Lupe Fiasco Figured It Out
December 19th, 2007 § 1 Comment
The more he actually raps, the better he is.
Lupe Fiasco’s first album Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor really never sat right with me, and I wasn’t really hungry for Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool. It’s not hard to find reason to be perturbed by Lupe, with his self referential album titles for starters. There was the Tribe flub back at the Hip Hop Honors, his desire to sue VIBE, the waaaaay too long monologue-ing on LF’s F&L’s outro, and as I’ve previously blogged, Lu’s shown a fucked Trapper-Keeper-esque taste in album art.
The above video is for “Us Placers,” a track off of Kanye’s pre-Graduation release, the Can’t Tell Me Nothing Mixtape. This track, and the potential of an album of Lupe, Kanye and Pharrell, that’s enough to keep me following.
Instead of having a three minute long bullshit intro like he did on LF’s F&L, it only takes a minute and a half until Lupe gets to a song, and he’s actually rapping. He’s still got that woman doing the spoken word at the start, but I guess he really digs that gal or something.
The first few tracks, especially “Go Go Gadget Flow,” “Superstar featuring Matthew Santos,” are decent, despite being a little too happy for my step. By the time you get to “Gold Watch,” and “Little Weapon,” Lupe’s turned it up and is unstoppable. He even gets nerdier than the nerdiest, when he gets all Street Fighter, explaining that he’s so boring (my words, not his) he can only play with Ryu & Ken and doesn’t like Zangief or Blanka. Despite all of this, he’s still deft with the words.
I havn’t taken a few listens to decode the concept part of this being a concept record. I do hate to admit, though, that the song about the cheeseburger, “Gotta Eat,” doesn’t suck scrot and might actually be good. More thoughts on this later.
The Wire soundtrack will be the PANDEMIC to my ears
December 18th, 2007 § Leave a Comment
Released 1/8/08 via Nonesuch records
Since Cliff’s posted the link to the first full trailer, I’ll talk soundtrack.
In terms of supporting a show’s authentic feel, there’s almost nothing as important as a good soundtrack. Over the last few years rare has there been a show that handles it’s music as good as The Wire. As much as I thought it was funny that Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” shot Tony Soprano, it smacks of a show that sometimes values novelty over substance.
Aside from HBO getting down on it’s hands and knees and thanking Ed Burns and David Simon for running the only show that justifies their $13 premium channel, I guess this is best thing the network could do to help pimp the show and give fanboys an easier way to find the many variations on the last great theme song, “Way Down In The Hole.” and music from the showgiving the show a soundtrack to be released just two days after the premiere of the final season.
Also, they know that the fans are crazy and will snap this up faster than McNulty can crash into a wall.
track listing: http://nonesuch.com/Hi_Band/albums.cfm?album_num=687#
(Amazon’s selling it for $21, so no linkage for them)
One Sad Baddie
December 17th, 2007 § Leave a Comment
Last night, with a little over 100 stars in hand, I beat the main adventure of Super Mario Galaxy. And sadly, and almost expectedly, the final level itself, “The Final Showdown: Bowser’s Galaxy Reactor,” was much more trouble than Bowser himself.
I just got home from the company Secret Satan drinks, so I’ve got not much time to get my daily post out of the way. This is what I think about, how I feel bad for a fictional final boss who belongs to a fictional species. Have you ever felt bad for Bowser or any of his pixelated ilk?
He’s the Wile E. Coyote of video games, eventually that kind of career is just sad.
Steroids can be Funny, if taken as such:
December 14th, 2007 § 1 Comment
Deadspin has an around-the-blogosphere round up of Mitchell report reporting. My favorite, comes from Bugs and Cranks.
• Fun With The Mitchell Report. A search for Barry Bonds in the pages of the Mitchell report has 91 results. Sammy Sosa has 1. BALCO appears 56 times. Bud Selig and Cocksucker has zero results. Circumstantial does not appear. Carolina Panthers results in zero occurrences. David Eckstein is not named. John Kruk and Donuts has zero results. The word Sex appears 3 times. Buttocks appears 5 times. Ass does not appear. Bud Selig appears 52 times. Correction: Ass appears 52 times. Soccer appears once. Bartolo Colon loves cake does not appear. Zorro does not appear. [Bugs And Cranks]
What’s so damn great about this little blurb is that it’s much more efficient than the report itself, much more believable, and the Bud Selig note being placed in between the Ass comments, really really brings warmth to the nooks and crannies of my heart.
Also, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to take a report that was written and produced by someone on any team’s board of directors seriously at all. It’s not just a Red Sox thing, not even close.
Budd, You’ve Been Acting For Years
December 13th, 2007 § 1 Comment
The Mitchell Report(PDF) came out today. Those expecting action, I think, will be disappointed. I’d say more, but working from 9-8 took it out of me.
“Slutty Food”
December 12th, 2007 § Leave a Comment
CORRECTION: by ‘yesterday’ I meant Saturday, as Sunday’s when I started to write this.
I woke up yesterday about as far gone as one can wake up. Terrible hangovers don’t work well with an inability to see at all. Why was my vision so blurry? I was minus my glasses. Don’t worry though, I got them back by the early afternoon. That was the first, and most important, step to sobering up. Without the glasses it was a never ending tilt a whirl gone horribly worse.
Next, I headed over to the Goodburger on Broadway between 17th and 18th. It’s not the best food ever, but they make a good grilled cheese (a couple kinds of cheese on whole wheat), nice fries, and they recommended me a seltzer water, when I asked what drink they would give for the worst hangover. I proceeded to enjoy the sustenance while watching college basketball at the joint. I wouldn’t have thought that college basketball would help, but it was alright because it was on a big flat screen, which seem to always be easy on the eyes.
The game was Illinois vs Arizona, and it helped me remember why I hate college sports. Young full of themselves athletes are so much harder to stomach than their older complete sellout counter parts. The kids at the restaurant helped me remember my hatred for the young as well. Half of the store’s clientèle seemed to have come straight from a My Super Sweet Sixteen reject show.
I’m not sure what made me so angry at such a young age, but it’s helped me write more, I guess.
Later that day, I found myself unable to get a ticket to Juno, which has sold out at Union Square until 11:20. Instead, Ben, Pat, and I walked over to 99 Miles To Philly over on 3rd Avenue. The Whiz, Steak, and Onions sandwich that I enjoyed, which Pat also got, was downright worthy of being called a hoagie clad silver bullet.
Eventually, we went bowling in Sunset Park. Bowling is more fun than you remember. Especially if the last time you went was with family and not with your best friends.
The next day, I avoided lunch, drank some water, and had an early dinner of latkes. Two kinds. The kind Jared made was the one I ate faster, and said was better.
The title of this post relates to something a coworker said today. After declaring my behavior on Friday night makes me something of the local rock star, in what I’d say was that sadly cliché manner that the guys of Guns N Roses made popular, she said that the greazy (intended misspelling) food that I took in over the last weekend was Slutty Food. I liked that.
WHAT THE FUCK!
December 11th, 2007 § 7 Comments
Imagine His Head Falls Smack Dab onto Her Right Eye
I couldn’t find a good image of the scene in the Superbad that I describe above, but that post title, what Jules yells after Seth gives her what we later find out is a black eye, (Sarcastic after the fact of the matter spoiler alert for those who never even saw the trailer.), is what kept coming back to me as I checked around the blog world (and my work email box) today.
The sources of WTFery:
The RIAA claims that it’s illegal for people to rip CD’s into MP3 files. Guys, you’re a little fucking late to be taken seriously on that one.
Can someone tell me why Led Zepplin’s reunion, or the LZ as I’ll refer to them, is important at all? Readers, please enlighten me to the importance of these guys who played pee wee touch football with the Cryptkeeper.
Finally, Jessica Simpson, so dumb, or smart?, thinks that a role with full frontal will get her the respect she figures she deserves. On the same website, look out for Kristin Bell in the Leia outfit.
Restricted, but Worth It
December 10th, 2007 § Leave a Comment
http://www.haroldandkumar.com/
Age Restricted Red Band Trailer. Completely Worth It.
And to think I almost didn’t post today.
The view from my cubicle at 4:34 PM.
December 7th, 2007 § Leave a Comment
I’m feeling as dead as it gets, and today is only half over. The morning and afternoon consisted of me freaking out over a project at work. I’ve been put in charge of art collection for a book that’s not really quite there in terms of organization. Further, I’ve had my share of demons that needed exorcism, which luckily for me, happened last night.
My desk is a nightmare. Everything is everywhere it could be. My giant headphones, which I hope to put word to screen regarding, have been wonderful in blaring Daft Punk’s Alive 2007 into my ears and blocking out discussions of Cursed Books and Untrustworthy eBaying.
I imagine I’ve got rings under my eyes, and I’ve yet to even really check that. The croissant I had at 10am today was the last piece of food I’ve had. I guess I’ll have fun with the hors d’oeuvres at tonight’s Bard Holiday Alumni party, conveniently located at the en route from my office to Union Square.
Aside from tonight’s party and the open bar included, there’s one thing that’s been keeping hope alive all this time. It’s called Juno. As you may know the film is about Juno, a high school girl who gets impregnated by a young man played by Michael Cera. Juno plans to give up the child to the pregnancy challenged couple of Jason Bateman & Jennifer Garner. Rainn Wilson plays a local general store clerk who’s an adviser to Juno. Juno’s parents are played by the always dependable J. K. Simmons and even more dependable Allison Janney.
Juno herself is played by relative newcomer Ellen Page, who seems to have to carry the majority of the film’s water weight, and does so incredibly. I’ve been told the film may be over quaint-sound-tracked and possibly poorly directed, but I’m still excited.
It’s been time and time again that film helps me through difficulty. Other than the newspaper, it seems as if decent well made reminders that your life is pretty frickin good are too few and far apart. I was gigglin, downright giggling, as we drove home last night, especially across the bridge. Life is great, and sometimes you definitely need reminders of that, reminders so great that they become your entire focus. That I could be concerned with talking to fellow Bard Alums, that that could be my mind’s thought, that would be great.
