Tag Archives: Jam of the Day

June 23, 2009 · 7:54 AM

Jam of the Day – Bad News in a Cookie Jar

From the escalating violence in Iran following the disputed elections there and the resulting protests, to the deadly Metro Crash in Washington, D.C. that killed at least 9 people and injured at least 75 others last night, to the assassination of a major rival to the Taliban leader of Pakistan, to the nuclear missiles that North Korea may aim at Hawaii as soon as the 4th of July (which we wrote about yesterday), the news today is harrowing to say the least.

Today’s jam is brought to you by Hawaiian singer-songwriter, Jack Johnson, best known for his surfer-soft-rock sound. Although much of his music can be relied on for its mellow, happy vibes (“Banana Pancakes” anyone?), his song “Cookie Jar,” from the 2003 album, On and On, takes a more serious tone. In it, he expresses his frustration with and disbelief of the news of the day and the refusal of anyone to accept blame for their own actions. Today this jam just seemed appropriate.

Johnson first achieved commercial success after the release of his debut album, Brushfire Fairytales, in 2001. Since then he has released five more albums and many EPs. This August, a new film by Emmett Malloy, En Concert, which documents Jack Johnson’s 2008 summer tour across Europe, will be released with a companion album.

Jack Johnson – Cookie Jar:

-Melissa

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June 22, 2009 · 6:51 PM

Jam of the Day – Missiles Are Kind of a Big Deal

Last week it was widely reported that various intelligence seems to suggest North Korea may test a long-range missile some time soon, possibly on the Fourth of July, with Hawaii as the intended target. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has been pretty vague about the intelligence, as according to the WSJ he has admitted that “the U.S. had ‘seen some signs’ that North Korea was preparing to launch a long-range missile. But he cautioned, that ‘at this point, its not clear what they’re going to do.'” Despite this uncertainty and the skepticism voiced by many analysts’ that North Korea would even be able to send a missile on the 4500 mile journey from Pyongyang to Hawaii, steps are being taken to prepare for any possible attack, such as “positioning a sophisticated floating radar array in the ocean,” affectionately(?)/commonly known as the “golf ball,” and deploying antimissile interceptors to the area.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I think I might be concerned about this if I lived in Hawaii. Contrary to this gut-reaction, however, today both the New York Times and Wall Street Journal posted articles online with interviews of local residents that leave an impression of a general indifference towards the potential threat. The sentiment is nicely summed up in a quote from a Mr. Gerald Aikau in the Times piece: “What are you going to do? … You are going to go sometime, whether it’s on a wave, or a missile, or your buddy knocking you down and you hit your head.”

Well Mr. Aikau, I don’t know that I would share in your non-chalance. Aren’t missiles kind of a big deal? I can sort of understand since, hey you’re the in the middle of the ocean and there isn’t exactly a highway to the mainland, but still.

One thing we can be sure about is that Kanye West still thinks of HIMSELF as a big deal, and today marked the online premiere of a new video from Virgina Beach hip hop duo Clipse for “Kinda Like a Big Deal” that features a pretty killer verse from Kanyeezy. Clipse, the brothers Malice and Pusha T, although relatively well known in the industry for past efforts, are looking to finally break through to the mainstream with this one from their third LP Till the Casket Drops, scheduled (for now) to be released sometime this September.

Clipse ft. Kanye West – Kinda Like a Big Deal:

-Drew

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June 19, 2009 · 6:06 PM

Jam of the Day – R. Kelly’s Triumphant Mixtape

R_Kelly_The_Demo_Tape-front-large Earlier this month, DatPiff posted up a new mixtape from DJ Skee & DJ Drama titled The “Demo” Tape from none other than the King of R&B himself, R. Kelly. Not sure how I missed this, given that I am a huge R. Kelly fan, but after a few listens I have to give it a verdict of “hot.” If you click the first link, you can download it free and judge for yourself.

XXL seems to agree with me though, noting that “for all the sex scandals and idiotic quotes (“I hate anything illegal”), no one can dispute that this man is a musical genius.” Now, I’m not trying to be on Kells’ nuts like that, but there are some great tracks on this mixtape, like “Disrespect My Shorty” and this remix of Drake’s current chart-burner “Best I Ever Had.”

Play it for someone special this weekend.

Drake- Best I Ever Had (remix ft. R.Kelly):

And since it seems like everyone and their mom is dropping a remix to this Drake record, here’s a link to a “mega-remix” version that combines verses from Tank, R. Kelly, Juice, Nicki Minaj, & Busta Rhymes.

Happy grinding/weekend from your friends at ev2bk!

-Drew

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June 19, 2009 · 1:24 PM

JOTD Update – Modest Mouse: “Autumn Beds” and “Whale Song”

As a reminder about Vinyl Saturday tomorrow, here are links to audio streams of the A/B Sides of Modest Mouse’s 7″ that is being offered as part of the RSDVS initiative:

Modest Mouse – Autumn Beds

Modest Mouse – Whale Song

I haven’t really been into a new Modest Mouse song in a minute now, but damn, “Whale Song” is like a reminder of why I loved this band in the first place.

-Drew

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June 18, 2009 · 6:50 PM

Jam of the Day – The Rain Goes On and On

Take that, rain

Take that, rain

Since it’s been raining for like, forever, and it doesn’t seem like the downpours are going to quit anytime soon, we’ve decided to post two jams today, both titled “Forever.” But though they share the same title and essential theme (I love you forever babygirl), the records themselves are, obviously, pretty different. The first track, from Ben Harper, is off his 1994 LP Welcome to the Cruel World. Next up is “Forever” from Ghostface Killah, which just leaked earlier this month and will almost certainly be on his upcoming “R&B” album.

We hope that you can stay dry and enjoy yourselves today, while Ben Harper and Ghostface Killah croon to their “forever” loves in the background.

Ben Harper – Forever:

Ghostface Killah – Forever:

Also, I can’t resist posting this quote from an interview Ghostface did that I read recently on Unkut.com, about his upcoming album and the need to talk about some more serious real-to-life issues:

“It’s my last album [for Def Jam] so I wanted to do the album I always wanted to do, man. You gotta tell the fans that you not gettin’ no younger here – we gettin’ older! And everybody don’t sell crack no more, man. I don’t sell crack, yo. I ain’t movin’ no bricks or none of that other shit. I ain’t shoot nobody in like…since the early 90’s, man. How long you gonna be 40 years old and actin’ like you still sellin’ cracks and you on the block and you doin’ this and you doin’ that when times is more serious, man. We in a fuckin’ recession, B! Ain’t nobody gettin’ no money, man! We gotta stop lyin’ to ourselves and lyin’ to the fans. And the fans gotta stop bein’ so dumb and ignorant, and know it’s time to talk about grown-man situations. Shit that happen in the real life, inside your household, your love life, your personal life, that’s just like, ‘Damn, it’s hard for a nigga to get some money!’ It might be so hard to get some money that your girl might wanna leave you someday because you ain’t get no money like you like you used to be getting’ money! Those are real situations, so I think it should start goin’ back to songs that mean shit. All that other shit outside is just gonna keep us dumb, deaf and blind, yo, and we ain’t never gonna get nowhere.”

Word.

-ev2bk

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June 17, 2009 · 5:54 PM

Jam of the Day – Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival ’09

bhflogo-1
The 5th Annual Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival is happening this weekend, beginning with a photo exhibit tomorrow night at the Galapagos Art Space in Williamsburg that will feature photos from the past four years of the festival. The invite-only Kick-Off Party is Friday night, and then the real fun starts on Saturday, June 20.

The festival, hosted by Brooklyn Bodega, will be held this year at the Empire Fulton Ferry State Park in DUMBO, Brooklyn, and runs from 12-8pm, although the action on the main stage doesn’t start until around 4. Here’s a look at the set times and some of the artists performing:

3:15-3:25 Meter Maids
3:25-3:30 Kel Spencer
3:30-3:45 Brown Bag All Stars
3:50-4:00 Keys N Krates/DJ Parler
4:00-4:10 Tiye Phoenix
4:15-4:20 Chip Fu
4:25-4:35 Keys N Krates/DJ Parler
4:35-4:45 Marco Polo & Torae
4:45-4:55 Tanya Morgan
4:55-5:00 Homeboy Sandman and Shawn J Period
5:00-5:20 Smif-n-Wessun
5:25-5:55 J Period with Grand Puba and special guests
6:00-6:30 DJ Premier
6:30-7:00 Dead Prez
7:00-7:30 Styles
7:30-8:00 Pharoahe Monch

I mean, that is a HOT set of performers, just no denying. Get excited, BK!

One of the most anticipated performances will surely be from Tanya Morgan, who recently released their sophomore full length, Brooklynati, which has been receiving lots of good press and critical praise. The group consists of MCs Donwill and Ilyas, and MC/producer Von Pea, who hails from Brooklyn (County of Kings!). So get ready for a long day of great hip hop by checking out this new video from their second single off the record.

Tanya Morgan – So Damn Down:

One more thought: does anyone else get a hint of the Bird of Paradise from dude’s mouth? The director obviously jacked this video idea from Planet Earth.

Bird of Paradise mating dance

Bird of Paradise mating dance

-Drew

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