Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Coming Attractions.
Oooooh, YOU KNOW Tyler Perry is pissed! Not too pissed though. A child of God can't be running around holding a grudge against Bishop T.D. Jakes. No siree. Not a good look.
Sportscenter.
Just "two wild and crazy guys" with a deep deep love for... SPORTS!
New flava in ya ear!
The Lonely Island.
We Like Sportz.
Earlier...
The Lonely Island.
Just 2 Guyz.
New flava in ya ear!
The Lonely Island.
We Like Sportz.
Earlier...
The Lonely Island.
Just 2 Guyz.
Diggin' On You.
On a good day I’ll play maybe three or four tracks tops off of Beyonce’s I Am… disc. But 9 times out of 10, I just want to relax within the warm confines of track two, Halo, before moving on to Sasha Fierce.
Take right now for example.
New flava in ya ear!
Beyonce.
Halo.
Take right now for example.
New flava in ya ear!
Beyonce.
Halo.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Sex Education.
FILE UNDER: A Moment of Clarity.
Oh Word?
JEZEBEL: No Sh-t: New Study Finds 'Virginity Pledges' Ineffective, Promoting Unsafe Sex
Oh Word?
"Don't turn off the LIGHTS!"
FILE UNDER: A Moment of Clarity.
Don't you, forget about me.
As a college student in Brunswick, ME, I was all about the arts. Art History major, A cappella group member, dancing up a storm in every winter and spring dance show, etc. High school? Middle School? In the LAUSD system in South Central and the outskirts of Hollywood? Yeah...Not so much.
LAIST: LAUSD Cuts Start With the Arts
Good times.
Don't you, forget about me.
As a college student in Brunswick, ME, I was all about the arts. Art History major, A cappella group member, dancing up a storm in every winter and spring dance show, etc. High school? Middle School? In the LAUSD system in South Central and the outskirts of Hollywood? Yeah...Not so much.
Good times.
Coming Attractions?
FILE UNDER: Words/Oh Word?
Russian academic Igor Panarin sure thinks so. The Wall Street Journal reports:
For a decade, Russian academic Igor Panarin has been predicting the U.S. will fall apart in 2010. For most of that time, he admits, few took his argument -- that an economic and moral collapse will trigger a civil war and the eventual breakup of the U.S. -- very seriously. Now he's found an eager audience: Russian state media.
...He based the forecast on classified data supplied to him by FAPSI analysts, he says. He predicts that economic, financial and demographic trends will provoke a political and social crisis in the U.S. When the going gets tough, he says, wealthier states will withhold funds from the federal government and effectively secede from the union. Social unrest up to and including a civil war will follow. The U.S. will then split along ethnic lines, and foreign powers will move in. California will form the nucleus of what he calls "The Californian Republic," and will be part of China or under Chinese influence. Texas will be the heart of "The Texas Republic," a cluster of states that will go to Mexico or fall under Mexican influence. Washington, D.C., and New York will be part of an "Atlantic America" that may join the European Union. Canada will grab a group of Northern states Prof. Panarin calls "The Central North American Republic." Hawaii, he suggests, will be a protectorate of Japan or China, and Alaska will be subsumed into Russia.
...The professor says he's convinced that people are taking his theory more seriously. People like him have forecast similar cataclysms before, he says, and been right. He cites French political scientist Emmanuel Todd. Mr. Todd is famous for having rightly forecast the demise of the Soviet Union -- 15 years beforehand. "When he forecast the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1976, people laughed at him," says Prof. Panarin."
Hmm. Thoughts?
WALL STREET JOURNAL: As if Things Weren't Bad Enough, Russian Professor Predicts End of U.S.
Russian academic Igor Panarin sure thinks so. The Wall Street Journal reports:For a decade, Russian academic Igor Panarin has been predicting the U.S. will fall apart in 2010. For most of that time, he admits, few took his argument -- that an economic and moral collapse will trigger a civil war and the eventual breakup of the U.S. -- very seriously. Now he's found an eager audience: Russian state media.
...He based the forecast on classified data supplied to him by FAPSI analysts, he says. He predicts that economic, financial and demographic trends will provoke a political and social crisis in the U.S. When the going gets tough, he says, wealthier states will withhold funds from the federal government and effectively secede from the union. Social unrest up to and including a civil war will follow. The U.S. will then split along ethnic lines, and foreign powers will move in. California will form the nucleus of what he calls "The Californian Republic," and will be part of China or under Chinese influence. Texas will be the heart of "The Texas Republic," a cluster of states that will go to Mexico or fall under Mexican influence. Washington, D.C., and New York will be part of an "Atlantic America" that may join the European Union. Canada will grab a group of Northern states Prof. Panarin calls "The Central North American Republic." Hawaii, he suggests, will be a protectorate of Japan or China, and Alaska will be subsumed into Russia.
...The professor says he's convinced that people are taking his theory more seriously. People like him have forecast similar cataclysms before, he says, and been right. He cites French political scientist Emmanuel Todd. Mr. Todd is famous for having rightly forecast the demise of the Soviet Union -- 15 years beforehand. "When he forecast the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1976, people laughed at him," says Prof. Panarin."
Hmm. Thoughts?
Sunday, December 28, 2008
S.(tuck) O.(n) S.(tupid)?
FILE UNDER: Words/One Pure Thought/A Moment of Clarity.
Bob Herbert says: "FIX IT!"
NEW YORK TIMES: Stop Being Stupid
Bob Herbert says: "FIX IT!"
Words.
FILE UNDER: POLITICS: Now that we've found love, what are we gonna do with it?/A Moment of Clarity.
"...for the first time a faint tinge of Bush crept into my Obama reveries this month.
As we saw during primary season, our president-elect is not free of his own brand of hubris and arrogance, and sometimes it comes before a fall: “You’re likable enough, Hillary” was the prelude to his defeat in New Hampshire. He has hit this same note again by assigning the invocation at his inauguration to the Rev. Rick Warren, the Orange County, Calif., megachurch preacher who has likened committed gay relationships to incest, polygamy and “an older guy marrying a child.” Bestowing this honor on Warren was a conscious — and glib — decision by Obama to spend political capital. It was made with the certitude that a leader with a mandate can do no wrong.
...Obama may not only overestimate his ability to bridge some of our fundamental differences but also underestimate how persistent some of those differences are. The exhilaration of his decisive election victory and the deserved applause that has greeted his mostly glitch-free transition can’t entirely mask the tensions underneath. Before there is profound social change, there is always high anxiety.
...By the historical standards of presidential hubris, Obama’s disingenuous defense of his tone-deaf invitation to Warren is nonetheless a relatively tiny infraction. It’s no Bay of Pigs. But it does add an asterisk to the joyous inaugural of our first black president. It’s bizarre that Obama, of all people, would allow himself to be on the wrong side of this history.
...McCarthy [a historian who teaches at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government who served on Obama's campaign’s National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Leadership Council] added that it’s also time “for President-elect Obama to start acting on the promises he made to the LGBT community during his campaign so that he doesn’t go down in history as another Bill Clinton, a sweet-talking swindler who would throw us under the bus for the sake of political expediency.” And “for LGBT folks to choose their battles wisely, to judge Obama on the content of his policy-making, not on the character of his ministers.”"
NEW YORK TIMES: You’re Likable Enough, Gay People
"...for the first time a faint tinge of Bush crept into my Obama reveries this month.
As we saw during primary season, our president-elect is not free of his own brand of hubris and arrogance, and sometimes it comes before a fall: “You’re likable enough, Hillary” was the prelude to his defeat in New Hampshire. He has hit this same note again by assigning the invocation at his inauguration to the Rev. Rick Warren, the Orange County, Calif., megachurch preacher who has likened committed gay relationships to incest, polygamy and “an older guy marrying a child.” Bestowing this honor on Warren was a conscious — and glib — decision by Obama to spend political capital. It was made with the certitude that a leader with a mandate can do no wrong.
...Obama may not only overestimate his ability to bridge some of our fundamental differences but also underestimate how persistent some of those differences are. The exhilaration of his decisive election victory and the deserved applause that has greeted his mostly glitch-free transition can’t entirely mask the tensions underneath. Before there is profound social change, there is always high anxiety.
...By the historical standards of presidential hubris, Obama’s disingenuous defense of his tone-deaf invitation to Warren is nonetheless a relatively tiny infraction. It’s no Bay of Pigs. But it does add an asterisk to the joyous inaugural of our first black president. It’s bizarre that Obama, of all people, would allow himself to be on the wrong side of this history.
...McCarthy [a historian who teaches at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government who served on Obama's campaign’s National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Leadership Council] added that it’s also time “for President-elect Obama to start acting on the promises he made to the LGBT community during his campaign so that he doesn’t go down in history as another Bill Clinton, a sweet-talking swindler who would throw us under the bus for the sake of political expediency.” And “for LGBT folks to choose their battles wisely, to judge Obama on the content of his policy-making, not on the character of his ministers.”"
Oh Word?
Deal or no deal.Cars. We got plenty. But ain't nobody buying them. Perhaps this will change their minds? ABC NEWS reports:
"Sales of small cars have taken the wildest ride in the auto business this year — first up, then down — and the gyrations may not be finished.
Though gas prices tumbled, some automakers are trying to juice sales of fuel-thrifty economy cars by slashing starting prices to less than $10,000.
Small-car sales doubled during the first half of the year as gas topped $4 a gallon. By the end of November, sales levels had tumbled 63% from the peak. Even with the drop, the segment is holding up better than others because overall vehicle sales are so weak. "It's surprising," says Ford Motor analyst George Pipas."
Friday, December 26, 2008
PUT THE NEEDLE ON IT!: Tauwan's Top Albums of 2008
Our work is never over.
01/Erykah Badu/New Amerykah, Pt. 1: 4th World War
I speak on it cause it needs to be said.
I speak on it cause it needs to be heard.
-Cause our work is never over-
And a beautiful world is what I am trying to find.
I speak on it cause that’s just me,
trying to make it over that hump and succumb to that twinkle in my eye I overlook.
"It’s bigger than my nigga,
it’s bigger than religion."
And that is why I speak on it. That is why we speak on it;
That is why she speaks on it,
Ms. Badu,
with her
New Amerykah, Pt. 1: 4th World War.
This album is a revelation. A straight up start to finish, top notch LP drenched in reality, drenched in soul. From the opener Amerykahn Promise -a Blaxpoitation Grindhouse theater trailer without the visuals -right on down to the bonus track [that's right bonus track] and "safe" first single Honey, Badu opens her mouth, raises a fist, and tells it like it is, in whatever way she deems fit. [Stick around for the end of Me. Some might find the vocal play weird and out of control, but I think it's clever, nicely unexpected and inspired.] It’s an ambitious, soul stirring effort, music for fans of good music, soul music; you know, that real good shit. You ain't gotta be a fan of just soul, hip-hop, and/or R&B to buy what's she's selling, trust me. It’s bigger than "my nigga", this one is the healer.
KEY TRACKS: The Healer(Hip-Hop)/Soldier/That Hump
Thursday, December 25, 2008
OBSESSION! My heart goes a BOOM BOOM TAP!
Tauwan's Top "25" Singles of 2008
01/Beyonce/Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)
This song is quite the conundrum. “All my single fellas! (all my single fellas!) All my single fellas! (all my singles fellas) All my singles fellas! (all my single fellas) All my single fellas, PUT YOUR HANDS UP (!)” if you feel me. Y’all know what I am talking about. This songs starts up, Beyonce comes in, she calls out for “all her single ladies” and you jump up, get down, and sing along, despite the fact that you are not, repeat NOT a single lady. But honestly man, there ain’t nothing you can do about it. Beyonce, once again, has got you twisted, she has got you crazy in love man, with yet another bangin’ ass club ready track that is a call to arms for all fans music who like to sing, dance, and rejoice in the magic and luster of a bangin’ ass track. The beat knocks, Beyonce tells he-who-don’t-know-what-he-got-til-its-gone to kick rocks, and you believe it, you feel it; you let it, her words, her vocals, this beat, to take you to church, and through the school of hard knocks, all while getting you bodied. And then we of course will forever have this:
Nuff said.
02/Jason Mraz/I'm Yours
03/Solange Knowles/Sandcastle Disco AND I Decided, Pt. 1
04/Madonna feat. Pharrell/Give it 2 Me AND Cut Copy/Lights and Music
05/Coldplay/Viva La Vida
06/Jordin Sparks feat. Chris Brown/No Air
07/Panic at the Disco/Nine in the Afternoon
08/Lil Wayne/A Milli AND Lollipop
09/Estelle feat. Cee-Lo/Pretty Please (Love Me) AND Jazmine Sullivan feat. Missy Elliot/Need U Bad
10/Ne-Yo feat. Jamie Foxx and Fabolous/She Got Her Own (Miss Independent RMX)AND The Dream/I Luv Your Girl
11/T-Pain feat. Lil Wayne/Can't Believe It
12/MGMT/Electric Feel
13/Britney Spears/Womanizer AND
Nine Inch Nails/Discipline
14/Ray J feat. Yung Berg/Sexy Can I
15/Colby O'Donis feat. Akon/What You Got
16/Santogold/Lights Out AND Creator
17/Bun B feat. Sean Kingston/That's Gangsta
18/Rick Ross feat. T-Pain/The Boss
19/Kidz in the Hall/Drivin' Down the Block (Low End Theory)
20/Kanye West/Heartless
21/Ashanti/Good Good AND Slim feat. Shawty Lo and Yung Joc/So Fly (RMX)
22/Beck/Gamma Ray
23/Kylie Minogue/All I See
24/The Game feat. Travis Barker/Dope Boys
25/Janet Jackson/Feedback AND Rock With U
01/Beyonce/Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)
This song is quite the conundrum. “All my single fellas! (all my single fellas!) All my single fellas! (all my singles fellas) All my singles fellas! (all my single fellas) All my single fellas, PUT YOUR HANDS UP (!)” if you feel me. Y’all know what I am talking about. This songs starts up, Beyonce comes in, she calls out for “all her single ladies” and you jump up, get down, and sing along, despite the fact that you are not, repeat NOT a single lady. But honestly man, there ain’t nothing you can do about it. Beyonce, once again, has got you twisted, she has got you crazy in love man, with yet another bangin’ ass club ready track that is a call to arms for all fans music who like to sing, dance, and rejoice in the magic and luster of a bangin’ ass track. The beat knocks, Beyonce tells he-who-don’t-know-what-he-got-til-its-gone to kick rocks, and you believe it, you feel it; you let it, her words, her vocals, this beat, to take you to church, and through the school of hard knocks, all while getting you bodied. And then we of course will forever have this:
Nuff said.
Nine Inch Nails/Discipline
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
PUT THE NEEDLE ON IT!: Tauwan's Top Albums of 2008
02/Hot Chip/Made in the Dark
Coming on Strong was my shit. When I listened to that album I felt as if I was listening to a disc crafted by a group of gentlemen who liked to groove. Smooth English cats who knew that there was a time and place for suave, B-boy sensuality, and more direct get down come ons, as if they grew up with the a concrete collection of discs by artists present in my CD wallet. It was youthful with its intentions and highly impressionable for a boy like me. But that was then, and this is now. We’re older, we’re grown, we were made in the dark. But clearly is how we now see. We like to get up to get down, we like to catch your eye, YES…but we’re different now. It was easier to walk the walk and front the funk, you bought it, you dug it. But that is no more. We aren’t so faux-confident, we’re down right unsure, but, again, we know this much is true, there’s a time and place for suave, B-boy sensuality, and direct ready for the floor come ons, and here on this floor, in your presence, is our now. With album number three the lads of Hot Chip show no sign of slowing down this funk, or taking off their dancing shoes. The beats come harder, jumping out like BOOMs and ZAPs on a comic book page. And when the lights go dim, the mood and intent stays the same, refusing to fall by the wayside as you wipe up the sweat. Yes, this shit right here? It’s ready for the floor.
KEY TRACKS: Ready For the Floor/One Pure Thought/Hold On
OBSESSION! My heart goes a BOOM BOOM TAP!
Tauwan's Top "25" Singles of 2008
02/Jason Mraz/I'm Yours
I’ve always wanted to play guitar. And for a minute there in college I was convinced that I would. I roomed with guitar players, I sang with guitar players, and I gawked at the guitars of guitar players. I too wanted to be able to take a song and make it my own, play a Hotel California cover, or start a few drunken (and probably annoying) sing alongs at party where a guitar was present. And soon, eventually, I’d move on to the good stuff, original compositions; just me, my voice, and the guitar. And, if I were to play my cards right, I’d be able to come up with something as earnest, well crafted, and loveable as Jason Mraz’s I’m Yours. There are few things more aurally refreshing than an immaculately crafted, verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus fade pop song, particularly one in which its humble roots (a boy, his guitar, and simple declarations on a love most divine) still shine through, even with the addition of a few compositional extras (keys, breezy backing vocals, bass, and some scats). The sentiments expressed in the lyrics are as universal as the song’s aforementioned foundation, and Jason’s delivery is clear, soulful, sung to impress (her) and most definitely convincing. I may not have learned how to play guitar yet, or started a few guitar lead sing alongs, but when listening to this song I’m close, putting my best vocal forward, groovin’ with the soul of a heart –on-his-sleeve troubadour.
03/Solange Knowles/Sandcastle Disco AND I Decided, Pt. 1
04/Madonna feat. Pharrell/Give it 2 Me AND Cut Copy/Lights and Music
05/Coldplay/Viva La Vida
06/Jordin Sparks feat. Chris Brown/No Air
07/Panic at the Disco/Nine in the Afternoon
08/Lil Wayne/A Milli AND Lollipop
09/Estelle feat. Cee-Lo/Pretty Please (Love Me) AND Jazmine Sullivan feat. Missy Elliot/Need U Bad
10/Ne-Yo feat. Jamie Foxx and Fabolous/She Got Her Own (Miss Independent RMX)AND The Dream/I Luv Your Girl
11/T-Pain feat. Lil Wayne/Can't Believe It
12/MGMT/Electric Feel
13/Britney Spears/Womanizer AND
Nine Inch Nails/Discipline
14/Ray J feat. Yung Berg/Sexy Can I
15/Colby O'Donis feat. Akon/What You Got
16/Santogold/Lights Out AND Creator
17/Bun B feat. Sean Kingston/That's Gangsta
18/Rick Ross feat. T-Pain/The Boss
19/Kidz in the Hall/Drivin' Down the Block (Low End Theory)
20/Kanye West/Heartless
21/Ashanti/Good Good AND Slim feat. Shawty Lo and Yung Joc/So Fly (RMX)
22/Beck/Gamma Ray
23/Kylie Minogue/All I See
24/The Game feat. Travis Barker/Dope Boys
25/Janet Jackson/Feedback AND Rock With U
02/Jason Mraz/I'm Yours
I’ve always wanted to play guitar. And for a minute there in college I was convinced that I would. I roomed with guitar players, I sang with guitar players, and I gawked at the guitars of guitar players. I too wanted to be able to take a song and make it my own, play a Hotel California cover, or start a few drunken (and probably annoying) sing alongs at party where a guitar was present. And soon, eventually, I’d move on to the good stuff, original compositions; just me, my voice, and the guitar. And, if I were to play my cards right, I’d be able to come up with something as earnest, well crafted, and loveable as Jason Mraz’s I’m Yours. There are few things more aurally refreshing than an immaculately crafted, verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus fade pop song, particularly one in which its humble roots (a boy, his guitar, and simple declarations on a love most divine) still shine through, even with the addition of a few compositional extras (keys, breezy backing vocals, bass, and some scats). The sentiments expressed in the lyrics are as universal as the song’s aforementioned foundation, and Jason’s delivery is clear, soulful, sung to impress (her) and most definitely convincing. I may not have learned how to play guitar yet, or started a few guitar lead sing alongs, but when listening to this song I’m close, putting my best vocal forward, groovin’ with the soul of a heart –on-his-sleeve troubadour.
Nine Inch Nails/Discipline
Angels and Airwaves.
The weather outside is frightful. And the fire is so delightful. Why not sit back, relax, and cozy on up to this disc right here, this performance right here of Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band's wonderfully melancholic track Cape Canaveral, taken from the Late Late Show.
Big ups to the folks over atStereogum for putting this on my radar.
Earlier...
PUT THE NEEDLE ON IT!: Tauwan's Top Albums of 2008 - 09/Conor Oberst/Conor Oberst
Big ups to the folks over at
Earlier...
Two Can Play That Game.
Just heard this song for the first time at a party on Saturday Night. I've been tilting my head back to it ever since...
New flava in MY ear!
Clipse feat. Ab Liva.
Pop Champagne.
New flava in MY ear!
Clipse feat. Ab Liva.
Pop Champagne.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
PUT THE NEEDLE ON IT!: Tauwan's Top Albums of 2008
Does it offend you? Yeah?
03/Of Montreal/Skeletal Lamping
Houston, we had a problem.
I was sitting pretty, riding shotgun on the Fanboy Express for Of Montreal’s last disc Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? And after getting an earful of this disc’s lead single Ida Engager, I knew, just knew that I had nothing to worry about, Of Montreal would knock it out of the park again. I would buy this disc, hit play, and fall in love instantly. Except, I did not. Boy did I not. And problems arose with track one. Not a good look. What started off for me at the time as another trip down familiar psych pop lane quickly eroded and gave way to a No Age like breakdown/ending I had no time for. Oh boy. Would this be my fate with this disc? Would this be one of those unfortunate cases where a band follows up an LP of perfection with a meandering middle of the road LP that would go on to serve as the oft skipped over filler disc in their catalogue? The answer of course, is no. I just needed to calm the fuck down and take my time with this disc, as is expected with a long player that is permeated by the thoughts, sounds, and ideas of a one man (?) hype machine in the guise of a black shemale. Kevin Barnes’ wildly schizophrenic opus is sexy, opulent, and drop dead gorgeous; a well crafted oft-kilter LP that rewards the listener who is down for the cause, willing to sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride. The beats bounce, hiss, and vibrate; the words shock, titillate, and soothe. With each passing second, a new sound emerges, a great line seeps through, traditional song structures are toyed with and rearranged, and genres are stepped in, walked through, sat on and made comfortable as if Kevin Barnes and his Of Montreal imprint own the place. And he does. And they do, which is why I don’t see nothing wrong with riding along til the wheels fall off.
KEY TRACKS: For Our Elegant Caste/An Eluardian Instance/St. Exquisite's Confessions
OBSESSION! My heart goes a BOOM BOOM TAP!
Tauwan's Top "25" Singles of 2008
AND
03/Solange Knowles/Sandcastle Disco AND I Decided, Pt. 1
Hey boy, Solange wants your attention. The girl has something to say: You’re the one for her. Now don’t fret, and don’t run, forward ain’t the way of the game. She’s a little different, she don’t “do what the fast girls do”, she ain’t nothing but a sandcastle baby, fragile, earnest, begging you to hear her out, take her as she is, and not just simply blow her off (or away). Ya dig? Ya understand? Cause I do. How couldn’t you? Her messages are easy, breezy, and beautiful like the flight of a Southern Hummingbird. The words are from her heart, and the music is richly soulful, echoing the sound of such old school girl groups as the Supremes. (I can’t be the only one who hears traces of Where Did I Love Go? in I Decided, Pt.1) This is pop music at its finest, Solange Knowles at her finest. She wants you, she needs you, she chooses you. Baby, don’t blow her away.
AND
04/Madonna feat. Pharrell/Give it 2 Me AND Cut Copy/Lights and Music
05/Coldplay/Viva La Vida
06/Jordin Sparks feat. Chris Brown/No Air
07/Panic at the Disco/Nine in the Afternoon
08/Lil Wayne/A Milli AND Lollipop
09/Estelle feat. Cee-Lo/Pretty Please (Love Me) AND Jazmine Sullivan feat. Missy Elliot/Need U Bad
10/Ne-Yo feat. Jamie Foxx and Fabolous/She Got Her Own (Miss Independent RMX)AND The Dream/I Luv Your Girl
11/T-Pain feat. Lil Wayne/Can't Believe It
12/MGMT/Electric Feel
13/Britney Spears/Womanizer AND
Nine Inch Nails/Discipline
14/Ray J feat. Yung Berg/Sexy Can I
15/Colby O'Donis feat. Akon/What You Got
16/Santogold/Lights Out AND Creator
17/Bun B feat. Sean Kingston/That's Gangsta
18/Rick Ross feat. T-Pain/The Boss
19/Kidz in the Hall/Drivin' Down the Block (Low End Theory)
20/Kanye West/Heartless
21/Ashanti/Good Good AND Slim feat. Shawty Lo and Yung Joc/So Fly (RMX)
22/Beck/Gamma Ray
23/Kylie Minogue/All I See
24/The Game feat. Travis Barker/Dope Boys
25/Janet Jackson/Feedback AND Rock With U
AND
03/Solange Knowles/Sandcastle Disco AND I Decided, Pt. 1
Hey boy, Solange wants your attention. The girl has something to say: You’re the one for her. Now don’t fret, and don’t run, forward ain’t the way of the game. She’s a little different, she don’t “do what the fast girls do”, she ain’t nothing but a sandcastle baby, fragile, earnest, begging you to hear her out, take her as she is, and not just simply blow her off (or away). Ya dig? Ya understand? Cause I do. How couldn’t you? Her messages are easy, breezy, and beautiful like the flight of a Southern Hummingbird. The words are from her heart, and the music is richly soulful, echoing the sound of such old school girl groups as the Supremes. (I can’t be the only one who hears traces of Where Did I Love Go? in I Decided, Pt.1) This is pop music at its finest, Solange Knowles at her finest. She wants you, she needs you, she chooses you. Baby, don’t blow her away.
AND
Nine Inch Nails/Discipline
Monday, December 22, 2008
Oh Word?
FILE UNDER: A Moment of Clarity/POLITICS: So Fucking Disco!
American Gangster.
There's a new threat in town. And he lives in a town near you. Ladies and Gentlemen keep an eye out for THE (American) ECONOMIC TERRORIST! Bloomberg.com reports:
"The FBI has engaged in "triage," taking agents off terror and other crimes to respond to a cascade of financial frauds such as the alleged Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme, the head of the bureau's New York criminal division said.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation was forced to reallocate its manpower in New York to deal with recent frauds involving subprime mortgages, auction-rate securities and Madoff, who prosecutors said confessed this month to bilking investors out of $50 billion, FBI official David Cardona said in an interview.
'We have to work those cases which we think pose the greatest threat,' he said. 'In this case, it's a threat to the financial system and Wall Street.'"
Now you know.
BLOOMBERG: FBI Uses Triage to Shift From Terror to Madoff, Subprime Probes
American Gangster.
There's a new threat in town. And he lives in a town near you. Ladies and Gentlemen keep an eye out for THE (American) ECONOMIC TERRORIST! Bloomberg.com reports:
"The FBI has engaged in "triage," taking agents off terror and other crimes to respond to a cascade of financial frauds such as the alleged Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme, the head of the bureau's New York criminal division said.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation was forced to reallocate its manpower in New York to deal with recent frauds involving subprime mortgages, auction-rate securities and Madoff, who prosecutors said confessed this month to bilking investors out of $50 billion, FBI official David Cardona said in an interview.
'We have to work those cases which we think pose the greatest threat,' he said. 'In this case, it's a threat to the financial system and Wall Street.'"
Now you know.
PUT THE NEEDLE ON IT!: Tauwan's Top Albums of 2008
04/Friendly Fires/Friendly Fires
Friday.
August 1, 2008.
10:30 PM.
The Echo.
Five dollars got us in. Music was in the air. Friendly Fires had taken the stage. Two to three songs deep. After a quick and immediate trip to the bathroom, we made our way to the front of the stage and never left it. And never kept still. And never kept our eyes off the stage. And why would you? This, is your new favorite band. I was convinced. Lead singer Ed Macfarlane begs you to look away. On this night he was dressed in a black and silver fitted sweater with pleated trousers and shiny penny loafers I just couldn't keep my eyes off of, bringing it, hard, along with the rest of his band mates. You would think that jumping in a crowd, getting all spastic, twirling a microphone, and standing on the drum set while attacking the cowbell would reek of over the top pretentiousness, but you'd be wrong. Again, I was convinced that these guys are the real deal. Tight, together, and unafraid to groove, harmonize, and simply get down. It was a non stop party man, and none of it is lost on wax. I spoke of that show first because the album and the funky, fiery live show are one and the same: tight, together, and unafraid to groove, track for track, no matter the tempo. Join them as they groove like The Rapture begging you to get on board, or ride with them through melancholic new wave stratospheres. Choose a side, take your pick. Either way you'll be sold. As was I that warm summer night at the Echo, and have continued to be ever since this album hit the shelves.
KEY TRACKS: Jump in the Pool/Paris/On Board
OBSESSION! My heart goes a BOOM BOOM TAP!
Tauwan's Top "25" Singles of 2008
04/Madonna feat. Pharrell/Give it 2 Me
AND
04/Cut Copy/Lights and Music
The best dance songs are events. I’m talking stop all the world now, “It’s. About. To Go. DOWN” events. A hyperactive three to six to eight to ten minute stroll through boogie wonderland that commences the minute the sound hits your ears. Madonna knows this, as do the boys in Cut Copy. And on these two tracks, cut from the same hip shakin’, body movin’ cloth, the goal is clear: get you to listen, get you to move. Madonna and Pharrell are more forward with their intentions, wondering what you are waiting for, asking you to get stupid, (and not stop it), as their voices cascade over the ramshackle funhouse beats. With Lights and Music, the message is nearly one and the same: “Lights and Music are on my mind.” Succumb to these ready for the floor rhythms, force your back off the wall, let your voice join in on the harmonies, your hands come together for a clap (or two or three), and “be my baby”, right here, right now, one more time. You can try to deny it. You might even say you don’t dance, but when these two tracks rev up their engines, it’s pretty hard to sit still and not let go.
AND
05/Coldplay/Viva La Vida
06/Jordin Sparks feat. Chris Brown/No Air
07/Panic at the Disco/Nine in the Afternoon
08/Lil Wayne/A Milli AND Lollipop
09/Estelle feat. Cee-Lo/Pretty Please (Love Me) AND Jazmine Sullivan feat. Missy Elliot/Need U Bad
10/Ne-Yo feat. Jamie Foxx and Fabolous/She Got Her Own (Miss Independent RMX)AND The Dream/I Luv Your Girl
11/T-Pain feat. Lil Wayne/Can't Believe It
12/MGMT/Electric Feel
13/Britney Spears/Womanizer AND
Nine Inch Nails/Discipline
14/Ray J feat. Yung Berg/Sexy Can I
15/Colby O'Donis feat. Akon/What You Got
16/Santogold/Lights Out AND Creator
17/Bun B feat. Sean Kingston/That's Gangsta
18/Rick Ross feat. T-Pain/The Boss
19/Kidz in the Hall/Drivin' Down the Block (Low End Theory)
20/Kanye West/Heartless
21/Ashanti/Good Good AND Slim feat. Shawty Lo and Yung Joc/So Fly (RMX)
22/Beck/Gamma Ray
23/Kylie Minogue/All I See
24/The Game feat. Travis Barker/Dope Boys
25/Janet Jackson/Feedback AND Rock With U
04/Madonna feat. Pharrell/Give it 2 Me
AND
04/Cut Copy/Lights and Music
The best dance songs are events. I’m talking stop all the world now, “It’s. About. To Go. DOWN” events. A hyperactive three to six to eight to ten minute stroll through boogie wonderland that commences the minute the sound hits your ears. Madonna knows this, as do the boys in Cut Copy. And on these two tracks, cut from the same hip shakin’, body movin’ cloth, the goal is clear: get you to listen, get you to move. Madonna and Pharrell are more forward with their intentions, wondering what you are waiting for, asking you to get stupid, (and not stop it), as their voices cascade over the ramshackle funhouse beats. With Lights and Music, the message is nearly one and the same: “Lights and Music are on my mind.” Succumb to these ready for the floor rhythms, force your back off the wall, let your voice join in on the harmonies, your hands come together for a clap (or two or three), and “be my baby”, right here, right now, one more time. You can try to deny it. You might even say you don’t dance, but when these two tracks rev up their engines, it’s pretty hard to sit still and not let go.
AND
Nine Inch Nails/Discipline
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