Negro Please

Sunday Random Ten: Virtual Death Edition

Currently listening to the Lakers vs. The Suns, Game 4

1. Velvet Rope (featuring Vanessa Mae) - Janet Jackson
2. Hard Knock Life (The Ghetto Anthem) - Jay-Z
3. Get Up - Funkmaster Flex
4. This DJ - Warren G.
5. Good Times - Ghostface Killah
6. I'm Black (Green Mix) - Styles P
7. I Dissapear - The Faint
8. Definition of Ill - Peanut Butter Wolf
9. Hail to Whatever You Found in the Sunlight That Surrounds You - Rilo Kiley
10. What's Happening Brother - Marvin Gaye

That was this week's. And, since I never got around to posting it, here is last week's:

1. No Use (Beanfield Remix) - Jazzanova
2. Loose Ends - Sergio Mendes
   
3. Season's Chage - King Britt Presents Sylk 130
4. Sometimes (Mix no. 9) - Erykah Badu
5. Accidntel Deth (Live) - Rilo Kiley
6. Possibilities - Amp Fiddler
7. Hidden Place - Bjork
8. Strange Ways (Koushik Remix) - Madvillain
9. Let Me - Sergio Mendes
10. It's Not Up To You - Bjork
    

Sergio Mendes and Bjork dominated last week. This week was all about the hip-hop.

Oh and:

I committed myspace-icide this morning.

I've got a new job. I'll tell you about it in a week.

So, there's this ad in the LA Weekly. It says, "Depressed? Sad or blue? Withdrawn? Low motivation? Difficulty concentrating? Trouble sleeping? Feeling tired or loss of energy? Changes in weight or appetite?" I answered yes to just about all of them. Not severely so in any regards but something ain't quite right with me. I'm thinking I better get laid or go talk to someone.

Or talk to someone while I'm getting laid.

That would be hot.

And therapeutic.

Anyway, hopefully posting will be more regular here and will definitely be over at LAist. I've still gotta talk about Hokum and the state of Black American satire. I've got more Blognosis posts to write and maybe delve a bit more into some self-discovery and transformation I'm going through: Jason The Grown-Up.

Myspace-icide was part of that. We'll see how much time that guy has time for the internets.

A last.fm meme

"Sister! Child of mine. We are the sweetest kind." - Van Hunt, No Sense of Crime (w/ The Sonus Quartet)

In lieu of a real post, let's meme it up with thebrotherlove and the fine folks at last.fm.

Simple concept: Top 15 artists from Last.fm... The first song I heard
by the artist, the song that made me fall in love with them and my
current favorite song:

1. Common
First song: Breaker 1/9
Fell in Love with: The Light
Current fave: A Film Called (Pimp) featuring MC Lyte

2. Mariah Carey
First song: Vision of Love
Fell in Love with: Fantasy
Current Fave: Joy Ride

3. Bjork
First song: Venus as a Boy
Fell in Love with: Venus as a Boy
Current fave: Oceania (with vocals by Kelis)

4. De La Soul
First song: Me, Myself & I
Fell in Love with: Buddy
Current fave: Much More (featuring Yummy)

5. Madvillain
First song: Accordion
Fell in Love with: Fancy Clown
Current fave: Strange Ways

6. Kanye West
First song: Through the Wire
Fell in Love with: Through the Wire
Current fave: Touch the Sky (featuring Lupe Fiasco)

7. M.I.A.
First song: Pull Up The People
Fell in Love with: U.R.A.Q.T.
Current Fave: MIA (off of Piracy Funds Terrorism)

8. Jay-Z
First song: Ain't No Nigga
Fell in Love with:  Can't Knock The Hustle
Current Fave: Public Service Announcement (Interlude)

9. Sleater-Kinney
First song: O2
Fell in Love with: O2
Current Fave: Everything

10. Mary J. Blige
First song: Real Love
Fell in Love with: My Life
Current Fave: Can't Hide From Luv (featuring Jay-Z)

11. Quasimoto
First song: Real Eyes
Fell in Love with: Real Eyes
Current Fave: Rappcats pt. 3

12. Beastie Boys
First song: Brass Monkey
Fell in Love with: Pass the Mic
Current Fave: Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun (Green Mix)

13. Janet Jackson
First song: oh, I cant remember...maybe  Lets Wait Awhile
Fell in Love with: Rhythm Nation 1814
Current Fave: The Pleasure Principle

14. Beck
First song: Loser
Fell in Love with: Peaches & Cream (really just about everything on Midnite Vultures)
Current Fave: Earthquake Weather

15. Prefuse 73
First song: Dave's Bonus Beats
Fell in Love with: Detchibe
Current Fave: Now You're Leaving (featuring Camu)

I'm back on UCLA Radio tonight guest DJing again with Miss Martini. Who knows how I will let my soul glow?

Friday Random Ten: Bigger Than Me Edition

"You can be a follower but who's your leader?" - M.I.A., MIA

1. Young Warrior (Madlib Mix) - Bobby Humphrey [Blue Note Revisited]
2. White America - Eminem [The Eminem Show]
3. Star (f. Dwele) - Slum Village [Trinity: Past, Present & Future]
4. Elephant Parade - Jon Brion [Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind]
5. Did You Give The World Some Love Today, Baby? - Doris Svensson
6. Green Tea - Slow Supreme [For Those Who Like To Get Down]
7. City (5-6 Theme) (Japan Remix) - King Britt [When The Funk Hits the Fan - The Remixes]
8. High - Mark Ronson [Here Comes The Fuzz]
9. Strange Ways - Madvillain [Madvillainy]
10. Tangenziale - Groove Collective [Dance of the Drunken Master]

Go see Brick. It is incredibly enjoyable. My extended review will end up on LAist.

Google Calendar vs. 30 Boxes. Right now it's a toss-up. I'm using both but leaning towards 30 Boxes more.

Both Diesel Sweeties and Rosey Grier (on LA Sports Talk Radio) were talking about knitting yesterday. Are they suggesting I should take up a hobby?

Molly asks Who do you blog for? and a Kottke guest-blogger breaks down the two types of bloggers.

Don't forget that Kelly is a solo artist, too.

I had Roscoe's today.

You're jealous.

tags: random10

Music Is My Radar PlayList - UCLA Radio - 04.12.06

"Never thought that you would hurt me" - Van Hunt, At the End of a Slow Dance

Anna's radio show is Wednesday mornings from midnight to 2 AM (or Tuesday nights if you're talking waking to sleeping, I guess). It is titled after the Blur track and it was  a lot of fun to join her as a guest DJ. The first hour was supposed to be about revolution and political tracks but somewhere along the way, I switched up to rare grooves kinda soul set. We mostly just jumped back forth between what our different catalogs trying to complement each other's music.

I so wanna do it again. I think we are...next Wednesday.

Here's the playlist:

1. Blur – Music Is My Radar
2. Nightmares on Wax – I Am You
   
3. The Clash – The Magnificent Seven
4. The Streets – Two Nations
   
5. DJ DangerMouse & Murs – Paint by Numbers
6. Gil Scott Heron – the revolution will not be televised
7. Nina Simone – Revolution (parts 1 & 2)
8. Sam Cooke – A Change Is Gonna Come
   
9. Jimmy Cliff – Commercialization
10. The Sylvers – We Can Make It If We Try
    
11. Stevie Wonder – Living For the City
12. Lonnie Liston Smith – A Chance For Peace
    
13. Steve Parks – Movin' In The Right Direction
    
14. Marcia Griffiths – Melody Life
    
15. Esther Phillips  - Home Is Where The Hatred Is
    
16. Jimi Hendrix Experience – Manic Depression
17. Madlib – Two Timer (The Pimp)
    
18. J Dilla – Two Can Win
    
19. Tribe Called Quest  - Separate/Together
    
20. Diamond D – I Went For Mine
    
21. De La Soul – Watch Out
22. Van Hunt – At The End of A Slow Dance
23. David Byrne – Glass, Concrete & Stone
    
24. Sufjan Stevens – The Avalanche
25. Brandon Mayer – Love Between Burroughs
26. Jolie Holland – Springtime Can Kill You
    
27. Scrabbel – Last Train
28. Pink – Dear Mr. President (with the Indigo Girls)

I'll leave it to you to figure out who played what. Meanwhile, j. has a great review of Van Hunt's new album. We spent a lot of time in the booth trying to figure out who he sounds like on "At The End of a Slow Dance" last night.

Jay the DJ

"Only one can win" - J Dilla aka Jay Dee, Two Can Win

More proper posting from me, hopefully, tomorrow but tonight, tonight, tonight - I'm guest DJing with Anna on ucla radio.

Midnight - 2am PST.

Peep game.

Saturday Random Ten: Home with the Folks Edition

"Wait. They don't love you like I love you." - Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Maps

I'm spending a few weeks holed up in my parent's house while I find the perfect new place to live. I spent my search today in Toluca Lake looking at some very cute places hidden just a little away from the hustle and bustle of Lankershim and Cahuenga and Universal City. I'm also looking for freelance web work, consulting work (pay me to show you how to start your digital media ventures or how to blog or just pay me to hang out. I'm worth it) and writing gigs.

And  out of 3026 songs rated 5 stars in my iTunes, we've got ourselves a

Saturday Random Ten

1. Ain't Really Love - Mary J. Blige [The Breakthrough]
2. Draw Your Brakes - Scotty [The Harder They Come]
3. Turn It Up - Ugly Duckling [Taste The Secret]
4. Outro - Madvillain [Madvillain Remixes: Koushik]
5. In My Life - The Beatles [Rubber Soul]
6. Memories - Eisley [Room Noises]
7. It's Real - Missy Elliott [This is Not a Test!]
8. The Big Picture (Intro) - Big L [The Big Picture]
9. Lay Your Head On My Pillow - Raphael Saadiq [All Hits at the House of Blues]
10. Video - India.Arie [Acoustic Soul]

Better Late Than Never: The March mix is on last.fm and on musicmobs. Named Water/Sign cuz I'm a Pisces and still obsessed with the Gossip song, it features music of breakups and love, some SXSW new hotness, the footprints of Dave Chappelle's Block Party on my ears and the sounds of my life in flux.

Enjoy.

Oh and: In a total geek move I'm going to tell you that the best thing going today is DC Comics and their Infinite Crisis. I'm absolutely in love with the reboot storylines of "One Year Later" and can't wait for the my packages of books to arrive. Oh, and if anyone wants to talk to me about Black Panther or Nighthawk and the other super folks in Marvel's Supreme Power series of books, I won't turn you away.

I've probably said too much.

tags: random10 | comic books

The Mid-Afternooner

"I'm so lonely I don't want to be with myself anymore." - Dido, No Angel

No explanations about why I haven't posted in about a week, let's just get to it...

Finally saw The Inside Man.

Quik-stop review: Fun story (and, easily, the lightest fare Spike Lee has ever taken on), incredibly well-acted but maybe a little longer than it should've been. For a pot-boiler of a suspenseful story, there's not a whole lot going on. I like Spike's first attempt at a mystery, though. His visual cues and non-linear storytelling made parts of the ruse obvious without being obvious. The big twist, though, should've been sold a lot harder.

That said, I could watch Denzel Washington and Jodi Foster pretty much act in anything. I don't think Inside Man is even in the upper half of Spike Lee Joints (I think my current list of top Spike Movies goes something like

1. Malcolm X
2. 25th Hour
3. Do The Right Thing
4. Bamboozled
5. Clockers
6. Mo' Better Blues
7. Get On The Bus
8. Inside Man (maybe)

but for a big studio picture, it's got a lot more style and substance than most other fare out there.

I'm almost done with Hokum. We're going to talk a lot about that.

I'm spending a whole lotta time writing at LAist again. The Immigration bug has me. There's a lot of interesting race stuff to talk about with this issue but I'm leaving it, for the most part, over there as it probably matters more to my LA audience.

I can't decide if Pharell and the Neptunes sound are tired yet. Him working with Velvet Revolver doesn't sway me either way. How many years has it been since LL won his lifetime achievement award from MTV? How long has it been since I've thought of him as an actor (and one I enjoy) more than a hip-hop cat?

web 2.0 joints of the day: eyespot and radio 2.0. Eyespot looks interesting but radio 2.0 won't be getting me off of last.fm any time soon.

Today in Africa:  Maybe we should hold up on emulating South African government. Politicians are getting x'ed out the rough draft. Meanwhile, East Africans are doing what they can during the drought.

tags: the inside man | pharell williams | ll cool j | web 2.0 | africa