10.29.07
The Stack Up – III
Hate or love it, reality television is here and here to stay. This weeks The Stack Up features two excellent examples of wonderfully vapid television; A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila and I love New York 2.
Tila Tequila (also known as Tila Nguyen) gained notoriety as the queen of myspace after obtaining an unheard of amount of “friends” (we’re talking 2,130,694 as of today) and changing the landscape of the budding social networking site forever. Tila continued to gain notoriety after posing for Playboy, Maxim and Penthouse among other magazines in little to no clothing. So how does she get her own show? We’ll she’s hot, exotic, a total attention whore and get this a bi-sexual “seeking love”. Perfect MTV material and perfect reality television. 16 straight men and 16 lesbian women are set to compete against each other for Tila’s “love”. The show is a new hat on an old concept (ala Big Brother and Survivor) but is surprisingly entertaining. I guess it boils down to a classic battle of the sexes. Who will win? One of the frat-boy’ or one of the lipstick lesbians? Man or woman?
Recommendation: Watch with your buddies while having some beers. Tila’s hot, so are the lesbians and the guys are idiots, what’s not to love?
I never saw I love New York 1, but if it’s anywhere as surreal and weird and its second season, then it’s no wonder why it was picked up again by VH1. Tiffany Pollard’s claim to fame came from her appearances on Flavor Flav’s, Flavor of Love reality series. Her name New York was given to her by Flavor Flav and now is utilized as her stage name. Funny enough though, as “New York” she was rejected not once but twice after being brought back for the second season of Flavor of Love. Somehow this equates to her being given her very own television reality series and now a second season as well. The show is a freak show of characters including a seemingly mentally challenge guy (It, is his surname and drugs appear to be his mental problem i.e. permifried), a midget (Midget Mac) and a rich white jerk (Tailor Made) among others. New York spend the majority of the showing prancing around in shirt’s three times too small for her obscenely large fake boobs (they literally spill over) and putting on a pitiful air of sophistication while revealing herself to being rather loose and freakish during the one on one time with her 20 potential suitor’s. I suppose it’s like Ludacris’ line in the 2003 smash-hit song Yeah!
Lets drank you the one to please, Ludacris fill cups like double D’s.
Me and Ursh once more and we leave ‘em dead, we want a lady in the street but a freak in the bed to say (chorus) Yeah!
I Love New York 2 is a reality show that’s so amped up it’s almost a parody of the genre.
Recommendation: Watch alone while drunk. If you’re watching this show sober and relate to the characters and social interactions then you may be working the tilt-a-whirl at the local county fair before long. And if you are, can I get a free ride?
10.22.07
The Stack Up – II
Well I couldn’t resist, The Stack Up is a fun and easy blog item to do, so here is a second The Stack Up in the same week.
This weeks additional The Stack Up; music singles by Kayne West and The Fruit Guys.
The Kayne West – 50 Cent battle that ensued when both artists released their album on the same day, September 11, 2007, appears to have a clear monetary and reviewed victor, Mr. Kayne West. His single, Stronger, samples from the already popular Daft Punk song, Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger, and does something pretty telling about the music industry. Kayne West takes the song, slows it down, chops it up as a chorus and underlying beat, poorly raps to it and yet sells millions of more copies than Daft Punk could ever dream of. The song is worth listening to, it’s pretty catchy; however it just makes me want to listen to the original sample even more once it’s done.
Recommendation: Listen to it on the radio and then go buy a Daft Punk album.
If you’ve never heard of The Fruit Guys don’t feel bad, they don’t really exist as a band in the traditional sense. The Fruit Guys are part of a marketing campaign by the Fruit of The Loom company comprised of four guys dressed as different fruits playing instruments and singing about cotton undergarments. Normally I try not to pay attention to advertising jingles in the hopes of warding off the Pavlov’s dog effect. However in the case of The Fruit Guys song/jingle Blue, I can’t help but take notice. It’s so well done that I could have easily mistaken it as a new Coldplay single on the radio, if not for the subtle differences in the singer’s voices. The music video is as incredibly well done as the song, using a variety of backwards photography, slow motion and selective blue shading for the world that surrounds the band members. In a word, wow, if only all advertising could be this creative.
Recommendation: Add to your “mellow” playlist and see how many people you can convince that you have the new Coldplay single
The Stack Up – I
So to try something different this week I’ve decided to introduce a continuing article entitled, The Stack Up. In this article I will select and review several items of entertainment culture and submit a recommendation.
This weeks The Stack Up is; music singles by 50 Cent and The Foo Fighters
First up is 50 Cents first single, Ayo Technology(aka She Wants It) off his new 2007 album, Curtis. In the song, 50 Cent discuss’ the main attraction of strippers, sex appeal very much akin to T-Pains 2006 single I’m N Luv (Wit a Stripper) (interesting enough both songs peaked out a #5 on the Top 100 Billboard). However we’re not looking for lyrical depth in a 50 Cent pop song, no instead we want a good hook, catchy beat and a chorus you can sing in the shower. Of these traits Ayo Technology succeeds on all accounts. However we knew it had too good as it was produced by mega producer Timbaland and guest stars the golden goose Justin Timberlake (If you don’t own FutureSex /LoveSounds, find money and buy it, best pop album since Michael Jackson’s Thriller).
Recommendation: Bump it in your car and at parties with a futuristic urban flair.
Next up is another first single, The Foo Fighters – The Pretender. Simply a fantastic alternative rock song. It’s quite melodic intro draws you into the song making you strain to hear the words and just as you’ve adjusted, the song slams into a driving beat and you smile as you realize that yes indeed this is the post-grudge band The Foo Fighters. Lyrically it’s just another rebellion song.
What if I say I’m not like the others?
What if I say I’m not just another one of your plays?
You’re the pretender
What if I say that I’ll never surrender?
The video enforces this concept drawing imagery of post-apocalyptic throngs of faceless law enforcers (i.e. V for Vendetta, Escape from L.A. or THX-1138). However the songs merit lies in it’s supreme delivery and raw emotion (much like the grudge style it roots from).
Recommendation: Turn it up while working out or while plotting to overthrow the government
10.15.07
Frank Miller and The Dark Knight
Sitting in my apartment watching the Daily Show the other day, I noticed that a comic book was lying underneath some discarded miniature candy wrappers (my flat mates and me love the Halloween season) and a Wii remote. Upon further examination, the comic book turned out to be, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by acclaimed writer Frank Miller. The same Frank Miller that created such vivid realities and recent movie hits such as Sin City and 300.
Skeptical, I berated my roommate for buying a comic and being a geek. Laughing he responded that I should shut up and check it out as he judged it to be so intense and well done that it made him sweat while reading it. Intrigued, I decided to read it, even though I hadn’t picked up a comic since I was 10 years-old or so. So one afternoon in between classes I found that I had the apartment all to myself, a perfect time to nerd it out and read a comic book. Settling down in to a couch and munching on a sandwich I had made (toasted tuna with lettuce) I began to read a story.
Batman as we all know fights crime, always has and always will. However in Frank Millers rendition Batman has retired, 10 years have past since his disappearance and we are met with a gray haired and mustached man walking with a cane by the name of Bruce Wayne. Wayne, Batman’s alter-ego is bitter and indifferent to those suffering since his absence, stating that he had done his part and the world will continue as it always will. However, things are getting worse, a new mob of amoral delinquents ravage the city and kill simply for the joy of it. They eventually even attack Wayne, to the effect of awaking the old demons that drove Batman’s insatiable lust for justice and vengeance upon the criminal world. Needless to say, Wayne walks away from the encounter unscathed but not uninjured. Batman begs to be released again, even if it means the death of the old man that contains it.
The tale is an old one, one of an old dog getting a second chance to compete and possibly die in the glory of his profession and youth. Miller’s gritty illustration’s, biting wit and character development bring the story to life with sweating intensity. The comic plays out like a surreal film noir, we know these characters but never could imagined this reality. This is Miller’s gift and it translates surprisingly well to the average consumer.
After spending an afternoon and part of an evening reading Millers work, I now understand how people over the age of 10 can still enjoy comic books or why manga is growing in popularity. It’s the story that counts and sometimes illustrations are not only nice but necessary in order to tell it.
I don’t see myself becoming a “comic book nerd” anytime soon but I may have to check out the local shop every once in awhile and see what I’ve been missing for the past 10 years. At the very least, I’ll check out what else Miller’s been up to in the cel-shaded world
To Catch a Cartman
Last week South Park kicked off the second part of its eleventh season with an episode entitled, Le Petit Tourette. In the episode, Cartman discovers the psychological affliction, “Tourette’s Syndrome”. And as we all know, Tourette’s is renowned by the inability to control when one curses an expletive. And much to Cartman delight, he claims to have Tourette’s and uses his “affliction” to berate his Jewish friend Kyle, Judaism and everyone and everything in the most vulgar and depraved language possible. Fortunately, Cartman’s new found ” freedom” has a catch(one which I won’t ruin for you, it’s pretty funny), and he has to attempt to get out of a interview with To Catch a Predator’s Chris Hansen which he had scheduled earlier in the episode.
I bring this episode up because it got me thinking about the exploitive nature of To Catch a Predator and the questions it raises. The primary question being, why does this show bother me? It does a public service by catching child molesters in the act and turning them over to the proper authorities to be dealt with, who could object to that?
Well this guy Daniel Giuditta does.
In Giuditta’s video he voices the unpopular opinion that To Catch a Predator is no more than a smut film being played during prime time in order to grab ratings and advertising revenue. Giuditta equates the shows characters (child predator’s) to being train wrecks that while they may horrify and disgust us, we just can’t look away. Giuditta also has a problem with the civil “vigilante” group Perverted Justice that co-runs the “investigation”. The problem he has is that officially deputized members of the group are being paid by NBC for their services. Basically, official members of government are being paid by a corporation to perform a service that nets the corporation profits. Another word for this would be bribery.
The other problem is one of good journalistic taste. After 11 Dateline specials, I believe the journalistic portion of the show is no longer valid. Journalism by definition is supposed to illuminate new meaning or perspective on an issue or news item in order to convey additional information to the public so as to encourage civil discourse and encourage a more informed and enlighten population. Or at least that’s my definition, however I think many would agree. In addition I think many would agree that by this definition To Catch a Predator moved from an intriguing and shocking journalistic report to sensationalized non-news after the initial specials and certainly long before “episode” 11.
To put it simply, while the show may be entertaining, the journalist credit upon which its foundation rest is no longer there and the show is no more than the exploitation of America’s morbid curiosity.
It’s like Cops, only with sick perverts and a host that can make anyone sit down.
10.01.07
Dirty South Meets Meaningful Lyrics
Still floating high from the massive hit that was the 2006 Riddin’, Chamillionaire (or Hakeem Seriki) could have went the way of many of his hip-hop compatriots and let the gravy train roll in while producing increasingly inferior albums. However thankfully I believe that Ultimate Victory proves that while Chamillionaire’s southern style of “snap rap” is subject to simple beats and non-sense lyrics, he attempts to rise above the stereotype and do his own thing in a creative and thoughtful manner.
I have thoroughly enjoyed Ultimate Victory for the past couple of weeks, listening to it between classes and in my car with the bass turned up. What I think really hooked me in was seeing the music video on BET and later searching for the long version of Hip-Hop Police/The Evening News on youtube.com. In the video and in a fair percentage of Chamillionaire’s rhymes, Chamillionaire criticizes the modern media and the lack of balance present today. As a journalist this speaks to me. The discontent present reverberates throughout the album and through a good pair of speakers. However I don’t agree with all of his accusations such as that 9/11 was a timed attack and that white kids anticipating rap albums is a degrading thing (white people make up around 75 percent of the US market, get over it). But I do agree that “Bill O’Reilly somewhere is hating” and ironic lyrics like,
No time to trip don’t be confused, cause this type of news depends on interviews
Got no time for no interviews (got-got no time for no interviews)
Sadly and somewhat expectantly, the album has faults with a few duds such as Rock Star, which features the simply awful rapper Lil Wayne who seems to be inexplicably popular and featured as a guest on many top albums these days. Also the track, The Ultimate Vacation feels too mellow and out of place.
Thankfully the majority of the album is great and thus the bad aspects are more forgivable. Starting with the media and government critical track The Morning News, you know that this isn’t just another party disc but that Chamillionaire actually has something going on upstairs. Followed by the albums single, Hip-Hop Police is a story of injustice and misdirected blame on the rap community for all the worlds’ woes. Next up is Won’t Let You Down, a slow mournful track with great bass. Industry Groupie’s 80’s sport movie music sample is fun though the track is no more than an elongated shout out. Possibly the best track on the album is Bill Collecta featuring Krayzie Bone from Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. The song subject matter doesn’t break ground but the preceding skit and the raspy whispery voice of Krayzie Bone simply nails it and will make you fear the “bill collecta”. For a song with more interesting subject matter and a contender for best track turn to I Think I Love You in which Chamillionaire anthropomorphizes money as a woman, musing about the joy and seemingly fated heartache she causes. The Evening News repeats the first tracks message and style but is different enough to still enjoy. Now while Stuck in The Ghetto may be labeled a skit, I personally think it’s strong enough to be labeled an actual song if it was longer. When I first heard the track I knew I had to learn how to play it, so eventually I came across this video of Tony Henry playing it live and copied the chord progression from watching him. Great song. Finally we come to Chamillionaire’s outro The Ultimate Victory in which he thanks everyone for helping him to achieve all that he has and hopefully will keep achieving.
If it seems like I just listed the entire album, you’re close to the truth. The album is chocked full of hits, great production and refreshing attitude that begs to be bumped at parties and in cars. If you like southern rap or good hip-hop in general, go buy this album I assure you won’t regret it.
