Patrick Stump Covers Kanye West.

I kinda dig Patrick Stump (dude from Fallout Boy). His voice is pretty decent, and rather hookalicious on The Roots' "Birthday Girl." He does a really good cover of 'Ye's "Love Lockdown" that I think I like better than the original.

'Who's Gonna Save My Soul?'

I saw this posted over at Soror 1969's spot. Gnarls made a really simple concept video that somehow manages to be weird, gross, and really heartbreaking.

Nas on the Colbert Report

H/T to Yellow Rebel for posting this at his spot.

Everyone Needs Anger Enhancement

Do you read Kanye West's blog? I used to subscribe to it, but that ninja (or his assistant) posts like fifty times a day. Some of the posts have got to be 'Ye, though. A post he wrote today:

Now the media is saying I'm going to anger management something or 'nother. I have never had any conversations about anger management. If anything, I need anger enhancement!!

I love him. I seriously love him. And his post on Soulja Boy vs. Ice-T had me dying. He really holds it down for the underdog. And I don't even dig Soulja Boy or anything, but this made some type of sense.

[Soulja Boy] had all of America rapping this summer. If that ain't Hip Hop then what is? A bunch of wannabe keep it real rappers that ain't even relevant, recycling samples trying to act like it's 96 again and all they do is hate on new shit?

Anyway, on top of that, he posts about cool random stuff like shoes and lamps. Check it out when you get a chance. (Warning for Jameil... he does curse a bit.)

Her bikini: small. Heels: tall. She said she likes the ocean.

I'm going back to Cali, y'all. So if you notice that posting is significantly lighter over the next week or so, that's why. Note: I haven't watched this video in ages. Two thoughts occur to me. 1) This was 1989...how did LL not get lynched? and 2) how art-house film-y.

Wednesday Randomness

1. Hillary is playing the waiting game, and so must we. That's it. Barack survived the media-manufactured sturm und drang of the Rev. Wright debacle, to take NC and come pretty close in Indy. Isn't that enough proof that this man is our nominee? I can wait for her to catch up. (Did you see how she loaned herself $6.4 million? And the Obamas are elitist? I tell you, it's Uppity Negro Syndrome!) 2. The Black Snob is killing me right now. Between her Wall of Sexy on flickr, featuring people who I agree are dreadfully sexy, and her hard work at reviving the Black Girl brand ... I'm officially through with her. 3. Hip hop is back. Well, it never really left, but since I've turned off the radio and started checking out sites that have real music (from Okayplayer to the homie Yellow Rebel), I'm going to say it's back. I mean, you've got The Roots killing the game right now, to sorta newbies Kidz in the Hall—who remind me of a more mature, less-rock-oriented Gym Class Heroes. "Drivin' Down The Block" is my new favorite song, and The In Crowd is quite good altogether. Check out the shout-out to HU at 1:45! 4. Busyness. Work-work, sorority work, hanging with friends and the potential (Lauren suggested "TB" as his blogonym, for various reasons, lol), and very little time to breathe. But I'd rather be busy than not busy. As they say, if you're bored, you're probably boring. 5. This is the hundredth post on my (new) blog!

Un-Review: 'Rising Down'

This may or may or may not become a regular thing, but I felt another Un-Review was in order for The Legendary Roots Crew. Previously... Un-Review; 'New Amerykah' Here's the thing. I found The Roots not through Things Fall Apart, or even Phrenology (though, like everyone else, I thought "Break You Off" was cool). In 2004, I fell for The Tipping Point, which, as a friend pointed out to me, is "like, everyone's least favorite album!" But "Star/Pointro" with the fuzzy Sly & the Family Stone sample ("everybody is a star / I love you for who you are") and Thought's laid-back flow sucked me in. While it may be everyone's least favorite album, The Tipping Point is a great example of what they do best: groove. I knew very little about The Roots when I listened to that album; for some reason, I thought they were a band that had guest rappers (this is probably Jay-Z's fault), but then I heard Black Thought's tight, "technical" flow, which may not be uber-charismatic, but is highly effective. Anyway, I worked my way backward to Phrenology, and fell in love with what is now one of my favorite songs of all time: "The Seed 2.0." In fact, after I had given Phrenology enough time to settle, "Break You Off" became the most frequently skipped track, while "Rolling With Heat," "Thought @ Work," and "Pussy Galore" got the glory of being on repeat. Snap my fingers, make you mine If not, I'll snap a second time After that, I guarantee You will be standing next to me Game Theory came next, and was well-deserving of the critical acclaim. Only, it wasn't long enough. After that, I went backward again, working my way through Things Fall Apart and Illadelph Halflife. More good-to-great music and rhymes. Things Fall Apart, while it's still miles ahead of its contemporaries, is probably my least favorite album, despite Erykah's presence on "You Got Me." So, today, Rising Down comes out, and I will purposely avoid all the reviews (although I will peep at Metacritic, just to see the aggregate) because I hate reading about how The Roots' music is hip-hop for people who "don't like hip-hop," or as I like to call them: white people. (Note: that was a conflation of "hip-hop" and "rap.") And it's endlessly frustrating to see talented artists get little recognition from blacks — like, how, at the Lupe Fiasco show, the majority of the audience was white high schoolers. But I like hip-hop. A lot of black people like hip-hop. However, music critics are largely white, and largely concerned with their own demo — as am I, so I don't blame them — and they underplay the love Mos, and The Roots, and Lu get from their own. There's a paradox there, and it's beyond me to sort it all out. I will say that if Black Thought started rapping about the travails of "typical white middle class life" (a lot of which was also my own experience, FYI), The Roots probably wouldn't be very popular with anyone. (Imagine you know, Thought being like: "my mom wants me to clean my room again / she ain't tryna hear I gotta chill with my friends" or "damn, these mutual funds make my head spin / my broker gon' have to say that one mo' 'gin.") At any rate, Rising Down is dope. Mos killed his verse on "Rising Down," Common did his thing on "The Show" and the go-go beat on "Rising Up" makes me homesick for D.C. Oh, and Black is deadly on "75 Bars." Go forth and purchase! I leave you with the video for "Rising Up."

Top 5 Songs of All Time

I've been mulling this over for some time. There are a few songs, when I put them on, that make me say to myself, "now this could be on my top five list." So here it is. A list of my all-time favorite songs. (Note: they do not align exactly with my favorite artists. For example, I believe Sam Cooke to be the greatest male voice of all time, but none of his songs are on this list - although a live version of "Bring It On Home To Me" was a contender.) There are lots of other songs I like, some, I listen to more than the ones to follow. But these are the ones I sing in the shower and/or completely melt over. Ella Fitzgerald - Sophisticated Lady Ella is my favorite female artist. She was effortlessly cool and could handle anything Cole Porter threw at her. The instrumentation for this song was laid by Duke Ellington, and turned into a sad love song by Parish and Mills. The horns, coupled with Ella's deep delivery make this my favorite song of all time. Then, with disillusion deep in your eyes You learned that fools in love soon grow wise The Stylistics - People Make the World Go 'Round I can't even explain my love for this song. It might be Russell Thompkins vocals, or the sentimentality expressed in the song (did I ever mention what a sap I am?). But this song puts me at complete ease. Go underground, young man People make the world go round The Roots - The Seed This is the newest song on the list, but ironically, I got into The Roots pretty late. Phrenology came out in 2002, and I probably didn't really listen to it until 2004, after I fell in love with The Tipping Point. But this song, with the heavy drumbeat, the vocal, Thought's flow, got me. Knocked up nine months ago And what she finna' have she don' know She want neo-soul cuz hip-hop is old She don't want no rock and roll Dave Matthews Band - The Warehouse Davespeak is fairly unintelligible, and the lyrics themselves are pretty vague, but this is still one of my favorite songs. It's visceral. Judy Garland - Stormy Weather The live version of this song, performed at the Carnegie Hall gets me all kinds of worked up. This song has the perfect build from warbling and tentative to vibrant and heartbreaking. When Judy pauses for breath after "this pitterin' patterin' beatin' and splatterin' drives me mad," then belts out ... "LOVE, love, LOVE, love..." I usually start to feel tears prick my eyes. And once she hits her stride with "can't go ooooooooon, everything I had is gone," it's pretty much a wrap for me. But, hey have you heard Cassie's new single? T-H-I-R-S-T-Y. It sounds like it's sure to become a classic.

If Hip-Hop were the Civil Rights Movement...

Did anyone else see 50 spit that ignorant nonsense the other day? You did? Good. So anyway, watching that and reading the comments got me a-ponderin'. (Digression: you notice how white people refer to 50 as "Fiddy?" I've never heard a black person call him that, and yet, it's "Fiddy this" and "Fiddy that." Something about that just smacks of mocking and, yeah, I'll say it, unconscious racism.) My conclusion? 50 is the Al Sharpton of hip-hop. Don't see it? Ok, consider this. 50 Cent is utterly irrelevant in hip-hop. His music sucks, he's constantly making an ass out of himself, he was crushed by 'Ye in sales, and yet he just won't shut up. We are constantly barraged by his ridiculous statements on outlets like Gawker, and TMZ, and The O'Reilly Factor. He's everywhere, and nothing he says or does ever means anything. And he's proud of it, and the media eats it up. He's a freakin' fool. (And no, I still haven't forgiven him for criticizing Nas for reading.) At any rate, this leads me to the point of this post. If 50 is the Al Sharpton of hip-hop, where do the other members of the hip-hop nation fit into the Civil Rights Movement? Well, in my highly oversimplified and completely unqualified opinion... Malcolm X. Jay-Z. Once revolutionary and angry (circa Reasonable Doubt), Jay has mellowed out significantly. He can still bring the fire when need be, but he has nothing to prove, and a lot to teach. Just as Malcolm rethought things after he made his pilgrimage, Jay-Z just needed to retire for a bit and gain some perspective. Martin Luther King, Jr. Nas. A lot of people forget that MLK wasn't getting much love at the time of his death. The Americans didn't love King, they loved dead King. Nas isn't getting much love these days, either. I greatly suspect that he won't really be appreciated for his genius and until some later date. Jesse Jackson. Cam'ron. Charismatic, a little flamboyant, kinda smart, somewhat ineffectual, good at making other people look good. Rosa Parks. Mary J. Blige. Only because they both get mad recognition for doing something that is incredibly simple (in MJB's case, her lyrics), but means so much to ordinary people. Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Cornel West. Did you know Brother West is fixin' to release his second album? Bayard Rustin. Lil' Wayne. There isn't really a reason for this choice, I just thought it was a funny juxtaposition. Angela Davis. Jean Grae. She's a G, 'nuff said.