I Plan To Have A Whole Army By The Time That I'm Through

IMAGE: Erykah Badu LYRIC/TITLE: Saul Williams

Music:

The Rookie is back with some pretty dope mp3s by Insomniac and Spex. Even if you've never heard of either of them, trust that they're both worth checking out if you're a fan of independent hip-hop. Insomniac once had an infamous battle with Murs which some of you may recall: http://www.soothsayrecords.com/rookie/.

Checkerboard Chimes is offering a track with Rakim and Talib Kweli---"Getting Up Anthem": http://checkerboardchimes.blogspot.com/.

At Silence Is A Rhythm Too, you can pick up two incredible tracks from Bill Withers' debut album---"Harlem" and "Better Off Dead": http://siart.blogspot.com/.

Spine Magazine has a remix of Saul Williams' song "Black Stacey" w/NAS. They are also offering the track "Shotta" by Juelz Santana: http://www.spinemagazine.com/index.php?task=.

Speaking of Juelz, you can also download his track "Clorkwork", courtesy of Notes From A Different Kitchen. Link to your right.

The Smoking Section continues to be an excellent resource for downloading miscellaneous tracks, mixtapes and complete albums. Right now, one of my personal favorite things that they're featuring is "Tell Me Why Our Love Has Turned So Cold" by Willie Hutch. This song has recently become familiar to many, as it was sampled in Three 6 Mafia's "Stay Fly": http://smokingsection.blogspot.com.

Breath of Life has another great selection of tracks this week---an Opolopo remix of Erykah Badu's "Southern Girl", "Queen in My Empire" by Rhythm and Sound w/ Jennifer Lara, and a joint by crazy-ass Fishbone:http://www.kalamu.com/bol/.

Two tracks from Biggie's Duets album are available for download at Lemon-Red---"Spit Your Game" w/ Twista and Krayzie Bone + "Old Habits" ft. T.I. and Slim Thug: http://www.lemon-red.org/blog/.

ART:

I tend to take this site for granted because I've been a frequent visitor for quite some time, but Stencil Revolution has quite possibly the best stencil graffiti galleries available online. They feature both street and studio art, and every day there are an abundance of new images that have been posted. If you've never had the pleasure, make it a priority to visit soon: http://www.stencilrevolution.com/photopost/.

POLITICS:

As many intelligent individuals have already surmised, the George Bush administration has been heavily promoting their own brand of weird science---replacing years of knowledge, testing, and study with whatever voodoo bullshit suits their needs and motivations at the time. This video is a humorous take on their treatment/denial of global warming and other issues affecting the environment: http://www.climatemash.org/.

If you find this interesting (and/or it angers you), a site called Bush Greenwatch is tracking the Dubya administration's "environmental misdeeds": http://www.bushgreenwatch.org/. Much more on this topic can be learned by visiting their site.

LIFE:

As I've mentioned several times before, I'm a vinyl junkie, and part of what I love about record albums is (undoubtedly) the covers. Somehow, I've never been able to feel the same way about CD insert bullshit. Some of the covers in my collection are outstanding works of art---and then of course, I've got some really bizarre stuff that isn't all that appealing to the eye. I haven't developed an actual list of the worst album covers I've ever seen, but someone has---and well--they're pretty fuckin' atrocious. That should be all I need to say in the way of an introduction: http://porktornado.diaryland.com/albumcover.html.

I leave you with just one thought...

"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened" ---Dr. Suess

This Is My Pain/ These Are My Drugs/ This Is My Brain

So---how's my people? Things have been mad hectic in my world, but despite that fact, I've still been screwing around with some different ideas for upcoming posts. However, like any good weedhead, I suffer from a hyperactive procrastination gland, so most of my "projects" end up hangin' out in purgatorial limbo for quite some time. Apologies. Anyway, allow me to at least hit you up with some linkage, and then I'll go back to the drawing board (and quite possibly, the blunt):

At MP3 4U, you can cop the song "Prankster", some nice stuff by Will Bernard and Motherbug: http://www.mp34u.com/index.php. This track was recorded live at Bruno's in San Francisco a few years ago, and there's no proper way to describe it, except to say that it's pretty damn groovy. If you're interested in learning more about Bernard, check out his official website here: http://www.willbernard.com/default.htm.

Earfuzz recently posted a couple of songs by Rasputin's Stash:
http://www.earfuzz.com/. If you've never heard their music before, Junior accurately described their style as "a quality blend of funk and soul". If you know what's good, you could learn to love dat shit, son.

Checkerboard Chimes posted the mp3 for "Don't Go Breakin' My Heart", redone in the image of ODB and Macy Gray: http://checkerboardchimes.blogspot.com/. All I can say is that's one crazy-ass track---my guess is that you'll either love it or loathe it. If Big Baby Jesus just isn't your thing, you can also cop Just Blaze's mix of "Kookies" by MF Doom. I had every intention of liking that track, but I was pretty underwhelmed upon first listen. I don't know about you, but I find that it really sucks when that happens...

Breath of Life is featuring three outstanding musical selections this week. Download tracks by Les Nubians, John Coltrane & Thelonious Monk, and Nona Hendryx:
http://www.kalamu.com/bol/.

The Number One Songs In Heaven has had a couple of quality posts this past week. You can currently acquire two classic cuts by Jimmy Holiday, and a song by Ruby & The Romantics---"Your Baby Doesn't Love You Anymore":
http://www.londonlee.com/blog.html.

The Broke B-Boys are featuring the artist responsible for today's image and quote---Roots Manuva. They posted three outstanding tracks from Run Come Save Me, an album that I played to literal death when it first came out: http://brokebboys.blogspot.com/.

In other news...

Noing Noing takes a stab at "scientifically" proving that Republicans are "more stupider" than Democrats. Peep the methodology behind the madness here:
http://www.noingnoing.net/home/2005/10/its_official_bu_1.html.

I'm still undecided as to whether or not Hillary Clinton would make a good president, but I'm absolutely positive that Bill would make a kick-ass First Lady. Get your t-shirts now, bitches! :
http://www.billforfirstlady.com/billsvideo/.

Finally, this has been circulating around the internet like crazy, but in case you haven't come across it yet, it's still worth posting. Cassette Jam '05 has a picture of just about every blank tape that was ever made: http://hanazuc02.ld.infoseek.co.jp/cassettes/cassettes.htm. I realize that many of you don't give even a tiny little fuck that the cassette tape has gone from endangered to nearly extinct. I probably wouldn't get all nostalgic about this fact either, if I wasn't such an old school rap reject. Prior to the technological revolution, it was just like Biggie said---"I let my tape rock 'til my tape popped". Surely you must have an old mixtape somewhere---my advice is to apply that bitch to your nearest ghetto blaster, and chill sucka...chill...

Sticks And Stones May Break My Bones

MUSIC: So maybe it's redundant, but I have to try every so often to promote the soulful brilliance that is Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings. I'm diggin' this poster like C. Delores Tucker's grave: http://www.nobodysmiling.com/hiphop/news/85221.php. Damn----sometimes it feels so right to be wrong...Anyway, I'm definitely not in the habit of trying to inflict bullshit advertising schemes on my readership, but today I'm making a rare exception. I'm convinced that the handful of people who read this blog who are still in their right minds should purchase at least one of these posters (creatively designed by Darren English). Each limited edition print is signed and numbered---and if you call now, this highly functional work of art will also remove stubborn pet stains, and tighten your flabby beer-bloated abs, practically overnight. Check out all of English's posters here: http://www.darrengrealish.com/2005P2.html
and here is a direct link to purchase the Jones print only: http://www.darrengrealish.com/sharonjones.html.

If you just stopped by to check out some free shit, the mp3 of Jones' rendition of "This Land is Your Land" is available at Moistworks:http://www.moistworks.com/. However, you must observe the following guidelines: If you're white---borrow the song. If you're Latino---steal it. If you're black---go loot that muthafucka.

While at Moistworks, you may also want to download "Winter in America", by Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson. They've been generous enough to offer both a live and a studio version of the track, so you can hear the song any way you'd like.

Fans of Fatlip (formerly a member of The Pharcyde), will want to pay a visit to Diggin' Music in the near future. They are currently featuring "What's Up, Fatlip?" in mp3, music video, and documentary form. The latter two were created under the direction of Spike Jonze: http://www.digginmusic.blogspot.com/.

"Soul Reggae" is a classic cut by Charles Keynard. Download it now at Soul Sides:
http://soul-sides.com/.

Am I High? just posted several tracks for download, including "Read My Lips" by The Alkaholiks, and a Collipark remix of Twista's "Slow Jamz": http://amihigh.blogspot.com/.

At Stylus Magazine, you can cop "I See It", by The Staple Singers:
http://www.stylusmagazine.com/ipod/. This is definitely not one of my favorite songs that they've done, but it's a worthwhile track, nonetheless. I also happen to like the Los Impalas offering, but it's a little different than most of the music I write about on this blog. I would recommend giving this a try if you are a fan of The Doors, The Byrds, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, etc.

ART: Odd Wall has some pretty dope artwork on their site, as they've displayed a diverse selection of San Francisco street art: http://www.oddwall.com/. There's a little bit of everything there, including stencils, murals, and garage door paintings.

Politics: By now, most of you have heard about the violence and mayhem that unfolded in the streets of Toledo, Ohio yesterday. I don't particularly trust the media's representation of what
happened, but I'm posting a link to a CNN article in hopes that you will find the grains of truth in what's being reported:http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/10/15/nazi.march/. If you ask me, Neo-Nazi and KKK marches/rallies are inherently always inflammatory on some level, and possessing a permit and describing the event as peaceful doesn't do a damn thing to change that fact. I think it's a testament to the patience of minorities in this country that these uprisings don't occur more frequently. Don't get it twisted---as a strong proponent of free speech, I don't believe that hate groups should be silenced. However, we the fuckin' people have to at least try to understand and accept the emotional/psychological basis for a negative reaction to such flagrant displays of racism. Additionally, whenever African-Americans engage in any form of a struggle against their oppression, they shouldn't automatically be portrayed as unthinking animals, both vicious and animalistic. The choice of language utilized by the media makes evident one of the many subversive forms of racism that still prospers underneath the top layer of American society. As a prime example, two or more black people in assembly are considered a gang---while white folk who congregate in large numbers are described (more kindly) as a group. And hopefully, you caught onto the whole looting reference earlier in this post.

To top it all off, there are people in the media who question why the black people involved in the scuffle displayed signs of anger towards the police. Is it possible that people are really that uneducated? The way that law enforcement treats minorities is another one of the clearest examples that racism is not yet dead---despite the ridiculous claims of those who believe we've magically achieved a state of equality in recent years.

I sincerely don't believe in violence as a solution, and I cannot support the actions of anyone who was involved, because I'll never know what really went down---and sorry, but neither will you. I am simply asking my readers to realize the complexity of this situation, before blindly pointing fingers towards the African-Americans who came to protest. Predictably, the latest results of a poll hosted by CNN indicates that more people blame the "gangs" than the neo-Nazis.

LIFE: Finally, this is on the lighter side, but this blog I found is pretty interesting. It features bizarre products that are currently available for purchase. I'm not personally endorsing any of this shit---I just find a lot of these items to be sort of amusing. Are you cutting edge enough to be the first person sporting ear muffs shaped like breasts this coming winter? :
http://www.strangenewproducts.com/.

I'm So Busy And Stressed Out I Didn't Even Have Time To Give This Shit A Name

I only have 4 minutes and 32 seconds to get this post together, and I type more slowly than a quadriplegic. Links only for today, but I swear that I'll hit you up with some stupid stream-of-consciousness shit as soon as I possibly can...

Razorblade Runner recently posted "Build Me Up" by Rhymefest and ODB .

There are 4 No I.D. tracks currently available for download at The Low End Theory.

Treat Williams continues his retrospective of the 90's with some dope joints from 1991. Download tracks by Pete Rock, Freestyle Fellowship, KMD, and more.

***The links to all of the aforementioned blogs are available to your right.

At So Much Silence, you can acquire the mp3 for "Got Me A Woman" by Ray Charles. For anyone who isn't already aware, Kanye sampled this cut on "Gold Digger":
http://www.somuchsilence.blogspot.com/.

Checkerboard Chimes has a Diplo remix of Outkast's "Bombs Over Baghdad":
http://checkerboardchimes.blogspot.com/. I love both Outkast and The Cure, but I'm on the fence about whether or not it was wise to mix the two. I wouldn't necessarily eat peanut butter with bacon, if ya know what I mean...

Part 2 of Loosie's interview with MF Doom was posted yesterday:
http://www.loosie.com/words/archives/2005/10/000590.php.

Last, but never least, much gratitude to Lemon Life for writing about a charity that is very close to my heart (as her featured organization for the month of October). Please visit her blog to read more...catch her link to your right.

I'm 14 seconds past my time limit...peace...

I Remember When I Lost My Mind

Cee-Lo reminds me of this fat girl I used to know who peed her underoos on the regular. The kids on the playground used to rip on her constantly, but I didn't give a shit what anyone said---pee girl was cool with me. Her real name was Joyce, but I'm...you know...trying to protect her identity from any urinary investigators who may decide to probe further into this matter. Anyway, thanks to all the haters, Joyce is most likely a bulemic junkie these days, and let's just pray that she's not still dealing with that incontinence issue on top of everything else. Unlike most of the other twisted bastards I went to school with, my conscience is clear regarding pee girl. I used to pop a cap in any ass who dared to fuck with her, and yes--I'm prepared to defend Cee-Lo Green in much the same way. No--he doesn't pee his pants---not that I know of anyway. I've just heard and seen many people criticize him for being too different/bizarre to be palatable to the average hip-hop consumer. If that's the case, then the only people who should be buying Andre 3000's music are members of his immediate family, cuz that brotha's weird as hell, and everybody knows it. I'm unaccepting of most of the reasons given to scorn this man and his music...and if you hate on him unjustifiably, I'll be forced to handle you the same way I did those prepubescent gangstas who taunted Joyce. You got that? And judging by this photo, Cee-Lo's ready to battle you his damn self...

Now that I have that bit of insanity off my chest, you can go to Spine Magazine and download "Crazy", a track from Lo's new project with Danger Mouse, Gnarls Barkley: http://www.spinemagazine.com/index.php?task=.

On a political tip, get educated about Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers by checking out her Wickipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet_Miers. It seems Dubya strikes again by attempting to place another of his incompetent friends in a position of power. I guess that all of the public scrutiny over the immense failures of his boy " Brownie" still wasn't enough to dissuade him from repeating his mistakes. I can't figure out why so many Republicans are concerned about her being appointed. She may not have a bit of judicial experience, but she's been a conservative bitch for her whole entire life. Isn't that enough to make them absolutely love her? And Condaleeza Rice happens to be one of her very close homies---'nuff said?

This video is dope...literally. Roll it up, light it up, and cue it up. This is on some Alice in Wonderland, acid freakout shit. Enjoy: http://www.1st-ave-machine.com/video/anime_final.htm.

A few more mp3 links, and I'm out:

Download a remix of "Yo Chevy" by Trill da Playa at Lemon-Red:
http://www.lemon-red.org/blog/. Don't worry---you won't need to purchase a Chevrolet to enjoy this track...it'll blow the backseat off of your Ford Escort, too....if you let it.

Cop "Live and Direct at the House of Hits" by Intelligent Hoodlum and Craig G at Unkut.com: http://www.unkut.com/.

A couple of tracks by Tajai (of Hieroglyphics) are available at So Much Silence:
http://www.somuchsilence.blogspot.com/.

Alright kids---in case I didn't make myself clear---today's lesson is to give Cee-Lo his propers, and don't pee on any electrical fences...until we meet again...

I Breathe Rusty Air Logic...It Becomes The Lung

A couple of weeks ago, I made a very sound investment. I bought a waffle with the likeness of Jesus burnt onto it. If you're looking for a relatively painless way to become rich, I highly recommend bidding on some of the Jesus food items that can be purchased on E-Bay. However, don't make the same mistake that I did---prevent disaster in your own life by heeding this cautionary tale...Earlier today, my friend and I smoked a gigantic shrub together. Motivated by an overwheming case of the munchies, she ate my sacred Aunt Jemima when I wasn't looking. I've been totally fuckin' bummed out all day as a result of this relatively significant loss in my life... The worst part is, I had some Pop Tarts with sprinkles, and would have shared.

The moral of this story is: DON'T GET HIGH WITH YOUR DUMBASS FRIENDS. Getting high by yourself may make you a lonely, loser weedaholic, but at least you'll have your Jesus toast for comfort food. I hope my friend feels damned guilty right now about having swallowed our Lord in one effortless gulp...

Potentially more shaken up on a spiritual level are the handful of Mormons who recently purchased the Latter-day Saints production, Sons of Provo. In a few cases, the Mormon-themed DVD was switched with a film about a gay porn star. Makes you wonder how many of these people watched this movie 'til the bitter end, just waiting to see when Jesus was gonna happen. Find out the whole story here: http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,615155174,00.html.

Ear Fuzz posted a couple of my favorite Aesop Rock joints, both of which appeared on the Euphony compilation. "Water" is one of the tracks, and the other is "Sinister", featuring Vast Aire and Yeshua DapoED: http://www.earfuzz.com/. The title of today's post comes from Vast's clever rhyming on the track. If I may say so, that brotha is straight poetic on the mic. "My poetry's precision is the sole definition of latitude"...

In contrast, Busta Rhymes' new track "Touch It" manages to score fairly low on the scale of lyrical brilliance. His rhymes on the cut are fairly weak, and the overall tone of the track is too much like his previous material to be considered particularly original or creative. That said, I'd go download the damn thing anyway. The music is pretty infectious, and Busta seems more like himself this time around than he has on any of his other recent efforts. You can cop this track at either Checkerboard Chimes ( http://checkerboardchimes.blogspot.com/) or Lemon-Red
( http://www.lemon-red.org/blog/).

Freemotion is back from a brief hiatus with several mpfrees. Some of the tracks featured are "Red Hot" by Jurassic 5 and the Dap-Kings, Pharrell Williams' "Maybe" remix, and a cover of "Summer Breeze" by Jackie Mittoo. Link for Freemotion is to your right.

At MP3 4U, you can download "Yo Yo Yo" by Medina Green and Mos Def: http://www.mp34u.com/songCard.php?posting=3177 . The song is actually quite a bit better than its monotonous title suggests.

From the Polo Fleece to the Jesus Piece is featuring three solid tracks from the upcoming Slum Village album: http://jesuspiece.blogspot.com/.

Check out The Smoking Section for lots of free songs, as well as several full albums available for download: http://smokingsection.blogspot.com/2005/10/less-filling.html.

Before I go, I'd like to apologize for the fact that it's damn near impossible for most of you to leave a comment on this blog. The comment spam I was getting was totally ridiculous. As I've said before, my readership doesn't usually seem to have a whole lot to say, but I still feel badly that you can't cuss me out if you so desire. I'll try to make that option available again soon, but for now you're just gonna have to bite your tongue, or insult me via e-mail...

I Had To Lose An Eye To See Clearly

What if Gary Coleman and the devil had a baby?...

It's pretty much an undeniable fact that Bushwick Bill is one crazy-ass mutha---and if you disagree, you may want to consider having your own head checked, freak. As one-third of the legendary Geto Boys (along with Willie D and Scarface), Bill remains one of the most intriguing characters to ever grace the pages of rap history. At this point, I'm considering launching into a boring commentary about the life and times of Mr. Bill, but I don't really want that---and hell---neither do you. Instead, I'm going to present a few random facts about the Bushman, and let you fill in the blanks (if you happen to be fascinated by diminutive rappers, like I am):

*Bill lost his right eye to a bullet in 1991, due to an unfortunate incident involving his former girlfriend. When he recounted the experience on his track "Ever So Clear", he explained that he asked his girlfriend to shoot him, and when she refused, he ultimately threatened to drop their baby. His injury allegedly ensued during the subsequent tussle. The graphic scene following the episode was immortalized on the cover of the Geto Boys' LP, We Can't Be Stopped. The image depicts Willie D and Scarface wheeling Bill on a hospital gurney right after the shooting. Not all of this was in vain though, especially since God talked to Bill afterwards, and helped him to use his inner eye to his supreme advantage.

*In 1995, he legally changed his name to Dr. Wolfgang Von Bushwickin The Barbarian Mother-Funky Stay High Dollar Billster.

*During a number of interviews, he has completely flipped the fuck out---including the last one he did for XXL several months ago.

*He's a dwarf, dammit. How many midget rappers can you name?

Billster's most recent projects include his newest solo joint, Gutta Mix, and the Geto Boys reunion album, The Foundation. One of the new Geto Boys tracks--"Leanin' On You"---features a sample of "If You Move I'll Fall" by Soul Children. You can currently download this track at The Number One Songs In Heaven, and you probably should:
http://www.londonlee.com/blog.html.

Listen to and learn about the Geto Boys here:
http://www.mp3.com/geto-boys/artists/35/summary.html.

More Bushwick stuff here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushwick_Bill

and also at this location:
http://www.mp3.com/bushwick-bill/artists/21579/discography.html.

In other musical news:

Treat Williams is doing a pretty dope retrospective of 90's hip-hop. Recently available are mp3s by Poor Righteous Teachers, Masta Ace, K-Solo, Kool G Rap, and more. Treat is permanently attached to my right...catch the link over there.

Spine Magazine is featuring a lot of nice tracks right now. I'm personally diggin' "My Favorite Mutiny" by The Coup (w/ Talib Kweli and Black Thought):
http://www.spinemagazine.com/index.php?task=.

Moistworks has a few Gravediggaz songs available for download. They also posted RZA and MF Doom's "Biochemical Equation", so if you were negligent in getting it last time, you know what to do:http://www.moistworks.com/.

At Can I Bring My Gat?, you can download a few mellow tracks by Silent Poets:
http://www.abitnice.com/canibringmygat/.

And finally, I'm gonna throw you a curve ball, but the Elbow tracks posted at Borrowed Tunes are definitely worth a listen. Some of you may already be familiar with their music, especially the song "Fugitive Motel", a track that was remixed by RJD2 for a 12" release by the group. This is my unhip-hop shit of this particular moment: http://www.borrowedtunes.com/. Hopefully you're not too gangsta to recognize...

Born Again

Those of you who know how to adequately employ your powers of perception have probably figured out that I haven't done any posts lately. I finally have all of my computer equipment, and I'm finished moving most of my precious shit into the new crib. I'd like to say that things will now be back to normal, but we both know how unlikely and misleading that shit is... Anyway, I should really be unpacking my possessions right now---you know, so I can figure out if I really need to store two or three record crates in the bathroom or not. I feel like I just emptied the contents of a mansion into a shed, and I'm truly not sure where the hell to put everything---but that's personal problem type shit, now isn't it?

Anyway, some really earth-shattering stuff has been happening in the universe since I've been away. For example, did you know that Layzie Bone recently had his finger bitten by a disgruntled fan? : http://www.rapnews.net/News/2005/09/30/Layzie/. I've actually missed staying current with important news items such as this, but then again, there is that old adage about no news being good news. Since world events have been pretty depressing recently, perhaps I should be relieved that I've been pretty much oblivious this past week. Thankfully, I just found this site (http://www.happynews.com/index.htm), which features nothing but happy things that are happening all across the globe. Perhaps this is the remedy for my toxically pessimistic viewpoint...

I'm still trying to catch up on all of the good music I've slept on lately, but here are a few gems I've unearthed so far:

The Low End Theory has a great post featuring mp3s and biographical info on talented MCs who are now deceased (Biggie, ODB, Charizma, Subroc, Big L, etc.). Catch the permanent link to your right.

Ear Fuzz has a couple of super-funky tracks by a cat named Del Jones. I don't know diddly shit about the dude, and I don't have time to find out right now. Definitely check this out though, and Google him later: http://www.earfuzz.com/.

Cocaine Blunts is featuring "Should I?", an unreleased track by The Roots and Project Pat: http://www.cocaineblunts.com/new/index.html.

Cuban Links has been posting a lot of good ish lately, including "Window Shopper" by 50 Cent and a Green Lantern remix of Rick James' track "Mary Jane":
http://onlybuilt4.blogspot.com/.

Filthy Choice has a classic Funkadelic cut from Maggot Brain, "Back In Our Minds":
http://filthychoice.blogspot.com/.

As many of you already know, Prince Paul's latest offering is called Hip-Hop Gold Dust. Straight Bangin' is offering two selections from the album---"Monolith" w/ Last Emperor and "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark", a Gravediggaz track featuring Craig Gee:
http://www.straightbangin.blogspot.com/. Additionally, Soul Sides has posted two different joints from the effort----LA Symphony's "Broken Now", and "My Mindstate" by De La Soul: http://soul-sides.com/. There are also some excellent Curtis Mayfield songs currently available for download there, so don't neglect to check those out, too.

Diggin' Music is featuring a great post on Martian Gang, the combined efforts of DJ Real and Shin-Ski. There are a few mp3s available, as well as an informative interview about the duo: http://www.digginmusic.blogspot.com/.

Last, but not least, peace and thank you to one of my favorite mp3 blogs, No Frontin', for posting a link to Souled On: http://www.songz.blogspot.com/.

Hope that momentarily cured you of your separation anxiety, my friends...

A Fake Assed Badge And A Gun In Yo Hand

Remember being taught in elementary school that policemen are your friends? During these profound lesssons on how helpful police officers can be, the other side of the coin (brutality, corruption, ignorance, intolerance, abuse of authority, etc.) is conveniently never mentioned. That's mainly because parents and teachers love to lie like hell, and part of becoming an adult involves being forced to come to this realization. However, the children in this video are receiving a crash course in the darker side of law enforcement at a relatively young age:
http://www.kontraband.com/show/show.asp?ID=2102&rtn=main-topten.
Be prepared---this clip is humorous on one level, and fuckin' disturbing on another.

So I'm waiting for HP to send me a new monitor at some point next week. Until then, I have to use a really old school computer to do any updates. This, in addition to the added pressures of moving, is making it pretty damned difficult for me to post very often. If you think that I'm just making stupid excuses, you are completely accurate. I'm actually lying about all of this, because I'm trying to conceal the fact that I'm secretly spending hours playing with these:
http://www.trainupachild.com/.

Either way, amidst all of this chaos, I did still manage to find you a few good mp3s. They are getting closer to expiration as we speak, so make sure to visit these sites right away if you are interested...

Moistworks is offering a nice collection of "strut music". If you don't know what I mean, check it for yourself: http://www.moistworks.com/. This is classic material...

At Filthy Choice, you can download two nice remixes of songs by the Pharcyde:
http://filthychoice.blogspot.com/.

And finally, Checkerboard Chimes has a dope Jay Dee/Pharoahe Monche track---"We Must Be In Love": http://checkerboardchimes.blogspot.com/.

Stay tuned---back soon with more bass in your face, and chrome for your dome...

Before You Lock My Love Away

I have an unproven theory that David Banner suffers from Irritable Bowel Syndrome. There's no other conceivable explanation for some of the facial expressions he makes while being photographed...

Anyway, I have to admit that some of the hip-hop that's come out of the South in recent years has struck me as faceless and generic. As usual, the industry has latched onto a hot commodity and exploited the hell out of it. Hell no, rap music isn't dead...it's just being severely oppressed. There are a host of artists now who represent the southern demographic, but the quantity has all but eradicated the quality. Mediocre. Formulaic. Uninspired. I have complete respect for any commercial artist who is able to maintain their artistic integrity in the current climate of dollars over sense. While David Banner's songs sometimes fall into the boring and tired category, I've always respected the man for the handful of meaningful tracks that he includes on every release. "Bloody War" w/ BG is one of those tracks---and for a limited time only---you can cop that shit at the Razorblade. Link to your right.

Download everything you possibly can at Spine Magazine, and make sure you don't forget to check out "Game of Life" by AZ:
http://www.spinemagazine.com/index.php?task=.

Am I High? (yes I am) is featuring a remix of Common's song "Testify", featuring Darien Brockington: http://amihigh.blogspot.com/.

If you've never visited the Gallery of the Absurd, there's no time like the present:
http://galleryoftheabsurd.typepad.com/.

I think that's all for now. My PC was jacked up for a couple of days, so I haven't had much time to check out what's been happenin'. I finally got things up and running a few hours ago, after being on the phone with HP's technical support for a couple days straight. I will post again soon, but for a week or two, I will probably be around less frequently. I'm in the process of moving, and I have all kinds of hellish shit to do and transitions to make...but I promise to hit you up whenever I can.

You May Say I'm A Dreamer (But I'm Not The Only One)

Originally, my plan was that John Lennon's picture would accompany this post. However, the vast majority of the photographs I uncovered during my search were sort of unfriendly to the eye. In quite a few of them, he looks like an awkward byproduct of the mating of Jesus with a rabbi. Disturbingly ironic, huh? Then, I kept encountering the image of him naked on a bed with his wife, Yoko Ono. Something about him posing in that fetal position was a always a little strange for me. I ended up deciding that the Souled On Image Of The Day award should be granted to Donny Hathaway, one of the greatest soul brothers to have ever walked the earth. I gave John his props in the title instead, because his lyrical talent beats the hell out of his physical appearance (any day of the week).

So, even though it seems like I'm probably high and just rambling, there really was a point to the whole John Lennon thing. I've been thinking about John a lot today, because I just read some new material by Steve Lightfoot this afternoon. "Who the hell is Steve Lightfoot?," you ask. He's your mama...either that, or he's an odd conspiracy theorist who pushes pamphlets which emphatically assert that Stephen King murdered John Lennon. Yes---that Stephen King...I've found Lightfoot to be oddly intriguing since I first encountered his conspiracy theories a few years ago. He's actually a rather intelligent dude...but damn...he is simultaneously wack as crack. Currently, he's proposing a new theory about the disaster in New Orleans. As always, he manages to be both paranoid and insightful: http://www.lennonmurdertruth.com/index.asp.

Donny Hathaway's song "Giving Up" is available for free download at Fifteen Minutes to Listen: http://15minutestolisten.blogspot.com/.

10 tracks highlighting the production skills of DJ Premier can be downloaded at The Low End Theory. Link to your right.

No Frontin' is featuring "Barely In Love", a track from Q-Tip's unreleased project as Kamaal the Abstract: http://www.songz.blogspot.com/.

If you cop the Q-Tip joint, it might get your mind right to listen to some Sa-Ra. Two of their tracks from last year are available at Ear Fuzz: http://www.earfuzz.com/. If you like their shit, you should start diggin' for their 12" on pink vinyl.

Checkerboard Chimes posted the mp3 for "Slow Blues", a song by Vast Aire from the upcoming release Think Differently Music: Wu-Tang Meets the Indie Culture:
http://checkerboardchimes.blogspot.com/. And it's finally here---the RZA/MF Doom track, "Biochemical Equation".

Scissorkick is featuring Nicolay's "Light It Up": http://www.scissorkick.com/.

Download Anthony Hamilton's "Can't Let Go" at Notes From A Different Kitchen. Linkage to the right.

At The Number One Songs In Heaven, you can acquire "The Saddest Story Ever Told", an extremely powerful song performed by Mattie Moultrie: http://www.londonlee.com/blog.html.

Hopefully, this shit will keep you busy for a minute. No post tomorrow, because I have less important things to do---like get high as hell in honor of the day of my birth. Don't worry about sending a gift or anything...I'm just hoping that someone in my life loves me enough to get me a busty boobs birthday cake: http://www.thecakefairy.co.uk/pages/bustyboobspage.html.

Open The Third Eye of This Poet

I had planned to do this particular post yesterday, but Blogger was really fuckin' with me. I'm slightly technophobic to begin with, so this sort of thing just ends up exaggerating my neuroses. Obviously, things are going a little more smoothly today, and I apologize for any undue stress that the delay may have caused. I'm okay---are you okay? Anyway, I'm going to type very feverishly now to get this published, before these links have a chance to expire and retire:

Music: There are several more mp3s available for download on Freemotion (link to your right). Tracks by Atmosphere, Mathematics, Little Brother, and more...Make sure you cop "Lost" by Cool Calm Pete...my inner dork embraces this track completely.

If you've been paying attention, then you'll know why I'm hyped about the fact that Last Night An Mp3 Saved My Wife is featuring Sly and the Family Stone's "Spaced Cowboy":
http://lastnightanmp3savedmywife.blogspot.com/.

Stylus Magazine made my week (musically speaking) when they posted "Anthem for the End of the World", a track by underground MC Pumpkinhead. My girl Jean Grae (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Grae) also put her lyrical blessing on the track, making the overall listening experience that much more enjoyable. You can also download another Meters song, "Just Kissed My Baby":
http://www.stylusmagazine.com/ipod/.

No Frontin' is featuring a dope Ratatat remix of Raekwon's "Cuttin' It Up":
http://www.songz.blogspot.com/.

Art: Check out the gallery of Chicago artist Terry Dixon here: http://www.artistterry.com/index_01.html. If you hadn't anticipated this fact already, I'm definitely not an art critic. All I can tell you is that I find much of his work to be visually appealing and....well...soulful. Hopefully worth a moment of your time...

Politics: Here is a list of 25 of the stupidest things that have been said in the wake of Hurricane Katrina:http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/currentevents/a/katrinaquotes.htm?nl=1. True to form, most of these stupid utterances came from jackasses we've elected to be the voice of the people.

Life: I just discovered Exploratorium, and it's cool as cat shit. I don't know where that metaphor came from...feline feces doesn't really make a good standard for comparison....at all. Anyway, this site is an online museum of science, art, and human perception, and it's pretty damn fascinating:http://www.exploratorium.edu/. Get off the pipe for once, and seek to further your intellectual development...

Make Your Ears Want To Bleed

So yesterday, my flu (I'm sort of attached to it now) officially made the journey from my head to my lungs. Since then, I've been blasting it with cowboy killers, unclean city air, and weed smoke. So far, however, I have not been at all successful in forcing the damn thing to leave my premises. That's right---my virus and I have been getting high as hell together, and now it's stuck on stupid, refusing to budge. Ugh.... Needless to say, I'm short on wit, and long on complaints. I respect you far too much to ask you to tolerate more of my incessant whining, so straight to the links we go...and let's do this damn thing properly:

Laura Bush recently demonstrated how she could be married to such a complete idiot. Birds of a feather flock together, so to speak. Watch this brief clip in which she screws up the name of the hurricane...twice: http://www.i-am-bored.com/bored_link.cfm?link_id=12763. This is a MAJOR faux pas as far as I'm concerned---especially considering the fact that the Bush clan is still trying to pretend that they give some kind of shit about this disaster.

In this video, Taco-Man pokes fun at the Trinity of Evil Bastards---George Bush, Rush Limbaugh, and Pat Robertson: http://www.funnyflash.com/details.php?id=187&t=1126660618.

Dave Chappelle update---you'll have to get your ass off the couch to see him this time around, but he is currently doing a comedy tour (hopefully near you):
http://www.nobodysmiling.com/hiphop/news/85097.php.

Freemotion posted several mp3s yesterday, including tracks by Madlib, KMD, Lootpack, and The Meters. Link to your right.

Fifteen Minutes To Live has a handful of new songs you can download. Some of the artists featured are Kev Brown, Cage, and Rob Swift:
http://15minutestolive.blogspot.com/2005/09/cage-scenester-buy-hells-winter.html.

Probably because I'm a total fuckin' nerd, I've been a big fan of Blockhead's music for quite some time now. I have a deep appreciation for the production work he's done for Aesop Rock, and my vinyl copy of Blockhead's Broke Beats is scratched to hell and back. His last official release was Music By Cavelight, and his LP Downtown Science is scheduled to be released next month. Both efforts have more trip than hip in their hop (if ya know what I mean)...but it's all good music. You can download "Expiration Date" at Earfuzz: http://www.earfuzz.com/,
and "Long Walk Home" is posted on Checkerboard Chimes:
http://checkerboardchimes.blogspot.com/.

Speaking of noteworthy producers, you can cop a couple of tracks by Nujabes at Diggin' Music: http://www.digginmusic.blogspot.com/. Two Herbaliser mp3s are also currently available.

Spine Magazine is featuring new stuff from ODB and Redman:
http://www.spinemagazine.com/index.php?task=.

Someone will probably be offended by this (I'll bet that happens a lot), but I've always thought of Obie Trice as being kinda lame somehow. However, against my better judgment, I find myself really diggin' his sound from time to time. If you haven't heard his song "Wanna Know" yet, you can download the mp3 at Razorblade Runner. Don't pass up the opportunity...this track simply has me bouncing off the walls and shit. You know where the link is...

My flu has just requested a little smokin' session. On that note, I bid you farewell...

Human Diversity Makes Tolerance A Requirement For Survival

I had to quarantine myself at home this weekend because some dirtbag gave me the flu. I ended up getting exceptionally bored, so I watched Ego Trip's Race-O-Rama series for the 17th time. That's a funny thing about being a weedhead...you can experience something more than once, and yet, it seems brand new every single time. Anyway, despite being stoned on Nyquil for the past few days, I did somewhat pay attention to the episode about white people acquiring ghetto passes. In order to get a ghetto pass, the general perception is that you have to be one cool-ass white person. This made me start thinking about the whole situation from a reversed perspective---what's the criteria for a black person scoring a trailer park pass? I still haven't exactly figured out the formula, but I did manage to compose this list, based upon my own observations...

Top 9 Black Folk Who've Been Granted A Trailer Park Pass:

9) Redd Foxx/Fred Sanford---I don't know...must be a rusty junk thang.

8) Will Smith---large dopey ears = nonthreatening African-American male.

7) Michael Jackson---white people like beating it, too.

6) Bill Cosby---it's sacrilegious for a person of any race to dislike pudding pops.

5) Oprah Winfrey---she's every woman, and a handful of white dudes, too.

4) Various black athletes---in the grand scheme of things, sports are usually a higher priority than racist ideology.

3) Black Velvet---get all juiced up, and wake up in the morning with your sister in bed next to you...yee haw.

2) Jimi Hendrix---the man transcends all space, race and time.

1) Jesus Christ---okay...this one is sort of a cheat, because people in the trailer park think that Jesus is a white guy. But fuck it---there's still no better choice for the prime spot.

Note: Honorable mentions were awarded to Condoleeza Rice and Colin Powell. I realize they're both pretty white, but I had to disqualify them, because no self-respecting hillbilly gives a fuck about either one of them.

You have to admit, though--the people on this list have really accomplished something. It's hard being black in a trailer park without getting shot by a BB gun, or being hogtied and eaten by some dude who thinks Ted Nugent is God.

If I haven't said it before, I'm saying it now----please don't ever take me too seriously. I swear I'm not actually a racist asshole. For your information, I have a lot of purple friends. And truthfully, I've lived everywhere from the hoods to the woods...so if you are reading this in a trailer, holla---I feel your plight, man.

One more weird race relations piece...Black People Love Us is one of the strangest sites I've ever witnessed: http://www.blackpeopleloveus.com/. Meet John, Sally, and all of their black friends...these people look like they are totally spaced.

I get grouchy when I'm sick, and as a result, I haven't been too pleased with the mp3s I've found the past couple of days. There have been a few good posts, though...

Can I Bring My Gat? is featuring some music by artists from New Orleans. Download mp3s by Lee Dorsey, Allen Toussaint, Aaron Neville, and The Meters:

http://www.abitnice.com/canibringmygat/.

More mp3s by Toussaint and The Meters are available at Soul Sides:

http://soul-sides.com/. The posts on both of these blogs are great, but I'm still disappointed that I haven't seen any features on my very favorite singer from New Orleans...Irma Thomas.

Jungle Mission posted a nice old school track by Ice Cube. Link to the right.

Finally, Nomadic Trackz has a free mp3 to download that's a remix of Run-DMC's "My Adidas". Warning: this remix is not for the thug in you. I personally like it a warped way, but it's a little too pretty or something. See for yourself: http://www.nomadictrackz.com/.

If you think the spacing is screwed up on this post you're absolutely right. Blogger sucks, and so do my computer skills...

Which Road Leads To Damnation?

When disaster strikes, a perfect opportunity always arises for the Christian right to advance their hateful and misguided agenda. Because they believe themselves to be the most righteous souls on Earth, they are inclined to inform the rest of us about the nature of God's intentions. Coincidentally, God hates the same people that they do---African-Americans, gay people, poor people, Jews, and/or anyone who has a philosophy that's different from their own. In the aftermath of Katrina, a host of foolish and biased sentiments have been expressed by Christian conservatives. Some undoubtedly have more finesse then others, but most of them are on some undercover KKK shit...minus the sheets, of course. Here are just a few examples:

Barbara Bush has expressed her privileged white person opinion that many of the hurricane's survivors are now "better off": http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0906katrina-barbara06-ON.html. The accomodations are so superior, in fact, that even the poor women who were raped in the Superdome are astounded by the generous hospitality they've been shown.

This article on SOHH explains why some conservatives are saying that hip-hop culture is partially to blame for the disaster: http://blogs.sohh.com/katrina/archives/2005/09/hiphop_culture_partially_blame.html.

Finally, there's this crazy lady: http://www.haywired.com/goldchrist/racism.html. She contends that the hurricane was God's way of punishing all of the black gangsters in New Orleans, especially the ones who listen to rap music. Her theory isn't even worth debunking, as she so obviously had her head up her ass the day her god was handing out wisdom and common sense.

Damn.....times like these really make you wonder how and why we ended up on such a fucked up planet. Scientists generally utilize evolutionary theory to explain the process of our creation. A number of religious fanatics are tending to favor the intelligent design theory of existence, despite all realistic evidence to the contrary. And now, Cyberpope is proposing his own theory-that the world was created by an entity known as Sadistic Racist Retarded Baby: http://cyber-pope.blogspot.com/2005/08/not-so-intelligent-design-sadistic.html. As he describes it, there is no better way to explain the creation of things like hangovers, McDonald's, Dido, mullets, slavery, SPAM, televangelists, etc.

One of the reasons why I've always liked RZA is because the brotha is definitely not from this particular planet. He may hail from strange origins, but an average earthling is something he will never be. Spine Magazine is currently featuring one of his tracks---"Outlines". While you're there, you might also want to check out some of the other mp3s they've posted recently---2 NAS/DJ Clue tracks, an unreleased song by De la Soul, a couple of cuts from Fatlip's album, and more: http://www.spinemagazine.com/index.php?task=.

Soul Sides posted "Katrina Klap" by Mos Def, as well as "George Bush Doesn't Care About Black People" by legendary underground crew, K-Otix: http://soul-sides.com/. For your listening pleasure, Mista T (aka Treat Williams) also posted more tracks by K-Otix on his blog. Hook up with Treat to your right.

At Lemon-Red, you can cop "Holiday" by Roy Ayers (DJ Spinna vocal mix): http://www.lemon-red.org/blog/.

This is a pretty interesting interview with Kool Herc. He discusses a variety of topics, including the current state of hip-hop and his favorite mcs: http://www.freep.com/entertainment/music/hec8w_20050908.htm.

Before I go, I just wanna give a shout to Miss Maple. She's been one of my loyal readers for quite some time now, and she deserves to get a little bit of hype and type for her dedication. Peace, girl...

Apologies and Regrets

Don't worry...I haven't forgotten about you. And yes...I miss you, too. I will definitely update by late tomorrow night, so hit me up on Saturday morning---after you have some cereal, walk the dog, watch cartoons, etc. Hope to see you then...Scholar

P.S. I've included a self-portrait since one of my readers e-mailed me, requesting to know what I look like. Surely you will agree---I am looking quite fly in this pic...

Silence Is A Source Of Great Strength

Since I've been ranting and raving so much lately, I thought it might be nice if I just shut the fuck up for once. Consequently, I'm gonna let these links pretty much speak for themselves:

Andre 3000 is working on an animated series that will air on Cartoon Network. Dre will be doing the voices, as well as the musical production. Article here:
http://www.nobodysmiling.com/hiphop/news/85065.php.

Speaking of collaborations between hip-hop and animation, The Low End Theory is featuring 3 tracks from the Danger Doom album. I provided links to a couple of these songs in earlier posts, but now you can also cop "Bada Bing". Link to your right.

Free Tacoma is featuring Kanye West's "Heard 'Em Say (New Orleans 2005 remix)":
http://champion.biznautics.com/.

Unlike NBC, Jay-Z says he supports the now infamous statements that Kanye made during Friday night's telethon to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina. Hova is also expressing a desire to speak with Diddy about creating a fund to assist African-Americans in crisis:
http://www.billboard.com/bb/daily/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001055326.

This National Geographic article from October 2004 predicts the vulnerablity of New Orleans in the event of a hurricane strike. This is just eerie:
http://205.188.130.53/ngm/0410/feature5/index.html?fs=www7.nationalgeographic.com.

A gallery of photos detailing the extent of the damage done by Katrina:
http://www.nola.com/hurricane/photos/.

I am completely hooked on Crooks and Liars. If you aren't one of the 67,000 people who visit this site every day, you definitely should be:
http://www.crooksandliars.com/.

Am I High? is featuring a dope remix of Three 6 Mafia's "Stay Fly": http://amihigh.blogspot.com/.

Checkerboard Chimes has several new mp3s available for download. If nothing else, make sure you check Little Brother's song "Beautiful Morning": http://checkerboardchimes.blogspot.com/.

Sometimes less is definitely more...don't you agree?

Those Who Work The Hardest Get The Least

Those of you who've been hangin' with me for a minute may remember the post I wrote in honor of Independence Day. You know---the day when we all sit around a picnic table with our dysfunctional-ass families, celebrating the fact that we are fortunate enough to live in a free country. My post that day contained some silly pothead humor, but part of the underlying premise was to call into question what freedom really means in today's world. As Americans, we are asked to understand the concept of freedom in relative terms. We know we ain't allowed to do whatever the hell we want---that's not at all what American freedom implies. Be real---prisons have become a capitalistic enterprise, and even those who commit nonviolent, consensual crimes (prostitution, drug use, etc.) often face lengthy periods of detainment under today's regulations. Instead, being free in America is understood to mean living in a society that isn't run by an evil dictator who seeks to manipulate, harm, and oppress his or her people. It means being able to worship and love whomever, and whatever, one wants. Hmm...it appears as though freedom is becoming little more than an illusion in this country---the captain of our ship has taken on the features of a wretched imperialist, possessing one hell of a corrupt agenda. So how true does freedom ring at this particular point in time?

One of the unfortunate truths about our current socio-political climate is that anyone who speaks out against the government is accused of being unpatriotic...or even a Communist. This notion is in no way congruent with the values upon which this country was established. If you disagree with what's going on here, people often feel inclined to tell you to leave the country. That way, this former melting pot can separate out anyone who doesn't see things the George Bush way. So fuck diversity, right? Man---don't let these con artists fool you...a true patriot fights for the integrity of the nation. If you are in disagreement with current policy, now is not the time to be silenced by that kind of propaganda...

So now it's Labor Day, another holiday wrought with its share of twisted irony. As far as I'm concerned, this is a day to celebrate and honor those who bust their asses on a daily basis to provide goods and services to the American people. Problem is, a really high percentage of those individuals will have to work today, in spite of it being their so-called day. Other working class people might get the day off, but will have to go without pay. Loss of a day's wages can be pretty devastating when you're counting pennies to maintain a budget.

In actuality, this holiday is more of a cause to celebrate amongst those who have a good enough job to score the day off, with pay. I'm one of those lucky assholes now, but it sure took a long time to get there. I guess that's why now, I hate to see anyone looking down on, or disrespecting another person because of what they do for a living. Believe it or not, that single mother working at Wal-mart has enough to deal with, without being shit on by you...

So, I implore you...when you stop to get gas today, consider making eye contact with the cashier. Or get way the fuck out of your comfort zone, and smile at the attitudinal bitch who works the drive-thru window at KFC. Give the waitress at Denny's a tip for once, you greedy bastard. Put a little bit of humility and soul into Labor Day this year, and be grateful you're ass is being served...

Many thanks to all the workers who are unsung heroes in this nation...

You're All Alone In These Streets, Cousin

Is it really all that surprising that our government is royally fucking up the process in providing relief to the citizens who've been affected by Hurricane Katrina? While this disaster can't be directly blamed on George Bush, the re-victimization of these people by the government is undoubtedly an enormous failure of his administration. At this point, New Orleans might fare better if it were part of a third world country. Here's one of many articles detailing the criticism that Bush is currently receiving: http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/01/news/prexy.php.

Recent events beg the question--- if it happened to be mainly rich white people who were dying, might that do anything to increase the response time?

If you haven't heard Ray Nagin, the mayor of New Orleans, express his anger about the situation, you can listen to some audio clips and read a detailed article here: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9172420/. Through the same link, you can also watch a video of FEMA's director, Michael Brown, where you can witness (up close and personal) how much he really doesn't give a shit about any of this...

I've heard a number of people in the last few days suggesting that other countries are not doing enough to assist us during this crisis. Too bad we've burned a bridge or two. This widespread poll (taken and published by the BBC) may be relatively indicative of the current attitudes that foreign countries have in regards to the United States: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/programmes/wtwta/poll/html/default.stm .

Call me a pessimist, but...I am certain that George Bush has no intentions of handling this catastrophe appropriately. His next power move is simply to tell more lies, and repeat more idiotic slogans that he hopes the American people will memorize (and eventually believe). By definition, a logical fallacy is an error in reasoning that leads to invalid arguments. All politicians utilize them occasionally, but the Bush administration has made the fallacious argument a core foundation of their empty rhetoric and brainless ideology. Some of their favorite fallacies include (but are not limited to): argument by gibberish, weasel wording, argument by half truth, and hypothesis contrary to fact. If you'd like to become even more adept at deconstructing political spin, here is a pretty exhaustive list of arguments that are fallacious and illogical:
http://www.don-lindsay-archive.org/skeptic/arguments.html You'll be hearing more of these in the near future, so make sure you get your mind right ahead of time.

Before I leave the political arena, have you ever visited WebPetitions.com? You can sign petitions that have already been posted, and/or create your own. There have been some really weird submissions lately. One guy is trying to get people to officially add the letter "c" to the beginning of the word rap. I'm convinced that this person is a complete asshole...and so is the idiot who wants your support in getting girls to fart more. I wish that I was making this up, but I'm not. Obviously, most people are kinda dumb, and as a result, this site ends up being a sad commentary on humanity....but interesting, nonetheless: http://www.webpetitions.com/.

Okay...enough sermonizing already. I'm hitting you with some music links, and I'm gone:

More Blackalicious tracks from the upcoming LP, The Craft: Download 2 tracks from the album ("My Pen and Pad" and "Give It To You") at Freemotion. Link, as always, is to your right. Marathonpacks is hosting another one of their new songs, "World of Vibration":
http://marathonpacks.blogspot.com/.

The Broke Bboys are hosting three tracks by Swindle, who mashed up Bob Marley's music with Mobb Deep's lyrics. The resulting project was entitled Bobb Deep. I decided in advance that I would not like this, but it ended up exceeding my expectations: http://brokebboys.blogspot.com/. See what happens when Queensbridge meets Kingston...

Alot of heads I know still aren't up on ClokWorx. Some recognition is beyond overdue, because these guys are fairly intelligent lyricists, and they've teamed up with a number of talented producers from hip hop's underground. At Download.com, you can cop a free mp3 of a track called "Robots": http://music.download.com/clokworx/3600-8543_32-100782862.html?tag=listing_song_artist.

Finally, there are a couple more mp3s that you can download from the upcoming album with GZA and DJ Muggs. Checkerboard Chimes has "Advanced Pawns (Royal)", a song that sounds like something you've heard before, but the beat is still undeniably knockin'. RZA also makes a guest appearance on the track, so I can't be too mad at it: http://checkerboardchimes.blogspot.com/.
And Spine Magazine is featuring a different track by the duo, "General Principle": http://www.spinemagazine.com/index.php?task=.

Be back at ya on the day of labor, or maybe even before...peace.

If Anybody Gets Funked Up (It's Gonna Be You)

While I was preparing for this post, I was searching for a recent photo of George Clinton that would be somewhat flattering to His Majesty of Funk. Unfortunately, since the beginning of the millenium, the brother has begun to look a bit stranger than usual. For one thing, in a lot of the pictures I came across, he appeared to be about 4 or 5 months pregnant. I'm really not sure what the deal is with that, cuz I ain't heard a damn thing about him having a baby. All I can figure is that the kid was boarded on the mothership before the media had an opportunity to exploit the situation---ya feel me? Don't bother taking immediate offense to any of this---I think the man is a god. These are just some random thoughts roaming around the hallowed hallways of my brain...nothing more, nothing less.

Anyway, there really is a point to this whole George Clinton/Funkadelic thing. PBS will be airing Parliament Funkadelic: One Nation Under A Groove on 10/11/05 at 10pm. Mark your Hello Kitty wall calendar or whatever. New Funk Times has more detailed information about the documentary, which will be part of the "Independent Lens" series on PBS:
http://www.newfunktimes.com/.

While we're still on the subject of funky stuff, you can download a free song by Stymie & The Pimp Jones Luv Orchestra at MP3 4U. Who can resist a track called "What Senor Snatch Likes"?: http://www.mp34u.com/songCard.php?posting=3088.

Equally funky are the most recent tracks posted by DJ Haze at The Low End Theory. Catch the link to your right.

Speaking of links, did you happen to notice that I did a small update on my list last night? Most of the sites I added are people who've supported this blog through links and/or dropping kind words in the comment section. Much gratitude to all of you. Treat and Lemon---your links were sadly overdue...apologies.

One of hip hop's most famous photographers has a new book being released in the near future. Public Access: Ricky Powell Photographs 1985-2000 will be coming out this fall. Learn more about the book and visit his gallery here:
http://www.rickypowell.com/about/index.html.

Download "Road to Zion" by Damien Marley and Nas over at Cuban Links: http://onlybuilt4.blogspot.com/.

After I copped those songs with Bill Cosby dissing drugs, I started considering getting sober. Bill can be pretty persuasive sometimes---tell me you've never eaten Jello pudding. To add insult to injury, I took a quiz to assess whether or not I had a substance abuse problem. There was a perplexing question about whether your bong is taller than your dog. I don't have a dog, but even if I had a Great Dane, the answer would probably still have to be yes. So I started feeling kind of guilty, until I came across this article about famous stoner scientists: http://www.cannabisculture.com/news/scientists. At that point, it occurred to me...fuck yeah...I'm a total pothead genius. I mean, just as one example, give me a cylindrical obect of any sort, and I'll turn that bitch into a feasible smoking device. So fuck being "on the wagon"---I probably don't even know where the wagon is located at this particular moment in time.

The world has been so screwed up lately, it's just scary. I'm ready to jump on the mothership with the product of George Clinton's immaculate conception. The Number One Songs In Heaven is featuring a song called "Oh Lord (You Gotta Help Me)" that somewhat reflects the way I feel right now about the state of things on this planet: http://www.londonlee.com/blog.html. I've also been listening to Solomon Burke's track "None Of Us are Free", and it seems equally representative of my frustrations: http://www.anti.com/media.php?id=6.

Things just keep getting more and more chaotic...

According to this article by Fox News, Fats Domino and New Orleans soul queen Irma Thomas are both currently missing in the floods: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,168122,00.html.

Dave's Daily is hosting a video compilation of the damage done by Katrina. Peep it here, even though the soundtrack is kind of annoying. The footage alone will break your heart---why throw Enya into the mix?: http://www.davesdaily.com/videoclips/112-hurricane-katrina-compilation.htm.

If you are in a financial position to provide some assistance, here is a list of charities that are providing relief: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7BDFAC4D5A-4DAE-45B1-A0FF-510C17F41F1A%7D&siteid=google&dist=. You know damn well that our government can only do so much to help, considering all the money we need to explore space and fight our misguided "war on terror"...