The media play a vital role in letting the public know what's going on in their communities. The media's job is to aid police in pursuit of terrible criminals when possible. The media's job also requires asking tough questions about whether the public is being properly protected and informed.
Alternate job description: entails reading Dane 101, fleshing things out a bit?
... or just hop into a van with Minnesota plates. Let's continue the onslaught, by asking El Guante about geographical matters and CD sales, because hip-hop fandom is all about state lines and stats.
I just opened the current issue of The Onion to make sure I don't go redundant with the Guante papers, and ran across the finest pronged insult I've read all week. The purple-hooded Pony Boy above is theoretically strumming his heart out at Montmartre as I type:
The buildup to Matt White's forthcoming debut album, Best Days, took the former UW-Madison student from playing in the New York subway to tour dates with John Mayer and Sheryl Crow and a spot on the Shrek The Third Soundtrack. Unfortunately, the result is a laborious, generic coffeehouse lament, produced with an excessive polish rivaled only by White's rather threatening cliff of shellacked hair.
I first saw this promo video projected onto a large screen, audio presumably dispersed by heavy-duty speakers. All they needed was to get the machine in question on a rotating stage with some spokesmodels, and the auto-show ambiance would've been complete. Anyway, it's not quite as majestic in google video embeddable format, but remains an entertaining clusterfuck: a mish-mash of car-ad tropes overwhelming a company's folksy past. To what end, exactly? The future.
For any semblance of context, you should check The Onion's Madison A.V. Club for a piece entitled, "My Square Peg, Your Round Hole"--and back here later today for an update of this post, containing a Q&A with one of the video's producers.
Here's that debut piece from last week's issue, re: Ka-boom!Box's monthly DJ sets @ Mickey's, with accompanying podcast.
Kyle Myhre, aka El Guante, recently posted a few points of clarification re: my Q&A in the current issue of The Onion with him. WHICH YOU SHOULD STILL GO PICK UP. I think the more open-ended of those points will be addressed as I post more content from our original conversation on Dane101 and Emcees Without Voices but figured I'd get this thing up quickly, since it's actually about a restaurant that I'd hoped would get some additional exposure from the piece, as he'd strongly endorsed it, and mentioned that its business was being hurt by the construction along East Washington.
As per his blog, in the very last item of the Q&A...
One one blog post, you directed everyone in Madison to eat at Taste of Asia. You said, don't ask questions, but why?...Myhre wanted to convey that the East Washington buffet "Taste of Asia is NOT greasy-- i was saying that most places are-- and i like that-- but what makes ToA special is that the food is a bit more classy."
[Laughs] I love Chinese buffets, like good old American, greasy Chinese food. I'm thinking about filming a music video there, or like a YouTube bio. Next time I go, I'll have to talk to them.
Taste of Asia's the best in town because it's not as greasy, it's not just Chinese: they serve Hmong, Laotian, Thai food. We bought a bunch of egg rolls from them for a party we were having, 'cause they were doing a fundraiser: selling these egg rolls to help Hmong immigrants. They're good people, and again, the food is just great. The one thing they don't have is an ice cream machine. If they had that, I'd never leave.Taste of Asia can be found @ 2817 East Washington. They've got a website, but it doesn't seem to have been updated for a while.
What's an ideal meal there?
I like a lot of white rice, which is boring—but also a lot of broccoli from the chicken and broccoli. They also serve really good sesame chicken and General Tso's chicken, because it's crispier: it's not just soggy breaded stuff. But the best thing they have there are the Hmong egg rolls--not as fried as a traditional Chinese buffet egg roll.
I think I helped book the Coup tickets-- Katrina Flores and the Multicultural Student Coalition may have done that though--i don't really remember. I remember being at the Student Travel place for what seemed like hours, but I was probably just following Katrina's orders. haha.
Hastings says:
Pick up this week's Onion to learn what the hell this tumescent red state totem of patriotism was doing at the Commonwealth Gallery a few weeks ago, and who these people are. There is a line in the intro that became a little too tell-not-show-y for my taste, but basically, the whole thing was fun as hell to write, I was thrilled to have the privilege of getting the piece in wide circulation, and wish I could lay claim to the brilliant title (again, see hard-copies of The Onion's Madison A.V. Club) or even the idea in the first place. Will post less cryptically about this later.
When we first saw this Romensko link on Gawker, announcing the Chicago Reader and Washington City Paper's purchase by ATL-based Creative Loafing, our impulse was to prematurely eulogize the Chicago Reader, the weekly that first pointed us to the gallery openings with ice buckets full of Goose Island, and fed us media criticism before we knew what that was (let alone that our first boss when we returned to the city, ever underage, knew the Hot Type scribe). Anyway, we still plan our Chicago excursions by triangulating between friends and fingers pointed randomly at the Reader's picks, and the paper still publishes some of our favorite music writing, so we'll hope all that continues and acknowledge the obvious--that we have no insight into the business side of the papers involved [that the Reader and City Paper had ties to the Stranger and Mercury was news to us as well--see the announcement's footer]...
If you hadn't heard, Jane Magazine is effectively shuttered and its website's closing up shop next month. We can relate, in the sense that that sweet Covance study that was going to finance some globetrotting and resolve our housing situation for a month, fizzled out on us yesterday afternoon. We're not going to pretend we were down with Sassy from the jump or anything, but we fondly recall visiting a friend's summer sublet in Logan Square, grossly extending bathroom trips perusing Jane back issues. [for the articles, really!] We even bought a copy a year ago, when we had designs on pitching a piece on womyn rap producers or something. So we thought we'd preserve the following Madison zine moments for posterity. No quips for now.
excerpted, without permission, from Jane, July '07, "Hit The Road: The MIDWEST," by Brekke Fletcher and Julie Bloom
"After a warning from State Trooper Dubois, we roll into Madison ready for a drink. Inside the cozy Natt Spil (211 King St.; no phone!), we catch the attention of scruffy DJ Chuck Money and chef Dave. "I could tell you were tall by your long torso," Chuck says to Brekke, who totally digs Chuck's sardonic irreverence and his hand on her thigh. He escorts us to late-night spot The Weary Traveler (1201 Williamson St., 608-442-6207), where Julie approaches Ed, a truck driver who looks like Mark Wahlberg. "You can't go anywhere in Madison without running into someone you know," he complains. As if on cue, Andrew, our sexy waiter from dinner, shows up, sits on the other side of Julie, and sets up a love triangle. One $3 beer later, Ed bows out and the four of us head back to Andrew's bachelor digs until the wee hours. The rest is classified."
We just updated two recent posts--one of which to embed a link to Ashley Watkins' podcast, but WSUM's sites are currently down, and the other was sort of dated and the added excerpt lacked the unbridled enthusiasm of a post-fork message* we just received, so stand by, and we'll post something even older and more unrelated.
*"You should write an article on Cool Kids. They were an amazing show. Im obsessed. Make them big. Make them my friends." We think this grossly overestimates our hype generating and groupie-placement powers, but we're taking it under consideration. We'd already asked after that set anyway.
When we mentioned we'd say something about El Guante's penultimate Madison rap show, this is actually what we had in mind (Manchromatic will be performing with him @ the Inferno on Thursday). This one's free, within staggering distance for us--and wallflowering's more appealing when new art's going up.
Our weekend has revolved around homegrown insanity, so we refer you to the work of colleagues.
Start with Drop A Ambulance, reporting from sonetheque. We had planned to preface a link to DAA's post by describing the bar's decor: imagine the interior of a stretch Hummer, upholstery and light fixtures "curated" by a hipster hotelier. Except the Hummer's a fucking spaceship.
Because we live to repost press-release-y shit sans commentary:"The crimethinc. gang (www.crimethinc.com) is touring the midwest. They will be in Madison this Thursday night at Lothlorien co-op. A radical puppet show will lead into workshops and discussions surrounding topics of security culture, consent, and radical mental health... and more. If you are at all interested in the work crimethinc has done in the past then this event is not to be missed. A potluck dinner will take place starting at 6 pm, the show will begin at 7:30 pm. Lothlorien co-op is in downtown Madison at 244 West Lakelawn Place."
Portly man (who was about to handle my condiments) eyeing sandwich rolling out the assembly-line's toaster oven, to coworker:
'Jane,' you're the best fluffer ever. Yours are always perfectly fluffed.H:
So... what's fluffing?PMWWABTHMC:
It's when you spread. The meat--evenly all over the bread.
not the sandwich in question, but evocative nonethelessLast time I was at Natt Spil, the proprietor of At War With Metal was patient enough to watch me eat two Brie and Braeburn pizzas. Tonight, I'll be there, listening to a set by WSUM's Ashley Watkins. She will probably be spinning some combination of dub, reggae, and .... SKA? You should show up and buy her a drink: my checking account is overdrafted, because of shit like buying two pretentious pizzas to gear up for a night AT THE CLUB.
While you should be able to subscribe to her WSUM podcast by heading to the far reaches of the WSUM.NET Cosmos, here's Ashley explaining why she's a vegetarian. I wish I could relay more of her wit beyond the decks, but she's always issuing ominous proclamations about the liberties taken by my blogging style. Join an old email dialogue in medias res, at this relatively mild (affectionate, even?) insult...
AW: hah, you little turd.
H: speaking of which, I've been mesmerized by the [image] below all week, and have had trouble coming up with a pretense to link to it.
It's quite the decadent turd.
AW: bling bling gone too far...diamonds on mah neck, diamonds on mah
grill, titanium in mah gutz/turdz.
reason #30292 why i am a vegetarian.
We do not, quite frankly, have time to outline our futuristically, anachronistically, scatologically oxymoronic syndication scheme to anyone who doesn't have the money to bank-roll the project. If you would like to make an offer, but have lost track of us, the track below explains how to get in touch.
It was really about transparency*, a PSA really, but to anyone who thought this was coming from a madison.com shill, please tune in tomorrow morning, for an unveiling of a new local blog-to-print syndication scheme that will blow POST out of the water. And soak up the mess. Kind of like this.
Now if you'll excuse us, we've got some non-blog work to mop up.
*hence the pseudonym here, obv.
If you hadn't heard, Madison is totally like Austin. And while music bloggers may moan that Madison's lacking in barbecue and multimedia festivals, we often* share some fine alt-weekly film criticism, as...
Austin Chronicle Senior Editor and lead film critic, Marjorie Baumgarten has reviewed
Evening--7/5/07, @ TDP
"If there ain't no light at the end of the tunnel, then build a fire and roast marshmallows on sticks of dynamite..."--El Guante's July 4th Anthem,
"Unmastered"[this was originally a MySpace rip, go there to stream].
Boom?We're going to talk some shit about press releases (and mention a few things re: El Guante's penultimate rap show) whenever we wake up in the afternoon. But first, we'd like to share our favorite line from an email he sent out June 21st:
His blog, "Why Is El Guante So Angry," has become a widely-trafficked local website due to its unique blend of hip hop, politics and vitriol.
As recently as last Wednesday, Saloon-Brink-Ring-bound cyclists had to lock their bikes up on paint-scuffing parking dividers and fences. Or, handlebars permitting, gingerly mount the railing on the south side of the building. But no more! As of last night, there's a proper bike parking lot. (Seen above, through night-vision goggles.) Don't know when it was installed, but it was new enough that the guy manning the door, who biked to work, hadn't noticed it.
NOTE: if you care to blog and drink during an empty hip-hop show, set up your laptop at the stage left mini-bar, and you'll pull down a decent wireless signal (it's closer to the office). The balcony, not so much.
Since copping the Killer Genuine Draft mixtape at last Thursday's Ghetto Fusion-F.A.B. King Club show, I've decided to retire from music blogging and write press releases for a forthcoming album of murderous craft brew jingles by a member of the Public Drunkards.
You can catch a Ghetto F.A.B. profile at the Madison Times. Perhaps the author could've inquired about Curtis Mayfield's influence on SYAD: "Sit your ass down. Bitch, sit your ass down."
Or maybe gone to a show*?
Ghetto F.A.B. is apparently known for high-energy, live performances: The two say they'll give an "unforgettable performance" every time. While Isabell lures the girls with his "rugged delivery" — he is often referred to as a “lady's man” — Loving does his part by giving the audience a reason to stay on their feet.
"We please the crowd," Isabell gloatted [sic] playfully. "They chant with us; we pull people on stage. We even talk to them afterwards."
So I guess it's safe to say that Ghetto F.A.B. is all about having fun.
...skip down to the last track, "Art World," Coolzey's nightmarish, funny vision of a culture superstore that's losing ground to independent creatives. Coolzey takes the voice of the company, indignant that "we even took the safest art, made it into glossy posters,/ but they wouldn't but the shit, so we had no sales turnover/ I want to bend them over and spank them all, very long and hard/ only two percent of the kids we solicited applied for an Art World card."
I gather Bostonians RADIx are headlining. If you go to their myspace, you will hear that they, like Kidz in the Hall, could not leave "93 'til infinity" well enough alone.
- Download Coolzey's Biz Markie homage
"French Fries and Ice Cream" [mp3, right-click, save-as]- Read Coolzey's interview Maximum Ink interview. He was going to tour with the Crest, or something. Who knew? I didn't.
In recent years Madison has lost McDermot's, Bookworks, Big Deal Books, and is about to lose Star Books.I'd walked by recently and seen a poster in the window reminding customers to place Harry Potter pre-orders. The latest installment's slated for July 21st publication, so that didn't strike me as the last gasp of a business about to advertise a 25%-off storewide clearance sale...
I recently stopped by Avol's while Bookworks owner Peter Dast was on the premises, and interrupted his late lunch of Fat Squirrel and a messy burger (some sort of sauce-laden sandwich, at least) but he was happy to chat re: the ethics of dealer competition, book digitization a la Bartelby and google, and the impact print-on-demand technologies will have on the long-tail of obscure academic texts. Oh, and recommend some books (19th century travel is a particular passion). I offered a vague prompt--"my sister's going to be working in Indonesia, so..."--and now have two more to add to the reading/moving crates. And some Redmond O'Hanlon to track down.if you stop by, be aware that we are on the second floor of 1421 S. Park (just north of Arby's and Midas Muffler, across the street from the Labor Temple). I'm here (unless I'm at the post office) 10:00-5:30 mon-sat., and noon-5:00 on Sunday.
