cheers to Aaliyah

On the 25th of August in the year 2001, Aaliyah and a few of her associates were killed in a plane leaving the Bahamas on its way back to the states.  At the time this news brought me sadness;  i had come to adore Aaliyah’s music and looks.  she was about 2 years older than me, and thirteen years of age i was infatuated with her and had many a fantasy involving her likeness and myself.  She was on MTV all the time with the “back and forth” video, which in my young opinion was probably one of my top3 songs that year/summer.

Her early work with R. Kelly would pale in comparison to her collaborations with Missy Elliot and Timbaland.  “If Your Girl Only Knew” was a good single, but it just a primer of sorts for the genre pushing sound of “one in a million.”  having been a fan of sum drum and bass music, i quickly took to Aaliyah’s new sound, and so did everyone else.  Soon many clones would arise but none came close to Aaliyah’s Minnie Ripperton-like honey dipped cool.  I would never dare say it was all about Aaliyah, bu once she passed it was clear Timbaland lost his muse.  It would take him to work with Nelly Furtado to regain some of himself back.

“are you that somebody” gave her a bigger audience.  her movie with Jet Li did the same, allowing her to do more of the same for the soundtrack (her “standards” were so far ahead of her so-called peers).  she released great music in her last days, “we need a resolution” is one of the underrated songs of the decade.

with all that said my favorite song of hers is still from her first album.  “At Your Best” is the the perfect teenage song.  A young girl cooing adult lyrics (no doubt written for her).  It is dramatic enough without taking itself too serious.  What a groove.

aaliyah-at-your-best.mp3

Daddy Yankee is totally en favor de John McCain

As reported by MTV and pretty much any media group hungry to fill web space, reggaeton d-bag Daddy Yankee has officially backed presidential hopeful Senator John McCain.  DY chose McCain because ”he has been a fighter for the immigration issue.”

Too my surprise, the article also mentions DY is not a U.S. citizen, making him ineligible to vote this coming November.  Why it shocks me, I don’t really know.  it is what it is.

Josh Hamilton: proof that no matter the number of HRs you hit in the Derby and RBIs you’ve racked up this season, you’ll always be an alcoholic junkie

Sports media blows more often than not.

The casual sports fan may not have known of Hamilton’s past struggles with drugs and alcohol, but The Media will certainly not let that piece of info get past you.

Rick Reilly blows.  You’re a great fit for The Ocho. 

Erin Andrews, you’re still hot.

But the real story is Josh Hamilton.  You hit 28 home runs in the first round of the home run derby.  and you still lost to Morneau, who hit half the HRs you racked up.  And we were reminded you drank and got high a lot a few years back.  That’s two L’s for you, my friend.  But next time you come to Yankee Stadium, you will get booed, which is a W, unless you some time in the future come back in Pinstripes and get booed, which is another L.

i need sleeping lessons

Sunday night has transformed into complete hell for me.  I wait patiently in bed for any loss of energy to help me finish the day and fall asleep, but that is a task in of itself.  It’s not for good reason either.  Everyday I’m usually out sometime after midnight, even on Fridays and Saturdays for the most part; maybe it’s some anxiety for the first work day of the week.  But that doesn’t explain why I don’t have the same problem five nights a week.
 
What has become my routine on Sunday nights:  watch some sports wrap-up program with d-bag Mike Francessa of WFAN fame, watch reruns of Sex and the City (last night Carrie started dating Berger), change/remove pajamas periodically, and add/remove sheets/blankets.
 
Maybe 9-to-5 life is not for me.  I can’t remember a time this has ever occurred with such consistency.  It’s getting just as annoying as my tendency to sleep a small number of hours in hotel rooms.

the futureheads are back!

there used to be a time when i was up on all the “latest” music news, used to know all the release dates, yadda yadda.  i’m not in college anymore, and that time has passed, and it’s a bit refreshing to be completely honest.

case in point: i had no idea The Futureheads have a new album coming out very soon, and they already released two videos for “Radio Heart” and “The Beginning of the Twist.”  You might say, it’s only two songs and it’s not like they just dropped 5 albums in the span of the month like Nine Inch Nails, and I would say tru-dat.  But 2 songs and 2 videos totally unexpected is like Xmas to me these days.  BTW i know there’s plenty of people out ther listening to all those NIN albums, but that level of Prolificness (probably not a word) is way too demanding for me; how does one take in that much music from ONE ARTIST in that very little time?  Amazing.  That’s like the rock version of the mixtape a-la when 50 Cent was flooding the market around 5-6 years ago.

definitely lookng forward to this.  going through a bit of music overload today.  I just boiught the Robyn album that came out like 3 years ago but is finally available here in the US of A (awesome album, i’m glad i didnt download it back then), the new Long Blondes album (very cool as well), and the Santogold album only to show my monetary support.  i’ve been listening to the copy have so much already it probably wont leave the shrinkwrap anytime soon. 

annoying songs that i like

Danity kane – damaged.  The not so new female group from Diddy comes hrough with some heat.  I watched their reality show only a couple of times but they seem to know what they’re doing on the creative side.  Makes me wsant to listen to their album, truth be told.  I want to get all of them pregnant, especially the skinny blonde one who looks like she’s high all the time.  Diddy ruins the song with his spoken word lament, but I guess it works as his validation for DK.  don’t get your hopes up, danity kane, my boss has yoursong on her ringtone and will likely wear out your welcome

I’m not gonna write you a love song.  I had to look up who sings this song.  I thought the song was dumb at first but now it sounds like a really queer version of a Fiona Apple song.  God I wish she’d come back with something new. 

Jordin sparks – no air Tom Breihan said he liked this song because it’s  for teenagers sung by teenagers.  He’s right.  It’s pretty morbid, though.  She starts with “if I die before I wake” which you normally hear in cliché rap songs and crappy rock, and goes on about not breathing or living.  Truthfully I haven’t paid attention to the rest of the lyrics, so there might be something else to the song.  I read she really messed up her vocals, meaning this song will be played as some memorial to a promising career, and we will all get sick of it and hate it as it becomes some 2000s cliche.

That’s it just three.  For the rest of the annoying songs, I still don’t like you.  I’m talking to you, “I  keep bleeding, keep keep bleeding,”  or that annoying Madonna/timberlake song.

happy seis de mayo

i was supposed to post this on May 6, but i didnt.  long day at work, and the little free time i had i typed the following.  a nonsensical rant, but what te hell.

This goes out to all the 9-to-5ers who decided to partake in the Mexican nationalist drinking debauchery also known as Cinco de Mayo.  I can say without a shadow of a doubt I haven’t drank that much since college.  I can also say I don’t miss it.  Yes, there were tons of college age chicks that likely treat casual sex like an Olympic event, but if such an environment can exist in say a library or a Barnes and Noble instead of a bar I would trade it no doubt. 

Only in college could you party on Monday and probably do it again the next night.  I work everyday and sadly I can’t pick my schedule like I used to pick my classes (never a class before 1 p.m. ever since my second semester, thank you very much).  Such is life when you have to pay bills.  I’ve never been much of a daytime person.  I’ve adjusted my body to be awake by six in the morning, but that doesn’t mean I like it.

I sit here in my desk pretending to do work and replenishing my body with V8 with a little hot sauce reflecting on the pointlessness of last night.  At least Cinco de Mayo is honest.  It’s not like St. Patrick’s Day where many go out of their way to play bagpipes and eat bad food and inject old school culture on top of their binge drinking.  We live in a country where we treat Mexicans like second class citizens yet we celebrate Cinco de Mayo like we do any holiday:  by drinking a lot.  If I have to hear more typical “wetback” comments I think I’ll flip.  For fucks sake my boss is a Puerto Rican chick and she makes comments like “they’re having me work like a Mexican,” referring to the hard work low wage situation of many Mexicans looking for labor in this country (she gets paid handsomely, I’ve seen her house).  I’m not Mexican but when she said that I had anime fantasies of turning into a bionic giant and ripping her head off.  If only I didn’t need my job that much…

Since that V8 my mild headache is all but gone and maybe for the best I didn’t eat any Tex-Mex food yesterday.  Imagine how bad my stomach would have felt!  I was almost convinced to go to an Irish (read: Caucasian) bar yesterday, but obviously didn’t. 

I wish I had slim hipster jeans to go with my shirt it’s a bit oversized but that was kind of the point when I bought it.  It has slightly wider neck (not unlike those super v neck shirts but not so dramatic either).  Too bad I can’t get a descent pair of 36×30 jeans anywhere.

Anywhoo that’s all I got for now.  Instead of vomiting or calling out of work this was my best therapy method.  I love to write, I should do it more often.

so, that Santogold album is pretty awesome.

some were quick to judge and label Santogold aka Santi White an M.I.A. clone, and I suppose they were right - there is one song that absolutely has that M.I.A aesthetic (the song in calle “Creator”).  but that is to say M.I.A.’s sound is all her own and she absolutely DOES NOT where her influences on her sleeve (I love both her albums but let’s get real).  Santogold displays an unabashedly pop sound, complete with strumming guitars, chill basslines, and drums galore.  upon many first listens Santogold continues to impress, and i find myself listening in many moods and situations; gym, walking, driving, what have you.

“Lights Out” is without a doubt my favorite track.  it is a simple track that features synth lines on the breakdowns.  most importantly, it has bass lines like the ones Kim Deal plays in “Gigantic” or “Cannonball”, or like “Nirvana’s “Lithium”.  everything else in my world is secondary when such a bassline invades my eardrums.  It’s been a while since a song has had multiple playback moments.  can it be that it was all so simple.  so far definitely best album out there.

 

what is going on in the Yankees-Red Sox mini universe?

some straight up bat-shit insane “news” has sprung in the last week regarding the Sox and Yanks.  tonight the teams continue their rivalry in Fenway Park, the site of a vicious attack from a falcon on an suspecting school girl on a field trip who just happened to be named Alexa Rodriguez.

Now we get news regarding the new Yankee Stadium set to open next season.  The New York Post reports a douchedbag Boston fan who is working in the construction of the stadium buried a Sox t-shirt under what will be the visitor’s locker room.  He hopes to jinx the Yankees.

“In August, a Red Sox T-shirt was poured in a slab in the visitor’s clubhouse. It’s the curse of the Yankees,” one worker said. “Nobody knows about it. It’s in the floors, it’s buried.”

the season series kicks off tonight, but it seams Boston is already up 2-0 on the Yanks. 

the current arms race in the U.S. music festival circuit

Last week’s announcement of this year’s Lollapaloozaline-up was met with a remarkably positive reception from the internet masses, a surprise to someone like me.  You see, when Perry Farrell resurrected the traveling show, most people who care for public opinion generally opposed the somewhat sugary lineup, complaining it was too commercial and lacked the raw energy from its original early-to-mid 90s talent.

Due to lack of sales and likely poor public opinion (for the record I liked the return of Lolla since I am huge Incubus and Queens of the Stone Age fan), Farrell decided to keep the Lollapalooza brand name alive by instead turning it into a stationary festival like the ones made popular by Reading, Glastonbury, and Coachella here in the U.S. in 2005.  Chicago was chosen as the city to host the event and has since remained the site for the festival.  While the logistics of the concert have been an issue, every year it has grown in popularity, and just by looking at this year’s lineup one can see why (Kanye West, Radiohead, Broken Social Scene, Rage, many, many others).  Simply put it stole all the thunder from Coachella and its organizers Goldenvoice, but only for a brief time.

Just two weeks before showtime, the folks at Coachella announced a major addition to their weekend, the purple one himself, Prince.  Last minute additions don’t get any bigger.  and while i for one second do no think that Prince was added to keep their brand name bigger than the resurrected Lollapalloza, it has to be said it was pretty perfect timing for Goldenvoice to show of their big swinging dicks and proclaim their status as king of the mountain. 

The question is why is it so important to be number one in this field?  it’s like sticking utilizing scientific and economic resources just to stick a flag on the moon.

In the midst of this new pathetic arms race, many (and i mean that in relative terms) are complaining in the All Points West message boardabout how Coachella and Lollapalooza and Bonaroo and whoever are putting this festval to shame.  I suppose it’s a reasonable concern.  The Goldenvoice organization has been quoted as saying there wont be any more additions.  It seems right now paople are paying $100 a day just to see Radiohead, and they want to see a gazillion bands play simultaniously instead of just about 40 over 3 days (i happen to like the lineup; i’m going myself, but i woldnt mind Broken Social Scene!).  and, of course, remains the question of Jack Johnson, but that remains a national controversy rather than just a NJ travesty.

I would say you should not to believe the “no more additions” rhetoric since about a 5-6 hour drive south, the Virgin Festival will take place on the same weekend, and they have already teased the buying public with their superstar headliners.

I typed all this nonsense to bring up my main brief point:  Lollapalooza was criticized for being softcore compared to their past, but now these megasize festivals are packing tons of acts under the guise of “indie” or “legendary.”  The majority of these acts are about as mainstream as it gets.  Having Rage at Lollapalooza is not innovative;  they toured their “rare” performances all last year.  many of the big acts can tour by themselves;  there isnt any room for small acts with large potential.

The appropriation of the word indie for capital gain is hurting these festivals a bit, but there is sure a lot of money to be made.  I do want a few more acts to be added to All Points West only to avoid seeing fans of only Radiohead.  It will be like last year’s poorly run Rock the Bell’s, by far the most pathetic turnout for a rap concert.  Hopefully organizers can learn from this display as soon as possible