Benjammin' #3

Benjammin #3 after the jump.


The Black Keys
"Same Old Thing"
"Oceans And Streams"
"Things Ain't Like They Used To Be"
Album: Attack & Release
release date: April 1st, 2008

This was the album I couldn't get enough of this weekend. I had heard a lot about The Black Keys over the years, but never gave them a proper chance. So, when their new album leaked on Monday I was ecstatic to hear it. I heard one of their albums Rubber Factory before listening to Attack & Release, and I really dug it. Attack & Release is a shift from that sound a bit, but it's the best album of theirs that I have heard. It was produced by Danger Mouse, who produced my #3 favorite album of 2007 in The Good, The Bad & The Queen, and he does an equally good job here giving the group some new things to do. These three songs are among my favorites of an album that doesn't have a single weak spot. I suggest if you like these songs to check out the full album. You'll really like it. Check out the Yazz flute on "Same Old Thing". It's hardcore.

Sondre Lerche
"My Hands Are Shaking"
"Modern Nature" with Lillian Samdal
album: Dan In Real Life soundtrack (Modern Nature originally found on 2001's Faces Down)
release date: October 2nd, 2007

I just saw the movie Dan In Real Life, the Steve Carell, Juliette Binoche rom-com, this week, and I really enjoyed it. Carell does some great acting in it, and it's just a nice story to watch unfold. Very realistic. The other thing I really enjoyed about it is the soundtrack provided by Sondre Lerche. He pretty much handles every song in the movie, either with instrumental interludes or songs written especially for the movie. He also has some songs from previous albums in the film like "Modern Nature" which closes the film with a performance in the movie by Sondre and Lillian Samdal. These are great, well-written songs that get stuck in your head.

Billy Bragg & Wilco
"Walt Whitman's Niece"
"Hoodoo Vooodoo"
album: Mermaid Avenue
release date: June 23rd, 1998

Now this is a classic album. One of my all-time favorite bands in Wilco collaborating with probably one of the coolest people around in Billy Bragg with previously unreleased lyrics by Woody Guthrie. Both Wilco and Bragg got together to give these great Guthrie lyrics justice, and they deliver hugely. I just really love the whole album, and these two songs are among my favorites. "Hoodoo Voodoo" should of been the theme song to some kids show. Please do check out the entire albums. It's one of my all-time favs.

Also on a completely unrelated note, the name Walt Whitman is the name of Bryan Cranston's character on one of the best shows currently on TV in AMC's Breaking Bad. I know that is obviously where they didn't get the name from, because the album's been out for 10 years but yeah. Just thought I should point that out/pimp the show.

EDIT: well, I fucked up there. I just mixed two AMC series' into a name. Walter White is Bryan Cranston's character on Breaking Bad, while Dick Whitman is the real name of Don Draper on Mad Men. Two of the best series' on TV. Just wanted to clear that up.

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Benjammin' #2

This came sooner than I expected. With the complete wealth of new music this week I had to jump on this early.

see Benjammin' #2 after the jump.

Young Dro
"Tropical"
"How I Ride"
album: I Am Legend mixtape
Release Date: now

I wasn't initially sold on Young Dro. I mean "Shoulder Lean" was a nice catchy song, and "Rubberband Banks" was great too, but they didn't sell me on Dro being a good rapper. With the release of the I Am Legend mixtape this past week I am now completely sold. His flow is ridiculous, his content is insane, he is really funny, and he is just one of the best new rappers out right now. I have now actually checked out his entire album Best Thang Smokin', and I realize how off I was. This man is a force to be reckoned with.

I chose two songs from the mixtape to showcase his talent. They are both great but especially "How I Ride". The hook for "How I Ride" is just something of goofy greatness: "This is how I ride / My car just died / The brain blowed out, doors committed suicide / The man in the trunk the only thing that's alive / And that's what I tell them when they be asking how I ride.". Great!! Young Dro is set to release his second full length album sometime in 2008, and I can't wait to hear it.

The Roots
"75 Bars" (Black's Reconstruction)
album: Rising Down
Release Date: April 29th, 2008


The Roots are back!!! Been waiting on the release of Rising Down for a while now, and today the first song has been released. It isn't the first single, it's just a song from the album that they put out there to get blog hype. The first single is said to be a song called "Birthday Girl" featuring Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy. As for this song though, it's just Black Thought completely blacking out in his rhyming. He shows on this song why he is the most underrated rapper around today. Also on the song is a tuba supplied by Tuba Gooding Jr., and it fits the song well. I am completely amped about the album, and if you want to learn more about it then check out this recent feature Entertainment Weekly did on previewing Rising Down: http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20179171,00.html

She & Him
"This Is Not A Test"
"I Was Made For You"
album: Volume 1
Release Date: March 18th, 2008

Just as soon as I talk about the lead single from the album, the album leaks. Volume 1 is really just amazing. My favorite album of the year so far. It was hard to choose just one song from it, so I decided to pick two of my favorites. These two songs are great, the whole album is amazing, Zooey is a goddess. The End.

Erykah Badu
"Twinkle"
album: New Amerykah Part 1 (4th World War)
Release Date: February 26th, 2008

It's been a while since Erykah Badu has released an album. Luckily, New Amerykah is really fantastic and worth the wait. It's really an album that deserves to be heard front to back, but i'll choose my favorite song currently from it in "Twinkle". I believe it was produced by the great Madlib, but I could be wrong. Go check out this album. I'm sure you'll really enjoy it.

80th Annual Academy Awards prediction post coming later today. look out for it!

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Benjammin' #1

this is the first edition of what will be semi-regular feature on this blog called Benjammin'. It will be the songs I enjoy at the moment either new or old. I'll post a zshare (the best of the file-sharing sites, imo) link to the song and post my thoughts about it.

see the premiere edition of Benjammin' after the jump.



She & Him
Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?
album: Volume 1
Release Date: March 18th, 2008
http://www.mergerecords.com/audio/shehim/whystayhere.mp3 (since it's freely available as a download, I didn't bother to make a zshare link to it)

I think this song is my favorite of the year so far. She & Him is a group that consists of actress Zooey Deschanel and indie rocker M. Ward. This is apparently the first single (or first song released), and it's really a whole lot of fun. Zooey is just great on the song and brings a great energy to it. Zooey is what attracted me to the project in the first place because she is a part of my holy trinity of celebrity crushes (which also includes Scarlett Johansson and Kristen Bell). She is a great singer as can be heard in the movie Elf, and i've been looking forward to any sort of musical project with her ever since then. This album looks to not disappoint as it contains a lot of songs she wrote (including this one), and also includes covers like The Beatles' "I Should Have Known Better".

The album release is fast approaching, and I really can't wait to hear it.


Usher featuring Young Jeezy
Love In This Club
album: TBA
Release Date: TBA 2008
www.zshare.net/audio/7743228ea3fba1

This is the first single apparently, and it's a great one. A couple months ago another new Usher song called "Dat Girl Right There" leaked on the internet and it was so insane. It was really unlike anything I had heard in an R&B song. I couldn't imagine the first song for Usher's big comeback following his massive Confessions album to be something very experimental.

Now with "Love In This Club" Usher has released the perfect lead single. The song is produced by Polow Da Don who did Rich Boy's "Throw Some D's" among others, and it's definitely a song I can see becoming a massive hit very shortly. The beat is very trance-like, and Usher really owns it up. Young Jeezy also has a guest spot on the song, and his usual Trapstar shtick somehow works on it.As one of my favorite critics Tom Breihan said about the song "In a musical climate where nothing makes sense, "Love in this Club" is about the closest we've heard to a sure thing since Kanye's "The Good Life," and the ease with which Usher manipulates it exhilarates."

N.E.R.D.
Everyone Nose
album: N.3.R.D.
Release Date: Spring 2008
www.zshare.net/audio/7745612d8185f2/

Great to see Pharrell and Hugo back together. After some time apart for a couple years, both Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo are working together again. They first started out as The Neptunes making classic songs, but a couple years ago they just drifted apart. Chad Hugo spent his time working on the Kenna "Make Them See My Face" album, while Pharrell was busy producing and had The Neptunes productions credited solely to him.

Now luckily that didn't seem like bad blood as they are back together and also back together as N.E.R.D. The first single for their upcoming N.3.R.D. album is quite a departure from the previous two albums. While the other N.E.R.D. albums had a heavy rock influence, just judging from "Everyone Nose" they are going more into Baltimore Club stuff. It's a great song, and I can't wait to see the video for this. N.E.R.D. will be on Kanye West's Glow In The Dark tour (which i'm going to!) this summer, so check them out when they come to your area.


The Time
777-9311
album: What Time Is It?
Release Date: August 25th, 1982
www.zshare.net/audio/7745426b422dc9/

Seeing them reunite at last week's Grammy awards was really awesome. Sucks that they didn't get their own time, and had to share the stage with Rihanna but it was still great. After the show, I decided to rediscover their albums, so i've been in a heavy Time mood lately. The Time really have to be one of the most underrated groups of the 80's. They are the only artist to this day in which Prince didn't want to go on the stage after they played because he was scared of them. The song I chose, "777-9311", is a great catchy song that by the end of the song just turns into a great jam session. If you haven't checked The Time out yet, you definitely should.

Herbie Hancock
Chameleon
album: Head Hunters
Release Date: October 13th, 1973
www.zshare.net/audio/7746026b0e86a4/

Speaking of the Grammy's, Herbie Hancock's Album Of The Year win was a great moment. Was it the best album in the category? Nope. In my opinion, it was the worst. Doesn't take away from the fact that Herbie Hancock is an incredible musician, and a truly great guy. Just kind of a shame that he's playing it safe late in his life. After the win, I went listening to his old stuff and it is just really amazing stuff. The album Head Hunters and the song "Chameleon" especially. If you have no reaction at all to "Chameleon" then you have no pulse. Just a great 15 minutes of music.


that about does it. Not sure if this will become a weekly thing, but i'll try every two weeks at the very least. Hope you enjoyed it, and if you haven't heard the songs I mentioned then give them a listen. I provided a zshare link to all of them (minus She & Him which I state above), so there's no excuse to not hearing them.

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