I've noticed lately that I tend to do full-out reviews for female artists, yet just write these condensed, "Okay, Go" posts for male artists. Now why would that be? Is it some stereotypical tendency as a gay male to focus on strong-willed female icons? Or is it because, since I haven't liked a lot of the female artists' albums yet have liked the males', I find it easier to critique than to praise? I guess when it is something I'm enthusiastic about, I don't want to discuss it so much, since compliments all sound clichéd (thrilling, gorgeous, well-endowed, etc.). It's so much easier to just embed a YouTube clip and shout "Okay, go! Watch it! Love it?"
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While I ponder this incredibly unimportant query, take a look at the latest male artist I like! (I'm questioning, I'm not changing.) Described as both a "stage musician" and a "British electronic music artist" on his Wikipages, Just Jack (aka Jack Allsopp) is a sort of rapper/singer/DJ. Instead of typically hard, uber-machismo US hip-hop, however, Just Jack is more laid-back. He's a skinny white male rapper with a British accent and an alias, so it's easy to compare him to The Streets (aka Mike Skinner), and the comparison somewhat applies aesthetically, too, but Jack is more dance-oriented. But listening to "Life Stories" on JJ's new Overtones, I immediately thought of G. Love and Special Sauce's "This Ain't Livin'" from their 1994 debut. He can incorporate smooth beats with melancholy acoustic guitar chords and computerized blips, while balancing cynical observations with carefree appreciation for the small things.
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Just Jack already has three (!) music videos to support Overtones, and while I could have embedded the cute "Glory Days" video where he changes t-shirts every 2 seconds and actually attempts choreography (check it out, anyway, it's really cute), I'm going with "Starz In Their Eyez." He somehow made a great pop song about how it can suck to be a pop star: "Since you became a V.I.Person, your problems have all worsened, your paranoia casts aspersions." Not only is the song fun and the lyrics sharp, it's modern culture commentary! He insightfully, if unintentionally, sums up MTV's motives behind Britney's recent VMA disaster ("And they'll just put you in a spotlight, and hope that you'll do all right. Or maybe not") and then chillingly predicts how our generation's Tiffany could find her career bottoming out full-circle ("Remember they said you'd show them all? Emphasize the rise and not the fall? And now you're playing the shopping mall"). He might not have had anyone specifically in mind, but with today's headlines, it's hard not to apply his lyrics to our current pop stars.
But what do I know? He might even have been talking to me directly when he says, "It's a long way to come from your private bedroom dance routines." Tell me about it! What else is there to like about him? Well, his influences range from Jack Johnson (who produced albums by G. Love and Special Sauce - small world!), Barry White and the Neptunes. And! He reads books! Like, even classic, Of Mice and Men-y type books. Yeah, he's cool.
So watch "Starz In Their Eyes" and tell me what you think. Okay, go!
Also check out: Okay, Go: Dance Duo Edition (Justice and Junior Senior).
And: Okay, Go: Scissor Sisters.
While I ponder this incredibly unimportant query, take a look at the latest male artist I like! (I'm questioning, I'm not changing.) Described as both a "stage musician" and a "British electronic music artist" on his Wikipages, Just Jack (aka Jack Allsopp) is a sort of rapper/singer/DJ. Instead of typically hard, uber-machismo US hip-hop, however, Just Jack is more laid-back. He's a skinny white male rapper with a British accent and an alias, so it's easy to compare him to The Streets (aka Mike Skinner), and the comparison somewhat applies aesthetically, too, but Jack is more dance-oriented. But listening to "Life Stories" on JJ's new Overtones, I immediately thought of G. Love and Special Sauce's "This Ain't Livin'" from their 1994 debut. He can incorporate smooth beats with melancholy acoustic guitar chords and computerized blips, while balancing cynical observations with carefree appreciation for the small things.
Just Jack already has three (!) music videos to support Overtones, and while I could have embedded the cute "Glory Days" video where he changes t-shirts every 2 seconds and actually attempts choreography (check it out, anyway, it's really cute), I'm going with "Starz In Their Eyez." He somehow made a great pop song about how it can suck to be a pop star: "Since you became a V.I.Person, your problems have all worsened, your paranoia casts aspersions." Not only is the song fun and the lyrics sharp, it's modern culture commentary! He insightfully, if unintentionally, sums up MTV's motives behind Britney's recent VMA disaster ("And they'll just put you in a spotlight, and hope that you'll do all right. Or maybe not") and then chillingly predicts how our generation's Tiffany could find her career bottoming out full-circle ("Remember they said you'd show them all? Emphasize the rise and not the fall? And now you're playing the shopping mall"). He might not have had anyone specifically in mind, but with today's headlines, it's hard not to apply his lyrics to our current pop stars.But what do I know? He might even have been talking to me directly when he says, "It's a long way to come from your private bedroom dance routines." Tell me about it! What else is there to like about him? Well, his influences range from Jack Johnson (who produced albums by G. Love and Special Sauce - small world!), Barry White and the Neptunes. And! He reads books! Like, even classic, Of Mice and Men-y type books. Yeah, he's cool.
So watch "Starz In Their Eyes" and tell me what you think. Okay, go!
Also check out: Okay, Go: Dance Duo Edition (Justice and Junior Senior).
And: Okay, Go: Scissor Sisters.