#era: superfly

[eievuimultimuse]

@nightwatchr liked this so now he's getting a foot clan starter >:3c

     THE FLY IS no stranger to getting caught in the act while running errands for that tyrant his master. It was to be expected, given his…UNIQUE physiology, to put it mildly. No matter; he had been taught to deal with any witnesses swiftly and without remorse. Failure to do so was FROWNED UPON and would earn a harsh punishment.  ( He never wanted to. But he had no choice. )  So when he emerged from the back of the delivery truck  ( whose passengers were long gone on a highway somewhere, having found themselves ejected from the vehicle ), a large box now in his possession, he was unsurprised to find that he was not alone.

     What he was surprised by, however, was to find a bipedal turtle greeting his sight. Given his own upbringing, one could imagine that it was no mystery as to what he was looking at. Unfortunately, enough rants from his master also leads him to recognize that this is not some joyous meeting between two mutants. This is meant to be one of their enemies. And here ‘Fly stands, undeniably donning the opposing Clan’s symbol.

     ( …He doesn’t want to fight. Not one of his own. )

     The metal limb creaks slightly as he lowers the box to the ground, freeing up all of his available limbs. Though his legs are placed in such a way as to prepare himself, his hands and claw, albeit slightly tensed, are at his sides. “ I’ve no desire to quarrel. It’d be wiser for us to simply just walk away. “

[hello-nichya-here]

Who would Michael Jackson vote for, in your opinion?

Ah, I see we were recommended the same clickbait video XD

Until the Bad Era (so around 87-89, aka Michael's late 20s) he was a very devoted Jehovah's witness, meaning he had to follow certain rules. No christmas, no blood transfusions - and no voting, for anyone of any political party, ever. You were not gonna see him being too overly patriotic either, because things like saluting the flag are seen as a form of WORSHIP, and are thus unnacceptable in their eyes.

There's a reason the song of USA for Africa had no flags around, just the artists singing "We are the WORLD." Why his biggest hits about injustices tackled it in a GLOBAL scale. Why he always responded to accusations of racism by showing love to people of all different races and nationalities.

It wasn't just because he was a nice guy with love for everyone (but don't get me wrong, that was part of it). He literally did not have permission to get too into US politics. Even when he was next to freaking presidents he was always polite and friendly - but never expressing any explicit support or disapproval of him, his political allies, or political rivals.

Now, the Jacksons were known for ignoring their religion when it was convenient (the brothers sleeping around with groupies, Joe having a whole other family, The Jackson 5 having a christmas album, etc) but Michael notoriously had a problem with all that. The song "Superfly Sister" is basically him judging his family, with lines like "Mother's preaching Abraham, brothers they don't give a damn."

He almost didn't release the Thriller video and wanted every copy of it destroyed because he "got in trouble" for the supernatural, horror-movie theme. Even when he decided to go for it, he still felt the need to start with a disclaimer on how it was just a music video, not an expression of his religious beliefs (and ending with a cheeky "This is fiction, any similarities to events or people, living, dead or undead, is purely coincidental" because Michael's gotta Michael).

He only stopped being a Jehovah's witness/was kicked out by them because he didn't like how they were interfering with his art - he was literally told to try dancing without moving his hips, because it was "obscene." He realized he got to a point where anything and everything he did would make someone mad, and dediced to just do as he pleased instead of fighting a losing battle.

He still continued living pretty much the same lifestyle and expressing the same beliefs (the only big differences I've seen is that he became a lot more okay with the fact that he was a horny straight guy like any other, and that according to his daughter he's one of the few people in the Jackson family that doesn't treat people not being straight as a huge taboo and treated her attraction to women as fully normal right away).

Even after he had spent YEARS looking into other religions, including lots of talks with his brother Jermaine, who had converted to Islam, Michael was still pretty much behaving like nothing had changed and he was still a Jehovah's witness - hence his family basically burying him as one because everyone knew that was still Michael's religious belief, even if he had been shunned by them.

I am honestly going to be very surprised if it turns out he ever voted for anyone, as that seemed to be one of the beliefs he never let go of - for God's sake, the man cried after celebrating Christmas for the first time, in his 30s, because he felt he was doing something wrong.

Now, please don't misunderstand what I'm saying, Michael had VERY strong feelings on lots of things that were/are relevant in political debates - but whenever he expressed his concerns on a topic, he'd often go out of his way to DISTANCE it from any political affiliation.

For exemple: Earth Song is all about the planet being destroyed and all the suffering it leads to, which, yes, is an issue that is more left-aligned, but once again, Michael deliberately chose to make it a UNIVERSAL thing, expressed it through MUSIC, and while he donated a lot of money to help the cause, he never showed support for any politician that had a simmilar concern as part of their campain. The music video even ends with the planet being healed through a miracle after everyone affected falls to their knees and prays in the midst of their grief. It shifts the focus from any possible association with some kind of anti-captalism sentiment to make it simply about a devout man's own spiritual belief that humanity doesn't have the right to destroy what God created. It blurs the lines so he can do something that the left will cheer for, without angering the right.

The most openly political thing he ever did was show full support for Nelson Mandela (aka a foreign leader) as well as respect and admiration for MLK and Roosevelt in the song "They Don't Care About Us" (aka two important figures of America's past that were already dead) - and remember, that song in particular had videos both in the US and in Brazil. Once again, he makes it all about GLOBAL issues, trying to be, in a way, "bigger" than US politics so no one can figure out who he's supporting, assuming he supported anyone at all, which is unlikely.

Now, I know someone is inevitably going to ask "But weren't Michael Jackson and Donald Trump friends? Doesn't that mean he'd make an exception on his 'no voting' rule and likely support him over both Hilary and Biden?"

Michael hung out with Trump casually many, many, MANY times and has been to several of his properties (if I'm not mistaken he even lived at Trump Tower for a while). HOWEVER he explicitly told a friend, in a private phone call that he had no idea was being recorded, that he warned his father to not get Trump involved in any of the Jacksons business because he was NOT a smart, competent business man like Joe said.

Worse yet, at the end of his song "Money", Michael mentions a few important names, like Rockefeller and TRUMP, making his thoughts on their character crystal fucking clear through it all (and keep in mind, this was AFTER Trump defended him of the false accusations of pedophilia):

"I'll never betray or deceive you, my friend, but If you show me the cash, then I will take it If you tell me to cry, then I will fake it If you give me a hand, then I will shake it You would do anything for money Anything, anything, anything for money Would lie for you, would die for you Even sell my soul to the devil"

To me, it's pretty clear that, while Michael was clearly willing to be friendly with Trump, he was not blind to the fact that the guy is far from a saint, is no mastermind, and is very greedy, to the point that Michael did NOT fully trust him - and was willing to say so both in private and in public.

Any republican that tries to say he would 1000% be one of them just because Trump (who did not even have a political career when Michael was alive) is constantly telling stories about "My good friend Michael Jackson" is as delusional as any democract that thinks "Earth Song" means he would never ever support him.

If Michael Jackson ever bothered to vote for anyone, he kept quiet about it. At most, he'd let his music do the talking - "Slave To The Rhythm" was him being sympathetic to the struggles of women, "Little Susie" was about how neglectful families can full on kill their children, "Song Groove" was him making it clear he was pro-life (though he said he wanted to be careful with how he'd approach it because he didn't want it to be a guilt-trip or offend anyone, and the song didn't come out until 2012, three years after his death, despite being written in the 80s), "Black or White" was about not being racist, "They Don't Care About Us" was speaking out against police brutality/people in power neglecting their responsibilities and/or abusing said power, etc.

Considering "This Is It" was meant to be his final tour so he could solve all his money issues and chill somewhere with his family, I doubt that he'd say a word about who, if anyone, he'd voting for in this election if he were alive today. He was done with being a public figure.

Not to mention: Michael was NOT stupid. He always went out of his way to be the artist everyone could like (again, see him not wanting the anti-abortion song to offend or guilt-trip people, and it eventually being shelved to avoid the headache). He would not openly support a democrat and piss off the conservative half of his US fans, and he'd not be crazy enough to think people wouldn't drag him through the mud if he supported mister "We'll build a wall and make Mexico pay for it" and then went on to sing "The world must come together as one." It'd never fucking happen, he had more than enough problems to deal with already.

Plus, he very famously did not like being told what to do, so if either side tried pressuring him into supporting their candidate because he HAS to vote for SOMEONE, they'd be met with whatever the polite, super nice euphemism for "Fuck you, I'm Michael Jackson, I do whatever I want" is, because I'm pretty sure he had one.

[randomvarious]

Today's mix:

Headliners: 01 - Live at the Gallery by Tall Paul 2000 Progressive House / Trance / Progressive Trance / House

Ugh. I really hate to besmirch the often excellent and eclectic DJ Tall Paul here, but this man was simply *not* bringing it for this Ministry of Sound double-disc back in 2000. What we have here to kick off this ultimately fleeting Headliners series is an unfortunately jumbled up and incoherent mess of house and trance tunes from the turn of the millennium, some of which are quite good, but most of which are quite bad 😑.

And that, more or less, really just seems to sum up Ministry of Sound in a nutshell; some bangers to be sure, but also, a lot of these hulking superclub-type entities that operate branches in multiple cities—while also having their very own record labels too—seem to have this inevitable penchant for pushing out a whole torrent of mind-numbingly tacky crap, don't they? 🤷‍♂️

*sigh*

Anyway, with all that in mind, I really did enjoy certain parts of both of these discs. Paul chooses to close out each set with conventionally great trance runs, with the finale on disc 2, Rob Searle's remix of Frankie Goes to Hollywood's "The Power of Love," probably being the best of the bunch. But the paths that he takes to get to both of these runs are largely windingly unentertaining, with yawn-inducing turn-of-the-millennium progressive house marring disc 1, and then a spat of mindlessly bouncy Euro gunk in the middle of disc 2. And to jam all these different types of dance music in here like this just feels so forced and awkward in the first place, resulting in a classic case of failing to please anyone by trying to please everyone 👎.

But actually, the variety was totally winning me over in the beginning, mainly because Paul was keeping steady and connecting good tunes together from different genres that you wouldn't be likely to hear in succession otherwise. He opens up the first disc with a satisfyingly quirky bit of quiet, eerie, and jazzy deep techno from the great Laurent Garnier, then follows it up with a pulsating and wavy piece of breakbeat-infused trance from Germany's Nalin + Kane, and then gets into a literally bubbling and locked-in house groove with UK duo Tin Tin Out. But after that, he departs from this fun grab-bag, genre-hopping concept, and just proceeds to dig himself into a pit mainly comprised of progressive house emptiness, until he finally decides to climb his way out and finish up the first set with some quality trance tunes 🫤.

So, there's definitely some great y2k-era dance music on here—and the totally memed-to-a-bloody-pulp Darude's "Sandstorm" too!—but really not worth the listen, overall. A genuine miss from the legendary and beloved Tall Paul 😔.

Listen to CD1 here. Listen to CD2 here.

Highlights:

CD1:

Laurent Garnier - "The Man With the Red Face (Original Mix)" Nalin & Kane - "Superfly 20019 Live at the Crystal Palace (Alternative Club Mix)" Tin Tin Out - "Anybody's Guess (Mr. G's Out Dub)" Cygnus X - "The Orange Theme (Solar Stone Remix)" Chris + James - "Darkstar (Original Mix)" Moonman - "Galaxia (Solar Stone Remix)"

CD2:

Agnelli + Nelson - "Embrace (Original Mix)" Darude - "Sandstorm (Original Mix)" Push - "Till We Meet Again (Original Mix)" Parker + Clind - "Cosmos (Original Mix)" Frankie Goes to Hollywood - "The Power of Love (Rob Searle Club Mix)"

[bullshits-smut]

So I finally saw TMNT mutant mayhem on the weekend (yay Australian release dates) and it's fuckin amazing. But there's one nagging issue I've had with it and it's the music choices for the needle drops.

The movie is so focused on making the brothers feel like actual modern kids, the slang, the use of phones, the anime Donnie watches, the pop culture they reference and its great. It genuinely grounds them as like actual kids. It's one of the strongest aspects of the film.

Then all the music choices are like, music from my generation? Like tribe called quest , ol dirty bastard and shit. And like don't get me wrong I popped when shimmy shimmy ya started playing but I'm 36, it just feels like it was kneecapping something the movie had spent so much effort building up.

We know that these kids aren't old school hip hop heads. Donnie is into BTS, if they wanted to focus on new York hip hop they could have at least picked something from like, the last decade? (I don't know what music kids listen to today to pick examples, like I said I'm 36) but like, drop Butter playing when Splinter comes to save em or something.

They could even use it as an emphasis to the story telling, by having the different eras of music emphasise the different characters. Superfly represented by the old school hip hop (wich I guess he'd still be too young for but it would at least fit thematically and be a cool shout out to his voice actor) with the more modern music representing the turtles and their growing challenge to the set in their ways older generation.

Anyway overall its an incredibly minor complaint and a sign of how fucking good the movie is that this is the only negative I have to say, the rest of it was just fucking amazing.

[moorheadthanyoucanhandle]

GREEN NEW DEAL

Opening in theaters today:

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem--This new animated feature version of the adolescent DNA-altered martial-arts-practicing chelonians is about mayhem that arises due to mutants. In case the title doesn't make it clear.

The quartet, all named for some reason after Italian Old Masters, dwell in the sewers of New York under the strict protective care of their teacher and adoptive parent, the mutant rat Splinter (voiced by Jackie Chan), but long to go to high school, maybe have girlfriends. On one of their sorties into the city, they meet high schooler April O'Niel (Ayo Edebiri), who's an aspiring journalist. They also run afoul of an evil scientist (Maya Rudolph) as well as a gang of other mutant animals led by the monstrous Superfly (Ice Cube).

It's a striking movie to look at. The visuals have a garish, roughed-out, graffiti-esque look, and the animation has a stylized hint of stop-motion in the Rankin-Bass manner. Among the writers are Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen; Rogen also provides the voice of the mutant warthog Bebop. The trailer and poster say the movie is "FROM PERMANENT TEENAGER SETH ROGEN."

The jabbery, overlapping dialogue is ticklingly funny, and I appreciated the characterization of the young April, who in the earlier movies has seemingly served as eye candy for the dads in the audience, as a smart and brave but unconfident kid with a typical body shape. As with earlier entries in the series, the film is packed with product placement, to the point that it becomes part of the comedy.

The Turtles made their debut in 1983, too late to be part of my childhood; my nephews were fans. I remember finding the '90s-era live-action TMNT movies annoying, but I found the live-action features of 2014 and 2016 surprisingly fun, even without a nostalgic attachment. Mutant Mayhem, however, may be the best-looking and funniest of them all.

As is so often the case in movies for kids, the ultimate goal that our heroes are seeking is, of course, acceptance, popularity, or simply "to be normal." This persistent theme can be tiresome, but undoubtedly it does reflect a common wish among this film's target audience. Permanent Teenager Rogen and his collaborators know their business.

[ladycharles]

There has been a lot of discussion lately about Scorcese's Goncharov, and yet I haven't seen anyone post about this oddity of popular music it inspired.

Lord Charles, for those who don't know, was a British rock artist who rose to acclaim in the 1960s, releasing a string of psychedelic rock records with his backing band The Ladies. While a lot can be written about their importance in that scene, this particular track hails from 1974, after the original Ladies had disbanded (Lord Charles would continue to use the name, but after 1971's Legendary Gears his records were recorded with session players).

Charles had first crossed paths with Matteo JWHJ 0715 sometime in 1972, but it was while wintering in Italy in December of 1973 that Charles attended one of Matteo's infamous Cine-Bacchanal parties at his Naples villa. It was here that Matteo showed a work print of Goncharov to his guests. Martin Scorcese was in attendance, fresh off the success of Mean Streets, and he offered to bring it to America.

Apparently witnessing this conversation, Lord Charles offered to contribute an original song, and while it is unclear whether Matteo and Scorcese took him up on this, he soon set out for Philadelphia where he was set to begin the infamously coke-fuelled sessions for It's Alright (I Love You Both).

Like many British rockers of the era, Lord Charles had become highly influenced by American popular music, particularly funk and soul. He often cited Curtis Mayfield's Superfly as a major influence, and it is clear that his Goncharov borrows liberally from that soundtrack's bass heavy narrative funk (unfortunately he did not borrow Mayfield's political conscience, making his Goncharov quite a shallow exercise in comparison to Mayfield's portrait of inner-city struggle). The track also features an exagerrated "Russian" motif, typical of the often problematic cultural signifiers in 1970s music (see "Kung Fu Fighting").

The track was cut with an unknown group of session musicians, but it is presumed to be the same band with which he recorded It's Alright. It is likely that the existing version is not final, and that some of the guitars at least were intended to be rerecorded, with speculation that the 'da svidenia Goncharov' line was only part of a planned chorus. Matteo was apparently in attendance at the sessions, having convinced Charles to include what he claimed was a bit of Russian dialogue cut from the film (in typical Matteo style, this was apparently a bizarre prank, as any Russian speaker will note that it has nothing to do with the story).

Unfortunately, when Goncharov had failed to receive wide release before Charles' new record, the song was shelved until 1977 when RCA released it as the b-side to a reissue of It's Alright without Charles' consent. This lack of communication hurt the song's commercial prospects - Lord Charles had apparently completely forgotten about the due to his contemporaneous cocaine use and gave an interview describing the single as a "hoax concocted by a record company desperate to attach any sewer rat to my name, lest it grow wings". The record was pulled due to the controversy and only 200 pressings are said to have been sold. It was only in 1989 that Charles would acknowledge it's authenticity in his autobiography "The Lord's Prayer - how I survived sex, drugs, thinking I could write funk, and drugs".

Sorry for the long description but I was really hoping to hit all the important points. I quite like this one and do wonder if it had ever been intended as an original song in the film (as is perhaps suggested by Matteo's participation). It isn't the best tune of his, and particularly pales in comparison to its influences but it's certainly worth the novelty to hear a British psychedelic singer performing American funk influenced music about a Russian character in an Italian film produced by an American. If you liked this post definitely check out my blog where I feature similar music from time to time.

"Tick tock tick/the clock runs down/cock shoot click/my luck runs out"

-Lord Charles, Goncharov (I'm a bad, bad man)

[naturalbornworldshakers]

“By 1974, Evel Knievel was a superfly sovereign, and his pre-jump speeches—like the one in San Francisco (pictured here)—were equal part showman’s address and militant command. And his subjects roared. Despite the lavish effects, Knievel preserved his plain-spoken, working-man image. He talked about morals and being “true to your word,” and he wore Old Glory on his back. The public bought in, might have even elected him president in a different era. But this was the era of the 55-mph sign, of new rules and regulations and oil crises and inflation and Watergate. The fences were going up everywhere, yet this stuntman rode from the shadows of the stadium tunnels into the spotlight on his chrome-tipped Harley and launched over everything like Captain America, a red, white, and blue middle finger to the establishment. He flew—the corrupt elites, the nannies, and the naysayers, they took the damn bridge. Knievel was also literally fighting regulations. Since the late 1960s, he had been haggling with the U.S. government over a plan to jump the Grand Canyon on a motorcycle. Negotiations dragged on for years. As the Hollywood trade rag Variety put it, the two sides had “not yet decided who collects should the flight not prove horizontal.” They never agreed, and the talks subsided. Instead, Knievel—now a millionaire—purchased his own gorge, leasing 300 acres of the Snake River Canyon in Twin Falls, Idaho, for $35,000. Again, screw the system.” @hagerty https://www.instagram.com/p/CkHXDnas8Oz/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[raybizzle]

"The Hitter" (1979) is a late-entry blaxploitation film that features "Superfly" star Ron O'Neal and his love interest from the movie Shelia Frazier. After the success of "Superfly," Ron O'Neal was much more successful in Hollywood, starring in over 50 films and directing two movies. "The Hitter" is a tough movie as we journey with O'Neal and his street-fighting hustle. It's an enjoyable movie as the film's leading trio of actors, O'Neal, Frazier, and Adolph Caesar, carry you through with their cool and charismatic personalities. Caesar saw his first significant role in this movie and did not disappoint.

Like many blaxploitation movies, the soundtrack (produced by Garfeel Ruff) makes the film slightly better than it is. Still, it's a personal favorite film of mine, and I recommend it to those who want to get that nostalgic feeling of the era.

Director: Christopher Leitch Writers: Christopher Leitch (screenplay), Ben Harris (screenplay)

Starring Ron O'Neal, Sheila Frazier, Adolph Caesar, Bill Cobbs, Dorothi Fox, Alfie Brown

Storyline An ex-professional boxer (O'Neal) tries to make a new start when teaming up with a fast-talking but aging hoodlum (Ceaser) and an ex-call girl (Frazier) but soon get more than they bargained for when crossing an adversary from their past (Cobbs).

This movie is only available on VHS, YouTube, and other streaming services. I would like to see a remastered release one day soon

[gerogerigaogaigar]

Elvis Presley - The Sun Sessions

This is the Elvis that had teens swooning and parents in fits. It's not hard to see why Sam Phillips got dollar signs in his eyes after hearing this Elvis. He's got energy, it's a little rough and rowdy while still being commercially viable (read: white). Elvis on these tracks has something that later recordings lacked: heart. Elvis sounds like he's having fun and it makes them pop more. Makes it so they are his own interpretations of songs instead of just being good but inferior attempts. I'll go to bat for Elvis' Sun Records recordings any day.

The Who - Who's Next

After the success of Tommy, Pete Townsend got really, really wrapped up in an incoherent rock opera, multimedia... thing called Lifehouse that might have involved living in a commune with concert attendees. This obviously didn't go anywhere, but Townsend did have a nervous breakdown trying to explain his idea and then they just released the songs they had written for Lifehouse as a regular album and that's what Who's Next is. Who's Next is an incredible album, but it really is about opener Baba O' Riley and closer Won't Get Fooled Again. The middle of the album is great, but honestly I think this album is overrated among rock critics. The songs are memorable and catchy, but a little hollow. Don't get me wrong it's still a 9/10 but Tommy is an 11/10 so I'm not sure why Who's Next is consistently rated above it.

Curtis Mayfield - Superfly

There are a lot of good film soundtracks out there. And there are a lot of film soundtracks that ate very listenable on their own as albums. But Curtis Mayfield blew the concept of the film score as album out of the water with Superfly. The funky grooves and crisp falsetto are standard for Mayfield but he knows where exactly to keep the vocals in the background and when to pull them forward, where to keep the groove low and when to bring in the horns or guitar. Songs like Freddie's Dead and Pusherman sound like they could be any funk single from the era, but knowing they're songs from a film soundtrack lets you hear how it works as both things.

Aretha Franklin - Lady Soul

Aretha Franklin was a champion at just styling on other artists songs. An incredible gospel rendition of Curtis Mayfield's People Get Ready, an even more biting version of James Brown's Money Won't Change You, an more authentically soulful version of The Rascal's Groovin'. But honestly two originals on this album blow everything else out of the water: the Goffen and King penned (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman and the masterpiece Chain Of Fools. Two of Franklin's best songs.

Kanye West - The College Dropout

https://youtu.be/wvgehVhF9D4

https://youtu.be/e7e5BFJa-Ug

Once upon a time the now infamous Kanye West was an up and coming kid in corny polo shirts producing for Jay-Z and dreaming of having his own rap career. The tecord label higher ups were reluctant to give him a shot until his debut single Through The Wire. Kanye rapped with his jaw wired shut after a car accident and that determination comes through. Roc-A-Feller gave him an album deal and nothing was ever the same again. Mythologizing aside, I think this album is obviously inferior to Late Registration. When I saw that album on the list I naturally assumed they would just skip The College Dropout. It's still a masterpiece though. Kanye is an incredibly yalented rapper, but since production was his first love he obviously has beats that elevate his style in a way that other artists can't touch. Before College Dropout we just didn't hear beats like the ones on The New Workout Plan, Jesus Walks, or We Don't Care.

[mywifeleftme]

53: Camp Lo // Uptown Saturday Night

Uptown Saturday Night Camp Lo 1997, Profile

There’s an old Donald Glover bit about how people who rave about ‘80s hip-hop need to go back and actually listen to it, because it’s mostly just guys saying shit like, (in a Melle Mel candence) “Well I went to the hat store todayyyy / and I got myself a hat / ha HA!” I think of ‘80s rap as equivalent to ‘50s rock: it’s raw and exciting stuff, but for the modern listener it’s bound to feel a little primitive because you’re hearing a genre before its techniques and technology have fully matured. And that makes the ‘90s hip-hop’s equivalent of rock’s ‘60s, the first decade when artists had a fixed foundation to build upon, and the genre exploded into a psychedelic variety of styles that has continued to expand to this day.

Camp Lo had as idiosyncratic and unprecedented a sound on their debut Uptown Saturday Night as Wu-Tang Clan, OutKast, Digable Planets, or the Beastie Boys did. Released in a year when Juicy Couture velour defined urban style, Camp Lo’s emcees were duded up like Blaxploitation-era pimps, spitting a thieves’ argot studded with references spanning 70 years of New York culture. Their beats, largely provided by DJ Ski, were sparkling boom bap that pulled as much from Roy Ayers as James Brown. According to Ski, Geechi Suede and Sonny Cheeba talked to each other in the same impenetrable slang they rapped in, bringing to mind the phenomenon of twin language:

Check the queen bee, Lady Ree digging Grace Check the place 3 o’clock. Shot? No, we ain’t Fret and cock, bring it in the paint? No such thing Flash the dynamite, sing my superfly to the Cleopatra in the casino with gold sugar Dig my harlequin and drench you in my Donald Goines (from “Coolie High”)

Short of discovering some remote enclave in the Bronx where people talk like this, it’s safe to assume Suede and Cheeba had developed a mutually-reinforcing linguistic bond, where (to pull a quote from that twin language story) “words are invented and abbreviated or restricted codes are used because full explanations are redundant.” Though there were a few emcees with more variable flows, nobody in the game sounded slicker than Camp Lo.

As fly as the rhymes are, Uptown Saturday Night is a producer’s showcase. Though he doesn’t get touted as frequently as Pete Rock, DJ Premier, or Large Professor, DJ Ski is as great a producer as New York has ever produced. Dusty literary journal The Kenyon Review, of all places, published a great (and uncredited?) piece on Ski’s beats for Camp Lo a few years back that’s worth reading. Here’s the writer on Uptown closer “Sparkle (Mr. Midnight Mix)”:

“Appearing at a time when boom bap beats were at their peak, the song has no drums, but somehow still has a very high nod factor. Extremely low in the mix are what sound like the original drums, so low that they might only be audible because of headphone bleed in the vocal track. But it is really the flow of Geechi Suede and Sonny Cheeba that retains the rhythm of the original, heavily swung drums. The vocals thus carry a ghost rhythm propelling the track forward, even as the vibes and fluid, filtered bass and piano lines lazily rise and fall, cresting here, submerged there.”

Great shit. Uptown covers a lot of stylistic ground, though high-rolling party tunes are the order of the day, like “Luchini (This is It)” with an irresistible trumpet loop launching itself off a thwacking snare hit. Nearly every beat on the record is indelible, from the kaiju-sized horns of “Krystal Karrington” to the cooing, vibe-chilled “Coolie High” (a preview of Ski’s 2010s work on Curren$y’s classic Pilot Talk trilogy). And, on the warped Twilight Zone-sampling “Negro League,” Ski even seems to have an ear on the off-kilter underground sound El-P was creating with Company Flow.

Various forms of fuckery on the part of Camp Lo’s label conspired to prevent the band from following up on Uptown Saturday Night till 2002, and by then it was too late to recapture their former momentum. They’ve had sparks of inspiration in the decades since, but we’ll never know whether the magic of their debut would’ve been reproducible under better circumstances. Regardless, Uptown Saturday Night has a place among the greatest records of rap’s first golden decade.

53/365

[eievuimultimuse]

“You’re lost in this world. Wandering without a purpose.” Superfly

QUESTIONS / COMMENTS TO BE SENT ANONYMOUSLY.

     RED EYES NARROW at the words. “ I do not believe in being confined to a purpose. I was not RAISED that way. Your words mean nothing to me. “

      Despite his adamance, however, there is also an underlying DEFENSIVENESS to his words, as though the stranger struck a nerve. For the truth of the matter was, in spite of the fly’s own claims, he, too, felt as though he was without purpose, and indeed felt quite lost, truth be told. He has felt that way ever since he lost his father, for without him, he feels that life has become . . . EMPTY. Devoid of any real meaning. He expects that he will never shake the feeling, so long as he breathes and his father does not.

[indiejones]

INDIES TOP 36 SHOW-WRESTLERS OF ALL TIME !

✨💪✨💪✨💪✨💪✨💪✨💪✨💪✨💪

 To all guys, who've spent some of their best free teenage times, the good old (very young) days, glued to Monday Night Raw, Smackdown, Wrestlemania, Summerslam, Survivor Series, Royal Rumble, etc etc. If there is one thing America is an absolute authority on, it is action cinema! (Ok ok also basketball) And what better more authentic yet safe action, than make-believe sport! - Ie SHOW-WRESTLING! And so, a small tribute to the entt millions like me have grown up watching, from an era that seems may sadly never come back, "WWE's (WWF then) ATTITUDE ERA" .... So top of the line was the action, yet equally importantly so mesmerizing & uplifting the scripting & acting, from legends of that era, will go down in history as a time when the supposed "Rung below Hollywood" convincingly beat the big boys at their own game, BIG TIME ! Here's a small Indie tribute to that magical 1.5-2 decades of American Show-Wrestling, incl entire 90's, YOU'LL LOVE! INDIE'S TOP 36 SHOW-WRESTLERS OF ALL TIME ! 

PS. Of course, this per Indie way, being an all-encompassing 'Historic' list, includes few legends from before the "Attitude era" too (and some from after it too, like our very own legend of legends "Khali"!!!!), who despite not being from the consciously spicier times, exhibited histrionics worthy of an all-time slot ! 

 And here it is !

 1. "The Ultimate Warrior" Jim Hellwig 

2. "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels 

3. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin 

4. Jake "The Snake" Roberts 

5. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper 

6. Bret "The Hitman" Hart

 7. "The Undertaker" Mark Calaway 

8. "The Iron Sheik" Khosrow Vaziri

 9. Andre "The Giant" Rene Roussimoff

 10. "Sycho" Sid Eudy 

11. "Mankind" "Cactus Jack" "Dude Love" Mick Foley 

12. Tony Norris "Ahmed Johnson" 

13. "Vader" Leon White 

14. "Sting" Steve Borden 

15. "Kane" Glenn Jacobs 

16. Owen Hart 

17. Dustin Rhodes "Goldust" 

18. Mr. T 

19. "The Great Khali" Dalip Singh Rana 

20. "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes 

21. "Hulk Hogan" Terry Bollea 

22. "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith 

23. "One Man Gang" "Akeem" George Gray 

24. "Classie" Freddie Blassie 

25. "Bradshaw" John Layfield 

26. "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka 

27. "World's Strongest Man" Mark Henry 

28. "Bam Bam Bigelow" 

29. "Rey Mysterio" 

30. "Dino Bravo" Adolfo Bresciano 

31. "Yokozuna" 

32. "Val Venis" Sean Morley 

33. "World's Most Dangerous Man" Ken Shamrock 

34. "Gangrel" David Heath 

35. "Molly Holly" Nora Greenwald 

36. Rob Van Dam .

And reliving these childhood thrills will stay incomplete, w/o acknowledging the 3 bts legends that brought this spectacle to brilliant light & full glory, day in & day out in front of the whole wide world - Jim Ross, Jerry "The King" Lawler & WWE Owner Vince McMahon! 

 ✨💪✨💪✨💪✨💪✨💪✨💪✨💪✨💪

[solarzilla]

When it comes to discussion around "toy based franchises from the 80s", i feel like Transformers is the only one where the toys are still relatively discussed, mostly due to it's actual fans, when compared to something like Tmnt, mlp, Joe, He-man, etc.

The last time tmnt toys were really brought up was with Superfly's true identity and reboot She-ra figures being disliked for just looking like generic badbie. I feel this is the result of stuff like the former two entering the general interest of the animation community.

The closets transformers was to that would be Prime but was sweeped by MLP when it came to cartoon reviewers and ironically tfp also took far more attention from gi joe renegades.

There is a certain irony of most animation nerds looking down on the 80s era of cartoons as a result of the toyetic commercialism but also complain about how their new shows don't have any actual merch they can buy.

There's also how Thundercats is often lumped in these other types toy cartoons when the original series was just conceptualized as a show first and the toys were pretty much a second though, and thats not even discussing other media like comics for these franchises

[smokeybrandreviews]

Okey Dokey

Jenna Ortega is the new Winona Ryder. She's sitting in the same space that Rachel Ziegler was supposed to occupy until she started running her mouth about politics. Ma is the brand new "It" girl, staking her fame on quirky little remakes, fun if a little formulaic reimaginings, and the occasional slasher or two. She followed the Scream Queen route to stardom, building her resume on sh*t like X and two Scream flicks, before getting Wednesday and being vaulted into the mainstream. I like Jenna. I think she's good at her job. I think she's MUCH more intelligent and aware of the business she's in, than most women her age. I think her opinions are both valid and true to reality, but the way she says the things she does and gets away with it, boggles my mind. Because, again Ziegler said the same sh*t and her entire career is dead because of it. I still haven't figured but that disparity but that's not what this post is about. Jenna recently said something to the effect hat women should be leading their own projects, that they shouldn't be pigeonholed to remakes or sequels. They should have their own franchises to lead and i agree. The thing is, the vast US audience does not.

It's odd hearing Jenna say these remarks during the press junket for Beetlejuice II. Sh*t comes off a little hypocritical and a lot ungrateful, but then you have to kind of look at it from her perspective a little. Ortega got her shine of her performance as Wednesday Addams in Netflix's Wednesday. I adore that show but i have been a fan of the Addams Family since i was a kid. I also shill pretty hard All that said, Wednesday is a reimagining of a franchise that has existed in literally every form of media, for decades. for Tim Burton AND they got my evergreen crush,Christina Ricci, who played the character on film before Jenna, to play a pretty substantial role in that story. Plus, it was just generally really cute. She was also in the two newest Scream flick, sans Wes Craven. Again, established IPs. Every major Hollywood production she's been in thus far, with the exception of X and that weird one with Martin Freeman, has been basically a recycle of some other concept or established idea. I imagine she's frustrated. I would be, too. This isn't biting the hand which feeds you, it's bringing awareness to a real problem in the industry, one that she's going to need to solve herself.

Way back when Negroes not named Sydney Poitier couldn't get jobs in Tinseltown, we did our own thing. Yes, i am a Black. They were called Blaxploitation. Now, i hate that entire genre but i respect what it did for our visibility. There would be no Denzel without Shaft easing the general audience into accepting Black dudes as leading men. We don't get Black Panther without Superfly, and as absurd a statement that is to hear, it's true. Hell, Tarantino basically paid homage to that entire era of film making with Jackie Brown, who starred Pam Grier in the leading role. Grier is KNOWN as THE Blaxploitation femme fatale! Bruce Lee did more for Asians in Hollywood with Enter the Dragon, than anyone else, at any time in history. Dev Patel is doing his best, right now, as we speak, to get that corner turn on Indian actors with his work on Monkeyman and the steady influx of K-culture is making their content much more palatable for the general eye. Seriously, don't sleep on Korean entertainment. Those motherf*ckers make dope sh*t. If Jenna wants those roles, she's going to have to make them, herself. Just like everyone else. And she has a fantastic home for that.

Jenna is a Netflix product, let's be clear about that. None of this success is possible without them. None of it. Wednesday popped hard and she was able to parlay that into her near mogul status. She's getting Producer credits on season two, so this is a perfect opportunity to branch out. Millie Bobby Brown did, to middling results. I generally enjoy her Enola Holmes fair but that dragon movie sucked so much ass. Still, those were her projects. She chose them for herself. She developed and produced them. Ma is all over her sh*t lately and that's because Stranger Things has a shelf life. She knew there needed to be something after and she did her thing. Charlize Theron put together that Old Guard flick, the first in a franchise she wanted to push. Dunno where that is considering we only got the one flick, but there is a lot of potential there, in that world. Jenna has to do something like that in order to prove her point. She has the star power now. She has the cache. Now, she needs to put her money where her mouth is and bet on herself. Obviously, there are strong hits she can study. Wednesday, itself, did gangbusters but so did Fallout and Yellowjackets. That said, those odds still feel dummy long

Most of these female focused, female lead, franchise attempts suck ass. I'm going to be honest, i can't think of a single one that i actually like. Alien, is the only one that comes to mind, and Ripley was written as a dude. Now, the flicks which came after, to varying success, are a definite mixed bag, most starring Ripley, but Romulus didn't and was dope as f*ck. If they ever get around to putting Machiko Noguchi on screen, we'd have another solid protag in a franchise that almost exclusively gives the nod to female strength. That sh*t should, for sure, be an anthology series but I digress. What else do we have? Resident Evil, Charlie's Angels, Underworld; Most of them are just okay. None of them are "great", all of them have diminishing returns. If Jenna wants these types of roles, if she wants to see more original IP developed for women, she's going to need to make that sh*t, herself, because no one has cracked the code on making them good. Enola Holmes is a decent distraction, but when compared to the BBC version of her older brother's adventure? Not so much. The Old Guard is lost in development hell. The one Halle Berry made for herself, bombed. On Netflix. The two Karen Gillan and Mary Elizabeth Winstead dropped were fun as f*ck but didn't have the support behind them to really gain momentum. Here's hoping The Ballerina breaks that glass ceiling because i agree with Jenna. We need more female lead franchises, if not for anything other to diversify the content out in the wild.

[smokeybrand]

Okey Dokey

Jenna Ortega is the new Winona Ryder. She's sitting in the same space that Rachel Ziegler was supposed to occupy until she started running her mouth about politics. Ma is the brand new "It" girl, staking her fame on quirky little remakes, fun if a little formulaic reimaginings, and the occasional slasher or two. She followed the Scream Queen route to stardom, building her resume on sh*t like X and two Scream flicks, before getting Wednesday and being vaulted into the mainstream. I like Jenna. I think she's good at her job. I think she's MUCH more intelligent and aware of the business she's in, than most women her age. I think her opinions are both valid and true to reality, but the way she says the things she does and gets away with it, boggles my mind. Because, again Ziegler said the same sh*t and her entire career is dead because of it. I still haven't figured but that disparity but that's not what this post is about. Jenna recently said something to the effect hat women should be leading their own projects, that they shouldn't be pigeonholed to remakes or sequels. They should have their own franchises to lead and i agree. The thing is, the vast US audience does not.

It's odd hearing Jenna say these remarks during the press junket for Beetlejuice II. Sh*t comes off a little hypocritical and a lot ungrateful, but then you have to kind of look at it from her perspective a little. Ortega got her shine of her performance as Wednesday Addams in Netflix's Wednesday. I adore that show but i have been a fan of the Addams Family since i was a kid. I also shill pretty hard All that said, Wednesday is a reimagining of a franchise that has existed in literally every form of media, for decades. for Tim Burton AND they got my evergreen crush,Christina Ricci, who played the character on film before Jenna, to play a pretty substantial role in that story. Plus, it was just generally really cute. She was also in the two newest Scream flick, sans Wes Craven. Again, established IPs. Every major Hollywood production she's been in thus far, with the exception of X and that weird one with Martin Freeman, has been basically a recycle of some other concept or established idea. I imagine she's frustrated. I would be, too. This isn't biting the hand which feeds you, it's bringing awareness to a real problem in the industry, one that she's going to need to solve herself.

Way back when Negroes not named Sydney Poitier couldn't get jobs in Tinseltown, we did our own thing. Yes, i am a Black. They were called Blaxploitation. Now, i hate that entire genre but i respect what it did for our visibility. There would be no Denzel without Shaft easing the general audience into accepting Black dudes as leading men. We don't get Black Panther without Superfly, and as absurd a statement that is to hear, it's true. Hell, Tarantino basically paid homage to that entire era of film making with Jackie Brown, who starred Pam Grier in the leading role. Grier is KNOWN as THE Blaxploitation femme fatale! Bruce Lee did more for Asians in Hollywood with Enter the Dragon, than anyone else, at any time in history. Dev Patel is doing his best, right now, as we speak, to get that corner turn on Indian actors with his work on Monkeyman and the steady influx of K-culture is making their content much more palatable for the general eye. Seriously, don't sleep on Korean entertainment. Those motherf*ckers make dope sh*t. If Jenna wants those roles, she's going to have to make them, herself. Just like everyone else. And she has a fantastic home for that.

Jenna is a Netflix product, let's be clear about that. None of this success is possible without them. None of it. Wednesday popped hard and she was able to parlay that into her near mogul status. She's getting Producer credits on season two, so this is a perfect opportunity to branch out. Millie Bobby Brown did, to middling results. I generally enjoy her Enola Holmes fair but that dragon movie sucked so much ass. Still, those were her projects. She chose them for herself. She developed and produced them. Ma is all over her sh*t lately and that's because Stranger Things has a shelf life. She knew there needed to be something after and she did her thing. Charlize Theron put together that Old Guard flick, the first in a franchise she wanted to push. Dunno where that is considering we only got the one flick, but there is a lot of potential there, in that world. Jenna has to do something like that in order to prove her point. She has the star power now. She has the cache. Now, she needs to put her money where her mouth is and bet on herself. Obviously, there are strong hits she can study. Wednesday, itself, did gangbusters but so did Fallout and Yellowjackets. That said, those odds still feel dummy long

Most of these female focused, female lead, franchise attempts suck ass. I'm going to be honest, i can't think of a single one that i actually like. Alien, is the only one that comes to mind, and Ripley was written as a dude. Now, the flicks which came after, to varying success, are a definite mixed bag, most starring Ripley, but Romulus didn't and was dope as f*ck. If they ever get around to putting Machiko Noguchi on screen, we'd have another solid protag in a franchise that almost exclusively gives the nod to female strength. That sh*t should, for sure, be an anthology series but I digress. What else do we have? Resident Evil, Charlie's Angels, Underworld; Most of them are just okay. None of them are "great", all of them have diminishing returns. If Jenna wants these types of roles, if she wants to see more original IP developed for women, she's going to need to make that sh*t, herself, because no one has cracked the code on making them good. Enola Holmes is a decent distraction, but when compared to the BBC version of her older brother's adventure? Not so much. The Old Guard is lost in development hell. The one Halle Berry made for herself, bombed. On Netflix. The two Karen Gillan and Mary Elizabeth Winstead dropped were fun as f*ck but didn't have the support behind them to really gain momentum. Here's hoping The Ballerina breaks that glass ceiling because i agree with Jenna. We need more female lead franchises, if not for anything other to diversify the content out in the wild.

[bullshityounot]

Ron O'Neal as the notorious cocaine dealer “Priest” in the 1972 blaxploitation-era crime drama “Superfly.” On stage, Curtis Mayfield, whose classic soundtrack for the film was nominated for a Grammy for best original score, performs his hit “Pusherman” in the background.