Parallel Lines

As apposed to catching everyone up on all the lastest in my life, which is pretty much the same, I thought I would share a bit of writing I did recently on facebook. My friend Mike asked me about a line from the new Jay-Z album in which Jay claims to be the new Frank Sinatra. He believed that this should in some way “bother” me, as I assume it did him. My response was a tad lengthy but I had fun writing it. I also encourage everyone to go out and buy the new Jay-Z album, The Blueprint 3. It is a return to form for the artist and I think a strong contender for “Album of the Year.”

This is an argument that I thought you might bring up. I am ready with my answer. Jay-Z Position # 1: "No one on the corner has swagger like us." Whether or not you grant the validity of this statement it is the belief of the parties involved with the track that they, in fact, have unimpeachable swagger. While the term is ill-defined one may assume that in includes categories of behavior such as "pimpin'," "runnin' this rap shit," and the lack of dirt on a person's shoulders. These might translate into: being popular with the ladies, having a successful career (possibly being one's own boss) and having a sense of personal style and panache, both in fashion and general taste.

Jay-Z Position # 2: "I'm the new Sinatra." This lyric, within the context of Mr. Z's first claim, begins to make sense. If one was to examine the three defining features of "swagger" in relation to Mr. Sinatra the parallel is clear. Old Blue Eyes (if you will permit me to use the vernacular) was a cocksman of the highest caliber and he most certainly ran a mini-empire that included the Rat Pack and possible associations with organized crime. Lastly, his style, from the cuff links to the champagne he served, was purposeful and still sartorial. Even if you do not grant that Jay has "swagger" I assume from your concern over his boast that you believe Mr. Sinatra did.

At this point I have demonstrated why Jay-Z sees himself as the new Sinatra but this does not necessarily rule out a third party disagreeing with the claim. My Position #1: Hip Hop, culturally and stylistically, resembles the halcyon days of the Rat Pack. This is both intentional comparison made by rappers and unintentionally accurate in a wider sense. Drinking, womanizing, going to fashionable places with a group of followers (be they a pack or a posse) are all shared activities. They both started with music and became a lifestyle (Jay's mogul status and Frank's "Chairman of the Board" moniker are for more than just musical prowess). Both became the preeminent stylistic vernacular of cool and changed their time period's understanding of the very term cool.

I do not think I have to defend the statement that Old Blue Eyes was the epicenter of the movement. Sure, Hefner, Martin and JFK all exemplify this too but none managed the whole package like Frank did. My Position # 2: The role of Sinatra is filled by Jay-Z. Now, but this leader status comes with a few qualifiers. 1) In our post-Modern world the ability to unify under one style, even within a single sub-genre, is impossible. Jay will, therefore, never be as commercially successful as Frank or seems as "on top of the world." 2) I do not see Jay as being the cornerstone of rap. People did it before him, have done it better than him, and there are artists I like far more but he is iconic. Sean Combs had a chance of being the icon of rap but he has fallen far short. So did Dre but the long silences between releases put an end to that. Everyone else is either: not a mogul, not as successful or hasn't been in the game long enough. Jay-Z is the last man standing.

To conclude: Jay-Z is not Frank Sinatra but he is the new Sinatra in archetype. He is our Sinatra, whatever you think about the image and how it has changed over time there is little doubt in my mind that Jay-Z is under our collective skin. While we may not get a kick out of him, he is about as lucky as one guy gets.

Listening to: “Daylight (Troublemaker Remix feat. De La Soul)” by Matt and Kim from the upcoming NBA Live 2k9 Soundtrack and “Off That (feat. Drake)” by Jay-Z from The Blueprint 3. The post’s title is from Begone Dull Care by Junior Boys (Thanks, Shah!). The picture was taken by me on the way to Salisbury to visit my Granddad last month, taken on the Bay Bridge.

School Days

"Classes - Part 2 have begun. They seem to be pretty good so far. Bowling is laid back (which is a relief, nobody wants intense bowling) and my Rock n’ Roll class is off to a good start. On the first day of class the professor made a Scorpions joke (as in “Rock You Like a Hurricane) and summed up the history of music in 20th Century America as “dudes getting drunk and stuff happening.” He latter amended it saying “dudes and chicks—gay and straight, black and white—getting drunk and stuff happening. I like this guy.

He breezed by Buddy Holly and paid more attention to Elvis than to Chuck Berry but I can forgive him these things because he made reference today to the fact that Marty McFly was the one that really invented Rock n’ Roll. Anyone who is currently confused should re-watch the first Back to the Future movie. Michael J. Fox’s character plays guitar at his parents senior prom and while he starts off with “Earth Angel” (by the Doo-Wop group the Peguins) he transitions into “Johnny B. Goode” by Chuck Berry, who is called by his cousin at the dance and told he should sound like this. Then Marty goes all Eddy Van Halen… I laughed quite hard when he explained all this as if it were actually how it went down.

I’m waiting around at school right now for my final class to being: Film Noir and American Culture. Should be interesting. It’s the only class I haven’t had yet but I’m looking forward to it despite the fact that I’ll have to be at school till 9:15pm.

Listening to “Johnny B. Goode” by Chuck Berry. I don’t care what anyone says this song has more rock in its little pinky than in the entire Elvis catalogue. Title from Chuck Berry too, off Chuck Berry: His Very Best, Vol. 1.

You Go On Ahead (Trumpet Trumpet II)

So we had to make a postcard for Spanish class today to exchange with our fellow “estudiantes.” I think mine turned out well, considering I started an hour and a half before it was due.

The translation of what I wrote is as follows:

Dear (insert name here),
Greetings from Uruguay! You should come here, this place is close to perfect. I’m at my grandmother’s house in the country. The house is very charming with a good view of the mountains. When I come back here another time I hope things are not so strange though. When I got to the house I saw a polar bear, he was sleeping but I ran to the house. My grandmother phoned an astronaut y he came to the house in a Smart Car. The astronaut scared off the polar bear. Come see all of this and not be afraid of the polar bears. If one comes by again I’ll phone the astronaut because he did a good job.



The media was all cut from magazines and I decided to try and explain my decisions via the postcard’s text. I hope whoever gets mine has a sense of humor.

I’m still loving The Handsome Furs. I really want to go to their show this Fridays at the Black Cat. Anyone want to go? Please?

Listening to “Officer of Hearts” by Handsome Furs from Face Control. Title from Dragonslayer by Sunset Rubdown.

On Our Way

Summer classes have been keeping me busy, mostly with talking about New Order in Spanish. I have a few updates worth mention:

The second summer session is going to super-duper hectic: Monday though Thursday in the mornings I’ll be bowling, then head to my history of Rock & Roll class. I already sort of took this class but due to a different departmental listing I get to talk about Chuck Berry in an academic setting again! The historical and sociological implications of the duck walk are terribly interesting…

I need to start looking for my first real job. I’ve had a bunch of jobs, more than a lot of people I know at any rate. Now with the real world looming large I’ve got to figure out what it is that my BA in history has prepared me for. From the casual browsing I’ve done—not a hell of a lot. At least I’m well rounded. Can I get an Amen from the liberal arts people out there?!

New music for July:

“Fresh Like Us” by Chiddy Bang
Sales Pitch: The song uses the hook from Yelle’s “Ce jeu” and they give a shout out to my favorite NBA player / Star Wars character—Rajon Rondo!
Why I love it: It’s got a great summer vibe to it that makes me think of crusing around Potomac in a friends car with nothing to do and nowhere to go, listening to music that was too loud all the while thinking I was so damn cool…

“Lego” by The Maccabees
Sales Pitch: Intensely catchy guitar (like the Dodos or Cut Off Your Hands catchy) and lyrics that include “And the boys chew on Legos / so we can’t build castles or robots / cause the pieces don’t fit together.”
Why I love it: The catharsis at the end, when it gets slower and then builds back up is the best I’ve heard since “Pitch Black Blonde” by JR Ewing. I’m a total sucker for an epic build up and crescendo.

“Pieces of You” by Wolf Gang
Sales Pitch: A near perfect blend of low-fi funk sound and Talking Heads vocals.
Why I love it: I think the sales pitch is more or less my reason. There’s this awesome swirling flute and trumpet portion that sounds fantastic at around the 1:41 minute marker.

Album of Note:

Face Control by The Handsome Furs
Spazy but controlled, electronic enough that it makes me want to shake a groove loose but rock enough to want to play air instruments along with it. I really like the guys voice too. The songs are well produced and written. It’s been a while since those two things have happened at the same time on a record that I’ve liked a lot.
Tracks to listen to: “Legal Tender,” “Talking Hotel Arbat Blues” and “(White City)”

Listening to “Oysters” by Radiant Dragon from the Island EP and “Sleepyhead” by Run Toto Run from their self-titled. It’s the only cover of Passion Pit’s stroke of genius that Morning of Forced Leisure endorses. God damn I love this song, it sounds like Feist and Aaron Copland got together to make a sick mash up of “Past In Present” and the “Rodeo: Hoe-Down” suite. Title from Chiddy Bang.

Countdown (Sick for the Big Sun)

Well, I’ve had an eventful couple of weeks. Spring 2009 has ended, and the Summer session has begun. I like my Spanish professor a lot— he’s a young-ish guy and seems more hip than any teacher I’ve had before. I think I’ll do okay in the class. I’m not quick with translating in my head and being able to reply but I can do the work so there’s hope. I’m really looking forward to my next round of classes: History of Rock & Roll and a class on Bowling. Sweet!

I’ve also gotten a twitter account. I got sick of Facebook. You can find me by searching “gregpocalypse.” Micro-blogging is sort of dumb but then the status thing on Facebook is too. I’m a sucker for the dumb.

I wanted to explain a comment from a previous post about the summer activities that Nando and I have planned. You see, summer can be a boring time: you either waste or it drags as a child and you don’t get any real summer vacation as an adult. He and I have devised a scheme to try and enjoy one of the last summers that we’ll have as pre-adults (a term that only implies our continued reliance on our parents for food and shelter and not our level of maturity, which would be infantile to adolescent at best…).

It is currently a list of competitions that we shall engage in over the course of the summer. Each face-off can be placed in one of two categories— the direct challenge or a race to find the best. The list of direct challenges include “The Burger-off,” “The Bartender-off,” an homage to the movie Cocktail (on of the greatest summer movies ever) and “The Write-a-movie-off,” though I doubt we’ll actually get to that one. The second group has more potential (as we’ll have to do less). It pits us against each other as we both search for the best whatever it is the challenge calls for. We have currently best bar, best hot wings and best mixed drink (which is under review as it might be incorporated into “The Bartender-off”).

I’m hoping to keep a scorecard and at the end of the summer (on the Autumnal Equinox to be exact) we’ll tally the points and a trophy of some sort will be awarded. The list is a work in progress as we add things and edit but it will be locked in as of the Summer Solstice, or 5:45am June 21st, 2009. I’ll try and post a list of the challenges and keep you updated as things progress.

On the music front I’ve got a couple of recommendations for any interested parties:

Phoenix, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

I really liked a song of theirs a couple years back (“Long Distance Call”) but I never got into them as a band until a week ago when I picked up their brand-spanking new album. Wow. Some of the best arranged pop rock I’ve heard since Vampire Weekend blew my socks off. Not that they sound anything like Vampire Weekend… they just have incredibly interesting songs that go together as an album quite well. I’m not sure but I think it’ll be on my list of best Albums of the year. It’s a little early for that kind of talk I know, and they wont win the coveted award but this record should be in the conversation as Mike likes to say…

Sunn 0))), Monoliths and Dimensions

When I buy an album I am usually relatively informed about what I’m getting into, I either know the band or have read a review or two. Not always but a lot of times this is the case. With Sunn 0)))’s latest release I had done both. I got it so that I would have some things to say the next time I found myself in Baltimore talking about music (cause it will come up) and I’ve heard all (or almost all) of their other stuff. I think its cool, interesting but not exactly my thing. This album challenged that to a degree that I wasn’t really prepared for. They had been growing more conceptual and for me more likeable (split with Boris and sound-tracking a Jim Jarmusch movie) but this moves things backwards at least a little. Maybe it was the headphones, maybe my mood, but the vocals, which are rather distinct are too Doom-y. I realize this is a ridiculous argument to make., the guys practically freaking invented Doom but I couldn’t get past the silly overdramatic voice that sounded like a cross between a Viking and an Emo kid ………….who ……………. sings……………………………………. like………………………… this………………… I’m going to hold off on judgment until I listen a bit more but right now it looks like a 6.8 to 7.0.

I’ll try and talk about Grizzly Bear’s Veckatimest, Los Campesinos!, and a few singles next post but for now that’s all.

As a brief conclusion I’d like to offer a public service announcement: save yourself from Twilight. Yeah, I read it. Elizabeth was talking about it and I decided that it didn’t sound so bad. Well it was. I read it in two days. It’s horrible. I feel like a twelve-year-old girl… and by that I mean irrevocably in the thrall of Mrs. Meyer and her repetitive bland prose style. While the story is highly entertaining she writes like I talk: way too much of the same phrases repeated over and over. I thought I was reading an ancient Greek epic ready to see “wine-dark sea” or “clever Odysseus.” It isn’t easy to admit that I’m hooked, but like a recovering alcoholic the first step is admitting that you have a problem. The second step is hitting rock bottom I think, so I’ll be reading the three other books over the following three or four days. Then I’ll make amends and all that other stuff….

Title is from Phoenix’s latest (I thought it seemed appropriate, what with the Summer challenges coming up and all). Listening to “Idumea” by The Sacred Harp Singers at Liberty Church from the Cold Mountain soundtrack and “Hungry Liars (feat. Justin Powers)” by Portland Cello Project from The Thao and Justin Powers Sessions.