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Favorites, 2011

I can't think of 10 albums of 2011, I might not have seen 10 movies in 2011 (so much for that resolution), and I certainly didn't watch enough/drink enough/read enough to make any other “top ten” lists. So, how about a random smattering of good things?

These albums:

 

St. Vincent - “Strange Mercy”

My love for Annie Clark already knew no bounds, but “Strange Mercy” might be her best work yet. Both placid and scary, it's a killer loose in the suburbs, the quiet, sweet seeming neighbor with the bloody axe.

Feist - “Metals”

No counting, no problem. Feist's album was called a “departure” by most mainstream rock critics, but to me it seemed like a pretty natural progression, especially for an artist that comes from a musical family that has actively shunned industry superstardom.

The Roots - “undun”

Generally, if there's a new Roots album, it will be a favorite of mine. Best moment: The outro on “Make My,” which sounds like Stevie Wonder raised on hip-hop.

 These songs:

 Gospel Music - “This Town Doesn't Have Enough Bars For Both of Us”

 

 Small Sins f/ k-os - “Deja Vu”

 

LMFAO vs. Blur - “Party Rock Song 2” (mashed by A+D)

 

These concerts:

Prince at the Forum, Adele at the Greek Theatre

I've written about the Prince show previously, so there's that. Both of these shows, though, also reminded me that it's okay to be in the big crowd sometimes. For a guy who tends to see a lot of shows at small venues with very few people, it's nice to be in the same room with nearly 20,000 (Forum) or 4,000 (Greek) people, enjoying a show together.

Dan Mangan at Satellite, Dessa at Roxy

And speaking of small clubs and crowds: I saw Mangan with about 15 other people, and Dessa at a pretty packed (but also pretty small) Roxy. Both were small enough to feel like one was making a connection with the artists as he or she performed.

 

(NOTE: Mangan finished his show in the audience, hence the impossibly low light in the video above)

This television show: “Archer”

 

This crew: Doomtree

Three full length releases for the Minneapolis group in 2011, all of which were fantastic. More importantly, to see a talented group of artists get to the point of national touring without any help from commercial radio or record labels is a great reminder to those of us who tend to be more solitary in our artistic pursuits that there is strength in numbers.

This movie: “Beats, Rhymes and Life”

True journalism in the hip-hop community is, to be polite, lacking. It was in even worse shape when A Tribe Called Quest broke up in the 1990s. Now, there's a document that describes what went down, how it went down, who's feelings got hurt and, maybe most important of all, the influence that Q-Tip, Phife, Ali Shaheed and (sometimes) Jarobi had on the direction of rap music.

This drama (or lack thereof): N/A.

From getting a good, solid job in February to living with a wonderful roommate and getting to be around pretty great people all year to even getting to do a modicum of traveling (Brooklyn! DC! San Francisco! Las Vegas!), 2011 did right by me. Put in a good word for me with '12, okay?

This Blogger (whom I stole this idea from): Shampoo Solo

DC foodies should check out her monthly restaurant posts. Also Solo : New Pornographers :: Robert : Emily Haines.  

Crushing Myself For Charity



Friends, Loves and Unindicted Co-Conspirators:

This weekend, we mark the ten year anniversary of the attacks of September 11, 2001. Many of us will, at one point over the day or another, reflect quietly on the events of that day and those days after, the change in America's tenor and the lives lost in New York, in Washington, D.C. and in rural Pennsylvania.

Since that time, we've also lost more than 1,500 soldiers in Afghanistan and nearly 5,000 in Iraq. Daughters, sons, brothers, sisters.

And parents.

On September 17, I'm taking part in a fundraiser called Fight Gone Bad 6 that will help support, among other charities, the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. It's mission is to send the children of all special forces troops killed in combat (like the SEALs who died in the helicopter crash in early August) to college at no cost to the child.

The foundation has already sent 182 children through college and has 144 enrolled right now, but those numbers will skyrocket over the next few years as the children of soldiers slain in our current military actions reach college age. According to the foundation, there are 600 kids of special forces troops who are currently in elementary, middle and high school.

I come from a long line of military men. My father and both of my grandfathers served honorably. I know only through stories what these men and women go through to serve their country. I'd like to help those who, as Lincoln said, “gave the last full measure of devotion” by supporting their families.

Of course, I understand that this is a tough time for giving money. We've all been, in one way or another, battered around by the current economic climate.

So, I want to make it easy enough for everyone to be able to help, by establishing two donor levels:

Buy me a Beer: As many of you know, I like beer. A lot. So, instead of getting a round the next time we go out drinking, chip in $5 to help a kid go to school.

Hire me as a DJ: I have several skills. I translate Hipster-to-English at a graduate degree level, I make a fantastic chicken piccata and, as a music writer, it's part of my job to expose people to new music that they might not have heard. If you contribute $25 to the cause, I will make you a 10-song mix CD based on a phrase of your choice (like “Hipster Bingo” or “Cliches are the New Black”), picking songs that match the theme and what I think you might like – or, at a minimum, not hate.

The link to donate is: https://fgb6.rapidgiving.com/frp/fundraise.aspx?pk=9Q3ELEF

A YouTube video from the last time I participated, in 2008 (look for me, nearly passed out, around the 3:10 mark): http://youtu.be/cMa8nZhEz6Q

Rock the Bells (Postbox)

One day. Twelve stories. More than 2,500 words. All about old-school hip-hop. If 15-year-old Robert could have designed a job for 32-year-old Robert to have, it would look similar.

Here are links to some of the stories I wrote about the kickoff of the Rock the Bells tour this weekend.

Rockin' The Bells (overview) ** Uncommon Choice? (Common) ** Still Illmatic (Nas) ** Black Star, Empty Stage (Black Star) ** Shirt Love (favorite t-shirts) ** Lines of the Night (Donald Glover, aka Childish Gambino) ** Solo Wu (best Wu-Tang solo efforts) ** R&B at RtB (Erykah Badu, Ms. Lauryn Hill)

(NOTE: This post will be updated throughout Monday, August 22nd. It will be finished when this line is no longer here.)

Also, a great piece by Oliver Wang on the LA Times "Pop and Hiss" blog, about hip-hop and nostalgia. I've got my own reflections on that, as well, but that will have to wait until tomorrow.

Prince and the Art of the Tease

 
Burlesque dancers and pick-up artists alike understand the art of the tease, the idea that anticipation is often as enticing as satiation.

At some point, though, a tease is just that. Without a payoff, what are we waiting for?

On Budget Cuts and Woolly Mammoth

 
Between my generally squishy moderate leanings and a cable-less (and therefore cable news-less) existence, I don't delve into politics all that often.

That being said, I have to write something about the new budget deal for the rest of FY2011, and one of the cuts in particular.

Arts organizations, especially non-profit ones, do not have “wiggle room” in their budgets. Whether it's a tiny theater in a strip mall in Burbank or the Woolly Mammoth Theater in Washington DC, a major catastrophe or massive, unexpected loss of funds can cripple performances, community work and other services.

And so, when the latest budget impasse ended with government scalebacks that included a 70 percent slashing to the National Capital Arts Program, it became personal for me.

Woolly Mammoth Theater Company is my artistic home on some level. I took my first professional acting class there, fell in love with live theater there and found some of my favorite plays there.

Because of this budget deal, Woolly Mammoth will lose about $200,000 this fiscal year, or about five percent of its operating budget.

There is a solid argument to be made that arts funding is not the job of the federal government (though what that means for DC arts, since there is no “state level” funding until the district is granted statehood, I don't know). It's one that I can sympathize with, especially during this time of economic distress.

But what this Congress and President Obama have done is take away money that arts organizations, Woolly in particular, thought they had coming to them halfway through a year. This will cause immediate pain, the type that triggers contingency plans and will cause layoffs and downsizing.

Let's have the discussion about arts funding in America. Let's figure out what level of government, if any, should be responsible and how much money should be involved. But let's not pull the rug out from organizations in the middle of a fiscal year.

(BTW: The real shame in all of this is that the Democrats were too cowardly to even try and pass a FY2011 budget last year. I can guarantee that the left would have left this program fully funded.)

Photo courtesy of Flick user "Gurana" - check out his photostream here