Theophilus London
November 6, 2009
Fact: You will hear a lot more from Theophilus London next year.
“Always”
“TNT”
36 Chambers of Chambers St.
November 4, 2009
It was on Chambers St. of all places, the street that I call home, on which my Wu-Tang knowledge was tested. I had seen this day coming for a while now, I just hadn’t expected it to come in such a drunken verbal delivery. I own a Wu-Tang t-shirt, you see, and given the warm weather last Saturday, I decided to wear it to brunch. I am, it should also be noted, by virtue of my dear mom and dad, a skinny, pasty white dude. On the way home, as me and my group of friends stopped obediently at the crosswalk on Church & Chambers, I overheard someone say, “Watchuknowaboutwutang?” Naturally assuming I was being called out, I searched the crowd for my inquisitor. Standing in front of me was a guy who looked to be in pretty rough shape. He held a brown-bagged brew and as my buddy later noted, the film on his teeth made it look as though he had one big horizontal tooth. He had those funky ass finger nails too.
“What?” I said.
“Watchuknowaboutwutang? Namefivemembasfuhmerighnow.”
The funny thing is, I welcomed the challenge to my fandom. I wanted to prove that despite by goofy white-ness, I have every right to be a fan and wear a sweet t-shirt as the next dude.
So I said, “RZA, GZA, ODB, Masta Killah and U-God. Want me to keep going?” I surprised myself with Masta Killah and even second guessed that he was, in fact, a member. Not just some affiliate like Cappadonna or Killah Priest. But it didn’t matter. Dude was immediately taken aback, looking like he even sobered up for a second.
“Hahathasscoolman. Thasscool. You from the Isle?”
“Nah, not from Staten man, just a fan.”
He then proceeded to tell me that ODB has a new record of unreleased material coming out soon. Which appears to be true. Turns out A Son Unique, which was supposed to be released in 2005, is now set for release next week. I traded info about the new ODB doc that screens in Harlem next Tuesday.
As we neared my apartment, I could tell he wanted to keep talking. But I had to go.
“Okman. MaybeIseeyouaround.”
“Yea man,” I said. “Maybe.”
Then we gave each other dap and went on our separate ways. Wu-Tang forever.
New Air France
November 3, 2009
Just in time for cold weather, Air France is back with a breezy electronic track that makes you yearn for the beach. This time it’s a remix of St. Etienne’s “Spring.” Get out the sunblock:
Drake
October 1, 2009
Yeah, dude is everywhere now, but he can spit. I mean, he sold 73,000 copies of a mixtape first week. That’s retarded in today’s climate. This song is ill. I love the blackberry line.
“Say What’s Real”
Akron/Family
October 1, 2009
I just really like this song.
“River”
Camera Obscura
October 1, 2009
If you should ever find yourself scoring an independent film and need a love song or two, look no further than Camera Obscura’s latest, My Maudlin Career. Maybe it’s the slight Scottish tinge to lead singer Tracyanne Campbell’s vocals, but her voice is crazy appealing and the way she sings about relationships and all that jazz is endearing, perhaps overly so, as indie films often are. I feel like all the songs on the new record should accompany a black and white photo album or some shit. But in a good way. If you dig Belle & Sebastian and/or Jenny Lewis, check it.
“French Navy”
I’m going to go smoke a cigarette
September 24, 2009
“Dude so give me a five minute re-cap of the night.”
“It was ok. At least I thought it was. I mean, it was going well until about three quarters of the way through the show this chick says ‘I’m gonna go smoke a cigarette’ and goes outside and fucking doesn’t come back.”
“Are you serious? What do you mean?”
“I mean dude, she went outside to smoke, which is straight, but after like thirty minutes I realize I’m still standing by myself like a fucking toolbox. The Horrors finished their set, played an encore and still no word from this girl. She didn’t even text me to say, ‘Sorry, I’m stuck talking to a friend’ or ‘Sorry, I have the shits’ or something. You know?”
“Yea, I bet it was the latter.”
“Right?”
“Yea.”
“But that’s weird, right?”
“What, the shits?”
“No dude, I mean to not let someone know that you’re ditching them.”
“Well, it wouldn’t be ditching if you told them you were about to do it.”
“Fuck you man, you know what I mean. That shit’s just rude. Girls can be real gay sometimes.”
“Lesbians? Well, was the show good at least?”
“Yea, Crocodiles killed it and the Horrors are legit.”
“See, there you go man. This chick gave you a free ticket to a sweet show. That’s a good night in my book. Plus, you should try to abuse this for other free shit since she works at the venue.”
“Totally. You’re absolutely right.”
“Good. Glad we got that sorted out….well, I’m gonna go smoke a cigarette.”
“Kiss my ass.”
On the leeeeeaaaaaaan
September 22, 2009
DJ Screw – Warning (BIG)
DJ Screw – High til I Die (2pac)
Entourage
September 20, 2009
Look, I’m not a hater, but this is getting ridiculous. HBO, you should be ashamed of yourself. Entourage is limping off to die behind the barn and you’re letting it happen in front of millions of viewers. It’s just embarrassing for everyone. I mean, has anything happened this season? Anything? I think Turtle hit a bong once or twice, but that’s about it. PLEASE, do us all a favor and either guarantee at least 10 minutes of Sloan camera time per episode or just put the show out of its misery. I know, I know. I’m a hypocrite. “If you don’t like the show, then don’t watch it.” Right? Well, I can’t stop. I just can’t. This fucking show is like audio/visual crack. I know it’s bad for me, it makes me numb and I feel guilty after watching it. Not that I’ve ever smoked crack…but I HAVE watched enough episodes of The Wire to know. But like a junkie, I keep coming back just in case there are boobs, or god forbid, a few minutes of Sloan. We all know HBO is just keeping the show around to maintain a “solid” line up. But you know what? There’s another show about the entertainment industry that has attractive women AND well-written, witty dialogue. And a protagonist that actually does shit. It’s called Californication and it’s taking, or rather, has already taken, the “bro show” title (just made that up) from Vince and co. Please, HBO, just give us what we want or give us our 21 minutes back so we can kick our habit.
Thanks.
VB
