Tuesday, September 30
Saturday, September 27
The Alpha Platinum 9000
behind the scenes...
I've complained, whined, and begged for months now. It was worth the wait.
I was a bit bewildered when I learned that it would premiere on
BET's (quivers) 106th and Park. I suffered through almost an entire episode
of that mess. I'm noticing a trend, when it comes to Janelle she pushes her
fans to the limit--well me at least. I have been aching for this video since the re-release of "The Chase".
I remember the very first entry on chaseology.com was me ranting and raving about
how I had to wait nearly four hours when I went to her first show
--but it was worth every second--always is.
This video combines two of my loves: live performance & runway.
Set at the Metropolis Annual Android Auction.
Cindi Mayweather--"the prototype of the Alpha Platinum 9000 line, and
the toast of the town"--dazzles the guest as she performs an electrifying
rendition of "Many Moons." The other droids strut down the runway as
they are auctioned off the the movers and shakers of Metropolis.
The ending eludes to the next chapter of the Metropolis saga.
Don't miss the Cameos!
Deep Cotton as the Punk Prophets & Big Boi (Sir Lucious Leftfoot)
serves as the auctioneer extraordinaire.
Oh and NO DIDDY!
One of the best videos I've seen in years!
I'm not just saying that!
check it out!
one thing:
If you compare to Andre 3000's 2003 video "Hey Ya" I say this.
Andre 3000 wasn't the first. Sorry. If you knew your history or anything
aside from the crap you watch on BET you wouldn't speak such absurdities.
peace.
Friday, September 26
New Music Update Coming Very Soon!
I took the GRE yesterday and it was not a catastrophe,
I didn't make my ideal score but it should be fine.
Moving on.
I have several albums that I'm listening to right now.
Raphael Saadiq: "The Way I See It"
Jennifer Hudson's Debut Album
Shwayze's Album
Michelle Williams: "Breakthrough"
Pussycat Dolls: "Doll Domination"
Monday, September 22
a little rant.
I take the GRE this Thursday. I'm anxious to get this over with. I want to be afraid but I've endured some pretty severe sh!t. I refuse to tremble in the face of a standardized test. I felt like taking the GRE was my last chance at grad school. Actually, its only the first step. I have no idea what the next few months have in store. I took a practice test today---did okay. Considering I wasn't actually concentrating on the material I did well. Still, if I choke on Thursday or if I just don't do well, I need to tell myself in advance that its not the end of the world. This reminder is not my way of filling my head with self doubt, but I know how I am. Though my finances are non-existent, my optimism is dwindling each day, and the end of the year on the horizon--I have to be prepared for the worst and hope for the best.
Age Ain't Nothing But a Number...
Aaliyah was, is, and forever will be my ultimate favorite.
Always true to herself, chill, humble and mysterious.
and for the true fans...
@ your best on zshare(enjoy).
Brooke & Jack
"No matter how many people are in the room or
what the circumstances are just get up there
and go for it like its gonna be the last
show you'll ever play"
--Miss Jack Davey
diplo the DJ.
http://www.zshare.net/audio/349211758b0938/
Tracks:
01. I Like Turtles
02. Mr. Vegas: “Lean Wit It”
03. M.I.A. [ft. Bun B and Rich Boy]: “Paper Planes”
04. Schooly D: “Gucci Time”
05. Yeah Yeah Yeahs: “Rockers to Swallow”
06. Jellybean: “Sidewalk Talk”
07. Belle Stars: “Iko Iko”
08. Scala & Kolacny Brothers: “Heartbeats”
09. Diplo & Switch [ft. Elephant Man]: “East, West (Remix)”
10. Nirvana: Drain You / Huey: “Pop, Lock & Drop It”
11. Marc Houle: “Bay of Figs (Ward 21 Mix)”
12. DJ Tamiel: “Bump Like This”
13. Queen [ft. David Bowie]: “Under Pressure”
14. Eddie Money: “Take Me Home Tonight”
15. Soulja Boy: “Crank Dat Superman”
16. Bat for Lashes: “What’s a Girl to Do (Break)”
17. DJ Shadow: “Organ Donor (Sandrinho Remix)”
18. Diplo & Switch [ft. Beenie Man]: “Solta Frango”
19. Mr. Vegas: “Hot Fuk (Diplo Mix)”
20. Enur [ft. Natasja]: “Calabria (2007 mix)”
21. Spoon: “Paper Tiger”
22. Circle Children: “Zulu”
23. M.I.A. [ft Akon]: “Boyz Remix (Hi Powered Boyz Get Down)”
24. Boy 8 Bit: “Suspense Is Killing Me”
25. KW Griff: “Tony’s Back”
26. Diplo: “Work Is Never Over”
27. M.I.A: “Bamboo Banger”
28. Sizzla: “Bamboo Banger (Dubplate)”
29. Blaqstarr: “Supastarr”
30. Shai: “If I Ever Fall in Love Again (Dub)”
31. Orbital: “Halcyon”
32. LA Priest: “Engine (Erol Alkan Remix)”
33. Petter: “Some Polyphony”
34. Rihanna: “Umbrella (Vandalism Mix)”
35. Justice: “Phantom Pt. II (Soulwax Mix)”
36. The White Stripes: “Little Cream Soda”
37. ZZT: “Lower State of Consciousness”
38. Kia Shine: “Crispy”
39. Bart Simpson: “Bartman (So Kripsy Mix)”
found this on myspace.
Friday, September 19
it was just an ordinary afternoon...
he's kinda awkward but COOL.
check his dance moves.
THIS VIDEO IS HI-LARIOUS.
SAM SPARRO's MYSPACE page.
watch 1:25 - 1:30
The Fame
a few words about
Lady Gaga's Album THE FAME:
-high energy
-wickedly superficial
-glam pop
-electronic
-grand
-magic
-super sexy soundtrack
-superb premier effort
-beautiful, dirty, rich!
-a must have for any contemporary collection
Spank Rock
http://www.myspace.com/spankrock
If you're a huge fan of gratuitous, derogatory, bitch-hoe-suck-this,
booty-shaking hip-hop then you'll love Spank Rock.
I can be honest, that I don't listen to this unless I feel some kind
of way, like with all things with me, there is a time and a place.
Spank Rock sounds like The Cool Kids bumping 2LiveCrew driving through
Bankhead on a Saturday afternoon. With lyrics laden with references
to the "the female anatomy", strippers, hoes, and pure unadulterated
f*cking---I'm sure though you may find some of it in poor taste, you'll
be listening to it on your way to work.
sidenote: Spank Rock worked with Santogold on the track "Bootay"
& one of the stand out tracks from Santogold's album
"Shove It"
(we think you're a joke shove your hope where it don't shine!)
DIPLO [the DJ]
Diplo (born Wesley Pentz, also variably known as Diplodocus, Wes Gully, and Wes Diplo) is a Philadelphia-based DJ and producer. Together with DJ Low Budget, he runs Hollertronix, a club and music collective. Among other jobs, Pentz worked as a school teacher in his native Philadelphia. In addition to his solo career, he dated and worked with M.I.A..[1] Pentz's alias, short for Diplodocus, derives from his childhood fascination with dinosaurs.
After hearing one of his songs, M.I.A. approached Pentz when he was DJing one night at the Fabric Club in London. "Besides me being a white dude from Florida and her being a Sri Lankan girl in England, everything else was the same: [We were both] film graduates, [listened to] all the same music when we were kids, were going in the same direction right now in music, it was amazing."[2] he said of their meeting. Coincidentally, Diplo was playing her single "Galang" as she entered the club, which he got from a worker at i-D magazine.[2] Diplo also toured as a DJ with M.I.A. during her 2005 Arular Tour. He has also worked with fellow Philadelphians Spank Rock, Amanda Blank and Santogold.
read the rest.
Tuesday, September 16
White Privilege, White Entitlement and the 2008 Election
by Tim Wise
For those who still can’t grasp the concept of white privilege, or who are constantly looking for some easy-to-understand examples of it, perhaps this list will help.
White privilege is when you can get pregnant at seventeen like Bristol Palin and everyone is quick to insist that your life and that of your family is a personal matter, and that no one has a right to judge you or your parents, because "every family has challenges," even as black and Latino families with similar "challenges" are regularly typified as irresponsible, pathological and arbiters of social decay.
White privilege is when you can call yourself a "fuckin’ redneck," like Bristol Palin’s boyfriend does, and talk about how if anyone messes with you, you'll "kick their fuckin' ass," and talk about how you like to "shoot shit" for fun, and still be viewed as a responsible, all-American boy (and a great son-in-law to be) rather than a thug.
White privilege is when you can attend four different colleges in six years like Sarah Palin did (one of which you basically failed out of, then returned to after making up some coursework at a community college), and no one questions your intelligence or commitment to achievement, whereas a person of color who did this would be viewed as unfit for college, and probably someone who only got in in the first place because of affirmative action.
White privilege is when you can claim that being mayor of a town smaller than most medium-sized colleges, and then Governor of a state with about the same number of people as the lower fifth of the island of Manhattan, makes you ready to potentially be president, and people don’t all piss on themselves with laughter, while being a black U.S. Senator, two-term state Senator, and constitutional law scholar, means you’re "untested."
White privilege is being able to say that you support the words "under God" in the pledge of allegiance because "if it was good enough for the founding fathers, it’s good enough for me," and not be immediately disqualified from holding office--since, after all, the pledge was written in the late 1800s and the "under God" part wasn’t added until the 1950s--while believing that reading accused criminals and terrorists their rights (because, ya know, the Constitution, which you used to teach at a prestigious law school requires it), is a dangerous and silly idea only supported by mushy liberals.
White privilege is being able to be a gun enthusiast and not make people immediately scared of you. White privilege is being able to have a husband who was a member of an extremist political party that wants your state to secede from the Union, and whose motto was "Alaska first," and no one questions your patriotism or that of your family, while if you're black and your spouse merely fails to come to a 9/11 memorial so she can be home with her kids on the first day of school, people immediately think she’s being disrespectful.
White privilege is being able to make fun of community organizers and the work they do--like, among other things, fight for the right of women to vote, or for civil rights, or the 8-hour workday, or an end to child labor--and people think you’re being pithy and tough, but if you merely question the experience of a small town mayor and 18-month governor with no foreign policy expertise beyond a class she took in college--you’re somehow being mean, or even sexist.
White privilege is being able to convince white women who don’t even agree with you on any substantive issue to vote for you and your running mate anyway, because all of a sudden your presence on the ticket has inspired confidence in these same white women, and made them give your party a "second look."
White privilege is being able to fire people who didn’t support your political campaigns and not be accused of abusing your power or being a typical politician who engages in favoritism, while being black and merely knowing some folks from the old-line political machines in Chicago means you must be corrupt.
White privilege is being able to attend churches over the years whose pastors say that people who voted for John Kerry or merely criticize George W. Bush are going to hell, and that the U.S. is an explicitly Christian nation and the job of Christians is to bring Christian theological principles into government, and who bring in speakers who say the conflict in the Middle East is God’s punishment on Jews for rejecting Jesus, and everyone can still think you’re just a good church-going Christian, but if you’re black and friends with a black pastor who has noted (as have Colin Powell and the U.S. Department of Defense) that terrorist attacks are often the result of U.S. foreign policy and who talks about the history of racism and its effect on black people, you’re an extremist who probably hates America.
White privilege is not knowing what the Bush Doctrine is when asked by a reporter, and then people get angry at the reporter for asking you such a "trick question," while being black and merely refusing to give one-word answers to the queries of Bill O’Reilly means you’re dodging the question, or trying to seem overly intellectual and nuanced.
White privilege is being able to claim your experience as a POW has anything at all to do with your fitness for president, while being black and experiencing racism is, as Sarah Palin has referred to it, a "light" burden.
And finally, white privilege is the only thing that could possibly allow someone to become president when he has voted with George W. Bush 90 percent of the time, even as unemployment is skyrocketing, people are losing their homes, inflation is rising, and the U.S. is increasingly isolated from world opinion, just because white voters aren’t sure about that whole "change" thing. Ya know, it’s just too vague and ill-defined, unlike, say, four more years of the same, which is very concrete and certain.
White privilege is, in short, the problem.
A BUZZFLASH GUEST CONTRIBUTION
Tim Wise is the author of White Like Me (Soft Skull, 2005, revised 2008), and of Speaking Treason Fluently, publishing this month, also by Soft Skull.
This Week's LEXICAL ITEM:
fexpensive (adj.) - fucking expensive
Example:
(A): I have to have this hoodie!
**searches garment for price tag**
(B): Wow, it look fexpensive.
**(A) puts hoodie back on the rack**
(A): It's dope, but not dope enough to pay $125
---I'm on a budget.
thanks Urban Dictionary!
Wednesday, September 10
Why I LOVE Russell Brand.
I was reading an article on TheSuperficial about Brand & MTV censoring his opening spiel...Brand said this.“I wanted to say she was forcing her teenage daughter to have a baby because she is so anti-abortion. But also, as a Republican, she is pro-execution so she is going to give her the electric chair for being a little sl*t. They weren’t keen on that one."
Teeth.
Good movie. Really interesting adaption of the "vagina dentada" myth. I love the underlying themes that explore: abstinence only education, promise rings, sexuality, Christianity, purity, stereotypes, womens sexuality, asexuality and more.
Though, the characters in the film represent extremes on one hand you have your bible tottin', promise ring wielding, children of God and on the other you have your drug abusing, violent, goth, promiscuous sluts (as Jordin Sparks would put it). Overall it was great, which is strange because I'm not an avid fan of castration. Check it out.
It killed at Sundance:
I need to calm down.
I sprang from my bed this morning, hoping to get
Kanye's "Love Lockdown" on iTunes this morning.
No such luck..."it ain't even there yet."
Mind you, the track is a startling departure from hip-hop
into brand new territory, the lyrics are deeply personal,
& the drums are haunting...Still I ask myself....
WHY (aside from sheer curiosity/internet buzz) am I
obsessing about this track?
I just read a VIBE blog that explains it.
read it here.
download...
Kanye West.Love Lockdown.Live
This song is a clear departure from Kanye's other work.
I think it's a risk worth taking.
The Ting Tings
Sunday, September 7
VMA 2008
I'm going to take some sound advice---
Ma always said if you don't have anything nice to say,
then don't say anything at all.
The following bullets are all of the positive things
that I had to say about the VMA's.
- The following people looked amazing: Ciara, Pink, Britney Spears & Katy Perry.
- Pink’s performance was high energy and it kept my attention—she was awesome.
- I like the Tings Tings’ song “Shut Up & Let Me Go” –I know I’m super late.
- Fanny Pack = Beyond The Business.
- Fogul from Superbad makes me smile, that kid was a prepubescent Amy Winehouse.
...*peers up* screw it full recap below:
- I would like to say that the following comments are being made with sound mind—they are candid. It is my own fault for watching and not occupying those two hours with something important or at the very least remotely stimulating.
- Britney’s opening was …anticlimactic—I actually kind of prefer last year’s opener…
- Rihanna’s performance was pathetic and only supports my claim that she will be completely irrelevant in a year.
- Miley Cyrus…go back to
- Marqus: “What’s with Amy Winehouse’s lost twin brother?” LMFAO! Russel Brand did a good job *avoids eye contact*.
- Britn—I mean Christina Aguilera’s performance was interesting, great choreography, but it reminded me of something I’ve seen before—something I can’t quite put my finger on.
- Seriously. Who listens to Kid Rock in 2008? For that matter who listened to Kid Rock in 1999? (*answer*: other old decrepit alcoholics)
- The nominees were horrible…Britney Spears won VIDEO OF THE YEAR for “Piece of Me”…Every artist in that room should have taken that as a slap across that face with a hand covered in dog shit.
- Kanye West closed the show with… and anticlimactic awkward performance… I love the song & the drummers & the lights but at a different venue at a different time. I will say his singing is ummm…different.
- What the fuck was that “last minute strand of weave” attached to Rihanna’s head. The rat tail can’t be coming back because it was never in.
- Lil Wayne is getting annoying like Beyonce did…big thumbs down for overexposure—too much.
- Tokio Hotel…..*looks around room….”Emily?”
- When people have long emotional VMA acceptance speeches (or as Beyonce would say “accepting speeches”)…I feel bad for them…It’s sad isn’t it.
- MTV it’s not your fault, I blame everyone around you for not calling you out on your bullshit…damn enablers. Take notes from the picture above...UPGRADE YOUR SYSTEMS! Shit needs work.
realization.
Last night I came to the conclusion that I am not a huge fan of hip-hop music.
More specifically mainstream hip-hop...If I hear it on the radio...
I can honestly say it doesn't move me, nor does it make me want to move.
I feel like there are so many endless possibilities but in most cases,
you hear the same thing one hundred slightly different ways.
No disrespect to the artist, I mean make your money how you will
it's just not my taste, not my taste at all.
It upsets me because there are so many multi-faceted hip-hop
artist out there who don't get the support they deserve.
Even beyond hip-hop there is so much good music out there,
sooooo much good shit, & it gets overlooked.
I just felt compelled to say that.
In other news the VMAs come on tonight.
Lord.
Thursday, September 4
VIMBY! New Era
I don't wear hats for reasons I won't disclose.
However, I do enjoy going to the New Era store.
I actually interviewed Jeff from LACED OUT @ the
New Era store. If you're a hat fanatic you already know.
GOTYE. what.do.you.want.
I think this video is weird, the good kind of weird.
Gotye on Wiki:
Wouter DeBacker (born 21 May 1980), more commonly known by the stage name
Gotye (pronounced [goːtijeː]), is an ARIA Award-winning singer-songwriter.
Born in Belgium but based in the city of Melbourne, Australia, Gotye has released two
studio albums independently and one remix album featuring remixes of tracks from
his first two albums.
...
Wally was embarking on a project that was, in his own words, "about refiguring
past things (old vinyl sounds) with my own ideas". It therefore seemed appropriate
to draw on his past for inspiration for the project's name. Wouter, Gotye's real name,
from Flemish translates into French as Gaultier (or Gautier or Gauthier).
Wally's mother used to call him Gaultier as a pet name. Drawing on this and
choosing his own spelling gives us 'Gotye'.Gotye is pronounced [goːtijeː],
approximately "gore-ti-yeah" in Australian English.
[Skateboard P. on B.]
"She's [Britney] made her mark with her career...”
“She's super-talented. She's an entertainer.
I don't even know if it really matters whether she wins (a VMA) or not".
Their collaborative efforts.
source.
The Fit.
I honestly could care less about that whole Fox interview fiasco.
People are gonna always say she wouldn't be anywhere without her sister.
It is pointless to assert, because to me it doesn't matter I guess because
she is actually talented. If she was pushing some bull-crap I would agree, but she
does her thing musically and I give her all the respect I give other artist.
Aside from that, if you don't know I'm not the hugest Beyonce fan.
I think she's an incredible artist, but people definitely go too hard for her.
Anywho, check the video...I like her fashion philo & her I enjoy her visual.
Don't Blackout.
She will return to the VMA's this weekend.
"I'm excited to open the entire show, to say
hi to my fans and to be nominated" - Britney Spears
Spears will not be performing, but she will open the show.
Nominated for three awards:
Best Female Video
Best Pop Video
Video of the Year for "Piece of Me."
...oh baby baby...
Wednesday, September 3
goo-goo 4 GAGA.
I enjoy her visual.
a blurb from her myspace:
It’s been a while since a new pop artist has made her way in the
music industry the old-fashioned/grass roots way by paying her
dues with seedy club gigs and self-promotion. This is one rising
pop star who hasn’t been plucked from a model casting call, born
into a famous family, won a reality TV singing contest, or emerged
from a teen cable TV sitcom. “I did this the way you are supposed to.
I played every club in New York City and I bombed in every club and
then killed it in every club and I found myself as an artist. I learned
how to survive as an artist, get real, and how to fail and then figure
out who I was as singer and performer. And, I worked hard.” 
Tuesday, September 2
Who is Kevin Michael...???
This is super cheesy, like the cheesiest, it's like sharp cheddar
sprinkled on top of Gouda with bits of Parmesan and Swiss mixed in.
But I still dig Kevin Michael.
Wale on NPR
"Hip hop is very regional," Wale explains.
"It's about representing where you come from
and your environment and painting a picture."
read the story here.
Monday, September 1
This Week's LEXICAL ITEM:
deface (verb) -
To remove a 'friendship' from facebook due to having either accidentily
adding him/her as a friend or actually adding them and reconsidering later.
examples:
"Yeah, there was this guy in my network who added me.
I thought he looked ok, but his updates were really
cramping my news feed, so I had to deface him."
"I went on a date with a girl I met a week before and
like the day after our date she changed her status
to 'in a relationship.' I defaced her."
Bi-Montly Mixtape
Bi-Monthly Mixtape:
Freshman Fifteen
1. Black Kids – Heartbrakes
2. Chris Brown- Glow In the Dark
3. Keri Hilson – Slow Dance
4. Lady Gaga – Just Dance
5. Solange – This Bird
6. Beck – Gamma Ray
7. Kanye West – Flashing Light (Mano Uptempo Remix)
8. Chester French & Shawn Chrystopher – She Loves Everybody Remix
9. Black Kids – Listen To Your Body Tonight
10. Grip Plyaz – Members Only
11. Lloyd & Danah Lewis – Love Spaceship
12. Portishead – Machine Gun
13. Solange & Bilal – Cosmic Journey
14. Kanye, Jay, & Wayne. – Swagger Like Us
15. Black Kids – I’ve Underestimated My Charm
A lot of these tracks are available on iTunes & or whatever you use.
Some are not, which means they are still accessible.
On a completely different note. For some reason I've been
on this arbitrary Gwen Stefani kick and I've been watching
this video on and off all weekend.
This weekend by the way went wayward at some point...
pin-pointing that moment is hard, but I know it happened.
