David Sedaris's New Book

All of us self-promote, which is what I am about to do. Don't say I didn't warn you.

To read a thoughtful review of David Sedaris's new book, When You Are Engulfed in Flames, check out Campus Progress. The review - yes written by yours truly - considers Sedaris's work as whole then details what readers will find in his newest work.

Invasion of the Ghosts

In just a day I discovered two bands I love that have "ghost" in their names. The Black Ghosts, calling the UK home, make some rich eletronica that elevates pop music beyond stupid love songs. Their songs are catchy, easy to move to, and up tempo fun. Likewise, Holy Ghost gets the beats going. Their music is more subtle compared to the tunes The Black Ghosts turn out, however their electronica is still up tempo with lots of well-crafted blips and beats. You may not have their songs stuck in you head, but they get the party started nonetheless.

Girl Talk - Free the Music

The first time I heard Girl Talk I had to sit down. It was October 2006 and my friend brought over Night Ripper, the third album from the DJ Gregg Gillis. He popped the CD into the stereo and we just sat on the sofa and listened - not once, but twice. 

As music lovers, we were blown away by the ease with which Gillis had mixed all these seemingly different songs and genres together. That's right, we were blown away by a mash-up DJ, but not just any mash-up DJ. Girl Talk might be the best because he creates new songs from old ones, which is more than what most mash-up DJs do. 

Gillis has a new album, Feed the Animals and he's asking for donations. Radiohead did a similar setup with its last album, but in the case of Gillis it's more interesting because there are some people who do not consider him an artist because he's "just sampling." Personally, I deem Gillis a postmodern music deity because his music is fun and exciting. But decide for yourself and check out what's done on Girl Talk's website.   

Pete Philly and Perquisite

Let's set the scene for this eclectic hip hop group I just discovered: On vacation last week I was cursing with a girl friend and she had Pete Philly and Perquisite in her CD player. She lives in Minneapolis, not a place known for hip hop. Pete Philly and Perquisite call the Netherlands home, also not a place known for hip hop. For some reason their music spoke to the moment. It's not super upbeat, but not down tempo either. Basically the group sounds like Outkast if Outkast listened to a lot of Latin and World music.

Pete Philly and Perquisite are interesting because their hip hop comes from many musical canons. When listening you hear a lot of influences, which is not the case in mainstream hip hop. It's a sad but exciting day when two dudes from the Netherlands create better hip hop music than most artists in American, the birth place of the genre.

Video of the Week - Katy Perry

"I Kissed a Girl" by Katy Perry is all about girl power. Sure there's the stereotypical girl-on-girl pillow fight and come-hither gazes from Perry, who is oh so cute, but the song and video focus on fun details that are more note worthy than your typical Top 40 love song. Besides any song that talks about cherry chap stick is great in my opinion.  

Felix Da Housecat

Disco and funk have met electronica in Felix Da Housecat's crazy-fun music. He's been making music for 20 years and has been tearing up the dance floor for the past 6 with his blend of beats, entertaining lyrics, and move-your-body groves. Check out his video for "Like Something 4 Porno." The video makes me feel like I stuck in a 1960s documentary about the sexual revolution except this documentary has a better-than-average soundtrack.

Best E-card Website Ever

So I ran across this E-card website today. Actually I shouldn't take the credit for finding this hilarious site - my boss showed it to me. If you need to send a funny/ridiculous e-card to someone this is your site. My favorite card of the moment says, "One of us needs to make the first move in requesting Facebook friendship." This one is good too, "Sorry I broke up with you via this ecard." Life just got better because I have these e-cards to send to friends and family.

Girl Crush on Regina Spector

I have a girl crush on Regina Spector. She's this amazing artist with wonderful cheekbones and a powerful voice that reminds me of a nightingale. Her song "Fidelity" is highly addictive and was suspended in my brain for an entire evening after I saw the music video. See for yourself on YouTube. You're sure to get the chorus stuck in your head, but that's a good thing.

Hillary Clinton in the Sex and the City Age

Inspired by Judith Warner's New York Times opinion piece about Hillary Clinton and the Sex and the City age, I find the urge to write about what it means to be a women in the early part of twenty first century.  I will preface my post by saying I speak only for myself and maybe others feels the same. 

The mass media loves to proclaim how far American society has progressed from its sexist beginnings because Hillary Clinton was in the running from a presidential nomination. They are right - we have come a long way, but when women would rather get dressed up to watch a movie about females floundering over men than become leaders we have to access our supposed progress. Women have defined their personal success within the context of their interpersonal relationships (being a good friend, wife, and mother), opposed to their professional relationships and capacities. Sex and the City's success illustrates this phenomenon. The show broadcast the message that as long as you have your friends you're a successful woman. It said little about developing your business or professional acumen and making that a measure of your success. And it's not like this kind of entertainment isn't valued. There are plenty of shows about men being successful with professional context, but very few about men being successful in interpersonal contexts. 

The media really doesn't show women being leaders. When women are successful in shows and movies they tend to be viewed negatively. Enter Hillary Clinton, one of the most successful and powerful women portrayed in the media. She is forever being judged negatively and called all kinds of sexist names. So, if you are a thirteen-year-old girl and see this why would you aspire to be a leader? 

America is not creating women leaders. It is creating women who are obsessed with having enough friends and totting the right handbag. It is creating women who worry about maintaining the right weight so they won't be call fat and ugly because that's the worse crime a women can commit. It is creating women who need men to elevate their self worth.  

My hope is that Hillary's bid for the nomination and the conversations it has produced will embolden women to pursue more leadership roles and judge themselves less harshly. Otherwise the pressure modern women endure with snap us. 

Vladimir Nabokov's Lost Story

I am terribly excited. The New Yorker will publish a previously untranslated story by Vladimir Nabokov, the author of the novel about love, obsession, and pedophilia - Lolita. The story, titled "Natasha," is about a young woman who cares for an ill father while morning their exile from Russia. Nabokov wrote the story in 1942, five years after his own father's exile from Russian. Nabokov's son, Dmitri, translated the story.

"Natash" will appear in the summer fiction issue of The New Yorker, which is on news stands June 9th.

Common - Hip Hop still tells a story

Common's album Finding Forever has been out for a while, however I just checked out some of the videos and the video for "Drivin' Me Wild" is excellent because it goes back to hip hop's story telling roots, opposed to just showing huge diamonds, crazy cars, and hoed out girls. I wish mainstream hip hop was more like the music Common produces. 

My Sex and the City Review

Do you like sex? Do you live in a city? If you answered yes to either question then you should read my review of the Sex and The City movie that I did for Campus Progress, a savvy online magazine that promotes youth leadership and smart discussions.

Video of the Week - Santogold

Check out my new favorite artist, Santogold and her video L.E.S. Artistes. This catchy track reminds me of M.I.A. and happens to have a horse (like many girls, I loved horses at one point and even rode) in the video. Modern dance has clearly influenced this producer/singer. The video features symbolic scarves and funky moves. If it's a little weird too weird, take a look a her live performance of "Creator" at Coachella. I love how she combines reggae, punk, and hip hop influences into something fun, yet meaningful. 

Video of The Week - Santogold

Check out my new favorite artist, Santogold. This women kills it. She reminds me of MIA but with more reggae, hip hop, and punk influences. Her music is fun yet still says something about the world we live in. To me the best music not only sounds great but has a great message or story to tell. Santogold does just that.

Dating the Homeless

I love when something you read engrosses you so much that you forget you're hungry or thirsty. This week's Modern Love column in the New York Times did just that - made me ignore my bodily needs. My reaction is slightly ironic because the column, written by Lee Conell, is about her homeless, ascetic boyfriend, who chooses to sleep under the stars instead of a ceiling. 

The boyfriend, Terry, sought personal fulfillment by rejecting material objects. Like Conell, I enjoy create comforts, which makes it hard to embrace Terry's mission to rebel against a mainstream lifestyle. Living in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury neighborhood makes it even harder to endorse ascetic behaviors. I can't walk down Haight Street without at least two people asking me for money. Mind you, Terry's more rural brand of homelessness seems to be different from the city brand that I encounter, but bumming around is bumming around. I doubt the kids I see ever find enlightenment. They just find lice and drugs. 

Conell's essay concludes with Terry giving up on his experiment with homelessness. She gloats when he fails and returns to four walls. However she knows the dreamer in her shouldn't celebrate Terry quitting. Likewise, I know I shouldn't be so hard on the kids I see on the street. When I was sixteen nothing would have pleased me more than to have run away from my small town to have adventures. I didn't have the courage to embrace that lifestyle and go against the statuesque. And just because I couldn't venture into the underbelly of American I shouldn't judge those who can. Modern Love reminded me of this.  

Scarlett Johansson - The Singer

Everyone knows that the journey from the silver screen to CD or MP3 is parlous. The trip has destroyed many a career. Just recently the general public has had to endure albums from Lindsey Lohan and Minnie Driver. These albums, no matter how good the actress or actor's voice, seem overproduced and boring. These performers add nothing to the musical canon because they're not willing to take artistic risks with their music.

Now, Scarlett Johansson embarks on this fitful path, but her itinerary is very different from say Hillary Duff. She has chosen to do Tom Waits covers. Interestingly enough, most people only know Waits's music through covers. For instance: "Jersey Girl," performed by Bruce Springsteen; "Downtown Train," performed by Rod Stewart; and "Ol' 55," performed by the Eagles. Johansson joins this list with the help of David Bowie and TV on the Radio producer Dave Sitek.

It is at this moment I desperately want to be a high-profile journalist for say Rolling Stone and nab an interview with Johansson. I want to ask her why she decided to do Waits covers and pour whisky and motor oil all over her voice. I want to ask her want she knows about the seedy dive bars and eerie figures Waits describes in his music. Finally, I want to ask her how she got David Bowie to sing on her record. I wouldn't ask these questions with hostility, after all I like the album. I've listened to Anywhere I Lay My Head three times now and find it's shadowy blues and jazz charming. Maybe like other actresses' efforts the album is overproduced, but at least it's doing something a little different. And Johansson, true to her roots, makes us believe she's experienced what she's singing about.

I am not saying Anywhere I Lay My Head is a great album, but Johansson has made it through her journey with dignity, which is more than you can say for Lindsey and the like.

Video of the Week

Here's the deal, every week I am going to post a video that kicks ass. This week's video is home grown San Francisco fun. The artist is called Wallpaper and he's basically a low-budget, but funnier version of Justin Timberlake. His best song is "T-Rex." Enjoy!

Simian Mobile Disco - Hustler

Recap: I heard this song for the first time at work. No - I don't work at a bar or club (although that might be a better alternative to my current job). Basically, I look for errors in peoples' writing then fill out dull paperwork so the stuff will appear in the world. Anyway, I was jamming to Pandora's musical offerings and heard Simian Mobile Disco's "Hustler." 

The dirty techno blips and profound chorus, "I am a hustler baby. That's what my dad has made me," inspired me. I think everyone feels like a hustler since gangster rap has taken over the radio airwaves. We've adopted that mindset collectively. We are either hustling to make money, or we're hustling to get laid. Some of us are doing both. 

Being the good employee that I am, I stopped doing work and started investigating this song and group. It turns out this duo reports from Bristol, England and has a ridiculous sense of humor. My evidence: The "Hustler" video, which features a gang of meagerly clothed women dancing in a disco void stuffing their faces with french files, peanut butter, cake, and spaghetti. As milkshake flowed over one women's breasts, I couldn't help but enjoy the irony. To look as sexy as these women do, one wouldn't be able to stuff one's face with Twinkie. There's also an ironic link between hustling to feed one's self and the copious amounts of food found in the video. 

Regardless of all the underlying means or lack there of, the song sounds cool and makes me want to dance. It made me stop what I was doing and take notice. The more music I listen to the harder it is for me to be wowed like this. I guess that's what this blog is for, to remind myself of all the things people make that wow me and touch my life.