origin of cotton

MMM good

2009-09-28T17:14:00.006-04:00

Today is Music Monday Madness in the world of Twitter. Some people get THIRSTY, posting on there every 5 minutes (there should be a 'only 3 tweets an hour rule' I think) so instead of doing that, here are some links I think you would enjoy:

I blogged about Maluca before, she's a Dominicana down with Diplo's Mad Decent (who produces M.I.A.). I like her stuff a lot. This is a remix by Sticky K (yeah, i dont know who that is either) but seems that dance music producers are steady cultivating Afro-Dominican rhythms and understand how great they sound mixed with dance beats (you can download the remix of 'Tigeraso' for FREE)

What Juanes did in Cuba is ______. Words can't describe it, it was incredible. There is not a place in the world where music flows through the streets like Havana. En la Havana, after the concert, the audience dispersed back to their homes singing a little ditty to los Cubanos en Miami that tried (and failed) to stop this momentous concert:

Dubstep. what the 'ell is it? Take the best parts of Jungle (drum n bass, whatever you want to call it), Dance, Trance (very little parts of Trance thankfully) and Dub and then crank up the bass to let's say 23. It can't just wobble, the bass has to throttle you so hard you have to hold on to something. I exaggerate of course, but check out Caspa and the first lady of Bass Star Eyes (don't look at me like that girl haha) on the decks here

WWBT? (What would Basquiat think?)

2009-06-09T17:04:00.003-04:00

I saw a tweet from this cool designer/DJ named Kesh where she stated that Basquiat is basically rolling over in his grave because Reebok has a deal with the Basquiat estate to produce sneakers inspired by his artwork. These new designs are a lot better than the original incarnation, but that's not what this post is about.

Kesh made me think, would Basquiat be pissed if he knew about Reebok doing this? I am not so sure. First off, back in the 80s these types of deals were VERY rare so I don't think he would have been offered anything like this back then. But for argument's sake, let's say Adidas would have approached him in his heyday. What would Basquiat have done?

I think Jean Michel takes the deal. He would do it because he was a hip hop head as much as he was an art world darling (he produced a hip hop single called "beat bop" and was inspired by graffiti initially). But he would find a way to add his particular nuance to it, and Adidas (Reebok was too small back then to make such an offer) would either be cool with it or walk away (i.e. write adidas somewhere on the sneaker and cross it out. these days, they would maybe be cool with that; back then they would bounce).

What if he would still be alive? Part of me thinks he would not do it. Just because he wouldn't have to. His rightful place in art history would be established and in my opinion he would have already moved on to making movies and more music (this is if he would have been able to kick the heroin.)

But another part of me says he most definitely would, for the same reason I outlined in the previous article. Everyone is making these types of deals. when is the last time something like this was even considered "selling out"? It no longer is, for better or worse.

I consider Basquiat my idol, so when Reebok comes out with sneakers and Uniqlo comes out with t shirts, it would be easy to dismiss it. But his legacy does not belong to me, it should belong to everyone. The more people know about his genius, the merrier in my humble opinion.

Summerstage preview

2009-06-02T19:58:00.004-04:00

Summerstage, NYC's premiere outdoor concert series, is back again. Starting June 5th. Yeah, I was a little skeptical too, the past years have not been stellar. I forgot if i even went to ANY concert last year. But when I saw the lineup , I was kinda feeling it.

Friday June 5-TV on the Radio
I really like this Brooklyn band, saw them opening up for Massive Attack at the Hollywood Bowl. I am very picky about my rock music, and TOTR is smart, funky, and they rock out!

Friday June 19-Gabriel Iglesias
Latino comedy usually doesn't get too far past jokes about our upbringing, racism, and machismo. Iglesias is one of my favorite comics cause he mines other subjects (including his weight) to make us laugh. One of his funniest bits is about calling his equally overweight girlfriend in the middle of the night and asking her what she's doing. She replies, "Na-thing.... Baking."

Sunday July 5-Les Nubians
What's the best way to celebrate July 4th? With the best Afro-French R&B duo on the planet lol. I really wish I knew what they were saying, but they sure sound great saying it.

Saturday July 11-Los Fabulosos Cadillacs
I have a confession to make: going out clubbing has made me hate Los Fabulosos (a little). Why? Because these clueless DJs don't know any other Latin rock song other than 'Matador,' so they run that song and run that song every freaking time! Are you kidding me? Los Fabulosos broke up for a while so they have not been around these parts in a while, so I will go check them out. They are a superb group and they have other, better songs (check out Vasos Vacios and Fabulosos Calavera).

Saturday July 18-Q Tip
Do I really need to say more? A legend, y'all. An incredible lyricist part of one of the illest crews of all time (Tribe called quest). Not a HUGE fan of his solo work, so hopefully he will be taking us on an Award Tour and will be leaving the Vivrant thing at home.

Sunday July 19-Lee "Scratch" Perry & Dubblestandart
Speaking of legends, the incomparable Lee Perry will be performing the day after Q Tip.
I am a big fan of dub, I love listening to it on my iPod, not really big on going to a club to hear someone spin it. Maybe if I were a bigger drinker. But I digress, I can't wait to see Lee on stage. It is gonna be a crazy experience.

Saturday August 8-Boys Noize, Drop the Lime
I have heard a lot about Boys Noize, but the peeps that will make me trek to Central Park are Drop the Lime. These guys are insane DJs. They spin wicked, bass HEAVY (notice how I capitalized the heavy) dance music. They usually do a deep house day, kinda cool they are flipping the script by dropping the lime.

nothing Maluca about this...

2009-05-14T18:50:00.003-04:00

I am exposed to a lot of music, not a lot of it makes me glad i was sitting down 'cause if i were listening to it i would have fallen back. Maluca's music did this to me. She is off the GANCHO! (here is where I try to be slick with the description, check it): imagine kerubanda stuck in an elevator with diplo (who's label Maluca is on) and said elevator is stuck between floors. everyone gets agitated, but instead of resorting to fighting, they start making tracks. people that know me know i love merengue tipico as much as i love dance music so this was like the Knicks beating the Lakers for the NBA finals to me. really, Maluca had me going WOW, and thats just off one track on her myspace

Crash and Daze exhibit

2009-05-14T18:43:00.003-04:00

Two legends in the world of graffiti, Crash and Daze, have an exhibition starting tomorrow at Adhoc Art (49 Bogart Street Buzzer 22, Unit 1G Brooklyn, NY 11206). Although they have collaborated in the past, each one of these artists has kept their distinct styly. Daze harkens back to old school NYC, with images of trains and the city amongst his letters. Crash's artwork exists in an other world entirely, one created by pop art and cartoon imagery. Should be an interesting show.

A short hip house documentary

2009-05-13T22:28:00.002-04:00

This is something someone I follow on Twitter posted (I think it was the dude from crookers, see post at bottom). Whether hip house was created in Chicago or NYC is debatable, what isn't up for debate is that it WAS going to be the next big thing. Certain factors lead to its downfall, not unlike freestyle the sound started to become stale, but the biggest thing that killed hip house IMO was the hip hop community's homophobia. To hip hop, anything associated with house music = gay. So incredible collabos never happened and there was no support on the hip hop end of things (most househeads are also hip hop fans, so the problem was not on them). This myopic thinking never let hip house get off the ground, it's a damn shame.

freschezza

2009-04-21T22:37:00.004-04:00

ITALIA! ac milan, mario brothers, danilo gallinari and now crookers! dance music and italy don't really have too much of a history (besides some italo-disco that came out a while back) but this DJ twosome from Milan is gonna be historic. download their fader mix here. the track "where's my money"is as sinister as dick cheney waterboarding in guantanamo bay, you HAVE to hear it!

Freshness

2009-04-15T23:48:00.005-04:00

The summer weather is coming , and these bernhard willhelm sunglasses are looking crispy! get 'em here

I HATE MAN UNITED. So why are they in one of my freshness posts, you ask? because.... I HATE MAN UNITED. and the mighty mighty Arsenal are facing them in the semifinals of the champions league!! it would have been easier against Porto, but it doesn't matter. ManUre is going DOWN!

Rinse.fm is a DOPE site from London (I think it's a radio station,but its late and i'm too tired to check). But do click on the link to listen to some sinister dubstep, grime, and other goodness that radio stations in the United States don't have the bollocks to play.

lil wayne got lost in colombia with toy selectah...

2009-04-04T12:23:00.003-04:00

OMG! i fell back when i heard this. this is on Isa GT's blog (who i will be hopefully interviewing for you all in the next weeks). Isa a Colombian DJ based out of London.Everything she does is the mustard, as they say across the pond. Just take a listen to A milli a ritmo de cumbia, parseros! enjoy.

Pause! The worst of the worst

2009-03-30T21:43:00.004-04:00

The Knicks this year are frustrating. They don't suck as bad as past years, but they are not good enough to make the playoffs. So I can't straight dismiss them because sometimes they pleasantly suprise me ... sometimes. Just look at this picture. (From left: Larry Hughes wondering what smells so bad. That would be Al Harrington's shot selection. The guy behind Larry is just glad he's not on the team. Al Harrington is the caped crusader/passing evader, without the cape. David Lee is dreaming of his double doubles, and getting paid in the next contract. Nate Robinson crying at the unfairness of being so short. if my man was 6'7', he'd be as good as lebron. yes, i said it. dan dantoni picking the lint off his suit, wishing he was coaching in college). But there is a light at the end of the tunnel. 2010, baby, 2010.

Original Video- More videos at TinyPic

I got nothing against Jimmy Kimmel. Anyone that picks The Roots as their house band gets crazy cool points in my book, but se paso! He went on and on during his monologue about how someone (elvis crespo) was a merengue star, like that wasn't possible. hey, jimmy! the world is bigger than you think. there are people making moves that you will never hear about. nothing funny about that. and to top it all off, the joke about elvis crespo wasn't even funny.

Freshness

2009-03-30T21:10:00.003-04:00

Time to start thinking about summer clothes. These denim shorts by Rittenhouse are classy. No crazy prints, just a nice denim chambray (i know all about denim now thanks to a special someone ;) ). available at oipolloi.com

Everyone rocks Chucks. Ho hum. What is next, you ask? Get some leather Pro Ked jump offs (i did). The sole is thicker than the Chucks, and the perforations on the leather are sick i tell ya, sick! Get your pairs at zappos.com

So i didn't make it to WMC this year (heard it wasn't as good as previous years, hope my friends weren't just trying to make me feel better for not going) but I can imagine the parties. Here's a little of the Martinez Brothers and Dennis Ferrer on the unos and doses. (This is a little too techy for me, but the Martinez Brothers are the future. Book that!).

a little blog on blog love

2009-03-29T19:04:00.002-04:00

thatchickfrombk interviewed me on her blog. check it out, it's pretty funny. one hand washes the other, as they say...

that CRAZY chick from BK

2009-03-27T19:41:00.006-04:00

Diana is my homey. We used to work together at Track and we bonded over a couple of things:
• my love of jewish culture (what can I say? I grew up in NYC). Diana is of Russian Jew stock (stock always makes me think of soup) so I called her bubbala (a yiddish term of endearment).
• her nefarious habit of stealing my nice pens
• her nefarious habit of smoking. girl would not quit going to the balcony and getting her lungs all sickly like them commercials that make me turn away from the tv

So long story short she started a blog, thatchickfrombk.com. The thing is mad funny, hilarious, irreverent. I'm still trying to make her make me a contributor (I send her stuff I find on the net that I think she can put on her blog) but no dice. We'll see if this article will seal the deal. She took some time out from wasting time on the internet, smoking, and taking care of her turtle moses jesus to answer some questions

who is that chick from BK? That chick is a chick who can't formulate the proper words to describe who she really is. She is not that good at the writing.

what do you write about on your blog? I write about douchebags, cunt monkeys and all that other shit. and i also make fun of my friends a lot. and my parents. i trash everyone but myself.

have the police contacted you about your little stalking problem? (there is this girl at starbucks that diana keeps stalking no they have not. i don't like the police. if they came to my house, it is likely id get arrested.

tell us about your esteemed contributors (clears throat)? those contributors are people who deal with me all the time. they know im bipolar and they still love me. there are many contributors but i have ocd and must have an odd number and its so complicated. im going to pass out right now. this is stressful question.

bloggers (me) are calling you the second coming of the borscht belt, the love child of sarah silverman and henny youngman. thoughts? wow. that is so flattering! i want to be sarah silverman but that cant be and so instead i just dream of fucking her. is that wrong to say?

tell us about the thatchickfrombk reader? have you done focus groups? i have not done focus groups but i'm fairly certain chick readers would eat babies if they had to, smoke mad dro and like to make fun of the less fortunate. they also have computers.

Pause! The worst of the worst

2009-03-25T21:25:00.005-04:00

Wednesday night and I'm too tired to hit Cielo. That is wack. Oh well, next week. And the Knicks are struggling against the Clips, CMON! oh, I digress. The above video is a clip from the upcoming movie Crank 2. WTF! This is not even C movie material. Clifton Collins, I hardly knew ye. I thought you were a respectable actor duke. Now you are wearing a fu manchu mustache and are in a scene with Pedro from Napoleon Dynamite. I like the way Pedro all of a sudden finds a pair of nunchucks out of nowhere and then just falls over the dude he was fighting. Who would fork over 11 dollars to see this travesty?

Pharell is cool. Dig his music, his style, etc. etc. But this is wack. He starts singing and dancing for some McDonald's? I think homey is in France, the chicks working the counter (what happened to service with a smile?) don't recognize him, or maybe they are being high faluting and French. Regardless, WACK.

It really bites when major fashion houses try to jump on trends and don't know the first thing about what they are getting into. These are sneakers from Calvin Klein's Spring/Summer 2009 collection. Where do I start? I like the color orange, but this is a nasty variation of it. I'm still in search of some dope velcro sneakers, and after seeing these... I'm still in search of some dope velcro sneakers. these actually look orthopedic. Why didnt they do the smart thing and partner up? They could have given Coup d Etat, Supreme, or Alife a call. Shit! Dave's Quality Meats woulda hooked it up too. Next time hit me on the hip, Calvin.

Pandora Rox!

2009-03-14T10:50:00.004-04:00

You might or might know about Pandora.com but for me, it is one of the best implementations of technology on the internet. What you do is tell the page what type of music you like and it makes up "stations" that play music that sounds like that. you can set up as many stations as you want, and even put it in quickmix mode so it randomly picks a song from one of the stations that you pick. you can log into your account, which means you can be anywhere and listen to the type of music that moves you. i'm on pandora 60% of the day at work. another cool feature is that you can send your peoples your quick mix so they can see what you are listening to.
here is my quickmix:

Rodrigo's quickmix

post up your quickmix as a comment, i'd like to see what other people are listening to.

Freshness

2009-03-09T22:06:00.006-04:00

Patrick Ewing is God. Sound sacreligious? Too bad. He is my favorite NBA player of all time and the only reason he never got a championship was some dude in Chi-town called Jordan (can't hate on Mike, but I wish my Knicks coulda won at least one). Undercrown just released this joint (shouts to my boy Eli @ karmaloop.com for hitting me on facebook to alert me about this shirt. When I noticed the "I Love NY" printed in black behind the figure of Ewing, I almost fell off my chair) and I already got one. After Jordan, Ewing gets a lot of t shirt love from the high end urban wears designers, that tells you something about my man.

This jersey jacket from Edifice is just what Spring needs. Dress it up with a striped button down, or down with a t shirt. Because you can't rock a hoody ALL the time, am I right?

oh Puma, I love thee so! They got together with Foot Locker to release what they call the Re Boot series. I'm feeling these, nice clean lines and subdued colors.

RUMBA!!! pero the REAL RUMBA

2009-03-05T22:49:00.003-05:00

let me set the scene: Havana, Cuba's Callejon de Hamel, an alley in the middle of the city that an artist has restored with AfroCuban religious imagery. Every weekend, the best rumba troupes from across the island come there to GO OFF! notice that I capitalized that. I'll do it again GO OFF! best enjoyed with some ice cold cerveza Cristal (i hate beer, but Cristal tastes like heaven). check out the dancing, it's incredible. there was one crew that took a doo wop song and FLIPPED IT guaguanco style. but enough words, feel the music.

ye olde new york

2009-03-05T22:36:00.006-05:00

saw this on gawker.com and felt like reposting. wish i had the energy to expound about what new york city was like back in the day. i will return and hit you with something, i promise. for now, check out what new york city was like back in the day (the last image is from watchmen, which is getting great reviews and i am definitely going to check out).

The Future....

2009-03-03T21:25:00.004-05:00

<a href="http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-GB&playlist=videoByUuids:uuids:a517b260-bb6b-48b9-87ac-8e2743a28ec5&showPlaylist=true&from=shared" target="_new" title="Future Vision Montage">Video: Future Vision Montage</a>

What will the world be like in 10 years? This video was created by microsoft and if this is the way it's gonna be, and damn i cant wait! technology rocks. something i cant wait for is embedded tech. why carry around an iphone or ipod when u can plant a chip inside of your body with all that info?

its just funny that microsoft came out with this, i don't see them doing anything innovative besides that tablet computer thing they developed. APPLE TIL I DIE HOLMES lol

My fellow Track bloggers

2009-02-25T21:20:00.002-05:00

I truly enjoyed my time at Track Entertainment. Not only did I learn to work the internet, I also met a great group of people. Some of them are also bloggers! Check out their blogs (I'm gonna be interviewing them individually about their internet pursuits at a later date).

treesforbreakfast.com My boy Derreck Johnson's site will keep you up to date on the new, hot joints in hip hop and r&b. all the heads that declare hip hop dead need to get on TFB and click away.

littlegirlbigappetite jess lum's tasty blog . great recipes and restaurant reviews from a budding cook.

nycmindmunchies the musings of the coolest cat from central florida i know. mike gallupo is into rock and pop culture. he's got great bands on there.

thatchickfrombk what can i say about my homegirl diana kost, my bubbala? her blog is laugh out loud funny, in the vein of someecards.com
a lot of what she goes on about is about her cronies, who you feel you already know after reading a couple of posts.

Freshness

2009-02-16T20:48:00.006-05:00

Rag and Bone's spring/summer collection highlights the sleeker cuts that are thankfully more prevalent now. There is a definite teddy boy influence here, harkening back to pre-punk England. Be careful when rolling up pants, if the cut is too big at the bottom you can go from looking fashionable to looking like Huck Finn.

These Guess General boots are dope! So dope that I got them in black and brown. Extremely comfortable and with a handy zip-up, you can dress these up and dress them down.

The peeps over at Acrimony are having a sale. Definitely check it out, they have fine wears over there.

Sneaker do's and dont's

2009-02-16T20:24:00.006-05:00

I published this article last year on clubplanet.com (shouts to the whole crew, we were definitely a good team). You will NOT believe the amount of vitriol I got because I had the audacity to say the Nike dunk was played out.

Pause! worst of the worst

2009-02-16T20:10:00.006-05:00

There's a saying in Spanish, "Sin Palabras," which means without words. Anything that your aunt down in Miami would consider rocking is strictly off limits. The brand Married to the Mob just made me want to get a divorce.

I have never been a fan of the hybrid. Either you are wearing sneakers, or you are wearing shoes. Anything in between is just ugly (I bring this up in the above internet article).

Last year's all-over print trend went over the top. Everyone from the hardest gangster to the oldest grandmother was rocking loud, colorful hoodies and t shirts. For some reason, the peeps at classickicks didn't get the memo that it was time to move on from this. These windbreakers are better suited for wallpapering a kid's room.

Hope poster creator is fraudulent

2009-02-13T21:51:00.006-05:00

I have always liked the work of Shepard Fairey, the artist behind the famous Obama poster

and the Obey Andre the Giant campaign. That was until I read about how he basically steals most of his ideas from past artists and gives them no credit whatsover.

Read all about it:

http://www.art-for-a-change.com/Obey/index.htm

You thought rappers created freestyling?

2009-02-13T21:32:00.003-05:00

Check these llaneros going at it. Kool Moe Dee and Busy Bee, Jay Z and Nas got nothing on these guys. Musica llanera literally means plains music for those of you who are Spanish deficient. The music employs a harp, guitar, and maracas to tell the tales of the llaneros (basically the cowboys of Colombia and Venezuela). This video highlights the contrapunteo, which is a freestyle battle between 2 copleros (singers of sonnets). Notice how the one that follows the other takes the last line from the other one to start off his flow. All this is off the dome! They diss each other, they boast, all in good fun and great music.

I love musica llanera. The first time I heard it I felt an instrinsic connection to it. Turns out my sister told me that my grandfather on my dad's side lives in los llanos. I am dying to head out there.

Go Postal

2009-02-11T22:56:00.004-05:00

Martha Cooper, the photographer responsible for the iconic Subway Art book, keeps on the cusp of graff with her new project, Going Postal. She has turned her attention to sticker art, tags and art done primarily on U.S. Postal Service stickers. Cooper actually goes around New York City with some type of contraption that unsticks the stickers.
On Friday, February 20, the Ad Hoc Gallery will be showing some of the Going Postal series. For more info, www.adhocart.org

Freshness

2009-02-11T21:44:00.009-05:00

Is that a spring thaw I'm feeling? Thank god, since my office is right next to the water and it's always colder because of that proximity to it. Non Native has released this fly vest that is very reminiscent of Moncler (without the $1000 price tag). The color is subtle, and goes with almost anything.

Speaking of Moncler, this motorcycle jacket is flavors! I like the French flag detail on the upper chest. What I don't like is the price tag ($900). That's just insane. I'm sure some creative googling will get you a reasonable facsimile.

One of my favorite brands of ALL time has to be Barking Irons. Taking inspiration from the Gangs of New York era, they make incredible t shirts, hoodies, and jewelery (pictured). When I found out that these pieces (2 of many different designs available) are actually crafted from 19th century spoons, I almost fell out of my seat! I could not believe how fresh that @#$$ was. Seriously. How dope is it that these pieces were once used by some family in turn of the century New York? The top one is a woman's bracelet, and the bottom is a man's ring. Check out the "finery" at barkingirons.com

Sunday Shoutin'

2009-02-09T21:16:00.004-05:00

A little Tony Humphries spinning Brighter Days

Observations on last night's Sunday Shouting (Louie Vega, Tony Humphries, and David Morales at Webster Hall)

• David redeemed himself for his past musical indiscretions. He KILLED it with Inner City's "Good Life." Really got the crowd going.

• Hope the next one is at a bigger spot, it got crazy hot and packed.

• Mr. Tambourine Man was in attendance. Dude, you must be a great guy and all, but PLEASE!!!! no one asked you to remix the song with your instruments, duke. The songs sound great without the tambourine, or the cowbell. It's like when you go to see El Gran Combo or another band and there's like 57 cats with a clave. There is a dude ON STAGE with a clave, thanks but no thanks. Or maybe El Gran Combo put a listing on craigslist for claves? Whatever it is, PLEASE STOP.

• Louie killed it, but you already knew that.

• Didn't get to hear Tony too much cause it was getting way too packed and hot in there. I'm gonna have to trek to Jersey to experience some Jersey house, the only cool thing about Jersey (sorry, but it's true).

For those of you that can't make it out as often (hi, maggie), check these sites out:

http://deephousepage.com/mixes.php
This is like when Indy found the Ark; IN-CRE-I-BLE! Radio mixes, live sets from the cream of the crop.

http://undergroundnyc.com/classicmixes.asp
More classic house. Very dope! And they all have playlists, so you might find yourself saying, "oh shit! that's my joint." They also have radio mixes

http://www.buzzinfly.com/buzzradio.html
Mixed by Everything but the Girl's Ben Watt. RELAX! He spins deep, no "desert missing the rain" wackness on here. Updated weekly, so it has the new joints.

PODCASTS

Crossfade Radio
Slamming mixes by Frankie Feliciano, The Martinez Brothers, and others.

Blaze Imprints Podcast
Mixed mostly by Kevin Hedge (Louie's partner on Roots at Cielo ... nuff said). There is even a live mix from Cielo on there.

Real Tone Radio Show
Mostly mixes from Djoon, which is a club in Paris that is keeping the light of The Garage, The Loft, Shelter, etc. alive. Mr. V, Alix Alvarez, DJ Spinna, Quentin Harris, Osunlade, need I go on?

Let me know if y'all like my recommendations, and if there are any other ones to add.

Freshness

2009-02-08T11:12:00.002-05:00

Y-3 brings it again with some butter designs. I like the way the pure white sole offsets the patent leather.

I'm really feeling raincoats with bright colors on the lining and the hood. I saw this dark blue one with a sublime orange lining and copped it right quick. This one is from Via Snella (0n the right, the jacket on the left is ugly.)

I liked this shirt because Johnny Cash was gangsta. Available at http://www.mattbors.com/shirts.html
Always been a fan of G Shock, and this one had me salivating. It's an Alife/Nas special edition. "Half Time" is embedded on the side of the face (look closely and you can see it), and the strap says "Alife state of mind."

Levi's Fenom line adds nice touches to their iconic brand. These are hard to find, but worth the hassle.

Raf Simons updates the classic aviator shade with his hexagonal take on it. The lens could be a little darker, but its still flavors.

Pause! The worst of the worst

2009-02-08T11:11:00.001-05:00

Everyone knows I'm a big Puma head, but these are ridiculous (in a bad way). YO! MTV Raps in Pepto Bismol colors? not! The MC Shan and Big Daddy Kane jump offs they did were dope? These? Nope.

If you see Sonny Crockett skateboarding down Ocean Avenue in Miami, snuff him. Wow, these are bad. Like, really? Who thought espadrilles where ever gonna make a come back? They were ugly then, they are ugly now. And they don't exactly provide the support you need for boarding (had no idea that the fat tongue on skateboard sneakers was more than just a design element).

My redneck cousin in Louisiana called. He wanted his picnic tablecloth back 'cause he was gonna go hunting again.

Big Pun Documentary

2009-02-08T11:09:00.002-05:00

MTV Shows

I was interviewed for this documentary BET did about Big Pun. Now it's an MTV documentary! Yay corporate synergy.

Unique Clothing Store in the Vill

2009-02-08T11:04:00.002-05:00

I was listening to the radio the other day and all of a sudden the unmistakeable piano line from Crystal Waters' "Gypsy Woman" comes on. That disjointed piano line (which always sounded to me like a piano filtered to sound as if it were out of tune) took me straight back to 8th Street in the Village. Unique.

To many of us growing up in New York City, Unique Clothing Store was more than just a store. It was our true introduction to the alternative scene we had just perused through the pages of The Village Voice. It was THE Greenwich Village destination, whether you got off the R train at 8th Street and walked directly there or got off the E or F train at West 4th and walked up to it. The funny thing is, I don't ever really remember really buying any clothes there. It was the place to be seen and the scene first, clothing store second.

The shopfront was lorded over by airbrush artists that could turn an ordinary pair of jeans or denim jacket into a true work of art. When you walked in, you could often find Roger S selling his Egotrip tapes to kids hungry for his eclectic house sound. I'm pretty sure he'd be the first one to tell you that he wouldn't be where he is (international DJ superstar, Ibiza's crown prince) without his time served at Unique slinging tapes with that dope triangle logo.

And then there was the back of the store, which faced Lafayette. First off, most people didn't know the back was open like that. And second of all, you had to be cooler than school to hang out back there. Long hair? check. Stomper shoes? check. T shirt worn over a blazer? Check, check.

Those were great times, where we began to explore fashion (like the big-soled stomper shoes) and when getting into clubs (like Red Zone, The Building, Mars) was never a given because most of us were too young and using fake ID. The prospect of not getting in made actually making it through the velvet ropes a whole lot sweeter, the music a whole lot better.

But all good things come to an end. Rumors that Unique was closing down to be replaced with a PC Richards or some other electronics store monstrosity turned out to be true (I don't even know what the space is now, I kind of pass by there without looking as if to hold on to Unique in some way). Eventually Red Zone closed down, The Building lost its lease, and I don't even want to know what over-priced, eurotrash attracting, people in suits trying to dance with a drink on the dancefloor monstrosity of a club it turned into. The only places that are worth it in the Meatpacking District are Cielo and Apartment. The Unique crew went its separate ways, some of us gravitating towards the even more alternative of the East Village, others reverting back to straight hip hop. But for a short time in our lives, we were all Unique.

The most gangster song EVER

2009-02-08T10:51:00.004-05:00

Seriously, picking my favorite Fania All Stars song of all time is like asking a mother to pick her favorite child. Impossible. "El Raton" may not be the dopest song to dance to because it's kinda of a slow burner, but it might be the coolest song ever recorded. Ever. This youtube version doesn't do it justice, but it will give you a little taste. Get the version off the CD to get the full madness.

El judio maravilloso Larry Harlow is on piano. This mensch must have some grandfather from Ponce or something because he feels it. He's more Puerto Rican than a couple of people I know. If you don't believe me, check out his album "Salsa." IMO, this is the quintessential salsa album, he freaking named it Salsa. Que cojonudo, pero con todo su derecho. That's how confident this cat was.

Bobby Valentin on bass. People talk about Jaco Pastorious and Flea blah blah blah. Bobby Valentin kicks both their asses. Peep his album "Rompecabezas" to hear why. I had a vinyl of it, and I fucking lost that bad boy. (if anyone's got it on MP3, let me know).
"Rompecabezas" is my second favorite Fania album, and that's because I haven't heard it in a while. Once I get my hands on it again, it might go to number 1.

Orestes Vilato on timbales. Another great musician. Of course, Ray Barreto on congas and Robertito Roena on cowbell ("Ponte Duro" is one of my favorite Fania songs. Roena's bongo solo on there is sick. He had an album with an illustrated cover that was Amazing. Can't remember the name, it's crazy early. If i remember it, i'll let you know. Every time I see someone with one of those corny "More Cowbell" T shirts, I feel like slapping them. but I digress yet again.)

Mira ese coro. Ismael Miranda, otro que se me le olvida el nombre porque esta temprano y no me he tomado el cafe, Hector Lavoe, and Santitos Colon. No pressure, Cheo.

Cheo Feliciano, my second favorite Fania vocalist right next to my numero uno Pete "El Conde" Rodriguez. His voice is silk, period.

Anyone know what happened to George Santana, Carlos' brother? He straight kills this song with his guitar solo. "Oye como va" got NOTHING on this. And when the coro impels him with "Eh, Santana," it feels like the gods are talking to me for some reason. The universe has aligned with planet rock, planet bugaloo, planet and the Fania all star systems.