Xchoboomer

I caught a short clip about the contraversy surrounding Window Seat on the evening news tonight. My first reaction from what little I did see was  did she really just do that. Hallowed ground, kids around or not it was beautiful. I just had to check it out for myself as I’ve always been a fan of hers and downloaded the album a few days ago but haven’t had a chance to listen to it yet. I actually came across Erykah’s interview with the Dallas News before I caught the full video at her official website. Her explanation is actually fascinating.

“Liberating yourself from layers and layers of skin or demons that are a hindrance to your growth or freedom, or evolution.”

I can relate to that. I have layers and demons that need to be shed. I’m not going to shed my clothes in front of the grassy knowl but I can respect the artistic freedom of expression in this and its inspiring to my own self expression.

The guerilla video is absolutely amazing.  In the article with the Dallas News she talks about being petrified and frightened as she began shedding her clothes and the insecurities and vulnerabilities about her body. You could actually see it in her eyes and face as she gets closer and closer to being completely naked.  I love how politically charging Erykah has always been and this is why the place is important and the panorama shot at the very end showing the 360 degree view of the grassy knoll, the Texas School Book Repository, and the American flags waving in the background.

I love this whether or not she just dropped an album and is doing it for the publicity. Of course shes doing it for the publicity. That’s the business. But she has always been true to the artist within her and conciouse of the politics and social environment . This is no exception. And I love what she says in response to whether she considered the children. She was honest. “I didn’t think about them until I saw them, and in my mind I tried to telepathically communicate my good intent to them.”

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Growing up in inner city LA in the mid 80′s was no picnic. I was intitiated into my first gang by the time I was in the third grade. It was a two step process as I was peer-pressured into first hitting my childhood friend on the school playground before I was jumped in by 6 or 7 older kids as they kicked the shit out of me on the corner just outside the gates of my elementary school on the grass between the sidewalk and one of the busiest streets in LA as traffic wizzed by and no one stopped. If it were not for the recognition and intervention of teachers and good choices by my folks who knows where I’d be today.

When Stand and Deliver came out in the 80′s it was something I could relate to. I remember watching this and seeing a movie that was about people I knew, not literally, but I knew these people. This movie was about us, our time, our culture, the way we spoke, the way we thought about ourselves, our environment, and our circumstance. It was about people I innocently idolized and looked up to. It was about people I let down (Sorry ‘cisco). It was about choices and making good ones. It was about believing in yourself and beating the odds. It was a positive influence for people who were surrounded by so much negativity.

I’ve never met Jaime Escalante but I knew people like him that changed my life. His movie  influenced me and people around me at a young age. It was a light for my people and we are all indebted to the man. Today we bid farewell to someone who guided us out of the dark and someone who taught us to believe in ourselves. May he rest in peace and his family be comforted by the fact that he touched the lives of so many.

Although I’ve always wanted to make it to Austin for SXSW, I missed it again this year. However, the end of SXSW always reminds me of the awesome music festivals a little closer to home right here in Southern California. Although I’d much rather see an artist perform in the intimate setting of a small club or bar, I love the ambiance and energy that is generated with the right artist and crowd. Sometimes, If I am lucky enough to catch that moment, that very natural mystic as the sun sets over the mountain, the hue of the sky is a color I have never seen before, and the winds of change blow from the hills, down through the canyons, into the valley I stand as it swirls around me, the music enveloping,  an undescribable electricity in the air reminds me that I am here, right now, in this very instant of time and space which will never be again. Then, like that, it is gone! If you’ve ever experienced what I just did my best to describe, you know how magical that fleeting moment is, especially if your with the right person or people.  And as this epic summer approaches I look forward to seeing some of my favorite artists as well as discovering some new music and talented artist that grabs me by my soul, not to mention finding that moment in time I will never forget!

So, I was fortunate enough to start this Spring off right by catching a local rock/reggae favorite of mine last week @ the Roxy. For the hip-hop head and huge fan of the la underground in me, I’m switching gears with the Paid Dues Festival coming up quick in less then two weeks. Although I’ve seen many of thee artists before more then a few times I’m always excited to see Ice Cube, The Dogg Pound, Dilated Peoples, Psycho Realm, and one of my favorites People Under the Stairs – all LA staples. I’m especially excited to see see some some shit I grew up with in the 90′s who I haven’t seen play live in years. You didn’t have to be a part of the LA underground scene in the mid 90′s to know the sounds of the Freestyle Fellowship and Aceyalone or even the Shape Shifters and AWOL ONE. There reputations preceded them around the world. But if you were lucky enough to see them both play the same show you were probably as high as I was and just cant wait!

Coachella, the ultimate summer music fest is a few weeks away. The lineup was announced a month or two ago and it is quite the eclectic mix as always. The headliners are not what I expected this year but nonetheless some compelling acts. I thought Jay-Z was retired but apparently he’s headlining Friday and in a Coachella state of mind. I’ve never seen Muse but there supposed to have amazing shows so I’m really looking forward to seeing them headline Saturday night. The Gorrilaz close the show on Sunday night and I’ve always been a big fan of Noodles, Murdoc, and the gang but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a virtual band so I’m curious to see how the guys from Blur, Mos Def, and Del lay this puppy down. Ussualy its the headliners that have a lot to do with dragging me out to the dessert in years past but this year I’m looking forward to seeing some of the other bands and names I already know and love but have never seen such as Them Crooked Vultures, Vampire Weekend, The Specials, Street Sweeper Social Club, MGMT, The Dead Weather, Les Claypool, Thom Yorke, Pavement, Spoon, and De La Soul. I’ve also been trying to listen to as much of the music as I can from some of these other artists and I’ve liked some of what I’ve heard already.  Check out Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes,Yo La Tengo, and Local Natives. Theres a bunch of Coachella mixes out there like this one and this one to help get to know some of these bands so get out there and explore. To quote Ringo Starr, “You listen to what you listen to. ”

I think Stagecoach is a week after Coachella in Indio at the same Empire Polo club. Ya not a big follower of country music so I’m not gonna say much on this except some of those cowgirls are hot.

Word of advice – skip Bamboozled. Not knocking the bands playing it, well not all of them but most of the corporate bumblegum bullshit. I was unfortunate enough to attend this festival a few years back and it sucked so bad! I believe its in another venue this year, but that year I ended up standing on blacktop all day and it felt like I should of been escorted there by someone over 30, except I think I was the escort. The whole thing reminded me of a cheap twisted  wanna-be of Perry Ferrell’s 90′s era Lollapalooza except it felt more like I was at a carnival or in a Stephen King remake of IT. And for an event that is a New Jersey transplant and feature Jersey shore bands such as The bouncing souls they neglected to book a NJ band that had one of the better and refreshing albums of 2008-2009. Although I might think less of them if they actually played this show so I’m glad the hardest Saturday night managed to stay away.

Which brings me to the Bonaroo Festival in Mid June. This lineup is amazing and much the talent has had an unmeasurable effect on me.  I wish it was in so cal but what better place to hear some amazing artists then just outside of Nashville, the heart and soul of the music world. Stevie Wonder headlines and amazing lineup. No Shit! Here’s a quick rundown of the part of the lineup I’d really like to see but not sure if I can swing it. Kid Cudi, Damian Marley and Nas, Norah Jones, Rise Against, Dave Matthews Band,Kings of Leon,Stevie Wonder, Jay-Z, Conan O’Brien, Tenacious D, Weezer, The Flaming Lips performing Dark Side of the Moon featuring Stardeath and White Dwarfs, The Dead Weather, Tori Amos, Les Claypool, The Black Keys, Dropkick Murphys, Deadmau5, Ozomatli, The Gaslight Anthem, They Might Be Giants, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, Manchester Orchestra, Local Natives, Rebelution, Lucero, and so many others.

If that isn’t enough Lollapalooza ends the summer season in Chicago with another great lineup. A lot of these musicians are playing both Bonnaroo and Coachella but if you need an excuse to see Chicago, this is it. Who wouldnt want to see Tool, The Killers, Perry Ferrel and Juana’s Addicion, Kings of Leon,  Ben Harper, Snoop Dogg, Santigold, Atmosphere, Cold War Kids, Airborne Toxic Event, and Manchester Orchestra. Again I wish this was a little closer to home. And why in the heck did Lollapalooza leave the LA scene. I had some amazing times there as a kid and I wish it was still rockin’ the south bay. It was a fun festival.

Well this is going to be an amazing summer to see some live music and there’s a myriad of other festivals and shows sprinkled between the major ones like Movement Electronic Festival , the Sasquatch festival in Washinton, and the Harmony Festival in Santa Rosa the same weekend as the Bonnaroo featuring Michael Franti & Spearhead, India.Arie, Matisyahu, CAKE, Dead Kennedys, Bad Brains, Pepper, and Rebelution. The New Orleans Jazz Festival looks interesting with Simon & Garfunkel, Pearl Jam, Elvis Costello. BB King, The Neville Brothers, Van Morrison, George Clinton, and the Black Crowes.

I wont see them all unfortunately but I will get my fix. And I’ll be looking for that moment again.

They did it! They did the improbable  and what seemed to be nearly impossible after the passing of Edward Kennedy and the consequent filling of his seat by a Republican. Nonetheless, they got it done! Health care reform will be a reality. 32 million more Americans who do not have health insurance will be covered, insurance companies will not be able to deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions, tens of thousands of Americans will be saved from filing bankruptcy each year, health care fraud will be addressed, and $1.3 trillion will be saved over the course of the next decade or so. What are people protesting for?

This is progressive and  historic change. Change the American people voted for in 2008 and change that President Barack Obama and Speaker Pelosi and many others delivered on tonight at the delight of the ones that voted them into office. I’d like to congratulate them all and send my personal thanks to President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, Harry Reid and especially to those who risked their seats, and everyone else that had a hand in taking the American peoples and my best interest to heart over the special interests of the insurance and pharmaceutical companies. Democrats may be voted out of office for this. Even President Obama is not safe from the spin doctors who will attempt to twist this against him. We cant let that happen. We  need to campaign even harder in November for the ones who risked everything to make change happen.

I’m not one to watch C-SPAN very often but I must say that this process was fascinating to watch tonight. I was glued to CNN throughout the day. What I found astounding was how so many Republicans were so misleading tonight as they resorted to using inflamatory language,  scare tactics, and fear mongering to pull the wool over there constituents eyes as they simply strategized to position themselves for mid-term elections in November. For example, even after it was factual information that President Obama had struck a “back-room deal” with pro-life Democrats to sign an executive order that would disallow federal dollars to be spent on abortion, the minority leader still had the nerve to state before the House that this bill will be used by pro-choicers to fund abortions through pro-lifers tax dollars. Really! And whats even more astounding is the fact that there constituents, many of whom this bill is going to benefit, are so fucking ignorant, or just rich and don’t give a shit about anybody else, that they can’t connect the fucking dots and actually believe this bill is taking dollar bills out of there wranglers to fund abortions from the likes of Lil Kim, Traci Lords, Sinead O’connor, and the hot girl-next door.

So let me get this straight. Is it just coincidence that all these people protesting in front of the capital are from places like Wisconsin and West Virginia. Not at all. All these people are from red states! And red states are now considered the poorest states in the country. So the people who are protesting this bill most likely have a median income which is lower then that of the nation, yet they are voting for a Republican and against there best interest to save themselves taxes? How ironic. And it is the progressive blue states who have higher median incomes which are in higher tax brackets and ACTUALLY being taxed more, who are the people promoting the passage of this bill to support the likes of the people who are voting against it. That’s enough  to make my head spin!

I was so angry when I heard one republican pundit lie threw his teeth on CNN stating that the Republican’s were denied on making any amendments to this bill. I jumped out of my seat and wanted to throw something at my television. You had 13 months to get your amendments in.  There were over 200 republican amendments that did actually make it in this bill. President Obama made a last ditch bipartisan effort to bring everyone to the table not two weeks ago and all you wanted to do was start from scratch. You’ve got to be fucking kidding me! I’m sorry but they were right for denying any amendments tonight. You had your chance. This bill was a bipartisan bill that the Republicans had the opportunity to vote bipartisan tonight. Not one did.

Lastly. There were some nastiness this weekend that brought us back generations to a time before I was born that I can never truly understand as I was not there to witness it first hand. Although I was not there, I do not wish to regress to a place that was not conducive to the virtues of  “one love” . I heard one democratic pundit defending the opposition stating that the words of a few are not reflective of the masses. I thought that was honorable but I simply disagree with that. It is exactly that mindset that is promoted within these Republican circles that keeps its sheep in the dark, distracted from truth by religion,  the wool over there eyes and the ignorance in there minds.

So I’m about to go to bed now and I’m going and wake up at the dawn of a new era in health care and this country! How exciting!

So, is it just me or is there not a PR campaign doing some damage control of Vice President Joseph Biden putting his foot in his mouth after being overheard saying the VP job was a snap. Now don’t get me wrong, I like “regular joe” but he does have a way with words doesn’t he. Tonight, Nightline had the exclusive with him following him around for a day and it portrayed the very difficult job he really does have. Although Nightline’s feature was probably pre-engineered and got the stamp of approval by the administration before airing, there were some candid moments and truthful dialogue. I don’t envy the guy who has to call Benjamin Netanyahu and ask him what the fuck he is doing developing on disputed land and jeopardizing  this fragile peace process. It has been rather quiet lately now that I think about it, besides the allegedly Mossod led Munich style hit on Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a Hamas military commander.  Be it as it may, I’m not sure VP Joseph Biden should be the one taking point on the Israeli-Palestinian politics. Hell! These people have been fighting since the dawn of time and most likely till kingdom come and given VP Joseph Biden’s record of putting his foot in his mouth,  he could be the guy thats gonna get us even deeper into this bullshit and bring on Armageddon. He’s already blessing an Irish mother.

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