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Friday, October 31, 2008

Thriller: Indian Style

I saw this about 2 years ago initially, but it is one of the greatest things you will ever watch. I figure since the MJ version of "Thriller" gets just a *tad* overdone this time of year but you can't have Halloween without it, I decided to switch it up and go Indian-style:

Yet another indication that I am WAY too easily amused >_<

Happy Halloween! Go easy on the witches brew or potion or whatever it is that you end up imbibing tonight. Last time I checked, puke shouldn't ever be a part of your costume ;)

The Single Guy @ Hello, Beautiful

Breaking News...


Starting today Write For Freedom will be syndicating a weekly blog via Hello, Beautiful. It's a bit of a departure from the usual content that I generate here, but when Kevin Clark asked me to cross post his writing I figured it'd be good to break up the monotony of all the music-related randomness that's kind of my thing in this here blog o' mine. Under the label "The Single Guy" he writes about his experiences as he navigates the dating scene in NYC, a far cry from his small-town upbringing in Kent, OH. Kevin and his way with words are a hot mess sometimes (in a good way of course), so his stories are pretty hilarious. It's worth a read - there's something everyone can relate to @ some point. So, without any further ado...

Black Magic Woman
By Kevin L. Clark October 27, 2008 4:51 pm

I believe that one of the most precious things on this Earth is a black woman. The way y’all walk, talk and even sass can light this Scorpio’s passionate flame and I can’t get enough of it. But, if I knew what type of spell this “black magic woman” would cast on me, then I would’ve never have went to Lotus that night…

Her name was Denay and she had to be the finest girl in the club that night. I called her “friend,” but everyone else had some more clever connotations for the Harlem dimepiece. “Ay, aye, aye, aaaayyyeee!” was cool for starters. “Shawty with the phat ass,” was another one. She never would answer to comments like that and on this particular night, she looked like she got dressed in sin with a dress that hugged her curves so right that I wanted to call her mama.

The fates must’ve been in the air because as they would have it, Denay thought that I looked pretty official myself. She stalked me through the crowd to ask about my shirt. I replied to let her know that it was just something to wear. She smiled… I did too… and a whole lot of drinks were consumed! We enjoyed the next few hours on the dance floor, navigating in our own personal world. But I must say, in trying not to offend any born-and-bred New Yawkers, this: “Y’all can’t dance…”

See. Told you he was a hot mess.
Read the rest here. Check out his other stories here.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Manic Music Monday @ GangstarrGirl.com

The picture above pretty much sums up how I feel today for a number of reasons, but I digress. Luckily I was able to channel some of that irritation into creative fuel to put together a damn entertaining edition of Manic Music Monday for this week. Check it out here. Yezzur! © Pharrell


Last.fm Chart Exchange - Week 2

We've got a couple more bloggers/blogs on board for the weekly chart exchange - thanks for playing Tha 4.0 Show and Thoughts Remixed! Just to refresh your memory, the premise of this weekly chart exchange is to cross-promote blogs, politick about the music we love and network via social networks such as Last.fm (using social media to network - what a novel idea!). Anyone with a blog or website and a Last.fm profile can jump in and participate. Just be sure to cross-post, otherwise it kind of defeats the purpose of the whole endeavor. Onward to the charts! Click on the charts to view our Last.fm profiles for a more extensive look at our musical tastes:

My Top Artists
Oct. 20 - 26



I got an *ahem* advance copy of John Legend's Evolve (which drops tomorrow, BTW, 10/28) and it pisses excellence - hence the 41 plays last week. Ian Pooley was my "getting-ready-to-go-dancing-at-a-club" music on Saturday - and it took me a long time to get ready because I kept getting sidetracked by the music and I'd start dancing, HAHA. If you dig breakbeats and instrumental hip hop, definitely check out Bulljun & El Barrio 2016 by Bulljun (FYI - his website's completely in Japanese so...you might wanna translate that isht unless you're on some Google isht and you're "feeling lucky"). I listen to his stuff a lot when I'm at work - it helps me zone out so I can plow through my tasks with significantly less disdain. Elis Regina is the reason I became interested in Brazilian music on a grand scale in the first place. She had a powerful voice, charasmatic stage presence and a defiant persona which earned her the nicknames "furacão" ("hurricane") and "pimentinha" ("little pepper"). She was quite the beast back in the day - unfortunately she didn't get the memo that coke and booze don't mix very well so she died tragically young. She deserves a blog post all unto herself (and she shall have it one day soon).

That's enough about my charts. Check out what my fellow bloggers are listening to these days:

Thoughts Remixed's Top Artists
Oct. 20-26



Laya's Top Artists
Oct. 20-26



Tha 4.0 Show's Top Weekly Artists
Oct. 20-26


Once again, If you're on Last.fm and you have a blog/website that you'd like to cross-promote, you can participate in the weekly chart exchange. Hit me up and we'll get things moving!

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Will Paints Barack

This is Will. He braved chilly weather and strong winds to spraypaint a mural of Barack Obama on a piece of a wall on Halsted in Lincoln Park:


I will venture over that way later on this week or next weekend to get a picture of the mural after its completion.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Blue vs. Green

The Presidential Elections are just 11 days away. Don't like Republicans, but you don't like the Democrats either? Are you considering voting for a 3rd party this election - more specifically the Green Party? Here's a very thought-provoking, rational, well-articulated argument for voting Blue over Green this election season. Just food for thought - it offers a clearly defined set of angles that you may not have considered before. Check it out:

Why I'm voting for Obama (and not McKinney)

By Megan K.

If you are considering voting for McKinney (Green Party candidate) AT ALL please take the time to read this.

The 2000 election was the first Presidential election I was eligible to vote in. I voted for Ralph Nader of the Green Party. I was extremely firm in my decision to vote for him, as I was already disenchanted with the two-party system and was heavy into my activist community at the time. On election night (and the days that followed), I watched in horror as George W. Bush stole won the election, with all the politicos saying that Nader, being the 3rd party candidate, was the "spoiler" for Gore...who had been tapped in the polls as the likely winner.

Now, I won't go so far as saying that I promised I'd never vote for a 3rd party candidate again, but I learned some things that year, and when I worked in politics many years later these lessons were repeated and enforced.

The fact of the matter is, America is currently under a two-party system. And I honestly believe it shouldn't be. When we hold elections there should be many names at the top of the ticket for any number of parties. HOWEVER in order for a multi-party system to work we MUST use Instant Runoff Voting instead of plurality voting, which is what we use now. There is no other way we would be able to effectively choose political leaders in a multi-party system.

Secondly, the Green Party is, at its very essence, a grassroots movement. And as a grassroots movement, it needs to be built from the ground up. That is, it needs to gain traction on the local, city and state level before they take on the national political scene, much less the Presidency. To completely ignore your local Green party, or any Green candidate that is running for city council or the school board or mayor or state representative, and then throw your vote to the Green Presidential candidate? Sorry, but I think that's back-asswards and a waste of a vote. If you REALLY believe in the Green Party platform, you have an obligation to go out and get involved in making a strong Green Party in your city or state. (Did you know that the national Green Party is simply a network of state-level Green Parties?) Without doing so you are going against exactly what the Green Party stands for, which is revolution. Don't be an armchair activist, and ESPECIALLY don't be an armchair activist who votes for the Green Party candidate only when it comes to the Presidency. No revolution has ever been accomplished by folks taking the easy way out, and this election will be no different.

Third, if Obama loses, McCain will be President. There is absolutely, positively NO chance of McKinney winning this election. I'm sorry folks, but there's not. (Not until we build a Green Party from the ground up ... see #2). So regardless of the fact that I don't agree with Obama on ALL of the issues, I certainly agree with him more than I do McCain. The United States is about to head into another Great Depression so I want a president who knows economics and has the bipartisan appeal to get things done. Upon reading the Green Party platform you might notice that Economic Stability is last on their list of issues, after "democracy", "social justice", and "ecological sustainability". On the issue of the economy, the Green Party says "We need to restore a progressive tax structure, rather than continuing to move money toward the top echelons of society while squeezing everyone else." Know what? Obama believes that, too. But that alone is not going to fix our economic problems. The Green Party also says "Foremost, the Green Party stands for community-based economics and regional trade. We believe that the only model of true economic security is for a community and area to be largely (not entirely) self-sufficient in the production of its necessities." This theory is GREAT...in theory. But wow, it would be a major change from the current economic system. I mean MAJOR. Could the American economy handle such a violent shake-up of its core values if the Green Party won the Presidency?

Finally, there's the issue of a working government. Do you think if McKinney actually won the Presidency that she would be able to work with Republicans and Democrats (not to mention foreign leaders) to get things done? No, President McKinney would veto pretty much everything that Congress put in front of her and everything would have to pass back through for a 2/3 majority. So really. Think about it. The President does not create policies or laws. That's the job of Congress. And according to most polls, we'll have a Democratic majority in Congress next year. So. Democrats write the laws, the Green Party President rejects them because they go against the Green Party ideals, the bill goes back to the House and Senate for another round of voting. That seems like an awful waste of time when Congress could be passing bills that, even if they are not perfect, are better than what we've had for the last four years (not counting this year) when Republicans controlled Congress. So if there isn't a Green Party majority in Congress, what's the point of having a Green Party President? (Again, we need to work from the ground up. See #2.)

So...in the end...while it would be really great to have a president who agrees with gay marriage and indigenous peoples' rights and environmental sustainability as much as I do, I know that at this pivotal moment in history, after our country and its laws have been raped and pillaged by the republican machine, we need a president who has the bipartisan appeal to get things done. McKinney just doesn't have that appeal. And I know that if Congress tried to pass an amendment to the US constitution saying, once and for all, that marriage is between one man and one woman, Obama would veto it. And honestly? That's enough for me because there really isn't much more that a president can do about the issue of gay marriage.

I know that change will come to America, and that one day gay marriage will be legal everywhere, and the environment will be a priority, and social justice will prevail. But I also know that social change takes time, and it takes effort. Pulling the lever for McKinney is not the solution to the problems that America is currently facing.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Sampletastic: Lil Wayne & A Tribe Called Quest

Unbeknownst to most, the sound behind one of the biggest hip hop records of the year derives its sample from one of hip hop's most influential and respected groups. The song is Weezy F. Baby's 808-laden, screwed vocal looping pantheon display of bravado known simply as "A Milli." Tribe comes into the picture because the "a milli-milli" that gets repeated ad nauseum comes from the super-rare Vampire Mix of "I Left My Wallet In El Segundo." While they make strange bedfellows, somehow when the forces combine it's like Captain Planet ("The power. Is YOURS!") and it becomes a purveyor of greatness. Someone on put up a comprehensive breakdown of this amalgamated anomaly on YouTube. Peep game:



If that didn't make your head explode, congrats. It's so simple it's mind boggling. Along the same vein, it's beyond me why they even needed a sample to create that. Bangladesh could have just as easily gotten Lil Wayne to say "a-milli" into the mic 8768437534 times and then slowed it down. It seems like it would have achieved the same result - but hey, what do I know about music production?

And while we're on the subject of Bangladesh, apparently he wasn't the only producer who worked on "A Milli" but he's getting all the credit. Chicago-bred/ATL-based producer Cha-Lo is said to have had a significant hand -as co-producer to be exact- in crafting the track, but they're straight giving him the hard, sandpapery shaft and there's nothing he can do. That's the music industry for you...

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

"God forbid you ever had to walk a mile in his shoes..." © Everlast

Pictures are worth 1,000 words but...
this one kinda leaves you speechless.


Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Free Album Download: African Swim

Major props to Adult Swim for reppin' the Motherland's latest interpretations of this ever evolving life form we call "hip hop":

[click image to download album + artwork]


Check out the African Swim page for a taste of the music you're in for, as well as exclusive videos from several of the artists featured on the album.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Terry Tate to Sarah Palin: Reading is Fundamental

Everyone's favorite office linebacker is back on the scene, but this time he's hitting the presidential campaign trail to hand out some crucial tidbits of, erm, knowledge to Sarah Palin while she chats with Katie Couric:



Normally I would balk at posting something that depicts violence against a woman in a comedic manner that diminishes the seriousness of the matter. But seeing how Sarah Palin billed sexual assault victims for the cost of the rape kits and foresnsic exams when she was mayor of Wasilla, I say it'd be karma if Terry Tate really were to PWN her via full body tackle.

But maybe that's just me. I'm a bit of an asshole, don't mind me. In any event, check out more from Terry Tate, Office Linebacker @ ReturnOfTerryTate.com. Isht is HILARIOUS.


Sunday, October 19, 2008

Last.fm Chart Exchange

Even though I have the widget posted in my sidebar for your browsing pleasure, I'd been toying around with the idea of doing posts of my Weekly Top Artists on Last.fm. Then Laya suggested that I not only post my charts, but also post the charts of other bloggers who would in turn cross-post. It sounded good to me, so we're getting it crackin' today since the magical Weekly Top Artist elves @ Last.fm use their mystical powers to update charts on Sundays.



Now check her out:







If you don't know what Last.fm is all about, Laya gives an excellent breakdown of the overall premise:

"For those that don’t know, last.fm is a music sharing site. You can run a plugin to your favorite player (iTunes is my choice, natch), and it will “scrobble” all of the tracks you play. The site aggregates this date per user, and provides a widget showing your weekly or monthly “charts” by artist or track. "

Anybody else who's on Last.fm and has a blog that they're interested in promoting via cross-post exchange get at me. Thank you Laya for the "great minds think alike" moment and for all of the generous (and TOTALLY unsolicited) praise on my blog. Bawwwwwww :) Check her out at LayaDWhite.com and on Twitter and Last.fm. Yeeeaaaaah boyyeeeee © Flava Flav

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Pitchfork.tv | M.I.A Part 2 of 2

M.I.A's interview with Pitchfork Media staff writer Jessica Suarez continues:


Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Mama M.I.A/ "Boyz" Remixes

M.I.A: "I'm creating a baby"



That didn't stop her from performing with N.E.R.D, Hot Chip, Franz Ferdinand, T.I. and Chaka Khan (!) at Diesel's xXx party in Brooklyn last Saturday. Check out excerpts from her pre-show interview or watch the full thing @ Pitchfork.tv:


(Part 1)

If that's not enough M.I.A for you, check out Discobelle.net for 2 remixes of "Boyz" - one with Hov and one with Wale - which originally appeared on her 2007 release "Kala."

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Q-Tip - "Move"

The latest track from Q-Tip from his (finally) upcoming release "The Renaissance." It's produced by J Dilla who continues to stunt on niggas from the grave. It you listen closely, you can hear the beat features a finely chopped sample of "Dancing Machine" by The Jackson 5:



Look familiar?
Perhaps this will jog your memory:

Ah, greatness on all accounts. I'm seriously looking forward to this album coming out next month (Nov. 4 is the date I'm seeing. His website has the official countdown on the homepage so we'll keep our fingers crossed that there will be no delays).

Monday, October 13, 2008

Manic Music Monday @ GangstarrGirl.com



Check me out over @ GangstarrGirl.com!
Your Monday will suck significantly less if you do ;)


Sunday, October 12, 2008

Dear SNL...

Please take note. This is how you do a GOOD impersonation of Barack Obama:


Saturday, October 11, 2008

Sampletastic: CRS/Thom Yorke

In 2006, Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke put out a pseudo-solo release of the electro-rock persuasion called "The Eraser." The title track features a haunting series of looped piano chords that lay the groundwork for punchy drums and Yorke's signature eerie vocal stylings:

Thom Yorke - The Eraser.mp3

In 2007, Plain Pat put together a formidable Kanye West mixtape called "Can't Tell Me Nothing" which preempted in an attempt to get folks riled up about "Graduation" I suppose. The mixtape featured a collabo between Kanye, Pharrell and Lupe Fiasco, collectively known as CRS. The song "Us Placers" sampled "The Eraser" and all of them spit some of their best verses over that loop:

It was pretty brilliant even though really, it sounds more or less just rapped over the instrumental and kept Yorke's vocals intact for the chorus. But the fact that anyone would think "Hey, I should rap over a Thom Yorke song" is pretty remarkable in itself. In any event, you can definitely tell they were feeding off the mojo that was injected by Thom Yorke into the original. That same mojo made its way into the video as well - Va$htie did her damn thing and the end result was a video that pissed excellence and shat upon 96% of all rap videos ever made:




Friday, October 10, 2008

RIP 1520 Sedgwick Ave.

Via The Smoking Section @ Uproxx.com.

Tell 'em why you're mad Contra ™:

Dear Rapper/Producer/Promoter/Mogul/Entertainer,

You disappoint me.

Throughout history people have given their lives for symbols of their cultures. To this day, feuds on a global scale & cataclysmic proportions continue over territories significant to cultures and religions.

The above pictured is the birthplace of Hip-Hop.

People have given their lives for less. You all fight every day over chains and songs, contracts and beats. You didn’t even have to fight for this. Just sign a check. Make a donation.

And yet you still failed.

This building was bought by a real estate developer who has neither notable connections to Hip-Hop culture nor made contributions to it, except maybe a Sir Mix A Lot LP he bought to help a fat friend through rough times. He quite certainly had no debt to Hip-Hop.

But you who owe your lives to what began here, you should be ashamed of yourselves.

Kool Herc joined the tenants of this building and pleaded for your empathy and support. You turned a cold shoulder proving once again that you have completely forgotten where you came from.

Let it be known that this is not addressed to those helping other causes, supporting other communities in substantial manners. This is for you who stood by, counted your money and walked away.

Fuck you very much, from the bottom of my heart. I hope you choke on your grill, get strangled by your chain or get run over by a Ferrari.

Sincerely,

Contra™

Brought to you by gentrification, bitchassness in the hip hop community (if there even is a community anymore) and the letter F.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Justin Nozuka @ Martyrs'

After missing him when he was in Chicago 2 previous times this year, I finally got to see my deliciously silky-voiced 1/2 azn booskie Justin Nozuka :-D I had a Flip Video Ultra camcorder on me, so I was able to capture some video of him performing my favorite songs from his CD "Holly" that came out last fall:

"After Tonight"



"Golden Train"



"Ain't No Sunshine"

(This was a cover of the Bill Withers joint - a live performance exclusive)



That last video is a scorcher. Whew.


Wednesday, October 8, 2008

McCain "That One" Comment Spurs Web Entrepreneurs


From Today @ PC World:

Once again the Internet has proven its ability to quickly respond to political gaffes. Less than two hours after last night's Presidential debate ended sites began popping up to support "That One" for President.

For those who might have missed the debate (and shame on you if you did), "That One" is how Senator John McCain referred to Senator Barack Obama when talking about who voted for an energy bill. In response, the Web sites ThatOne2008.com and ThatOne08.com have sprung up to exploit McCain's rather derisive choice of terms for his opponent. Instead of regarding the term as the dismissive reference that was intended, they're embracing it.



ThatOne2008.com is a simpler site, with just a video clip of McCain saying "that one" in the debate as well as links to Obama's campaign site, an Obama iPhone app, and a link to where you can buy shirts that read "I'm voting for that one."

ThatOne08 takes it a step further, rewriting Obama's biography information by replacing his name with the words "that one." It also has its own selection of shirts, as well as a link to a Facebook page for supporters of "That one 08."

While I respect the speed and creativity of the people who made these sites, it terrifies me to think about the implications of these sites. There were a lot of intelligent and meaningful things said by both candidates in last night's debate, but gaffes like this are all most people will pay attention to.

Posted by Scott Nichols on Today @ PC World.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

J*Davey "Mr. Mister" (Future Screw Remix) Official Video

I'm in a J*Davey fan group on facebook called "Beauty In Distortion: J*Davey" and earlier this evening I got a note saying that they released a video for the remix of their break out hit song "Mr. Mister." This excited me a great deal, because this particular remix was one of those rare instances in which the remix was just as good, if not better than the original joint. I clicked on the YouTube link and this is what I watched:



Don't get me wrong. I lurrrrrve me some J*Davey, but I had to give this the side eye kinda hard. And it didn't help that I needed eyedrops after watching that isht. It definitely falls under the "Great Song, Wack Video" category for me, I'm disappointed. It just seemed like they were trying *too* hard to be edgy or whatever you want to call it. Hell, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I'm missing something entirely that's underlying - some abstract artistic expression that went over my head completely. Or maybe I'm just not cool or enough of a hipster or an art fuck or a tweaker to find a music video shot in Predator Vision entertaining. Whatever, I guess. The video for the original version was just that - original. That's what made it so great:



Coming out the gate with that, they really set the bar high for themselves, so I guess an occasional falter is to be expected. It's okay, I still ♥ them and the "Mr. Mister" remix 4 EVAH.

Monday, October 6, 2008

Manic Music Monday @ GangstarrGirl.com


Another Monday is upon us (booooooo, hiss) but hopefully Manic Music Monday over at GangstarrGirl.com can be the spoonful of sugar that helps the medicine go down (bless yer 'ahrt Merry Boppins). Check out my entry for this week - and remember to check out Blaxploitation Friday on 10/10. Take it easy kids...

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Like clockwork...

...SNL is on the ball with a parody of the VP debate, starring Tina Fey as Sarah Palin (no surprise there) and Queen Latifah as Gwen Ifill:


I think Tina Fey should turn down requests to appear as Sarah Palin in a parody sketch once elections are over - it's so easy to make fun of her (Sarah Palin I mean), and I can see that it could easily go into overkill and that's all she'd be known for despite all the other work she's done over the years. Unless of course John McCain wins, then she really won't have a choice but to portray Sarah Palin since she does it so well.

P.S. "And for all you Joe Sixpacks out there playin' a drinkin' game, here's one more for ya: MAVERICK" = WIN x 1000. The whole time I was thinking "People have GOT to be somewhere doing shots every time she says the word 'maverick'"...or maybe the McCain campaign has a copyright on the word and she get a royalty check every time she says it in public. If Gene Simmons can copyright the moneybags symbol and use it for his clothing line, I wouldn't put it past them to try and obtain ownership of the word "maverick" since they love it so flippin' much and insist that we love it too by ramming it down our throats every chance they get.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Religulous: Ask Questions. How Much Do You REALLY Know?




Thursday, October 2, 2008

I ♥ Ranch Dressing by Cara Freie



Seemingly taking a cue from the now infamous blog Stuff White People Like, lawyer-turned-comedy writer Cara Freie has narrowed the superfluous field of study surrounding all things loved by white people to the provincial folk in the Midwest. Her book I ♥ Ranch Dressing: And Other Stuff White Midwesterners Like takes an satirical yet eerily encyclopedic look at just about everything you can think of that relates to atypical white midwestern life: white wicker furniture, novelty sweaters, Jesus, Florida, crystal meth, and of course ranch dressing. Amazingly enough, it's written in a tone that is free of snark and comes off as more of a loving recollection that could only come from someone who was "born and raised in Columbia, Missouri by two very sweet Iowa natives" - in other words, a proud white Midwesterner.

Check out excerpts from the book and more at the website: I ♥ RanchDressing.com.

Goldrush!

This past Sunday I went to the MySpace Goldrush show @ House of Blues. Santogold was the headlining act and let me tell you, that chick puts on one holy badass of a live show. The opening acts were Low Vs. Diamond, Plastic Little and Mates of State. I'd never heard of any of them prior to Sunday, but by the end of the night I was a newly recruited fan of Low Vs. Diamond and Mates of State. Plastic Little was just...yeah. They were extra random and not very good, so they messed up the vibe for a minute. They were backed by DJ Siyoung who was nice with the turntablism and a foxy mofo to boot even though he was small and elfish. I'm sorry - I'm just a sucker for azn boyz who genuinely embrace the elements of hip hop - don't hate!

Anyway, I managed to smuggle my digital camera into the venue so I could get some clear shots of Santogold in all of her wondrously tacky early-90s regalia. House of Blues doesn't play when it comes to cameras - if they find one on you when you go through security, they send you to the gift shop where they hold it and then charge you $5 to get it back after the show. I thought I'd beat the system when I managed to get past security with my camera, but the personnel they had posted by the exits were in straight hater mode for the night: they would actually come through the crowd to try and debo your camera if they caught you trying to snap a flick. I guess because the crowd wasn't dense, they could actually pay attention to what people were doing - because when I saw Nas with Kweli as his opening act on Aug. 31, it was packed. I saw mad cameras in the crowd and almost everybody around me was smoking weed - security was just trying to maintain and make sure nobody got crushed in the mass. I had to take pics with my BlackBerry and they were alright but I was determined to get my camera into the next show I attended @ H.O.B - and the night I do manage to sneak my camera in, security is being a bunch of assholes. Ironyyyyyy...

So yeah, here are my crappy BlackBerry pics from the show:

Low Vs. Diamond went first and got the crowd warmed up

Anthony Polcino, lead guitarist

DJ Siyoung getting it started for Little Plastic

Two of the 3 members of Little Plastic
Dude in the wool shawl was buggin' me out

Mates of State - they're husband and wife
Like a way cooler Captain & Tenille

Kori Gardner from Mates of State
She sings lead vocals, plays Electone and Hammond B-3 electric organs,
Casio synthesizer, and Rhodes electric piano, piano, and occasionally guitar
She was working those keyboards and synths that night

Santogold's DJ - dude was SICK
Too bad I can't remember his name :(

The Dancers
I initially called them Thing 1 & Thing 2
Shorty on the left was GETTIN' it the entire show
The other girl...not so much
Step your game up booboo!

Santogold was gettin' it too
I should have known she could dance
Don't let her demure demeanor in the videos fool you!

This is how the pics looked when she came
over on our side of the stage
The light was coming down at just the right angle
to eff up every shot I tried to take

I like to call this one "Lights Out"
I'm so clever

She did "Creator" towards the end of the show
She let a bunch of people come up on stage
and dance while she performed

I stood for 3 hours straight in 2-week old Chucks that still aren't broken in, so my feet were not happy with me when the show finally let out. I didn't care - I had a great time and I'd do it again if it meant I could recapture the awesome energy and the essence of that night.

It's been a long time...

...I shouldn'ta left you (left you) without some dope NEW ISHT to step to:


Well, they're new to me anyway. I wish I could stay on top of all the cool new isht when it first comes out but hey, believe it or not I *do* have a life and for the most part it doesn't involve surfing blogs 24/7 for isht to post. Whenever I come across something it's usually on accident and I get to it when I get to it. In any event, these songs piss excellence so you should definitely check them out.