Looks like Shaq all up in the news today over his freestyle dis of Kobe Bryant (with a little wink to Kareem, Patrick Ewing, and homeless men on the side) check it out here:
"Kobe,tell me how my ass tastes!" Heh, that's pretty catchy and probably on a hundred cafepress t-shirts right now. I can't wait for Kobe's response rap entitled "Quick, PR people tell me what I'm supposed to say while I grin and stall for time"
In honor of my new personal Summer Anthem, "Kobe, tell me how my ass tastes!" (Gold I tell ya!) TC and M is continuing our "Attack of the Summer Song" series featuring a much younger, slimmer Shaq.
"What's Up Doc?" was a huge summer song for me 15 years ago. It had the combination of one of my favorite groups of the time and Shaq, for whom I rocked the pinstripe Starter LSU cap for years. I remember I first heard this on a road trip with my family. We were in Philly and headed to a huge outlet mall in the burbs. This song managed to play 18 times on the way there. I bought the cassingle and it played the rest of the summer (well, more likely a week or two).Unfortunately, this was kind of the end of the Fu-Schnickens, since this kind of mainstream hit moved them to from Tribe Called Quest's "quirky underground following) territory to the unfortunate one-hit wonder territory occupied by people like Positive K, Candyman, and Snow. They also had their gimmick improved and used to greater success by the Wu-Tang Clan. Meanwhile, Shaq went on to have MTV hits like "Biological Didn't Bother" and "I'm Outstanding" Oh yeah, add that to the over 100 million he's made in his basketball career and life really isn't fair.
I hadn't heard this song in awhile and the references to Tom and Roxie Roker, Randy "Macho Man" Savage, and the Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood shout out are priceless. Nuff talkey, here's "What's Up Doc?" by the Fu-Schinickens w/ Shaquille O'Neal
100 f'n degrees already? After a really mild past few weeks, all of a sudden it's really f'n hot right now. So, I figured I'd bring back SYSK with one of my favorite summer songs, Len's "Steal my Sunshine"
I actually have their album "You Can't Stop the Bum Rush" and I remember playing the crap out of it. It was a really fun bouncy album with songs with a great Human League-esque balance between Mark's raspsy vocals and Sharon's baby-girl voice. Oh what, you too good for the Human League? Go listen to "Fascination" and suck on it. Plus the album had cameos by Kurtis Blow and Mt. TC and M figure Biz Markee. What I liked best about the album at the time is that it wasn't Limp f'n Bizkit. So yeah Fred Durst, you can suck on this too.
This band definitely deserved better, shame on you society!
So, I was watching the trailers before Bourne Ultimatum (excellent movie btw) and the trailer to "We Own the Night" comes on (also looks like a winner). So when the title card goes up the disco-esque groove of "Heart of Glass" is in the background. All at once I start smiling and rememebr how much Blondie kicks ass! They were the first group I recognized as iconic when I was younger. I can still imagine the poster with Debbie Harry in a flowing white dress holding a flsh of light while the rest of the band stood behind her in matching suits. Their music was catagoized as a whle lot of things new-wave, punk-ish, disco, what ever you would call it now, I would call it excellent. As soon as the movie was over I dug into the iPod and put together a Blondie playlist that I haven't stopped listening to since. We're almost 30 years past their heydey and their music still holds up. Here's my favorite Blondie song, "Dreaming". Two things I love about this clip. Clem Burke's kickass drums and Debbie Harry's cheekbones. Enjoy, suckas
This summer has been pretty slim pickins as far as TV goes, but HBO's Flight of the Conchords has been a standout as far as new series go. Conchords follows the adventures of New Zealand folk rockers Brit and Jermaine as they struggle to find success in the music industry. Naturally, most of the episodes end up dealing with their women problems. Think of them as a less- spastic, more cerebral Tenacious D. Sort of. Anyway the music is the driving force of the show. Here's my personal favorite, "If You're Into It" where Bret serenades his new girlfriend Coco.
Okay, so I'm a sucker for toy piano. That's how a Schroeder rolls suckas! If you get HBO catch this show!
If there's anything I hate, it's admitting I missed the boat on some really cool stuff. Well yeah, since I've been relying on local radio for music, my exposure to stuff out of the Yay has been limited to E-40 and that "Fast like a NASCAR" song. So I missed this three minutes of awesome from Mistah FAB. Now I had been familiar with Ghost Ridin' for awhile so it was just a matter of time until they came out with an instructional song for it. I just missed it. I'm yo part-time sucka
Apparently this video has been anned for using the Ghostbusters logo in the video. Doesn't matter much since I haven't watched MTV or BET for months. Still a buddy of mine passed this on and even though it doesn't usually meet the criteria of current or forgotten oldie I had to put it down. There isn;t much I can say besides this video kick ass. So here's Ghost Ride It, by Mistah FAB. By the way if you don't appreciate the Patrick Swayze line, get the hell off my blog.
Aight suckas, I don't know if this song went national or not but if you have a local hip-hop y mas station you've heard this friggin song eight times a day for the last two months.
Seriously yo, I can't help but be laughin now when I see some ese get down like this in the club. It's this summer's rockaway, but instead of leaning back it's elbows out side to side. As for the video its good. Real good. Good and terrible. I do like how they have the obligatory "look even white guys can do this dance" scene. Enjoy.
What you are about to witness is one of the the most influential 90 seconds of my young life. It's a memory that I thought had been lost forever, relegated to references in the movies "Say Anything" or "House Party"
"but I still love technology, always and forever."
Thanks to someone with a VCR and a YouTube account I can relive this nostalgia flavored greatness over and over again until the protagonist takes on a Sisyphusisan nature. One day he will get to borrow that album. Over candlelights and Curvoisier, he will play it with guile for he and his lady friend at the optimal opportunity for seduction. The smooth soul sounds will overwhelm the situation and our hero will then find himself set adrift on memory bliss on the way to Poonany-Land! Alas, we are only left to suffer with the reply, as it is always, "No, my brother you've got to buy your own".
Bobby "Boris" Pickett the singer of "Monster Mash" has passed away at 69. Read about it here
I remember really digging the "Monster Mash" before I even heard the whole song. It was totally based on a five second snippet that I heard for a TV record commercial. Come to think about it was the same way I was introduced to "Ramblin' Man"...
Anyway here's Bobby Brown and Mike Tyson "covering" Monster Mash
"Monster Mash" and the whole concept of Monsters clebrating together was also the subject of my favorite Mr. Show skit ever.
I don't care what the masturbating guy says, I think Wolfman and Dracula would throw a hell of a champagne jam!
Okay, so I'm making a work related call and there's no answer and I have to leave a message. The out going message starts and it's a young woman's voice and instead of the usual spiel I get this instead: A few questions that I need to know which is followed by an obvious casio keyboard chord in the background. Still I had to leave a message so i couldn't hang up. It went on... how you could ever hurt me so I need to know what I've done wrong and how long it's been going on Was it that I never paid enough attention? Or did I not give enough affection?
Seriously, the girl was speaking this while playing the chords herself and I'm thinking "Oh man, I know this song!" So know I'm racking my brain trying to figure this one out and its just on the tip of my tongue...
Not only will your answers keep me sane but I'll know never to make the same mistake again You can tell me to my face or even on the phone You can write it in a letter, either way, I have to know Did I never treat you right? Did I always start the fight? Either way, I'm going out of my mind all the answers to my questions I have to find Beep! All Saints Mofo!!! So I leave my message and I was left with two questions?
1) WTF? Was she trying to get a boyfriend back and decided to apologize through song? Did she not think that people weren't going to hear this? Was she just one of those quirky girls who like to throw up covers of themselves singing British POP hits? Suckas gots ta know!
2) Why the hell did I know this song? Thinking back I guess I thought they were cute and all and they were better than the Spice Girls. I think what triggered it was they way they say "Black Hole" which seems fit for a late Don Imus discourse or something. So yeah, y'all know what came next. I punched myself in the face. Anyway here's the full song All Saints "Never Ever"
Wrestlemania XXIII is only five days away so Tortilla Chips and Milk is gonna have a wrestling slant for the next few days as we build up to big event. This edition of "Songs You Should Know" features the greatest wrestling music video of all time Badstreet U.S.A., by Michael Hayes and the Fabulous Freebirds. This video features everything that was awesome about wrestling and music videos in the 80's and was (I think) the first wrestling theme song ever sung by the wrestler himself. In the words of P.S (Purely Sexy) himself. There are two things you can do with what I'm gonna give ya...take it and like it.
Take Mr. Belding of Saved by the Bell, the cast of Karate Kid (yes, almost all of them), references to the Cars, and Raising Arizona and what do you get? How about greatest video EVER!!! I really don't want to spoil anything for you, but if you love the Karate Kid like a good TC and M reader should, you won't be disappointed. First of all the term "Sweep the Leg" is near and dear to my heart and if any phrase deserves canonization into legendary status it's that one. THIR. The video is directed by Johnny Lawrence aka William Zabka, THE greatest teen movie bad guy EVER. Cobra Kai never die. So I only have one thing to say...SCREW YOU MELON!
Here's Sweep the Leg by No More Kings
as for the song? um...it's got a really cool video!
I had heard about the new reality show Ego Trip's: White Rapper Show and pretty much decided at that time that I woould stay away. The initial promo highlighted MC Serch as the host which I thought was odd. Serch was the outspoken half of the duo 3rd Bass who took a negative stance against white rappers exploiting hip hop such as Vanilla Ice and the Beastie Boys (Though with the Beasties, the beef was probably personal) Something just didn't add up here. So on the drive home, "Kick 'Em in the Grill" from the superb 3rd Bass album Derilects of Dialect popped into my iPod "shuffle songs" playlist so I figured I would at least give the show a chance.
The show itself is standard reality format. Ten white rappers live in a house (The White House) and compete for $100,000 and a record deal with eliminations at the end of each show. After the standard cattle call sequence, which they mercifully limited to the first 10 minutes, the show was actually really f'n good. Prince Paul is also heavily involved with this show and anything that producer of Three Feet High and Rising, Prince Among Theives,and So...How's Your Girl? touches is something I've gotta watch. Oh yeah, Misfit, the Brit is hot as balls,so that's a plus
I'll have a full recap of White Rapper Show up this weekend.
So the intention of the post which started out as a call back to the old Mc Serch, is now more of a reminder how the host of White Rapper used to kick it back in the day.
I gotta agree with Paj on all his picks, but watching those videos made me nostalgic for my favorite holiday song.
I had a roommate in college who listened to a lot of complete drek, and since it was her stereo I had to put up with it. But I gotta give Valerie props for introducing me to the Pogues. Damn near unintelligible Irish punk music ... sometimes it's almost magic. So here's the Pogues with "Fairytale of New York."
Aight, so it's a GAP commercial but this 30 second spot, but this inspired a Rufus Wainwright phase that I don't regret at all. I still listen to songs like "April Fools", "Baby" and his cover of "Across the Universe" constantly. Of the Winter Holidays I've been more of a New Year's person than a Christmas person, "What are you doing New Year's Eve" hits me in all the right places. Now this commercial came out in 1997 or 98 and I had been dying to find a decent version of the song, but all I could find on Napster or Lime Wire were live snippets but not the entire song. After year's of searching, last year's McGarrigle Christmas Hour has a full lenght version of Rufus Wainwright's "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve" and yes I bought the album just for that song. In fact, I think it's the last physical CD I've bought. Here's to getting some sugar on New Year's yo!
Aight, hope y'all had a Merry X-Mas...now on with the countdown.
"Christmas and Hollis" -Run DMC Question: when y'all get together and sing this at your peeps house. Does everyone just jump in on DMC's "It's Christmas time in Hollis Queens..." part?
Do They Know It's Christmas"-Band Aid
Sorry, but this kicks "We Are the World"'s Huey Lewis and Dan Akroyd singing-ass.
Not only do you have Paul Young singing lead over the likes of Sting and Bono, but you have none of the old school British Rockers like the Stones, Beatles or the Who. This was strictly 2nd gen British invasion and it kicks ass. I can still hear the whining-slash-sqealing of my sister and her friends over the D2 appearances in the video and the oversinging of Simon LeBon's "It's hard but when you're having fun..." Still the best part of this video? KOOL and the M'FN GANG!!! I didn't know they were British! That's right with KATG ...iiiiiit's FRESH! FRESH! this video's fresh, Band Aid's fresh, Christmas is fresh, famines not fresh...
Oates. That was a response I used to give when people asked me who was my favorite singer. Just Oates. THIR. Anyway lets take a trip back to the days when Oates was Mackin' bigger than Michael Jackson.
#4 on the TC and M Holiday Song list is a video I can distinctly remember from the WTBS Night Tracks days before my dumb town got MTV. I think it was 1983 or 1984 and the cheezy 80's was just starting to blossom. This is like a time capsule for what music video was all about in the 80's. Song-based story telling, gratutitous attempts of the singers trying to show off their other talents, and most of all really lame concept and direction. The thing is back then, I loved the song but hated the video and found it unbearable. Watching this video now, I find it hillarious, not for the comedy itself, but for the attempt at comedy and it's failings. If you want proof that Hall and Oates were huge back then, this video is proof. You'd have to have a huge ego to think you could pull this video off. Anyway, Hall and Oates released two versions of this song swapping the lead vocals. They even filmed two different videos to reflect the change. Here's #4 on the TC and M Holiday Music Countdown: Jingle Bell Rock by Hall and Oates (Oates Version)
Aight suckas! With five days left to go until Christmas I'll be counting down my favorite holiday songs. Number five is is "I Wish it was Christmas Today" by Horatio Sanz, Jimmy Fallon, Chris Kataan and Tracy Morgan.
Yeah and try to get that melody out of your head. You can thank me later!
I usually make an annual winter visit to Boston, but I chose this past weekend specifically to catch the final show of Evan Dando and the Lemonheads 2006 tour in Dando's hometown. Now you've heard me mention this before, but it bears repeating. I have been a devoted fan of Evan Dando's work ever since I heard the Lemonheads cover Suzanne Vega's "Luka" while I was a senior in high school. Sure, he's been both miscast and lived up to his dopey, pretty boy image over the last 15 years but his songwriting has always been genuine, and his voice sincere. He writes songs that I wish I had written. There are cooler, hipper, more talented bands out there, but his music, more than anyone else I've ever heard, speaks to me on a personal level.
So, I went to the Avalon excited, but bracing myself for a possible disaster. A few years ago I stood through a solo set in San Francisco highlighted by Dando fucking up playing chords into his pedals and asking someone in the crowd to hold a flashlight for him on stage while he sang the lyrics for a new song. There was also the show in LA which rocked, but seemed to have lasted a little over an hour, while he mumbled constantly about celebrities in the audience. Juliana Hatfield was in the band so I felt doubly ripped off. Still, I can say I loved both of those shows. I am that forgiving a fan.
I think that sentiment was shared by the rest of the crowd as well. As soon as he came out my sister and her friend talked about how they didn't like Dando's bangs. Sigh. The show didn't really have a raucous start. They played "Black Gown" which is off the Lemonheads' self-titled album released this past September. I'm guessing a good portion of the crowd was like me. They knew the album had been released but hadn't really gotten around to listening to it yet. It picked up a little with "Down About it" but the bassist struggled with the background vocals owned in memory by Juliana. Despite a less than enthusiastic crowd response at the beginning, they went rapidly from song to song a pace they would keep all night. Then after about five or songs in, they did a kick-ass trifecta of songs from the album "It's a Shame About Ray" - "Turnpike Down" "Bit Part" and "It's a Shame About Ray" which for me said "Remember this motherfuckers! This is why you're all here, right now" From that point the place just loosened up and turned into this huge party for an old friend. After that switch flip, Dando just kept on plucking from the catalogue. Songs like "Hospital", "My Drug Buddy", "It's About Time" and "Great Big No" made me head-bob and sing along. I probably had a nostalgia laced cheesy ass grin, but I wasn't the only one.
Halfway through the set, Dando gave the band a breather while he performed a mini-acoustic set. This was as enjoyable a sequence as any I've seen at any concert I've been to. EVER. He started off with "Being Around" and then followed it up with "Frying Pan" from the Sweet Relief album. This was the first time I had heard the song performed live and it was just a fantastic experience. Among the other songs he performed were, "Favorite T", "Into Your Arms". "I Wish I Was Him" and his cover of the Misfit's "Skulls".
The band came back for the hoe stretch, but for me it didn't matter. Everything was gravy. He surprised the crowd with "Mrs. Robinson" but gave the honor of singing it to two guys in the crowd. The melancholy "Hana and Gabi" made me feel like I was wearing my torn big ass flannel shirt walking in the rain to get smokes. There was a rockin' version of "Style" (RIP Rick James) a rollicking "If I Could Talk", a hootenanny-ish "Big Gay Heart" and surprise pre-Ray closer of "Hate your Friends"
All in all it was 30+ songs in front of over 1200 people, many of whom would have been sore from moshing to most of the set 15 years ago. Remember, we moshed to everything back then, even the fucking Spin Doctors, that's how the early nineties rolled, yo!. Me, I left with an impression that the memories of back then were better than they actually were and the hope that maybe we could do the last 15 years all over again sometime down the road.
Bonus, Here's a clip of the Mrs. Robinson performance from the show.
Okay, if you listen to your local "#1 Source of Hip- Hop and R and B" this song has already been played out on their intentional teeny tiny play lists. So yeah even though it's played out, I still hear it everyday at drive time. First of all, the song isn't really that good. It has maybe thirty different words in the entire song. Eminem's little cameo has nothing to really do with the song, and could have been throwaway lyrics he had laying around. So yeah, it's just formulaic crap accentuated by the "Kick it like Tai Bo" line which, sorry, 1998 called and it wants that line back.
So why is this here? The video...it tries to recreate 48 Hours...real good...good and terrible! The sad thing is if someone were to remake 48 Hours, it wouldn't look too much different than this video. BTW Hollywood, please don't remake 48 Hours, no matter how great you think Nick Cannon would roll as Eddie Murphy's Reggie Hammond. Anyway, enjoy the train wreck.
So the local Hip-Hop/R&B station gets a DJ for live mixes during drivetime and I've been really impressed, especially with the Rewind Wednesday sets he's put together. I've heard cuts of gems like Mellow Man Ace's Mentirosa, K-Solo's Your Mom's in my Business, and Main Source's I'm Looking at the Front Door which are all songs that I never thought I'd be hearing on commercial radio at this day and age. Anyway a song that elicited a huge "OH SHIT!" from me was the song Deeper Shade of Soul by Urban Dance Squad. This was a throwback to the early 90's and I flipped out! It's one of those songs that was released in the wrong period. With it's laid back groove and sampled chorus it really didn't find a place in a hip-hop world that was powered by Gangsta Hardcore, Native Tougue-ish Afrocentrism, or High Powered Dance Jams. Still, it was a buzzworthy clip back then and I think it would have been huge if it were released in the last few years. Not saying it would have been highly original or anything but it just seems perfect for today's airplay.
Anyway, the reason this song got to me was that I was driving and I thought to myself "Hey the chick in that video was really f'n cute". Then I'm thinking to myself how the fuck do I remember that? I mean I don't even know where my keys are currently, but I can vividly recall a chick in a video that I saw a handful of times fifteen years ago? How screwed up is that? What's worse it that when i actually saw the video recently, she's on the screen for like, a second. Yep, it was that same girl taht popped into my head earlier. Then I felt creepy, like Matthew McConaghey in Dazed and Confused. I get older and they stay the same age. And yes, if you have to know I was making a smoothing motion with my hand and I followed it with an "Alright, alright". That's just how I roll.
So I thought it was strange how a throwaway image can link itself permanently with a song, but after asking friends, they also came up with their personal examples. For me, other burned-in images include, Huey Lewis' girlfriend walking on the beach in a white bathing suit, LL Cool J's colagulated deodorant, Baby Spice's skirt flying up, and Steve of the Fabulous JP's boots dangling out of a window. If you got some similar music video images y'all wanna share, post it 'cause suckas gots ta know.
So here's Urban Dance Squad's Deeper Shade of Soul. Oh yeah, the girl in question is like at approximately the two minute mark.
