grab a beer, a lawn chair, go outside and chill.
perfect summer night listening.


the world is yours - nas
the what - notorious b.i.g. & method man
thieves in the night - blackstar
can i kick it? - a tribe called quest
100 days, 100 nights - sharon jones & the dap kings
flava in your ear - craig mack
heaven & hell - raekwon

I hid under your porch because I love you.

How is it that animated films have such a way of pulling at our heartstrings? I've fallen in love alongside Belle and Arielle and Aladdin and even Simba. And now Pixar's done it too. The studio's newest film, Up, is not only a lesson in adventure in fun and the laughs along the way, but also deep love. Though I laughed throughout much of the film, it had extremely sad moments. The film was about the deepest, truest love, but what happens when that love is done. I won't go any further, but if you're above 12 years old, there's a heartfelt message in the film about true love.

And you left
me shimmering

Like diamond
wedding rings

Spinning dizzily
down on the floor

- moth's wings, passion pit

reunited and it feels so good

It's been two years since DispatchZimbabwe, Dispatch's epic reunion concert at Madison Square Garden that sold out two shows within fifteen minutes of going on sale. Well, the band is doing it again. Only this time with only a week's notice and at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. Dispatch will perform an acoustic concert for Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai of Zimbabwe. Tickets go on sale tomorrow (6/5) at 10am. Dispatch (and Chad Urmston's current band State Radio) have done a good job with publicizing the concert on such short notice. I haven't decided if I'm going to buy a ticket yet, though I am quite inclined to try. Mostly because I am curious to see how long it takes Dispatch to sell out the 1,100 seated Eisenhower Theatre. Five minutes?

Try your luck: tickets.

family roots

Acclaimed French director Olivier Assayas' (Paris, Je T'aime) newest film, makes subtle yet poignant remarks about family relationships along with stunning visuals. When their mother dies, siblings must decide what to do with their family's estate. Keep it for their children or sell its contents to famous museums (like the Musee d'Orsay) and move on with their lives? The film is an understated commentary on human priorities.

"best summer jam"

Baltimore's CityPaper named Mullyman's "Party Walk" the best summer jam. Agreed. Subsequently, I just discovered "BMore Go Harder" also by Mullyman and featuring Jay-Z.
Both are great tracks, especially if you share my Baltimore pride.

listen to more at www.myspace.com/mullyman

this week's playlist

Momma's Boy - Chromeo
Brother Bird - Franklin for Short
A Little Less Conversation (JLX Remix) - Elvis Presely
Party Walk - Mullyman
You Really Wake Up the Love in Me - The Duke Spirit
Change Gonna Come (feat. Charles Hamilton and Asher Roth) - B.O.B
Sleepyhead - Passion Pit
Good Times Roll Pt. 2 - RJD2
This Scene is Dead - We Are Scientists

nowadays folk would rather rap than go to school

there are few people's musical judgments that i trust. so when a friend of mine with impeccable taste in music told me about a new Atlanta rapper, B.O.B, i was eager to listen. and i'm glad i did. i know very little about rap, so i'll let his own bio do the explaining, but i urge everyone to listen to this guy. he is absolutely great. and now that's finally summer, this is the perfect music to listen to on the beach, at a party, wherever the weather is warm.

"B.o.B has a unique talent in that he produces, writes, raps, arranges, and mixes his own music. He is a one stop music creation shop from top to bottom. This allows B.o.B the rare opportunity of recording with reckless abandon. It is a freedom that he willingly accepts. 'I am constantly coming up with songs and concepts because I want to sound different. Nobody made it by sounding like everyone else.' This unique sound caught the attention of two industry heavyweights, Jim Jonsin and TJ Chapman, who are poised to make the rest of the world believers."

"At the age of 17, B.o.B is already well on his way by co-producing and dropping a verse on the “Showstopper (Remix)” by P. Diddy’s Danity Kane featuring Pitbull. Plus, B.o.B has a vault of music with close to 100 songs to choose from for his upcoming Rebel Rock/Atlantic release. And the Southern music mouthpiece Ozone Magazine has already featured B.o.B it its prestigious Patiently Waiting to blow section. (Click this link to read it yourself - http://www.ozonemag.com/nov2006/650/Nov06-60.jpg ). Not to mention, the radio legend, Greg Street has already begun playing B.o.B’s “Cloud 9” five times in one shift on Atlanta’s V103.

B.o.B’s knows for his star to rise, he must tread 'along a very cold road and wherever it ends or begins I do not know.' But, one thing is for certain, B.o.B is a one to one… there’s never Been One Before and there’ll never Be One Beyond."






my favorites: mellow fellow and i'll be in the sky
myspace: http://www.myspace.com/bobatl

political gloss

Obama was criticized for his celebrity

Tim Daly, co-president of The Creative Coalition
A production still from POLIWOOD: Susan Saradon & Josh Lucas at the 2008 DNC
Actor Matthew Modine and director Barry Levinson speak about POLIWOOD after its screening at the Maryland Film Festival.


Barry Levinson's most recent "film essay," POLIWOOD, addresses the hyperreality the media has created within politics. As seen most clearly in the 2008 presidential campaign, Hollywood has infiltrated politics. Obama was criticized for being a celebrity, not a legitimate presidential candidate, by the McCain campaign, and for one of the first times, Hollywood celebrities came out in hordes to endorse their presidential choice, whether it was for Obama or McCain.

POLIWOOD follows actors (including Matthew Modine, Susan Saradon, Rachel Leigh Cook, Josh Lucas, and Anne Hathaway) in conjunction with The Creative Coalition as they try learn more about politics, and understand how their voices both hurt and help. Throughout the film, celebrities are constantly criticized for viewing themselves as lofty and important, though mass society believes they are using their platform improperly and know no more than anyone else. This raises the question of celebrity power and mass resentment by the public.

Levinson makes a poignant example with his film, a scary idea that everything we encounter is filtered through a glossy media counterpart.

Can celebrities influence us? http://www.thecreativecoalition.org/events/youvotevideo.htm

shooting stars

"shooting stars" by this band mysteriously showed up in my itunes one day after a friend downloaded it on my computer. lucky me!
shooting stars by bag raiders

matt dunne

singer/songwriters pop up all the time. some are worth our time and many are not. this may be a shameless plug for a friend, but Matt Dunne is one singer/songwriter who is worth your time. a little bit jason mraz mixed with some of dispatch's rhymes, and completely melodic.

check him out: myspace
or buy him: iTunes
become his fan: facebook

1994.

the wackness.
directed by jonathan levine.
starring ben kingsley, josh peck, olivia thirby.

Coming of age story set in NYC during the summer of 1994. Socially awkward high school grad, luke, gets by selling pot, but things get more interesting when he befriends his "shrink" and falls for his daughter, Stephanie. Great performances by Kingsley, Peck, and Thirby.
Amazing soundtrack featuring Notorious B.I.G, A Tribe Called Quest, Nas, and more.

* * * *

be on the lookout

I am a trailer junkie. When bored I like to watch trailers of upcoming movies, get excited for them, and mark their release date in my iCalendar. Here are some of the ones I am most excited for.


Valentino:The Last Emperor
http://www.valentinomovie.com/#home

Lymelife
http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/lymelife/

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/harrypotterandthehalfbloodprince/

Away We Go
http://www.apple.com/trailers/focus_features/awaywego/

Where The Wild Things Are
http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/wherethewildthingsare/

Is Anybody There?
http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/isanybodythere/

Inglourious Basterds
http://www.apple.com/trailers/weinstein/inglouriousbasterds/

Make your own list.
apple.com/trailers

still cool after all these years?

Let's face it. U2 has been around forever and, hey, they deserve it. Who could ever lose their love for those Irishmen? They were the first concert I ever saw, and a truly amazing experience to see live.


I recently rekindled my love for U2, as I do for so many bands while I lose myself on concentrating finding the newest, trendiest music. I mentioned this to a friend and she commented on how even though U2 isn't "cool" to listen to, she will never stop loving them. U2 is uncool?! I thought. How could Bono, the King of Shades, ever be uncool? Perhaps it isn't their music that is uncool but liking them instead. For our parents' generation, U2 will always be cool because they grew up with them and serenaded them in their early adult years, but what about for us? Are we so consumed with finding the "hippest" music today that we've deemed some of the best bands ever as uncool and dated?


A sad day when this occurs indeed. But for me, I'll keep playing "Sunday, Bloody Sunday" and rocking out to "Elevation," even if it does means I'm uncool.

music magic

It's an interesting experience when a mediocre film has an amazing soundtrack. I'm usually intrigued and keep watching because of the music, not the film. And at the end of it all, though the movie may have been truly horrible, I generally end up liking the film. This could be just because I love music so much, but maybe it's the actual impact music has.

Two movies come to mind.

Elizabethtown.
Starring Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst.
With lines like "Do you ever just think I'm fooling everybody?" it may be hard not to gag. But the banal love routine is jazzed up by its incredible folk/country soundtrack. Sold in two volumes, the soundtrack includes "It'll All Work Out" and "Square One" by Tom Petty, "Long Ride Home" by Patty Griffin, "My Father's Gun" by Elton John, "Where to Begin" by My Morning Jacket, and many, many more.
Interested? Click Here.

The Last Kiss.

Starring Zach Braff and Rachel Bilson.
Another obnoxious, but definitely worse, love story. The whole film really should be disregarded (its cute trailer reveals nothing of the actual film). Yet again though, the soundtrack is awesome. A combination of blues and alternative, the music is honestly the film's only redeeming quality. My favorites include "Paperweight" by Joshua Radin And Schuyler Fisk, "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk" by Rufus Wainwright, and "Prophecy" by Remy Zero.
For your health, hit this link.