:: Super Yokohama Bros. ::

:: Friday, March 07, 2003 ::

Two words: chewable liquor

Matthew D. Diez

:: 11:48 AM [+] ::

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And, in a quick blog day, can any of my cobloggers find out about Princess Superstar - the most I know
about her is that she rhymed with (and was outrhymed by) MC Paul Barman on his It's Very Stimulating EP.

Matthew D. Diez

:: 11:33 AM [+] ::

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My girl Aimee Deep over at www.musicpundit.com...

well, i'm not gonna say anything.
but...
Homegirl's figured out how to keep me coming back...

a section titled "Lingerie"

(and what's with everyone calling themselves pundits?)

Matthew D. Diez

:: 11:31 AM [+] ::

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Oh, and I'm starting to think that our ads are getting targeted.

I'm actually seeing links to "Preachas in the Hood" atop our blog.

Sorry to say, but, unless Greg or K. gets in on some action, we'll be forever labeled a hip hop blog.

Matthew D. Diez

:: 11:28 AM [+] ::

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Alright, the Yokohama Brothers are always slow to endorse Internet-only artists, save the following:

• Pimp Daddy Welfare


• The now defunct Counterflow


• ISO 9000

We're also considering for nomination into this exclusive club:

Andy Milonakis.

With rhymes about KFC, the size of his clothes, Chonky (I think he means Conky, or Jamby, from Pee-Wee's Playhouse) - he calls
him/her his "concubine", Mr. Milonakis is going places.

Ron Popeil.... set it and forget it.

Damn, this guy needs Paypal.

"i smoke crack out of a pipe made out of plastic"
"i spit venom like something that spits venom a lot"
"yo i drink chocolate milk out of hollowed out goat heads"

I got a new hero.

Matthew D. Diez

:: 11:08 AM [+] ::

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(sharing this, for the fans)
as for Jay-Z and Nas?

Let's see, when determining relative wackness of
mainstream hip-hop acts, you have to use a different
yardstick.

Here's the half-assed defense if Jigga Man and Nasty
Nas.

Jay-Z comes off with a clever, deliberate swagger that
makes him an endearing braggart, and it's usually a
fun listen.

At times, he can really display lyrical prowess and
delivery, but, as of late, and as with all mainstream
rhymers, it ends up with gahbage like "Girls Girls
Girls Girls" (not to be confused with Motley Crue's
"Girls Girls Girls").

Best example of this comes off in 1993's "Can I Get
Open" in which he dropped a guest verse with the group
Original Flavor. Jay-Z moves from fast sing-song
delivery to bounce style, all the while dropping
obscene syllables per second (not bone thugs fast, but
still nice).

"I flow like water, so put your finger in a dyke"

Heh. But, even in Jiggaman's later career, he came off
as, hrm, just far superior to his mainstream rap
peers. And this is hardly a usable comparison, but, I
can't stomach Ja Rule or Noreaga, yet I could get down
with some Jay-Z.

But, again, Jay is the Limp Bizkit/Linkin Park of rap,
and, so calling him a "genius" is probably
inappropriate, because you wouldn't use the same terms
to describe mainstream rock groups. But, for what he
does, and what he is, I can get down with roughly 1/4
of his tracks, and that's an unusually high ratio for
me.

Now, for Nas.

Welp, the current prevailing logic is as follows:

Nas' Illmatic was regarded as one of the crowning
masterpieces of hip hop (and that might be, heh, hard
to understand, in the overblown nineties).

But, the tracks of that album were a bit of an enigma,
because Nas comes across as simultaneously "gangsta"
and "literate"... and that was a (probably) welcome
departure from the more simple "guns, gold, and hoes"
message coming out of, say Mobb Deep, and it paints a
far more bleak picture than the loc'ed out gangsta
parties that Snoop, Tupac, and Dre were pushing on the
west coast.

So, most of the "genius" of Nas lies in the fact that
Illmatic was a combination of clever lines, dope
production (many times described as "haunting"), and
thugged out east coast storytelling.

--
It drops deep as it does in my breath
I never sleep, cause sleep is the cousin of death
Beyond the walls of intelligence, life is defined
I think of crime when I'm in a New York state of mind
--

This of course, is at a time, when Naughty By Nature
is talking about OPP and Snoop's extolling the virtues
of sipping on gin and juice.

I still can't go to a show without some dj dropping
the needle on some cut off of Illmatic.

But, Nas was that (i hate saying this)
smarter-than-your-average-thug-rapper, and people
really picked up on him.

As time progressed, he did shit like "oochie wally",
which was downright obscene, and "if i ruled the
world" (with lauryn hill), and it was just -lame-

oochie wally, oochie bang bang (yuck)

-----------

But, after a while, he reestablished himself with
Stillmatic (clearly his comeback album) - and released
some solid cuts, "One Mic" being the most intriguing
on the album (moreover because Nas produced it) (some
of his ghetto mathematics is unnerving... but...
still)

----------

I think it comes back to the fact that both nas and
jay-z are smarter-than-your-average rapper (these guys
are playing the same game as Ja Rule, Fat Joe, Master
P, and Petey Pablo)... and it shows, but rarely on the
commercial singles.

That said, I've got Stillmatic in the deck, and I
still enjoy it. (but I do skip past a number of
cuts... and I do wince at more than a handful of the
lyrics)...

It's not like I can go get literate lyrics from Velvet
Acid Christ or anything... (heh)

But, it's like listening to say, that Soundgarden
Against The Machine band... it's just a little smarter
than their peers (Linkin Park, Disturbed, Staind), and
that little bit, is enough to get both critical
acclaim (okay, critics hate SATM, but still) and
popular support.

Matthew D. Diez

:: 10:53 AM [+] ::

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Alright,
The question is:

Will Pigface be wack, or will they fuck it up? (I
can say this, as I'm already in negative karma zone).

Well, kiddies, this depends:
We've watched the face of a pig with bloodshot eyes
change lineups time and time again, and I think most
of us can agree that A New High in Low was a dope
album. (I am not going to argue with the gother than
thou types about how they fell off, or how Gub was a
masterpiece... get over it, Gub sucked - stop lying to
yourself).

They were still good at least on that studio album.

I have not heard "Easy Listening" yet, but, it
features an exceedingly long list (perhaps excessive)
of every second-string industrial player, which either
spells disaster or genius. (Who'd a thunk Marc Heal's
coke-induced caterwauling on Burundi would have been
so dope? Hell, he couldn't even remember his words the
only time he was ever asked to perform it live... and
it was still reasonably interesting.... "i'm all
beaten up... i'm all fucked up")

But again, the complete run of industrial rock
second stringers, including En Esch, Chris Vrenna,
that guy who can't sing from Thrill Kill Kult, that
guy who can't sing from Sister Machine Gun, that guy
who can't sing from Chemlab, and that guy who has that
cousin who looks just like him, and the guy who can't
play drums from Nitzer Ebb).

Oh, and Steve Seibold. (That name -has- to be made
up), and, as far as I can tell, everything he touches
turns to crap.

Steve "it's-german-for-Be-Bold" Seibold.

So, I don't know who's touring (Brad can probably
tell you better), but, it has the potential for
genius.

Or, it could be just another impotent live joint with
steve seibold's grubby little paws all over the
production.

Matthew D. Diez

:: 10:52 AM [+] ::

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Lisa Marie Presley.

Yessir, Elvis with a vagina.

And, she's pretty toasty, I (dashboard) confess, but, hoping to parlay her association with celebrities into a sustainable musical career evokes images of one Miss Sheryl Crow, who was quick to hop in the sack with Kid Rock or Eric Clapton provided it made her a music industry personality. (Yes, and miss Sheryl is hott).

But, as with Sheryl, who didn't have a rock hit until she was in her thirties, Miss Lisa Marie Presley generates forgettable adult-pop crap that stylistically lands somewhere between Sheryl Crow and... hrm... Shania Twain. Perhaps it's the video setting me off, but the twang, glitz, and Hype Williams feel of the whole affair could have easily been any half-assed female rock star.

At least, Lisa Marie didn't have to sleep with anybody to get where she did (save that Coppola kid, and that... well, she probably didn't sleep with MJ, his bed was already full)

Oh well, so, we've got:
Sean Lennon
Jakob Dylan
and
Lisa Marie Presley

Riding their parent's coattails on to non-success..... at least the record buying public is savvy enough to ignore this shit.
all trying to get rich off of their parents' names.

Fine, let 'em.... we at SYB aren't buying.

Matthew D. Diez

:: 3:49 PM [+] ::

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Write your own music review...

My Dashboard Confessional review:

The most audacious cut is the 15-minute prog-rock epic, "You Look Like Someone I Know." It's a powerful comeback from a group that never went away.


Jello Biafra would be proud

Matthew D. Diez

:: 12:44 PM [+] ::

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Oh, and also. Check out the flick, Scotland, PA.

It is on point, a modern retelling of the classic MacBeth story...

And easily features the most accurate representation of Lady MacBeth I've ever seen.

Greg, Kelly, if you're reading this.... check it please?

Matthew D. Diez

:: 9:07 AM [+] ::

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Ahhhhhhhh Launch has just recommended me some Donna Lewis... apparently it assumed I was a Belinda Carlisle fan.

(Wow, how in the hell did she make "I Love You Always Forever" in 1996? Sounds sooo very 1986)

Launch apparently has me pegged as an adult contemporary fan. I fear this is on account of me rating some George Carlin. (What next Seal? yep. John Mayer? yep....)

George, old George, pining for the glory days of the simple American republic, prior to things getting crazy.

George Carlin... hrmph. Maybe I'm not getting something there. I do enjoy his discourse on language, but so much of his humor feels immediately dated. Seriously, jokes about dildos and bunny suits aren't gonna get you anywhere these days.

I'd link to some dildos. But, I'm at work.

Matthew D. Diez

:: 9:05 AM [+] ::

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Ahhhhhhh.... Cypress Hill...

(sorry, slow last week... lemme get some coffee)

Matthew D. Diez

:: 8:55 AM [+] ::

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