Bored as all hell last night and already having reviewed quite a few films, I decided to try my hand at reviewing albums/music. My first review is of Childish Gambino's CULDESAC (2010). I'm still trying to improve my writing, so bear with me.
Although you may recognize him from the hit NBC show, Community, as Troy, Donald Glover takes on another identity as Childish Gambino, his rap moniker, on his new album, CULDESAC. The coupling of commonplace, hip hop conceit with Glover's slightly high-pitched, well-enunciated flow was quite the atypical listening experience. Actually...what I mean to say is that it was plain weird listening to Troy from Community rap about his alcohol problems and fucking hoes. Anyway, I digress. As for the "alternative" labeling, it seems well-applicable to most aspects of this record, save for the relatively-generic lyricism. Already by his first utterances on the album, one can detect the obvious influence of Lil' Wayne and Drake, Glover himself included. "Weezy F. is in jail, I keep his seat warm, nigga", "Weezy but geeky", "I want to hang out with Lil' Wayne, I just hope I'm black enough", "Drake with dyslexia, I have gone so far/My life is a green light, I always try to go hard". Speaking of Drake, here's an analogy: Drake-Degrassi & Glover-Community, hmm, a larger connection than initially perceived. Need I go on? However, one thing that these Glover quotes do not show is the fact that this record is laden with punchlines. And said punchlines are pretty damn clever. I mean, they're Cassidy/Big L/Chino XL/Vakill-caliber punchlines. Okay, I was pushing it. My point is, he's not too bad, but then again, to be a successful actor/writer/comedian/singer/rapper/producer/DJ, one must have a high capacity for creativity. Albeit seemingly a bit immodest over his highly self-perceived creativity, of which I cannot distinguish between satire and a measure of true conceit, it seems as he has found his shangri-la in hip hop to express personal satisfaction of his new-found mainstream fame and success, as well as satisfaction or perhaps dissatisfaction in other facets of his life, in ways he couldn't do through stand-up or television. And yes, I do recognize that the premise of conceit is very well a mainstay in the music of hip hop, but his delivery of said conceit just didn't...feel right; no valid argument there, I admit. Despite my own indifference to his style of music, Childish Gambino is no joke and can really flow(and sing too!). And this self-produced(yes, as mentioned before, he is a producer/DJ as well) album being a mere side-project in Glover's "Bizzy like Bone Thugs" life, is a quite a revelry in itself.
Choice Cuts:
-Do Ya Like (With a well-produced, Adele-sampled beat, Childish Gambino's clean, Drake-esque flow is made evident here, coupled with some clever lines, specifically the one in this review's title)
-I Be On That (A hype, bass-y track, C.G. most notably showcases his punchline-talent in this one)
-These Girls (Accompanied by the Lindhome/Micucci duo of Garfunkel and Oates, Glover brandishes his ability to harmonize in the album's acoustic black sheep)
So I decided to filter out my blog today, in an attempt to start fresh, I suppose. Man, I was quite the idiot back in January '09. Here are my movie reviews backed up on my Flixster account, for those interested. Anyway, I haven't done an update in a while, so let's get down to brass tacks. It's been a really long summer, consisting of hanging out, running errands, working, seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time, overall, having a good time. The Kumon center I worked at closed down late August, so I am now jobless. But not for long, as I'll be working at school for my work-study loan. Speaking of which, I'm moving out to school this Sunday and I'll admit, I'm pretty excited! So all giddiness aside, that's about it, and I'll leave you with my current music rotation(got the idea from an old post, wish I could've done this more). Goodnight!
Radiohead and Biggie (both essential to my rotation)
Portishead
Redman
Tupac
Broken Social Scene
Sage Francis
LIL B DA BASED GOD
Mr. Lif
O.C.
Interpol
Flying Lotus
Arcade Fire
Elliot Smith
Ra Ra Riot
DOOM
Nosaj Thing
Edan
The xx
Lee Fields & The Expressions
So lately, fans of Wiz Khalifa have been bitching about his recent gain of exposure(like he wasn't famous already...). Just because one of your favorite artists become hyped up doesn't make them any worse of an artist. In fact, as a fan, you should be happy that he/she/them is gaining popularity. The fact that you are disappointed over their growing fame simply means that your initial fandom was solely based on the artist(s) being relatively unknown. However, I will acknowledge that certain artists do change their sound after new-found fame, ie. selling out; the Black Eyed Peas, for one. But I digress. This can be applied to the spread of a certain clothing style, activity, any product for that matter, and just virtually anything. Everybody strives for that sweet feeling of exclusivity all for a sense of superiority.
P.S. - But for you pitiful duds who blatantly shape your whole entire identity after one source/person/group, stop copycattin' and don't live your life as a mold, be yourself.
A couple months ago, I came across rapper Lil' B AKA Based God on the NT forums. You may recognize him from The Pack, and in a nutshell, he's just...different. He refers to himself as "black Ken", "a princess" and he has songs called: "I'm God", "Look Like Jesus"(no, he doesn't look like Jesus), "I'm Paris Hilton", and "I Want Your Bitch." A mixture of Gucci Mane(whom he very much resembles), Andy Dick, Reh Dogg, and Imogen Heap, his weird, stream-of-consciousness style is pretty hilarious to say the least. Not that I'm a big fan and genuinely enjoy his work, but I will acknowledge that it really does carry artistic merit despite what people say. Most rappers will try to make sure their material adheres to a certain audience. But this guy does whatever the fuck he wants and delivers whatever the hell comes to his head. Through the premise of conceit, he is uninhibited in fully exercising his creative control to put out some really strange, but original shit. I mean, this whole Based movement is pretty much a new (sub-)genre, avant-garde in a way. But those who think that this whole Based God identity is merely a spoof have it all wrong, it's a little more than that. Thank you Based God. I praise you in all your glory.
"Fuck a bitch, in her face, like a boss, like her dad, like I'm rad, like I'm Brad, like I'm Chad"
I forgot to mention, he has a motivational book out...
I recently got into Louis C.K.'s material and found his comedy to be pretty complementary to my sense of humor. A raunchy, self-deprecating, hilarious, vulgar brand of observational comedy; already one of my favorite comics. Well anyway, I was planning to write something very similar to Louis' rant in this video, so I thought I'd just let it partly do the job. With the gradual improvement of technology, we keep becoming accustomed to the convenience. I'm guilty of this, as everybody else is. For example, due to the Internet's immediacy nowadays, I found myself getting irritated the other day when Google took 2 seconds longer than usual to load. And to think there was a time when computers didn't even exist. I wouldn't go as far to criticize this mentality as Louis did, however. It's just human nature and an amusing observation as far as I'm concerned.
Unrelated mini-rant:
I hate when people ask questions on the Internet, particularly Facebook, which they could easily find the answer for on Google. Just simple questions that elicit one objective answer like: "What's a ____?", "Who does he play for?", "Who is that?", etc. Perhaps it's a way to spark conversation, but I can only see such a conversation ending with the answer to the question or just a simple "Google it." If you find yourself encountering such a person, here you go: www.lmgtfy.com
For: You phony self-proclaimed Christians and those wondering about the basis for my Agnosticism.
I admit, I'm not entirely sure whether accepting Jesus as your savior while continually sinning still brings you to Heaven, is how it works. If so, it seems as if this whole rant will have no merit. But also, that would this make one stupid religion if you ask me. Well, let's pretend that's not how it works, for now.
It's hard to believe that these self-proclaimed Christians actually, well...believe. A religion calls for a lifetime devotion to its practices and beliefs, and some people can't give up something as small as, let's say, cursing for something they're supposed to live for? They say "oh I'll just be forgiven" or "I'll repent later on in life". Oh, and when people who find it so hard to change into a better person over petty things. Seriously? If there's no dedication or a sense of importance on your part, you don't really believe. Your religion is merely a label. You throw on a cross necklace without knowing a lick of the religion's ideologies. Your church is a ground for social gathering. Your praise is a desire for group harmony, a sense of obligation, and a pursuit of an emotional high. You don't seek for reasons to believe, you believe what you hear since all pastors and such are supposed to be revered as authority figures; supreme messengers of God and also because church carries a veil of trust, truth, and safety. My God, you pitiful drones. You let stories (mostly false) move you and this emotion seeps over to an embrace of the religion. Religion is an emotional and social crutch for you. You embrace it for a sense of fulfillment and a sense of identity. You want to please your fellow Christian family members and peers. Millions of people, millions, believe the same thing, why shouldn't you? Why break tradition? Everything's so assuring and persuasive. It's the perfect safeguard for your life. You're in a comfort zone and you don't want to get out. You want to avoid any questioning for it could compromise your precious comfort of a belief you've held for all this time. You would only research to discredit other religions and not yours. You don't want it to turn into waste. You assess your sins to be uncontrollable and forgivable later to live the life you REALLY want to live. You don't live according to your religion. Of course, this does not apply to everyone, but you will know if it does. Ask yourself, why do you believe? Can you back up what you believe in? Do you even care to? Throughout my life, I've seen plenty of "Christians" who firmly believe in the concept of Karma, who support homosexual marriage, abortion, etc. To support an opposing view of your religion blatantly means that you are not a part of said religion, wouldn't you say that makes sense? You can't agree with some parts and not agree with others. There's really no way around it. Embrace it as a whole or don't embrace it all. I've also witnessed plenty of these "Christians" who put down non-believers and view/treat them in an unwelcoming manner. What happened to this spread the gospel and love one another for everyone is a child of God thing you have going on? Now, you wouldn't even believe how many times I've seen someone curse in the name and in defense of their God, whether it be in text or in person. Just a few weeks ago, I questioned this kid wearing a cross necklace and a NOTW hat on why he was using "fuck" every other sentence despite the look of Christian devotion he portrayed. In response, he said something along the lines of "shut the hell up" or "don't talk shit about God." Need I go on? You are the biggest kind of hypocrites.
"The most ironic thing that these people fail to realize is that the lack of hospitality that they greet someone like me with is very un-Christian and I think that's the biggest paradox of all."
-Marilyn Manson
I've been down this deceiving path, for all my life. Until I realized that I had the ability and choice to think. I've chosen to open my mind and not let nice guys in suits dictate my life through an outdated book. All of my questions have been twisted into irrelevant, predetermined answers which do nothing but further support my opposition. But to be frank, am I 100% firm with my beliefs? No, I'm afraid I'm not. You could say 99%. It's like those obvious, ridiculous, belligerent lies a friend tells you that has the slightest, least likely, but possible chance of being true with no way of knowing. And for those curious, I label myself as an Agnostic. I'd say this ever-lingering chance of its validity is fueled by the horrifying concept of Hell, the ultimate deus ex machina used to retain all of these followers. You smart, smart fucks. But then I think, what if this "fiery hell" is just another one of those metaphors, and these people are just interpreting scripture in accordance to their own liking? While on the subject, the fear of Hell, coupled with moral security and collective gratification seem to be the main motivators for being a Christian. It's just pretty hard to believe that there's this all-knowing, all-seeing guy who made all of us. Despite not proving his existence, he wants everybody to believe in him through this thing called faith. If you don't believe in and love him, he'll send you to this place where you get tortured for eternity. He also made this vague, confusing, metaphorically-flexible story book that nobody could fully understand, telling you how to live life, written through a couple of crazy old guys. Some of these rules seem a bit absurd too. I mean, to openly covet is one thing, but to control your feelings? Really? There's that elephant in the room that everybody seems to be so immune to seeing: how the hell does this all make any sense? Oh, but no, sense, science, logic, opposing philosophies, and other religions were created as a test of faith. And who can forget those dinosaur bones... Everything is a definite sign from God, it can't be just a coincidence or a psychological/physiological condition, those were just created as a test of faith too. Screw it, all possible doubts were placed in our heads to test faith. Very clever.
Here are 15-year-old Steve's views on religion:
By definition, faith is a belief characteristically held without proof. Believing something that can not be proven, according to the world’s standards, then must have been stemmed from conformity and/or “emotional highs.” They say faith is obtained through a supernatural experience, however perhaps a mental short circuit may have attributed to this false sensation of supernatural encounter. And what gives one such a great desire to receive faith to believe in something that they don’t believe…yet?
All religions assert that they are the one and only true religion. This paradox of conflicting, self-proclaimed “facts,” therefore proves that conditioning from upbringing, investment in conformity, a sense of belonging, one’s persuasive declarations, and so on, defines one’s “religion.” Also, the “threat” of eternal damnation of any sort, may lead one to divest their hesitations, and join the religion in fear of a possible form of eternal torture. Perhaps this is the motivation for such a strong desire of “faith.”
Lying is prevalent today in our world, and has been for centuries. Would it be so dubious to say that all of the authors of the Holy Bible, and the ones who have “been told by God” to arrange the Holy Bible, were just delusional liars? Or any other religious document dealing with a supreme entity, in that sense? It is told that we are not capable of being on the same level of understanding and logic with God. However, this can also be a lie, a mere cop-out trying to make you “ask no questions,” as that assertion can be used a reasonable counter.
Although the Christian religion states that all people created by God have the opportunity to become saved, what about those who have never heard of the religion or those who never had the chance to become preached to? Yes, there are missionaries traveling to all sides of the world, however, in this world of billions of people, with the missionary:non-believer:time proportions, it would be nearly impossible to reach everyone. In fact, I have read an article of a newly found civilization that has never been in contact with the outside world. So, what about the generations before them that have perished with no knowledge of Jesus Christ, where was their opportunity?
Based on God’s system of predestination, what is the point of building something that you know will inevitably fail you? Why tell them what to do, when you know the eventual outcome and response? On a side note, so far from what I have heard, God seems pretty damn narcissistic and vain; forcing people to love him or burn in hell. Also, the Bible states that in a way, all sins are equal. Well, I don’t know, but people generally don’t equate murder to cursing, and it is also shown the government feels the same way. You murder, you become incarcerated and possibly executed. On the contrary, you curse, you may go as far to receive a misdemeanor. I have been told that the Bible states it is sinful to disobey the government, the powers that be. Well what happens when the government supports abortion and stem-cell research, which do not complement or correlate with Christian values?
Here ends 15 year old Steve's viewpoints on religion. I deleted the conclusion because it proved to be irrelevant.
While on the subject, here's a little something for amusement. These
videos are just for fun, but they still do present valid arguments.
So if you are religious, don't shelter yourself from opposing
viewpoints. I mean, I've been listening to your ideas for over a decade and even now I watch sermons from time to time to see what they have to say. Do religions not encourage you to "know your enemy”?
If you fear a change in your viewpoints, that means you're unsure,
which means your ass would be going to Hell...
For: those who purposely try to be different all in an effort to be original and just that. In which the originality would inevitably lack substance.
If you follow trends and fit in, you're unoriginal.
If you don't follow trends, you still fit in somewhere, therefore, unoriginal.
If you go beyond subterranean to not follow the dress of any type of culture whatsoever, congratulations, you're original, at the expense of being weird. But this contradicts your entire motive of expressing indifference to what others think about you because you have gone out of your way to do exactly that. And wait, tons of people (think they) do this, so your originality is revoked; essentially, unoriginal. Wear what you want, do what you will, and behave how you wish for whatever reason, because in the end, it's all geared towards having others creating an impression about you.
This is only for those with a fear of being labeled on an odd quest to be strictly original, with that being the sole motive. No matter how artsy you get, you are helplessly pigeonholed into the artsy category. Being original is a category in itself. So if your goal is to end up in an exclusive, but yet another category, then so be it. Don't be afraid to be categorized, for it is inevitable.
I am questioning your motives, yes you, the aforementioned "those who purposely try to be different all in an effort to be original and just that. In which the originality would inevitably lack substance." Are you being original just to be so, or to express something new you crafted out of genuine interest? Unless you are blissfully blind with self-satisfaction, you will find no resolve with your attempt to be this "original" person. Through the wise words of Western philosopher Dwayne Carter, "do you."
I always find my head filled with complaints everyday so I figured I'd do something like this (almost) everyday.
Unreasonable modesty is one of the most annoying traits a person could have. Such as, when an objectively attractive girl always seems to disagree with "you're pretty" compliments all in an effort to keep the compliments coming. Don't give me that "but it's gonna make me seem conceited" bullshit. Those who call you conceited for merely accepting such a compliment are clearly jealous and are narrow-mindedly clawing for subtle, potential negative traits about you to which they will attempt to blow out of proportion to fulfill their envy-fueled vendetta against you... So if you look good, you look good, don't be a cunt and deny a clearly reasonable compliment. Thankfully accept it with modesty (yes, you can still fulfill your self-rewarding aim to be modest, because obviously, there is no such thing as internal, genuine modesty. For if you truly aren't aware of the extent of what you are being praised on, that is just textbook ignorance, not modesty. But then again, being externally modest is redundant in itself and is basically included in the general definition. I'm not sure if a parentheses is allowed to hold this much text) and move on with your life filled with more compliments. However as the whole concept of "objective attractiveness" (oxymoron, or is it? Apparently there's some method where symmetry, bust size, body fat, etc. is taken into consideration and determines one's beauty. Anyway...) is clearly debatable, size, not so much. I say this because I've seen girls, who are clearly skinny, deny compliments of being skinny in front of a larger girl. If what you are isn't skinny, how do you think your fatass friend must feel, asshole? Well, I went over my initial 4-5 sentence expectation of this post, but I guess rants are never really meant to be quantified.
Orientation was a drag but I endured through it and it feels great to have registered for classes. Now to decide whether I should pursue practicality (business) or my interests (film/psych). Well, I suppose I still have time to decide. And speaking of decisions...
Well, it's been a long time since I've last written here or anywhere, for that matter. The past few months have been pretty nice and relaxing. I graduated exactly a week ago and I'm pretty happy about that. I imagine transferring to a different school or moving away to be how graduation felt like. I just guess my lack of emotion towards graduation attributes to me staying local. Even if I was going out of state, it's not like I would miss all 43,346 of my acquaintances/friends. I'd just miss the friends because the way I see it, people and their "acquaintances" all carry a mutual-disposability to which they wouldn't mind if the other moved half-way across the world; or maybe it's just me. Overall, I'd say the perfect word to describe graduation would be: refreshing. Grad Nite wasn't too bad either, with the right people and some inspiration. Lately, my cousin and I have been on a car-hunt and it's been hard to find cars that meet our specifications. After these past couple months, I think I know almost everything about buying/selling cars and what cars are "good" or not, according to my cousin's assessments. Another revelation I've recently struck up is how the entire tv/movie business works, or at least how it generally works, after watching a couple of seasons of Entourage. And until I am shown that the show may not an accurate representation of how showbiz works, I will hold true to the impression I've received from Entourage. Great show by the way, just starting on season 4. With all that said, it's going to be a long, long summer (school starts late-September!) and with no major plans so far, I plan to chill.
Currently listening to: Me Again - Dom Kennedy
PS- Future Steve, tomorrow was/is going to be one of the biggest sporting events you've ever watched. Boston @ LA (the Lakers, just in case the Clippers end up being the Los Angeles basketball powerhouse in the future....haha) for game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals. With Perkins out and the game being at Staples, the balance has been thrown off and LA has a legitimate shot at being the team to be drenched in cheap liquor following tomorrow's game. I'm all ready to buy a championship shirt. Also, Korea plays Argentina in 5 hours (World Cup) and although soccer bores the hell out of me, I found it in my heart to show out for the motherland. Goodnight!
Missed Little Brother and the first half of Murs' set, but Nas played all of his good stuff(even though he stumbled on a couple Illmatic songs), so it was good nevertheless.
I went in expecting good action and graphics, at the very least. I assumed its 30% rating would be from shitty acting and a shitty script. However, the movie's overall shittiness was unexpected. It had video game graphics and even a video game story line/set up. It was corny and cheesy throughout and the story was too simple and linear to elicit any surprises. What I'm saying is: the movie was for a 5th grader and nobody else. It reminded me of a bad version of Narnia, which is a good movie by the way, or a Greek myth version of Transformers (a perfect example of a shitty movie(s) with good action/graphics to compensate, which I expected Clash to be). Anyway, Clash of the Titans sucks
"When people say, "What are you so angry about?" Well, that's a terrible oversimplification because I don't live an angry life as people who know me for five minutes or five years will say. They rarely see me in an angry mood. I get irritated like anyone else, in traffic or in a long line that's not moving. But I don't carry anger around. What I feel is a sense of betrayal by my species and by my culture -- that they lost their way and misled me, too, to a degree. I'm a disappointed idealist. I think of myself as a skeptic, a realist. I think the cynics are the people who left the gas tank on the Ford Pinto, companies that kill people and just cross them out because they can't afford to retool. That's a cynical position. But the saying goes, if you scratch a cynic, you find a disappointed idealist, and that's what's going on with me. Down deep and underneath, the flame still flickers. I wish for an idealist, utopic world but the realist in me says it's never gonna happen because of the way they've structured power and money and control and the hierarchies they've established."
-George Carlin (R.I.P.)
