Kanye West

"It's such a fine line between stupid and clever."

- David St. Hubbins, from This is Spinal Tap - if you haven't seen it yet, go rent it right now. It's brilliant and way ahead of its time.







Watched the Grammys last night. Pretty standard as far as Grammys go. There were highlights (Beyonce and Tina Turner performing together stands out, as well as "A Day in the Life") and lowlights (Why do they trot out guys like Tony Bennett who can't read the teleprompter? How long until Amy Winehouse goes Britney Spears on everybody? She needs some time to adjust to fame and get her head straight, before she's chilling with Dave Chappelle pretty soon. Her album was so good, and I hope she remains with us putting out good music. Hopefully my Janis Joplin comparison is not prophetic.)

But most of all, I was annoyed by Kanye West, and something he did specifically.

The pros of Kanye:

- His album "Graduation" is good, as good as his other albums. In his speech in winning "Album of the Year" he talked about how he's trying to keep hip-hop alive by continuing to incorporate other genres of music and push the art form, which I think he's doing. He's famously a mediocre lyricist, but his strength continues to lie in the eclectic and interesting sounds he appreciates, and continues to absorb and incorporate into his music.

The cons:

- I truly hope that his egotistical "I am the shit" attitude is put on, a persona through which he feels comfortable. He certainly has achieved a level of fame. He has carved his specific niche in the entertainment world, and I'd bet he's at the point where your average middle-American probably has heard of him and knows he's a rapper and thinks George Bush hates black people (even if they can't name any of his songs or pick him out of a lineup).

The lyrics he comes up with in 90% of his songs are the same kind of self-promotion that hip-hop is usually about. I don't listen to much hip-hop anymore. I got the Jay-Z and Kanye West albums as they came out these past couple of years, and friends lent me albums by Common, Talib Kweli, and Mos Def. That being said, at least with Kanye and Jay-Z, most of their lyrics are attempts to make their rhymes, flow, and wordplay as clever and, well, flowing as possible. I get that. I understand that each song doesn't necessarily have to be "about" something. However, it's strange when a song performed at the Grammys has the lyrics


Cause is Louis Vuitton Don night
So we gon do everything that Kan like
Heard they'd do anything for a klondike
well I'd do anything for a blonde dike
And she'll do anything for the limelight
And will do anything when the time's right



Yes, it's a fine line between clever and stupid. And Kanye crossed it when he didn't take off these sunglasses when he was done performing.

If people are offended by the lyrics because it's sexist or whatever, they don't get that he doesn't mean it (well, maybe he does, but that's not the point.) However, it's just seemed kind of stupid to perform songs like this.

I found it ok that he performed with his lit-up vest and white-plastic-framed sunglasses. *** TO BE CONTINUED ***

Continued - Friday, March 7, 2008

Been a while since I blogged. Man...

Anyway, I was saying that I was offended by Kanye's insistence on waiting until the music was on so that he could start talking about his mother's illness and then complain about not getting respect since they had the gall to keep the music on. I was disappointed that the Grammy people didn't keep the music on despite Kanye's whining. Bitch.

In retrospect, the most surprising thing though was Amy Winehouse's bizarre performance and the lack of media discussion about her.

Ah well, on to newer and better things...

Leonard Cohen and Janis Joplin

Chances are, you've heard of Janis Joplin. Great blues singer from the 1960s, not beautiful in the classical sense, lived hard, died young, had issues with drug abuse, was probably internally troubled (seeing some tapes of interviews with her is kind of uncomfortable). You probably know at least a couple of songs also.

(Side note: This morning, I realized that Amy Winehouse is a kindred spirit of Janis Joplin. Both immensely talented, into old black music and sing in that style, both had personal and drug issues, etc... Hopefully this is not any kind of foreshadowing for Amy.)




Anyway, chances are, you probably haven't heard of Leonard Cohen. He is a singer-songwriter who put out a bunch of music in the 60s and 70s, and apparently wrote novels, poems, and continues to be an artist through this day. He will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 10, 2008 for his status among the "highest and most influential echelon of songwriters" (from the Wikipedia article). The only song of his that you've probably heard of was covered by somebody else for the Shrek soundtrack, called "Hallejuah". He was apparently also referenced in a Nirvana song, Pennyroyal Tea ("Give me a Leonard Cohen afterworld...")


I hadn't heard of him either. When I work in Teaneck in the summertime, I bring a bunch of music with me since I am sitting there typing most of the day. I was perusing my CD collection one summer to grab a bunch of stuff I hadn't heard to work with me, and I found out that we have a greatest hits CD of his. My wife had bought it sometime ago.



His music - at least, the greatest hits music - is good. It's slow and not as rockin as, say, Bob Dylan. You have to be patient and invested to appreciate the songs, but once I did, I did appreciate it.

The summer I was introducing myself to Leonard, the guys in their 40s and 50s who work at the school (including my father), heard me playing it and all said, "Wow, Leonard Cohen. I love him." To my surprise, they'd all heard of him and liked his music. I chalked this up to the fact that they all lived in NYC / NJ, of the previous generation, and were not a random sampling of society.





Anyway, one of the songs on the CD is called "Chelsea Hotel No. 2". It has a pretty melody and is a sad, kind of nostalgic song about an encounter that Leonard had with an anonymous girl. I immediately liked the melody, and the honest feeling of his lyrics. Here they are:

I remember you well in the Chelsea Hotel,
you were talking so brave and so sweet,
giving me head on the unmade bed,
while the limousines wait in the street.

Those were the reasons and that was New York,
we were running for the money and the flesh.
And that was called love for the workers in song
probably still is for those of them left.

Ah but you got away, didn't you babe,
you just turned your back on the crowd,
you got away, I never once heard you say,
I need you, I don't need you,
I need you, I don't need you
and all of that jiving around.

I remember you well in the Chelsea Hotel
you were famous, your heart was a legend.
You told me again you preferred handsome men
but for me you would make an exception.
And clenching your fist for the ones like us
who are oppressed by the figures of beauty,
you fixed yourself, you said, "Well never mind,
we are ugly but we have the music."

Ah but you got away, didn't you babe,
you just turned your back on the crowd,
you got away, I never once heard you say,
I need you, I don't need you,
I need you, I don't need you
and all of that jiving around.

I don't mean to suggest that I loved you the best,
I can't keep track of each fallen robin.
I remember you well in the Chelsea Hotel,
that's all, I don't even think of you that often.


I listened to it a few times, and enjoyed it.

Then, later I found out that the song was about a one-night stand he had with Janis Joplin. I don't think he publicized that at the time when he released it, but talked about it years later, after she'd died. Naturally, I read and re-read the lyrics and not only did the song make complete sense in that context, but it painted an even deeper picture of Janis. It's sad and interesting how he calls her a "fallen robin" in the last verse, and how he says she was "oppressed by the figures of beauty" in the middle.

Here's a link to a page about the Chelsea Hotel itself and the song.

NBA Notes 2/7/08

- The Heat just traded Shaquille O'Neal to the Suns for Shawn Marion (and Marcus Banks). I assume that experts are divided on whether or not this was a good move. I suppose the Suns were picturing having Shaq defensively against teams in the Western Conference playoffs that have a quality big man who can score (Tim Duncan, Yao Ming) or against guys that penetrate and get to the basket often (Tony Parker, Deron Williams, and Baron Davis come to mind).

I think this will backfire on the Suns. I think people who find out just how underrated Shawn Marion is after this trade. The vaunted Suns running game will suffer tremendously without Marion. Also, he is a tremendous defensive player on the perimeter. So, what they gain with a 350 pound guy plodding around the basket they will lose with Marion's intelligence, speed and long arms patrolling the rest of the half court. And the Heat will go from suck-ass awful to maybe mediocre. Why wouldn't they trade Shaq for a young guy/guys and/or some draft picks? Weird...

Of course, I could be wrong entirely and the Suns may win it all with an incredible 4-5 combo of Stoudamire / Shaq.


- In an earlier post I discussed how my brother and I made two bets about Boston and Garnett. I think that even though Boston is still looking good, they are not the prohibitive favorite to win the East. If I had to bet money on somebody now it would be Detroit. Nevertheless, Garnett may win the MVP and/or be on the first-team all NBA.


- The Knicks are making the terrible mistake of playing like a mediocre team. For management / ownership who want to believe that the team will be ok, the best thing would be for them to be playing like the Heat.


- I'm glad that Kidd may be on his way out of NJ, both for his sake and for the team's sake. They need to drop off Vince Carter in the middle of the swamp in the Meadowlands ("I was doing the bank job up there in Secaucus...")..., move to Brooklyn, and start over.


-*** UPDATE: Guess I'm not following the Knicks close enough. Just looked at the standings and they've dropped 7 straight. Still, they're better than the Heat.

Super Bowl 2008 - Clyde's Take

I have moved away from North Jersey, slowly but surely, since I've graduated from college in 1999. Every move I've made along the way has been for practical reasons. And, as is the case with most situations in life, the series of moves has had its pros and cons. (Pros: cheaper cost of living, less traffic, etc... Cons: distance from friends / family / things that are familiar to me, etc...)

One of the less substantial changes of this succession of moves has been in what sports teams one finds themselves following. Living about 12 miles from Philadelphia, I find myself in the heart of Eagles country. I have blogged about this before when I was not using an alias, but nothing in North Jersey compares to the fanatic passion that people down here have about the "Birds"... maybe in Green Bay where the Pack is the only substantial game in town it is similar. I just remember that last spring, people would forget that the Phillies had a very good team and were fighting for the playoffs anytime T.O. or Donovan's name would come up.

Growing up, I was always a die-hard Knicks fan (as is LJT of Where's Luke fame) and a casual fan of other NY teams. At different times, I watched the Yankees and Giants with some degree of interest, and for whatever reason never got into the Nets, but nothing matched my fanaticism of the Knicks. I did always want to know how the Giants were doing. This season, I would watch most of the Eagles games on Sundays, but would follow the Giants games with a keen interest as well. My brother and my grandfather (who both live within 15 minutes or so of Giants stadium) are both pretty steady Giants fans. And, as a result, as this season unfolded I found myself rooting for the Giants (a) making it into the playoffs, and then (b) having some success in the playoffs. If one were to ask me "If the Giants play the Eagles, who do you want to win?" my answer would be that it's a win-win (or lose-lose, depending on if you're a half-empty or half-full kind of person) situation, as I do genuinely wish success for both teams.

As the Giants started this run of great play, starting towards the end of the regular season and continuing through the playoffs, I found myself more emotionally invested with each passing week with them. I was bummed out when Shockey was knocked out. I called Tiki Barber a bitch as well. And I was psyched with each momentum-building playoff win. I discussed the games with my grandfather each week, as he looks forward to each game and doesn't miss them. When the playoffs started, I genuinely said to him, "You know, there's no reason why the Giants could make a run to the Super Bowl". Ever the optimist, he said, "Yeah, they could. It will be tough, but they could." I thought about it and replied, "No, seriously... I don't see why they're not as good as Green Bay or Dallas, or better." With each passing week he would say to me, "You know, you're the only guy who really thought that they would make it all the way to the Super Bowl that I've talked to." And now in retrospect, I realize that I genuinely have been thinking that they would do it, in my heart. So once the Super Bowl matchups were set, I said to my grandfather, "You know, I really think the Super Bowl will be a good game. I think the Giants really could take it." He replied similarly to his response to my comments about their playoff runs, something like, "Yeah, you're right, they could."

I was wondering if my newly-found emotional interest in the Giants' success was a product of being a North Jersey guy at heart, or if it was more that I knew that not only my brother and grandfather watching passionately each week, but also my buddies from Teaneck, such as the boys at Where's Luke, MMG, etc..., were donning their Giants jerseys and gathering each Sunday to root for the G-Men throughout the season, whether things were going well or not

Come Super Bowl Sunday, I traveled the almost-2 hours to North Jersey to go to Manhattan and watch the game with these die-hard fans. About 20 of us were packed into Side Bar's NYC apartment. Beer and food were consumed and cards were played. But finally, the game started...

The camaraderie of the guys made the whole event one that I will never forget. The true Giants fans did not begrudge those of us who were more casual football fans (like me), or even the Jets fans in the room. Everybody was there on that Sunday with the same spirit and passion, though the die-hards must have felt it much more deeply than myself (hard to imagine, as I was also yelling and jumping around with each crucial down, and demonstratively yelling at Tom Brady every time he was knocked down!)

The fourth quarter was something that an over-the-top Hollywood movie would be jealous of. The tug-of-war which lasted through three quarters seemed to end when Brady finally broke through and dramatically did what he has done all season, leading the Patriots to a fluid, solid drive and the go-ahead touchdown with under 3 minutes left in the game. Then, I don't need to go into hyperbole to describe the Giants final winning drive...

The moment I'll remember most about the fourth quarter was when we all collectively seemed to realize that Plaxico was wide open and Eli was about to loft it up for him. Without looking around the room, I knew that everybody was ecstatically holding their breath, praying inside for Plaxico to not drop it and for there to be no flags on the play. My brother said that he saw my face from across the room as Eli threw it and the look on my face was priceless - sheer ecstasy, even before Plaxico caught it. The celebration that followed the catch was hugging, jumping, yelling, etc... all the way through the next kickoff.

The following morning (aside from being tired from the 2-hour ride home, and about 4 hours of sleep) at work the buzz of the dramatic fourth quarter still stayed with me. Even despite the debacle of five of us being stuck in the elevator throughout halftime, it was an unbelievable memorable experience.

It would be easy for true, hardcore Giants fans to begrudge the casual fans (like myself) and resent them for not staying along on the ride all season and then celebrating with them for the Giants victory, but they did not seem to do so. I would like to thank them (especially Side Bar) for allowing me to share the joy with them in this awesome experience, one that I will never forget.

Pictures forthcoming, when I get home... (and only if they came out ok - the ones I took during the postgame celebrating I was distracted from as champagne was hitting me from across the room!)