Youth Lagoon-Dropla

Youth Lagoon's The Year of Hibernation was a coup for bedroom musicians worldwide. Proving that good music doesn't have to be created by the hour, Youth Lagoon's debut was both a contender for the album of the year of 2011 and a possible sign of the wave of the future. It's been almost a year and a half since his debut with nary a peep from the Idahoan but luckily for fans of his chillwave sound and bedroom producers everywhere, he's coming out soon with his sophomore album and is probably celebrating the big news that he'll be playing Coachella in a few months time. Big 2013 for the young man so far, and although I have my doubts that his sound will translate well to the massive tents of Chella, there are few things that sound better through headphones than his almost spartanly minimalistic sound. On his new single "Dropla," YL expands his sound and incorporates effects whose sources seem to range from Bollywood flicks to space travel. A 2013 twist on Peter Pan's "I'll never group up," YL repeats "You'll never die" until it becomes a mantra that guides along a story of betrayal- making this probably the most interesting song I've heard in the last six months. Ending with a drawn out fade-out, "Dropla" is an early standout for a year in music that should be pretty amazing. 

Download Youth Lagoon Dropla

Griffdawg's Choice Nugs: The Offspring-Nitro

This is GriffDawg checking in from the Basque Country-

Discovering new music is one of the raddest things around.  Rediscovering music is just as cool.  I love finding an album that I used to listen to all the time but have not heard in years.  Listening to that music takes me back to a different point in my life.  It helps provide me with perspective.  And, most of the time, I can still sing all the words!

I recently rediscovered the album Smash by the Offspring, which is a classic album from my childhood.  One of the reasons I stopped listening to this album was because The Offspring started making horrible music like “Pretty Fly for a White Guy” and other such horrible songs.  After making such horrible commercial music, I became embarrassed to listen to them.  However, now enough time has passed so that we can listen to Smash, appreciate it for what it is, and not think about how bad of a band the Offspring became.

The album is one that can be listened from front to back.  The band captured an amazing energy and the bottom line is that it fucking rocks.

I have a great idea, listen to Smash, grow your hair long, scream along, rock out, and drink a Budwiser!

Download The Offspring Nitro (Youth Energy)

1Train Spotify Playlist

Proving once again that an earlier-than-usual leak means absolutely nothing, A$AP Rocky's debut album LONG.LIVE.A$AP is already being penned in as the best rap album of the year despite it being only mid-January. He's not the best storyteller, and the album is bereft of any stellar lyrical content, but it does have a bold vision and a unique sound and will likely be one of the most influential albums of the year in terms of the direction that rap is going.

Like Lebron taking his talents to South Beach to play alongside of Wade and Bosh, rappers in 2012-13 also seem to putting aside the beefs that marked the rap landscape in the 90s and early 00s to instead get together every chance they can to make supertracks. It's not long before we see another misfated attempt to recreate the rap supergroup like The Firm, and in some ways we already have with groups like OFWGKTA, Slaughter House, and Black Hippy popping up in recent years. A$AP's DWade moment comes on "1Train" off of his debut, where he brings along some of the hottest names from the last eighteen months to create rap's version of the Dunk Contest, with each rapper both introducing his sound to those who don't know while trying to prove that their mic is the biggest in the room. Check out the Spotify playlist below to get a taste of some of the established names and up-and-comers who dropped off verses for this megatrack (Kendrick Lamar, Joey Bada$, Yelawolf, Danny Brown, Action Bronson & Big K.R.I.T.) in order of appearance.

Debruit-Afro Booty Musique

Sometimes when you're blogging, you put absurd pressures on yourself such as, I just posted the first new "Outkast" song in years, what could possibly follow up that firey fuego? The answer is "nothing" so I can either go back into blogging hibernation or drop the funkiest psychedelic bootyshaking jam I've heard in the last year; and that's exactly what I'll do.

"Afro Booty Musique" is a song that somehow sounds a lot longer than 5+ minutes. An interstellar journey between the planets shakewatyomammagaveya and FelaKuti, it juggles being just bizarre enough so that you are intrigued with funky enough so that you listen to it over and over again. Fusing together space-age sound effects with traditional drumming breakdowns, this song is probably like nothing you've ever heard before. On Twitter, the artist calls himself an "afro-beat surrealist" which is incredibly fitting and his creation of afrobeat surrealism is something I'm looking to hear more from, at least on days when I want to take spaceship journeys to one of West Africa's finest musical exports.

Click here to download 

Pink Matter-Frank Ocean feat. Outkast(?)

There can be no clearer sign that JamandaHalf has to spread its wings again than a new song featuring Outkast (or is it Andre 3000 + Big Boi?). Regardless, hearing the two on the same song again is undeniably a treat, especially when it's on one of best jams of 2012, Frank Ocean's "Pink Matter." Like seeing two old friends kick it after not seeing each other for a while, hearing Big Boi play off of Andre's verse is both comfortable and a little awkward, it sounds both familiar and distant. Both are representing themselves, not the mighty Outkast, but appearing on the same song makes them Outkast, right? With Big Boi having released a critically blasted but enjoyable album recently, and Dre sticking to Gillette commercials, the gulf separating the two seems to increasingly grow, a gulf which 3000 addressed on a cameo on TI's "Sorry." A theory that I've had all along is that Andre is no longer making music because of a lack of competition. He reminds us that he's the best rapper alive with a cameo here or there, but as far as new competition to himself or to Outkast as a group, there hasn't been any. However, with the emergence of Frank Ocean, Kendrick Lamar, etc, we are finally seeing artists who have both the creativity and the skills to challenge both Dre and Big Boi, and Outkast, and this rise has also seen an uptick in the number of Dre features. Regardless, I can only pray to the music gods that this trend continues. The JamandaHalf bear finally got his spring sun to wake him up from his hibernation, this time he'll stick around for a while.

Jake Bugg-Simple as This and Country Song

Picture Credit: Luke Dyson Photography

Listening to Jake Bugg sometimes feels like listening to a 21st century teenager who stumbled upon a time machine and decided that he wanted to do nothing more than to go back to the 60's to record music. Modern references sometimes clash with the stripped down musical backing, and although you might feel that the 18 year old hasn't lived enough to make an album of folksy rock tunes, Jake speaks about what he knows. On his self-titled debut, Bugg at times struggles to maintain consistency throughout the 14 short tracks (most of which clock in at a very retro 3 minutes or less), but shows enough promise that you keep listening and are left with the feeling that only special things will come from the young Brit. "Simple as This" and "Country Song" are great tracks to get to know his musical stylings and are standout tracks on an album whose inconsistency is far outweighed by true talent and a committed dedication to the British tradition of storytelling.

Buy Jake Bugg here


Download Jake Bugg Simple As This


Download Jake Bugg Country Song

Ben Harper-Suzie Blue (Live Acoustic Ukulele)

Though I often proclaim my love for music on this blog, my personal attempts at music creation have seemed to crash and burn. Apart from a brief stint playing the trumpet, and later as a member of a virtuouso extremely underground rap crew, my most recent foray into the world of music making has been with my ukulele. The always optimistic instrument has challenged me the last few years, and although I succeeded in my original goal of being able to decently play IZ's version of "Over the Rainbow," I hit a plateau fairly quickly. Ben Harper is a wizard of instruments (growing up in his grandparents' music store in Claremont didn't hurt) and never seems to be afraid of cutting everything away from his songs until only the bare bones remains. In his recent acoustic tour which went through New Zealand, Harper brought his uke along and plays a minimalist version of "Suzie Blue" that I love. Giving a completely different feel to the song which was originally featured on his 1999 album Burn To Shine, Harper also helps out the beleaguered instrument gain some clout in its eternal quest to do so. Check out the .mp3 of the live version, the video of the live version, and an .mp3 of the album version all below.

Download Ben Harper Suzie Blue (Live Acoustic Ukulele)



Download Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals Suzie Blue

Michael Kiwanuka-Home Again

Many of the songs featured in the Marathon Jam Playlist on Monday were endeavors in musical brinkmanship, pushing the limits of what a song is and can be. But sometimes what you want from a song is simplicity and comfort and "Home Again" from Michael Kiwanuka provides just that. Apparently a big hit in Britain, today's jamandahalf rolls along in waves and has a repetition to it that is undeniably soothing. The son of Ugandan refugees, Kiwanuka was born and raised in the UK and has crafted a perfect jam for rainy, wistful days like today has been. Projecting melancholy hopefulness, "Home Again" perfectly captures that peculiar feeling of going back home. Check it out below.

Buy Home Again


Download Michael Kiwanuka Home Again

Spotify Playlist-8+ Minute Marathon Jams

The only thing that binds these disparate jams together is their length which in some ways is their defining feature.All clocking in at 8 minutes or more (with only one exception by a few seconds), these songs are the musical equivalent of taking the scenic route-they might take their time to get there but when they're done you're almost always glad you took it. Without the confines of a time limit, pictures are painted more vividly, stories are longer and in more depth, and of course, the jam session is let loose. Proving that almost all artists love a little extra canvas sometimes, this playlist features artists ranging from Berry White to Wyclef, Deadmau5 to Miles Davis. Don't start this playlist if you're in a hurry but if you have a few hours to fill, jam away.

Staff Benda Bilili-Osali Mabe

Staff Benda Bilili eclipse just being a great story; they make some pretty damn good music. The core of the band is four paraplegics who had polio when they were younger, leaving them without the use of their legs (check out their great public service announcement to remind parents to get their kids vaccinated against the disease here). Tired of being rejected by other bands in Kinshasa, the members joined forces, practicing and living in the city zoo while working as street performers across the sprawling Congolese capital. You can't make this stuff up. Discovered by a Belgian producer, the group have now made names for themselves on the World Music scene, recently having released their latest album. Two albums down, the band gained exposure due to their unique story but will be around for a long time due to their unique music. "Osali Mabe" is the perfect introduction to the band's sound: a great mixture of traditional Central Africa call and response backed up by some funky Caribbeanesque groove. The shrieking electric guitar is actually Roger Landu, a teenage street kid who was taken in by the band who made his guitar out of a tin can. The odds they had to go against for me to jam to their sounds were immense, the music even better. Check them out below. 

Buy Bouger Le Monde! here

Download Staff Benda Bilili Osali Mabe