Souja Boy vs. Ice T

This passage from the Wiki entry on Soulja Boy left me speechless:

Feud with Ice-T
In June 2008, on DJ Cisco’s Urban Legend
mixtape, Ice-T
criticized Way for "killing hip-hop" and his song "Crank That" for being
"garbage" compared to the works of other hip-hop artists such as Rakim, Das EFX, Big
Daddy Kane and Ice Cube.[22] Way then
responded in a YouTube video by mocking Ice-T's age saying "we Wikipedia-ed
this nigga, this
nigga was born in 1958...you was born before the internet was created; how the
fuck you even find me?" Way, who seemed to be reading the Wikipedia article
about Ice-T as he spoke, frequently punctuated his comments with laughter. Ice-T
proceeded to offer a video response to Way's reaction in which he made an
apology for the harsh comment, but many felt it was a backhanded apology,
because at the end of the video Ice-T's son appeared reiterating the same
negative comment that Ice-T had stated in the mixtape. However Ice-T did not
apologize for his critique on Way's music even as to go so far as reiterating
his belief that Way's music was "garbage." Rapper Kanye West defended Way by
arguing that Soulja Boy created a new, original work for hip-hop, thus keeping
the authentic meaning of the music.[23] Way
followed suit by posting another video on the internet in the form of a cartoon
mocking Ice-T and ridiculing a video clip of Ice-T dancing.[24]

First off, Ice T as a rapper was never all that catchy. In fact, his work in the 80s sounds a lot like what gets mocked "I'm Ice T and I'm here to say" style corniness. Like take this from Breakin 2:





Say what you will about Soulja Boy, he didn't kill anything - he made a hot song with an accompanying dance that connected with the people of his day. As far as I can tell, Ice T has always been about his hard image, with the listenability of his music coming a distant second (something similar could be said of his acting career!). One thing the two have in common - Ice T's leather getup is just as flamboyant and ridiculous as the Superman-logo rainbow gear favored by Soulja Boy.

Considering difference between the music made 30 years ago in Ice T's heyday and the stuff that comes out today, it really shouldn't be considered in the same category at all. It would be like Little Richard saying Motorhead killed rock n roll. The two have just evolved separately such that they are mutually unrecognizable.

Another interesting comparison - Ice T grew up in Crenshaw and was part of the second generation and among the pioneers who contributed to the genre's shift from party anthems to talk about the gangster lifestyle. Soulja Boy's music draws on that history (raps about ho's, dances with handguns in both hands) but de-emphasizes macho violence. And crucially Soulja Boy has firmly middle class roots - he launched his career from his suburban Mississippi home with a music studio paid for by his dad.

Elvis's "Fool's Gold Loaf"

From Get Rich Slowly:

On the night of 01 February 1976, Elvis Presley decided he wanted a Fool’s Gold Loaf, a special sandwich made of hollowed bread, a jar of peanut butter, a jar of jelly, and a pound of bacon. He and an entourage flew from Memphis to Denver. The group ate their sandwiches and then flew home. Price: $50,000 - $60,000.

Here is how you make this monstrosity of a sandwich:

Fool's Gold Loaf

INGREDIENTS

o 2 T margarine
o 1 loaf Italian white bread
o 1 lb / 450 g bacon slices
o 1 jar of smooth peanut butter
o 1 jar of grape jelly


METHOD
Preheat the oven to 350F/180C. Spread the margarine generously all over all sides of the loaf. Place it on a baking sheet in the oven.

Meanwhile, fry the bacon in a bit of oil until it is crisp and drain it thoroughly on paper towels.

Remove the loaf from the oven when it is evenly browned, after approximately 15 minutes. Slice the loaf lengthwise and hollow out the interior, leaving as much bread along the walls as desired. Slather a thick layer of peanut butter in the cavity of the loaf and follow with another thick layer of grape jelly. Use lots of both.

Arrange the bacon slices inside the cavity, or, if desired, layer the bacon slivers between the peanut butter and jelly. Close the loaf, slice and eat.

Serves one if you're Elvis. Serves 8-10 if you're a regular person.

Tumultuous lives of R&B singers

Listening to the Quiet Storm station on Yahoo LaunchCast, I came across a new group named LeVert, singing "All Seasons" a 1990 slow jam with all the trappings of that era that are now getting lampooned by the likes of SNL's Andy Samberg - my favorites are the clicking synth bells and emotional sax solos that, with a little tweaking, could be reused as a variation on the Perfect Strangers theme song.

Anyway, belying the smooth crooning about romantic evenings and eternal love, LeVert's history isn't nearly so idyllic:

The band's success continued with their 1988 follow-up album Just Coolin'. Both The Big Throwdown and Just Coolin' received gold certification.

Beginning in the 1990s, Gerald began dividing his time between LeVert, and his solo career, but the band released three more albums, and Rhino Records released a greatest hits compilation album in 2001.

Gerald died due to an accidental overdose of over-the-counter and prescription drugs in November 2006.^[1],^[2] He had been planning a reunion at the time of his death.^{[citation needed]}

The group's reunion plans were still alive, as the group replaced Gerald with Dwight Thompson, a fellow Cleveland native who was a member of R&B group The Rude Boys, which Levert discovered. Before the group started recording their new album Levert Dedication, Dwight Thompson left the group to return to the Rude Boys replacing Larry Marcus as their fourth member. Levert then brought in fellow Cleveland native Blaq Rose^[3]

Sean Levert died at 39 following his brother's death on March 31, 2008, while serving jail time in the Cuyahoga County Jail for failing to pay child support. ^[4][5]. After the death of Sean LeVert Marc Gordon and Blaq Rose are still planning to release their new album.

Bonus Perfect Strangers theme action!

Train of thought from infectious Camp Rock song to Cyndi Lauper

So at work today I tried the Teen Pop station and this song got stuck in my head:



Here's what that movie's all about:

Mitchie wants to go to a music camp for young musicians named "Camp Rock". Since the family can't afford the tuition, Mitchie's mother (Maria Canals Barrera) arranges to cater food for the camp, thus allowing Mitchie to attend. When she arrives at the camp she immediately befriends a girl name Caitlyn (Alyson Stoner) who is an aspiring music producer.

Mitchie wants to be friends with the camp's 'mean girl' Tess Tyler (Meaghan Jette Martin), along with her clique Peggy (Jasmine Richards) and Ella (Anna Maria Perez de Tagle). When Mitchie introduces herself, the girls seem uninterested in her, so she lies about her mom, by saying she is the president of Hot Tunes TV China. They immediately take an interest in her and let her be their friend, making her very popular.

Meanwhile, spoiled rock star Shane Gray (Joe Jonas) has been forced to also attend the camp, after walking off the set of Connect 3's latest music video by his other band member Nate (Nick Jonas).

And you can kind of see where it might lead from there.

So I notice on Wiki that the movie was written by Julie Brown of "Earth Girls Are Easy" fame, and I remember when I was a kid Julie Brown seemed like a more annoying and less talented version of Cyndi Lauper.

And that thought led to the real gem of the evening: Cyndi Lauper doing a medley on Japanese TV! These performances are the best since everyone seems to be having such a good time clapping with their hands in the air:



When I was a kid there was some rumor that Cyndi Lauper was going to move into my hometown. As far as I know it never happened but I distinctly remember people telling me this as if it were some real, exciting news.

Bob Marley the cultist

What a tragically preventable death!

In July 1977, Marley was found to have acral lentiginous melanoma, a form of malignant melanoma, in a football wound - according to widely held urban legend, inflicted by broadcaster and pundit Danny Baker[17] - on his right big toe. Marley refused amputation, because of the Rastafari belief that the body must be "whole."

Marley may have seen medical doctors as samfai (tricksters, deceivers). True to this belief Marley went against all surgical possibilities and sought out other means that would not break his religious beliefs. He also refused to register a will, based on the Rastafari belief that writing a will is acknowledging death as inevitable, thus disregarding the everlasting (or everliving, as Rastas say) character of life.

The cancer then metastasized to Marley's brain, lungs, liver, and stomach. After playing two shows at Madison Square Garden as part of his fall 1980 Uprising Tour, he collapsed while jogging in NYC's Central Park. The remainder of the tour was subsequently cancelled.

Marley played his final concert at the Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on September 23, 1980. The live version of "Redemption Song" on Songs of Freedom was recorded at this show.[18] Marley afterwards sought medical help from Munich specialist Josef Issels, who promoted a controversial type of cancer treatment, partly based on avoidance of certain foods, drinks and other substances (Marley was also already a vegetarian, mainly for religious reasons).[19]. However, by this time his illness had already progressed to the terminal stage.


Death and posthumous reputation
While flying home from Germany to Jamaica for his final days, Marley became ill, and landed in Miami for immediate medical attention. He died at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Miami, Florida on the morning of May 11, 1981, at the age of 36. The spread of melanoma to his lungs and brain caused his death. His final words to his son Ziggy were "Money can't buy life."[20] Marley received a state funeral in Jamaica on May 21, 1981, which combined elements of Ethiopian Orthodoxy and Rastafari tradition. He was buried in a chapel near his birthplace with his Gibson Les Paul and a Bible.