Music And We

'Soundtrack Of A Revolution': A Conversation With The Internationale (Delila Paz and Edgey Pires)

(RECORDED ON OCTOBER 17, 2024) In the 11 years of doing radio (and now podcasting), jamilah has been experiencing a process of time where increasingly, you have to have some level of notoriety or fame for someone to take the time out to be on an episode of your podcast- or, you have to go through scores of agents and handlers (and sometimes, you don't get a response at all).  We understand that there's an overwhelming amount of media out there currently, and people must be selective.  It's an incredibly humbling experience to be able to converse with someone who is sharing their limited time with us.
The Internationale are no exception.
Quintessentially NYC, Delila Paz and Edgey Pires create music that, from its inception has been decisively anti-racist, antifascist, anti-imperialist and anti-capitalist; they utilize their craft to counter the intersections of classism, racism and misogyny.  Their inspirations range far and wide, from Woodie Guthrie and Buffy Sainte-Marie, to Nina Simone and John Coltrane.  So of course...  we had to talk to them.
And we are certainly glad we did.
Similar to our last episode, this conversation occurred prior to the announcement of Trump's second term presidency, but so much still applies.  Edgey, Delila (both who are incredibly funny) and jamilah discuss everything from moments of fearlessness, the political self-censoring of artists, vanguard/small cadre vs. mass organizing, the limitations of rock lyricism, the moments that inspired a questioning of the system, the misinterpretation of 'revolution',  the experience of being on a major label in transition, appreciation vs. appropriation, where 'protest music' goes wrong under capitalism, (older) rock musicians and fans hoarding the culture for themselves, and most importantly, finding humanity amidst the struggle.
Songs featured on this episode:
-5th World (Soul On Fire, 2019)-1984 (Running For A Dream, 2023)-Freak Revolution (Soul On Fire, 2019)-Bourgeois Blues (New York I Do Mind Dying, 2013)-Life, Liberty, And The Pursuit Of Indian Blood (We Will Reign, 2014)-Try Me (Soul On Fire, 2019)-Workers Of The World- Unite! (Live) (This Bootleg Kills...  Vol 1, 2016)
Thank you for listening! 
For more information on The last Internationale, go to: https://www.tlinyc.com/
Also, For questions, comments, etc.  you can reach us here: musicandwejj@gmail.com

The Role Of An Artist In Troubled Times: A Conversation With Mic Crenshaw

(RECORDED ON OCTOBER 2, 2024)  Interestingly, this is the first episode up since the announcement of Donald Trump's election for a presidential second term; however, despite a bit of time passing in between the recording of this conversation and current events, what was said still applies, since we are living under the same system, regardless of administration.  There may be an argument (or several) that this is not the case.  jamilah and Mic Crenshaw discuss why it is.
Mic Crenshaw is a Portland, Oregon-based artist whose primary vehicle is hip hop, though he has a solid history in the punk tradition.  Much of his life has been spent physically fighting oppressive forces (such as racists) in the streets; in more recent times he utilizes music as a means of education and unity and awareness building, through organizations such as the Afrikan Hip Hop Caravan. 
The topics discussed are (of course) the role of a radical artist, the stupor and deception of U.S. politics, It Did Happen Here (an audio/visual series with Erin Yanke), the positive effects of travel (and the class inequities which prevent it), and more.
Mic Crenshaw’s forthcoming LP, produced by Jonny Cool, entitled True Original (Black Skinhead II) will be out in 2025.
This episode features the forthcoming singles:
-'Retribution' (aka 'Dark Moon') (featuring Toni Hill), produced by Jonny Cool -'Ready' (featuring Toni Hill and Kiloriti Maasai), produced by DJ Trox-'Tiger', produced by Jonny Cool
A video for Ready, shot in Tanzania and Portland Oregon will be released in early December, 2024. He has also organized a band for writing of original material and  live shows called The True Originals.
For more information, go to Mic's socials, as well as https://www.miccrenshaw.com/
Thank you for listening!  For questions, comments, etc.  you can reach us here: musicandwejj@gmail.com

A Family Affair: A Conversation With ZULU's Anaiah Muhammad

(RECORDED ON MARCH 27, 2024) We are so happy to finally have this episode up!  We are grateful to have had the opportunity to have a conversation with Anaiah Muhammad, multi-instrumentalist and lead vocalist of Los Angeles-based band, ZULU.  As a punk kid in the scene in the 1990s, jamilah is pleased to see the tradition be passed on in ways that are more inclusive/intersectional.
This conversation was held while Anaiah was observing Ramadan, and we absolutely appreciate his time. He and jamilah discussed the incremental steps being taken for the hardcore/punk scene to be fully accepting, how interviewers utilize 'otherization', drums being the heart/guide of songwriting, the spiritual connections to punk, the importance of political education and organization, African culture and colloquialisms being appropriated and utilized as trends, as well as the emotional labor of marginalized people. 
Songs in the episode:
-We've Only Just Begun (My People...  Hold On/Our Day Will Come (Flatspot Records, 2021))
-Our Day Is Now (A New Tomorrow, Flatspot Records, 2023)
-On The Corner Of Cimarron & 24th (My People...  Hold On/Our Day Will Come (Flatspot Records, 2021))
Thank you for listening!  For questions, comments, etc.  you can reach us here: musicandwejj@gmail.com
 
 

RIP David Sanborn, Gary Floyd and Steve Albini

In this episode, jamilah pays tribute to three influential figures in the music world- genre-defying saxophonist David Sanborn; outspoken vocalist Gary Floyd, and one of the most uncompromising beings to ever get behind a sound board, Steve Albini.  So many are leaving us, but they have left behind the gifts of their music.
 
Thank you for listening.  For questions, comments, etc.  you can reach us here: musicandwejj@gmail.com

The Marriage Of Sports And Music, With Anthony Broome

(RECORDED ON MARCH 15, 2024) While there are connections based on interest of a particular piece of music or band; many of us live lives outside of that singular interest. 
jamilah and Anthony Broome met via the Metal Up Your Podcast community, specifically through the Discord network.  Because life stories are so vast and interesting, jamilah invited him to come on and speak about his experience/history as a sports writer, a forum moderator (Discord being one of those places), and of course, a ginormous fan of Metallica.  How do these worlds merge?  What are some of the challenges that come up?  What are some of the paths to inspiration (and peace among the noise)?
If you're interested in joining the Discord, let us know and we'll get a link to you!  If you have any questions, comments, etc.  you can reach us here:
Thanks for listening!

The 'Giving Flowers' Series (episode 3): Bad Religion (feat. Chris Warne)

(RECORDED ON FEBRUARY 11, 2024) This episode developed from a few situations; jamilah wanted to do an episode on Fugazi (one of her favoritest bands of all time), but could not  necessarily find someone to do that episode with.  As Fugazi has not been a band since the early 2000s, doing a 'Flowers' episode would not have been feasible; however, members of Fugazi have embarked on several projects since then, so hopefully someone will want to do a 'Fugazi: Past And Present' episode with her.   
In terms of the episode you're listening to now; in a conversation that involved Bad Religion (another one of her all-time favorite bands), Chris Warne mentioned that even though he loved Fugazi, he would be more comfortable with doing an episode on BR- and thus, another 'Flowers' episode was born.  As a matter of fact, Chris and jamilah (along with mutual friend Rob) have started a tri-continental band, borne from a love of Bad religion. 
In this episode you will hear music from Chris' (primary) band, Cowboy Dan; you will also hear several covers, where all the instruments and vocals were performed by jamilah.  We also discuss the various ways this band has positively impacted/inspired us- including the results of a very arduous task of compiling eight specific songs.
We hope you find something positive in your listening experience- we certainly had fun doing this!
You can find Cowboy Dan's music here: https://cowboydanmusic.bandcamp.com/music
We'd love to hear from you!  For questions, comments, etc.  you can reach us here: musicandwejj@gmail.com

Podcasts Unite: A Conversation With Clint Wells (Metal Up Your Podcast)

(RECORDED ON FEBRUARY 7, 2024) We are happy to bring in the first episode of the year of our humble little podcast, a conversation with Clint Wells!  You may be familiar with him as the host of Metal Up Your Podcast;  he's also a professional touring and studio musician, a songwriter and producer...  and all-around nice guy.  In this episode, Clint and jamilah pontificate (in humorous, thoughtful and empathetic ways) on the importance of family and community, what makes a good songwriter, the importance of dialog with those who may hold different views, producing Morgan Wade's upcoming album and of course, Metallica. 
Thank you for listening! 
To hear Metal Up Your Podcast, one way of listening is here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/metal-up-your-podcast-all-things-metallica/id1187775077
We'd love to hear from you!  For questions, comments, etc.  you can reach us here: musicandwejj@gmail.com

jesse and jamilah watch the ’Thriller 40’ documentary...

(RECORDED DECEMBER 4, 2023) Whoo boy...  jesse owes jamilah big time for this one. 
The best way to describe this is to just listen to the episode!!!  In it, we discuss once again, a documentary that doesn't exactly do justice to the musical legacy of Michael Jackson.  We attempt to make sense of why this has (again) occurred, we ask why some of the people in the documentary are there, and we go in a bit on John Landis (because honestly, people who love film should). 
We'd love to hear from you!  For questions, comments, etc.  you can reach us here: musicandwejj@gmail.com

Our End Of The Year Episode!!!

(RECORDED ON DECEMBER 2, 2023) After many months of technical mishaps and life experiences, jesse and jamilah have returned, discussing some (but not all) of their favorite albums released this year; they also discussed the culture of mass information (in relation to Shawn 'Puffy' Combs and other predatory figures), our own contradictions, as well as other cultural events that have since occurred since this posting!  
 
We'd love to hear from you!  For questions, comments, etc.  you can reach us here: musicandwejj@gmail.com

The day jamilah met Metallica...

(RECORDED ON AUGUST 7, 2023) Yes....  The unbelievable happened.  jamilah met her second favorite band of all time, and her greatest musical inspiration.  She is still in immense shock about it.  This episode was recorded the day after Metallica did their two sets (with no repeats) at MetLife Stadium, so please forgive her relative incoherence, and many tears (hopefully jesse does as well!!!). 
We also discuss the passing of Sinéad O’Connor (and experiences with mental health struggles), constantly getting names wrong as a possible personality trait, sexuality and objectification, the SAG-AFTRA strikes, Ice Cube and KRS ONE going full counterrevolutionary, as well as the 'throwing phones' situation.
It's an action packed show!!!
We'd love to hear from you!  For questions, comments, etc.  you can reach us here: musicandwejj@gmail.com
In addition, if you struggling are in need of a voice to talk to, please call 988 (for the u.s. national number), or go to https://988lifeline.org/current-events/the-lifeline-and-988/