Happy X-mas

Just wanted to wish a very happy x-mas to you and your family.

Below is my favorite x-mas pic for two reasons. One, because it is so wrong on so many levels, and b) because somehow, my friend Tom was able to convince a Santa to allow this pic to be taken. Bless you Tom.



Love and Peace,
K-dizzle

Happy Festivus yall

Today is the unofficial celebration of Festivus. And I will do my best to follow the tradition the great Frank Costanza passed down.



Festivus begins with the airing of grievances, and while I may have grievances with some people, I do not think it is fair to air them in a public forum where I can't assume everyone is at least half drunk. So instead, I will air my grievances against the karmic world.

First and foremost, why the hell did that guy have to crash into my car in that rest stop in NY. What the hell was that all about? Then to top it off, the ass-hole doesn't have insurance, so now I'm out $2000 of my own money, which I have to sue him in NJ small claims court to recoup, assuming he doesn't leave the country or go bankrupt first. Then to top it off, I pick up the car and the transmission dies, and now I have to shell out another $4000 to get it fixed. Fuck you Karma!

My second grievance concerns the shit load of money I spent on this dating service "It's Just Lunch" They set you up on blind dates based on personality surveys, and it is low pressure because well, it's just lunch (or after dinner drinks for those who prefer to have a little alcohol before a blind date) So I've been on 8 of the "dates" now and and only one has turned into a second date, and she was moving to Iraq for 6 months 2 weeks after our date. And no they have been calling me to say "we found a match" and they get my availability, and never call me back with the date. You suck It's Just Lunch, I want my money back.

My last grievance for this Festivus is about society as a whole. We seem to be moving further and further away from the true meaning things. Take Christmas for example. We spend more time thinking about the perfect gift for someone, and forget why we are giving them a gift in the first place. We give gifts to the people we love, and who love us back. We give gifts because we want to thank those people for bringing joy into our lives. I heard a radio commercial for a jewelry store where the guy at the end says something like "I could say I love her, but actions speak louder than words" Yes, actions speak louder than words, but the act of buying a diamond necklace, then not showing you love her the rest of the year, says "I'm willing to spend $1000 on you in December and hope that shows I love you until next December when I'll spend $1100" Acts of love are not about how much you spend on a person, they are about giving of yourself.

Happy Festivus, Chanukah, Christmas, x-mas, Kwanza, and most importantly Happy Love to you all!

Going Hi Tiz-ek

I got to do this thing with this person today. I had a lot of fun. Unfortunately, the power of "The Man" kept it shorter than desired, but tomorrow presents another chance for continuance.

So my friend and fellow blogger Mike told me today that I need to start fancying up the ol' MyCI home base a bit with pics and videos and all that 23rd century shit. And since I'd rather through the light on other people, I'm going to hype up my boys Panacea/Restoring Poetry in Music.

First I should explain why the two names. Restoring Poetry in Music (RPM), is a band that formed back in in the day. I was living in a house with the guitarist in '02 and they are good. Then the MC met this guy K-Murdock and they put together an album under the name Panacea. Over the years, 5 albums have come out between the two names, with much colaboration between them, and they preform live as one with songs from both groups and it is dope.

Here is the first single off Panacea's major label debut, Ink Is My Drink, called Starlight.



And here is the first single off their second album, The Scenic Route called Pop's Said



And now two videos from RPM. First is Poetry Bum off the Poetry Bum CD



And this is the first single off their second album Pyramids in Moscow, Less is More



You can check out both bands at www.myspace.com/panaceanmusic and www.myspace.com/restoringpoetryinmusic

Stay tuned. I've got some good end of the year stuff coming

Official In Ranbows Review

Alrighty, so here is the long awaited review of In Rainbows, the new Radiohead album. I posted on my old blog the day I got the album, that I was liking it so far, and I would wait until I got the second album in the disc box version before I commented officially. Well I received the disc box on Friday, and have made my way through disc 2 a few times, and here is what I got to say.

15 Steps: This is a great track to start off the album. At first I thought it was a little odd to lead of the album, and would have better placed as track 3, but after a few listens (I'm up to 65 now by the way) it is a great way to start. It sets the tone for the album as a kick-ass rock tune. It is in 5/4 time signature, with a minimalist approach at the beginning. The guitar comes in beautifully in the left channel, and then in the second chorus, there is an awesome bass line that pops up that gets your shoulders moving. At the end, the harmony changes up in a typical Radiohead way, reminding you that even though this is some new shit, it's still Radiohead.

Bodysnatchers: Read online that this track was recorded in one take, and damn it shows. Very nice layering with gritty Jonny Greenwood guitar coming in towards the end of the first verse. There is a line in the first chorus "I have no idea what I am talking about" and one reviewer said "finally Thom Yorke agrees with the rest of the world" Fuck that guy. It's about taking that pause at times in life and saying to yourself, what the fuck I am I talking about? There is again beautiful guitar breaks after the second verse, and then again to finish the song it rocks out. It's going to be a great one live.

Nude: The first slower song on the album, it starts with some nice strings and Thom harmonizing, and then goes into a minimalist bass and drum pattern. The song is about a chance to cheat on your significant other, and the complacency you tend to feel when you've settled with your "soul mate". "You'll go to hell for what your dirty mind is thinking" Dark and beautiful like only Radiohead can do.

Weird Fishes/Arpeggi: This song has some of the best lyrics (second to House of Cards) "Everybody leaves if they get the chance" and "I'll hit the bottom and escape" talking about sinking to the bottom of the sea to escape. There is a bubbly meter to the guitar, and Ed comes in with some very nice harmony about half way.

All I Need: This is a cool song, perfect in the flow of the album. The lyrics are interesting, and something I feel I can relate to. The first verse and chorus go,
I'm the next act
waiting in the wings
I'm an animal
Trapped in your hot car
I am all the days
that you choose to ignore

You are all I need
You are all I need
I'm in the middle of your picture
Lying in the reeds

It is about thinking you know what is good for someone just because you think it is good for you. It is a hard lesson to learn, thinking you know what is good for other people. But if you learn it right, you recognize that when you are wrong about other people's needs, you are probably wrong about your own as well.

Faust Arp: A pretty acoustic song, in the vein of The Beatles "Julia" one of my favorite Beatles songs. An interesting lyric towards the end "I love you but enough is enough/ a last stop/there's no real reason/you've got a head full of feathers/you got melted butter" If you can tell me what the means, I'll my first child after you.

Reckoner: I say Reckoner is my least favorite song only because something has to be least. It is a good song, again minimalist, with a heavy emphasis on the tambourine. I think this was one of the songs Thom played drums on when I say them live last year. The lyrics are very humanistic, and you can make similarities to Radiohead's, and Thom's especially, passion for stopping the human contribution to global warming. "Because we separate like ripples on a blank shore"

House of Cards: "I don't want to be your friend/I just want to be your lover/No mater how it starts/No matter how it ends/Forget about your house of cards/And I'll do mine" A great song, smooth and melodic. Gorgeous layering and the production is excellent, a great example of Thom Yorke's vocal ability.

Jigsaw Falling Into Place: I fight myself over whether this is my favorite, or Bodysnatchers. It probably has the most lyrics of any Radiohead song ever, and they are pretty introspective. It appears as a commentary about music listeners, but I see it also as a reflection about society as a whole not really seeing the depth of reality, and being fooled by the mind-numbing media that has no real meaning.

Videotape: A fucking absolutely fucking gorgeous song. Piano driven in a classic Thom Yorke way. The song starts, "When I'm at the pearly gates/This will be on my videotape" I have this vision of Thom video-tapping the birth of his child and the joy he and his wife are sharing at that moment because of the child, and then that video being the greatest gift he can give back to his child on his death bed. The song ends "No mater what happens now/You shouldn't be afraid/Because I know today has been the greatest day I've ever seen" I dream of having those kind of moments.

Well that is my review of In Rainbows. I highly recommend everyone one of you getting this album, I will make you a copy if you don't want to spend the money. In my mind it is the album of the year, hands down, and I've heard a ton of great shit this year. I did not comment on the second disc because I've only listened to it about 6 times. If you want my comments on those 8 songs, talk to in a month or so.

Peace

The first snow/#21

This is one of my favorite days of the year. For me, winter officially begins with the first snow, and yes, we still have 15 days until winter actually begins and we'll probably not see snow again until February, but I will celebrate now. I used to have a tradition on t he first snowfall of the year where I would run around my yard in nothing but my underwear, but I think I might actually be maturing (insert you own sarcastic comment here).

I also wanted to briefly comment on the Sean Taylor stuff that went down last week. As you all know, I am a huge Skins fan, and Taylor was one of my favorite players. I was shocked when I first heard the news, but like some, I was not surprised. Michael Wilbon has taken a lot of criticism about his article Dying Young, Black (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/27/AR2007112702680.html registration is free, you just need to sign up) and how he said he was not surprised Taylor was shot, but not necessarily because of his past like many have said, rather because the culture of violence in our country. He called for an open honest discussion about how the number one killer of black men between the ages of 15-24 is murder.

I can never fully understand the difficulty of this situation, I will never have the life experiences to gain the perspective of what it means to be black in America (or any country). The perspective I can share though is an overall fear about the direction our country (and humanity in general) is heading. I know every generation looks at the ones that follow and fear the worst, but I am genuinely afraid of how our value system in degrading and what we perceive as a society is important.

I think technology has played a major role in this, in the way we seem to be creating more and better ways of avoiding actual human contact to the point where our lack of reliance on other actual people has made us devalue other people's lives. We no longer see the need to have actual human contact and perceive our lives more important than anyone else. While a sense of self-preservation is natural, and necessary, but not to the level of thinking someone else does not have as much of a right to existence as you.