear Hands – Belongings (Live at Rockefeller Center, 9/10/09):

Here are a few more photos from the show as well, just ’cause we love Bear Hands like that:

-ev2bk

Category Archives: Music

Jam of the Day – Watch Out for Monsters

Jam of the Day – Rebel in the 11th Dimension

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

Jam of the Day – BlakRoc Is Way Cooler Than BlackRock

Jam of the Day – Drugs and Dominoes

ev2bk Live Music – Bear Hands Perform “Belongings” at Rockefeller Center

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