Thursday, February 5th, 2004
More genius posting fromJulianne Blazer on You Got Serviced. I (heart) b-boy/b-girl blogs. Back to the Bronx–the book, that is. I’m rewriting the 2 chapters on the gangs into one, while wishing I could do 17 more on just this stuff.
posted by Jeff Chang @ 6:33 pm | 0 Comments
Thursday, February 5th, 2004
“SEPARATE IS SELDOM, IF EVER, EQUAL”
From yesterday’s ruling by the Mass. Supreme Judicial Court on gay marriage:
“The history of our nation has demonstrated that separate is seldom, if ever, equal. . . .
The bill’s absolute prohibition of the use of the word “marriage” by “spouses” who are the same sex is more than semantic. The dissimilitude between the terms “civil marriage” and “civil union” is not innocuous; it is a considered choice of language that reflects a demonstrable assigning of same-sex, largely homosexual, couples to second-class status. . . ”
I love this: the upshot of the ruling is that gay marriages begin in Massachusetts on May 17, the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education.
Sidenote: Mass. boy John Kerry opposes gay marriage.
I really wish I had time to parse this more with yall–there’s so much here, and one of my side journalistic obsessions has become the recent cultural history of integration–but I’m in the last 48+ hours of editing.
Soon come…
In other news, Dean may quit if he doesn’t win Wisconsin. Is this a way to rally depressed Deaniacs or an admission of collapse? Probably both.
Another sidenote: Wisconsin has often been the reversal point for insurgent candidacies. In ’88, when Jesse Jackson was stomping all candidates after the early caucuses and primaries, Dem centrist operatives ganged up on him in Wisconsin, while Ed Koch revived the famous Hymietown thang. He never recovered.
In the end, Jackson finished a distant second to the short guy with the uni-brow from-where?-Massachusetts.
posted by Jeff Chang @ 9:47 am | 0 Comments
Wednesday, February 4th, 2004
Greg Tate on Cold Mountain. Nuff said, believers.
posted by Jeff Chang @ 11:32 am | 0 Comments
Wednesday, February 4th, 2004
Whoooeee.
The two-decade plus hate affair between the Village Voice and Al Sharpton reaches a new level with this cover story hit piece by Wayne Barrett.
On Democracy Now, Barrett got in an even tougher jab: Sharpton only walked out of South Carolina with 9.5%, not enough to claim the delegates he needs to position himself at the Convention in late July. Here’s the NY Times story.
Still rooting for the guy, underdog love. And Dems shouldn’t crow too loud. Lots of hip-hop heads are pulling for Dean and Kucinich and Sharpton…
On the other hand, glad to see you go, Joe. Relax. You and C. Delores can hang out a lot more now.
posted by Jeff Chang @ 10:02 am | 0 Comments
Tuesday, February 3rd, 2004
Deadline staring at me like a hungry wolf. Nothing interesting to say about anything today, not even about the continuing, uh, fallout over Janet’s, uh, pop move. (My UPS guy says he’s now a Justin fan.)
Instead, here’s a story about the making of Outkast’s ‘Hey Ya!’, thanks for the link to the good folks at Rock and Rap Confidential.
Also, O-dub reviews one of my favorite unreleased albums ever, King Tee’s “Thy Kingdom Come”. Now I can put my Aftermath advance cassette to bed, and hopefully some of that loot is getting into Tela’s pockets. I have a great story about that record, actually a few, aww hell, I could talk all day about it. But you’ll have to wait. Sorry.
In the meantime, read SFJ who has been on fire this past week, recognize.
And for your listening pleasure: Harry Mudie Meets King Tubby’s In Dub Conference Vol 1 <---> Art of Noise-Who’s Afraid of the Art of Noise? <---> Innerzone Orchestra-Programmed.
If anyone has an algorithm for painlessly cutting manuscripts, please send.
posted by Jeff Chang @ 10:05 am | 0 Comments
Monday, February 2nd, 2004
GET SERVED!
Go Julianne! You never need read another review of this movie–or any other hip-hop dance movie–in your entire life. (But hey, Chinese martial arts, what what!)
posted by Jeff Chang @ 1:34 pm | 0 Comments
Monday, February 2nd, 2004
WARDROBE MALFUNCTION!?!!?!!
Outraged (and, uh, titillated) FCC Chair Michael Powell is launching a, uh, probe into Justin Timberlake’s encounter with Janet Jackson’s right titty yesterday at the Super Bowl.
Damn. A culture war over Justin’s grab and Janet’s breastess? Who needs fiction? Yeah it’s funny now, and I don’t mean to be alarmist but when this shit becomes a presidential election issue in–what, hours, days?–oh man.
Meanwhile Jay Smooth and friends on the meaning of The Nipplegate Crisis. Definitely check the comments too.
posted by Jeff Chang @ 10:12 am | 0 Comments
Monday, February 2nd, 2004
EVERYONE LOVES A HAPPY ENDING
Mingering Mike finally finds fame. I’m sure you’ve seen the backstory already, but if not, it’s here and here .
posted by Jeff Chang @ 8:15 am | 0 Comments
Saturday, January 31st, 2004
FLAGGING BLUE, FLAGGING RED
Powerful journalism in a cover story in this week’s LA Weekly on Kershaun Scott, the former Eight Tray Gangster Crip known as “Lil Monster”, younger brother of prison memoirist Sanyika “Monster” Shakur. Scott fled LA to escape the life and settled in Kern County, the most aggressive prosecuting county in California. The story is about Scott’s family trying to make good in a rigged system that will not give a quarter.
+++++
While we’re on blue and red, I’ve been stewing a bit about this analysis in yesterday’s NY Times about how Blue States (Democratic States) tend to redistribute wealth to Red States (Republican states).
It’s a point Farai Chideya first brought to my attention two years ago:
Republicans claim to be anti-government and anti-tax, but they actually suck mad tax dollars from the states willing to pay–traditionally Democratic states.
See, you thought you were getting pimped? Now you know you are.
FYI the NY Times op-ed writer, Daniel Pink, a former Gore speechwriter, is pessimistic about the implications of the Blue/Red divide. Don’t read all this stuff if you’re in a Mary J. Blige-just-want-to-be-happy mood today. But do read sometime.
More reading on the meaning of Blue and Red states:
-A Boston Globe story on the history of the Blue/Red divide. (It’s all McGovern’s fault.)
-The original Pew Center report. Caution: the results will often blow away what you thought you knew.
-A more recent Zogby poll further illustrating how deeply divided the electorate is.
Don’t never say I don’t give you nothing!
posted by Jeff Chang @ 10:37 am | 0 Comments
Friday, January 30th, 2004
A WORD THAT DON’T MEAN NOTHING, LIKE LOOFTID
Just commemorating my Humpty Hump moment with Super DJ Mind Motion and the kids this morning. And Jocelyn Brown, too? Now I’m gonna do my dance. Happy Friday. One week to go on this edit…
Bonus beat for Yayarea hip-hop nostalgists: cover story by Todd Inoue the Chef on the DJ we love to love, the mighty mighty Kevvy Kev. Extra shots for the Friendly Traveler…
posted by Jeff Chang @ 10:03 am | 0 Comments
Previous Posts
- Who We Be + N+1=Summer Reading For You
- “I Gotta Be Able To Counterattack” : Los Angeles Rap and The Riots
- Me in LARB + Who We Be Update
- In Defense Of Libraries
- The Latest On DJ Kool Herc
- Support DJ Kool Herc
- A History Of Hate: Political Violence In Arizona
- Culture Before Politics :: Why Progressives Need Cultural Strategy
- It’s Bigger Than Politics :: My Thoughts On The 2010 Elections
- New In The Reader: WHO WE BE PREVIEW + Uncle Jamm’s Army
Feed Me!
Revolutions
- DJ Nu-Mark :: Take Me With You
DJ Nu-Mark remixes the diaspora…party ensues! - El General + Various Artists :: Mish B3eed : Khalas Mixtape V. 1
The crew at Enough Gaddafi bring the most important mixtape of 2011–the street songs that launched the Tunisian & Egyptian Revolutions… - J. Period + Black Thought + John Legend :: Wake Up! Radio mixtape
Remixing the classic LP w/towering contributions from Rakim, Q-Tip + Mayda Del Valle - Lyrics Born :: As U Were
Bright production + winning rhymes in LB’s most accessible set ever - Model Minority :: The Model Minority Report
The SoCal Asian American rap scene that produced FM keeps surprising… - Mogwai :: Hardcore Won't Die But You Will
Dare we call it majestic? - Taura Love Presents :: Picki People Volume One
From LA via Paris with T-Love, the global post-Dilla generation goes for theirs…
Word
- Cormac McCarthy :: Blood Meridian
Read this now before Hollywood f*#ks it up. - Dave Tompkins :: How To Wreck A Nice Beach
Book of the decade, nuff said. - Joe Flood :: The Fires
The definitive account of why the Bronx burned - Mark Fischer :: Capitalist Realism
K-Punk’s philosophical manifesto reads like his blog, snappy and compelling. Just replace pop music with post-post-Marxism. Pair with Josh Clover’s 1989 for the full hundred. - Nell Irvin Painter :: The History of White People
Well worth a Glenn Beck rant…and everyone’s scholarly attention - Robin D.G. Kelley :: Thelonious Monk : The Life And Times Of An American Original
Monk as he was meant to be written - Tim Wise :: Colorblind
Wise’s call for a color-conscious agenda in an era of “post-racial” politics is timely - Victor Lavalle :: Big Machine
Victor Lavalle does it again!
Fiyahlinks
- ++ Total Chaos
The acclaimed anthology on the hip-hop arts movement - ARC
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