A Glimpse Inside The Mind of a Chameleon.
 

http://www.heathwood.org/simpson/qui...hameleon22.jpg

I've been meaning to start up a journal for quite some time now but I didn't realize which direction I wanted to head in.
Trollheart you gets no credit for me starting this journal. The point system seems a bit ridiculous but if you are having fun keeping track and
others are having fun with it then it's no place for me to talk I suppose. I have to admit that I don't feel like I'm the best writer but since I do need practice this will be good for me to keep up as well as some other projects I have going at the moment.


This journal is going to evolve over time and different subsections will pop up when I feel like they would fit in or when it's time for me to discuss certain things.


It all began when I was just a wee lad(around the age of 10) that wanted to fit in. This required having something interesting to talk about along with ice breakers so it dawned on me that I tend to listen to rock and hip hop so If I wanted to gain white friends in class all I had to do was talk about the rock music that I was into. Of course a large majority of it came from listening to the radio and watching mtv but I still loved rock regardless of my shallow source. The alt rock radio station WRRV was my safe haven that kept me up to date with bands that I loved at the time. Music was my weapon of choice to break through the walls of any clique I wanted to socialize with. The feeling of being able to blend into any group and get along with them fine enough based off of sharing common interests music-wise was exhilarating.


Making online friends came just as easily while wielding my weapon. My innate ability to group songs into certain themes got me a little gig of being a "producer" for an online dj at hurricane radio. I use the term producer quite liberally but basically when he wasn't taking requests, I would set up his playlists and break them down into similar themes. Some of his listeners found out that he had someone else creating his playlists that they loved so much and begged me to become my own dj. Taking my history into consideration is why I was knighted DJChameleon. Similar to a chameleon blending into his environments to survive is how my childhood was spent socially. After hurricane radio fell apart, DJSlinky and myself decided to start up our own station: Fo' Sho' Radio. DJ Angelbaby is the one that actually came up with the name. Angel was a sweet girl from St. Louis.

I will touch on the rise and inevitable fall of Fo' Sho' Radio in a future post.

Around Musicbanter I'm constantly told that I have shit taste in music and my taste in music doesn't meet up to MB standards. I'll never forget that pretentious ass statement. I'm really open to giving anything a chance and taking it all in. Listening to music that I've never heard before and forming an opinion on it based off of how it sounds to me is what I've been doing for so long. The laziness bug bites me quite often and the way that I tend to find new music outside of MB is by pulling up the Zune Marketplace(Yes, shut up I bought a Zune because I'm anti-apple) and looking through the new releases. I will snatch up albums from artists that either I vaguely know or taking the shallow route and judging an album by its cover as a potential to listen to. Before coming to Musicbanter, I used to pride myself on the ability to figure out which tracks would be hits on the radio and telling my friends that they should listen to certain songs. What happens next is that I turn them onto the catchy tracks and it ends up being selected as a single for the masses. The thing that would infuriate me is when certain gems off of an album wouldn't be selected as a single when it has such great potential to be a hit. Every now and then I will turn on MTV and the same Alt Rock station from my youth along with a top 40 station to see what the masses are listening to since I'm not a regular radio listener anymore. The two genres that I listen to most of the time as you may know is Hip Hop and I'm really stuck on 90s Alt Rock so I will listen to some singles from bands that I used to like during that time. I will take more time to discuss the different genre phases that I went through but that's a whole other entry.



I admit that in my youth I was a heavy singles listener. I didn't fully transition to an album listener until a few years before joining Musicbanter. Skimming through albums and taking only the singles that I wanted out of it and adding them to a whole playlist was my life back then. Most of them would be hits but a few would be tracks that appealed to me. Even after becoming an album listener I still tend to pick and choose which songs that I end up liking which will be repeated ad naseum. I have no real issues with single listeners since I used to be one. I feel like they tend to get a lot of hate though mostly because they get associated with the mainstream and listen to radio stations. Oh no the horror, people actually listen to the radio and enjoy what they are hearing, off with their fucking heads. I noticed that I was around MB too long when I would utter such pretentious statements out loud around friends irl like "Oh, I don't listen to the radio.", "Oh, you've never heard about (insert band/artist) it must be because they are struggling to make it and want to stay true to their roots. They haven't sold out to get radioplay." "You don't like Radiohead, I don't think I can be friends with you anymore." Joking about the last one but yeah I really had to reign in my pretentious ways that rubbed off on me from being around this place too much.

Yes yes, I will eventually get to talking about specific artists but these intro type posts I feel are important things that I have on my mind and need to be said.

Look forward to your journal. I'm another member of the Zune insurgency who detests Apple after a long history of buying their inferior products and waging war with their arrogant tech reps who behave like spoiled rock stars. I currently own an 80 meg Zune and a 120 meg Zune and listen to most of my digital files on those two devices.

I previously owned an iPod shuffle that was a piece of junk and it wouldn't even synch half the songs in my digital music collection. After dozens of phone calls to Apple customer assistance techs who treated me like a moron and couldn't solve the problem, I smashed the iPod against the wall and jumped on it until it was in tiny pieces. Then I went out a bought a Zune player and I've been using Zune for five years and haven't had any problems.

I was sad to hear that Microsoft has stopped manufacturing the Zune product line because Microsoft can't compete in a marketplace where Apple sells 90% of the digital music devices.

Yeah, the one I have is an 80 gig and I wanted to get a 120 gig one day. I still might. I think it's perfectly fine to pass up on the HD version though because they took off the ability to get games I think. I didn't even like having games on my 80 gig because it would drain the battery so quickly.

Good work so far. Looking forward to the FoShoRadio bit.

Glad you started this, Cham. You've always been one of my favorite members to chat with, it'll be good to see some of your thoughts and stories.

Welcome to the world of journals, DJ! Looks good so far: like the passport photo!

Not sure why you're dissing my points system: took a long time to set that up and I think it's the fairest way I can do it. Mind you, I won't derail your journal by talking about that, but if you have any better ideas feel free to PM me on it. I spent a lot of time working on it to make sure it was fair and that those who have been here the longest were on the same basic level as startups like you.

Just post as much and as interesting as you can and you may find yourself scaling the dizzy heights to successville!

Interestingly enough, I never was a singles or albums listener all the way up to high school. Never really gave a **** about what was on radio and I didn't really have that much of a grasp on why albums were interesting either. And then I discovered progressive rock as a freshman: turned me into an albums guy almost overnight, and then other genres became fair game after that. :love:

For me, music is an investment in more ways than one. You figure out what genres really push your good buttons at some point so that's where you really put your energy, focus, etc. People tend to specialize whether they're aware of it or not.

However, there's still a bit more to it. One of the biggest differences between singles and album-oriented people is like when you go to the ocean: you'll have people who might walk along the beach and sunbathe, and then you'll get fewer folks (but still a lot) who rush out there and snorkel/dive. Some people want to explore greater depths and some people are content with admiring the surface from afar. Like anything else, some folks care more about music on the whole than others do. :)

Looking forward to following this journal though DJ. Keep up the good work! :)

Thanks for all the support guys. I have a few interesting topics to discuss that I just need to flesh out more before posting.

I know you put a lot of work into it and it's appreciated. When you first came out with the system, I really didn't see the why it was needed in the first place but it's a good idea and other people really like it. I'm neutral towards it now. It doesn't bother me one way or the other.

Pretty damn good analogy.

Great to see you have a journal DJ, I'm interested to see what you discuss. :)

DJChameleon and DJSlinky set off on a journey together after being exiled from their former kingdom. Along the way, they met up with a variety of characters from different walks of life. All of these characters joined up together to form their own kingdom and their intent was to rule over the airwaves while promoting local artists. The general idea behind their kingdom that was titled Fo’ Sho’ Radio was to play local artists for free and get them more attention while at the same time the bands/artists would be spreading the word of our radio station and one hand washes the other. The list of knights(djs) were DJ AngelBaby, DJ Corvain, DJ Inferno, DJ 2 Real, DJ A-Rizzle, DJ Kraut, DJ Metalgirl, DJ Quistis, DJ Jester.



I made sure that my kingdom got the most attention that it needed by being the local crier as well as being the leader of the knights. I made up their watch schedules and took care of any concerns they had. The main responsibility of DJ Slinky was to keep up and maintain the fortress(website) while on my side of things I was heavily promoting. I went out with my sack(backpack full of flyers) and would hand them out and talk to people. I was also collecting demos left and right. What I was doing, I actually instructed my other knights to do as well. We had so much traffic being directed to the fortress(website) and it was great but the only drawback is that DJ Slinky was being lazy about finishing up the fortress fortifications(website). He had the DJ schedule up and a link to the feed that we had going on but that was about it. He didn’t have the rest of the fortifications(site) functional. I had people coming back to me complaining about the fortress(website) and saying how incomplete it was. I was giving 110% to this kingdom(station) while DJ Slinky wasn’t taking it as seriously as I was. One of our knights offered to even help fix up the website but then DJ Slinky decided to start power tripping and drama ensued. Not too long after this conflict the whole operation just started to fall apart.


About two years later when I initially joined musicbanter, my intent was to recruit behind the scenes and see who was interested in doing some online dj’ing. I got a few people that were interested but their interest wasn’t serious enough for me so I decided not to go through with it. I also wanted to learn how to design websites so I would have control over it and then I’d be sole ruler(owner) of the station. I loved this kingdom(station) though while it lasted, it was my baby for two years. Each DJ had their specific genres that they liked to play. I would split up my night between having a chunk of rock music that I would play then taper off into hip hop. I had listeners that wouldn’t tune into me until I got to the hip hop section and my rock fans would tune out after the beginning rock section was over. I’m going to take some of the ideas that I had for my different blocks of programming and make them focused journal entries.

Razor’s Edge

One of my programming blocks was called Razor’s edge. I would basically stream a new release album in its entirety. I stayed away from leaks and would only play albums that were released in stores on that day. I’m going to attempt to review a new release album each Tuesday. Let’s see how well I can keep this up.





This week I’m going to give you a rundown of Letlive. This is my first time ever listening to this band. They are a post- hardcore band hailing from LA. I agree with a review of them that they have the technical fury of At The Drive In. My experience with this album has lead me to go back and check out their third album Fake History which is considered a breakthrough album for them. I bitch and moan about screaming but I can take it in small doses from time to time. My first time listening to this album was while I was working out so I tended to mostly focus on whether a track was catchy or not and was upbeat enough to keep me motivated while doing cardio. I will definitely be giving this album more plays it reminds me of my early 20s when I used to listen to The Blood Brothers and Thursday heavily. The percussion at the beginning of White America’s Beautiful Black Market is so infectious. When I heard that, I started to kick up the speed and my heart rate went up as I started going a bit faster on the elliptical. I know that if I was listening to this song at home, I would be doing a little dance in my chair. The Priest and Used Cars along with 27 Club ended up being standout tracks for me along with White America’s Beautiful Black Market. The subject matter for WABBM touches on American’s corporate culture and the money hungry healthcare system that we have. I went into this album not knowing what to expect and came out pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it.

Time Warp was another programming block that I had. I would pick a year randomly and go back to that time by playing RHPS Time Warp song. Once I got to that time, I would read off the headline of a major event that occurred that year. I would then begin by playing an album from that year that was popular and the top 10 songs from that year. Translating this to journal form, I think I will still do the headline of a current event for the year but I will go a little further by posting a small excerpt from the event. My first few Time Warps are going to be back to the 90s/00s to give you a peek into the artists/genres from my past.

The year is 1994 and Columbia House has sent out their annoying mailings where you can get 8 cassettes for free for joining their album club promotion. They have these little stamp sized pictures of different albums and the first one that I tear off and place on the little number one is Dookie by Green Day. This ends up being technically the first album that I “bought”. The reason bought is quoted is because I ended up paying for it not anytime near when I received it but years later as it appeared on my credit report. I ended up playing this album to death. I remember unfolding the booklet that came in the cassette case and going through the lyrics as they played over and over again while singing along horribly which isn’t much of an improvement over Billy Joe’s vocals. “Welcome to Paradise” was the song that made me break out the air guitar while jumping on my bed and singing along. This album started off my interest in Alternative Rock and that's when I headed towards listening to an Alt Rock radio station to get caught up to speed with more tunes that I would end up loving.

Now we take a look at some of the events that happened during 1994:
U.S.

Tonya Harding wins the national Figure Skating championship title but is stripped of her title following an attack on her rival Nancy Kerrigan.

UK

Channel Tunnel opened on May 6th between England and France

U.S.

First Genetically Engineered Tomatoes Available use of GM Foods in US approved

U.S.

Northridge Earthquake, magnitude 6.7, hits the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles

U.S.

OJ Simpson flees police in his white ford bronco

U.S.

Major League Baseball Players Association begin 232 day strike causing 1994 season to be cancelled

U.S.

Orange County, Calif. files for bankruptcy protection


UK

The New UK Lottery Introduced with an estimated jackpot of £7m

UK

New Sunday Trading Laws allows shops in Britain to open legally on Sundays

UK

Frederick West serial killer together with his wife Rosemary West, was responsible for the murder of at least twelve young women

U.S.

Tornado outbreak occurs in Southeastern United States


Northern Ireland

The Irish Republican Army announces a "complete cessation of military operations"

UN

The United Nations Peace Keeping Force Withdraws From Somalia following attacks by militia

U.S.

The Whitewater scandal investigation begins

U.S.

The North American Free Trade Agreement ( Making The Largest Trading Bloc of Countries In The World ) United States, Canada and Mexico.


U.S.

Violent wildfires destroy 286,000 acres in Montana.

UK

Eurostar rail service carrying passengers between London, Paris and Brussels is launched


The good old days of watching the white bronco speed chase. I remember it well because I was living with a family friend at the time and every tv in the house was set to the chase so you could go from eating dinner in the dining room while watching it to going to take a shit and watching it from a set in the bathroom then heading to the main living room to watch it on the bigger screen there. It was a lovely surreal experience that I’ll never forget.

This week’s Razor’s edge is a little behind schedule because I wanted to get the Time Warp post out but anyways here we go. This week I latched onto the album Believers by ¡Mayday!. Supposedly this band has been around since 2006 but only over the past two years or so they added another rapper Wreckonize. ¡Mayday! is an American hip hop group from Miami, Florida The group consists of rapper Bernbiz, rapper Ben Miller (aka Wrekonize), producer, keyboard player and guitarist Aaron Eckhart (aka Plex Luthor), percussionist Andrews Mujica (aka NonMS), drummer Terrel (aka L T Hopkins), and bassist Gianni Perocapi (aka Gianni Cash). The band is currently signed to Tech N9ne's Strange Music label. The only reason I found out about them is because of their connection to Tech N9ne and being on his label. When I listen to a new album especially a more mainstream one I can’t help but shuffle tracks into three categories. One “Is this hit/radio quality track”, two “this is a gem on the album but not radio worthy” and Three “this is just plain awful and filler for the album”. My first impression listen to this album lead me to believe that it was filled with fillers. They would have one good track then the next right after felt like a filler and this would go on for 18 tracks or so. I picked up the deluxe edition so it has 3 bonus tracks at the end totaling 18 tracks on this album.


The first track that really stood out to me was one called “Unplug” they were talking about unplugging from society and even drug culture of not taking substances and also not being connected all the time to everyone through new technology. I related to this song so much because I ended up “unplugging” for a little under a year last year. I wanted to get a grasp on all the free flowing information that I was constantly feeding into my head and at times made me feel like I was ADD or had ADHD. I felt like it was extremely hard for me to concentrate and focus on certain things.


Two tracks later “High Ride” begins and when it gets to the chorus they start to mention flashing lights. Just having the words flashing lights makes this radio quality because of the association that it makes with other songs that have flashing lights in its chorus but this is a catchy little ditty. Two more tracks later we come across “My Life” any song that tends to have the word life in it usually catches my attention and is introspective. This song is no different and follows that formula. This song is a little lighter fare though but yes it’s catchy and it is telling its listeners that he’s “just living his life” which talks about his carefree life and how he came from nothing and now he’s just living it the way he wants all extravagantly. There is also the message of live your life the way you want and don’t worry about how someone else is living their life.



After repeated listenings I ended up liking 13 tracks out of 18 which is really good imo.

The Razor’s Edge is a bit dull because the releases that I’m talking about in this entry were released last week. I just had a weird busy week and even though I might have had time to do a write up. I just never got around to it. I had a really hard time deciding between two great albums I heard this week on which one I would feature on Razor’s edge so I decided to cover them both. Hands Like Houses and Gogol Bordello.


This is my first time hearing Hands Like Houses and they remind me so much of bands like Trapt and Taking Back Sunday. Hands Like Houses is an Australian rock band from Canberra. Formed in 2008, the group is currently signed to Rise Records. This is pretty much another radio alt rock band so they aren’t too spectacular or breaking any molds but I still love them nonetheless. I even went to FYE to pick up their album so I could have a physical copy and I ended up finding their album from last year which I didn’t know about. I asked the clerk if they had any copies and he’s like “yeah no, we won’t be ordering that or getting any copies in.” If you have been in plug with me lately, I pretty damn sure you’ve heard at least one of their songs but I’ll put two here for you to listen to.






This song triggers happy memories for me when I was in my late teens and listened to alt rock heavily. My teen years weren't all sunshine and golden but I did have some good memories and this song takes me back.
Another bonus to this album is that it’s only 11 tracks so you don’t have to drown in too much mediocrity but I’ve listened to this album repeatedly all last week and into this week.




I’m late on catching onto Gogol Bordello apparently. Gogol Bordello is a Gypsy punk band from the Lower East Side of Manhattan, formed in 1999 and known for theatrical stage shows and persistent touring. Much of the band's sound is inspired by Gypsy music. The band incorporates accordion and violin (and on some albums, saxophone) mixed with punk and dub. I went into this album not knowing what to expect and I was pleasantly surprised by the sound gracing my ears. This is their 6th album and I will most definitely look into earlier albums based on how much play I gave this album over the span of a week. My favorite track Dig Deep Enough has a mariachi playing and some flamenco that gives it an excellent latin flair.



I should go to misspoptart and get some more gypsy music recs from her. I really enjoyed this album that much that it turned me onto gypsy music.

I’m going to have to give this week’s edge to Selena “Babyface” Gomez. She helped me out in a time of need. I was at the halfway mark in my cardio session and just finished up listening to Jay Sean’s latest release when her album started with a song called Birthday which just gave me a jolt of energy to press on and continue my 60 min. workout routine.




I want to take this time to give the producers all the credit in the world for this great album. I didn’t expect to like a Selena Gomez album as much as I did and it had enough infectious pop to push me through my workout which was a plus. The Cataracs, Rock Mafia, Dreamlab, Stargate, The Monsters and Strangerz along with a few others but her production is what really sold me on this album. This is her debut album solo while it’s her 4th record overall. The other albums she had were with her band The Scene. I don’t know if this album has less personality than her other records. I will have to check it out for myself but I can’t stop gushing over how much I loved the production and the influences that were being used. The only gripe I had was when she’s doing reggae-ish type songs. The voice that she was using for them sounded pretty awful. She sounded like someone pretending to be West Indian and that’s the worst sound in the world to my ears because my family is West Indian and I know what it should sound like properly. Actually that’s not even my only gripe, a major problem I have that I know Selena and other former Disney singers are doing lately is cultural appropriation and it’s hard to stand by and watch them let this happen like nothing is going on. It’s kind of weird that Selena does it because she was in fucking Spring Breakers! Spring Breakers wasn’t only about showcasing the hedonistic culture of young people these days but there was also a perception of the characters trying to adapt this black ghetto mentality or what they thought this mentality was and how they should act. I guess she didn’t watch her own movie that she starred in or she just didn’t take away the lesson she was supposed to get from it. The more I talk about issues I have with Selena more are popping up but I swear this is the last one in my rant. She looks like a 12 year old, they really need to stop trying to make her look sexy. I don’t care how old she really is. She has a baby face and gyrating in music videos is going to make me over look that face of hers so just they just need to stop and give it a rest with giving her a sexual phase.

I was outside waiting for my taxi when this thought just flew through my head. If I had a sit down with President Obama, what would I talk to him about? All the politic type of topics and issues that I have started to flow through my head but I came to the conclusion that I wouldn’t want to talk about anything of the sort with him. I would want to tap into my inner Howard the Duck and ask him the most asinine questions that I can come up with. I’m sure some of the information would be readily available out there but I’d love to hear them come from his mouth in conversation.

First and foremost I would want to know if he had time to play video games which system would he play and if he was interested in them at all whatsoever. I would probably hear him respond about casual games like Angry Birds or some other mobile game because maybe that’s all he has time for but it would be interesting to hear his answer to that question. I would pick his brain about recent music releases that he was into but dig a bit deeper to find out his favorite artist of the 1980s and also today but with today he would have to name album and favorite track. He needs to tell me what movie he watched recently that touched his heart. It would probably be some Oscar bait drama movie but I need to know. Last but not least if he was in the middle of any books and what’s his favorite genre to read. It would most likely be some non-fiction dribble but I would want to hear about his taste in fiction material.

I will totally listen to her whole album at work soon. Right after I finish listening to Channel Orange for Manky. :)

Great little review DJ! My interest is officially piqued!

For Manky? I'm the one that told you to listen to it lol.

Also, I need some gypsy music recs from you. After listening to Gogol Bordello, I'm all about it.

Ahhhh!! Really? Omg I'm so sorry. It was that long ago that I forgot. :crazy:

Sorry brahh. OKAY. TODAY IS THE DAY.

There were about four or five excellent releases this week(the week of August 6th) but I HAD to shine the spotlight on Huge Laurie. Yes that Hugh Laurie the one from House and Black Adder for you folks across the pond that knows his comedic background. Let’s stumble through all of the instruments that Hugh knows how to play. If you know anything about him you most likely already know piano and guitar but did you know that he also plays harmonica, drums, and saxophone? This is Hugh’s second album and it covers tango, blues, jazz and R&B. All you need to know about this album before going into it is that Hugh puts his own interpretation on some great classics. Even if you don’t know where the classic songs originated from you may end up researching it to find them and do a little comparison. I know I use this phrase quite often but I was definitely surprised by this album and how much I ended up enjoying it. The album opens up with "The St. Louis Blues," which is a blues/jazz standard reinterpreted on the album (as are most of the tracks). "Junkers Blues" is the next track on the album, originally recorded by Champion Jack Dupree, and is faithful into the original but still managing to breathe some life into the track. The third track, "Kiss of Fire," is another classic track, originally made famous in 1952 by Georgia Gibbs. The fourth track, "Vicksburg Blues," is another blues classic. I’m pretty sure you get the gist of what I mentioned earlier.

Very entertaining! Nice journal!

I first heard about K. Michelle through plug. I believe it was Arya playing her hit single that she has out or I’m assuming so. I don’t listen to the radio much these days. The song that gets played is V.S.O.P. and it has hit written all over it. So if it’s not getting radio play then that’s a crime in and of itself. This album was so so for me. Out of 11 tracks I ended up liking five of them. Can’t Raise A Man spoke so much to me because it’s a situation that a large majority of my female friends go through when they are messing with these ****boys(immature dudes that aren’t about ****). In the lyrics she says:
Listen,
He got older, but never grew,
For his life he can't tell the truth.
How to love he ain't got a clue,
Playing games like he'll never lose you.

Try to talk to him, can't get through,
Every day he's a different dude.
These are the signs of a grown ass boy,
Better run for the hills, I'm just trying to keep it real.

You can't raise a man, he's already grown, what you gonna do?
You wonder why he acts like a boy. If he wasn't raised right before you
Girl, you ain't never gonna change nobody, if he don't wanna, you can't make nobody.
'Cause you can't raise a man, no, no.

V.S.O.P. , Pay My Bills, Ride Out and When I Get A Man were definitely my songs. When I first heard that one of those tracks was called pay my bills. I was like oh brother not another female singing about having a dude pay her bills while she’s pretending to be independent. Thanks a lot Beyonce. When I heard the hook though :

I'mma **** you
Like I'm tryna pay bills
Georgia power
Cable bill
Baby sitter
Tonight you will

I sighed in relief that it wasn’t the typical direction I thought it was going to go. It actually turned out to be pretty raunchy. I love it. She spends a majority of the album trying to work through her issues with different failing relationships but she brags about how she toys with men and makes them their bitch essentially.

Thanks for the compliment.

I have a few more surprises in store once I get the time to jot them down.

*blows off the dust that has accumulated*

*furiously swipes away the cobwebs in this joint*


I will be updating my journal very soon. What I have planned is to catch up with my weekly album reviews aka my Razor Edges that are pretty dull since I have to go all the way back to August. I will release one of those each day til I'm caught up to the current edition of that series.

I'm also thinking about writing out mini-reviews of the last half of my 31 nights of terror. I watched the entire Hellraiser franchise and some great horror movies that were recommended to me by the one and only bob. He wants to know what I thought of the fourth film in the Hellraiser franchise so I'm going to put that mini review in here along with reviews of the other films he recommended to me.

I have two writing projects that I'm working on but one has a bit higher priority than the other because it has a bloody deadline. I have 30 days to write a 50k word novel and I'm kind of freaking out about it. I don't like to think negatively but I don't feel like I'm going to hit that goal in time. This will be an excellent chance to flex my writing muscles a bit and shoot for the stars.

So stay tuned.

Entries are coming very soon.

A$AP Ferg is part of the A$AP Mob. Pretty much everyone inside of the mob uses the prefix A$AP and tack on their own name after that. I was never really a big A$AP Rocky fan but I can’t deny that he gets some really well produced beats to rap over. A$AP Ferg’s Shabba became a summer anthem for some people even though his official album dropped near the end of the summer. The single was burning up the hip hop charts. The thing about the song is that a large majority of people that love the song have no idea who Shabba Ranks is. The only way younger people may know about him is if they happen to be West Indian. Shabba Ranks was a super popular dancehall artist from late 80s to about mid-90s. I feel like his most noticeable song is probably “Mr. Loverman”.

A$AP Ferg falls into the cliché of coming from nothing and having to decide if he’s going to find peace in a neighborhood filled with violence or take over the neighborhood through drugs and violence. I shouldn’t say it’s a cliché because it is very much a reality for some people. To be honest, I only came back to this album because of three specific tracks and the rest of the album is pretty much throwaway material imo. He has a few tracks where he decides to take it slow with his ballads and show that he does have some sensitivity hiding behind the emotional front/armor that he keeps up but by that point in the album. I’m already done and over it. There is an incomplete feel to this album like it was meant to be a mixtape. Maybe one day he'll release the other half of it or on his next album produce a more coherent and cohesive album.

The stand out tracks to me are “Shabba”, “Lord” and “Hood Pope”.

When this album dropped I played it to death and found myself mainly likely the tracks in the middle with the intro and closure tracks not doing too much for me. What essentially happens is that Cee-Lo decides to get the group back together and forces in his experience doing his solo pop work into Goodie Mob’s scheme. He also decides to show off that he can still spit on the mic even though he hasn’t really done it in some time. On the track “Pinstripes” he matches wits with T.I. to showcase those rhyming skills are still intact.

I do tend to make fun of conscious rap but I secretly love it and Goodie Mob does a good job of giving some tracks that should speak to the masses but the masses aren’t ready to hear this level of truth. “Nexperiance” touches on the state of hip hop today, Power talks about white power from a black perspective. The name of the track used to be White Power but they ended up cutting off the white part of it. I also read an interview where Cee Lo wanted Em to jump on the track and spit a verse but it didn’t end up happening. The song Amy pops up later in the album to touch on race relations specifically interracial relationships. Janelle Monae hops on their track “Special Education” to give the kids something to hope for and remind them that it’s good to be special in their own way and I always laugh when this gets mentioned but to them VIP stands for Very Insecure People. No sir, VIP will forever be stuck in my mind as Very Important Penguin from a sign that the Techno Penguins were holding at E-Zoo.

The tracks that Cee-Lo end up taking over pretty much are “Power," "Vallelujah," "Ghost of Gloria Goodchild" and "Amy". They sound like songs that were probably cut from his solo albums or that he was getting ready to put on a new solo album but decided to put the Mob back together and included them on this album. Once you hit the song, “I’m Set” that’s where the meat/heart of the album comes into play and the next six or seven tracks are really great. This is album is like a really good sandwich that’s stuck in between some nasty Wonder Bread. I suggest throwing away the slices and just eating the meat from the middle.

Gotta say DJ, that's one hot picture of K.Michelle.

I would agree with you but there is something off about her face so it ruins the rest of the picture for me.

I went into this album expecting to hear standard fare NIN but what I ended up receiving was so much more. This album reminds me of the same accessibility that With Teeth has but toned down even further at different spots. Also you can hear the optimism in many of his tracks. No longer does he sound like an angry young person needed to vent and spiraling downward (yes pun intended). As I was listening to this album, I feel like he has gone in this direction before with being drenched with a keyboard sound but I can’t recall which album it is exactly. I definitely have to go back through his discog and find out.

Find My Way, Everything and Satellite ended up being the tracks that I would constantly go back to this album to repeat. I ended up listening to the deluxe version so I was treated to 3 remixed tracks which didn’t really end up going over well. Trent’s production skills are top notch and I trust him more than the people that ended up remixing three tracks from this album.

I love that this album kicks your face in and starts off with a strong start. Givin’ Em What They Love featuring Prince is just an awesome track. She pulls out the big guns on that first track. I’m not really going to go into the mythos behind Janelle’s concept story but I just want you guys to know that this album contains part 4 and 5 of her story and there should be two more parts or it is supposed to end at 7. Who knows if she will do another two parts on her next album or just focus on one part. The main reason I’m not breaking down the story is because I’m sure that I would do it a major disservice trying to explain it.


Back to some of my favorite tracks then. Queen featuring Erykah Badu was one of the first singles that she released from this album and I love how during the breakdown she decides to rap for a little bit. Primetime with Miguel and We Were Rock and Roll are probably my two favorite tracks on the whole album though. She usually plows through ballads like a grizzly bear trying to perform a ballet routine but I think Miguel’s assistance on the track helped her along. She had a good dance partner.



Later on in the album, “It’s code” shows up and she sounds surprisingly like a young Michael Jackson on this track. Ghetto woman starts up and I feel like I’m on a cruise or something. It has a very loungy cruise ship vibe going on but I love it nonetheless. This is definitely one of those albums that I love and just feel the need to listen to from time to time. I do have to admit that near the end of the second half of the album those tracks seem to get a bit muddled and become very uninteresting.

I’m going to keep this short and sweet. I pretty much didn’t like it. It reminded me that I have never listened to a MGMT album in its entirety. I wish I could go into more detail about why I hated it but I can’t. Alien Days is the first track and it is okay but everything after that. I just telling myself when is this going to be over. I definitely felt like I was torturing myself. This album left a really bad taste in my mouth and I’m hesitant to even listen to any of their other albums in their catalog. The singles that they produce are always catch and was what made me like MGMT but listening to a full album just tainted the magic.

I’m usually super wary about listening to indie pop darlings that are highly acclaimed. Whenever someone suggests to me an indie band I tend groan when I hear the song and the band has to work over time to impress me. I took an instant liking to Chvrches though. They were right up my alley as far as the electronic sound that they produce which is technically synth pop. The vocals of their lead singer(Lauren Mayberry) put me off for a bit but I got used to it. I appreciate her for what she did and how she contributes to the overall tone of different songs. Also, while I was listening to this album it felt like I was on a sugar high from eating too much Halloween candy. I enjoyed so much of the album that when I got near the end I was pretty tired of all of this goodness. Another issue I have with this album is that when they get around to slower songs they tend to be a real drag and end up being lackluster. I know everything doesn’t have to be up-tempo but they do tend to excel with songs that are up-tempo.

Well, it has been a rough week for me. Exactly one week ago my mother was admitted to the hospital from her nursing home because she has Pneumonia. She also has MS and low white blood cell count. It is harder for her to fight off colds and flus. MS is a disease that attacks your central nervous system. It actually has your immune system attacking your own nervous system. Five years ago she had a stroke and while in the hospital some tests were done and they found out that she had MS as well. I dropped out of college to take care of her for a year or so before it became too overwhelming and I thought she would get better treatment in a nursing home. She can't communicate and is because trapped inside of her own body. Every time I went to the nursing home to visit her it always killed me that she was in that state. Can you imagine how that must feel to be stuck inside of your body and not be able to tell people how you are feeling or if you are in pain.

Fast Forward back to the present, I have gone to visit her every day in the hospital but her condition doesn't seem to be getting better. I'm holding out hope that she might be able to fight it but at the same time I have an ominous feeling. I haven't had a song hit me emotionally in awhile. I decided to listen to Kanye West's 808s and Heartbreaks two days ago and surprisingly it didn't do anything. I thought I would have been really connected to "Coldest Winter" but no dice. After listening to that I decided to go through Kanye's albums from the beginning enjoying ever minute of it until yesterday morning. I was on my way to open up the office and "Hey Mama" came on. I told myself that I'm so lucky that I'm wearing shades because it started raining on my face. Some idiot decided to cut up onions near me. The song touched me so much that my knees were weak and I almost just dropped to my knees and burst out into a full on cry fest. I had to push through the tears because I had five other people depending on me to open up the office and to run point for the day. I was running lead with getting everyone safely down to Harlem for a leadership meeting so I had to pull it together for the group. I had all the train tickets and the petty cash.

(Hey Mama), I wanna scream so loud for you, cause I'm so proud of you
Let me tell you what I'm about to do, (Hey Mama)
I know I act a fool but, I promise you I'm goin back to school
I appreciate what you allowed for me
I just want you to be proud of me (Hey Mama)

[Verse 1]
I wanna tell the whole world about a friend of mine
This little light of mine and I'm finna let it shine
I'm finna take yall back to them better times
I'm finna talk about my mama if yall don't mind
I was three years old, when you and I moved to the Chi
Late December, harsh winter gave me a cold
You fixed me up something that was good for my soul
Famous homemade chicken soup, can I have another bowl?
You work late nights just to keep on the lights
Mommy got me training wheels so I could keep on my bike
And you would give anything in this world
Michael Jackson leather and a glove, but didn't give me a curl
And you never put no man over me
And I love you for that mommy can't you see?
Seven years old, caught you with tears in your eyes
Cuz a nigga cheatin, telling you lies, then I started to cry
As we knelt on the kitchen floor
I said mommy I'mma love you till you don't hurt no more
And when I'm older, you ain't gotta work no more
And I'mma get you that mansion that we couldn't afford
See you're, unbreakable, unmistakable
Highly capable, lady that's makin loot
A livin legend too, just look at what heaven do
Send us an angel, and I thank you (Hey Mama)

[Hook]

[Verse 2]
Forrest Gump mama said, life is like a box of chocolates
My mama told me go to school, get your doctorate
Somethin to fall back on, you could profit with
But still supported me when I did the opposite
Now I feel like it's things I gotta get
Things I gotta do, just to prove to you
You was getting through, can the choir please
Give me a verse of "You, Are So Beautiful To Me"
Can't you see, you're like a book of poetry
Maya Angelou, Nikki Giovanni, turn one page and there's my mommy
Come on mommy just dance wit me, let the whole world see your dancing feet
Now when I say Hey, yall say Mama, now everybody answer me (Hey Mama)

[Hook]

[Bridge]
I guess it also depends though, if my ends low
Second they get up you gon get that Benzo
Tint the windows, ride around the city and let ya friends know (Hey Mama)

[Verse 3]
Tell your job you gotta fake em out
Since you brought me in this world, let me take you out
To a restaurant, upper echelon
Imma get you a jag, whatever else you want
Just tell me what kind of S-Type Donda West like?
Tell me the perfect color so I make it just right
It don't gotta be Mother's Day, or your birthday
For me to just call and say (Hey Mama)

I could relate him saying that I'm going back to school. My feels have been all over the place. If she ends up passing over, I have realized that she's my last parent around. I'm surprised that I have even been functioning this past week at all. Normally, I would just stay in my bed and sleep as much as possible to deal with this. Keeping myself active has worked out for me to not dwell on this situation too much and what I may have to do in the coming weeks.

I have started this entry a couple of times but then I end up just deleting the whole thing to start over from scratch. The day after I wrote my last entry my mother passed away. I went to visit her that day and spent 3 hours with her. I left to go home and two hours later I received the call that she passed on. I wanted to make a post with mother related songs or songs relating to people moving on or finding an afterlife but it all feels extremely cliche and in personal.

In the end, I decided to just post a few of her favorite songs that she loved to sing along to and I would sing with her but extremely off key to make fun of the song.



I'm so glad that her service is over and done with and it went off without a hitch.

I went to it yesterday. I'm terrible at funeral services. I tend to smile a lot and every little thing that gets said is just incredibly funny to me. I have to fight back from laughing out loud and it tends to be strange because everyone around me is crying their hearts out and being emotional and I have this opposite reaction. Majority of the time I just try to keep people from seeing my smile so they don't think that I'm smiling/laughing at their pain. After the service, we went out to eat a Chinese buffet which is what we did the last time when my uncle passed away three years ago. My goal this time around was to make sure that everyone else pitched in and that my grandmother didn't have to worry about any costs because she picked up most of the costs last time with my uncle and she's still paying off credit card bills from that funeral proceeding. I wanted to practice a bit on my guitar when I came home but I was just so exhausted that I passed out. I woke up that morning feeling a bit on the sick side. Sore throat and all that jazz.

Aww that is so sad hun. I hope she is happy and at peace. RIP.

There's no "normal" way of going to a funeral of a loved one, don't worry.

heavy stuff man and im sorry to hear. my thoughts are with ya

Sorry to hear about your loss DJ and as always time is a great healer when it comes to things like this.

Very brave of you to put your most personal feelings out there in public, DJ. I hope your mother is in a much better place now, and you can feel better that she's no longer in pain. She'll always be part of you, but at least now you can console yourself that she's at peace. Sucks that happened so close to Christmas, but I' sure you wouldn't have wanted her hanging on longer than necessary if she was in pain.

We're thinking of ya...

Thanks for the kind words of support guys. I have been holding up pretty well. People keep asking me how I'm doing but I'm not breaking down like either they expect me to or just curious to see if I'm doing well.

I usually handle the death of loved ones pretty okay. I always feel like I'm saying to the person "see you later" as opposed to "goodbye" like I may see them again one day. I'm a spiritual person. I was raised religious and got dragged to church but now I have thrown the religious part of it by the waste side and only focus of the spiritual side of it.