Dive into the archives.
- Don Cornelius: Rest In Peace, Love, and Soul
The documentary above says more about the epic scale of Don Cornelius’s contribution to culture than I can. RIP
PS – Here is ?uestlove’s tribute (via Okayplayer):
you guys see this bag?
this bag has NEVER left my side for the past 14 years. I deemed it imperative that i NEVER part with it. you can imagine the arguments i’ve gotten into with flight attendants over that bag. this bag is my blue blanket to my linus. i carry that bag everywhere cause the future is in this bag. and by the future i mean our past. and by our past i mean Soul Train.
Don Cornelius was my first non musical non celeb non blood related hero.
its amazing timing that my arrival on earth and his greatest creative manifestation came within 9 months of each other. both symbolizing a new hope for urban america.
most won’t get it til now (especially now that he’s gone) but i pray that Don knew of the appreciation he had in all of us born after 1968.
you people will have to forgive me…im just kinda writing from the heart….sporadic thoughts tears and snot are spilling out and whatnot. im certain dream and toure and nelson will do his legacy justice in print….i just felt the need to write something.
i just wanna use my position to really let people know that next to Berry Gordy, Don Cornelius was hands down the MOST crucial non political figure to emerge from the civil rights era post 68. the craziest most radical thing of all is i don’t even consider Soul Train his most radical statement. yes the idea of the young black teenager NOT mired in legal trouble on the 6 oclock news getting camera time was a new idea to most…so of course the fact the U.S. really got its first vicarious look at our culture was amazing.
but the TRUE stroke of genius in my opinion was how Don managed to show US how important we were. which was NOT an easy task.
not by premiering the newest jam by james brown
not by focusing on the latest dance craze
not by the crazy outfits….ill tell you how Don really made a radical statement. and he himself acknowledges it:
the commercials.
Soul Train had double duty, to not only produce a show, but they also had to provide ALL of the production for the Johnson beauty products commercials that was funding the show. often using the set and the soul train gang (they became soul train dancers in 1976) as lead actors.
ok ahmir so where are you going with this?
the genius of it all was THIS was the first time that black people were proud to be called AFRICAN.
psssh before 1971?—i mean on the real…til like the early 80s on some schoolyard insult game ish? if someone called you “african” that was the most insulting degrading lower than low “im finna f**k you up” type of insult.
i know right? why?
to control our mentality during the slave period we were taught we were the lowest of low.
to control us AFTER slavery during the jim crow era we were taught we were the lowest of low.
the first introduction to entertainment (of which we were allowed to participate) was minstrel entertainment an over exaggerated buffoon display of shame and ugliness that we STILL CARRY TO THIS DAY (minus the makeup) (hello hip-hop….but that is another piece altogether).
to say with a straight, dignified face that BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL was the RISKIEST radical life-changing move that america has seen. and amazingly enough for one hour for one saturday out the week, if you were watching soul train….it became contagious. next thing you know you are actually believing you have some sort of worth.
the whole idea of Afrocentrism in my opinion manifested and spread with Soul Train in its first 6 years.
i saw the impact it had on my mom and dad and how they let the impact trickle down to my sister and me.
i mean i was BORN into it: so i came in this world thinking every african american had it just like i did: some funky dressing, proud, knowledgable parents who since birth exposed me to every record known to man and who kept my crown (make no mistake, i’d cry “mommy cut it off the kids are teasing me!”) on my head as a symbol that one day i would be “a mighty leader”….lol
seriously, they were like “that afro is symbolic because we named you Ahmir and Ahmir means King and to be a King you must have a crown and to lead you must be knowledgeable!”
and with that…Soul Train was about maybe one of 5 tv shows i was allowed to watch on tv. if it was educational pbs or some other similar program then i was allowed but mostly it was all about Soul Train.
and of course watching it as a baby i had no clue Don was trying to program the minds of an untainted generation. hell i don’t even know if HE knew the grand scheme of things. but somehow we rode each other to glory.
once the vcr age came to be, i started religiously recording all the episodes. and back when i became a signed artist i crafted MANY a Dear Santa letter asking if there is anyway possible i can see an episode or two from my childhood.
don’s people never answered me back.
then my 1st trip to japan came.
got off the plane and noticed a weird liking some of the natives were taking to me. and how they all in their weird communication was trying to say they like my “soul train style”.
puzzled i was like “how do yall know that?”
my translator then explained how Don syndicated 100 classic episod—–
that was ALL she had to say: we were in INSTANT “take me to these tapes NOW!!!” mode.
my translator was startled like “where’s the fire?!” but i had to explain to her ALL of my memories were locked inside this show. and because of my limited tv viewing all the thoughts were still fresh in my head.
it took her about 12 hours but she found someone willing to dub all 100 epi$ode$ for me.
after that i was a man on a mission from god.
and EVER since that day i carried those VHS tapes ANYWHERE i went.
why?
to school people.
my first student? D’angelo.
we had JUST started Voodoo and these Soul Train eps were proving to be a MIGHTY educational tool and a source of energy for us.
and day by day you saw and heard the results.
then i started sharing eps with Erykah and so on…
then this artist and so on…
and that artist and so on….
soon after once mini TB drives came into fashion i then started carrying around endless hardrives of Soul Train eps (i got about 400+) sharing with ANYONE within eyeshot a history of a people.
even my thursday night regular spot (Bowl Train at @brooklynbowl) is just an excuse for me to watch my all time favorite show on a movie screen.
Don has left a legacy behind that i will PERSONALLY carry on until i can’t carry anymore.
Soul Train to me is the GREATEST creation and inspiration of my life. i literally watch 5 eps a day just as mere background noise (the best roomate ever is a tv….this is why i cannot be a cat from brooklyn) i will NEVER EVER forget its powerful impact on education on pride on creativity on culture and on me.
i love you don.
love and peace.
Popularity: 7% [?]
- ….You are now listening to Araab Muzik….
Araab Muzik is a talented guy from my hometown. He’s produced a lot for Dip Set, especially Cam’ron and last year released an instrumental album called Electronic Dream that ended up on quite a few critic and artist best of lists. His sound is kind of interesting. A few years ago I probably wouldn’t have been into it, but the fact that American music has been taken over for David Guetta-style oonts and sparkle makes the fact that Araab Muzik somehow manages to incorporate and overpower that sound with hard drums and strip club high hats makes it that much more pleasurable to me. He’s also a barbarian on the MPC. See above.
Get him album off iTunes
Araab Muzik – Streetz Tonight
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
DOWNLOAD
right-click + save target as [windows] / save link as [mac]Popularity: 8% [?]
- Baby Beats Vol 2
Hot on the heels of holiday season, here is the second installment of Baby Beats, my mix series for 5′s and under. Like the first one, Baby Beats 2 is inspired by my nieces Natasha and Arielle and dedicated to kids and parents near and far.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
DOWNLOAD
right-click + save link as [mac] / save target as [windows]Popularity: 7% [?]
- Immortal Technique at Occupy Wall Street breaking it all the way down:
Bonus:
Immortal Technique – Industrial RevolutionAudio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
DOWNLOAD
[right-click + save target as [windows] / save link as [mac]Popularity: 8% [?]
- Let’s feel old and enjoy this cypher
from the BET awards, featuring Yelawolf, Joe Budden, Crooked I, Joell Ortiz, Royce da 5’9″, and Eminem.
Popularity: 8% [?]
- Things you would know about if we were friends on Facebook Part 4
…
31. This quote:
“You develop an instant global consciousness, a people orientation, an intense dissatisfaction with the state of the world, and a compulsion to do something about it. From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, ‘Look at that, you son of a bitch.’” — Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell32. This feature on art produced by inmates at Guantanamo Bay detention camp:
In pictures: The art of Guantanamo’s inmates
The paintings are on display in the jail’s library. Prisoners don’t have direct access to the facility, which houses 16,000 books in 18 languages. Instead, inmates can choose books from a list and guards deliver them. According to officials there, the most popular titles are Harry Potter books and the novels of Agatha Christie.
33. This jam that my friend Josh showed me:
Clams Casino – All I needAudio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
DOWNLOAD
right-click + save link as [mac] / save target as [windows]34. This inventory of things Americans say that British people don’t like:
Americanisms: 50 of your most noted examples24. People that say “my bad” after a mistake. I don’t know how anything could be as annoying or lazy as that. – Simon Williamson, Lymington, Hampshire
35. Amy Winehouse prior to:
The DL – Amy Winehouse ‘Valerie’ Live
36. A very good piece on how neo-con cynicism has done more damage to western society than multiculturalism, terrorism, or any other right wing boogieman could:
The biggest threat to Western values
By Tarak BarkawiChoice Quote:
Note for example the ways in which the great professional vocations of the West – lawyers, journalists, academics, doctors – have been co-opted and corrupted by bottom line thinking. Money and “efficiency” are the values by which we stand, not law, truth or health. Students are imagined as “customers”, citizens as “stakeholders”. Professional associations worry about the risk to their bottom line rather than furthering the values they exist to represent. Graduates of elite Western universities, imbued with the learning of our great thinkers, are sent off to corporations like News International. There they learn to shut up, obey, and collaborate in the dark work of exploitation for profit, for which they will be well rewarded, at least financially speaking.
37. This nostalgic clip:
I mentioned Prodigy and Nas in earlier installments. Here they are at the peak of their powers on Yo! MTV Raps…
38. An eye-opening visual essay on life in North Korea:
Inside North KoreaEarlier this year, David Guttenfelder, chief Asia photographer for the Associated Press, along with Jean H. Lee, AP bureau chief in Seoul, were granted unprecedented access to parts of North Korea as part of the AP’s efforts to expand coverage of the isolated communist nation. The pair made visits to familiar sites accompanied by government minders, and were also allowed to travel into the countryside accompanied by North Korean journalists instead of government officials. Though much of what the AP journalists saw was certainly orchestrated, their access was still remarkable. Collected here are some of Guttenfelder’s images from the trip that provide a glimpse of North Korea.
Students swim and play on a water slide at a pool facility at Kim Il Sung University in Pyongyang, North Korea, on April 13, 2011. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)39. This pamphlet, distributed among Egyptian revolutionaries this spring:
“How to Rebel Smartly” – Egyptian Non-Violent Protest ManualIt was the centerpiece of an exhibit on non-violent revolution design we made for the 2011 Gwangju Design Biennale. Translation by Abla Menouer.
40. This monster jam by the reigning princesses of K-Pop:
Girls’ Generation(소녀시대) – Genie(소원을말해봐)
To be continued…
Popularity: 4% [?]
- Things you would know about if we were friends on Facebook Part 3
…
20. A great piece on the role of corporate thinking in American government:
Naomi Klein on how corporate branding has taken over AmericaChoice Quote (one of many):
In short, Obama didn’t just rebrand America, he resuscitated the neoliberal economic project when it was at death’s door. No one but Obama, wrongly perceived as a new FDR, could have pulled it off.
21. This video from my favorite new artist of 2011:
Frank Ocean – NovacaneFRANK OCEAN [Novacane] from nabil elderkin on Vimeo.
22. A video in which a talented illustrator and former Secretary of Labor and breaks down the desperate state of the global economy:
The Truth About the Economy by Robert B Reich
23. This video of my favorite Congolese musician, dedicated to my friend Peter who’s living in Congo:
Franco TPOK – Kinshasa Mboka Ya Makambo
Some background, from the YouTube caption:
From Graeme Ewens’ “Congo Colossus”: “When Franco took the stage he appeared triumphantly alone in the spotlight at the top of some steps wearing a white lace boubou and weighing, as he later told the TV presenter, about 120 kilos. He sang, unaccompanied, a slow talking bolero-blues type song, “Kinshasa Mboka Ya MKambo” (Kinshasa, Town of Problems) in which he spoke directly to the receptive studio audience about his love for and fidelity to Kinshasa, the town of many problems, a town he would always love even though he was accused of deserting it for Europe, where people suspected he made his wealth by running drugs. It was the spectacular entry of a supremely confident star returning to his own people. He had the audience in his grasp as he descended the staircase, speaking out his feelings in a slow and soulful way before calling for the blue Gibson guitar and making that do the talking. Once esconced in the wrap-around sound of the complete TP OK Jazz, Franco played a stunner, lest the people of Kinshasa had forgotten whose town it was.”
24. My single favorite moment in my favorite live recording of all time.
Sam Cooke – Live At The Harlem Square Club, 1963 – Bring It On Home To Me
As I mentioned on FB: Had you come visit my old apt on Ave A in the year 1999 between the hours of 2 and 6 AM, I definitely would’ve blown your mind with this. 100%.
25. This highlight from the very good album Brothers:
The Black Keys – Too Afraid to love youAudio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
DOWNLOAD
right-click + save link as [mac] / save target as [windows]26. A long dreamed of collaboration that is probably 15 years too late, but good nonetheless:
Common + Nas – Ghetto Dreams
Common – Ghetto Dreams feat NAS by Nasir Jones27. An interesting and frustrating dialog between Julian Assange and Slavoj Zizek:
Democracy Now Special: Conversation w/ Assange & Zizek
Watch live streaming video from democracynow at livestream.com28. This!
Cheeky monkey! Macaque borrows photographer’s camera to take hilarious self-portraits
29. Another article about the corrosive effect of business school thinking on western society:
Driven off the Road by M.B.A.s
By Rana ForooharChoice Quote:
Despite all the post-financial-crisis soul searching within the business community about the value of an MBA, schools are still churning them out. There are, and will be, a lot more bean counters than engineers in this country. But the same may soon be true in China, where the state plans to open 40 new graduate schools of business in the next few years. As Lutz puts it, “That’s the best news I’ve heard in years.”
30. My favorite song sophomore year of high school. My friend Damon reminded me of it:
The Beatnuts – Do you believe?
To be continued…
Popularity: 4% [?]
- Things you would know about if we were friends on Facebook Part 2
…
11. This promotional video for my friend Uchenna’s compilation of Nigerian funk:
BRAND NEW WAYO: Funk, Fast Times and Nigerian Boogie Badness 1979-1983!
For preview tracks and lots more info click here. Buy it at Amazon, Dusty Groove, Sounds of the Universe, Turntable Lab, Juno, Tower, Best Buy, Light in the Attic, Rush Hour, or any other online store of your choice…
12. This extremely creepy video of a Predator drone attack simulation:
Inside a Drone Predator Strike:
I discovered this video while researching for an exhibit of Predator Drones. It’s a video made by Raytheon Corporation, a major US military contractor, to promote its Common Ground Control System (CGCS). The CGCS is hardware/software package that enables drone operators to conduct surveillance and execute strikes anywhere in the world, from the security of a military base in the US. Here is an excerpt from the company’s website:
Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) are improving how the United States and allies defend our way of life by conducting multiple reconnaissance and surveillance missions, delivering intelligence to those who need it when they need it for directing soldiers to their targets, enemy monitoring, situation assessment and border surveillance. Issues that impact UAS operations include procedural errors, ground station design, limited field of view and human factors. These problems have led to multi-million dollar UAS crashes and failed missions.
An open, common ground control station is the right solution and Raytheon is helping to shape the common approach to unmanned aerial vehicle management. The Raytheon Common Ground Control System (CGCS) is unique as the only ground control system where the United States government has full administration purpose rights to the common core UAS C2 software and interfaces. The government has the source code to the UAS framework, owns the open, documented interfaces and makes them readily available for vendors to adapt and compete to provide the latest innovative ideas and applications. CGCS is a revolutionary, next-generation control system designed to address UAS operations issues by enhancing the performance and effectiveness of the operator.
13. This excellent interview with Prodigy of Mobb Deep:
Prodigy, Rapper and Member of Mobb Deep: Interview on The Sound of Young AmericaThroughout the mid ’90s Prodigy was one of my favorite rappers and ‘The Infamous’, the album he made with his partner Havoc, is one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time, imo. At the time it dropped, New York hip hop was going through a rowdy, over the top phase, which involved a lot of wild, threatening hand gestures, horror movie references, and even a brief flirtation with slam dancing. Prodigy was the antithesis of all of that. His style was (and more or less remains) ice cold. His lyrics expressed a nihilism that was much scarier than anything California’s gangsta or NY’s horrorcore cartoons could come up with. Anyway, I also wondered about the life that produced Prodigy and this interview from the excellent Sound of Young America podcast provided more than I could have asked for. Click the link above for the transcript…
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
DOWNLOAD
right-click + save target as [windows] / save link as [mac]14. This sign o the times press release from the City of Forth Worth, (Don’t Mess With) Texas announcing the removal of the world Public from their public library:
They explain it:
The word “public” has been removed from the name of the Fort Worth Library. Why? Simply put, to keep up with the times. In today’s day and age, the word “public” implies a place that, at one time, might have been viewed as institutional and restrictive… By removing one word with a potentially negative connotation, the Library aims to appear more welcoming and accessible to all.
This is the extent of the anti-government madness that has taken over enormous parts of the United States. So no more public libraries in Ft Worth, but, as my friend James pointed out, the press release goes on to use the word public seven times to describe their programs.
15. This essay on education as the next Great American Bubble:
Faulty Towers: The Crisis in Higher Education
By William DeresiewiczChoice Quote:
What we have in academia, in other words, is a microcosm of the American economy as a whole: a self-enriching aristocracy, a swelling and increasingly immiserated proletariat, and a shrinking middle class. The same devil’s bargain stabilizes the system: the middle, or at least the upper middle, the tenured professoriate, is allowed to retain its prerogatives—its comfortable compensation packages, its workplace autonomy and its job security—in return for acquiescing to the exploitation of the bottom by the top, and indirectly, the betrayal of the future of the entire enterprise.
16. This worth a thousands words image of DSK lecherously lunging toward the First Lady:
Source: The IMF Flickr17. The death of Gil Scott Heron:
Gil Scott-Heron – Beginnings (The First Minute of a New Day)
Gil Scott-Heron, R.I.P.
By Greg TateChoice Quote:
‘We all kept saying “Why don’t he just ‘kick it quit it/ kick it quit it,’” but Gil, more cunning, wounded and defensive than any junkie born, kept pushing back harder, daring any of us to try and rationally answer his challenge to the collective’s impotencies and inadequacies: “You keep saying kick it, quit it/ God, but did you ever try?/ To turn your sick soul inside out/ So that the world, so that the the world /can watch you die?”‘
18. This jam I got from my friend Pete:
The Weeknd – What You Need Chopped And Screwed By Mike GAudio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
19. This reassuring study from a scientifically suspect but highly entertaining website:
Why Intelligent People Drink More Alcohol“The following graph shows the association between childhood intelligence (grouped into five “cognitive classes”: “very dull” – IQ < 75; "dull" - 75 < IQ < 90; "normal" - 90 < IQ < 110; "bright" - 110 < IQ < 125; "very bright" - IQ > 125) and the latent factor for the frequency of alcohol consumption. The latter variable is constructed from a large number of indicators for the frequency of alcohol consumption throughout adult life and standardized to have a mean of 0 and a standard deviation of 1.0. The data come from the National Child Development Study (NCDS) in the United Kingdom.”
20. A very nice mix that my friend Josh hipped me to:
The Perfect Lullaby Mix by NGUZUNGUZUTo be continued…
Popularity: 8% [?]
- Things you would know about if we were friends on Facebook Part 1
Sometime in April, shortly after I posted my FREE AI WEIWEI mix, my website was repeatedly hacked, injected with all sorts of bad things, and taken offline. I was super busy at the time and didn’t have time to get to bottom of how it happened or clean it up. So for the past 5 months or so I’ve been posting things that I would normally have put here on Facebook instead.
So now it’s October and I’ve finally got my site back. I five month lag in posts is a little embarrassing so I’m going to try to fill in the blank with a series of epic updates, which I will call “Things you would know about if we were friends on Facebook”.
Here they go – in reverse chronological order…
1. This amazing song about the interconnection of love and fantasy:
The Brothers of Soul – Dream
of which I became aware via
Big K.R.I.T. – Dreamin’
which can be found on K.R.I.T.’s unbelievably good, unbelievably free album Return of 4 Eva, which is available in both regular and chopped and screwed versions here.
Here’s the MP3
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
DOWNLOAD
right-click + save link as [mac] / save target as [windows]2. This collection of mind blowing monuments in decay:
25 Abandoned Yugoslavia Monuments that look like they’re from the Future
3. This beautiful illustration of Ai Weiwei by my friend Lok:
4. This performance of one of my favorite Johnnie Taylor songs:
Johnnie Taylor – Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day
5. This excerpt of a wicked Pixies show filmed at Town and Country Club, London 01/05/88 :
The Pixies – Levitate me / Ed is dead / Where is my mind?
This entire concert is on youtube and it is awesome.
It’s also repeatedly referenced in this excellent BBC doc about the band and their influence on Radiohead, Blur, etc.:
Part 1:
6. This pitch perfect Onion headline about Trump’s encouragement of birther stupidity:
Trump Unable To Produce Certificate Proving He’s Not A Festering Pile Of ShitFollowed shortly after by:
Obama Jokes About Birth Certificate Controversy
7. This clip of righteous, royal wedding-inspired anger on British talk radio:
8. This article supporting my long held suspicion that MBAs are monstrously overvalued and business school is basically a shell game:
The Management Myth
By Matthew StewartChoice Quote:
As a principal and founding partner of a consulting firm that eventually grew to 600 employees, I interviewed, hired, and worked alongside hundreds of business-school graduates, and the impression I formed of the M.B.A. experience was that it involved taking two years out of your life and going deeply into debt, all for the sake of learning how to keep a straight face while using phrases like “out-of-the-box thinking,” “win-win situation,” and “core competencies.”
9. This article (partially) about how by continuing to focus on Al Qaeda and jihad, America is missing the less dramatic, more fundamental pro-democracy movements taking place throughout the Muslim world:
Analysis: Killing the alibi
By Marwan BisharaChoice Quote:
But for the Muslim world, bin Laden has already been made irrelevant by the Arab Spring that underlined the meaning of peoples power through peaceful means.
10. This classic documentary about the application of psycho-analysis to marketing in post war America:
The Century Of The Self
Some background from the YouTube description:
To many in both business and government, the triumph of the self is the ultimate expression of democracy, where power is truly moved into the hands of the people. Certainly the people may feel they are in charge, but are they really? The Century of the Self by Adam Curtis tells the untold and controversial story of the growth of the mass-consumer society. How is the all-consuming self created, by whom, and in whose interest?
The Freud dynasty is at the heart of this compelling social history. Sigmund Freud, founder of psychoanalysis; Edward Bernays, who invented public relations; Anna Freud, Sigmund’s devoted daughter; and present-day PR guru and Sigmund’s great grandson, Matthew Freud. Sigmund Freud’s work into the bubbling and murky world of the subconscious changed the world. By introducing a technique to probe the unconscious mind, Freud provided useful tools for understanding the secret desires of the masses. Unwittingly, his work served as the precursor to a world full of political spin doctors, marketing moguls, and society’s belief that the pursuit of satisfaction and happiness is man’s ultimate goal.
Part 1-Happiness Machines:
Part one documents the story of the relationship between Sigmund Freud and his American nephew, Edward Bernays who invented ‘Public Relations’ in the 1920s, being the first person to take Freud’s ideas to manipulate the masses. He showed American corporations how they could make people want things they didn’t need by systematically linking mass-produced goods to their unconscious desires.Part 2-The Engineering of Consent:
Part two explores how those in power in post-war America used Freud’s ideas about the unconscious mind to try and control the masses. Politicians and planners came to believe Freud’s underlying premise that deep within all human beings were dangerous and irrational desires. They were convinced that it was the unleashing of these instincts that had led to the barbarism of Nazi Germany, and in response to this, they set out to find ways to control the masses so as to manage the ‘hidden enemy’ within the human mind.Part 3-There is a Policeman Inside All Our Heads, He Must Be Destroyed:
In the 1960s, a radical group of psychotherapists challenged the influence of Freudian ideas, which lead to the creation of a new political movement that sought to create ‘new people’, free of the psychological conformity that had been implanted in people’s minds by business and politics. This episode shows how this idea rapidly developed in America through “self-help movements”, into the irresistible rise of the expressive self: the Me Generation.Part 4-Eight People Sipping Wine in Kettering:
This episode explains how politicians turned to the same techniques used by business in order to read and manipulate the inner desires of the masses. Both New Labor with Tony Blair and the Democrats led by Bill Clinton, used the focus group which had been invented by psychoanalysts in order to regain power. Both set out to mold their policies to manipulate people’s innermost desires and feelings, just as capitalism had learned to do with products.To be continued…
Popularity: 7% [?]
- The Blog is Back Mini-Mix
VERY FEEL is back. To mark the occasion I planned to make a new mix. Sadly I haven’t had time, so instead here is a half mix that I made around the time Guru passed and never got around to finishing. Only 26 minutes, but worth posting I think. As Gza told us all those years ago, “Too many songs, weak rhymes that’s mad long; make it brief son, half short and twice strong.”
Expensive Jewelry – The Blog is Back
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
DOWNLOAD
right-click + save link as [mac] / save target as [windows]Tracklist
D’Angelo – Alright
Devin the Dude w/ Snoop & Andre 3000 – What a job
Drake w/ Trey Songs – Successful instrumental
Anthony Hamilton – Do you feel me?
Ann Peebles – Troubles, heartaches, and sadness
Bushwick Bill – Ever so clear
Gang Starr – In memory of…
Gang Starr – Ex to the next
Gang Starr – All for the ca$hPopularity: 4% [?]
- AI WEIWEI Freedom Mix
Last week on Facebook I asked my friends to dedicate songs to the jailed artist/activist Ai Weiwei. Many responded and the songs they posted expressed a mix of outrage, reassurance, appreciation, anger, and empathy. I promised I’d make a mix out them to keep the word alive. Here it is…
Expensive Jewelry – FREE AI WEIWEI
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
DOWNLOAD
right-click + ‘save link as’ (mac) / ‘save target as’ (windows)*If you have any trouble downloading from the link about try THIS LINK.
Compiled by:
Ralph Fortune, Lok Jansen, Marieke Rietbergen, Mietze Beej, Jochem Ruijgrok, Jeroen Koolhaas, Afaina de Jong, Damon Johnson, Bea Galilee, Reineke Otten, An Xiao Mina, Adrian Jevicki, Allister Slingenberg, Joshua Ellison, Farida Sedoc, Samir Bantal, Daniel Perlin, Uniek Mager, Nancy Krahe, James McGetrick, Mavis McGetrick…Tracklist
Friends and enemies intro – Malcolm X
Truth and rights – Johnny Osbourne
Liberation – Outkast, Ceelo, Erykah Badu, Big Rube
Get up stand up – Bob Marley and the Wailers
54-46 was my number – Toots and the Maytals
San Quentin – Johnny Cash
Freedom – Richie Havens
The revolution will not be televised – Gill Scott Heron
Unknown soldier 1&2 – Fela Kuti
Sonny’s lettah – Linton Kwesi Johnson
None of us are free – Solomon Burke
Doctor’s darling version – Seeed
Korruption – Junior Kelly
Blood money – Pablo Moses
Time has come today – The Chambers BrothersAi Weiwei vocals sampled from his TED Talk and PBS feature.
For the history and latest developments, check freeaiweiwei.org
Popularity: 7% [?]
- Black Tuesday Mix: Half Love
Songs of reluctance and regret by Bettye LaVette, Etta James, Sam Cooke, Ben E King, Deer Tick, Ann Peebles, Frankie Beverly, Arcade Fire, Arthur Lee & Love, Bonnie Prince Billie, Chocolate Genius, Larry Banks, Bilal, D’Angelo, Broken Social Scene, and so on and so forth.
This was originally supposed to be a kind of anti-Valentine’s Day mix about love lost, but I lost the plot half way through putting it together and decided to scrap it. My friend Jeroen just put out a superior Valentine’s Day mix called ‘Rappers need love too’. I’ve had that on repeat for the past couple of days and the pressure from it made me give this a second shot. Here it is. Hope you like.
Expensive Jewelry – Half Love
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
DOWNLOAD
right-click + ‘save link as’ [mac] / ‘save target as’ [windows]Tracklist
Deer Tick – Art isn’t real
Timmy Thomas – Why can’t we live together
Frankie Beverly & Maze – Joy and pain
Arcade Fire – Ocean of noise
Bettye LaVette – Let me down easy
Etta James – Almost persuaded
Sam Cooke – Lost and lookin’
Ben E King – It’s all over
Arthur Lee & Love – Signed DC
Bonnie Prince Billie – I see a darkness
Chocolate Genius – My mom
Larry Banks – I’m not the one
Bilal – How come you don’t call me anymore?
D’Angelo – Shit, damn, motherfucker
Broken Social Scene – Pitter patter goes my heart
Ann Peebles – I can’t stand the rain
OV Wright – Let’s straighten it out
Little Boy Blues – Seed of lovePopularity: 6% [?]
- New Mix: Capricorn Sound
A tribute mix to the hardest working sign in the zodiac. Nineteen ambitious, hard headed tracks by Capricorn champions past and present, mixed by birthday me.
Tracklist
The sweetest taboo – Sade [January 16]
Slow dance – John Legend [December 28]
No one else – Mary J Blige [January 11]
Let’s get drunk and screw – Jimmy Buffet [December 25]
Bad girls – Donna Summer [December 31]
Ashes to ashes – David Bowie [January 8]
Love is a battlefield – Pat Benetar [January 10]
Rapture – Blondie [Chris Stein, January 5]
I miss you – Aaliyah [January 16]
A woman’s threat – R Kelly [January 8]
Shine eye gal – Shabba Ranks [January 17]
Going back to Cali – LL Cool J [January 14]
Funkmaster Flex freestyle – Xzibit [January 18]
I’m a man – Bo Diddley [December 30]
Go back home – Allen Toussaint [January 14]
Suspicious minds – Elvis Presley [January 8]
I will always love you – Dolly Parton [January 19]
Maybe – Janis Joplin [January 19]
Free Money – Patti Smith [December 30]
When the levee breaks – Led Zeppelin [Jimmy Page, January 9]The Capricorn Sound – Expensive Jewelry [January 7]
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
DOWNLOAD
right-click + ‘save link as’ (mac) / ‘save target as’ (windows)Popularity: 6% [?]
- Beautiful Dark Twisted Houston Fantasy
Man alive. I’ve been holding off on getting the new Kanye album (despite the many rave reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) because I’ve got a bunch of work to do and don’t want to get too distracted. But a couple of days ago, on recommendation of my friend Robin, I downloaded a chopped and screwed version called ‘MY BEAUTIFUL TWISTED DARK HOUSTON FANTASY’ and, man, it is Goddamn amazing and now I don’t know if I can even listen to the original version.
It’s the full album maestroed by DJ Candlestick and hosted by future mayor of Houston OG Ron C. You can get the whole glorious thing free HERE, but here’s a sample:
Kanye West w/ Pusha T – Runaway (Chopped & Screwed)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
DOWNLOAD
right-click + ‘save link as’ [mac] / ‘save target as’ [windows]I posted the original a little while ago. Here is it again for comparison:
Kanye West w/ Pusha T – Runaway
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Besides the obvious chopping and screwing a couple other great songs are mixed into the Candlestick version. Here they are too…
Outkast – Elevators
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Cam’ron w/ Kanye West – Down and out
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
DOWNLOAD
(Love to Rotterdam where I rinsed the hell out of this song…)Music.
Popularity: 5% [?]
