no motherfucking nicotine

So Thursday, April 27th was two months with no nicotine, stick that in your pipe yo.

what i've been digging lately

been on a movie, music, book trip lately....Master of the Flying Guillotine...Oldboy....Dead Prez....GZA (my daughter loves the Shogun Assassin intro on Liquid Swords), the first ODB lp (the first Wu I ever heard, Ms. Marsh's Drawing Class in '95).... Golgo 13....life is good right now...moving next weekend....read Jarhead...(much better than the movie, highly recommended)...Def Jux is now indie rock?....raw fish....Temple of Boom...(the beat on "Spark Another Owl")....the new Stephen King novel, Cell.... Sopranos.....(the new season is ill)..... rejoined Netflix....New Era.....Polo....Adidas....word

the best music reviews ever

Stylus is dope! check it!
stylusmagazine.com

Music pt. 1

What a generic title, but I have been thinking alot lately about how I hear music. What I mean is how does it come across in your head. It has always been weird to me how I can think a certain thing is dope, but when I play it for others they just don't get it. I could give two shits about hooks, while a catchy melody that gets stuck in your head can be good, its all superficial.
Is there meaning behind it? Is there soul, and raw emotion pouring out? That is what matters to me is the feel of a song, and to some degree the raw sound. I love songs that transport you almost cinematically to a place and time that normally you wouldn't go. Take for example, (given my current Wu-Tang fascination) Raekwon's Only Built for Cuban Linx..., when you listen to that, you feel the crackgame. From the sadness and guilt of selling poison, to the easy money, and ultimately, how does some thing like that affect your soul? How is it to sell your soul for a dollar? How do you get in that position? That album is deep, and it takes many listens for it all to come out. I have been bumping it for 10 years, and am still pulling nuggets out. Its like a book, and a movie rolled into one.

Inside Man

So last Saturday, my wife caught the The Inside Man, the new Spike Lee shit. For some reason, I always forget how much I dig heist films. But when I watch one, I remember why. It is the dopest film that I have seen in awhile. While watching it, I was thinking on how hard it must be to write an OG screenplay, especially a film like this. It is hard to rob a bank in an original way. But this shit pulls it off, with mad social commentary.
The video game scene gets its message off like a brick to the head, but its message is way important. You know I have played my share of Grand Theft Auto, but San Andreas bothered me in a way. It just seems to trivialize death, and race. You are black, and just have to jack fools. While I think that people take things way too seriously, especially hype over violent video games, it still bothered me. Just like the Army using video games to recruit kids. That sends the wrong message. These kids think that combat is a video game where everything is clean and easy. But it must be a real eyeopener when they see a baby with an arm or leg blown off, or their buddy blown to bits right before them. Disturbing, even if you make it physically without a scratch, mentally you are scarred.

on some real quick shit

for all the intellectuals out there
stylusmagazine.com/feature.php?ID=1346


a great critical analysis of the major Wu-Tang releases.....check it

Wu Manual

So I have been on Wu kick recently, the other day I was at the library and came upon a book called the Wu-Tang Manual. It is authored by the RZA, and a good read. It offers everything from fashion advice, philosophy, and music insight. Its a quick but good read, RZA drops knowledge all over. I have been thinking back recently, and I realized that RZA was the first producer in hiphop who tripped me out. I can even tell you what it was, that "fingersnap" snare on the "Bring Da Ruckus". Sick shit. After that, for a long time, I always checked for RZA beats.

However, Wu-Tang Forever was a disappointment. It was too long, and overblown. I don't know, maybe I should try it again. They all can kill it, although RZA, Ghostface, and ODB are my fav's. RZA's lisp makes his verses so much doper. Ghostface rips the abstract, and ODB was all over the place. I want that Bobby Digital shit.

Bill Clinton My Life, Supreme Clientele

So yesterday, I started My Life by Bill Clinton. So far, it's really good. I never knew old Slick Willie had an alcoholic stepfather, something that I can relate to. Anyway, other than that, my other main interest has been Ghostface Killah. Supreme Clientele is the sickness. His rhyme style on this album is abstract, stream of concsciousness, and dope as fuck. "Child's Play", and "Nutmeg" have got to up there on my top 5 tracks. Right now, Tony Starks is my absolute favorite emcee. He brings it. The new lp, Fishscale, is almost just as good. The standouts have to be "Whipped me with a Strap", with the J Dilla production, and Pimp Spongebob song, you'll know it when you hear it. Why can't hiphop like this sell a million copies? Also, I want to write more about My Life, when I finish I'm going to have the full review. Ghostface, and Bill Clinton, what a combo! Word.

make lemonade

Cliches, cliches, cliches.....one of my fav cliche sayings is "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade." Well, it seems like most of my life is one big lemon right now. After 5 years together, my wife and I got in our first big fight last night, over some stupid shit on my part. But its funny, because I feel like we are stronger for it. She is incredible for what she puts up with me. I have been a major league asshole lately.
All of this is my own hangups, so anyway, I are going to be making a big ass pitcher of lemonade. Word.
This is my new blog, I used to blog on Myspace, but I think Myspace is wack. I will be talking about music, film, politics, and just plain observations on life. It will be good. Writing and music right now are my therapy. Thank God for my wife. I lost sight of how dope she is.