who's the man, who's the boss

I've been slacking heavily on here. The past few weekends I've been out of town (Pitchfork one week, I'll do a post on that sometime) and just doing school and newspaper stuff that's been keeping me occupied.
Right now I just want to give some space to the new A.B.N. album. It's two of the most consistent southern rappers, Trae and Z-Ro doing what they do best. Spitting real fast about depressing aspects of the hood and a whole lot of talk about beating yo azz. This is out on Rap-A-Lot and is getting little to no shine on rap blogs and it's a shame. So far it's probably my favorite rap album this year behind Killer Mike's new one.



I move out on Thursday then I'll throw up Pitchfork and Mad Men Season 2 posts.

i spoke in tongues, i took all of my clothes off

The new album by Wild Sweet Orange, "We Have Cause to be Uneasy" is quite the enjoyable indie rock record. With vivid lyrics and a great soft,loud,soft dynamic, this band should get some buzz in the coming months.

solace is in the fabric of sweatshirts

You need this in your life.



(spanish subtitles for Nick Birky)

country ass boy, country like leanne rimes

Fresh Top 5

1. Holiday weekend,
Started the weekend off right by heading home for the Fourth and getting down to business at the McGregor Estate. Good times with great people and Chris breaking his face.
It was also my Dad's 50th birthday on Sunday so my family trekked to St. Louis to enjoy the Cubs/Cardinals games on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday was a total bummer but the Cubs rallied and made Sunday's game worth the whole trip. Also, going to Busch Stadium with the p's and not having to pay for my own $9 beers was ace.

my man

2. David Banner- Greatest Story Ever Told,
I've been waiting for this joint for a while. Banner Southern growl is in full effect and these jams sound great on my humid morning runs. I could have done with less club tracks and more of Banner's political/hood talk but the album's pretty solid. "Get Like Me" is that jam by the way.


3. Alex Idleman,
Big ups to this man for picking up my Dark Knight ticket for the 12 a.m. opening. I'm trying to black out everything having to do with this film until that night, I can't wait.



4. Mission Hill re-runs,
1 a.m. on Adult Swim, Mission Hill has been getting some play. A really witty cartoon with fun, colorful animation. I vaguely remember this from it's WB or MTV run in the early 00's. Good stuff.





5. Michael Chabon- Mysteries of Pittsburgh,
I started reading Chabon's first novel over the weekend and I'm totally engrossed. I've read Wonder Boys and Summerland, and this one doesn't dissapoint. The man is one of my favorite living novelists.
Mysteries of Pittsburgh reads like a better Bret Easton Ellis novel stripped of that man's inflated ego.
The book has also been made into a film that I'm anticipating. Peter Sarsgaard plays the character Cleveland which is some perfect casting.

cruise some chicks and get a suntan

I've been putting some work into the entertainment section at our school's paper this summer. It's great to be getting paid to do something I love and I'm really starting to enjoy the editing aspect of my job. If you've got some free time, stop by and give some of the stories a read.

i was blacked out, i was cracked out, i was caved in

Here's something new instead of "here's what I like right now" posts. I guess it'll end up being a lot of the same actually but in a different format. It's late and I'm tired, those last two sentences probably don't make a lot of sense.

Top 5 smile generators

1. My trip to Champaign last weekend,
It was wonderful to get together with some people I haven't seen for a while and just straight tear things up. Also, parties are just so much better when myself, or someone with similar music tastes (Dylan) runs the stereo.

2. Not having class at 11 a.m. over the summer,
This is noteworthy because I can finally watch Homicide re-runs on WGN. I haven't been able to do this since last year and it's usually one of the best parts of my day. Man, this summer has been lame.

3. The Hold Steady- Stay Positive,
This leaked about a month ago and I've been listening to it a couple times every week. It didn't grab me immediately as their first three releases did but it's a logical next step in the band's sound. The big bar-rock guitars have been turned down and the pop sensibilities have been turned way up. I'm really looking forward to their set at the Pitchfork fest this summer, they kill live.

4. In Bruges,
I really had no expectations going into this film. The trailers made it look like some second-rate crime thriller, but it's really one of the best comedies I've seen this year. Ralph Fiennes brings so many laughs when he shows up for the second half. The movie also successfully had me caring about a Colin Farrell character for the first time ever I think.

5. Angelina Jolie,
I sawWantedover the weekend to review it for Tuesday's paper. While it's not really a good film, it's certainly great stylized violence. Jolie steals the whole thing, she's bigger than the movie, a force all by herself.

gettin' nailed beside dumpsters behind townie bars

R.I.P. Status Ain't Hood.

On Monday Tom Breihan announced that his M-F Village Voice music blog "Status Ain't Hood" would be ending as he moves onto unannounced greener pastures.
When I moved to college three years ago this was one of the first music blogs I started checking regularly. Whatever Tom was commenting on I had interest in reading. It's really sad to see it go and I'll miss checking it on the daily for updates ranging from Project Pat to a minute by minute rundown of the CMA Awards.
I've got a link to the blog on the side of mine, take a few minutes and run through the posts he lists as some of his favorite from over the years.