February 2012
39 posts
2 tags
No Trivia @ SPIN: Antwon's "Helicopter" Video →
The video for San Jose rapper Antwon’s “Helicopter,” released last week, intercuts footage from the 1968 Steve McQueen tough guy car chase movie Bullitt, and dreamy, slo-mo footage of Olde English malt liquor, with Antwon wandering around, munching on a massive plate of food (as much Sriracha is consumed in the video as Old Gold, it seems), and chilling out with friends,...
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No Trivia @ SPIN: "Pharrell Adds Some Swing to the... →
“As a teary-eyed Octavia Spencer exited the Hollywood and Highland Center stage, in her hand, the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance as Minny, the feisty black maid from The Help, a sweeping, percussion-heavy, electro soul jam played the 84th Academy Awards to commercial. The camera flew over the crowd and landed on the house band, briefly treating viewers to Sheila E. and...
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No Trivia @ SPIN: Premiere of Main Attrakionz's... →
Collaborative EP between Main Attrakionz, Anticon’s Jel, and Zachg. I got to hear this a few weeks ago and I’m happy we’re able to premiere it on the blog. “Take Her Shoppin” is one of those insanely emotional, sad-but-happy, inexplicably touching MaZ songs like “Chuch” or Mondre’s “One Life.”
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No Trivia @ SPIN: "Rap's Best of 2012, So Far" →
January and February were light on event records. Rick Ross’ overrated Rich Forever seemed to demand we take it seriously simply because it adroit gangsta rap and stuffed with starpower, and that just isn’t enough. And when it comes to next big things, ScHoolboy Q’s Habits & Contradictions, bogged down by alpha-male sex bullshit and a brassy embrace of the “cloud...
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THE COMICS JOURNAL: 'The Bulletproof Coffin:... →
comicsforserious:
Reviewed the first issue of The Bulletproof Coffin: Disinterred for The Comics Journal. Issue two came out this week and may actually be even better than the first one. Dunno, Kane and Hine are just going nuts with this series…
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P4K: Various Artists - '808 Mafia' →
Reviewed that 808 Mafia tape. It’s pretty good? Hard to tell if it’s because it’s Lex and Southside’s buddies or if Lex and Southside’s awesome beats would get kinda tedious without rappers as well..
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CITY PAPER: 10th Annual Alties →
I helped with the Baltimore City Paper’s snarky “fake Oscars,” it’s a lotta fun. Go read it!
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eMusic: Dustin Wong - 'Dreams Say, View, Create,... →
Reviewed the new Dustin Wong album, compared it to Manuel Göttsching’s E2-E4 and the score to My Neighbor Totoro.
Anonymous asked: You said you didnt wnat to do them any more but I know you are awake, so what's new to Netflix to watch?
charlesmcdermott asked: So, it's time for the big question. What do you think of Eminem? (you must have heard that question so many times, sorry man)
nonchalantjon asked: I saw your Gunplay question and it was spot on, the whole Triple C's group used to be more "conscious" (kind of like a more southern and thuggish Little Brother and Gunplay used to be G.U.N.P.L.A.Y as in Giving You N****s Powerful Lyrics All Year) back when they started here in Miami and I think that is what sets him apart from the whole MMG and although Rozay has toned it down you...
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iPod Journal: 2/19/12
(Physical Music Purchased)
D. Wizz, Party Music EP ($0.50)
Ecstasy, “Don’t Play Me Raw” 12-Inch ($0.50)
J. Dee, “I Want Your Love” 12-Inch ($0.50)
Jam & Spoon, “Dont Call It Love” 12-Inch ($0.50)
Junior, “Somebody” 12-Inch ($0.50)
One 5 Sex, “Strip” 12-Inch ($0.50)
The Pharcyde, Bizarre Ride II ($9.99)
Squarepusher,...
funkylastcut asked: What about King of New York did/do people not like? Wikipedia tells me that it got polarized reviews and Ferrera's wife walked out. I read something where it was referred to as a "drug movie" which is way off.
Anonymous asked: I wanted to read a lot more interesting takes on the Gucci/V-Nasty album. Why didn't people write them?
Anonymous asked: u mad? -noz
Anonymous asked: what do you think about joe budden
stillword asked: do you think kids in the mmg camp (esp. gunplay) get under-played for having kind of a similar gruff guttural rozay type of voice? does ross' management do... anything?
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THE COMICS JOURNAL: 'Streakers' by Nick Maandag →
I am now contributing to The Comics Journal! My first review is for Nick Maandag’s really funny, surprisingly touching, often downright depressing comic Streakers.
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iPod Journal: 2/15/12
(Physical Music Purchased)
Chic, C’est Chic ($2.99)
The Chilly Kids, “Ice Arcade” 12-Inch ($4.99)
Ekkehard Ehlers & Stephen Mathieu, Heroin LP ($12.99)
John Cale, Paris 1999 LP ($11.99)
John Cale, Slow Dazzle LP ($7.99)
The Sea and Cake, Car Alarm LP ($7.99)
(Added)
Bon Iver, Blood Bank
Bon Iver, Bon Iver, Bon Iver
DDm, Winter and the Tinman’s Heart
Eric...
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CITY PAPER: "Rapper DDm is out of the closet. Got... →
Oh man, very happy I got to do this one. DDm, formerly known as Midas, has been a favorite on this blog for a few years now and he’s one of my favorite Baltimore rappers, and last year he came out of the closet in Baltimore’s Gay Life newspaper. We sat down for about two hours, ate sushi and chocolate chip pancakes, and talked about his career, his coming out, and lots of other stuff....
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Them's The Vagaries: #34 - Revenge of the Lawn →
themsthevagaries:
Sean and Brandon discuss, in detail, Heems’ Nehru Jackets. Specific subjects covered include bad fans not mattering, similarities to Graduation Day and MLK, what Dap’s album may sound like and what could be simultaneously the least and most interesting verse on an album. Our chat is like a shark’s fin: deepish, truish.
I was on Sean’s podcast again! This could become...
snowywilderness asked: One of the things Schoolboy Q had in his Fader magazine The Things I Carry feature I just randomly read was a bottle of lean, and I remember that months and months ago you said in an aside that you were thinking about writing about the lean epidemic in rap music, so now that the lean/other opiate obsession has continued on into another year of rap, can you write about it? Maybe a whole series on...
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Jackie Chain’s After Hours is an album in...
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Though 2 Chainz is the next exciting thing in...
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dauthan asked: Why doesn't anyone call Youth Lagoon chillwave?
Anonymous asked: would like to hear more about your feelings regarding sacred bones album design
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Everything is so chillwaved the fuck out right now...
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The dude Michael Byrne wrote about...
charlesmcdermott asked: All-Star Superman is amazing. What should I read next from Grant Morrisson?
Anonymous asked: i read some of yr older shit & i was surprised when you said criterion dvds have "cool if problematic graphic design." i wonder what did you mean by that? in recent yrs the design has tended to skew garish/modern/self-absorbed (in the sense it feels the artist is doing the cover more their sake rather than what's best-suited to the film).
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iPod Journal: 2/3/12
(Added)
808 Mafia, 808 Mafia
AraabMuzik, Instrumental University
Mayhem, Deathcrush
Pop. 1280, The Horror
Various Artists, The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh OST
Zack Browning, Secret Pulse
(Removed)
Andy Stott, Passed Me By
Andy Stott, We Stay Together
Omar-S, It Can Be Done But Only I Can Do It
Oval, OvalDNA
Starlito, For My Foes
Todd Terje, It’s The Arps
(On My iPod)
2 Chainz,...
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SPIN: Heems - 'Nehru Jackets' →
Reviewed Heems’ ridiculously great, Queens rap-indebted mixtape for SPIN. It was given the “essential” tag, which it totally deserves. There are a few words about Kool A.D.’s The Palm Wine Drinkard in there as well. Dunno, I feel like people are really underrating Nehru Jackets. Go back to it if you thought it was “too long” or whatever.
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January Picks.
Heems, Nehru Jackets: Dusted, busted, boom-bap soundtracks our seemingly forever-fucked post-9/11 nervousness. Mike Finito makes 90s producer worship thrilling. Heems has Resurrection-era Common’s “I may not get there with you” spirit.
Evan Voytas, Feel Me: FlyLo live guitarist and jazzy-wazzy insider channels chillwave, brings his compositional chops, and sings his annoying...
January 2012
41 posts
4 tags
Here’s Fiend rapping over Washed Out’s...
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iPod Journal: 1/28/12
(Digital Music Purchased)
Evan Voytas, Feel Me ($4.95)
G-Mane, Mark Of The Beast ($1.00)
Starlito, For My Foes ($4.00)
(Added)
2 Chainz, Codeine Cowboy
2 Chainz, T.R.U. REALigion
Antwon, My Westside Horizon
Chic, C’est Chic
Chic, Real People
Chic, Risque
Evan Voytas, Feel Me
G-Mane, Mark Of The Beast
Heems, Nehru Jackets
Homeboy Sandman, Subject: Matter.
Slavia, Integrity and...
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SPIN: 'Pariah,' Finding Love and Loving Hip-Hop →
This week’s column is about Dee Rees’ movie Pariah, which is totally not Oscar-bait! The movie also has some smart things to say about rap music and hip-hop culture. I try to explain what it’s saying. Deleted thought: Rees cuts up and refashions black cinema with the same respect/disrespect that a beatmaker brings to a soul sample. Belly’s referenced, and Precious director...
etothemajor asked: Dude, how the FUCK do you have so much time to watch all the movies you watch and listen to all the music you listen to and read all the comics you read and somehow still write about all of it?
intotheswamp asked: We had a conversation over Twitter forever ago with @rlydoe concerning the beginner's guide to Curren$y. Alas, I forgot to add it to my favourites and lost all the mixtape/album names and it was a bygone thought until I heard "King Kong" for the first time in forever tonight and was astounded by how well dude puts words together (entire second verse is just a wonder). So, I ask...
burzyum asked: Along with Supergods, are there any other unorthodox histories of comic books worth looking into? Perhaps also some more traditional, but reliable ones as well? Also, given that Comics for Serious is in a coma, are there any other writers doing comics criticism that you find worth recommending?
dotquan asked: I haven't really been keeping up with blogs since the heyday of Notriv, cbrap, and unkut. What are good rap blogs/sites that you follow nowadays with good writing?
Anonymous asked: you think girls will laugh at me if i put a paul simon song on my "party mix" ? (specifically: late in the evening...)
Anonymous asked: you still write like a twenty year old. eschew that bitterness that you're still making 20 G's writing, and find a side hustle. your music sense is top-notch, but your persona erodes your credibility.
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