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.