This Is My Jam is a simple social music service that has really grabbed my attention and added a new dimension to the music that I share via The Barn Presents. The premise is that there is one song -- your jam -- that you choose to share with the world for (up to) six days. You can link this up to your other social networks, as well. I find that syncing to twitter, adds another element to the @thebarnpresents feed that may be lost amidst my typical twitter chatter.
I tend to choose jams that are off the beaten path. Sure, I can populate a decade's worth of selections with my favorite Phish or Jerry jams (virtually any tune available on youtube or other public streaming sites are eligible to be jams), but it tends to be under-appreciated songs, new artists or music I love that I find hard to describe in other words that make the bulk of what I go for.
In 6 days, your jam expires. It's gone and you're prompted to pick a new one. it makes this service an especially good way to discover the music that's fresh and important to the people you follow.
That said, only a brief summary of your most recent shares are kept on the site (check it out and follow me there if you're inclined). So, I figured I'd post to the blog the history of my jams with some brief commentary. Below is volume one. The first few volumes will bring us up to the present and I'll continue to share here periodically.
1. My first jam "Locked Down" by Dr. John. It was daunting to try to kick things off and say the right think via my very first jam. But I figured this was all about the jams getting the most play, and I wore out a metaphorical groove in this one when it was released earlier this year.
2. I was equally mesmerized by this Trampled By Turtles track "Alone". Lots of groups claim to have a new take on bluegrass, but there was something I couldn't quite place about this one. Makes me feel great about the genre in the same way that Greensky Bluegrass does.
3. Anders Osborne is quite simply a force. This stripped down version of the title track of his latest release "Black Eye Galaxy" was definitely my jam -- as was the album version and nearly every song on it.
4. Loved the sample from the Beastie Boys "Root Down", but stumbled across Jimmy's Smith's full "Root Down (And Get It)" on a random twitter link that I just had to click. Next thing I knew, I had my new jam.
5. Fell in love with a Megafaun show from Schuba's from archive.org, and found this ten-minute plus version of "Real Slow" on youtube. For an indie-leaning band, it was a surprise that this stretched out number was my jam in more ways than one.
6. The day I decide to write a long form piece on Explosions In The Sky, I know I'll be searching long and hard for the words. I love the sound, but it is just so damn difficult to explain what it is. A bit of post-everything I guess. "Postcard from 1952" smacked me up good, and the video is cinematic in a way that is entirely appropriate for the music.
