Faygo Showers at the Horror-Rap Hajj

http://instapaperstories.tumblr.com/post/982886229/in-the-land-of-the-juggalos-vice-magazine

After reading this Vice magazine account of the 2007 Gathering of the Juggalos I find myself full of questions, especially in light of the Juggalo-on-Tila-Tequila violence that marred this year's festivities. Here now, are some:

Wait, so they've been doing these for years? How long? [Since 2000, according to Wikipedia.] And Faygo isn't Juggalo slang for faggot, as I had assumed for years? It's actually a soda? Like, a real soda made in Detroit? And it isn't owned by ICP? How desperate for money & attention is Tila Tequila if she's performing at the GotJ? Wait, didn't Hannibal Buress also perform at this year's GotJ? [He sure did.] Who the hell books this thing? How much money are they making off this? Does this mean ICP are savvy businessmen? How does this affect the credibility of their newfound mission to bring Juggalos to God???

It was at this point that I found JuggaloGathering.com and got caught up in reading Violent J's GotJ recap which included reference to ICP's latest film, "Big Money Rustlas" [which would make for a great #fakebandnames].

In a related note, the knowledge I gained from reading the Vice piece makes this SNL skit about 25 - 33 % funnier because of the level of detail included in the parody. Until next time, my ninjas...

-d

World Cup Fever

... and the only prescription is, more soccer!

But seriously, as much as one can take a cynical attitude towards the mega-corporate business monolith that is Nike, their kind of money and cultural cachet can really make for quite the elaborate soccer propaganda. The cameos (e.g. Federer, Kobe, & Homer) were an especially entertaining touch.

My point in all this is to say that I'm super excited for this year's world cup to start in South Africa. I don't know exactly where I'll be for the start of the first US match (June 12 vs England!) but it's sure to be a proper pub with a rowdy soccer crowd, and I'm sure I'll be many a pint deep.

-dk

SNL: Zach Galifianakis / Vampire Weekend

So there may have been a point earlier in the television season where I planned to recap and reflect upon SNL music. My plans were thwarted, however, when the show cranked out mediocre artist (Bon Jovi) after mediocre artist (Jennifer Lopez).

Compounding the disappointment was the fact that many recent shows have relied too heavily on recycling established sketch premises.

I was therefore hesitant in expecting too much from last weekend's Zach Galifianakis / Vampire Weekend episode. Zach G did not disappoint, delivering one of the funniest opening monologues in recent memory ("Hoobastank is here!"), although the rest of the actual skits were pretty run-of-the-mill.

The one thing that really grabbed my attention was the Pageant Talk sketch where Zach had shaved off his beard, only to appear during the goodnights re-bearded. It turns out that the beard was shaved during Vampire Weekend's second performance, and a fake beard was applied before the show's close.

ANYWAY, I thought Vampire Weekend sounded worlds better than they did during their first SNL appearance.

And just for kicks, here's some Jorma dancing to VW:

-dk

Jay-Z & Dave-Z

Armed with a new laptop (RIP 17" HP, 2005-2010) it's time again to resurrect this blog.

I thought this Jay-Z / Letterman video was really funny; they both came across as very clever, witty dudes.

To complete this thought, another Jay-Z on TV in New York video:

Jay-Z (w/ Bleek & Beans) On Saturday Night Live - Watch more Music Videos at Vodpod.

-dk

[SNL Music] Regina Spektor

I actually haven't had a chance to watch the full episode yet, but I did catch one of the two musical performances in real time this past Saturday night. Not helping matters was that I was pretty drunk off German beer (Spaten) and, at the time, concentrating more on drunken Jenga than Regina Spektor, aka Brooklyn Tori Amos 2.0.

All I really remember is having SNL on in the background during the aforementioned Jenga session, stopping to turn up the volume for the musical performance, only to quickly turn the volume back off and return to Jenga.

Although I would say that I am a fan of Regina Spektor (though not a very big fan), I think that my recollection of her performance, foggy as it is, speaks for itself.

-dk

[SNL Music] Lady Gaga

I finally had a chance to sit down and enjoy an episode of SNL. I actually thought Ryan Reynolds would be funnier within the format of the show, but it seems like there was a lot more attention paid to big-name cameos (Madonna, ScarJo, Elijah Wood, et al.) throughout the episode.

That being said, there were some musically noteworthy moments.

The Digital Short ("On the Ground") was pretty good--or at least better than either of the two that aired during last week's season premiere. Others might disagree, however, as it's already been established that your humble authors are all pretty big TLI marks. (dk, & pd for example.) I enjoyed the parody of angry, self-righteous 'underground' hip-hop. It felt like a Def Jux b-side.

As for Gaga, I came away thinking that she was a talented and charismatic performer, but also that perhaps dame Gaga might think her music is more culturally important than it will eventually become regarded. Kanye (incidentally, who until recently was supposed to embark on a tour with Gaga) I feel may also think this same way.

The second performance was Gaga's best, involving a piano, copious amounts of stage fog and metallic, gyroscoping rings. Head writer Seth Meyers tweeted that it was a top-5 musical performance for him in all his years on the show. I'm not sure what to make of that, though.

-dk

Here's the digi short

[SNL Music] U2

So I was thinking for this upcoming season of SNL (its 35th) I would keep track of the musical guests and offer my two cents.

As it's been a pretty busy week for me, I didn't really have a chance to sit down and watch all of the episode on my DVR. And I only really watched U2's first song. It was pretty good. I think they did a third song during the goodnights.

ANYWAY, hopefully I will have something more substantive to say about future musical guests, and it is likewise hoped that others have commentary as well.

-dk

Awkward!

It's no secret that we're fans of SNL here. You watch it enough and you're bound to see something interesting involving the musical guests. Whether it be Ashley Simpson's lip synching faux-pas, or Jim Carrey playing his leg as a guitar during a Foo Fighters performance, I'll end up watching the musical performances of people I don't really like to be sure I don't miss anything.

This past weekend, when Duane "The Rock" Johnson hosted for his third time, there was a small, but super awkward moment. So, the host always introduces the musical act, then at the end of the show, leads the good nights, and thanks everyone. This particular episode featured a cameo by Justin Timberlake (always pleasantly game for whatever SNL throws at him) and Jessica Biel (as a human incarnation of Jessica Rabbit). During the goodnights, The Rock thanks his boy Justin, his Girl Jessica both standing to his left. On his right side is musical guest Ray LaMontagne, but instead of thanking him he skips straight to Lorne Michaels and pats his own back for the show.

He completely forgot to thank the musical guest he introduced twice! Ray's face completely soured (though he doesn't strike me as a dapper guy to begin with) as soon as Duane skipped to Lorne's name. When the music kicks in, he turns to an associate, no doubtedly whispering "He fucking forgot."

Granted, in the scheme of SNL surpises, this was a small one. I don't recall ever seeing that before, but man, that was super awkward. I wonder what happened back stage after that. I bet Ray skipped the after party and he and his band talked shit about The Rock at some Lower East Side all night vegan cafe.

Incredibad, Reviewed

It's no secret that I've been eagerly anticipating the release of The Lonely Island's Incredibad. Ever since hearing of their hiring at SNL (Samberg as featured player, Taccone and Schaffer as writers) I knew they would bring a new energy to the show. With the meteoric rise of their digital shorts, they have in no small part helped usher SNL into the 21st century. 

As for the album, I've already written that I was excited to hear some of the digital short musical numbers without the interference of audience laughter and network censorship, and for the most part, the songs deliver. "Natalie's Rap" is an especially nice, clean track with a kind of mellow west coast/G-funk rolling bass that contrasts humorously with Natalie Portman's hyper-aggressive girly screech. 

It's the attention to musical detail that makes Incredibad work. That is, despite the (oftentimes) trivial lyrical content, there is throughout a deep breadth of musical knowledge under the surface. Take "Natalie's Rap" again. Yes, it's entertaining to hear her say she'll kill your dog for fun (so don't push her!), but what really does it for me is that the whole song is one long homage to Eazy-E's "No More Questions" (the interview format, the west coast gangster sensibility, and of course the last line of the song). That the song is just as good with or without this knowledge is part of what makes the Lonely Island so great when they are on their game.

Initially, I felt like a lot of these great productions were being wasted when paired with such novelty, throwaway vocals. ("Ras Trent" is a Sly & Robbie production, and a pretty good one at that.) After some consideration though, a lot of music these days is just as lyrically vapid, and not even with the Dudes' winking self-awareness. Is the chorus of the hilarious "I'm on a Boat" (Everybody look at me / 'Cause I'm sailing on a boat!) really any more or less stupid than Mims' "This is Why I'm Hot," a #1 single that has, by my count, a chorus built on eleven words?

ANYWAY, despite all of these strengths there still remains a fatal flaw which precludes me from being able to recommend a purchase of this album: the glaring omission of "Iran So Far." As the song shows up neither in the album proper or the bonus DVD, I can only guess that there was some issue with the clearance of the (brilliant) Aphex Twin sample. As I commented on a previous post, this was the song I was most excited to hear on the album--it is not only an elegantly simple composition, but lyrically it also serves as high-minded political satire. In any case, the lack of "Iran" is a non-starter for me, and drops my final rating for the album from four to three stars out of five.

Bonus: the Dudes have put up a free download of the Incredibad digital booklet. It's worth a look.

Boat Trip

The Dudes are back with a full length album. Good times.

Check it, yo.