Independent Hip-Hop?

Not that I have anything wrong with rap and hip-hop, but the "low-blow" music that populates these genres never really interested me. Unsurprisingly, however, there are independent movements in both of these genres that produce some really good music.

So, today, I'm going to recommend The Streets, a British hip-hop group, and Gorillaz, another hip-hop group.

The Streets makes some great music. I don't know if it's because I don't understand British slang, or because the first thing on their album, A Grand Don't Come For Free, that you notice is the powerful organ on the first track. It's not dirty, it's not low, it's just two British brothers, The Mitchells, laying down some catchy beats. And the album isn't just a loose collection of songs. It tells a continuous, and oftentimes hilarious, story; amazingly enough, the title accurately describes the story. And also check out The Streets' Original Pirate Material.

I don't know much about Gorillaz, because I don't any of their stuff yet. But look here. That links you to a video that was made to go along with one of the songs from the Gorillaz new album- "Feel Good Inc." from Demon Days. Around the part where the windmill comes in for the first time, I realized not only was the video amazing, but that I really liked the song. I can't wait to get Demon Days, because if everything on there is as good as "Feel Good Inc." is, it will be money well spent.

The Piano

It started with the rockers of old, whose massive bands included a pianist to belt out notes in the background. As time went on, music evolved. For a while, the rock genre seemed to have abandoned the piano.

In stepped artists like Ben Folds, who, even with his old band, used the piano as the musical centerpiece, and the piano was reborn. Folds was, and is, the man. He managed to overcome the "only an electric guitar can be the leading instrument" stereotype; to me, he started the re-emerging piano trend. Songs like "Army" and "Philosophy" were energetic, colorful, and lyrically diverse. Despite his obvious talent, it took years for him to even approach being a mainstream artist; despite the fact that he is signed with Sony now, you don't hear his music on the radio. Still, his fanbase is rabidly supportive and rapdily growing- and not without good reason. His latest album, Songs for Silverman is a great collection of songs, from the upbeat "Bastard" and "You to Thank" to the enchanting song for his daughter, "Gracie." And the deluxe edition comes with an excellent DVD showing how the album was made. You want to buy it. Now.

But Ben Folds, as great a man as he is, is not the point of this post. For there is an even higher mountain (in my mind) in the piano-powered category. This mountain is a band called The Exchange. Why do they call themselves The Exchange, you ask? Well, if you read the great summary on their site, they are three highly talented guys who are looking to harness the better parts of the Indie sub-genre. They all went to the same high school, but seperated for college; despite this, they have a close bond.

Derek, the drummer, just graduated; Jorge, who graduates in December, plays the piano. It's hard to describe the feeling that comes over people when they first hear The Exchange in action. I remember one of my friends and fellow Guster fans recommended them to me. Like any new band I listen to, I was very cautious as I started listening to the two songs PureVolume has available, because I am well aware of the fact that I start judging new music as soon as it starts. I was shocked to discover that I not only liked what I heard, but I loved it. Loved it so much that I emailed Jorge and ordered their EP from him on the same day. As soon as I got the CD, I let others listen to it. Every one of my friends bought Aperture, the amazing EP. It was four days before Christmas that "Waiting for Scars" first came through my speakers. And shortly thereafter, the even better "Anna Lee." Even more so than buying the Ben Folds CD, you should contact Jorge and buy this CD.

As he has now graduated, I expect that the band will begin touring shortly. And the genius of The Exchange will be revealed. Anybody even remotely interested in rock will like them- the lyrics are amazing, the sound non-repetitive. Every song is something new, but always with that piano knocking out the main notes. Bass guitar and drums support; all in all, not only refreshing because it takes me away from what can become monotony in only hearing electric guitars, but refreshing because it's SO good.

I'm done here. The Exchange will become big. You heard it here first.

Keeping it cool

Or short, for that matter. I need to do that today. Cool update on my life: I learned how to play "One Hundred Years" by Five For Fighting on the piano today. I really need to learn to play the piano, or the guitar, or something for real. Music is too good to let me pass it by!

Since we're going streamlined today- check out Blonde Redhead. Ye olde english spelling aside, BR is the perfect indie hit. Picture a bit of post-modern electronica infused into the music of atypical boy-girl rock band. Their site is a little untidy, but a fascinating look at euro-culture clash. Along with Jack Johnson (whom I will certainly cover another day), BR is the perfect kind of music to lisen to at the beach.

...that second thing

I should probably clarify at this point what I wrote yesterday so I don't look like a complete idiot- she who knows, so to speak, seems to be out of my reach. And I'm not really wasting time thinking about it: what comes around will come around. I don't really know her either, as I now realize. And amidst this confusion, there may be somebody else interested in me. So I've been doing a lot of re-evaluating of my emotions. And listening to a lot of music.

So let's lay down some ground rules. What kind of music does a confused teenage male listen to (even when not confused)? For inspiration, there's nothing like the old time music of Goldfinger. (whom apperantly have a new album out; as soon as I buy that I'll review it) Songs like "If Only" and "Superman" are uplifting, and not only in the "dude, I was rocking out to Tony Hawk ProSkater on the N64 with that song!" kind of way.

Goldfinger is a great way to begin outlining what I love in music- yes, I love the new, un-cut stuff that shines with potential- but any music with
energy appeals to me. Goldfinger's music is driven by electric guitar and those speed-punk drum beats. But that's only the obvious case. I mean, you have your head-thrashingly good rock music, but then you have more subtle music that is just as good, if not as frenetic.

Something more in the lines of the "Indy" me points out Saturday Looks Good to Me's song "When the Party Ends." With each seperate set of verses (and the enjoyable "party music" interlude) the song picks up its pace. I'm not sure whether it would be politically correct to call it picking up tempo. But it gets more enjoyable as it goes along, and that, to me, is energy. If you enjoy that song, you can read more about SLGtM here. Aha- my first recommendation.

And back to the (slightly more) mainstream music of bands like Arcade Fire and Guster- they have climaxal moments in their songs; but the build-up to these moments is equally enjoyable, and sometimes quite slow. To be specific, "Come Downstairs and Say Hello," for Guster, and "Une année sans lumière" for Arcade Fire.

Energy. Yeah. Maybe next time I'll have made enough generelizations about my music that I can begin reviewing some of it.

And so it begins....

Right. Before we start rolling here, I'll take a moment to present myself. Or maybe two.

As my profile says, I was born in Ridgewood, New Jersey. For whatever the reasons may be, my parents decided to move to New York when I was seven. That was nearly ten years ago now. Two years ago, my musical barricades were shoved open when I received a ton of music from my friend Timothy's older brother, Chris. Over the summer, I bought an iPod; in addition to Chris' music, I was rapidly forming my own opinions about music, and the only way to listen to all the new CDs I was getting was with a hard-drive based media player. Having all my music on hand, in portable form, has been a godsend for me.

That's the long-story short. And I am trying to keep this short. So, on to the title of my blog. One of my various online friends runs a Dungeons & Dragons email game- I sent him a short summary of who I'd like to be, and he sent me information about my character; now I tell him what I'd like my character to be doing based on the information he sends me, and I drive my story forward. He loves to write, so he gets satisfaction from interweaving the storylines of all the people for whom he runs the game, and I get satisfaction at being able to watch my fantasy character develop based on my actions. I'd never played D&D before this, but have always loved fantasy, so these emails are a boon to me. And what about Jamirus, you ask? That's....me. No, not my name, though it does come close. Once upon a time though, my friends and I played a Gameboy RPG called "Dragon Warrior Monsters." My favorite character in the game was Jamirus. Whenever I went online, I always registered myself at places as "Jamirus99"....the name itself became a part of me.

That settles that. So what do you- the reader- do with me? Follow me through life, I suppose, as I review music and eagerly uncover new gems. Follow me through life as I question myself and everybody else. For example: what do you do when you like a girl, and she knows because you told her, but neither of you have spoken seriously since? I don't know....stick with me as I find that out, and so much more.