Kanye and co. on South Park

left-to-right: taz arnold of sa-ra, fonzworth bentley, kanye, don c of sa-ra, and chris julian of fruition/undftd lv


In last night's episode of South Park, Matt Stone and Trey Parker didn't have to get very creative to be funny. Kanye and his people are already caricatures of themselves in real life so they just drew them exactly as they showed up to fashion week in Paris this year.

Peep the original photo that made its rounds on the intarwebz a few months ago, after the jump...



|¢ontinue|

Mos Def: DOOM > Lil Wayne… duh.

Mos: “I’d bet a million dollars on DOOM against Lil Wayne.”

The above clip catches Mos candidly just chillin’ and reciting favorite rap lyrics, a familiar scene for any hip hop head. I guess Mos is a DOOM fanboy just like the rest of us.

Let’s hope the flow-like-interstellar-wind never goes autotune. Or, starts thinking he can play the guitar. Fail.

(Yes, Mos is obviously high and rolling a J. Doesn't mean he isn't speaking the truth.)

|¢ontinue|

M83 x L.A. Philharmonic: Saturdays = Underwhelming

French outfit M83’s Saturdays=Youth was easily one of the best albums of 2008, if not the best outright. The sweeping synths, layers of distortion, and dramatic vocals combine for an epic sound reminiscent of 80s Shoegaze a la Cocteau Twins. Basically, Saturdays=Youth is a full album of songs fit for final scenes of John Hughes films. When I heard that M83 was collaborating with the L.A. Phil for a show at the Disney Concert Hall, there was no decision to be made about whether or not to go. It was a no-brainer...

Having seen amazing L.A. Phil collaborations with modern artists before (including Air in ’04 [!!!]) and considering how well M83 songs lend themselves to orchestral accompaniment (strings ftw), my expectations were through the roof.

Not unlike post-rock contemporaries Sigur Ros and Explosions in the Sky, the best part about M83’s music is the slow build-up to an exhilarating crescendo. It feels wrong to criticize what most would probably agree was beautiful music (and it was beautiful), but the show was a disappointment. Don’t get me wrong… there were certainly some high points, but they were fleeting. Maybe they underutilized the virtuosity of the L.A. Phil. Maybe they didn’t play enough of the latest album (srsly, they didn’t even play "Kim & Jessie". WTF, right?). Or maybe I just expected too much. Whatever it was, something was missing that night.

That said, the L.A. Phil has def stepped their game up as of late with their shiny, new musical director, 28-year-old wunderkind Gustavo Dudamel. Also, to admire the design of the Disney Concert Hall was worth the price of admission alone. It’s as breathtaking on the inside as it is on the outside. Plus the acoustics in there are out of this world. If you live in L.A., DON’T SLEEP.

Anyway, here’s a Bloc Party remix that they played, 2 tracks off Saturdays=Youth that they SHOULD have played, and my favorite Cocteau Twins song for good measure.

MP3s:
Bloc Party – The Pioneers (M83 Remix)
M83 – We Own The Sky
M83 – Highway of Endless Dreams
Cocteau Twins – Lorelei

(edit: late pass on this. had a busy past couple weeks so kept forgetting to post this up. my bad.)


|¢ontinue|

Sweet for Ma Dukes

There’s nothing I can say that hasn’t already been said about J Dilla and the influence his life and work have had on a whole generation of beatsmiths, artists, and lovers of music. It’s a shame it took so long for him to get his propers but 3 years later the hip-hop community has shown time and again that they’ve been able to create positivity out of tragedy in their celebration of him.

This past Sunday, musicians and fans paid tribute to Jay (and his mother Maureen Yancey a.k.a. Ma Dukes) at the Suite for Ma Dukes, part of the Timeless Concert Series by VTech in association with Mochilla and ArtDontSleep. L.A’s hip-hop intelligentsia showed up in their funky Sunday best. The crowd consisted of a veritable who’s who of the L.A. hip-hop scene including folks from the Stonesthrow, Plug Research, Ubiquity, and Poo-Bah camps (to name a few). Houseshoes and J-Rocc, both close friends of Jay, got the party started with a couple of great Dilla-inspired DJ sets…




Arranged, directed, and conducted by Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, the Suite for Ma Dukes was performed by a 40-piece orchestra and a host of surprise guests. The first half was essentially a live performance of their E.P. which includes beautiful renditions of Find A Way, Fall In Love, and Nag Champa. The second set was closer to the classic hip hop show format, which I sensed was a welcome change from many in the crowd that were itching to throw their hands up and say “ohhh!” Some highlights: Karriem Riggins (!) nailed Dilla’s trademark delayed claps on the drums. Ma Dukes, Illa J (current torch-bearer of the Yancey family musical legacy), and Common (in a tux, probably from the Oscar’s a few miles away) came out to share some words with the crowd. Amp Fiddler, Dwele, and Bilal KILLED it on vocals. And for the finale, the orchestra broke into “Stakes is High.” I joked with a friend that De La would come out… then, sure enough, Posdnuos ran out on stage yellin’ “THE INSTAMATIC FOCAL POINT BRINGIN’ DAMAGE TO YA BURROUGHS…” and of course the place went off. As if that weren’t enough, Talib Kweli came out and handled verse 2. Yeah… it was nuts.

For the last few years, there has been something of a musical renaissance in the eastside of L.A. Though this movement is hard to classify because it draws from so many different sounds (genres are sooo 2003), you don’t have to listen hard to hear Dilla’s influence. Those that frequent the Low End Theory and the summertime Do-Over know what’s up. For the uninitiated, the From L.A. With Love compilation and Flying Lotus’ Los Angeles and L.A. E.P.’s are a good primer. This community has coalesced in large part during their mourning/celebration of Dilla and this event felt like the culmination of that.

Like most Angelenos, I have a love/hate relationship with this city. On Sunday night it was all love.

Here are some songs that were played that night including one of my favorite Dilla samples, Saudade Vem Correndo, but please PLEASE cop the EP (available now on iTunes) and DVD (when it drops) by Mochilla. Trust me.

MP3s:
Miguel Atwood-Ferguson & Carlos Nino - Find A Way
Stan Getz & Luis Bonfa - Saudade Vem Correndo

|¢ontinue|

Keepin' It Real: Banksy x Danger Mouse

Been doing a lot of vinyl shopping lately. One of my recent cops was this pair of limited edition 12” (pictured above and after the jump) with cover art by none other than Banksy himself. Only 1,000 copies were made and it comes in 4 colorways (beige, green, gold, and silver). Unfortunately I could only get my hands on a gold and a silver but I can’t complain cause this is the cheapest possible way to own a limited edition Banksy.

Production credit goes to “DJDM” who is most likely Danger Mouse (DJ Shadow is rumored to have had a hand in this project as well but that is less certain). Banksy and Danger Mouse have collaborated multiple times before including the now (in)famous Paris is Burning stunt from 2006 when they doctored hundreds of copies of Paris Hilton’s album and snuck them into UK record stores to be bought by unsuspecting Paris fans (don’t feel too bad for them… a handful of the ~500 copies sold on ebay for a few hundred bucks).

So I know a lot of people think Banksy is a sellout but that’s an unfair label, imho. Yes, he’s a bonafied superstar whose works are now fetching 6-figures at art auctions. Yes, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt own a couple pieces. A lot of people in the street art community are uncomfortable with this kind of popularity and are wary of the artform becoming overly commercialized and exploited (like breakdancing in the 80s). In my opinion, that’s all part of the point! So-called “urban art” has always struggled with legitimacy in the high art world. Aside from Basquiat, few graffiti artists have really been embraced by the “experts”. Highlighting this point is the 2005 Banksy stunt which involved Banksy putting on a fake beard, sneaking into a bunch of NYC museums, and hanging up his works (complete w/ placards) next to “legitimate” pieces.

In my opinion, this was a big “f*ck you” to curators and art historians who refused to accept street art as a legitimate form. To me, this stunt was basically Banksy saying, “F*ck the conventional channels of getting art exhibited. This sh*t is art whether a curator says so or not!”

Some would argue that now that Banksy finally IS getting attention from the elite, he can no longer be considered a street artist. It’s a good point. In fact, when I went to his “Barely Legal” warehouse show in 2006, I did get the feeling that his works sort of lost their context by being presented legally on canvas and arranged on walls as opposed to being out in the wild, illegally painted on buildings and billboards where anyone can view them. Call it urban site-specificity.

Can a piece only be considered street art if it’s out on the streets? Is the point of street art NOT to be accepted by the elite? Is it Banksy’s point that this SHOULDN’T be the point? Or am I just missing the point completely? Who knows.

That said, Banksy has undoubtedly brought street art to a very broad audience and has forced people to at least consider it as a legitimate artform. Though I understand the reasons for the backlash, I think it’s unfair to turn on him just because Urban Outfitters is selling his book. Dude is a living legend. His influence (and arguably Blek’s) is apparent in a whole generation of artists’ work.

But I digress… Here’s a snippet of the aforementioned Danger Mouse. Though it’s a nasty beat (and with all due respect to the Mouse)… this purchase was all about the album art.

MP3: DJDM - Keep It Real/Laugh Now - Track 1 (snippet)
(holler if you want the full track)


|¢ontinue|

2¢: “This is our moment.”

After an undoubtedly long and arduous primary season, the verdict is finally in. Tempers flared, punches were thrown (some below the belt), and blood was shed… but in the end, after all the votes were counted (and yes, Michigan and Florida, they were), Barack Obama is the Democratic Presidential nominee.

As a believer of Barack and an avid follower of the election, it has been mentally and emotionally exhausting. The highs of Iowa and the February streak were soon followed by some big losses and deflating controversies. Though it certainly proved to be a challenge staying above the fray, Obama kept on the high road by running a dignified and respectful campaign centered around hope and progress rather than preying on people’s ignorance and fear. As exemplified by the monumental speech he gave addressing the Rev. Wright flap, Obama had clearly chosen to put his stake in his belief that the American people were sophisticated and thoughtful enough to be treated like adults and that they would understand that almost nothing in the world is, for lack of a better term, purely black and white. He bet on the American people and he won.

Like so many others, I thought it was in Hillary’s and the Democratic Party’s best interest that she gracefully bow out when it became clear that Obama’s lead was insurmountable. It irked me to no end how comfortable she was with the fact that her chance of winning depended on the superdelegates overruling the will of the people. But I tried to give her the benefit of the doubt anyway. After all, perseverance and belief in oneself are traits we can all admire. But as the election dragged on and she refused to concede even after all the votes were in, those admirable traits gave way to downright lunacy and narcissism. By all accounts, Barack clinched the nomination last night and she STILL couldn’t admit defeat and throw her support behind her party’s presumptive nominee. Isn’t it exactly that kind of disregard for reality that has gotten us into the mess we’re in now? It just defies reason. Maybe she’s trying to stay long enough to recoup some of her campaign’s $20 million debt? Who knows. Let's hope it's true that she saves face on Saturday.

Ever since it started looking like Obama had the nomination locked up, I’ve been back and forth over and over again about whether or not I thought Hillary should be his running mate. For a long time, I thought it was a good idea. I mean… I’ve had plenty of criticisms of the way Hillary has run her campaign. She and her staff resorted to lying, manipulation, fear mongering, and other sneaky tactics that come with a scorched-earth battle plan. But, however marred her image has become by her misguided and damaging campaign strategy, Hillary has had a political career to be proud of. She has done great work in the name of equality and justice for all (especially in regards to healthcare). Not to mention, as she certainly wasn’t too shy to remind us last night, she has 17 million passionate supporters that can help the Dems bury McCain in November. Hillary has served her country well and I believe that she will continue to… but it’s clear to me now that it’ll just have to be from somewhere other than the White House.

It’s truly unfortunate that Hillary made a dream ticket impossible. It could have worked… but too many things were said and done by her and her inner circle that run contrary to Obama’s central tenet of changing the system. If these primaries have reminded us of anything, it’s that the Clintons are masters of old-style Washington politics.

Mere months ago (it seems so much longer, though, doesn’t it?) Hillary was practically already considered the presumptive nominee. Nobody could have guessed that the charismatic yet relatively unknown young black senator from Illinois would overcome the Goliath that is the Clinton political machine. Some said he was too inexperienced to win. Some said he was overly idealistic and naïve. Some said he was too black. Nevertheless, some believed. But now isn’t the time for “I told you so.”

On the contrary, now is the time for “we’re on the same side.” Sure, some are deeply hurt that their candidate didn’t end up on top. A lot of women in particular feel betrayed by a country that claims to view them as equals, and understandably so. It really is sad that a country that so highly regards itself as just and fair-minded has yet to elect a female president. Those women should take solace in the fact that Hillary really could have been the one. Yes, there were sexist forces in the media and elsewhere that were working against her, but not so much so that she wasn’t a legitimate contender for Leader of the Free World. Ultimately the fault was her own, not her gender’s. Though she clearly made great strides on behalf of gender equality, she just wasn’t quite the right candidate for the moment… but we now know that the time is near.

Save for a few particularly scorned supporters, I do believe that most of Hillary’s side will come around and realize that Obama is a far better choice than McCain. After the dust settles and the pain subsides, they’ll realize that, among other things, the next President will likely nominate at least one Supreme Court Justice that will either uphold or overturn Roe v. Wade. Though some have sworn never to support Barack, I have no doubt that with clear minds they’ll recognize their folly in time for November. As Obama supporters, we must help them along and not deride them for not being on Obama’s side sooner. They had as much a right to support Hillary as they do to have a change of heart.

Though the next challenge for Obama will certainly include differentiating his policies from McCain’s (and boy are the contrasts stark), his success lies in his ability to unify and highlight people’s similarities. Looking to November, what he needs to do is to simply continue doing what he has been… reminding people that we all ultimately want the same things. He also needs to continue inspiring people to expect more from their government and to expect more from themselves.

The most amazing thing about Obama is his uncanny ability to bring out the amazing in the American everyman. As he has acknowledged time and again, change takes time and hard work. Progress won’t magically come if we get him into office. It’ll require a little bit out of all of us. So let’s get to it, people! We’ve got work to do.

MP3: Kidz In The Hall ft. Bun-B and Talib Kweli - Work To Do (Obama for America Remix)


|¢ontinue|

For all the mac heads

(link credit goes to PM, my own personal genius bar)

As a semi-recent mac convert, this well executed fan-made video is especially amusing. It's a great illustration of why macs are just more fun to use...

Not to take away from the creativity of whoever made the video, it does remind me quite a bit of the Kris Moyes-directed stop motion music video for "Heart Made of Sound" by the Softlightes.

Gotta hand it to them for making a comparable video with a fraction of the budget, though.

MP3s:
The Bird and the Bee - Again & Again
The Softlightes - Heart Made of Sound

And just for the hell of it, here's a great remix to the Softlightes' "Girl Kills Bear" by Lo-Fi-Fnk. It's always amazing to me when a remixer can distill the best parts of a song and make it even better than the original.

The Softlightes - Girl Kills Bear (Lo-Fi-Fnk Remix)

P.S. big ups to all you moms out there!

|¢ontinue|

AD NAUSEUM: Like a sound you hear that lingers in your ear…

Using catchy tunes to sell stuff is by no means a recent phenomenon (obvs). Basically as soon as there was such a thing as the advertising industry, music was used as a means to infiltrate people’s psyches. And now that advertising is as ubiquitous as ever, it’s even harder to escape getting s#*t stuck in your head constantly (don’t tell me it didn’t take you 3 months to get Feist out of your head). So, since you can’t escape it, you might as well embrace it!! AD NAUSEUM will be a regular feature on ¢ollective co. dedicated to catchy tunes from commercials (cause no matter what you do, it’s gonna grab a hold on you)…

The above Dockers commercial features the Marlena Shaw classic “California Soul". I think that the romanticized portrayal of San Francisco in the ad actually does a pretty good job of capturing the essence of the song. Except, of course, the complete lack of ANY person of color (which is a curious omission considering that the name of the damn song is California SOUL). Anyway, the song was written by the well-known husband and wife team, Ashford & Simpson (“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”, “You’re All I Need To Get By”). It was originally released by the Fifth Dimension and covered by Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell but, in my opinion, the Marlena Shaw version is unmatched. In addition to having the strongest vocal interpretation, it also has that ridiculous string intro I can never get enough of.

MP(FREE)'s:
Marlena Shaw - California Soul
The Fifth Dimension - California Soul
Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell - California Soul

Lastly… baile-funky 3rd world culture-expropriator and hipster-tastemaker, Diplo (who has remixed everything from the Bartman to that “I like turtles” kid... seriously), made a simple yet effective remix for the forthcoming Verve Remixed, Vol. 4 compilation which is set to drop at the end of the month (May 27). If the previous Verve Remixed compilations are any indication, it’ll be fire.. so cop it.

MP3: Marlena Shaw - California Soul (Diplo, Mad Decent Remix)


|¢ontinue|

F*%k what yo mama say…

No welcome, no intro, let’s just get into it.

My man Obama had a big day today. Yeah, Hillary will campaign through June. Yeah, she’ll keep playing dirty tricks. But this one is dunzo, kids. Hill needed some big wins in Indiana and NC but got denied.

For months, given the practically insurmountable pledged delegate lead Obama has had on her, the only justification she’s had for staying in the race that is even remotely reasonable (if that) is that she could still take the popular vote and make her case to the superdelegates that she is more electable than Obama in a general election. Though in recent weeks she was able to slow down the Obama steamroller by stoking the flames of Pastorgate and Bittergate, today’s results show that it was clearly not enough. Hillary is 404.

What needs to happen now is that the Obama campaign needs to take control of the tone so that the media starts talking about him as the presumptive nominee (because let’s face it, Hillary… he is .)

Taz Arnold x Daedelus x Kenzo x Shepard Fairey
New video for "Vote Obama"

MP(FREE): F.M.B. - Vote Obama (Original Mix)

L.A. REPRESENT!!





|¢ontinue|