Gervais's butt

I love me some Ricky Gervais. I haven't seen the stand-up that he's pimping in this HuffPo article, but I thought the interview was a short, sweet example of why I am usually a fan of Gervais's brand of comedy. Here's an excerpt:

"Targets aren't disability, famine, race. They're actually people's prejudice. And me. I'm the biggest butt of the joke because I'm in the wrong. So, it always comes down to me being totally out of touch, or saying the wrong thing -- with their blessing....But they know that it's coming from a good place, and I think that's the important thing with comedy. Comedy is about empathy."

In relation to my recent Teddy Pendergrass post, we have on the comments section of the article another instance of ability coming to the fore of engaging with prejudice and performance. Score one point for contact theory and how it improves comedy.

Prefabulous

Okay, so I promised more on Prefab Sprout, and given the glut of free time I have at the moment, I am going to deliver a little.

Given their incredibly devoted cult following I won't exhaust myself by doing a band dossier. Instead, I direct you to this website for the most thorough rundown of this S-U-P-E-R-B (and severely underrated) group. It may not initially be your cup of tea. If it's a bit too sweet for you, or the sound seems dated, please read on and I hope you'll want to consider taking another sip. Or even imbibe it all.

I'll cull a few choice things about Prefab Sprout that I'd like to highlight:

Their most fruitful collaborator, super-producer Thomas "She Blinded Me With Science (hey, don't call me that)" Dolby mentions in his blog a recent encounter with Stevie Wonder, who was a Sprout supporter. On From Langley Park to Memphis, Stevie plays his patented harmonica on Nightingales, one of my fave Sprout tunes.

And Sondre Lerche, whom you know I am gaga for, is a huge fan of theirs. He covered Nightingales on his jazzy venture Duper Sessions.

Let me also say, frontman Paddy McAloon is one of the greatest living songwriters. Just a few top notch picks:

Okay I find their videos pretty awful, but the simple wisdom in this song is incomparable.



Off of their first album Swoon (a.k.a. Songs Written Out Of Necessity), "Cruel" is perhaps one of the greatest lyrical masterworks about jealousy and love. In fact, this vid has a play by play of the lyrics to drive the point home.



If you hear the lyrics for this tune, and then Sondre Lerche's "Two Way Monologue" (I love the dueling Sondres, don't you?), you'll see there's a Sprout reference, natch.




Paddy-Joe's lyrical derring-do has indubitably paved the way for other verbose and obtuse troubadours who have made considerable inroads, Sondre being the cuddliest of the bunch. But there's definitely a touch of his word-o-rama that similarly afflicts narrative-loving, eloquent tunesmiths like Colin Meloy. Essentially, the whole literate hipster music brigade should hold Paddy as an antecedent. They owe him big time for making verbosity work for the songwriting craft in a masterful way. Any discerning listener can surely see that he occasionally pushes the envelope and that it doesn't always work organically and can seem rather forced. But to go to the edge fearlessly, unafraid to takes risks, that's true artistry. The way that his vocabulary is all cylinders go, dizzying with the poetic imagery, alongside melodic restraint--pure gold when it's done right.

One the things I really want to talk about in relation to Prefab Sprout, however, is the lost art of the album. If we were to further discuss music, I am sure that this would be a recurring theme. Looking at Prefab Sprout's body of work, you can see how McAloon didn't just write songs, he wrote entire albums. Jordan: The Comeback is one of the best examples as it is loosely a concept album, a tapestry of interwoven melodies and ideas that blend from song to song. McAloon's clear fascination with Americana and various figures of American masculinity (coming from an Englishman) recurs in his work (e.g. Cowboy Dreams, an expressed love for Glen Campbell and Jimmy Webb, and an album entitled Steve McQueen). But Jordan is the most forceful and complex meditation on this.

In the instant download, YouTube, iTunes music-sphere it's hard enough to make money and sustain oneself as an artist. Driven by a singles-oriented market, the true album is increasingly becoming a unicorn; an enchanted, mystical creature that only exists in legend, too impossible to actually survive. Take in a Prefab Sprout album in its entirety and you'll see what's sorely missing from today's pop fodder.

Although, there is the argument that music is more accessible than ever. Certainly the accumulative hoarding culture of music geekery has always been a bit uncomfortable to me. With so much more free access to whet my cash-poor musical appetite, I am certainly happy from this end of the development. But already having been able to at least gain some ground with buying used CD's and vinyl I always felt like I got more value for money with an album when I was paying for the music. While I can never claim to always appreciate the cohesiveness of an album's work because of distraction or short attention span, when I have taken it all in with repeated listens something richer and greater than the individual tracks often emerges. So I guess it's a double edged sword. What's your two cents, mate?

To end, here's a link to a little treat: a list of hypothetical albums Paddy McAloon has mentioned but never actually released. Use your imagination...

P.S. Thank you to PSA for the sole responsibility of converting me into a Sprouthead.

BritPopCornucopia #9: St. Johnny-be-good

Kate St. John is amazing. No one has ever looked sexier wielding an accordion:





I know, it looks like she's barely playing it. But Kate St. John is the real deal. Plus, her backup vocals remind me a lot of Prefab Sprout's Wendy Smith. I'll probably do something on them later.

Ever since I heard the dulcet tones of her oboe on Blur's song "Starshaped" I have loved her. I have loved her before I knew it was her too:



I didn't figure it out til YT put this as related, but when St. John was in The Dream Academy, they did a cover of the Smiths "Please Please Please let me get what I want" and this instrumental version was used in "Ferris Bueller", as you just saw. I remember thinking that tune was so pretty. I love me some oboe (and cor anglais). What an underrated and underused instrument!

Here's another favorite song of mine that also features oboe. Aside from this tune (Jordan Knight?! Really? Yeah, the beats are hawt, there's time signature changes, and Jimmy Jam/Terry Lewis production. Almost enough to forgive the sexist lyrics...) and this aural beauty (Wiki says they were an influence on Knight, go figure), I can't think of many others that have employed it so well in pop, except maybe David McCallum's instrumental work with David Axelrod (Again, more musical genius to be addressed later). Anyone else have any good double reed pop examples to shell out?

Watch this interview with The Dream Academy. Nick Laird-Clowes is a bit of a self-indulgent pedant, but the love of music is quite nicely articulated by all of them. In fact, I realize dream pop is a bit of a pansyish thing to like, but their explanation of the new romantics as a reaction to punk makes a lot of sense. The same way Cool Britannia was a reaction to American grunge.

For more on Kate, the Queen of all double reed popstars, go to her website to see all the people she's worked with, including several other Britpop artists.

BritPopCornucopia # 8: The Skinny on Liam

Liam Gallagher wants to make clothes. WTF. He doesn't even make good music anymore. What sort of hubris makes him think he can do fashion?

Oh yeah, this kind:




The line, called "Pretty Green", is no doubt named after The Jam song (what doesn't Liam do that's not derivative?).



Wait! Mark Ronson already ripped it off before Mr. Gallagher.

So Liam, did you say you don't like skinny? May I remind you that The Jam, those who kindly let you shoplift the name of their song, were the kings of skinny?



I hang my head in shame. I cannot believe Oasis was my first rock concert. My teenage self is mourning! Nor is Weller exempt. His taste in clothes may be cool, but he also has a recently-acquired taste for young arm candy that I don't think I can get behind. Really, your backup singer? Could you be any more cliche?

I guess the law of growing up is that the older you get the more you start to realize that many of the rock stars you so heralded as a kid are actually entitled d-bags who aren't as cool as you thought. Love borne out of nostalgia is not as good as bathing in its present light. *tear*

Cut out the cute (occasionally)

This is why sometimes I get upset (inside) when people say I'm cute.

At times, I am happy to be self-described cute, or affectionately considered cute. I am short, I wear colorful clothes, I have a sunny and spunky personality. My intelligence might make me seem precocious given my appearance. I get it. But sometimes: IT.JUST. GETS. ON. MY. NERVES. So please employ sparingly in my presence, or in anyone's for that matter. Really, over-usage of the word cute can wreak infantilization of its recipient. As that is related to sexuality and power, this can be limiting and disempowering.

Sometimes I do enjoy being a girl. It is part of my gender identity. Please forgive me, I did grow up watching this many times:



Nowadays, however, I can view this with a much more discerning eye. Yeah, Nancy Kwan among others worked her way into my subconscious, but look, I am also a grown-up and unapologetic feminist. A woman of experience. A woman happy to be both independent and welcoming to the buoyancy of others. A fully realized woman, just as much as I am cute. Let's not be reductionist to one another, yo.

Funnily enough, my brother hates the word. His reason: "Like, what the hell does that mean anyway? Cuz, like, anything can be called cute." I guess he also thinks it gets bandied about too liberally. Thanks for the insight Daniel.

I'm Ver-Klimt

Wowza! Check out my marvelously fierce friend Emily Kenney's modeling debut.

She and I met during our stints as Rotary scholars in Cape Town and we shared many experiences together. The woman is, as you can see beautiful inside and out. She's big on justice and transformation issues in post-conflict societies, whooping arse and taking names doing some great work at the Open Society Institute. I heart you Em K, WAY TO GO!

If you look at the website, you'll notice the designer she modeled for used to work for several others, including Anna Sui, who's worked with Lily Cole, the supermodel I think Emily evokes so closely here. I think she's reminiscent of Gustav Klimt's porcelain-skinned muses, don't you? It totally looks like a cool visual mash-up of his paintings and 2046 in monochrome.

Sexability

Teddy Pendergrass is unbelievably awesome:



Phwooooooar! I just love how he goes from raunchy to sweetly gracious in a heartbeat.

Some of you may know TP was later paralyzed from the waist down. Well, that didn't stop him from reminding people that he was still a sensual, passionate man.



I think this is a perfect example of how we can re-imagine the body and the ways in which people who have different ability embody sexuality in a myriad of ways. These varying modes of expression are equally valid. I must also point out I have also thought about queerness and ability. Unsurprisingly, I think the queer communities are much more supportive of engaging with issues of ability. Look at all the lesbians who know sign language! I kid, I kid. But really, it's high time people expand their notions of sexuality!

Support my SFIAAFF friends!

The San Francisco Asian American Film Festival is on now. 2009 brings some personal weight to the proceedings.

I just saw Fruit Fly. My friends are in it! And it is awesome. It's like Christopher Guest meets John Cameron Mitchell on a much much smaller budget. I loved Colma: The Musical, and HP Mendoza really kicks it up a notch on this one. There is mad local pride for SF and it serves as anti-gentrification tract, personal introspection, and quirky meditation on art all wrapped up in a candy-colored package.


Go Anh-Thu, Jasmine, and Aster! Also, for anyone from the Chinese Culture Center, you will notice former employee Mike Curtis is a major player in this film. See it now.

My dear friend Nicky also won the SFIAAFF jury prize for best DIY music video for his song "Jonah." You can watch it below. For more of Nicky, a.k.a. Fiveng, check out his myspace page.

Will the real Roald Amundsen please stand up?

Yes, people. I am get getting suckered into American Idol more than ever. It's his fault:



Last night he kicked ass. Michael Slezak, Entertainment Weekly's AI "expert", and the only Idol pundit really worth following, also pointed out that Anoop's sly implementation of the word "impetus" on America's #1 rated TV show was a coup for all us vocabulary-starved word fiends. I was a little excited about Ramiele last season, but my enthusiasm for Anoop Desai has gone way beyond that (see previous entries).

Let's be honest though, Idol isn't all about singing, it's largely about image. And I'd like to talk a little about the styling. I am surprised that in the commentary I've combed, with so much well-deserved derision dished out about Danny Gokey's jacket, nobody noticed that Anoop already wore almost the exact the same jacket last week, in a less blinding shade of camo green. According to InStyle online, Anoop's is from H & M, while the official AI website indicates Danny's is from Macy's . But they are just too alike with the popped collar, four large square front pockets, and the epaulets. Stylists, don't think you can get away with a recycle like that!

Mod

or

"God"?

C'mon he sang "Jesus Take the Wheel"

Simon was hilarious when he said to Gokey, "it looks like you're going on a polar expedition*" I was ROFL. Gokey admitted on the telecast that even scarf-swaddled (ugh) Matt "Justin Timberfake" Giraud was perceptive enough to point out to him that he looked like he was ready to pull a parachute ripcord. Amazing how color choice and the person wearing something can make such a huge difference.

As one comment from this site says, "I totally agree about Danny's clothes. Unless you're an angel choir, I'm not sure anyone should ever sing about Jesus while wearing white. It's creepy. And that jacket made me afraid he was suddenly going to do this:

The White Jacket of Glory"

Haha.

As much as I like the Michael McDonaldy sound from Danny Gokey, his attempts at "style" with his ever-changing spectacles (I'd like to see him try a monocle!), along with insufferable pelvic thrustings are wearing me thin. I feel for him and the loss of his wife, but the evangelist streak rubs me the wrong way. I think I was duped into rooting for him in the earlier rounds because I liked his friend Jamar, who faintly reminded me of a soulful, quirkier Pharrell. It's harder to pull for him now, and the Gokester made matters worse for me trying to rip off part of Anoop's look this week. There should've been an Us Weekly-esque "Who wore it best?" And I think you know who would win the poll.

I recall in an interview with Wes Anderson, Robert Evans said (I'm paraphrasing here) that if multiple people only notice a single item you're wearing that such a compliment must be dismissed (the exact quotation is at 31:20). If more than one person pointed out that they liked his tie, for example, he said he would throw it out the next day. Why? They are only noticing that item rather than YOU (in all your totality) looking good. Interesting. In other words, your personality is what should shine through and the rest is mere background. Just as an idol's song choice can mean that either they own the song or the song owns them, the same can be said of any fashion choice.

I think that Idol's stylists are hardly inventive. Not that I believe for a second that they are trying to be. As one "Idolatry" commentator quips, it just looks like Adam Lambert shops at Hot Topic. Alexis Grace can't seem to wear anything but black ( I guess it was a symbolic death knell which lead to her elimination this week), and Allison (though I love her spitfire ways) bathes in red and red alone.

Also, why do the stylists continue to ply horrible screen print graphics on ALL the male contestants? Like, is that supposed to be rock n' roll or chic? I personally feel those meaningless screen print cotton basics don't do anyone favors. They always look like some adolescent boy's binder artwork or something that should be slapped on the bottom of a skateboard deck. Even Anoop, who could make some natty choices (he seems to be okay playing with color, especially some vibrant blues, and could certainly work the height to his advantage in sartorial matters), fell prey to the awful graphic print on a couple of polo shirts. We all know that even when a stylist offers you choices, you ultimately make the call. As such, the contestants do bear some responsibility too. What a shame that no one really impresses with their fashion sense so far. Please Idol men, you can say NO to the needless graphic print embellishment.

Also, did anyone else find the idea of the idols being in the hot tub together a bit unsavory? At least the way Lil' Rounds described it...Looks like the Village Voice agrees.


*Note: Simon must be into Norway or something. Last night he alluded to polar expeditions, and the greatest explorer of the polar regions was Norwegian. Second, in reference to the evening's first performer, Michael Sarver and his garbled Garth Brooks gobbledygook, Cowell remarked, "You could have been singing in Norwegian."

Pinoy Piggy

Thank you Simone for introducing me to Anthony Bourdain and his show No Reservations. This ep makes my tummy crave some eats of my heritage:





Watch the whole thing (there's five parts). Seriously, Filipino food is massively underrated . All the uninformed are sorely missing out. Why is it always left in the dust by other Asian cuisines? That question is still a struggle. While I think that it was actually a sort of droll ep compared to some others I've seen, I found it interesting that the issue of identity kept coming up with the guy who had initially put in such a fervent campaign for the Philippines to be included on the show. I completely understand some of the things he feels. I mean, I have never been to the Philippines as much as I've criss-crossed the globe, and the family connections are so compelling to me. But guess what, at the end of the show I discovered Augusto and his wife produced a China-pino/Filinese baby, just like moi!

Trimuphantly, lechon is now considered numero uno pork by Bourdain.

Ooooh I want lechon. Yesterday I was talking with my grandma and dad about it. My dad said that before they slaughter the pig, they make it guzzle vinegar. I guess the process was too violent to show on the telly. He fondly remembers the times in Stockton where all the old timers would get together to make lechon. It is near impossible to make it that way anymore without the wide open country spaces. Not only does the pig squeal like crazy but the smoke from all the charcoal and the real estate required to cook a whole hog is a tall order. My dad complains that the whole pigs from Chinatown don't even hold a candle to the lechon-done-right he remembers from childhood.

For more check out this excellent food blog on flippin' good food. This other great blog is written by one of the guides in the ep.

I want to go to the Philippines now. But until then, looks like South City will have to do. Oh yeah, I also recently hit up this nice Filipino bakery in Pacifica with my mom. After grabbing some treats (adobo buns and bibinca), we sat cliffside watching the surfers in the distance as the wind whipped against our faces.

Can't sleep at night when you are on my mind

Bobby Womack's on the radio sayin' to me:



Is it weird that I associate this song with a late night study session in my early teens? I really did first hear it on the radio. And I never feel more alone than when I am working late into the wee hours after all have gone to bed.

How did Mariah tap into my subconscious? Is she turning psychic like Dionne Warwick?

Dear Mimi,

Thnx for creating the only "work of art" other than The Big Lebowski that my brother and I can wholeheartedly share together.

Love,

Em

Texan twins: bon voyage-worthy aesthetics?

Check out the YT discussion on Arthur's theme regarding American Idol.

Then take a look at one of the top 11 contestants for Idol, Michael Sarver, who actually beat out my fave Anoop by a mere 20,000 for the third voted-in spot for the finals (Thankfully A.D. did come back as a wild card). What America was smoking when they picked Sarver over Desai? Anoop is clearly a better vocalist (a fairly excellent vocalist actually). Although I am terribly biased because I find him pretty fetching...

But I suppose anything is possible when the country elects and then re-elects someone like W. for president. A guy that the "heartland" can latch onto, but who simply doesn't deliver. Then, only when starved for competency, do the voters mobilize for something better. Which gets me thinking, will the AI electorate eventually make a similar transition? Take a look at the zealous campaign that's being waged by rabid fans and 'Noop's homeboys. Honestly, this might be too much, even for me. Mr. Desai does have a strong pre-AI empirical track record, but with mixed results since hitting the big stage, he still has a lot to prove. Funny enough, I find myself viewing the current administration with a similar hope restrained by analytical skepticism. Either way, can we please avoid the Bobby Jindal comparisons? Soooo NOT in the same boat.

But back to another representational issue, Michael Sarver and Christoper Cross: are they not doppelgangers? Plus, they are both from Texas.

One cannot count someone out just because they don't have a conventionally pretty face. C.C., for one, was a veritable music factory. Did you know: "his self-titled debut album, Christopher Cross (1979)...garnered him five Grammy Awards [and that] he is the only artist to personally receive all of the "Big Four" Grammy Awards (Best Record, Song, Album, and New Artist) in the same year"? That is a feat yet to be matched. He also won an Oscar for co-writing the aforementioned "Arthur's Theme (The Best That You Can Do)." It was likely that his musical output was not his ultimate undoing. Instead it was probably the advent of the 80's and MTV killed his career and now he plays cruise ships, county fairs, etc. According to Idol starmaker Simon Cowell, Sarver, while also not possessing a prototypically marketable look, does have an appeal for the blue collar worker suffering in the recession, a story middle America can identify with. Or at least root for.

Unfortch, both of these guys similarly fail to produce any "wow" factor, and that has nothing to do with their looks. Just their rather underwhelming vocals. But Cross was more a mildly talented songwriter/musician than a star anyhow. Truth be told, I will occasionally dip into the guilty pleasure trough of AM gold "Sailing." (Haha, his guitar!). There is some real talent there, even if it's of the castrated easy-listening sort. Sorry to say I can't defend Sarver in the same way at this juncture. There is a serious lack of supporting evidence.

Will Sarver hang in the music game, looks be damned? Or will he be sailing away? Stay tuned to find out how tyrannical the majority becomes.

Addendum, April 2, 2009: Apparently, Sarver's quite the prolific songwriter. A really sweet fellow too. Whoops on the W. analogy. He's waaaaay more clued in than our former president.

I want to be a different kind of Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar today

Did you ever wonder where the twang of the sitar came from on the Fugees "Killing me softly"? It's from the Rotary Connection:






I stumbled upon this when I was listening to some Letta Mbulu (which I'll probably post on later) because one of the YT comments said she sounded "like a South African Rotary Connection." As you dear readers know, I was a Rotary Scholar to South Africa, so this popped out at me. At first I googled "South African Rotary Connection" but then realized quickly that the group being alluded to was simply Rotary Connection.

I was surprised to learn that the son of Chess records' founder, Marshall Chess and Minnie "Loving You" Riperton were major players on this project. How cool is that? Here's Ms. Riperton in all her greatness (P.S. How effing ridic is that guy plucking the acoustic in the background?):



To top it off, I leave you with another great slice of this semi-obscure collective, a Stevie Wonder-composed/produced gem(just ignore the rather boring visuals and sonically soak it all in):

False Idols: Yes I worship them, call me a sinner

I'll admit it openly. I occasionally watch American Idol. Bad reality television is important bonding time with my mom, and I get swept up in it a little bit too. For one, in seasons past, it's the only time I ever see Filipino Americans on network television with regularity and name recognition--and there is more racial diversity than I can say for most of whitewashed American TV with its token characters of color. Some of its finalists have some stories that reflect how America is made up of many transnationally and complex globalized identities. However, for its quasi-populist potentialities, its a duly awful corporate machine, and the track record on representation is far from stellar. This pretty good LA Times article puts Idol's identity politics on the table quite plainly. Moreover, music from its competitors is never very good if you want to talk about true artistic merit. Ultimately, they produce de-clawed pop gunk.

But when Anoop Desai delivered a badass performance, of "My Prerogative", with his innate cuteness/nastiness (this is a great commentary about authenticity), it was enough for me to take notice. Digging around a bit, it was easy enough to find his past body of work on You Tube. I am a big Ne-Yo fan, and this smooth lil' cover and all the rest was enough to convince me that he would bring home the R & B bacon.

Everyone rightly seems to recognize that he doesn't have the utmost chops, but he does have a pretty sweet voice nonetheless, and a way of selling it that 's irresistible. It somehow delicately tows the line between campy fun/sexiness without being gimmicky, which is totally enthralling to watch. Not to mention the eyebrows of Peter Gallagher proportions that he manages to work. His likability factor and teenybopper obsessive fanbase (check out the deliciously fun fansite) have carried him in the face of some modicum of adversity, and I just hope he can provide more performances akin to this:



I just hope Chippendales doesn't call. We all know how a stripteaser went down last season.

On top of that, the personal details that initially emerged in his audition just made it easier for me to like him. Folklore/American Studies grad student who did his undergrad honors thesis on barbecue? Hawt. An Idol contestant who's actually articulate with a scholarly bent toward cultural anthropology? I'll say it again: hawt. Parents of the South Asian diaspora, with his mom hailing from South Africa? Yes on repping for the Desis. Southern college boy prep? Charming without being icky. Former mock trial competitor who named his HS a capella group Chiefs of Staff? It don't get any smotter (smarter+hotter). I did mock trial too, baby. Don't knock the mock til you've tried it.

And this week it looked like he would come out swinging. He managed to look better with the snazzy new haircut: enough added sex appeal to make a girl squeal, but nothing so OTT that he lost his geek chic essence.

But his rendition of MJ's anthemic "Beat It" proved disastrous.



Man, he's been put through the ringer. First cruelly being denied a much-deserved spot in the finalist group by a hair's breadth, then being the last wildcard chosen (though he was not the weakest in the bunch by any means), to being the supposed last-minute thirteenth add-on, the producers seem hellbent on victimizing him in a way that, for me at least, only breeds increased sympathy. Especially in light of having recently lost one of his close friends to a tragic murder. While he did mention it in some interviews, he didn't make it integral to his narrative in a publicity-whore manner (yet) as some contestants did.

From stage bravado and subsequent humility before the judges, it was thus all the more heartbreaking to see his response to the acerbic panel's scathing remarks. Not just merely saying he wanted another chance to prove his worth and "show y'all what I got", he even took Kara's comments to heart, uttering a defeated "Yes m'am." He appeared supremely deflated, after having boogied his butt off despite an abysmal song choice that failed to showcase his strengths. It made his attempt and the histrionics of a triumphant finish all the more saddening. But he miraculously evaded elimination this week. So I am still really rooting for him, and I can only hope there is some sort of redemption song next week.

Maybe I'm biased, but this is scorching (and I much prefer it to JT):

Smokey and Sesame Street

For all of us going through the quarter life crisis, Smokey Robinson has a message:



I take great comfort in this.

Cue ABC!

Time for some alphabetical groping: