Fuck an Eagle

My buddy Dan made a cartoon series for Frederator called "The Meth Minute 39," which just recently ended its run with the 39th installment. Some of my friends did a bunch of the voices, so feeling homesick today I caught up with the ones I hadn't seen. I have a couple favorites but this is one and it's music-related:



Dear Diary,
Black Sheep and Nice and Smooth played a free show last Wednesday and I even grabbed the flyer but then I threw it away and then I forgot and I missed it. I'm so mad I could spit!

Black Sheep - Strobelite Honey (alt link)

Nice and Smooth - Hip Hop Junkies (alt link)

One More Time

I posted this a few months ago, but I've gotten e-mail requests for it again recently so here's a short lil mix from Sheffield's Toddla T. Some stuff from "Ghetto Blaster," some other stuff too.

Toddla T Mix
(alt link)

Previously, on GPB:
Toddla Time

Sam Sparro's "Black and Gold" made my 2007 top-ten list, but for some reason he's just blowing up now. Is it a stateside release? A post-Winehouse 'let's throw everything British and soulful and white on the wall and see what sticks'? I'm too lazy to look into it, but here's another song I like by him:

Sam Sparro - Sick
(alt link)

I'm Hiding Out

Last Thursday I went to see Dawn Landes at The Hideout, which is my favorite in Chicago until further notice. I first visited last July to see Professor Murder play there after Pitchfork, and last week -- my fourth time there -- I finally figured out why I'm so obsessed: It looks like it could be in "Twin Peaks." A house in an otherwise completely industrial area, it feels kind of edge of the earth and inside it looks like a grange hall with white Christmas lights strung across the roof beams. If I saw a midget dancing and talking backwards in the middle of the floor I totally wouldn't even be that surprised.

Dawn Landes and her band sounded really good and they played this surprisingly charming cover of "Young Folks." Who knew I'd ever be able to enjoy this song again; I'm pretty sure it played on at least 10 of this season's TV shows and became lazy shorthand for 'hip and fun!' the way "Hey Ya" did in movie trailers a few years ago. The dude's baritone is what officially makes this version adorbs. I'm posting this because the show made me think of my roommate back in Brooklyn and all the times I'd come home to hear her playing guitar and singing in her room.

Dawn Landes - Young Folks (alt link)

Nothing New

I've been posting an unusually high number of older songs these days. That's because I haven't heard that much new stuff I'm super excited about lately, to tell the troof. The only remotely (and I mean remotely) newish albums I'm listening to are Cut Copy's "In Ghost Colours" and White Williams' "Smoke." They're both exactly what I want in a summertime album: a lighter-than-air, won't-change-your-life kind of record. The aural equivalent of a beach read.

This song's on heavy rotation though. The only song I'd heard from Walter Meego was "Keyhole" and I like this even more:

Walter Meego - Forever (alt link)

UPDATE: I need to listen to it again, but I think I am excited about the new Girl Talk, because I am a sucker for the frenetic mash-up. Name your price and get it here.
Girl Talk - What It's All About (alt link)

Randomness Redux

My brain is tired from talking to lots of strangers and constantly trying to get my bearings, so the best theme I can come up with right now is "hip hop I've either put on someone's mix or someone has put on a mix for me." Ta-daa. I really miss my fwiends.

Me to Sue:
Flosstradamus - Overnight Star (alt link)

Mark G. to me:
Doctor, Bear-Man, Purple, L.Man - Let It Go (alt link)

Me to Dan:
Eve, Missy Elliot, Fabolous - Tambourine remix (alt link)

Mark R. to me:
Main Flow + 7L - Permission to Speak (alt link)

Me to Molly:
Plastic Little - Steven and Billy (alt link)

Me to Amanda:
Kirb and Chris - Doorstep Girl (alt link)
K&C set their tracks almost exclusively to New Wave samples, a gimmick that works surprisingly well 50% of the time. This album came out a few years ago and this song holds up the best I think.

Molly to me:
Da Backwudz - You Gonna Luv Me (alt link)
I think of this as me and Molly's "song." By which I mean we slow dance romantically to it whenever it comes on.

The Pied Piper of Pedophilia

Shocker of shockers, R Kelly was found not guilty. At least I got plenty of enjoyment from Slate's fantastic day-by-day trial coverage (do yourself a favor and read it right now, it's hysterical). It's been a top story on the local news here in Chicago, obviously, and for me the highlight came last night when the anchor quoted the defense lawyer's response to a witness claiming R has a duffel bag full of homemade porn. Direct quote: "Like some kind of porno Santa Claus, he's running around with a bag of porno tapes wherever he goes." This whole debacle was 100% pure class, from start to finish. Something else I learned from Slate: I thought I knew all of his grossest song titles, but "I Like the Crotch on You," that one was new to me.

Jay-Z, R Kelly, Devin the Dude - Pussy (Remix) (alt link)

freestyle freestyle freestyle

Why do I enjoy freestyle so much? I was in junior high at the height of its popularity, and even then when I would hear it blasting out of cars in the parking lot of the Willow Grove Mall I knew it was terrible. I'd watch the dude slouched in the driver seat of his shitty car, one arm on the wheel, one arm on or around his acid-washed denim clad girlfriend ‒ windows rolled down so we could all appreciate the sweet sounds of Sweet Sensation ‒ and I did not for one second think this was sexy, classy, or cool. At night, though, I'd listen to Q102 even more than Power99 for some reason. In 1990 I was a fat seventh grader who would have had no place to hang out even if I had friends, so I was a captive audience and knew all the freestyle hits backwards and forwards. Did I ever actually like these songs? Do I like them now? Is it really just pure nostalgia at work, or a further example of my deep affinity for terrible dance records in general? Shit, I just can't tell. All I know is my friend Amanda shares my love, if that's what it is, and my second to last night in New York I found myself trying to sing her an Exposé song at 5:30 a.m., but my voice was gone 'cause it was 5:30 a.m. and we had no business being still awake. This one's for you Panda:

dance classics:
Debbie Deb - When I Hear Music (alt link)
It should be two words, "Look Out Weekend." Grammar error SEE ME AFTER CLASS Debbie Deb.

The Cover Girls - Show Me (alt link)

Stevie B - Spring Love (alt link)

Lil Suzy - Take Me in Your Arms (alt link)

slow jamz:
Timmy T - One More Try (alt link)

Stevie B - Because I Love You (alt link)
Oh wait, I definitely do love this song, I used to listen to it at work all the time which means I must really love it. I refuse to be ashamed!

Growth Spurt

I babysat my half-brother's two year old this weekend. My previous experience with children has been...sparse. It's not so much that I find them annoying.* It's more about the fact that they fill me with a gripping fear, it feels like they're looking right into me and they have so many questions, I can't swear in front of them, and they don't get my pop culture references. I guess I've always felt this way, and besides watching my younger cousins here and there growing up, I'd never actually babysat before Saturday (had I told you that, brother who reads my blog, haha?!). Anyway, in preparation for my first foray I was sure to pack some polish for my toenails and some gum I could snap while rolling my eyes at her incessant requests for...pizza? Because that's what kids like? We actually did have pizza, and our time together was delightful. We built forts out of books, colored, ate watermelon, good timez.
I was starting to feel pretty confident in my childcare abilities when Lina solemnly informed me that she had a dirty diaper and that my swift action on this matter would be much appreciated ("I made poopies"). That's when I realized I had never changed a diaper before. I panicked-ly lifted her up onto the changing table. "I've uh, never done this and I don't want to put in on backwards or sideways or something. I don't suppose you could walk me through it?" Lina giggled and wrapped her arms around my arm and tried to lift herself up like a monkey. I started laughing too and with that, I got incontrovertible proof that this whole moving to Chicago thing wasn't a completely terrible idea.

9th Wonder ft. Mos Def, Jean Grae, Memphis Bleek - Brooklyn In My Mind (alt link)
(buy)
My favorite 9th Wonder production is Little Brother's The Listening, check that out here.

*That's kind of a lie I find many of them annoying.