Zzzz. I Slept on it Too.

{Photo: myspace.com}

Alright. I’ll admit it. I slept on Wale just a little bit. At first, I heard the go-go beats and didn’t really listen to the songs because I thought, like those before him, that his act was a hack. And then I was proven completely, totally, and unequivocally wrong.

DC Native, and a true creative force in the District, Wale, (pronounced “Wah-lay”) has been a force on the underground hip-hop scene for a few years now. …Although, when I think about it, that would also be foolish of me to say “underground” as the skills that Wale has shown, has put him on tracks with super-producer Mark Ronson, and gotten him airplay with Hot97, in NYC. What Wale does, is combine thought conscious lyrics, and original beats, while still making hot-danceclub and radio tracks. At the same time, he’s paying homage to his DC roots and using a lot of go-go beats and arrangements within his music, and that alone put him head and shoulders above his contemporaries, who are merely making radio hits. {I’m looking in your direction, Lil’ Wayne!!}

Below is a link to the track “Rediscover Me”. A gigantic shout out to another DC creative, Peter Rosenberg and the obscure hours he works now, at HOT97. He played this track during his, jeez…. 1-3am, (I think) shift, (Sunday night) a few weeks ago, and it’s been on repeat on my iPod since. The link to the song is free*, and while I don’t condone stealing* music on the net, this one is worth it. And since I can’t find it anywhere else, (myspace, website, under a rock, etc) here it is. Download it, and (goddammit if this weather would ever cooperate!) put the top down, and make this track #1 on your summer mix CD that you bring to the beach, or wherever. With a summer of touring all over the planet, including a bunch of Rock the Bells dates, this guy is destined for bigger things, and you can say your heard him when… -kk

Wale – Rediscover Me

Doughty Vid.

Doughty asks, I oblige. -
“Bex Schwartz directed this video for “Fort Hood.” We made it together, without the record company, because we wanted to get a message out there, about young people whose bodies and minds are still being damaged in Iraq.
Actually, by posting it here, and making it available on YouTube, and embeddable, we’re bumming the record company out. They liked it when we showed it to them, and wanted to coordinate a whole marketing and radio campaign about it. We were going to wait, and let them do their thing, but I watched the primary last night, and hearing Obama and Hillary snark at each other while this terrible nightmare is still going on, I realized I didn’t want to wait.
It’s up at AOL Spinner right now, and soon will be on Stereogum; we’d be humbled and grateful if you guys put it on your profiles; we’d like to get our message out. Thank you.”
-kk

Going Green at 35mph.

…My goodness, what a cliche of a title…

So, it’s FINALLY Spring in Washington, right? The annual raining out of the Cherry Blossom Parade has passed, the Popes is out, it’s finally nice here. So, how many of us have scooters? Quite a few, right? I know some of us have beautiful pink ones too. :  ) Well, you know what? You all may think you’re saving the planet by riding a vehicle that does 60-80mpg in the city… but my ride does 100mpp. (100 miles per penny).  I introduce to you, the Q Electric Espresso scooter. Now, this baby may not be the quickest thing off the line, but on days when there’s a Pope in town, and traffic is literally everywhere, and it’s even slowed down metro trains, I guarantee you that I’m going to reach my destination faster than you. The scooter is plugged in at night, and for 4-8 hours, you can ride roughly 30-50 miles, with a top speed of 35mph. And no gas! Plus, as an added bonus, legally this is considered by the city to be a “bicycle”, and so no registration, no license, no insurance, no nothing is required to drive it. And although it’s not required, one should probably wear a helmet. For more info on getting an electric scooter, visit their website. FYI, should you not want to go with the electric, they also just came out with a hybrid gas/electric and it’s sweet too. : ) One final note, this baby was under a grand. Yeah…  Awesome. Happy scooting! -kk

By Request…

Alright… someone, somewhere, someplace in this gigantic world wide webesphere is giving me traffic, by searching out “Beth Gibbons”, former lead singer of Portishead. I’m not sure why this is such a popular request. I’m not even sure why my blog keeps coming up with a result for this search. I do know, however, that you gotta give the peeps what they want. SO, I might as well hook a searcher up. Here’s Portishead’s “Only You” from 1997, one of my favorite Chris Cunningham videos of all time. Whomever is searching for Beth Gibbons, here she is! : ) -kk

Go See Rogue Wave. Let Wash Over You.

{photo courtesy of Rogue Wave & MySpace.com}

Man, I don’t know what it is about this band… There’s something intimate, yet ornate about the sound. Nearly every song that’s been put out has it’s own agenda, and it’s own creative place. And nearly every track from all 3 of the albums can be used as fodder for your next favorite mix tape CD. : )

This week… ok tomorrow, one of the most original sounding bands of the past 10 years, Rogue Wave, comes to the 9:30 Club. The new album is called “Asleep at Heavens Gate”, and it’s just as outstanding as the previous two releases by Zach and the band. Go see them.

I’ve got to be honest. My writing skills are lacking this morning. I’m mailing this one in, but this band is great, and even if you don’t get a chance to see them live, czech out some of the songs on the myspaces. : ) -kk

Think Pink.

2008 NCBF. Enjoy. -kk

Newseum Opening – Great Succcess!!!

Good news! Everyone loved the grand opening of the Newseum last Friday morning… yea, except for this kid, who sadly, (along with myself) was scarred for life by the gigantic cranium of Abe Lincoln. No wonder Booth only needed one shot. That guy’s melon was huuuuuuuuuge. : ) -kk