In case you didn't know Stacie and I have a company called Dr. SOS. The company is focused on media and services. On that note we launched phase one of our brand new site to emphasize our focus at http://calldoctorsos.com .
You can read some of the articles we are writing and editing, listen to the "Call Doctor SOS" radio segment and more to come. There will be more over the next coming week.
When will anyone catch up to Jay and Kanye? H.A.M. was okay, but Otis is a classic, using triple old school Otis Redding and James Brown samples they have cranked out an addicting and slightly complex mix of beats and samples. Bamas stopped using James Brown samples in the '90's right? Now Jay and Kanye have decided J.B. samples are back in vogue.
It's great to hear Ye really get his lyrical skills grinding. In a duet with Hov, I guess one has no choice.
Do yourself a favor and grab the single - http://www3.hulkshare.com/d/bkh6ykoe76sxc57ggkfq4sjcuiq3loue6vygisxcda/Otis.mp3 . Sheesh, no telling how many rotations this one will get today.
Recently, Girl Talk released a mixtape titled "All Day", which I believe refers to how long you can spin this joint. If you haven't downloaded it yet, stop reading, go grab it, listen and then come back. It's been out for about 3 weeks now and it's so hot, even NPR felt the need to cover it. All day is a compilation of masterfully blended samples and rhymes that reaches into the crates for rock and hip from every corner of the 80's, 90's and 20's (looks weird right). It is one of the most technically complex and beautifully mastered mixtapes ever created, period.
Since you're still reading, I'm assuming that you followed my instructions and you've listened to it. What's amazing about his CD is that it has the ability to make you nod your head to rhymes that you never liked before you listened to "All Day". I'm not a fan of Gucci, Twista, or Young MC, but I'm here to tell you, that Girl Talk makes them sound like top twenty rhymers, by taking some of their best bars and paring them with layered samples that sound like they were lost at birth. The re-imagining of several rhymes and samples from classic rock to classic hip hop combine to sound as if they were produced in-studio from the same mixing board. This is where Girl Talk shines.
Just in case you aren't aware, some of the best music today comes from the mixtape scene, where you have hungry DJs, trying to get noticed as producers (Danger Mouse) to break into the game. You also have platinum artists (Rick Ross, Kanye West, Young Jeezy) producing mixtapes as promotional tools, using tracks that they couldn't get sample approvals (ex. Ludacris - He-Man, GhostFace - No, No, No) or simply tossing out their own ode to the streets in between studio albums. The main difference between mix-tapes put out by featured artists as compared to their studio albums is the mastering quality.
I'm not sure whether mixtapes are working as a marketing strategy for studio artists. As a matter of fact I've enjoyed some of the mixed tapes more than their studio counterparts. One that comes to mind is Kanye's G.O.O.D Music releases versus his My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Honestly, I think he released most of the best music before the album came out and their are a few tracks that didn't make the album that should have (Lord, Lord, Lord featuring Charlie Wilson, anybody).
Illroots and DjDownloadz are great resources for the mixtape scene. There are no shortages of sites dedicated to promoting and reviewing the latest sets, but I'll get you started with a few standouts. Yes a few of them have been out for a while, but if you are reading this then you need to catch up anyway.
If you have any favorites throw them in the comments. If it's weak I will call you out for wasting my precious listening time.
Gone!
First of all Apple should be ashamed that there is no default method of exporting to a CSV file or acceptable delimited format from Address Book. I truly felt trapped as I tried to get ready for an inaugural mailing to my personal contacts. Exporting contacts or contact groups from Address Book requires at least one other application. Here is a quick list of recommended solutions:
1) If you have Numbers (Apple's iWork spreadsheet application), you can simply drag contacts or contact groups to a blank Numbers spreadsheet. After dragging go to 'Table' in the menu and then 'Unhide all Columns'. Voila, after some cleaning up you will have what you need to upload to your favorite mailing service.
2) This solution is elegant, but as an AppleScript with a simple UI at $18 US, I felt that it cost too much. Alas if you don't have Numbers this is the way to go. Subclassed's Export Address Book.
3) Although I don't recommend this option, if you are too stubborn to purchase Numbers or the Subclassed app, then you have the venerable Address Book Converter written by David Martin way back in '01 or '02. It requires OS 10.1.2, so that gives you an idea of how long it's been around.
Hopefully I just saved you 30 minutes of your life.
Have you become so close to one of your gadgets that you gave it a name? Remember when our teachers wanted to teach us about inanimate objects they typically told you that it wasn't a living creature. I'm not saying that gadgets talk to me, but certainly they have personality, I feed them and I find one or two offer me comfort. That's more than I can say about some of the stiffs I've met.
I named my iPod Shuffle, Shufflleupagus. What gadgets have you named?
Post your gadget's name in the comment field.
Yep sorry, no more deferring dreams. When I was young, I dreamed of being a successful black (business) man. These days one might say okay, what's the big deal about that. A lot actually. Even now, as I socialize, fraternize and weave in and out business/social circles in Virginia there aren't many opportunities to see faces that resemble my own.
One of the men I shared that dream with as a teen called me today to let me know he had completed his first book after 3 years of writing. That man, Anton Gunn or should I say Representative Anton Gunn of the South Carolina House of Representatives also shared that dream. He called to share with me that yet another part of the dream had been achieved.
The foreword of his book has been written by a man that was an inspiration to us in our formative years. During those years, we made our way through an evolution that was a mix of militance, peace, a search for our roots and heritage, a search for our voice and lots of rap music.
I won't steal any of Anton's thunder, by telling you who the author of the foreword might be, but I can tell you that Anton has taken another long stride in his personal evolution. I am privileged to call him friend and occasionally walk with him during his journey.
Anton, do your thing. The dreams no longer have to be deferred.
Peace.
