11 December 2010

Willie Cripps Has Lunch (Part 1)

Noon, Friday, time for lunch. 

Willie opened the cabinet and selected a can of Johnson “SECRET RECIPE” Crab Soup from among the 20 or 30 cans on the shelf- his standard Friday noon meal for the past ten years- and opened it. As he dumped it in his dented little saucepan, he noticed a small plastic packet floating on top. Willie fished it out, cut it open, and pulled out what appeared to be a note. He unfolded the damp scrap. The paper was darkened, making it difficult to read. Willie held it to the light only to find out it was written in Spanish. As near as he could determine it read, “Ayude por favor. Esta preso en una cucina se sopa Johnson." Then on the back, “245 Beal St. Macon Georgia". Lucky break for Willie, his girlfriend, Pearlena, or Pearl for short, grew up in Nogales. She could read it for him. Willie had a date with her when she got off work at six this evening. The translation would have to wait till then. In the meantime, his curiosity was doing handsprings.

10 December 2010

Daft Punk!!!

Everyone seems to loves Daft Punk deep down somewhere. Their new album is the soundtrack to the film Tron: Legacy by Walt Disney. You can go buy the whole album now, but for the moment here is the single (in case you missed it).

little brother

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Little brother, covered in fur,
is it any mystery when I am sure,
that I find comfort, in silence with you,
‘cause I get so sick of talking to
our brothers and sisters who ask so much,
when all you want is my tender touch.
Rest assured, I want yours too,
it is here that I find comfort with you.
And with our quiet solitude,
we both know there is nothing to prove.
We share our joy; our mutual thanks
go to our mother, our foremost saint.

- Justen Cheney

09 December 2010

we're not over it, oppenheimer

This has been going on for years – at least since I was young enough to still believe that I could run away from my problems. You can’t run away from your problems; and even if you could, they’ll always send a guilty conscience nipping at your heels.  I could count the number of times I made you feel like less than a person. I could throw them all over my shoulder and carry them with me everywhere I go, but it does no good to be sorry if you don't care either way.
            
Joe passes me a fifth of Jim Beam and I take a big, bitter swig; I know it’s how they operate, but I don’t really feel like getting smacked in the face. We sit around in silence, feeling our hair grow.
“There’s something in it that you can create,” says Alex.
“What do you mean?” I ask -
AtomicBombCloud2
I open my eyes. I hear clumsy footsteps coming down the hall in my apartment building. I wait for a knock on my door, and pray that it will be you – then I remember, only half awake, that you don’t even know where I live anymore. I close my eyes and go back to sleep.

Next thing I know, I’m laying face up toward the sky in a boat: not a motorboat, but a small, wooden fishing boat. The sort that looks like something my paw-paw would have gone fishing in as a kid in the Mississippi Delta. You’re curled up in a ball, lying next to me; my heart melts and seeps through the tiny cracks at the bottom of the boat. You’re wearing that white dress I used to love so much – the one I accidentally broke at the shoulder four long years ago. “This is a lucid dream,” I mutter under my breath, insisting that I enjoy it while it lasts.

The next morning I warm up in front my gas heater mounted on the wall. It’s finally gotten cold, and the weather suits me; at least for now. My mother comes by to drop off some leftover soup and the ukulele you’ve been asking to get back for six fucking months. It makes me feel better to hear her say that you don’t deserve me, but she would never know it by the look on my face.

Some people say that Robert Oppenheimer may as well have murdered all those people himself when he invented the atom bomb; could it be that you broke my heart the very first time you looked into my eyes? It’s hard to say, but I think so…

-Justen Cheney

the go! team (ft. bethany cosentino)

the semester is finally coming to a close, and we're all very thankful for that; gather your thoughts and memories (or don't) of the past year and prepare yourself for 2011. there are already plenty of anticipated albums due out next year, and the go! team's Rolling Blackouts is definitely on the list. this track, from the upcoming release, features bethany from best coast and stays true to their super retro 60's sound. Rolling Blackouts drops January 31 via Memphis Industries records. -- justen


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08 December 2010

The Manner of His Scramble


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Here is an aging apartment on the seventh floor of a building. Inside, the countertops, and walls, and laminate, and everything, are tinged with a yellowness that comes with affordable rent for the poor. The outdated kitchen appliances are aching with different gravities, creaking with gossip, and you could hear it in the sounds of their settling if you were there. They are quite fond of their inability to shutup. The person they talk incessantly about has remained the same for thirteen years— a gaunt man named Mr. Boothe, who right now is inside of the bathroom closing the doors. It might be interesting for some to note that this poses difficulty for a man of sixty-six years old; as the door is too big for her threshold, perhaps not unlike a woman who gains weight with age, he had to strain himself to shut it tight. It might also be interesting that Mr. Boothe lives alone, making this bathroom door the closest thing he has to a loving relationship with a woman, making privacy a nonissue, making the situation increasingly strange. So there is an aging man to go with an aging apartment. There is a handful of people who are prone to call this a match made in heaven, but it is most certainly not that.


PANTyRAiD at the Howlin' Wolf

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I was one of those guys back in middle school who, when asked what music I liked, would say "everything but rap." Now all I like is rap, (or hip-hop if you prefer). I'm not talking about your common or your mos def--they're all right, I guess--I'm talking about gangster pimp shit, the more references to "Hennessey" and "slappin bitches" the better. This isn't a joke, there's something so unpretentious and likable about this type of music that I can't really take any other genre seriously. Who the fuck actually listens to rock music anymore? Not me.

Which is why I loved the PANTyRAiD show at the Howlin Wolf so much. I must've heard Lil Jon's "WHAT" sampled like 15 times. They sounded great. But of course they did. Individually they're my two favorite producers, and it's not like it's hard to DJ. For those who don't know, PANTyRAiD is two producers/DJs, Marty Folb aka MartyParty and Josh Mayer aka Ooah. MartyParty was the guy wearing the objectively gay shirt, not that there's anything wrong with that. He's kind of a black swan among his peers. He's older, immigrated from South Africa and his day job is as a pretty successful computer programmer--which is pretty dope. Ooah is a New Orleans native. He also spent his set raging with Mike McKenzie's Super Bowl ring. Mike McKenzie also spent nearly an entire hour dancing like an absolute lunatic behind them on stage--glorious.

Now I know it's not rap, but it's not really glitch-hop or dubstep either. In interviews, Marty describes it as "Hip Hop for ladies," but that's pretty misleading too. Their set had it's dark moments sure, but if there's one word I can use to describe PANTyRAiD to distinguish it from every other similar act it's "pimp." It's the swagger of the most opulent self-aggrandizing gangster rap music, with you know, less words and more catchy hooks. Of course there's extremely heavy bass drops, but who doesn't have those? Everyone has "HEAVY BASS" but only PANTyRAiD gives their bass lines a melody that you actually remember.

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But what about the actual show. Not to disrespect any DJs out there, but you're expected to put on a good show and if you fuck up no one notices anyway. It's the production that matters. There are a lot of companies in this city that would be expected to put on this kind of show. ActionPacker and Winter Circle Productions immediately come to mind, but this show was put on by Simple Play; an older, lesser-known company. They started way back in 2006 years ago by Ron Richard (who went to high school with Ooah) and their first gigs were hip-hop shows at Shilo and then the Dragon's Den.

Anyway, my major gripe was that I found the sound to be a little weird. Winter Circle's Bassik event sounds a lot better (since it moved to the Republic from the shit-acoustics of the Maison). Their promotions department put a goddamn flyer on my windshield outside The Boot and I still have a bit of it stuck on there. God I hate that. So maybe I was biased. I just didn't feel any sub-bass, but I guess production involves a lot more than how many expensive speakers you've got. It requires taste. And that Simple Play does have. They brought the Givers a few months ago and they're bringing Mochipet (quality glitch-hop) and Spankalicious (who looks really scary and plays equally scary dubstep, though I met him once and he's super nice).

Anyway, we were told that Ooah sticking around town till the end of the month. He has a side-project called Of Porcelain that everyone who writes for this blog has fucked to. So if Simple Play could hook it up, I'd pay $15 to watch him DJ on laptop speakers.

**A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR: That fun light set up is owned by Simple Play so you can expect more cool light shows in the future. For more on Simple Play Productions and their upcoming show check out http://sppnola.com/


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-Article by Jeff Silberman

Flying Lotus + Ensemble= mmmmmmm

I guess I'm a little late on this one, but what the heck. If you have some time, this video is definitely worth a watch. This is The Miguel Atwood-Ferguson Ensemble featuring FlyLo!? They play a rework of the FlyLo track "Drips" as well as J Dilla track "Take Notice" and turn them into one nice jam session. Beautiful!!

07 December 2010

panda bear -- last night at the jetty

there isn't really much to say about this one that it doesn't say for itself; except that at times when i don't necessarily feel my best, sounds like these can really make the bad times better.  -- justen



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Panda Bear - Last Night At The Jetty

06 December 2010

bitch sonnet


I just need a break, Henry!!!

When they start getting difficult,

Mommy goes off for groceries.

"We'll slit your throat or sit and sulk!"

Warns my 14 kids/employees.

I toss lollis, hoping they'll hush.

But it's still shrieks with emptied skulls.

Cases of good taste out of touch;

Poetasters legal, then null,

Void and bored. Combative bitches,

Sonnets in bonnets won't give chase.

Instead flip the goodnight switch.

So it is existential mace.

Yep. Great are grates for shitty thoughts,

Fertilizing 'should's 'could's and 'ought's.

You Call THAT a Cobbler?!

Most folks might have some quips to toss my way, it bein only a week plus a 72 hour weekender and all, but havin none to talk to beside a southside cellie by the name of Scooter, I'm feelin chattier than a goddam Cathy doll, and I do believe it's writ in the Constitution of Independence that it is an American-born man's Christ-given right to complain freely and without recall.

I think it'd be righteous thing to start with the good things that came out of this messy knot. Unfortunately it aint but one that I can think of. Most likely you'd think I'd mention some beautiful poetry on freedom, and maybe how it tastes, how my heart got fluttery upon gettin out-- but im a man who needs no comparison in order to hold the full appreciation of the matter in mind, so that aint to be mentioned. What I can say was a good thing is commercials hold no weight in the place. Zero calories like your old lady's crystal lite. Like, we were able to watch tv at certain times, such like the Ravens game Sunday evenin, and some wackadoodle ad comes on like the good-for-nothin movie Inception comin out on BluRay next week. You gotta use everything in your human powers not to cause a ruckus rollin on the floor with your laughin tears cryin out BOY NO ONE GIVE A GOOD GODDAM ABOUT BLURAY UP HERE!! Spite of near turnin myself inside out, I kept quiet, but the thought was enough to make me real happy for a few hours. So it's sure nice knowing the so-called "business world" comes to a halt once you in them concrete blocks.

Pretty rad Neon Indian.

Check out this video from Neon Indian for the song "Mind, Drips." The video apparently uses new technology that acts as a video synthesizer. The video synthesizer, like a audio synthesizer, simply manipulates the sound (or in this case video). WooOoOoaaHhhh trippy.

05 December 2010

tennis: pigeons

red curls, and sailing, and tennis. i've been raving about these guys since their first release "marathon," and this one is just as good. production by yours truly. the LP, Cape Dory, drops next january via Fat Possum.