A Few Zen - Music, Fusion, and Life

Here's my shortlist of who I think is really important right now. Some of these bands are known. Some not so much. But all of these bands' songwriting is truly cutting edge and original.

1) U2
2) Nine Inch Nails
3) Beck
4) Outkast
5) Queens of the Stone Age
6) Medeski, Martin, and Wood
7) Charlie Hunter
8) Dave Grohl
9) Jack White
10) Amon Tobin

11+) Sufjan Stevens
12) The Mars Volta
13) DJ Spooky
14) Cut Chemist
15) Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley
16) Dangermouse
17) Franz Ferdinand
18) Muse
19) The Roots
20) The Flaming Lips

Posted by JJ at 7:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sometimes it's just the truth. I like the message. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in life that we only upset ourselves. Beck is one of my top 10 musicians of NOW. And I've always loved this song. I never looked for it before. But when I saw how he did it live here, I had to post it even though it's a slow song. For me this a "guilty pleasure" song. It might kill a party vibe, but I could dig it if it came on. Nice middle eastern vibe.

Posted by JJ at 7:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

That's me. That's my current DJ name. George Carlin first said it. He said that whatever reigns over this universe, it's the big electron. It's an elementary intrinsic right. This is my version of Black Sabbath's "Fluff". Luv id!

I really dig this riff Tony has going on. Clean acoustic guitar with multiple variations. Black Sabbath did it all without Ozzy, but they couldn't have got their way without him. One of THE BEST trios of all time. This melody is what I always have going on in my mind as I walk around day to day. Seriously, I have music going on in my mind, at any point during the day, like this. And I put it down for you, right here, right now, and not like Jesus Jones.

Luv it! This is my first posting as the artist...but I'm 2/4's what you thought I was you bastards! Have a good time floating the razzmatazz!!!!!1

Posted by JJ at 9:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Their new album "We Were Dead Before The Ship Ever Sank" is phenomenal! I was given the last album "Good News.." and loved it. I heard these guys way back when I heard Built to Spill....a long time ago. 10 years ago! And neither were "big". But they wrote big songs "way back" then. Ala la Pixie. An age now. Plus I've heard some stories from back then. And now they finally have their production "big" enough to succeed in the mainstream. I'm surprised they ever got big, but I'm glad. They deserve it. The singer in the band sounds like the best of Lennon or McCartney in their best growls and screams. He's got it all. The clean recording sound of this album is tight. Super tight. Listening to this makes me note how good sound recording has gotten in this digital age. This must be pure digital pro tools if nothing else. Johnny Marrs from The Smiths joining the band on gee-tar adds a different element than what I expected. Far better than I expected. They improved both their pop worth and their indie worth at the same time.....and that is ideal. Buy this if you have ever liked anything this band has done.

5 thumbs out of 5 thumbs.

Posted by JJ at 7:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This is Thom from the Henry Rollins show. Pretty sweet and non-acoustic. This features Thom on Fender Rhodes Electric Piano, Jonny Greenwood on something he made from metal bits and a keyboard (I saw him play this with Radiohead live), and some other guy (sorry dude, get your name out there) on a beat machine . I heard Jonny created the instrument he played. It looks like two strips of metal he presses together at the note and then slides up and down the strip. The note is broken whenever he lets the strips separate. But it's connected to some keyboard internally somehow. Give the track at least 2 minutes, because the cymbals kick in then! Good track "Cymbal Rush" from "The Eraser" album . Good on the album too. The other tracks he's done with Henry were mostly acoustic so this performance was sweet!

Posted by JJ at 6:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This guy has been out for about 5 years now and I'm shocked I haven't had a chance to bring him up yet. The greatest scratch DJ I have ever seen. Kid Koala. The first time I saw him at the Metro in Chicago, he was using 3 turntables at once. I've never seen that, or anyone that would need that. But he did. And he used 3 turntables the way Mixmaster Mike uses two (by the way, the 2nd greatest scratch DJ I have ever seen). He was mixing 3 records into one song while also doing some crazy mixing! Moon River was one song I remember him mixing up. And 7 Nation Army by the White Stripes. The 2nd time I saw him at the Abbey in Chicago, he had himself and 2 other DJ's playing his songs. 6 turntables plus a keyboard. No one has ever written songs for setups like that. He put out a DVD of that concert tour (live from short attention span theater). Plus he draws comic books. Anyways, check out this clip of him. One of the few DJ's that you could pay to see where you need to watch what he's doing the whole time. You might miss something! As a DJ myself, this guy is like a Hendrix...meaning that he is on a different level of the building than most of the rest of us.

I actually found a take of him doing Moon River on 3 turntables....

And here he is with Jester and P-Love using 6 turntables....

Posted by JJ at 10:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

These guys r the next big thang, along with TV on the Radio, and Wolfmother.

Posted by JJ at 9:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It took me awhile to review Lovage....but they rock! I found an old clip of them and they rock. Dan the Automator. Currently doing basketball soundtracks. Mike Patton doing Peeping Tom and Italian Operas. Jennifer Charles coming in late, but filling the role. She has the sweet voice, he doesn't. It's a match made in heaven with a bonafide hip hop beat....oh yeah, they got that! It's tight.

Posted by JJ at 9:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sufjan is just the Paul Simon of right now. He has great melodies and great orchestration. This is his song for Chicago, the land in which I was born. Sufjan gets across some part of my story. He is a folk singer. With 15 more people to cover the rhythm. Horns. Strings. Funk Band. But he is studying the States, and did Illinois already. He claims to do all 50 US States. I doubt he can do that. Not if he wants a solid career of his own stuff. No aggression here. Sufjan is Christian. The messages are all about love and redemption. Especially on Chicago. I can feel that he wrote this about us, me, we. Chicago is grand. So is this song. Enjoy.

Posted by JJ at 7:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This man is THE artist. I have never seen anything like the art this man could produce. He was magical. But he was a TRUE artist. Every impressionist style I can dig. Modernist, Cubist, Pointilist, renassaince... he had it. He lived his whole life like his paintings. He was a certified freak. Looked crazy. Had a crazy band of minstrels following him around in town. He had a insatiable love affair with Gala. But his painting and design was alike no other. This film clip/tribute I found to Dali shows many of his best works. Really look at any of his good stuff and it is amazing. I plan to go to his museum in Spain, and I really hope they let me take pics!!!

Posted by JJ at 8:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I really am not sure how to describe these guys. I had the new album for a month before I liked it. I thought that these guys had bad voices and muffled music. So I checked them out on youtube. I realized these guys all had good voices and could jam. The album "Return to Cookie Mountain" is a concept album. And now, I really really dig it. I am seeing them next Monday in Chicago. I'll blog about it later. The band is from Brooklyn and is something like 4 black guys and 1 white guy playing guitar. But it sounds like the opposite. Check them out on youtube! Very good songwriting, musicianship, and vocal harmony.

Posted by JJ at 6:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)