Listen To This: "Ninja Pajamas" - Play Date (featuring P.O.S)

We All Shine album cover

I gave Play Date's forthcoming follow-up to their debut Imagination -- the album We All Shine -- a spin today, and one of my favorite tracks on the album wass "Ninja Pajamas."  It's a bit of a left turn for the poppy punk husband-and-wife duo of Greg Attonito and Shanti Wintergate as it's a mellow hip-hop track.  But the mellow nature helps it stand out, as does the appearance of Minneapolis rapper-producer P.O.S.  It just makes me happy to hear him on such a light track about, well, ninja pajamas.

We All Shine is out on Fun Fun Records July 24.

Play Date - "Ninja Pajamas" (feat. P.O.S)

Listen To This: "Hold On to Your Dreams" - Mista Cookie Jar and the Chocolate Chips (World Premiere)

Hold On To Your Dreams

Let's hear it for those artists who figure out what they want to do, outline a plan to achieve those goals, and then actually follow through.  (I say that as someone who has both succeeded and failed in doing so.)

Mista Cookie Jar has been releasing a single per month since fall 2014, and his latest single, "Hold On to Your Dreams," is his seventh in a row.  That's pretty impressive for music releases.  This new track has a different sound than a lot of the uptempo, electronic, soul stuff he's more known for, but CJ suggests that maybe it's his "Appalachian/country roots? --  [his] parents are Filipino but [he] grew up in Alabama/West Virginia before [he] became an LA dude LOL."  The song is a hoedown duet with Miss Tembra Campbell that CJ's been working on for years at backyard bonfires and late night jam sessions, so unsurprisingly its message of hard work and dedication feels lived-in, earning the use of the pots, pans, and pickle jars as accompaniment.

I'm pleased to provide the world-premiere of the stream -- listen below, and click through if you'd like to buy.

Mista Cookie Jar and the Chocolate Chips - "Hold On to Your Dreams" [Bandcamp]

Listen To This: "Spring Day" - Karen K and the Jitterbugs

Karen K and the Jitterbugs' "Spring Day"

As a resident of Phoenix, Arizona, I am careful not to talk about how wonderful the weather is on social media because I don't want to seem like I'm taunting my friends in more northern climes in the winter months.  (Really!  I actually prefer the weather in northern climes!)

I say all that as a way of introducing "Spring Day," a brand new song from Karen K and the Jitterbugs.  From its opening guitar riff aping Bryan Adams' "Summer of '69" to the abundance of "la la las," it's a pure pop confection celebrating the arrival (please!) of spring days.  But as I look at weather forecasts of highs in the mid-90s this weekend, forgive me if I'm already dreaming of songs celebrating fall.  Stream the song below and pay what you'd like for the track.

Karen K and the Jitterbugs - "Spring Day" [Bandcamp]

Listen To This: "The Way We Gets Down" - Mista Cookie Jar

Another month, another new track from Mista Cookie Jar.  This time, it's "The Way We Gets Down," and it's a celebratory track jazzy/hip-hop hybrid with a hint of New Orleans in the mix (perfect for Mardi Gras, right?).  With lyrics like, "Hi to all my hybrids / maximizing hyphens / Duck-billed platypi / confounding bio-science / Oh, what a riot! / It's categorically defying," it's very much in MCJ's wheelhouse.

Mista Cookie Jar - "The Way We Gets Down" [Bandcamp]

Listen To This: "Crumb by Crumb" - Justin Roberts (from Hansel & Gretel)

If Justin Roberts writes music and lyrics in a forest and nobody hears it, does it make a sound?

OK, that's a bunch of nonsense.  If Justin Roberts writes music and lyrics for a musical taking place in a forest and other people sing it, is it the same thing as a Justin Roberts song?

Let's explain then -- Roberts wrote the songs for Hansel & Gretel: A Wickedly Delicious Musical Treat, a brand new musical aimed at young crowd that's now playing in Chicago.  You can hear one complete track, "Crumb by Crumb" -- this is the story of Hansel and Gretel, after all -- and immediately you can hear how Roberts' affinity for wordplay, narrative, and emotional truth would translate well to the (off-)Broadway stage.

If the sounds of "Crumb by Crumb" (or this sampler) intrigue you, you can pick up a copy at Roberts' website; copies will hit Amazon and iTunes in the new year.

Cast of Hansel and Gretel - "Crumb by Crumb" (music and lyrics by Justin Roberts)

Listen To This: "Gratitude" - Mista Cookie Jar and the Chocolate Chips (World Premiere)

It's November, and as we enter into the season of counting our blessings, I'm thankful for and grateful to Mista Cookie Jar for asking me to world premiere the latest song from him and the Chocolate Chips.  It's called "Gratitude," and if it doesn't make move some part of your kids' bodies move in some way, then I might also suggest a remedial course of Motown.

Love the bass line, love the saxophone, and of course a message of gratitude is always timely, regardless of season.

Mista Cookie Jar and the Chocolate Chips - "Gratitude" [Bandcamp] (also available at CD Baby and iTunes)