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Recognize
3.29.2006
New Isht
Re-write the dictionary: What it looks like to get sonned. Damn, Bleek. - Camp Lo, "Bed Rock" Maybe the most perplexing group ever--how did they not have a better career?
- Clipse, "Me Too" My intial thought is that this is garbage. Gonna have to give it a few more spins.
- 50 Cent (kinda) gunnin' for Spike Lee...as Hot 97 stirs the pot, as usual. (Get nine minutes into part 1.) 50 Cent is sort of a genius in his own way. He's a fucking idiot, but the dude understands his audience and understands how to work it. Nothing like 25 idle minutes spent posturing and gloating and dissing and all that to get those suburban white kids and the gully set all worked up. Download part 2 for vintage Hot 97 conflict mongering. - Pt. 1 - Pt. 2
The creepy, smiling face of an alarming alarmist's vision of the future that doesn't seem so off. - Schembech re-up: That wind of change that the Scorpions used to sing about? It's the only wind that seems to be in short supply in Ann Arbor.
- Peep game: Postgraduate Musings. And props to these dudes for calling out something that has been bugging me for months: Boston College's Jared Dudley is Jim Jones of the Dip Set. I am nearly convinced of this.
- There was too much money in my wallet yesterday, so I gave it to a charity I like to call AMC. I went to see V for Vendetta. I had heard that the movie wasn't that good, but as is often the case with things I hear from a lot of people, I was compelled to disagree, and I wound up fucking what I had heard (). The shit rocked.
There are plenty of faults a person can find in the film. For instance, Natalie Portman's accent was of the "I am so not British" variety. Or perhaps you like things subtle, something that will never be seen as this film's strength. But I, a master hater of all things insignificant and prodigious picker of the nit, left the theater happily dismayed, a good sign for people easier to please.
Above all else, Vendetta is an emphatic, purposely exaggerated portrayal, set in London, of an American future that is arguably not so far off. Or, at the least, no longer an unreasonable fear held only by the most progressive. Vendetta presents a future in which liberties have been restricted in the name of security; checks on executive power have been removed; concerns about terrorism are exploited to preserve a deliberately oligarchic ruling class; works of art are banned for subjective reasons; and an empty rhetoric of faith is used to justify the skewed morals impressed upon all citizens.
In this American era of the Patriot Act; of extreme renditions and eavesdropping; of the obviously unscrupulous melding of corporate privilege and government authority; of banned books and the bizarre struggle for intelligent design's legitimacy; of a President who openly invokes God's will as justification for his resolve, are we really far away from descending even further down this slippery slope toward the dystopia of Vendetta? I think you can even effectively argue that we, Americans, have no hope of ever recapturing the summit from which we peered down into the abyss that we are now traveling toward at an alarming pace.
As I walked out of the theater, my man's 'an 'em remarked that he wished that the film had been constructed with more obvious components culled from the contemporary American reality. But as we considered whether that would have made the film more effective--if it had been set in, say, Kansas in 2010 and featured a country fighting Iraq and its under classes and its own founding principles while gladly watching the distortions of FOX News--we both agreed that the spectacular visuals and apocalyptic other-ness of a distant-enough future in someplace that wasn't America made it easier to suspend disbelief and access the film's messages.
We also were left with the melancholy sense that unlike the British society of Vendetta, America is far off from the kind of cataclysmic event that will adequately motivate enough people to demand a restoration of the free, lawful, democratic United States that we now only know thanks to a persistent, obfuscatory myth. Why was I so happy to be feeling so uneasy? Well, it was nice to at least have the discussion.
And, perhaps there is hope after all. Gore Revolution, anyone?
Better than The Minstrel Show? You know, when the NCAA Tournament started, I was feeling really good about my picks. I had spent all season watching, reading, thinking--and it all turned out to mean nothing. I didn't get a single Final Four team correct. And yet, for some reason, I don't really care. I think it's probably because this has been the best Tournament that I can remember--almost every game has been competitive and exciting.
I also realized today that despite not having attended it, nor being related to anyone who did, the University of Connecticut played a lot of basketball games this season and I watched about 80% of them. That's what happens when you live in New York and consume a lot of cable television.
Every year, there is a charming instability that helps to characterize the Huskies. They're usually something close to a consensus favorite thanks to their roster, but no truly circumspect observer can ever fill out a draw sheet that predicts six wins for UConn and feel fully comfortable about that. Maybe that's true of most schools since the common frailties of basketball teams are strands in the exciting Tournament fabric, but Connecticut, in particular, seems to carry a disappointingly low ratio of Tournament reliability relative to NBA talent. There are always too many close games or blown leads or listless performances or sloppy halves. And this perception of underwhelming performance is really a tribute to how much talent has been residing in Storrs: When a team can go to three regional finals in five years and appear to be underachieving, that says something about the caliber of the players.
Over the past decade, most UConn teams have comprised the kind of talented, skillful kids you'd create when attempting to make yourself in a basketball video game: you create big men (OK, not Ed Nelson or Jake Voskuhl) who jump, block shots, dunk, and run at levels that would earn something like an 85-95 rating; as a guard, you give yourself size and range; and to be somewhat fair, you try to avoid making yourself a 99 by artificially lowering ratings like ball handling, basketball awareness, and free-throw shooting. The games won't be close enough for these things to matter! But the other shoe that tends to drop, as it did yesterday, is that these teams don't really exploit their superior talent and skill. Connecticut churns out shooting guards who can create their own shots and big men who play intelligent, fundamentally sound post defense, but it also loses to the George Masons and N.C. States of the world thanks to poor offensive execution.
Rudy Gay, Hilton Armstrong, Marcus Williams, and Jeff Adrien all appear to have NBA futures. Josh Boone might get a look, although I'd never want him on my team because he never finishes, can't really shoot, and has awful hands. Rashad Anderson will probably make a roster thanks to his shooting, his size, and his defensive effort. That's five or six players in a ten-man rotation who will play professional basketball in a league that people actually care about. And yet as an admitted UConn fan, I watched this team in horror during each crunch-time moment over the past two weeks because these Huskies, like many before them, never gave you the sense that they were tough enough. There were too many dumb shots; too many guys failing to move without the ball; and too many guys who got nervous around the rim and threw up a bad lay-up or a short-armed floater.
And Josh Boone needs to stop wearing those braids and that facial hair.
Anyway...
I've got a bushel of shit for you since it's been a minute... - T.I., "Get It" Let's be honest: Is there any producer for whom the seemingly obligatory introductory name drop at the opening of a song is more irrelevant than Swizzle? I mean, when can't you tell it's a Swizz Beatz production? The whistles, the filler shouts in the background, the frantic tempo--it's almost an insult that he or any rapper has to invoke the name at all. We know! There aren't many things in this world any more obvious than what has been produced by Swizz Beatz. Now, is this paragraph some kind of indictment? Is it just more of that Star-and-Buc-style Straight Bangin' hating? Well, that's for you to decide. If this dropped while I was out at a club? I'd be moving.
- T.I., "You Know Who" So I bought the new T.I. album, King, over the weekend. I am still figuring out if I like it or not. Lyrically, I don't know if it's all that stimulating. Phantom with the double doors, drugs, hustling--you won't believe me when I write this, but I don't find these topics terribly fresh. I know that you probably haven't read that elsewhere, and that you probably weren't thinking that yourself, but that's just one man's opinion. When you find alternative and intricate ways to talk about the street life, like some people, it can be incredibly engaging. When it's more of the standard exposition and romanticizing and boasting--eh, not so much. That's not to say that I only want to fuck with the explicitly substantive or even that I am yearning for that self-involved underground scientific bullshit. Rather, I can enjoy T.I.'s music while noticing its obvious limitations.
And T.I. is likable. He has discernable charisma; he doesn't commonly waste bars; he can make more than one kind of song. Best of all, as far as I'm concerned, he has cultivated an enunciation style that is a comfortable paradox for a listener: He is simultaneously nimble on the mic, cramming in syllables and catching the beat without compromising clarity, while remaining a leading practitioner of Southern drawl, seamlessly cutting off words in stylized fashion. It makes for a listening experience that engenders more respect than those created by most southern rappers; you can't help but appreciate the style and develop an inquisitive fascination. You might not love T.I.'s music, but you're likely to wind up admiring his style.
As for the record, what immediately jumps out at me is that from a marketing perspective, this is the album that could make him a true b-list hip-hopper (behind Kanye and 50, but distinguished from a dude like Common) because the production is not entirely regional. This is not one of those musical shibboleth albums that heads from Atlanta put out that ride the zeitgeist to some notoriety but fail to ultimately entrench the artists in the consciousness of rap fans beyond the local sphere of influence. I am (almost) sure this could just be my own ignorance and misguided bias at work, but the first two T.I. records I heard were too "southern" for me. The production wasn't terribly interesting, the rhymes were trite, and the musical personalities of those albums were not especially engaging. For whatever reasons, those joints were easy for me to dismiss. This record appears to be different upon a few initial listens. That I find the music on King to be more accessible may really just be a testament to the power shift in hip-hop; I might have simply grown more familiar and comfortable with the strains of production that have grown out of regions like Atlanta as New York has, at least for now, become mostly a mediocre mixtape wasteland. Or maybe it just demonstrates how much fluidity there is among production styles. I don't know.
I am not yet ready to establish residency in the "T.I. is a good rapper" camp, but I would no longer dismiss the notion, either. I want to be clear on one thing, though: I am still certain that Young Jeezy sucks.
- Just Blaze, "Super Freak" Is this new? Is this from February 28th of this year? Regardless, I like it.
- Little Brother ft. Beat Treal, "Cross That Line" Um, this DJ Drama Gangsta Grillz mixtape with Little Brother, Separate But Equal, is infinitely more interesting than The Minstrel Show. The beats are varied; it's a little edgier; the pace is quicker--you name it. And as usual, Chaundon just kills it on his guest spots. Go cop this shit.
- Little Brother ft. Bun B and Darien Brockington, "Candy" Commonly obscured by my dislike of most southern hip-hop is the fact that Little Brother comes from North Carolina, one of those places upset about how things turned out back in the 1860s. I really like the juxtaposition of Mr. Houston, Bun B, flowing over a generic soul sample with drums and filler reminiscent of something from Harlem. And at this point, let's all just agree that Phonte can absolutely murder anything. After Ghostface, which MC has more personality? And, not only that, but who can combine that charisma with impressive lyrical skill? I think dude might be the most underrated in hip-hop right now.
- Masta Killa, "Shaolin Temple" Just found this floating around somewhere. It seems like there needs to be a little something more happening aside from this lazy guitar riff if the beat is to match the intensity of Masta Killa's flow. Yes? No? Thoughts?
He's a cool exec with a heart of steel Peep the ill DJ Hypheninterview with Ghostface Killah. Rebel INS retiring? Dissatisfied with the last two Wu projects? Snap music? Ghostface speaketh...
- Listen to the opening of "Clipse of Doom." It's pretty much funnier than any sitcom on TV. And as I think about it, an HBO reality show that was like one of the Viacom shows (Run's House, anything with Flavor Flav) but about Ghostface would be the highest-rated show in the history of the Straight Bangin' household. My DVR would quickly come to be filled with just the Ghostface show, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Real World/Road Rules "all-star" programming, and Lost. (And don't trip: No need to DVR HBO programming since it's all on OnDemand. Am I the only one who's really enjoying Big Love so far? It's almost formulaic in how much lies beneath the surface; just another engrossing HBO joint. HBO wins television. Always.)
- Between the photo above and the last bullet, I hope you've caught on to the fact that this post is all over the place. Something for everyone!
- Kevin Powell is running for Congress. I saw Kevin speak last month and found him to be thoughtful, galvanizing, and full of sense. I'll have to investigate his candidacy more before I turn this into an online campaign headquarters or anything like that, but my first instinct is to think that this might be a good thing. (HT: Ian)
"Welcome to the eclectic world of master mixer, cratedigger, musical continent-spanner So Called, AKA Josh Dolgin. Looking beyond the usual pantheon of samples for hip hop artists, So Called explores the shtetls of Eastern Europe and the Yiddish vaudeville stages of 2nd Avenue for inspiration. Armed with his Akai MPC, heritage and love for genre-bending music, So Called is a Yiddish rapping, accordion wielding, Klezmer-hip hop maestro."
And here's my first reaction: What. The. Fuck. Are hip-hop audiences really supposed to be into this? I mean, I guess I give the guy credit for trying to do his own thing, but come on. This probably isn't Mr. Dolgin's fault, but given the contemporary cultural context that has seen the ascendancy of the condescending parady-rap that's become a staple of Saturday Night Live, I can't imagine that this will do anything more than give college kids and hipsters one more thing to be oh-so-ironic about. I guess that one of the supposed selling points is that Matisyahu is involved with this, as though that's supposed to sway me. Listen for yourself:
This song is standard--synthesizers, mid-tempo drums, electric sound effects, gangster talk, chorus with the word "shit" repeated 6 trillion times. But what I like is this: No one can define "hyphy" for me. What the eff is it? Even the dude who sent this track to me couldn't really explain it. He gave me a regional attribution (it's from California) and some universal descriptors (it is characterized by its gritty, pounding rhythms, I'm told).
But that doesn't answer the question. What is hyphy? Crunk music made in the Bay Area? Fine. But we don't need another word for that. Look up "hyphy" on Wikipedia. The definition is effectively meaningless. Oh it makes you dance like you're in the movie Rize? Um, not me. What rap music can't generally be described as gritty and pounding? Maybe Kanye West's abortion Late Registration, but that's because Jon Brion is a musical genius. Right? I mean, that's what I was told. And besides, everyone who's anyone already voted on that.
I guess that the Bay Area needed some marketing lingo to employ as it tried to push E-40 and Keak Da Sneak and all of these other artists, and this is what they came up with. Glorious.
- So does Rudy Gay have money riding on UConn not winning the NCAA Tournament or does he just hate playing basketball? People have seen his teammate Hilton Armstrong, right? They realize that Armstrong turned himself into a guy who's gonna get a shot at the Lig because he stayed in school for four years, right? And these same people see all the dudes in the NBA who went to UConn, right? I guess that what I'm saying is that Rudy Gay needs to stay in school and get coached up some more. Yeah, you can't find 6'8" shooting guards everyday who jump as high and defend as well as Gay can. But this is a lottery pick? A guy who doesn't EVER want the ball? I'm not talking about crunch time, I'm talking about 13 minutes left in the first half. What a disappointment he's been. If an NBA GM is drafting based on physical frame and potential, he'd better take Tyrus Thomas before he takes Gay.
And Brandon Roy should get picked ahead of both of them. (I'm not hating on Thomas--he's now among Julian Wright, Jeff Adrien, Sean Williams, and Armstrong in the rarified air of the Straight Bangin' College Select List--but something about him is screaming Stro Show 2.0, although the emotion and leadership he showed against Duke makes me think he's more of the Dwight Howard class of hyper-athletic big men who can actually play.) But Roy--my God! He's the most complete player in college basketball who I've seen this year. And he's gonna be a great two-guard in the NBA. Though not the explosive leaper that Dwyane Wade is, and though not in possession of the same quickness that Wade has, Dwyane is the player I immediately think of when I see Roy. Roy is smart, he is happy to pass, and he can hurt a team from anywhere on the floor. Great player.
- J.J. Redick's draft stock kind of sunk, huh? I still think he can be in the NBA, but there's a lot more of the athleticism that he couldn't handle against LSU in the Association. And I am NOT using "athletic" and "athleticism" as euphemisms for "black people." I'm talking about agility, speed, strength, flexibility, and all of the other physical characteristics that comprise athleticism. Jeremy Wariner has it just like Justin Gatlin has it. And Chris Andersen has it just like Steven Hunter has it. Similarly, Jerome James doesn't have it just like Greg Ostertag doesn't have it. This is not about race. This is about innate ability and skill.
Also, what is with Duke? Every year, it's only about seven guys deep despite these heralded recruiting classes, and it folds when confronted by a team with better athletes who know what to do. LSU isn't even that good. Look at how the Tigers were (mis)handling the ball. Duke had no excuses to blow that game, except for the fact that it just didn't have enough players who could compete against good defense and strong rebounding. You need more than two players who can contribute. I don't know if it's coaching or what, but Duke wasn't a complete team this, last year, or the year before. Maybe it needs to reevaluate who it's recruiting or how those kids are getting developed, but it was absurd that the Tigers could have been so haphazard with the basketball and won. And I am no Duke fan.
Music blasting in the A-rab V, blunted As noted, I have been on vacation for the past few days. Combine that with what I will euphemistically term a "strong interest" in the NCAA Tournament and a healthy amount of work to catch up on, and I haven't really been all up on the internets for nearly a week. Thus, I don't know what has or hasn't been said about the retail version of Ghostface's Fishscale. I'd like to say a number of things about it, but first...
CAN MOTHERFUCKERS PLEASE LEARN HOW TO READ?
A few days ago, I posted video that SOMEONE ELSE captured at a Papoose/Kay Slay performance. (Note to all Straight Bangin' neophytes: I tend to write about the shows I see; peeptheillinternetscatalogue, son. I even wrote about a different Pap show.) I also posted SOMEONE ELSE'S narrative that accompanies the video. Apparently, this was lost on many, as the comments section "discussion" demonstrates.
More importantly though, what emerged from the engaging, albeit slightly misguided, follow up were two interesting points submitted in response to the video and my commentary disparaging Pap and Kay Slay for getting ignorant and threatening the dissenter in the crowd with violence:
1) The dude who spoke up shouldn't have grabbed the mic. 2) Papoose is crazy lyrical and anyone who would criticize him hasn't really listened to his music.
I'd like to address both of these points (in something that could approximate Tolkien fashion were JRR concerned with the post-modern hip-hop happenings of men).
Concerning Grabbing the Mic. When in Rome....
It probably wasn't smart for the dude--NOT ME--to have grabbed the microphone and immediately called out Papoose and Kay Slay as they left the stage. Others have advanced this argument, and I don't think it's without merit. Given that the show in question was a concert featuring Pap and Kay Slay, it's reasonable to assume that those who paid money to be there had done so because they enjoyed the Papoosian music and the Slaytian brand of incendiary hip-hop vacuousness. If these are not your things, then you shouldn't pay your hard-earned money and attend an event featuring such elements. So goes the reasoning, and I think it makes sense.
It might also stand to reason that when at a performance, one should not purposely contravene the conventions of a concert by challenging the barrier separating performers from crowd. Don't like what you've heard? Speak with your wallet; blog about it; tell your friends. Don't make yourself part of the scene by grabbing the microphone.
Really, there are a number of reasons why the guy should not have grabbed that mic (although "should" is a normative word that allows us to project our values). Simultaneously, though, there is something to be said for someone seizing the opportunity to make a poignant, even if trite or obvious, point by capitalizing on the juxtaposition of an anti-violence message following a violent and aggressive set. And I don't use those words--"violent" and "aggressive"--capriciously or with the intention of mindlessly painting Papoose with a brush that too many people happily pick up when attempting to color rappers. Rather, you can't listen to Papoose's thug-a thug-a-cation, with the gun talk and the graphic depictions of anger; to Papoose's unrelenting flow and rhyming style and not term his style violent and aggressive. And I don't mean for those words to carry with them pejorative connotations; they are meant to be descriptive.
Concerning Papoose's Rhyming.IhavewrittenaboutPapoosemanytimes. The dude's flow is amazing on certain sorts of tracks, and his lyrical talent is beyond doubt. From word play to assonance to conceptual continuity, the dude has proven himself as an MC with an agile mind. But the ability to write with complexity, or to relay ideas in new, creative, evocative ways does not exonerate one whose rhymes may, ultimately, be filled with many of the commercially cherished and socially resented notions that so many hip-hop fans seem unwilling to acknowledge as hurtful. Talkin' 'bout your gats in your raps (or pimping or whatever else) can be fun, cathartic, and artistic, but it can also be discouraging if a large audience hears the music as an affirmation of destructive behavior and does not approach the content within a larger, nuanced framework that allows for life experience and street authenticity to be appreciated though not glorified as archetypal.
Nor must a listener chose between acknowledging Papoose's talent or finding fault with some of his messages. If anything, these outcomes upon close listening may be mutually inclusive, as one cannot help but experience the latter after noting the former upon consistent, thorough inspection of the music. So the idea that criticism of Papoose indicates an absent awareness of his work is nearly counterintuitive.
Why did I big up the gentleman in the video who called out Pap and Kay Slay? In part because there is something profoundly disappointing about a gifted, intelligent rapper opting to follow the path of least resistance when he could instead make his own way. For instance, when you listen to a song like "Hustle Hard," how do you reconcile the flippant idea of "sell[ing] that pussy" with a claim that we want to believe, like on "Black Girl Lost" when Papoose says, "Papoose is a father and then a performer/Treat my girl how I want a man to treat my daughter"? Similarly, a listener can't help but experience the unique rush of excitement that comes only from new, engaging music when he or she hears Papoose's racial-stereotype examination on "Broken Dreams"--that's perceptive real talk, distinguished not only by the content and style, but by the contradistinction created by so much of the disposable music that characterizes the hip-hop milieu. All of that promise, and yet Papoose runs around acting like just another mixtape rapper, celebrating the traditions of commercial thuggery as though the modality were a finite commodity on the verge of extinction.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with including images and stories of violence, drugs, and everything else in commercial hip-hop. Many of these words and ideas and themes are yielded by the bleak, worrisome urban reality that white America purposely constructed following World War II. Resultantly, it would be insincere and unjust to ignore these festering malignancies by only rapping about nice or happy or "socially conscious" things. But as we've seen, much hip-hop is now used as a marketing ploy that either purposely or unintentionally perpetuates ugly behavior and destructive values. The dude in the video who grabbed the mic--he was fed up and he wanted to say something. And in the sadly perfect moment that obscured the line between art and reality, Kay Slay (a complete idiot, through and through) and Papoose did what was easiest and most street--they wanted to get all gully for no reason. It was disappointing, and it proved nothing. ... There are a select few rappers capable of transcending these logical analyses, however. Among them, Ghostface Killah is probably the greatest of all time, an MC with so much talent, so much charisma, and so broad a catalogue that a dedicated listener can steadily come to appreciate the man and his music, taking the good and bad in moderation while recognizing the many moods of a rapping virtuoso. You might not always agree with, or even understand, Tony Starks, but you can surely always appreciate his abundant talent, engrossing eclecticism, and endearing charisma.
Fishscale puts that character on full display, and the record is loaded with Dennis Coles staples: The manic crime fantasies, the halcyon coke raps, the disconcertingly tender love songs, the spiteful break-up tracks, the hallucinatory streams of consciousness. Accordingly, there are a lot of sounds on here that Ghostface fans will gleefully welcome: rich soul samples that invite you into Tony's living room; discordant, inventive soundscapes that work; colorful vocals; Clyde Smith; even the jarring, hilariously unwarranted bombast of Cappadonna yelling on tracks.
At the same time, though, this album succeeds in such satisfying fashion because it is so new. Pete Rock trotting out a rollicking, feel-good Sylvers sample? The blaring guitar riffs of Just Blaze? Scratchy, faded production from MF Doom? This is Ghostface Killah effectively making even more of hip-hop his own. At this point, the only questions about Ghostface should be nearly scientific in nature: it's not how can we prove it, it's how can we disprove it? It's not how good is Ghostface, it's is anyone or thing better? Really, this man needs to make a concept album, something like A Prince Among Thieves.
I've seen others write that this is the most sonically "ambitious" Ghostface album since Supreme Clientele, but I don't think that word is appropriate, as it implies deliberate aspirational thought. I don't think that's Ghostface. Though keenly aware of the world around him (and really, who isn't upset that "Laffy Taffy" is more popular than any Ghostface song has ever been?), Starks has always struck me as a dude who just plays his gut. He isn't sitting at home like Fat Joe, listening to the radio and making charts and graphs and regression analyses as he tries to design a template for a platinum plaque and few more Big Pun murals to be spray painted somewhere in East Harlem. And unlike Eminem or 50, he isn't running off to find new inputs for the same old, tired, and transparent formula. Ghostface may be a guy who cares a lot about his music and who puts his soul into his work, but he doesn't arrive at an outcome ahead of time and then work backwards. I don't think he decided to make a rich, varied, entertaining album; I think it just happened. And that, like his efficient rhymes, just makes his work so much more familiar and authentic and enjoyable.
There are some MCs whose flows and talents you can appreciate impersonally. I've always felt that way about Eminem. Yes, he is a gifted writer, but his music was never exciting because it wasn't all that accessible. It was abundant, and it was emotional, but it was never resonant. I never heard an Eminem track and smiled because I felt like a friend was admitting some kind of secret or cracking a joke or telling a story with the sort of descriptive yet expository details that a friend delivers when he knows how you process information and at which meter you like jokes and tales to progress. I never got that from Eminem. Instead, it was a smart, crafty, well-orchestrated cultivation of an image that was largely genuine but oddly hollow. Em's words and feelings were real, but there was so little depth once you got passed the key ideas. He hated his mother; he hated his wife; he loved his daughter; he was keenly aware of his race. The end.
Ghostface is the exact opposite. When he rhymes, you feel like you're sitting next to dude in a car, catching up as he regales you with tales from his life. It's intimate and private and relaxed. Maybe you don't understand everything he's saying. And maybe you can't fully relate to all that he's been through, but he's your friend, so you listen, and you absorb it. There are some stories that you don't really like, some stories that make you laugh, some stories that make you cringe, and some stories that make you sad. And sometimes, while he's talking, a different idea will pop up and lead him in a different direction. At other times, the details he's kicking are so intricate that you have to really work hard to envision what he's saying. Overall, everything from the narratives to his voice inflections are reinforcing what you already knew: the guy just has so much character.
That's how it feels as you listen to Fishscale. There are so many elements; so many sonic layers (like the drum changes from the verses to the chorus on "Champ"); so many details; so many references. Ian once wrote that Ghostface, like other Wu members, is characterized, in part, by the language he chooses when setting a scene or telling a story. He could spit something like "The dude fucked up my haircut," but instead we get "Ahh/Didn't I tell you don't touch the sides, I'm going bald on top?" Overall, he employs a style that invites multiple listens because there's always just so much going on.
Fishscale is not for everyone, though. As much as I have celebrated its sonic diversity and the varied production, it sounds little like what one might encounter on the radio, driven neither by the snap minimalism of the Southeast, the meandering screw of Houston, or any other of the contemporary genre favorites. Worse (that is, if you consider the preceding caveat to be a negative), though, Fishscale could be sequenced better. Well, parts of it could.
The opening is impressive, boasting continuity in content and tempo the immediately immerses the listener in a lazy stroll through the romanticized Wu-Tang criminality that has helped define hip-hop for more than a decade. The record is then roused out of the musical equivalent of a nap by the energizing "Champ," a song that serves as a fine segue for the electronic-piano posse cut "9 Milli Bros.," featuring a few bars from each member of the Wu, including a deranged-sounding Cap-Cap-Cap-Cap-Cap-Cap-Cap-Cappaccino (aka, "The Cab Driver"). From there, Fishscale descends into a valley of skits and mismatched songs, like the steady, focused "Crack Spot" and the mildly anachronistic "R.A.G.U." While no track is ostensibly bad, they don't all work in concert, and they suffer through comparison given the exciting strength of the record's initial six tracks. Singles "Back Like That" and "Be Easy" come consecutively and serve as the doorway through which a listener passes on his way to the second half of the album. I love "Be Easy" and think it would be better positioned at one of the album's terminals, either as an enthused complement to the stirring opening or a rousing flourish at the denouement.
Fishscale's second half could almost be a separate Ghostface EP, not because the songs don't work with those which come before them, but because the final ten tracks are a nearly perfect encapsulation of Ghostface as a creative force: There's the reckless "Clips of Doom"; the love track "Jellyfish"; the reflective posse cut "Dogs of War"; the hilarious skit "Barbershop"; the red- (or blue-) light-requiring "Big Girl"; the delightful Zissou-like dream "Underwater"; the sensitive "Big Momma"; and the New York collabo "3 Bricks." "Bricks" is a lame way to end such a thrilling album because the beat is a derivative, stale vestige of the Bad Boy era, and its overwrought sonic collage belies the gritty, fun nature of Fishscale.
In the grand scheme of things, Fishscale emerges as a record that effectively renders most hip-hop of recent years obsolete. Ghostface is an MC far superior to the charlatans so commonly held up as new lyrical champions of the genre; the production is much more interesting than anything Pharrell or anyone from Houston is putting out; and this record is able to find innovative sounds without the oh-so-precious contrivances of a record like The Tipping Point. Fishscale lacks a narrative arc and the sonic continuity of College Dropout, and it is not the cohesive musical mission statement that was The Listening, but those comparisons do not indict the record as inferior. Just different. And really, that's what we all like about Ghostface, isn't it?
I am posting a video from a recent Papoose and Kay Slay performance at S.O.B.'s. I am also enclosing the explanation that came with it. It's fun to talk about who's gully, what's gutter and all that, but it's also depressing that there are so many people who profit off of idiocy.
Video description: so two nights ago.....K-Slay aka the Drama King and Papoose were playing a Hot97 show at S.O.B's.........Papoose was rapping that sell that crack sell that pussy sell that smack etc demonic murder shit....he even had a whole song about how he killed somebody for his chain....and how he and all his buddies sit around all day on the corner and sell more drugs than everybody else..................
.....but anyway.....So I threw peace signs in his face while he was rappin that murder shit..........then when they were done.....one of his 20 hypemen/karaoke pantomimers...dropped the mic....so I picked it up and said sumn like "peace y'all!...can we stop this Demonic Murder shit?!!!Can we stop this Violence???!!!".....then they turned off the mic....bout 2 minutes later....K-Slay and Papoose were like "who the fuk said that!!!!!"....So I came back to the stage and said ME!!....and K-Slay was like "Who the fuck are you!!!!!!!!!!we're are you from!!!!"...I was like "ATL!!!"......and Papoose and crew were like let's take this outside!!!...and I said "No let's do it here....gimmie the mic!!!"....K-Slay wouldn't give me the mic ...he also said sumn like "How do you have dreadlocks when youre from Atlanta!!"....then some people started attacking me from behind!!!!.....and the "Drama" king was like ..."don 't tap him up!!"....so I through up peace symbols with both hands......then the security jumped in and escorted me to a corner and protected me.....as this was happening...k-slay flipped his position and started screaming "that guy's starting a fight!!!...he's a crackhead.....who gave a crackhead the mic!!!" ......THIS REALLY HAPPENED.....K-Slay Called me a Crackhead!!!....
....so back to the story!.....Papooses boys were like Fuck You We GONNA GET YOU!!...and I was like "I love you!!"......and they were waiting to jump me outside!!...I wanted to go out there cuz the cameras were rollin but the security made me go out a side a bit later.........so basically the party got shut down......and I was attacked for spreading peace and love!!!.....the shit is CRAZY NOW........and this really did happpen...the video will drop.....we're just gonna keep rappin!!
As you can see, life is good right now at Bangin' headquarters. You can't really be that much of a hater--internets or otherwise--when you spend all day making tough choices like whether you should fall asleep on your back or on your stomach, and whether you should do that next to the pool or on the beach.
The only thing I'm really upset about right now is that Kansas lost last night, effectively ending my chance to win some big money in one of my NCAA Tournament pools. I really don't get it with Bill Self: Does he go out of his way to not do well when he has tons of talent? I don't watch all of the games he coaches, but from what I've seen each year during his usual flame outs, his teams stop playing defense, stop sharing the basketball, and as these things happen, he makes faces and does nothing to really change the style of the game. Are there any Self scholars out there? If so, please drop some knowledge.
Otherwise, this has been an excellent Tournament so far, hasn't it?
For those that didn't know (basketball and traveling have kept me away from the internets, so I might be LATE on this), the retail version of Fishscale popped up on Thursday at some of the internets stores where I regularly shop. The mastered, extended joint is better than the leaked version that I bought a few weeks ago, although I don't know that it is better to the point that it's a significantly different album. I had intended to write a full review of the joint, and I will do that while on vacation, so look for that tomorrow or Monday.
As an opening salvo, let me just say that sequencing can usually significantly enhance or diminish an album, and this one has moments where that is apparent. It opens with a nice procession of complementary tracks, gets a little bogged down, and then finds its way again. I wonder if engineers, producers, and artists really put enough time into thinking about how songs fit together. It is crucial, and yet it is something that is usually woefully inadequate. Kind of like free throw shooting.
Anyway, that's all for now. The beach and basketball beckon. Here is one of the hilarious things making the real Ghostface album better than the early one:
Best day of the year! Or, This Is the Part Where I Embarrass Myself, Pt. 2. And by that I mean that you jerks better have some things to say about what goes down today. The opening day of the NCAA Tournament is arguably the best day of every year, and the best way to enjoy it is by barbecuing, drinking beer, and yelling. A lot. At your television; at your bracket; at your friends; and even at your neighbors as they yell back at you for yelling in the first place. Just tell them to choke on something.
So please, leave me some comments throughout the day and we'll keep track of what's what.
Is the future now? There was a history professor during my freshman Fall term of college who used to come into lecture each Monday morning at 9 and begin class with a regular, "For those of you still following football...." He'd then spend five minutes recapitulating the events of the most recent football game before moving onto something that happened in American after 1776 and before 1860. He did this every week, and it was hilarious. Hilarious not because he was saying anything so crazy, but rather, because the premise of his statement--the "for those of you" implying that there weren't a university in Ann Arbor populated by a generally football-conscious student body--was absurd in a comedic sense. I mean, you wouldn't walk into a room full of fraternity brothers and say, "For those of you still following date rape"--even the ones who aren't active participants know what's going on. And he knew what he was doing, but he was so convincing in his ersatz ignorance that it was still ridiculous. I learned a lot in that class, but I don't remember anything as vividly as I remember that weekly ritual.
I think this story is an appropriate introduction for what follows, today, because even if you couldn't tell Billy Packer from Billy Preston, you likely know that tomorrow, the NCAA Tournament starts. And if, in fact, you don't know that the latter gave us "Outa-Space" while the former is just outta his mind, you're likely in the minority. So, for those of you still following the Tournament...I figured I'd throw up my picks along with some mostly worthless explanations and observations. Who am I to be doing this? I'm just like you: an average Joe(y) who watches too much ESPN Full Court and reads Wonk like it were a job. To the brackets we go...
...But first: The man pictured above is Kansas's Julian Wright. You know, the 6'8" dude with the seven-trillion-foot wingspan; incredible knack for rebounding in traffic; deft interior passing ability; selfless big-man game; and gorgeous basketball aura. Yeah, he's my favorite player, and that likely is affecting my judgment. And it's never good to bet with your heart. But still, he's just so...incredible. I remember seeing this dude in the Garden back in December and having to scrape my jaw off the floor because he had a prototypical body and was obviously the most talented player on the floor...
..And second, some caveats:
1) I am still not certain that there is one great way to make picks when filling out brackets. I watch a lot of basketball, and that familiarity doesn't always help. I have boned up on statistics, and those numbers don't always help. I have played gut feelings, and the intuitions don't always help. Thus, I cannot, sadly, lay out the precise formula that helps me arrive at my choices. Instead, I rely on a delicate alchemy of empirical and ethereal inputs. Am I any good at this? I'm about as good as any other sports fan, so I'd say that my methodology has its strengths and weaknesses.
2) Were I going to subscribe to a comprehensive or nearly comprehensive theory of picking, I might choose this one (even if it does emanate from some solitary lock-up cell somewhere in Ohio, what with all those Buckeye links on the right). Most importantly, as Jack Fu says, it's all about matchups. Like in boxing, styles make fights, and that's true in the tournament. I also like to pay attention to who's coaching, who has experience, and which opportunities arise for safe risk taking. For instance, if I am convinced that Tennessee is losing before the Sweet 16 regardless of which team it plays in the second round (if it even makes it), it gives me a lot more freedom to experiment with the idea of Winthrop winning. And that, of course, earns me upset points in many brackets.
3) Can we please ban N.C. State from post-season play? I feel like every year, N.C. State is in a 7-10 game, and every year, I have no idea if it can win or not. The same 15 players seem to have been there forever; Herb Sendek is always embattled; the team is always better than I think but worse than its unexpected success should make it; and the Wolfpack is like my personal college-basketball Schrodinger's cat--the outcome is both until I pick one (and then it's always the other).
4) Fuck a pod system.
5) Michigan couldn't beat a single team in this Tournament, anyway. At least, not when actually playing in the Tournament.
OK...
ROUND ONE
Southeast Region 1) Duke 16) Southern - Next...
8) George Washington 9) UNC-Wilmington - GW is everyone's favorite school to dump on, and I don't think its winning more than one game, but it is also an athletic, fast-paced team, and that can often be a problem in the Tournament if you're not used to that style.
5) Syracuse 12) Texas A&M - The 'Cuse expended a lot of emotion and motivation beating UConn and winning the Big East. Meanwhile, Texas A&M, not exactly a paragon of encouraging mental composition, is still the third most efficient defensive team in the country. I like this 5-12 upset pairing.
4) LSU 13) Iona - LSU has more size than the Gaels.
6) West Virginia 11) Southern Illinois - I would like to pick Southern Illinois because they've been so good to me in the past (where have you gone, Jermaine Dearman?), but I respect the Big East and I think WVU's style is really hard to prepare for.
3) Iowa 14) Northwestern State - Picking Northwestern State seems like it's growing in popularity. I haven't seen this team play. I have seen Iowa, though. A bunch. It plays good defense and makes most games ugly. I'll take that against a 14 seed.
7) Cal 10) N.C. State - See #3 above. Fuck. I have no idea. Leon Powe is the best player in this game, N.C. State is a little banged up, and it doesn't have Julius Hodge this year. Fine, Cal. I'm just glad that this is over with.
2) Texas 15) Penn - Texas has too much talent and has been much better since the Duke-Tennessee Interlude of Doubt that seems to have forever colored this season for the Longhorns.
Midwest Region 1) Villanova 16) Monmouth - Well, last night was cute.
8) Arizona 9) Wisconsin - Show me an Arizona team mentally tough enough to deal with the boring, slow, cruelly effective Badger style and I'll remind you that Miles Simon is long gone. Plus, as Ice Cube would say were he a Ph.D. candidate in bracketology, Mustafa Shakur ain't exactly that point guard you love to trust. Even if he did play with my boy J-Dub at Friends Central.
5) Nevada 12) Montana - I watched these Nevada motherfuckers last week, and I liked what I saw. There's more than just Fazekas here.
4) Boston College 13) Pacific - If this were 2005, I'd be picking the upset. It's not, though, and B.C. has too much tweener power with Smith and Dudley.
6) Oklahoma 11) Wisconsin-Milwaukee - UW-M has seven seniors back from last year's Sweet 16 team, so that's nice.
3) Florida 14) South Alabama - South Alabama plays a frenetic style that seems reminiscent of earlier Billy Donovan teams. Too bad it doesn't have the players of earlier Billy Donovan teams.
7) Georgetown 10) Northern Iowa - This could be an ugly game if hot-and-cold Georgetown is cold. I was reading and hearing about Northern Iowa all season, and every time it seemed like the team was on the cusp of cementing its legitimacy, it would lose. So I don't know what to make of this game. I was also of the belief that John Thompson was a good coach until I saw his disastrous final minute against Syracuse, and now that's up in the air, too. When in doubt, I'll go with the better athletes. And I don't mean that as a euphemism.
2) Ohio State 15) Davidson - I know nothing about Davidson. I know that OSU seems impossible to guard from behind the arc. And Matta is a great coach.
East Region 1) Connecticut 16) Albany - At the outset, I just want to go on record about something: UConn should win this tournament. Its talent is so clearly superior to everyone else's. I mean, on any other team in the country, my second-favorite player (after Julian), Jeff Adrien, would be a Tyler Hansbrough. On this team, he's just one of the six guys who will wind up in the NBA. That said, UConn needs to concentrate for the entire Tournament or else it can be beaten.
8) Kentuckah 9) UAB - Why is this going to be any different than last time?
5) Washington 12) Utah State - This is one of those styles-make-fights games. Washington wants to run while Utah State wants to be deliberate and execute. I tend to give the edge to teams that want to slow it down because transition-loving teams are often impatient and frustrated when they have to walk instead of run. The talent level isn't equal, but I wonder about Washington creating shots against a set defense if it can't run. Call this a safe hunch to play, and a way to try and find another 5-12 upset.
4) Illinois 13) Air Force - Air Force shouldn't even be in this tournament. That's that.
6) Michigan State 11) George Mason - New math: Tom Izzo + the Tournament - George Mason's best player = a Spartan victory, even though this is not a stellar MSU team.
3) North Carolina 14) Murray State - It's amazing what winning a title can do for a coach's reputation. All year, I've heard about how great Roy Williams is. And all month, as the Tar Heels have been surging, I've heard about what a good tournament coach Williams is. Had UNC lost to Illinois last year, we'd be hearing about Williams's inability to win the big one; the potential of a UNC flame out; and we'd be wondering if he finally gave a shit about Carolina. BTW, I think UNC wins.
7) Wichita State 10) Seton Hall - Seton Hall is another one of those good-light, bad-light teams. I don't really trust it to win one for its unfairly lame-duck coach.
2) Tennessee 15) Winthrop - I think Tennessee is spent, having peaked too soon, so I'd like to pick Winthrop. But Winthrop plays like Tennessee does--fast paced, lots of threes--and I doubt it can do it better with worse personnel. If only it had a significant big man...
West Region 1) Memphis 16) Oral Roberts - The #1-seed dominance continues.
8) Arkansas 9) Bucknell - Bucknell beat Kansas last year and got ranked this year, so everyone is riding its jock. But Arkansas has been strong lately, and it has a very athletic roster. I'll take the #8 seed for a change.
5) Pitt 12) Kent State - Again, styles. I think that Pitt will beat up the Golden Flashes and force them to play more halfcourt possession than Kent State would otherwise like to.
4) Kansas 13) Bradley - Bradley is the 11th most efficient defensive team in America. Kansas is first. I think this could be ugly, and Kansas could struggle, but I like the team's rhythm right now. The youth scares me, though. Especially because, well, we'll get to that.
6) Indiana 11) San Diego State - Before any Michigan fans take any dumb ideas too far: Steve Fisher is not that good. OK? What did the Fab Five ever win? Anyway, I do like Fisher's team here. Indiana is so up and down, so manic. I just don't get the sense that this team is ready to accomplish anything else. And SDSU has some scorers.
3) Gonzaga 14) Xavier - I won't be shocked if the no-defense Zags lose, but I can't pick that. Not when Gonzaga has a guy who could hit for 60 in any game.
7) Marquette 10) Alabama - This is the second-hardest game for me to pick. I just have no idea who should win. I have a lot more respect for the Big East than the SEC, but I also don't like picking teams that need to hit threes to win. A part of me is concerned that Alabama will let Novak go off since he's goofy and white and all that, but I also wonder if Marquette can bang with the Crimson Tide. I think not, but who knows?
2) UCLA 15) Belmont - Is UCLA really one of the top eight teams in the country?
ROUND TWO
Southeast Region - Lots of chalk here, huh? 1) Duke 8) George Washington - Duke is just more disciplined and has better players.
12) Texas A&M 4) LSU - Same as the Duke game.
6) West Virginia 3) Iowa - The whitest second-round game, and perhaps the whitest game ever? Again, the West Virginia style is hard to prepare for, and I think that Iowa is a mentally tough team that has overachieved.
7) Cal 2) Texas - Texas gets better guard play and has more weapons. Plus, it has the size to deal with Powe.
Midwest Region - Still too much chalk? 1) Villanova 9) Wisconsin - Villanova's guards are going to get in the paint, and the Cats are a more versatile offensive club. On top of that, Villanova plays with a supreme focus that isn't common among most college teams. Sadly, the sports media will likely pick up on this determination, group it with Ray's injury and UConn's supposed dominance, and tritely declare this team to be "on a mission."
5) Nevada 4) Boston College - I am not sold on Boston College's guards, and I think that shaky backcourt production will catch up with the Eagles.
11) Wisconsin-Milwaukee 3) Florida - Total hunch. Wisconsin-Milwaukee doesn't panic on the big stage and pulls off a big upset.
7) Georgetown 2) Ohio State - I think that Georgetown is more athletic than OSU, and it has the frontline needed to match up with Dials and make the baskets harder to come by.
East Region - Or, am I now knocking out too many high seeds too early? 1) UConn 9) UAB - This game really scares me, as a Huskies fan. UConn's key weaknesses are free-throw shooting and ball handling. The latter could be a major issue against a pressure team like UAB. What mitigates my concern is that UConn's guys run really well, whether it's Gay throwing down or Anderson spotting up. I think that Hilton Armstrong's versatility might be especially useful in this game; against 'Nova, he usually helped break the press.
12) Utah State 4) Illinois - Illinois has the right sort of roster balance to match up well, and it has the best player on either team, Dee Brown.
6) Michigan State 3) North Carolina - Michigan State is not the defensive team that Izzo's reputation and the Big Ten style would both have you believe. That's no good against a Roy Williams club. I also think that Hansbrough could make Paul Davis look like the obsolete model, if you know what I mean.
7) Wichita State 2) Tennessee - Just write the headline now: Shocker! I like the balance of the Shockers to slow down fading Tennessee and challenge its interior defense.
West Region - This looks pretty good to me 1) Memphis 8) Arkansas - Memphis has better players.
5) Pitt 4) Kansas - This is the best game of the second round. Kansas is perhaps a little more versatile on offense, although Pitt has an experience edge. I really like the Jayhawk roster, I just don't know if it is too immature. This could be the pick that undoes my entire bracket.
11) San Diego State 3) Gonzaga - Again, Adam Morrison gets it done.
10) Alabama 2) UCLA - UCLA's backcourt has been good and consistent. And Afflalo cannot only shoot, but also defend. That works for me. ROUND THREE
Southeast Region - 3 of the top 4 seeds 1) Duke 4) LSU - Shock City, USA? If Davis and Thomas get Williams and McRoberts in foul trouble, doesn't this sort of become the Duke-UConn game of 2004 (although LSU is no UConn)? Will relying on a freshman PG finally hurt the Blue Devils? I think that I have more faith in UConn and Villanova making the Final Four than Duke, and I don't think three or four #1's are making it. Thus, I am going to take another chance here.
6) West Virginia 2) Texas - How is Texas guarding Pittsnogle? With Buckman? That's what I would do, because you don't want Aldridge away from the basket. I've gotten this funky vibe all year from the Mountaineers: it's as though they're an NBA team that is just coasting along, trying to win its division so that it can get into the playoffs and wreak some havoc. Maybe I am just projecting my hopes onto this club, because that would be a great story, but that's sort of how I feel right now. At the same time, I can't stand it when I get duped by a team that should be better and just never comes around.
Midwest Region - What a fucked up region this is 1) Villanova 5) Nevada - Talent and the Wildcat perimeter pressure become issues for Nevada.
11) Wisconsin-Milwaukee 7) Georgetown - Georgetown has the better frontline. Nice run for a mid major, though.
East Region - 3 of the top 4 seeds 1) UConn 4) Illinois - UConn just has a better, more complete roster.
3) North Carolina 7) Wichita State - Ditto.
West Region - Chalk! 1) Memphis 4) Kansas - Kansas's defense disrupts the athletic Tigers.
3) Gonzaga 2) UCLA - Gonzaga does not play enough perimeter defense to stop the Bruin guards.
ROUND FOUR
Southeast Region - What a football game! 4) LSU 2) Texas - Buckman and Aldridge bang on the inside; Gibson and Paulino match Mitchell; and Tucker is the difference.
Midwest Region - It's 1985 all over again 1) Villanova 7) Georgetown - Villanova's superior backcourt and underrated frontcourt are too much for the Hoyas. Depth of the Big East on display.
East Region - CBS nuts itself 1) UConn 3) North Carolina - Connecticut can neutralize Hansbrough, and the rest of the Huskies are superior to the rest of the Tar Heels.
West Region - The Dick Vitale "Are you serious?!" Nostalgia Classic 4) Kansas 2) UCLA - Jayhawks clamp down on the perimeter and share the ball effectively on offense.
FINAL FOUR National Semifinals - The Big East/Big XII Invitational 1) Connecticut 1) Villanova - UConn remembers to play its game, not Villanova's, and beats the Cats in the rubber match thanks to its size and scoring balance.
2) Texas 4) Kansas - Youth catches up with the Jayhawks and Texas gets revenge. NATIONAL FINAL
Championship Game - Texas got lucky 1) Connecticut 2) Texas - More of the same from UConn: Defensive versatility and interior ferocity; offensive balance and equity. Marcus Williams plays better than Daniel Gibson. Williams is Tournament MVP even though Hilton Armstrong deserves it.
Spring, when Satan roams the Earth in a headset and glasses. - The resurgence of Schembechler Hall continues...
- You need to read Sasha Frere-Jones's Ghostface retrospective in The New Yorker this week. SF-J is a pretty good writer, and his hip-hop coverage for the magazine is characterized by an engaging arm's-length comprehension of the genre enhanced by the perspicacity of a fan who really listens to the music. It isn't any of this tired, insincere, idiomatic critical writing sadly so pervasive. Nor is it the embarrassingly self-conscious floridity popular among all those hipster hip-hop journalists. Really, SF-J is a welcomed reminder that one can write about hip-hop with authenticity and without stylistic compromise. And that's not to say that all hip-hop writing must be of New Yorker-prose quality, must be decorated in the complicated syntax of intellectualism, or must be devoid of slang conventions. Rather, it's just nice to read an author whose voice is genuine and rare given the particular combination of style and substance.
I liked this passage:
"Few hip-hop artists can squeeze as many words onto an album as Ghostface, and on Fishscale he charges into every track, including the romantic numbers, with harried force. His lyrics sound unedited and unrehearsed—he frequently changes his mind or corrects himself from one verse to the next—but the songs aren’t rushed or sloppy. He has an ear for prosaic details (what time it was when the police busted in, what show was on TV) that bring freshness to hip-hop’s often rote tales of drugs, guns, and girls."
- As our attention turns toward the NCAA Tournament, isn't it nice that Billy Packer has helped remind us what an asshole he is? I wrote this last year and I will write it again: he effectively ruins college basketball. What a pathetic, crotchety, bitter, useless old man. He could retire tomorrow and not a single person would miss him, his condescension, his self-righteousness, his whining, or his Duke fellating. Nor would anyone miss his annual spotlight grab. He makes himself the center of controversy every fucking year. I HATE THIS MAN.
Yes, some of these mid-major teams might not qualify for the Tournament were they suddenly thrust into the ACC or the SEC in a given year, but that's such a myopic argument that you have to wonder if it is purposely obfuscatory. When all of these power-conference dick riders hem and haw about the Cincinnatahs of the world getting snubbed while the Missouri Valley Conference places four teams in the field of 65, they always claim that a Wichita State would not have a strong record were it in the Big East. What they constantly neglect is that were Wichita State in the Big East, it would be recruiting kids who wanted to play in the Big East; it would be on television thanks to the Big East; it would play a strong schedule within the Big East; and it would have nicer facilities thanks to the money that comes with the Big East. Honestly, Tommy Amaker's time at Seton Hall is proof that even a proven incompetent at a glorified community college can make it to the Tournament if he's in the Big East or an analogous conference. It would be much more compelling to watch some loser sacred cow like Amaker get shipped off to the America East and listen to years and years of excuse making from Dick Vitale as Amaker-led Boston University failed time and again to ever matter.
And let's also not lose sight of two important factors: 1) Upsets are what make March Madness so special. Yeah, Bucknell isn't beating Kansas in a seven-game series, and yeah, Chris Mills isn't taking an L to Santa Clara if more than one game gets played, but that's not how the system works. The Tournament is about who's better on a given night, something that reminds us how many good coached and players there are outside of the BCS conferences. Do Packer and idiots of his ilk really want to keep the Fennis Dembos and Charles Joneses and Steve Nashes out of the tournament just so Florida State can fail to make it to the second weekend? Do they really want to remove so much excitement so that we can all witness the scintillating heights of minimal mediocrity like Maryland vs. Louisville? 2) Does anyone really think that Michigan has a chance to win the national championship if it makes the Tournament as some 12 seed? Check the history books--bubble teams don't usually win anything that matters.
I'm telling you, it gets so tiring having to suffer through the widely broadcast stupidity that characterizes network sports coverage.
-The X3 trailer is flat out amazing (thanks, No Frontin'). I realize that since Brett Ratner is directing it, this may be one of those movies that looks much better in the coming attraction than it actually turns out to be, but for now, I am happy to just be excited. - Every NBA transaction ever. Archived. Read that again! This thing is like drugs. Now the only questions that matter: How long until Bill Simmons finds out about it; how long will it take for him to ruin it; and how many columns will he build off of it?
- Think Progress's Graduation Madness: Ask Nike, Reebok, and Adidas to do something more for the college basketball players who make these companies money. Ask them to help prioritize education. And let's not ignore that these are the companies that foster the corrupt and often ugly high-school AAU circuit.
fre Dat not good The following things are just horrible: 1) Being a Michigan sports fan right now 2) Reggaeton music 3) Janice Soprano 4) Living in South Dakota 5) Having a job
For the second week in a row, I couldn't really update my joint last week because of #5 on the preceding list. There was too much work and too little time. Worse that leaving you, the readers, hung out to dry, I also left the NBA bloggers out there, soaking wet and flapping in the breeze. It's my turn to host the Carnival of the NBA, a regular stroll through the NBA blogosphere. The oldest-established, permanently floating NBA aggregation series on the internets.
The significance of the Carnival was again apparent as I watched the Knicks' kind of valiant effort to come back against the Bobcats fall short on Saturday night. In the fourth quarter, there was a fleeting five-minute period during which Steve Francis, Stephon Marbury, and Jalen Rose made Isiah Thomas seem as though he were only incompetent to a regular extent, not the biblical proportions he has otherwise sought to claim. The Knicks were sharing the ball, moving it inside and out, and attacking the Bobcat defense from nearly all points on the floor. Even a hater and sadly justified cynic like me couldn't help but drink the seductive nectar of hope: After a Steve Francis put-back dunk, I even channeled Hubie Brown, using the second-person perspective to think to myself, This is why you like having an athlete like Francis playing alongside a dangerous scorer like Marbury. You love the athleticism and the versatility.
During moments like those, the opportunity for typed, intermittent dialogue afforded by the blogosphere takes on additional value: it's nice to know that there are people who would want to challenge, corroborate, and/or expand such sentiments.
So come with me, now, as we take a look at where else one might regularly find admirable NBA analysis and passion.
An obvious place to start is True Hoop, the widely recognized, highly regarded source of many engaging, thoughtful NBA questions and topics for discussion. Proof? How about the Democrats and Republicans of the NBA? Or Henry's breakdown of whom he'd select for the Team USA roster?
Meanwhile, over at Celtics Blog, Jeff can't help but gush about his C's as they continue to compete and improve, led, of course, by a rejuvenated Paul Pierce.
Similar interest in the speculative can be found at Page 4 Hoop, a site where Anthony has been wondering about the future of the NBA, division by division.
Taking a quantitative approach in its search for an answer that satisfied a subjective question, the Yay Sports NBA blog wantedto know who the most hated player in the L is. The results? Read here...
For all the talk of the Pistons as unbeatable and a sure thing to at least reach the NBA Finals, anyone paying attention can tell you that the presumptive champions haven't been playing their best ball since coming back from the all-star break. Motoring, of course, is one of the sites cataloguing all things Detroit, and this March 6th check in is a fine example.
Sticking with the team focus, Bucks Town is home of the originoo gun clappers and your source for everything you need to know about the Milwaukee Bucks.
PCP is a hell of a drug! I am not one to pass up a good meme, and today I've got two. The first, courtesy of Eccentric Southern Gentleman:
A favorite political track... Public Enemy, "Can't Truss It" - So yeah, it's trite and easy to cite something by Public Enemy since that's what Public Enemy did. It was political above anything else. But I still have yet to fully recover from the late-night viewings of this video, a joint that probably affected me more than any other video ever has. It made old-world racism--the violent and shameful stuff upon which America was sadly built--tangible in a way that little kids (I was like ten when this dropped) can't understand when they learn about Martin Luther King and slavery from books or teachers or parents.
The other obvious answer would be something by dead prez. I saw the Chappelle Block Party movie this weekend (and loved it, for the humor; for the earnest enthusiasm; and most of all, for being a living testament to the hip-hop around which so much of my adolescence and early adulthood was and has been built) and that compelled me to throw on Let's Get Free, as it reminded me how much I used to love dead prez. Unfortunately, the ceiling on d.p. appreciation is fairly low. After you get the points that they hate white people; and the white people who run the record industry; and the white people who run politics; and the white people who run everything else, you have heard most of what they want to say, and you're quickly left with a lot of odd beats. Some of them, like the one for "Hip-Hop"--perhaps the greatest minimalist track of all time and such a deceptively energetic song--are fantastic. But then you remember that they also made a lot of joints like "Be Healthy," a song that did two things for me: 1) it ruined my appetite and made me feel guilty; 2) I used to take naps to it in the summertime while dreaming of the life that Andy Dufresne and Red must have set up in Mexico. It didn't really take.
One of those tracks that will make you dance on the dance floor no matter what... James Brown, "Doing It to Death" - For my money, the most infectious song ever made. From the chants to the horns to the rhythm to the key change a little more than two minutes into it, this song is literally irresistible. I suppose it's not dance-floor material in the club-banger sense, but if you want me to dance, just throw this on and I will be moving.
The song you'd use to tell someone you love them... 2 Live Crew, "Pop That Coochie" - First things first: I know that the third word in the real title is something else commonly used in lieu of "vagina," but this word is funnier. And second things, um, second (?), the edited version is the one that my dad and I used to watch on The Box before we left the house in the morning when I was growing up. This is going to be the first song to which my wife and I dance at my wedding. This or "Feenin'" by Jodeci.
A song you know would sell lots of VWs (or iPods, or whatever) if they paid for it... Beanie Sigel and Freeway, "Roc the Mic" - Um, hello?
"I miss the hood when I'm travelin' Get neck when I'm travelin' Chicks peck wood when I'm travelin' Fuck a Lex 'cuz the clique fit good in the Caravan..."
You're telling me that you couldn't move a lot of Dodges if you had that song playing in a commercial as some dude got a blowjob, made a trip down to Maryland, and hung out with his friends? I already have a Dodge Caravan and I would get another one if the line were associated with Freeway. That's a perfect marketing synergy. And you could have a small franchise of commercials, as the next one after the Freeway joint could feature Biggie. Etc.
A song that forced you to sit down and analyze its lyrics... Busta Rhymes ft. Mystikal, "Iz They Wildin' Us & Gettin' Rowdy wit' Us?" - These dudes just rap way too fast for a casual listen.
A song that you like that a two-year-old would like too... Newsies, "King of New York" - And there's even proof: Juelz Santana sampled this joint.
A song that makes you drive too fast... Ghostface Killah, "Winter Warz" - I think that the obvious answer would be something that is ridiculously uptempo. Or something crazy rowdy, like "Ante Up." But I tend to drive too fast when I am having a good time and am not paying attention to my speed. And from experience, I can tell you that "Winter Warz" does that to me. Such a simplistic beat, such ridiculous flow, such discaboomeration. It's hypnotizing. And when Vocabulary-donna starts talking, it's a wrap. I could be going 100, and I wouldn't know it.
A song that makes you feel like kicking someone's ass... Black Eyed Peas, "My Humps" - Self-explanatory. And if that isn't working for you, and you want something that isn't as obvious as something all gutterific, how about Pearl Jam's "Leash." As gully as grunge can get (and I think that Pearl Jam was still grunge when Vs. came out).
A song that both you and your grandparents (probably) would like... Michael Jackson, "Don't Care About Us" - I have two living grandparents, both grandmas. One is 91, the other is 88. The former is the greatest malcontent hater of all time; the latter is forever trapped in the 1960s living fabulously. So I need something both spiteful and delusional, and that, of course, leaves me with nothing other than past-his-prime Michael Jackson. I always liked this joint because it is so conspiratorial and prejudiced and ornery that it's almost not to be believed; between the anger and the detachment from reality, it would work for my grandmas, too.
The song you'd send to someone you hated... Does the person know that I hate him or her?
If yes: Kanye West, "Heard 'Em Say" - Seriously, this might be the most annoying song I've ever heard. From Kanye's transparent pop-audience grab to that whiny-ass woman singing the chorus, it is just cringe-inducing horrible.
If no: Eazy-E, "Real Muthaphuckin' Gs" - This created such a sense of palpable, genuine hatred for Dr. Dre. Even if it was a little insincere, it still appeared otherwise. And I respect that. And it's so hateful. I'd have to attach a note with an explanation that covered who was Eazy, who was Dre, and how much better my flannels were.
A sad instrumental song that would be on the soundtrack to a movie about your life... The Servants, "Cells" - You know this as the song from the trailer for Sin City. There is something dramatic and destructive and manic about this sad song, and I'd like to think there would be a scene of equivalent emotional duress at some point in my film. I mean, it would be realistic that way. Who hasn't had a moment like that?
The peppy song that would start the opening credits on the soundtrack to the movie about your life... De La Soul, "Ego Trippin' (Pt. 2)" - A perfect encapsulation of me: lots of energy; always yelling; a little self-involved; matter of fact; funny; and really into samples and references.
An a cappella song... Shai, "If I Ever Fall in Love" - ??? WTF is this question? I am not in college; am not a girl with emo-loving potential; and am not obsessed with downloading music-less versions of my favorite 80s pop songs sung by marginally talented people who take themselves a little too seriously. Thus, I don't know a lot of songs that I could use here.
A good song from a genre of music that no one could guess that you liked... David Bowie, "Bring Me the Disco King" - What a pleasantly melancholy track. And it rambles so nicely. For seriously. Or maybe something by Gordon Lightfoot. Or "Poor Places" by Wilco.
A song you think should have been playing when you were born... Dru Down, "Can You Feel Me" - I guess it would have to have been dedicated to my mother, no?
A favorite artist duo collaboration... Raekwon and Ghostface Killah, "Criminology" - This category is too hard. And it isn't fair for a hip-hop head: there are too many collabos to choose from. Plus, what about all the collabos that entailed more than two artists? Posse cuts?! Man, fuck this. There should be a hip-hop meme dedicated to collabos.
I'd also include "Party All the Time" by Eddie Murphy with help from Rick James.
A favorite song that you completely disagree with (politically, morally, religiously, etc.)... Everything good by the Dip Set. I can't help but like the production and marvel at the hilarious self-absorption that makes the entire clique somewhat fascinating. I guess much of the Wu-Tang catalogue, too. I mean, I don't really fuck with drugs and organized crime in my day to day.
Your smooth song for relaxing... Al Green, "Simply Beautiful" - The title says it all.
A song that you don't like but would play loud to annoy the neighbors... Young Jeezy ft. Akon, "Soul Survivor" - I am still searching for the reasons why anyone likes this track. The beat sounds like something that would come out of a children's toy; Jeezy is just really, really lame; and Akon's singing is a little too saccharine for this ersatz drama.
A favorite song that's about sports or a sport... Jurassic 5, "The Game" - Most songs about sports are not good. I like this one because they do a lot with the imagery system. Not always so easy. I'd also throw in assorted verses from my man Phife; there were so many sports references in Tribe's music.
The song that makes you want to drink more beer... The Roots, "Quicksand Millennium" - A song that's easy to sit and listen to, and the sort that might come on as you sat with some friends sipping some beers and relaxing.
- Ian had amazingly similar thoughts to mine (and wrote more of them down) re: Chappelle's movie. Peep them here. And I co-sign nearly everything he wrote, although I see a lot more movies than he does because, well, I'm pathetic.
Was it self-defeating for hip-hop that a song about pimping won an Academy Award? It's nice that the genre was recognized; Hustle & Flow was a different kind of pimp movie than those of the 70s; and it's always good to succeed on one's own terms. I get all of that. But in the long run, does the Three 6 win do anything more than reinforce the mainstream perception of hip-hop as something primarily concerned with opulence and the subjugation of women and everything else that is regularly trotted out as proof that hip-hop is silly? That it's disposable? That it is hurtful? I mean, was I the only one who thought that Jon Stewart--a guy who I otherwise love (no Brokeback)--was already ratcheting up the condescension and judgment within seconds of the win? (And BTW: Jamie Foxx needs to get over himself. But I digress...)
I don't have a definitive answer. I ask the questions because they seem to have merit, even if the ideas they advance are ultimately seen as incorrect or unwarranted. Thoughts?
Work has been killing me this week. Sorry. I'll get my shit together this weekend. Until then, enjoy a fond reminiscence of a great television program, Strangers with Candy.
