Just An Expression

As I sit here in my room sifting through LP's and mp3's for an upcoming Valentine's Night DJ set, I realized that throughout the ages people have been singing songs about love. After all, music is just an expression/interpretation of the world we live in, and the questions people have about true love, and finding it and keeping it are on-going and never ending. Love is a central obsession in many parts of our world, and especially in developed nations where people have little to worry about other than those silly feeling of theirs. The concept of love finds it's way into just about every aspect of popular culture, and we learn to except it. For example, in film even the most violent of action heroes can find a scene or two to make-out/get-it-on with the vulnerable love interest, which is absurd and disgusting when you think about it.

The thing is, love is not something that happens to you, it's something that happens within you. Introspection combined with consideration for others are the keys to unlocking that mysterious magic called love, which is why guys like Flavor Flav, Brett Michaels, and Ray J could go ten seasons on VH1 and still never find someone to love.

When a person is capable of love, and finds love, then it comes down to the hardest part, keeping it. Since love is about sharing, and not about possession, the only way for two people to possibly stay in love is through communication, which brings me back to where I started with this post; music as an expression.

In 1971, one of soul music's great survivors, Bobby Womack released an album titled Communication, that yielded the solid "That's the Way I Feel About 'Cha". I feel that this song represents a realistic outlook on the communication between two people that are in love. Also, I'm just a huge fan of the nonchalant half-singing parts he drops during the first verse.

Aren't you guys glad...

...that we didn't do that stupid 100 push-up challenge thing?
That would have wrecked me!

one for Netflix

I was just up at Cheapo in Uptown selling some CD's, for which I got $45 for about a dozen. It helps to know someone there, or else they end up giving you about $0.75 per disc. Anyway, while I was waiting for them to price up my stack I was browsing the DVD's and came across a movie called "Interview With The Assassin" about a man that came forward as the real Kennedy assassin. I read the back, which made it look like a pretty interesting documentary about something that is pretty big news. I got home and looked up the movie trailer, which is pretty awesome. Then I IMDB'd that shit and found out it is a fake documentary. Duh...silly Jared, should have known better. Still, the movie looks intense and intriguing.

Check out this trailer for it...

Joke Bands

If we're connected on Facebook, then you may already know that there is something christmas related called Jus' Friendz that I'm involved with. It isn't really a group, or it wasn't supposed to be. I was at work one day a couple months ago when my co-worker Alison was saying she wanted to be in a band, but no one would be in a band with her. So I said, "I'll be in your band", to which she replied, "Well I don't know how to play anything", and I said, "that's cool, neither do i". So we talked about it for about one more minute before deciding that our best option would be to start an accapella group, one that sings xmas carols, and that's how Jus' Friendz came to be. We thought the first thing we should work on was our image, so we dressed up, drove to Target, and took some pictures (above). Fast forward a month later, Jus' Friendz gets asked to be part of a Joke Band night at the Turf Club, and we accepted. With the holidays behind us, we decided to focus on what we know best, Friendship. We wrote up some between song stage banter, and backed by karaoke tracks we performed some songs to go along with the theme. Some City Pages people were there, which resulted in a fun little write up on a City Pages blog. Here is the review of our 15 minutes (literally).

Jus Friends- A sappy duo of bffs singing songs about what else but friendship. The guy was a total reminder of Napoleon Dynamite's brother Kip, both in looks and nerdy personality. While he was introducing a song, an audience member yelled "shut up, you suck." Instead of getting angry, he told 'Bill' to "hit it" as he promised to "touch your heart a little." The friends sang "I'll Be There", Fievel Goes West tune "Somewhere Out There" and the Family Ties theme song "Without Us."

read more about the night and see some (shitty) pictures

Ohh Crap!

Obviously we didn't think this through...



Happy Obama Day everyone.

Ronald Jenkees

Has anyone else heard of this guy? I'm really at a loss here. I've never been a real techno/house kinda guy, but watching this guy groove the fuck out is entertaining as hell. I've sampled a few jams, and this is by far my favorite. Some are really in your face and too much for me, but his more hip-hop based tracks I like. Not to mention there is something totally "goober" about him when he talks, but it's endearing and Genuwine. The whole things just is a bit of a mind fuck really. Anyways, enjoy!

Ronald Jenkees - Disorganized Fun

New Night!

My new monthly with the Tendercakes starts tonight.


It Thursday and -21, how do you think the turnout will be? .... Ugh.

Humanzee

'ey guysss... I feel a responsibility to let in some new air here, as the cold winds whip through this blog like a snowed-in ghosttown of unemployed ghosts...

I hope facebook doesn't steal attention away from this blog, because this is something special. It is OURS and no one else's. No Joey Landree or Kyle Westbrook or people I kinda don't care about can see everything I write to you guys.

Although my last post was perhaps half a year ago (or more), I do dilligently check it to read what you guys say.

And I wanna say I love you all, happy new year, etc. I hope to see pics of all yr holiday foibles and let's keep the getalaffs & funnybones rubbed!

I was listening to WNYC's Radio Lab podcast last night (too lazy to link to it), an episode awhile back about human-gene-bending, Geeps, Ligers, Polizzlys and other hybrids in the life kingdom.. I decided to talk about it in my 'voice' lesson, where students are encouraged to talk freely about whatever they (or I) choose to talk about..

I was researching hybrid animals on wikipedia and found out about Oliver, a monkey that really resembles a young more muscular Sammy Davis Jr. And I'm gonna put the text from wikipedia right here so yall aint gotta open tabs to do it...:

Oliver was acquired as a young animal (around 2 years old) in 1960 by trainers Frank and Janet Berger. Supposedly, the chimpanzee had been caught in the Democratic Republic of Congo (then Zaire).

Some physical and behavioral evidence led the Bergers to believe Oliver was a creature other than a chimpanzee, perhaps a human-chimp hybrid: Oliver possesses a flatter face than his fellow chimpanzees; Oliver was habitually bipedal (before being struck with arthritis), never walking on his knuckles like his chimpanzee peers; and Oliver may have preferred human females over chimpanzee females. During a December 16, 2006 Discovery Channel special, Janet Berger herself claimed that Oliver was becoming attracted to her when he reached the age of 16. He mounted her and tried to mate with her. After he tried it several times it became apparent that Oliver was a threat to Janet, and had to be sold. Still, Oliver was not the clownish performer his chimp peers were, and other chimps avoided him. Some people claim he did not possess a typical odor common to chimpanzees.

bonkers!

**Also, a link to actual studies being done on creating a humanzee

**Other mammal hybrids

Hot Shit!

I mean, I think we have seen the future Ladies & Gents.

Incinolet


I wanted to throw this up as well, but find 2 post to just be rude. For all the baseball fans out there, even if it was when you were a child. The great Ricky Henderson was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame this week, and I came across a site that illustrates his greatness off the field. Mind you, he's just dumb as a post and not a completely self-absorbed douche.

Ricky's Ricky-isms

Kent's Cut of the Week

This guys voice is odd, but I'm buying in on it.

Charles Hamilton - Brooklyn Girls

Did You Drunk Text My Mustache Last Night?

Did You Drunk Text My Mustache Last Night?
by Millions Billions + Tendercakes

Ying Yang Twins - Wild
N.E.R.D - Anti Matter (Destroy Disco Edit)
Bird Peterson - Pete Goes Off
Emynd - Reach Out
Oh Snap - High Top Fade
Bird Peterson - Keep It Hood
Digitalism - Pogo (Mano Remix)
Platnum - Love Shy (Dj Q Remix)
Wish I Knew - But Forgot (Whoops Remix)
T-Pain - Chopped n Screwed (Audio 1 Remix)
Real Bitch Roll Call - Aaron Lacrate & Debonair Samir
Here He Comes - Nina Sky & Tittsworth

Dancemergency!!

Looks like that last post killed any interest in blogging for a while. Anyway happy new year no homo.
I'm having a BDAY party at a bar here in Seoul and need some tunes to get the partygoers crankin'. My computer is dead with a virus right now, so anyone who feels like uploading or linking to some mixes with be richly rewarded in the next life or whenever I see you next.