Uh, Hell Yes I Just Went To This Game!!!

So, on the bus ride back from 'The Safe', I was talking with my buddy Eddie and I figured that this was the best pitching performance I had seen in person so far in my life. We remarked, around the 7th inning, that you had to keep reminding yourself how bad ass Greinke was, because it was a subtle, understated masterpiece on the mound, particularly because he didn't strike 15 batters or anything (only 5, in fact). He just simply went out there, worked quickly and got the fuckin job done. He was hurling 96 mph heat with a low-80s change and a curve that even dropped down to 66 mph. Sick. Overall, a fabulous way to spend Eddie's last afternoon in Seattle for the Summer. Take care Eddie!

My boy Roy C was right, this record is cool. I guess this week's theme is all about sleepin', whether it be me catchin up on shit I slept on or stuff I think you mighta slept on. Wake up bitchez!!

From the Vaults of HipHop

I think this one got lost in the fold for a lot of folks. Bad ass record though and Jean Grae is just perfect on "Taco Day". Plus, D-Stroy is on here and the track "What the Fuck?!" is hilarious. If you slept on this little gem, go back and check it out, you won't be disappointed.

thursday's poem

{slow down}

08.20.09

every once in a while

when I emerge

through the surface of conciousness

like a breaching whale

I slip through the last

echoed breath of my

own utterance

the words slap me in the face:

slow down.

A Well-Rested Life Void of Sleep...

...would be the only way for me to satisfy my appetites for music. It's like being a vampire during endless daytime; there's no way you can go out for fresh blood and the hunger grows and the thirst is so torturous. Only, I can get fresh blood, but it never seems to be enough. There is always some craving, some urge. One week it will be an inability to get enough classic HipHop and another I'll be begging the gods for Neo-Classical pacifiers for my soul. But the method of discovery varies along with the numerous styles of music.

This week, I found the coolest new Funk outfit in The Heliocentrics. This troupe of Psych-Jazz Funkateers is led by their masterful drummer, Malcolm Catto, as it seems only a group of this ilk should be. Catto might be the coolest fuckin' drummer I currently know of. Now, I know I'm about 18 months late on this one, but believe you me, this is a perfect example of how hard it is to keep up with everything and drink 7000 empty calories of whiskey a week.
So, there's a tight little horn section that sounds as though they'd fit right in on a 60's Mingus album or a 70's Miles Fusion exploration. But the great thing is, they don't get in the way. Some horn sections are like that annoying fuckin' kid in the front of the class who raises his hand for every gotdamn question the teacher has. Think James Brown horn funk, but a bit more understated. The keyboards and synthesizers are absolutely killer. Played with enough digital and analog diffusion and tonal discomfort, they keep the out there Out There. The guitar has a nice, slick-toned Telecaster sound that is more Morricone than Booker T. This gumbo of styles and sounds may seem too much to combine and handle, but The Heliocentrics pull it off with such dexterity that they must have been born juggling sounds.
A definite. A hands down winner. If the Poets of Rhythm had done a bit more acid with Willy Wonka (Gene Wilder, not Johnny Depp), this would be the record, after some tripped out HipHop producers got ahold of it, of course. And before it's final, there'd be a session with some folks from Broadcast to give it one more odd-ass spice in the mix.

But a fantastic mix it is.

A Trip to the Rekkid Store with my main man Bench

Bench and I went to the store of vinyl wax rekkid purchasing today and, as all trips of this manner are, it was a magical time. The one that I put back in order to not blow too much money was Ice Cream Castle by The Time. I will have more chances to pick that little funk gem up in the future. Here's my haul:
Game, Dames & Guitar Thangs by Eddie Hazel
In the Pocket With Eddie Bo by Eddie Bo (fabulous New Orleans Funk & Soul)
I Thought I Was Over That by Lali Puna (B-Sides, Rarities and Remixes)
Lazy Bones by Witch (described as Afro-Psych Rock, pretty spot on)
Gish by Smashing Pumpkins
Rip, Rig & Panic by Rashaan Roland Kirk

If I could, I'd live every day like this.

What are the first two rules?

While generally avoiding the face, my friend Zack and I basically had a Tyler Durden night last night. Lemme just tell you this much, it's a lotta fun when yer drunk as shit and blasting each other, but the next day, the charlie horses in your thigh make getting out of chairs a little challenging. Also, I used to have a promotional bar of soap from the movie that is exactly like the one Tyler there is holding, but then my wife used it, didn't like the soap and threw it out. She is my ex-wife, by the way. Different value systems sometimes just can't mesh.

i got a new tattoo

Sung to the tune of "New Attitude". It's my first pictoral tat and my first with color. It's a feather. And that is my forearm.