We're Not Dead!

Please bear with us. We're busy fellas right now, but spring break is right around the corner, which will give us the chance to jump back on the horse and get this thing going again. In the meantime, do yourselves a favor and check out Sugar Glyder.

Adrenaline Rush: Engage

Above: Basshunter redefining the word douche.

First off, I'd like to apologize for the relative lack of posting activity here on Muzjiks. The unfortunate truth is that DJ TB and I are college student-athletes with a lot on our plates. Please bear with us; spring break is just around the corner, which will definitely allow for more content. Trust us, we've got some excited new stuff up our sleeves. In the meantime, please tune on on Thursdays at 10 PM EST to our live radio show, subscribe to our podcast, and accept this mp3 as an apology. Now, allow the adrenaline junkie inside of you to take over. Enjoy.

Basshunter: "Russia Privjet"
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YouTube: Busking for the Internet Age

YouTube is one hell of a website. Not only is it the most effective time-waster known to mankind, but it also enables anybody to make a name for themselves. There's the self-made millionaire, Fred, who has made it big simply by manipulating his voice to be so high-pitched and annoyingly squeaky that even Alvin and the Chipmunks want to beat his ass. Then there's Ed Bassmaster, whose comic genius has gained such a following that he's met with Sean Penn to work on a feature film. The examples are innumerable and ever-increasing, and even with every douchebag who owns a guitar playing their version of "Banana Pancakes" (I rest my case), YouTube offers an invaluable platform for budding musicians trying to make it in the cutthroat industry. It's essentially busking for the Internet age.

Perhaps the most compelling story of this nature comes from Ronald Jenkees, the self-taught pianist who throws down improvised beats after a charming "Hello, YaTubes." Although he does have a strong following in the YouTube community, which has landed him some legitimate studio time and allowed him to record two LPs, his music unfortunately hasn't gained much traction beyond this niche group. However, Muzjiks is here to bring the blogosphere Mr. Jenkees the notoriety he deserves with the absolutely infectious "Disorganized Fun" and "Throwing Fire." When the beat drops on "Disorganized Fun," you will wonder why this talented dude isn't a household name. Whatever your opinion of his work, though, take heed of Ronald Jenkees' motto and always have fun. Enjoy.

Ronald Jenkees: Disorganized Fun [buy]
Disorganized Fun [alt]
Throwing Fire [alt]

Episode 9: Blogshank Redemption

Playlist
(1) Yeasayer: "I Remember"
(2) Gucci Mane: "I Be Everywhere (DZ Remix)"
(3) Ted Leo and the Pharmacists: "Woke Up Near Chelsea"
(4) Margot & the Nuclear So and So's: "Black Demon"
(5) Lightspeed Champion: "Marlene"
(6) Noah and the Whale: "2 Atoms in a Molecule"
(7) Local Natives: "Wide Eyes"
(8) Suffering Fools: "White Whine '89"
(9) The Hood Internet: "How Purple Can You Go (Ludacris vs. Joker)"
(10) Wiz Khalifa: "SmokerFace"

Your options are: (a) stream the podcast using the embedded player above; (2) refer to the podcast symbol in the right sidebar to subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or any podcast manager; (3) download the podcast directly using this link. Enjoy.

NOTE: Due to technical difficulties, part of this podcast is incomplete. We have fixed this problem so that it will not happen again in the future, and we apologize for the inconvenience. Please refer to the playlist for the full set of songs played on the show. Thank you for your understanding.

TGIF... Almost

You can almost taste Friday—it's so close. Here's a fun mashup to help you ride out the rest of this Thursday night (until you tune in to Muzjiks Radio at 10 PM EST, of course)...

DJ Stroke: "A Milli vs. My Life (ft. Lil Wayne and The Game)" [re-up]

Reminder

Believe it or not, tonight at 10 PM EST, Muzjiks Radio will be back on air after two months off. Click the link in the right sidebar to get the live stream.

Say A Little Prayer

Pulling a Grizzly Bear...

In an ongoing effort to stay relevant in this fast-paced blogosphere, Muzjiks is selling out with yet another batch of mashups. Don't you fret, though. I mean, all the big names in indie are doing it (see above). You might call Muzjiks the Funeral of blogs...

DJ Gizmo: "What You Know About Beatin' It (Michael Jackson vs. TI)"
ComaR: "Billie Jean, My Love (Michael Jackson vs. Justin Timberlake)"

Post-Rock Does Pop

Post-rock occupies a rather abstruse corner of the indie scene, its vocal-less compositions and double-digit durations alienating to the average listener. Bridging the gap between post-rock and indie, however, are bands like The Album Leaf and The Appleseed Cast that interpolate pop melodies and song structures with post-rock atmospherics and mood. Hailing from San Diego, The Album Leaf is a member of the indie behemoth Sub Pop, which released the band's fifth full-length, A Chorus of Storytellers, at the beginning of this month. However, this number comes from 2006's Into the Blue Again and is arguably the closest the post-rock genre will ever get to a mainstream breakthrough single, for an infectious synth riff contributes to an absolute earworm melody but somehow manages to preserve elements of post-rock. Enjoy.

The Album Leaf: "Always For You"
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I Wrote This Song a Long Time Ago

Posthumous releases are always quite puzzling. Remastering lost tracks is complicated. Publicizing a dead artist is complicated. Motives will always be up for debate. Here's the latest Jimi Hendrix single--yea I said it. Surprisingly, its pretty awesome. He must have wrote it a really long time ago.

Jimi Hendrix: "Valleys of Neptune" [Buy]

'Roo for Me and You

So the initial Bonnaroo 2010 lineup is here. A little underwhelming, in my opinion, but I give the marketing guy props for the rather genius unveiling technique that began at noon today on MySpace and involved a reveal of a new act every six minutes...

How Indie Goes Green

A Minneapolis-based collective headed by the husband-wife duo Craig and Connie Minowa, Cloud Cult is an indie band for the environmentally conscious age. They travel around the country in a biodiesel-powered van to get from gig to gig. They record their albums at Earthology Records on the Minowas' organic, geothermal-powered farm that's built from reclaimed wood and recycled plastic. Their non-profit label only uses recycled materials and donates all the profits to environmental charities. Obsessed? Maybe.

Regardless, Cloud Cult has been churning out innovative indie since for over a decade and a half, in addition to a unique live show that includes interpretive art created over the course of the gig as Connie Minowa and Scott West transmute the emotions they feel as the music is played into a tangible concoction of paint on canvas. To give you an overview of what Cloud Cult is capable of, I offer you several selections from a number of their LPs, although CC certainly falls in the category of an "album band," their musical compositions not fully appreciated unless experience in the context of the ebb and flow of a full record. Enjoy.

Cloud Cult
Breakfast With My Shadow (Aurora Borealis) [2004]
Washed Your Car (Advice From the Happy Hippopotamus) [2005]
Pretty Voice (The Meaning of 8) [2007]
Everybody Here is a Cloud (Feel Good Ghosts) [2008]

Midday Pick-Me-Up

Here's a musical espresso double-shot to get you through the rest of your day...

Jay-Z & Notorious BIG: Allure (Ratatat RMX)

SOTD 2.8.10

A little over a week ago, I posted a couple new tracks from Indianapolis's scarf rock collective Margot & the Nuclear So and So's. Since then, I've managed to get my hands on the other track from Margot's new Birds/Bubble Prick 7". Although I'm admittedly nostalgic for the days of the original Margot sound and lineup, Richard Edwards's musical genius never ceases to shine through in everything he does, and today's SOTD is no exception. "Bubble Prick" is a slow-burning folk tune that hearkens back to stripped-down acoustic numbers from the Dust of Retreat-era like "Hip Hip Hooray."

Check the band's MySpace page for recently announced tour dates that span several midwestern states. If you get the opportunity, don't miss out on the chance to hear Edwards's gravelly, cigarette-battered croon live. Since we all aren't so fortunate as the Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana residents who will have this chance in the coming months, here's a taste of what Margot's been up to lately...

Margot & the Nuclear So and So's: "Bubble Prick"
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Saturday Remix

A little mid-day jolt to the system here--I was sent this remix a few days ago. This is a little different take on Yeasayer's big ole single, "Ambling Alp." This one seems to be a little more playful, a bit bouncier, but it all seems to fit. The remix is done by Alan Wilkis.

Official Website
MySpace
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Yeasayer: "Ambling Alp" (Alan Wilkis Remix)