2014 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: LL Cool J vs. N.W.A

I haven't posted in a while, so here you go. I feel a little rusty, so if it reads a little forced, fuck off and keep your opinion to yourself. Keep in mind that I am an artist, and I'm sensitive about my shit (Badu voice). Let's get to it, shall we.

A tell-tale sign that you are getting old is when you recognize the names of majority of the nominees for the 2014 class of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. This year I have actually heard music from 11 out of the 16 nominees...damn I'm old.

Not all of the acts will make the cut. Nirvana, Deep Purple, and Kiss are clear cut favorites to make it into the 2014 class. With the committee inducting a hip-hop/rap act in each of the past two years (Public Enemy in 2013, and the Beastie Boys in 2012), I'm guess that trend will continue for the 2014 inductees.

What that means is that one spot will belong to either LL Cool J or N.W.A. On paper, that sounds like an epic battle, but in actuality, I believe there is no question who truly deserves the honor. The world's premier lip-licker, James Todd Smith a.k.a. Ladies Love Cool James, is hands down better than N.W.A.

Bleacher Report: Horace Grant: "You Can't Compare Anybody to Michael"

Finally, in a world where it has become cool to hate on the greatness that is Michael Jordan, his old teammate has come correct. Maybe it's his way of redeeming himself to Bulls' fans for jumping ship to play with Penny and Shaq in Orlando when MJ retired the first time. Maybe it's an undercover jab at Scottie Pippen for not bowing down and respecting the legacy of the Great Deuce-Trey and saying LeBron could be better. Whatever it is, I like it. Preach, Horace, preach! You're welcome.

Bleacher Report: Horace Grant: "You Can't Compare Anybody to Michael"

New Music: Aloe Blacc - Love Is The Answer (produced by Pharrell)

I remember a few years ago this man was telling us how he needed a dollar, now he's doing songs with Pharrell.  Looks like he got that dollar and then some. Love Is The Answer is from Aloe Blacc's Wake Me Up EP, and I am REALLY feeling it. Aloe's voice has that powerful and gruffy Roy Ayers/Bill Withers vibe to it that I dig. As for the beat, (I hate to do it to you again, Pharrell, but...), it has the perfect blend of bounce and groove to it, but it kind of sounds like Pharrell borrowed from, stole from, paid homage to parts of Herb Alpert's 1979 jazz classic Rise.

It might sound familiar because Diddy also borrowed, stole, sampled, Diddy-ed elements of it for The Notorious B.I.G.'s 1997 hit Hypnotize. Great minds think alike, I guess. Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal to me, but Pharrell kind of annoyed me when he played the Vanilla Ice card when he was questioned about his last allegations of musical theft (the eerie similarities between Robin Thicke's summer smash Blurred Lines and Marvin Gaye's classic Got To Give It Up). Here's what he told the Associated Press last month:

"If you read music, all you have to do is read the sheet music, it's completely different. [Marvin Gaye] is the king of all kings, so let's be clear about that, and we take our hats off to him. But anybody that plays music and reads music, just simply go to the piano and play the two. One's minor and one's major. And not even in the same key."

Now, I can understand than no artist wants their creativity questioned, but at the same time, don't discredit the intelligence of your audience. Just admit it, you like to borrow from legends. We get it, Rise and Got To Give It Up are infectious jams, you couldn't help yourself.

All of that aside, I really like this song, and if you value my musical opinion you will too. You're welcome.

Who's Ready for the New Season of The Walking Dead?!...Not This Guy!

OK, after my GTA V induced hiatus, I'm back.  This will probably be a little more complain-y than my previous posts, so bear with my nerd rants a little.

Warning: This blog post contains SPOILERS, TV and Comic Book References.
(Reader Discretion is Advised)

I am a huge fan of The Walking Dead, a comic book from Image comics, created by Robert Kirkman.  It is probably my most favorite comic book series to date.  The series is essentially about one man, Rick Grimes, and the effect the zombie apocalypse has on him and his family.  It deals with how much society and day-to-day life change after something impossible destroys our world as we know it.  This is a dark book.  People die. I worked it out not too long ago, and there was a rough average of one person dying per issue. This accounts for wars and nameless people too, but still, with 115 issues, that is a ton of people getting killed off. This might not sound like a lot, but this is also the "end times," where people are scarce, and these are people dying "on camera."

All that being said, I am NOT a huge fan of The Walking Dead, a television show that airs on AMC, created by Robert Kirkman.  I really honestly thought that Kirkman having a major role in the TV development would make the show amazing.  I was way wrong.  Where do I start?

New Music: Childish Gambino - Yaphet Kotto

Childish Gambino a.k.a. Donald Glover a.k.a. Troy Barnes is at it again, and thank god. In preparation for the release of his sophomore album, Because The Internet, the childish one hits us with this jewel. Currently, the hot trend in hip-hop is to name your song after a buzz worthy public figure (ex: Miley Cyrus, Michael Jordan, Bill Gates, etc...), which is why I think it's AWESOME that CG named this song after a supporting actor in 80s action flicks that nobody today could name. While I've got your attention, Google Yaphet Kotto, and you will find one of the ugliest black actors in history. He literally looks the way his name sounds.

Back to the song. This is pure hip-hop. A mellow beat decorated with creative and witty punchlines, similes, and metaphors. Childish Gambino is probably my sixth favorite rapper out there right now; right behind Dylan, Dylan, Dylan, Dylan, and...umm...oh yeah...Dylan (Chappelle reference, it's okay to giggle, people). This song is exactly what the game is missing. Don't just take my word for it, give a listen for yourself. You're welcome.

31(ish) Horror Films in 31 Days: Day 8 - Hatchet

You know how when one of your favorite songs from when you were a teenager comes on and all you can think about is listening to the whole album or, in some cases, every album from that time? For me it's the 90s grunge genre. Any time I hear an old song from Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, or Nirvana, nothing else sounds appealing to me until I burn through a megamix of all those albums. Well, ever since I watched and reviewed The Hole I've had a yearning for some old school horror. Watching that movie and being a bit let down left a void that I haven't yet had a chance to fill.

Today was a pretty busy day and tomorrow looks to be the same, so, I might have to settle for a couple of review/recommendations. In an attempt to quell my appetite for 80s horror I'm going to recommend a film that makes me feel the way those grunge bands do about music.

31(ish) Horror Films in 31 Days: Day 7 - Are You Scared?

I decided to go off-list today and just pick something that sounded interesting without researching it or looking at its Rotten Tomatoes score. I simply read the description, saw that it wasn't too long and went for it hoping to be impressed but understanding I probably wouldn't be.

I was not.

Entry #7: Are You Scared?

The inquisitive nature of the title is not meant for me (the viewer) but I'll go ahead and answer it anyway:

No. I was not scared. I wasn't scared when this film was called Saw. I wasn't scared of Cube (although I enjoyed that very much), and I wasn't scared of Halloween: Resurrection. Combining those three films with a smaller budget and horrible writing, directing, acting and editing does not make for a scary or even enjoyable film. Not that you care about my enjoyment...

I know it's not "professional" to call a film a rip-off but this... I don't believe this is deserving of professionalism. Plus, I'm no professional, so...suck it, movie.