Friday, January 30, 2009

Bloodshot eyes on the sparrow.....

So i'm reading New Scientist (Yes, I read New Scientist), and I come across one of those crazy sentences that makes you proud to be a part of the human race.
OK, we fight a lot over stupid insecurities, and we're probably destroying the planet, and a lot of the issues of the world could be sorted out if everyone went "OK, in past some crazy bullshit went down, everyone got hurt in a variety of different ways, I acknowledge that and respect it, it sucked, but we start afresh right.... now". I know all that, and it frustrates me no end.
But no other animal that we are aware of could do something like putting into orbit "four telescopes - equipped with the world's largest digital cameras, at 1.4 billion pixels apiece - that will search the skies for anything that blinks or moves. Their main purpose is to look out for potentially hazardous asteroids bound for Earth, but inhabitants of the outer solar system will not escape its all-seeing eyes.
Their main purpose is to look out for potentially hazardous asteroids bound for Earth.
Bring it on, universe. Humans are hard bodied and hoodied up.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

This is where I stop being a fan of Kanye West...


Sorry homie, I tried to like 808's, I tried to ignore your growing obnoxiousness, but you really need serious psychiatric help, and at least a year off touring.
BTW... It's hotter than 2 mice fucking in a wool sock right now.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Chilling on the couch with Letterman....

I've been trying to tell my buddies for years why David Letterman is and always will be the king of Late Night Television. A lot of people watch, and just see an old guy trotting out bad monologues and shilling for blockbuster releases and bands on tour. But you need to put the guy in context. Firstly, he's coming up on 20,000 shows, nearly 30 years of television, hundred of thousands of guests, and he works 6 nights a week at nearly 62 years of age . That's crazy in its own right.
Secondly, The Late show is so corporate now, that as such it has lost what was great about it. Back in the 80's, the Late Show was Dave's show. If he wanted to cut an interview short because the guests sucked, he would. If he wanted to spend a whole show calling businesses that had the word "Fun" in their name and asking employees how fun it was to work there, he would. The guy who works in the Korean Deli across the street became part of the show because Dave got bored and sent a cameraman out for sandwiches. Genius, and hilarious.
But the best part of Letterman is when he has no interest or respect for his guests. These are the moments of Letterman brilliance, and are far greater than any scripted comedy could be.
Jacked from Cracked.com, here are the 9 most awkward Letterman appearances of all time.
Watching Letterman ask Paul "...have you ever watched a man drown before?" is worth it in itself.
http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-9-most-hilariously-awkward-letterman-interviews/

Peace,
Broke

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

I got 5 on Snoop's Source Award....

So Death Row has been auctioned off for a cool $24 milli to Global Music Group. President of GMG Susan Berg just made a killing, and probably isn't really aware of it.
The purchase puts her in control of all the recordings ever released on the label, including groundbreaking albums from the likes of Tupac Shakur (All Eyez On Me, 9x Platinum and counting...) Snoop Dogg (Doggystyle 4x Platinum, Tha Doggfather 2x Platinum) and Dr. Dre (The Chronic 3x Platinum). Berg now also owns the rights to twenty unreleased 'Pac tracks which could quite possibly (definately will) be brought together and released as an album.

Hold up, let's backtrack a little bit. She just bought the rights to All Eyez On Me, Doggystyle and the Chronic, as well as who knows how many other artists and albums, for $24 million?
God damn, now that's a crate digger.

Suge Knight sold the label after a judge ordered him to sell off all his assets to the highest bidder after a bankruptcy situation. The situation stemmed from an incident back in 2005 when Suge Knight was forced to pay a staggering $107 million to ex-partner Lydia Harris who claimed that he had kept her profits before being removed from the label. The payout led Knight to file for federal bankruptcy in 2006.
So that's all interesting enough, but the real gold is in the details.
Along with the company itself, the assets of the company were sold off too. All of them. Everything from the TV's, to the furniture, to SNOOP DOGG AND DR. DRE'S SOURCE AWARDS. Now there's a sweet paperweight. Imagine your crew rolls round, "hey bro, what's that award up there?" "oh, nothing important, just Dre's Source award for Best Producer".
Peep these photos of stuff that was sold off, courtesy of deathrowauctions.com



Anyone for N.W.A's platinum record plaque?


The Infamous P.I.G picture, which Suge Knight commissioned during the height of the East Coast/West Coast beef.


Now this has to be the weirdest item. "The Liberator" wedge, great new angles on Sex!
Why was this just hanging around, still in package, at the Death Row offices? Pretty expensive wedge too, $280. Damn.


I could rock Suge's hat, no doubt.

Along with this sweet booty, lucky punters made off with:

~ The Death Row Records Electric Chair ($12,000, if you're wondering)
~ Suge Knight's Cigars & Engraved Cases
~ Numerous Tupac Shakur collectable items
~ 300,000 Saleable CD's in Original Packaging (some CD's were selling for as little as 4c apiece)
SO what's the lesson here? Don't screw your business partners out of their earnings, because they will crush your company and take all your money. BUt the ensuing auction will be a bonanza. Here's hoping that the new owners don't try to squeeze every last drop of cash out of Pac's memory like Suge did.
Peace,
Broke.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Filters are for Spliffs you government bitches....

So I dunno why this hasn't been getting more press, but sooner than you think Senator Stephen Conroy, the Communications Minister, will supervise the test phase of a filtered internet feed throughout Australia. Late last year he announced it (on his blog, no less) and it quickly fell out of the press, probably because this type of thing is debated pretty much constantly. Any day now, some of Australia's internet service providers will join in a pilot of the minister's "undesirable content" filter.
This filter will block content blacklisted by the Australian Communications and Media Authority. Once again, This filter will block content blacklisted by the Australian Communications and Media Authority.
No discussion, no input from the populace, and an independently nominated authority making decisions on what constitutes content offensive enough to be blacklisted. The blacklist will apparently block access to child pornography, no argument there, good work all round. However, in theory there is nothing that could stop the ACMA blocking anything the government authority doesn't fancy.
Last November, Conroy is quoted as saying the blacklist would filter child-porn sites as well as "other unwanted content". Yeah, that's where the issue comes in. Right there. You inadvertently summed it up well, Senator Conroy. The authority's list is totally secret, and you have been quoted as saying that this filter will block "other unwanted content".
Define that, if you could, because that sounds a little like well crafted Doublespeak to me. I have a feeling that the "other unwanted content" may in fact be "other content that is unwanted by the current government".
Again, I want to stress that I can understand parents wanting to keep their kids safe, and I can understand the need to keep the dreaded child porn off as many screens as possible, but its difficult to believe that Conroy has a complete grasp of the magnitude of what he is doing.
I quote the man himself...."If people equate freedom of speech with watching child pornography, then the Rudd Labor Government is going to disagree". And the Australian Christian Lobby is right behind it too, says managing director Jim Wallace "The need to prevent access to illegal hard-core material and child pornography must be placed above the industry's desire for unfettered access".

Yeah, guys, you're not really getting it. We're with you on the child porn bit, but a government filter of the internet, which is hailed as the last true bastion of free speech, is a dangerous line to tread. I mean, China's internet technically has the same filter, they're just a little more liberal with the term "other unwanted content".

I'm probably overreacting, but you get the point. You have to watch what's happening. Most people don't really understand the fact that Bush didn't technically have to leave the presidency. He could have stayed on, 'cos in 2008 congress had passed a law which states that as long as the US is in a state of emergency, the president can stay on for as long as he wants. And with the current economic issues, the ongoing issues in Iraq, as well as beef with Iran and North Korea, Bush could easily have declared a state of emergency and hung around. There would have been a civil war, which would have been interesting to say the least.

Anyways, stay vigilant cyber pals, and keep the internet free from filters. In fact, everyone should download some porn tonight, as a fuck you to Senator Conroy. Besides, it's hard to argue with a man who believes that "If you're opposed to the department's cyber-safety plan, you are opposed to the protection of children".
Just for that cheap shot Conroy, here's 40 Glocc with the unrated version of "Finer Things". Definately *NSFW*, definately bumpin'.
Peace.

Video update

Hey kids, here's a bunch of sweet vids that have kept me amused over the past few weeks.
So waste a few minutes. Go on, you deserve it. You know there's always more minutes coming.



The best of The Late Show - great moments in presidential speeches. Self explanatory, and hilarious.




Welcome to California. BTW, how cute is Trish Regan? I'd watch her report on pretty much anything.
Anyways, with the US in a recession, I think the legalisation movement should grab the moment and push harder for legalisation, as weed sales could stimulate their flagging economy, and the taxes may be enough to pull them out of hardship all together....
Just a thought.


Anyone who knows Rush knows YXZ, but have you seen the drum solo rocked by a 12 year old asian girl?
Killer.




Bo. Fo' Sho'. Still can't decide whether I like this or not. It is clever.



?uestlove vs Travis Barker. 'nuff said.


And finally,

That's right, I said it.
Peace out y'all

Sunday, January 25, 2009

One more cup of coffee before I go....

Straight jacked from Byron Crawford, show respect and click the link on the right of this page, Byron knows whats up before I do.

This is why you don't want to go to gaol. ever.

Peace party people, Ha ha, see you later!

Heavy Rotation Part IV

So for part IV of heavy rotation, I thought i'd give you guys a treat. Not that the other tracks have been weak, but this is an extra special HR.
DJ Jaguar Skills put together what may be the craziest thing i've heard in quite some time. 800 tracks, played over 48 minutes, in essentially chronological order charting the rise of Hip Hop from one-time fad to the worlds most dominating form of music, language, dress sense etc.
Beginning with the Fatback Band, and their track King Tim III (unbeknownst to most laymen of Hip Hop, this is widely believed to be the first Hip Hop track ever pressed to wax, 2 years before Melle Mel came through with The Message, but that's really another story for another post) you only get 6 seconds of King Tim before we're onto the next one. And then the next one. And then the next one. And so on, through 797 banging tracks. Don't worry if you're not feeling the current selection, as you only have to wait 6 seconds for a new beat.
But seriously, this is an awesome accomplishment, and well worth listening to, as it gives you a great feel for how the sound of hip hop has changed since those days way back when.

For those interested, track list can be found here
Grab that Bad Boy right here
Props to Jaguar Skills, obviously.
Peace.

They call themselves Black, but we'll see if they'll play this.

Straight back like I left something......

ec⋅lec⋅tic –adjective
1. Selecting or choosing from various sources.
2. Made up of what is selected from different sources.
3. Not following any one system, as of philosophy, medicine, etc., but selecting and using what are considered the best elements of all systems.

So we got the green light from the crew at SYN (mad props) to take the contents of our lives to the airwaves, so keep an ear to the radio over the next few weeks for myself and the Jacksonian Institute dissecting the weeks events, bumping only the freshest beats, and playing silly sound effects as well (Temple Block Riot here we come!).
If 2pm on a Tuesday isn't the best time for you, because you're employed in a job that takes place at daytime during the week, fret not dear friends. I will be uploading all our shows, in all their shambolic glory, right here at acheaptrim for your downloading and listening pleasure.
So, to quote The Hollowmen, "Watch This Space!"

Friday, January 23, 2009

Not so charming...

Well after that little treatise on Slumdog it seems international opinion has turned and all on the voice of one Tapeshwar Vishwakarma! This top slum=representing beauraucrat is going after the films Music Director A H Rahman and its top India-based actor Anil Kapoor. He claims the films title and continuing reference to slum-dwellers and dogs is a violation of many of india's poorest.

Good on you Mr. Vishwakarma! But how about you go after the script-writer? What do the actors and music directors (??!!?!!?!) have to do with the textual content? There's more money in the Rule Britannia imperialists any way. I'm sure Mr Boyle is flush as a bejewelled loo these days. It is they who have rudly exploited the pain and suffering of literally millions of Indian's. It is they who have distilled years of hardship and toil into a 2.5 hour feel-good rag-to-riches story to paste a cathartic smile on the face of middle-class white folk half a world a way and recieve glowing accolations, gold-plated trinkets and buckets of money in doing so.

How much was that young boy paid to jump in that pile of shit???

That said, good film but.....

Slumdog

So I went to see OSCAR BUZZ numero uno 'Slumdog Millionaire'. I have to go see a couple, already put down benji button and the other options? revolutionary road? Well, apart for my penchant for leo finding yet another excuse to get his hair wet while he kisses kate winslet, an oscar film about real estate? c'mon. c'mon!

To start with, y'all should check out slumdog. Why?
1. Becuase of the way the host of the Indian Who Wants to be a Millionaire says the word Millionaire. Something like a cross between those folk that make hats and the way the french cook their fillets. Hillarious. That's not racist, its comic.
2. For Danny Boyle's incredible direction and who ever was the DOP's success in capturing that vision. Some of the shots as the young slum kids dash through Mumbai's kilometres of slum are fucking amazing.

That said, I don't wanna talk it up to much, as I had one of those poor experiances of way too high expectations and inevitable dissapointment. Honestly it couldn't have panned out any other way. I was told it was 'The best film I've ever seen' by both a 19 year old bar-girl from brisbane with a killer tan and an interest in OK magazine, and an ageing, heavily tattooed, certifiably insane ex-crim who said 'It made me laugh, it made me angry and it made me want to cry'. If thats not a fair canvassing of the australian population, I'm nor sure what is. So I went in expecting fire-works.

But yeah, check it out. Aint half bad.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Why gremlins is an ingenious screenplay, AKA Chris Columbus , WTF?!

OK, so i'm watching Gremlins with the crew a week ago, and enjoying reliving my childhood with a nice kids flick from the 80's (coincidentally released the year of my birth), and all is going well. I'm laughing at the 80's power suits, the special effects are sufficiently half-assed, and the haircuts are definately worth the price I paid for the disc ($14.95 for both Gremlins 1 & 2, it would have been a crime not to snatch it up).
As a complete aside, I was IMDBing Gremlins, to get some charector names, and one of the ads has possibly the best lead-off line I have ever read... "Ready for some Piranha action, in 3D?"
Hell yes I am!
So back to Gremlins, around 30 minutes in, Billy and Kate (the romantic teenage leads) are strolling through the city, and it's clear to anyone with even a modicum of screenwriting knowledge that the ensuing scene will be laying some emotional pipe. It will be a fleshing out of the charectors, we will learn where they stand in the world from 3 or 4 lines of dialogue, which is usually all you need from someone anyway, most people are pretty vacuous.
So it becomes clear by the end of this scene that Kate is not a fan of Christmas, in fact quite opposed to it, as highlighted by the line "while most people are opening up presents, some people are opening up a vein."
Wow. Really? in a PG movie? we can say "opening up a vein" in a movie aimed at under 12s? Awesome. Now how about we have Paddington Bear on the cover of his next book sitting in a squat, on a dirty mattress, with one wellington off and his toe on the trigger of a shotgun. Back cover, brains and blood splattered on the filthy wall, with little bits of yellow plastic from his rain hat stuck throughout.
But that isn't even the harshest part of gremlins. This is dead set, no doctoring, straight out of the movie, around 1 hour in.



That's right, Kate hates Christmas because she found her father dead in the chimney, dressed as Santa Claus.
Now, let's just take that in, in all it's disgusting glory. First of all, you have to think of the heartache that was caused by her father not showing up for Christmas. Then there's the weeks of agonising waiting, wondering if he's OK, worndering what happened. And you have to think that there was some point when Kate and her mother must have considered the possiblilty he was having an affair, adding a real sense of abandonment (as well as male trust issues) to the whole thing.
Then, in the middle of all of this, they get the cleaners in to sort out a problem with their chimney, AND FIND THEIR DEAD, DECOMPOSED, STINKY FATHER/HUSBAND DRESSED AS SANTA CLAUS STUCK IN THE CHIMNEY.
Holy crap, that shit is fantastic! Tarantino couldn't have come up with something as gruesome as that. And to have the whole story delivered from a cute teenager playing with a destroyed Christmas tree makes it feel like something out of The Shining.
And then, when it couldn't get any creepier, you have the whole thing rammed home with the capper of "and that's how I found out there was no Santa Claus". Like that is the major issue. Forget you found your father in the chimney, probably had to watch while they got a crane in from the nearest construction site to drag his rotting carcass out of your chimney, maybe it broke after they got it out and your fathers legs went smacking off the roof onto your trampline and bounced around for a while like that bear that gets tranquilised on Youtube, the major issue is definately that that night ruined your childhood illusion of Santa Claus.
And as a last note, how did that ever pass muster with the suits at the studio?
Did not one person say "yeah Steven, love the movie, gremlins are cute, actors are fine, but whats with the dead father in the chimney? That's a little dark there, bud. Is everything OK at home with Chris? No marriage troubles?
Might want to think about a rewrite".
Peace,
Broke

Welcome to the fold....

So as you can see, my buddy PMM has joined the illustrious alumni here at acheaptrim, and as he has mentioned, i'll be providing the Sparkle and Shine, while he will be providing the hard hitting political opinions and discussions with intellectual heavyweights of the day.
Probably not, but at least the topics of discussion will range further than how sweet the Watchmen movie will (hopefully) be.
So welcome on board bud, and good luck staying afloat in this tangled web.
Again, watch out for those Crack Spiders. Seriously.

I aint no crack spider...

I don't know much about this here web. Don't expect PMM to be dropping regular photos on the screen, or any of them there moving picture films you kids are so fond of.

However, having been described in the last week alone as 1. The Speaker of Truth; 2. A Vibrant Fillibuster; 3. Really Conceited and 4. Partially Unemployed my much esteemed webmaster DJ Broke has invited my to make the occational contribution to this project.

A Cheap Trim is more than a forum for discussion. Its a chance me to avoid the one constant in DJ Broke's life. Judging by the current content, and safe in the knowledge of Broke's promise of 2% of the first million and .5% there after, I reiterate my ad-space offer to Universal Music Group and Studio. We already give you cats mad press. Pay us.

Its also the sister-site to our soon to be on-air radio show Ecclectical Empire. Coming soon to SYN Fm Melburn City. The show's going to be a solid antidote to the sick naffness of commerical fuelled shit and the increasingly chipper voices of promotion-proud triple J. It's going to have a good blend of music, steeped in hip-hop, protest and lyricism. It's going to have sketch comedy, reviews, analysis and discussion. It will be devoted to Tunes, Taste and Truth. More details soon.

For me personally A Cheap Trim will be a place to share. As I said before, I'm not so good with putting anything right here on the page for you, but I will at the end of every post provide a few links to things of interest.

Issues like climate change, fossil fuels and consumerism have become such a common concern for anyone with any wits that much disillusionment can be found in people struggling to believe that we, as a society can deal with the problems they will ineivtably present. I for one find myself at a loss when I consider the reaction of myself and those around me to the sudden absence of amenitites we so regularly take for granted. This green angst has been helped in no small way the viewing of these films.

1. The earth one.
2. The resources one.
3. The really scary conspiracy theory one.

Recently I have been lucky enough to meet a few people who have put me on to some real options. Gareth Johnstone gave me this one. Check it out.

Peace.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Watch out for the Crack Spiders....




They'll take you out if you front.

Heavy Rotation Part III

Lil' Wayne - Best Thing Yet

It was always going to happen. In fact, i'm surprised it didn't happen earlier. In fact, i'm surprised all these Heavy Rotations' haven't been Lil Wayne tracks.
There's not really an awful lot that needs to be said about this track. Off The Empire's "The Drought 6: The Rebirth",this track shows Wayne back at his lyrical best. Still not talking about anything more susbtatial than cars, chicks, and why he's the best ever, but who cares?
Stick it out until the last verse, it's pretty much stream of consciousness rapping. Some wild shit.

Grab that bad boy right here.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Back on my Grizzly...

.... 'cos i'm a bonafide hustler. Been a bit slack of late, had a long wewk at work and a hectic few days off, but i'll be back tomorrow with a few random thoughts to extrapolate.
Peace,
Broke

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Overpriced Popcorn '09

So '08 was pretty good for movies, The Dark Knight was killer, 300 rocked, Judd Apatow came out with some great comedy, and the gangster movie was reinvigorated with American Gangster.
But '09 looks even sweeter, with some monster comic book adaptations, apparently some new Tarantino, and a bio of one of the greatest rappers ever.
Here's the rundown of the movies i'm most looking forward to this year. I don't guarantee they'll all be for everyone, and they're not necessarily Cannes material, but they will be dope.

NOTORIOUS



Biggie was one of the best to do it, and i'm glad it looks like they made this bio the right way. Jamal Woodard is actually a pretty good rapper, and looks and sounds a hell of a lot like Biggie, and whoever is playing Puff does a damn good job. Hopefully the movie lives up to the trailer.


THE SPIRIT



The Spirit looks dope like Cheech and Chong. You have Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Jaime King and Eva Mendes all rocking the Frank Miller film noir style. Sweet.

WATCHMEN



Yeah, you know i'm looking forward to this one. If you don't know about Watchmen, you really should get a copy and read it. There's a reason it's the most celebrated Graphic Novel of all time, and i'd highly recommend reading it before seeing the movie, as movies can change the way you read things, and Watchmen wil be way more potent as a book if you don't know the ending.

WOLVERINE



'nuff said, you know it will be sweet.


AVATAR

You can count on James Cameron to come with the heat, and the Times tipped this to be the film of the year, perhaps even Titanic proportions.
Cameron wrote the script himself, and the plot follows a future human invasion of a planet rich in natural resources that is also a biological time-bomb, appropriately known as Pandora.
We follow an ex-marine who changes sides, choosing to defend the ammonia-breathing indigenous creatures on the target planet against his fellow invading Earthlings. The film straddles two of the most important current themes, the fear of environmental catastrophe and an endemic sense of guilt about the destruction of nature.
No trailer as of yet, but the concept art can be seen at avatarmoviezone.com

Well, that about sums it up for the movie releases for this year, there's probably a few that I missed but these would be most of the standouts. Get out and see these bad boys, as there's nothing like a massive screen and banging sound, even if most movie crowds suck these days.
Peace,
~Broke

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Heavy Rotation Part II

Once again, high like a Hi-Top Fade....



But anyway, this week's Heavy Rotation is an undiscovered gem, a sweet funky groove from one of my favourite MC's, Brother Ali. Any festival heads probably caught Atmosphere and Brother Ali at Falls Festival over NYE, an apparently they ripped it down once again (not surprisingly).
This funky little number is a bonus cut from The Truth EP, so most people missed it, making it even more delicious for those who picked up on it (no non-delicious filler around here, only chocolate filled goodness). I'm way into the funky piano at the moment, so Ant is (once again) hitting all the right buttons with the smooth bass and tinkly piano styles on this one, and the Brother comes through again with an impeccable flow, and some heartfelt lyrics. Ali is usually on the positive tip, but he's way into the happy-to-be-alive thing on Good Lord. Not surprising, considering the shit he's been through, he probably is happy to be alive.

But onto the dissection.

Good Lord is an obvious statement of Ali's beliefs, and how they have affected his life. From the opening line of "best believe the Q'uran influenced all of my songs...", Ali makes no bones about where he stands religiously, however my favourite thing about Ali is I never feel like he's preaching, more explaining and celebrating how his religion has influenced him throughout his life. The discussion and religious references continue throughout the first verse, with Ali mantioning the effect that his religion has had on his fans, as well as namechecking numerous prophets and Islamic figures, including Bilal ibn Rabah with a tight couplet:

"Holler like Bilal in the tower,
Hayya 'alal-falah, Allah is the power"
(for those who don't know, Bilal ibn Rabah was the first official muezzin of the Islamic faith, known for his beautiful voice with which he called the people to their prayers. Step your 7th century muezzin game up, y'all.)

Ali then closes the verse out with a typically juxtaposed line,

"Laying in the alley I whisper the Shahada (The Shahada is the Muslim declaration of belief in the oneness of God and acceptance of Muhammad as his prophet),
The bullets fly by from the drive by."

And then a fantasy of what might be called a black paradise, but is really closer to a celebration of pinnacles of black history and culture. Admittedly a bit strange from an Albino guy from Minnesota, but he has addressed the reasons for his Pro-Blackness in many a track, and that's really a discussion for another day.

"Imam Mohammad used to pound on the podium,
Popmaster Fable worked it out on the linoleum.
Chappelle busts funnies, Mos Def busts rhymes,
and Muhammad Ali is the greatest of all time."


It's really in the second verse that Ali gets on the pro-life tip, and I don't mean any anti-abortion talk. This is emo-rap at it's best, or possibly worst. If Ali didn't have swagger like a pirate, this verse would be dangerously close to waaaaay too soft for my liking. I don't need guns and bitches in every verse, but I like a little backbone to whatever i'm hearing.

"Something spiritual happens when the hands get to clapping,
can you tell me what religion do you laugh in?
The human reaction of smiles and cries,
What language are the tears when they're falling from your eyes?"

Again, great lyrics, don't get me wrong, and I think this verse was very deliberately structured to be humanity based, rather than religion based, as there's a real "I am Human, and so are you" vibe about this verse.

"You've probably seen the sun rise hundreds of times.
But let a painter paint it or a poet describe,
the very moment where heaven and earth might collide,
and god let the breath of life come outside.
Satan doubted it, angels bow to it,
I'm so beautifully human and i'm proud of it.
Soul of a soldier, heart of a scholar,
I wrote this poem with the blood of a martyr."

A tight 16 bars, closed out with a callback to the first verse dismount, and the chorus kicks in to take it all home. Flow like Niagara.

All in all, this track will remain heavy in my Iriver for a while, there's better Brother Ali tracks out there, but this jam puts me in a good mood for the day, and it's a banger to throw on when you're headed home from work and need a lift after a shitty day.
Enjoy the track, and be sure to cop as much Brother Ali as you can. Support the artists doing their thing kids, otherwise we'll have to listen to Nickelback all day.

Grab that bad boy RIGHT HERE

Friday, January 2, 2009

Ron Barassi.... Straight Gangsta.

http://www.realfooty.com.au/articles/2009/01/02/1230681672966.html

Barassi still bringing the ruckus after all these years, top notch effort.
And who punches an old guy? Poor form to those guys.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

The '08 Video review

Well, no better time than New Years Day to review the year that was. This is the internet video highlights of 2008, according to me. It's by no means complete, just a lot of my favourite moments from throughout the year.

Classically Trained Hip Hop

'08 was the year that "musicians" i.e. People trained in playing an instrument other than the turntables (yes, I know about all the great Hip Hop bands out there, i'm talking about musicians from other backgrounds who have never rocked beats before) discovered hip hop. There was a slew of great collaborations between MC's, DJ's and orchestras, as well as an increase in touring artists incorporating featuring live instrumentation in their stage show. The resulting music is off the chain.
My personal favourites are listed below.

Ryan Leslie - Lollipop


Ryan Leslie is a hugely underrated R&B artist, and this little gem was recorded for Green Lantern's Sirius Radio show about a week after Lollipop was released. Ryan learns the chords on the spot, and proceeds to massacre the beat, totally freestyled. Killer work, dude is legit. If Wayne re-released Lollipop with Ryan ripping solo's throughout, i'd listen to it.



Ronald Jenkees


Ronald Jenkees is exactly what he appears to be, a nerdy white boy who made deal with the devil, Robert Johnson style, to be infused with Ray Charles' AND Jam Master Jay's spirits. The results?
Mmm...... yummy.

Jay Z Live at Glastonbury


'Nuff said, really. Doesn't come much hyper.



Viral Video

Viral video was everywhere in '08, hence the name. Youtube became the requisite source for water cooler talk, and I would wager 30% of inter-office emails were nothing at all to do with work, but contained random Youtube clips of bears falling onto trampolines and cats being slammed into walls from ceiling fans. World Star Hip Hop has rightfully claimed the title of "The CNN of Hip Hop", which is quite a strange title, considering KRS-ONE called hip hop itself "CNN for black people", but now any rapper with a camera phone can start beef with anyone (Souljah Boy Vs Ice T, Charles Hamilton etc..), and probably will. I'd like to think that CNN will pick up on WSHH's popularity, and start calling themselves the WSHH of world affairs. Probably not though.
Jacked from ByronCrawford.com, the following is a montage of some of the most memorable moments from the internets last year, and i've included a few gems I think were overlooked.



Indian game show host slapped on live television


This guys gets stomped. Well deserved though.

Best of SNL 2008 Election coverage

There was so much great gear from SNL this election, here's a montage of the best bits. Tina Fey's Sarah Palin was pretty dead on, and funny as hell.

Bachelor Cooking with Aria Giovanni

If you're not up on Bachelor Cooking, it's a cooking show starring porn star Aria Giovanni which is informative and pleasing to the eye. If you've just moved out of home and never cooked for yourself before, I recommend getting onto these lessons so you don't end up surviving on Mi Goreng and frozen pizza.

Eli Porter: Rap legend

Eli porter set the rap world on fire with his razor sharp lyrics. My personal favourite? "Like Rosie O'Donnell at a Bi-sexual bridal shower". What does that mean? Would it be the coup de gras of Bi-sexual bridal showers to have Rosie O'Donnell roll out, dildo's akimbo?
This Video has been dissected and discussed for months, but doesn't lose any potency the more I watch it.


Well, that's it for the time being. I'll be back with a wrap up of Movies and music at some point, as well as a look to the year ahead.
Peace,
~Broke