“We’re as mad as hell, and we’re not going to take this anymore” Howard Beale in Network

Imagine my surprise when my usually dormant direct message column on twitter suddenly shows not one, not two, but three tersely worded messages from Peter King of Sports Illustrated. What could possibly rankle this professional’s ire so much?

Well I took him to the woodshed in regards to his harsh reporting on Chicago Bears defensive end Julius Peppers. He’s called him overrated and reported various players questioning his “love” for the game.

The irony is the treatment of Julius was actually a sidenote to a larger point I was making.

The (mostly white) sports media makes a habit of reporting negatively on players like Julius Peppers and Randy Moss who they deem as “lazy” and not living up to their potential. They also relish reporting negatively on outspoken and brash players like Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens. With the exception of a marijuana charge in Randy Moss’s dossier, these players are generally well regarded in the community and are law abiding, yet the media seems obsessed with bringing them down.

In the meanwhile there is a two time Super Bowl champion quarterback who is being treated with kid gloves for his current legal accusations. He’s been accused TWICE in nine months of sexual assault, but he’s not the lead story that Tiger Woods was.

Tiger Woods committed no crime and STILL managed to lose a great deal of his income stream for his transgressions due to his trial by fire in the media.

One could argue that Terrell Owens ability to make a living has been SERIOUSLY hampered by his media portrayal though I’ll admit he hasn’t helped his own cause out.

Barry Bonds couldn’t BUY a roster spot at this time, although he could surely outhit 50% of the players who were invited to spring training by MLB teams.

Plaxico Burress, Michael Vick, Ray Lewis, and Jamal Lewis were all subject to INTENSE media scrutiny while Ben Roethlisberger is getting what equates to a slap on the wrist by the media. His harshest critic to date has been Don Banks of Sports Illustrated, but even Mr. Banks is reserved in his criticism of Ben.

Why is this the case? What makes these writers to seemingly take the actions of certain players so personally?

Colin Cowherd could reasonably credit about 40% of his earnings to his criticisms of Chad Ochocinco. Where is he on the Ben Roethlisberger issue? Peter King called Ochocinco a liar in his column and you would have thought he lied on his tax return or about sending troops to Iran the way he was written about, all because he went back on his word to Bob Costas about changing his name back to Chad Johnson.

Where is the outrage at Ben? Why are we “waiting” and not “rushing to judgment” about his case when the aforementioned athletes have already been convicted by the court of public opinion and their supreme justices, the writers for major sports reporting (SI and ESPN).

The writing is on the wall here, as uncomfortable as it may be.

Girl I must have been crazy
To say that it was over
I had to be a fool
To yell out we were through
And now I’m all alone
And feeling down and out baby
When I never
Meant for this to end
It was so so crazy of me
Sometimes we say things that we really don’t mean
Well I’m sorry baby
Bring your lovin’ back to me

I can’t sleep babe
I can’t think babe
I can’t live babe
Without you in my life
I can’t go on babe
This is my song baby
Don’t wanna do nothin’ if I go away baby
And I can’t do nothin’ if you’re not around

Though I must admit
That things got out of hand
When you told me
That he was just a friend
I should of had my trust in you
From the very start darlin’
Cuz I never meant for this to end
How can we get it back again?
Oh sometimes a man can say things
That he really don’t mean
Well I’m sorry baby
Bring your lovin’ back to me

I can’t sleep babe
I can’t think babe
I can’t live babe
Without you in my life
I can’t go on babe
This is my song baby
Don’t wanna do nothin’ if I go away baby
And I can’t do nothin’ if you’re not around

Baby can we meet somewhere
And talk about it
Oh baby, can we work it out
I’m not gonna let you go my baby
Before I let you know that

I can’t sleep babe
I can’t think babe
I can’t live babe
Without you in my life
I can’t go on babe
This is my song baby
Don’t wanna do nothin’ if I go away baby
And I can’t do nothin’ if you’re not around

So a while back, me and the homie Joe Carlos exchanged emails where we discussed music. I apologize for the lateness in it’s seeing the light of day, but better late than never right?

At any rate, here are 10 albums that Joe and I have deemed essential for grown folks to have in their collections….review and revise accordingly:

Cal’s Suggestions-

Don’t misinterpret this list, it’s not by any means a compilation of the BEST albums of all time. These are simply ESSENTIAL ALBUMS FOR GROWN FOLKS. Once again, these aren’t the BEST albums, as a matter of fact, some of them you will only want to listen to them once. With that said, here are the essential grown man/woman albums:

Here, My Dear by Marvin Gaye - This album started as an intentionally bad album for Marvin and turned into one of the most heartfelt, heartwrenching, and heartbreaking albums of all time. When it was first released it was almost universally panned, but over time, the genius of it shone through and it was recognized as a true watershed album in Marvin’s discography. One of the stipulations around it’s release was that all royalties were to go to his ex-wife Anna Gordy Gaye, and he definitely takes some shots at her. It’s so personal at times that it is hard to listen to, but what ends up happening is that you get a real TRUE glimpse into the grieving process of divorce and ending a relationship.

Live In New Orleans by Maze featuring Frankie Beverly - If you ask 100 soul and R&B fans about the best concert experience they’ve had, roughly half will mention seeing Frankie Beverly and Maze perform at the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans. It’s a life changer according to those who have seen it. Sadly I haven’t, and so this album is the closest thing I have to it. The live version of “Joy and Pain” and the studio cut of “Before I Let Go” highlight this aural delight, and for me it’ll have to do until I can get the real thing.

Death Certificate by Ice Cube - Other albums sought to give us insight on hood living, and other albums sought to teach us (beat us over the head sometimes…I’m looking at you KRS-1), but before this album there was not a real GROWN rap album. This album to me is when hip hop grew up from juvenile rantings and became a complete work of adult art. Even the childish rant (”No Vaseline”) has the focus of a grown man chiding his juvenile friends about their ignorant ways. “Doing Dumb Shit” is a great piece of nostalgia that has just enough wisdom and insight with a bit of wistfulness thrown into the mix.

Kind of Blue by Miles Davis - Bitches Brew was more hip and ground breaking but Kind of Blue is the music to live life to. From the flowing and bouncy “All Blues” to the deeper and more introspective cuts like “Blue In Green” and “So What”, for an album with 6 tracks (the first edition CD that is, most new editions have a few more alternate takes and what not) it has a song literally for any occassion.

Come To My Garden by Minnie Riperton - The opening track “Les Fleur” is grandiose and explosive and yet somehow peaceful much like Minnie’s voice. In part this is the concept album that I believe Stevie Wonder wanted to create with “Journey Through ‘The Secret Life of Plants’” but it becomes much more. Minnie’s voice rides all over the production smoothly, like a high performance vehicle on the autobahn. This album is the soul/R&B version of an operatic masterpiece.

Joe’s Suggestions-

Brian McKnight - His debut effort was by far his strongest, and most
R&B heavy. More importantly, it gave us a better picture of the
artist past the single ‘Love Is’. The first half of the album has
certified hits in ‘One Last Cry’ and ‘Never Felt This Way’ and it’s
clear that the rest of the album follows the logic of a grown man
seeking love and finding it difficult along the way. This album
teaches lessons of love, its extremes and its advantages.

Baduizm - Erykah Badu’s debut was hardly a whimper. She came out with
a bang, and she didn’t let up. There are very few disappointing tracks
on this album, and because of that, the work as a whole is very
strong. Sure there are hits, but I love the interludes, the
individuality and her penchant to truly show us that she oozes
creativity. For a young woman at the time, this album is full of
themes of love, and premonitions connected to its many layers and
possibilities. I love this album, because it feels like I’m being
serenaded the whole time by someone who loves music.

Only the Lonely - Frank Sinatra is full of emotion. He’s full of love.
He’s full of passion. He makes it known throughout his music. He is
also a person who went through a great deal of disappointment, and he
has no problem sharing what it’s like for him to be broken-hearted. If
you’re feeling low, and I mean very low, and you want to stay that way
for a while to remind you of how low you feel, and to inspire you to
never be that low again, take a listen to the following off of this
album, “Only the Lonely”, “What’s New”, “Willow Weep for Me”, “Guess
I’ll Hang My Tears Out to Dry”, and “One For My Baby”. He does give a
little rebound song though in ‘Sleep Warm’. This is Sinatra at his
best; vulnerable and human and yet bold and just below the surface as
strong as ever.

In Square Circle - I’m very glad that Stevie Wonder had the genius
idea to hold off from including Overjoyed on ‘Journey Through the
Secret Life of Plants’. By doing so, he put it on ‘In Square Circle’
and put together one of his strongest post-Songs In the Key of Life
albums. In Stevie Wonder time, there is music before Songs in the Key,
and after. In Square Circle is after, and has a great deal of the
courage, originality, strength, beauty and perfection that we have
come to know from Stevie. Overjoyed anchors the album, but it’s merely
a snapshot compared to the others on the album like ‘Go Home’, ‘Part
Time Lover’, ‘I Love You Too Much’, ‘Whereabouts’ and the culturally
aware, ‘It’s Wrong (Apartheid)’. Stevie is STEVIE on this album, and
not to be denied.

The Black Album - If you’re going to retire, or supposedly retired,
you might as well do it in style. Jay did just that with his magnum
opus in 2003. This was grown man’s rap, not hip hop, but rap. He did
it with style and flare, and he used the best producers in the world,
regardless of genre. The music was inventive, the messages were clear,
concisely and timely, and the overarching theme was clear; I’m a grown
man, and I get to do this for a living, and because of that, I can do
all of these other things and explore my myriad of interests as well
while entertaining you. The Black Album will always be played on my
iPod and in my home later in life because of its utter completeness.
For me, there’s nothing better than ‘My First Song’.

So a looooong time ago I wrote a little piece with my opinion on a lawsuit filed by some folks here at my school about something or the other. Long story short, it got settled to (I assume) the conclusion of most of the parties involved.

In the meanwhile my webmaster OJ would tell me that he was steady getting emails from someone who was complaining about the entry and wanted it removed.

Today he forwarded me one of the emails, turns out it’s a person who knows me….was in SEVERAL procedures with me when I did my anesthesia rotation and quite a few other times…was cordial to me and acted as if there wasn’t some issue between us. I literally had NO IDEA that this chick was holding on to this shit.

Not only that, the issue is several years old…and if I’m to understand the email it only comes up when they search for their name in google or something. I never mentioned this person by name (nor will I ever).

This is a public notice…if I post something you don’t like TELL ME. Don’t send threatening emails to other people and go about it in a round about ass way.

I deleted that post, just because…I mean if I can just delete a post as opposed to keep dealing with the whims of crazy people then that’s what I’ll do…but man…come on son!

Argh!

(taken from a facebook note)

This is a bit of a spoiler for those of you who haven’t seen Wall-E, but if you ever wanted to know what the musical landscape looked like, it’d be Wall-E’s future. Full of garbage being boxed and piled up. One terrible album after another coming out. A big pile of garbage and amidst it all tucked away is a single sign of life, Vampire Weekend.

Vampire Weekend’s sophomore effort “Contra” not only manages to avoid the sophomore slump, it may even be BETTER than their debut. A few more listens will be required to OFFICIALLY come to that conclusion, but suffice it to say that the initial impression is VERY favorable.

Ezra Koenig and company have managed to create a new album that has enough of their signature sound for you to recognize it on first listen, and yet creative and fresh enough that it doesn’t sound like a retread of the previous effort.

From the first track “Horchata”, to the end, their signature style continues to grow and blossom, in a musical landscape that seems to trend toward the stagnant and retreading.

The standout track from the album is “Giving Up The Gun” which is probably destined for overplay on trendy college radio podcasts as well as top 40 radio.

(originally posted as a facebook note)
I told myself I was going to retire from reviewing albums after the whole 808’s and Earaches thing, but I’ve been Jordan’d….I have to verbally eviscerate this album…and I have to speak to the steep decline in musical standards.

So people have been raving about how hot this Robin Thicke album is and how it’s baby making music and yada yada! So I resisted my initial urges and went ahead and obtained it.

If babies are made to this album, I fear for their outcome. This album is not good in anyway shape or form.

Rather than go track for track I will tell you that the song with Snoop Dogg “It’s In The Mornin” and the “I Got U” are the standouts on an otherwise mediocre effort. The Nicki Minaj track will make you want to throw yourself off of a jagged cliff.

Most of the tracks are retreads of proven formulas that sound hackneyed and contrived. Sounds that were bastardized include Rakim’s “Mahogany”, Getz and Gilberto’s “The Girl From Ipanema” (TWICE…though I Got U manages to still be infectious enough), and Marvin Gaye’s “Trouble Man”.

When did musicians get so lazy? What happened to albums like Isaac Hayes “Hot Buttered Soul” and Smokey Robinson’s “Quiet Storm”? Where are the Bill Withers of this generation?

I hate to sound like one of those old heads, but this new music is just unacceptable bad! To the point that people are heaping praise on mediocre albums like this, just because they are better than the standard fare that’s out there now.

In short, save yourself the time and/or money on this album. Go get Questlove’s “Babies Making Babies” compilation or Van Morrison’s “Astral Weeks”….thank me later!!!

But not in a Ginuwine sense of anxiety. As it gets closer to the time when I get these results back from this test I feel like it’s ruling the way that I move. I can’t breath right, it’s like I’m 20,000 leagues under the sea (however far that is, my knowledge base has so many gaps in it). There is so much pressure on me right now and it’s going to feel like it’s either been all lifted or all come down on me and crush me.

I just want it to be over….

So last night me and my special lady went to go see Michael Jackson’s This Is It. To say that it was amazing would be a massive understatement.

It’s such sad irony that the only reason we got to see this spectacle of achievement is that Michael died, as just about everyone in the know agrees that he would have never allowed such footage to be released if he were alive. I think this in and of itself explains his ultimate failing in the public eye.

But I digress I’m not here to really talk about that. Instead I want to lament the poor treatment Michael received during the last 20 years of his life.

Here is a man that the public built up, worshiped, and adored above any other entertainer. In his zenith (the years between Thriller and Bad) he was a world wide star, adored by women from the age of 4 to 84, admired by men and respected by both peer and layman. However, there was always this air of mystery, something he kept hidden and in our curiosity our minds went to the worst thoughts.

In hindsight Michael foreshadowed this all with his songs “Wanna Be Starting Something” (years ahead of time in terms of how the media and paparazzi treat our icons) and “Human Nature” (Michael had already forgiven and more than that UNDERSTOOD WHY the people looked at his behavior so strangely).

The Michael on This Is It was a perfectionist, but in the most loving, mild, and gentle way possible. He got the most out of his performers, not by yelling but through firm instruction. He never belittled any of the dancers or musicians, and yet, he was as demanding as the toughest drill sergeant. He performed at a high level and required it of the others involved in the process, but never became the impetuous, frustrated prima donna that many other performers become.

At one point in the film he says, “Well we got a little taste of it” or something to that extent, in describing a rehearsal of “Black or White”. I laughed and remarked that what he had just done would have been the VERY BEST that an artist like Chris Brown could produce! Other times Michael said he was trying to conserve his voice and energy, and yet he performed “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” and “Human Nature” so beautifully and powerfully that in my opinion it was concert level.

This man Michael Jackson gave his all to show his fans things they had never seen and entertain them in ways they have never been entertained. All he cared about in his life was music and love, the love of others and even love of the planet. What did we reward him with? We made fun of him, we mocked him, we made up stories about him.

This Is It showed me a human being who was so full of love and didn’t care about the TRIVIAL things we care about and was able to even RISE ABOVE all of the hate that was spewed in his direction. I’m thankful for having had the chance in my lifetime to experience the magic that was Michael!

Maybe now we can appreciate the message behind his music….

As I sit here watching season 4 of the Wire, I see so many parallels I feel like I’m in geometry class. I see cities fighting problems with crime and I see lost children, but more than either of those I see an election going predictably to the most unlikely candidate.

We saw how Tommy Carcetti worked out for the denizens of faux Baltimore, but how will Mary Norwood work out for the citizens of a very real Atlanta?

I am torn on the issue, I was born and raised in Atlanta, a son of a “known” if not prominent family, but I also have no plans to ever really return to Atlanta in any capacity other than a visitor. Part of my reasoning is also what I blame most of Atlanta’s current and future problems on, the non-native Atlantan problem.

See these people don’t have a real sense of the city’s history or the things that MADE Atlanta that city they felt compelled to infiltrate. Not when they are on the verge of splitting the vote and allowing a Closeted Republican from Buckhead into the Mayoral Office. What’s the difference they say between a Lisa Borders or a Kasim Reed they say.

From where I sit, it’s pretty clear, unfortunately where I sit is in Nashville without a vote. It’s hard for me to tell people how important it is that a native son regain the reigns and help to bring Atlanta with the rest of the country out of these economic doldrums. Only an Atlanta native would understand the importance of an endorsement from Andrew Young.

I digress though. I’m not here to tell Atlanta voters who to vote for honestly, though you can probably read between the lines and see who it’d be.

More importantly I want them to RALLY behind whoever DOES make it to the eventual run-off (provided the vote hasn’t been split too far already). The Democratic party has already thrown their support behind BOTH Reed and Borders which should tell discerning voters all they need to know!

The Wire was an awesome TV show, but life is seldom as tidy as a television show. No writer can come in and clean up the potential mess if Atlanta voters elect Mary Norwood!

…like such a child right now?

I’m so frustrated and I don’t know how to say what I want to say.

You have such an easy time telling me what I do wrong but I struggle with things like hurting feelings and what not…why? Why can’t I just say what’s on my mind without fear of causing irreparable damage?

Why do I feel like I’m always walking on eggshells…I hate this feeling?