Few cool things have happened in the last week or so; mainly a couple of kick-ass house parties at Sally's place where i got nicely drunk both times, caught up with some people, played drinking games and yelled along to 'La Bamba' about a hundred times on Guitar Hero with people ive barely even spoken to before. Good fun all round. Apart from that, ive been chained to my uni studies...slightly falling behind, might fail one of my units, but i dont really care a whole lot. Finally enjoying doing psychology too. Still making music - ive spent all year improving, experimenting with new things, and hopefully people will like my new stuff (which will probs be finished late August). And most epic of all: tonight is Twelvie's and Papa's BIRTHDAY OUTTING where a large group of us (featuring Tom) will most likely be spewing into the city gutters till early morning. Cres!
Now, im about to do a TOP list that i should have done a while ago, but found it impossibly hard: the top 5 favourite song list. Now, to make it easier, its more of a 'top 5 songs i love in 2009' than an overall list, which has proven again and again to be way too difficult to narrow down.
Jim's Top 5 Songs He Recommends and Thinks Are Cres In 2009
(not in order)Dont let the 'DJ' bit put you off - this man is the first person to put out a cd with music made from nothing but samples. He spent a great deal of time listening through
thousands of old records (most of them very obscure and unheard of), then delicately putting bits and pieces of songs together to make deliciously chilled music - in otherwords, he is the father of music like The Avalanches. This song in particular is just magical, and the album
Endtroducing... is something i think everyone would love and should buy (especially with its usual $10 price).
OK, i have a massive soft spot for early hip-hop. Before all this "my grillz" and "slap dat hoe" shit, hip-hop was something respectable. When i first heard this track (off the killer album Illmatic) i was blown away - great lyrics, amazing rhythm...sure, he's rapping about violence and the ghetto, but it comes across as purely heartfelt and honest about his own life rather than for pure show. If you havent yet, give hip-hop a chance.
Animal - The Ocean is a Fickle Mistress (no preview available...?)
OK, so i cant show you the track, and an album by a band named 'Animal' with no title is practically impossible to find (like the self-titled album by Yes, or albums by artists like The Band or The The). But basically ive been really getting into math-rock, which is a small little genre with few artists...and its kind of like experimental jazz with guitars, bass and drums, with wild time signatures and whatnot. To sum up this track: id really heard nothing like it before! 12 minutes of improv and wild experimentation, with only a guitar and a drumkit. Amazing. 7 minutes in and its ejaculation time...twice.
Michael Jackson - Rock With You (previews everywhere, look it up yourself, cock)
There was no better way to mourn MJ's death than to boogie on down to it in a drunken fit of insanity. Right before his death i was really getting into him and sympathising everything he's gone through. I miss his true dedication and perfection to music; an absolute hero above all the shit-stains in pop music that call themselves musicians. This song is so perfect, so well executed, so warm and calming, yet really damn dancable. Greatest chorus ever, too.
This track is too hard not to list - an influence on the music i make, and just so perfectly created. Basically, it starts off with a sample of some old music before adding bits and pieces of music to it, introducing blistering drums and creating beautiful melodies. It shows that great music can be made from the simplest of ideas. Im a strong supporter of sampling too - evolving a song out of a small sample of another song would be considered lazy by many, but i think it shows strong skill.
Its unfortunate to leave out so many other top songs, but im summary ive been constantly finding new music and finding a warm fuzzy place in some genres (especially more 'outside the square' electronica/alt rock, hip hop). If people find themselves being stingy with buying music, Amazon.com has amazing prices with new/second-hand cds.
Anyways ill try and update more often too
-jim
