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Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Kanye West - Love Hate Part 2,543,689
I watched this season's SNL premiere this weekend since they reran it. My main reason for Tivo-ing it was for Steve Carrell. As I tell almost anyone would listen about my issues regarding Kanye's helter skelter music genius, I also proclaim his shortcomings even more so. I had this relationship with 2pac and still do with Eminem.
Coming back to SNL, Kanye was the musical guest and his presentation was simple - rather boring, but his dedication to music led him to use a full orchestra of violins and the use of them for various beats was immensely celebrated live and it was real nice. There were sounds that I thought were horns that were made by the violins. Anyway, I couldn't help to think about how Andre 3000 would've been in a set up like that - with the flare of the music and the flare of a real performer. Nice.
BTW, I think Steve Carrell and Jason Lee's comedic talents have been completely wasted on their respective shows on SNL. I feel bad for this cast because diehard SNLers (like Bill Simmons) dogs them and the writers - yet I like most of the cast. I do notice that many of the skits are much more political cartoon funny than laugh-out-loud funny. C'mon y'all, step it up!
Monday, November 28, 2005
everyone is a B-BOY
I remember when I first heard of the breakdancing resurgence in the beginning of my 8th grade year. I laughed in the face of my friend as I retorted, "Breakdancing's coming back? Whatever." But I was an impressionable kid and soon enough, my friends and I were breaking down cardboard boxes and duct taping them together. We would clear out the furniture and practice simple moves involving spins on various body parts, like a back, hand, knee, and the lamest of all, the butt.
I was lucky to have a few friends whose houses were blessed with hardwood flooring, the ideal surface for breakdancing. Instantly, a 2.5 revolution backspin turned into at least 4, and you may have been able to stretch a couple more when busting on a recently Pledged surface. Week after week, practice after practice, skills were honed, but sore joints and bruises were all we had to show. Every once in a while, on a Friday, someone would organize a larger practice session. A fellow breaker would open up his abode (or more fittingly, a garage) and a good number of the breakers in my high school would attend. It was a breaking workshop of sorts. We'd all learn moves from more skilled breakers and work on cleaning up our own as well.
Then first few beats of Soul Sonic Force's "Planet Rock" would come on. Heads would bob and oohs and aaaahs filled the room. Suddenly, an open garage with the fading light from dusk creeping turned into a battleground. And for these 10-15 minutes, everyone seemed to bring their A-breaking game. Combos were hit and moves were much cleaner during the hype songs. It was weird, but you know, you never forget that one time you hit a move cleanly or nailed that one combo. I guess it would be like that 25-foot putt you hit or that one time you Perfected M. Bison twice to beat Street Fighter II...it's just a memory that sticks.
I have many fond memories of my days as a wannabe breakdancer. I wasn't good, by ANY stretch, but my friends and I thought we were. And it felt good that we were members of an exclusive club. While others were rebelling by tagging and gangbangin', we were just dancing, like Lee and his boys in Beat Street. There was a sense of validation when you'd hear through the grapevine that another crew wanted to battle your crew. We rarely battled, and if we did, it was friendly. C'mon, we were Freshmen and Sophomores who couldn't drive anywhere. But in our own secluded world, we stood for something - we were the next big thing.
But then there were these parties, showcases of breakdancing prowess, if you will. Here is where all the wannabes got to see the real deal. Here, we got to see the people we idolized in the 4th-generation breaking videos we had seen recorded by a crappy VHS-C camera. We got to experience the hype live - the type of hype that makes the camcorder audio peak and the people in the background jump around for. Chuck D told you not to believe it, but I sure as hell did.
But that's when I realized that my crew was just a school of fish in a small pond. This wasn't even a lake, this was the damn ocean, where the schools of fish were both old and the bringers of the new.
To this day, I am amazed by the abilities of B-boys and B-girls. It's a lot different from when I was a wannabe, and I'm so far removed from the scene that I couldn't even begin to make an educated assessment of the evolution of the art. But I'll tell you this much - nothing makes you feel more like a wannabe than roaming the streets of NYC, the mother of B-siblings around the world.
See, everyone is a B-person, everyone is a DJ, graff writer, and everyone who is from NYC has a bigger inheritance to the hip-hop culture than a suburban California boy like myself. I'm not saying I can't have my share of it - I listened to early 90's joints, when hip-hop went through its Age of Enlightenment in NYC. But as a person who used to claim to be a B-boy, it's quite humbling. You begin to wonder if the street corner you're standing used to be a B-boy battleground. You see the subway cars pass and wonder where all the ones with the cool spray paint are at.
I don't listen to a lot of hip-hop these days, but I do appreciate it and the culture that has evolved from the music. It played a big part in my adolescence and it will stay with me forever. I guess it's a testament of how infectious this culture is for my generation. And even if hip-hop isn't your music/lifestyle of choice, there is no doubt that it is the undoubtedly the biggest social/cultural phenomenon of our time.
-antonic
Friday, November 11, 2005
Further proof that American audiences aren't ready...
...for the next generation of television comedy. While you see flashes of hope with the popularity of NBC's The Office and My Name Is Earl, these anti-sitcoms seem to be the trend. But with the ratings juggernaut of the big sitcoms, it's no suprise that shows like The Bernie Mac Show and Andy Richter Rules the Universe remain but flashes in a really big pan. The days of T.G.I.F (ABC) and Must See TV (NBC) are waning, my friends. But the rudest of rude awakenings came today when I heard the horrifying news.
"The Bluth clan of Fox's ratings-challenged "Arrested Development" is also headed for the exit after Fox cut the third-season order on the Emmy-winning comedy to 13 episodes."
It is a sad, sad day for television. A moment of silence MUST be observed.
And now on to the rant. While my disappointment will probably manifest itself with clenched fists and looks of shock to the heavens, screaming "Why, Lord, why?", I realized today that my reaction does not compare to the mini-riots caused by intelligent TV fans around watercoolers all over the country. To my consolation, my friend and I are not alone in this loss. In each other, we will find strengh and believe...believe that a smart TV exec on a popular cable channel will pick up the show. (FX, I'm talking to you! Adding Arrested Development to a lineup that already boasts Nip/Tuck, "TV's most provocative series" is a slam dunk! We're talking Shaq and Kobe here...wait...scratch that.)
To put it simply, this show is too good to no longer exist.
The magic of Arrested Development is it ranks very high in the replay value scale. The big jokes are money, but the subtle ones, the ones you don't catch until the 2nd or 3rd viewing, are where it's at...just like Beck. And if you missed it this week, Charlize's Pretty Woman impression is DEAD FREAKIN' ON! And how could you not like a Godzilla homage? In the words of George Oscar Bluth (GOB), "C'mon!"
Arrested Development is the poster child for one of television's biggest conundrums - critically acclaimed and Emmy-winning, yet ratings-challenged. In fact, to preserve its legacy, from now on, we will give all future shows that meet these criteria the Arrested Development award. (That will be the interim name because I can't think of a more clever one right now...aha! Found one) Correction, the award shall be called...[drum roll]...The Bluth Banana.
So what show will be awarded the Bluth Banana next? The Office? Doubt it...NBC knows how to keep it's audience, and is smart enough to not move it from a good timeslot. (I'm talking to you, Fox! Why couldn't you just keep it the filling of Fox's animation sandwich?!) As much as I hate to say this, it may be Scrubs. Please, America. Don't let them take away another baby of mine!
Otherwise, I may have get all Cindy Sheehan on all your asses...straight up camp out in front of NBC and/or Fox studios.
Some random thoughts for today:
-Thanks to The O.C., Death Cab for Cutie tix are $30. (Way to go, Fox!)
-That Metric show at Slim's was SIIIIICK.
-I feel REALLY old hanging out in downtown SJ on Thursday nights.
-La Vic's orange sauce awesome, but I'm currently debating whether or not the multiple trips to the bathroom are worth it.
- Antonic
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Blackstar rocks the Bay
DATELINE: Sunday, Oct. 30, 2005. Blackstar LIVE rocks the show, speaks to the soul
When the first Lyricist Lounge compilation was released by Rawkus in 1998, hip hop was starving for real soulful, intellectual, and inspiring music. Inconspicuously enough, that release launched commercial undergroung hip hop that was led by anybody with ties to Rawkus. Though, the most commercial success came from Organize Konfusion veteran, Pharaohe Monch with the catchy, yet still dope as hell, "Simon says", the two individual entities who have made the biggest impact on the culture are Mos Def and Talib Kweli, also known as Blackstar.
Both emcees have taken different paths on their influential careers. Mos Def obviously has the more recognizable face being in blockbuster movies. His music was also used on a Jordan commercial way before And 1 was on ESPN, way before Redman and Meth were on PS2 (or selling deodorant for that matter), waaaaay before Chappelle show, and way way way before any MTV fan in the bible belt knew what 8 Mile was.
Talib Kweli, on the other hand, has remained being the scenes and behind the mic. When Quality came out, his association with an as yet unknown Kanye West threatened some fans into thinking he was trading the underground rags for commercial shine - and in a way he did, but his skills and insight has never changed. He was made immortal on a commercial tip by Jay-Z in "Moment of Truth" when Kweli's skills were used as THE bar for lyrical prowess.
Sunday night, they spent their second night in the Bay rocking to their original classics and their unreleased future classics. The night was opened by K'Naan, a poet/emcee/activist/spiritual adviser from Somalia by way of Canada - and he set off the show properly. His insights about "What's Hardcore" and surviving Civil War were honored properly with live instruments and a simple-yet-powerful delivery of his content. It was truly beautiful.
The stage was quickly transformed to the heart-aching yet inspiration explosion called "Dead Man Walking" by Amir Sulaiman of Def Poetry fame who was invited by Mos himself. In the back of my soul, I was hoping we would be blessed by a cameo by more Def Poets, specifically by the ever beautiful and empowering Suheir Hammad. It didn't happen, but the show moved on.
It moved onto Jean Grae - the resident underground female emcee as she joked, "the female on all those songs. Yeah, that was me." She performed for a relatively (seemingly) clueless or maybe careless audience and she even joked (again) that she was excited to see Blackstar too, but that the energy needed to be picked up right at that moment. As much as Mos and Talib are "real hip hop", their commercial success can leave an undercard gem like Jean Grey taken for granted. Her command of the energy in the room isn't the greatest, yet she was still a great addition to the show.
After some questionable chants of "Old School" to songs like "Lost Ones" by Lauryn, Talib Kweli emerged on the stage unannounced and ready to blast off his rhymes and energy. His trademark voice was not as noticeable as we has grinding out aggression interestingly juxtaposed to his smooth rhymes. He travelled through his mainstream career starting with a joint from Beautiful Struggle to going back to the Lyricist Lounge piece "Manifesto" to jumping ahead to his new songs from his upcoming album. The whole time, he was the epitome of energy and being that he was Main Event #2, I was loving every second of it. (Main Event #1 being Blackstar, obviously.)
The show only teased at it's climax when Talib Kweli came out blasting "This Means You", Mos Def's entrance (and more importantly Blackstar's entrance) was only one verse away. Mos subsequently jumped on stage and the chemistry between the two Blackstar brothers was shining on stage. Mos later joked later that they didn’t do any rehearsal and didn’t need any since they really were solid like that. They covered about half of their Blackstar album and it was a beautiful mix. Sadly, the Blackstar performance only lasted for those few songs before Talib left the stage and Mos’ show began.
Mos Def, as he started during “Definition” relied heavily on the original songs that the beats were sampled from. Many of his songs began with the singing of the original soul classics. Though his show was much more methodical, Mos still controlled the room. The Mezzanine was his lounge and we were all just chillin’ with the artsy, sarcastic Boogeyman. The rock offerings from “A New Danger” were not touched, but Mos Def is still definitely a rock star. He talked a lot. He talked enough for some to get slightly impatient with him. He took his time. He sang. He didn’t do the typical – sing the hits/ sing the new cd track listing – thing. It was his show and we all sat back and listened and enjoyed.
Mos’ set was long, so he took a break. He took a break to sing Happy Birthday to Pharaohe Monch. Pharaohe decided to celebrate his birthday by rocking a few songs – a commentary on Bush and the state of our nation and the world, “Simon Says”, and another song or two before he gave the stage back to Mos. Mos ended his show after “Umi Says”, the song on the Jordan commercial, and quickly walked backstage. But we stood there. We stood unsure if the show really was done – and maybe unsatisfied. I was unsatisfied because I wanted the huge , July 4th, blow up all the rest of the fireworks at one time finale with Talib Kweli as Blackstar – maybe cleaning up the loose ends with “A Children’s Story.” So we stood. The Djs kept peeking behind the curtain, maybe hollering at Mos that “those damn bastards aren’t leaving, yo.” So he indulged us for another 20 minutes with more singing, some freestyling, and some new tracks from his upcoming CD. Talib came out for the last 5 minutes, but Mos left even though at one point, it seemed like Talib wanted to bust a freestyle.
The ending of the show was rather non-climactic, but it was still satisfying (though not as satisfying as a final Blackstar encore). Overall, I would have loved to see Talib Kweli add 20 minutes to his individual show, another 15 minutes to Blackstar and those 30 minutes taken away from Mos’s solo time. I live Mos Def – I think the man is incredibly multi-talented and smooth, but Talib Kweli’s lyrics definitely speak to my soul more.
Nevertheless, the chance to see two of my favorite emcees ever live (finally!) was more than worth the price of admission – but the early treats of K’Naan and Amir Sulaiman were definitely appreciated.
- John
