Can't Stop, Won't Stop

It's incredibly sad that I have to put this at the beginning (for all the good it will do), but for the record:  I'm not in denial about man-made climate change;  I've been a full-blown advocate about this for as long as I was aware of "things".  I couldn't explain all the science to a skeptic if I was forced to (science never having been my strong suit & further proof that I'm not the nerd everybody's always thought I've been), but it's never taken my sense of reason very far to understand that all the shit we've done & are still doing in the forms of urbanization of the globe and insane amounts of carbon emissions to the planet are going to have a fucking affect on it & probably not a good one.  "Tell us what we need to change & let's just do it" has always been my motto.

So why did I completely ignore the little hissy fit that took place over the weekend?  The answer probably has more to do with my attitude towards protests & "protesters" in general & less about the reasons behind said gathering.  .....OK, maybe it has a little to do with that, too.  While sometimes I can be optimistic about our ability to change our ways, when it comes to this subject, I've more or less accepted that it's too late.  WAAAAAY too late.  Every bad thing they say will happen due to global warming is going to happen & as always, humanity is just going to deal with it;  move the goal posts just a little bit further out.  Humans, as animals, have never ever been very good at planning a future that could be beneficial to our kind centuries down the road, but we've always excelled at being self-destructive just as a show of power.   I've just kinda accepted this type of behavior as an example of something an individual can consciously change, but near impossible on a "all humankind" level.  Outside of a authoritarian takeover of all the world's governments & societies (nope, not going to link for that), that change that we desperately needed to turn the tide of our future left our grasp quite a long time ago;  it's not as if there haven't been hard core advocating of change since before I was born & whatnot.

No, I think more of my #smh is directed more at the passionate & extremely emotional folks who took out a significant amount of time & resources to go...march.  Wave signs.  Pose for Vines.  Smell Leonardo DeCaprio.  To me, the right to protest is a Catch-22 that favors the Powers That Be, much in the same way that one of the basic tools of anybody in a authoritative/managerial position is to simply allow someone with an grievance to express it verbally as a direct alternative to actually taking action to help correct said person's grievance;  most likely, the person in a lower placement will be more susceptible to empty promises & go back to being obedient having satisfied the need to be heard.  Usually, unless said social issue affects you directly or changing it is your specific line of work, protesting will fulfill the average person's demand for action & they'll happily go back to their normal lives with their own immediate problems, with less attention paid to whether or not their participation had any kind of real effect.  It's not as if I truly look upon those who "take to the streets" with a snobbish attitude, I just wish God had granted me the gift to be that delusional (some will argue that statement is simply not true, but I digress).  And it's the only feeling I've gotten from watching people protest the Iraq War, any Tea Party gathering, Occupy Wall Street and so on (While I felt going out every night on the streets of Ferguson was a wrong move, especially towards the goal of seeing there be some kind of justice for Mike Brown, I sympathized with those being unjustly arrested & assaulted with tear gas and police brutality; something that was missing on a large scale in just about any other modern protest I can recall).

While the opportunity to make one more aware of a issue can occur at such a gathering, a lot of the people participating in this particular cause seem to be a bit tone deaf to the reasons why others might not come over to their side through facts & science.  A motivation of a lot of climate deniers & those who simply aren't interested in accepting is a inherit feeling that mankind cannot be responsible for anything bad. Yes, the Holocaust was bad, but you know, those Nazi guys were evil, not human at all.  If you can believe in a book filled with the words of Man was given to us as instructions from a God-like deity, then you're going to have a hard time accepting that everything you were ever taught was bullshit.  The idea that as we civilized the planet, we began creating methods of progression that, in fact, were not susceptible to the health of this planet or the other species that we inhabit it with would create an enormous amount of guilt, an emotion that is far too painful for most of society to accept.  It's much easier to live in a constant of denial than to ever examine our history with a new & progressive set of morals and standards (I'll be one to admit I sometimes have had to be brought screaming into certain modern day truths, but since I had to deal with My-Parents-have-lied-to-me-my-whole-life early on, I can change my ways much more fluid than most normal folks).  Crying & making a big show all over isn't going to give anybody on the fence any consideration to change their minds;  who wants to be grouped with all those crazy looking people over there?

I realize that we all taught in school that the Civil Rights Movement was just a bunch of protests that *magically* gave way to causing everyone to start treating minorities "just like everyone else", but we, as adults, know that's all bullshit.  The only thing that came from those protests was the brutal actions of the authoritative law enforcement were shown to average White America on these new TV devices that forced them to question just how strongly they still felt about the idea of White Supremacy than had been the past 1000 years (turns out, it just got pushed down into the sub-consciousness, away from the first thought in the brain).

So, listen, I'm aware that it makes you feel better about yourself, but fucking wake up:  stop protesting.  It's actually detrimental to real change & that's what we all want....right?

The Only Good Thing To Come From #EricTheActor's Death

Over the weekend, beloved Wack Packer & everyone's favorite pain in the ass Eric "The Actor" Lynch passed away tragically & unexpectedly (well, as much as someone who wasn't supposed to live past his teens is; he was 39).  As a hard core Howard Stern show fan, I can say the news was meet with the usual celebrity death is:  complete & utter denial ("please let this be the greatest hoax ever");  general grief ("he'll never call in & totally kill the whole momentum of the show ever again"); & finally, #Jordanshrug acceptance ("Hope you're at peace, Eric, nobody deserves it more").

But I took a little lesson from seeing all the pop media coverage of his death & seeing him top trending on Sunday during a highly anticipated televised Super Bowl rematch:  it's complete possible for we as a society to change our dated behavior,  even low life Stern fans like me.  See, for years, Eric was known only as "Eric The Midget", very much to his own chagrin.   No matter matter how insensitive this could seen (but probably because of how insensitive it seemed to him), that was the only name he would be identified with as far as the radio show & the fans were concerned.  The title "The Actor" was something suggested by him;  an obvious reflection of his delusional self-awareness.   I can't seem to recall exactly what the setup was, where in one of the conditions Howard pledged to finally stop referring to Eric by the Midget moniker & start using the Actor one, but all I know is as hard as it was to break the years-long habit, Howard was true to his word & changed his identification of Eric (most likely, Eric completely & totally reneged on whatever he was supposed to do & probably at the last minute.....man, I already miss the dude). 

Without everybody consciously realizing it, the effect slowly set in & he became Eric The Actor without anybody missing his old name.  It helped that a majority of the relentless ribbing of him didn't come from hateful humor of his condition, but from his uncanny ability to make everyone forget about it & still recognize what an asshole he was (or as he would claim " just the character he was playing";  nobody could be that good without there being some truth to it).  With just the slightest of light influence, change can occur.  It's not some impossible dream, nor does it have to be painful.  It's probably also an asset that the daily search of the Internet to find somebody expressing anything that can be interpreted in a politically incorrect way seems to never hit anything Howard Stern related;  if there was a Eric The Midget slip here or there, it wasn't immediately attacked as a form of regression.  If only all of us real human beings could be forgiven so easily.

 RIP Eric The Actor...thanks for the laughs

The Biggest Problem In Society As We Speak

When cell phones began to a part of the middle class lexicon at the turn of the century, there was a movement to regulate their use while operating mechanical objects (*CARS*) & I was not very supportive of it.  I felt that although there was some people who could not display levelheaded driving by consciously putting away their phones, I didn't think that we all needed to suffer for it.  Although I knew that my driving skills suffered while having a cell phone in use, I also didn't want anybody else making that decision for me when I knew that there were times when I could safely use it.  I was a Libertarian in that sense before I fully realized what that label meant.

But we're all past that now.

I propose a fucking Constitutional Amendment to ban all electronic devices in motor vehicles while in use for the operators.  I have lived a half life & I have seen for a fact that we just can't have nice things or be trusted with them.  This problem has extended to all genders, ages, races, cultures & creeds;  the "problem" being that we all completely lack the self-discipline to make rational decisions in our driving.  It has to stop;  I've seen too many accidents or near accidents with absolutely no self-awareness or shame from the perpetrator.   In a fish bowl of society, I've seen if it's a choice in the life of others (or our own) or the ability to instantly communicate with others, we will take communication without hesitation.

And, as I've said, this isn't all about the teenagers.  It's one thing to accept acts of irresponsibility in those who still are learning it;  it's another to see it as gospel from those who do know better.  That's why it has to be a Constitutional Amendment;  there can't be an locally created loopholes in this shit.  Hell, we as a country promised to ban all alcohol at one point;  why not this? (Although the story on how that came to be is way more interesting that you might think)

In my employment, I've had endure to the regulations of DOT; one of their most recent hard line rules has been exactly what I'm proposing here.  Now, under other DOT regulations, I've had specialty training that, simply put, makes me a hella lot better driver than you.  Or could ever be.  And yet, the Govt. doesn't trust ME, with my training, to use a cell phone or a electronic devise while driving a vehicle (& obviously, I believe they're in the right on this).  Meanwhile, fucking car manufactures are putting Google in regular drivers dashboards.  There's a large disconnect going on here & the death tolls are rising every year.

And it needs stop.  And it needs to start today.

Thank you.

Do On To Others As They Would Do On To You

This is great (even if @atmccann did it aaaages ago) MT @katienotopoulos: man-free on Twitter #UnfollowAMan http://t.co/dtBksK0ErF
— Mona (@MonaChalabi) July 29, 2014

I probably don't have to say what my 1st reaction to this since it's already causally (Caucasian-lly) dismissed within the article, so moving on from that, I'd say my next one is sadness.  Sadness that this person doesn't think that there is any value in reading anything from someone based upon their gender;  much less their opinion.  I guess, as a man, it should make me feel ashamed of that part of my identity, that all my experiences as "me" are worth nothing in the sphere of influence simply because they can't be separated from the way I was born.  But I'm not ashamed because I know that's all bullshit;  I know I'm a better person by exposing myself to ALL faucets of the life-experience than I would be than without it.  The only discrimination I use in reserving my exposure has everything to do with the individual's actions & opinions;  if that person would like to hide behind their heritage or gender from any blame occurred on their part, that's their cross to bear.

But not mine.  Forgive me for setting the bar just a bit higher.

Recently, I was asked by someone who my favorite female authors were & I was surprised in the honest answer that I don't actively have any.  Sure, I read pieces written by women on blogs & sites, but I can't think of any novelist or comic book writer who has my baited attention in whatever her next project may be (I could say Gail Simone, but my actions speak much louder than whatever my intended preferences tell me).  This, I say, is also sad & a failing that I most likely would have to take responsibility for.  I couldn't use the excuse that there isn't or couldn't be any female writers whose work I would probably always enjoy because that sounds just as false & ridiculous as it is to type that out.  Still, I would say it's better than me saying to I have a "token" female on my Kindle or whatnot (or embarrassing things like "I watch movies based on Stephenie Meyer's works").  Needless to say, it's on the list of things I need to self-improve in the future; a self-made list, not anybody else's.

I can understand the need to "turn down the volume" on certain people who tend to be one-note in their views; I would say that's a universal experience; but I don't understand how that needs to be executed in any kind of sexist/racist/homophobic classification.  Nor can I understand how that can justified by citing the same kind of ugliness that the person is trying to distance them self from in the first place.

It's the kind of thing makes me want to not value anything you have to say anymore;  only I know I won't be making that distinction based on your gender.

Exploring My Top 25 Or How My iTunes Will Be Judged After My Sudden Death

Completely randomly, I've decided to check on whatever my Top 25 most listened to songs in iTunes is at the moment & I thought, why not try to write about it?

Well.....?

Now, this isn't my real Top 25 of iTunes existence;  this laptop was acquired in Sept. '12;  but that might be still long enough to help build up some kind of mysterious categorizing.

1.  Childish Gambino- Centipede

"...cause if not, I'm a failure..."

  This is kinda a no surprise here....I don't think there's one single song I listened to in '13 more than this quick freebie Mr. Glover let off at the beginning of last summer.  A little "weird" upon first listen, yes, but as you repeat, you can just discover so much richness being hidden in plain earshot, in both production & lyrical performance.  Truly just an appetizer for the new depressed & stressed out direction he would craft all of because the internet with, you can hear Donald starting to understand how lonely he's beginning to feel (in a giant house full of people) and how he's trying find the answer to why he feels that way.  I can't even begin to write about how much I related to this whole song...yes, the whole song, even all of Charles Hamilton's coked-out-but-on-point-honest rambling at the end.  I've loved this since the day it's release & listening to now, I'm still getting the shakes, thinking about how safe Grandma's couch was to me.  Word the fuck up.

2.  Taylor Swift- State Of Grace

"...And I never saw you coming..."

Aight...let me say something to might shock a few:  Red should have won Album Of The Year.  #YEAHISAIDIT  #OVERKENDRICK  I'm by no means some teen Swiftie or anything, but when Taylor went out of her way to expand her sound a bit, I thought the least I could do, as a music lover, was to check out what she came up with.  I ended up taking about half of Red from iTunes; about 8 songs; & that right there is a great album (so I'm not speaking to whatever version that you may have unnecessarily settled for).  And as it stands, I can't remember an album packing as big of a 1,2 punch at the beginning as this did here (we'll get to 2 in a minute).  Musically, State Of Grace kept my windows open in the car during some exceptionally nice Spring weather we had down here last year as the perfect companion piece (never mind that it reminds me of this song so much that I think someone should hire a plagiarism lawyer).   You have to have a pretty black heart or completely given up on love in your life not have a smile on your face while experiencing this song.  It's just....beautiful.  And then when it ends, it leads you right into....

3.  Taylor Swift- Red

"....when I still see it all in my head/Burning Red..."

Not much to add, except....the banjo.  Those drums.  The energy.  This is #chairthrowingmusic son.  Burning red, indeed. (Also, the fact that I see colors & shapes when I hear music, I guess the lyrical metaphor of color-coded emotions is speaking to something I'm already pretty familiar with)  Combined with the previous song, they're always played in succession of each other in my playlists, so it's no wonder where it is right here.

4.  Pink- Blow Me (One Last Kiss)

"...I will breathe,I will breathe, I won't worry at all..."

I've never made a secret that Pink is the single most worthless entertainer ever ( & that's a huge criteria to choose from on that).  I try to keep to my "own";  I keep my circle of pop culture as closed and open as I care for it to be;  and yet, nobody's success personally annoys me as much as her's do. However, I don't live in some kind of pathetic hater denial about it...she has a musical career.  Period.  A generation has passed since she arrived & has helped her justify at least all her first singles as "quality" entertainment.  There have been children who have...*choke*...actually looked up to her as a singer & role model.  Nothing I can do about all that at this point....the world will have to live with what it has done.

There are, grudgingly, been some songs along her path that I have just given up trying to hate & have just decided to embrace like hot blankets in winter storms, this one being the latest.  The pain and frustration expressed here is just too close to my own struggles everyday.  By the time we get to the "LaLaLaLaLaLaLa" in a distorted background vocal part, I might have put my fists through a couple of walls.  And yet, as the evidence shows, I just hit replay again.  So...there you have it.

5.  Demi Lovato- Give Your Heart A Break

"...I can see it in your eyes..."

Now, this...is a bit of a surprise to me, but only because this is a recent favorite.  I'm fully aware that this was a huge radio song at some point, but since I don't really fuck with the radio, that's not taken in my consideration.  Suffice to say, I heard this somewhere & liked it enough to personally make the decision to play it as many times as I probably would have heard it played on the radio.  It's really, really hard to deny this drum beat....that could've been some Hip-Hop shit right there.  And, as I've spoken before, the way her voice cracks at 2:47 still tears me inside in all kinds of weird ways;  at least, in ways I can't stop listening to again & again.

To get it outta the way:  aside from her obvious physical gifts, she's a bit too young for me.  But yes, there is something fucking hot about a girl that would transport a few kilos across state lines for you, ex-Disney star or not.  #rideordiebitch

6.  Slaughterhouse- Get Up

 "...how quick are you going to get up?..."

Slaughterhouse not in a top 5:  SURPRISE.  This song outta all my #HouseGang joints:  SURPRISE.  Wow.  Besides one of the only songs from their Shady album that deserved repeat play (I'm very sorry to honestly say), this shit has the illest sample choices of all time.  I had that old Fantastic Four Power Record as a child memorized back and forth (if you didn't grow up in the early '80s, favor yourself & do the knowledge), so all that greatness at the beginning of the song, transposing SH to the FF, immediately got recognized & appreciated. 

While this is far from their best or most lyrical piece, there are some really nice lines on this one:

" ..all I know is I'm at an all time high, inspired by an all time low.."

"...if you ain't got a knife & fork, you probably on the menu..."

And fuck, all of Budden's verse, really:

"A mixture of showman & skill, imposing my will

A visionary, want me with my back to the ground, I ain't with the missionary

Walk in my shoes and reap all that I gain
Along with every invisible woe that accompanies fame
Louis Vittion frames covers the scars that go with stardom
Got enemies that I birthed, these bars are for Postpartum
So I tuck me the steel plate, they threatening me from behind a condom
But you can't say fuck me, then feel safe
You just (lose)
Some people praying that I (lose)
I thought I was set up to (lose)
Then Slaughterhouse came like (nah)
So I live by a real simple philosophy
If you stay grounded, watch God keep giving you reasons not to be
Can't (lose)
It's not in my plans to (lose)
If I still happen to (lose)
Is that even possible (nah)
Keep that outta my reach, still I keep praying the shit get manifested
Let the flow stagedive & hopefully the fans'll catch it
If you ever preserved, you should understand the message

No I.D. on the beat, BTW.

7.  Fabolous- Everything Was The Same

"...that was the '90s, you wouldn't get it, you had to be there..."

Only reason this here is a surprise is it's only been counting plays since Christmas Day 2013;  that much I can verify.  I'm a huge fan of these Soul Tapes Fab's been dropping these past few years, but there is something to his latest introductory track (backed by one of my favorite instrumentals that has live audio so accurately in the background) that felt really, REALLY special.  Hence, repeat play after repeat play. Love the build up of anticipation during the flow;  usually, I'll have my fist banging on a table top by the time of "We was Candy Shopping before 50 & Olivia".   I've never really been a fan of Fabolous, mainly because he just came off as fake and lyrically boring as you can be;  frankly, Fab, I don't believe you.  So yes, I find it ironic that I now big him up for dropping knowledge to the kids because, frankly, I DO believe you.

8.  Richie Sambora- Every Road Leads Home To You

"...home to you..."

As a child of the '80's, I've got no problem acknowledging unashamedly my love for power ballads.  Shit is the stuff #feels are made of.  This little heard gem right here, I felt, kept that tradition alive and well, without sounding like a song outta it's time.  If I could write something as moving as this, I might feel secure enough to tell Bon Jovi to go fuck himself too.

9.  Childish Gambino-Think Of Me

"..I'm a boss, homie/die a boss like Steve Jobs..."

Off FMF's attempt-to-reconquer-the-mixtape-game, almost like the prelude to the 1st song on this list.  After being more than a little disappointed with ROYALTY (with no big reasons popping in my head on why it was disappointing), this felt like getting back to the Camp Gambino, while setting up the next direction.  Again, the struggle.

10.  Sam Palladio- Adios Old Friend

"...I heard you made it..far as El Paso..."

Well.  This is a bit embarrassing....if you believe it would be impossible to find good, soul-tugging music in the midst of a corporate machine TV show.  But after a few iTunes Nashville purchases, I can't count myself as one of those anymore.  Maybe it's all the obvious Texas references, but this one right here.....felt a little throwback-y.  Like, to maybe some of the stuff I grew up on.  Nevertheless, just a great little song of friendship & the inevitable end.

11.  Taylor Swift-Back To December

"...so if the chain is on your door, I understand..."

Uh.  Yeah, another Taylor Swift song.  This whole blog isn't going in the direction I thought it would.  But again, it's all about the music at hand & there's nothing to be embarrassed about with this muthafucker.  Maybe if I had used the original horrible version I heard a few times from various sources, with the electric guitar and shit.  FOH to whoever the producer/record company that thought that would be a great idea for such a beautifully sung & written song.  Thankfully, in my "circle", there's only one version of this song that exists and it's this stripped down, tear inducing one right here.

12.  Freddie Gibbs-Freddie Soprano

"....I brush my teeth with Hennessy, sleep wit my automatic...."

Aight, now, let's get back to the real shit.  I'ma say this right now:  Freddie Gibbs is the rebirth of Gangsta Rap.  There's been a lot of wannabes the past few years, but this dude right here is the truth (or at least spits it like it is).  Off the ESGN album, this is one that stood out among the others, mainly because of the production.  At the time, it also maybe was one of the first references I heard on record about Kobe & his Achilles.  It took me another 6 months or so to find the subliminal Jim Jones, Wayne, & Ross disses.  Other than that, this is straight #cardiomuzik

13.  Joe Budden-Top Of The World

"...help me exercise my demons, brought them to the gym with me..."

Another "surprise" and again in the sense that it took this long to hit a Joe Budden song, someone who I feel I listen to enough to be higher on this list.  But not for this song.  Nothing wrong with it, but not representative of the songs I'm thinking of when I think Joey.  But I digress....  I wasn't that into the No Love Lost album;  basically, a quick listen thru and all that popped up was Castles; but one of the last times I was waiting on car maintenance, I was fucking around on the iPod & decided to give those songs another chance.  I never made it to the others because this first song suddenly caught my ear & stayed in regular rotation.  It was all a illusion, tho;  it took me a little while to hear the Between The Sheets sample hidden in the beat.  And LISTEN:  you sample any part of that song anywhere in your beat, you can't go wrong.

14.  Taylor Swift-Begin Again

".....break, burn & end..."

*face palm*.....uh....OK, listen, I did like this song & would usually play it back to back with # 11;  from a story-in-the-music kinda way, I always imagined they're from the same fictional girl; and that's probably why it's in the top 25......alright, let's just move on (....is there anymore Ms. Swift on this list I gotta defend at some point?)

15.  Skylar Grey-Coming Home

"...my kingdom awaits and they've forgiven my mistakes..."

If I remember correctly, I was chilling with [REDACTED] and a commercial came on that had a soothing voice in it that wouldn't leave my head.  My homie said "don't sweat it", did the Goggle search from his phone, and said "it's Skylar Grey".  I uncharacteristically outburst-ed "THAT WAS SKYLAR GREY?  HOLY SHIT", leaving my boy a bit puzzled, not knowing who that was or what she had been responsible for musically in the few years preceding that moment.  I immediately found her stripped down version (from what I understand, Puffy redid it for his album or something, but I've never heard that) and kept it rotation, usually on my way home (natch) from work everyday.  Good post-warrior music.

16.   Skyzoo-Counting Until It Hurts

"...put on your Wiz while I tagged, I would christen broads (ha)..."

Basically, Sky going in on the Money Talks beat ("One time for Araab, like...").  Nothing you can be mad at here.  I'm not going to do that ole' "everybody be sleeping on real muthafuckas like Skyzoo" & shit, but yeah, he's one of those dudes I think of when we talk about whose making REAL music nowadays.  Keeping Hip-Hop alive, at least in the way that I can recognize.   .....a little weird to be having 2 "Sky"s back to back on this list, tho...

17.  T-Pain-Royals (Remix)

".....Work Hard, Play Hard, Mon-A Over Evarthang...."

Ha.  Yes, I expected the *original* to be up here; I, like you, played the shit outta that muthatfucka;  but I'm not surprised to find this here, even with how new it is.  I kept waiting & waiting for some MC to really go in over that Royals beat;  it's fucking begging for it since the first play; but after that doesn't strangely happen , Pain comes outta left field & drops one of the most #brilliantignorance tracks I've ever heard.  It's officially not been heard by enough people in this world.  Do me a favor:  when it's summer, roll wherever you go blastin' this out your trunk.  It works.

18.  Alanis Morissette-havoc

"....cause I'm repulsed by restriction..or at least that's my excuse..."

A nice little song from Mrs. Ironic last year (yes, she still puts out albums & I will check them out).  Lyrics are always open to interpretation; and always should be; but I personally take this as a confession of postpartum-adultery.  Or in other words:  Alanis found out that just because she got married and had a child, she's still "her" and all those things she used to do to keep people from getting too close, she's still doing.  Again, deep.  

19.  Christina Perri-Human

"....I can take so much...till I've had enough..."

I dig this.  Especially since I didn't think I was going to.  Before her Twilight fame, I saw homegirl in concert without really being familiar with her catalog.  Her putting on a great show lead to me following her on Twitter & seeing her, for the next 2 years, struggle to make an album full of music she could be proud of.  Being the pessimist I can be on certain things, that didn't fill me with a lot of hope for whenever I would hear any of it.  Thankfully, Human's pretty solid.  Hence, the repeat playings.  

20.  Fabolous-Young OG

"...TELL ME WHY THEY FEEL COMFORTABLE TELLING YOU..."

Let's bring it back.  Again, it's weird for me to be bigging up songs where Fab is schooling these youngsters, but that's where we are nowadays.  And he used the best part of Yeezus to do it with.

21.  Joe Budden-Momma Said

"....why she feel those words I needed to hear?.."

More on point with the Budden I know & love...but still, I listened to this joint that many times?  #smh I keep a close relationship with my Mom also (although we're not both recovering addicts like what's going here), so maybe that's why I kinda get the whole opening-up-and-being-honest-and-then-frustration that Joey illustrates so matter of fact-ly here.  And of course, the whole me-against-the-world loneliness lines. 

22.  Taylor Swift-All Too Well

"....I was there, I remember it..all too well..."

........     ...............This is basically Taylor's "I hope your soul burns in ether" song for Whoever You Think She's Talking About off Red (personally, my money's on Jake Gyllenhaal..or at least she wants us to think Jake Gyllenhaal).  It usually comes up 3rd played right behind #2 & #3 on this list.  It might be higher if it wasn't so long of a song (it's possible that I just skip the next track 4 or so minutes into it).

Ahem.  OK.....

23.  John Legend-Who Do We Think We Are? ft. RAWSE

".....we walk around here like we own this place...."

NICE.  This was criminally (#noRossno) underplayed when it dropped;  it was good to see All Of Me take off like it did, but still...this was the first drop from the album.  Brilliant sample.  I'ma say that again.  Brilliant sample.  And for all that 2013 was, the first place I heard the words "Tom Ford".  Maybe on the incredibly small list of Songs That I Wanna Get High To.

24.  Kendrick Lamar-Swimming Pools(Drank)

"....One Chopper, 100 Shots, Bang...."

I had this on mad rotation while waiting for the album to drop.  I've done more than my share of drinking in my life, but none of that has ever effected how much I just hate alcohol.  In all my years, I'd never heard anybody able to sum up those two completely opposing but very real thoughts together in such a beautiful opus.  One of the many early signs that, this kid Kendrick?  He's going to be a little bit more special than the rest of them....

25.  Stalley-Loud Motors

".....make you fall in love everytime you step inside her..."

This is a great little example of me trying something new & it paying off.  I like Wale, but for the most part, I don't be fucking with anybody reppin' MMG.  But then I heard someone (I might've been Joe Budden) going on about how nice that Stalley kid was & how he's the "secret weapon".  Keeping that in mind, next I saw that name drop a freebie on the internets, I DL'd, laid back & listened.  This...was real impressive.  And at a time when that Jay-Z sample had a little significance to it.  Nowdays, I check out Stalley anytime he spits some of his #intelligenttrunkmusic.  Word.  Up.

So.....there was a lot less #HouseGang here & way more T. Swift than I thought there would be (although if we look again in a couple of months, I can guarantee that a different State Of Grace is going to be near the top of this list).  If anything, I guess it helps reinforce the way I don't feel my preferred expressions of art really fit into any box that someone could attempt to put me in.  I mean, even though I've never tried it, I think Pandora would just be a bunch of bullshit for me.

Have a great weekend & HEY find some music & chill the fuck out with it, aight?  Sideways to the next life....  

We're Just Not Worth It, I Guess....

Obama's in Texas? Hmmm, it must NOT be an election year.
— Blue Chucks (@_ChuckE) November 7, 2013

This may come as a shock to some, but no:  in both of Obama's bids for the White House, he never carried Texas as a state.  I know, shocking.

But probably not to him or his election team, since they didn't stump in the state during the national election;  that usually being a sign that The Guys Who Know This Politics Stuff didn't think it was worth Obama wasting his precious time trying to get votes here (he DID come here during his primary battle against Hilary that I knew shook a few people up at the time...)

...which I guess is fine.  But it kinda gives the impression that everybody here...I don't know, hates him or something.  Or...worse (insert Dallas/Kennedy reference that I'm too self-conscious to state here out of fear that it'll someday be taken out of context somewhere on the internet).

But that shit's simply not true. If it was, then how could you explain that more Texans voted for Obama in 2008 & 2012 than any other state in the country (outside of Cali, Florida, & NY)?  Sure, he didn't carry the state;  that's crazy talk; but c'mon, that can't be all Austin votes there.  Surely we were worth the time to come thank us for the support....right?

No, We Can't Retire Friendzone

"Friendzone" means any woman who doesn't have sex w/a guy is doing him an injustice. The term debases everyone. Can we retire it?
— Joss Whedon (@josswhedon) October 20, 2013

1st off:  I love Joss Whedon.  And always will.

2nd:  when anyone says this (& I'm seeing a lot of it out there), it's a classic example of someone being offended by something that isn't directed at themselves and simply playing to a base sentiment out there that really has nothing to do with them.  There are exceptions out there to this "rule", but for the most part, people should have their offenses stuck in an actual offense upon themselves IMHO.

3rd:  the term "friendzone" does not mean what Joss (& other puppets out there) are saying it means right here.  The term refers to the disappointment one feels when someone they feel romantically towards does not share that feeling towards them; that person, instead of moving on, settles for a different classification in their desired's life, in a place where they are less likely to have their amorous desires reverberated.  Yes, sex falls in that designation, but if you believe that's all there is to be desired, you should really look upon what you think composes a full and healthy adult relationship.

This term is not confined to a strictly male use.  To say females do not go through similar involvements & experience the same such POVs is perhaps the most single biggest expression of misogyny I have encountered.....today, at least (I've getting a kind of last start here on this fine beautiful afternoon).  It's not even restricted to heterosexual relationships;  in fact, the only limit I would put on it is that yes, animals truly desire to keep their human encounters to a *strictly* platonic basis.  It's probably never the other feeling....at least on the animal's part.

People need to accept the fact that not everybody that their friends with on the opposite side of the sex wishes their relationship to be a simple non-romantic one.  This is not news.  I'd say everyone in the course of normal life has been on at least one side of this exchange with someone at some point;  if they were lucky enough, they've been on both sides.  I'd make a guess at where all this negativity is coming from all of the sudden, but then I'd be spewing the 2nd biggest expression of misogyny I'd have encountered today, so I won't.

There are good & important fights to fight out there.  Stop muddling those up by focusing on trying to hold back normal human experiences & people's need to express them under the guise of discrimination when it's not.  Please, you're all way smarter than this.