Monthly Archives: November 2010

11/29/10

The Skirmish of Northern Aggression

We are form and we are formless.  A brooding sonnet to the conflict in North Korea.  Not a festive reprise to the holidays.

Themes include unprovoked shelling of Yeongpyeong-do by North Korea, over military exercises by South Korea (which allegedly crossed the Northern Line Limit); the sorrow of an ancient family divided; the cultural and quasi-religious phenomenon of the mass games in North Korea; and the useful ethnicity of one of Illect Recording’s (my label) record executives.

In some respects, the theater of war is the ultimate expression of a brutal mass games.

As usual, I was educated by a variety of sources, most notably, “The Korean” over at AAK! His coverage of the developing story gave me some much needed context.  Apologies in advance for the misadventures in pronunciation.

Performed by ipoet.  Music produced by pumpkinFoot.

Today’s kimchi audio here:

Mass Games

11/25/10

Autumn Special

Happy Thanksgiving!  Due to travel, I don’t have a weekly roundup ready but it wouldn’t be very gracious of me not to share something for the holiday.

It’s not a Thanksgiving song but it is a seasonal treatment, I think appropriate for the day.

God bless you all.  And, long live rap news.

Performed by Caramel Skillington (ipoet d/b/a sintax.the.terrific and david kelly) and can be purchased at www.itunes.com.

Today’s tryptophan-laced audio here:

Legends of the Fall

11/22/10

WOLVERINES!!!!!

A throwback Monday song.  By the skin of my London Fog.  Themes include the dubious ratification of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START);  1984 Cold War movie classic, Red Dawn; and the the divergent views on the effectiveness of the treaty’s terms for America’s national security and missile defense.  And, for all you nerdy, nerds out there, I am aware that the Soviet Union no longer exists.  But it did in 1984, so my reference thereto is period appropriate.  So go chew on a MiG turret!

“We’re all going to die, die standing up!!”

- Jed Eckert

Performed by ipoet.  Music produced by pumpkinFoot.

Today’s propagandized audio here:

Red Dawn

P.S.  A Red Dawn remake is apparently in the works but delayed.  Funny, because I was just thinking that what we could really use right now in the scope of American history is an additional people group to fear/loathe.  This is great.

11/21/10

It Finally Happened

Couldn’t make the deadline.  It’s 1:18 am and I’m furiously working on a song about the strategic arms reduction treaty (START), called Red Dawn.   Can’t tell if it’s going to be any good.  I do know that I can’t finish it.  I’ve had another busy weekend and the words just aren’t connecting.  I think I just tried to rhyme “Medvedev” with “intercontinental.”  I have too much to accomplish at work tomorrow to hack away at this thing for another hour or two.  I’m really sorry.  Not saying something won’t go up tomorrow.  But, it won’t be early.

I haven’t made a final decision about the remainder of the week, considering it’s a holiday.  I’ll let you know.

I’m going to make my daughter her lunch now, while continuing to try and incorporate UN inspectors, nuclear warheads, and Robert Gates into a catchy song refrain.  Should be pretty straight forward.

11/18/10

The Press Junket Series No. 4

The Week That Was.  While typically the opposite is at risk, listening to this week’s song will actually make you visibly dumber.  Do not listen while operating heavy machinery or even a digital wristwatch.  The words in the song unfortunately reflect precisely on the views of this site, as juvenile as they may be.

Performed by ipoet.  Music produced by . . . yep, pumpkinFoot.

Today’s breathtaking (as in asphyxiating) audio here:

TWTW 11-15-10

11/15/10

Field of Dreams

I was scrambling for the right topic late into the evening.  A lot of stories are lingering from last week that already saw some coverage from this site.   My own experience in the Middle East puts this matter squarely within the bailiwick of my emotions, if not my perspective.  As in all matters, there are two painfully complex and reasonable views over this conflict of such obviously longitudinal significance.  As usual, I am taking no particular side, except that of humanity’s in general.

Themes include immediate risk to 10-month moratorium on settlement expansion in West Bank (and East Jerusalem) and the recently proposed compromise to extend it an additional three months in hopes that more permanent boundaries might be drawn for the Israeli and Palestinian states.  In the estimation of some, President Obama may have sacrificed too much.  The calculation is a difficult one.

Performed by ipoet.  Music produced by pumpkinFoot.

Today’s sultry audio here:

If You Build It . . .

11/11/10

The Press Junket Series No. 3

Somber week, both personally and in the news.  Sometimes we’re just trying to get through it.

Stories include fiscal commission’s debt recommendations, cholera outbreak in Haiti, Elizabeth Smart testimony, and Conan’s return.

Tweet and retweet this junk, if you get a second.  There are still people in this world without rap news.

Performed by ipoet.  Music produced by pumpkinFoot.

Today’s smooth audio here:

TWTW 11-8-10

11/9/10

For the DJs

This site is only possible due to the generosity of good friends willing to part with a little bit of fresh music for nothing but the love of shared creativity and a little bit of buzz.  To playdough (harry krum), sivion, mozingo, dj manny, and pumpkinFoot, I am very grateful.

It’s a strange experiment.  The site is young and the traffic is low.  For these guys, parting with any music of value isn’t very sensible, financially.  At the same time, no one wants a beat attributed to them that doesn’t do their talents justice.  So it’s a hard ask.  I appreciate the brothers who have taken the risk.  Trust me, they have even more amazing work in their published and yet-to-be published catalogs.  Check for them wherever you can.  Each one has music and projects of their own.

I’d like to give a particular nod to pumpkinFoot who floated me about 20 beats Sunday night.  His contribution alone will ensure that any failure to publish will not be for want of music.  His contribution to this week’s Dictator The Ship is one of my favorites so far.

To my ds5 djs, God bless for getting me off the ground.

11/7/10

The Indian O! – Myanmar Election Awareness Monday

Another crazy weekend.  My daughter was sick and my mom broke her neck.  Not a euphemism.  Literally, broke a vertebrae.  So I made a marathon run over to Knoxville, TN and then back today.  About 6 hours round trip.  Wrote a Myanmar rap on the way.  Of course I did.   Want to hear it? – here it goes.

Themes for today’s song include the ostensibly sham elections in Myanmar (their first in 20 years), intimidation by the ruling military junta, burdens of democracy on non-secure peoples, and our obligations to the same, if any.

UPDATE:  After production and publication of this song, serious military clashes have followed the elections.  Early reports indicate that the conflict is actually within the pro-junta faction.

Performed by ipoet.  Music produced by pumpkinFoot.

Today’s Audio Here:

Dictator The Ship

Amazingly, not only is this not the first time that I have used the word “Myanmar” in a song, I’ve actually referenced it twice before (once as Burma).  The best of the other two references can be enjoyed below, Punchdrunk.  So it’s a Monday two-song special.  It’s a song off of my crew Deepspace5′s latest release, The Future Ain’t What It Used To Be (available at itunes.com).  My verse is the last one.   There is simply no probability calculation that could have predicted three references to Myanmar by a single rapper over a decade’s time.  Simply off the charts unlikely.

Performed by Ds5.  Music produced by playdough.

Today’s Bonus Audio Here:

Punchdrunk

P.S.  As a final note, apparently the pronunciation of the word “Myanmar” is the source of some heartburn.  I know I have dutifully slaughtered the name and would appreciate being spared derision for it.  I promise I made an effort at due diligence, even if it doesn’t show.

11/4/10

Don’t Forget

The Thursday song came on Wednesday this week.  The Election Special song replaced the weekly round up.  So, you still got the promised two for the week.  And, frankly, I feel lucky, and a good bit accomplished, to have gotten them done.  Besides my trip to NH, I participated in a marathon on Saturday and my boy split his head open on Monday.  It’s just been a tough week to work some news raps in.  I hope the lull at the end here won’t deter the two of you from returning for the upcoming Monday barnstormer.

By the way, I’m hoping that we’re visited by extra-terrestrials over the weekend, because I’ve got this really great human-alien ground war song in the tank, all ready to go.  This experiment is turning a little fantasy football on me.  I find myself rooting against interest for all types of sentilating news. Can’t be healthy.

Don’t forget this week’s first blong hit, High Alert.