Saturday, February 21st, 2004

Bored with Norah? Or not? Trust me, you’ve been waiting for Andy Bey’s ‘American Song’. To my ears, one of the best of 2004 already for “Lush Life” all by itself.

posted by @ 3:15 pm | 0 Comments

Friday, February 20th, 2004

SHAMELESS, PLUG 1

If you’re nearby, come check out University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Hip-Hop Congress’ Hip-Hop Awareness Week from March 4-6. I’ll be on a panel with TJ Crawford, David Muhammad, Mario Africa, and Capital D on hip-hop activism on March 6. Other panels will feature Cashus D, Christie Z. Pabon, Marinieves Alba, and Kevin Coval.

SHAMELESS, PLUG 2

You’ll be hearing more about this as we get closer, but I’m mad excited about this one.

For this year’s EMP Pop Music Conference, I’m honored to be bringing together a panel featuring two of my heroes: Benjamin Melendez, founder of the Ghetto Brothers gang (one of whose young members, Eddie Perez, recently became the Mayor of Hartford, Connecticut, earlier this year), and Henry Chalfant, producer of “Style Wars” and “Flyin’ Cut Sleeves”, to introduce what we’re calling a “pre-history of hip-hop” that includes a look at the pivotal, and mostly forgotten, Bronx gang truce of 1971.

Here’s the relevant panel info. Video, music, dialogue, stories. What more can I say? Please join us in Mixalot’s backyard, April 15-18.

posted by @ 5:06 pm | 0 Comments

Friday, February 20th, 2004

Where You At, Mark Jenkins?

Where you at, Mark Jenkins?

How did you get to be such an accomplished film and music critic, and become the author of such a fantastic book–Dance of Days (buy it, it really is good)–with such poor reading comprehension skills?

It is not my style to call people out in public if I can help it. But I’m tired of all yall professional, amateur, and wannabe knee-jerkists taking cheap shots as a way of denying or avoiding the real argument.

Every time the issue of race (or gender or sexuality or…) and representation comes up, yall suddenly take offense like you’ve personally been called a racist. PLEASE. I don’t deal with that. That’s so 80s. I deal with the institutions. I deal with the discourse that’s a product of those institutions.

If you want to defend all that, that’s your right. If not, don’t shit on me without dealing with the argument first. And smart people, take note: the line that goes “racism is not the real problem, it’s sexism”, “sexism is not the real problem, it’s age-ism”, “age-ism is not the real problem, it’s BDP-ism”, etc., is not an argument as much as it’s a rhetorical device. Same thing with using my name as a signifier in the place of an argument (as in “Well, I’m not a real racist until Jeff Chang says so nyah nyah” or, I love this one, “racism is not the real problem, Jeff Chang is”).

These tactics are all called intellectual dishonesty (psychologists call it denial), and I’m calling yall out on that. It’s one of the many reasons all these -isms still exist.

So to clarify one last time, motherfuckers, here’s how you read Jeff Motherfucking Chang:

1) I don’t “attack” white writers’ right to write about hip-hop, least of all white writers of my generation. I never have. I never will. Here’s your fucking Chang soundbite/pullquote: “There are many whites who write about hip-hop very well. A few are among the very best. So the fuck what?” Should white writers be above criticism? Not any more than me.

2) I don’t disparage the right of older folks to write about hip-hop. I do show my ambivalence sometimes. When you see me use the word “Elder”, it’s meant to honor their insights and foundation-building. When you see me use the word “elderly”, I think their shit sucks. But to call me age-ist is just childish. (Let’s get to the real issue someday: the generation that once said, “Never trust anyone over 30”, now can’t seem to trust anyone under 30.)

3) Here is what I have said and what I stand by: the mainstream of music criticism is dominated by straight white baby boomer males. That’s not a “protest”, that’s a fact. Is that so controversial? Apparently it is, because my opinion was that, hey, maybe that isn’t such a great thing anymore. Go jerk your knee here.

So if you feel that you now need me to invite you to shoot yourself, list you in some directory of racists, or kiss your AARP card, please get yourself some professional help. I did not start writing to become a Licensed and Certified SWM Ego-Stroker.

Thank you and no more.

posted by @ 3:28 pm | 0 Comments

Friday, February 20th, 2004

WHAT’S A ROCKIST?

Scott Woods does the comprehensive archival work so all of us can debate: Rockism, defined, kinda sorta. (Scott can we get a permalink? This one is gonna be a classic.)

posted by @ 9:28 am | 0 Comments

Friday, February 20th, 2004

Just to prove to yall that I am not Oliver and he is not me, here’s Oliver’s take on American Idol. Plus news of a coup for William Hung and the common Asian American karaoke weekend man. For my Tito Dante, Tito Boy, my brother Fletch, and you and I too–we are all William Hung.

posted by @ 9:02 am | 0 Comments

Wednesday, February 18th, 2004

LOCAL GIRLS ROCK!

Plus they’re mad humble. Let Camille-mania begin! Next up: Bruddah Jonah. 808 represent…

posted by @ 9:08 pm | 0 Comments

Wednesday, February 18th, 2004

Jay Smooth sez: “Don’t Hate the Player, Hate The League”.

Now first of all I admit I got beef with Steinbrenner going back to the mid-70s–when he snatched Catfish and Reggie from Oakland. (Chuck O. Finley’s dead already, so I’ll leave him be.) I was only, like, a wee pal then, but we don’t forget! I’ll admit that up front.

Over the last three decades, Steinbrenner has been at the forefront of creating this rich-get-much-richer/poor-stay-poor divide in baseball–first with free agency, on up through salary cap debates, etc. At every turn, he’s been there to pry the divide bigger. It’s not like he’s an innocent gamer here, he’s very responsible for the way the game has turned out.

So yeah it will be much more satisfying when the A’s or whoever crush the Yankees come summertime. It will be enjoyable to read the NY Times sports page trying to figure out what went wrong. It will be most gratifying to see Derek Jeter forced out of New York within 2 years.

But I don’t see how it’s possible defend the ethics of a Steinbrenner, not when you look at the history. He’s got just as much of a not-so-invisible hand in everything that really sucks about MLB as anyone in the last half-century of this sport.

(Melle Mel neckveins popping) RRRRRRRRR-AH!

Addendum: My man is right about the Red Sox, though. Cheering for the Red Sox must be like being a Jeb Bush fan. Doh! Ah, spring training and March Madness must not be far away…

posted by @ 8:07 pm | 0 Comments

Wednesday, February 18th, 2004

THERE WERE NO ‘YEEAARGH’S IN BURLINGTON LAST NIGHT

Howard Dean Abandons His Bid for the White House.

Didn’t I tell ya Wisconsin is a motherfucker?

But the best thing about how this ends is that Dean retains his own organization within the Democratic Party, ostensibly a way to keep the Deaniacs from bolting to, say, Ralph Nader or another third-party insurgency. Of course it’s a way to keep the Dean empire alive, too. But perhaps it even gives a place for Kucinich and Sharpton voters to go?

ALT-HISTORY MOMENT: If the Rainbow had pushed for something similar in ’88 after Jesse Jackson’s defeat–instead of, as the story goes, dumping all their computer records in someone’s dumpster–think where we would be today. Sigh.

posted by @ 1:56 pm | 0 Comments

Wednesday, February 18th, 2004

Man, let me just say cheering for the Yankees because you’re from New York is like rooting for the Republicans cause you’re from Texas. You could do it, sure, but it’s still wrong! And now back to my flu, already in progress.

posted by @ 8:03 am | 0 Comments

Tuesday, February 17th, 2004

I am totally utterly completely flu-bound, for the first time in a year or two, but have to blogthis post by Aaron Wherry on the gotdam Yankees. Now it’s easier than ever to hate them.

Q: how many A-Rod jerseys do they need to sell to make back their investment? Do the Yankees ever make money?

BTW the one thing you forgot, Aaron, is that Joe Torre’s a self-admitted lame-duck. Steinbrenner can pull the trigger the moment A-Rod complains about his baseball cap being too itchy and hire Grady Little if he likes.

posted by @ 12:09 pm | 0 Comments



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