Children of Misery: 2020 Sounds & Visuals

 

Didn’t get around to doing the annual summer mixes until year’s end, so they’re fairly indicative of what I was listening to. Only did two this time (a road trippin’ theme never felt right for obvious reasons): bbq and cruisin' jams.

Lots of stuff from the cutting room floor was in constant rotation. Listened to a ton of Nikki Giovanni and Audre Lorde. Plenty of ha has from Jay Jurden Y’all, Who the Hell is Dwayne Kennedy? & Weakness is the Brand. Open Mike Eagle lived my (and I’m sure many others’) dream by interviewing Prince Paul for an entire season of podcast eps. Was also great to learn about Toshi Reagon’s love of Octavia. And I’m always a sucker for fresh Mike Davis content, so this trillbilly chat was a treat.

The best thing I saw—not just in 2020, but in a while—is a generation of youths have a collective lightbulb moment about our carceral culture. Fucked up, f’sure, but happy they have a better sense of how off-course the ship is and where they need to steer it towards.

Otherwise, I didn’t see much worth writing about. We didn’t have the pandemic experience of tucking in and learning new skills or some shit. The main things I ‘watched’ were listenable (and, quite often, tried & true) videos that I would turn on as comfort listening while doing chores. So, loads of Desus & Mero (only the occasional wormhole detour) and talking to myself あっきーさん. john powell & bell hooks came correct. Ocean Vuong is ridiculously talented—and he’s sharing a stage w/ Jacqueline Woodson. Sophia Leung ftw. Btw, I still think Problem Areas season 1 should be required viewing for anyone that comes with that Defund the Police = socialism shit. And thank the content gods for giving us druncle ‘Kiss on the ‘gram.

Screentime generally meant family time, so we had lots of アルプスの少女ハイジ, しまじろうのわお, Molly of Denali, Dr. スランプ, 忍者ハットリくん, ドラえもん, テラスハウス, Hilda, ハイキュー!!, SLAM DUNK, Harvey Girls Forever!, はたらく細胞, からかい上手の高木さん. We exported びじゅチューン！ clips (all of Inoue Ryo’s work is highly amusing) to our constant delight.

Crazy and Asian, Still Not Rich: 2018 Sights

For the first time in many years, I don’t spend the majority of my day in front of a screen, so my visuals time has dipped. It’s for the best.

One weekend this summer when free time and availability converged and I saw Eighth Grade, Sorry to Bother You and Blindspotting. Boots’ film bore the worst of this marathon, because it’s the film that deserves to be watched more than once. He needs to make more films, if only to streamline his ideas. Sorry is bursting at the seams with them.

Caught up on more anime, the best of which being 5 Centimeters Per Second (秒速5センチメートル) and Children Who Chase Lost Voices (星を追う子ども). Couldn’t read the manga quick enough, so I opted to watch One-Punch Man and Attack on Titan. Funny then to watch Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse receive all the acclaim about its animation. So many bells and whistles, comparatively speaking.

Atlanta is the only television show worth thinking about. This is what I'll forever remember Childish Gambino for.

Silly, but fun kudos to Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Death of Stalin, Train to Busan and Terrace House. Because, everyone needs kiwi bildungsroman tales, dark political satire, zombie thrillers, and gentle slices of life in their lives.

I’m obligated to mention Crazy Rich Asians. I love Constance Wu and wish her all the best. But this is a year that started w/ Isle of Dogs. So, I’ll pay attention when there is genuine structural change made to encourage diversity of thought, storytelling, casting, etc.

...until then, my 2018 APA vote goes to Ali Wong’s Hard Knock Wife. Because I relate more to a pregnant Californian APA who walks out to Wu-Tang.

Kid Flicks
しろくまカフェ
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Mary Poppins Returns

Clear Eyes: 2016 Sights

Moonlight
The “Hello Stranger” scene made me feel like a freshman again, but the whole movie is fantastic. Aching story that expands in depth as Little grows into Chiron and up to Black. Beautifully paced and shot like Ozu or Hsiou-hsien.

Kerry James Marshall: Mastry (Met Breuer)
Reunited and it feels so good. What a treat to see all these works together. You wan' know how good is this show? Marshall's selections from the Met's collection is the art equivalent of a mixtape. And the Rythm Mastr pieces are next door. Major thing happening here.

아가씨 (The Handmaiden)
Why isn't this playing everywhere?

君の名は (Your Name)
Why isn't one of the highest-grossing films in Japanese cinema not playing everywhere?

The 13th
Visual Cliff’s Notes of The New Jim Crow. Required watching for the new school heads, and a supplementary to-do list for those knee-deep in the game.

Roots
Sometimes the best sequels are the ones you least expect. No, not that one. Or that one. No, not that one either. Bringing back this seminal mini-series was the only essential rewind.

Fences
Pittsburgh is a frequent character in August Wilson's plays, but I never clearly felt it in Fences.  Denzel does a fantastic job in the film bringing the city to the surface. He also finds a nice balance of this exterior world and the yard that is the heart of the play, the home that Troy Maxson feels trapped inside of and that everyone else attempts to build and expand. The reunion of the Broadway cast (with the exception of Cory and Raynell) really sells this film, but the true highlight isn't even Washington's meta-rife performance, but the killer Viola Davis. She breathes visceral pain, truth and reality into Rose. Troy by design eats up all the oxygen in every scene, so it's easy to overlook Wilson's acutely sensitive take on Rose. When Rose gets a chance to blow, Davis makes sure everyone remembers that Troy does not get the last word. Troy didn't fall over and die one day; Davis/Rose ended his reign of terror.

O.J. Made in America
And sometimes the best miniseries are superficially about the topics you have the least interest in revisiting. Edelman rightly avoids the procedural aspects of the trial and instead focuses on the racial divide it aggravated. The People v. O.J. Simpson gets the lion’s share of the pop attention—rightly so for that Rick James snap—but MIA.

What Happened, Miss Simone?
Let’s not speak on that other film. Or, maybe we should. Because so much of what Garbus does right here—allowing her subject to speak for herself—is why that other film was so wrong. Better still is that Garbus doesn't try to answer the titular question.

Lady Snowblood: The Criterion Collection
How the fuck did I miss this?

The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution
Donate to PBS.

Atlanta
Denzealots refer to Denzel as having Denzelishness. In a similar vein the bulk of Donald Glover's pop persona can be described by a certain Donaldishness. Frankly, it's nice to see it grow the fuck up. The tension between youth, aspiration, race, and the plain awkward is in full bloom in Atlanta.

Agnes Martin (Guggenheim)
The West always finds a way to reach me, even out here. I've only seen a handful of her works at LACMA, so seeing Wright's spiral filled with her spirit was pure manna.

Hell or High Water
Glad to see Ben Foster putting that Lone Survivor training to good use. It makes that entire MacGyver scene semi-plausible. Oh. And calling out banks for taking advantage of clients makes the casting of Chris Pine as a blue collar brain a shade believable.

Mingus Eyes: Best Moving Visual Stuff of 2015

Stuff I watched (under a half hour)
Honey Cocaine “Honeydick”
What Si Mane Price said.

Charli XCX “Famous”
Probably the most literal thing from either Tim or Eric (up there with Decker? Or On Cinema?)

Dr. Yen Lo (Ka) - “Day O”
Prog-rap? Noir rap?

Stuff I watched (under an hour)
Master of None
Really, it’s the Parents and Race episodes that stand out. Overall, the show hits a lot of great casting points. Slate already covered this, but it does a standout job of showing people of different races, sexual orientations, genders -- IDENTITIES -- interacting with each other like human beings. It’s all a bit perfect, so it works as a sitcom, but it’ll do. Happy that Ansari got this show made. The Parents episode is my favorite. The structure of showing both Dev and Kevin’s father’s respective trips and how they are both similar and stand-alone is remarkable. And done in record time in a half-hour sitcom!

With Bob & David
Perfect because I really didn’t ever expect more Bob and Dave? Also great, b/c it’s such a short run and fulfills just enough. Lots of room for great support players.

Inside Amy Schumer
“Friday Night Lights,” “Last Fuckable Day,” the entire “12 Angry Men Inside Amy Schumer” ep, Amy’s increasingly orange legs on the “Cliffely Lately” show

Last Week Tonight
Translators.

Better Call Saul
I had no interest in watching this show, let alone in its existence. I liked Breaking Bad, but simply never felt engrossed in the show. The storytelling was always compelling and entertaining, but the back-and-forth between gravitas and absurdity never clicked. Also, I fundamentally don’t think it brought any more nuance or interpretation of the drug trade which does in fact impact the country. Which probably explains why I actually like Saul, possibly more than BB. Gilligan is an excellent storyteller and Jimmy McGill’s story is a classic tragedy. It is an excellent use of a classic storytelling motif set in a modern, distinctly American context. Plus, Odenkirk, Odenkirk, Odenkirk. When Mike, a character that I thoroughly enjoyed, has one of the weakest storylines, you know you have something very compelling.

Daredevil & Jessica Jones
Daredevil has major ethics problems. The whole post-9/11 tension feels dated. It has shit views on race. But good action. Though that Oldboy knock-off still puzzles me. Who was that aimed at? Kids too young to have seen Oldboy, but need a version sans hammer?

Jessica Jones has shit action. But the themes are more relevant. And there’s interracial boning. But what is up with casting David Tennant to just do the rapist version of the Doctor?

The Americans
I think this is a sign that I’m settling into middle age. This is a pretty ridiculous show, but I’m happy to throw down for Felicity. And that’s probably the root of my problem.

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
In spite of its shit title, the music is on point and (generally) well-written, the premise of a JAP chasing after a Filipino-American dude is (sadly) revolutionary (for our times), and the cast is filled with a variety of normal looks, body types, etc. but big on comedy chops.

The Last Man on Earth
“Boom!”
“Oh, farts…”
“Hi, Phil’s penis.”

Kroll Show, Broad City, Key and Peele
They're all good.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Why isn’t this show called the Unbreakable Kimmy GIF?

Show Me a Hero
This may be the only thing the Crash guy has done that I can tolerate. Maybe that’s the strength of David Simon’s scripts? The pairing (and the mini-series format) is welcome, b/c it condenses a number of Simon’s ideas. Great, condensed and entertaining storytelling of a subject that would normally turn off mainstream viewers (ok, not sure how well this series performed).

Stuff I watched (over an hour)Inside Out
I have some problems with the film’s model of the function of emotion and memory (Nerd Writer goes into much more detail about this), but I can appreciate its overall message of embracing all types of emotions.

The Punk Singer
My entry point to Bikini Kill and Kathleen Hanna is admittedly Beastie Boys and Grand Royal. Oddly, this film sort of completes that circle by fleshing out Kathleen and Adam’s relationship. And, yes, I recognize that is hardly the point of this film.

Broadcast News
I really like the film’s grasp of the mechanics of telejournalism. It’s a shame this is really a bread-and-butter romance drama. Still worth it for some stellar performances from Holly Hunter and Albert Brooks.

What We Do in the Shadows
Everything I wished Only Lovers Left Alive was. The Real World vibe of bickering roommates is pretty inspired.

Chappie
The homie Tridential going, “Cha-ppeeee!!” Oh boy. Can’t recall the last time I saw HAM this porky.

Bernie
So simple and charming. I still really love Shirley Maclaine. Jack Black’s swishyness is a bit broad, but he’s understated overall. And that’s a good thing.

White Lightning
I should rewatch this now. Something about Bert’s smarm and Donald Trump’s asshole schtick. Hardly cut from the same cloth. But Trump makes me that much more nostalgic for Bert Reynolds’s era of asshole. Oh, and the cars are pretty neat, too.

The One I Love
aka, Take my wife, please (h/t wifey).

2014 Listicles: Vision Edition

Videos that I actually watched from start-to-finish

Tiombe Lockhart - “Can’t Get Enough”
She my BEY, IMHO.

Todd Terje“Leisure Suit Preben”
Scandinavian Tim & Eric.
 
Mr. Oizo “HAM”
Or, just go for made-in-America Eric.

Jenny Lewis “Just One of the Guys”
The entire album is good, if you’re into that ‘70s AOR/Fleetwood Mac/’70s coke vibe. I’ll direct you to The Toast for the specific explanation of this video.

Basement Jaxx “Never Say Never”
Well, they said 2014 was the year of ass.

Neko Case and Kelly Hogan “These Aren’t The Droids”
Or, maybe it’s still 2013. 

Ta-Nehisi Coates @ The City Club of Cleveland, 8/22/14
“Love is not telling people what they want to hear… a mature love... (of country) has to have as its component seeing people straight.” (it appears the whole talk has been replaced with this 2-minute clip on YouTube)

Film/TV from this year that I saw and would watch again

Birdman
8½ and Stardust Memories were favorites when I was in high school, so I haven’t paid meta commentaries too much mind of late. And a meta commentary from the actor’s -- pardon me, celebrity’s -- perspective? This film should have been one big red flag, but turned out to be the one film in recent memory that I have watched repeatedly and gotten more from with each viewing. Smart acting and filmmaking, great style and structure and an entertaining story. And there’s still a Hollywood ending! What’s not to like?

Selma
I appreciate the more focused approach to biopics than the reductive, comprehensive approach. Selma wasn’t as essential as I thought it would be, but provides a fairly helpful greatest hits overview of a seminal moment in the Civil Rights Movement and American history. There are more accurate media depictions of these events, namely PBS’s essential Eyes on the Prize, but trawling through YouTube for past PBS content is not everyone’s MO, so little hands for Selma’s efforts in reinforcing the importance of protest, strategic activism, political legislation, legal legwork, and media spectacle. My quibbles are more stylistic. Mainly that a film that purports to uphold the importance of the people and mass movements, it relies heavily on Hollywood conventions like the close-up and history through the actions of specific individuals. Also, considering the importance of public media in this event, it was unfortunate that actual footage was scarcely incorporated (the spattering of footage at the close of the film only highlighted the fact that this was Hollywood dressing the part of the Civil Rights Movement). For example, the reenactment of the first attempt to cross the Pettus Bridge was heart-wrenching, but would have been devastating if paired or substituted completely with the actual footage. Frankly, slow-mo and dramatic framing has nothing on raw, actual footage. Yes, these are pretty petty comments, but also are the sorts of details that separate a good film from an essential one.

Under the Skin
I am not a Scarlett Johansson fan, but g-d if she hasn’t had a solid run of recent films/roles. Her voice and presence was suitably all-encompassing in Her. Her Black Widow in Winter Soldier finally came into her own. Her character in Lucy was entertaining. And her portrayal of the main character in Under the Skin was a genuine delight. On the surface, the film is like good Species. In truth, it’s a fascinating portrayal of learning and our insecurities and fears. And Mica Levi’s soundtrack is The Shining level good.

Silicon Valley
Office Space jokes needed an update. Thank goodness for the scrum cracks. 

Broad City

“King of the world” remains hilarious.

Nathan For You
Has any show both externally refracted and interally pushed media culture in such a literal way? Maybe Nathan Fielder should have taken over the Colbert Report?

Review

Andy Daly’s got range, spanning from the cheerful cuckold Terrence Cutler to the dozen or so psychotic characters he brings to life on the Comedy Bang! Bang! podcast. Perhaps the throughline between all his characters is a put-upon/on-the-edge quality that is both empathetically familiar and grotesquely abhorrent. The skit-like structure of Review plays to the strengths of his scattershot imagination as he gets to push his character in new ways through different challenges/tasks/reviews. However, each review subtly builds on the prior, so the progression from pancakes to space makes complete sense. Never has watching a man methodically dismantle his life in the name of sharing an opinion been more delightful.

Top Five’s jail scene
The filmis a bit scattershot, but Rock lands a handful of solid shots. The centerpiece of the trailer is hardly the centerpiece of the film. The bachelor party scene easily trumps that scene, mostly because of Rock’s clear comfort with his actual homies (though Goldberg’s presence was a bit surprising, considering she’s from another comic generation). The Uprize scenes are a welcome reminder of The Chris Rock Show’s finer moments. But the real centerpiece is a near throwaway line for the true hip-hop head slash historic comic cinemaphile (and, in case there is any doubt, yes, X deserves a place in Top Five conversations). 

Film/TV I caught up on or revisited. And liked (again).
Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
Ellen Burstyn in A Woman Under the Influence. Except those two films came out the same year. Word…? 

Scanners
Can’t go wrong with Cronenberg.

Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench 
Whiplash is getting a lot of press, but I’m into Chazelle’s precocious debut. Almost makes me want to be twentysomething again. Almost. 

Stations of the Elevated
Along with Black Power Mixtape, I suppose Euro takes on Black America could occupy their own sub-genre of filmmaking. Nevertheless, this film focuses more on the aesthetics of graffiti. The results are priceless. A necessary time capsule.

Pacific Rim
Fun rock-em-sock-em.

Anarkali
Jesus, what an extravagant budget.

Crimson Kimono
Along with The Exiles, this Fuller gem contains a necessary look at mid-century Los Angeles. Cross-cultural conflicts in an under-appreciated architectural wonder (Downtown).

Locke
Worth watching for Tom Hardy’s acting. Really. Like, watching emotions shift like shadows being cast across a face and all that type of shit.

Neighbors
Not the one with the put-upon, chubby guy dealing with his out-of-control neighbors, but the other one with the put-upon, chubby guy dealing with his out-of-control neighbors. I can see why this film did not make the pantheon Blues Brothers-Animal House pantheon, but it’s arguably more fascinating to watch than either.

Diary of a Chambermaid
I thought I had seen the original before. Kinda worth it for Meredith Burgess, but I’ll stick with Jeanne Moreau. 

Hunger
Damn, Fassbender goes all in.

Afro-Punk
“There was no question whether I was a part of the black community… I got pulled over by cops when I was walking… All black people are part of the black community. You don’t have to do anything -- you’re black. So. That was comforting (laughs).” ~ Santi “Steve” Holley, Ann Arbor, MI

Films I saw that are a reminder I need to stop watching shit for conversation's sake 
The Wolf of Wall Street
Not as bad as thought it would be, but just plain, fucking boring. And unnecessary. And a solid reminder that I don’t need to watch Scorcese films anymore.

Magic Mike
Also boring. And unnecessary.

Lone Survivor, End of Watch, etc.
The hyperfocus on realism through style does a disturbing job of obscuring narrative leaps and poor ethics. The narrative changes to Luttrell’s account were unnecessary and ridiculous. And End of Watch really has nothing to say besides that cops can be bros. What a disservice.

Captain Phillips
Embarrassing.

Wreck-it Ralph
For billing itself as a video game nostalgia flick, it spends a lot of time dwelling on candy nostalgia.

Fantastic Four 2: Rise of the Silver Surfer
I’ll take the knock on this one because its shittiness was hardly a surprise. A case where curiosity shouldn’t be indulged.

Rubber
Not as weird as I thought it would be.

The Counselor
Oh yeah, I also don’t need to watch Ridley Scott films anymore.

Transformers & The Hobbit series
Not even worth it for conversation’s sake. Because there’s no conversation to be had.

Argo
Really, go fuck yourself.

Films I’ll have to catch up onBoyhood
Goodbye to Language
The Babadook
Kindergarten Teacher
Concerning Violence

Listomania: 2011

2010 was colorful. I experimented with new jobs, went hard on the freelance DJ'g and writing, and, oh, got hitched. Last year's lists reflect both the kaleidoscopic joy of the time, as well as the escape music provided.

2011 had its share of struggles, but the year was more stable and consistent. The list reflects that: the music is often calm, the readings patiently explore process, and the visuals reflect more than strike. As usual for me, there are plenty of nods to the past. PJ Harvey's circular connection between wars present and past is quite literal. However, I was more affected by Louis CK or Todd Hanson's raw reflections. Or even Juicy J's admission, "You say no to drugs / Juicy J can't." My 30s are making a lot more sense than my 20s. And 40s doesn't seem as frightening so much as a part of the package (at least one to be appreciative of reaching). We constantly work towards change while learning to accept our core characteristics, no matter the beauty or ugliness.

Cheers to your new year. Looking forward to chopping it up with you again in '12.

Top Albums
Louis CK - Hilarious
Bill Callahan - Apocalypse
WTF w/ Todd Hanson
PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
Black Keys - El Camino
Waka Flocka Flame - Duflocka Rant (10 Toes Down)
The Fruits - Fruits! Fruits! Fruits!

Albums I Need to Catch Up On
Bjork - Biophilia via an iPad
Beach Boys - Smile Sessions box set
Eagerly awaiting this Fugazi show

Top Songs 


Beyonce "End of Time"
Amy Winehouse "Valerie (Screwed Version)"
Jacques Greene "Another Girl"

Colin Stetson & Shara Worden "Lord I Just Can't Keep From Crying Sometimes"

Clams Casino "I'm God"

Nettle "Radio Flower"

Bill Callahan "Universal Applicant"

Kendrick Lamar "Rigomortis"
Roc Marciano "My Persona"
M83 "Midnight City" & "Intro (Feat. Zola Jesus)"

Danny Brown "30"
Morgan Zarate "Hookid"
PJ Harvey "The Last Living Rose"
Lonely Island "Jack Sparrow"
Bjork "Crystalline (Omar Souleyman Remix)"

Juicy J "A Zip and A Double Cup"

Top Videos

Diplo "Original Don"
Diplo cops/co-opts the best beats... and the most memeable videos, too. Extra points for the Welcome to the Johnsons-esque take on the house's interior design.

Erykah Badu "Gone Baby, Don't Be Long"

Flying Lotus x Beeple 4eva.

New Pornographers "Moves"
Tom Scharpling x Ted Leo x Todd Barry x John Oliver x Hannibal Burress x Kevin Corrigan! Best video ever.

Guy singing "Niggas in Paris" on NYC subway
New Yorkers may sit on top of the East, but Phillians and Bmorians have enough soul to openly dance in the streets. So credit this ecstatic New Yorker for taking his bedroom dance to the city's first stage, the subway. Here's proof that the best videos in life often come from life itself. 

きゃりーぱみゅぱみゅ (Kyari Pamyu Pamyu) "PONPONPON"
...and here's an example of one of the best videos coming from so far outside of life as we know it.

Keep It Live 3: Locking Showcase by Shyguy, Tsuyoshi and Boogiewalker 

Jessica Koslow has been giving breaking down various hip-hop dances for LA Weekly's West Coast Sound blog. Every post features great clips, but I'm partial to locking and Japanese dancers

Keith Richards interview at NYPL
and
Mannie Fresh's Red Bull Academy interview
Laugh all you want, but the candor and specificity of these musicians' recollections need to be documented for future scholars.

Lil Buck and Yo-Yo Ma

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Nonesuch-ification of African-American youth culture.

Worst Videos
Young L "Respect My Dick"
This is one of those Chris Rock "Remember when it wasn't so hard to defend rap?" moments where all the talk of rap not being the only mass media culture with a history of violence against women and the history of African oral traditions and technical innovations go to pot. This is a pretty inexcusable song from a generally musically interesting guy. The video kind of helps as it starts with a seemingly ironic dream bubble sequence. But using a torture scenario, whether you're Joe Kanye or Joe Who?, is in all cases wrong. 

Jacuzzi Boys "Glazin'"
I'm not asking WWJD, I'm asking what would I like my child to do?

Jean Nipon "Cairo"
Chalk up this schlocky shocker to poor timing, but the over-the-top violence is additionally disturbing in light of being released on 1/9, a day after the Tucson shootings. 

The Deadsets "One Hour"
More gore for gore's sake.

Reading
Dan Charnas The Big Payback (and Noz' addendum "Notes on 'The Big Payback'")

Yes, I know this came out last year. In my defense, it was late last year. And I didn't get my copy until '11.

Robin D.G. Kelley Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original 

Yes, I also know this came out in '09. I'm a slow reader. And, no, I'm not finished yet. But I've been savoring every word.

Ta-Nehisi Coates "A Muscular Empathy," "Cream of the Earth, Was Here First" & his series of "The Civil War Isn't Tragic" posts

Alyssa Rosenberg "Six Thoughts About Misogyny and Popular Culture"

The Doogie Howser of cultural-political writing, but age ain't nothin' but a number, right? Rosenberg x Think Progress = What? Yglesias left? I know they write on completely different topics, but Rosenberg is always so insightful and to-the-fucking-point. This particular post was a slam-dunk.

Keith Richards Life 

Digging into Just Kids next. The best part? Fun stuff for both the critics and the people!

Arthur Rimbaud A Season in Hell 

Didn't know anything about him 'til I read a New Yorker piece which made him sound like a gay, 19th-century Tupac. Not in the thug life way, but more in the I Just Don't Give A Fuck/contradictory way. Trying to prep myself to dig into the new translation of Illuminations, which came out this year.

Lawrence Wright The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11

More vintage reads, but really great stuff. I paid more attention to Wright this year -- totally accessible political writing -- and felt this was a great follow-up to Legacy of Ashes, which I read last year. I am looking for a copy to own, so I can re-read.

Quinn Norton at Wired's Threat Level blog

Her coverage of Anonymous, in particular, has been helpful.

Geeta Dayal's feature on Conrad Schnitzler (also her interview with Max Mathews)

I love Geeta's writing and her interests. I also love Max Mathews' "Bicycle Built For Two."

Alice Marwick and Dana Boyd The Drama! Teen Conflict, Gossip and Bullying in Networked Publics 

Oh. My. God. Becky. Look at this paper. It's so... right!

Kembrew McLeod and Peter DiCola Creative License: The Law and Culture of Digital Sampling

J-Zone "When Rappers Get Day Jobs"

The writing isn't particularly sharp, but I don't expect much from J-Zone. The reality and storytelling, however, is crushing. Add "rapper" to that list of 0.001%er careers.

NY Mag "Rude Boys: The Birth of the Beastie Boys--an oral history on the 25th anniversary of 'Licensed to Ill'"

Bittersweet nostalgia.

Noz' Biggie defense "Stay Low & Keep Firing"

Bitter nostalgia.

M. Molly Backes "How To Be a Writer"

A very cute piece referenced in Ta-Nehisi Coates' Atlantic Monthly blog, but definite food-for-thought as the kids in my family grow to the age where they begin to read/write.

Watching

Only a handful of truly memorable films this year. Absolutely loved the 3-D in Herzog's Cave of Forgotten Dreams. The depth of vision made me feel like an armchair spelunker. Wish I saw it more than once while it was in the theater. On the other hand, I saw Drive twice. That felt indulgent, but the occasional pulp fiction is good fun. On the other hand, the internet provided its share of highlights. Louie continues to be Hilarious. The Catholic school/guilt episode is still my favorite, but I especially loved the Joan and USO tour eps. Finally caught up on Breaking Bad. Just going to add my two hands to the critical applause. Tons of great vintage stuff on YouTube, particularly a touching BBC doc on Gene Vincent, circa the late '60s (especially touching after reading Michael Hall's feature on the last years of Bill Haley). An interview with Kurt Cobain (with Erica Ehm of Canada’s Much Music TV channel) a few months before his death was also fantastic. The clip is long-ish by internet standards (23 minutes), but brief for anyone who has conducted interviews. Much of the commentary around the interview is about how lucid Cobain sounds. Better still is how genuinely patient and engaging he is with the young interviewer (she doesn't recognize several of his references). It's a new window into a man who had a profound impact on my generation.

And The Trip was actual ROFL. And a surprisingly touching meditation on mid-life manias. I went back to Coogan's Alan Partridge stuff. Armando Iannucci is brilliant. I'd put him up with Gervais. I tried watching Saxondale, but found it a bit predictable. Maybe I should give it a second chance?

On a side note, I feel relegated to mention the ATCQ doc. It was fun to watch in a theater with heads bobbing and mouths mouthing lyrics. But I need to kick myself in the butt and get on that comprehensive Native Tongues history I've been dreaming of doing since I was a teenager. The doc does a commendable job of covering the stickier parts of the group's dynamic, but is hardly news to even the  passing fan. A more interesting story would have been about the rise of the Native Tongues, but, I know, that's not just an ATCQ story.

Looking

Youth

Baby Whisperer

LINER NOTES 
Brak Flag

Charts!
Defaced LP covers
Nio
Blueberry Kush
Ema
Bento Lunch Box Album Covers
Hiroshima: United States Strategic Bombing Survey @ ICP, then Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum later in the year

Scrap Book

Experiencing a Lil B conversion with my Berkeley homie

...followed by seeing one of James Levine's last concerts before his spate of cancellations (with the same homie)

When I take my half-Mexican niece to the park, no one bats an eye. When I take my white niece to the park, moms give me hard stares. I'm not making that up.
The Brasil-like baby-faced shortie at HalloWEEN

The photo pit of Nas and The Roots

Tokimonsta showing up Samiyam... and possibly Daedelus?
Reggie Watts and LCD Soundsystem covering "Stand On The Word"

Marc Maron's visit to the Creation Museum

The Big 4 is probably my first and only metal show. For a while. 
Were they serving booze at Shirley Caesar's show?

The pair of 26-year-olds that stole Aziz Ansari's 7.30 Bell House show

My aunt pretending to carry a baby

Worst Tattoos
Gucci Mane's face Ice Cream Cones and lightning bolts
T-Pain's arm has a Facebook "Like" logo
This guy's face reads Free Lil Boosie
Zac Efron has a Drake tattoo; She tattooed Drake on her face
Fred Bosch's QR Code/"Random" tattoo
 
Worst Request
"Any Maroon 5."

I Love Desi 1: Big Themes

Went to India back in March. Oddly, it was a finance guy that summed it up: "Was it everything from depths-of-poverty crazy to mind-blowingly awesome?"

Yeah.

It is the sort of experience that is so all-encompassing that it makes no sense to speak of it in any general terms. Categories like food, politics, art, etc. need to be broken down to specifics. The taste of melting mutton and berries over a healthy bed of rice under a cool ceiling fan. The daily passing of electronic billboards that encourage unity to "vanquish terror." The feel of a slumgirl's dried, calloused hand as she grabbed my arm to get my attention. The luxury of wading in a country club swimming pool. The un-calculating smile of a driver at the end of a long day of sitting in the heat for hours and going through hell on the highway. The calculating smile of a driver at the end of 24 hours of constant swindling. The ecstasy of downing clean, pure water after a day of wandering. Etc., etc.

You'd think I would focus on the music, but I suppose I did in ways I hadn't planned: feeling the rhythm of rush hour traffic (both on the sidewalks and the streets); hearing the frequent din of religion; and of course seeing the flashy signifier of any metropolis: videos/television. I didn't take to the conventional ways of consuming music until the last few days when I realized, "Yikes, I haven't taken to the conventional ways of consuming music." A couple trips to Rhythm House, some peeks at the tellie and liberal use of Continental's direct movie system were about it. Hell, G&G dug at Chor Bazaar for me!

All to say, I owe G&G and y'all some love. Today's blend is a mix of tracks that I picked up and G&G picked up for me. The songs are all Hindi film songs from the '50s to the '80s. Being music from the past, all of it feels completely separate from the trip--like some lost appendix. That said, the music has a universal willingness to break boundaries--a sense of freedom we saw everywhere we went. Maybe that's why I gravitated towards the songs that freely incorporate other cultural elements; remind me again why it took so long for Western artists to mine South Asian music? Yet at the same time there is a quaintness that locks these songs in another time--similar to how the trip has been shelved away in my memory.

This post ran long, so I'll split it into four parts over the coming days: Big Themes; The Other; Go, Go!; and Loosies. The first section contains some of the "big" numbers that came into the collection:





"Mehbooba Mehbooba" (from Sholay)
&
"Hum Tumhe Chante Hain" (from Qurbani)

Sholay and Qurbani represent major commercial benchmarks in Bollywood history. The former is the highest-grossing film in Indian cinematic history and ran in one Mumbai theater for over 5 years. The film's theme music alone summarizes the film's mass appeal: a short, simple fusion of memorable playback melodies and '60s latin-'pop rhythms. Qurbani is an '80s hit that most everyone saw back in the day. But the soundtracks are pretty distinct.

R.D. Burman applied his typically eclectic touch to Sholay. I picked "Mehbooba Mehbooba" for the appearance of the composer on the vocals. He stepped behind the mic on occasion, but this one seems to capture the idiosyncratic qualities of his voice. The track itself is an interesting take on Cypriot folk music, which you could easily overlook given the camp value of the accompanying dance sequence.

Kalyanji-Anandji lend the Bondish Qurbani a classy touch (particularly the qawwali-inflected title cut). Many remember the unabashed pop flotsam "Aap Jaisa Koi," especially with its "Rock Me Baby" knock-off drum machine. But "Hum Tuhme Chahte Hain" is the standout with its faux celeste breakdown.



"Pretty Woman" (from Kal Ho Na Ho)

S.R. Khan being in the headlines was no surprise. The actor has been an institution for years now. While we were there, most of the press was about My Name Is Khan and his meeting with Akon for the upcoming film Ra One. That said, this joint from 2003 got some burn on the hotel tellie and reminded me of SRK's long-standing America-philia. Why this guy hasn't conquered the States yet is beyond me--this number screams I Love Apple Pie And NASCAR, Too!!

Next up will be part 2, The Other...