Tag Archives: James Pants

“You’re the Best, Around…” (El Keter’s Favorite Albums of 2008, Day Two)

  Out of all the records I enjoyed during 2008 I chose 20 of them as my favorites. I put them all in alphabetical order and wrote about them. Here are five more… Last week I got an e-mail from Asthmatic Kitty Records announcing that a certain website gave Ropechain, the sophomore album from Indianapolis, Indiana’s Grampall Jookabox a […]

“Cheesy Rat, You Ain’t All That…” © James Todd Smith

When I was young and could care less about my Hebrew ancestors’ pronouncements against “unclean animals” I somehow talked my mother into letting me keep a mouse in our house as a pet. I also owned a cat who was, by coincidence, named after a fictional mouse. The cat and the mouse were, […]

“Keys Open Door…Key-Keys Open Doors…”

The pair of acts I’m going to introduce you to today are sort-of a holdover from yesterday’s entry discussing Neptunesian Pop music. Neither of them are signed to the Star Trak label. But both are well-versed in the keyboard and drum-machine-powered method of neoteric transposition of the grooves, melodies, chords, instrumental flourishes, songwriting […]

Paint That Sh*t Gold!

Hopefully some of you went out and peeped Ann Arbor, Michigan-based emcee Buff1’s sophomore LP There’s Only One when I told you to a couple of months ago. If you did you know that Ypsilanti, Michigan-based beatmaker 14KT — who is a member of both the Lab Techs producers collective and, like Buff, the […]

“C-to-the-O-to-the-O-to-the-L-to-the-I-to-the-N” © James Todd Smith

Circumstances beyond my control — but which have much to do with my bank account — have been filling my days with a lot of stress lately. Relaxation and enjoyment of personal time have been at an all-time minimum. Even the fire alarms in my apartment building, which went off last night well […]