Just to be clear, when I joke about a lack of readers or whatever, it's just poking fun at myself. I'm doing this project as a fun exercise in going through my own music. The presence or absence (mostly absence) of reader/listeners doesn't change my desire to do it.
There, that should clear things up for both of you! Let's listen to some tunes!
Beastie Boys, "Ricky's Theme"
This song seems like a long, long ways from the snotty party rap of their first record. Always slow to make music, the mere two years between Check Your Head and Ill Communication turned out to be the shortest gap between records in their entire career. And, perhaps not surprisingly, the two records are probably the most similar of any two in their discography. I prefer the former record, both for being more groundbreaking but also more fun, but both are very strong.
G. Love and Special Sauce, "Eyes Have Miles"
G. Love and Special Sauce combine a laid-back take on jazz and blues with bits of hip-hop sensibility, all overlaid with a certain slacker aesthetic. There's more than a little Beastie Boys in the DNA of this music, for instance. For just hanging out and drinking on a summer day, though, it's just about perfect.
Royal Thunder, "The Bear II"
Royal Thunder is mostly a stoner rock band, with the relative rarity of a female vocalist, which helps them stand out more from the pack. This song, obviously, isn't really that, and is pretty uncharacteristic of the album (Crooked Doors) as a whole. I do like the album a fair bit, though.
Beastie Boys, "Heart Attack Man"
Well, I guess this was bound to happen. Another track off the same album, this finds the Beastie Boys getting back to their original roots as a hardcore band. And they sound pretty credible, honestly.
J-Zone, "The Zone Report"
Another track from J-Zone, and another track that isn't really a proper song. This is instead a reflection of his career up to this point, of sorts. At some point, we'll get actual music from him.