The Price is Right Whale

The synchronicity of one's newsfeed never ceases to boggle and astound.

So y'all know that one of my favorite books is Moby Dick, right? Well whales rock and so of course I read this story in my newsfeed today about a new book that's coming out about whales that was inspired by John Waters. It's going on the shortlist of recently released books I want to read, which also includes Zadie Smith's new book of essays.

And then, I read this story on the collision of a whaling ship that was in the Mail & Guardian. By virtue of the names of the ships in question, some of the passages in this article sound downright surreal and laughable if read out of context (and, as a matter of fact, pretty giggle-inducing in context too).

Example #1: "The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has accused the harpoon ship Yushin Maru No.3 of intentionally slamming into its vessel the Bob Barker on Saturday."

Example #2: "Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research said the collision occurred as the Yushin Maru No.3 tried to avoid the Bob Barker which it said had moved dangerously close to throw projectiles containing foul-smelling butyric acid at it."

Example #3: " 'And I think now that we have them, unless they sink us, we're going to be able to shut down their whaling operations for the rest of their season,' he said from on board the Steve Irwin, which is heading to join the Bob Barker."

There's a ship named after the crocodile hunter? More importantly, there's a ship named after Bob Barker, former host of The Price is Right?

I grew up watching The Price is Right at my grandparents' house during school vacations. That theme song sure is groovy and extremely sample worthy:



Anyway, the newsfeed gift kept on giving, with mention on The Smoking Section of a new track called "Ms. Right" which pays homage to the Barker helmed show. TSS does drop some really crunk tracks for download, but damn do I get annoyed at their contradictory acknowledgement of objectification of women at the same time that they constantly feature softcore on the daily.

Then it occurred to me that in Moby Dick, an infitintely rich text is about an obsession with a whales, has several medidations on the RIGHT Whale (a cetological classification). Here's a small sample of Melville's genius from Chapter 75 "The Right Whale's Head--Contrasted View":

"...the Right Whale's head bears a rather inelegant resemblance to a gigantic galliot-toed shoe. Two hundred years ago an old Dutch voyager likened its shape to that of a shoemaker's last. And in this same last or shoe, that old woman of the nursery tale, with the swarming brood, might very comfortablty be lodged, she and all her progeny"

And I adore this little footnote in the chapter:

"This reminds us that the Right Whale really has a sort of whisker, or rather a moustache, consisting of a few scattered white hairs on the upper part of the outer end of the lower jaw. Sometimes these tufts impart a rather brigandish expression to his otherwise solemn countenance."

Lastly, " Can you catch the expression of the Sperm Whale's there? It is the same he died with, only some of the longer wrinkles in the forehead seem now faded away. I think his broad brow to be full of a prairie-like placidity, born of a speculative indifference as to death. But mark the other head's expression. See that amazing lower lip, pressed by accident against the vessel's side, so as firmly to embrace the jaw. Does not this whole head seem to speak of an enormous practical resolution in facing death? This Right Whale I take to have been a Stoic; the Sperm Whale, a Platonian, who might have taken up Spinoza in his latter years"

FINIS

This week's earphone worthy for the hopeless romantic

Thanks to Soul Sides, one of my fave music blogs, here's a track that is my part of my current sonic addiction:

Al Green's "I Wish You Were Here":



Next, are few versions of a couple of jazz standards that I am enamored with right about now:

"I Remember You" as done by the late great Nat King Cole:



And a lovely harp laden take on it by Bjork that was actually my first intro to the tune:



Anita O'Day doing Tenderly, with Oscar Peterson tickling the ivories (sample only).

Finally, going to throw you for a loop with a splash of PJ Harvey's sexily carnal headbanger "This is Love":



Really, cop that whole album Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea. It's an early oughties masterpiece. Sometimes you gotta push that lush orchestration aside and thrash it out, ya know?

Miss Ponytail and the Darling of the Arctic Circle

I had a conversation the other day trying to explain the word "Mush!" as a rallying cry for sled dogs. And then I was watching this video which provides a use of "mush" in context for those interested parties. It also involves a little Sinatra-Suzuki exchange on identity and singing that is handled with a light touch, but certainly has a subtext about authenticity and entertainment.



Man, Pat Suzuki is so cool. Her beaming smile and powerful voice are irresistible. As a child of Flower Drum Song I'd like a poster of this magazine cover please:




Oh yeah and Suzuki's original version of this song kicks ass (I posted the film version here, and although I was raised with that rendition, I am starting to become even more smitten with Pat's edgier delivery) :


Watch I Enjoy Being A Girl Pat Suzuki in Music | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Although, WTF, why do the graphics for that vid end with a Maneki Neko? Just cuz she's JA? Ugh.

Naughty Nederlands:NSFW

In Hoofdstuk 14 van mijn Nederlands class multimedia CD, de intro muziek voor de luister oefenen was(translation--Dutch friends corrections, please: In Chapter 14 of my Dutch class CD the intro music for the listening exercises was ):

Prince-Sexy MF - Watch more Videos at Vodpod.

Did they think no one would notice where the music clip came from? When I first heard it I just sat at my computer guffawing to no end, flabbergasted.

You know what other tunes they ripped the instrumentals from to introduce conversations about people's occupations?

This. And this.

Heh. Oh learnin' the Dutch language, laff-a-minute.

Move your ass to the Pendergrass

Teddy Pendergrass just died on 13 January. When I found out from the internets, I sat in my room screaming "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" for like five minutes straight.

Hands down one of my favorite soul singers ever, he has provided me with countless hours of aural pleasure. What I would have done to see Teddy live in his prime...Check out a lil' bit o' this concert from 1979 to see what an amazing performer he was (Yes, I rented and watched the entire DVD of this concert and lurved every second of it. I encourage you to do the same. C'mon he had the balls to wear a sequined shroud!!!!):



YOU GOT THE POWER RIGHT HERE.

But it isn't just Teddy's rich baritone, or the way he can both smoothy caress and rough up the song in all the right places. Nor is it the sweet Philly soul orchestrations, or the ladies' man showmanship alone that makes Teddy Pendergrass so utterly, so superlatively, one of the greatest ever.

It was the cumulative effect of all those things certainly, but I would argue there's more to it. In fact, I believe Teddy Pendergrass, draped underneath a velvety cloak of sensuality, bore more deeply progressive ideas about the equality of love, and the wrenching nature of emotional pain. And the immaculate deftness with which he balanced desire and respect is unmatched. For that reason, not only does Teddy's music make you unleash your inner sex goddess, it does so in a way that allows you to feel zero shame about it. Here is one the his finest examples of his celebration of reciprocity:



His indomitable spirit really shines through in his vocal delivery and in his body, even as his body changed through paralysis. And indeed, I've written before about how Pendergrass is a great example of reimagining and expanding conceptions of the body and sexuality through musical expression. Fate would have it, in the accident that caused his paralysis, his passenger was a transsexual nightclub performer. Indeed, Teddy was a figure whose awareness about the performativity of the body was really keen and the company he kept even shows that.

And he just seemed like such a total sweetheart. Here's a great interview with him from NPR.



Many of his songs are about how people can inspire one another. No doubt he inspired many musicians. Name checked by Outkast, and sampled by a host of other hip hop artists (this joint is one of my old-school favorites, utilizing one of the best Teddy songs ever), legions adore Teddy P.

Whether you're an old fan or just learning about him through this post, turn off the lights, and turn on a little Teddy.

ETA: Here's a great obit from PopMatters on TP.

I stand corrected

So, Jonah Weiner, a journo for Slate decided to make commentary on Jay-Z's latest video.

Let me say, with regard to mining some of the possible references in that vid, I beat him to the punch. But shamefully, I did so in an erroneous manner. Apparently "On to the Next One" is directed by Sam Brown, NOT Anthony Mandler. I guess it's a pretty big oversight, but for some reason my google search didn't yield the proper directorial credit. Oops.

Well, thank god my blog is not supposed to be serious responsible journalism and its no so material to any argument that I was making aside from giving Mandler props.

Thanks for the clarification Mr. Weiner. I also liked your article about why Wes Anderson is soooooo f**ked up. I will probably still see Fantastic Mr. Fox anyway...

I need to stop reading Vivian's yelp reviews!!!!!

They make me soooooooo homesick :(

But I can't help it. And her writing, lotsa LOL! Esp. the MUNI stories.

And it would appear she now has Yelp elite status. Congrats Viv! About effing time.

I mentioned her reviews before, but as I was re-reading them today, swells of love for SF crested in my heart. Check out her 100th review, a beguilingly crafted essay that captures so much of why the City by the Bay is so freaking special.

Ate it on my bike last night, my hindquarters in slush. My gloves are shredded and I need new ones. I am so done with snow and ice. Thank you Vivian (and home made pork mushroom jook--used this recipe for the base) for helping me cope with the stupid winter blahs.

Gettin' a handle on Mandler

I have covered Antonioni and the music video before. But once again, he's connected with Amerie, and I'll throw a few others into the mix this time, just to make it interesting.

I have to say, I've been loving some tracks off her latest, In Love and War. E.g., Dangerous, More Than Love and The Flowers. She's still bringing the go-go beat hard! Yesssss.

And while its actually one of the lesser tracks on the album, the single Heard 'Em All has got a music vid whose director studied with Antonioni at USC film school, Anthony Mandler.



Mandler also directed this Jay-Z music vid, which is a more obvious homage to Antonioni's Zabriskie Point:



And in his latest vid for Jay-Z, the film school student in Mandler comes out in a little nod to the opening credits of the classic Japanese film Kwaidan, with of shots swirling liquid like Rorschachs:



Macabre indeed, with the skulls (oh hello Damien Hirst) being another ostensible link to the ghost story subject matter of Kwaidan. And there's a bit of the beat in there that sounds like some of the film score work from Toru Takemitsu (he did the soundtrack for Kwaidan). Probably not part of the inspiration, but the tinniness of it, the nearly unbearble percussive wall, the eerieness of its repetition seems parallel (maybe its all in my crazy head!). Whatevs. Takemitsu is pretty great. Deserves his own post, but anyway, check out this doccie on him that I just watched. The alternate spareness and cacophony of his music is where its magic lies.

Mandler's production company is also a tribute to the Jean-Pierre Melville/Jean Cocteau collab Les Enfants Terribles. Melville isn't my fave, but anyone who loves the author of Moby Dick and Alain Delon always wins brownie points.

And while I can't say I like everything he's done, the fact that Mandler provides a link between some of the crunk R & B/hip hop I love (like this Omarion jam) and some of the cinematic work that I love, means he's worth consideration.

Warwick Chiaroscuro

Lately, for a fix of female-driven retro pop soul, my pick is Dionne Warwick. Her best tracks (of the ones I am familiar with) often have a great contrast of lush, shadowy musical arrangements--often peppered with percussive piano--against her pure and light vocals.

Here is a really fine example of that:

DIONNE WARWICK "Anyone who had a heart" 1963
Geüpload door Ultra_White_Forever. - Bekijk de laatste uitgelichte muziek video clips.

I have long loved that tune and the Bacharach-David penned body of work she put out, but the song that is really making me hit the repeat button is this lesser known HDH gem:



It was sampled (sadly to inferior effect) by Usher:



I've always thought Usher was sort of a second rate singer who got by on abs and dancing. Though this choice of sample might reveal some savvy (or producer's savvy) on his part. Of course, Simone has some other thoughts on Usher Raymond IV that are pretty dead-on which you must read if you don't already enjoy her(and Gaby's) blog.

Finally, as a member of the Pre-psychic-friends-network Warwick Appreciation Society, I'd like to proffer the original Walk on By, one of her earlier and most well-known hits.



But you should also check out Stanley Turrentine's truly excellent jazz reworking. I searched a bit for a free link to listen, but failed. Nonetheless, it's worth the effort to take the track for a spin if you can get your hands on it.

Sure, there's the latter day hits like Deja Vu (which is a sorta guilty pleasure of mine) and her collabs with Stevie Wonder, etc. But the older stuff is the real ish.

Dutch Wax/Is That Jazz?

So much love for Yinka Shonibare. One of my favorite artists ever. I just finished reading this great interview with him. Please check out his work. His explanations are so much better than anything I could write about it.

Like here's what he says about artifice and art:

To be an artist, you have to be a good liar. There’s no question about that. If you’re not, you can’t be a good artist. Basically, you have to know how to fabricate, how to weave tales, how to tell lies, because you’re taking your audience to a nonexistent space and telling them that it does exist. But you have to be utopian in your approach. You have to create visions that don’t actually exist yet in the world—or that may actually someday exist as a result of life following art. It’s natural for people to want to be sectarian or divisive. Different cultures want to group together, they want to stick to their own culture, but what I do is create a kind of mongrel. In reality most people’s cultures have evolved out of this mongrelization, but people don’t acknowledge that. British culture in reality is very mixed. There’s a way in which people want to keep this notion of purity, and that ultimately leads to the gas chambers. What I am doing may be humorous so as to show the stupidity of things. But at the same time I understand that the logical conclusion of sectarianism is Auschwitz, or the “logical” in its starkest manifestation. So even though these works are humorous, there’s a very dark underlying motivation.

Here's one of my favorite pieces of his, Vacation:

Source

As the article linked above mentions, the variant uses of Dutch Wax print fabric in his work draw on many different meanings as he re-contextualizes them, often in Victorian/Colonialist reimaginings. Not only is his art aesthetically stunning, and the craftsmanship is impeccable, the depth of the work--at once visually arresting, sociopolitically provacative, wryly playful, with his unmistakable artistic signature--is truly special. Plus, I find his work to be immediately accessible and interesting, which so many estoeric and boring artworks ( or the manner in which instutions present them) lack.

Note: The title of this post plays with Gil Scott-Heron's film entitled Black Wax/Is that Jazz? The latter part (an afterthought of the main film) of which you can watch here. It also deals with compartmentalization of genre, artistic nomenclature, and the problematics of purity. Might Shonibare and Scott-Heron have anything to say to one another? I wonder...

Winter Blue

Here's a little bit of melancholy for the coldest season:



And a little pick-me-up, my favorite holiday song ever:



Finally, one reason I wished I was back in SF for the holidays (other than my family, of course). Dammit Anoop, why are you there when I am elsewhere?????? Backed by the Glide Memorial choir, too? Way to make me homesick Mr. Desai.



Consolation prize: Christmas in Paris with the dearest of friends! No complaints, really.

Merry Holidays everyone! And mucho mucho love.

Fiveng: Tearin' up the internets

My beloved brother from another mother, Nicholas Ng (a.k.a Fiveng) is getting some nods from local San Francisco music internet publications. His music is really wonderful. Quirky, thoughtful, often danceable, and always a rewarding, rich listen.

Here's the link to the most recent shout out today.

I mentioned his music in a previous post, but this stuff is so great, just had to re-present it.

Go to the MySpace pagina, right here.

And for you crate diggers, his side project collaboration with Vensla still has a couple of tracks for your aural pleasure on the internets.

Way to go Nicky!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Next stop, SXSW?

San Francisco, je t'aime

Thanks to Kelly for sharing this.

You say pannekoeken, I say okonomiyaki

One of the most delicioso thangs here in the Netherlands has to be pannekoeken. Bigger than your face. Decadent as sin. Brimming with any amount of almonds, apples, raisins, cinnamon, ginger, or any other array of toppings/fillings. You can get savory ones too. But its the sweet ones, dusted generously with powdered sugar, I tell ya. The sweet ones FTW. Oh yeah. Zoet pannekoeken FTMFW.

There's also the petite version of the Dutch pancake, these little pillows of wonder, aptly named poffetjes.

Although if you want to get serious about savory pancakes, then there's okonomiyaki.



If you've never had this before you need to try it! A pancake stuffed with meat, cabbage, seafood, noodles, and potentially other goodies, it often comes with bonito flakes undulating on top, and a healthy slathering of bulldog sauce (think a much sweeter and tastier version of A1) and a good dollop of mayo.

Here I was, thinking I might be in a hinterland sorely lacking in some of the delights that I have so missed from my beloved city by the bay, okonomiyaki eateries being one of them. And yet...there's one in Amsterdam! It looks very promising indeed. Japanese Pancake World. What? A whole world, you say? Bring it!

Who wants to go? Give me a shout out. I've been dying for some good Japanese food. And this just might be the ticket...

And finally, it made me remember reading this great story, The Big Pancake, as a kid. It's like The Gingerbread Man: the remix.

There wasn't a good portmanteau for Cookie and Shaft.

Chaft just didn't seem right. Nor did Sookie monster.

Ooooh yeah. Prob one of my favorites, though far too many to mention.




Me know, me eat microphone!

Happy 40th Sesame Street.

Hurts so bad: it feels good

This is totally my jam right now:



Did you know that Little Anthony and the Imperials were just inducted into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame just this year?

This song packs so much into just over two minutes. It reminds me of the fabulous economy of pop songs in those days. Amazing how it builds up into the crescendo towards the chorus and really soars. These guys were (and still are) great performers. Can you believe they're still going? And they look like they barely aged!

Of course, their music is permeates later generations. It's been covered countless times. Teedra Moses (who I will perhaps post further on) is one of the unsung R & B singer/songwriters out there, and her homage to Little Anthony and co. is damn crunk:



People, I command you to ride the Moses soul train!

Here's the original flavor for reference:



Can't get L.A. & the I's outta my head! Day and night. Wrong or right.

Update: Please check out a fab cover(kinda eerie-feelin') version of Going Out of My Head that was just posted on Soul Sides, a great music blog I like to follow. It's the second track, and the preceding one is worth a listen anyway.