Disorganized Fun Review
We’ll follow the same format of my review of Ronald’s debut album and go through it song by song ( or I’ll just post it as is because it’s been sitting in my drafts for four years so BAM published.
Disorganized Fun
The title track gets this thing going with energy right off the bat. The signature of a Jenkees beat is it’s ability to make you move. Thirty seconds in and my head was bobbing, my legs were moving, my shoulders shrugging, basically dancing in my seat.
Another signature of Ronald’s music is its dynamic nature. He segues from section to section smoothly while changing up the song’s bits and pieces just enough to keep it fresh throughout the whole track. This song feels like something you’d play when you’re getting ready to head out for the night and need something to get you energized and ready to have some disorganized fun.
A perfect title, perfect beats, and a perfect way to introduce your ears to the latest Jenkees songs.
Score: 6/5
An early version of Disorganized Fun:
Just watch the passion and fun Ronald injects into his music in this video and try not to get infected with that exuberance.
Fifteen Fifty
As Disorganized Fun slows down and fades out, Fifteen Fifty gently swoops in to keep your body moving and your face smiling. Yet another signature effect of RJ’s music is that it has deep layers but can also be categorized as feel-good music. I can’t quite pin-point what it is but every time I start listening to a song Ronald produced it gets me energized.
The scratchy, static-esque bass drops at the beginning of the song set the mood for a harmonious jam. While the title track gets you ready to go out, Fifteen Fifty is the perfect soundtrack en-route to your destination. It’s steady and smooth but has a few heavy bass lines in just the right places that would sound awesome in a heavy-duty system but sound damn good pumping through my sub-$20 six+ year old Sony MDR-V150 Headphones (
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Guitar Sound
Wow, wow, wow. This synthesized guitar sound is incredible. And I’m not the only one who thinks so!
Over on YouTube, paderes234 sums it up well:
I yelled Wow for 12 times…. I? can’t seem to stop my bones from chillin, Love this :!!
The melody is awesome, the guitar sound is awesome, everything about this song is awesome. Don’t believe me? Give it a whirl below!
An early version of Guitar Sound:
Synth One
An early version of Stay Crunchy:
Inverted Mean
In my review of the debut album, I mentioned that Remix to a Remix was “Begging for a talented hip-hop lyricist, this beat is hot.”
Same line applies here to Inverted Mean. The beefy bass line backing up the majestic piano and occasional cymbal here is redonkulous. The last minute of this song is smoother than silk.
Score: 7/5
Outer Space
I’ll let Ronald introduce this one:
Hello YouTubes! Coming at you today from far out in left field with a new beat that’s kinda weird. I like jamming out to weird stuff, and ya’ll probably know that already!”
Weird and wonderful. Ronald takes us on a journey on this track through never before traveled regions of space and beyond!
An early version of Outer Space:
]]>BIRDY NAM NAM - THE PARACHUTE ENDING from Steve Scott on Vimeo.
]]>BIRDY NAM NAM – THE PARACHUTE ENDING from Steve Scott on Vimeo.
]]>Hopefully that brightens up your Monday Morning.
Rocking, eh?
]]>Check out this solo I found on youtube:
Ridiculous, eh?
Also, I just picked up the Legendary Music Volume 1 album from the Living Legends which contained 2010, a great use of the beat from The Man Who Sold The World by Nirvana / David Bowie. Here’s a youtube video of the song:
Double ridiculous, eh?
Have a great (and long) weekend everyone!
]]>For more Ronald Jenkees beats, make sure to pick up his debut album from Amazon.com for only $8.99! So far the CD has 5/5 stars on Amazon but if you’re still not convinced, check out my review of the album.
Oh, and be on the lookout for Ronald’s second album set for release towards the end of the summer.
]]>- The Dropkick Murphy’s
- Ronald Jenkees
- The Doors
- Modest Mouse
- The Who
I like the Dropkick Murphy’s but would not go as far as to say they’re my favorite band of all time. Still, since I’ve installed iLike on my iTunes, they’ve topped the charts. I’ve been using iLike for about a year so take these results as you will. Anyway the Dropkick Murphy’s are a kickass band and with the recent sports success around Boston it doesn’t surprise me I’ve been blasting their music. Their latest CD, The Meanest of Times, is quite good and I’d recommend giving it a listen if you haven’t already.
Well, I’ve written about Ronald plenty of times here, here, again here, another time here, countless other times, and I gave his debut album a very impressive review so by no means am I surprised he ranks highly in my personal charts. Ronald’s beats are so tight, I’ve used his Rocky Remix song as the main ringtone on my iPhone since I bought the phone.
When I was a little kid (less than ten), my mom took me to one of her friend’s home for a dinner party. After everyone ate the adults start conversing and doing boring adult stuff so I went and hung out with their son who was in his early 20’s (I think). Honestly, I don’t remember too much about him but I remember he was a huge fan of The Doors and had a very sick car that went very fast. At that time, I didn’t know that much about The Doors other than that they were apparently a great band that met an early end after Jim Morrison’s death.
Anyway, the kid took me for a ride in his car (my memory tells me it was a souped up Camaro but it was a while ago) and I was literally holding onto the seat belt in complete and utter fear and exhilaration as he drove around. We ended up back at the house safe and sound but while driving I was scared. Still, I remember sitting in my mom’s car on our drive back home thinking that guy was one of the coolest people I’ve ever met.
Unfortunately, like the career of Jim Morrison, this story does not end well. A few months after that dinner party, that guy ended up getting into an accident in his Camaro (again, I could be way off on the car being a Camaro) and he did not make it.
Over the years I’ve come to appreciate The Doors more and more but they’ll forever remain a band whose memory is intertwined with death, not just for me but for many of the band’s fans. Yet, the band still sells a million plus albums every year. Needless to say, The Doors are epic.
It seems every couple of months I go through a Modest Mouse phase and play their music a ton, and then grow a bit tired of it and don’t listen to it for a few months. Personally, I have to be in a very specific mood to fully enjoy Modest Mouse, otherwise the Isaac Brock’s voice starts to annoy me.
When I’m in the right mood, Modest Mouse rocks. Their unique sound coupled with Brock’s unique voice create an addictive sound that’s near impossible to find in other bands.
This band’s placement in my top five most listened to artists is the most surprising of the five. While the other four groups have a good chance at being in my top ten favorite artists of all time, The Who just don’t capture my passion the same way. Don’t get me wrong, they’re a great group and have released some great music but I was a bit shocked I’ve listened to them that much. Perhaps they were on a loop one night and picked up a lot of play counts.
Still, The Who have a huge discography of solid songs and have influenced many artists.
Considering that my iPhone is taking over as my most used medium for listening to music, I wonder how different this list would be if I tracked the songs I listen to on my iPhone. On the other hand, since my iPhone can only hold so many songs at once my choices are limited and some artists would surely receive a disproportionate amount of plays.
]]>My friend accidentally figured out that Oklahoma’s Malcolm Kelly’s freestyle went perfectly with my beat “Remix to a Remix”. So he helped me cue the video up and it’s actually cool.
Hella cool dude. This mashup of Kelly’s rap and the Jenkees track go perfectly together. Give it a listen and view below.
Big, big thanks to macosxhints.com for finding this great hack for the iPhone and to Kelley over at 50leaves.com for testing its effect on signal strength. Here’s the three basic steps for this hack from macosxhints:
- Cut out a 2″ x 3″ piece of aluminum foil.
- Fold foil in half horizontally (foil is now 2″ x 1.5″).
- Tape foil from the bottom right corner (on the back of the iPhone) up to the middle of the text iPhone using electrical tape.
Sounds silly but it works. I’ve gone three hours now with no interference from my iPhone, and I used to get interference every 15 minutes or so. I’ve had no drop in signal either and have received and made calls as usual. The iPhone looks a bit funny with tinfoil and electrical tape on the back of it but it’s OK.
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Through the months, all of this blog’s crucial statistics have improved (on pace to blow out my high mark for unique visitors tonight), except one: comments!
So, in an attempt to increase those numbers, this contest will be very simple; simply comment on this post and you’ll entered for a chance at Ronald’s awesome CD! For those who don’t want to wait a week, you can order Ronald’s debut album directly from his blog.
At the end of the contest, all comments will be reviewed and all valid comments (not spam) will be tossed into a pool and randomly chosen. You can comment on anything you want, but I’m interested in how you first heard about Ronald Jenkees and what do you think of his music?
This contest will end next Monday at midnight. Make sure you leave an e-mail address when commenting so I can get in contact with the winner. Good luck!
]]>I feel my blogging energy coming back after the slowdown over the past few weeks and to make up for the slowdown I’ll be hosting my first contest here. The details are still being formulated but the top prize will be an unopened copy of Ronald Jenkees’ self-titled debut album and will go on for at least one week. Look for the final details either tomorrow or Sunday. Also, be on the watch for a full review of the iPhone and a review of a fellow Boston Latin School alum’s album, Contak’s Dangerous by Definition. Until then, everyone have a great Friday night and go Sox!
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