The HighLife

I've been on a bit of a British music tilt lately.  Particularly, one 24 year old dude ( i think dude applies) from London.  His first album blended energetic riffs with amazing melodies to create songs that touched on issues from the irreverent, to the humorous, to the romantic.  He recently released a new album, titled, Everything is New.  Which showcases his growth as a musician and songwriter.  I was only going to put up a few tracks to give you a feel for his latest album, but i got a little carried away.  So here's a little mix of some old and some new songs of his.  Sort of like his album title.  Ladies and gents, Jack Peñate.

 

Feist - Mushaboom

Greetings and salutations friends!  Today, i'm kicking off a week of new music for your ears. Each day i'll be writing about a group that deserves your utmost attention, and to get it going we'll start with a amazing group from my hometown.

Smoke the Groove


I was at the homestead last week to visit the parentals, and while there i had the opportunity to be at probably the coolest party i'd ever been to in Harrisburg.  A good friend of mine had been invited by the lead singer, Joanna Kirby, to check out this party they'd be playing at.  I was in town and i figured why not.  We get there and realize that a whole block had been shut down for the "party".  Which upon closer observation proved itself to be a concert venue in the middle of the street; perfect.  A few other bands played before they came on; but once they were on, i had a strong urge to find me some glowsticks and dance my ass off.  Unfortunately i didn't really think that far ahead, so no shiny lights.

One song in particular, Isabel, had me moving way before i even realized i was moving, i just had to move.  And by the time they jumped into the best version of Mary J. Blige's "Real Love" i've ever heard, i was kicking myself for not having brought a camera.  Their blend of jazz, soul, and funk is tempered by a very independent vision of their sound.  You really just have check it out for yourself.  You can download a live set they performed at Harrisburg's Der Maennorchor here. 

If you like what you hear, you can also follow them on Facebook or MySpace to get the latest on Smoke the Groove.  I chatted with Joanna and Sonja Bontrager (keyboards) after they played, and they're really cool people on top of their excellent musicianship.  So if you happen to catch them at a Smoke the Groove show, or at one of their various independent ventures, do say hi. 

Joanna Kirby with DJ Ben Freeman

Phish - Contact

Greet the day...

He was a simple man...



Klaus Nomi - Lightning Strikes

New album from MF Doom - Born Like This, peep it here and then go make it yours.

Back again.  Hope your day is going smoothly, and organically gliding toward the weekend.  Today we're all about originality. Welcome to The Jumpoff!

A-Side
MTV has been pumping this guy alot lately.  Which typically pretty much guarantees that i won't care.  But he happened to be in the bean on Sunday, and a friend had an extra ticket.  So i figure, why not?  Overall, there's some songs he played that i still don't really care for, but in general he won me over.  I appreciated his authenticity and honesty.  And, how many Somalians do you know? Talk less of how many Somalians you know that are 'famous' (whatever that means).  More power to him.  I was also informed that his latest album, Troubadour, where this song is from, is his second.  And apparently the first album is a little different than his current fare.  So i've got some research to do, but that's a good thing for him.  Regardless, this is one of my favorites of his so far.  K'Naan - Fire in Freetown


B-Side
Elvis Costello has a show on Sundance called Spectacle.  It's a simple concept, get to know cool people who are into music, not necessarily recording artists either.  The first three episodes were with Elton John, Lou Reed, and Bill Clinton.  They play some music, talk about music, and then play some more music.  Simple.  The latest episode i saw featured some younger songwriters, She & Him, Jenny Lewis, and Jakob Dylan.  Nothing necessarily out of the ordinary, but one of them stuck out to me.  Possibly because her demeanor, background, and personal sense of style really resonated with me.  Who knows.  Anyway, this next song isn't the one she sang on the show, but from the looks of the video it's the encore closer of a recent show she did.  It also happened to be on the same day as mi madre's bday, which makes it even cooler.  Jenny Lewis - Fernando



And that's it today.  Until next time, be easy.
Afolabi

February has been a good month musically.  Random, but still good.  We had the Grammy's at the beginning of the month, with Adele and Chrisette Michelle taking home awards.  Bob Marley's birthday.  Mos Def's delayed album. Our introductions to the very danceable Private, and the uber-soulful Jesse Dee.  Lily Allen and Ryan Leslie releasing new albums. And an onslaught of fat beats in general.  That said, here's a set of pretty much all of February's Jumpoff selections, save one or two here and there.  Enjoy!