Name: Adam Bernard Home: Fairfield, Connecticut, United States About Me: Entertainment journalist w/ over a decade of experience. Lover of good music, fringe movies, day baseball & chicken shawarma. Nerdy, but awesome. See my complete profile
I can’t think of a better way to end 2011 than with a brand new clip from one of the original B-Listers, Vinnie Scullo. With “White YouTube Rappers” Vinnie takes on mainstream and underground emcees, as well as their fans, and although mid-song he says “don’t worry about spreading this around,” I think it’s well worth spreading. Not only does he have something relevant to say, but the right hand side of the video features visuals for all four parts of the beat. It’s pretty spectacular when you take a step back and really think about it. There’s also a line about Justin Bieber at around the 3:40 mark that absolutely will floor you. Enjoy!
Comedian Norm Macdonald famously posited that “Germans love David Hasselhoff.” While it’s true the former Knight Rider and Baywatch star has an unusually large following in the country that gave the world the Volkswagen, the Mercedes Benz, and bratwurst, Germany also has a thing for progressive rock. One band that falls under that umbrella that’s currently working its way from the German airwaves to US ears is The Intersphere.
Formed in 2006 in a practice room, The Intersphere consists of vocalist/guitarist Christoph Hessler, guitarist Thomas Zipner, bassist Sebastian Wagner, and drummer Moritz Müller. The foursome have played over 350 shows in the past five years and are readying the release of their third full length album, Hold on, Liberty. Hold on, Liberty will be released on Long Branch Records / SPV, giving the band a real opportunity to make some noise in the States.
With The Intersphere poised to take the next big step in their career, I caught up with the group’s bassist to get some more info on their upcoming album, the creepy video they made for the first single off of it, and why you shouldn’t believe everything you read about them.
Welcome to your weekly dose of pop world musings. Covering all things pop culture, this week Pop Shots is hitting you with thoughts on everything from Adam Lambert’s time spent in a Finnish jail, to a lot of rapper beef being thrown on the proverbial barbecue, to the Beach Boys not realizing time is not on their side, and since it’s Pop Shots you know everything is seasoned with a little bit of attitude.
* In an answer to Adam Lambert’s 2009 hit “Whataya Want From Me,” police officers in Finland replied - to stop going all UFC on your boyfriend. This after both Lambert and his significant other were arrested on Thursday after an altercation between them became physical (and not in the Olivia Newton John kinda way). The duo were briefly detained in jail and Chris Brown is now interested in doing a song with either of them.
* Common took a few shots at Drake on a new song and during a recent interview, claiming he doesn’t like the Canadian sensation’s proclivity for singing. This is the same Common who released Electric Circus, did a Gap commercial, and starred in Just Wright, but, to be real, compared to Drake he’s freakin Suge Knight. I’m not sure if this is a real beef, though, or if Wheelchair Jimmy just stole an acting role Common was auditioning for. Judging by the scripts Common ends up with, if that’s the case, Drake would have been doing him a favor.
* In more rapper beef news, Nicki Minaj is taking shots at Lil’ Kim again, this time on her latest single, “Stupid Hoe” (ahh, subtlety). Many of the lyrics rip on Kim, most notably the line “bitch talkin she the queen when she looking like a lab rat.” Of course, this insult was hurled by someone with pink hair and fake everything, so it’s sort of like when you were a kid and playing with your G.I. Joes, plastic vs. plastic. Can’t someone just grab a giant magnifying glass and end all of this?
* In what can only end in disappointment and tragedy, the Beach Boys are reuniting for a new album and tour in 2012. In their prime they were one of the best singing groups ever, but that was a very long time ago. At this point they’re going to have to use so much technology to make this work that Brian Wilson is going to end up sounding like T-Pain, and with those kind of vocal effects Kokomo will now have the feel of being located somewhere Beyond Thunderdome.
* Melanie Amaro may have taken home the honor of being the season one winner of the American version of The X Factor, but the big winner was Simon Cowell, who, despite ratings for the show not being what he had hoped they be, scored a $42 million deal with Sony for his company, SyCo. Just when you thought he was going to teeter on the edge of irrelevancy, Cowell proves that actually knowing what you’re doing is still a valuable commodity in the music industry. Who’da thunk?
* Tweet of the Week:@AdamsWorldBlog Rihanna vomited during a performance in Portugal, which means she finally had the same reaction to her music that I do.
FYI - Tweet of the Week is something new I’m adding to Pop Shots. It won’t be a tweet from me every week, it will be the funniest tweet I see regarding the pop culture happenings of the week that was.
* R. Kelly wants to be trapped in your closet just a little bit longer. The R&B singer who still wants to know “when you say young, how young are we talkin?” has apparently written 32 more chapters to his God-awful R&B melodrama and is currently looking for funding. I see two possible plus sides to this. 1) It would make for, quite possibly, the most hilarious Kickstarter campaign ever, and 2) it might get us another one of THESE from Weird Al:
And with that, my time is up for the week, but I'll be back next week with more shots on all things pop.
Because one year end top ten list is never enough, following up on yesterday's look at the overall best of the best of 2011 is my list of the best of what hip-hop had to offer over the past 12 months. You're not going to find very much from the major labels here, and some of the acts are a little obscure, and that's why every listing features either a streaming song, or a music video. For as much as I love the written word, when we're talking about music, you gotta hear it. Now, without further ado, here are my top ten, plus a few extra, hip-hop releases of 2011.
Something very cool happened this year as I put together my annual top ten list, which is actually a top 11 list, but I’ll explain that later - three artists who had albums that sat atop previous year end lists of mine are all back. Longevity is always a great accomplishment, but with the amount of music I listen to pulling off that kind of a feat is downright amazing.
This year’s list also features two small changes, the first being inclusion of download-only albums. While I still feel every artist should be pressing up CDs, this list is about music, not how an artist is promoting themselves. The other change is making the list 11 instead of ten. This is because I had an album I debated over including because it’s not wholly new, but in the end it was just too good to leave off, so rather than take away a spot from a completely new album, I simply added one more to the list. Could I have called this my top 11 of 2011? Yeah, but I couldn’t find a cool graphic for that, and the penguin DJ spoke to me (not literally, that would be weird).
Before we get to my top ten-plus-one (I count like a college football conference) I want to give a shout out to some other albums that also received strong consideration but just missed the list. This was an incredible year for music, probably the best in at least half a decade, so I only felt it right to give these efforts a mention.
Sketch Tha Cataclysm - IRDIFGM 2 Theophilus London - Timez Are Weird These Days Metal Mother - Bonfire Diaries Dinner at the Thompson’s - Off The Grid Notar - Devil’s Playground
All of those are great albums that are totally worth your time. Now, the top 11 albums of 2011 are...
10) Bad Rabbits - Stick Up Kids
This year’s band that blew me the f*ck away at Warped tour was Bad Rabbits, who’s eight song EP was my soundtrack for the ride home from Long Island the day I saw them. Their live performance was incredible, filled with funk, jazz, rock, and joy. It was over one hundred degrees outside, but they were lovin every minute of performing. All of that emotion and musicality is packaged perfectly on Stick Up Kids. This is an album I spun three times in a row, and it wasn’t because I was too lazy to put something else in my car’s CD player (which died later in the year). These guys are just that damned dope. Lead singer Fredua Boakya’s voice will, at times, remind you of Prince’s, and the band’s vibe will have you dancing your ass off. My only gripe with this album is its length (I almost didn’t include it on this list because it’s an EP). I feel the band is more than capable of putting together an amazing full length album and hope they do just that in 2012.
The first of three artists who once had a number one album on my year end list, Everlast has created his own unique position in the music world as the guy who can croon throaty, political, blues songs as a solo artist, and cocaine fueled raps as a member of La Coka Nostra. Both are fantastic projects. This year’s blues release, Songs of the Ungrateful Living, features Everlast at his best. After criticizing then president George Bush on 2008’s Love, War and the Ghost of Whitey Ford, Songs of the Ungrateful Living sees Everlast taking a few shots as president Obama. The most in your face being “I voted for some change and it’s kinda strange / now it’s all I got in my pocket.” As a whole this is a fantastic storytelling album based in the present day as Everlast, who once ordered us to “Jump Around,” has become the unlikeliest of generational griots.
A lot of people thought Us3 disappeared off the face of the earth after their 1993 smash Hand on the Torch. The only disappearance they made, however, was from the US airwaves. They’ve been pumping out great albums, eight of them, in fact, over the past 18 years. Their eighth, this year’s Lie, Cheat & Steal, features Us3 mastermind Geoff Wilkinson laying down some fantastically funky/jazzy beats for emcees Oveous Maximus and Akala to rhyme over. The result is a soundtrack to the revolution that’s currently going on in the streets of London, on Wall Street, and all over America. Thought provoking, and toe tapping, Lie, Cheat & Steal is the kind of hip-hop album that’s a throwback to when the music could make your body move while the lyrics simultaneously made you think. It’s something very few can accomplish, but Us3 did to perfection with this.
Lights is the second of three artists who once had a number one album on my year end list. Siberia is the follow up to that number one, The Listening, and it’s a bit of a shift musically. The synth pop is still there, but Siberia also has some decidedly dubstep influences, and two guest verses from Canadian emcee Shad (who’s a freakin beast on the mic!). The result is a harder, and sometimes distorted - in the case of the bass - sound. It all works, though, and lyrically Lights continues to write with the openness and poetic nature fans have come to expect from her. The song “Toes” might very well be the best 80s song made since the 80s. It’s also impossible to get out of your head, just like “Everybody Breaks A Glass,” “Flux and Flow,” “Banner,” and a host of other songs off the album. Of course, you won’t want to get them out of your head, so that’s a good thing.
Natalia Kills, the second of three UK artists on this list (Us3 being the first), is a pop singer who’s lyrics have all the subtlety of a sledgehammer, and that’s exactly why I love her. She doesn’t beat around the bush, she lays it all out for you. “Wonderland,” “Break You Hard” and “Acid Annie” are three of my favorites off of the appropriately titled Perfectionist, but the song that really takes the cake is “Mirrors” which features a chorus of “Turning the lights out / burnin’ the candles / and the mirrors gonna fog tonight / turning the lights out / tighten the handcuffs / and the mirrors gonna fog tonight.” Kills sounds like a good time, right? My main thought when listening to Perfectionist is that this is the album I wished Lady Gaga had made after The Fame. Instead, Kills made it, and it’s a must hear.
Jonny October came out of nowhere for me, which is odd since he currently resides in Brooklyn and I work with A LOT of Brooklyn emcees. I first saw J.O. a handful of months ago at a show in Connecticut. I dug his performance, but I didn’t realize how much I dug it until I saw him perform at the same spot again a few months later. The music was still familiar to me, and it felt really good. To create that kind of connection with only one listen is really impressive. Jonny October is a storyteller and The Wheelhouse showcases that ability perfectly. Throw in the fact that he has production by J.J. Brown and guest appearances by the likes of Louis Logic and Homeboy Sandman, and all signs point to Jonny October being something special, which he is. When you look at him you may not instantly think “emcee,” but once you’ve heard him you’ll probably be like me and wonder why you hadn’t heard of him before.
Much like Everlast is an emcee who doesn’t necessarily rap all the time, Astronautalis is a hip-hop artist who raps far more on stage than he does on his albums. That being said, with This Is Our Science Astronautalis has finally captured the frantic energy of his live shows on CD. Effectively mixing the melodic and the manic, This Is Our Science is an album that showcases what hip-hop can do when boundaries are stretched by a really talented artist. Sure, some purists will say he’s singing a lot of the time, but as he’ll point out, the lyrics are still structured in hip-hop rhyme form. In other words, it’s a hip-hop album that even non-hip-hop heads can enjoy. At times even throatier and bluesier than Everlast, Astronautalis finds ways to aim for, and hit, the heart or jugular depending on which song you’re listening to. Heck, he’s so talented he even has the ability to hit both at the same time.
The third, and highest ranking, of the UK acts on this list, Eliza Doolittle was an instant favorite of mine as soon as I heard her unique sound, which mixes classic soul with contemporary pop. Throw in her playfully cheeky attitude, and wonderful accent, and her eponymous debut album is impossible to resist. Her vocals can go from sweet to seductive at the drop of a hat, and her ability to fill every lyric with personality makes it easy to get into each song. Whatever you may be doing while playing this album, whether you’re dancing with a significant other, or cleaning the house, it’s going to be turned into a good time because you can tell Doolittle is having fun while singing. Much of her music is also focused on the more down to earth comforts of life. While other pop artists are all about the excesses, Doolittle extols the virtues of being a “Nobody” and not wanting what anyone else has. This brings an extra level of relatability, and warmth, to the album.
When you put a dope rapper with one of trip-hop’s greatest innovators you’re going to get one of two things - an unlistenable mess, or a sonic orgy of greatness. With IAMOMNI we get the latter, as producer Tricky masterfully crafted beats that allow the poignant lyrics of IamOMNI (formerly Omni) to shine, and then build to the breaks where the beats shine on their own. In an extreme rarity, both artists end up stealing the show at the same time. Lyrically, IamOmni is at his thought provoking and empowering best on IAMOMNI, and musically Tricky maintains the level of excellence we’ve all come to expect from him. I had no idea this full on collaborative effort was going to happen until it arrived in my mailbox, but I can tell you this, it’s been in rotation ever since the day it arrived. In an era when few artists understand how to be both unique and dope, IamOMNI and Tricky manage to walk on that thin line as if it was the size of a six lane highway.
I’m beginning to feel like a broken record when talking about Dessa. The owner of last year’s #1 album on this list (A Badly Broken Code), she really is one of my favorite artists. Dessa’s latest, Castor, The Twin, is a re-imagining of her previous work. The album features lyrics fans have heard before, but the music accompanying those lyrics has been completely reworked with all new compositions and live musicians. With the reworking of the music came some major changes to the way Dessa delivers her lyrics. Some songs have been slowed down, some include more singing, but all of them are f*cking fantastic. I almost didn’t put this album on the list because the lyrical content isn’t new, but the music is so vastly different, and it’s so damned good, it would have been wrong to shut it out. Even if you own A Badly Broken Code, Castor, The Twin is totally worth the investment. This is Dessa we’re talking about here. She might very well be the most talented artist in not just hip-hop, but music, today.
1) Toussaint Morrison - Toussaint Morrison Is Not My Homeboy
It’s very rare that I hear a hip-hop artist that I feel makes hip-hop for me. I hear plenty that make fantastic hip-hop music that I enjoy, but to affect me on a personal level is rare. Toussaint Morrison managed to do that with Toussaint Morrison Is Not My Homeboy. From the first moment I heard the album’s opening song, “Chrysler 300,” there was an honesty and relatability that instantly drew me in. Combine that with Morrison’s killer flow, fantastic lyricism, metric ton of pop and fringe culture references, and dope beat selection (it's technically a mixtape), and I knew I was listening to a winner. It was the same kind of feeling I had the first time I spun Tech N9ne’s Absolute Power. I hit repeat after the first play. Will this album hold up as well as some of the other albums on this list? I have no idea, but I know this, it gave me an amazing feeling of discovering something awesome the first time I heard it, and that’s something that makes an album truly unforgettable.
Coole High is straight up cool. It’s not just in his name, it’s in his demeanor and everything he does. The latest from Coole is “Capital Greatness.” The song features Coole flowin in his usual smooth way and has the fantastic message of never waiting for someone to call you great, but instead creating your own greatness. Coole continues to create his own greatness, and after you check this out I’m sure you’ll agree that he’s great, too.
For more on Coole High check out the following features:
For The Kids visionary Tommy Simunovic speaks softly, but carries a big message. His message – promoting being a positive influence on kids. The reason he speaks softly – a tracheotomy he had as a child, which was one of 73 surgeries he went through. With his work, Simunovic has turned a life that almost wasn’t into one of inspiration.
Simunovic, however, isn’t standing alone as some kind of inspirational pillar. Through his For The Kids line of clothing, which currently includes t-shirts and hoodies, he has some of the biggest bands in the country joining him in spreading his message. Members of My Chemical Romance, Miss May I, August Burns Red, and Woe, Is Me have all been spotted wearing his For The Kids shirts while on stage, which is fairly incredible for a brand that was just launched earlier this year.
I caught up with Simunovic to find out more about For The Kids, including what initially inspired him to launch the company, and what he hopes its legacy will be. Simunovic also discussed his own childhood, how growing up in hospitals affected him, and some of the things he saw that made him realize kids need more positive influences in their lives.
Welcome to your weekly dose of pop world musings. Covering all things pop culture, this week, in a continuation of an annual tradition I started last year, I’m hitting you with a very special Christmas song that I wrote to the year’s biggest pop hit. Last year I made it a very Ke$ha Christmas. This year I turned Adele’s “Rolling In The Deep” into a little ditty about someone with a life on the naughty list wondering why the promises of a mall Santa have gone unanswered. Happy holidays, and enjoy “Rolling In The Gifts.”
There's a fire starting in my den Reaching a low heat, I break out my paper and pen Finally I can write my letter to you Where’s my Robocop and new edition of Clue? I thought you were jolly, giving and kind Now I underestimate you during Christmastime
There's a fire starting in my den Reaching a low heat, I break out my paper and pen
The scars of sweaters remind me of Claus They keep me thinking that I almost had it all The scars of sweaters, they leave me breathless I can't help feeling I could have had it all (I went to the mall, so I could meet you) Rolling in the gifts (Sat on your lap, so I could meet you) You had candy canes inside of your hand (I went to the mall, so I could meet you) And you gave one to me (Sat on your lap, so I could meet you)
Santa, I have a story to be told It’s true I spilled fajita and made someone’s head burn But c’mon hook me up, please try to be fair I promise that all gifts will sometimes be shared
(I went to the mall, so I could meet you) The scars of sweaters remind me of Claus (Sat on your lap, so I could meet you) They keep me thinking I could have had it all (I went to the mall, so I could meet you) The scars of sweaters, they leave me breathless (Sat on your lap, so I could meet you) I can't help feeling I could have had it all (I went to the mall, so I could meet you) Rolling in the gifts (Sat on your lap, so I could meet you) You had candy canes inside of your hand (I went to the mall, so I could meet you) And you gave one to me (Sat on your lap, so I could meet you) Could have had it all Rolling in the gifts You had candy canes inside of your hand And you gave it so freely
Throw your soul through every chimney stack Count your nice list, my name it shouldn’t lack Turn my sorrow into treasured gold You'll pay me back for those years of lumps of coal
(I went to the mall, so I could meet you) I could have had it all (Sat on your lap, so I could meet you) I could have had it all (I went to the mall, so I could meet you) It all, it all, it all (Sat on your lap, so I could meet you)
I could have had it all (I went to the mall, so I could meet you) Rolling in the gifts (Sat on your lap, so I could meet you) You had candy canes inside of your hand (I went to the mall, so I could meet you) And you gave one to me (Sat on your lap, so I could meet you)
I could have had it all (I went to the mall, so I could meet you) Rolling in the gifts (Sat on your lap, so I could meet you) You had candy canes inside of your hand (I went to the mall, so I could meet you)
And you gave it You gave it You gave it You gave it to me
And with that, my time is up for the week, but I'll be back next week with more shots on all things pop. Merry Christmas everyone!
Everybody wants to the end year on a high note and I’m gonna help you do just that with this month’s edition of The Adam B Experience. Over 45 minutes of music, some of it so high energy it may cause you to punch the person nearest to you in the face in excitement, and some of it so chill you may make a baby to it. Actually, you may make a baby to the high energy stuff, too. I don’t know what goes on your bedroom/the backseat of your car. If that’s how you get down, make it happen! Happy holidays and thanks for listening.
Homeboy Sandman - New York Nights Bubble Geese - Long Live Long Island Girls Sketch Tha Cataclysm - Kidney Stones Jonny October - Hi Seas PackFM - I F*cking Hate Rappers Duece Bug - Kick Rrawks Expertiz - Dynasty Toussaint Morrison - Walk Thu The Wall Bop Alloy - Ocean Dance (Arrival) The Other Guys - Nowhere to be Found Embryotik - Igrushka Rashid Amir - Epidemic
There have been two parallel trends in the NFL over the past handful of years that trouble me - the deification of the second chance, and the marginalization of the player who doesn’t need one. Players who’ve done bad things, and I don’t mean on the field, I mean off the field, are being held up higher than those who’ve done nothing wrong, and the rallying cry behind it all has been “everyone deserves a second chance.” Sure, everyone deserves a second chance, and people love a comeback story, but shouldn’t the athletes who’ve never needed a second chance be held up a little bit higher than those who’ve previously fallen?
Looking around the league, some of the most popular, and lauded, quarterbacks are Michael Vick, Ben Roethlisberger and Tom Brady. With that trio we have a man who’s been convicted of murdering animals for sport, a man who’s been accused of sexual assault so many times the NFL suspended him under the league’s personal conduct policy, and a man who broke up with his pregnant girlfriend to date someone else. Vick has been labeled “exciting,” despite never having actually won anything, Roethlisberger has been labeled “tough” for his ability to take a hit, yet everyone seems to ignore the fact that that same mentality may have played a large part in his off the field issues, and Brady has the infamous label of being “the golden boy” because he can supposedly do no wrong. Heck, the league has even changed the rules for Brady multiple times to keep his stats up.
On the other side of the coin we have quarterbacks like Tim Tebow, Eli Manning, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers. Individuals, and they are certainly not alone in this group, who are top performers on the field (three being Super Bowl Champions) and really good human beings off it. Tebow’s list of positive work off the field is so long you almost wouldn’t believe it if there weren’t pictures to prove it. In 2008, when Vick was serving time in a federal prison on a dog fighting conviction, Tebow was using his spring break from college to do missionary work in the Philippines. Had Vick been in a Florida prison there’s a good chance he would have met Tebow because Tebow also spent time speaking at prisons all across the state that year.
Tebow, however, despite his incredible record as a starting QB this year, is constantly ripped for the way he throws the ball, and his ability to be a starting QB in the NFL is constantly being questioned. They never call him talented, they always say he's accomplishing his victories through smoke and mirrors. When commentators call his wins "miraculous" they're not using the word as a compliment, they're implying he's not as good as his record. No matter what he does, Tebow seems to face extra scrutiny. Why the extra scrutiny? Well, let me ask you this, if he had just gotten out of jail do you think people would be questioning him, or talking about how great he was doing with his “second chance?”
Manning has never had a losing season as the Giants’ starting QB, and owns a Super Bowl championship and Super Bowl MVP. This season has has six fourth quarter comebacks. He has also won a Super Bowl more recently than Brady, and, in fact, beat Brady’s Patriots in said Super Bowl. So what do people say about Manning whenever he throws an interception? “Typical Eli.” Really? Shouldn’t winning a game be “typical Eli,” or does he need to commit adultery, or be convicted of a felony, to be considered “exciting?”
Drew Brees, in addition to being a Super Bowl winning quarterback, continues to go above and beyond the call of duty in the rebuilding of New Orleans, including aiding with the rebuilding of schools, athletic facilities and child care facilities. Aaron Rodgers, another Super Bowl champion, sat quietly behind Brett Favre for three years, saying nothing, while many realized he should have been starting. The Raiders even attempted a Randy Moss for Aaron Rodgers trade before sending Moss to the Patriots. Rodgers, a former first round pick, could have complained about not starting and nobody would have felt he would have been unjustified in doing so, but he worked hard, played his role, and eventually was rewarded for it. Isn’t that exactly the kind of thing we try to teach kids? Work hard, get rewarded.
Tebow, Manning, Brees and Rodgers are all great quarterbacks who are also great people. Like I said, they aren’t alone in that group. Heck, Tony Romo took a homeless man to the movies and changes tires for people stranded in parking lots. For some reason these athletes aren’t lauded as much as guys like Vick, Roethlisberger and Brady. I think this is because the idea of the second chance has been deified so much so that we’ve been conditioned to ignore the good guy. The saying “nice guys finish last” couldn’t ring more true when it comes to the public opinion of some of these athletes. If Rodgers’ Packers hadn't been undefeated until this past Sunday many would have forgotten he won the previous Super Bowl. We need to reverse this trend. I’m not saying we need to stop giving people second chances, but we need to remind people that it’s OK to root for the good guy. You don't have to wait until someone needs a second chance to get behind them. Nice guys should finish first.
Want to flash back to a time when hip-hop had some boom bap, a little bit of attitude, and the ability to punch someone in their face through their speakers? What you’re looking for is Brooklyn, NY’s Amo-1. He is the quintessential New York hip-hopper - rough around the edges, but with something to say. “What The World Needs” is a perfect example of this. Check it out.
It’s an unseasonably cool late August evening in New York City. Most of Molly Moore’s peers are thinking about move-in day at their respective colleges. Moore is thinking about her set at The Bowery Electric. Her choice to take a different path makes perfect sense once you get to know her. Moore goes her own her way in a lot of respects. The pretty blonde who has the looks of a pop star, but would rather embark on the singer-songwriter path, is an artist in a family full of doctors and lawyers. This is her dream, though, and when I caught up with her I found out more about that dream, how her family feels about it, and the very embarrassing start to her learning how to play the guitar. Moore also opened up about why she considers herself an old soul, and the original false start to her career back when she was 15.
Welcome to your weekly dose of pop world musings. Covering all things pop culture, this week Pop Shots is hitting you with thoughts on everything from Adele’s multiple top honors from Billboard, to NBC suddenly being on top of what The Roots play, to who’s at the top of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s inductee list, and since it’s Pop Shots you know everything is seasoned with a little bit of attitude.
* Adele made a little Billboard history this past week when she became the first female singer to be named top artist, have the top album, and score the top single, all in one year. With all those “tops” there’s at least one Adele will now go without, and that’s Top Ramen, cuz I’m pretty sure she can afford real food at this point.
* In news that is sure to confuse attractive single people everywhere, last week Sinead O’Connor, who still sports the bald look, and has added a slight beer gut to the mix, got married for the fourth time. At least with Ms. “Nothing Compares 2 U” now being a Mrs. again we won’t have to read her blogged pleas for butt sex anymore. In fact, you know that CraigsList ad you were thinking about answering, but didn’t because there was no picture? Yeah, husband number four could have been you! You dodged one there, buddy.
* NBC has decided to neuter The Roots and apparently Questlove is OK with it. This after the band decided to play Fishbone’s “Lyin’ Ass Bitch” as Republican presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann walked to the stage for her interview with Jimmy Fallon (side note, if you’re interviewing with Jimmy Fallon you’re not going to be the president of anything other than possibly your condo owner’s association, and even that’s iffy). Questlove says NBC has promised not to step on anybody’s toes, but as a longtime fan of the group I have to say it’s more than a little sad to see such a great hip-hop band get pushed around and controlled creatively. Dealing with The Roots should be part of the deal when you go on Fallon. It’s not like you have to answer any difficult questions while you’re there.
* You might remember Blur as the British band that was a bit of a one hit wonder with “Song 2.” You know, the one where the lead singer sang about getting his head checked by a jumbo jet. Well, even though they’d have to sing for nickels in the US, they’re apparently minor gods in the UK, where they’re going to received a lifetime BRIT award in 2012. The BRITs are Britain’s version of the Grammys... actually, judging by who the Grammys choose to honor, this makes perfect sense. Carry on.
* The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, aka the only thing in Cleveland that will ever get to honor a winner, has announced this year’s inductees. The Beastie Boys, Guns N’ Roses and the Red Hot Chili Peppers headline the list that also includes Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan, Small Faces/Faces, Freddie King, Cosimo Matassa, Tom Dowd and Glyn Johns. Clearly not all inductees are created equal, as I’m guessing no extra security will have to be hired to handle the throngs of fans bum-rushing the doors to get a look at the Donovan display.
* Jay-Z is going to headline the first ever hip-hop focused series of performances at the legendary Carnegie Hall in February of 2012. The really cool thing about this? All the proceeds will benefit the United Way of NYC and Jigga’s own Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation. Let’s just hope Jay deals with money a little better than Wyclef.
* If you aren’t subscribing to Jon Lajoi’s videos on YouTube you’re really missing some great musical comedy. His latest is the third installment in his WTF Collective series and features a cavalcade of emcees you’d never want to invite to your cypher... or to dinner, except maybe Everyday Normal Guy. There’s also a hint of The Walking Dead thrown in this clip for good measure. Oh yeah, this video is very NSFW!
And with that, my time is up for the week, but I'll be back next week with more shots on all things pop.
If you can imagine the art of poetry mixed with the art of freestyle rhyme the result might sound a little bit like New York City’s Majestik Originality. After honing his skills in both scenes for the better part of the past decade, Majestik Originality recently released his debut album, Just Listen. Just Listen is intentionally on the shorter side at just ten tracks, but Majestik Originality explains “I’ve been in the poetry scene for the past eight years, gettin lost in that sauce, and I didn’t want to come out with an album with a whole bunch of music, hitting people all at once. Ten songs makes the album 40 minutes and if you’re really feeling it you’ll be like damn, I wish there was more.”
I wanted to know more, so I caught up with Majestik Originality to find out more about his music, his history, and the name altering effect Mijente and BlackPlanet had on him. He also discussed the open mic scene in NYC, and a chance encounter he had with Immortal Technique at one way back in 2001.
The open mic is a time honored artistic building block. It’s a place where artists can hone their skills and get feedback from fans and other artists alike. As a writer I’ve been to a ton of open mics, two of my favorites being Bondfire, which happens once a month at the Bowery Poetry Club in NYC, and Enter The Cypher, which happens bi-monthly at the Acoustic Cafe, in Bridgeport, CT.
After over a decade of attending such events I’ve put together this quick list of three tips for artists when it comes to approaching an open mic. You can either check out the video for the tips, or read them below, whichever you prefer.
Don’t talk too much when you get the mic
You’re there to perform a song, just like everybody else, and when you talk you’re taking up other people’s time. Save it for your own show.
Stick around
Just because you’ve performed doesn’t mean the night is over. Everybody else is performing, too. If you’re lucky enough to preform early give the other artists some courtesy and watch them perform. If you do the greatest song in the world and then walk out right afterwards no one’s going to remember you because there are going to be 20 other people on the stage, and if they do remember you they’re gonna remember you as the artist who left early.
Accept constructive criticism
Most people at an open mic are there to hash out the tweaks in what they’re doing, they’re there to improve what they do, so if someone says “hey I liked it, but...” don’t immediately jump down their throat, they’re just trying to help. Most of the time it’s another artist who probably liked what you did and would like to work with you, which is another advantage to sticking around, you’ll get to meet some people you’ll want to work with and who want to work with you.
If you’ve found these tips helpful please check out my e-book, Muscle For Your Hustle: What Every DIY Musician Needs to Know. It’s only 99 cents at Lulu.com.
I met Big Stat back in 2004. Since then I’ve written about him a number of times, regularly had him as a guest on my old radio show, and we have become good friends. Because of this I’ve had the opportunity to see him grow as an artist, from his Hushh days up to today. His latest single, “Pain,” is his best, and most gut wrenchingly personal, piece of work yet. It’s a song that takes a close up look at domestic violence with his mother’s own murder as the centerpiece. There’s a lot to take in here, and with lines like “it eats me up inside, I can’t remember your voice,” Big Stat is clearly wearing his heart on his sleeve for all to see. This might be the most powerful song you hear all year.
For more on Big Stat check out the following features:
“Gucci Gucci Louis Louis Fendi Fendi Prada / them basic bitches wear that shit so I don’t even bother.” The insanely catchy chorus rang out like a call to arms for those who preferred flaunting their individualism rather than their ability to follow the latest trends. It also launched a diminutive, tattooed, 21 year old girl from Oakland, CA, into the limelight quicker than she could have ever imagined.
Kreayshawn went from being a relatively unknown to being Columbia Records’ million dollar baby (the deal she signed shortly after “Gucci Gucci” blew up on YouTube is rumored to be in the seven figure territory). Having filmed music videos for Lil’ B, and worked with Left Brain of Odd Future when they were both with the clothing line Freeminds, she has the unique ability to hang with both the hip-hop heads and the hipsters. Kreayshawn says all of her associations have one major thing in common, “it’s all creative things that all connect us.”
Creativity is something Kreayshawn has always been close to. Her mother, Elka Zolot, was the guitarist of the 90’s surf punk group The Trashwomen and the band was together and touring for much of Kreayshawn’s youth. She took it all in and now the young artist who just turned 22 this September is going to be the one touring the country, and the world. Before she caught her next plane, however, I caught up with Kreayshawn to find out more about her music, the point she was trying to get across with “Gucci Gucci,” and the common thread she’s found in the critics who are so vocal about her on the web. Kreayshawn also revealed a bit about one of her previous gigs, the way in which her cats are now ballin’, and the incredible co-sign given to her by Snoop Dogg.
Welcome to your weekly dose of pop world musings. Covering all things pop culture, this week Pop Shots is hitting you with thoughts on everything from the smell of Grammy success, to what stinks at Wyclef’s charity, to the sweet scents of Snooki and JWOWW. Also, I make fun of Teen Mom multiple times for no reason whatsoever, and since it’s Pop Shots you know everything is seasoned with a little bit of attitude.
* The Grammy nominees were announced last week and, for all the major awards, a whole bunch of people who’ve already been rewarded enough will once again be rewarded. The most interesting category looks to be Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical, which pits Skrillex against Afrojack and Deadmau5. If the Grammys wanted to be awesome they’d give us some of those acts as performers during the show. That little gramophone could use some fist pumps!
* Kanye West, in an ego filled clip on VOYR, which is a $5 a month streaming service that has decided to lead it’s sales pitch with this, mused that he hoped world leaders would be at his eventual funeral, a funeral that will not be happening due to any bouts with excessive humility. The world leaders he wants there aren’t just any world leaders, though, he wants world leaders who “were, like, affected, that said, you know, ‘Kanye gave me my shot here,’ or ‘he pushed me,’ or ‘he told me to believe in myself.’” Those are some heavy quotes I have a hard time imagining any world leader saying... unless he was about to marry a gold digger just as “Gold Digger” came on in the club, in which case, yeah, Kanye probably did him a solid.
* Wyclef is in a little bit of hot water. According to an article in the New York Daily News less than a third of the $16 million he raised for Haitian relief efforts actually made it to the emergency efforts. To be fair, Clef is used to taking more than his fair share from years of not bothering to pay Pras.
* Ladies, if you’ve ever watched an episode of Jersey Shore and thought “I’d really like to smell like that,” you are in luck! Both JWOWW and Snooki have released fragrances named after themselves. Surprisingly, the girls of Teen Mom haven’t found such marketing success. Then again, who wants to smell like dirty diapers and day old placenta?
* Country singer Mindy McCready probably won’t be receiving a “Worlds Greatest Mom” mug for Christmas, as her five year old son, whom she refused to bring back from Tennessee to Florida despite violating a custody agreement and a judge’s order, was found in Arkansas on Friday and returned to his legal guardian, his grandmother. It’s OK, though, McCready’s going to get another shot, as she says she’s pregnant with twins... and suddenly those girls on Teen Mom seem so much more well suited for parenthood.
* According to Michael Anthony Sullivan, Tommy Lee isn’t very fun to work for. The rocker’s former assistant filed a lawsuit against Lee and Lee's company, Mayhem Touring, claiming that he was worked 24/7, and that Lee made improper deductions from his paycheck. Sullivan also claims to have lost two tour-manager positions, with Godsmack and Bush, because of an alleged smear campaign created by Lee. There’s no word, however, on whether or not Lee made Sullivan “Get Naked.”
* Georgetown has decided to give its students a layup of a class with Sociology of Hip-Hop: Jay-Z. Taught by Michael Eric Dyson, who has written some really amazing books on hip-hop and culture, the course delves into the social commentary behind Hov’s lyrics. This course could also be called Obviousness 101. If Georgetown really wanted to create an interesting course based one emcee’s lyrics they really should have gone with Ghostface Killah.
And with that, my time is up for the week, but I'll be back next week with more shots on all things pop.
In all major sports leagues there’s an award for the comeback player of the year. If there was such an award in hip-hop San Quinn would be at the head of the list of nominees. After taking three years off, 2011 has seen the San Francisco native release not one, but two full length albums - Can’t Take the Ghetto Out a Nigga, which was released on July 19th, and A Hustler’s Hope, which hit stores on October 25th. Even though he’s back on his grind releasing new music, Quinn says the break he took was a good one as it gave him time to “analyze the game.” This week I caught up with San Quinn to find out what he learned during his time off, what he hopes to accomplish for the Bay Area, and why he says he “wasn’t overwhelmed” when he met 2Pac. San Quinn also revealed the video game he is supremely confident he can kick your ass in.
As some of you may know, I’m a retro gamer. Well, actually I’m a gamer from the 80s that never got into anything much past the SNES. In fact, the only reason I bought a PS2 was because I figured if I was going to have a DVD player it should also do something else. Now the PS2 is packed up, my old NES is still hooked up (with a new 72 pin connector), and I’m still kickin ass and takin names at all the old 8-bit classics.
A couple months ago a retro video game store named Retro Games Plus opened a few miles from my home and I have a feeling I’ll be there quite often. In honor of finally having a good old school video game place by me (sorry GameStop, you stopped being game for me when you decided you’d only stock games and systems that are Playstation to present) I’ve decided to make a top ten list of some of my NES faves. These aren’t necessarily the ten greatest games of all-time, although some certainly qualify, they’re simply ten games (err, actually a few more than ten... you’ll see) that I’ve always (dig) dug.
10) Snake Rattle N Roll
There is something about this game I’ve always liked. It has cartoonish characters, gameplay that ranges from simple to damned near impossible thanks to the game making it necessary to jump diagonally and the NES not having a joystick, and has always been fun. There are times when I’ve felt my accomplishments in Snake Rattle N Roll have been some of my finest moments in video gaming.
9) Double Dragon
Who didn’t play Double Dragon as a kid? I mean, seriously, this was one of the games everyone loved bragging about their accomplishments in. Double Dragon also had a dope two player mode where you could fight alongside a friend, and a “great for the time” one on one mode, which was the precursor to games like Street Fighter and Tekken. Those Abobos still give people nightmares.
8) Baseball Stars
The first truly great baseball game for the NES. The only things it was missing were major league rosters and team names. Leaving that aside, this game let you not just play baseball on the Nintendo, it let you create a team, name your players, and, in league play, build up a budget you could then spend on ability points for those players. Baseball Stars is still my standard for baseball video games.
7) Dr. Mario
For as much as I love Tetris, and think it could have singlehandedly ended the Cold War had it come out a decade earlier, I love Dr. Mario just a little bit more. Perhaps it’s the angry little germs and the way they die. Perhaps it’s the thought of a plumber suddenly having a medical degree. Whatever it is, I can still play this game for hours on end.
6) Tiny Toon Adventures
One of the most underrated games in NES history, Tiny Toon Adventures was both fun and challenging and it had great graphics. Not only were some of the later levels straight up difficult, another strategic aspect of the game was picking the right Tiny Toons to play with. Buster was a great jumper, Dizzy could destroy things, Plucky could swim well, and Furrball could climb walls. You could complete any level with any character, but picking the right ones made it a much smoother task.
5) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II & III
If you had an arcade in your town growing up you knew all about the TMNT games. They were the best (after the first, which was an aberration) because you could have up to four people playing at once as a team. TMNT II managed to take the fun of the arcade version and put it into a two player game. It also had really high quality graphics for its time. Interesting side note - TMNT II was one of the first video games to have product placement. Those Pizza Hut signs weren’t there by happenstance. TMT III picked up right where II left off. Pure fun.
4) Darkwing Duck
A lot of Mega Man fanatics are probably reading this list and wondering where the heck their hero is. Well, Darkwing Duck is my Mega Man game of choice. It has the exact same gameplay as the Mega Man series (probably because it’s also a Capcom game), but all the worlds, villains, and heroes, are straight out of the Darkwing Duck cartoon. The graphics are amazing, and you get to face off against the likes of Bushroot, The Liquidator, Megavolt, Quakerjack and Steelbeak. It’s hard to get any better than that.
3) Tecmo Super Bowl
The gold standard of football video games. Emulators are made every year to represent current NFL rosters, and that’s because, with all due respect to John Madden, there’s no better football game than Tecmo Super Bowl. It featured eight plays on offense, eight plays on defense, the ability to throw the ball 100 yards with your backup QB, the infamous play where Bo Jackson runs out an entire quarter on one play, and music that will run through your head while you’re watching real NFL games. It was Tecmo’s second time around making a football game and I have two words to describe it - “Successful Try!”
2) The Legend of Zelda
The first game we all needed a map to figure out, The Legend of Zelda laid the groundwork for all future quest games. The best aspect of Zelda was that it was equal parts easy and difficult. You could roam around killing things and collecting rupees, but some of those hidden passages were seriously hard to find. The one above the river? If you found that on your own it was by accident, but that was what was really cool about Zelda, we all found stuff and then told our friends how to do it. We pieced the game together as a group and eventually we all saved the princess.
1) Super Mario Bros (1-3)
If you’re an 80s baby (or late 70s baby, like me) and can’t hum the music from worlds 1-1 and 1-2 of Super Mario Brothers you had a terrible childhood. The impact of the first SMB can’t be understated. From the sheer length of the game, to the multitude of Easter eggs in it - you know you went to that stupid -1 world even though you knew damned well you couldn’t swim out of it - it had it all. SMB 2 was a completely different game, but in retrospect, had plenty of merits, and SMB 3 may be the pinnacle of all NES games. All hail Mario!
This video doesn’t make something out of nothing, but it makes something out of nothing more than construction paper, choreography, and a few close friends. One thing I’ve always loved about Soce is his creativity and “Impact” has the creativity on full display. I also really dig the positive message of the chorus, “even though you might like to sit back / when you strike, you'll have a massive impact.” The only thing I don’t like about this video is that I’m not in it, but that’s my own damned fault. I could have been, but the rehearsal dates didn’t work with my schedule. Regardless of my absence from the clip, press play and let “Impact” make an impact on you.
When rock and hip-hop come together it rarely pleases both audiences. Either the rock audience is left feeling like the band was an afterthought, or the hip-hop audience is disappointed by the lyrical prowess of the emcee. Notar is shattering all of that with his debut album, Devil’s Playground, which manages to be both 100% rock and 100% hip-hop. It’s also 100% intense.
Originally from Connecticut, but now a New York City resident, Notar honed his lyrical skills at some of NYC’s toughest freestyle events – Freestyle Mondays and End of the Weak. After a friend of his played his demo for Adam Duritz, the Counting Crows lead singer signed Notar to his label, Tyrannosaurus Records, which is what Devil’s Playground was released on in September.
On the heels of the release of the album I caught up with Notar to find out more about his music, the NHL locker rooms it’s playing in, and the ways in which he hopes it inspires people. He also opened up about the large role religion plays in his life, and how he managed to personally kick someone out of his album release party without anyone noticing.
It’s been a fantastic week for my e-book, Muscle For Your Hustle, which has received not one, not two, but three more glowing reviews. The reviews are by the CT News, international music site Gone Out, and the blog of musician and writer “Fresh Prince Anthony.” All of these folks are highly knowledgeable about music, so the fact that they loved the book makes my day.
B-Listers are a select group of artists that were featured in my Artist Of The Week series that ran every Monday from April of '06 to April of '11. All of these artists have two things in common; extreme talent, and a flight path far too under the radar for my liking. They took on the title of B-Listers as they embraced being featured by me, Adam B. Check out the AOTW Archives for all the interviews.
10) Bad Rabbits - Stick Up Kids
9) Everlast - Songs of the Ungrateful Living
8) Us3 - Lie, Cheat & Steal
7) Lights - Siberia
6) Natalia Kills - Perfectionist
5) Jonny October - The Wheelhouse
4) Astronautalis - This Is Our Science
3) Eliza Doolittle - Eliza Doolittle
2) IamOMNI (w/ Tricky) - IAMOMNI
1-A) Dessa - Castor, The Twin
1) Toussaint Morrison - Toussaint Morrison Is Not My Homeboy
10) Snake Rattle N Roll
9) Double Dragon
8) Baseball Stars
7) Dr. Mario
6) Tiny Toon Adventures
5) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II & III
4) Darkwing Duck
3) Tecmo Super Bowl
2) The Legend of Zelda
1) Super Mario Bros (1-3)
