Hiphopnerd

Alphabet Aerobics

2010-02-01T07:30:33Z

Now I know...
Inspired by a friend of mine, I've spent the last few months listening to my mp3's in alphabetical order. This is not a minor undertaking, seeing as my collection holds 13,641 songs as of this writing. It is, however, the ultimate shuffle/random mode. I've found shuffle on my various players (Zune right now, iPod previously) tended to revisit the same artists over and over...but this listening method results in a truly random order of artists/albums/genres. The only issues I've run into are songs appearing on multiple albums, or also having instrumental versions. In such cases, I'll listen to the second version, unless I truly can't stand the song.

Of course, I haven't stopped buying new music, and a new album can only sit around for so long before I need to listen to it. My compromise has been to listen to any new music I acquire once in its entirety, and then resume the alphabetical project.

The final problem is that sometimes I just want to listen to music normally...picking out a specific album, something I know and love, and playing it the whole way through. There's not really a solution to this...I just have to try and keep it to a minimum in favor of the larger project.

Anyway, here are the sobering stats thus far:
A - 563 songs - 26 days (10/29/09 - 11/24/09) B - 978 songs - 52 days (11/26/09 - 1/17/10) C (in progress) - 193 songs - 13 days (1/18/10 - )

That's a total of 1,734 songs listening to in 94 days. Assuming that I listen to the remaining 11,907 songs at about the same rate, it'll take me 645 more days to get through everything.

645 days from today is... November 7th, 2011.

It'll be interesting to see how close to that date it actually ends up being. I'll post some updates on this alphabetical listening project as it slowly marches forward.

K-os Theory

2009-06-05T22:36:04Z

Not a b-boy stance...
K-os has a new album out...in Canada. I have no idea why his record label refuses to release his albums concurrently in the US...that would seem to encourage bootlegging & torrenting & the like. It's worth noting that you can buy it via itunes, but as one of the dozen remaining consumers of physical CD's, that's not something I'm willing to do. I need discs, man!

Anyway, whenever EMI decides the US is worthy of a physical release of Yes!, I will purchase it. In the meantime, I downloaded a copy and have been listening to it all week. It's good. Damn good.

I don't really understand K-os. I feel like I enjoy his music far more than I should. Last.fm says he's my 13th most-listened to artist since I started tracking such things in January 2006. That puts him ahead of Nas, DJ Shadow, Gang Starr, and Tribe (who sit at 31st!). That seems odd, but the numbers don't lie. A track of his makes it onto just about every mixtape I make. If I can't think of anything in particular that I want to listen to, there's a good chance I'll click on one of his albums. They're musical comfort food for my ears, apparently.
]]> But why? He's a capable MC...but he's hardly deep. Sure there are mildly clever lines, but the songs don't really seem to have much actual coherent meaning. They're sprinkled with cliched 'positive' or 'conscious' hip-hop topics, in addition to actual cliches. It almost seems like the lyrics are filler...the real stars of K-os' songs are the hooks and the music. OK, that's probably a little too harsh...but there's no doubt that the man has a strong ear for making both catchy choruses and catchy songs. There's obviously a pop sensibility in his head.

Take the pretty much flawless first single from Yes!, 4 3 2 1:

Or how about the equally perfect first single from the previous album Atlantis, Sunday Morning:

Or these two singles from Joyful Rebellion:

Crabbuckit:

The Love Song:

And since this has become a K-os video post, I might as well put the song that introduced me to his talents, Superstarr Pt 0:

All of those songs seem to get inside my skull- leaving me humming melodies, singing choruses, and tapping beats with my feet. And they are far from the only tracks of his that cause such symptoms. There's something going on here...like K-os has figured out how to burrow directly into the 'pop' area of my aural nerve...hitting the receptors that crave music that just sounds good without necessarily presenting stunning metaphors, abstract thoughts, gritty realism, heartfelt emotions, etc. I'd argue that K-os does occasionally provide some of those things, but that overall his music is about sounding good. And you know...despite the negative connotation (especially in hip-hop) the term 'pop' suggests, there's really nothing wrong with that. My ears certainly appreciate it.

A Little Something To Ponder (#2)

2008-09-06T05:55:15Z

The interlude between parts 1 & 2 of "It's Your World" on Common's Be has a chorus of kids naming their future professions. Most are standard answers like 'astronaut' and 'doctor'...but one little boy very specifically answers 'obstetrician'......

Lalapitchaloozafork

2008-07-25T08:04:02Z

S1W's - full fatigues, Chuck D - mesh jersey & shorts
It's the time of the year again in Chicago- massive outdoor music festival season. This past weekend was Pitchfork, and next weekend is Lollapalooza. Basically, you get just enough time to recover from one before having to go out and do the whole grueling festival thing again.

]]> previously expressed reservations about seeing PE live, this sounded perfect- guaranteed classic material. The rest of the artist lineup wasn't that important to me, but three-day passes were reasonable, so I figured I'd tag along with friends and hear the bands they wanted to hear. The festivals really do end up being my annual attempt to listen and be exposed to music that isn't hip-hop.

Lollapalooza is a slightly different story. Since the granddaddy of festivals resurrected itself in downtown Chicago in 2005, I've been lucky enough to obtain the ridiculously cheap pre-lineup announcement tickets each and every year. I'm not sure I'd pay full price to attend, but $60 a ticket isn't really a tough decision, even without knowing the lineup. The promoters would have to work pretty hard to fill 3 full days up with crappy & uninteresting acts.

This years headliners are a very solid group- Kanye West, Nine Inch Nails, Rage Against The Machine, Wilco, & Radiohead. I'm a bit disappointed by the rest of the lineup- there are a lot of repeat artists who played Lolla in the last few years. It just feels like there should be a little more effort to bring in new blood. My list of must-sees is pretty slim and it looks like I'll be attending alone again this year- so if you feel like taking a look at the lineups and making some suggestions, please do so.

It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that knows me, but I'm most eagerly anticipating Radiohead. They play on Friday, August 1st...on the exact same field in Grant Park that they played exactly 7 years prior. That concert still ranks as the best I've ever seen...it was a truly magical night in a perfect setting. Thom began the third encore by saying "Thanks very much, Chicago, for letting us play here...it's a pretty cool place to play. I think we should do it again Chicago." The stage will be facing the opposite direction this time, and the crowd won't be made up solely of Radiohead fans...but I'm still optimistic that it will be a memorable night, though probably not anywhere near the 2001 concert.

A few scans from the film camera I used that evening (click to view uncropped versions):

By the way, here's my favorite attendee photo from this year's Pitchfork Festival:

And what better time to repost this favorite from Lollapalooza 2005:.

To bring this post back to the top...PE started off slow (Chuck's mic was too low, Flavor Flav was late), but ended up killing it on Friday evening. The sound was phenomenal, Chuck & Flav bounded around the stage as if they were 20 years younger than they really are, and it was a really cool experience to hear the entire album. The show wasn't over after Party For Your Write To Fight concluded either, as the crew launched into a few of their biggest tracks from other releases- Welcome To The Terrordome, Shut 'Em Down, 911 Is A Joke, He Got Game, & of course, Fight The Power. While I would have loved to have seen the band in their primes, this was an inspired performance, and I'm happy to now be able to say I've seen Public Enemy perform. And hey, 15 years ago I wouldn't have gotten the bonus irony of Flav spitting "You're blind, baby, you're blind from the facts on who you are 'cause you're watchin' that garbage."

The Hunt For Red Hots

2008-06-27T04:00:07Z

Put some D's on it... (photo attribution)
It all started with a hot dog. There generally aren't too many life developments where you can point to a single, specific incident and say 'yeah...that’s when it all began.' And I’m sure the vast majority of those life developments aren’t triggered by encased meat products. But in this case, it's completely true…well, OK, it was probably 2 hot dogs & an order of fries…]]> After I graduated college, I commenced my actual adult life by...moving back into my parents' house and returning to same job I'd had since high school. I worked for my uncle at a major brokerage firm, so at least it was related to my major. But even with a Finance degree in hand, I remained an hourly employee- and not even a full-time one. Among my most important job functions, which I’ve been sure to emphasize on every resume I’ve ever sent out since, was lunch gopher. Yes, I had the exceedingly important responsibility of procuring lunch for my uncle, a few other brokers in the office, and myself. Unsurprisingly, it was a pretty steady rotation of fast food and sandwiches from the same dozen places. I didn’t really mind the repetition- the cuisine matched my limited palate and they bought my lunch most days.

Nevertheless, I was understandably excited when I moved to the city and found a job downtown in 2003. I had an apartment and could finally call myself a resident of Chicago instead of suburbia...I finally had a real salary...and I also had a whole new world of lunch places open to me- hundreds of restaurants within quick walking distance, surely with more variety than the suuburbs offered. I was eager to start the task of exploring my new culinary surroundings,

Lunch running for my uncle did result in a re-appreciation for the humble hot dog- a food I loved as a kid, but avoided during high school and college, probably because of all the ‘Ewwwww…do you know what goes in those?’ stories. So locating a good hot dog stand was among my first priorities. I found a promising-looking place and tried it immediately…and it was thoroughly mediocre. Not quite bad, but more disappointing…and I was probably still suffering some sticker shock from the price differences of things too. But that mediocre meal led to a brilliant thought- there are thousands of people who work downtown. Surely one of those thousands has written something about the various hot dogs in the Loop area. I mean, we were all already using the internet to research electronics and books… there had to be some hot dog research out there on the web too!

I don’t recall the exact term I googled…it was probably ‘chicago hot dog loop’…but the results led me to a site named Chowhound. It was a message board for food & restaurant discussion with specific pages for various major cities, including Chicago. I scrolled through the topics excitedly, looking for mention of hot dogs. But Chowhound’s site design was a leftover from the mid 1990’s, complete with extraordinarily frustrating navigation (note- the site was finally redesigned when Cnet purchased it). The index page listed about 500 message subjects, but to view the actual content of a message, you had to click each one individually. Reading the various topics was a complete chore, there was no search function, and to top it off- messages didn't have permanent links and were subject to displacement with the addition of new messages & topics. I did manage to find one user’s attempt at providing an index of answers to frequently asked questions like ‘where’s the best pizza?’ and ‘what’s near Grant Park?’

Here I finally found mention of hot dog stands… Superdawg, Gene & Judes, Poochie’s, & Wolfy’s all sounded wonderful, but they were nowhere near the Loop, and thus didn’t help me during my lunch break. I added the site to my bookmarks anyway and began to visit whenever I wanted to read about a specific restaurant or if I was just bored. The wealth of information and knowledge was staggering. I found posts about events called Beefathons- people would meet up on a Saturday afternoon and then drive around to 8 or more Italian Beef stands in the metro area, sampling their products, rating them on a number of different criteria (beef, bread, gravy, peppers) and aiming to crown the best Italian beef sandwich in Chicago. ‘How ridiculous is that?’, I thought…’no, wait…how awesome is that?’

Occasionally, posts included links to a different website. I ignored these for a while, but curiosity eventually got the better of me, and I clicked over to LTHforum.com. It was Chicago-centric and used modern software….its search function worked…and perhaps best of all, there were pictures embedded in the posts. Turns out some of the most prominent & prolific Chicago chowhound contributors had had enough of the crappy software, as well as enough of the moderators strict enforcement of vague rules, and they decided to forge out on their own. Compared to the other site, it was an absolute joy to read and use. I was soon visiting multiple times a day. I’d arrived looking for information about one of the cheapest, least gourmet foods around…but the quality discussion and information I found almost obligated me to start reading the other posts. Jibartos? Alinea vs Moto? The history of the ‘mother-in-law’ sandwich? Suddenly, everything culinary related was intriguing! And the pictures… close-ups of beautiful BBQ brisket, studies of succulent sushi. My mind went into overdrive, creating a database of places to check out and foods that sounded especially intriguing.

Quite simply, Chowhound & LTHforum changed the way I approached eating. I realized it was more than a simple biological necessity…each and every meal should be savored & enjoyed. This resulted in a resolution of sorts- to never eat a bad meal again. Whether it was street food or fine dining, this new resource provided the information to find the best, and avoid the average and just plain bad. Every single meal I ate could be amazing…why wouldn’t I want that?

I began dragging my friends and family to the places I’d read about and wanted to try. If it was something simpler, like the consensus best Italian beef in the Chicago area, I was more than willing to make a 20 mile & hour long round-trip solo pilgrimage. Vacation & trip planning was incomplete without researching my destination’s dining options and local specialty foods. Knowing how much time I spent reading about restaurants, my friends began asking for recommendations and suggestions…and they usually came back happy with my answers. I learned the right way to pronounce foie gras and prix fixe. My dining resume grew steadily as I adding Turkish, Korean, & Argentinean cuisine…and now includes a $200/per person 10 course meal made up of things like liquid nitrogenized fruit and edible paper.

I never really saw it coming. The kid that subsisted primarily on cheeseburgers & pizza somehow morphed into a foodie. And it was all due to that one fateful day 4 years ago, when I went looking for a hot dog near my new office…

Of course, I still haven’t found a good hot dog in the Loop.

Not Meme-y Enough

2008-06-26T07:06:07Z

Yes, that's my cat.
Anupa at Not Nerdy Enough called me out to respond to a meme...and I'm actually going to play along. I know, I'm shocked too. But don't think this is a motivational tactic that's going to work with any regularity...

Anyway, the task is to list 7 songs you're feeling right now. That doesn't really mesh with the way I listen to music. I don't listen to the radio & I'm not searching for new shit online, so I'm essentially clueless as to what the new & fresh singles, leaks, and trends are. Seriously, check my last.fm charts...it's entire albums with random tracks that were or are contestants for mix CD inclusion. So my 7 track list is simply a handful of songs from recent album purchases that stood out in a positive way and made me listen to them more than other tracks from that same album.

In no particular order:

Gnarls Barkley - Who's Gonna Save My Soul
Wasn't sure where they were going to go with the second Gnarls album, but I think I like it better than the first. This song is a pretty big reason...love the string loop coupled with Cee-Lo's plaintive vocals.

Blu & Exile - The World Is (Below The Heavens)
Wasn't easy picking out one track from this album...but this song just wouldn't be denied. It's catchy as all hell...infectiously positive and uplifting without being preachy. Absolutely beautiful.

Erykah Badu – The Healer
Musically & lyrically hypnotic, I can listen to this over and over and over. Love the sentiment- hip-hop at it's best really is a healing force. You're not going to lose points with a Dilla dedication either. Got to see Erykah in concert for the first time last month, and this was one of the tracks she started out with- very powerful performed live.

Nicolay & Kay - The Gunshot (ft Chip Fu)
I haven't found Nicolay's post-Foreign Exchange output anywhere nearly as impressive as that album. But the Nicolay & Kay collab is pretty solid, and this is definitely the standout track in my eyes. The beat demands head nodding, the layer of hums and chants works perfectly, and the hook's great too. And hell, it's fucking Chip Fu making his second random guest appearance of 2008. I was inspired enough to search out used copies of the two Fu-Schnickens albums...

Pete Rock - The Best Secret (ft Lords of the Underground)
Pete Rock's NY's Finest album has the other Chip Fu guest appearance. For this one though, I'll go with another early 90's throwback, LOTUG. They sound quite a bit different from their heyday, but the snide comments about current day rappers are actually kinda humorous. The real star is the delicious throwback beat.

The Roots – Singing Man (ft Porn, Truck North & Dice Raw)
I like Rising Down quite a bit, but a lot of it blends together. "Singing Man"definitely stands apart, though. Between the eerie loops and vibes, the chorus you just don't know what to do with, & the faded vocals and echos of the third verse, it's very sonically unsettling and challenging.

Kidz In The Hall - Drivin' Down The Block (Low End Theory) (ft Masta Ace)
My car was in the shop for the past three weeks due to mishaps getting the parts it needed. I finally got it back this past Friday, and my Amazon order containing this album arrived that same day. So this weekend I had some time to drive around and check out my batch of new music. When this track came on, it just commanded my attention. It reminds me of a Clipse song, and I really like the constant mention of "Low End Theory tape". Of course, the fact that I was actually drivin' down the block for the first time in weeks probably contributed something to it leaving a mark on me.

You know what though? I'm not done. I've got another 7 for you...I thought it'd be fun to share a bit more of my tastes that fall outside of hip-hop. So here are 7 not necessarily recent, not really hip-hop tracks that I listen to fairly often...]]> Astronautalis – A Love Song For Gary Numan
Astronautalis was actually a Brother Jacob recommendation- "if you don't have anything to do tonight, i strongly suggest you go to Bar Vertigo)...this cat astronautalis is gonna be there..i don't know if you heard of him but he's fucking SICK. he's come through to our night 3 times now (he was here last night), and he seriously blew everyone away each time." I did attend that show, and since then, I've dug Astro too. No clue what to classify him as, so I won't try...brother jacob's attempt: "rappish countryish indyrockish, but that description would turn anybody off (including myself)".... There's a string of about 5 songs on his second album that I listen to very frequently, and this track is probably my favorite from them thanks to the wishful lyrics and the clicks & clacks in the background...really enjoy the sped up beat towards the end too.

General Elektriks – Terms & Conditions Apply
Electro-goodness from a Quannum affiliate. Doubt I would have ever heard or purchased this album if it wasn't for that connection, but I'm definitely glad it's in my collection. The bizarre and funky sounds amidst the keyboards in this one just put a smile on my face.

Modest Mouse – Talking Shit About a Pretty Sunset
Becky put this on a mix CD she made me, and I fell in love with it immediately. It's an astonishing song...the self-questioning lyrics...the constant musical progressions. Every time I play it I'm amazed with it.

Avalanches - Frontier Psychologist
Guessing most of you have heard this song plenty of times before...but perhaps you haven't listened to it lately. Frontier Psychologist is hilarious and brilliant, probably the most remarkable track on Since I Left You. Just give in and start mentally repeating "That boy needs therapy' everywhere you go for the next week.

Prefuse 73 - Storm Returns
I think I stumbled onto this song at some magazine's website that was offering free listens of it's bundled sampler CD compilation. I'd heard a little of Prefuse's stuff prior to this, and generally liked it...but Storm Returns was on a whole other level. I've since bought pretty much everything Mr. Herren's released as Prefuse 73, but this remains my favorite song of his.

Steinski - The Motorcade Sped On
I just got this last week thanks to the Onion AV Club's glowing review of the Steinski compilation. Obviously, I'd heard Steinski & some of his work in the past, but I didn't own any and I'd certainly never heard this one. It's an extremely interesting cut n paste telling a narrative of the Kennedy assassination, complete with news clips, gunshot sound effects, and scratching. It's infinitely more catchy & listenable than you'd expect.

Radiohead – Videotape
Slow, piano-backed Radiohead songs make me swoon...this is not an exception. I love Thom's voice, the 'red, blue, green' line, and whatever the hell that oscillating sound in the background is. This song is gorgeous.

It's Bigger Than Religion

2008-05-15T08:03:50Z

Blu & Exile
I'm not a religious person by any measure. Beyond some vague agnosticism & basic morality, it never really made a big impact on me. I'm picking sleep over Sunday mass every time, despite Catholic school & my parents' best efforts. In the interest of family unity and tradition though, I do willingly join the rest of the family in going to church for Christmas & Easter.

This year, someone had the idea to attend a service at 10 pm on Saturday. It sounded reasonable enough- get the church part out of the way, so Sunday would just be the family dinner. I had a concert ticket that night to see Blu & Exile, but given the number of opening acts listed on the flier I decided it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if I missed an hour or two. The show started at 10:30, so even if I didn't get there til midnight, it'd be alright. Really should have known better than that. The church service started on time...and finished up an hour and a half later...except it didn't. Everyone stayed in their pews...the choir continued standing by the microphones, and the priests remained at the altar. It slowly dawned on me that what I'd just sat through was a special Easter celebration...and the actual mass was just about to begin. I had at least another hour left...probably more. This concert that I'd been looking forward to the entire week was suddenly turning into wishful thinking. It was happening a mile away, and I was stuck listening to the Bible passages being read in 4 different languages. The sermon was equally slow & deliberate: "Jesus is resurrected! If you can't find joy in today then you're not really alive!". The clock ticked past 12:30...I sat with a scowl on my face, cursing myself over and over- 'you should have known better, you should have known better...'

The ordeal finally ended at 1 am, clocking in at an impressive 3 hours total. I said bye to the fam & ran downstairs to the bathroom to change into jeans and a t-shirt (What? I wasn't about to wear a shirt & tie to a hip-hop show). Hopped in the car, drove as quickly as possible, found some nearby street parking, and was inside the cub 20 minutes later, leaving a little over a half hour of set time for my concert experience.

The diverse crowd around me seemed to be having a great time- drinks in their hands and smiles on their faces...the music sounded excellent live, confirming Blu & Exile among my favorite new acts...and I was content. It really didn't take long for the infectious beats, clever rhymes, and joyful atmosphere to erase the painful last three hours from my mind.

Now perhaps a few hastily downed beers had something to do with it...or maybe I was just glad to be somewhere other than a church...but when the show ended, I was in a genuinely great mood, feeling like I'd just experienced something wonderful. Given where the previous three hours had been spent, a curious thought popped into my mind- quite simply, these 35 minutes of an underground hip-hop show the night before Easter were more life-affirming than all the countless hours I'd spent in church in my life.

2 months later, and I still can't think of anything that would make that statement false.

Hip-hop......it's bigger than religion...

Live At The BBQ

2007-07-23T05:35:40Z

You know who else is a Black Star?
Just getting home from an extremely enjoyable day spent outside at Chicago's Union Park, where Microsoft threw a free hip-hop concert to promote the Zune. The lineup (Little Brother, Bilal, & Mos Def) looked good and the price was certainly right. All you had to do to gain admittance was pre-register online. I'd actually completely forgotten this thing was happening until randomly clicking onto a Zune blog Friday afternoon at work. I filled out the registration form immediately, but the completion screen said that all tickets would be emailed by Thursday so I had doubts as to whether I'd be send a ticket or not. Luckily it did arrive that evening, and there was no need to find alternative Sunday plans.

The weather was absolutely perfect- 70 degrees, no clouds, & a breeze. No hassles finding street parking or getting in. The environment was fun & inviting, the sound system was loud & clear (among the best outdoor setups I've heard), and the music...well the music was phenomenal.

Not that live yet
I didn't even spend all that much time standing in front of the stage actively watching. The music could easily be heard from every corner of the park, so you never felt like you were missing the show even if you were taking part in the other activities or standing in line for food.

Around the World & 3-point contests were being held continuously at the basketball courts, with each winner receiving a Zune. I competed in the first (16 person) 3-point contest, tying for first place with 7 baskets and forcing a tiebreaker round. Of course I proceeded to shoot miserably (1 basket) during the tiebreaker, effectively gift-wrapping and hand-delivering the prize to my opponent. I'm still a bit pissed about losing.

Levitation
There was also a tent with Xbox 360's setup inside of grills as well as Zune listening stations featuring songs from artists performing at the Live At The BBQ events. I listened to Common's new single a couple times, and played a little Guitar Hero, NCAA Football '08, and Fifa '07, all of which looked gorgeous on those LCD's.

Hot grillin'
And true to the event's title, there was BBQ being served. Unfortunately you had to hand over money for it...but both the prices and the food were decent. The smoke and scent of grilled meat wafted through the park all afternoon, adding to the chill atmosphere.

Large Brother?
I caught most of Little Brother's act, and they sounded quite good. DJ Flash was on the tables, Darien Brockington provided the background singing, and Pooh & Fonte ripped the mics. They did a few songs from their upcoming Getback album, although it was kinda weird to keep hearing them mention 9th Wonder in all the old tracks.

Bilal was up next, and though I didn't watch any of his set, it was great to hear "Sometimes" & "Soul Sista" amongst the songs I wasn't familiar with. There's no doubt that the man can sing...and it's a damn shame that the public still hasn't gotten a second album from him.

Kweli Is Professor X
The next artist to get on stage was surprise guest Talib Kweli. He brought along Jean Grae, who served as hypewoman & female singer. He ran through a bunch of stuff- older hits, cuts from the Madlib collabo Liberation, Lonely People, and of course Get By. Kweli has definite weaknesses as an MC, and they certinaly aren't masked in live settings...but he manages to put on excellent shows. Tons of energy & enthusiasm, and there are certainly some wonderful tracks in his catalog that he can pull out for instant crowd appreciation. Kweli's finale was Respiration, which allowed Mos Def came out to do his verse, and then take over the stage for his set.

He now calls himself M. Def & Mos Love
The funniest line of the evening: "Due to technical difficulties, the live shit will been delayed'. The turntables weren't working properly for a few minutes, so Mos apologized with that line and kicked something a capella. He touched on some stuff from "New Danger" & "True Magic"...but it wasn't long before Kweli joined him back onstage and it became more of a Black Star set. At one point, in response to Mos' repeated questions of what song to do next, Kweli answered "Dick In A Box" and proceeded to sing a handful of lines from that. They were definitely enjoying themselves, and it was so great to hear the two of them together as they ran through Black Star tracks. The live rendition of Ms. Fat Booty included an interlude of Gregory Isaacs, Bonita Applebum, & Passin' Me By before returning to the middle of the second verse. Mos' DJ (Preservation) put together a dope little mix of the original records sampled in a variety of songs by Common & Kanye & other Chicago artists. The set ended with Re:Definition, Umi Says, and then the chorus to Travellin' Man, which is slowly becoming one of my favorite songs. A very nice way to end the night.

Goodnight
I left the park in a really good mood, having heard 6 hours of great music (even the between set DJ selections were quality- lots and lots of classic hip-hop tracks) for free on a ridiculously beautiful day. There's no doubt that I've been pretty disillusioned with hip-hop lately...and even the concerts I've been to have left me feeling unfulfilled. But this was just a celebration of quality hip-hop...artists and music that bring back memories, that I still remember the lyrics to, and that still hit me in a way that (as much as I like them) El-P & Sage Francis don't. I left feeling good about hip-hop music & life.

It kinda reminded me of how I felt after watching Chappelle's Block Party. And if you ignore the fact that this was sponsored by a huge oft-hated corporation, they were kinda similar events. Or maybe it's just cuz Bilal, Kweli, & Mos participated in the Block Party as well and performed many of the same songs I loved tonight...

Moral Dilemma

2007-02-26T07:48:31Z

To P.E. or not P.E.?
I got an email from the House Of Blues the other day...I opened and read it...it said they was suckers...

Nah, actually it said that Public Enemy was playing on March 8th, all original members will be there, and it's a fairly reasonable $30. I've never seen P.E. live before, they're another of the indisputably important hip-hop groups of all time...and yet, I can't talk myself into buying tickets. I just have the suspicion that it won't be a good concert...Flava Flav is a reality show caricature/joke on VH1, Chuck is better off lecturing and writing, there won't be any energy, and the group is just too far past the glory days to put on a quality show.

But it's like how can I, as a hip-hop ~~head~~ nerd, bypass such a concert? Don't I owe it to myself to attend this? I mean, how many more times is P.E. going to tour?

Has anyone seen them in recent years? Anyone purchased any of the albums they've relased since 2000? Please, someone talk me into going to this...

---------------

Whilst searching for an image to accompany this post, I found:

How wrong is this?

Control The Mic Like Fidel Castro

2007-02-26T06:45:19Z

I was listening to Jeru The Damaja earlier today...and bust out laughing over a line I'd forgotten about: "Put emcees on the ceiling like Michaelangelo did the 16th Chapel" (Black Cowboys)

I love that it's so obvious...there's absolutely no way you that he simply pronounced "Sistine" incorrectly, it's definitely "16th Chapel".

And what was with One Day? It ends so abruptly...like the page containing the second half of the story got ripped from his rhyme book. Seriously, there's all this initial buildup, calling out of Puff & Foxy, lots of details...and then suddenly, they fly to LA, and the story's over. That coulda been a much better track.

Finally, I was reminded that I should link to Oh Word's hilarious interview with Ignorance...funny shit.

Storming The Tower

2007-01-16T01:16:11Z

I didn't save my receipts, so I can't tell you exactly how much I spent at Tower Records during the two months of going out of business liquidation. But I made quite a few visits, and this is the haul I brought back home:

Astronautalis - "The Mighty Ocean And Nine Dark Theaters"
Astronautalis - "You And Yer Good Ideas"
Atmosphere - "Lucy Ford"
Beastie Boys - "Hello Nasty"
Beastie Boys - "Ill Communication"
Chino XL - "I Told You So"
The Coup - "Party Music"
The Coup - "Pick A Bigger Weapon"
Diatribe - The Roaring Twenties"
DJ Spinna - "Intergalactic Soul"
Ghostface Killah - "Ironman"
The Grouch - "Crusader For Justice"
Immortal Technique - "Revolutionary, Vol 1"
Little Brother - "The Chittlin Circuit 1.5"
Mass Influence - "The Underground Science"
Mayday - "Mayday!"
Mr. Lif - "Live At The Middle East"
The Pacifics - "Sunday's Chicken"
The Pacifics & Illmind - "The Case"
Panacea - "Ink Is My Drink"
Pigeon John - "Is Clueless"
The Procussions - "5 Sparrows For 2 Cents"
PSALMOne - "The Death Of Frequent Flyer"
?uestlove - "Babies Makin' Babies 2: Misery Strikes Back… No More Babies"
Skalpel - "Skalpel"
Slum Village - "Fan-Tas-Tic Vol 1"

26 CD's. Enough to fill up my existing CD storage rack and make me ask for a second one as a Christmas gift...

Of course, now the new one looks pathetic and barren.

I Shouldn't Have Left You

2007-01-12T06:40:54Z

But it wasn't my fault. Sure, I hadn't written anything since Halloween. But I was preparing a whole set of posts; there were a bunch of topics I wanted to write about. Yet when I tried to log onto the site on January 2nd, it wouldn't load. So I checked out my hosting company's site to see if there was some known server issues. Instead, I was greeted with the following text:

Dear Valued Clients!

We have been a hosting provider for the past 6 years in the industry, but the time has come and we will be closing our doors for ever.

Please note that as of January 1, 2007 we will stop the hosting service. We will be glade to issue refunds if you have paid for yearly or quarterly base packages at prorated price for the unused portion of the term. To get the refund please send an email. Please note no refund will be issued after January 1st.

Well awesome! So you deleted my site, didn't warn me you were going to do so, and charged me on December 28th for hosting in January? What a great deal! I sent them an email, and while they never responded, they did credit my card back the $8 monthly hosting fee I was paying.

Of course, that $8 didn't do much to gain my files back and I certainly hadn't bothered to backup any of my files. In the midst of my frustration I did come up with an idea- Google. Google cache specifically. I did a site specific search on, clicked on the cached versions of my various posts, and saved them on my hard drive. It should just be a matter of time (and cutting & pasting) before I fill the archives back up with what was there before. I'm hoping I can restore comments as well...you know, because this site was so insanely popular and attracted thousands of comments.

And all those topics I wanted to write about on the 2nd? I haven't forgotten them. They'll be appearing soon. If I have a resolution for '07, it's to write more regularly. And like all resolutions, it's something I've said before and I probably won't do.

Independent As Fuck?

2006-11-01T05:10:37Z

Earlier this month, Tower Records announced that they were going out of business. All their assets were bought by a liquidation company, which would begin conducting going-out-of-business sales at all locations. My initial reaction was of slight sadness- I kinda liked Tower. They had a pretty good selection, carrying older releases and indie labels that get overlooked by places like Best Buy, at slightly higher (but still reasonable) prices. I certainly didn't shop there with any regularity, but on those occasions when I needed to have something somewhat obscure right this very second, I'd walk over to the Loop location after work and there was a good chance they had it.

Then the excitement hit...going-out-of business sales mean discounted music...and considering Tower's deeper catalog, I'd probably be able to knock a few albums that have resided on my 'buy eventually' list for cheap. I stopped by about two days after the announcement, and things were only marked down only 10%. Not a good enough deal, so I took a quick gander at the hip-hop selection and walked out.

This past Sunday, after an all-you-can-eat sushi dinner with friends, we walked over to the Lincoln Park Tower location. The hip-hop discount was up to 30% (good, but not great), so I picked up the two most recent Coup albums. On Monday, I went back to the Loop location to check on the discount there. It was also 30%, so I noted a few titles I wouldn't mind buying at 40-50% off levels and then purchased, of all things to randomly find, an Astronautalis album.

And that's brought back me back to feeling sad over Tower's demise. It was good to have a chain where people could stumble upon things like Astronautalis. However, the more I thought about it, the more hypocritical I felt. I rarely purchase music from the smaller chains or the independent music stores around town. I've become so price conscious with my music...wanting to spend the absolute least possible on a single CD, so that I can buy more music overall. This attitude leads me to make 90% of my music purchases from Best Buy and Amazon. How can I be upset at the loss of Tower Records, when I did nothing to support such a store and only visit it with regularity when it's closing and selling off all inventory? And if stores like Tower are hurting so badly, what does that say for all the mom-and-pop shops? I'm sure 3 or 4 times as many small independent stores have closed across the city this year. Am I really OK with that? Why don't I shop more at the independent stores? Is saving a couple dollars by buying new releases at Best Buy and older titles from Amazon really worth the loss of cool, unique, and interesting record stores where you can actually find cool, unique, and interesting titles??

Maybe I can make myself feel better by repeating "Well at least you still actually buy CD's..." a few hundred times...

Comin' With More Hits Than The Sox And The Yankees

2006-09-16T07:45:49Z

There's a reason I don't use my Treo's camera in low light...
Just got back from the Tribe Called Quest show at the Congress Theater, a little hoarse and a little dehydrated. What's that? You don't care about my physical condition and just want to hear about the show? Alright....Tribe's performance tonight just proved why they're held in such high regard by hip-hop heads.

It was a damn good concert, but far too short. I'm talking about an hour and ten minutes long, and the brevity keeps it from entering the upper echelon of amazing shows I've seen. But man, what a great 70 minutes it was. First off, they sounded wonderful...the chemistry between Tip & Phife was still there, they still had all their rhymes memorized, and they sounded completely comfortable rocking a very large crowd. The songs all sound as fresh as ever, and just hearing them boom over the sound system with live lyrics being spit over them was amazing. The group was pretty much all business up there...flowing from track to track with no pauses. The two stoppages were due to introducing the members of the group (including Jarobi, who served as hype man) and then dedicating the show to Jay-Dee & almost getting the crowd to observe a moment of silence for Dilla.

The highlights for me included dropping the volume during Busta's verse in Scenario and holding out the mics for the crowd to rap his entire verse (I'm ashamed to say I forgot some of the words), the crowd's reactions to Buggin' Out, Electric Relaxation, & Check The Rhime, and then Phife dropping the Sox in for the Braves in his Award Tour line that's the title of this entry. I also thought it was really funny when Tip pointed at Phife at the start of The Chase, Part II to say his line, "Damn Phife, you got fat!" The only negative other than concert length was that they shortened up quite a few of the songs- doing a verse or two and then jumping to something new. I wanted to hear every word.

I tried to write down the setlist, and it's fairly complete. Most of what's missing are tracks they did a single verse from or that they only played as instrumentals.

Buggin' Out
Oh My God
Phony Rappers
Jazz (We've Got)
Butta
The Chase, Part II
Sucka Nigga
Everything Is Fair
Steve Biko (Stir It Up)
Vivrant Thing
Find A Way
Bonita Applebum
Electric Relaxation
Can I Kick It
Scenario
Check The Rhime
Award Tour

I'm curious as to how much difference there's gonna be in the setlist from city to city...but it should be pretty obvious that if you have tickets to any of the remaining shows, you're in for a treat. The question's answered...ATCQ can still kick it.

It's Hard To Make History

2006-09-14T07:36:17Z

Freddy Garcia came within 4 outs of a perfect game in this afternoon's White Sox game. Adam Kennedy hit a single into center field with two outs in the eighth to break up Freddy's bid, and the Angels crowd erupted into a mix of cheers and boos.

Perfect games (and their more common sibling, the no-hitter) are rare feats, one of those extraordinarily special events in the sport of baseball. There have been only 17 in the 100+ year history of the sport. In other words, it'd be a hell of a thing to see happen in person. Every time I pass the gate into a baseball stadium, I wonder if maybe today is the day I witness a no-hitter or perfect game. I got into the habit of bringing my camera to games, just in case one of these special events happened.

Obviously, you'd prefer to be on winning side of any of these games. But what if your team is the one being no-hit or perfect gamed? Are you cheering the opposition in hopes of witnessing history? Or are you eager to play spoiler, hoping your team gets a hit, avoids entering the record books, and maybe even pulls out a victory. Tonight's game was out of reach...the Sox were ahead 8-0 at that point, and the Angels had little hope of winning. That late in the game, and with such a large deficit, it's probably not a difficult choice. I'd certainly cheer for history over my own team. But what if the game had been closer?

One of the games I attended earlier in the year presented such a dilemma. Coincidentally, Freddy Garcia was pitching in that one too. But on June 22nd it was Cardinals rookie Anthony Reyes who was dominating. The game was scoreless, and at some point around the 5th or 6th inning I realized that Reyes hadn't allowed a hit. With one out in the 7th, Jim Thome hit a home run, breaking up the no-hitter and giving the Sox the lead. I know I was happy...but I also recall being disappointed that I wasn't going to be part of a US Cellular crowd seeing a special event. Reyes finished the game for the Cardinals without giving up another hit.

Anyway, back to today. Following games via online updates is nerve-wracking enough under normal circumstances. But factor in a possible perfect game, and I was nervous as hell as I waited for the text and graphics of CBS Sportsline to update. Could he really do it? A perfect game? There were 9 outs left...then 6. Wow, this could actually be happening...'how fucking awesome would this be?', I thought to myself while putting up away messages of don't say nuthin' (old baseball superstition that no hitters and perfect games are not to be discussed by anyone- players, fans, announcers- while they are occurring) and following along with my fellow fans on South Side Sox. I contemplate closing the game tracker down and walking away to just let things happen on their own, but ultimately can't bring myself to do so. Bottom of the 8th....down goes the first batter...and the second. My mind wanders to Freddy Garcia joining a very exclusive list of pitchers and then snaps back to reality as Kennedy gets to a full count.

And just like that, it was over. I silently screamed FUCK! and typed the same sentiment to a few friends online. Instead of entering baseball immortality, Freddy Garcia just becomes another pitcher who came fairly close. Instead of being written and talked about endlessly by the media in upcoming years, the game just becomes one that only die-hard Sox fans will recall fondly.