Thursday, January 31, 2008

Black or White?

FILE UNDER: PRIMARIES: So Fucking Disco


Yeaeaah...I don't know dawg...

"...The presidential primary has a little dejá vù in it, Hooks says. Some elders in the black community are backing Hillary because they liked Bill. But Hooks is still his own man, and once again he wants to see the candidates square off in person before deciding. Clinton is solid on policy, Hooks says, but Obama is inspirational." Black people are not ashamed to tell me directly, 'You should support the brother,' " he says. His young secretary, for instance..."

  • LOS ANGELES TIMES: Figuring out who's the better candidate


  • Photo spotted over at
  • The Rap Up.
  • Wednesday, January 30, 2008

    Canary in a coalmine.



    Clap your hands say yeah?

    You know what I did today when I got home from work?

    I checked my e-mail and then headed over to the Itunes music store and scanned the new Vampire Weekend album...for the first time!

    It wasn't supposed to be like this.

    On Tuesday I marched into my record store of choice/convenience pumped to get my hands on a few new cds, with the VW disc being one of them. Unfortunately after a few minutes of walking in circles, cruising the new release wall, the V section, the W section, and searching aimlessly for an "indie" section [hey, you never know], I hit up the teenage sales associate and asked if they had it. He, in return, sighed, looked off into the distance and said "yeah. apparently that didn't arrive on the truck this morning",[I got the vibe that he was answering this question all day] before scampering off to find a DVD or convene with the fifty million twenty-something employees chatting it up near the entrance to the store. To no one's surprise, the checkout line was long, and only two registers were open.

    But I digress.

    I shrugged my shoulders, walked out, and said "fuck it." I've waited this long, why not wait a couple more days right? It's not like Vampire Weekend will be out of fashion, or here today gone tomorrow by then right? I mean those who championed them in the past will still like them come tomorrow, right?...

  • IDOLATOR: The Top Four Sentences From Yesterday's Vampire Weekend Profile That Made Me Vow To Never Read A Story About Them Again


  • VULTURE [NY MAG]: What to Expect From the Upcoming Vampire Weekend Backlash


  • STEREOGUM: Vampire Weekend Is Out! Now, Counting Down To Backlash


  • STATUS AIN'T HOOD: Vampire Weekend: Hated On Mostly


  • Right!

    A Moment of Clarity.


    What a girl wants?...

    "...The problem for Brit is probably simple, aside from no fundamental street experience - When the time comes to take control of your life, usually around 25 years old - the people around you, who were used to getting it all their own way, cannot adjust to your new found adulthood & the realisation of your power - it is now their turn to listen & do what you are asking of them, this may not prove to be very popular - so they turn on you & start airing their concerns for you, probably because you have seen thru'' their bullshit & are about to fire their greedy ass... (As they are doing more coke than you & also buying it for you, even when you don't want it)..."-Andy Taylor, Duran Duran

  • MYSPACE: Andy Taylor - WAKE UP - IN DEFENCE OF BRITNEY...
  • Flashing Lights!

    FILE UNDER: Video of the month!

    Another day, another stellar music video from Ms. Minogue. Are you sitting down? Cause I don't think you're ready for this jelly...



    WOW WOW WOW WOW!

    P.S. Please tell me that's NOT a body double against the neon lights

    Tuesday, January 29, 2008

    Can you feel it?

    "Niggas trying to bring the 80's back. That's O-K with me, that's where they made me at.."



    I'm feeling that line up. All I ask for is substantial singing, little to no hypemen, and no shouting. I can't go for that. Nope. No can do...

    Poster spotted over at
  • Nah Right.
  • "I'm not the average girl on your video..."

    FILE UNDER: Video of the Night!

    Fresh, over at
  • Crunk + Disorderly
  • writes:

    "Britney Houston's version of Janet's "Feedback" isn't just better than the original its TRUMPS that shit. An excercise ball + baby powder = pure genius. Somebody give this lady a development deal."



    That swag is seriously something heavy. Like a first day period.

    GO TEAM!

    FILE UNDER: New flava in ya ear!


    Up, Up, and away!

  • Gnarls Barkley - Run
  • How does it feel?

    ...In My Arms.

    Kylie Minogue.

    Ta-ta-turn the volume up!



    Seriously, are you bumping X yet?

    F.or U.s B.y U.s

    FILE UNDER: PRIMARIES: So Fucking Disco!


    You must not know bout me!


    "...While talk of unity and compromise are inspiring to a nation wary of divisiveness, America stands at a historic crossroads where real issues divide our political landscapes. Democrats believe that America should not be torturing people, eavesdropping on our citizens or imprisoning them without habeas corpus or other constitutional rights. We should not be an imperial power. We need healthcare for all and a clean, safe environment.The loftiest poetry will not solve these issues. We need a president willing to engage in a fistfight to safeguard and restore our national virtues..."


  • LOS ANGELES TIMES: Kennedys for Clinton
  • Monday, January 28, 2008

    This is how we do it.

    Yes it it Boyz II Men. You don't even know...

    Now if you visit this blog often, you know that old school jams are more often than not posted under the "Old School Funk for the True Funk Soldiers" headline. But sometimes old school joints are so good, so well put together, so classic to a brotha, [see Montell Jordan's This is how we do it] that all I can do is marvel at their goodness as they boldly play on and show us how's it done. This jam, presented below, is one such example.


    Brandon got a new soundsystem for his car this weekend. No more spinning of the iPod dial with one hand while turning the steering wheel with the other for him. No siree. It's all about touch screens, XM satellite radio, navigation systems, and having the option of watching a movie or playing some songs. While riding home last night, Brandon was in full Smooth Jazz and R&B mode, and after gunning through Bone Thugs N Harmony, and Bonny James ["Y'all don't know nothing about that." No Brandon, we don't.], he settled on Boyz II Men. And he almost skipped past this track, but I made him go back and turn it up, cause 1) it has literally been years since I had heard this song, and 2) it's just too classic to pass up.



    Smooth, subtle, and to the point. It may have been a good three or four years since I last heard this song, but that still didn't stop me from getting my Midnight Love croon on from the backseat.

    Sunday, January 27, 2008

    Put the needle on it.

    FILE UNDER: Video of the night!

    Old School Funk for the True Funk Soldiers!

    OH MY GOD!!!!

    FILE UNDER: New flava in ya ear!



    Can you handle it?

  • Sexual Eruption [Fyre Department Remix] - Snoop Dogg feat. Robyn
  • Stuntin' like my Daddy.

    FILE UNDER: Big Ups Barack Obama!

    God this primary season is so fucking disco man! So fucking disco...




    "OVER the years, I’ve been deeply moved by the people who’ve told me they wished they could feel inspired and hopeful about America the way people did when my father was president. This sense is even more profound today. That is why I am supporting a presidential candidate in the Democratic primaries, Barack Obama...I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them. But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president — not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans."
    - Caroline Kennedy

  • NEW YORK TIMES: A President Like My Father


  • MSNBC: Why Obama won and what his win gets him
  • Saturday, January 26, 2008

    For Your Consideration.


    The Best Damn Thing?

    A few weeks back I found myself in Rob's and Dave's apt post work on a Friday night. Rob works from home, so KROQ, or JackFm, or something of that ilk is always on in the background. It was another one of those rare moments where I get to actually listen to the radio and maybe here something that wasn't touted on a blog, or in a magazine. Yes, it is times like these that i get to kick it old school, and get my music the old fashioned way: from the radio. At this moment KROQ was supplying the music to the scene. The "yeah, whatever" voiced and attitude'd female DJ [is it just me or have many a female rock DJ gotten down on the mic as if they take their personality cues from Jane and Daria?] kept apologizing for her "enthusiasm over this new band that she had to play. MGMT is their name. She was going to break up the monotony and warned that it may be different from what we KROQ listeners usually expect from the station, but we're better off just letting our guards down and enjoying it:



    Yeah...I guess. Looks like I may need a few more listens before I warm up to it completely. You?

    Decent Days and Nights.

    FILE UNDER: New flava in ya ear!


    I can feel it!

  • MYSPACE: The Beginning of the Twist - The Futureheads
  • ...



    OneTokenBlackGuy (1:54:55 PM): I didn't pass out til 4 a.m.
    OneTokenBlackGuy (1:55:01 PM): got too drunk on beer and sparks
    OneTokenBlackGuy (1:55:15 PM): and saw -unfortunately- rambo
    moovieman84 (1:55:22 PM): oh my god
    OneTokenBlackGuy (1:55:23 PM): 90 minutes of my life I'll never ever get back
    moovieman84 (1:55:28 PM): was it terrible?
    OneTokenBlackGuy (1:55:38 PM): and they were discussing it afterwards like it was the second coming or something
    OneTokenBlackGuy (1:55:43 PM): is that even a question?
    OneTokenBlackGuy (1:55:44 PM): haha
    moovieman84 (1:55:59 PM): the rambo where he goes to nam from the 80s is a camp classic
    moovieman84 (1:56:11 PM): i mean, one of those so bad it's good movies
    OneTokenBlackGuy (1:57:15 PM): not even
    OneTokenBlackGuy (1:57:24 PM): it took itself way too seriously
    OneTokenBlackGuy (1:57:29 PM): and the plot
    OneTokenBlackGuy (1:57:30 PM): get this
    OneTokenBlackGuy (1:57:35 PM): some rebels from Burma
    OneTokenBlackGuy (1:57:43 PM): kidnap american missionaries
    OneTokenBlackGuy (1:58:00 PM): with the main captive being a blonde blue eyed bitch with a heart of gold for jesus
    OneTokenBlackGuy (1:58:05 PM): nu-uh
    OneTokenBlackGuy (1:58:07 PM): I don't like it

    Reach out and touch, somebody's hand!

    FILE UNDER: A Moment of Clarity.



  • LAIST: 'Soy Barack Obama y apruebo este mensaje'
  • This is how we do it.

    Yes it is The Dream. You don't even know...

    Now if you visit this blog often, you know that old school jams are more often than not posted under the "Old School Funk for the True Funk Soldiers" headline. But sometimes old school joints are so good, so well put together, so classic to a brotha, [see Montell Jordan's This is how we do it] that all I can do is marvel at their goodness as they boldly play on and show us how's it done. This jam, presented below, is one such example.


    Hard to believe, but I just heard this song for the first time last night while riding to Safeway with the homies to get some thirty racks. That "YOUUU" part in the first verse made me sit up at attention and my ears go up like a dog hearing a damsel in distress somewhere off in the distance. -Sigh- I think I'll be playing Lovehate all day today.



    A yo F-A-B-O-L-O-U-S! Where you been dawg? I liked them bars.

    Riddle Me This?



    "Obama offers something transformative and new, and this frightens some voters, who wonder if he can live up to his undeniable potential. The Clintons, meanwhile, offer something old and familiar. But will a trip down memory lane with Billary reassure voters or end up frightening them even more?"

  • LOS ANGELES TIMES: A Clinton twofer's high price
  • Friday, January 25, 2008

    MIXTAPE FRIDAYS!!!



    Let's not kid ourselves...

    "Y'ALL KNOW WHAT THIS IS!"

    1
    T.H.E. H.I.V.E.S.
    The Hives

    2
    Kiss Kiss [Eli Escobar and Doug Grayson Remix ft Wale]
    Chris Brown feat. T-Pain

    3
    Cold Blooded
    Rick James

    4
    Perfect Lover
    Britney Spears

    5
    Rolling Down The Hills (Spring Demo)
    Glass Candy

    6
    All Night Long
    Mary Jane Girls

    7
    Time to Get Away
    LCD Soundsystem

    8
    Over and Over
    Hot Chip

    9
    In My Arms
    Kylie Minogue

    10
    The Girls
    Calvin Harris

    11
    Acceptable in the 80's
    Calvin Harris

    12
    Michael Jackson
    The Mitchell Brothers

    13
    Ching A Ling [Remix]
    Missy Elliot feat. Jay-Z

    14
    Push Up On Me
    Rihanna

    15
    Nu-di-ty
    Kylie Minogue

    16
    Get Naked (I Got A Plan)
    Britney Spears

    17
    Feedback
    Janet Jackson

    18
    Everyone Nose
    N.E.R.D.

    19
    Do It Well [Remix]
    Jennifer Lopez feat. Ludacris

    20
    Hella Good
    No Doubt

    21
    Tambourine
    Eve feat. Swizz Beatz

    Thursday, January 24, 2008

    I feel it all?

    Not the biggest Feist fan.

    Yeah I said it.

    Post college, pre job "stability", I spent my weekends waitin' and bussin' at my boy's restaurant/diner near the water in Venice. He's one of those people who loves music, and has an open/all encompassing give everything a shot ear; but he's also new to this whole building a music collection thing. Every now and then he would go to Amoeba and get a disc or three. One time he got his hands on Feist's debut album. And day in and day out, I would enter that Mercedes SUV and pray to God that my iPod wouldn't die on me, or that sleep would get the best of me til we arrived at the restaurant.

    Skip ahead to late 2007, early 2008.

    I actually just heard 1,2,3,4 all the way through in late December/early January and yeah it's cool, but I prefer My Moon, My Man.

    Skip ahead to today.

    In my boy's "new" car. XM satellite radio. What is this? And why won't I talk over it? Nice. I like it. I mean I know we're lifted and all, but this is subtle, sweet, and adorable.

    Wait, is this Feist? It sure does sound like her.



    Yes, yes it is.

    Cute.

    For Your Consideration.



    New AmErykah, Pt. One: 4th World War. Erykah Badu. In stores 2.26.08.

    BONUS...

  • Erykah Badu. The Healer.
  • Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight!



    Seriously Mr. Barnes, can we please be friends?...

  • PITCHFORK: Premiere: Of Montreal: "Jimmy" (M.I.A. / Parvati Khan cover)
  • Hot Child in the City!

    FILE UNDER: Video of the Night!

    Fla-shing... lights!


    Colin Munroe.

    The remix.

    New York, New York, big city of dreams...

    FILE UNDER: Oh Word?


    Fucking taxes.

    Addicts, dealers, and casual users in New York City beware, Govenor Elliot Spitzer wants to impose taxes on them there things that take you higher. The New York Times reports:

    "Among the hundreds of proposals contained in Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s second executive budget, which he unveiled on Tuesday in Albany, is a provision that would impose a $3.50-a-gram tax on marijuana and a $200-a-gram tax on other illegal drugs, like cocaine...The new Spitzer proposal would require “tax stamps” on “all marihuana and controlled substances acquired or possessed by a dealer in this state,” defined as any person who makes, buys, owns, distributes or transports drugs into or within the state. (And yes, the state government spells marijuana with an H, not a J — a quirk that The Times explained last year.)..."


    Apparently 29 other states have passed laws such as these which impose tax liability for controlled substances. [California is not one of them, surprise, surprise.]Crime rates go down, usage begins to cease(?), and the economy is boosted! Or, at least, that is the happy, happy, joy, joy flip side of such a proposal...-Sigh- Yeah, good luck with that...

  • NEW YORK TIMES: A $200-a-Gram Tax on Cocaine
  • Tuesday, January 22, 2008

    Reach out and touch, somebody's hand!


    Get free from the middle man...

    It's no secret, I love music. I enjoy new release Tuesdays, I love going to concerts, get my boogie'n two-step on, and "collecting" cds like vinyl til the wheels fall off. Songs move me, songs groove me, and not a moment goes by that I'm not being soundtracked by a soundsystem's speaker or my iPod's earphones.

    Still, having said all that, I must admit that upon my first encounter with the following headline, I got all cynical, sucked my teeth and was like, "HA!...yeah...good luck with that..."


  • ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Singer-songwriter Jill Sobule asks fans to fund her next CD


  • Wrong? Yes. Her actions? No. My first impression of such a move? Yes. If music means that much to me, the least I can do is give up a little sumthin', sumthin' in return right? After all, I did pay two dollars and some change for Radiohead's In Rainbows, and they sure didn't need [or want?] my "petty"* cash...

    *Okay, so it may have been my allotted allowance for the week. But a young twenty-something trying to make a dollar out of fifteen cents can still dream right?

    The Devil's Conundrum.

    FILE UNDER: A Moment of Clarity

    To say it or not to say it, that is the question. Just the other day I dropped it in mixed company while drunk at a party where music was low, dancing was minimal and/or non-existent, and talking in groups was all the rage. It was NOT a good look son. Not a good look at all...

    Also...

    If you can't sit through it all, at least skip ahead to the 17, 18 minute mark to peep the real Ann Coulter. She who "fucks with" those crabcakes and niggas named Abdul.

    She wants to move.

    FILE UNDER: New flava in ya ear!



    Well, well, well, what do we have here? New music from N.E.R.D.? You don't say.

    WAIT, where you going? Come back. Give it a chance.

    I know, I know, many of us preferred it when Pharrell, Chad, and company kept to themselves behind the boards, but if you take two steps forwards and two steps back, pop in In Search Of... [both versions] and Fly or Die [hell even bits and pieces of Pharrell's largely overlooked In My Mind], relax your mind and let your conscience be free, you might just find yourself pleasantly surprised and entertained by what comes blaring through your speakers.

  • CONCRETE LOOP: New music from N.E.R.D. - Everyone Nose
  • Monday, January 21, 2008

    Up jumps da boogie!

    FILE UNDER: New flava in MY ear!



  • - Walking with a Ghost (Murge remix) - Tegan and Sara -
  • Riddle Me This?



    Jack Johnson? Really? It is he who gets to have his name listed on high as a headliner/"leader of the pack"? So what you're saying Mr. Tollett and co. is that I need to go back and give Mr. Johnson's catalog a chance? Cause I stopped listening after Brushfire Fairytales; though I hear that Curious George sdtrk. he did ain't half bad...

  • LOS ANGELES TIMES: Coachella's promo team is all over the map


  • LAIST: Coachella '08 Lineup Announced
  • Coming to America!



    Seriously, don't sleep.

  • PITCHFORK: Dizzee's Maths + English Coming to U.S. Via Def Jux
  • Hands in the dark.

    FILE UNDER: New flava in ya ear!



    A few years back I stumbled upon Hot Chip's debut album Coming on Strong. Many people had problems with its b-boy swagger jacking, and cues taken from mid to late 90's R&B. But not I. In fact one track that got my attention from the outset was the dark play on playa stylings of Playboy. Skip a head a few years and Hot Chip are back, ready for the floor, and coming on strong with Made in the Dark, a new album and song of the same name that takes it cues from past songs like Playboy and Look After Me, except this time the bass is turned down low [and damn near eliminated], and the boys in the band give us a straight up ballad. I don't see nothing wrong. And nor should you.

  • STEREOGUM: New Hot Chip - "Made In The Dark" (And Made In The Dark Album Art)
  • Wednesday, January 16, 2008

    Tell me why?

    Okay, let's see. Damn, how do I say this without coming off a little racist. Uh...I, um...FUCK!... Okay, look, Karaoke is awesome, and it took a trip to South Korea for me to realize this. It was here that I was turned onto the immaculate parlors known to you and me as dives that exist in foreign [and largely Asian] lands. There was a hostess, a private room, and a songbook that just wouldn't quit. [Shit I am surprised that we didn't have to say a password just to enter the premises] HDTV plasma screens shined brightly with bouncing balls and fantastic visual accompaniments. And the room? All ours. Large and secluded. Too much. Like a grown up Chuck E. Cheese. [Did I stop to mention the bucket-o-plenty that was our liquor basket?] I would never inexperience something so cavalier and carefree til the following summer in Koreatown when my friends and I got a room and engaged ourselves in such wonderful tomfoolery as drunkenly dueting passionately to Disney hits and the like. It was no South Korea, but the people of Koreatown did their best to entertain us and turn us on to something so popular in their circles. That is why it pains me so to read this:

  • BUSINESS WEEK: China cracks down on karaoke parlors
  • Old School Funk for the True Funk Soldiers!*

    Tauwan Patterson unabashed fan of The Fragile since 1999.



    *Blame this one on the shuffling of me iPod.

    Do you like my style?

    FILE UNDER: For Your Consideration



    Yeah that's sexy, sexy, sexy...

    Sho is nice to see Stella get her groove back. I mean seriously, did Virgin just stop caring after All For You?

    Janet Jackson. Discipline. In stores 2.26.08.

    Monday, January 14, 2008

    "You can get with this, or you can get with that?"


    Just two dope boys, walking to a Cadillac...

    MSNBC asks, "What’s OK to say? And is it tougher on women than minorities?"

    In this corner, the male gaze and opinions from the 1960's:

    Radio host Rush Limbaugh said of her [Hillary Clinton]: "Will this country want to actually watch a woman get older before their eyes on a daily basis?"

    And in this corner the thoughts and opinions of a scared nation rushing to catch D.W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation on opening day!:

    "As a black man, he [Barack Obama] must be careful not to appear too hostile toward a white woman," Ellison said. "That dynamic has always been there, and I think he is rather aware of it."

  • MSNBC: Clinton, Obama fuel gender, race debate
  • Sunday, January 13, 2008

    This is how we do it.

    Yes it is Bobby. You don't even know...

    Now if you visit this blog often, you know that old school jams are more often than not posted under the "Old School Funk for the True Funk Soldiers" headline. But sometimes old school joints are so good, so well put together, so classic to a brotha, [see Montell Jordan's This is how we do it] that all I can do is marvel at their goodness as they boldly play on and show us how's it done. This jam, presented below, is one such example.



    Yesterday, Zach, myself, and a few San Diegoans made a quick little trip to Amoeba Records in Hollywood. Now, I didn't have to go, but I did, and when my plans of getting my hands on some quality [and cheap] copies of old Outkast records failed, I walked out with Rich Boy's debut [for $5 dollars! Holla!] and a fresh, brand spankin' new [and nine dollar copy] of the album presented above; An album that should have been a part of my life a long time ago. And of course, if you're gonna talk about and reminisce about Bobby Brown's glory days, and this album in particular, well, then you just gotta take a look at this:



    Right?

    I second that emotion!

    FILE UNDER: A Moment of Clarity



  • LAIST: Bill Maher on the Writers' Strike: '...There is No Exit Strategy'
  • Friday, January 11, 2008

    You gotta shake ya ass!

    FILE UNDER: New flava in ya ear!


    Shhh! Don't say nuthin!

  • Ching-A-Ling [Remix] - Missy Elliot feat. Jay-Z
  • Done.

  • Remember this?


  • Well looks like the boy done gone and lost his cotton pickin' mind. Cause now we have this:



    I better not hear this in the clubs. All it's gon' do is start some fights...

    Smooth Operator.


    SAY IT LOUD!

  • LOS ANGELES TIMES: A black president? Seen a few
  • Made in America.

    FILE UNDER: Old school funk for the true funk soldiers!

    Hi. My name is Tauwan Patterson. I'm a 23 year old college graduate [Now with Student Loan Payments!]who lives at home.

    I don't have dental insurance.

    I just got a wisdom tooth extracted from my mouth.

    And you wanna know what song blasted through the dentist's office after the screaming and kicking fest that was extracting my tooth from the back of my mouth in 3 parts (!!!!) ?

    This one:



    That shit ain't cute son. That shit ain't cute...

    The kid stays in the picture.

    FILE UNDER: New flava in ya ear!


    Sugah, how'd you get so fly?...

    Al Green. ?uestlove. Vamping. Need I say anything more.

  • IDOLATOR: Al Green And ?uestlove Will Help You Get Some Tonight



  • Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go dust off my copy of D'Angelo's Voodoo...

    This.is.the remix!

    FILE UNDER: New flava in ya ear!


    LOOK AT THAT BOOTY!


  • DISCOBELLE: Bangers & Cash - B.O.O.T.A.Y (Krames remix)

  • GOOD MORNING!

    FILE UNDER: New flava in ya ear!

    I don't drive, but my 19 year old Cousin Lil Bro does. And he's of the install a bomb ass sound system and blast it to the nines while listening to the hip-hop and R&B flavas of the month variety. Hoe Sit Down, Wipe Me Down, Tip Drill and songs and albums of that ilk are staples in his bass heavy, bombastic sound system having ride. That is why riding in the car with him is always entertaining, even if I sometimes wish the southern fried, instruction giving, ringtone rap songs weren't so prevalent on his mixed cds or in heavy rotation when he dips and rides. Presented below is one such outrageous song that I just "had to hear" which was followed by him pressing play, cranking it up to the nines, and bouncing in his seat as if he was setting himself up for a ghostriding of the whip! Now don't get me wrong, 5 times out of ten I come around and end up enjoying said singles and adding them to playlists and the like. Will this one become a hit on Tauwan Patterson's iPod? Only time will tell...

    Thursday, January 10, 2008

    Riddle Me This?

    FILE UNDER: Old School Funk for the True Funk Soldiers!

    Joe, talk to me, tell me, where are you with and those stellar singles like this:



    I think we all know what happened to Mystikal...

    THAT'S RIGHT!


    One mo gin, cause seriously, I can't get enough!

    "Janet wannabes Ciara, Britney and Rihanna wished they looked this good in their twenties, much less in their early 40s. Janet proves that she is still an exceptional dancer, bouncing around in space and in a computer generated pond of milk in one of her trademark cat suits.

    It's got me hoping that I'll get a bit more of the old Janet this time around.

    Seeing Beyonce on tour last year, dressed up like Janet in the "Rhythm Nation" video, and emulating the militaristic dances, reminded me of how groundbreaking Janet was when she made that video nearly 20 years ago.

    Watching Ciara freestyle in the mirror in her "1, 2 Step" video reminded me that Janet's 1987 "Pleasure Principle" was that much better.

    And every time I see Britney on stage wearing the cordless microphone headset that Janet popularized in her "Control" video, I want to run up on the stage and snatch it off of her head. She's not using it anyway..."


  • YAHOO MUSIC: Janet: "Feedback" Is In
  • Wednesday, January 09, 2008

    Oh word?


    I'M GOOD!

    "Drinking is healthy, exercise is healthy, and doing a little of both is even healthier, Danish researchers reported on Wednesday. People who neither drink nor exercise have a 30 to 49 percent higher risk of heart disease than people who do one or both of the activities, the researchers said in the European Heart Journal..."

  • YAHOO: A drink a day for a longer life: study
  • Tuesday, January 08, 2008

    Get it shawty!

    FILE UNDER: Video of the night!

    I'mma go ahead and say it, the top-half of this video did little to nothing for me. And then I got to the 2 minute, six second mark, and all was right in the world. Cause there is nothing more captivating than watching Janet Jackson and a few background dancers straight tear up a slick choreographed dance routine.

    Jook Gal.



    "You know Tauwan, I just want to take your iPod and put it all on my computer..."

    Well buddy, maybe you can?...:

    "The Jook, made by Razor, is an MP3 player add-on that allows people to share the music on their players. The device, the company explains, attaches to your MP3 player (iPod, Zune and others) and uses a new tech standard to transmit one player’s music to another player nearby, provided there’s a Jook attached to that one too..."

  • PC WORLD: Jook Tunes You in to Others' iPod Jams
  • Old school funk for the true funk soldiers!

    So I'm watching Act One of this two act One Tree Hill season premiere...SET 4 YEARS IN THE FUTURE!!!, and it's kicking into emotional overdrive as Act One draws to a close. It's all a who are we?, are you happy? voiceover phone call set to scenes of the protagonists driving down crowded streets at night and wandering aimlessly [yet headstrong] through airport baggage claims. And then a lead male character in a wheelchair [he lost the feeling in his legs during a bar fight in which he was pushed through a window] has a meltdown by his shoe endorsement bought pool, knocking over his 4 year old son's mini-basketball court as the shaken b-ball aspiring son looks on in dismay, clutching a drawing he just completed for his father. Pops acknowledges his presence, rolls his way towards his son on the steps to apologize, leans on the stair's banister, stands up tall, grabs the photo, and of course, apologizes, leading my jaw to drop and a tear to roll down my cheek, not because of the high charged emotion present in the scene, but because this song, presented below was playing underneath it all:



    Damn. Takes me back to freshman year. Literally. I had a roommate, "Schollard" was his name. And Schollard was the biggest Verve Pipe fan I have ever met in my life. Seriously. I felt like it was his voice singing to me with his acoustic guitar on our futon in the common room. Hey yeah, eyeah, eyeah, eyeah...

    Monday, January 07, 2008

    New flava in ya ear!

    Goldfrapp.

    A&E.

    You're the one that I want.

    "You don't know what you do..."


    The ROC is definitely in the building?

    DISCLAIMER: I do not, nor did I at the time, have a stick up my ass.

    A guy and a girl weather the storm on a Friday night in Los Angeles. The Roxy. Some guy named AM [not to be confused with he who places a DJ in front of his moniker]. It's his birthday. And DIM MAK's hosting! No cash, no line. Just an RSVP list, some hipsters, and a headlining gig from the boys of MSTRKRFT!

    SIDENOTE: I don't know who this AM fella is exactly, but he sure is some lucky sonofabitch. Shit, a nigga can't even get Tommy the Clown to come thru and celebrate the anniversary of his birth, and he gets mothafuckin' MSTRKRFT.

    Arriving at 12:45 or so, this guy and girl walked into the Roxy just as the boys in the "band" began their closing b'day set. And boy was there plenty to take in/enjoy. The following words and phrases are the rants/observations of this young black male who weathered the DIM MAK hosted, MSTRKRFT soundtrack'd storm.

    -First and foremost, all praise and adoration must be given to he['s] who sits on high. Yes, of course I am talking about Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, known to you and me as DAFT PUNK. Tonight's "show" made me appreciate their recent stage show that much more. By placing themselves atop the crowd and away from the masses, the show becomes more about music, and dare I say it,DANCING(!), and less about smudging, pushing, and angling your way towards the stage just because.

    -And by just because I mean hamming it up for the cameras, crowd surfing (!!!) and the like just to ensure that your face winds up on some scenster photo album the morning after.

    -Cause if it hasn't been said already, it must be said now: Scenster photogs have now become an epidemic. The first thing I remember seeing on stage after taking a few sips of my eight dollar [with tip] Miller Lite, were 3 or 4 bulky ass expensive looking cameras up in the air, littering the stage. As I got closer to the stage [thank you crowd surfers. more on that later...], I had to endure a few moments in which my view of MSTRKRFT was blocked by many a photographer trying to be so more scene than the photog to his left, to his left.

    -Seriously. There was a blond Bat for Lashes looking photographer, a tall Black Spank Rock looking dude clad mostly in leather, a Panda Bear looking dude [the actual animal, not that guy from Animal Collective], and countless others. Strangely enough I did not see the infamous Mark "The Cobrasnake" Hunter at all. Maybe all these photographers were his interns or something?

    -Oh and before we move forward let's get back to those goddamn crowd surfers. Really? Crowd Surfing? At a MSTRKRFT show? I have truly seen it all. The only good thing about those drunk crowd surfers and their along for the ride counterparts, were the large spaces they left behind once they came down, back to life...back to reality. They landed, they fell, space opened up, you moved forward. I ain't [that] mad at cha, I guess.

    -Oh and big ups on stepping all over a brotha's feets and elbowing me in the eye. AND for damn near punching my girl T-Money's lights out. Yeah those moments almost made our nights...

    -Two words: STEVE AOKI.

    -Seriously I could have just written a whole essay on Mr. Aoki and his antics tonight. Yes, he who neglected to follow that unspoken social code of conduct, that one must never, ever make a night that clearly isn't about them be about them. Par-Ty-Foul. Granted he was fucked up, but still.

    -I mean at one point in the night, my section of the crowd up near the stage [again thank you crowd surfers] stopped moving, placing all of their attention on Mr. Aoki's bare torso as time stood still and Mr. Aoki adorned himself in a bra [yes a bra] that some random girl in the audience threw up on stage. The music may have stopped, and the house lights may have come on as the crowd stood there in a hushed silence watching this all go down, but don't hold me to that.

    -Speaking of girls, kudos to the not that attractive and slightly inebriated female who got up on stage, thanks in small part to Mr. Aoki himself, only to find herself grinding away on him as he visibly wished she didn't.

    -Sucks to be her though when he abruptly and harshly pushed her ass back into the crowd without warning.

    -Steve, Steve, Steve, why are you throwing up the ROC? I'm not that out of it. Did someone mix in a ROC-A-FELLA track? Huh? Did I miss something? Cause you know I would have been all over that shit. Is this the 40/40 club? Where's Jay? Where's B?

    -NEXT TRACK... He's throwing up the ROC again. Ugh. And it's caught on. But in the real, real, real, real, real, this shit is kind of classic. Probably the only time I'll witness a sea of Los Angeles hipsters throwing up the ROC. I on the otherhand refuse to take part in this children of the corn, cult like moment.

    -Steve Aoki: Not above jumping on sound boards and other various pieces of equipment and diving into the crowd. Multiple times. A crowd that, it must be said, manages to keep him up in the air longer than previous surfers of the crowd this evening [surprise, surprise].

    -Whoa, did that chick nearly faint twice right in front of me? I swear to God her knees buckled and she nearly collapsed...twice. It compelled me enough to step in, tap her friends and boyfriend, and ask if she was okay, cause clearly she was not. Homegirl and friends had a primo spot in front of the boards, so what option do you think she went with when her friends offered to leave/drink some water/sit down in the back?...

    -Damn, guess we're still riding D.A.N.C.E.'s? jock huh?

    -Shit let me quit playin'. After a while I was itching for something with vocals, including that D.A.N.C.E. remix. I too, soon went bananas [Or as bananas/crazy as the space and those around me would permit].

    In the end though, as we all stood confused and wondered who the round man in black was standing nearing the boards, I realized that I can't really complain [turns out he was here to speak on behalf of the Fire Marshall...at 1:55 A.M. or something. Shut it down. How convenient.]. A Free MSTRKRFT show in walking distance of my girl T-Money's apt.? Not bad. Not bad at all. ROC throwing and all...

    BONUS...

    Here's a taste of what it all looked like:

  • THE COBRASNAKE: SHUT UP. [Photo Album]
  • Saturday, January 05, 2008

    A Moment of Clarity.



    "...As the Writers Guild of America strike grinds on, putting our favorite shows in reruns, this may be a rare and valuable opportunity for American politics to recapture the populace's attention. Imagine a country in which presidential candidates had the same kind of name-recognition as Paris and Britney, or even McDreamy and House. Or where primaries drew the same numbers as "American Idol" or "The Biggest Loser." Now that would be a change..."

  • LOS ANGELES TIMES: It's amazing! It's incredible! TV analysts gush over Iowa
  • Friday, January 04, 2008

    You should be dancing!

    FILE UNDER: New flava(s) in ya ear!



    I ain't gon lie, from the time I got home last night and all through this afternoon, I was felling pretty shitty. Not physically [Been working out. Whip game proppa.], just mentally and emotionally and shit. And then the work day came to an end 15 minutes early. And I headed over to my girl Teresa's place. And then I started pre-gaming for tonight. And then I realized that I ain't supposed to be all down and shit til Monday rolls around again. And then I headed over to Discobelle. And then I realized, you should be dancing.

  • Tell Your Girl To Juke It Up - Top Billin


  • Let Me Clear My Throat - Cousin Cole


  • Soulja Girl (DJ Sega Philly Club remix) - Soulja Boy
  • MIXTAPE FRIDAYS!



    Man in the Mirror Tracklist

    1. The Cipher (Rhymefest & Michael Jackson)
    2. Can’t Make It (Rhymefest) [prod. by Best Kept Secret]
    3. Thriller Skit
    4. Get Up (Rhymefest ft Wale)
    5. Dancin’ Machine (The Jackson 5 ft Rhymefest)
    6. Flip It Skit
    7. Never Can Say Goodbye (Rhymefest ft Talib Kweli) [prod. by Best Kept Secret]
    8. Mike The Mentor (Rhymefest ft Michael Jackson)
    9. No Sunshine (Rhymefest) [prod. by Emile]
    10. Caught Up Skit
    11. Foolin’ Around (Rhymefest ft Dres) [prod. by Mark Ronson]
    12. Set The Mood
    13. Breakadawn (Rhymefest ft Daniel Merriweather & alpha.)
    14. Windbreaker Skit
    15. Higher Intro
    16. Higher (Rhymefest)
    17. Mark vs. Mike
    18. All That I’ve Got (Rhymefest ft Ghostface Killah & Mary J. Blige)
    19. Maybe Tomorrow (Michael Jackson)
    20. Sunshine Skit
    21. Coolie High (Camp Lo ft Rhymefest)
    22. Family Reunion (ft Tito, Randy, Mike & Rhymefest)
    23. Much Love Skit
    24. Man In The Mirror (Rhymefest ft Michael Jackson)

    Big ups to The Rap Up for this mix. Hit up the link below to get yo download on!

  • THE RAP UP: Freebie Friday: Mark Ronson & Rhymefest - Man in the Mirror Mixtape
  • Thursday, January 03, 2008

    Old school funk for the true funk soldiers!

    So I'm working out last night right, and I'm bumping that Thriller album [little known fact: did you know that a young Janet Jackson provided those backing na-na-nas on P.Y.T.'s bridge?]. And I'm skipping through shit that won't keep my blood flowing/let me get my soul singer on [I'm looking at you Thriller and Beat It]. After Billie Jean came to an end I was all set to move on to another album and continue my workout, completely forgetting about the syrupy magic that is Human Nature, a song that, once it came to an end, had me singing the chorus to/pining for the song presented below.

    Tell me something good.

    FILE UNDER: A Moment of Clarity?


    YOU GOT ME TWISTED!

    I saw it in passing. I believe it was a Tuesday or Wednesday. Iowa caucuses coming to an end. Up next, Ne Hampshire! I say shit goddamn! I mean, I know I know it's January 2008 already and this whole grassroots/soapbox talking/fundraising from the rooftops extravaganza has been going on for quite some time now, but I mean, shit goddamn! Just the other day I was saying to myself and a few others that I really need to sit up and listen, I mean, I'm not behind, but my descriptions of one's candidates shouldn't be reading like ink blot descriptions; Obama: A new hope. Hillary Clinton: Pitbull in a skirt. Mike Huckabee: Hates the gays. Mitt Romney: Jesus Christ Superstar. I haven't missed much right? A few debates here, a few smear campaigns there right? I mean, seriously, I need to sit up, open my eyes and pay attention, cause as of now I have no idea who I want to vote for, but I do want to vote and I do want to feel passionate about a candidate and his [or her] ideas. It's the American way right?

    Right.

    Apparently I am not alone. Something I realized as I checked the office's e-mail, waded through the SPAM and found this, cause nothing says American politics like meandering rambles and incomplete manifestations right?

    Have you noticed people like Brit and K-Fed honoring their sacred vows?

    And if they're thrilled, then is that news or isn't it?
    Let's restore some oversight in government.
    Your love for simplicity doesn't quite fit into your "insurgents are happy
    Dems won" routine. I am proud that the fine work of these staff members has
    been recognized. Here's a pointer, moving forward: don't ever ever endorse
    monopoly government ever again.
    Bush has become Al Qaida's wet dream.
    You are not specific, and you presume to know what goes on in the minds of
    all kinds of different people.
    What an amazing ability to delve directly into the minds of the insurgents
    and extract their deepest intents and desires.
    Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor
    the only America in the Western Hemisphere.
    The question is more an issue of social will, and when it will be socially
    acceptable to give homosexual couples equal protection under the law. And
    then we need to beg their forgiveness.
    Hypothesis becomes conclusion. And then we need to beg their forgiveness.
    All it does is contradict ALL the reasons this country was established in
    the first place.
    I might've missed the validity of this line in the old entry while I was
    reading comments there.
    Mirror-gazing and soul searching perhaps? But, the GOP paradigm has been
    convincingly shattered, and along with it should follow the restoration of
    some degree of accountability.
    Maybe the bowling game, which looks pretty chill. I vote that marriage is a
    binding commitment between two people who are intimate with one another.
    That, and people are horribly hung over the definition of a word and not the
    emotions that define it.
    I really shouldn't be surprised, but still. Changing the definition of
    marriage From Jim Gilliam's blog Read the latest from Jim, recent comments,
    the archives, and RSS. This is without a doubt the most sophisticated effort
    of its kind in history. "It's not our fault it wasn't prosecuted correctly.
    As a a Canadian living in the U.


    Right.

    Tuesday, January 01, 2008

    Weird fishes.

    HAPPY NEW YEAR! And what a new year it was right? I don't know about all y'all, but last night's festivities is not one for the record books. I'm not saying that I didn't have a good time or anything, its just that everything went by ever so quickly, and now BAM(!) here we are, ready to dive back into the working week. While some of us were busy passing out on outdoor patios in makeshift shopping cart chairs [I swear, those who dwell in giant eastside homes on a hill are so swank], and watching time accelerate from midnight to three a.m. in what seemed like a mere matter of seconds, those lovely lads in Radiohead got their webcast on, offering up live in-studio performances of tracks from In Rainbows. For those of you keeping score at home, as of today, said disc is now available in stores. Here's the vid for my favorite track off of In Rainbows, Nude. Enjoy and goodnight!



  • IMEEM: Radiohead "Scotch Mist" Webcast