2012 Year End List- Music

With it being a few days till the end of 2011 I guess it's time to do my end of the years list for top everything of 2011 according to me
Best Music of 2011:

Top Albums that I listened to in 2011

1. Drake- 'Take Care':  This is one of those I can listen to front to back, in any mood, and it was played non-stop in my car for 2 months before I even thought about taking it out.  It's too hard to pick a favorite song since so many of them are good.  There is a different style and pace from his previous release,'Thank Me Later', with tracks like 'Crew Love' that have a house beat to them and would be done well sped up in Ibiza but then brings back the familiar sound with the Nicki Minaj duet 'Make Me Proud'.  Top tracks: Marvin's Room, Over My Dead Body, and Headlines.
2. Jay Z and Kanye West- 'Watch the Throne': Jazy Z and Kanye, what more needs to be said?  Top tracks: Otis, The Joy, and Niggas in Paris
3. My Chemical Romance- 'Danger Days': I still have some early 2000's teeny punk pop style in me and MCR definitely filled the void for me.  Gerald Way's classic angst filled voice combined with a catchy electronic beat was a completely different sound from their previous record but still did the job.  The radio friendly 'Sing' has a good cadence for running and 'Na Na Na' captured the violent tone that drew me into them.  For once I also liked the interludes between tracks with Jet Star and the Kobra Kid.  Top tracks: Planetary (Go!), Destroya, and The Kids from Yesterday.
4. Swollen Members- 'Dagger Mouth': A Canadian hip hop duo that most people won't know.  They are huge in Canada (eh?) and those that listen to Del, Atmopshere, Dialated Peoples and the like will probably have heard their voices on tracks before.  Dagger Mouth was classic Swollen, Prevail and Mad Child had great lyrics and rythum while Rob mixed up some great tracks.  The video for 'Night Vision' gets extra points for their "dia de los muertos" theme.  If Mad Child wasn't banned from entering the US (and I'm banned from Canada for the next 10 years) I would have a few dates in 2012 set to see them in concert, alas... sigh... Top tracks: Bring Me Down, Mr. Impossible, and Night Vision.
5. The Roots- 'Undun'- The Roots defy everything that music has come to be known.  They release a ton of records (11 and counting), are the house band for Jimmy Fallon, and change their sound continuously while still keeping the sound genuine and unique.  I can't really put my finger on what I like about them, Maybe it's Questlove's giant afro, it could be that they play actual instruments, maybe it's their soul influence, possibly that when i listen to them I feel like I'm a better person then when I started, I'm not really sure.  Undun was just released and I already love it- it's amazing.  Top tracks: Make My, The Other Side, and Redford.

Top Songs of 2012

1. 'Seven Nation Army Remix'- The Glitch Mob:  Originally a great song by The White Stripes Glitch Mob took it and made an industrial version of it.  In constant rotation on my shuffle when it comes on during a run I unknowingly speed up with a rush of angry adrenaline.  Leaving Jack White's voice uninterrupted (for the most part) but adding a transformer/ dubstep-esq beat makes this redux fantastic for working out; it's the mental equivalent of downing a 5 hour energy on top of a Java Kona Monster.
2. 'Opposite of Adults'- Chiddy Bang:  This track makes me happy.  When I hear the MGMT kids beat laid down with the lackadaisical kiddie rap style lyrics I smile.  I have to give credit to MGMT as well- the beat is a classic and the 'I once was a kid all I had was a dream' hook reminds me of being some place warm with a beach or lake and everyone dancing and singing having a great time.
3. 'Let's Go'- Travis Barker: This was the year Busta Rhymes KILLED every track he did bars for.  As he comes out and starts the high energy flow you know the track is going to be dope.  Add Twista, TelaWolf, and Lil John doing what he does best (adding a 2 second hype up here and there) with Travi playing drums and you've got gold.
4. 'Look at Me Now'- Chris Brown, Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes:  Anyone who was in a club in 2011 heard this jam.  Probably a few time during the night as the track is just that good.  It has a loopy beat, a jazz style insert reminiscent of Wreck N Effects, and Busta Murders his part.
5. Tie 'Right Above It'- Lil Wayne & Drake/ 'Otis' Jay Z & Kanye West.
   I'll tackle 'Right Above It first- Drake has his typical cadence style flow going with Wayne singing the hook.  When Wayne starts in with "Skinny Pants and some Vans call me triple 8 get my advance in advance" the tract escalates to new levels.  The YMCMB family is beating everything else out there in quality these days, this track with Drake and Wayne is one the best examples of it.  It's a catchy uptempo song that starts with Drake bringing some of his best lyrics ever and ends with Wayne.
   
   'Otis'- Another collaboration with some of the best in the music business right now.  Taking Otis Redding's 'Try a Little Tenderness' (which is amazing by itself) and then adding Jay Z and Kayne, speeding up the tempo, and then looping the piano with Otis' voice in the background was genius.  The video screamed excessive waste of money to us as they sliced and diced the doors off Maybauch, added a bumper sticker to it and then turned it into a Mad Max style drifter.  To Jay Z, whose net worth is close to 1 Billion, this was more of a fun experiment.  Which pretty much explains this album- a fun experiment that went so horribly right we're clammering for another.
   

2 Movies with the Same Plot, Different Results

Last weekend I saw 'Friends with Benefits' with Justin Timberlake and Milia Kunis, this weekend I just finished 'No Strings Attached' starring Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman.  The premis of both movies are essential the same, 2 people who are friends that only want to use each other for sex.  It's basically a mutual use for both parties.  Even though both movies has the same plot they tackle the subjects differently.  FWB has more of a witty sense of humor compared to NSA going the more vulgar route.  I really enjoyed both, but found NSA a little more to my liking.  I laughed out loud more during FWB but I think it was Natalie Portman and her character that didn't draw my attention near enough as Milia Kunis'.

I think it's strange that both movies came out right around the same time in theaters and on DVD.  Audiences basically would pick which actor actress combo was more to their liking.  From the previews both movies have funny one liners so you can't tell the chemistry that is developed during the movie.  FWB did $55.8M domestically, $149.8M world wide while NSA did $70.6M domestically and $149.2M world wide.  NSA was released a few months prior so maybe the US audience had their take on the theory and skipped FWB, but world wide FWB out gained NSA but they are about the same (in theater dollars).

Since the dollars don't seem to tell the story my take is the witty comedy, FWB, was done just a little better than NSA.  NSA had a lot of humor that seems dumb down for anyone that reads or puts forth much thought in behavior and events.  Natalie Portman's character has the traditional man stance of wanting to keep it platonic while Ashton's character wants things to take a more traditional role.  I know people like this in my personal life so this was definitely a believable written role.  The things I didn't care for were everything that was written around Ashton's character's father.  The entire dialog and actions didn't seem at all on par with reality.  The other character were consistently in the background but didn't add anything really too the story.  Ludacris' character and Jake Johnson's character the friends had some humerus lines as did Mindy Kaling's character, but nothing really stuck out and their parts seemed more filler than anything.  Lake Bell, who usually cracks me up was an odd, socially awkward boss that didn't have any funny lines.  From her previous performance's (most notably What Happens in Vegas) when paired with great writers she can deliver the funny moments very well.

While I enjoyed NSA, I just thought that FWB was better written.  There was more depth to the characters while the writting and non-verbal communication between the stars was received better by the audience.  Or at least me.  the co-stars played more of a role giving a stronger, more "full" feel to lives of the characters.  Woody Harelson and Jenna Elfman's characters both had a strong presence with sound advice and very funny lines.

Both were humerus and tackle subjects that make anyone above our generation cringe but happen regularly in the world we live in.  If you have to pick one I saw go with FWB, but don't shoot down NSA- from the opening scene you'll be laughing in have the raunchy sense of humor that I do.

Complete Ignorance by the Dallas County Medical Examiner

After hearing the medical examiner's response of "accidental death" in the case of Elizabeth Lightfoot I was outraged.  It was almost hysterical; a drunken (0.31) female manages to slowly drive her car up a curb and through two cement pillars barley wider than her car (right side, by the dumpster in the pic below) then park it and set it on fire from the inside, pass out, and die from smoke inhalation.  It's laughable and fucking ridiculous that someone "educated" would come to this conclusion.  Then today, Scott Goldstein, of the Dallas Morning News writes an article that anyone involved or following the case was desperate for.
His article (http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/12/accident-or-murder-what-really.html) States the following:


"To accept the Dallas County medical examiner's ruling that the 22-year-old hairdresser's death was an accident and not a murder is to accept that she drove her Mazda 6 into the relatively small space between a dumpster and the side of a strip center at 16000 Preston Road. My photos at top right show the spot, which is probably not much wider than Lightfoot's car. 
The photo at bottom right is a WFAA-TV (Channel 8) image from the night of Lightfoot's death.
Lightfoot's blood alcohol content at the time of her death was 0.317 percent, about four times the legal limit. That's probably about 15 to 20 drinks."



In business there are always things that look great on paper but the real world application isn't feasible.  This appears to be one of those instances where the ME didn't take into account all of the factors.  I'm guessing the ME hasn't ever had 15 drinks at a bar and then tried to wedge a vehicle in a space with about 6- 10 inches to spare.  No one I can think of has- but I've definitely had 15 drinks before and the way it affects your motor skills and night vision is significant.  With someone making a salary up to $192K (http://www.texastribune.org/library/data/government-employee-salaries/dallas-county/departments/medical-examiner/3485/) that sure smells like shit coming from their mouth, good luck getting anyone to buy that story.    Damn even the cops say that isn't possible we KNOW they drink a good amount.


The worst case scenario is there are a number of cases the Dallas county has for open murders.  By the ME declaring this an accident it effectively closes the case on their books.  They can use lip service to assure everyone devastated by the loss they are still investigating this as a homicide but it won't go against them as an open/ unsolved murder.  I'm not sure if their physical year is October to October or January 1 to December 31st.  If it's the later then the finding of "accidental" comes at a very damn convenient time for their EOY statistics.

If it turns out to be later case and politics is involved then the city of Dallas has fucked up again...  We've all seen how Texas leads the nation in overturned convictions from DNA use and Dallas specifically leads all states but 3.  The continued bungling of evidence seems to have a strong pattern in Dallas with Elizabeth Lightfoot stuck in the middle of it.

It's Official, I'm not White

Last week friend of mine, Jesmi, had a birthday wish- to see Wilco at Fairpark.  Having never listened to them, but knowing they have a cult like following and some of my friends like them I obliged with purchasing the tickets.  Some pre-show observations:

• More plaid patterns than I've ever seen before in my life
• So many scarves. on both guy and girl
• Everyone, less Jesmi who is 1 part Korean and 1 part Puerto Rican, was white.  No Blacks, Hispanics, Indians, etc were in sight.

At first glance I figured I walked into an apple commercial; skinny jeans were everywhere and the hipster look was on full steam.  We waited about 20 minutes in line as they had both beer and liquor at the bar with 1 bartender at each station.  It's never functional to have 5 bars serving 800+ adults and the planning was piss poor to say the least.  This did give me ample people watching time.  I had misgivings about the show as I could listen in on the conversations that were happening around me.  It was pretty much apathetic talk from people that place too a heavy self image on not liking anything in the "mainstream".  The metaphorical gun was cocked and loaded while suicide thoughts were playing out in my mind.

The opening act was someone that I'd never heard of- Nick Lowe.  He sounded exactly like a combo of James Taylor and Garrison Kehler singing Lake Wobegon stories.  I guy with an acoustic guitar sinnging story teller songs.  Fucking shoot me in the face.  The highlight of his set was checking in on Foursquare and getting enough points to be ahead of Sed.  After he finished and bored me to death I asked the plaid tortise shelled framed gentleman who it was, in an expected condescending tone he replied "Nick Lowe".  At this point there was an intermission- my first thought was I need something with a beat or screaming to wake me up.  We got up and walked around while purchasing another 2 beers.  At this point I knew nothing would save me, less a bomb threat.  Which I almost called in on Jesmi's phone... well, I at least thought about it.

Wilco- I really don't understand the attraction.  As with when Nick Lowe was playing middle aged hipsters would jump up and yell "yeah!!!" then whistle extremely loud.  Nothing was going on that denoted a yeah.  In fact I thought a "I have a better time on Ambien" was more appropriate.  They had nothing that appealed to me but everyone around me was dancing... or white people concert dancing.  It appeared like every black comedian ever's impression of white people dancing without rhythm.  I was constantly checking my twitter feed and FB to see if anything else was going on while getting in depth knowledge on Weather.com about the impending el Nina winter.  If this is the music driving the hipster generation they can have it- that shit Meh'd me to death.

Getting in the car I threw on the new Drake and blasted it... with the beats and methodical rap of "Over My Dead Body" I came to the conclusion that if this is what 25- 35 year old white adult professionals listen to that isn't country these days I'm Black.  Black or something other than white.

In short, Jesmi received exactly what she wanted for her birthday, Wilco is never going to make it to my iTunes, and we're in for a wet winter so boarding should be good in the North West.  Oh- I'm claiming minority- "Other" on every application from now on.