Tomorrow Barack Obama will be the President of the United States

My Obama doll with Ur and Peter's Obama bobblehead

I cannot wait. In the meantime, enjoy this song I discovered at 4 am in the morning at Kramerbooks in Dupont Circle. I actually can't find the newest version so this is the old one that encourages you to vote. Thanks to all who have.

Jesus Christ Superstar

In celebration of Josh's belated birthday and Jesus's upcoming birthday, we went to see Jesus Christ Superstar -- the live musical. I watched the film version like 10 years ago and remember really enjoying it. I mean - the story of the new testament in song and dance... what can you not love? Now that I've seen the musical, however, I am surprised to feel that the movie was better.

I suppose it should be a treat to have Ned Steely perform our show. Ned is the original cast member who played Jesus in the original Broadway musical in 1970. But dude. Just look at the picture above. Grandpa Steely is an octogenarian trying to play a 32 years old Jesus. It was the most awful casting ever. The age difference was even more apparent when 70's electric guitar singer Ned sang in duets with Judas, who was played by a thirty-something African American gay man with a soulful R&B voice.

Speaking of Judas, who is my all-time favorite apostle as you all know, I had no idea that his dissension with Jesus was because his uncompromising dogma. Judas was a fucken ideologue dude. I always knew he was more than just a traitor, that his dissolution from Jesus was from a deeper disappointed place. But goddammit. Ideologues are so annoying. Still, I'm going to overlook what would normally be a fatal flaw. My admiration for Judas remains. He's still the best apostle ever. Judas was the only one who really questioned authority, even if the authority was the son of God. Peter, Paul and the rest... clearly Jesus' bitches.

"Oh yeah, I got a cool black guy to play me."

Welcome home!

Dude. Finally. I have internet again.

It's perfect timing now that the elections have concluded. I was concerned I would no longer have anything to watch on my analog television. I felt this same anxiety when the Olympics ended. Fortunately, I have discovered KCET. Charlie Rose is sick. And Tavis Smiley seems kind. And I've been watching this documentary series about US presidents. I love that shit. So far, I've been able to catch Regan, LBJ and Nixon. It's been fascinating. I can't wait to see who will be next.

But you know, sometimes when the shows on KCET become really local-cable-access-ish, I turn to the internet. I turn to youtube.

And while searching for past Keith Olbermann shows, I stumble upon one of his old episodes commenting on Britney Spear's last performance on MTV's video music awards. Wow. Why does that feel so long ago? It seemed so relevant then (at least to me) but now I do feel a difference. Instead of disengaging and distracting myself with indulgences and superficialities, I feel sincerely engaged and hopeful for the first time in a long time. But enough talk about hope and change. Let's talk about Britney.

So I re-watched her performance. And you know what? I think it was awesome. To be honest, I sort of liked it then, but was more consumed with my theory that she was on Lexipro at the time.

It would have been better if she purposely mocked MTV, but in a way, performing on lexipro and all, she kind of did. Even though Britney was upset and depressed about it afterwards, she performed like she didn't give a shit. A big middle finger to MTV and all of America who relished in both her rise and demise. I like it. It's just Britney, bitch.

One day more...

Okay, you have to be a fan of the musical Les Miserables... and if you are, this video is quite superb. GOBAMA!

NKOTB

I only heard the rumors, but their reunion is confirmed.

So these motherfuckers are back. And they're kinda hot in their suits. I'm a little sad they won't be touring Los Angeles.

Now its... ** DYY TRIVIA TIME ** !!!!

DYY's first concert EVER was New Kids On The Block!! Oh yeah!

My red hot date with Fedde Le Grand

Photos courtesy of Lady Pun

It was a better date than with Bob Sinclair, that's for sure.

A song you can relate to

A Lowenbrau Moment

Balcony view from Parks BBQ on Vermont
Photo by Mr. T

During a toast for Jane's birthday, I felt a fleeting moment of:

Here's to Good Friends..
Tonight is Kind of Special...

But I totally forgot the rest of the lyrics. I knew it was a beer commercial though. In fact, I pictured a group of teenagers drinking this mysterious beverage by the fire at a ski lodge. And two lumberjacks at a random hillbilly bar, clicking their beer bottles to toast their secret love for one another. Do you remember? Or am I making this up? I can't be sure. Anyway, it was Calvin who said "Lowenbrau" after I recited the first two lines.

Calvin was like, Have you ever tasted Lowenbrau? I was like, No.

So I found the rest of the lyrics on rockin' Wiki.

In the 1970s and 1980s in the United States, Löwenbräu was famous for its jingle, sung by Arthur Prysock:

Here's to good friends,

Tonight is kind of special.

The beer we'll pour

must say something more, somehow.

So tonight (tonight),

Tonight,

Let it be Lowenbrau (let it be Lowenbrau).

It's been so long.

Hey, I'm glad to see ya.

Raise your glass.

Here's to health and happiness.

So tonight (tonight),

Let it be all the best.

Enjoy

A description from youtube:

DJ Shadow was keen to try something new and different for this video and approached Wong Kar-Wai, one of his favorite filmmakers. It turned out that Kar-Wai was a fan of Shadow's music and was keen to direct for him. The idea was to make a short film revolving around the song's hook line, "Tomorrow never comes until it's too late...." The plot centers around a guy who, upon discovering his girlfriend has betrayed him, tries to destroy all traces of their relationship, eventually realizing that what is done cannot be undone.

Sunglasses

Last night, I went to this old-school Mexican bar/club in downtown that hosts "Hipster Thursdays." That's what I call it anyway. Despite this, the club played this song. It was brilliant.

Disturbing or Endearing... you decide!

"The strangest thing I've tried to snort? My father. I snorted my father," said Keith Richards, the 63 year old Rolling Stones guitarist who was was quoted in comments published by British music magazine NME on Tuesday.

"He was cremated and I couldn't resist grinding him up with a little bit of blow. My dad wouldn't have cared," he said. "... It went down pretty well, and I'm still alive."

Favorite lyrics at the moment

Yes, it's by my girl Amy Winehouse.
This song is entitled FUCK ME PUMPS. It's even better sung by her.

When you walk in the bar,
And you dressed like a star,
Rockin' your F me pumps.

And the men notice you,
With your Gucci bag crew,
Can't tell who he's lookin' to.

Cuz you all look the same,
Everyone knows your name,
And that's your whole claim to fame.

Never miss a night,
Cuz your dream in life,
Is to be a footballers wife.
You don't like players,
That's what you say-a,
But you really wouldn't mind a millionaire.

You don't like ballers,
They don't do nothing for ya,
But you'd love a rich man six foot two or taller.

You're more than a fan,
Lookin' for a man,
But you end up with one-nights-stands.

He could be your whole life,
If you got past one night,
But that part never goes right.

In the morning you're vexed,
He's onto the next,
And you didn't even get no taste.

Don't be too upset,
If they call you a skank,
Cuz like the news everyday you get pressed.

You can't sit down right,
Cuz your jeans are too tight,
And your lucky its ladies night.

With your big empty purse,
Every week it gets worse,
At least your breasts cost more than hers.

So you did Miami,
Cuz you got there for free,
But somehow you missed the plane.

You did too much E,
Met somebody,
And spent the night getting caned.

Without girls like you,
There'd be no fun,
We'd go to the club and not see anyone.

Without girls like you,
There's no nightlife,
All those men just go home to their wives.

Don't be mad at me,
Cuz you're pushing thirty,
And your old tricks no longer work.

You should have known from the job,
That you always get dumped,
So dust off your fuck me pumps

Here's another called ADDICTED. This is classic.

Tell your boyfriend next time he around
To buy his own weed and don't wear my shit down
I wouldn't care if bro would give me some more
I'd rather him leave you then leave him my draw

When you smoke all my weed man
You gotta call the green man
So I can get mine and you get yours

Once is enough to make me attack
So bring me a bag and your man can come back
I'll check him at the door make sure he got green
I'm tighter than airport security teams

When you smoke all my weed man
You gotta call the green man
So I can get mine and you get yours

I'm my own man so when will you learn
That you got a man but I got to burn
Don't make no difference if I end up alone
I'd rather have myself a smoke my homegrown
It's got me addicted, does more than any dick did

Totally, totally bummed

I was suppose to see Amy Winehouse perform at Spaceland tonight. Queen Bee, the woman who hardly goes out on a school night and is usually asleep by 9 pm, was going to accompany me too.

But Bitch cancelled her show! WTF!! Perez Hilton, the notorious gossip gangsta, reports that Amy often cancels shows because she's recovering from a night of hard partying. Dude, I report to work everyday, despite nights of hard partying. Amy needs to learn from DYY. Of course she probably doesn't need the money as bad as I do. Hence, I go to work hungover while Amy is chillin at home watching cartoons and eating caviar and shit.

I'm still lucky though. On Friday night, I went to see Peter Kruder (of Kruder & Dorfmeister) dj at King King. IT WAS AMAZING. He dj-ed from 12:30 am until 4 am! We stayed until closing and continued the festivities at Little Panda's place. Such good times! It ruined me for the rest of the weekend, but I returned (groggy) to work on Monday, unlike Amy...

Speaking of bong hits 4 Jesus...

I'm reminded of how I promised Blu-tooth that I would blog about WITNESS LEE and WATCHMAN NEE, founders of her church and the "Recovery Movement."

I discovered these two gentlemen are very popular (they're even on WIKI!) as I found many websites devoted to analyzing, critiquing, supporting or debunking their teachings of Christ. In fact, I was not prepared to find so much information. My brain totally shut down (I think it's a defense mechanism actually). Like the dork I am, I had wanted to blog about Witness and Watchman only because I thought their names were funny. But everything about them is quite serious and not funny at all... except hymns homeboys wrote on their own!! I am so pleased to find them. Here's a prized example:

All sinners are the slaves of sin,
All poisoned by death's sting;
Christ only can from sin and death
A full deliverance bring.
He is the Everlasting One,
Who longs to set us free;
If we do not believe in Him,
We'll die in misery.

I would LOVE it if Blu-tooth lulled me to sleep with this hymn. I bet I would sleep like a baby.

Yet another 10 year anniversary

Today marks the 10th anniversary of Biggie's death. He was gunned down on the corner of Fairfax and Wilshire, only a couple of blocks from where I reside, after attending a Soul Train Music Awards after-party at the Peterson Automotive Museum. I believe the LAPD has yet to resolve the case and determine his murderer(s).

I remember hearing the news that day and feeling sad. Biggie was one of the best hip hop lyricists EVER. Whether you're a hip hop fan or not, no true music aficionado's collection is complete without Biggie's "Ready to Die." At the ripe age of 24, Biggie's death is a monumental loss in hip hop. No one has even come close to the talents this man had. His legacy remains.

My first heavy metal concert

As a social experiment, I agreed to accompany Pure White to see the following bands:



Can you believe it? It was actually fun. Here are my keen observations:

1) Heavy metal enthusiasts have perfected the head nodding as well as the devil's horn hand sign.

I wish I could easily whip out a devil's horn sign but it's not instinctual for me. I actually have to think about it. And the head nodding... dude, who said white people don't have any rhythm? They do when they jam to heavy metal, that's for sure. But I do worry for their brains... all that nodding, especially the head twirl, cannot be good for the preservation of brain cells. For true enthusiasts, I recommend fish oil pills before attending a concert. Also, ear plugs are key.

2) Speaking of devil's horns, is that why every lead singer sounds like Satan? I'm sure it's no coincidence that Lamb of God sung a song entitled, "Take a Walk with Me in Hell."

3) There were only like ten women in attendence. When Pure White and I arrived at the Wiltern, I was the only person in the women's security line and had to wait for Jeff to be cleared. The lead singer of Machine Head also made a comment about naked heavy metal chicks... all 17 of us. Ironically, despite the lack of female presence, I still had to wait in line at the women's bathroom!

4) Mosh pits are fascinating. There's a certain synchronicity to the hyper-aggressive ritual. At first glance, it seems violent and scary. But after a while, you realize that, what all those stupid boys are doing is simply pushing each other in circles. I now see that moshing is actually a form of dance. In fact, I couldn't stop watching it from above. What's even more intriguing is whenever someone from the audience began to body surf on top of the crowd, the big black body guards in the front row would immediately stop it. Yet they never stopped the moshing. So it made me think that the Wiltern's liability insurance probably doesn't cover negligent falls from body surfing. Injuries from moshing, however, are probably cheaper to insure. God, I get sick when I realize how much I think like a lawyer.

Overall, my first heavy metal concert was enjoyable. I don't know if I would go again, but I'm glad I went. Thanks, Pure White!

Year of the Golden Pig -- Hey Mon!

Red, Golden and Green were the colors of the day at Ragga Muffins' Bob Marley Fest in Long Beach on Saturday. An all-day music festival with ten reggae groups, authentic Jamaican food, shopping and herbal therapy. An excellent way to celebrate new years eve. Yeah, Mon!

Since it's the Year of the Golden Pig, it is hardly a coincidence that while listening to NPR this afternoon, I learned that reggae is huge in Beijing now (this was semi-confirmed by DBB who said the music scene in Beijing is hot) and that, like most things, reggae and China go way back.

More importantly, NPR introduced me to Wang Lei, an indie rocker/dub/reggae Guangzhou original. That's right, bitches, this mofo is Cantonese too... and he's excellent. I heard a bit of his reggae on the radio and I was forwarded by the sounds. Check out his website for a sample. If you can read Chinese, you can easily navigate the website. And if so, please send some sounds to me!

ABC and proud!

Here's a video of my favorite freestyle rapper, Jin, who is so fucken talented. And he's Cantonese!!

I began to follow his career when he first appeared on BET's 106 & Park. He was a contestant of Free Style Friday and won seven weeks in a row and was inducted in the show's Hall of Fame because no one could beat his chinaman ass. He was unstoppable. That same night, Ruff Ryders signed Jin to their record label. For real, he's really good... especially when his freestyle opponents get racist and talk shit about him being Chinese, he spits back with greater force and wit. He's my idol.

Here's his latest (thanks Tron, for real!)... he raps in Cantonese about the beauty of being American Born Chinese. Represent, bitches!



PS. He's in LA Chinatown!

Ride on the Peace Train

Check it. Word up, bitches.

Fuck Colts

Although I did not watch the Superbowl (I didn't even know the time it was on) and went shopping instead with Lady Pun to the Vintage Fashion Expo in Santa Monica (where we each bought beautiful fabulous purses!), I am writing with extreme sadness and regret that Da Beloved Bears had lost. They were a far better team and deserved to win. Not that I really know (or care) but loyalty is a requisite for Chicagoans. So the Colts can go fuck themselves.

Despite our loss, I am still proud of our team and our city. To pay tribute, I present to you fellow Chi-towners Kanye West and Common's Southside Superbowl. I guess no Superbowl Shuffle II this year so this will have to do. SOUTHSIDE!