"...these little demons ain't the reasons for the bruises on your soul..."

Oh finals week you are one serious sunuvabeesting. Between countless hours reading about biology, the art of acting and rock 'n' roll I've been on facebook way too much, watched Dexter episodes (Showtime's on a roll for reals) and spent alot of time on the hipinion forums (what's good sean, thanks for the tip). I've had this study mix on itunes that's been playing for most of the past few days. Also, J Dilla's "Donuts" and Thom Yorke's "Eraser" are good background tunes for studies.

STUDY MIX DEC '06
Andrew Osenga- Kankakee
Neko Case- At Last
Brad Paisley- When I Get Where I'm Going
Stars- Reunion
Billy Bragg & Wilco- Another Man's Done Gone
Josh Ritter- Good Man
Bright Eyes- Landlocked Blues
Bloc Party- This Modern Love
Antony & The Johnsons- Fistful of Love
The Arcade Fire- Une Anee Sans Lamiere
The Decemberists- Yankee Bayonet
The National-All The Wine
The Shins- Red Rabbits
The Drive By Truckers- Gravity's Gone
Grizzly Bear- Knife
Tom Waits- San Diego Serenade
LCD Soundsystem- All My Friends
Bruce Springsteen- The River
Death Cab- Brothers On A Hotel Bed
R.E.M.- Nightswimming
The Righteous Brothers- Unchained Melody
Paula Cole- I Don't Want To Wait (sup Dawson's Creek)
Damien Rice- Coconut Skins
M.Ward- To Go Home
The Kinks- Animal Farm
Spoon- June's Foriegn Spell
Bloc Party- Always New Depths
Matt Wertz- Counting to 100
The Notwist- One With The Freaks
Counting Crows- Perfect Blue Buildings
Bob Dylan- Simple Twist of Fate
Sufjan- The Avalanche
Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire- Two Way Action
Exploding Hearts- Sleeping Aides and Razorblades
The Mountain Goats- Up The Wolves
Destroyer- Your Blood
The Hold Steady- First Night

Just bought a Cadillac

Here's a quick list of some of my favorite songs of the year. If you can tell me what song the title of my blog comes from I'll hook you up with the new LCD Soundsystem record.

M. Ward- Magic Trick
Josh Ritter- Girl in the War
Clipse- Keys Open Doors
Project Pat- How It Goes in the Gutta
Nas feat. Jay-Z - Black Republican
Crime Mobb- What is Love
Lil' Wayne- Famous
TI- Top Back
Young Jeezy- 3 am
Bloc Party- Song For Clay (disappear here)
Cam'ron- Weekend
Damien Rice- Coconut Skins
The Decemberists- The Crane Wife 3
Destroyer- Looter's Follies
Field Mob- Blacker the Berry
The Futureheads- Burnt
The Game feat. Kanye West- Wouldn't Get Far
Ghostface Killah- Whip You With a Strap
Girl Talk- Smash Your Head
Gnarls Barkley- Just a Thought
Grizzly Bear- Knife
Guster- C'mon
The Hold Steady- Southtown Girls
Hot Chip- The Warning
Islands- Rough Gem
JR Writer- Grill 'em
Jay-Z - Trouble
Juelz Santana feat. Young Jeezy and Lil' Wayne- Make it Work for ya
Justin Timberlake- What Goes Around/Comes Back Around
Juvenile- Break a Brick Down
Killer Mike- Deuces Wild
The Knife- We Share Our Mother's Health
Lily Allen- LDN
The Long Winters- Fire Island, AK
Lucero- I Can Get Us Outta Here Tonight
Lupe Fiasco- Kick, Push
Midlake- Roscoe
Mistah FAB- Hey
My Chemical Romance- Teenagers
Neko Case- Hold On, Hold On
Nelly Furtado- Promiscuous Remix feat. Lil Wayne
Nump feat. M.I.A.- I Got Grapes remix
Okkervil River- The President's Dead
Outkast- Hollywood Divorce
Peter, Bjorn and John- Young Folks
The Pipettes- Pull Shapes
Plan B- Kidz
Razorlight- America
Rhymefest- Dynomite (Goin' Postal)
Rich Boy- Throw Some D's
Rocky Votolato- White Daisy Passing
The Roots- Don't Feel Right
The Shins- Red Rabbits
Snoop Dogg feat. The Game- Gangbangin' 101
Sonic Youth- Jams Run Free
The Streets- Pranging Out
The Thermals- Pillar of Salt
Thom Yorke- Atoms for Peace
Trae- Real Talk
TV on the Radio- I Was a Lover
LCD Soundsystem- All My Friends

If the Sun comes up and I still don't wanna stagger home...

Daft Punk played at his house


I've gotten tons of tunes in the past couple of days.

The new LCD Soundsystem is quite enjoyable after the first couple of listens. More dancey goodness from Mr. Murphy. My favorite track, All My Friends, will not get the dancefloor movin'. It begins with some piano then the rest of the band joins in, one instrument at a time. This song and a couple of others give me a earlier New Order vibe, quality stuff. All My Friends is one of my favorite songs this year, but it doesn't really come out until next year, so I'll worry about that later.

Next up, TOM WAITS. I picked up The Heart of Saturday Night and it's the first time I've ever really, really enjoyed a Tom Waits record. Maybe I'm just getting old and can appreciate the guy more now?

Other stuff I picked up that's gooooood: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds- Tender Prey, Ghostface Killah- More Fish (full post on this later), Exploding Hearts- Guitar Romantic (been looking for this since I lost my copy in high school), Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire- The Swimming Hour and M. Ward- Post War

If you love livin' yo life, leave me alone

So, The Hold Steady on Tuesday night? AMAZING!!! After the first time I saw Wilco, this is the best show I've ever witnessed. It was magical watching a band enjoy playing their music sooo much. All band members just looked to be having such a good time on stage, rocking and drinking heavily. The setlist was heavy on new songs but still fair to songs from the first two records. The new tracks sounded great in a live setting also. One reason I really loved this show is how happy everyone there was. There was some people there that are acquaintances or I know through people who I've seen at shows before who just look like they'd rather be anywhere else. But, everybody was feeling the Steady on Tuesday. Fistpumps and serious head nodding was going on. Being there felt like seeing Kanye on his Late Registration tour, something truly special. If these guys are anywhere near you in the future GO SEE THEM!

The new Z-Ro record, I'm Still Livin' is some fiyaaaah. I'd put it up there right with Trae's Restless as one of the best southern rap albums of the year. Every song is dark and sad and his flow is just real dirty.

I'm downloading the new LCD Soundsystem right now, let y'all know how it is later.

rock n roll,

Luke

Go Getta

I'm goin' to see The Hold Steady tonight! I'm incredibly excited for this, I'm expecting one of the best shows I've ever seen. Catfish Haven is opening and I've heard a few tracks from them that are pretty good, so I'm looking forward to seeing them too.

The new Young Jeezy record, The Inspiration leaked and it's awesome. Basically picking up from where Thug Motivation 101 left off, it's huge and dark and is full of more dope boy imagery. If Hip Hop is Dead is as good as I expect this has been one helluva fourth quarter for hip hop.

Two new Clap Your Hands songs popped up today and they're not bad. I'm not falling in love like when I heard their debut but they sound pretty good, more melodic would be a good start I think.

Oh, Heros is BA, eff a midseason I wanna keep watching this show.

I didn't have class today so I stayed up a little later than usual last night after studying and watched Noah Baumbach's Kicking and Screaming. Baumbach is the man behind The Squid and the Whale, a great movie in its own right. Kicking was his debut and it's a look at the lives of some friends after they graduate college and are basically stuck in life. It's pretty funny and wonderfully acted. Check it out if you have time.

Lots of studying to do, I'll see if I can't post about the show on here tomorrow.


rock n roll,

Luke

Christmas isn't a four letter word

I've stopped taking naps. If it doesn't happen in the first five minutes I just give up and find something to do. I used to be a big nap guy. Ya know a two hour nap here an hour nap there, but lately i've basically halted them all together. This is a huge revelation.


Sufjan's "Songs For Christmas" box-set is some serious fun. It's beautiful and funny and just plain great. Basically, this guy can do no wrong (minus A Sun Came, I just didn't get that one)

I've been listening to the new Akon album today, "Konvicted" and I like it? Dude rocks some serious sweaters too.

I reviewed the new Jay-Z record and it's up on the Maneater site today. www.maneater.com go to the arts section. I gave it quite a lackluster review, but I have a feeling I'm going to like this record a lot more a year from now for some reason.

I hope you all went out today and bought the new Clipse record "Hell Hath No Fury." Support Malice and Pusha T, best rap record of the year deserves it.

I want a new name for the blog too. This one, inspired by two african american males fighting in our apartment pool over the summer, continuously shouting "WHATS GOOD" at each other, has lost its luster. Any ideas?

Jenny lights her cigarette, wonders how she got in this mess

I like this band

I hope everybody's thanksgiving breaks were good. Mine was nice and low-key and was capped off with a Mizzou football win over Kansas, a beautiful thing.

The most recent Lucero record "Rebels, Rogues and Sworn Brothers" is well worth your time. This is one of the most consistent bands around. They put out great southern rock-esque albums every two years or so that I like more and more I listen to them. "Tennessee" is still my favorite Lucero album but this one is creeping up on it. The record is full of young love, doubt and sad times. Listening to it I just picture a band gathering at a garage in some small midwestern town, sharing beers and too many cigarettes while they have a helluva time pounding out these great songs.

I'm still on the fence on the new Shins record "Wincing the Night Away." The two times I've listened to it all the way through I can sense there's a great album in there somewhere, it's just going to take some time for me to find it.

I'm reading Brennan Manning's book Ruthless Trust and it's heavy man. The dude is so smart and has me beating myself up and totally loving my spiritual life at the same time. A great read indeed.

I am also trying to get back on track knocking out some novels. I brought back Mark Helprin's, Memoirs from an Antproof Case and am expecting good things after reading Winter's Tale and Refiner's Fire in high school.

If you're a Mizzou friend, let's get together before the semester's over. Hangout or study, I wanna see you, for reals.

rock n roll,

Luke

If hip hop should die before I wake...

So I haven't posted for a loooooong time. I've gotten loads of new tunes however and I'm back. First of all, Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

To start things off, the new Clipse record, Hell Hath No Fury is amazing. It is my second favorite record of the year and the best hip hop album that will be released in all of '06. I want to say this record is worth the wait, but it's so good it's just not fair the public had to wait so long for it. The Neptunes aren't dead but have been saving most of their good beats for Pusha T and Malice. The production is dark and grimey which fits the content of the record perfectly. Coke and guns and more coke. The lyrical skills of both of these MC's is matched by few in hip hop today and they just bring a realness that seems distant in the tales of drugs that Jeezy or Santana spit. BUY THIS RECORD ON 11/28!!

I just recently go the new Shins record and I'll let everyone know my feelings on it sometime this weekend.

Oh yeah, Casino Royale is BA

Play it cool boy

The new Bloc Party record, A Weekend in the City, leaked recently and I'm totally engrossed in this record right now. All I've been listening to for the past week or so were new hip hop realeases (Hov, AZ, Game) and this record has taken up all my listening time for the past day or so. It's layered and dark and epic and I just want to stay up and give it repeated listens. I've been reading from some dudes that the album lacks because of it's softer side (compared to Silent Alarm's brashness) but I think that's one of the record's strong points. Bloc Party hasn't gone out and re-recorded their brilliant debut but has continued to evolve its sounds into something grand. I don't think this comes out until early '07 so it will have to stay off my year-end list but it would definitely be up at the top. Plus they shout out some Breat Easton Ellis on "Song For Clay (disappear here), and I will not argue with one of my favorite bands using one of my favorite authors as inspiration.

I've been watching Six Feet Under re-runs on Bravo on Monday nights and I'm falling in love with this show. I attempted to get into it during high school but I just didn't really connect. I guess it's just my advanced college brain (mwhahahahha) really diving into and appreciating this show's brilliance. Each episode was just a stark and haunting look at mortality, love, religion and other assorted aspects of life. Also, the acting was top notch.

Thanksgiving Break is coming up and it is much needed and the possibility of taking in a My Morning Jacket show in St. Louis has me seriously pumped.

rock n roll,

Luke

30's the new 20

So Kingdom Come leaked this weekend and I wasn't as excited as if the new Nas or Clipse leaked but I was still pretty pumped. It's no classic but definitely a great rap album. Lots of Dre and Just Blaze beats and who's going to argue with that. I've been reading on the internets about the Doc beats being lackluster but I'm digging them nonetheless. Hov's lyrics are on point as usual, but he just doesn't sound hungry. When the Black Album dropped my junior (?) year of high school that was in the car for months man. Kingdom Come doesn't have those tracks that just get a smile creeping across my face wondering how the man does it. This record finds Hov in a comfortable spot just spittin' about his wealth and status. I will buy this record on the 21st, believe that.

On the sports tip, how awesome was Thomas Jones doin' the Jim Jones BAAAALLLLINNN jump shot in front of all the Giants fans after his touchdown in the second half? Compliments of the windy city Capo!

You rappers ain't safe

So Lost isn't new again until February? How's ABC gonna pull a HBO on this? This last episode was one of the best of the season and I'm officially back on the LOST bandwagon after fallin off last year for a while. In the rest of the tv world, I still really like Studio 60 and am enjoying it because it probably won't be on the air too much longer.

The Weezy remix of Show Me What You Got has been all over the internets. Wayne kills it, find this and thank me later.

I saw Borat last Saturday and it's great, believe that.

rock n roll,

Luke

I'm on my grind cousin, got no time for frontin'

Titch

I watched the Daniel Craig flick Layercake again tonight. I'm just gettin in some Craig before Casino Royale comes out (which I'm pretty excited for). Layercake is a wonderful film man. Just complex drugs and crime stuff with great acting all around.

Crazy Titch got sentenced to thirty years for the murder of a British producer the other day. Titch was a prominent figure in the grime movement and could spit, and spit harshly at that. Get your hands on any of his stuff if you get the chance.

At Streetside I picked up the new Lyndsey Buckingham and Blood Brothers releases. The Buckingham is excellent and the Brothers is alright.

Borat tonight fools.

I've had kisses that make Judas seem sincere

I'm throwin up my top ten for the year so far. I'm sure I'll forget some albums, this is just a quick one since I'm bored

10. My Chemical Romance- The Black Parade
- I'm serious on this one. I've been listening to it alot. So don't go callin' me emo or some junk like that. This record is freakin' huge. The songs are anthemic and will be stuck in your head for daysss.

9. Trae- Restless
- What a dirty, dirty southern gem. Two words... REAL TALK

8. Rhymefest- Blue Collar
- The man who penned Jesus Walks finally drops his solo disc and it's full of social commentary and humor

7. The Thermals- The Body, The Blood, The Machine
- Punk Rock.

6. The Game- Doctor's Advocate
- The Game silences critics by droppin' another record full of West Coast gangsta ish. I just posted on this, read up

5. Ghostface Killah- Fishscale
- Ghost does what he's been doin for years. Spittin out that fire over some great beats

4. The Decemberists- The Crane Wife
- This is the best Decemberists record to date. No pirate sounding funny stuff, just great rock n roll.

3. TI- King
- This record is great, might actually be the best of the year, who knows how I'll feel in a few months.

2. Josh Ritter- Animal Years
- I've listened to this the most out of anything in the past year. One of the best singer-songwriters doin' it right now.

1. The Hold Steady- Boys and Girls in America
- Like you didn't see that one coming. This record is a beast, if you don't have it, get it, NOW.

The year still holds releases from Hov and Nas so we'll see if those can make the cut. Hell Hath No Fury drops next month and that will definitely be on here. I can't wait for that record, I get chills just thinkin' about it.

Borat comes out on Friday and I will see this movie.

Flow like Esco, New York niggas say I'm the best though

Doctor's Advocate leaked and it's a monster. This is one of the best rap releases this year, no doubt. The Game takes what mad The Documentary so enjoyable and duplicates on his sophomore LP. Great beats for the most part (no Cool n' Dre collabo sadly) and The Game doin just enough lyrically to make this album worthwhile.

The new Copeland record that dropped today, Eat, Sleep, Repeat has gotten a few spins as I'm liking the melancholy work of this release.

Six Feet Under is being re-run on Bravo on Monday nights at 8 central, I couldn't be happier. Also, The Wire is going to be shown on BET in the future, now I'm flippin' out.

Can't leave the game alone

Saw The Prestige tonight and enjoyed it thoroughly. Nolan can basically do no wrong and this flick does nothing to alter that statement. It's dark, mysterious and wonderfully acted. I think Bale should just do Nolan movies for the rest of his career (unless they remake Newsies and Nolan isn't at the helm) because they just seem to click. The plot is great with some serious twists. I don't feel like going on and on about it, just check it out.

Some tracks from The Game's new record have been leaking recently and the one with Nas is prettay, prettay, prettay good.

(I'm also kind of diggin' the new My Chemical Romance record, shhhhhhh don't tell)

Too much Sam Rothstein

The third track to leak from Kingdom Come, Lost Ones, popped up on the internets today. Now I'm diggin this one. Kingdom Come was good and Show Me What You Got had me worried, but this has rekindled my excitement for the new album. It's laid back and has Hov goin' at somebodies, I think I get some Dame shots outta this and then just Jay on some this is my life kinda ish.

I've got that chilly will, lets get some Baltimore beats

You know I couldn't make a post with out a bit of The Wire showing up


I've been listenin' to some Elton John, you know what I'm talkin' about, some throwback Elton, old school ish. On Tuesday check out my review of Mindy Smith's new record at www.themaneater.com. It's late and I need to study some more, until my eyes bleed kinda studyin ya heard. Here's a mix you should make to be a better person in soooo many ways. One.

Beanie Sigel- Lord Have Mercy
Lucero- Nights Like These
Elton John- Daniel
Whiskeytown- What the Devil Wanted
Lil Wayne feat. Rick Ross and Curren$y- Meet Me in South Beach
The Hold Steady- Hot Soft Light
Okkervil River- The President's Dead
Mindy Smith- Little Devil
Josh Ritter- Monster Ballads
The Knife- One Hit
Cat Power- Living Proof
Band Of Horses- Great Salt Lake
Ice Cube- Dead Homiez
Spank- Chilly Will
Justin Timberlake- What Goes Around/Comes Back Around interlude
Trae- Dedicated 2 You
Crowded House- Pineapple Head
...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead- Days of Being WIld

Word

I said I got a jones, in my bones

I haven't posted for way tooo long, i'm lame.

I saw Okkervil River last Wedensday night and they were amazing.

I haven't stopped listening to Boys & Girls in America since I got it until today when D'angelo popped up on my itunes and I just listened to Brown Sugar all the way through. Now I just really want a girlfriend, whatever happened to D'angelo anyways?

I saw the Departed tonight and it's awesome, but I kind of expected awesomeness. Wahlberg is simply the man, he's not really stretching himself in his role here but he's just so damn entertaining. Plus Alec Baldwin's in it and you can't go wrong there. I enjoyed DiCaprio's performance alot too and ended being impressed with Damon, I always want to not like him in movies but usually end up liking his roles anyways. The movie itself is just action from the beginning to the end. It's so intense and doesn't let down for a second. Go see this, it's the best movie I've seen in the theater in I don't know how long.

The Wire tonight had to be one of my favorite episodes ever. The whole turn with Randy thinking the people Marlo's crew were killing turned into zombies was priceless.

How am I s'posed to know that you're high if I can't even touch you?

http://www.vagrant.com/holdsteady_listeningparty/

Go listen to the entire Boys and Girls in America. The Hold Steady is one of my favorite bands of the past few years and this album is great, I can't wait to go buy it. The Steady seems to really be aping Springsteen on this release and I couldn't be any more excited, listen to the whole thing folks.

Went from ashy to classy

I got my hands on the new Luda today. The hair has changed but that's about it. I'm not usually looking for a new release from the man but I had somse hope for Release Therapy from hearing "Grew Up a Screw Up" and "War With God." I remember reading quotes from Luda saying this record is a change of pace for him, how he's feeling about the world and stuff like that. He definitely has some introspective tracks on here like "Runaway Love" with Luda on a Lupe tip and the wonderful "Do Your Time" with Beanie Sigel, Pimp C and C-Murder. Then on the other half Release Therapy still has the goofy Luda tracks that one would come to expect on a Luda release, "Moneymaker" and "Girls Gone Wild" to name a few. Overall, this is a enjoyable hip-hop release but will not hold a candle to the T.I., Ghostface and Trae releases at the end of the year.

Chicago maing

After my one class of the day and a good lunch with one pretty cool young lady, I made sure to go cop Lupe's Food & Liquor. I took a roundabout way home to get some more time listening. At first I was definitely enjoying it but not floored like I was hoping to be. I think I just felt I know what to expect when it comes to Lupe, which is sad since dude just released his debut. I put it back on for my second round of studying and now I'm really gettin it. Lupe is great man, simply great. People can't decide if dude is backpack or if dude is trying to be hood, whatever, he can rhyme, plain and simple. Most of the tracks are produced by people from his 1st & 15th clique with one from Mike Shinoda and one from The Louis Vuitton Don. The Kanye track got me excited. I'm a sucker for Kanye beats like this, on some Be ish, nice and simple but better than anyone else is doin it. This album doesn't have enough tracks like I Gotcha on it to make it a huge seller, but whatever, right now it sounds great and made me stop listening to the new Grizzly Bear record.

I got a girl in the war man, I wonder what it is we've done

Built to Spill came through Columbia tonight and tore ish up. Martsch and Co. put on one heckuva show, let me tell you. The wall of guitar sound was so intense. Seeing these guys live tonight really made me appreciate what they've been doing for the last ten years or so. I gave You in Reverse a very good review last semester but the album hasn't grown on me much. The new songs from that record carried over wonderfully in a live setting however.


Girl in the War has popped up on itunes as I'm writing this and I can't even express how much I love Josh Ritter's music. Animal Years is such a wonderful record and hasn't nearly got the attention that it deserves. Guster is here for a free show on Wednesday night and I'm not as excited as I should be. I'm pumped, don't get me wrong, but I'm worried about how the Ganging Up on the Sun songs are going to be when performed live.


The Razorlight record that came out this year is very good. Their record that came out a couple of years ago was lackluster as I remember, but this one has been getting multiple listens. Some great pop in the vein of Crowded House, it's no Neil Finn but it's good.

Sellin' drugs we all wrapped up in this livin'

R.I.P.


I've never been a huge Pac guy but every time I give the man some of my listening time I'm always amazed. He truly was one of the best emcees ever and on today, the anniversary of his death, RIP

"Game's the same, just got more fierce."

I haven't posted about the season premiere of the fourth season of The Wire yet because I couldn't really put into words how great it was and how excited I am for the upcoming season (Snoop might just be the fiercest character on the show right now, one bad lady). The writing, acting and directing/production is the best on TV. Sunday night's premiere is being talked about all over the internet and all I can say is that if you haven't started watching this show, go get the first season NOW!

The new Rapture record is pretty solid. Very, very danceable, the basslines in the first few songs are intense. It's a beautiful thing when you open up the Sunday Best Buy ad and two of the new releases mentioned are The Rapture and TV on the Radio.

There's still one rule playa, don't get caught

study playlist on the tenth that has too much Lil' Wayne

Lil Wayne & Juelz Santana- Rubber Burnin'
Lil Wayne- Mo Fire
Birdman & Lil Wayne- Stuntin' Like My Daddy
Lil Wayne & Juelz Santana- Get That Bread
Rhymefest- Devil's Pie
Lil Wayne- Untitled 2
Luda feat. Jeezy- Grew Up a Screw Up
Young Jeezy- Don't Get Caught
T.I.- Top Back
Scarface feat. Nas- In Between Us
Clipse- Hard or Soft
Natasha feat. Clipse- So Sick
Trae- Song Cry
Biggie- Ready to Die
Rick Ross- Pots & Pans
Clipse- Bodysnatchers
Cam'ron- Dipset Forever
Trae feat. Jim Jones- Coming Around the Corner
Roscoe P. Coldchain- Whut Itz All
Mannie Fresh feat. Lil Wayne- Wayne's Takeover 1
Trick Daddy- These are the Daze

" We're no longer called Sonic Death Monkey."

Long Winters- Putting the Days to Bed
Golden Smog- Another Fine Day

THE WIRE STARTS TOMORROW NIGHT

This is what you should be listening to

www.myspace.com/ohtis

My name is Tim, aka Thomas Crown

Timberlake's Future Sex/Love Sounds is one of the best records of the year. I have no problem saying this at all. Timbaland is on point throughout the disc producing 11 of 13 tracks. They're all burners and make me wish I was a DJ so I could play these on a dancefloor or at a party. This thing has been talked about all over the internet so I won't spend too much time because I'll be biting on other people's opinion all night. This record is great and is all I've listened to this week.

rock n roll,

Luke

Johnny Cash = sissy ??

Today in my Jazz, Pop and Rock class my teacher was talking about how male musicians are percieved as "sissys". If a male is say an athlete, then he's looked at as a "man". I guess I can agree with this but what about Johnny Cash or Springsteen? I don't see how either of these men could have been percieved as "sissys" at any time in their careers. I think it totally rests on the lyrical content of the music that a man creates. Cash and Springsteen delved deep into the depths of the American psyche, Cash as a country musician and the boss as blue collar/workingman rock 'n' roll. Also, the level that hip-hop is at has changed this perception. With someone like Jay-Z who has sold millions upon millions of records about drugs, women and money isn't seen as soft at all. With hip-hop as such a prominent art form in music now men are definitely seen as tough. Just a few thoughts I had after class today. BTW, The Roots- Game Theory is brilliant and is one of my favorite hip-hop records of all time, no lie. It's up there with Things Fall Apart.

rock n roll,

Luke

"Rubber burnin', cornas turnin', beatin' like a congo!"

Lil' Wayne and Juelz Santana- I Can't Feel My Face

I finally found this advaced copy of their collaboration and it's everything you'd hope it to be. Weezy continues his streak of hotness by totally killing every track he's on. There's a little too much Santana on here, he's definitely not on Wayne's level as evidenced by these tracks but a Juelz coke rap verse is nothing to dog on. If you enjoy rap at all you need these tracks!

The new Mountain Goats record is very enjoyable. It's not on par with The Sunset Tree but it's better than most of the music I've gotten in the past month or so. It's terribly sad and more minimal than the last Mountain Goats output.

Season 4 of The Wire starts next Sunday and I can't freakin wait. The season finale of Rescue Me was last night and it kind of left me feeling down. It wasn't close to the drama the last two season finales brought but still better than any other tv that's not on HBO.

rock n roll,

Luke

We turned the street hustle into an art

I had quite the great day at Streetside records today. Taking advantage of their buy 3 used items get the fourth free, I picked up Rhymefest- Blue Collar, Dizzee Rascal- Showtime, Scarface- The Fix and David Lynch's Wild at Heart. The Scarface pickup is the one I'm most pumped about. I had most of these songs downloaded off of audiogalaxy back when it came out and they're prolly on some blank cd gathering dust in my room at home and when I saw this day I had to pick it up. This record is the epitome of coke rap. I really like Scarface, his flow is so heavy and he just dotes on dark topics making The Fix a classic. Recently Face announced his retirement from rap and this one is believeable unlike Hov's. He never stepped into the limelight or anything, I remember the On My Block video on MTV2 back in the day, but he never got the recognition he deserved. If The Fix came out today it would blow up on the internet, the man was just a few years too early, but I have feeling he's just fine with that for some reason.

Cee-Lo, what happened?

I'm totall jacking this from Sean Fennessey's blog but it reminded me of how on point Cee-Lo was once upon a time. The Gnarls Barkley album is so patch and thrown together. Didn't Goodie Mob get back together? Where's that album?

This is a Cee-Lo verse from a Goodie Mob track, Thought Process.

Sometimes I don't even know how I'm gon' eat
'Bout twenty dollars away from being on the street
Shit, you might see a nigga on tv
But hell it's almost like I'm rappin' for free
That little money be gone...got dammit, I'm grown
Gotta help keep the heat and lights on
It would be nice to have mo' but I kinda like being po'
At least I know what my friends here fo'
I wanna lie to you sometimes, but I can't
I wanna tell you that it's all good, but it ain't
It's niggas hurtin' and uncertain 'bout if they gon' make it or not
That's why we got niggas killing
Feelin like they coming up off a little dope they sold
You can get some gold but we won't make it as a whole
Cause without you there'd be no me
And without no unity there will never be any happiness
You could smoke a pound of sess and it still won't relieve yo' stress
God bless my...thought process

"When we first we laid eyes... I swore no compromise."

I obtained the new Decemberists record, The Crane Wife, with very low expectations. Their last effort, Picaresque, was subpar after Castaways and Cutouts and Her Majesty. The Crane Wife loses the pirate imagery and the goofiness of the older Decemberists recordings and is full of somber tunes that are simply beautiful. This is my favorite record right now and I'm really excited by how good it is. We'll just have to wait and see how it stands up as the year goes on (there is a new Hold Steady record coming out) but this will be in my top ten at the end of the year no doubt.

rock n roll,

Luke

"Hov and Nas in November"

Fabolous- Monkey Business

New Fabolous joint where he spits a few bars over a simple dirty beat. Drugs and money for a the first minute and then talks about the upcoming Def Jam release schedule. Luda in September, Jeezy in October, Hova and Nas in November and Fabo in December. I'll always have hope for a Fab album since Breathe is still such a great great song.

rock n roll,

Luke

"I been ready since '81 and I was born in '82."

Wayne got popped on some drug charges. Looks like some weed and some painkillers. His carrier has to be in some serious ish for this goin down. Right now I'm for seriously digging the movie Brick, listening to I'm From Barcelona and Trae and not listening to the one helluva letdown new Outkast record.

The Truth

Trae and Raaaaaaaaws




The new Trae record miiiiiiiight be my favorite rap record of the summer. This is only because I'm not including the Roots album as a rap album (?). It's reeeal gangsta. Trae's flow is hard, dirty and quick. It's a great southern rap album and needs to be heard. I'm deep into the second season of The Wire and I'm hooked once again. Get at me on aim or something if you want any music I've been talking about.

rock n roll,

Luke

"... goin' to the zoo with the rest of 'em."

I haven't been posting much because I don't really a place to live until the 18th and I'm just kind of lazy. I've been getting loads of good music however. The new Mew record, And the Glass Handed Kites, is beautiful. The pitchfork review said Qeensryche meets Sigur Ros. I'm feeling hte Sigur Ros comparison but not the Qeensryche. I'd say Sigur Ros if they spoke english and rocked a bit more. I was late jumping on the boat with Japanese rockers Boris, but their record Pink is glorious. It's dirty dirty rock n roll and I love it right now. Talladegha Nights is hillarious and you should go see it right now, I mean right now. John C. Reilly is the funniest man in the movie, believe that. The outtakes of him might be the funniest thing in the whole film.

rock n roll,


Luke

You gonna come at the king, you best not miss

I just finished the first season of The Wire and it deserves all of the praise it gets and more. It's better than any cop show ever made hands down.

Watch out children, it's a 309

The Wire is amazing. The last Johnny Cash album is beautiful and sad. The live Thom Yorke track on Fluxblog today makes me yearn for a new Radiohead record and I dig Rick Ross' Port of Miami.

I'm so sorry but the motorcade will have to go around me this time, God is on my side

Back when I posted on xanga I would make post each time I'd make a mix. Ima start that back up. I made one tonight and here she is. With the weather being absolutely stellar lately I just felt like I needed some good chill tunes to put on in the car when I'm goin around at night. These are good tracks to turn on and just roll the windows down and enjoy the summer.

Josh Ritter- Monster Ballads
Montt Mardie- 1969
Sufjan Stevens- Decatur
Guster- The Captain
Wilco- Theologians
Ben Kweller- Penny on the Traintracks
Warren Zevon- Accidentally Like a Martyr
Rocky Votolato- Tinfoil Hats
The Killers- When You Were Young
Whiskeytown- Jacksonville Skyline
My Morning Jacket- Knot Come Loose
David Gray- The Light
The National- All the Wine
Cross Canadian Ragweed- Alabama (live & acoustic)
Carbon Leaf- Grey Sky Eyes
Ben Harper- Crying Won't Help You Now

Slow down son you killin' 'em

I swear I listen to more than just hip-hop. All I've been getting recently though is great hip hop stuff though. J.R. Writer's debut, History in the Making, is what Killa Season and What the Game's Been Missing weren't. It's hard as hell and doesn't let down the whole time. Writer is top of the Dips right now after Cam's recent shots at Hova fell terribly flat and Juelz's album fell way short of the great mixtapes he dropped before it. History in the making is bangers from top to bottom, even has a track called Zoolander where Writer shouts out to Wilson and Stiller. Zoolander is the next Scarface in hip hop I guess.

Spent some time on the Apple Quicktime trailers site today and there's some really interesting looking movies coming our way.

First off is The Last Kiss starring Zach Braff. I dug Garden State. It wasn't my favorite movie of that year or anything, but it was terribly entertaining and just made you feel good after watching it. The Last Kiss is associated with the guy who wrote Million Dollar Baby and Crash (Haggis?) and it looks pretty good, plus Tom Wilkinson is in it and I freakin love that guy.
http://www.apple.com/trailers/dreamworks/thelastkiss/trailer-medium.html

The Prestige is Nolan's next movie and he's tapped Christian Bale once again. Even though this means we'll have to wait a little longer for a Batman sequel I think The Prestige will hold up well. It looks pretty amazing and should hopefully get Bale an Oscar nod, not a win but at least a nomination.
http://www.apple.com/trailers/touchstone/theprestige/medium.html

Digillio is so great. I long for the days I could listen to him as I was driving home on the weekends. This is a podcast after he saw The Break-Up. Leary wishes he could rant like this.

Is he the best eva? That's the arg-u-ment

http://youtube.com/watch?v=H31_-qtZGY4&search=Beyonce%20Deja%20Vu

It's no Crazy in Love but it's better than most rap heads are saying.

Luda's been on some Back for the Very First Time ish lately



Been gettin a good deal of hip hop lately. The new Clipse single feat. Slim Thug "Wamp Wamp" is ridiculous. It's no Grindin' but it should blow up, no doubt about it. It's been written about all over the internet so I'll just let you all go check it out. I'm sure most of you have heard the Shawnna remix for Gettin' Some. It's got Lil' Wayne (always a plus) Too Short, Pharrel and Luda. All of the boys turn in memorable performances. Especially Luda, he's on quite a roll and I'm actually pumped for some new stuff from the dude. Here I Come off the new Roots record is the best Roots song I've heard since The Seed 2.0.

rock yo hips

I still don't know what to think about Rick Ross. When Port of Miami drops we'll see if he's reason enough for Jay to leave Redman and Joe Budden albums on the shelf. "Push it to the Limit" is a pretty fire track though, so hopefully he can bring it for a full album. He does have that whole Uncle Phil thing workin for him, so who knows.

"I'm the luckiest sunuvabitch alive."

Saw it in the theaters and it was stellar. Just watched it again and I was floored.

What's Freeway doin in Pirates gear

Freeway feat. Jay-Z - World War III

This song is fiiiiiiiiire. From Freeway's upcoming Free at Last it's got me real amped for its release. Freeway's flow is so aggressive as usual as he sounds like he's about to explode at any moment. This summer has been pretty tame for hip-hop with the exception of the new Field Mob outing, Free at Last will hopefully be a breath of fresh air. I still would have liked at least 16 from Hova though, him on the hook is better than nothing though.

"When I find that river.... I find my family."

I picked up In the Bedroom used the other day at Streetside Records and I had forgotten how moving this film was. Tom Wilkinson is just purely brilliant as the father and Spacek is golden as the angry mother. Nick Stahl is only in it for awhile, but he gets hella points for being the Yellow Bastard in Sin City and he's terribly solid in his short role here. I'm listening to Andrew Osenga's "Photographs" right now and it's hitting the spot like no other. It seems like just yesterday I watched him play with Korban at East WHite Oak Bible Church for New Year's Eve, and now he's creating brilliant albums, I freakin love it.

rock n' roll,

Luke

"I lick some shots to let him know that Ima rida..... Mo Fire babay"

MO FIRE folks


Lots of stuff runnin around recently. I rented the Matador and watched it with my room mates and it's a terribly good movie, for reals folks. Pierce Brosnan is a force, funny as hell and hits the dramatic points dead on. Greg Kinnear plays the dopey kind of guy he always does but this movies is written wonderfully and definitely worth four bucks at blockbuster. I picked up Daydream Nation by Sonic Youth for six bucks used the other day and am kicking myself for sleeping on this band for so long. For the past couple of years I've gotten whatever new ish they've put out and it's been solid but this record is just great. For all you people that worship Nirvana and any other mid nineties modern rock there wouldn't be any of that without Sonic Youth or the Pixies, check both bands out pleeeeeeease. The Serena-Maneesh album is really really good. I kind of wish I picked it up in the winter when it was gettin hella pub, as it's not really a summer album but I still can realize it's one helluva record. GET IT!

rock n roll,

Luke

It kind of makes me sick that the guy to the left kills the Timbo beat on "Sexyback" like he does. He did get Clipse on his last album so he does have that working for him.

The last time I saw her she was tied to the train tracks

So basically Josh Ritter is my favorite songwriter currently. As we speak I'm listening to a show at the Double Door from this year of his and it's freakin great. It has all the between songs banter and the dude is funny. Add that in with the amazing songs and I would basically sell a vital organ to see this dude in concert. His songs paint vivid pictures of the midwest and and things of that nature. They have a little bit of a country twinge (not CMT country people, don't let this turn you off). Please, please check him out, he deserves a lot more recognition than he gets.

rock n roll,

Luke

Fresh ta death?

I'm moving out of the stone age and getting rid of my xanga. Posts are going to be up on this blogger account from now on. Same format and all that, just about what I'm listening to and watching. Right now Chin Up Chin Up's 2004 album We Should Have Never Lived Like We Were Skyscrapers is dominating the itunes. Great record and getting me real excited to see them at the Pitchfork Festival at the end of the month. I'll be posting like a madman hopefully, enjoy everybody.




rock n roll,

Luke