ahh-so-centric: 07.2008

diplo x santogold

Philly based DJ and producer Diplo does it again. His newest mix features Santogold blended with Devo, Aretha Franklin, 3-6 Mafia, B-52s, The Clash and a slew of reggae artists. My favorite mix of the moment: Diplo x Santogold
01 "Dub Selection Intro"
02 Three 6 Mafia: "Late Night" (Unstoppable Mix)
03 Santogold: "Shuv It" (Disco D Blend) [exclusive]
04 Santogold: "I'm a Lady" (Diplo Mix ft. Amanda Blank) [exclusive]
05 Sir Mix-A-Lot: "Posse on Broadway"
06 Santogold: "Lights Out" (Diplo's Panda Bear Mix) [exclusive]
07 Aretha Franklin: "Save Me"
08 Devo: "Be Stiff"
09 B-52's: "Mesopotamia"
10 Gerri and the Holograms: "Gerri and the Holograms"
11 Santogold: "Anne" (Switch Mix) [exclusive]
12 Santogold: "L.E.S. Artistes" (XXXchange Mix ft. Movado)
13 Cutty Ranks: "Dutty Six Pack" [exclusive]
14 Santogold: "Find a Way" (Graeme and Switch Mix ft. Kid Cudi) / Lunar Camel [exclusive]
15 Richie Spice x Ratatat: "Marijuana"
16 Desmond Dekker: "007 (Shanty Town)"
17 Santogold: "Guns of Brooklyn" [exclusive]
18 Dixie Cups: "Iko Iko"
19 Tony Matterhorn: "Big Belly Guns" [exclusive]
20 Santogold: "Get It Up" (Radioclit mix ft. MIA & Gorilla Zoe) [exclusive]
21 "Mark Ronson in Studio"
22 Trouble Andrew: "Run - Hide"
23 Sister Nancy: "Pigeon Rock"
24 Nora Dean: "Barbwire"
25 Shinehead: "Know How Fe Chat"
26 The Clash: "Ghetto Defendant"
27 Warrior Queen: "Check It"
28 Santogold x Benga: "Unstoppable / Night Dub" [exclusive]
29 Shawty Lo x Skream: "Dey Know / Stagger"
30 Santogold: "Creator" (Mumdance Mix ft. Jammer, Badness, Chronik Rage, Slikman & Tempz) [exclusive]
31 Xray: "Turbulence Dubplate" (Starstruck Diplo Mix) [exclusive]
32 Barrington Levy: "Send a Moses"
33 Prince Jazzbo: "Ital Corner"
34 Santogold: "Icarus" [exclusive]
35 Santogold x Diplo: "Right Brigade" (hidden track) [exclusive]

journey to the east

The Gorillaz produced a BBC trailer for the Beijing Olympics, switching up the old Chinese novel "Journey to the West" into a journey to the east.

stop haunt

Indonesian-based artist Tony Ariawan manipulates his photos in photoshop combined with vector art to create his collection - "Stop Haunt Me Everyday"

u lookin' at me?

I couldn't help quoting Deniro from Taxi Driver as I watched this video. Aint this creepy? In actuality, the DVD called Miteruu Dake (Just Looking) was created by Japanese Record label Avex as a therapeutic tool to help shy guys overcome their social anxieties. They can practice making eye contact with women and start up one-way conversations.

Its interesting that they've recognized and targeted this specifically awkward market. But it makes sense after reading about certain otaku who spent a romantic xmas night with blow up dolls of their favorite anime chicks. In their eyes, blow up anime chicks are the ideal - impossibly perfect proportions...and they won't talk back to you. So if you see some awkward dude staring unceasingly at a girl, you know he copped this vid. More analysis here.

something's gotta give

ponyo

Extended trailer for the new Hayao Miyazaki film, Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, which recently opened in Japan.

get it up

Santogold feat M.I.A. | Get it Up
Namie Amuro | Do Me More
Namie Amuro | Sexy Girl

travels

I've been fortunate to travel to many places around the world since I was a kid. While I would never describe myself as a worldly renaissance man, it's interesting to meet people who never step outside their sheltered little world. This doesn't just include physical travel - as I know that work and money constraints can slow your roll - but we're talking opening one's mind. I've met South Philly folk that have never been in Chinatown - in the same city!

Lately, I've been a Travel Network junkie - living vicariously through Bourdain, Zimmern and Samantha Brown. If I hit the lottery, I would probably go to school and study something totally impractical, but ultimately I would travel the world. Pipe dream of a guy stuck in the office 9 to 5.

So we were talking about Bourdain's recent show in Colombia at work and someone remarked that they find the fish markets to be odd. "I mean the fish is just sitting out there outside in daylight...all out in the open...doesn't it go bad?!" So I replied that its the absolute freshest way to have fish. People usually buy & eat on the same day and probably visit the market several times a week. I then chronicled my amazing visit to the Tsukiji fish market in Japan where I sampled a vast array of seafood.

What I was tempted to say was, "Lady, not everyone drives an SUV to a pseudo socially conscious luxury supermarket like Wegman's or Whole Foods and buys enough meat and fish to feed a village only to spoil or sit in a freezer. The majority of the world shops at outdoor food markets." She also expressed curiousity about Kimchi after watching the Vietnam(???) episode. I pointed her towards a Korean market nearby and she replied that she would need a tour guide to find the kimchi. They do speak english in there you know. When I told my wife about this story, she simply replied that this lady needs to travel outside of Jersey suburbia.

I wonder if fielding white people's questions about the "outside world" is part of my duty. Why is it that all these businesses in African-American communities are worked by Asians? How is the status of women in Asia? Any better? Why do kids leave the reflecting sticker on their baseball hats (and they never bend the brim)? Do they really use this slang term (references Urban Dictionary word of the day email)?

a dark dark knight

The Dark Knight is a dense, dark and totally absorbing film. There was not a slow moment in the movie but none of the action was mindless and the plot twists were suprisingly suprising. The film grabbed my attention for every second from the opening scene - which is a rarity. The beautifully bleak visuals support the psychological depth behind the inner struggles that motivate Batman and the deranged Joker - further questioning ingrained ideals of heroism and preying upon the ugliness of Gothamites.

The Dark Knight raised the bar of sophistication for a comic book movie that was Ledger's central performance lives up to all the frenzied hype but the movie also gains in upgrading from Katie Holmes to Maggie Gyllenhaal and Aaron Eckhart's charismatic Harvey "Two Face" Dent. I'm a sucker for dark films, but The Dark Knight isn't only one of my favorite comic book films...but one of my favorite films in recent years.

snoop goes bollywood

dorophy tang x adidas

Chinese artist Dorophy Tang created these works for the new Adidas Store in Beijing.

agent zero in manila

Gilbert Arenas went on an Asian promotional tour for Adidas. Agent Zero is one of my favorite players - mainly for his charisma and his outspoken nature as detailed in his notorious blog. The NY Times has a nice article on Arenas' visit to Manila and the passionate basketball culture in the Philippines. In his recent blog entry, Agent Zero gushes about how Filipinos are so good-hearted.

retail alphabet game

Guess the logo branding behind each letter in this challenging game.

blue note archive

Physical album artwork is an unfortunate casualty of the digital age. In fact all physical media will become endangered species as internet based apps take over. Soon we'll be remembering fondly on the days when we drove out to a store and bought Microsoft Word on a disc. But thats an entirely different issue for another day.

As far as music, I grew up on CDs - but I can now understand how vinyl heads lamented the downsizing of their beloved album jacket artwork in the 80s. I spent a good deal of my youthful idle time trolling record shops and thumbing through racks of CDs. Now that activity seems like a pastime of yesteryear. I haven't bought music (shoutout to the bootleggers) or been to a record store in 5 years and I'm amazed if I still see one in existence. Funny because I used to design them for bands and musicians. But there's still something about having album artwork in your hand and flipping through a CD booklet to read lyrics and peep photos. Especially if the design is beautiful. Here is a Japanese site that archives the classic Blue Note designs. Its not in your hand but its a great tribute to that era of album design.

sunday soulfuls

geek gang signs

misfired

You can never trust anything from the media - especially with the tools of manipulation offered by Photoshop. We're not just talking about retouching a celebrity to make their faces mannequin-like. Now an image of an Iranian missile test which has been published in many newspapers across the country has been found to be photoshopped to add in an additional missile. Its unclear if the Iranian media was involved...but the photoshop work is pretty lazy and amateurish. It is obvious to the eye that the missile was cloned from the same photo and the exhaust clouds in the ground are exactly the same. Makes you question everything you see...

sly fox

NaS killer video tribute to Fox News Channel:

gettin' up

Q-tip | Gettin' Up
Little Jackie | One Love
N.E.R.D./Santogold/Julian Casablancas - My Drive Thru vid:

brand new sixer

"Please don't pull a Chris Webber. Please don't pull a Chris Webber." Those words were running in the back of my head as I heard of Elton Brand's impending signing of a 5 year/$82million deal to the Sixers.

Ok, it might not be a fair comparison to worry about - Brand is 29 - a veteran in basketball years, but young enough to warrant a 5 year deal. Plus, he provides a bruiser's mentality and a true frontcourt presence that Webber was never known for. The only cause for concern is Brand coming off an injury plagued year - but I'm fairly optimistic that he'll put up his usual 20 & 10 a night. And if he does, the Sixers should be relevant again in the East. This was a shocking signing. I, like everyone else, expected Brand to re-up with the Clips - especially after they made their big splash in signing Baron Davis. Even though knew that Brand itched to come back East to be close to family, I thought it was a longshot and Brand even expressed his wish to stay in L.A. Amazing how things change in a week - it all just goes to show that money talks.

Nevertheless, kudos to Sixers GM Ed Stefanski for pulling off a series of moves to get this team in the right direction much faster than I ever expected. By getting Brand, he addressed the Sixers' most glaring need (Did you expect any further improvement with Reggie Evans as your starting PF?). Next on the laundry list is a bonafide outside shooter.

By the way, how about the Clippers being the Clippers? Just when people were convinced they finally did something right by seemingly convincing Brand to stay with their huge signing of Baron Davis, they get foiled in the end. I wonder if Baron is regretting his decision...probably not, since no one else would offer him that kind of money.

fail

Courtesy of Failblog:

rafa!

Props to Rafael Nadal for winning the Wimbledon title in the best tennis match that I've ever seen. Epic was an understatement.

There were a lot of storylines going into this final. Federer, arguably the best of all time, was going for a historic 6th straight Wimbledon title and his humiliating defeat at the hands of Nadal at the French Open summoned questions about his dominance. Even with Novak Djokovic running his mouth about a weakening Federer, I didn't see that French Open loss as signaling a newfound vulnerability - mainly because Nadal is a clay-court god and is nearly unbeatable at Roland Garros (4 straight French Open titles). No, the true signifier would be if someone could beat him at Wimbledon. Only then, could the media start murmuring about a possible "changing of the guard". On the other side, we still wondered if Nadal could breakthrough on a surface other than clay and destroy the "clay-court specialist moniker" that hounds him and other Spaniards who grew up on the red surface. So with all this drama hanging on this one championship match, it was hard to believe that the match exceeded the buildup.

Federer definitely missed opportunites in the first 2 sets and conversely Nadal was efficient in converting on his break chances. Fed's game letdown twice and it led to 2 breaks and a 2 set deficit. NBC puts up a graphic saying it has been 80 some years since anyone has overcome a 2 set deficit in the Wimbledon final. Still, you had the feeling that Federer wouldn't go away so easily.

Not only did he fight back - he nearly completed a comeback and infused it with drama on each point. He exhibited incredible mental toughness in battling through countless situations where his back was against the wall. Saving a 0-40 service game in the 3rd set that would have sealed a straight set win for Nadal. The rain delay helped turn momentum his way through the 3rd set tiebreaker, but he still had to rally down 2-5 and saving 3 championship points in the 4th set tiebreaker. Everytime his service game was in a hole, he produced an ace. Everytime, Nadal inched closer to the title, Fed reached down deeper for another forehand winner. I was beginning to wonder if Houdini laid any seeds in Switzerland.

Similarly, Nadal exhibited a resiliency that was missing the year before. After blowing so many opportunities in the 3rd and 4th sets, I thought he was going to crumble in the 5th. Yet, everytime Fed pressured with a service break, Rafa held strong - saving 12 of 13 break points in the match. While Nadal isn't armed with aces, his running game and repetoire of passing shots kept his service game on point. Eventually his grueling ground game cracked Federer past sunset. I was rooting for Nadal to break through on grass and I was at the edge of my seat for much of the nearly 5 hour match. It took up most of my Sunday but it was worth it!