Manwomanboogie - Q-Tip & Amanda Diva
I guess it would make sense to post a video that pertains to the post below this one. Rik Cordero clearly takes a bit from this song, by providing a simple setting to match a beat that sounds so simple. I already talked about the song, so here's the video:
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Q-Tip Had The 2008 AOTY
You know, since I actually had planned updating this thing on a somewhat regular basis, I was going to do a big end-of-the-year music post. So here we are, two months after the start of 2009, and I'm the last blogger on the internets to be putting up an album of the year post. But, it's my damn blog, so I'm going to do whatever the hell I want.
I'll admit, I didn't expect much from Q-Tip's The Renaissance when it was released. It seemed like a huge build up to something that was way too ambitious. It was Q-Tip's first release since the rocky Amplified nine years ago, and a full decade since the last A Tribe Called Quest LP. How could something that people have been waiting for that long possibly live up to the expectations? And he dropped the album on ELECTION DAY!? I'm not sure why I even gave it a listen, I was only going to be disappointed...
And then I actually did give it a spin. And another. And one more time. And once more in the car. In the first bars of Johnny Is Dead, the opening track, Tip blurts out "What good is an ear if a Q-Tip isn't in it?" This would typify the whole album, as the album features no rhymes from anybody other than the legendary Abstract. It does however feature hooks from some of the best voices around, and not a single one sounding out of place. Norah Jones lends her unique voice in Tip's homage to the past in Life Is Better, Raphael Saadiq continues his comeback tour on We Fight / Love, and D'Angelo hops on for the ridiculously soulful Believe towards the end of the album.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the fact that Q-Tip produced eleven of the twelve tracks on the album. He weaves together the tracks to the point where it's actually hard to imagine anybody other than Tip rapping over it. The one track he didn't produce, Move, was produced by the late J Dilla, undoubtedly a tribute to the late great's life. Dilla worked with Tip extensively both with A Tribe Called Quest and on the Abstract's first album.
In looking at other reviews of this album, I've noticed a lot who thought it was either above average or even good, but not among the best. I judge an album's greatness by the amount of times I can listen to it without getting totally sick of it. I'm still listening to The Renaissance, and I can't see myself stopping anytime soon.
Strongest Track: Manwomanboogie feat. Amanda Diva
I'll admit, I didn't expect much from Q-Tip's The Renaissance when it was released. It seemed like a huge build up to something that was way too ambitious. It was Q-Tip's first release since the rocky Amplified nine years ago, and a full decade since the last A Tribe Called Quest LP. How could something that people have been waiting for that long possibly live up to the expectations? And he dropped the album on ELECTION DAY!? I'm not sure why I even gave it a listen, I was only going to be disappointed...
And then I actually did give it a spin. And another. And one more time. And once more in the car. In the first bars of Johnny Is Dead, the opening track, Tip blurts out "What good is an ear if a Q-Tip isn't in it?" This would typify the whole album, as the album features no rhymes from anybody other than the legendary Abstract. It does however feature hooks from some of the best voices around, and not a single one sounding out of place. Norah Jones lends her unique voice in Tip's homage to the past in Life Is Better, Raphael Saadiq continues his comeback tour on We Fight / Love, and D'Angelo hops on for the ridiculously soulful Believe towards the end of the album.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the fact that Q-Tip produced eleven of the twelve tracks on the album. He weaves together the tracks to the point where it's actually hard to imagine anybody other than Tip rapping over it. The one track he didn't produce, Move, was produced by the late J Dilla, undoubtedly a tribute to the late great's life. Dilla worked with Tip extensively both with A Tribe Called Quest and on the Abstract's first album.
In looking at other reviews of this album, I've noticed a lot who thought it was either above average or even good, but not among the best. I judge an album's greatness by the amount of times I can listen to it without getting totally sick of it. I'm still listening to The Renaissance, and I can't see myself stopping anytime soon.
Strongest Track: Manwomanboogie feat. Amanda Diva
- They don't call him the Abstract for nothing. This is a very unique cut, where the beat sounds so simple, but it totally works. Amanda Diva provides a pretty funky hook to bring it together.
- This was the first single for the album, and probably brought the bar down a little bit in my mind. I just didn't view it as all that compelling compared to the rest of the album. Now, don't get me wrong, it's still a nice track, but I had choose something as the weakest.
First Place!
I have three regular season games left in my Ball State managerial career, and it's awful hard to be in a better position than I am now. We played undoubtedly the biggest regular season game I've ever been a part of last night, and we actually freaking won. The team is now 13-13 (my best season as a manager by four wins), and 7-6 in the conference. Now, of course, that's ridiculously unimpressive. However, it's good enough for first place in our division. Not only that, last night's game gave us a one game lead on the division, and a virtual two game lead on second place!
The MAC has been absolutely god awful this season, and especially the MAC West, the division in which we participate. It should be telling that we're the only divisional team with more than nine wins, and we were one of the most impressive West teams in the cross-division match-ups--going 2-4 against the East. But you know what, I don't really care that much. This is the most competitive we've been in my four years, and I'm going to enjoy it.
Ball State also boasts the odds-on favorite for conference freshman player of the year in Jarrod Jones, who is likely to finish one of the most impressive freshman campaigns for a post player since the late 90s. He's among the top five in freshman scoring and top three in freshman rebounding in the Ball State record books, considering Ball State's basketball history, that's some select company. All signs point to him NOT transferring, something that previous freshman stars (our previous starting point Melvin Goins and Marquette's Maurice Acker) can't claim. So the best is clearly still to come.
It's also impressive considering that we lost our best player Anthony Newell, who was probably a favorite for conference player of the year, in the first conference game at Eastern Michigan. He was the leading scorer and rebounder, and among the tops in the league the past two seasons. His career ended just five points short of 1,000. Even with that, we're still in control of our destiny for a division title...
The MAC has been absolutely god awful this season, and especially the MAC West, the division in which we participate. It should be telling that we're the only divisional team with more than nine wins, and we were one of the most impressive West teams in the cross-division match-ups--going 2-4 against the East. But you know what, I don't really care that much. This is the most competitive we've been in my four years, and I'm going to enjoy it.
Ball State also boasts the odds-on favorite for conference freshman player of the year in Jarrod Jones, who is likely to finish one of the most impressive freshman campaigns for a post player since the late 90s. He's among the top five in freshman scoring and top three in freshman rebounding in the Ball State record books, considering Ball State's basketball history, that's some select company. All signs point to him NOT transferring, something that previous freshman stars (our previous starting point Melvin Goins and Marquette's Maurice Acker) can't claim. So the best is clearly still to come.
It's also impressive considering that we lost our best player Anthony Newell, who was probably a favorite for conference player of the year, in the first conference game at Eastern Michigan. He was the leading scorer and rebounder, and among the tops in the league the past two seasons. His career ended just five points short of 1,000. Even with that, we're still in control of our destiny for a division title...
Illmatic: 15 Years Later
The greatest hip hop album ever released is Illmatic. And to me, this is not something that can be argued. It revolutionized the game when it came out, and every album that's been released since has carried at least some influence from the album. Sure, the album is only nine cuts long, but every single song is a classic on some level. There is no filler track on it. Shoot, I've probably already written more on it than is really necessary.
Anyway, one of my favorite hip hop blogs, FWMJ's Rappers I Know, has a story up from the April 2009 XXL in which they go back to 1994 and breakdown the creation of the album by going right to the guys who put it together.
I could write for days about this album, but I'll save that for later.
Anyway, one of my favorite hip hop blogs, FWMJ's Rappers I Know, has a story up from the April 2009 XXL in which they go back to 1994 and breakdown the creation of the album by going right to the guys who put it together.
I could write for days about this album, but I'll save that for later.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Fall Festival Time!
One of my favorite events every year is the West Side Nut Club Fall Festival in my hometown of Evansville. I haven't been in a couple years ago, but I'm really looking forward to heading down there this weekend. This isn't just some lame small festival that a lot of towns are used to, it's a HUGE event in southern Indiana. Hundreds of thousands of people attend the week-long celebration on Evansville's west side.
The main attraction, outside of serving as a high school reunion for everyone in Evansville, is the food. There are always over a hundred different food booths, most offering food slightly different than your usual festival selection. One of the big new items this year is the Kangaroo Burrito, which is exactly what you think it is. There are some classic fare like brain sandwiches, fried oreos (twinkies, snickers bars, turtle, anything fried really), and of course, the chocolate-covered grasshoppers.
There are some rides and carnival games obviously. I'm personally looking forward to blowing at least ten dollars trying to win some prize I don't even want. The rides are usually pretty cool, but I think I'm getting a little to old for them. I hope the Gravitron is there though.
Either way, I'm looking forward to getting down there for the first time in a while. I've had the weekend circled ever since I found out my schedule worked out for it...
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Palin did well? Really? REALLY?
So I'm not exactly sure how she gets away with this on a national stage, how is it possible in this day and age to completely flop in a debate and be credited with doing well. Flop. Yeah, I said it. Here's the driving force behind that notion: interchange the answers from Biden and Palin. It becomes pretty clear that Biden completely fails.
However, Palin just had to speak in complete sentences to get credited for doing well. Is this how far this country has fallen? It's gotten to the point where we don't bat an eye when there is a woman who is so clearly absent-minded that we grade her on a different curve than everyone else. She totally refused to answer her questions, and if a news organization comes out and says it... Well, they get discredited because they have the so-called liberal bias.
This is sexism at it's finest, and I'm not afraid to say it. She's a pretty white girl, and regardless of the fact that she's totally devoid of anything resembling a rational thought, she can wink at the camera and everything's cool. If a man was doing the same thing, McCain would have already dumped him for somebody else.
That brings me to another thing that annoys the crap out of me. Palin says that regular people like her becasue they seem to believe that she's just a regular person. It's pretty clear she's not a regular person, she has a tanning bed in her mansion after all. That said, so-called regular people shouldn't be elected to president. Big Sal at Max's Bar should never be anywhere close to the presidency, and he's a regular guy (although perhaps more qualified than Palin, he's a factory manager... He's experienced at running things!). If someone is holding the most powerful position in the free world, wouldn't like to have someone who's got an Ivy League education?
Joe Six-Pack, because all "regular people" are apparently alcoholics, should NEVER be in the White House.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Now for my real Titans post...
So remember how I said that the Titans defense this year should be dominating? I didn't expect Cortland Finnegan to be killing like this. The Titans/Oilers franchise is 4-0 for the first time EVER. They look to be the best team in the AFC right now, but so far in this season that's like being first in the Special Olympics. Anyway, it'd be really freaking awesome if the Titans won the AFC South after dealing with these damn Colts bandwagoners for the last three years.
Looking to be a pretty good year on my football squads so far this season.
Looking to be a pretty good year on my football squads so far this season.
Vince Young Has My Support
Heh, bullshit post to get my count up.
But yeah, get better VY... Hope to see you back to 2006 form again.
But yeah, get better VY... Hope to see you back to 2006 form again.
Ugh, Sarah Palin...
Look, I don't really want to get too much into the bullshit story that is Sarah Palin. I think it's funny how she could be getting such a free pass on certain things because no one wants to be called sexist. It's BS, she lied in her first speech as the VP nominee, and not a single media source called her on it. Hell, she says the same damn thing in every interview or speech? And why? Because no one has the balls to go at her on it. That's not the only thing that bothers me either.
SHE DID SUPPORT THE BRIDGE TO NOWHERE. It's on tape. Hell, it's in print. And it wasn't even like it was a long time ago. When she says she sold the plane on eBay, she didn't. She sold the plane, but it was at a loss. She took per diem pay when she stayed at her own home. Not exactly fiscally conservative, is it? Hell, when she was mayor of Wasilla, AK... she left the city 20 million dollars in debt. Let me say that shit again, she is a so-called fiscal conservative who left a town of less than 10,000 in a state with a population less than that of Charlotte, NC TWENTY million dollars in debt. And we expect her to help get rid of a trillion dollar plus debt at a national level?
That doesn't even mention the fact that she's not even that familiar with her job. Just a couple months ago, someone asked her if she would accept the VP spot. Her answer? She said she wasn't even sure what a VP does. Hell, Charlie Rose asked her about the Bush Doctrine, and she didn't even know what that meant. The issues in the U.S. prior to this recession revolved around foreign policy. John McCain couldn't tell you that Czechoslovakia wasn't a country. Sarah Palin probably couldn't spell it.
The experience issue is BS too. The conservative keep going on and on about her so-called executive experience. If executive experience mattered that much, why didn't they elect Rudy Giuliani? Hell, Giuliani was mayor of city that's got a LOT more people than the state of Alaska. Besides, just because someone can be manager of Wal-Mart doesn't mean that same someone can be the CEO of Wal-Mart.
The sexism claims from the right baffle me too. Shoot, the most sexist action by anyone in this election season has been from John McCain. McCain chose Palin because he thought that the Hillary voters would swing to him regardless of the fact that Palin is polar opposite of Palin on almost every issue. I'd like to think women aren't that dumb. I can't see a woman making an informed decision to vote for a woman that she disagreed with on every issue just because the candidate is a woman.
But I digress...
SHE DID SUPPORT THE BRIDGE TO NOWHERE. It's on tape. Hell, it's in print. And it wasn't even like it was a long time ago. When she says she sold the plane on eBay, she didn't. She sold the plane, but it was at a loss. She took per diem pay when she stayed at her own home. Not exactly fiscally conservative, is it? Hell, when she was mayor of Wasilla, AK... she left the city 20 million dollars in debt. Let me say that shit again, she is a so-called fiscal conservative who left a town of less than 10,000 in a state with a population less than that of Charlotte, NC TWENTY million dollars in debt. And we expect her to help get rid of a trillion dollar plus debt at a national level?
That doesn't even mention the fact that she's not even that familiar with her job. Just a couple months ago, someone asked her if she would accept the VP spot. Her answer? She said she wasn't even sure what a VP does. Hell, Charlie Rose asked her about the Bush Doctrine, and she didn't even know what that meant. The issues in the U.S. prior to this recession revolved around foreign policy. John McCain couldn't tell you that Czechoslovakia wasn't a country. Sarah Palin probably couldn't spell it.
The experience issue is BS too. The conservative keep going on and on about her so-called executive experience. If executive experience mattered that much, why didn't they elect Rudy Giuliani? Hell, Giuliani was mayor of city that's got a LOT more people than the state of Alaska. Besides, just because someone can be manager of Wal-Mart doesn't mean that same someone can be the CEO of Wal-Mart.
The sexism claims from the right baffle me too. Shoot, the most sexist action by anyone in this election season has been from John McCain. McCain chose Palin because he thought that the Hillary voters would swing to him regardless of the fact that Palin is polar opposite of Palin on almost every issue. I'd like to think women aren't that dumb. I can't see a woman making an informed decision to vote for a woman that she disagreed with on every issue just because the candidate is a woman.
But I digress...
Uh-oh, Ball State Is Beastin'
Just four short years ago, I remember taking a trip to the beautiful city of Kalamazoo in Michigan to see the mighty Cardinals of Ball State take on the Broncos of Western Michigan. Why is this significant? Ball State entered that game winless, and were ranked as the worst division 1A football team in the country by ESPN. We had losses like 56-0 at Iowa (42-0 at the half), 38-0 at Boston College, and the colossal 63-3 loss at Auburn. I mean, we were awful.
So why was that trip important? I still haven't answered your question, I know. Anyway, Ball State, the WORST team in the country, took a relatively decent Western team to five overtimes and won 60-57. Ball State would wrap up their season at 4-7 after losing in OT to Central Michigan on the last game of the season. The Cards won three of their last four games.
Over the following offseason, BSU picked up a major commitment from a QB in Ohio by the name of Nate Davis. Davis had offers from a bunch of MAC schools, but chose BSU as his final destination. The hype around him was pretty big by Ball State standards. He lived up to it on the first game of the season, where he tossed three TD passes. That's not to say there weren't bumps along the road, while splitting time with veteran Joey Lynch BSU blew a 23-7 halftime lead over IU to lose 24-23. However, at the game, there were an astounding number of student fans and a stadium record 23,000+ person crowd. Ball State finished 5-7 (puntuated by a near defeat of #2 Michigan at the Big House), but everyone in the MAC knew something was brewing.
So cut to last season, Ball State's offense hit the big stage. We were expected to win all season, and even though some may have been a little underwhelmed from a few games (we lost to Miami of Ohio 14-13 in the home opener), Ball State was for real. The biggest thrill came on a trip to Nebraska, where Dante Love was one dropped passd from etching the biggest victory in school history. The aforementioned Davis introduced himself to the natonal stage by posting 422 yards on the once-vaunted Nebraska defense. However, in that game we lost our only real rushing threat in MiQuale Lewis. BSU became relatively one dimensional and finished the season 7-6 after a loss to Ray Rice and Rutgers in the International Bowl, the first BSU bowl game since 1996.
So now, Ball State is 5-0 this season, the first time in 20 years, and just outside of the Top 25 rankings. We're regularly posting 40+ points on every team. Two weeks ago, BSU went down to IU and posted their first-ever win over a BCS conference opponent (0-43, prior to that game). And by win, I mean slaughter. We went into Memorial Stadium and won 42-20. The win was bittersweet in that BSU lost someone who's been as important to this run as anyone, senior receiver/kick returner/occasional running back Dante Love, whose football career appears to have ended just short of the NFL.
My point is, this could possibly be the biggest highlight of my sports fan career. I remember just a couple years ago when the BSU student section (all 18 of us) would walk up and down the field with the team because we could. I remember the biggest cheers coming for the punter, who was usually the best player on the team. Now? Well, now we gotta show up to games an hour and a half early just to get a good seat in the section. We had 10,000 plus students in the section for the Navy game... Ball State has an enrollment around 18,000. People leave tailgating lots for games. Hell, I even see a lot of people traveling to road games to watch the team now. It's insane really.
BUT, we'll see what happens before I get too excited...
Go Cards.
So why was that trip important? I still haven't answered your question, I know. Anyway, Ball State, the WORST team in the country, took a relatively decent Western team to five overtimes and won 60-57. Ball State would wrap up their season at 4-7 after losing in OT to Central Michigan on the last game of the season. The Cards won three of their last four games.
Over the following offseason, BSU picked up a major commitment from a QB in Ohio by the name of Nate Davis. Davis had offers from a bunch of MAC schools, but chose BSU as his final destination. The hype around him was pretty big by Ball State standards. He lived up to it on the first game of the season, where he tossed three TD passes. That's not to say there weren't bumps along the road, while splitting time with veteran Joey Lynch BSU blew a 23-7 halftime lead over IU to lose 24-23. However, at the game, there were an astounding number of student fans and a stadium record 23,000+ person crowd. Ball State finished 5-7 (puntuated by a near defeat of #2 Michigan at the Big House), but everyone in the MAC knew something was brewing.
So cut to last season, Ball State's offense hit the big stage. We were expected to win all season, and even though some may have been a little underwhelmed from a few games (we lost to Miami of Ohio 14-13 in the home opener), Ball State was for real. The biggest thrill came on a trip to Nebraska, where Dante Love was one dropped passd from etching the biggest victory in school history. The aforementioned Davis introduced himself to the natonal stage by posting 422 yards on the once-vaunted Nebraska defense. However, in that game we lost our only real rushing threat in MiQuale Lewis. BSU became relatively one dimensional and finished the season 7-6 after a loss to Ray Rice and Rutgers in the International Bowl, the first BSU bowl game since 1996.
So now, Ball State is 5-0 this season, the first time in 20 years, and just outside of the Top 25 rankings. We're regularly posting 40+ points on every team. Two weeks ago, BSU went down to IU and posted their first-ever win over a BCS conference opponent (0-43, prior to that game). And by win, I mean slaughter. We went into Memorial Stadium and won 42-20. The win was bittersweet in that BSU lost someone who's been as important to this run as anyone, senior receiver/kick returner/occasional running back Dante Love, whose football career appears to have ended just short of the NFL.
My point is, this could possibly be the biggest highlight of my sports fan career. I remember just a couple years ago when the BSU student section (all 18 of us) would walk up and down the field with the team because we could. I remember the biggest cheers coming for the punter, who was usually the best player on the team. Now? Well, now we gotta show up to games an hour and a half early just to get a good seat in the section. We had 10,000 plus students in the section for the Navy game... Ball State has an enrollment around 18,000. People leave tailgating lots for games. Hell, I even see a lot of people traveling to road games to watch the team now. It's insane really.
BUT, we'll see what happens before I get too excited...
Go Cards.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
