December 2008
28 posts
In A Brooklyn Basement
As you can tell from the new bling, I am back from break and fully energized. Actually, I am tired as shit, but am optimistic that in due time I will be fully energized. Look out for City of the Plains first ever “end of the year list” some time soon. I am horrible at ranking things so it will probably just be a collection of albums and songs you need to listen to at least once...
November 2008
16 posts
Sands of Time
I’ve learned a lot of important things in the past 24 hours. First of all, regardless of how sweet your own apartment/house/living space is, your parents will always be more comfortable. Oh the benefits of a life time of hard work. I am back in CT for the holidays and could honestly not be more excited. Nothing beats a fireplace, free food and of course the company of family. Plus as we...
As we jam, the rhythm gets stronger...
Yo! In the words of a great luminary, “sup?” Quick drive-by Culture Club today. My big recommendation for this week is The West Wing. Yes, it ended two and a half years ago. And yes, the fifth and sixth seasons took a little while to find their respective grooves…but much of it is really well written and well acted and the final season, focusing mainly on the campaign...
Or are we Dancer?
The Killers new album Day & Age leaked yesterday, only several days before its scheduled Nov 24th release. At this point, I am relatively undecided on how I feel about their latest effort. Easily better than previous flop Sam’s Town, but in no way surpasses or even equals the awesomeness that was “All the things that I have done”. The band seems to have lost a little bit of...
We've Got Obsessions
As Marina so aptly described in my latest post, we have obsessions (and then a whole bunch of other stuff that I didn’t pay attention to about cigarettes and crackers…). My latest obsession has been a series of ethereal pop epics that are embarrassingly enjoyable, most recently Empire of the Sun’s Walking on a Dream, Passion Pits’ Sleepyhead and Bag Raiders’ Shooting...
Culture Club, son.
Before I forget, go check Q-Tip’s new album, The Renaissance, particularly “Gettin’ Up.” Gettin Up - Q-Tip The Links I picked up Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers this morning and have started into it during my lunch. Ask for this book for Christmas or Hanukkah or Kwanza or pick it up yourself, but read it. I’m the last person to pimp a book just because...
Videos are fun
Three quick videos worth watching: 1) This new Toshiba commercial has me more interested in Toshiba than I ever have been. Damn you, Don Draper 2) Check this quick interview with Q-Tip by Hip Hop Official 3) This is an interesting new feature for Urb Magazine by jeffstaple of Staple Design and The Reed Space. This month’s episode is with Marc Ecko about his rise as a designer and...
The Diamonds
If there has been any major trend in my music listening over the past year it has been the emergence of the female vocalist. Feist, Lykke Li, Yelle, Santogold and many more that I can’t remember right now have produced some of my favorite songs and added a little spice to my typically male dominated library. Marina is the latest addition to this list. A hybrid of Regina Spektor and the...
Shake Shake Shake
I have been MIA lately but, it was for good reason. I was on a staff retreat for work. But before you judge, it was actually awesome. I mean there was karaoke…three nights in a row. So sorry I’m not sorry… Because of this I have not been keeping up on the music world. I will redouble my efforts now that I am back in DC and doing regular work aka can read blogs while I’m...
Culture Club, 11/14
Sorry for the delay, but I’m back with the Culture Club. The Link You Need This Week This week’s issue of The New Yorker is absolutely fantastic. Definitely read Ryan Lizza’s profile of the Obama campaign. Here’s the Table of Contents with all the links or go buy it on. I cannot give a higher recommendation. The Best of all the Politics Links since the Election...
Shooting Stars
Yo Peoples, Now that I have fully recovered from my multi-day election hangover I am back on the music scene and in light of Tuesdays results I am trying to keep the positivity alive. “Shooting Stars” is the perfect song for the occasion. Similar to Empire of the Sun, Australian natives Bag Raiders provide a heavy dose of euphoric pop. The song perfectly captures the synth + clap +...
D said it best...
…but I’ll add my piece. I, too, have never been more proud to be an American. I am proud that America has elected Barack Obama as our next President. I am proud that America has come far enough from our horrific history of slavery, the Civil War, Jim Crow, segregation, the Watts riots and the Rodney King beating to elect a black man President. President-elect Obama is a man of high...
History
There are only a few moments in your life when you are aware that history is unfolding around you. There are only a few moments in your life when you know you will look back in 30, 40 , 50 years and remember exactly where you were and who you were with. Tonight I experienced both those things. Barack Obama was elected as the 44th president of the United States. Luckily, I had the privilege of...
Fired up, ready to go
I’m too nervous to write anything so i’ll let the man speak for himself… Heres my point, Virginia — that’s how this thing started. It shows you what one voice can do. One voice can change a room; and if a voice can change a room, it can change a city; and if it can change a city it can change a state; and if change a state, it can change a nation; and if it can change...
The Culture Club
Yo! This is the Culture Club, first seen at JAQK Apparel. I figure you guys need this too. Basically, throughout the week (or prior days), I keep track of all the stuff I’ve been digging through on the interwebs and provide you with the best of it. Things covered? Politics, long profiles, a bit of sports, kicks, art, movies and the like. With out further ado: Sean Combs aka Puff Daddy aka...
Ba-rock the Vote
They say ev’rything can be replaced, Yet ev’ry distance is not near. So I remember ev’ry face Of ev’ry man who put me here. I see my light come shining From the west unto the east. Any day now, any day now, I shall be released. I am tired as hell from the weekend so I will keep this brief. Tuesday the race for President of the United States will finally come to an end and...