Thursday, January 31, 2008

THE WIRE INTERVIEW: WENDELL PIERCE AND ANDRE ROYO

The Wire is the best show on TV. In fact, many say that it's the best show in the history of television. I agree. That's all I can say. Seriously, it really is all I can say. When people ask me to explain, I start gushing and kind of become incoherent. It's almost as if I've become a fifteen year old girl who has her first boyfriend and stop talking about how great he is. And I can't tell you why he's great. It's not because I don't know. It's just that there are so many things you want to say to someone who's never watched it.

Anyway, the guys at The Sound Of Young America podcast did an interview with two actors, Wendell Pierce ("Bunk") and Andre Royo ("Bubbles"), from The Wire. Thankfully, they did a much better job than I did in explaining why this show is so good and why it's reached so many different demographics. For people who are too lazy to go to it. I've posted it below.



Thanks again to The Sound Of Young America. They do a great podcast with a wide range of guests like Patton Oswalt, Rhymefest and Ted Leo to name a few. You should check it out.

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

SANTANA'S TOWN???

Dear God,

Please let the Mets trade for Johan Santana go off without a hitch. We need this in a bad way.

One, the Mets are The Big Apple's "other team." It's kind of like they're the Ashlee Simpson to the Yankees' Jessica Simpson. Actually, we'd be more like the Rosario Dawson-Anne Hathaway-BBU (Beautiful But Underappreciated) to Jessica Simpson. I mean you take away the "big roster" and what do you have? Not much to look at. (Okay, I'm going off another tangent now. Refocusing...)

Two, a lot of missed opportunities since '86. 1988, they lose in the playoffs to the Dodgers. (Cocaine is a hell of a drug, word to Straw and Doc.) The 90s were pretty much a disaster. Overpriced free agents that didn't pan out and who did more damage than one would expect. Bret Saberhagen threw bleach at a reporter. David Cone was accused of "warming up in the bullpen," i.e. masturbating during a game. Vince Coleman accidentally struck Dwight Gooden with a golf club. Also, Coleman threw a lit firecracker into a crowd of baseball fans in LA. Gooden's escalating cocaine habit caused his career to go up in smoke. (Or would that be "up in sniff?") Eventually, things got a little better with the arrival of Piazza and Mike Hampton. Except for that thing where Piazza got dropped by a Clemens fastball...and no one did shit. And then the incident in the Subway Series where Clemens threw a piece of a broken bat at Piazza...and no one did shit. (Seriously, someone, most likely a bench player who knew he wasn't going to play, should have just run up and snuffed Clemens.) Finally, there was last year's epic collapse which made me want to die...and throw my Mets hat into the Quinnipiac River.

In the words of Jewish philosopher J.M. Nabel, "please, just let me do this." And by "me," I mean the Mets.

Thanks for your time, God.

Your friend,

J.W.

P.S. I kinda think you owe me because you've actually done the opposite in respect to my prayers for the Knicks.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

BILLIE JEAN 2008



As good as the original? No. Enjoyable? Yes.

Enjoy.

(will.i.am, go get a late pass and capitalization. Fake ass e.e. crummings)

Thursday, January 17, 2008

JUST BECAUSE...

Deadspin always has great Youtube clips from the sports world.

Cowboys fans may not find this funny. Everyone else will laugh pretty hard, even people who don't like football.



Australian broadcaster smitten with Venus Williams' ass.

(NOTE: Me, I prefer Serena's. I'm just saying is all...)



Thanks to Deadspin

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

CD REVIEW: "SUPER GANGSTER (EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMAN) - STYLES P


After label politics (possibly due to his beef with 50 Cent and G-Unit) delayed his last album, Styles P decided he'd be better off on the independent route for his album Super Gangster (Extraordinary Gentleman). While the title seems to be a rehash of his first album title, A Gangster And A Gentleman, it doesn't seem that he could be anymore gangster. How does a rapper who christens himself "The Hardest Out," increase his gangster level? (Gangsterosity? Gangsterness? Gangsteritude?)
click here for more

JEANIUS COVERS

Jean Grae's Jeanius album will be given a proper release by Blacksmith/Warner Brothers. The 2004 album, entirely produced by 9th Wonder, was leaked and then shelved and fell into the annals of music as one of the "what if/unreleased" albums. Due to sample clearance issues, some of the beats have been changed to protect the innocent. But with 9th Wonder at the helm, it's in good hands. Either way, it's good news for fans and soon-to-be converts.

Also, Jeanius will be released with four different covers. All parodies of classic hip-hop albums. Personally, I don't know if I like the Black Sheep cover better or the Public Enemy. Then, again the Das Efx and Raekwon one covers both look fantastic. A consumer's dilemma.


Thanks to okayplayer.com

Thursday, January 10, 2008

THEY'LL KICK YOU AND THEY'LL BEAT YOU AND THEY'LL TELL YOU IT'S FAIR


"I perform like Mike,
Anyone -- Tyson, Jordan, Jackson"
-Notorious B.I.G.


Face it. Despite all his alleged missteps, Michael Jackson is a legend. Even Biggie Smalls had to give him his props, long after all the charges that tarnished the crown of the King of Pop. Pretenders to the throne like Justin Timberlake and Usher have run with his style so long, they should be paying him royalties. Thriller was the biggest album of my generation. But while Thriller was huge, MJ's legacy was cemented by the Motown 25 TV special. In a pop culture sense, his performance was our generation's "Where were you when Kennedy was shot?" I remember where I was because I was sleeping but my mom woke me up because she realized this was going to be something I should see. And I was amazed by it. I could gush on and on about Thriller but that would be pointless. Either you know or you don't. That's it. Point blank.


But like all classics, someone wants to go back and tinker with it. But what happens when you mess with classics? Disaster. Coke became New Coke which went right back to being Coke Classic. Not to mention, George Lucas, in all his brilliance, messing with the Star Wars movies. In honor of its twenty-fifth anniversary, Thriller 25 will arrive in stores next month. And like so many works of art, they've decided to jazz up some of the old favorites with remixes of classic songs. And it's not pretty.
Black Eyed Peas member will.i.am does the majority of the remixes and doesn't do the best job. (Note: will.i.am is hit or miss. His production for Nas, Talib Kweli and The Game almost make you forget the BEP catalog. Almost. Then you remember his list of musical hate crimes and it erases all the good work he's done.) He turns Jackson's duet with Paul McCartney (before he was Sir Paul) into a shoddy club song. Taking McCartney's place, will.i.am adds soaring synths and the brilliant lyric "She likes the way I rock." He repeats this in the chorus ad nauseum. There may need to be a music version of the Nuremberg Trials for this sonic atrocity. Also, will.i.am has a hand in joining Akon in ruining "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin" and "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" I'm sure you're thinking "How is that possible." He's that good. Will.i.am can do the impossible. Does he really think adding his dreadful lyrics helps the song? I guess the answer is yes. Fergie, another musical war criminal and fellow Black Eyed Pea, performs "Beat It 2008," a duet with the King of Pop. They guitar part, which is the real heart of this song, is muted and lacks the punch of the original. I'm pretty sure The Black Eyed Peas hate everything that's good and won't rest until all is destroyed and the only thing left is "My Humps."


Thriller 25 has one saving grace in "Billie Jean 2008" featuring Kanye West. It's a step slower than the original. West infuses melancholic strings and classic hip-hop drums, similar to "Flashing Lights." Where Kanye differs from will.i.am. is that you can still hear the original composition being newly interpreted. Will.i.am seemed to be just trying to do club versions of old Thriller classics. Also, West just offers simple ad-libs of "Uh huh" instead of trying to kick entire (wack) verses.


Unfortunately, this is the way the world works. Jackson's legal fees over the last decade or so, have rendered the King of Pop practically bankrupt. He needs a hit. Badly. Like a crackhead (word to Chris Rock). And when you need a hit record, you have to turn to artists like Kanye and people pretending to be artists like Fergie. That's how it is in the '08.

Thursday, January 3, 2008

TOP 10 CDS of 2007-addendum

"Popular Demand" - Black Milk
"Undisputable Truth" - Brother Ali.

TOP 10 CDS of 2007

In no real order (other than "Graduation" being the best of 2007)

Graduation - Kanye West
Desire - Pharoah Monche
Mood Muzik 3 - Joe Budden
Living With The Living -Ted Leo & The Pharmacists
Jesus Price Superstar - Sean Price
Below The Heavens - Blu & Exile
The Cool - Lupe Fiasco
Favourite Worst Nightmare - Arctic Monkeys
Getback - Little Brother
Ear Drum - Talib Kweli