Jack's Track of the Day Thread

[Jack of Arcades]

Because I'm a) bored and b) completely full of myself I figured I'd start a music thread so people can both simultaneously laud and deride me for being an "emo gay hipster."

I'll be posting individual tracks that I get into with short write-ups. I'll try to keep them both obscure and accessible so while you might not have heard of a band, I'll make it as easy as possible to download and listen immediately (even if that's hard with some of these bands). Most of them will be recent as the bulk of music I listen to comes from the last 5 years, but I'll probably throw it back every now and then. Others are encouraged to chime in, post stuff of their own, and rip me a new [censored] for liking whatever.

The first track I'm posting is Why?'s "Sanddollars." Why? refers to a band fronted by Jonathan Wolf, a member of cLOUDDEAD and a former Anticon MC (that went by the moniker). If you don't know what Anticon is, you'd probably hate them. They were a label full of angsty white rappers that occassionally said something witty, but usually made you want to punch them and tell them to grow balls.

Thank god Wolf isn't like that.

Wolf blurs the line of rapping, speaking, and singing with a nervous, yet, pleasant nicotine-stained voice. Backing him is a live band with guitar, drums, and whatever else they feel like using. The songs range from charmingly catchy to awkwardly catchy, with music and lyrics that sometimes don't quite fit but I can't help but love anyway. The album's probably best described as a rapper trying to rock, not quite succeeding, and making something both uncomfortable and accessible at the same time.

"Sanddollars" is the closest thing to flat out rock on the album with an infectious dance riff playing throughout the song and accompanying Wolf's voice here, which really shines in the chorus.

Click Here to download "Sanddollars" by Why?