First off I wanna direct you to another blog that holds aspecial place in my heart..this is my boy Flip's Blog...funny ......informative...gay friendly{lol}..etc. But really he is a great kid w/amazing talents and you should also check his musc out..below are both links...here is a pic of said buddy so you can see how long we've been down for the get down together...
Left 2 Right...... Myself....Billy Moore...And Flip Mode in the dungeon that was Flip's bedroom...circa 9th grade...94{?}
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=108549364
http://highkoo.blogsinmaine.com/
Alright on to the blogging.
I have only been dong this for about a week..so I'm just gonna start this weekly round up of an album/book and movie I suggest. Give a short reviewon each and that's it. I will blog on other things as well but rest assured there will be a weekly post on these matters.
Book. "The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel" by Amy Hempel{duh}
The fear of human connection — especially the connection between mother and child — is a theme of Hempel's. "The only time the word baby doesn't scare me is the time that it should, when it is what a man calls me," says the narrator of "Tumble Home." That fear is a failure of empathy, a failure that haunts the powerful story "In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson Is Buried." This story is the very first one she ever wrote, which might give aspiring writers pause for thought. In it, a woman doesn't quite rise to the task of supporting a dying friend; it's as simple, as awful, as that. As the narrator of that story says: "What seems dangerous often is not — black snakes, for example, or clear-air turbulence. While things that just lie there, like this beach, are loaded with jeopardy." There it is. The threat of Amy Hempel's conversation.Hempel's plain, unexplicit language somehow conveys the madness of desire; and so, it is in just such a story — apparently harsh, seemingly cold — that Hempel's genius, and a kind of redemption, can really be found.
For here is the redemption of real art. You could call Hempel part of a movement in the trajectory of the American short story, and Rick Moody, in his intelligent introduction, places her alongside Grace Paley, Ann Beattie and others — women writers who rise above what he sees as the "rage" and posturing of their male counterparts. But in the end such comparisons don't matter. Amy Hempel is herself. You read her stories and wonder, Why are they so wonderful? The answer comes to you at the very end of this volume, in a line toward the close of "Offertory." "Because a human being made this." That's all you need to know. Take it slowly. You'll see what I mean.
Now the album...... Gravediggaz "The Pick, the Sickle and the Shovel"
now it was released in 97..this should be no reason for anyone not to hear or buy this album..It was easy 10 years ahead of it;s time so now is a perfecr time to listen. Here's what wikipedia says......
Gravediggaz was an American Hip Hop group from New York City, well-known for its dark sense of humor and abrasive, menacing soundscapes. The group was formed in 1994 and was effectively a supergroup, bringing together Prince Paul (The Undertaker) Frukwan (The Gatekeeper), Too Poetic (The Grym Reaper), and RZA (The Rzarector). The group is widely credited as being one of the most influential and pioneering groups in the small hip-hop subgenre of horrorcore.
Now this album is NOT a Horrorcore album. It's more of a warning about what will happen if we continue to live as mentally dead people.
.. the group's name "means digging graves of the mentally dead, and it stood for resurrecting the mentally dead from their state of unawareness and ignorance
Any group that has RZA and Prince Paul as the two producers should be listened to for sheer sonic reasons...but this group has two MC's {not including the RZA..who is amazing} Frukwan and Too Poetic that are pretty unheard of..and pretty amazing in their own right.. Too Poetic died of colon cancer in 2001. I will post a link to my favorite song from the album{hard to pick} Go get this or at least download it....it is fucking off the wall.
The song I'm posting is "the unexplained" feat. only poetic and frukwan because I'm sure you all allready know RZA's work.
Also Kelis{of Bossy/Milkshake fame} made her recording debut on this album "fairytalz"...just so you know...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jg5pgtiryYg
I'll get to the movie later......
enjoy the book and album...lettme know what you think.
{Visuals of book and album below}