J-Zone

Do I still remember how to do this? I guess I’ll find out!

I took a break from the grind of daily music blogging last October, because it was starting to wear me out. Needing to figure out something to say about these songs each day felt like I was really straining, and it wasn’t serving the purpose of a creative outlet nor a reminder of songs I’d forgotten about it. It was a slog, unfun, and I had proven to myself that I was capable of blogging every single day but I no longer wanted to do so. This project is, in the end, for myself. There are no ads, no monetization, and frankly, no audience. If I’m not having fun, there’s no point.

OutKast, “Ms. Jackson”

This is, of course, an all-time jam. Also, it makes me remember this (sadly deleted) tweet, which is also nice.

[EDITOR’S NOTE: this image was lost during a changeover on the blog. At some point. Sorry to anybody reading this in the future. It was a screenshot of the “I’m sorry Miss Jackson / ooh / I am four eels / never meant to make your daughter cry / I am several fish and not a guy” tweet. IYKYK.]

Kid Koala, “Drunk Trumpet”

“Drunk Trumpet” appears on Kid Koala’s first record, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, and this is a fun live version of it from Live From The Short Attention Span Audio Theater Tour. As always, Kid Koala is a gas.

Jay Dee, “Pause”

Before his legendary Donuts, J Dilla’s first record under his own name was Welcome 2 Detroit, part of the first set of records for BBE’s Beat Generation series. Dilla’s record is probably the second best of that group, after Pete Rock’s, and if you haven’t looked it up but enjoy his other work, you should.

The Aislers Set, “Chicago New York”

No, this isn’t some Belle & Sebastian tribute band. Chicago’s Aislers Set do play pop very much in that vein, uh, obviously. But there’s more variation on this album than this song might suggest, as this is probably the most B&S song on the record. It’s a solid set of tunes, so if you’re looking for some new pop, it’s worth a go.

Rilo Kiley, “A Better Son/Daughter”

Turn of the millennium indie bands represent!

Madlib, “Pyramids (Change)”

This is from Beat Konducta, Volume 1 & 2: Movie Scenes, a record intended as a soundtrack to a non-existant movie as well as a companion piece to J Dilla’s revered Donuts. The thing that makes it a little different from Madlib’s usual work is that there are a lot of vocal samples, helping give it a little more of that cinematic feel. Among Madlib’s instrumental work, it’s not my favorite, but everything he does is interesting.

Latitudes, “Amnio”

I went and checked what I said about this band the last couple times they’ve come up, and I’ve described them as kind of doom, kind of post-rock each time. I stand by it! Good enough, let’s ship it!

Discordance Axis, “Oratorio in Grey”

And then we have the opposite end of metal, just pure grindcore speed and fury. It’s for the best that most of these songs are about a minute long.

Gift of Gab, “Rat Race”

You know a song is banging when I’m nodding this hard along with it, even just listening to it on one shitty earbud.

Wilco, “Either Way”

The opener of Sky Blue Sky, and it’s one of my very favorite Wilco songs. There’s that breezy organ in the background, the little chord change going into the chorus, there’s kind of a fakeout after the second chorus where he drags it out and it seems like it’s going to crescendo to a huge bit but turns into just a pleasant solo. It’s a bright, optimistic sounding song, but there’s so much subtlety to it, it rewards a close listen.

Nots, “Rat King”

Their 2016 album, Cosmetic, is a relatively short record, but it makes up for it with the energy it has. I’m always down for some noisy punk, especially if it’s willing to get kind of strange, so of course I was always going to like this.

J-Zone, “Edit These”

Well, I would have played this on the radio for my audience of, like, four.

Ghostface Killah, “Mighty Healthy”

Supreme Clientele is widely regarded as the best Ghostface solo album, which I guess I have trouble arguing too much with. It also demonstrated that Ghostface could thrive even without the RZA doing all the beats, as he only had a few songs on the record. It’s still an extremely Wu-Tang-sounding recording, which of course is a good thing, but on later albums Ghostface would explore his sound more. But still, it’s just a great record, and still sounds fantastic today.

Simon & Garfunkel, “Cecilia”

I know that it is, literally, Boomer-ass music, but Bridge Over Troubled Water is really very good. Can I call this song a jam? I think it might be a jam.

The Scorpions & Saif Abu Bakr, “Forssa Saeeda فرصة سعيدة”

Speaking of jams! Also, it’s time for Petty Grievances With Josh: there was no way I was going to figure out how to type that, but stupid Plex won’t let me copy and paste song titles from it directly. I had to inspect the element in Chrome and copy it out of there! What kind of hell is this!

Moses Sumney, “Lonely World”

Sumney’s Aromanticism pivots around “Lonely World”, a song that goes from gauzy and shimmery and gradually ramps up to a frenzied finish, reflecting the inherent duality in this album. It’s an album that sounds like a love album but is all about not being capable of experiencing romantic love.

J-Zone, “It’s a Trap!”

J-Zone has had multiple musical lives in his career. His early career, as a producer/rapper, ended with a miserable tour, a retirement, and a memoir recounting his struggles. His second act began with this album, Peter Pan Syndrome, where he came back as a rapper but added the drums to his skill set. He sounds energized on this album, doing something new, but full of the same types of sophomoric (but funny!) gags as his first go-around.