Max's Music Mondays with Total Brutal and JELEEL!
There are two (2) really good songs in here. Please come take a listen!
You’re spending your Monday with me?? Wow, thank you! This is Max’s Music Mondays, I appreciate you reading! Please follow the playlist on Spotify and share the silly little newsletter with anyone you think might enjoy. Every new subscriber makes my day I swear <3
Hmmm what should I start with first, the bad photoshop or the intro? The classic chicken and egg scenario. Well this week it’s the intro because I have made Max the chicken and Max the egg for your pleasure… I’m incredibly sorry.
Anyways, if you’ve talked to me at all this week, I’m sure I found a way to force this into the convo - I’ve been reading the new George Saunders book. It’s fucking good as hell, making me appreciate the tiny things that make great writing so great. But frustratingly, it also makes writing seem so easy!! And while, yeah, I guess I’m not having too tough of a time just rambling here, Saunders pulls it off with such profound grace. Something to aspire to. I wanted to share this passage which comes in response to Tolstoy’s short story Master and Man in hopes you might find it as meaningful as I have.
Tolstoy is proposing something radical: moral transformation when it happens, happens not through the total remaking of the sinner or the replacement of his habitual energy with some pure new energy but by a redirection of his (same old) energy.
What a relief this model of transformation is. What else do we have but what we were born with and have always, thus far, been served (and imprisoned) by? Say you’re a world-class worrier. If that worry energy gets directed at extreme personal hygiene, you’re “neurotic”. If it gets directed at climate change, you’re an “intense visionary activist”.
We don’t have to become an entirely new person to do better; our view just has to be readjusted, our natural energy turned in the right direction. We don’t have to swear off our powers or repent of who we are or what we like to do or are good at doing. Those are our horses; we just have to hitch them to the right, uh, sled.
The sled part makes sense if you read the Tolstoy story, but the whole thing really stopped me in my tracks. That reframing of transformation is so dang inspiring I can hardly take it. I’ve been trying to explore that - in my writing, in my running, in my life - and found it so powerful. The “imprisoned by” idea is a particularly great addition, and hope it can be useful for all of you too. If you want to be a better writer or reader, I can’t recommend that book enough (anyone in LA want to borrow? I’m about to finish it). If you want to two amazing songs to listen to, I can’t recommend these two enough (okay go off! king of segues over here!!).
Egypt - Total Brutal
There is absolutely no time to waste here, Total Brutal waiting all of 0 seconds to deliver this magnetic little riff to set the tone. Wavy, groovy, simple. It sneaks out to your ears from the sides of this bass/drum combo - pick any of the three to listen to and these first ten seconds will be ten seconds well spent. When the vocals come in to the fold, this layered delivery is so beautiful. Something about it is so calming. I think that’s because those first ten seconds were so rich I was HAMMERING the dang keys trying to get some thoughts out and now we can just ~chill~. Daydreaming about the last time we all held history books. The melody offers just enough mystery and just enough comfort, feels good but you know there’s more. Propelled by this “didn’t wanna believe it” we get a taste of that spice, and with the synth whirling on underneath it all feels a bit nostalgic. Rose colored glasses looking back on those school years (shoutout 4th period free!!). A little drum fill and HOLD ON *cut to me going back to that 0:44 mark like thirty times in a row* (Note to self: I should learn how to dj or something, that seems easier than clicking on spotify). Those quick vocal hits elevating this from a tight indie jam to a disco-pop smash. It’s a masterful move, just awe inspiring if I’m real with you. After the Return Of The Riff, the vocal stack sounds like it’s smirking, or maybe I’m projecting… but to just show back up and pretend like everything is normal here? After that chorus?? I’d smirk too. Anyways, no time to quibble, the bass is having too much fun! With a little space, the bass shines right through. Now introducing my fav lyric of this tune, “Didn’t wanna sit idle / bite the bridle / the world will make you tame”. Total Brutal sliding some gems throughout. Lovely writing. That synth climbs up and explodes back into the chorus. Next up, a bridge that offers a creative reframe of the chorus, with a lot of just bright and fun energy. Straight up a fun tune! That sneaky solo a generous last touch before the final chorus too. Mixing so many vintage sounds, killer vocals, and some fun surprises, just a winner of a song.
Attention! - JELEEL!
“Jeleeeeel yeahhhh”, both how JELEEL! starts this song and how you’ll finish this absolute tune and a half, thanking a great artist for some real nice work. Here we’ve got a song that floats between and pulls together so many different genres and sounds. It’s an ominous start, the dark growling synth laying the foundation for JELEEL!’s reflection on tougher times. When that drum enters, relentless and marching on, it elevates the emotion. Everything a little more intense. It matches the content, JELEEL! moving into this chanting section. With so many lines aimed at “ya” it feels personal and raw. A feeling amplified when the full drum kit adds to this new bass, and JELEEL! is really letting loose. That “Attention! Come on now attention!” littered with yeah’s, all coming straight from the heart. And it’s catchy as can be and so much fun to yell along with. Just let a ‘yeah’/growl rip and tell me you aren’t smiling! A new evolution of the vocals, they’ve been smooth, fluttering almost, that this ratcheting up of the growl is a stark contrast. The rhythm still feels so powerful, rolling onwards as it picks up more pieces of the band - real avalanche vibes! Finding the smoothest melody yet, we repurpose this chorus arrangement with a smirk-inducing Afro-pop melody. The vocals feel like a relief yet bring more heat than ever with that flutter returning and echoing off into the distance. “Woah / Here we go” begins this onslaught of shouting, it’s pretty fun imo and a nice little surprise buried this deep in the song *rock hand emoji x100*. It’s moments like this that keep this song fresh, elements of rap and punk, surprise around every corner while maintaining that rhythm and energy. It’s just different and hard to define, but the vibe is contagious and at this point if you’re not on your feet screaming Attention! then I don’t know what to tell ya. It falls back to that singing, two perfect layers bringing it home over that dark synth. One pass through JELEEL!’s catalog and you’ll see the all caps and exclamation point are well earned. Moments of rock, of trap, of hip hop, even flirting with some dance beats, all meant to be blasted on the biggest speakers you’ve got. Some real ! stuff. Let it ride and have some fun :)
In case you missed it - CHAI is back, let’s all dance. Smino with 90 seconds of magic. Hand Habits’ new tune is awfully stunning, I love it so much. Deb Never with a dang hit!! Let that thing spin and watch it blossom. The Breathing Effect… hmm the effect?? it’s taking my damn breath away that’s right.
Have a great rest of your week. I’m looking forward to seeing you back here next week. Some really fun stuff bubbling up over here. Stay tuned!!
Until then,
Max
You’re not wrong, the wavy riff of Egypt >>>> great tunes!!