Kanye West feat. Bon Iver- Lost In The World

Jam: Lost in the World
Good to jam b/c: Bon Iver is in it

So based on the introduction of this post, one may think that I am a biased Bon Iver fan, and that I am willing to admit, but it doesn't take away from the extreme jammableness that comes from this song.  I am also willing to admit that I am a little upset that someone as huge as Kanye stole a little bit of Bon Iver's light by remaking Iver's original song "Woods," which you can listen to here, into "Lost in the World," which is featured on West's new album "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy."  Kanye's new album, though should be noted for its full-on 34 minute long music video, that's available to watch here because it very well could be a catalyst for a progressive change towards the music video world.  I found the video very entertaining to watch, but found it odd that one of the main scenes in the video portrayed a large gathering of african americans eating at a table being served by a group of whites.. I don't know though, maybe it was some artsy metaphor for something I didn't grasp, but it seemed to be closely symbolizing a regressive statement for such a wide audience.  But what can you do?  Maybe he thinks if you jump a few steps forward for the music video industry, maybe you have to take a few back for progression made on equality.  Debatable, Kanye.

     On the other hand, if you're a Bon Iver fan, you should still check out Kanye's new album because you are able to hear some random bits from him included in the background sounds and pretty heavily in the song, "Monster."  To here more about Justin Vernon, the lead from Bon Iver, talk about his collaboration with Kanye and about his new stuff produced with Gayngs click here.

Emancipator- Lionheart

Jam: Lionheart
Good to jam when: Chillaxin'

I stumbled upon this artist at the most perfect time of the year. When it's cold and grey outside all I want to do is curl up and listen to the tracks from Emancipator's album, "Soon It Will Be Cold Enough," released in 2009. I kept the songs "Lionheart," "Soon It Will Be Cold Enough," "When I Go," and "Good Knight" all on repeat for what seems like forever to try to decide which song I wanted to feature on here because they are all so good. It seems like each of his songs are produced so carefully that they sound like they are unfolding a story by the manner in which the sounds are arranged. If you like "Lionheart," definitely check out his other tracks listed above and take a peek at his new album, "Safe in The Steep Cliffs" that came out earlier this year. One thing to keep in mind before listening: you just might never leave your dark, warm room.

Shad- Rose Garden

Jam: Rose Garden
Good to jam when: Needing a Monday-kick!

Shad K is the perfect person to start off your Monday on the last week before Thanksgiving.  Shad was also nominated for the Canadian Polaris Music Prize for 2010 along with the band from my first post, Karkwa.  Shad is definitely one of my favorite underground rappers that's finally being brought to the light, hopefully soon to take over most mediocre mainstream rappers that seem to rap about well, nothing, at least of importance.  Shad was born in London and brought up in Canada, but most of his lyrical credit, I think, relies on the fact that he actually graduated from college at Wilfred Laurier University and is now working on his master's in liberal studies at Simon Fraser University.  His song, "Rose Garden," I think, is the most catchy of his tunes, but songs like "Brother (Watching)" and "Keep Shining" tend to touch on more sensitive, less-spoken-about topics in the rap industry.  In "Brother (Watching)" he portrays the difficulty of blacks to excel in scholastic pursuits due to the negative images of blacks represented in the media among "mostly white and affluent dudes."  In "Keep Shining," just one of the subjects he touches on deals with the need for music to change because, in rap, with very few female artists, we are only hearing "half [of] the truth."  On top of his skill of incorporating difficult topics into lyrics, Shad has a serious skill at freestyle rapping, as documented in his video, "Six Minutes."  And if that doesn't win you over, watch his video for the song titled, "The Old Prince Still Lives at Home" to see his spin on the opening song to the classic series that no one can deny love for, "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air."

Pogo- Alice

Jam:  Alice
Good to jam when:  Reminiscing

I can't believe I haven't stumbled upon this guy earlier. Pogo takes everyone on a time warp back to their childhood by putting a fresh new twist on all of your old movie classics. In "Alice," the song is completely created from chords and vocal samples from the classic movie, "Alice in Wonderland." If "Alice in Wonderland" wasn't your favorite growing up, check him out, he's got remixes of just about every solid classic film. Some good recommendations are "Wishery," which is a spin on "Snow White," and "Upular," which is a remix of a more recent, but soon-to-be-classic movie, "Up." Can't wait to see what he does next.  

School of Seven Bells - "Half Asleep"

Jam:  Half Asleep

Good to jam when feeling:  Disconnected

So I have to admit, the first time I heard "Half Asleep" from the album titled, "Alpinisms" I thought it was pretty weird, but for some reason the video kept drawing me in wondering what the meaning behind this song had to be due to the "disconnected" look coming from the two twins, Alejandra and Claudia Dehez.  Days later, I found myself humming along to the catchy, and almost moany, tune created by the two twins and began my search to re-find this song I came across once before.  After repeating this same process once again, the third time I found the song I decided I must like it, and must write it down to end this cycle.  So... words of advice:  if it's not catchy the first time around, give it a few days, and a few more listens.  

If you're into lyrics, you also may want to check them out here.  School of Seven Bells focuses a lot more on lyrical production of their music and produces their music simply to support the lyrics.  This song has a lot to do with going through a spell in your life of feeling uninspired, or disconnected, and trying to get by day to day by holding onto the past times where you were.  This feeling must be reoccurring because the album produced after "Alpinisms" was titled, "Disconnect from Desire."

Give it a listen, or two, or three, and let me know what you think!

Karkwa- Les Chemins de Verre

Jam: Les Chemins de Verre
Good to jam while: Driving

My first jammable is a song called "Les Chemins de Verre," or "The Glass Pathways," from the band, Karkwa.  They are a Canadian band that recently received the Polaris Music Prize for 2010, which is a huge, huge deal in the upcoming Canadian music scene.  It's only been going on for about 5 years, but they pull various people from all over the music scene, ranging from producers to music-lover-bloggers, who all have an impeccable music taste, to be the judges.  These judges pick their favorite Canadian albums of 2010, including Tegan and Sara and Shad K for examples, and all vote for the winner.  Having never heard of this band before, I am pleased to say that they made a great choice.  Pretty good for completing an entire album in 21 days.