Song of the Week (LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem)

Does anyone still watch Jersey Shore? I'm ashamed to admit that I do. That media cycle of newness > familiar comfort > reaching for content > jumping the shark has played out the tragic archetype that is television. Few programs get it right and stay in the newness / familiar comfort zone. The Wire is a clear example of this.

Those kids, who are now adults acting like kids (feel familiar?) have transformed in a few regards. For one, they are insanely famous now. The media juggernaut of MTV/Viacom has ensured this. For two, they are incredibly jaded. Think what it might be like to be the center of attention everywhere you go. You get free stuff at every turn. Everyone wants to DFMO (dancefloor makeout) with you. People who wouldn't normally give you the time of day, are in awe of you. After a few years of this, you're going to get jaded.

For three, these are not interesting people, no matter how much MTV's editing (many times out of chronological order) tries to convince us otherwise. The novelty of watching Italian caricatures do stupid sh!t has worn off.

The critical question here is: why am I just now figuring this out? Why?

Well, I found the music equivalent of Jersey Shore...it's called LMFAO. This stands for "really awful music, seriously it sounds like beavers who are having nightmares." For real though, you've seen "Beavers" right? Sweet doc.

Question: Who the eff is this Lauren Bennett chick, and which party rocker did she have to DFMO with to get in this video? Was it Sky Blu? Or was it Redfoo? I didn't just make those names up. They were chosen, prospectively by the party rockers themselves!

Everyday I'm strugglin' to find out why people listen to this garbage. My guess is that Messrs. Sky Blu and Redfoo made a deal with the devil. Their deal was that they would experience completely unwarranted success for 3 years, in exchange for their souls. I mean it looks like they raided my sister's closet circa 1991 for dance clothes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ6zr6kCPj8

Please watch this video. It is one of the most awesomely terrible videos of all time. It's like Thriller, but the worst thing ever. I'm sorry, it's nothing like Thriller.

Breading update: Sam the Cat...you just got BREADED




Sammy, let me be the first to say: FACE!
In case there was any question, Sam hails from Siam, so we decided to give him his traditional sun cap. Needless to say he was really embarrassed. Now who's laughing Sam...now who's laughing indeed...HAHAHAHAHA...hahahahah...HA HA HA HA!







PS...no cats were harmed in this breading.

Hope you Dig,
JZ

Song of the Week (Sleigh Bells - Comeback Kid)

Oh man...nu Sleigh Bells just dropped, and it is so RAD! One thing I love about this band is that they have pop sensibilities combined with an intentional disregard / distaste for pop. English: they write stuff that sounds good but they don't give an eff about mass appeal, choreography, etc.! I realize I'm setting myself up for disappointment here, but for now Sleigh Bells is in the perfect zone of indie-cuspiness to maintain ultimate street cred. Think: Arcade Fire circa 2007.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXP4Rhu5pJo

After watching the video for the "Comeback Kid" I noticed a few things:
1) Alexis Krauss is still super-hawt
2) Jumping on beds with guns seems like a really good idea (not sure why I'm just now drawing this conclusion)
3) Alexis has some sick new dance moves, which I plan to incorporate into my "rock moves" collection alongside the "brickbreaker" and the ever-versatile "raven"

Sleigh Bells are either an enigma or a very clever marketing gimmick. Their songs feel like the soundtrack to an evil pep rally. It's what you would listen to before competing in Battle Royale, or on your way home from work on Friday. Honestly, 16-year-old John is freaking out right now, because metal is being combined with electronica and hawt girls aka Rick Santorum's nightmare.

Quick update on cultural happenings: Unless you've been captured by robots, you've probably heard of "cat breading".
http://www.breadedcats.com/

Some of you have asked: "Hey JZ, has Sam the Cat been breaded yet?" This is how it went down: When I told my Dad what I wanted to do, he just stared at me confused and said: "Sammy wouldn't like that." I told him: "that's for Sammy to decide." We agreed that if I can catch him, I can bread him. Alas, Sam must have been eavesdropping on our breading convo, because he would have none of it. He evaded me all across the house, ending up under my parent's bed in battle-cat pose. I conceded defeat, but I haven't forgotten. After all this cat breading craze has died down...when he least suspects it...I'm gonna be all like: PAKOWWW! Bread in yo FACE, SAMMY! Then he will have to sit there, embarrassed as I snap his photo for all of the other cats and people to mock...Wahahahaha!

Birthday/Farewell shoutout to young T-Smith. Good to know we will have another master out in L.A. You'll be missed.

Hope you Dig,
JZ

Song of the Week (DJ Shadow ft. Little Dragon - Scale It Back)

Welp...it's been a few minutes since the last SOTW...all apologies. Needless to say, a lot of great music has happened in that time.

This week brings us something a little more avant garde. Dap/props to Chet for sending this along a few weeks back. I hope Dap makes a comeback.

DJ Shadow is a colossus in the world of post-hip hop and sampled music. He's best known for creating the masterpiece, Endtroducing consisting entirely of sampled music and sounds circa 1996. The real beauty of this skill is that his music sounds completely original. Compare this to Girl Talk, by most accounts a successful sampler. But his mashups are created to remind you of songs you already know and love. He wants you to recognize a Van Halen guitar lick or a Tupac rhyme and reminisce. PS my roommate Patrick was mashing-up back in High School. It was called: Pumpkin Party.

DJ Shadow, on the other hand, seeks to grab strange, esoteric beats, licks, piano parts, vocals, etc. and create truly original music that bends genres.

I'm not sure how he built this track, but it's all I can think about for the last few weeks. Little Dragon band/vocalist, obviously has a lot to do with that. You'll hear more about this incredible new fave Indie band known as Little Dragon (great name) in coming weeks. No fancy wobble bass, no overproduction...just clean drums, acoustic piano and vocals...well maybe some production.

The video is pretty crazy as well...and by pretty crazy, I mean RILL crazy (watch the whole thing).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fj2l-emoW2g

Thus concludes the music portion of SOTW, and thus begins my diatribe on something I heard last week. I asked this guy how he was doing, and he said: "You know, I'm ballin' on a budget." I love this phrase. He wasn't the first to say it, but he is the first to say it to me, in which I laughed. It's not quite the $30k millionaire. It says, hey! I ball! But I'm practical about it.

Who can't relate to ballin' on a budget? I'm not sure many of my friends are truly ballin' yet (including this author), but thus begs the question: how does one truly ball...off a budget? Is truly ballin' just the absence of a budget? In that case I know tons of people who are ballin'...not to be confused with BOCMF (Ballin' Outta Control Muthr F#kr).

Hope you Dig,
JZ