living days: somebody else.

dl: LIVING DAYS - Somebody Else (Z)

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I'd like to tell you more about Living Days, but I simply don't have much to work with. Apparently the lead singer used to be in this band. They seem to have some sort of affiliation with Tha Pumpsta, Mirror Mirror, White Williams, Man Man, and Bunny Rabbit + Black Cracker. Evidence seems to point out that they've played a few shows with Tha Pumpsta, and they'll be playing together again this weekend at the OS Arthouse (La di Da di Rock da Party, as mentioned in my last post). This show happens to coincide with National Coming Out Day, so at least we know that they're totally cool with gays and if you don't like that you can stop reading this blog, like, now. Oh, I think they also like ghosts.

I couldn't quite figure out what "Somebody Else" reminded me of, so I asked my co-pilot in love, GPK. The answer: the second coming of the Sneaker Pimps (see "Bloodsport" particularly). I can totally agree with this description, given that both "Bloodsport" and "Somebody Else" simultaneously stress me out and make me want to dance a little. Only a little. We both agreed that the vocals were slightly reminiscent of The Cure, but let's not talk about the fact that they're still making music and pretend this is their second coming too.

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BONER TRACK: LIVING DAYS - Go Oblivion (Z)

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- SPACE IT -

benni e: la di da di rock da party.

dl: BENNI E. - Take These Girls To Church (Z)

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I try to stay away from metablogging about the status of this blog, but an unannounced September hiatus was necessary in the ITMS!! universe. Sorry yall, now we're back...

You may remember Philadelphia rapper Benni E. from a lil ol' post I wrote in April, and now she's gearing up for her NYC debut tomorrow night at the Original Sessions Art House (17 John Street, between Broadway & Nassau). She'll be on at 10PM as part of the band/DJ series La di Da di Rock da Party, hosted by Shunda K of Yo Majesty. This week's party will be a listening session for Yo Majesty's Futuristically Speaking...Never Be Afraid, featuring an eclectic set of performers-- Benni, Old Money Crew, The Vanguard, and Elza. The October 11th line-up is not something to miss with Leif , Bunny Rabbit + Black Cracker, Boy Crisis, Tha Pumpsta, Black Peter Group, Living Days, Stay High, and Leb Laze.

But forget about the party! Well, don't forget about it...go to it. Let's pay attention to the audio in this post. "Take These Girls To Church", affectionately known as "Girls 2 Church", is a cut from Benni E.'s debut mixtape Microphone Influenza. Unlike "Call Me Daddy" or any of the songs you may have heard on I Wanna Fuck Dirty Harry or terf- work, Benni's flow on this track departs from her usual hard-edged faster flow to deliver us from evil in a sing-songy manner. It's a perfect blend of critical, political, and playful. When I saw Benni open for Yo Majesty and Does It Offend You, Yeah? at Johnny Brenda's, the crowd broke out into some church-inspired dances, spinning in circles with their hands in the air testifying. Swagger, charisma...whatever you want to call it. Benni's got it. She's been recording some incredible new material, and I've heard rumors of a new mixtape being in the works. YESSS.

Oh, and remember that time I erroneously posted DJ Orion's remix of Yo Majesty's "Booty Clap" as the original? The tune, actually produced by Basement Jaxx, has been making the rounds lately. Check it below if you haven't already. Reminder: Futuristically Speaking...Never Be Afraid, the debut full-length of Yo Majesty, is now streaming on the space. I'm proud of the girls for finally getting that album out, though a little sad about some tracks that became casualties along the way.

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BONER TRACK: YO MAJESTY - Booty Clap (Z)

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- SPACE IT -

leif: cruz ctrl (demo).

dl: LEIF - CRUZ CTRL (demo) (Z)

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I'm sure most of you don't keep tabs on the blogroll here, and that makes sense. I can hardly keep up with all those blogs myself, you know? With that said, I'd like to direct your attention to a little ol' blog called terf- work. He caught my attention when I saw that he posted a rip of Leif's "CRUZ CTRL", and kept my attention when I realized that he also wrote about the lovely Benni E. In general, the blog's got some great energy for being relatively new and occasionally there's some bad-ass custom-made album artwork. Coincidentally, the blogger happens to be the little brother of one of my acquaintances in Philly, but is it okay if I adopt him as my little blogbrother?

Blog-love festival aside, Leif's "CRUZ CTRL" may just be a demo, yet it's pretty much the best thing that's been posted here, like, ever. Okay, possibly an overstatement, but this is a fucking jam. Until I had a rip, I would visit Leif's page on the space nearly ten times to get geeked up listening to it. And as much as I try to stick to blogger ethics and not post too many things that aren't available for download, this needs to get into as many ears as possible.

Also, be sure to check out the remixes of "Black Magic" and "Timbs" by Stay High, The Touch, Ian Johnson, and KEUKENGEREI.

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BONER TRACK: LEIF - Little Bit (Lykke Li cover) (Z)

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- SPACE IT - HYPE IT -

passion pit: audience critique.

dl: PASSION PIT - Live To Tell The Tale (Live Studio) (Z - YSI)
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Passion Pit have been getting hyped up the ass hardcore recently, and I have nothing new to say about them right now. Their show at Pianos was pretty spectacular, and I highly recommend checking them out on the 20th or 27th if you're in NYC (particularly if you like dancing in crowded rooms where no one else is dancing). Sound Bites has a review of the show, along with a video of the band performing "Sleepyhead" and "Smile Upon Me". I took a different approach to reviewing the show and took this opportunity to write my first post on AUDIENCE CRITIC.

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french horn rebellion: up all night.

dl: FRENCH HORN REBELLION - Up All Night (Z - YSI)
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I don't really know where I stand on French Horn Rebellion yet. I'm usually a sucker for cute electro-pop jams, and "Up All Night" certainly fits that description. It's even got a cute little video that's borderline cute-obnoxious. Therein lies my problem with French Horn Rebellion. It's almost cute overload, and I'm not talking about no interspecies snorgling. As a rule, I only allow cute electro-pop jams to last no more than 4 minutes (with some exceptions). Clocking in at 4:14, "Up All Night" is a rulebreaker. But it's so damn catchy that it may just be one of those exceptions.

French Horn Rebellion is a duo composed of brothers Robert and David Perlick-Molinari. Robert is majoring in French horn, which I didn't even realize people could major in. David produces shit in New York, notably MGMT's Time To Pretend EP. They're going on tour and all my NYC-heads should mark their calendars for September 12th @ Lit Lounge. Speaking of New York, they also did a remix of Brooklyn duo This Is Ivy League's "London Bridges", which may or may not be better than the original. I'll let you decide since I didn't put on my decision-face this morning.

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BONER TRACK: THIS IS IVY LEAGUE - London Bridges (French Horn Rebellion remix) (Z - YSI)
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BONER TRACK II: THIS IS IVY LEAGUE - London Bridges (Z - YSI)
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- BUY IT - SITE IT - SPACE IT - HYPE IT -

sensual harassment: carnal spirits.

dl: SENSUAL HARASSMENT - Carnal Spirits (YSI)
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I'll admit it. When I posted "Mirror" a few months ago, I wasn't sure whether Sensual Harassment would ever appear on this blog again. At the time, I wasn't really sure what direction their sound was heading towards, and confession number two---I'm still not sure.

While I referred to "Mirror" as being "on the verge of power-dance-emo", their new tune sounds like Afrika Bambaataaa meeting up with Daft Punk for some watermelon lemonade. Listening to them back to back, I thought I'd struggle to recognize it's the same band, yet the instrumentation is consistent enough for the two songs to flow into one another. Compare these two tunes to "The Journey Has Merely Begun". Huh? WTF? It's somehow consistent but it's not! I don't know where these guys are going or where they've been, but I can't wait to hear them once they reach their final destination.

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- SPACE IT - HYPE IT -

hell yup!: saucy feets @ monkeytown.

HELL YUP!: Saturday 06.07.08
@ Midnight:30
MySpace Is a DJ Too: From ANORAAK to Z¹iz¹ek
@ MonkeyTown (backroom)
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If you're up for a little dancing and disorientation this weekend, please join me as I celebrate my UNBIRTHDAY tomorrow in Brooklyn. It will also be the release party for Saucy Feets (pictured above), the must have foot-accessory for this summer. Let's party together in the IRL!

sensual harassment: mirror.

dl: SENSUAL HARASSMENT - Mirror (YSI)

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I don't know diddly-hoo about John Barclay or Todd Thomas (The Fashion Brigade, Emergency Broadcast System), but I certainly do enjoy "Mirror", a song from the Brooklyn duo's latest project Sensual Harassment. I was first drawn to them by their photos on the space, in which the members' faces are consistently hidden behind two animal masks-- a pig and a crocodile/alligator (?). I'd be disappointed if I found out they perform without these costumes. Because the world needs more animals that rock.

The rocking on this song is on the verge of power-dance-emo, which somehow doesn't make me feel shameful. Even the vocals are slightly Conor Oberst-like, making me really wonder why I don't feel shameful. I don't know if their album has been officially released yet, but they worked on it with a dude who worked with The Cure and a dude that worked with Snoop Dogg. Drop it like it's hot hot hot!

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the lady tigra & mc lyte: they stole my radio.

dl: THE LADY TIGRA f/ MC LYTE - They Stole My Radio (YSI)
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I forgot to mention before that my weekend involved a trip to The Pink Tea Cup, a restaurant that once propelled Whoopi Goldberg to say "Honey, come get some of this food, it's good y'all." And while I'd say that you'd be an April FOOL to not take Whoopi's endorsement seriously, I must admit the food was nowhere near as exciting as the mere possibility that I was sitting in the same seat as some of hip-hop's most influential ladies. Mary J. Blige! Queen Latifah! MC Lyte!*

And this awkward segue leads me to The Lady Tigra's solo album Please Mr. Boombox. For those who are unfamiliar, The Lady Tigra is half of the Miami-Bass duo L'Trimm (known mostly for their hit "Cars That Go Boom"). For those who are familiar, can you explain why so many of the bloggers who posted "Bass On The Bottom" neglected to mention that motherfuckin' MC Lyte brought it on (all or nothing) by contributing a verse to Tigra's album? I guess I have to make up for their mistakes.**

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- BUY IT - SPACE IT - HYPE IT -
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* One of my new favorite blogs Mixtape Maestro Presents: 90's R&B Junkie has Brandy's "I Wanna Be Down" remix, which features both Queen Latifah and MC Lyte.
** Except for you Arjan.

city opera is the new mgmt.

I had a rather cultural weekend. My eyes and ears were exposed to both Tyler Perry's Meet The Browns and New York City Opera's production of Giacomo Puccini's Madama Butterfly. And while Angela Bassett didn't kick her triflin' baby father in the balls, I did get to witness Cio-Cio San laying the beat-down on her maid Suzuki and Goro the matchmaker...shortly before she committed ritual suicide. And to think that some people call the opera boring!

Once you get through the background and lame dudes singing in Act I, Butterfly makes it rain flowers! And as Kanye West said that "A little rain never hurt no strippers", I say that a little rain never hurt no Cio-Cio. In fact, as the swirling petals mingled with the music, I wanted to believe just as much as Cio-Cio that Pinkerton was coming home. I felt myself on stage frolicking about in my three-year old bridal garments and dressing my son Sorrow in an American-flag robe that The New York Times would call silly. I felt it all. The hope. The desperation. The waiting...

And then the morning after. Not only did my triflin' baby father leave me for three years to go nuzzle up with some white chick, but now they want to go all Rumplestiltskin and steal my baby! I can't go for their guilt-free exotification and enjoyment of my mixed-race child. Sure. You can take away my baby, but I'm going to take away my life. This Butterfly ain't gonna fly no more!

Now that's what I call catharsis-- the type of catharsis that Angela Bassett just can't deliver. There may be a possibility that you too can indulge in the Cio-Cio experience...but I've been told that Candide presents your best chances of pretending to be cultured and classy like me. Upcoming performances:

• Madama Butterfly, Giacomo Puccini: Running until April 6th (details)
• Falstaff, Giuseppe Verdi: Running until April 5th (details)
• Tosca, Giacomo Puccini: Running until April 5th (details)
• Candide, Leonard Bernstein: April 8-April 20 (details)
  

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But City Opera aren't the only folks throwing a party! Now that I can let go of my college memories and let MGMT get popular, I feel a need to notify you faithful readers (all two of you?) that they'll be performing in NYC on April 8th at the closing night party of the Gen Art Film Festival. Check the deets, check two rare older tracks recorded before I was legal below, and then check them performing LIVE on April 8th.

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dl: MGMT - Just Becuz (YSI)
dl: MGMT - Kids (Afterschool Extended Dance Megamix) (YSI)
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- BUY IT - SITE IT - SPACE IT - WIK IT - HYPE IT -

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BLOGGER NOTE: Though I missed my opportunity to catch the "deeply moving" performance of Shu-Ying Li as Cio-Cio, I did get to send my friend this ultra-creepy video directly from the New York State Theater.

city opera is the new crystal castles.

I had the pleasure of attending the final New York City Opera performance of King Arthur, directed and choreographed by Mark Morris. If you're familiar with Mr. Morris (I'm totally uncultured and wasn't at all until Saturday), you could gather that this wasn't a "traditional" performance. John Dryden's libretto was entirely omitted, leaving nothing but the Henry Purcell score. As a result, the typically four hour-long production lasted less than half the amount of time.

If you expected a plot, you were out of luck. There were no actual "characters", no actual story. It can easily be explained by this quote from Morris himself-- "The setting is the stage. The time is now. The performers are themselves." And by easily, I mean that I probably need to do more explaining. Morris organized King Arthur as a pageant, a trail of tiny numbers that would be quite disorienting if you weren't familiar with the original story. There was a sense of something missing at times, but the sense didn't get any stronger than when you realized that one seemingly important element was completely absent-- the title character. King Arthur himself was represented by a large prop crown.

Not weird enough for you? Well maybe you'd get a kick out of the simulated sex on stage, which provoked one audience member to yelp out a hearty "BOO". Or maybe you'd prefer the random presence of a giraffe, duck, cheetah, and flamingo? When asked about their presence, Morris replied, "They're there for no reason whatsoever". I admittedly love this quote, but leaned towards liking the idea of the production a lot more than the actual experience of watching it. I enjoyed it... but had I entered the theater knowing what to expect, I think I would have been able to separate myself from my expectations attached to the idea of "opera".

The upcoming productions by City Opera shouldn't bring up such issues as this. If you'd like to pretend to be cultured and classy like me, I strongly recommend visiting their site for more details and to purchase tickets! Upcoming productions include:

• Madama Butterfly, Giacomo Puccini: March 6-April 6 (details)
• Falstaff, Giuseppe Verdi: March 19-April 6 (details)
• Tosca, Giacomo Puccini: March 22-April 5 (details)
• Candide, Leonard Bernstein: April 8-April 20 (details)
  

And for no other reason than the fact that they were included in the title of this post, I present a remix of Crystal Castles by LingLing, featuring vocals by ITMS!! fave gidgetsparks. It's a repeat, but a goodie.

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dl: CRYSTAL CASTLES f/ GIDGETSPARKS - Air War (LingLing remix) (YSI)
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BLOGGER NOTE: The above doodle is a stylization of a photograph of Mhairi Lawson appearing on the playbill for this production of King Arthur.

hell yup: good friday fun.

Remember. Jesus didn't die for your sins so you couldn't dance. So get ready for good times this Good Friday at Boulevard Tavern (579 Meeker Ave, map it)! With $5 all you can eat burgers, franks, and tots, you'll recall that the Lord may have left you...but he hasn't left you hungry! If you can't make it, here's a little sample of what you'll be missing out on...

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dl: HELL YUP - HONEY00RAIN (YSI)

-- DMX Krew - Honey
-- Vashti Bunyan - Come Wind Come Rain

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dl: HELL YUP - MADMUSIC (YSI)

-- Goblin (feat. Missy) - Tenebre (Hell Yup Pass That Shadow Remix)
-- Justice (Feat. M.I.A.) - Phantom (Hell Yup Bucky Done Died Remix)
-- Dan Deacon - Big Big Big Big Big

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dl: INDETERMINACYPART1 (YSI)

-- (Robert Ashley -> John Cage -> Robert Ashley) + Live-coded Beats
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- SITE IT -

inflowential: caged bird.

dl: INFLOWENTIAL - Caged Bird (YSI)
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Raleigh, NC may not be the first place you think of when it comes to blossoming underground hip-hop acts, eh? In fact, when I first heard "NC Shit" (a North Carolina variation of Busta Rhymes' "New York Shit") it was just as odd as falling upon a "CT Shit" shoutout to Bridgeport while listening to Hartford's Power 104.1. I don't know why a Raleigh anthem threw me for a loop. I mean, it's not as if I hadn't heard of Inflowential and the Kooley High crew. My friend Crystal tried to put me up on them ages ago, but I wasn't really hearing them until she forwarded me an invitation to their show at the John Street Bar & Grill. The e-mail's subject heading was not a suggestion, but a demand-- "We're going to this." And go I went.

Upon stepping into the performance space, I got worried. A crew of three guys stood on stage "rapping" over Daft Punk. Now I love me some Daft Punk, but if you ain't gonna have any flow over it...don't flow over it. Just because Kanye and Busta did it*, doesn't mean that you can. Also, can someone please explain this Daft Punk sampling trend? Even Janet Jackson and her people jumped on the bandwagon by sampling Homework's "Daftendirekt" on her new album Discipline. This is going too far. Are Daft Punk hip-hop's new James Brown?

Rant aside, I needed some Jack Daniels in my system after that experience. And then Inflow took the stage, and all that tension disintegrated. Charlie Smarts and Tab-One on the mic, Bender on bass, Kyle Phelps on guitar, DJ IllDigitz on (er) DJ stuff, and A-did on vocal percussion. Yes, vocal percussion. I'm talking real beatboxing, not some Blake-Lewis-college-a-cappella-group shit. Think Rahzel, and you'll probably get an idea why so much of the Inflow press is littered with comparisons to The Roots.

Their live show is not one to miss, as you can't get a glimpse of how impressive the group is by solely listening to the recordings. Their command on an audience was particularly impressive on "We Get Down". Having never seen the group before, I found myself joining in with the veteran fans as they bent their knees and got "down". While the mood may have gotten stale during a string of slower songs, Inflow was ready to bring the crowd back up with an energetic jam.

Speaking of energetic jams, I have unconditional love for a currently unrecorded tune that could be referred to as "One-conditional". The song plays on gender roles, as the two male MCs complain about a girl (or girls) who only wants them for their bodies. It maintains a level of hip-hop machismo by presenting a "damn, I'm so hot and chicks want me" attitude but spices it up with sensitivity and vulnerability. It makes them infinitely more likable, and makes it clear that they're not just spitting lies on the Evolutionary Process EP's "Love Is".

This EP is the first release from the group, available for free download on their site. And whether the EP's "Caged Bird" is a nod to Maya Angelou or a song inspired by a trip to the Raleigh-Durham Caged Bird Society, it holds a place as one of the standout tracks. Accompanied by Blu Thompson on saxophone and a soothing bass line, Charlie Smarts and Tab-One deliver a message of hope that wouldn't serve as a bad choice for Barack Obama's campaign.

Experience the hope, love, and nodding heads live this Friday March 14th at Blaggard's Pub & Restaurant (8 W. 38th Street, NYC).

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BONER TRACK: KOOLEY HIGH - NC Shit (YSI)
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- BUY IT - SITE IT - SPACE IT - SPACE IT -

big bang tv & the rowboats: live in outer space.

dl: BIG BANG TV - send/receive (YSI)
dl: THE ROWBOATS - Eyes Closed (YSI)
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Okay, okay. I guess Bushwick isn't really outer space, but if you're looking for something to do in the NYC area tonight...you should check out Big Bang TV, The Rowboats, The Creature DJs, and DJ Mangoose. They'll be venturing on a mission to move "your hearts, minds, and (occasionally your) butts" at Don Pedro (map it) @ 8PM tonight. $3 beers will be provided ALL NIGHT LONG.

I can attest that my heart, mind, and butt was moved quite often when I last saw Big Bang TV at Europa. As I looked around, I noticed many feet that were moved to tap, many heads were moved to nod. I even noticed Matt's "I Fucked Jack White" t-shirt. You know? Because he was wearing it when he played. You too can notice things like this. But not until you go to this show tonight. Plus, if you pretend hard enough...maybe Bushwick will feel like outer space, no?

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-BUY IT - SITE IT - SPACE IT -

she said she liked kurt cobain and montell occasionally.

Now usually I don't do this but uh...I've felt the need to write a little bit about my life and adventures in NYC. It totally has to do with music. I swear.

A few days ago, I was on the subway and I noticed this man staring at me. I know, right? He was totally gay for me! Or so I thought...As he gets up at the Union Square stop, I am 100% convinced that he is going to hit on me. He leans forward in my direction, squints, and says:

"Dude, you look so much like Kurt Cobain that it's SICK. I was trying to figure out the whole ride why you looked so familiar. That's some crazy shit."

I don't know what the hell he was talking about. Dude was totally dumb. Or maybe just happy?

Here we are now!

I took this photo as a demonstration of what that man was seeing. I clearly am not smiling because the only people who smile on the subway are drunk white girls and probably Bob, the Enzyte guy.

BTW: The title of this post is totally a reference to this song, which is one of the first cassingles I ever owned. UGGGH!

gidgetsparks: rubberband handz.

GIDGETSPARKS will be performing at the CA$$ETTE NYC party (Thursday, August 23rd). I think she is awesome. Not only does she make beautiful art, but she also makes amazing music about dinosaurs, lobsters, and her awesomeness (which was very convincing given that I think that she is awesome).

"Invertebrate, let's go out on a date. Sweet to meet you, but now I gots to eat you."

Am I the only person who thinks that is amazing? Because I do. Coincidentally, I've also been co-writing a song about lobsters. Strange coincidence? Maybe, but I have a feeling that people are so tired with the current state of hip-hop that they want to rap about new things-- like lobsters. And why not? Shooting bitches and dealing drugs is so 1990s.

d/l: GIDGETSPARKS- rubberband handz (YSI)
d/l: GIDGETPARKS- guffawguffaw (YSI)
(Brooklyn electro-hop)
- space it -

hell yup.

I wouldn't normally post about shows, but has potential to be a life-changing experience.

Leif + PdL + Old Gold = HELL YUP

rihanna: performance @ gramercy theater.

"It's great to be bad! I love being bad. Good is boring. You should be bad."

"Before a show, I usually just drink tea. Me and everybody, we get in a circle, all the dancers, the whole entire band...we hold hands and we just say a big prayer before we go out and we usually have a great show when we do that."

-- Rihanna, web interview after her appearance on TODAY show (link)

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A few days before attending Rihanna's free show at New York's Gramercy Theater yesterday, I came across the above video. From the beginning of this album's promotion, I found the idea of Rihanna being "bad" to be laughable. I mean, for god's sake! The girl drinks tea and prays before she goes on stage. If she were actually bad, she'd drink a handle of whiskey and kick some orphans. The only thing I expected to be "bad" about yesterday's performance was the performance itself. Rihanna isn't necessarily known for her impeccable vocal performance and ease of movement on stage.

Apparently Rihanna's not known for her punctuality either. While the doors opened at 8PM, the show didn't begin until a little before 10PM. I guess her tea took a very long time to steep. Fans didn't seem to mind the late entrance, as a select few sang along and waved their complimentary Rihanna umbrellas (courtesy of the Totes brand) as several DefJam releases blared over the speakers before the performance. At approximately 9:15PM a man in a suit emerged from backstage. A lot of people started cheering, and I had no idea why. Was he the opening act? No. Given that Sprint sponsored the event, he was giving out a free Sprint Upstage to one lucky fan*.

When the lights on the stage came down, the rest of the unlucky fans went crazy. When the lights came up, the crowd went even crazier. The band started with a short reinterpretation of Rihanna's first single "Pon de Replay" performed by her two back-up singers. This led into the pop/R&B star's first number one hit "S.O.S." Rihanna entered in a short poofy black & white dress**. She was accompanied by four dancers in black-- two male, two female. The choreography for this number was remarkably well-done, so much that it added to the performance without distracting the viewer or seeming like it was overcompensating for something that wasn't there vocally.

Now that I've mentioned vocals, I should say that Rihanna sounded much better than expected. In fact, she sounded remarkable. I say "remarkable" in the sense that if you can appreciate the unique nasal, robotic quality of her recorded voice, you could appreciate it live. There seemed to be little or no use of backing tracks, which can't be said of all pop artists (I'm looking at you Lindsay, Ashlee, and Britney). Beyond her vocal improvements, Rihanna seems to have improved as a performer. It's as if DefJam sent her to a modern-day equivalent of Berry Gordy Jr.'s Motown charm school. Her movement quality and facial expressions left us believing that the mechanical voice was accompanied by a genuine human persona with true feelings.

This emotional quality was demonstrated exquisitely on the next song in her set, the heart-wrenching ballad "Unfaithful". Rihanna began the song with minimal instrumentation, sitting on a stool without her dancers on the stage. The initial energy on this song could send chills down your spine. But as the band began to swell instrumentally and the song went on...the energy died. Rihanna had a tendency to overperform on this song. Her face scrunched up as if she wasn't the "murderer", but rather the murdered. The presentation almost got campy at points, as she resorted to tapping her perfectly-styled bob on the line "bullet to the head" and dropping her head for a long pause before uttering the closing line "...a murderer".

As if teasing the crowd, the band began to play Rihanna's second single off of Good Girl Gone Bad, "Shut Up and Drive". Rihanna interrupted. She took this moment to congratulate herself on having an international number one single and thanked her fans for making it happen (blah blah). She told people to buy her album (blah blah). And then she yelled at a few people who didn't raise their hands when she asked who bought the album (blah blah). There was some sass and attitude in the way that she spoke when doing this, to the point that I may have actually thought she was "bad" for a second. And you know she loves being bad.

"Shut Up And Drive" has to be my least favorite song on the album. I'm no elitist when it comes to pop music, but all I can say is that it's pure pop drivel. The metaphors and similes comparing her body to an automobile are overboard and cliche. I really can't take it, and the sample of New Order's "Blue Monday" doesn't help it at all. However, I have to give Rihanna's band a huge amount of kudos for filling the venue with a driving (no pun intended) amount of sound. The live version of this song is exceedingly more compelling than the recording. Rihanna could have easily remained stationary on the stage and looked like a true rock star***. Despite that, the four dancers ran in with chairs, surrounding Rihanna and performing mechanical movements around her as if she were a car. Needless to say, these movements appeared more forced than the lyrics, encouraging the viewer to focus way too much on the visual elements when the power of the song was in the aural elements.

The final song in the evening's set was a lackluster version of "Umbrella". Once again, the back-up dancers proved to be unnecessary, moving in uninteresting ways with some umbrellas. The performance could have benefited from taking a cue from the video's minimal choreography. Despite it's shortcomings, there was no way to hate this finale overall. Rihanna, the band, and the back-up singers rocked this. HARD. There were even points in the song where a smile crept onto her face, leading us to believe that she might actually *GASP* be having fun.

It was easier to hate Rihanna after she announced that "Umbrella" would be the final song of the evening, but hey...what do you expect for free? A few resentful audience members took posters home with them after tearing them off the wall. For some reason, this must have made them feel better.

Despite a number of hits under her belt, Rihanna is hardly a household name at this moment in time. If I learned anything from seeing this performance, it's that she's about to be. She is the new archetype for a futuristic R&B dance-rock star. I suppose this could be considered an overstatement, but I truly believe it. Good Girl Gone Bad can easily please a hip-hop, club, R&B, or pop-rock audience, which was evident in the diverse group of folks who showed up for the show. The amazing part about this is that Rihanna hasn't even came close to her potential yet. Perhaps a few gulps of tea and a few ounces of praise will help her get there...

* The lucky fan was me. It was actually kind of embarrassing.
** The dress she wore was the same as in the image above, courtesy of rihannapictures.org.
*** By true rock star, I mean true rock star with very little charisma.

d/l: RIHANNA- Umbrella (Divide & Kreate remix) (YSI)
(electro-rock remix of pop single)
- buy it - site it - space it - hype it - wik it / site it - space it -

copperpot: come back home.

COPPERPOT, born Daniel Kuypers, is a Chicago hip-hop producer. He produces what some people call "real hip-hop". I just call it hip-hop. Either way, it's all good.

The latest Copperpot album, WYLA? (What're You Looking At?), marks the first time that Kuypers has pulled in outside musicians to bring his music to life.

WYLA? also boasts two original songs featuring one of "the greatest rappers to hold the mic" KRS-One. "Come Back Home" is the lead track of the album, in which KRS-One states, "Hip-hop, I think it's time for you to come back home". It arguably comes off as grumpy and didactic as the last release from Nas, but...well, there's something a bit more organic about his verses. He closes the song by saying, "Don't be afraid to come back home". I'd like to support this message, but I'm not sure if Hip-hop knows where to find it's home. I'm not even sure if KRS-One knows where Hip-hop's home is. And if he does, he certainly didn't deliver the address in this song. Also, where did Hip-hop go that it needs to come back home? Why is it afraid to come home? I'm confused, but it's a good confusion. KRS-One has me thinking. And I think that's his point...sort of. Hip-hop isn't making us think like we used to. Knowledge Reigns Supremely Over Nearly Everyone. In the world of hip-hop, knowledge isn't reigning anymore, and KRS-One has every reason to be pissed.

Beyond the music, Kuypers is an intriguing individual. From 2000-2003 he spun records with the Phonograph Scientists, suffering from terrible stage-fright and anxiety. In 2005, he started a small gig in Chicago which soon became large. Apparently fans would approach him and say things like, "Hey man, I am going to sit right here and watch you deejay." This still scared the shit out of him, and my assumption is that it probably would still scare the shit out of him.

If you're in New York City and you'd like to hear Copperpot play some tunes, be sure to check him out at Shebeen (located in Soho, 202 Mott St. btw Spring & Kenmare) tomorrow night (May 15, 2007). Have a listen, but be sure not to scare the shit out of him.

d/l: COPPERPOT f/ KRS-ONE- Come Back Home (YSI)
d/l: COPPERPOT f/ ANG13- Ain't Goin' Down (YSI)
(Two Chicago hip-hop tracks)
- buy it - site it - space it -

BLOGWATCH: Deaf Indie Elephants has a new tune by the Go! Team. That's all that matters to me right now.

lil mama: lip gloss

download: LIL MAMA- Lip Gloss (YSI)
(16 year old hip-hop chick)
- site it - space it - hype it -

Discobelle posted about Lil Mama a looong time ago (this is internet time so this was probably a few of hours ago or something). In all seriousness, I heard this track yesterday on Frankie Banks' space. I really have him to thank for my unhealthy obsession with this song. Seriously. Now that I've become a self-proclaimed "dance enthusiast", I am going to have to hook this shit up with some cray-cray choreography. In other news, Lil Mama is going to be working with Swizz Beatz and several other high profile producers for her upcoming album. I really can't wait to hear her flow on some Swizzy.