June 9, 2009 · 6:25 PM

Jam of the Day – Ruminations on Plies

Two years ago (June 5, 2007 to be exact), Slip-N-Slide Records released “Shawty,” the single from Florida rapper Plies that would go on the be a “Jam of the Week” on MTV, blasted all over the clubs and the radio, and basically in your ear all summer long. Plies is still recording (he’s currently working on a fourth studio album set to be released tentatively in the fall of ’09), but it’s always seemed to me that homeboy dropped what little skills he had on his first single, and everything else has been pretty wack. How many times can he spit “goon” and “bust it baby” in a song before people start to realize that his flow is staler than a pack of saltines stuck behind the couch since back in 2007 when “Shawty” first came out? Seriously, look at this dude:

Plies (from Wikipedia)

Plies (from Wikipedia)

Plies? More like PILES (of shit).

But still I must ask: Despite Plies’ quick decline due to lack of any discernible skills apart from being on the same label as Rick Ross at the right time, do you remember how hot “Shawty” was? I’m talking John Blaze ish. Well, it still is. I mean, you’ve got T-Pain talking about ringtones, singing the “Shawty” chorus really for the first time before he started using it in every song, Rick Ross kicking it, tossing girls in the pool… just summertime fun all around.

It’s ok. Go ahead and enjoy this.

Plies – Shawty (ft. T-Pain):

-Drew

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June 8, 2009 · 6:15 PM

Jam of the Day – Das Racist Poll

For a while now I’ve been reading internet buzz about Das Racist, a self-described “WEED EDGE/HARE KRISHNA HARD CORE/ART RAP/FREAK FOLK MUSIC DUO.”

Das Racist @ Coco66 (photo by Katy Porter)

Das Racist @ Coco66 (photo by Katy Porter)

Hima Kumar and Victor Vazquez – who is also in the hot Brooklyn band Boy Crisis – have set their guns somewhere between “stoner-ridiculous, just-having-a-good-time, come on quit taking this so seriously” and “creat[ing] a comprehensive theoretical framework for understanding the impact of internalising core consumer culture ideals.” Na just kidding, I got that last quote here, but some people want to get all intellectual about Das Racist like that.

And so on the more serious tip, today Pitchfork reviewed a remix from Wallpaper for their track “Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell,” and I have to say that as much as Pfork can be crazy pretentious and over-the-top critical, the review strikes me as relevant in its grasp of the disparate reactions this song seems to elicit from listeners. Personally, I’m in the “DR fan” camp, but clearly others don’t necessarily agree, like this guy who called PH/TB “one of the worst songs I’ve heard.”

Now, I’m not trying to flip it and say that this is the best song ever, but I think that what Das Racist is doing to rap is similar to what The Onion does to news: making a critical statement about the state of society only in as much as that “statement” can be understood in the context of a joke. This is supposed to be funny, people. Get those panties fixed – they’re in a bunch! Only to underscore my point, look at this “News in Photos” piece from The Onion back in March 2008.

Why not listen and decide for yourself?

Das Racist – Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell (Wallpaper remix):

Then, cast a vote in our first ever poll!

-Drew

    UPDATE ON JUNE 10, 2009

Now Perez Hilton is linking to this song too. Getting major.

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June 5, 2009 · 1:43 PM

Jam of the Day – I’m on a Bolt

On the way to Boston on the Bolt Bus (which is pretty awesome usually, but today the wireles internet isn’t working so I’m trying to do this on my phone, so it’s got to be short). Enjoy the weekend!

Pretty much everyone has already seen this video from Andy Samberg and the rest of the Lonely Planet crew, but joint is amazing so why not watch it again? We’re on a bus and, we’re making posts and..

Lonely Planet – I’m on a Boat (ft. T-Pain):

POSEIDON!

-ev2bk

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June 4, 2009 · 5:09 PM

Jam of the Day – Bill’s Not Here

Sadly, it looks like someone has finally Kill[ed] Bill in real life too. The actor David Carradine, who had many movie roles throughout a long career but was arguably most famous for being the star of the 1970’s show Kung Fu, has been found dead (hanged) in his hotel room in Bangkok. Although it hasn’t been “officially” confirmed as a suicide, I’m relatively certain that no one really has any serious doubts given that “there was no sign that he had been assaulted.” ***SEE UPDATES TO THIS POST IN COMMENTS***

I never really watched the Kung Fu series or it’s reincarnation as Kung Fu: The Legend Continues in the 80s and 90s, but I was a huge fan of the Kill Bill movies, and it’s always sad to hear about someone taking their own life. Pour a sip on the concrete.

As a tribute to the late actor’s most recent box office triumph as Bill, today’s Jam of the Day is one of my favorite tracks from Kill Bill, “About Her.” The song grabs a portion of Bessie Smith’s “St. Louis Blues” and also happens to sample one of my favorite songs of all time, “She’s Not There” by the Zombies. Quentin Tarantino picked up this trip-hop gem from Malcolm McLaren, who is more well-known as the former manager of both the Sex Pistols and the New York Dolls than as a solo artist. But hey, he’s doing something special on this record.

Malcolm McLaren – About Her:

-Drew

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June 3, 2009 · 6:24 PM

Jam of the Day – Diffusing a Time Bomb

This afternoon, President Obama made his first trip to Saudi Arabia. This trip marks the beginning of his five-day visit to the Middle East, where he hopes to talk to the powers that be about improving relations between the Muslim world and the United States. He also hopes to have discussions that will lead to real progress towards diffusing the ticking-time-bomb that surrounds the strained relationship between the Arab world and Israel. This visit to Saudi Arabia comes on the eve of President Obama’s highly anticipated speech to the Muslim world in Cairo. Many are optimistic about the visit and have high hopes for what the Obama administration will accomplish. From the Times: “Officials in Saudi Arabia and Egypt said that Mr. Obama had already made progress on his Middle East agenda, having restored some confidence that the United States is interested in and serious about pushing for a Middle East settlement.” It’s been one crisis after another for Obama since January, it seems, so let’s hope that things go smoothly.

The Dave Matthews Band has also had a tough year so far. One of their founding members, saxophonist LeRoi Moore, died last August from complications from an ATV accident at his farm. The title of their latest album, just released this week, “Big Whisky and the GrooGrux King,” is in memoriam of LeRoi’s nickname, Grux. Since their formation in 1991, the jam band has released 7 studio albums, 9 live albums and 3 independent albums, including “The Lillywhite Sessions,” which, in my opinion, is one of their best. This latest album has fittingly dark undertones, and sounds much gloomier than the Dave Matthews Band that I remember from my high school days of concert party buses and happy open-ended jams.

The album release coincided with a concert on Monday at the Beacon Theater here in NYC, a much smaller venue than the stadiums that they most often play on their long summer tours. Their international tour kicked off with a concert at Fenway Park in Boston in May and won’t end until October at the Austin City Limits Festival.

You can listen to “Big Whisky and the GrooGrux King” in it’s entirety here.

The brand new album doesn’t have any fun videos to go with it yet but this haunting song, Time Bomb, is worth a listen.

Dave Matthews Band – Time Bomb:

-Melissa

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June 3, 2009 · 10:30 AM

ev2bk Comedy – Gabe Liedman at UCB

NO ANSWERS logo Monday night was the opening performance of BK comedian, Gabe Leidman’s brand-new solo show, “No Answers,” at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade theater. For only five dollars, we got a star-studded show. Gabe wrote and starred in the show, which featured special appearances by L.L. Cool J, Madonna, The Jonas Brothers, Levi Johnston, Courtney Cox-Arquette, Lady Gaga, T.I., Jaime Lee Curtis, and Jorge Garcia from Lost. Gabe’s stage presence was one of immediate comfort with the crowd and he had them laughing right away, setting some ground rules regarding underpants. The premise of the “No Answers” show is a fun, snarky look at some of the aforementioned celebs, with Gabe asking them questions that they could not answer (as their “appearance” was only in a projected image on screen).

Gabe’s easy-breezy rapport with the audience isn’t always easy to come by (as the earlier group The Calgary Whalers may have noticed), but Gabe is not exactly a stranger to the NYC comedy scene. Gabe started at Columbia performing with various improv groups, was in shows on campus like The Varsity Show, and was an integral member of the video comedy/live performance art pranksters aptly named Prangstgrup. More recently, prior to this solo show, he has been performing with comedienne Jenny Slate and refers to their partnership as a “writing team, performing duo, and platonic life-partners.” They have been and continue to host a show every Wednesday night in Williamsburg with comedian Max Silvestri called Big Terrific, which I hear is always very entertaining and free.

The Upright Citizen’s Brigade has shows seven nights a week and also runs one of the largest and most respected improv schools in the country.

Upright Citizen’s Brigade New York
307 West 26th Street
If you have never been to see a show at UCB before, you should definitely check it out. It’s cheap (sometimes free!) and usually a pretty good time. To make a reservation, just visit their website:
newyork.ucbtheatre.com

-ev2bk

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