pt. 1.
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Monday, March 30, 2015
a moment of clarity.
words.
"...major presidential candidates of both parties are aligned in their commitment to blocking the United States government from enacting any policies that would lead to a diminution of the wealth of the very rich and a consequent increase in the wealth of the middle and lower classes. Whether you vote for a Democrat or for a Republican, you, the top 0.1% of America's wealthy, can rest assured that your candidate of choice will voice soothing platitudes about the grave importance of economic inequality as an issue while simultaneously standing in the way of any attempt to pass a law that might negatively impact the net worth of you, The Real Ruling Class.
...America's economic inequality problem will not go away unless acted upon with force. The past 30 years have demonstrated that. Deregulation and lower taxes are the very things that got us here in the first place. Through good economies and bad, inequality has risen. To change that means cutting the share of the pie held by the rich. It cannot be accomplished simply by economic growth. Any presidential candidate who implies anything different is taking you for a sucker, while winking at their moneyed supporters on the sidelines..."
GAWKER: There Are No Candidates For the Middle Class
"...major presidential candidates of both parties are aligned in their commitment to blocking the United States government from enacting any policies that would lead to a diminution of the wealth of the very rich and a consequent increase in the wealth of the middle and lower classes. Whether you vote for a Democrat or for a Republican, you, the top 0.1% of America's wealthy, can rest assured that your candidate of choice will voice soothing platitudes about the grave importance of economic inequality as an issue while simultaneously standing in the way of any attempt to pass a law that might negatively impact the net worth of you, The Real Ruling Class.
...America's economic inequality problem will not go away unless acted upon with force. The past 30 years have demonstrated that. Deregulation and lower taxes are the very things that got us here in the first place. Through good economies and bad, inequality has risen. To change that means cutting the share of the pie held by the rich. It cannot be accomplished simply by economic growth. Any presidential candidate who implies anything different is taking you for a sucker, while winking at their moneyed supporters on the sidelines..."
GAWKER: There Are No Candidates For the Middle Class
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Friday, March 27, 2015
Thursday, March 26, 2015
close your eyes.
words.
december twenty-third, two thousand fourteen.
dude... incredible. : the albums, 2014.
03/run the jewels/run the jewels 2
what do you see when you look at me? answers may vary, but there's one answer I know you're thinking of that you want to say but won't, or aren't sure you should: my black skin. there's so much more to me than that, of course, but for many, particularly those of differing races and ethnicities, that's all I am, will be, and you'll allow me to be defined by. including those who write the rules, make the laws, and are allowed to enforce them however they see fit. i am not allowed to be different, and i am not allowed to be nuanced. and i am not, more than anything, to get upset, make a scene, or raise my voice over this. i should, to those eyes, accept this and be content. "that's just the way it is", said 2014 over and over and over again to we black american males.
now, when shit hits the fan or seems to be heading towards the apocalypse, we aren't as quick to just toss up our hands and say "well, fuck it. it is what it is" as one might think. more often than not we seek answers and change, or rise up with fists. we march. we shout. we protest. cause it ain't gotta be like this, ain't supposed to be like this. we deserve better and can do better. america can do better. some take to the streets, some put a pen to the page, and others put it in a song or two or eleven, as mikey and jaime have done here with the much heralded (and rightly so) rap album of the year that is run the jewels two.
run the jewels two is the sound of not backing down. run the jewels two is the sound of doing you, and doing me, and not dialing anything back to make you feel more comfortable, or not disrupt the status quo. it is brash, direct, and confrontational, with little or no room for fuckboys and their fuckboy ways (lying politicians, limiting institutions, your preconceived notions about who i, them, their, or our people are or may be). it is realness and hip-hop personified. it lets you ride along, never once asking you to keep up, just assuming that you will. fuck a slow mo, they killing them for freedom cause they torture us for boredom, and time is of the essence. urgency. the times demand it and need it. need this. this dropping of knowledge and unabashed braggadocio. this coming together of the minds, of cultures, of ethnicities.
it is different and nuanced; upset, raising its voice and making a scene. they march. they shout. they protest. cause it ain't supposed to be like this, and their voices won't be stifled. cause we can do better. america can do better. and it knows better. and mike and el-p refuse to shut up or take it down a notch until you get the fucking point, and realize that they and we too are as american as apple pie, and ain't going anywhere. and in 2014, it was something that needed to be said, heard, and recognized over and over and over again. wash, rinse, and repeat into the future. it's what they want, and what we need. the times demand it.
KEY TRACKS: jeopardy/early/all due respect
run the jewels + zach de la rocha.
close your eyes (and count to fuck).
a video.
PITCHFORK: Run the Jewels and Zack De La Rocha's "Close Your Eyes (And Count to Fuck)" Video Is a Battle Between Cop and Unarmed Black Man
EARLIER:
dude... incredible. : the songs, 2014: 04/run the jewels feat. zack de la rocha/close your eyes (and count to fuck)
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
destiny's child.
Beyonce had a 4.0 GPA and full ride scholarship to Northwestern University. Never judge a book by its cover. I also made this tweet up
— Nicholas (@Nick8fo) March 25, 2015
sail away.
starring brian wilson, blondie chaplin, & al jardine.
ROLLING STONE: Hear Brian Wilson's Sunny New Song 'Sail Away'
ROLLING STONE: Hear Brian Wilson's Sunny New Song 'Sail Away'
Monday, March 23, 2015
Sunday, March 22, 2015
viva forever.
for your consideration.
words.
"“I saw them all move out,” my wife said one day, referring to the neighborhood’s white residents. “And now I’m watching them move back in.”
In Highland Park, as in other Latino barrios of Los Angeles, gentrification has produced an undeniable but little appreciated side effect: the end of decades of de facto racial segregation. It’s possible to imagine a future in which “the hood” passes into memory. Racial integration is on the upswing; for that, a cry of “Viva gentrification!” is in order."
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Viva Gentrification!
words.
"“I saw them all move out,” my wife said one day, referring to the neighborhood’s white residents. “And now I’m watching them move back in.”
In Highland Park, as in other Latino barrios of Los Angeles, gentrification has produced an undeniable but little appreciated side effect: the end of decades of de facto racial segregation. It’s possible to imagine a future in which “the hood” passes into memory. Racial integration is on the upswing; for that, a cry of “Viva gentrification!” is in order."
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Viva Gentrification!
king kunta.
The Brite Spot.
Echo Park, Los Angeles.
A Saturday.
Morning.
After sunrise and before ten.
A young man who looks like he could be a member of Pro Era & a young woman dressed and cute like Rihanna fresh out of bed (and following two blunts) walk into the restaurant.
Studio talk abounds re: passed tracks and constructive criticism. Minutes into their meal a slight hush takes over the place, making this beauty of a nugget from the young man (and possible MC) ring loud and clear:
"man, j. Cole and Kendrick like, all they wanna do is sing. Everybody singing. Being all like *makes guttural noises* 'UH! UH! UHHH!!!!!' and don't nobody say SHIT!..
Fuck that, man, I just wanna rap..."
good times.
Echo Park, Los Angeles.
A Saturday.
Morning.
After sunrise and before ten.
A young man who looks like he could be a member of Pro Era & a young woman dressed and cute like Rihanna fresh out of bed (and following two blunts) walk into the restaurant.
Studio talk abounds re: passed tracks and constructive criticism. Minutes into their meal a slight hush takes over the place, making this beauty of a nugget from the young man (and possible MC) ring loud and clear:
"man, j. Cole and Kendrick like, all they wanna do is sing. Everybody singing. Being all like *makes guttural noises* 'UH! UH! UHHH!!!!!' and don't nobody say SHIT!..
Fuck that, man, I just wanna rap..."
good times.
new psycho actives volume one.
In honor of snow on the equinox, check out New Psycho Actives Vol.1 from @aveytare & Geologist. http://t.co/nKJv71lIWq
— Animal Collective (@anmlcollective) March 22, 2015
social uplift.
if you were sad today, here are pictures of Snoop Dogg doing freeform art. pic.twitter.com/ngk6VMXTLm
— stepmother earth (@alemworldwide) March 20, 2015
Saturday, March 21, 2015
Friday, March 20, 2015
Thursday, March 19, 2015
belly.
an ongoing discussion/moment of clarity.
words.
"Almost every institution in America—from our corporations to our schools, hospitals, and civic authorities—now seems to operate largely as an engine for extracting revenue, by imposing ever more complex sets of rules that are designed to be broken. And these rules are almost invariably enforced on a sliding scale: ever-so-gently on the rich and powerful (think of what happens to those banks when they themselves break the law), but with absolute Draconian harshness on the poorest and most vulnerable. As a result, the wealthiest Americans gain their wealth, increasingly, not from making or selling anything, but from coming up with ever-more creative ways to make us feel like criminals.
This is a profound transformation, and one we barely talk about. But it is rapidly altering people's most basic conceptions of their relations with society at large..."
GAWKER: Ferguson and the Criminalization of American Life
words.
"Almost every institution in America—from our corporations to our schools, hospitals, and civic authorities—now seems to operate largely as an engine for extracting revenue, by imposing ever more complex sets of rules that are designed to be broken. And these rules are almost invariably enforced on a sliding scale: ever-so-gently on the rich and powerful (think of what happens to those banks when they themselves break the law), but with absolute Draconian harshness on the poorest and most vulnerable. As a result, the wealthiest Americans gain their wealth, increasingly, not from making or selling anything, but from coming up with ever-more creative ways to make us feel like criminals.
This is a profound transformation, and one we barely talk about. But it is rapidly altering people's most basic conceptions of their relations with society at large..."
GAWKER: Ferguson and the Criminalization of American Life
scratch the snow.
starring deerhunter's moses archuleta.
PITCHFORK: Deerhunter's Moses Archuleta Releases Moon Diagrams Cassette, Shares "Scratch the Snow"
PITCHFORK: Deerhunter's Moses Archuleta Releases Moon Diagrams Cassette, Shares "Scratch the Snow"
k.dot.
an ongoing discussion/moment of clarity.
words.
"To speak prophetically is daring—the times in which we live may not be equal to the weight of prophetic language. More than a vision of the future, prophecy requires an accurate reading of the present. Even two years ago, “To Pimp a Butterfly” might have sounded, to all but a handful of listeners, out of joint with the times, but right now, after Ferguson and Eric Garner, it sounds fitting.
Time bends. Tupac, speaking to us from the past about the present, calls up the spirit of the rebel slave Nat Turner, as Lamar, speaking from the present but looking to the future, invokes “the ghost of Mandela, hope my flows they propel it.” Tupac might have been alone, him against the world, but Lamar gathers his brethren round him."
THE NEW YORKER: Kendrick Lamar’s Capacious New Record
SEE ALSO:
THE PITCH: On Kendrick Lamar and Black Humanity
words.
"To speak prophetically is daring—the times in which we live may not be equal to the weight of prophetic language. More than a vision of the future, prophecy requires an accurate reading of the present. Even two years ago, “To Pimp a Butterfly” might have sounded, to all but a handful of listeners, out of joint with the times, but right now, after Ferguson and Eric Garner, it sounds fitting.
Time bends. Tupac, speaking to us from the past about the present, calls up the spirit of the rebel slave Nat Turner, as Lamar, speaking from the present but looking to the future, invokes “the ghost of Mandela, hope my flows they propel it.” Tupac might have been alone, him against the world, but Lamar gathers his brethren round him."
THE NEW YORKER: Kendrick Lamar’s Capacious New Record
SEE ALSO:
THE PITCH: On Kendrick Lamar and Black Humanity
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Monday, March 16, 2015
Saturday, March 14, 2015
Friday, March 13, 2015
black.
an ongoing discussion/moment of clarity.
words.
"...here’s the thing: The protest movement that arose last summer grew out of the sense that many in this society see African American lives as disposable. Not really worth caring about. The main focus was on police departments, court systems and the ways in which their interactions with African Americans differed from their interactions with whites.
I believe we’ve paid too little attention to the big picture. There is still a shocking degree of racial segregation in American society — no longer de jure but de facto. Segregation reinforces structural racism, which increasingly is not addressed or even acknowledged. Values such as diversity are almost universally celebrated publicly but not always practiced privately.
... President Obama said this: “We just need to open our eyes, and our ears, and our hearts to know that this nation’s racial history still casts its long shadow upon us.”
Listen with pride to the stirring oratory of the first African American president. But also listen to the frat boys on the bus."
THE WASHINGTON POST: Fraternity boys and the long shadow of racism
words.
"...here’s the thing: The protest movement that arose last summer grew out of the sense that many in this society see African American lives as disposable. Not really worth caring about. The main focus was on police departments, court systems and the ways in which their interactions with African Americans differed from their interactions with whites.
I believe we’ve paid too little attention to the big picture. There is still a shocking degree of racial segregation in American society — no longer de jure but de facto. Segregation reinforces structural racism, which increasingly is not addressed or even acknowledged. Values such as diversity are almost universally celebrated publicly but not always practiced privately.
... President Obama said this: “We just need to open our eyes, and our ears, and our hearts to know that this nation’s racial history still casts its long shadow upon us.”
Listen with pride to the stirring oratory of the first African American president. But also listen to the frat boys on the bus."
THE WASHINGTON POST: Fraternity boys and the long shadow of racism
Thursday, March 12, 2015
a moment of clarity.
words.
"We have to understand what that hate is. Hate is never about the object of the hate but about what is happening in the mind of the hater. It is in the darkness of that space that fear and ignorance merge and morph. It comes out in an impulse to mark and name, to deny and diminish, to exclude and threaten, to elevate the self by putting down the other.
What happened on that bus was bigger than just that bus; it was a reflection of where we are."
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Hate Takes the Bus: A University of Oklahoma Fraternity’s Chant and the Rigidity of Racism
"We have to understand what that hate is. Hate is never about the object of the hate but about what is happening in the mind of the hater. It is in the darkness of that space that fear and ignorance merge and morph. It comes out in an impulse to mark and name, to deny and diminish, to exclude and threaten, to elevate the self by putting down the other.
What happened on that bus was bigger than just that bus; it was a reflection of where we are."
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Hate Takes the Bus: A University of Oklahoma Fraternity’s Chant and the Rigidity of Racism
the crying game.
an ongoing discussion/moment of clarity.
words.
"...Criticizing Waka Flocka Flame's music and the "cesspool" of popular culture is just a redirection away from the actual grotesqueness at hand: A group of young people singing a song about excluding and murdering black people as a lark. There are worse examples of racism in the world and more damaging ones. But the problem with the SAE's singalong racist chant was that they were engaged in a singalong racist chant. The problem that needs to be fixed isn't rap music. It's things like blaming rap music for racism."
THE WASHINGTON POST: ‘Morning Joe’ misses the mark on rap music and the SAE chants
words.
"...Criticizing Waka Flocka Flame's music and the "cesspool" of popular culture is just a redirection away from the actual grotesqueness at hand: A group of young people singing a song about excluding and murdering black people as a lark. There are worse examples of racism in the world and more damaging ones. But the problem with the SAE's singalong racist chant was that they were engaged in a singalong racist chant. The problem that needs to be fixed isn't rap music. It's things like blaming rap music for racism."
THE WASHINGTON POST: ‘Morning Joe’ misses the mark on rap music and the SAE chants
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
the crying game.
a moment of clarity.
words.
"...Wilmore began by showing the clip in which former Oklahoma student Parker Rice led his fraternity brothers in a chant of “the worst song ever — sorry Baha Men, you’re not longer number one.” Once the video concluded, he imitated his critics by using a baby voice and saying, “Racism doesn’t exist anymore, Larry. Why do you always have to focus on race on your show, Larry. Just stop.”
“You first!” he replied sternly in his own voice. “I’ll stop talking about race when people stop being racist.”
...He quickly turned serious, however, praising the University of Oklahoma for the swiftness with which it expelled the students involved in the chant. “They also kicked the fraternity off campus,” he added, “so don’t worry, you won’t be seeing any more of those frat boys — until they’re your congressmen.”
“Welcome to America everybody,” he continued, “that’s how it works.”"
RAW STORY: Larry Wilmore: You won’t be seeing any more racist frat boys — until they’re your congressman
words.
"...Wilmore began by showing the clip in which former Oklahoma student Parker Rice led his fraternity brothers in a chant of “the worst song ever — sorry Baha Men, you’re not longer number one.” Once the video concluded, he imitated his critics by using a baby voice and saying, “Racism doesn’t exist anymore, Larry. Why do you always have to focus on race on your show, Larry. Just stop.”
“You first!” he replied sternly in his own voice. “I’ll stop talking about race when people stop being racist.”
...He quickly turned serious, however, praising the University of Oklahoma for the swiftness with which it expelled the students involved in the chant. “They also kicked the fraternity off campus,” he added, “so don’t worry, you won’t be seeing any more of those frat boys — until they’re your congressmen.”
“Welcome to America everybody,” he continued, “that’s how it works.”"
RAW STORY: Larry Wilmore: You won’t be seeing any more racist frat boys — until they’re your congressman
nightcall.
a video.
starring holt.
PITCHFORK: Kanye West's New G.O.O.D. Music Signee Holt Covers Kavinsky's "Nightcall" From Drive in New Video
starring holt.
There was a period in the early to mid 2000s where spank rock and artists of that ilk were in vogue.
— greycedes. (@OneTokenBlack) March 11, 2015
sat (or stood thru) a lot of opening acts and sets from not quite ready for primetime rappers who almost seemed gimmicky/of the moment.
— greycedes. (@OneTokenBlack) March 11, 2015
blip, bloops, and subject matter that really wasn't that multifaceted. Hollywood Holt was one such character.
— greycedes. (@OneTokenBlack) March 11, 2015
Kudos to him for getting signed to g.o.o.d. music. crazy. totally forgot about dude. and whatever show I saw where he opened.
— greycedes. (@OneTokenBlack) March 11, 2015
PITCHFORK: Kanye West's New G.O.O.D. Music Signee Holt Covers Kavinsky's "Nightcall" From Drive in New Video
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
life.
"I wonder. Will it take me under? I don't know..."
[FILE UNDER: a moment of clarity]
Shia Labeouf Is Life.
— Jaden Smith (@officialjaden) March 11, 2015
[FILE UNDER: a moment of clarity]
Sunday, March 08, 2015
today.
words.
"Now, we must look at the hundred years following the movement to understand that another inflection point is coming, one that again threatens traditional power: the browning of America.
According to the Census Bureau, “The U.S. is projected to become a majority-minority nation for the first time in 2043,” with minorities projected to be 57 percent of the population in 2060.
In response, fear and restrictive laws are creeping back into our culture and our politics — not always explicitly or violently, but in ways whose effects are similarly racially arrayed. Structural inequities — economic, educational — are becoming more rigid, and systemic biases harder to eradicate. But this time the threat isn’t regional and racially binary but national and multifaceted.
So, we must fight our fights anew."
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Race, History, a President, a Bridge: Obama and Selma: The Meaning of ‘Bloody Sunday’
"Now, we must look at the hundred years following the movement to understand that another inflection point is coming, one that again threatens traditional power: the browning of America.
According to the Census Bureau, “The U.S. is projected to become a majority-minority nation for the first time in 2043,” with minorities projected to be 57 percent of the population in 2060.
In response, fear and restrictive laws are creeping back into our culture and our politics — not always explicitly or violently, but in ways whose effects are similarly racially arrayed. Structural inequities — economic, educational — are becoming more rigid, and systemic biases harder to eradicate. But this time the threat isn’t regional and racially binary but national and multifaceted.
So, we must fight our fights anew."
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Race, History, a President, a Bridge: Obama and Selma: The Meaning of ‘Bloody Sunday’
america.
a moment of clarity.
words.
"Antonio Morgan, the owner of a car repair business, has spent months in various St. Louis County jails, paid thousands of dollars and been shocked by a Taser, mostly because of traffic violations. “People are actually getting mad that everybody thinks it’s Ferguson, Ferguson, Ferguson,” Mr. Morgan, 29, said. “They pull over a lot of black people, yeah, but they’re not the worst, I’ll tell you that. It’s worse ones than that.”
...Not only do nearby cities work in the same ways as Ferguson, but they work with the same people. Ronald J. Brockmeyer, the municipal court judge in Ferguson whom the Justice Department report singled out for ticket-fixing, is a judge in another city and a prosecutor in three more.
...Mr. Roediger, who, along with Arch City Defenders, a nonprofit legal group, is suing several municipalities over their court practices. “The system is absolutely rotten from the core.”
...“They’re all suffering from the same problems,” said Ms. Williams, who is black, adding that she had already been working with a group of activists to plan a protest against the municipal court in Pine Lawn when the shooting of Mr. Brown in August drew the protests northwest to Ferguson. “St. Louis knows that it’s not just a Ferguson problem,” she said. “I don’t know if the country knows.”"
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Ferguson Became Symbol, but Bias Knows No Border
words.
"Antonio Morgan, the owner of a car repair business, has spent months in various St. Louis County jails, paid thousands of dollars and been shocked by a Taser, mostly because of traffic violations. “People are actually getting mad that everybody thinks it’s Ferguson, Ferguson, Ferguson,” Mr. Morgan, 29, said. “They pull over a lot of black people, yeah, but they’re not the worst, I’ll tell you that. It’s worse ones than that.”
...Not only do nearby cities work in the same ways as Ferguson, but they work with the same people. Ronald J. Brockmeyer, the municipal court judge in Ferguson whom the Justice Department report singled out for ticket-fixing, is a judge in another city and a prosecutor in three more.
...Mr. Roediger, who, along with Arch City Defenders, a nonprofit legal group, is suing several municipalities over their court practices. “The system is absolutely rotten from the core.”
...“They’re all suffering from the same problems,” said Ms. Williams, who is black, adding that she had already been working with a group of activists to plan a protest against the municipal court in Pine Lawn when the shooting of Mr. Brown in August drew the protests northwest to Ferguson. “St. Louis knows that it’s not just a Ferguson problem,” she said. “I don’t know if the country knows.”"
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Ferguson Became Symbol, but Bias Knows No Border
Saturday, March 07, 2015
love.
a moment of clarity.
words.
"But in announcing their relationship, Professor Li did not mince words. “Love is so simple and spiritual,” she wrote. “It is not related to social status, age, or even sexual identity.”"
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Sex Expert’s Secret Is Out, and China’s Open to It
words.
"But in announcing their relationship, Professor Li did not mince words. “Love is so simple and spiritual,” she wrote. “It is not related to social status, age, or even sexual identity.”"
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Sex Expert’s Secret Is Out, and China’s Open to It
Friday, March 06, 2015
play it cool.
starring earl sweatshirt, sam herring, and gangrene.
PITCHFORK: Earl Sweatshirt, Future Islands' Sam Herring Team on "Play It Cool" by Gangrene (The Alchemist + Oh No)
PITCHFORK: Earl Sweatshirt, Future Islands' Sam Herring Team on "Play It Cool" by Gangrene (The Alchemist + Oh No)
Thursday, March 05, 2015
Tuesday, March 03, 2015
big decisions.
starring my morning jacket.
PITCHFORK: My Morning Jacket Announce New Album The Waterfall, Share "Big Decisions"
PITCHFORK: My Morning Jacket Announce New Album The Waterfall, Share "Big Decisions"
Monday, March 02, 2015
all day.
starring kanye, theophilus london, & allan kingdom.
PITCHFORK: Kanye West Releases Studio Version of "All Day"
PITCHFORK: Kanye West Releases Studio Version of "All Day"
Sunday, March 01, 2015
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)