Hate the song, love Wanye's line.

Best Bros

Best best bros

"rapper Lil Wanye was presented a Louis Vuitton briefcase containing $1 million dollars by his mentor co-founder of Cash Money Records, Bryan ‘Baby’ Williams aka Birdman. The rapper reportedly was stunned after he opened up the case that was given to him which left him almost in tears."

??

Anyways...

Song sukxxxxxs, but Wayne's line at 3:42, "Better wear a latex, 'cause you don't want that late text, that 'I think I'm late text'" is ridiculous.

The line before that:

Why would she? She probably be the odd cookie

In the plastic bag 'bout to get crushed by a building

I flushed out the feeling of, me bein the shit

'cause I was leavin skid marks on, ev'rywhere I sit

may be some of the most nonsensical lyrics I've ever heard.

I guess that's Weezy F. for you.

Gotta love him for this one though:

nonoudontgetit here is your damn summer jam. A chorus of "I wish I could fuck every girl in the world"? What else do you need?

Rock on to the break of dawn

Rammelzee is a boss. Not only is he one of the most bizarre, creative and talented early hip-hop artists but also a dedicated bomber (and part of the Death Comet Crew) and certainly the only hip-hop artist whose single's (Beat Bop) cover art was done by Jean-Michel Basquiat (a song which Basquiat also produced).

Beat Bop (1983)

Interview with Rammelzee

Death Comet Crew au festival Electrochoc
Uploaded by RECmag. - Watch more music videos, in HD!

Woody

Annie Hall



Woody Allen's 1977 movie is hilarious, but besides its comedy the film is a social and cultural commentary about New York City during that era. Perhaps no scene succeeds at poking fun at the prevailing culture of the time better than this one:




And the film's opening monologue is great:



The opening sequence of Woody's Manhattan:



is perhaps my favorite in the history of film. Although the opening of Scorsese's Taxi Driver:



is up there. Never underestimate the importance of a film's opening. Sets the mood for the whole thing, and that's exactly why the monologue to open Annie Hall works so well. It encompasses Woody's character to a t.

New Jack City

Saw the end of New Jack City last night. Movie looks awesome. Ice-T is possibly the goofiest police officer in film history, just beacuse he has dreads.

And Wesley Snipes plays a gangster, Nino Brown.

Damn that style is impeccable.

And you have to love the car-phone equipped Jeep:

And the director, Mario Van Peebles, is the son of the famous blacksploitation director Melvin Van Peebles, director of the classic (among others)

Sweet Sweetback's Badd Asssss Song:

Happiness

George Orwell's

essay from 1943, entitled Can Socialists Be Happy? is a great quick read.

http://www.readprint.com/work-1257/Can-Socialists-Be-Happy-George-Orwell

Basically Orwell argues that happiness comes from its contrast with work, sadness, poverty, etc. In literature, Orwell argues, there are few convincing depictions of heaven (in western art there are so few depictions I only found paintings of the Ascension of Christ to heaven)

Giotto

1304

The Asencion

Rembrandt

1636

The Ascension

while there are many depictions of hell itself.

Reubens

The Damned Falling to Hell

Rodin

Gates of Hell

Orwell then parallels the literary comparison of depictions of heaven and hell with the description of Utopias,

From Thomas More's Utopia

and depictions of the modern state.

Socialism and socialist thinkers, he argues, should aim to create a state where brotherhood and compassion reign, rather than happiness because happiness is too abstract a concept to build a society on, a notion Orwell backs with evidence from literature.

It is interesting to re-read Orwell's "political fiction" like 1984 and Animal Farm after reading his essays and other non-fiction works. His style which synthesized politics and narrative was pioneering. Contemporary films like Children of Men,

and V for Vendetta owe much to Orwell's legacy.