Tag Archives: bobby mickey

Mexico City Revisited and Other Thoughts

3 Jan

My visit to Mexico was a very educational one. I do believe I saw the future of the United States hidden somewhere down there. The wealth disparity between rich and poor, educated and uneducated hints at what is to come here in the states. I remember reading back in the year 2000 that the election of Bush (among other lame brain decisions) signaled a decline within the middle class. 15 years later we are seeing the effects, including the anger and frustration for middle to lower class whites that resulted in the election of Donald Trump.

You can check out my photos from my trip here on Flikr.

  • Mexico is an interesting and massive country (imagine if California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado and Texas were still owned by them). There is so much to see.
  • Christmas in Oaxaca was a very festive one. The parade and fireworks showed me a side to the holidays that I’d never associated with this time of year. I really dug it.
  • Colima  was pretty awesome and very beautiful. Mountains and fresh air were the most memorable parts for me.
  • The food in Mexico City paled in comparison to the Oaxacan and Colima cuisine. As a matter of fact, I doubt I will ever go back to the old D.F. A lot of people like it, but I’m cool on Mexico City. Too big. It reminded me of all the worst parts of Manhattan, my least favorite borough in New York City.
  • I may have seen exactly four black people the whole time I was in Mexico. When I was flying out to Oaxaca out of Benito Juarez Airport I was into a guy in a Yankees hat. WE were in line for Starbucks and once we figured out the other spoke English, we had a great conversation. “Ease back bruv, I’m from London.” He told me when I struggled to engage him en Espanol.  Anyway he said he had been living in Mexico City for 2 years and had seen MAYBE 25 black people in that time period. He also said that every interaction pretty much mirrored the one we had at the airport. On an unrelated note, he had a pretty cute Paraguayan girlfriend (totally my type too) that he was going out of town with. She was really friendly and made me consider how long I plan to be single (and consequently celibate).
  • Seeing so much of Mexico these past 2 years makes me want to see what the deal is with Spain. I’m especially interested in the Moorish architecture in Spain. The Spaniards were some bad mufuckas back in the day, and everyone felt their presence back when they reigned. I need to see what is up out there. From what I hear though they do not care for people of my complexion. Will they run me out like they did the Moors and Jews? Stay Tuned….

 

2016 was a super rough year for a lot of people. In the midst of all the chaos I somehow let myself go. Over the break I looked into the mirror and saw a shirtless flabby middle aged dude who at best would be rated a 6 on a 1-10 scale. When I graduated high school I was a 9 (in my mind), trim and confident. 20 years can’t feel any further away.

The bar has been set low enough that 2017 HAS to be a better year. I gotta lose weight and get back in shape. In addition to that I’ve got enough unfinished projects to keep me awake for the next six months. In a way the current political and social climate has given me a better perspective because now I really am forced to live every day as if it could be my last.

It makes sense that Buddhism was such a popular philosophy back when the life expectancy was so low. Today we have enough modern day conveniences to distract us from just how flimsy life is. Back then you couldn’t ignore it. People could be more barbaric without consequence, diseases were less treatable and there was very little escape from the elements.

We might be at that place in our society again. It doesn’t mean we should be capricious and irresponsible, in fact; just the opposite. I plan to live each and every day with attention and intention. Small goals will signal daily wins, and if I’m lucky enough to be standing at the end of the year, I will celebrate like I won an NBA championship. Perhaps life has always been this fragile, but for better or worse, it is a fact that is impossible to ignore today.

 

BM

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Moment of Truth

15 Dec

America is finally being honest about what it wants. White Supremacist are making their power play as the nation prepares for Donald Trump’s inauguration. Coded language; once a necessity, is no longer needed in this new regime of open racism.  This “new” reality has come as a shock for many self-described “liberals”, but for most black and brown people, all of this is old hat.

People can lament the direction this country is going in, but the truth is that nothing has changed at all. The only difference between this era and past eras here in America is that there are more camera phones to film the onslaught of racial slurs, civilian attacks and police brutality. Despite the increasing number of racially motivated attacks on minorities, many people are still in denial about what is happening in this country.

Unfortunately, black Americans cannot afford to be in denial right now. It is time for us to stop wasting our energy on protests (marching,kneeling etc.), town hall meetings, and think pieces about the “race problem” in America. Blacks need to stop trying to elicit sympathy from whites and start preparing for this new regime.

As I see it, blacks have 3 options: 1) We can arm ourselves to the teeth and prepare for the impending race war coming down the pipeline  2) Get our passports ready, make an appeal to the UN about this country’s systematic human rights violations, pool our resources together as a block, and find countries that will allow us to apply for refugee status with their governments.3) Continue to do nothing and hope that we can survive the next 4-8 year wave of rampant White Supremacist backlash.

Many intellectuals believe that the key to black progress is to work within the system; by becoming lawyers and policeman and judges, but perhaps it is time for us to consider something that many people are thinking, but no one wants to openly admit–that this country was never meant for us. The constitution was not written with us in mind, and though we are quick to stand up to honor the flag during the national anthem, the song’s lyrics are questionable at best.

For centuries, we’ve been humiliated , punished, assaulted, tortured and murdered while the judicial system not only turns a blind eye to this treatment, the courts actually encourage and enable this denigration that is occurring on a massive level. If we stop to consider how the law is enacted unevenly towards whites and blacks in this country (war on drugs, death penalty, racist policing tactics), then it is hard to not at least wonder if the system is not indeed against us.

While some non-minorities wear safety pins and claim to be in our corner, there are still far too many who conveniently ignore the reality that blacks and other minorities are facing in this new age of open racism. Maybe it is just time for us blacks to GTFOH. We can no longer fool ourselves in this political climate.  We have to stop identifying as Americans citizens and face up to the fact that (unless you weren’t born here) we are really Prisoners of War in this country.

Coming from a fairly assimilated family background, I thought racism was a regional thing that could be escaped once I moved out of the south. Although I’d never let the social construct of race define my personal worth or what I could and could not do, I was forced to understand that it affected others perception of how I should behave and think.

Dissatisfied with what Texas had to offer, I spent my post-college years trying to find an environment for a black man to raise a family. Though some states and cities are safer than others, my biggest lesson as an adult has been that there is no place free from racism. Cities like San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, and Austin can fly their liberal flags, but it is pretty easy to make these claims when the majority of your populace is white.

At best you can say these are racially tolerant cities, but there is a huge difference between feeling safe and accepted, and feeling tolerated. The safest American city to live as a minority might be New York City, and that is a rapidly gentrifying city that only recently rescinded their racist “Stop and Frisk” campaign of brown people.

Race has been an issue in this country since the end of the Civil War, and I can’t figure out why we insist on living in a country where we are not welcome. My suggestion to blacks is to research your family tree as far back as you can trace it, and take a DNA test. honor your ancestors and go back home. Next year about this time, this country will be facing a recession and if the United States is not at war, it will be preparing for some sort of major conflict overseas. I wouldn’t recommend any minority to go and fight for a country that continually fails to recognize their basic human rights.

Private prisons are on the rise. Weapons defense stocks shot up the minute news that Donald Trump won the 2016 election. Trump has promised to get tougher on crime in the “African-American” community which means more police in black neighborhoods. Known White Supremacists have been appointed to various cabinet positions inside the White House, and Trump even suggested that his regime will require Muslims to sign into a registry. This is a very precarious time period.

Generations of families have been destroyed by the prison system, the education system and  the sabotage of any economic success within the black community. With an astonishing number of African American’s warrior class dead or behind bars, this generation of youth is highly vulnerable to the social dangers that await young people with little to no guidance. We are a banana peel away from slipping into ethnic cleansing.

White Supremacist will continue to kill more minorities with impunity while white liberals only pretend to care or look away. Blacks rights will be slowly stripped away in the courts while their lives are being take in the streets. What has been for some time an oligarchy is soon becoming fascism.

Blacks will be the first manner of business on the right-wing agenda. All the blacks who are not imprisoned (and thus enslaved) will be killed, deported, or sent to war. Once that is achieved you will see all the dissenting intellectuals and artists imprisoned or killed. Then everyone who doesn’t fit in with the plans to advance the white Germanic (heterosexual) race will be disposed of systematically as the White Supremacist makes one final push to destroy civilization, and bring about another Dark Age.

We can sit around and pray to a God that they pushed upon us Black people. We can cry into cameras and make hashtags for each additional tragedy that befalls us. We can continue to have silly, symbolic gestures to show our dissatisfaction with a White Supremacist system that has kept us under its thumb since the very first time we met Europeans.

Our pleas for sympathy and humanity have been heard, and America gave us our response in the form of the 2016 presidential election. No one is going to help us. We must help ourselves. This country is facing a grim reality, and whatever happens the next  four years people will look to do what is best for themselves and their family.

Blacks have tried everything to get along with whites here in the United States. When we built our own towns and economic base, angry whites came along and found an excuse to sabotage or burn it down. When blacks were allowed to live and go to school with whites, whites fled the cities for the suburbs,  but then came back to the cities once more blacks found access to the better schools and environments for their children out in those suburbs.

It is time to acknowledge that this integration experiment just isn’t working. I know it is scary to think about, but we have no choice. What do we have to lost this point? We can choose to stay here as prey while we get picked off one by one, then hauled off in mass towards an unsavory demise, or we can take our chances across the ocean where the unknown awaits us (the randomness of dying in a terrorist attack doesn’t sting as much as to me as a targeted execution by a White Supremacist). If death or imprisonment is imminent, I’d rather be buried on the home soil of my ancestors than in a massive grave built by my oppressors.

BM

 

 

 profile pic b mick  Bobby Mickey is the alter ego of writer and poet Edward Austin Robertson. When he isn’t involved in some basketball related activity, actively looking for parties to deejay or venues to perform comedy, he can be found recording podcasts with Craig Stein at FullsassStudios. Follow him on twitter @clickpicka79. For booking inquiries, send contact info to thisagoodassgame@gmail.com

 

 

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Review of the New Tribe Album

25 Nov

Low(er) End Theory

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Lovable Losers: The Baseball Edition

30 Oct

Are you a heart-broken baseball fan? Has your favorite ballclub been eliminated from the playoffs? Well only one team a year that can win a championship. Sometimes it doesn’t seem fair– especially when a team is thoroughly fun and the brand of ball is oh-so-entertaining. Entertaining doesn’t always win championships or bring accolades, but cult followings have started on far worse premises than entertainment–just ask Jim Jones. Here are five of my favorite post season “losers” from the past 3 decades of playoffs.

2010-2011 Texas Rangers  

2011 World Series Game 5 - St Louis Cardinals v Texas Rangers

This was a particularly cruel era for Rangers fans. Front office guru and Texas legend Nolan Ryan put together a squad that was exciting and talented enough to make their first trip to the World Series in franchise history.

The 2010 season was a bit of a novelty because it was the first time in a long time Rangers fans had something to cheer about. Most were glad to finally be out of the Tom Hicks, “bad contracts to sullen players”era (they were floating the Yankees on a good chunk of Alex Rodriguez’s salary for years after he was traded). Players like Vlad Guerrero and Cliff Lee join Josh Hamilton gave Texas some nationally recognized star power.

It looked like they would give the San Francisco Giants a run for their money after disposing of the Yankees and Devil Rays, but Tim Lincecum and that vaunted pitching staff took care of the Rangers in five games. Fans were just happy that they made it so far, and the season was considered a success.

The 2011 Rangers team picked up where last season left off, winning the West with a 96-66 record. Though one of the best offenses in the majors, their pitching staff lacked consistency, as their best pitcher at the time was C.J. Wilson. This didn’t keep them from beating the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and the Detroit Tigers on their way to the World Series, and getting to within one strike of a World Series title. Although Nelson Cruz gets scapegoated for the play that effectively cost the Rangers the season, the truth is they wouldn’t have gotten that far without Nelson Cruz’s offensive production–that was his only real gaffe during that run–albeit his biggest (one wonders why Cruz was in the game at that point anyway. Despite Cruz’s strong-arm, Manager Ron Washington could have put in a defensive replacement for the bottom of the 9th inning).

Everyone knows what happened in extra innings, setting up one of the biggest sports letdowns for a fan base since the 1986 World Series. It took me almost a week to tear down the protective plastic I’d hung up in my apartment for the post game celebration I’d had planned. A case of Budweiser went unopened–not for drinking, but for spraying around my living room (In case you’re wondering, yes I planned to throw and attend that party alone).

1993-94 Philadelphia Phillies

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Although not the prettiest of baseball teams (stylistically or physically), the 1993 Phillies were an entertaining bunch. Lenny Dykstra was the type of player I’d envisioned myself as. Scrappy, down and dirty,and often overlooked, but he did whatever it took to win.

Dykstra had 6 HR’s and 10 RBI as a lead-off hitter and would have been the World Series MVP had they somehow managed to win. He wasn’t the fastest, nor the strongest, but whenever a big play was needed, “Nails” made it happen.

John Kruk was also easy to love. He was a fantastic contact hitter, who barreled around the bases in his big and burly frame. Darren Daulton and Dave Hollins were big hitters, and with a platoon of players to insert around them (including former Ranger great Pete Incaviglia) they could score runs in bunches.

Their patchwork pitching staff often let them down as 14 runs were sometimes not enough to guarantee a win. Left hander Terry Mulholland was their most consistent pitcher, and this was the post-season where Curt Schilling started making a name for himself as a clutch pitcher; delivering goose eggs in the biggest moments of both the LCS and World Series.

The Phillies’ run inevitably ended when Mitch “Wild Thing” Williams came in to pitch with a 6-5 lead after a big 7th inning( sparked by yet another Dykstra home run)–setting up this World Series moment that would be the backbone to an Adam Sandler movie and a hip-hop diss record.

1991 Atlanta Braves

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Before the general public turned on the Braves organization from overexposure, Atlanta had a very likable roster. Their worst to first back story was a charming change of pace for the baseball media, and even non baseball fans got infected with “Tomahawk Chop” fever (my own mother always greeted each David Justice at bat with an exclamation of “cutie pie” to no one in particular).

After they dispatched the Los Angeles Dodgers (next to last day of the regular season) and Pittsburgh Pirates to emerge as National League champions, the Braves continued to amaze with their timely hitting and rotation of young pitchers. Steve Avery, John Smoltz, and Tommy Glavine would become household names after this season, and young guys  like Ron Gant, Deion Sanders (yes that one) and vets like Otis Nixon and Terry Pendleton made them a good team, but not too good to the point of being annoying.

As destiny would have it, the Braves would match up against another worst to first team, the Minnesota Twins. If Atlanta was one of the more lovable baseball teams of all time, then the Twins were one of the easiest teams to hate of all time. Put aside the off the field stuff written about Jack Morris and Kirby Puckett, and you still had villains like Chuck Knoblauch and Kent Hrbek. Plus, I hated Danny Gladden’s mullet, and Mike Pagliarulo’s mustache made him look like a dirty cop from an episode of Hill Street Blues.

Even though game 7 of that series will go down as one of the best World Series games of all time, in one of the greatest World Series of all time, I will always remember the unsettled feeling I had going to bed after the final run was tallied and the game ended. Lonnie Smith going for the Okie Doke was the difference maker, and Jack Morris was as clutch as clutch can be; pitching 10 scoreless innings of ball. In all honesty, the Braves just didn’t have the horses to win it all.

Kirby Puckett was transcendent and his game 6 heroics set up the most memorable World Series moment of my lifetime. One last bit of trivia that will forever be null and void is Braves’ 2nd baseman Mark Lemke’s World Series leading .720 batting avg. that had almost guaranteed him a vote or two for MVP had Atlanta won. Of course, the Braves would finally get their title in 1995, after beating Cleveland, but that ‘95 team was supposed to win. They had Fred McGriff and Greg Maddux, and had a stacked lineup. It was much harder to be happy for that squad.

1990-1992 Pittsburgh Pirates

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The first MLB game I ever attended in person was a Pirates vs. Astros game at the Astrodome. When I first started collecting baseball cards, Bobby Bonilla (I would pronounce it so that it rhymed with Vanilla) was one of the first in my collection. The Pirates outfield of Andy Van Slyke, Barry Bonds, and Bobby Bonilla was my favorite in this era of baseball, and I thought Doug Drabek (from Victoria,Texas) had cool looking hair because they were silver streaked.

The light hitting, but sure fielding double play combo of Jose Lind and Jay Bell (who nearly always led the league in sacrifice bunts) were steady and dependable. The Pirates were a good fundamental team with a likable manager in Jim Leyland, and I had not problem at all rooting for them when they came to town to face the Astros (mockingly called the “Disastros” or”the Lastros” depending on where they were in the standings).

The year that the Texas Rangers let Steve Buechele go to make room for Dean Palmer, I was happy for both Buechelle and Pittsburgh, and part of me wanted to see the Pirates make the World Series for Ranger fandom alone. It almost happened too. After losing to the eventual champion Cincinnati Reds in 1990, then again to the Atlanta Braves, the Pirates were one out away from finally getting out of the NLCS. Then this happened. Although Yankees fans will disagree, I still to this day can’t think of a better ending to an LCS elimination game.

1999-2000 New York Mets

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Though this wasn’t the Mets teams of 80’s folklore (Doc Gooden, Daryl Strawberry, and David Cone were long gone), this new Mets team was a fun bunch to watch. The strength of this squad was their Gold Glove winning infield with 3B Robin Ventura (yes THAT Robin Ventura), SS Rey Ordonez, 2B Edgardo Alfonso, and sweet swinging, sure handed John Olerud. Bobby Valentine had a couple of throwback names in his outfield platoon with Rickey (the GOAT) Henderson, and Shawon Dunston.

Their pitching staff was hit or miss. Orel Hershiser and Al Leiter, their aces, both had an ERA well into the mid 4’s, and their best 2 relievers were lefthanders Dennis Cook (former UT Longhorn great) and John Franco. Mets fans got a little dose of what past and future franchises would endure with high stakes appearances by Kenny Rogers and Armando Benitez; both of whom are legitimate red flags that you have a suspect pitching staff.  

For every exciting grand slam single the Mets produced, there was Kenny Rogers giving up a frustrating game ending (and series ending) walk, or Mike Piazza letting opposing pitchers punk him get into his head.

History is not kind to losers. At best, one gets a footnote in some book somewhere detailing one’s  valor in the face of defeat. If a fanbase is lucky, those losses are assuaged by a win the following year (with luck, it may even be against the previous year’s opponents) . These wins have a way of negating that empty feeling one gets when they realize they care way too much about the success and failure of millionaires playing a kid’s game. I’d personally rather root for players like Ozzie Smith and Robin Yount than cheaters like Alex Rodriguez and Kent Hrbek.

I mean sure the latter two won championships with their respective teams, but both are renowned cheaters. I bet you that if either Hrbek or A-Rod were invited over to a teammates’ house for dinner, that their wives were counting silverware the minute the guests were out the door.  Hopefully this post helps to reposition the perspective that these are only games, and that winning and losing is less important than playing the game with enthusiasm and integrity. This is the core of being a fan of your favorite teams. You want your team to play hard, and do their best, but win or lose, there is always the possibilities that come with the next season.

BM

profile pic b mick  Bobby Mickey is the alter ego of writer and poet Edward Austin Robertson. When he isn’t involved in some basketball related activity, actively looking for parties to deejay or venues to perform comedy, he can be found recording podcasts with Craig Stein at FullsassStudios. Follow him on twitter @clickpicka79. For booking inquiries, send contact info to thisagoodassgame@gmail.com. 

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Capin’ for Kaepernick

29 Aug

 

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Full disclosure: Sometimes I arrive to sporting events late on purpose just so I can avoid the National Anthem. I stand during it because it is easier than having  to address each person about my reason for not standing for not doing so. Nevertheless, my face intuitively becomes a scowl as I stand still with my hands behind my back. Normally I just think of every black person ever treated unjustly in the name of the American flag.

I don’t celebrate the 4th of July. If I can help it, I leave the country as to not be inundated with all the patriotism that can’t  be faked on my end. In fact, I find it odd that any black person celebrates this day as a holiday, because blacks were not free citizens on the 4th of July, 1776. I also secretly root against the United States during the World Cup, cheering instead for the African countries–especially the Ghana, Cameroon, and Ivory Coast teams.

During the 2 years that I taught social studies in Oklahoma, I was pretty conflicted upon having to needle my students out of their desks in order to “Pledge to the Flag.” I could understand a student not wanting to stand, but I also expressed to them that it was a “matter of respect.” And besides that, it kept the higher ups off my ass, in case I was being observed for the day. The last thing I needed was a controversy like that on my teacher evaluation. It was hard enough being the only black in my social studies department. In my mind I was picking my battles.

I remember the first debate I had with white people about the National Anthem issue. It was 1996. I was a junior on my high school varsity baseball team. Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf had just taken a lot of flak for doing the very same thing Colin Kaepernick is getting shit for. The only difference is Abdul-Rauf had not been observing the anthem for quite some time. Someone from the media finally noticed it and it became this huge shit storm–even for back then.

Even then my white teammates were railing against this kind of action, and me being 1 of 3 blacks on the team, was the only one to be a contrarian. I spent the whole bus ride to Waco, Texas, arguing with these guys about why anyone of color would feel “oppressed” or marginalized. The irony is that these same teammates were known to make “jokes” about me giving up a front bus seat to the white players, or calling my attention to any passing cotton field we may have driven by.

We got off the bus and got our asses waxed, and a few of the seniors blamed me for causing a distraction from the approaching game. I may or may not have taken delight in getting that L. I can say that it was the first time that I’d had the thought that maybe baseball wasn’t as important to me as I’d originally thought.

Any time a dissenter expresses their displeasure at the rampant injustices that occur in this country, the same miseducated scholars give the same canned responses. The obvious one is that “men and women gave up their lives so that you can have the freedom to show your displeasure.” To which I want to say , “Word? Then why are you so bent out of shape about it then?” It almost seems a slap in their faces to not invoke this freedom that they so dearly fought for. The other canned response tends to be along the lines of “America. Like it or leave it.” I find this to be an irrational reaction at best, at worst, an insane one.

Do you know how crazy this sounds? The majority of blacks in this country did not ask to be here. Racist whites who say “If you don’t like it here, then leave.” are akin to kidnappers who after 20 years, go down into their basement and say to their victims, “Well I know I took you away from your home and loved ones, but I just realized that I’ve done something horrible. Your presence in my basement is nothing but a reminder of the bad deeds I have done, and because of that, I need you to leave my house. No. I’m not going to give you a ride back to your house. Your family probably has already given up on you being alive. Yeah I have the obituary clipping in my scrapbook. Wanna see it? I doubt they even live in the same neighborhood I snatched you from. Sorry. It is time for you to pull yourself by the bootstraps like I did, and make something of yourself. Good luck out there. The world is a terribly unfair place.”

First of all, do you know how difficult it is to emigrate to another country? Half the problems in the world are due to tensions stemming from peoples of other nations seeking asylum in safer parts of the world. Even if they manage to get through all the paperwork, if they have children, it is almost impossible to make it happen without a lot of money.

Secondly, blacks and other “minorities” helped build this nation and took the proverbial hometown discount. Why should WE leave? How about all you bigots pull a Joseph Smith and go live in a deserted part of the world where you are free to be homophobic, racists and sexists? Have at it. You can start your own Bigotopia. Need money to do this? Start a Kickstarter in the same fervent manner that you do for cops who kill citizens and lose their jobs.

I absolutely love controversies like these because it becomes a nice filter to smoke out all the closeted bigots. They lose their shit when they find out that people don’t think the United States is the greatest country in the world. They trip over themselves to express their anger at these dissatisfied ingrates. I find it hilarious. My white friend base on Facebook has been cut in half, and its a glorious feeling. At least once a week, I find myself saying out loud , “Tell me what you really think Devin from Duncanville, TX. I always knew you were racist!”

The worst part of all this is that I now have to stick up for Colin “fricking” Kaepernick. This guy went from being one of my favorite football players to watch, to stinking up the joint, to becoming one of my modern day heroes. I don’t care if he plays another down in the NFL (and he may not), what this man has done is beyond brave. This young “spoiled” millionaire has put his earning power on the line to express his displeasure at what flies in the face of common decency. This is no time to be on the fence about this. It is impossible for me to understand how someone can look themselves in the mirror and not stand up against the unjust and immoral killings of American “citizens”.

The only rationalization for this is that blacks really were not meant to be part of the system, and that the abolition of slavery threw a kink into the way this country was supposed to run. Maybe blacks should just embrace the fact that the rules were not meant for us to thrive and prosper. Maybe blacks should consider the legal speak of the 13th amendment, which abolished slavery and indebted servitude “except as punishment for crime.” Perhaps it is time for blacks to consider why blacks are only 12 % of the U.S. population, but account for over 60 % of the prison population.

Enough of the double speak. Either this country is trying to live up to its original ideals, or those ideals aren’t really for everyone. Either way, let’s be honest and transparent about what you white Americans want. I can deal with xenophobia, racism, and prejudice. It is the hypocrisy that grinds my  gears. If you don’t want us around just say so, and we can figure it out from there. But white America can’t keep asking why black Americans why they feel oppressed if  they are not going to at least try to create a better America. It is dishonest and an insult to black people’s intelligence.

BM

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Down the Rabbithole Playlist

8 Jun

 

De La Soul-Pain

Beastie Boys-And Me

Bent-A Ribbon For My Hair

Rui Da Silva Touch Me

Jay-Z & Pharrell- FCK All Night

All Night Long-Mary Jane Girls

Sebastian-Arabest

Flume-Holdin’ On (Kaytranada Edit)

Jaye Williams-Let Me Be The One

Run The Jewels-DDFH

Satin Jackets- Girl, Forever

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Top 10 Radiohead B-sides (in no particular order)

5 Jun

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In honor of Radiohead officially becoming “Dad Rock”with the release of A Moon Shaped Pool, I wanted to take a second and celebrate their immense songwriting catalog. I hate to say it, but this is their All That You Can’t Leave Behind (U2’s tenth album while AMSP is Radiohead’s 9th LP). It happens though, everyone loses their fastball at one time or another, even writers. It is crazy to cull the archives and look at just how many good songs were not good enough to make their albums.  It really goes to show how productive the band was from 1995 to 2001 (Bends, then OK Computer, but I’ve always thought there could have been 3 albums from Kid-A/Amnesiac era).

 

Bishop’s Robes When I went off to college, I was thrilled to meet a guy in my dorm who was an even bigger Radiohead fan than I was. He made me a CD with all of the B-sides from their (then) 3 albums. From the period between the Bends and OK Computer, this was immediately one of my favorites.

Gagging Order One of the prettiest songs from the Hail To The Thief era. The band decided it was better off being just a B-side. Listening to the album, you can see that it doesn’t quite fit with the rest of the playlist, but that doesn’t change how beautiful it is.

India Rubber A true throwaway that never really went anywhere. Every time I hear this song, I want to throw on my Chuck Taylors, blue jeans, and my old Speed Racer T-shirt. This was also the first time I heard the word “supplicate”.

Trickster  A great one from the Bends era, that has that pure 90’s guitar sound. I wouldn’t have complained if this were included on the album.

Pearly OK Computer could have been a bloated double album like  the Smashing Pumpkins’ Melancholy and the Infinite Sadness, but instead Radiohead released a bunch of EP’s and B-sides to accompany the album. A pretty smart move in my opinion. This period also featured my favorite cover art by Stanley Donwood. I would get chills looking at the album art as I spaced out on my headphones.

Worrywort This one sounds like a video game. Very mellow, but also a good message in the lyrics. I spent a great deal of my early 20’s with the Amnesiac B-sides playing through my earphones.

Punchdrunk Lovesick Singalong This one is a slow build, but its climax is glorious. I may or may not have put this on a mix CD for a girl in college.

Fog  Probably the second best B-side the band has ever done. For some reason they really don’t dig the studio version–which I love. “Hey man!You like Radiohead? Have you ever heard the studio version of Fog? I mean have you ever heard the studio version of Fog….. ON WEEEEEDDD?”

Talk show Host The first time I heard this song was on a field trip to Houston. One of the girls in the van convinced the business teacher to put the Romeo and Juliet Soundtrack. I dug it immediately,( but was still a closet Radiohead fan) so I filed it to memory, and bought the cassette tape at Sam Goody the following week. Probably one of the sexiest songs ever written. The girls in the audience went crazy when they played this on the OK Computer tour.

Million Dollar Question  Maybe the best B-side from Pablo Honey. The bassline during the bridge is phenomenal. The breakdown at the end is pretty fun as well.

 

 

Honorable Mention

Banana Co. This one has that trademark Jonny Greenwood guitar solo that earmarks the mid 90’s era. Its not their best B-side, but its a hard one for me to skip when it comes up on a playlist.

Butcher This is a good one from the King of Limbs sessions. Instead of doing a full album with everything they recorded this session, they put out a couple of EP’s to accompany the album. This song may have been as good as anything from The King of Limbs

Lull  (4:27) A great song to wake up to in the morning. This was usually the first thing I heard before heading off to Biology class.

I Will (L.A. Version)  My preference to the one released on the Hail to the Thief album. Colin Greenwood’s bass playing adds another dimension to it. They probably took it out because it sounded too much like something they would play.

Transatlantic Drawl Feedback, and a killer bassline make this song a nice change of pace for the Kid A/Amnesiac sessions. They do get a little weird with some effects at the end. I think my brain would have exploded had I heard this on either album.

How I Made My Millions One of the more beautiful songs to never be developed. The band says they simply can’t add anything to it.

Palo Alto An upbeat rocker that is a great number to throw on during your Saturday morning cleaning.

Cuttooth The B-side that bred the lyrics to Myxomatosis. Good work by the rhythm section on this one.

Meeting in The Aisle Precursor to the direction that the band was going during the Kid A/Amnesiac sessions.

Kinetic A very haunting industrial track. Its a grower for sure. Best listened to on headphones.

Maquiladora This song really captures the three guitar attack best.

Yes I am This is nice groove with a little bit of whine and cheese to it. Jonny’s guitar playing provides a nice edge to it that keeps it from sounding like old Pavement.

Permanent Daylight This was before they killed their guitars, played super repetitive melodies on piano, and built their songs around that riff. This is another echo of a distant time, evoking a bit of Sonic Youth.

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“Take Me With U” : A Screening of Purple Rain

5 May

prince-purple-rain

 

Going through Prince’s catalog on Tidal (I finally broke down and got the free trial–you already know I’m canceling that shit on the 29th day) evokes the feeling of going through my mom’s photo albums when I visit her on the holidays.

It is hard not to think of the outrageous leather pants and fish net shirts that my mom and aunt used to wear back in the 80’s. My uncle was a guitar playing, motorcycle riding, martial arts freak, so naturally he was a Prince fan. There weren’t many people in my family who didn’t at least own a copy of Purple Rain on vinyl or cassette.

When I was academically ineligible for high school baseball my sophomore year, I would come home from school, fix a sandwich, and listen to the A side of the 1999 album (Let’s Pretend We’re Married and Delirious were my jams).

What I remember most about going to see the first installment of the “Batman” series (directed by Tim Burton), was stopping at Sam Goody (remember those?) and grabbing the soundtrack on cassette.

My parents were never shy about exposing me to anything as a young child (refer to my write-up on American Werewolf of London), and revisiting all these old songs from my childhood is like hearing them for the first time. As an 11-year-old, I listened to what felt and sounded good–things like lyrics and production meant very little to me. Listening to the man’s music now as an adult , it is so easy to pick up on the influences he had on

a) light-skinned dudes (I can see why the 80’s were ruled by light skinned bruthas–with the emergence of Drake and Steph Curry, there may be a resurgence of that era)

b) hipster bands like Wild Nothing, Of Montreal, and Toro Y Moi

and c) Beck (Midnight Vultures was pretty much a Prince homage).

It was really easy to take his contribution for granted because I grew up listening to him.Every member of my family actively followed his career. Let’s be honest, unless you were a hard-core fan, or a music scholar (which I’m not) it was easy to sleep on his stuff after the mid 90’s–by that point he was making music for himself. To be even more honest, by the time I was in my late teens, there were a lot of males like me who thought he was a little strange (harmless–but it wasn’t like all the homies piled up in the car and drove downtown jamming Prince).

His death shook me up so much, because I happened to take off from work because of a bad dream I’d had the night before. I’d dreamt I was in a two seated plane with a friend who’d never flown before, and we were crashing. I was frantically trying to unbuckle my seat and jump out of the plane. The dream itself was so unsettling that I went online and requested a substitute teacher for the day. Then I  went back to sleep.

It was only after a few hours of running errands, that I’d come home to have lunch, had checked twitter to see my timeline flooded with tweets mired in disbelief. I wasn’t the biggest Prince fan. I don’t own a single CD of his, and it has been years since I’ve watched or listened anything by him that wasn’t played at the club or on the radio. The “Prince” sketch on The Chappelle Show isn’t even in my top 10 of his sketches. But I have to admit that the news stung a little.

I immediately wanted to call my aunts and uncles, and I even picked up the phone to shoot a  few texts, but for some reason decided not to do so. I wasn’t even planning on writing anything about him, having been removed from anything he’d been doing for so long. A phenomenal thing happened after his death though, throughout the country, movie theaters began screening  his first feature film, “Purple Rain” in his honor.

There was a showing of it at the local art house cinema here in town, and I made sure to get a nap so I would be able to stay up late enough for the 10 pm show. I’d seen the movie as a kid of course on Beta Max and VHS,of  course, but seeing it on the big screen seemed like the way to go.

It didn’t disappoint either. Don’t get me wrong, some of the dialogue was definitely corny and overdone, but how many 80’s movies aren’t guilty of this? It was pretty crazy seeing Clarence Williams III (Sampson from Half Baked) in the movie, playing his father. There is a sense of self-awareness at times– like it knows that a bit may fail, but they go for it anyway (a fearlessness that many 80’s movies share) . The close up shots (evocative of fans from David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust tour) during the opening montage are dynamite and hilarious.

purple-rain_still8

There were some uncomfortable moments for sure. The scenes where groupies are getting smacked around or thrown in dumpster are hard to watch. But there are plenty of redeeming moments. Morris Day and his flunky Jerome, bring a much-needed levity to the movie with their tongue in cheek interactions (there is even a nod to Abbott and Costello’s “Who’s on First?” bit written into a scene). “Let’s have some asses wigglin’ I want some perfection!” was easily the funniest line of the movie (“Don’t get my seat wet” may be the next funniest). I died laughing,and guiltily giggled well into the next scene.

let-s-go-crazy-and-obsessively-re-watch-prince-s-purple-rain

The hypnotic scene of the movie may have been,  when the Revolution took the stage to perform “The Beautiful Ones.” It was mesmerizing watching Prince sing this to Apollonia as Morris Day is trying to wine and dine her. It clearly unnerves her as the song climaxes with Prince screaming emphatically,”Do you want him? Or do you want me? Cuz I want you!”

It seems counterintuitive to think that Prince, who has been known for so long as “that dude” could ever be in a place to write such a vulnerable song. Even at such a young age, Prince understood how beautifully attractive people allowed themselves to become callous and careless.

The movie of course ends on a high note. After a series of heavy events in the film, the final performance, a medley of Purple Rain, I would Die 4 U, and Baby I’m a Star had people in the theatre dancing in their seats.

Seeing this movie put in perspective just how big he was (at the time) and how big he would become. The end of the movie is his Chuck Berry moment. He was the Jimi Hendrix of my parents generation. He was to black people what David Bowie and Elvis were to whites.

The sad thing is, that he was such a semi-recluse for so long, that I’d forgotten how much of a pioneer he was. The man was a true artist. He wasn’t afraid to stir the pot, and he didn’t burn out. He lived his life according to his own terms. Although it is sad that the world lost one its brightest and most enigmatic artists, on the bright side, he has left us so much to consider about life, art, and music.

I’ll be in Minneapolis this summer, and my buddy doesn’t know this, but he and I are taking the unofficial tour that we should have taken during my visit last summer. I’m not even one-tenth of a fan as many die hards out there, and I’ve never had the desire to see him live, or meet him. But I can’t think of a more appropriate way to pay homage to the Artist Formerly (and Forever) Known as Prince, than going to see Purple Rain. It was a pretty unique experience.

 

BM

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Mini Playlist For That Late Night Tip

25 Apr

DJ Shadow feat. Run The Jewels- Nobody Speak

Planet Asia X Madlib X Peanut Butter Wolf –Definition of Ill

Bugzy Malone- Gone Clear

Skepta- Man

Desiigner-Panda

Nicki Minaj –Feeling Myself

Jessy Lanza- VV Violence

Nina Hagen-African Reggae

Sylvia Telles- Pardon My English

Joao Gilberto-O Astronauta 

Santana- Song of the Wind

Grupo Monumental- Un Sueno Que Crei Realidad

Los Zafiros- Bossa Cubana

Hector Lavoe- Periodico De Ayer

 

 

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Getting What You Pay For

31 Mar

South By Southwest jumped the shark years ago, but now it has come to the point where if you don’t have access to a badge (good luck tryna buy one. You better start saving up now), then you can almost forget about seeing half the acts that you like.

The festival has become a bigger deal each year since I started going back in 2006. There was still a fringe element to it back then, where things were clogged, but the streets were still fairly navigable. I could not buy a wristband or badge, and still see plenty of the shows from anywhere in town. Now the major acts almost triple the unsigned ones, and you have to venture east of Red River to see anything resembling a DIY artist.

What is crazy to me is how much you must think ahead for everything during SXSW week (month?)–needing just as much of a game plan for avoiding the cluster as you’ll need for joining the fray.

Lines for every popular coffee shop, or food haunt become longer, and trying to hit up the famed BBQ spots is almost unthinkable. So imagine my surprise when a friend and I were able to just pull up to Micklethwait Craft Meats, ten minutes before they opened, and just get in line. We were fifth to get our order taken when things popped off, and let me tell you, it was legit.

The analogy I like to make about barbecue is along the lines of being an herbal connoisseur. Growing up, I smoked a lot swag because it was all I knew. occasionally, a friend would luck into some White Widow, and it wasn’t until I smoked that where I learned the difference in quality of buds.

beef

BBQ is similar in that regard. In the late 90’s and early 2000’s, places like Hardeman’s, Rudy’s, Poke Jo’s, Sonny Bryant’s, Gates, and Dickey’s were considered to be really good. Nowadays these chains are like the swag of good barbecue. They’ll do in a pinch, but once you’ve had the really good stuff, it is difficult to not think about what you could be consuming.

Places like Salt Lick, Kansas City Joe’s (formerly Oklahoma Joe’s), and Micklewait are what my college friends would refer to as “BC Nugs.” Pretty good quality, but ultimately mid-grade stuff.

I actually really liked Micklewait. I’d rate it as a high quality mid grade–the 2015-16 Cleveland Cavaliers of Austin barbecue. Their beef rib (18 dollars a pop) are as good of a beef rib as I have ever had. It came right off the bone (a big ass bone at that–probably half of what you pay for when you are paying by the lb.) and was tender and delicious. I just salivated thinking about it.

The jalapeno cheese grits (yeah I know that I don’t normally fuck with side dishes) are otherworldly. I wouldn’t call myself a grits fan at all, but I don’t see anyway that you could improve the taste of these grits.

Their sausage is on point as well. It has just as much flavor as Smitty’s sausage, but not nearly as greasy. My only real complaint was that the brisket was a little salty. That being said, it was extremely tender. Apparently they also offer goat on Saturdays, which is something I love eating. I’m certainly going to back on a Saturday and give it a run.

There aren’t too many bells and whistles at Mickelwait. It’s just a trailer over in east Austin that is right down the street from East Side Pies. But I’ll vouch for it. If you don’t feel like hitting up the long ass lines at La Barbecue or Franklin’s (spare me), and you’re not in the mood to drive out to Lockhart, then this is your spot.

It is getting increasingly hard to rate all these bbq joints. When you start getting top-tier quality meats from places like Franklin’s, La Barbecue, and Smitty’s, it all tastes the same in its own wonderful way. Anyone who has been to a weed dispensary on the west coast, or in Amsterdam, can relate. Its only when you get the lower grade stuff that you can actually tell the difference. I guess what I’m saying is that Texas is quickly becoming the Amsterdam of barbecue, and that ain’t a bad thing.

 

 

 

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