Jack Johnson - Brushfire Fairytales (2001)

"Mudfootball (For Moe Lerner)" by Jack Johnson

Zee Avi signed to Brushfire Records, a label created by Jack Johnson and named for his debut album Brushfire Fairytales, released in 2001 on Everloving Records.

Jack Johnson proves a clever songwriter, building up memorable images and wordplay intertwined into rolling rhythms.  The lyrics are suffused with enough film language repurposed for metaphor to remind the listener he's not too far removed from film school, and he's not removed at all from his home state of Hawaii and his love of surfing.  They anchor the album both musically and philosophically in a new iteration of surf music.

Here is the discography surrounding Jack Johnson's debut album:

Brushfire Bootleg (2000 bootleg)

Bubble Toes (2000 single)

Loose Change (2000 compilation song)

Middle Man (2000 single)

Brushfire Fairytales

Maybe This Christmas (2001 compilation song)

Radio Tracks (2002 promo EP)

Flake (2002 single)

Live (2002 live single)

The September Sessions (2002 soundtrack)

Thicker Than Water (2003 soundtrack)

"Inaudible Melodies" by Jack Johnson

"Flake (live)" by Jack Johnson

"Moonshine" by Jack Johnson

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Zee Avi - Zee Avi (2009)

"The Story" by Zee Avi

Ken Boudakian played session guitar for Cli-N-Tel's Shinin' on the Funk.  Outside of his main band (which is an ineligible stop for chronological reasons,) Boudakian doesn't have much other session work to his credit.  One of the few is for Malaysian singer-songwriter Zee Avi who released her debut album Zee Avi in 2009 on Brushfire Records.

Zee Avi's music is comfortable.  Her songs are anchored by the warmth of her guitar or ukulele that sound like a summer rain on the roof and a voice that captures the emotions and romantic memories that go with it.  Her songs are best when not overdressed with typical indiepop production; her lyrics are simple, straightforward and welcoming.  They lack that extra layer of depth, structure or poetry that could have been nurtured with a little more experience and time.  Though the comparison might be unfair, her songwriting is overshadowed by the veteran pen of Morrissey in her poignant cover of "First of the Gang to Die."  But with an album so much of the time of fresh youtube discoveries, the indie boom, and youth in transition, it was better not to wait.

Here is the discography surrounding Zee Avi's debut album:

This Warm December: A Brushfire Holiday Vol. 1 (2008 compilation song)

Brushfire Records Fall 2009 Sampler (2009 compilation song)

Bitter Heart (2009 single)

No Christmas for Me (2009 single)

Zee Avi (2009 promo disc)

Zee Avi

"No Christmas for Me" by Zee Avi

Zee Avi on NPR's Tiny Desk Concert

"Smile" by Zee Avi

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Cli-N-Tel - Shinin' on the Funk (1996)

"Concrete Roots" by Cli-N-Tel

Cli-N-Tel left the Wreckin' Cru after the first album to pursue his own creative and financial direction.  His journey continued with a few singles in collaboration with The Unknown DJ and then recorded again in the mid-nineties as a classic rap act.  In 1996, he released his solo album Shinin' on the Funk on the Dolphin label in Japan.

After nearly 10 years away from professional recording, Cli-N-Tel proves that he has kept up with the West Coast rap scene and that his lyricism has evolved accordingly.  The album is underpinned by excellent beats that sonically chronicle the evolution of hip hop since Cli-N-Tel's World Class days. His raps tell the genre's story, exposes its accrued pomp and reminds listeners of its true source as an art form.  In its unique way, Shinin' is a concept album and Cli-N-Tel confidently embraces his role as classic rapper and hip hop historian.

Here is Cli-N-Tel's discography:

The Big Beat (1985 single with The Organization)

2030 (1986 single)

Ling-O-Istic (1988 single)

It Ain't Mine (1988 single)

Mo' Juice (Juicy, Juicy) (1994 single)

Concrete Roots (1994 single)

Shinin' on the Funk

2030 (2017 remixes)

"2030" by Cli-N-Tel

"Mo' Juice" by Cli-N-Tel

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