R.I.P. Gil Scott-Heron

The godfather of (political) hip-hop (1949-2011).

Well Played, Sir...

I was going to take my shirt and pants off and run across the outfield at Nationals Park at a recent game I attended, but there is no way I could outdo this dude...



Not pictured: after this acrobatic fan escaped out the back of the stadium, he sprinted 33 miles to his PCP dealer for another fix.

I Saw You

We spoke very briefly near the merch table at the Wye Oak show at the Black Cat, and I thought we really hit it off. I was the big, bald guy with glasses. I mentioned how much I liked the tattoo on your arm. I wanted to get your number or see if you were doing anything after the show, but you seemed so busy, and I just couldn’t muster up the courage. How about we get drinks sometime soon?

When: Friday, March 11
Where: Black Cat, Washington, D.C.
Me: Man
You: Jenn, lead singer of Wye Oak

The King of Limbs Thoughts, Three Months Late

Now that The King of Limbs (Newspaper Edition!) has finally arrived in my mailbox, I can finally organize my opinions on this album. I feel like this album kinda got a lukewarm reception, perhaps because it dropped out of the blue or perhaps because so much is expected out of Radiohead. Anyway, I like it, and I will not be needing any sort of support group.

The mood set in each of the 8 songs remind me of a different period in Radiohead's musical trajectory (except maybe Pablo Honey, which is just fine to ignore, if you ask me). See elaboration below (and correct me if I'm wrong):

1. "Bloom" : Kid A, Hail to the Thief - very cluttered, noisy drum beat with Thom's sleep-like blending of syllables.

2. "Morning Mr. Magpie" : The Bends, In Rainbows and a little bit of OK Computer during the outro.

3. "Little By Little" : reminds me of The Bends musically (a lil bit), and Amnesiac and Kid A from a thematic perspective.

4. "Feral" : Hail to the Thief, this is my least favorite song on this album.

5. "Lotus Flower" : a lot of Kid A was bass heavy in a similar way to this song.

6. "Codex" : Amnesiac - another title for this song could be "Pyramid Song #2" - both songs have that beautifully sad piano element.

7. "Give Up The Ghost" : similar themes on OK Computer.

8. "Separator" : OK Computer - the last minute or so sounds like like "Meeting in the Aisle" from the 'Airbag' single.



Essentially, this is an imaginative, unique take on a 'Greatest Hits' album in the way it makes you fondly remember a band's old albums, but without that cash-grabby feel.

But what's up with the perforated blotter paper..


...the more industrious chemists out there might be able to dip this paper into..{ahem} something..and then have a lot of fun (or in some cases, a terrifying journey to the inner-self).

Pete's Peeves (From The Near Past)

#1. Donald Trump and his "great relationship" with some monolithic, Borg-like entity known as 'the Blacks'. "When it comes to racism and racists I am the least racist person there is," says Trump. So despite all of the racist calls for Obama's birth certificate and academic records, and dabbling in housing discrimination in the past, Trump is not the slightest bit racist because, after all, a black guy won a season of "the Apprentice" and on some occasions he can be seen interacting with prominent members of "the blacks".

"I think you're hot for a black lady, which clearly makes me the least racist person in the world."
[Ed. note: based on the side-eye Serena is giving him, Trump clearly said something waaaay more offensive than that.]

#2. Facebook. Why does nobody else think this shit is crazy? Especially friends who long railed against it, but who have now waved the white flag. Now I am just one of a few old crotchety assholes left who are not on it.


#3. The imperialistic, blood-lusty tones that many 'celebrations' of the death of Osama bin Laden took on. I mean, armed or unarmed, human shield or no human shield -- even when dealing with terrorist masterminds, these are important distinctions, no? And I understand I express this sentiment unencumbered by the loss of loved ones on 9/11, but fighting fire with fire just means that everyone gets burned.


#4. The idea of a live-action Akira film.


#5. The idea of a live-action Akira film with a white cast.

Tetsuo? Is that you?

#6. Odd Future hype--enough already...you can count me out on this one. I don't get all of the fawning and claims of edginess and originality. A truly original and edgy hip-hop album would be doggedly feminist. But now Thom Yorke likes them too?? My feelings are sort of like this:

"Odd Future's defenders in the media emphasise Tyler's technical skills – and it's true that his gift for assonance and internal rhymes is impressive. But his talent is only half the story: the shtick they use it for is played out. And it undermines the rest of his aesthetic: he demands our empathy at every turn for his own tough life, but is too limited an artist to show empathy for people who, with all due respect, suffer much more on a daily basis than growing up in a single-parent household. Tyler's model of male anger ends up feeling a lot more like male privilege – and as conservative and regressive as that implies."

--Alex Macpherson, Guardian UK

If Tyler hates the status quo so much, maybe he shouldn't be constantly propping it up in songs and on the Internet. And I don't mean to say that art can't be disturbing or even obscene. But what message does Tyler's lyrics on Bastard and now Goblin send to hip-hop artists like MC Lyte, Jean Grae, Empress Stahhr, etc? I hope OFWGKTA grow out of that teenage American male mindset (kinda like the Beastie Boys did) and end up using their talents for good.


#7. Ubiquitous beer commercials that are constantly telling me to 'man up' by drinking only the most watery brands of beer, presumably so scantily clad ladies can immediately start paying me more attention.


#8. Not adding anything to this blog for months...but then spending too much time on a blog post. Though it would help if Blogger wasn't routinely deleting or losing all of my work, even after saving. I guess Trump, Zuckerberg, the U.S. military, potential white Tetsuos, Odd Future fans, and Miller Lite didn't like what I had to say and are conspiring to erase my feelings...

Las Vegas, the City Where Dignity Goes to Get Date Raped

What happens in Las Vegas, stays in Las Vegas, so says an oft-quoted, asinine commercial slogan. Do you think that’s because what actually does happen there is so incredibly depressing that nobody wants to talk about it? I do.

I’ve always been ambivalent about Las Vegas. Despite my near-total love of everything related to gambling, Vegas doesn’t much do it for me. And it was actually disappointing to hear a friend announce that his bachelor party would take place in the City that Shame Built. It just seems so cliché. It seems like the place that old, boring people from Oklahoma go to “get wild.” (Of course, their idea of getting wild involves mile-long pork buffets and the tepid comedy of Paul Reiser. Zzzzzzzzz.)

Also, I’m not a big fan of strip clubs. I’ve tried to explain this dozens of times to my more douchebag-leaning friends, but I just get blank, he-must-be-gay stares. Naked ladies may be the best thing ever. That’s why there’s so much art devoted to them. If you can make a naked lady painting look as beautiful as an actual naked lady does, then you’re probably a good artist. I love looking at naked ladies as much as the next guy, but the exchange of money, or the process of turning it into a business transaction, immediately removes all sexiness from the equation. (I also suffered a severe stripper trauma when I was 18, but that’s a story for another time.)

But I’m going to the bachelor party, anyway. I want to celebrate with my friend, and I want to feel again the sweet felt of a roulette table. I want to chip shuffle at a poker table across from a pro. I want to overplay my two pair and lose hundreds of dollars in the blink of an eye. Also, there’ll be a “big box of drugs” made available. And there’s a street over which you can zip line. Mushrooms + zip line = yes, please! I would also like to freak out some of the Midwestern normals waddling around. This is gonna get Hunter S. Thompson-style weird, my friends.

At least, I hope it does. Otherwise, it's just gonna be a long weekend of neon-bright sadness and all-you-can-eat despair.