A Closer Look at Raggedy Jeans' 'In Clover'
Thoughts on "Another Day" and other tracks from a memorable instrumental effort.
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About a week ago the excellent music blog No Bells tweeted, “Something I hope emerges from the post p4k nebula is music criticism that’s weirder messier and more challenging. making a case for new forms—for music criticism, period—vs adhering to established ones”
I’d already felt a desire to write more recently, but something about this tweet made me want to actually commit to it. Not necessarily criticism, but general writing about music - even if it’s imperfect and at times messy. I’m going to try to write newsletter articles with greater frequency, hopefully at least once or twice a week. They will be short and sweet. I understand if that’s too much and this is the point where you decide to opt out.
One idea I have is to dive into some of the albums with songs featured on my Less Than 1000 Spins playlist. (Read more about the playlist here, you can also listen to it on YouTube.)
I started this project about three weeks ago and the playlist is already over 300 songs. I’ve had so much fun selecting songs and learned a lot from digging up stuff I wasn’t familiar with. I thought it would be cool to feature some of the artists and albums that the songs come from.
First up is producer Raggedy Jeans, whose mesmerizing song “Another Day” is the leadoff selection for Less Than 1000 Spins.
I discovered Raggedy Jeans back in 2017/2018 through John Morrison and Small Professor. John Morrison is an amazing DJ, music journalist, and producer - I highly recommend digging into his work. Small Professor is likewise an incredible producer.
What immediately drew me to Raggedy Jeans was her 2017 instrumental album In Clover. In a world overflowing with experimental/sample-based/instrumental hip-hop releases, she established a distinct and compelling sound with her 15-track sophomore effort.
Many of the songs run on the shorter side at under two minutes, as Jeans favors a pithy, quality-over-quantity approach. There’s no magic formula for what makes a beat tape/instrumental album enjoyable to listen to, but in this case, the quick pace from track to track complements each selection and the overall flow of the album. You’re left wanting more.
Standouts include Track #2, the bubbly “Fresh Eyes.” The song starts out rather stripped down and minimalist before building up to a more complex arrangement as it progresses. This contrast between the simpler beginning and layered ending is sublime.
Another favorite is of course “Another Day,” my leadoff choice for Less Than 1000 Spins. I just love this song. There’s a space many talented beatmakers/producers seem to operate - a musical sweet spot somewhere between beautiful and a little bit chaotic. A very specific skill set is needed to challenge the listener with something unconventional while delivering a song that people actually want to listen to without losing the audience.
“Another Day” is a perfect example of this. The song starts with some chopped, dissonant tones and sounds, then perfectly blends in beautiful vocal samples to balance the mood. The merging of these two opposite ends of the sonic spectrum sounds great and makes me want to hit repeat every time. I appreciate how Raggedy Jean tucked this track in at #13 out of 15, right towards the end of the album where it works perfectly. It’s a great start to the closeout portion of the record.
I am grateful to John Morrison and Small Professor for introducing me to Raggedy Jeans. I am grateful to Raggedy Jeans for her music. Writing this article gave me a chance to revisit her other work, including her submission to a 2020 sample challenge I organized on Twitter. I’d like to close out by sharing her entry with you.
These sample challenges gave me a way to connect with a lot of producers during the difficult holiday season of 2020. It was a time when a lot of people were experiencing some level of isolation, loneliness, and sadness during the early days of COVID-19. Watching this video again for the first time in a little while made me emotional but in a good way. It brought me back to a very specific time and place as music often does.