3/18/12 New Noize on 92.9 KJEE Santa Barbara's Modern Rock

3/18/12 New Noize on 92.9 KJEE Santa Barbara's Modern Rock
Hosted by Haaris Ahmed

I am a DJ at 92.9 KJEE Santa Barbara's Modern Rock and one of the cooler things I get to do is host my own hour called New Noize where I get to slice your ear drums with new sounds. Below you will see my playlist plus a hyperlink to the radio page where my playlist resides...I have also added any music videos (if available) via youtube plus if the music is free check for hyperlinks

http://www.kjee.com/MUSICt.html

1. Ben Kweller "Mean to Me" noise



2. The Wombats "Jump Into the Fog" bright antenna



3. The Mars Volta "The Making Jewel" wb



4. Anya Marina "Notice Me" chop shop



5. Cursive "The Sun & Moon" saddle-creek



6. Bear in Heaven "Kiss Me Crazy" Dead Oceans



7. Wild Belle "Keep You" sandhill



8. Father John Misty "Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings" sub pop




9. Cults "Oh My God" playing @ Velvet Jones 3.24.12



10. Spoek Mathambo "Venison Fingers" sub pop


11. Santigold "Big Mouth"



12. Hodgy Beats (feat Flying Lotus) "Lamented"



13. awE naturalE "QueenS" sub pop



14. Gorillaz/James Murphy/Andre 3000 "DoYaThing"



15. Animal Kingdom "Strange Attractor" mom+pop

New Music Tuesdays - Bear in Heaven, Cursive, Claps

Bear in Heaven - I Love You, Its Cool

I have a pretty big bias when it comes to Bear in Heaven for the simple fact that they make excellent music. Deeply layered, catchy lyrics and the right amount of fuzz makes their newest album, I Love You, Its Cool, a must buy for any hipster and non-hipster. Not saying that this is for everyone, but if you want to venture out into a world of new audio then one definitely wants to run into Bear in Heaven. If you had to compare their sound they would be comparable to bands like Animal Collective and Radiohead.

I Love You, Its Cool is a great album. Stand out tracks like Cool Light and Idle Heart really captivates the entire feel of the disc. It sounds like the making of this album was a labor of love and you can hear the fun embedded in every track. If you have never heard of Bear in Heaven this new album is a great way to start. I haven't had the pleasure of checking these guys out yet, but this Brooklyn based band does have a show at the Echo (in LA) coming up in April, hmmmmm. While I ponder best be sure I am listening to Bear in Heaven's I Love You, Its Cool.

Cursive - I Am Gemini

As 2012 ends there are a couple of significant things that are happening, the aligning of the planets, a new installment of Sin City, and we as a civilization are moving from the house of Pisces to the astrological sign of Aquarius, apropos the 1969 hit Age of Aquarius by the 5th Dimension. What does this have to do with Cursive's newest album I am Gemini? Nothing really I just like talking about that song and 2012.

Cursive's newest album, I am Gemini is full of short songs. There is only 1 track that breaks the 5 minute mark. This is not a bad thing by any means, these shorts spurts of audio excellence has shaped I am Gemini to a tight, under 45 minute album that would make any drive on the 101 (or any road trip) that much more exciting. Cursive has a distinct sound, but has been able to play with their style making songs like Wowowow, The Cat and Mouse, and Drunken Birds. My prediction on I am Gemini in 2012 is: Any Cursive fan is going to love this new album and it should tear up the College charts.

Claps - Wreck

Elecro is fun. Elecrto is old. Electro is back. Does that make new Electro retro? Claps play Electo. Claps have a new album, Wreck and its Electo. Its new but feels retro. Minimalism through analog sounds plus synthesizers makes me smile. Thus I like Electo and like the new album from the Claps.

New Noize 3/11/12

I am a DJ at 92.9 KJEE Santa Barbara's Modern Rock and one of the cooler things I get to do is host my own hour called New Noize where I get to slice your ear drums with new sounds. Below you will see my playlist plus a hyperlink to the radio page where my playlist resides...I have also added any music videos (if available) via youtube plus if the music is free check for hyperlinks

http://www.kjee.com/MUSICt.html

3/11/12 New Noize on 92.9 KJEE Santa Barbara's Modern Rock

Hosted by Haaris Ahmed

1. Claps "Across the Floor"

2. Bear in Heaven "Cool Light" Dead Oceans

3. Sleigh Bells "Never Say Die" mom+pop

4. The Magnetic Fields "God Wants Us to Wait" merge

5. The Mars Volta "The Making Jewel" wb

6. Cursive "Wowowow" saddle-creek

7. Ceremony "Repeating the Circle" matador

8. The Kills "Crazy" (Willie Nelson cover) domino

9. Oberhofer "Away Frm U" glassnote

10. Hodgy Beats (feat Flying Lotus) "Lament"

11. Gorillaz/James Murphy/Andre 3000 "DoYaThing"

12. Santigold "Desperate Youth"

13. Now Now "Thread" trans

14. Nite Jewel "One Second of Love" secretly canadian

15. Poor Man "Any Place" sub pop

16. Races "Big Broom" frenchkiss

17. Daniel Rossen "Silent Song" warp

Reflections of 32 years

32 years ago I was cut out C section style at Elizabeth General in New Jersey. Somehow I ended up in Southern California not knowing what tomorrow will bring. I have seen some amazing things, the Berlin wall fall, a black man become president, a deer carcass exploding on I-78 as BMW Z3 drove over it and the rise of the internet. Its crazy times we live in, I remember when Hip Hop was called a fad, Voltron lions was made out of lead paint (and was recalled), and graffiti artists went from public scourge (and private hero's) to legit artists (and pretentious tools).

Here are some things that I have experienced and learned in my 32 years of being on this planet. This isn't an official list or anything, just stuff I can remember of the top of my head.

Some of My Favorite Shows of All Time (in no particular order without dates)

Tool @ Hammerstein Ballroom (part of a secret 4 show tour pre Lateralus)

Dead Weather @ the Mayan

Daft Punk @ Coachella

Sonic Youth @ the Greek Theater for the Daydream Nation Tour (they did all of Daydream Nation cover to cover, then came back on and did 9 songs off of rather ripped, over 3 hours plus i talked to King B of the Melvin and Spick Jones)

Grinderman @ the Music Box (Henry Fonda)

NIN @ MSG for the Fragile Tour

M.I.A. @ the Echoplex

Pearl Jam & Ben Harper @ Randell's Island No Code Tour (first show with a friend who would become a brother)

Gorrillaz @ Electric Factory (Philadelphia, PA)

NIN & BORIS @ Schottenstein Center Columbus OH

Mars Volta @ Santa Barbara Bowl 2005 (post Frances the Mute Tour)

White Stripes @ Radio City Music Hall

Flight of the Conchords @ Santa Barbara Bowl

Boris @ the Casbah in San Diego

Autolux @ the LA Museum of Natural History

Yeah Yeah Yeahs @ the Mayan

Rage Against the Machine & Wu tang Clan @ Continental Airlines Arena 1997 (Zack broke his ankle midway thru the set, taped it up and finished the show and Atari Teenage Riot got boo'd off stage)

Foo Fighters @ Velvet Jones in Santa Barbara

Favorite Video Games Music/Soundtrack

Legend of Zelda (1st, Super Nintendo)
Streets of Rage
Guilty Gear (1 and 2)
PixelJunk Shooter 1&2
Sword and Sorcery
The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai
Final Fantasy III

Worst Video Game Music/Soundtracks

Marvel vs Capcom 2
Super Puzzle Fighter

Things That I Have Learned to be Absolute

Protect Ya Neck
Pistachio Ice Cream is the Best
She is ALWAYS right
Best pizza is located in the tri-state area
There is only 1 trilogy and that's Star Wars
Halloween is the best Holiday that isn't a federal holiday
My mom is my favorite chef
Tyler Stout is an amazing poster artist
Wu Tang Clan still and always will be Nothing to Fuck With

I can go on listing things for days, but that would be kinda narcissistic, well more narcissistic than this post already is so I'll stop. Big ups for reading, posting and supporting through out the years.

Live Report - GZA at Velvet Jones 3/7/12

Santa Barbara is know for many things but Hip Hop shows aren't one of them. On the off nights when this does happen, it usually ends up being a shit show of opening acts who have zero talent, followed by the main act who will come on way to late and cut out early so you can understand the skepticism of me going out on a Wednesday night to see a hip hop show, but its the GZA and as a loyal Wu fan I must show my support. (plus it doesn't hurt getting a text message from the owner of the club wishing you a happy early birthday and comping tickets, you the man Craig)

I took the trip down to the Velvet Jones (a primer spot in downtown SB to see awesome artists at a tiny 300 max venue) and got in around 10:30. GZA didn't go on until 11:35ish. It was during this period where I wondering if I had made the right decision. The show was all ages plus it was on a Wednesday night and to be perfectly honest I expected the club to be semi full at best. I was WRONG. Velvet was packed, in fact they sold out. There were kids running around in the club bobbing their heads to some seriously horrible music, if you can call that garbage sound music. I figured GZA was going to come out for 30 minutes tops and then call it a night. WRONG AGAIN.

GZA comes out and starts to tear through liquids swords doing all of his verses, then he got to Shadowboxin' where he started to spit Method Man's into verse, I lost my shit when that happened. Since he was only doing his verses in the traditional MC format of himself, his hypman and dj, they were able to play alot more content. I can not recite his set list by heart, but I can tell you what songs he did preform (in no particular order):

Duel of the Iron Mic
Labels
Cold World
4th Chamber
Liquid Swords
Rough Cut
Animal Planet <---first time I heard him do this live, it was a personal highlight
Fame
Knock Knock
Beneath the Surface
Crash Your Crew
All In 2gether
Breaker Breaker
Reunited
Triumph
Brooklyn Zoo (ODB cover)
Clan in da Front
7th Chamber
Protect Ya Neck

and more! I just cant remember. So yes I was relived that I stayed for the whole thing, if I hadn't I would have missed a killer GZA show.

He was having fun on stage, during his set he would grab peoples cell phones as they were recording right out their hands, flip the camera towards himself, get real personal and give it right back to the now super stoked Wu fan. He was also taking pulls of the local flavors in the crowd and hitting on a all the ladies. At one point he thew a girl a piece of paper, she got a pen and handed it right back to him after jotting something down. Like Raekwon said, "Damn right we fuck fans". One of my favorite moments was towards the end of his late night set, GZA got his comedy style on. At one point some kid jumps on stage and GZA lets him do a freestyle, watch what happens, its pretty embarrassing:



GZA ended up staying on stage until the club shut him down. He preformed literally until they turned on the lights and shut off his mic. I for one am glad that my almost 32 year old ass got up and went to this show, I would have been pissed if I was reading this and not have gone.

WU TANG

New Music Tuesdays - Ceremony, Grimes And Doulogue

Another Tuesday and another day of highlighting new music that is coming out or just came out. SxSW is just around the corner and due to devastatingly bad luck I will not be taking this holy pilgrimage to Austin TX. For all of you not attending the festivities I give you 3 pieces of audio that should hold you over.

Ceremony - Zoo

Coming out last month, Ceremony's 4th album Zoo is a bevy of garage rock fuzz filled notes, punk chords and all around rock melodies that take me back to a decade where rocking 3 different flannel's at the same time was socially acceptable. Even though Ceremony didn't emerge until after the 90's were over, this San Fransisco punk band has been making music like they were at the forefront of that sound that made all of us hate MTV for being the sole provider of music videos (when MTV played music videos). As quoted from my girlfriend "They kinda sound like Green Day" and shes right, they kinda do, only a lot more aggressive and not as clean(which in my humble opinion is a very good thing). Songs like "Quarantine," "Hysteria", and "Nosebleed" have me hitting back on my ipod so I can relive that musical experience. Will this band ever make it to regular rotations on Alternative Rock radio stations? Probably not but they should, Zoo has a universal quality that I think anyone can appreciate. Ceremony's album Zoo is out on Matador and I highly recommend it.

Grimes - Visions

Who likes mellow beats with a sweet lady voice that makes all the people nod their heads wherever they hear that magical sound? This guy does! Out on 4AD, this album according to the almighty wiki, only took 3 weeks to make in a Canadian apt. Getting a whole lotta buzz I wouldn't be surprised if you started to hear her music being used to advertise the newest economy sedan or ipod color. These are not knocks, far from it. In fact I hope she gets paid to make more music. I dare anyone to listen to any of the tracks on Visions and not be hypnotized by her catchy hooks and laid back DIY pop sounds. Hard to describe but easy to listen to Visions by Grimes should be an easy purchase to make.

Duologue - A-B EP

First off I thought that the name "Duologue" was a play on words, and surprise surprise its not. It is an actual word, (according to http://www.thefreedictionary.com/duologue) check it:

du·o·logue n.A dialogue or conversation between two persons: "a reasonably well-constructed duologue for two experienced performers" (Noel Coward).

Who knew? Anyways these London based sound innovators have an interesting EP out called A-B. I dig it, its only 4 songs long but its not about quantity, its about quality. Normally I would go onto describe the sound and tell you to "pick it up" but not this time. Go ahead an formulate your own opinion, check out their youtube channel and rate em for yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/user/duologuemusic

New Noize 3/4/12

I am a DJ at 92.9 KJEE Santa Barbara's Modern Rock and one of the cooler things I get to do is host my own hour called New Noize where I get to slice your ear drums with new sounds. Below you will see my playlist plus a hyperlink to the radio page where my playlist resides...I have also added any music videos (if available) via youtube plus if the music is free check for hyperlinks

http://www.kjee.com/MUSICt.html


3/4/12 New Noize on 92.9 KJEE Santa Barbara's Modern Rock
Hosted by Haaris Ahmed

1. Duologue "Crave" wild game

2. St Vincent "Cheerleader" 4AD



3. Sleigh Bells "Demon" mom+pop



4. TJ & the Past Haunts "Janice Haynes" no sleep



5. Ceremony "Quarantine" matador



6. Hodgy Beats (feat Flying Lotus) "Lamented"



Download for FREE here

7. Gorillaz/James Murphy/Andre 3000 "DoYaThing"



8. Abnormal Injustice Presents the Skateboarding Gay Style tape...Jen vs Tim Okazaki "Sushi Flavor"

Download for FREE here

9. Nite Jewel "One Second of Love" secretly canadian



10. The Mars Volta "The Making Jewel" wb




11. Oberhofer "Away Frm U" glassnote



12. Santigold "Desperate Youth"



13. Animal Kingdom "Strange Attractor" mom+pop



14. Micky Avalon "Girlfriend" banana beat



15. Wild Belle "Take Me Away" sandhill sound


16. Grimes (ft Doldrums) "Color of Moonlight"(Antiochus)