Elenamary

I no longer will judge you, Bukowski, by the tiny clip of you kicking the shit out of your girlfriend (I’d seen the whole documentary not just the clip and it had disturbed me). Nor will I judge you Slug, by your womanizing.

I’ve had issues with Slug (of Atmosphere fame) because of the widespread gossip of his womanizing. An ex of mine (and friend of Slug’s), who is as I see it also a womanizer, would even occasionally mention some of Slug’s behavior as womanizing. I like Slug’s music, love his music but wouldn’t allow myself to admit it. How could I like someone who occasionally behaved in ways I was totally against?

El Oso and I even discussed it a few years back when I mentioned I was going to an Atmosphere show:

“EM,

I’m jealous. Although, last night I was talking to the person who first introduced me to Atmosphere on a mix tape (ah the lost art of the mix tape) which had The Woman With The Tattooed Hands on it. She said she forever lost her faith in Slug when she saw him live. He was bringing up random girls on stage, making out with them, then talking shit and kicking them off. It’s a second hand account and rappers don’t have to be heroes, but I certainly expected something more from someone as thoughtful (ie. full of thought) as Slug.”

The ex who would mention Slug’s treatment of women, is also a decently well known musician, and he spoke more about his admiration for Slug then he did of the womanizing. He would speak of Slug’s dedication to his music, to his work. He’d tell me about Slug always working while on tour, always working to get his name out there. Slug, himself, has rhymed about that struggle and the sacrifices that he has made because of his self-promotion. My ex stated that he would never be as well known as Slug, for many reasons but for one, because he would never be willing to work at it as hard as Slug had or give-up time with his own children.

It was today that I realized how hard Slug, Atmosphere, have worked at their music. Today I turned on my car radio and their song “You” was playing. Later I heard the same song coming out of a parked car in the parking lot of the welfare office. As I drove home from work today an SUV pulled up along side next to me with the same song playing. At happy hour with my girlfriend, she mentioned hearing an interview on BBC with Slug today and how she was shocked the BBC was interviewing him.

I’ve got to admit it Slug has worked hard and deserves all he can get. He shouldn’t be judged by a small part of his life, but as a whole person, and like all of us, he isn’t perfect.

It is unfair for El Oso, my ex, or myself to judge Slug on rumors or even small parts of his life. We can in fact, and do, still admire Slug, as El Oso put it a few years ago: “Slug could very well be my favorite poet of his generation.”
And I think El Oso is right. Atmosphere’s new album is one of my favorite albums of all time. Respect given where respect is deserved; Slug is an amazing poet and a hard worker. Keep up the good work Slug, and if you come to Columbus, I’ll make you a home cooked meal.

You can listen to some Atmosphere here, some Slug here, or listen to the You song (as well as some other new songs) here.

Sometimes we just need to laugh at the absurdities and enjoy the music. Enjoy!

I had a wonderful night at Rumba Café just a few blocks from my home where I got to see Tim Easton preform. I first heard about Tim Easton almost a decade ago when my friend Chris Burney told me he was dropping out of The Ohio State University, leaving the student radio station and heading to California to make music with Tim Easton. Chris asked me if I wanted his position as Promotions director for the radio station. I thought that Chris was the coolest person ever!

The show provided me with great music and good old friends from the radio station days; Zak Moses (Flotation Walls), Jeff Fernengel (Tree of Snakes), Miles Curtiss (Marvin the Robot), and Chris Burney (The Sun). It was odd in that I had so many of my music friends around me; I of course have always been the person who didn’t know the new bands. I am still the person who rifles through the CMJ lists not recognizing most of the names but that doesn’t mean I don’t love going to the shows.

Tim Easton has never failed in moving me. He played for four hours last night and consistently pleased with only one exception. My favorite song of his, Dear Old Song and Dance (downloadable for free), started wonderfully and beautifully but it was cut short. It was terrible, like saving your favorite dessert for last and then just before you get to it finding that your roommate ate it.

I wish I’d had some money on me, for if I had I would’ve bought some of his CD’s. So if you are like me and enjoy good music but never seem to be the one that discovers it, I encourage you to go discover Tim Easton and of course Rumba Café.   Rumba Café has a great laid back lay out, good beers, and awesome music…and I just might be there tomorrow night to see The Flotation Walls.

Which one of these two makes you laugh more and which one of these two gets you the most excited to go vote for Obama?

¡Ándale mi gente! ¿Cual de los dos te hace reír más?

Read the rest of this entry »

One of my favorite musicians, Envelope, has a song “I Am Not Poor (Just Broke)” where he states he isn’t poor in that he has a house to live in, isn’t starving and even can afford to buy some PBR now and again. That is how I feel. I am not poor, I got a house and running water, and electricity sure I don’t have health care but I’ve got enough to buy my mocha.

That said if I did have money I wouldn’t mind spending it on going out, but since I don’t , I hate spending money on shows.

For example, last week, my mami, Olga and I went to see the Ballet Folklórico at the Palace Theater. It was awesome, as it always is. My mother and Olga loved it.   I loved seeing Olga dance in her seat or her mouth drop open with awe and joy. But I refuse to pay for that stuff unless it is absolutely necessary. We stood outside of the show with a sign “We Need 2 Tickets”.  I don’t know why we used a sign that said 2 when we needed 3 but that isn’t the point. We were going to try and get cheap or free tickets. If we had bought tickets it would have totaled a minimum of $75.00. I just can’t do that.  We were able to get three tickets together from a wonderful man, whom I need to send a thank you note to.

It is easy to get into big shows for free. For example if you are going to a crew game, especially by yourself, stand near will call. People always pick up tickets for a party of four when only three of them showed up. You can ask them if you can have their ticket. Someone is bound to say yes. I am hoping to do this again October 12th when David Sedaris preforms with the Columbus Gay Men’s Chorus (this group is fantastic—I love going to their shows). Cheapest tickets are 32.50 before the additional fees, and I am not poor but I am broke. If you see me standing outside of the Palace Theater and you have an extra ticket, think of me.

Dear Southwest Xicanos, Chicago Xicanos, Cali Xicanos,

You grew up with Xicano language, literature, music, artwork, politics. For me it was something I had to discover. Columbus, Ohio is on the verge of its first Xicano movement (which I will write about later this week). With our Xicano movement will come music, but for now I have to use a different medium in order to obtain my Xicano music, and yes it is owned by Rupert Murdoch, it is myspace. The website has allowed me to access awesome Xicano music that I otherwise would have never known about it. Below are a few, enjoy!

Los Abandoned: I actually first heard about Los Abandoned from El Pocho Abogado’s entry about them. I often think of El Pocho Abogado as that guy who is light years away from where I’ll ever be when it comes to great music. They are lead by strong fem vocals, to sweet electronic music, that makes me want to jump around and bump into people while singing along. Their lyrics are bilingual, they are awesome and you should go listen to them. On myspace they categorize their music as “New Wave/Latin/Indie”. Go listen to “A La Mode”.

Aztlan Underground: While I discovered them on myspace they do have their own official website. Their music is political, no doubt about it. In their band description they describe themselves as “The dormant giant has awakened. Throughout the Southwest known to Chicanos as Aztlán, the movement of the struggle is still in effect and greater than ever. Treated as foreigners in our own land, Aztlán Underground(AUG) was founded to voice the anger and frustration of the poor and powerless…AUG captures the psyche and transcends to all ethnic groups, capturing a universal rhythm to convey their message of “self-determination and decolonization.” Their lyrics are bilingual, political, and their music, is as they describe it, “Psychedelic, Regional Mexican, Pop Punk”.

Down aka Kilo: Okay, I owe this one to El Pocho Abogado too, well I don’t know if the word ‘owe’ is correct. His lyrics are not progressive, in fact they are misogynistic, but his song Lean like a Cholo is catchy as hell, so enjoy it for what its worth, a catchy bubblegum hiphop song.

Los Dryheavers: They, Los Dryheavers, actually have a non-myspace website here. Their music is sweet dude punk music. I know that sentence doesn’t make much sense…to you, but it does to me… Anyway, sweet dude, like cool awesome kid you want to spend the summer going to punk shows with, this is sweet dude punk music. They site their influences as Vicente Fernandez, The Clash, Jose Alfredo Jimenez, and The Ramones….come on ya’ll you know it is going to be good. Their lyrics are also bilingual.

The Fresas: If you like Los Abandoned you’ll love The Fresas. They remind me of Elastica, I have fond memories of driving in Mexico from my mom’s house to my grandmother’s house with Elastica blaring and people giving me funny looks. The only thing that makes me sad about Las Fresas is that unless you guys go encourage them and help me help make them big, we in Ohio will never get to see them preform. Help a girl out! Go listen or even download for free their song Dang B. They are poppy, they are bouncy, they make me smile, yeahhhhhhhhhhh.

Girl in a Coma: Rocking (very young) Xicana ladies out of San Antonio Tejas. I heard about Girl in A Coma from Latina Lista Blogcasts. Their record label is Blackheart Records, thats right Joan Jett’s record label which also signed The Eyeliners putting these rocking Xicanas in some very good musical company. Their music in indie rock, it can slow down to the form of Sinéad O’Connor type balled to a rocking song that reminds me of some late ’90s Grrrrrl rock.

Mad Mexicans: Out of Tejas, these guys are straight up rock, their song style reminds me a lot of Molotov’s album Donde Jugaran Las Niñas. Catchy hooks, hardkore rock, that makes you want to roll down the window and say “Ain’t no party like a Mexican party, ’cause a Mexican Party rock all night long” or if you wanna get political “Three cheers for a blind society, raise a glass to a broken democracy”.

The Mormons: Out of California, these chavos make fun of an easy target…Mormons. They dress in that gdman colonizing uniform of the Mormons: the black pants, short sleeve white button down shirt, black backpacks, and bike helmets! They are comical with great music which finding a combination of both is hard to find. Their music is punk rock, with an occasional bit of sing along peppiness that I enjoy and I’ve seen them define themselves as “Latin Music” on myspace, with their backgrounds as they told me are “Vince and Joey are Mexican and Jimmy Is Chilean”.

Los Nativos: Straight out of the Mid-West, no not Chicago, and no not Ohio (sadly), Los Nativos are from Minnesota. Los Nativos are on the same label (Rhymesayers Entertainment) as Brother Ali, Atmosphere, and Columbus Ohio’s Blueprint. I guess this is the closest it gets to Columbus having politically active Xicano music and I damn fine with it since good lord it is AWESOME! Their music is straight up hip-hop, it is just plain good, you want to drive with it, you want it while you are working around the house, you want it all the damn time…go give it a try.

Anyone else wanna mention some other good Xicano or Latino music?

I am hooked on the site Last.fm. Last.fm tracks the music you and your friends listen to and then recommends new music, both indie and mainstream (which you can adjust to give you more of one than the other).

Their about page states:

You can use Last.fm to listen to music, find out about artists you may like, other people with similar music taste, gigs in your local area, charts and quilts for your personal site, as well as much more.

It has a lot of cool features available in its free mode, and of course, like the good AmeriKan that I am, I am a free rider. One of the features is that it tells you your music compatibility with your friends. Supposedly, my most compatibly buddy is Gustavo whom only has a “medium” music compatibility with me.

It appears though, that with all of my buddies there is at least some music we can agree on. Which means if we ever go on a long car trip, we will get along just fine.

Anyone want to guess what seems to be the most agreed on “good music” despite our wide array of music tastes? It is Café Tacuba! Who’d thunk!?

Below is my compatibility with some bloggers, mostly blogueros of blogtitlan.

Abogado (Abogado’s blog)
Low; artists in common: Atmosphere, The Specials, Bob Dylan, Billie Holiday, and Bob Marley

Alsoevso (E’s blog)
Very Low; artists in common: Maná, Nina Simone, Johnny Cash, The Beatles, and Carlos Vives

CindyLu (CindyLu’s blog Loteria Chicana)

Low; artists in common: Café Tacuba, Maná, Los Tigres del Norte, Billie Holiday, and The Cure

El Mas Chingon

Very Low; artists in common: Café Tacuba, Control Machete, Molotov, Aterciopelados, and Plastilina Mosh

El Mono Enano (Pocho Abogado)
Very Low; artists in common: Against Me!, The Specials, NOFX, The Cure, and Crass

Espelina
Very Low; artists in common: Cafe’ Tacuba, Air, Depeche Mode, Pixies and Bebel Gilberto

GRD (Gustavo’s Blog)
Medium; artists in common: Maná, Café Tacuba, Molotov, Los Tigres del Norte and Ozomatli

Headphonist (Potatoes and Nicotine) Low; artists in common: Café Tacuba, Molotov, Maná, Aesop Rock, and Plastilina Mosh

JenWoodardsF (Latin-Know: The Latino Marketing Report)

Very Low; artists in common: Elis Regina, Nina Simone, Café Tacuba, Juan Gabriel, and Pavement

MamitaMala (Mamita Mala Blog)

Low; artists in common: Bebel Gilberto, Molotov, Alejandro Fernandez, Lila Downs, and Los Panchos

MsAbcMom (MsAbcMom blog)

Very Low; artists in common: Alejandro Fernandez, Luis Miguel, Carlos Vives, Celia Cruz, and Ella Fitzgerald

Myke115 (obiterdictum)

Very Low; artists in common: Santana, Van Morrison, Barenaked Ladies, OutKast, and Fleetwood Mac

Oso (El Oso, El Moreno, and El Abogado)

Low; artists in common: Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, Maná, Bob Dylan, and Van Morrison

Rolandog (Pervasive Smothering)

Very Low; artists in common: Molotov, Barenaked Ladies, Ben Folds Five, Control Machete and Stevie Wonder

Seyd (Seyd’s Blog)
Very Low; artists in common: Lila Downs, Nina Simone, Carlos Vives, Tigres del Norte, and Celia Cruz

TortillaS (Tortilla Sandwich)
Very Low; artists in common: Johnny Cash, The Beatles, Carlos Vives, Ozomatli, and Juan Luis Guerra

Xoloitzquintle (Xoloitzquintle’s Blog)

Very Low; artists in common: Johnny Cash, Café Tacuba, Maná, Moltov, and Franz Ferdinand

Zemph (Frantic.org)
Very Low; artists in common: The Shins, Johnny Cash, The New Pornographers, Wolf Parade and Spoon