LOST, Season 3: "Through The Looking Glass" [recap]

I had two questions upon seeing that "snake in the mailbox" ending to the Season 3 finale: "How?" and, more importantly, "Why?"

How is pretty self explanatory: how did Jack and Kate (and presumably other people) get OFF THE ISLAND?

The WHY is a bit more complex, and I'll try and ask some of my questions during this recap...

First off, let's hit you guys with some observations; I've seen some on the web, but others haven't really been brought up - to my knowledge:

//OK so the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations" and Nirvana's "Scentless Apprentice" were featured in this episode. Any coincidence that this was an episode where the assumed leader was struggling with depression/drug use/questions of his worth/etc.?
//I know that the shots of Jack were flash-forwards, and that the name of the funeral parlor he visited is an anagram for "flash forward", but is there any significance in the fact that its a funeral parlor, and not like a toy store or something?
//Penny, in speaking to Charlie, asked him how he got that frequency: does this mean that the Looking Glass called Penny, and not the other way around?
//How is it that Mikhail can not only survive the sonic waves from the fence, but survive the spearing? Did he survive that grenade blast underwater?
//Remember in "Catch-22", where Desmond was speaking to Charlie about how his trying to save Charlie has been seemingly messing up his getting reacquainted with Penny? Is he doomed now, seeing as though he went down there to save Charlie? I ask this because the scene still played out the way he said it would - even though the flashes always change.
//You like how the majority of the "main Others" got iced this season, and how we lost so many of them in one episode!
//What's the deal with this "Golden Pass" Jack spoke of?
//Anyone else notice Rousseau's lies? She's previously said that the radio tower was both by the Black Rock, and that the Others controlled it. Neither seem to be the case. And how come her first words to the daughter she never bonded with was asking her to tie up Ben? Something is fishy there...

OK so now to try and ask a few more questions.

In reading the 2nd of Doc Jensen's finale posts, he brings up an interesting theory about who could possibly be in the casket. Many people think it was Sawyer, others think it was Ben, but I don't think any of them are in it, and I like how Doc assumed it was Michael, Walt's dad. Here's his reasoning: Jack's spending all this time wallowing in self-pity, trying to "get back", the episode even ends on Jack screaming WE HAVE TO GET BACK, to the island (seemingly); who do we know who has, (again) seemingly, gotten off the island? Michael & Walt. We don't know of anyone else who had a boat and free reign to just bounce. So if Michael DID make it off the island, and ended up dying suddenly, one of Jack's only hopes for getting off the island is gone. Now it doesn't have to be Michael, but anyone who might know how to get off the island (this is why I think Sawyer and others are out); it could be Ben, but who knows.

The other part about the ending was the fact that Kate just appeared (I don't know what it was, but she looked beautiful in that light - very cinematic). She spoke of having to go back to someone, a "he" that was never explained. She seemed to also be indifferent to what Jack was saying - his pleas of them having done something wrong, his trying to get back to the island - she wasn't feeling that at all. My intial thought is "oh, she must have gotten off the island, and was pardoned in exchange for shutting the fuck up about their time on the island", but I have no real concrete evidence to support this at all. And if Kate & Jack got off the island - who else did, too? I'd imagine some got the chance to stay... or not.

See, this is my main theory: Ben was right, and Penny seems to have backed up his claim: Naomi is not who she says she is. Penny had no idea who she was when Charlie asked her about Naomi and the boat, and that leads us to believe that Naomi is not with them. The guy on the phone probably knows what Naomi is doing, but it could mean that she is from a larger organization, ones who are going to "wipe out" everyone on the island, as Ben suggested. Hanso perhaps, coming in to clean up the mess they left when they pulled funding on the DHARMA Initiative? Oceanic Flight 815 could then have been seen as a trigger - or rather the sequence of events. The plane crashing could easily have been covered up - it seems like people already think that there were no survivors (unless Naomi was lying about the Driveshaft greatest hits CD); but the releasing of the anamoly, that could have triggered something. Penny was onto it, what's not to say that Hanso wasn't monitoring the situation as well, and decided now was the time to strike...

A few more questions, because I am left with only questions:

*How did Walt telling Locke he had a job to do translate to Locke knifing Naomi? And how come he was quick to knife her, but not shoot Jack when he was making the exact same call?
*What's Richard doing while all of this is going on?
*If the scenes with bearded Jack were flash forwards, why was he asking the black Doctor to go upstairs and see if Jack was drunker than his father, who died BEFORE Oceanic 815 crashed? Is his pops alive? If so, how?

I feel dumb, b/c I hadn't seen the flash forward coming. I really got tricked, and had to leave the room and process what I just saw. I should have known, though: this season has been the season where everything we knew got turned on its ear, and the biggest clue was the whole question of Desmond possibly living in an alternate reality, trying to explain his flashes. As if he is living life again. Once that went down, it seems like the concept of time is going to truly be played with. I should have known, though.

My predictions for the last 3 seasons:

1)Hanso is going to come back to the island and try to "fix" the situation, which will end up with some of the Oceanic 815 survivors choosing to leave, while being mum about their whereabouts and whatnot. Kind of just blending back into society, with the knowledge that they must remain mum or else.

2) The flashbacks are going to alternate between two times: I think some episodes are going to do the 'normal' format, of learning more about the survivors through events in their past, and then going forward to Jack's plight to get back. I like the idea of season 6 culminating with "realtime" events of the survivors getting off the island, and Jack finding his way to get back ON the island.

3) Desmond will reunite with Penny, but I'm kind of perplexed. I wouldn't be surprised if he was destined to not get with her.

4) Kate will never tell Jack she loves him. She wants to but it won't happen.

I don't know. There's so much to question, and I think I'm going to revisit some of this stuff, all the while bringing you whatever LOST bits I can during the year. Keep it locked.

Hope you all enjoyed the finale as much as I have. Please hit up the comments with any points of interest/questions/whatever.

peep these related links, too:

Both of Doc Jensen's LOST finale posts over on EW (Pt. 1, Pt. 2)
LostPedia's Synopsis of "Through the Looking Glass"
Sledgeweb's recap of "Through the Looking Glass"

Until next time... namaste!

Friday, May 25th 2007 playlist_leak session

No true playlist this week. I haven't been rocking to certain tunes, been lax ever since I got this new gig (I got you, though, Spectreheads!). I do still accumulate a shitload of leaked material, from various blogs and other sources, so let's just get that out there in the forefront:

Fabolous ft. Jay-Z & Uncle Murda "Brooklyn"
Lauryn Hill "Lose Myself"
Rihanna "Shut Up & Drive" and "Say It", from her forthcoming Good Girl Gone Bad
DJ Khaled ft. Young Jeezy, Lil' Wayne, Rick Ross, Fat Joe & Juelz Santana "Brown Paper Bag" (not to be confused with the Roni Size/Reprazent classic)
Bounty Killa ft. Cormega "Killin' Fi Pleasure"
Twista ft. Pharrell "Give It Up" (prod. by The Neptunes)
Styles P ft. Kool G Rap "Come One, Come All" (prod. by Fizzy Womack)
Skyzoo ft. Torae "Click" (prod. by DJ Premier)
Vanderslice ft. Reef The Lost Cauze, Verbal Tec & Lex Starwind "Charles Bronson"
This week, a slew of unreleased tracks from The Game's Doctor's Advocate sessions leaked, presumably produced by Dr. Dre: "My Bitch" (dissing 50, Suge Knight AND Jay-Z, supposedly), "Beautiful Life", "Murda", "Still Me" and "Won't Stop"
Young Buck "Daydreams"
Radio rip of Beanie Sigel's "Creep Low"
2 new Common tracks: "Black Maybe" and "Misunderstood" (I believe both of these are from Finding Forever album, but who knows...)
Gwen Stefani ft. Damian Marley "Now That You Got It (Remix)"
N.O.R.E. ft. Three 6 Mafia "Don't Worry I'll Wait"
Marques Houston ft. Juelz Santana "Wonderful (Remix)"
Big Shug "It Just Don't Stop" (prod. by DJ Premier)
Jennifer Hudson ft. Papoose "Special"
Here's 5 leaked R. Kelly tracks, from his Double Up album: "The Champ" ft. Swizz Beats, "Tryin' To Get A Number" ft. Nelly, "Get Dirty" ft. Chamillionaire, "Best Friend" ft. Keyshia Cole & Polow Da Don, and "Rollin'"

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J. Rocc has done it again! He has compiled a slew of Madlib remixes, from 1997-2007, and threw down a heavy mix for the latest Stones Throw podcast. Here's the tracklist, from low-bee:

0:10 pb wolf - definition of ill (single)
2:04 foreign legion - nowhere to hide (single)
3:28 zion i - critical (single)
4:40 charizma (madlib remixes vol.1)
5:50 prozack - bang it (death taxes & prozack cd)
6:40
7:30 common - the sun god
8:30 madvillain - money folder (single)
9:45 lootpack - long awaited (unreleased?)
11:00
12:20 a.g. - take a ride (unreleased?)
14:00 jaylib - strapped (champion sound 2)
15:10 jay z - threat (mind fusion vol.4)
16:40 defari - say it twice
18:10 snoop
18:50 kurupt - ride wit us (madlib remixes vol.2)
19:50 jadakiss - put ya hands up (madlib remixes vol.2)
20:50 mr. cheeks - lights camera action
22:00 j dilla - reckless driving (unreleased)
23:40 (interlude?)
24:00 madvillain - rainbows (unreleased)
24:50 madvillain - one beer
27:18 jazzanova - l.o.v.e. and you and i (remixed cd)
34:00 zero 7 - distractions (simple things remixes cd)
36:40 bilal - soul sista (single)
39:45 common - 8 minutes to sunrise
41:00 lootpack - frenz v endz (unreleased?)
43:30 nas - revolutionary/get down (mind fusion vol.4)
45:40 interlude
46:50 nas - get down
48:20 j dilla - let's take a ride (unreleased)

Fill in those blanks?

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DZ, one half of the Lurk'N'Gully outfit, has dropped a serious May 2007 Promo Mix. Here is the tracklisting:

Kromestar & Walsh - Panic Room (Hot Flush)
Skream - Lose Control (Tempa)
DZ - Whoa (Dub)
Richboy - Throw some D's [EMU Rmx] (Dub)
Loetech - Apollo11 (Dub)
Toasty - Angel (Hot Flush)
Janner - The Power of Sound (Dub)
Skream - Midnight Request Line [DMZ Rmx] (Tempa)
DZ - Slums Dub (Dub)
Sully - Lynched (Dub)
The Antiserum - Ain't it Funky (Full Melt Dub)
XI - Sunshower (Dub)
Massive Attack - Find my Way [Kode 9 Rmx] (Hyperdub)
DZ - The Distance (Dub)
Luke Envoy - Honour Kill (Hot Flush)
Parson - Conduit (Dub)
DZ - Work it out (Dub)
Monster - Caveman VIP (Dub)
DZ - Chinese Checkers (Dub)
DZ - Chalice Dub (Dub)
Distance - Fallen (Boka)
Plastician ft Skepta - Intensive Snare (CD-R)
Loetech, DZ & Bowzer - Mathematics (Dub)
NIN - Me, I'm Not [DZ & Bowzer Rmx]
Jason Burns - Bad Boy (Dub)
Loetech - Shotgun Harmonica (Independents Dub)
The Fix - This Fire [DZ's Bayswate Mix] (Dub)
DZ - Crime Spree [Sully's Rough Justice Mix] (Dub)
Lurk n' Gully ft The Fix - Forward (Independents Dub)
Babylon System vs Noah D - Take That (Dub)
DZ - Be Cool (Dub)
Bowzer - Last Man Standing (Independents Dub)
Benga - Duel (Big Apple)
DZ - I Don't Pray (Dub)
The Antiserum - Top Shottaz (Full Melt Dub)
???? - ????? (Dub)
???? - ????? (Dub)
DZ - Boombastic (Dub)
Skream - Check It [vocal mix] (Tempa)
Monster - More Fire (Dub)
DZ - Rise (Dub)
DZ - Untitled/Unfinished

This monster clocks in at just over 1hour43mins. Dude's tracks are flame, and he drops a host of sick dubs in there as well. Grab it before it's gone!!!

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For your DNB fix, this week's For Your Listening Pleasure features mixes from Goldie, DJ Jambo, Subwave, Fracture & Neptune, Temper D & Vicious Circle. All flava.

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Pandamonium Jones hit me up this week with links to TWO Caps & Jones mixes out there (not up on C&J? Get familiar). The first is a lil' promo mix for Professor Murder, which throws everything from Prof. Murder b-sides and unreleased cuts up against Freddie Mercury, Three 6 Mafia, Eek-A-Mouse and a host of other sounds and beats. (check out Caps & Jones' first release on vinyl, a remix of Prof. Murder's "Free Stress Test"! Grab the Professor Murder Rides The Subway EP HERE)

The 2nd is an hour-long fiesta for Top Shelf Motherfucker, a Toronto clothing company. I will just say two things: grab the mix, and check out the tracklistings:

Part One

Metallica – Battery
Junkyard Band – Sardines
Young Black Teenagers – Tap the Bottle
House of Pain – Shamrocks and Shenanigans
Schooly D – I Don't Like Rock'n'Roll
Ice Cube – Check Yo'Self remix feat DAS EFX
DJ Pooh – Whoop! Whoop!
KRS ONE – Sound of Da Police
Jay Dee – Fuck The Police
Body Count – Cop Killer
The Misfits – Hunting Humans
Dub Narcotic Soundsystem – Fuck Shit Up
Can – Vitamin C
Ghostface – Ghost Is Back
Led Zeppelin – Immigrant Song
A Certain Ratio – Do the Du
Banbarra – Shack Up
Paris – The Devil Made Me Do It
Afroman – Palmdale
Afrika Bambaataa and The Soulsonic Force – Looking for the Perfect Beat
Daft Punk – Robot Rock
Richard Hell and the Voidoids – Walking on the Water

Part Two

Snoop Dogg – St. Ides In The LBC
Aaliyah – Rock the Boat
The Knife – Heartbeats
Billy Squier – The Stroke
Outkast – Chonky Fire
NWA – Dopeman
Fugazi – Waiting Room
Bauhaus – Ziggy Stardust
Public Enemy – Shut Em Down
Beatnuts – Reign of the Tec
Audio Two – Top Billin'
Baby feat The Clipse – What Happened To That Boy?
Three 6 Mafia – Tear Da Club Up
DJ Deeon – Tear The Klub Up
Crime Mobb – Knuck If You Buck
Psychedelic Furs – Dumbwaiters
The Rapture – Dumbwaiters
Guns'N'Roses – Night Train
Beastie Boys – Rhymin and Stealin
Bun B – Trill Recognize Trill feat. Ludacris
Bloc Party – Banquet
Wire – Mannequin

Cotdamn. Grab NOW!! And if you are in NYC tonight, Caps & Jones are throwing down at Savalas.

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On the final thought, I want to big up KJ Sawka, whom I just recently interviewed, and show you why I got so intrigued by his skills. Here is dude playing his song "Axis" LIVE on C89.5 in Seattle:



Until next time...

DJ Krust: in his own words

One of my favorite interviews I've done was with DJ Krust, a staple of the DNB community through V, Full Cycle and his various other excursions. He was one of the first producers I latched onto and truly followed. In my conversations with him, I realized how philosophical of a cat he is, he seems to always be thinking. He sent this piece, which is more of a question/statement, a few weeks back, and I neglected to post it for whatever reason. It is text that ended up on his blog, which needs more shine than it's getting (also needs more posts, but its fuckin' Krust!)... here is the unedited text:

as the jungle drum and bass scene starts to warm up for the summer .we look to what is happening . is there a split are we moving in diffrent directions. has the music changed .is it staying the same. whats happened to the movement called jungle . where is the unity . what about what we used to stand for ? moving forward . welcoming change, the scene was about growing together .when we look around what are we seeing . yes the scene is now much bigger ,yes its world wide, yes the standard is much higher, yes there are more labels, yes there are more dj,s. so this is growth right ? what about the coming together of the people .the communication, the organization. what dose jungle ,drum and bass stand for ? is this jus about music us having a great time .taking drugs and partying til we drop . or are we saying some thing, using this music as our voice. to talk about whats happening to this genaration . to our community. to our people to me to you. NOW IS THE TIME TO SAY WHAT WE NEED TO SAY

You'd think, in 2007, we'd be saying more with this music, expressing more ideas and themes. Who knows what the future holds... but for as much slating and backbiting that goes on, you'd think we'd look to the producers who helped mold the DNB/Jungle scene, and look to them for guidance.

backlog (5.24.2007)

So at the temp. gig I picked up, I had some breaktime and, since I am allowed to surf the web whilst on breaks and lunch (bonus!), I decided to clean up my primary Gmail account. Boy, did I find a shit load of, well, shit that I hadn't dloaded or responded to, for whatever reason. My life's been kind of hectic since I been on the job search, but some of this shit needed to be posted months ago. SO, I decided to throw some of these accumulations into one blog post... and who knows? Maybe I'll be lazy and forgetful, and throw these up more often! LOL.

let's go:

Here are a gang of leaks that did not make it to last week's playlist (May 18th, 2007) because, well, I never got around to making a playlist:

Trife Da God & Termanology "Trife & T" (prod. by Milkcrate Fam)
Papoose ft. Busta Rhymes "Drop It" (prod. by Dr. Dre)
Ghostface Killah "My Guitar"
Wise Intelligent "I'm Him"
Raekwon "Freestyle" (over ESG's 'UFO' break)
Few new cuts from the Beastie Boys' instrumental album, The Mix-Up: "The Rat Cage (Edited Version)"& "Off The Grid"
Kurupt "Mystic River" (prod. by DJ Battlecat)
Jaylib "The Mission (Stringed Out Remix)"
Mims "This Is Why I Rock" (clean version) (also check out a LIVE interview/freestyle of his from the Kung Fu Show on Pyro Radio)
Red Cafe ft. Mr. Easy "Children of the Ghetto" (prod. by MoSS)
Tragedy Khadafi ft. Prince Ali "Righteous Scrolls"
Lil Wyte "Slap That Sucka" (as seen on Adventures In Hollyhood)
Kanye West "Can't Tell Me Nothing" (prod. by DJ Toomp)
Chip Fu over Collie Buddz' "Come Around"
Siya "So Crazy" (she is apparently the first openly lesbian rapper?)
Young Cash "Freeze"
DJ Khaled ft. Akon, R. Kelly, T-Pain, Lil' Kim & Young Jeezy "We Takin' Over (Remix)"
Mazaradi Fox ft. Kool G Rap "Gangster Therapy"
Aesop Rock "None Shall Pass"
Crooked I "Cruisin'/Just The King Freestyle"
Strong Arm Steady ft. Talib Kweli "One Step"
Amy Winehouse ft. Jay-Z "Rehab (Remix)" (here is a version featuring Pharoahe Monch)
Metafore ft. Joell Ortiz "Hood Thang"
Blaq Poet & NYGz "N.H.B. (Nigga, Ho, Bitch)" (prod. by DJ Premier)
Styles P "Hold On" (prod. by Fizzy Womack) (grab The Ghost Sessions HERE)
Timbaland "The Way I Are (Manny Faces Remix)" (shouts to Manny Faces on the remix)


Cinematic Music Group presents "Sean Kingston: Good Talk vol. 2" (hosted by DJ Khaled) [sendspace link]

Dude has an LP dropping on Beluga Heights in Fall '07; Beluga Heights is the label that superhot pop producer JR Rotem started up, and Kingston is his flagship artist. Sean reps Miami by way of Jamaica, and is all of 17 years old. He mixes up rapping, reggae toasting and "soulful harmonization", and seems to be poised to make some big moves. Tracklisting:

1. DJ Khaled, Sean Kingston Intro
2. Colors – Sean Kingston feat. The Game, Rick Ross
3. The Slums – Sean Kingston
4. Skreetz On Lock – Hot Dollar feat Jermaine Dupri
5. Way We Live – Sean Kingston
6. Riding So Slow – Question feat. Sean Kingston, Kyle Lee
7. Ghetto – Smoke & Numbers feat. Sean Kingston
8. Makin Them Swerves – Nipsey Hussle
9. Big Knots, Big Chain – Hot Dollar
10. Colors 2007 (Reggae Mix) – Sean Kingston feat. Vybz Kartel, Kardinal Offishall
11. Never Change – Smoke & Numbers
12. In The Ghetto – Sean Kingston feat. Trey Songz
13. We From SA – Question feat. Dope Supply
14. Prepared For War – Chin Wha feat. Smoke & Numbers
15. All My Ganstas – Sean Kingston
16. Concrete Jungle – Smoke & Numbers
17. Paid The Cost – Sean Kingston
18. Pressure – Chin Wha feat. Smoke & Numbers
19. I’m From – Nipsey Hussle feat. Cuzzy Capone
20. High Life – Question
21. Deep Cover Freestyle – Question
22. Give You Some Love – Sean Kingston
23. Beautiful Girl – Sean Kingston (Summer Smash!!!)
24. Outro

Looks interesting... might be worth the dload. For more info, peep this link.

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I'm no big Shady Records fan at all, but the boy Ca$his is getting a lot of burn, for God knows what reason. I have never listened to his Bogish Boy vol. 1.5 mixtape, but a lot of Shady fans online seem to swear by this collection. Maybe one of you will dload this and let me know what to look out for...

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Check out Submorphics' May 2007 Studio Mix, which was recorded for The Overfiend's BassDrive show:

Saburuko - Warped
Theory - Versionist
Bungle, DJ Roots & The Ego - Conquest System
Lenzman & Submorphics - Way Back When
Chino - Essence
Mutt - Draw on me
Atlantic Connection - Peace of Mind
Submorphics - Downstyle
Jazz Thieves - Feelin' Easy
Redeyes - Science of Sleep
Lomax & Focus - 5 Weeks
Mutt & Submorphics - Be my Lady
Jazz Thieves - Tonka Stomp
Lenzman & Jubei - Room 237
Lomax - Brain Freeze
Random Movement - Things you do
Switch & Stunna - Together
Lenzman - The Blues

A suite of slickness throughout that mix.

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This mixtape is a few years old, but it's new to me, and contains a host of sick blends. DJ Fade's R&B Madness:

1) Intro
2) That's The Way Love Goes - Janet Jackson
b/w: Wait (The Whisper Song) - Ying Yang Twins
3) Something In The Way You Make Me Feel - Stephanie Mills
b/w: Lean Back - Terror Squad
4) Real Love - Mary J. Blige
b/w: How We Do - The Game ft. 50 Cent
b/w: Hush - LL Cool J
5) Think Of You - Usher
b/w: Hate It or Love It - The Game ft. 50 Cent
6) Human Nature - Michael Jackson
b/w: Bonafide Hustler - Young Buck
7) In The Air Tonight - Phil Collins
b/w: Alright Groove - The 45 King
b/w: 5 Alarm Blaze - Joe Buddens
8) Back To Life - Soul 2 Soul
b/w: Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See - Busta Rhymes
9) Clap Your Hands, Stomp Your Feet - Interlude
b/w: Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See - Busta Rhymes
10) I Like It - Debarge
b/w: Tipsy - J-Kwon
11) Walk On By - Sybil
b/w: Hustla (Remix) - Cassidy ft. Mary J. Blige
12) Mona Lisa - Slick Rick **(DJ FADE 2005 Party Mix)
13) Rhythm Of The Night - Debarge
b/w: It's All Good - Fantasia
14) Candy - Cameo
b/w: 1,2 Step - Ciara
15) This Is For The Lover In You - Shalamar
b/w: Hold You Down - Prodigy ft. Nina Sky
b/w: Let Me Love You - Mario
16) Who's Holding Donna Now - Debarge
b/w: Sugar Buddy - Nodesha
17) Friends - Jody Watley
b/w: Again - Faith Evans
18) Be Happy - Mary J. Blige
b/w: Make The Music With Your Mouth - Biz Markie
b/w: Breathe - Fabolous
19) All Or Nothing - Joe
b/w: DaRockwilder - Method Man & Redman
20) I Could Fall In Love - Selena
b/w: Treat U Betta - Big Shug
21) Outro

Kind of reminds me of this slept-on J-Live mixtape, Homemade Blends vol. 1. Check it out, though - Fade did his THING!

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Enjoy, and keep it locked here. We have you sorted, don't even worry.

Win You a Van!

The summertime is the time when kids are home from school, and concert season is alive and wheel. While you might not be down with Lollapalooza or some large scale outfit, it doesn't mean you can't still get heard by the people... and the good folks at TuneCore and Guitar Center have devised the perfect giveaway:

During the month of June, head on over HERE and enter the "Win a Van" sweepstakes. The requirements are simple: go there during the month of June and let them know the following info: how could you/your band benefit from a new whip? What's your best tour story, from the past or the future? What are 10 things you/your band would always have in the van? And finally, detail your dedication to your craft. If they choose you, you/your band could win the following goodies:

• 2007 Ford Econoline
• $5K in CASH
• an Apple Macbook
• A year of Internet Access
• a $500 gas card
• a Case of Ramen Noodles

How sick is that? All the ish you need to rock a few weeks or a month touring in your area, or at least to get you started. Now before you DJ/Rap stars get in a tizzy with all the "band" talk, I spoke to Mary @ TuneCore, who assured me that "anyone who's making music and can articulate their commitment to it" is able to win it. So, get your thinking caps on and get motivated.

Again, this competition is brought to you by the good folks over at Tune Core (check them out - they make it easier for artists to get their music on digital services like iTunes, eMusic, Napster and many more sites) and Guitar Center. Don't miss out - get your music online, then hit the pavement and get it heard!

[rock the dub Interview]: KJ Sawka

Live DNB has always gotten mixed reviews. While some artists, like Paradox and Amit, can truly bring the same fury of their released music doing Live PAs, some fans get confused with acts like "Planet Pendulum" making arena-rock DNB, or Reprazent's jazz fusion sets. As of late, especially with the Jungle Drummer's live sets with dope DJs (he's recently been touring with DJ FU), the idea of a truly gifted DNB drummer has been intriguing hardcore fans. KJ Sawka is the new breed of Jungle Drumming: Seattle, Washington bred, he is a musician that took his gift with the sticks, added his growing love of DNB and Electronic music, and fused them together to further blend the two styles of playing. He has released an album, and is currently working on a new collection of dancefloor-ready tracks, and is on the verge of exploding on the DNB scene worldwide. Dude even has performed with Blake Lewis (yes, that Blake) before, and has him on his new album! We shot the ish with KJ on many topics: his evolution, his production, and the new opportunities he has been affored (London Elektricity? Bassdrive Radio show? new album? Tour?)... get ready!

khal: First things first: how does it feel to be garnering so much publicity over the ‘Net? It seems like word of mouth has lead to things moving in a pretty fast direction for you in the last couple of years. Does it ever feel surreal?

KJ Sawka: You know, it feels great!! I've been producing and playing music for a long time. I've been striving to be an international artist for a long time.. It feels more deserved than surreal. I am very, very grateful though. No head here :) but I've known in my heart that there really are people out there that want to see and hear my music... And love it!!

khal: I know you’ve been involved in music for a while. Can you talk a bit about your progression? When did you start drumming, when did you start working in bands, your first flirtations with DNB, etc.?

KJ Sawka: I started playing drums at age 11. Playing jazz, rock, and funk. All the basics around at that time. I started teaching drums to my friends right off the bat, so that helped my progression a lot. Along with practicing 8-10 hours a day, everyday. Total nerd!! I was in bands all through high school.. Then, 18 years old, just out of high school, I heard dnb and breakbeat music. LTJ Bukem, Crystal Method, Chemical Brothers. They blew my mind!! I never wanted to listen or play anything else again that I'd played before. I was hooked on electronic music!! I wanted to create what I heard on the drums. And at the same time I bought some drum machines and started programming and playing keys.

khal: OK so now you hear DNB, and you spend time honing your style to, for lack of a better term, recreate DNB-style breaks live. How long did it take for your style to catch on? Did you ever encounter someone who said “you can’t do it”?

KJ Sawka: It didn't take very long for it to catch on. I had some songs and started a band called 94th Street. Which was the name of the street I lived on at the time. I teamed up with my long time guitar mate TJ Berry and roommate sax player Alex Zimmerman. We came out with a big bang in Seattle. Bringing 200+ kids out to every show. The dnb and breaks live drumming styles caught on quick!! I played many Seattle "Loft Parties" and they launched me even further into the professional music scene. My style was catching on so quick, that at one of the first shows I had ever played in Seattle, Michael Shrieve (drummer of Santana) asked me for drum lessons...

khal: In one of the first videos I saw of you on YouTube, you are not just playing the drums, but you have samplers going, and you seem to be doing like 5 things at once at times. Can you break down your set up? How long did it take you to create the kit that you are using now, and how long did it take to start implementing the samplers and effects and such? Also, is your setup still evolving?

KJ Sawka: My setup is always evolving. Since I started playing breakbeats, I also started programming beats and playing with effects and keyboards. My bedroom started looking live a music store. Yes, I usually do like 4-8 things at the same time. If drumming wasn't already 4 things by itself. I used to have a drum kit , drum pads connected to a sampler with tons of effects. Now it's more laptop based. - Currently I have a all odd size drums with a Mac Powerbook running Ableton Live, Reactor, Battery, Pro Tools, etc. A mixer, trigger finger laptop controller, Korg sampler, drum pads/ brain, audio/midi I/O, Kaoss pad, Akai filter, gate unit, Electrix MoFx and many other varieties constantly changing it up...

khal: Now, while some might just be hearing about you today, you’ve been bubbling in the US jungle/DNB scene for a few years. I know you’ve opened for LTJ Bukem, and played the country over a few times over. What point did you start to realize that your style was catching on, and people were truly starting to not just take notice, but be genuinely impressed with your work?

KJ Sawka: Everyone has been really impressed with the drumming aspect since the beginning but the online videos have taken it to a whole nether level. Getting my debut album signed to a real record label has helped in a huge way, not just as a drummer but as a producer as well.

khal: You’ve put out one CD, Synchronized Decompression, and I notice that the styles on that aren’t exactly like your live sets, meaning its not all LIVE DRUMS LIVE DRUMS, but a mixture of the programmed beats and other effects. What do you think is more important: wowing crowds with your dazzling skills in a live setting, or crafting creative tracks on your released output?

KJ Sawka: Well, I see it as sort of two entities. I love playing the drums live, so that is what I do live. But I love electronic music too. And electronic music doesn't have live drums in it all the time. I tried playing the electronic drum samples live without the acoustic drums and there wasn't the same impact as the live acoustic drums. There were big ups and big downs in the sets. When I played electronic drums, it was sort of mellow and when I played acoustic drums it was 'off the hook'... So I've been enjoying playing 'off the hook' shows last few years... haha... As far as the album goes. I want people to get just a small sense of the live show and mainly be able to sit back and enjoy a nice studio album of electronic music.

khal: Word is that you’ve also got a show on BassDrive radio. In listening to the archives, I see that you not only employ the live style you’ve been known for, but you also throw in things like DJ Shadow’s “Six Days”, as well as other familiar tracks. How does this show come about: is it essentially your live performances condensed, or are you actually mixing?

KJ Sawka: Yes, I have a once a month Bassdrive show, the first Monday of every month 6-7 central time US. I have been remixing some of my favorite dnb tunes in my live sets for a couple years now. DJ Shadow's "Six Days" is my own remix, called "Six Day War", off the original Colonel Bagshot record. People want me to release it, maybe I will soon? The Bassdrive show was all live, not unlike other live shows. I put tracks into my Ableton Live session and remix them on the fly. It is definitely like mixing records but way different... It has a similar sounding result. My live show has many different aspects of "on the fly" and pre-recorded material. I separate my tracks into bass, keys, vocal, drum loops, samples, etc. and trigger, tweak, effect, loop and remix them all at one time. And play the acoustic drums.

khal: As stated before, you got into DNB through hearing a track of LTJ Bukem’s. While he is definitely a figurehead in the scene, he is not as prominent of a name as he once was. Do you still keep up with current DNB, and if so, who are you feeling these days?

KJ Sawka: Yeah definitely, LTJ was an eye opener and I try to keep up... I listen to and am influenced by Human Imprint recordings, Hospital, Renegade, Outbreak, EZ Rollers, Moonshine, Noisia, Roni Size, Black Sun Empire, Spor, Evol Intent, London Electricity, Venetian Snares, Amon Tobin, Boards of Canada, Royksopp.

khal: I heard a rumor that you might be doing some work with London Elektricity? Are you able to discuss this at all?

KJ Sawka: Well, we have some recording dates with him in July when I'm in the UK. Who knows what is going to come out of it though. It should be good I feel.

khal: One thing I HAVE to ask: when it comes to playing DNB live, it’s still in its infancy in terms of producers segueing to recreating their music live. LE does it, Pendulum has their “Planet Pendulum” sound coming, and a few other acts have really pushed their sound, but in terms of in demand drummers, it seems like the only guy on the scene has been The Jungle Drummer. Do you feel any competition with him in terms of “jungle drumming superiority”? Would you ever be game for a “drum off” style battle with him?

KJ Sawka: I would definitely be into a drum battle any day!! haha .. But there are a few hand fulls of drummers that do DNB that I'm aware of. Just not to many doing the full on DNB/DJ type sound. I am aware of drummers who can do many things I cannot but I haven't seen any drummers take the performance to a "DJ style" type thing yet... I love making people dance even more then wowing people.

khal: I hear that your next album will be going away from the more “moody” styles of Synchronized Decompression. What steps are you taking to ensure that your new disc will be full of more “club-ready” tracks? Who are you working with to accomplish this – any new players come into the fold?

KJ Sawka: I produced the album myself. I really want to be known as a producer as well as a drummer... Preferably a producer. I still have a long way to go but I feel that the tracks will slay the dance floor. I also want to convey a moody style, for I'm a moody guy. I like to think of my music as Heaven meets Hell, Yin and Yang, Darkness vs. Light. I've been doing live-PA sets, mainly "breaks" and it's been going off!! Very similar to playing the drums live. So I know I'm doing something right.

khal: You’ve linked up with Cyber Groove for your promotions and management. What was your situation like before, and what are the pros of linking up with a company like Cyber Groove?

KJ Sawka: Yes, Cyber Groove contacted me after seeing my YouTube videos and my website. They are booking and promoting me. I am currently managed by Interface Management out of Seattle. I've been with Interface for a few years. The pros of linking up with Cyber Groove are that they are very submerged into DNB and Electronic music, which is perfect for what I'm doing. Interface Management is more broad genre music management and booking company.

khal: Do you have tour dates, and if so, where can fans find you in the coming months?

KJ Sawka: Yes, I have many tour dates coming up - Seattle, Portland, Las Vegas, Toronto, NYC, London, UK, LA etc, etc ..
I post most current tour dates on my MySpace website, as well as on KJSawka.com.

khal: Do you have any final words/shout outs to give to the people?

KJ Sawka: Yes, I'd like to thank Cyber Groove Productions, Interface Management, Wax Orchard Records, Grapevinez International, Demo, Zacharia, The Dowes and all the Seattle DNB crews, My singers - Christa Wells and Emilia Sosa. And all the people out there - get ready cause the KJ Sawka ship has landed and it's motha f *kin' bullet proof!!!

suggested links:

• KJSawka.com
• KJ Sawka on MySpace
• KJ Sawka on YouTube
• Synchronized Decompression on CD Universe
• Seattle Weekly "Amen, My Brother" article (May 2006)
• And now, some tracks to dload: "Sapphire" and "Close Your Eyes" (courtesy of Download.com); "WTO" (ft. Blake Lewis, AKA BShorty, forthcoming from the Cyclonic Steel album), "Runnin'" (live, bonus track not included on Cyclonic Steel), "Montreal", "Funk Radio" and "Cotton Club" , which are all taken from the Live at Chop Suey online-only release; Parts 1, 2, 3 and the Grand Finale of the KJ Sawka vs. Amon Tobin Live Jam from Fall 2005.

Finally, check out the video for "Montreal", which will be available on the DualDisc version of Cyclonic Steel, forthcoming on Wax Orchard:

khal would like to shout out KJ Sawka for providing such a smooth interview, Scott @ Cybergroove for getting things situated, and Chappy Sinclair for making the initial contact for me. Truly appreciated!

Clemens Come

On the heels of his game tonight with the Trenton Thunder minor league baseball team, I was perplexed in thinking/reading about Roger Clemens' return to pro baseball:

Why was the world so shook up when Jay-Z came out of retirement, to seemingly go 1x platinum, but Clemens comes out signing MILLIONS, and there's not even a word of resentment?

I guess in a sport where we can let dopeheads break records, anything is fair game...

I'm feeling local columnist Jeff Edelstein's column from today's Trentonian. Really hits the nail right on the head.

Mixtape, Inc.

For all of you Hip-Hop DVD heads, mixtape lovers, and genuine documentary lovers, I just got word on this new DVD that is available now entitled Mixtape, Inc., which delves into the hypocritical world of mixtapes in Hip-Hop. We all know the game: the Rap industry is quick to snatch up rising mixtape acts (50 Cent, Papoose and countless others) to big contracts, and build brands around them, but on the flipside, they talk with the RIAA and get frustrated about how much money they believe they are losing. The makers of this film might call it a love/hate relationship, but I personally look at is as more of a "do as I say, not as I do" type of relationship. And the only people who get hurt are the consumer...

This doc takes you into the background, speaking with many Hip-Hop luminaries (from the G-Unit camp to Lil' Jon, Kanye West, Xzibit, Chuck D, Fabolous, David Banner, DJ Kay Slay, DJ Clue, Danger Mouse and others), getting their real, hands-on insight into the struggle and drama that has escalated into situations like DJ Drama getting arrested for essentially helping the people he's dropped mixtapes with get more paper.

Once I get my mittens on this, I'll be pouring over it and providing you guys with a review.

For right now, check out the trailer, and if you are intrigued, go cop it.

LOST, Season 3: "Greatest Hits" [recap]

Kind of fucked up how, even with Blogger's new AUTOSAVE feature, my fucking recap just disappeared. So here is my super condensed recap:

I wanted Charlie to die. Karl was acting very strange, as was Ben. What's up with the inconsistencies of the Looking Glass station? Is Jack's plan going to work?

suggested reading:
LostPedia's synopsis of this episode
trailer for the Season 3 finale
Doc Jensen's recap of this episode.

NAMASTE!

the shuffle. [5/19/07]_late/condensed

In a weekend that invovled my Nets being knocked out of the NBA Playoffs, my wife and I making a cool $1 during our yard sale, and my family enjoyng Pinot Grigio and drama at my cousin's baby shower, I unfortunately did not have the time to sit down and knock out my normal shuffle for the week ending May 19th, 2007, and I apologize. I've been kind of absent, but I will be providing the wealth of links I accumulted.

Before I do that, though, here is a list of things to expect from rock the dub and dubplate digest this week and in the near future:

1. A leak-exclusive playlist for the 18th of May;
2. A recap of The Sopranos' episode entitled "The Second Coming";
3. A recap of LOST's episode entitled "Greatest Hits";
4. My interview of DNB drummer/producer KJ Sawka;
5. A recap of my failed yard sale;
6. Other bits and bobs.

In any case, let's flush out this week's news:

• The Big 3 dropped their weak Fall lineups.
• RIP Yolanda King.
• How was Lindsay Lohan voted to the top of the Maxim 100? And how is she 'not stupid enough' to get caught snorting coke on tape?
• Have you heard the one about Ma$e and the she-males?
• Would you watch a Suge Knight reality TV show? Is his making this show the reason he is tightening his belt?
• I hardly listen to Nine Inch Nails, but Trent Reznor is the smarted artist in the music industry for his no-nonsense views on the industry.
• Microsoft must be losing money off of Vista: they are trying to milk royalties from companies like Linux and other open-source heads.
• Some study thinks that an iTunes-esque video service has no future. They probably also said MP3 players will make no ends.
• America fucked up and voted Melinda Doolittle off. Jordin Sparks FTW.
• Akon's dumbass is saying he didn't do anything. Except dry-hump a teen. At least his situation made Enrique Iglesias cool off during a concert performance.
• The RIAA looks like a bunch of bullies cracking down on poor college students and their file sharing habits.
• I love how we easily have $50 million to combat youth gangs and violence, but seem to have no money to put into the school districts of these areas, which would help combat the problem before it manifests itself...
• This punk ass father left his son locked in a car for 9 hours while he got crunk at a birthday party.
• 'Bud Bundy' got busted with reefers.
• Fox Boogie Brown is bad as HELL! almost took out a lady with a baby and still ain't gone to JAIL!
• What's good with Scott Storch not paying back a measely $100K? He probably has rims worth more...
• Sean Price was all over ya internets this week: check out this Ghetto Penthouse interview, then peep his Freestyle 101 video over @ G4.
• Would you buy a CD that could actually get you high?
• Paris Hilton's good behavior (aka showing up for court) got her jail time cut in half. If only gang niggas could show up to court and get those life sentences reduced...
• Bobby DeNiro & Al Pacino are set to act in the same film again. Hopefully they get more than 2 scenes together...
• New Gnarls Barkley LP set to drop this September.
• The Game & Lil' Wayne are working on a "Blood" themed mixtape. As if the many "Blood" references in their tracks weren't enough...
• Andre 3000 spoke on his return to the mic, and what might be in store from him/Outkast in the future; also rated are the plethora of cameos he' s made in recent months...
• Blondes might have more fun, but those bitches can't stick to robbery plans por nada!
• 20 MP3s says Amazon.com's digital music store is going to give iTunes a run for its money.
• Speaking of digital music, Paul McCartney has seen the light and is putting his tracks online.
• M.O.P.'s Billy Danze said he did not hear 50 Cent's comments about their LP being done in his recent XXL interview; it might be due to lack of hearing from the Hevi Medal side project.
• 50 Cent also had a chance to speak on Master P and the whole clean rap lyrics crusade (which is actually going nowhere fast). Too funny.
• Jerry Falwell died this week. Reports say Tinky Winky had a pocketbook party.
• Bruce Willis is not going to be happy if the latest Die Hard sequel tanks. This week's gripe: his signature catchphrase has been axed, for ratings reasons.
• Do you think Nicholas Cage would be be good as Al Capone?
• MySpace was too busy this week implementing content fingerpringing technology to hand over the info on sex offenders on the popular website.
• The boy Pastor Troy, who created Hip-Hop masterpieces like "Drop That Ass", was forced to change the title of his forthcoming album from Saddam Hussein to Tool Muzik. OK so instead of promoting fallen dictators that WE KILL, we will allow you to promote tools that helps kill everyone. Good call.
• US soldiers, you know, the guys who have their lives on the line for us, are not allowed to use YouTube and other sites that slow down the Army's internet connections, or so they say. I guess Dick Cheney and his crew are REALLY trying to grab bootlegs of the new Pastor Troy.
• Shout outs to the Latinos who made Ken Burns redo his latest documentary.

That's the motherlode. Dissect one at a time.

Here's a final thought for that ass:

Three 6 Mafia "Tear Tha Club Up '97"

Get ready for Memorial Day, early!

Until next time...

Pimp My MySpace!

Do you have time on your hands? Are you good with MySpace Layout editing?

I tried working with a generator to get my MySpace page looking like this blog... but got confused. Can anyone help me out? I'll give you something...

JAYLIB "CHAMPION SOUND" REISSUE NEWS!

Just got the Stones Throw newsletter, figured I'd drop dime:

The reissue of Jaylib's classic Champion Sound was supposed to have dropped on CD on May the 8th, but there was a glitch in the pressing of the CDs, so the official street date had to have been pushed back to June the 12th of 2007. This 2xCD/LP will feature the entire, original Champion Sound album, unreleased tracks, a host of remixes Madlib created, and never before released (on CD) instrumentals of the album. Very momentous release...

Plus, the "advance" iTunes release date is May the 22nd!

In prep, I have been revisiting my bootleg copy of this, and realized that I need to cop the reissue... might even cop the original version of the album, b/c I think the copy of "No Games" I am used to is NOT the version I have been hearing as of late. Who knows.

Peep Jaylib's page on the Stones Throw website for more info. You can also pre-order the 2xCD HERE from Amazon, for the same price as the original album! How ill is that!?

The newsletter also leaked an MP3: "THE MISSION (STRINGED OUT REMIX)". Sickwidit.

The Sopranos, Season 6B "Kennedy and Heidi" [recap]

I first want to extend a big FUCK YOU to Google News; I hadn't watched this episode on Sunday, opting instead to DVR it and watch the finale of Survivor. Not necessarily a bad idea, but in checking Google News @ work the following Monday morning, I see a picture of Chrissy, with links saying "fans shocked over death of Sopranos character", and a host of other links. My mom then proceeds to call me, and even though I said "I DID NOT SEE THIS EPISODE, BUT I KNOW THAT CHRISSY DIED", she proceeded to run down to me the whole scene. So, basically, when I saw Chrissy fiddling with the soundtrack to The Departed, I knew what it was...

In any case, that shit was done beautifully. From Chris' almost nodding off behind the wheel to Kennedy & Heidi's split second reasoning ("I'm driving after hours with only a permit"), and Tony's coldheart, that just spoke volumes. He didn't shed one tear. He didn't even react. I was surprised that the early scene with Melfi was a dream: I was almost waiting for him to lay it on the line with her later on in the episode, but he kept up the facade. Normal, but damn. The one thing he slipped on was trying to get Carm to say she was relieved that Chrissy was now dead. She was his blood, and in any case her heart is not that cold. Tony's life has always been like that; he received the programming that AJ never got, which lets you understand why, when AJ tries to put up that front, he realizes that he truly just wants everyone to Rodney King it. You feel for him, because he got the worst of both parents: he got Carmela's sensitivity, which can shut you down when it gets tough, and that "disgusting Soprano gene" that Tony has spoken on over the course of six seasons of The Sopranos...

Were any of you busting a gut when you saw Tony, high on peyote, WINNING in Vegas? Things like that pay off. I read a pretty awesome write up on this episode, and they said he was saying "he's gone!" while on the floor of the casino, but I didn't catch that. Its fitting, though: Tony might have been speaking on the fact at hand, that Chrissy, the only guy (he knows about) that would have good reason to flip and fuck up his couch; he could have been talking about some "plague" that was causing his string of terrible gambling luck; or he could have just been talking about himself, or his tough-guy, sad-clown facade. He was letting his insides out during that whole sequence, and he loved it. Maybe he was tapping into his inner-Christopher? T has dabbled in drugs before, but we only really saw him do a few lines of coke. "Killer pot" and peyote? What's this, a Hunter Thompson novel? It all works, though.

One other thing my mom mentioned to me was her concern for AJ: she swears dude is going to kill himself. I would sure as shit hope not, but I would not be surprised. Unless he realizes that he is agood kid, and needs to be in school, getting his learn on, he will continue to go down that destructive path, and either bury all of his emotions, like his father, and become a heartless man, or he will consume himself.

Weren't you just waiting for the shit to hit the fan when Carm was introduced to Julianna? And wasn't seeing Kelli throwing teat to baby mouth one of the sexiest non-sex scenes in Sopranos history?

I do also want to send a shout out to Paulie Walnuts on the loss of his aunt/moms. You just KNEW that he only had the attendance to money spent ratio on his brain. Kind of sad, but he should have known from the tiffs at the nursing home: she didn't get along with many people her age, esp. since most of the people her age are dead. Damn that was cold...

With this show now like 4 or 5 episodes left (I lost count...), I find myself trying to piecemeal WTF is going to happen with the rest of the cast. I'm interested to see where Meadow will end up. Phil Leotardo, too. I have a feeling he won't make it. And Vesuvio's, what's going to happen to that spot? Silvio, where will he end up?

I can't keep doing that to myself. So, I watch reruns on A&E. Last night was Season 3's "He Is Risen", and during one scene I realized that Jackie Jr., Chrissy AND Adrianna were in it, and are now dead. Kind of odd when you think of it.

If you are looking to feed your Sopranos jones, you should check out Slate's article about where they think T will end up. MSN always provides quick, sometimes humorous recaps of each show. Idolator posted about the music featured in that episode, and provides MP3s. And when all else fails, check out HBO.com's growing synopsis of this episode.

claw "Suspended Animation" (mix)

claw, a producer I've known through DOA and seen on the dubstepforum, sent over a pretty slick mix, with some classic Trip-Hop and wonderful Dubstep vibes - including DJ Nappy's refix of Khalifah's "Light a Fire". Check out the tracklisting:

0. Claw - Intro
1. Amon Tobin - 4 ton mantis
2. Bjork - Army of me
3. Portishead - Sour times
4. The Roots & Erykah Badu - You got me
5. Dj Shadow - Midnight in a perfect world
6. Tricky - Aftermath
7. Portishead - It could be sweet
8. Pinch - Punisher (Loefah's se25 mix)
9. Pinch - Punisher
10. Matty G - 50,000 watts
11. Claw feat. Jimmy Lonesome - Sour diesel
12. Technical Itch - Know
13. Khalifah feat. Bun b - Light a fire (Nappy vs. Ekaj extended dubstep mix)
14. Claw - Dubtempo
15. Loefah - Rufage
16. Headhunter - Arrival
17. Claw - The standard
18. Digital Mystiks - Ancient memories (Skream remix)
19. Matty G - The road is rough
20. Loefah - Mud
21. Digital Mystiks - Da wrath (Souljahz vip mix)
22. Coki - Officer
23. Monsta - Caveman vip
24. Burial - Wounder

What a BEAST! Download the mix HERE and HERE. And if any DJs are trying to get some THUGSTEP in their mixes, let me know. I will post it up here and elsewhere.

LOST, Season 3: "The Man Behind the Curtain" [recap]

Sheesh. What a crazy episode.

Damon & Carlton said in the May 11th podcast that they wanted to create a "TiVo moment", inre: the brief glimpse of Jacob that we received, and I did in fact pause my DVR to catch it. Now, what we actually saw is just beyond me... let's break things down a bit:

First off, the whole "help me" that Locke heard, that situation is crazy. I don't doubt that Jacob is real, and is some kind of weird entity or something you can only see if you are tuned in or whatever the hell he is, but it just kills me that, apparently, it seems as though you can only hear what he wants to hear, or what have you. Like, Locke couldn't hear anything Jacob was saying to Ben, but when Jacob spoke to Locke, Ben couldn't hear it. This infuriated Ben, for not only does it seem like he wants to stay leader of the Others (or at least the Others who don't live in non-electric houses), he also wants to be the only enlightened one, the only one who can speak to and be spoken to by Jacob. I slipped up at the end of this episode, after the credits rolled... I said "damn, so Locke's dead?" and my wife answered back "What makes you say that he's dead?"... which is telling. Ben only shot Locke once, and it wasn't really in the heart (looked more like the stomache, no?); knowing how non-fatal blows can be cured at a more rapid pace, I don't doubt that Locke will be back before season's end. How, and in what shape, is anybody's guess...

Onto Ben: I am certain that he is lying about more than he says he is. I should never have believed him, after his fakeHenry Gale nonsense; but he constantly states this season that his is not a liar, almost to the point of being offended if you question his word. Then we find out that dude wasn't born on the island - didn't even get there until he was like 8 or 10 years old. That's BIG, but then again, when hardly anyone really knows this, he can kind of create his own past, with the power he wields. I did find it interesting that Richard Alpert might be what we consider to be a "Hostile", esp. since he looked the exact same (well, aside from his long locks)! This whole Hostiles/Others debate is crazy, too. And the talk about when the Purge actually took place is even more frustrating: this thread over at 4815162342.com is trying to pinpoint the decade (1980s vs 1990s) in which the purge took place - mainly due to what Rousseau and Mikhail have said previously, but the question of the Timex watch (made in 1992) that Ben wore in that scene - was that a production error or a big clue?)...

It was crazy to realize that the whole Hurley finding the van thing earlier this season had Ben's pops in it. As a matter of fact, that entire DHARMA scene when Ben touched down was a bit too much. I can't really wrap my head around what they were trying to do; nor can I fully believe that the DHARMA/Hanso people aren't having a hand in the island today. Who knows, though; we haven't seen a fooddrop in a while, and we are to assume that the destruction of The Flame AND the destruction of the sub killed all outside contact. I just find it difficult to believe that neither DHARMA nor Hanso were involved for years before Flight 815 fell from the sky...

Here are a few points, just some things I am throwing out there:

*I loved seeing Locke whup on Mikhail; he always gets his ass kicked, right?
*From what I've been reading, the idea is that Ben was born in/around 1965. If so, it's safe to assume that he and his father touched down on the Island in the 70s. How long was DHARMA on that island before Ben got there?
*The gun Ben shot Locke with: was it the same gun Alex gave him, or did he have his own piece on him?
*Why would Jacob be asking for help? Does Ben have him held there beyond his will? Is that what the substance Locke was trying to investigate outside of the cabin (and what is supposedly in the cabin) was there for?
*The lantern broke and a fire erupted in the cabin: why was there no smoke, nor any broken lantern when Ben left the cabin?
*If the grave was full of DHARMA people who got gassed, why did one of them have a gunshot wound to the head? And was Ben the only DHARMA person who joined up with the Others? And what happened to Annie?
*Did all of the DHARMA guys survive? I'd imagine that any gas let off would only affect that camp - but DHARMA had stations all over, and they weren't close.
*What does Juliet actually think she was going to do to help the survivors of Flight 815? Telling them that the Others were planning on swiping the females is one thing...

There is just so much going on. And next week looks like a MOTHER, with this big survivors/Others battle set to pop off. Check out the trailer, then try to cool off. I really hope that Jack is straight and narrow, and primed to set it off with the Others, but who knows - he could go either way, from uncompromised to infatuated/intrigued by Juliet. Hopefully he is doing the right thing.

Sad thing is, this week's ep is the last new episode before the finale. It's this week, then a LOST: The answers show on May the 17th, then the two hour finale after that. Two hours of who knows what, I just can't wait for whatever they may bring.

In the mean time, check out this Doc Jensen theory, which is all about links to philosophers and Postmodernism. Kind of wordy, but I'm also not that bright...

Until next time: namaste!

The Sopranos, Season 6B "Walk Like A Man" [recap]

Never worked on a recap at all. Check out HBO.com's synopsis of it.

I never thought I'd see the day where AJ looked more and more like a gangster, and it all happened over a piece of Puerto Rican trim. Stranger things have happened, I guess...

Chrissy hopefully learned a valuable lesson as well: stick to your friends. No faxing and two-ways in the Mob.

This week is going to delve deeper into that AJ shit, I can feel it...

the shuffle. [5/12/07]

Wow. Before I rock this week's nonsense, I want to speak on some personal, in-my-neighborhood nonsense:

I realized today that the "shiftless Negro" stereotype is way off. Being shiftless and lazy has nothing to do with race. I live on a sometimes-quiet street that is infested by ground hogs and a shitload of lazy neighborhoods. Pretty evenly mixed: I have annoying black kids and annoying white kids on my block; there is a heavyset black woman and a heavyset white woman on my block; the niggas make noise at all hours of the night, and the crackers argue in the middle of the afternoon. What do they all have in common? None of them clean up after themselves. My fam spent 2 hours this morning cleaning up our street, after organizing (with the Mayor's office, mind you) to have a neighborhood clean-up today. No one came out, no one supported, but $20 says mad people are going to come out for the organized yard sale my wife hooked up (you did so well, mama!)... Just ignorance. And its all shapes, all sizes, and all ugly.

God bless America... land of the free, home of the ridiculous...

Let's go!

01/Def Jam has been laying off niggas like mad, for no good reason, aside from the fact that the majority of the shit they release makes no money, or doesn't even get released! Earlier this week word eeked out that 40 employees were fired, including the entire Roc La Familia staff (side note: does this mean Tru Life is not coming out?)... and now word is that Ludacris' DTP label is the next to skate from the big timers. Who does the blame sit on for this? Is it the guy downloading MP3s online? The fans who are buying more ringtones than albums? I don't think so: it's the execs who sit in an office, totally trying to taste make as opposed to listen to what the public wants. If they knew what we wanted, they'd be creating better albums, and not the 18 track, 1 keeper coasters that they make. The funny thing about this is that the music industry is reverting back to the 1950s and what not, when singles were the breadwinners. Nowadays, the single is what it is - but it's not our fault! They want radio play, but then design albums that are devoid of quality, and get mad at iTunes for selling tracks at $.99 a piece. Why not jump on board, and work with what works? I'll never understand that...

02/Akon's dryhumping escapade is just not going away, no matter how hard he tries... TMZ found his dryhumpee and posted her MySpace pics. From what I'm reading, it sounds like she wants, almost desires the very sort of attraction that she received from Akon. I hate saying that, but she has herself listed as being 19, speaks about being a bitch but not caring, and has some semi-revealing shots for a 14/15 yr old... and from the video I saw (but can't find online!), it didn't look like she was trying to pull away from dude. Not to say she was comfy, but the shots I see look like she's smiling. In any case, in Trinidad & Tobago, the dancing they did might be considered criminal, so it doesn't really matter if she liked it... poor, poor Akon.

03/The NBA Playoff Season is live and well, and the NBA is acting strange... Dirk Nowitzki is being named the MVP, even though his team got booted in the first round of the playoffs. MVP stands for most valuable player, right? If your team's MVP can't lead you out of the gates, how fucking valuable IS HE!?!?!... then we have Amare Stoudemire sounding like a bitch, calling the Spurs a dirty team because he got kicked during a game. Now, I didn't see the video, but regardless, this is the fucking PLAYOFFS! 2nd, if you were in a game and felt like dude k icked you on purpose, why were you too shook to speak on it? Why not speak to the ref, take the tech (if necessary), and at least create awareness? You that much of a baby? After the game don't change the score, dunny... and while we're on the subject of idiot sports players, was the NFL really that surprised that Ricky Williams failed another drug test for weed?

04/You gotta love Michael Moore's luck: he's making a documentary called Sicko about the US' health system, and is now in hot water for taking 10 sick 9/11 survivors to Cuba, which is in violation with a travel ban the government enacted. They are possibly pressing criminal charges for this, but in the end, whether he goes to jail or not, this will bring more publicity and praise to Moore than harm. Dumbass government: you have to IGNORE shit if you want it to go away...

05/What was Ty Pennington doing out driving whilst drinking? I mean, he's on one of the highest rated shows for its timeslot, has money coming in from his Sear's endorsement... and has Oprah fawning over him. I understand he did a bad thing, but his facade is so helpful and cheery, why was he out there getting it crunk, then getting behind the wheel? Does he need to pull a Patrick Swayze and escape the limelight for a hot one? And why can't Paris admit to her faults like Ty did?

06/Ready for some entertainment gumbo?... Justin Timberlake blabbed about his forthcoming collabos: 50 Cent, Rihanna, Madonna & Reba McEntire all got their sexy back... the forthcoming UNKLE album features loads of artists, none of them named DJ Shadow... I don't know how I feel about the porno industry trying to capitalize on the Don Imus/"nappy headed ho" fiasco... Why does EW have to hate on McDonald's trying to use Shrek to bring little kids to healthier foods?... Why did the now former chief of HBO have to get drunk and start a fight with his girlfriend that ultimately got him canned by Time Warner?... While the De La Hoya/Mayweather fight brought in boxing's biggest payday, the boxing world lost a great fighter in Chico Corrales... first Edward Norton gets cast as the Incredible Hulk, now Tim Roth is being cast as Abomination? They trying to win an Oscar?... OJ got booted from an eatery during Kentucky Derby weekend... LOST Executive Producers Carlton Cuse & Damon Lindeloff spoke to Doc Jensen about their now-known end date, and gave some food for thought bits about the end of this season... I love how Usher has the nerve to say R&B cats are biting his style, but doesn't have the balls to name names. Why even bring it up?... And why hasn't R. Kelly gone to trial yet!?... Janet had one disappointing LP with Jermaine Dupri; why would she want to be signed under him again?... And why did Ne-Yo have to denounce gay rumors... again?... Whats up with the rumors going around that Nick Cannon's supposed fiancee is now saying that it was a media stunt? I'm with Rizoh on that one: seems to involved to have been some PR thing... Do we really need a Best of Both Worlds-type album from Bow Wow & Omarion?... Three 6 Mafia's Last 2 Walk album is further delayed, now coming out in July. Couldn't have anything to do with their "Hollyhood" aspirations, no?... I still have no desire to a) see a movie with Jessica Biel in it and b) see a Street Fighter movie, but I know loads of fanboys are creaming to see her in the next installment of this series, even if its going to try and erase the silly movie that came before it... Pirates of the Carribean 3 is set to hit theaters earlier than expected, to try and steal some of Spider-man 3's shine; Johnny Depp also said that, if the story looks right, he'd be down for a 4th Pirates flick... Do you really want to see more Terminator movies, with or without Arnold?... I'm interested in this American Idol-style show for bands that they previewed this past week (go Jordin!)... Eddie Murphy might be pulling a Nutty Professor-style job for the movie version of Fantasy Island... Her producers are assuring us that Britney Spears' new LP is complete and does not speak on K-Fed @ all... The Game got arrested in LA for making criminal threats; have they not listened to any of his CDs yet? Or maybe they arrested him BECAUSE of his CDs...

07/From the desk of the Ignorant Entrepeneurship Bureau of rock the dub, Nelly thought it was necessary to distribute his Pimp Juice and Derrty Entertainment ventures to Africa. Jay-Z goes to Africa and helps them get water; the (red) campaign helps distribute proceeds from consumer goods to purchase HIV/AIDS meds; Nelly wants African kids crunk off his Pimp Juice and rocking Apple Bottoms? These kids need food, water and homes, not ignorant wears. You can't be that crunk on the sauce to not see that.

08/This just in from the "WHO GIVES A SHIT ABOUT MASTER P" file; last year's Dancing With The Stars reject has created Take A Stand Records, a label co-founded with Romeo, which is making street music sans crude lyrics. While it's a great idea, I just don't see Master P as being the one to turn things around. If this was 1998, maybe... then again, this is the man who made a noise like UUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH popular, so I guess anything is possible.

09/NASA has predicted that in 80 years, it's gonna be fucking HOT during the summer! I could say "no shit, Sherlock", but a 10 degrees spike during the summer months is kind of crazy. The odd part is they say that, then they're like "but we're already taking steps to beat that. That's like me saying this crack-addicted prostitute will be smoking more crack in 5 years than she does now --- but she quit yesterday. Stop striking fear in us, and get to combating this global problem, quick.

10/In July, Australian TV will be showing a documentary on some really true love: a pair of aborigional lovers from different tribes went off to live in the wilderness, on some Romeo & Juliet-love shit. For 40 years. Could any of you do that? I know we all love our sig. others, but is your love strong enough to live in the wilderness... for 40 years? AND dude hurt his leg at one point, so his wifey was the one foraging for eats. They had 3 kids, and when the tribes FINALLY got worried, they tracked them down. And on some Nell shit, they grabbed them out of their world, where shit like cars and stuff was not even heard of. In the perfect end to the story, the male dies, and because she can't live without her man, she went on a hunger strike and died a few weeks later. DAMN! Fuck Wimbledon; we need THIS in theaters. True love. Should show this during Valentine's Day. Discovery Channel or whomever, get this either on American TV or on DVD here, STAT!

11/From the newly formed Health & Wellness Bureau of rock the dub: if you are out engaging in oral sex, just know that your chances of contracting HPV are jumping; if you own an iPod and have a pacemaker, just know that your iPod can cause your pacemaker to malfunction; if you are planning on including smoking in your Hollywood feature film, be aware that you are temping a 'R' rating from the board; down in the M.I. crooked letter, niggas are going buck for Kool-Aid Dills (dill pickles with Kool-Aid in them): this has to be the most ignorant, disgusting sounding thing out there; PARENTS: the government says you are still pacifiying your kids with TV. Being a parent of a newborn myself, its not exactly something that can be helped. We watch TV at home, and shorties are just nosy. If it's on, he will watch. Funny thing is? My son, from my wife's constant M*A*S*H* viewing, is in love with the theme song to that show. Like "i'm-crying-until-that-song-is-played" type shit. Won't watch the show, but will shut the fuck up if that song is on. Is that so wrong?l BEWARE MICHIGAN RESIDENTS: your police force is eating pot-laced brownies, and getting away with it; if you are Black and thought the auto-dealer was hiking the interest rates on you, you were probably right: but they aren't gonna be doing it anymore, supposedly.

12/Finally, rock the dub's 'These Stories Fit Nowhere Else' Bureau would like to speak: Tony Blair, quite like the producers over at LOST, has announced his departure date; Hot off his skewering of Don Imus, it seems as if Rev. Al Sharpton is prone to making asinine remarks about the Mormons. I guess he figures they aren't as important as nappy headed ho's?; and speaking of Imus (which is all we ever seem to do these days), when will Opie & Anthony ever stop offending people on the radio? Probably when we stop talking about them and their sexual content about Condi Rice, Laura Bush and others... lucky for them there's no regulations on satellite radio; The wonderful people over at Street Census have come up with the 10 PR Commandments, which is pretty spot on for guys like me who are trying to get info from A&R/artists for the purpose of giving THEM shine (whattup srix!?!?); American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance?, and now this new band competition show. Fox sure knows how to milk it. I will be watching though; It's good to know that Republicans can flip-flop like John Kerry when needed: check out Rudy Gulianni's abortion rights mishaps.

Can you handle all of those links? Well, then grab one more: go buy a Hip-Hop Is Alive band and support a good cause...

Now, for my final thought:

Jaylib ft. Frank-N-Dank "McNasty Filth"


Go grab that 2xCD when it's available... It's 'the official'!

Until next week... namaste...