Are you a fan of supremely good, old-school hip hop? Of course you are, silly! Why? Because you like stuff that’s awesome. Hence, you should know that Saturday’s 2010 Rock The Bells Concert on Governor’s Island in New York was off the chain like hot propane.
A friend, his girlfriend and I converged on the event in the early afternoon on a beautiful but hot August day and braved an herb-laced, enthusiastic crowd to hear some of the art form’s great luminaries put it down on stage, and the microphone was smoking my friends, much like the flavored blunts that seemed to surround us at every head turn (Drugs are bad, mkay?)
For real, one wouldn’t need to hit the herbals to be having a good time at Rock the Bells. Check out this killer lineup – we were entertained by the likes of Slick Rick, Rakim, KRS-One (the Teacha!), the rarely seen-or-heard-from Lauryn Hill (didn’t live up to expectations, more on this in a bit), A Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang Clan (all of them showed up!) and finally, the headliner, Snoop D-O double Gizzy representing the Left Coast with his Dogg Pound Crew.
It was a general admission free-for-all, standing on the lawn all the live-long hot day, but there were food/beverage stands aplenty and areas to relax far away from the stage. Admittedly I didn’t want to miss much of it though, and fortunately I didn’t.
All acts except L. Hill were on fire, on point with the lyrical delivery and they didn’t ‘eff’ with the arrangements. Here’s where Hill comes in. Her return to the stage was much anticipated, but unfortunately she performed seemingly all of her songs in this crazy sped-up, hyper, manic musical style with a full, loud live band behind her that didn’t please most of us sonically. It was as if she had done 10 lines of coke before coming out on stage and didn’t know how to rein it in. Her voice is an amazing, powerful instrument, but it didn’t have any room to breathe or stand out. Fifteen years ago, she had the potential to be the closest thing to a modern-day Diana Ross or Whitney Houston. Two albums with the Fugees and a brilliant solo album later, we barely heard from her again for a combination of reasons. So the expectations were high. She should have used her voice more and the band less. What I wouldn’t have given to hear her do that acapella version of ‘Killing Me Softly’ from Dave Chappelle’s Block Party -- hauntingly beautiful. Oh yeah, and she took the stage almost an hour later than she was supposed to.
So in summary, if you’re a highly respected hip hop artist and your material was hot on cassette/CD when you put it out years ago, don’t fix what isn’t broken. Just come out and let it sound close enough to the original album for recognition. That’s why we fell in love with you in the first place and bought the ticket, dumb-dumb.
As for those that kept it real, Rakim and KRS-One were the cultural ambassadors that they always are, consummate professionals. Wu-Tang was typically awesome, but I’ve seen them like 10 times now. A Tribe Called Quest blew the doors off that place, and seemed to get the largest crowd and overall response. Snoop’s laid-back, weed-laced flow and delivery was the perfect way to cap off the night.
If you dig that old school style of hip hop, sadly lacking in today’s musical landscape, catch Rock The Bells. It’s an all-day party that you won’t regret attending.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
What the Hell?
Okay, I know it’s August, and the sporting world is dead as we all hold our collective breath for the start of college football and the NFL. There isn’t jack-shit on TV, except for new episodes of Mad Men, and more regrettably, Jersey Shore. Most of what’s playing in movie theaters is just so-so right now. And in most workplaces (at least in mine), the people who actually aren’t on vacation are in relax mode.
What does this all add up to? Boredom.
I feel like there hasn’t been this little going on in quite some time. I guess this just kind of proves that we’ve had quite a noteworthy 2010 up until about now. We had the Winter Olympics, the World Cup and LeBron’s soap opera offseason drama (as well as the rest of the notable NBA offseason moves). We’ve had an MLB season that has seen a noticeable shift away from the power-hitting game to which we’ve all become so accustomed in recent years. Hell, this year alone we’ve had two perfect games (first time there’s ever been more than one in the same season), five no-hitters (counting those 2 perfect games) and countless other pitching gems in general, including an almost no-hit performance by Toronto’s Brandon Morrow, who struck out 17 batters and allowed Tampa Bay’s only hit with two outs in the ninth as the Jays blanked the Rays 1-0 Sunday. Oh and of course there was the infamous Jim Joyce botched first-base call that took away, with two outs in the ninth inning no less, what would have otherwise been the THIRD perfect game in the same season.
So yes, quite an exciting year so far in the sporting world. Other areas of our entertainment and pop culture needs have had some fun nuggets as well (TV, movies, music, etc.), but sports has seriously carried the torch in the oh-10. My highlight list (why thanks for asking!), looks kind of like this:
TV: Most notably, Lost, after 6 seasons, went off the air. The finale was largely anticlimactic, and quite divisive. For me, it’s about what I expected. A lot of stuff was still unanswered, but generally speaking, the closure for most of the major characters was fairly certain. The show took a defining turn for me around Season 3-ish or so anyway. I completely wish they would have gone in another direction (I can elaborate more at another time), but they didn’t. Alas, if you’re a sci-fi buff, you probably like how most of it played out. I found myself shaking my head at the screen many times. Such is life.
Also in TV Land, Breaking Bad gave us an epic third season with continued twists, turns and surprises while still remaining plausibly exciting and reeling us in ever deeper into our involvement with the lives of its characters. Everyone on the show is hands-down fantastic, and it’s gripping even when it doesn’t try to be. It’s seriously treading on ‘Wire’ territory for me. I don’t know if I can quite put it there yet, but my emotional attachment to the characters in BB probably surpasses that of The Wire for me, a feat which deserves some serious props.
Now that Mad Men is back, we see the continued decline of Don Draper, hinted at in the Season 3 finale. He is going to hell in a handbiscuit, kiddos. Things are NOT going well for one of the most charismatic ad men of the 1960s. His divorce, watershed career change and new partnership at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, as well as his new bachelor lifestyle, have left him cold and lost. He basically now just drinks his face off, bangs the occasional secretary and even semi-frequently hires ‘ladies of the evening.’ New Don Draper is either reprehensibly disappointing or my freaking hero. I haven’t decided which yet. The other characters haven’t plunged fully into any landmark season 4 storylines quite yet, but they all have their usual drama to deal with. This show revolves around Draper anyway, as far as I’m concerned.
The Office and 30 Rock capped off typically strong seasons in May. Can’t touch on this without mentioning the impending departure of Steve Carell as Michael Scott. This next season (2010-11) will be his last on The Office. Rumored replacements have been many, but two of the more intriguing ones are Danny McBride and Rhys Darby (Murray from ‘Flight of the Conchords’). Personally, I can never get enough of Murray doing anything, even though I just can’t picture The Office without Michael Scott. I really actually kind of wish they’d just put a bow on it and call it a day at the end of next season.
And of course, Season 6 of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia begins next month. I honestly don’t think they can make a bad episode of this show if they tried.
For all of you that are more into stuff like ‘True Blood’ or ‘Jersey Shore,’ I’m sorry to disappoint, but those just ‘aren’t my bag, baby’ (as Austin P. would say). Actually, I’m sort of lying. My wife and I have watched the first two eps of the new Jersey Shore season. This just makes me depressed. For an explanation on why we watched, I can’t quite give one other than to refer you to the dreaded ‘B’ word that appears very early on in this entry.
Movies: Everyone is talking about Inception. We know this, right? I love the originality that went into it, the way it was shot and the execution of a concept that demands intelligence from its viewers. Mainstream Hollywood movies like this are far too uncommon in these times. For those that haven’t seen it I don’t want to give anything away, but suffice it to say that when a creative team can craft a movie that has an audibly emotional theater-wide audience response as the film ends and the credits hit the screen – that’s when something special has been achieved.
The other highlight of the year so far? Winter’s Bone. Not even a question. I’ve raved about it in past entries. I won’t take up space repeating what I’ve previously said. Go back and do the knowledge if you’re curious. There have been other decent flicks, but these two stand out the most I would say. Comedies continue to impress me less as time pushes forward. I just saw ‘The Other Guys’ with Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg. The feedback on it has been strong, but I’d have to say I was a little disappointed. This is especially ironic considering that my wife, who wasn’t really that excited to see it, came away liking it a lot more than she expected. Some of the ridiculous dialogue and ludicrous scenarios helped keep it funny and entertaining, but it falls victim to the same formulaic basic plotline of essentially every ‘funny buddy cop’ movie ever made.
It goes something like this: Unlikely buddy cops are somehow paired together. They have a tenuous relationship. One is a rebel, the other is a straight man, or ‘family’ man. Buddy Cop duo are basically screw-ups or cast-offs in some way. Buddy Cop duo get put onto a big case through a series of weird circumstances, where they forge a bond and an unlikely friendship. Buddy Cop duo starts getting close to cracking the case when a crucial plot point happens that causes a silly rift between Buddy Cop Duo. One of the duo forgets about it and moves on, the other continues to work toward solving the problem. Then … aha! Epiphany for guy who stuck with it. Buddy Cup Duo guy who stuck with it attempts to recruit Buddy Cop Quitter back into the fold. Quitter either reluctantly agrees to go back in or sticks with his answer of ‘no’ before coming back at the last minute to save the day and re-team up with his dysfunctional, unlikely friend. The case gets solved, Buddy Copy Duo become great friends and continue to solve cases together, happy ending (not the massage parlor type, unfortunately) ... and the road is paved for a limitless number of awful sequels that will rake in tons of money because it stars the same two big Hollywood names.
There you go. Anybody need a script written? I can do it. It doesn’t even have to be good (in fact, most of what people go to see isn’t good at all). Seriously. I can pump it out in a couple weeks if I give it enough hours each day. I’m a slut, I’m for hire.
Music: Uh, I don’t listen to new music anymore. This is utterly sad because music always has been and always will be one of my favorite things ever. I don’t know what bands or artists people listen to these days (I mean, I do by their names like ‘Arcade Fire’ or ‘Lady Gaga’, but not by anything else). I feel so out of touch with music it’s pathetic. Like a lot of people from my generation that are my age, I listen mostly to what was big years ago, and what I grew up with. I just don’t get music today. There’s no way to stay connected to it. How am I supposed to? By going to i-tunes and clicking on a bunch of 30-second clips? There’s no MTV the way it used to be. There’s no buzz about new artists that make soulful, risky music. I’d have a better chance of finding new music I like by seeing local bands here in NYC with some of my music-loving friends. Whatever. I’m depressed now.
On that note, Happy Trails, ya’ll. If you have anything to say about anything here, what’cha waiting for?! Hit up El Presidente.
What does this all add up to? Boredom.
I feel like there hasn’t been this little going on in quite some time. I guess this just kind of proves that we’ve had quite a noteworthy 2010 up until about now. We had the Winter Olympics, the World Cup and LeBron’s soap opera offseason drama (as well as the rest of the notable NBA offseason moves). We’ve had an MLB season that has seen a noticeable shift away from the power-hitting game to which we’ve all become so accustomed in recent years. Hell, this year alone we’ve had two perfect games (first time there’s ever been more than one in the same season), five no-hitters (counting those 2 perfect games) and countless other pitching gems in general, including an almost no-hit performance by Toronto’s Brandon Morrow, who struck out 17 batters and allowed Tampa Bay’s only hit with two outs in the ninth as the Jays blanked the Rays 1-0 Sunday. Oh and of course there was the infamous Jim Joyce botched first-base call that took away, with two outs in the ninth inning no less, what would have otherwise been the THIRD perfect game in the same season.
So yes, quite an exciting year so far in the sporting world. Other areas of our entertainment and pop culture needs have had some fun nuggets as well (TV, movies, music, etc.), but sports has seriously carried the torch in the oh-10. My highlight list (why thanks for asking!), looks kind of like this:
TV: Most notably, Lost, after 6 seasons, went off the air. The finale was largely anticlimactic, and quite divisive. For me, it’s about what I expected. A lot of stuff was still unanswered, but generally speaking, the closure for most of the major characters was fairly certain. The show took a defining turn for me around Season 3-ish or so anyway. I completely wish they would have gone in another direction (I can elaborate more at another time), but they didn’t. Alas, if you’re a sci-fi buff, you probably like how most of it played out. I found myself shaking my head at the screen many times. Such is life.
Also in TV Land, Breaking Bad gave us an epic third season with continued twists, turns and surprises while still remaining plausibly exciting and reeling us in ever deeper into our involvement with the lives of its characters. Everyone on the show is hands-down fantastic, and it’s gripping even when it doesn’t try to be. It’s seriously treading on ‘Wire’ territory for me. I don’t know if I can quite put it there yet, but my emotional attachment to the characters in BB probably surpasses that of The Wire for me, a feat which deserves some serious props.
Now that Mad Men is back, we see the continued decline of Don Draper, hinted at in the Season 3 finale. He is going to hell in a handbiscuit, kiddos. Things are NOT going well for one of the most charismatic ad men of the 1960s. His divorce, watershed career change and new partnership at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, as well as his new bachelor lifestyle, have left him cold and lost. He basically now just drinks his face off, bangs the occasional secretary and even semi-frequently hires ‘ladies of the evening.’ New Don Draper is either reprehensibly disappointing or my freaking hero. I haven’t decided which yet. The other characters haven’t plunged fully into any landmark season 4 storylines quite yet, but they all have their usual drama to deal with. This show revolves around Draper anyway, as far as I’m concerned.
The Office and 30 Rock capped off typically strong seasons in May. Can’t touch on this without mentioning the impending departure of Steve Carell as Michael Scott. This next season (2010-11) will be his last on The Office. Rumored replacements have been many, but two of the more intriguing ones are Danny McBride and Rhys Darby (Murray from ‘Flight of the Conchords’). Personally, I can never get enough of Murray doing anything, even though I just can’t picture The Office without Michael Scott. I really actually kind of wish they’d just put a bow on it and call it a day at the end of next season.
And of course, Season 6 of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia begins next month. I honestly don’t think they can make a bad episode of this show if they tried.
For all of you that are more into stuff like ‘True Blood’ or ‘Jersey Shore,’ I’m sorry to disappoint, but those just ‘aren’t my bag, baby’ (as Austin P. would say). Actually, I’m sort of lying. My wife and I have watched the first two eps of the new Jersey Shore season. This just makes me depressed. For an explanation on why we watched, I can’t quite give one other than to refer you to the dreaded ‘B’ word that appears very early on in this entry.
Movies: Everyone is talking about Inception. We know this, right? I love the originality that went into it, the way it was shot and the execution of a concept that demands intelligence from its viewers. Mainstream Hollywood movies like this are far too uncommon in these times. For those that haven’t seen it I don’t want to give anything away, but suffice it to say that when a creative team can craft a movie that has an audibly emotional theater-wide audience response as the film ends and the credits hit the screen – that’s when something special has been achieved.
The other highlight of the year so far? Winter’s Bone. Not even a question. I’ve raved about it in past entries. I won’t take up space repeating what I’ve previously said. Go back and do the knowledge if you’re curious. There have been other decent flicks, but these two stand out the most I would say. Comedies continue to impress me less as time pushes forward. I just saw ‘The Other Guys’ with Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg. The feedback on it has been strong, but I’d have to say I was a little disappointed. This is especially ironic considering that my wife, who wasn’t really that excited to see it, came away liking it a lot more than she expected. Some of the ridiculous dialogue and ludicrous scenarios helped keep it funny and entertaining, but it falls victim to the same formulaic basic plotline of essentially every ‘funny buddy cop’ movie ever made.
It goes something like this: Unlikely buddy cops are somehow paired together. They have a tenuous relationship. One is a rebel, the other is a straight man, or ‘family’ man. Buddy Cop duo are basically screw-ups or cast-offs in some way. Buddy Cop duo get put onto a big case through a series of weird circumstances, where they forge a bond and an unlikely friendship. Buddy Cop duo starts getting close to cracking the case when a crucial plot point happens that causes a silly rift between Buddy Cop Duo. One of the duo forgets about it and moves on, the other continues to work toward solving the problem. Then … aha! Epiphany for guy who stuck with it. Buddy Cup Duo guy who stuck with it attempts to recruit Buddy Cop Quitter back into the fold. Quitter either reluctantly agrees to go back in or sticks with his answer of ‘no’ before coming back at the last minute to save the day and re-team up with his dysfunctional, unlikely friend. The case gets solved, Buddy Copy Duo become great friends and continue to solve cases together, happy ending (not the massage parlor type, unfortunately) ... and the road is paved for a limitless number of awful sequels that will rake in tons of money because it stars the same two big Hollywood names.
There you go. Anybody need a script written? I can do it. It doesn’t even have to be good (in fact, most of what people go to see isn’t good at all). Seriously. I can pump it out in a couple weeks if I give it enough hours each day. I’m a slut, I’m for hire.
Music: Uh, I don’t listen to new music anymore. This is utterly sad because music always has been and always will be one of my favorite things ever. I don’t know what bands or artists people listen to these days (I mean, I do by their names like ‘Arcade Fire’ or ‘Lady Gaga’, but not by anything else). I feel so out of touch with music it’s pathetic. Like a lot of people from my generation that are my age, I listen mostly to what was big years ago, and what I grew up with. I just don’t get music today. There’s no way to stay connected to it. How am I supposed to? By going to i-tunes and clicking on a bunch of 30-second clips? There’s no MTV the way it used to be. There’s no buzz about new artists that make soulful, risky music. I’d have a better chance of finding new music I like by seeing local bands here in NYC with some of my music-loving friends. Whatever. I’m depressed now.
On that note, Happy Trails, ya’ll. If you have anything to say about anything here, what’cha waiting for?! Hit up El Presidente.
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