In Champaign-Urbana, there is really only thing on people's minds today -- Unofficial. For those of you that don't know what Unofficial is, it is basically a holiday sanctioned by both cities and the University of Illinois. And just what are we celebrating today? Binge drinking. And hypocrisy. The hypocrisy is the interesting part, but let's start with the uninteresting binge drinking.

Don't let anyone fool you into saying that Unofficial is about anything other than binge drinking. It's not about getting an early start for St. Patrick's Day, nor is it about academically minded students wanting to study on the actual St. Patrick's Day and still get in a night of drinking at some point. It is most certainly not about the most misused word in Champaign County: tradition.

No, the whole point of Unofficial is to drink as much as you possibly can while wearing a green t-shirt. Puking is highly encouraged, especially in public places. In years past that drinking started at 8 am -- at the bars. Now, bars aren't allowed to open until hours later, so drinking starts in apartments instead. But the point is that this holiday was invented by local campus bars to maximize binge drinking in bars. There are a lot of green shirts, long lines at the bars, and lots of people puking in the street.

And, according to an Inside Illinois article, "past years’ celebrations resulted in significant property damage in the Lincoln Hall theater and Foellinger Auditorium and led to the death of a UI alumna who fell from a motorcycle in 2006."

Let that sink in... someone died from an event that started as a bar promotion, but yet Champaign, Urbana and the University of Illinois still sanction and promote this event. They even let it get big enough to attract national media attention. I have two graduate degrees and work at a "University" that is best known for its offensive mascot and a holiday that celebrates binge drinking.

And the tradition continues. Already today, 55 citations have been issued and 125 cars have been towed.

Now don't get me wrong here. I am a huge fan of drinking, and having worked in bars for many years now. I love seeing people drunk and stumbling. It cracks me up. So actually, despite all of the problems that it causes, I don't think Unofficial should go away.

But what drives me crazy today is that on this absolutely gorgeous 70 degree day, if I go drink four cases of beer I am celebrating and Champaign, Urbana and the University of Illinois all pat me on the back for it (even if they are just tacitly going along with Binge Drinking Day).

If I went out to the Quad on this beautiful day, sat under a tree, and lit up a joint, I'd be committing a felony offense under Illinois and federal law. Nevermind that I would be causing no property damage, nor would I cause harm to anyone else around me. I'd still be going to jail.

And that is why I am officially calling Unofficial "Hypocrisy Day" from now on. It's one thing for our governments (city, state and federal) to turn a blind eye to the drinking problems facing our nation. It is another thing for Champaign-Urbana to promote Unofficial by building in the necessary infrastructure to support it (more cops on the streets for Unofficial, sending out emails from the Chancellor about the event, advertising in Illini Media publications, etc).

All the while, these institutions are trying to tell me that someone smoking a bowl in the privacy of their own home is a danger that requires incarceration, but 5,000 drunk college kids (most of them underage) all stumbling around on the most busy street on campus is something that just needs to be monitored closely.

Here are the simple facts about marijuana: Pot has never killed anyone. Ever. Marijuana is not a gateway drug (although one could argue that underage drinking is a gateway to other devious behavior). And while marijuana certainly impairs hand eye coordination, can cause diseases over the long term, and hurts memory and other functions of the brain, so does alcohol.

But who cares if alcohol is more deadly than marijuana. Let's all drink some more green beer.

There are some encouraging signs about America coming to grips with reality about marijuana. Eric Holder, the new Attorney General in the Obama administration, announced that the feds will no longer raid medical marijuana dispenseries in states that have medical marijuana laws. And the more you hop around the blogosphere, the more you see growing support for the idea of legalizing marijuana and taxing the hell out of it as one more means of raising revenue to get us out of this current economic crises.

I am optimistic that in my lifetime, someone is going to finally own up to the fact that not only is marijuana at worst only as harmful as alcohol, it in fact might be less harmful than binge drinking (which we're celebrating here in Champaign-Urbana).

But today, in 2009, there still remains the hypocrisy. And if you know me, you know that nothing drives me crazier than hypocrisy.

Alcohol kills tens of thousands of people every year. Marijuana has never killed anyone. All I'm arguing for is that the hypocrisy is eliminated. Either legalize marijuana or criminalize alcohol. And since this country has already gone through the failed experiment of prohibition at least once, it's probably best to try legalizing bud as opposed to taking away everyone's Budweisers.

Happy Hypocrisy Day everyone!!!!! Stay safe out there and don't trust anyone wearing green.

Mike Skinner is Better With Words Than Me

The Streets has always had vivid imagery and clever wordplay in his songs. This tune is called The Irony Of It All and it's from the very first Streets album, Original Pirate Material. It basically says everything I said above in a much more clever, poignant and precise way. Enjoy!

In case you didn't know, that right there is Mr. Usagi Yojimbo. Only in paper format. I just finished up making him, based on a template from Cubecraft. For some strange reason I felt like doing something arts and crafty after a particularly crappy day at work (every day of work is crappy when it's move-in week at a major university).

Anyway, it turns out there is a whole paper toy culture out there on the interwebs. Then again, what culture isn't represented on the internets?

And I'm glad that there are a lot more to make because I found this strangely calming, satisfying and inspiring considering all I was doing was cutting and folding paper. So I'll post up more pics as I make more of these guys. Here is the next papertoy I'm going to tackle when I'm feeling like I need a pick me up.

Where's My Money?

On August 7, Fabio filled in for Gilles Peterson on Radio 1's Worldwide show. Those of you in the know understand that Gilles may have the biggest shoes on earth to fill when it comes to quality and innovative radio shows (especially now that John Peel has been gone a few years, RIP).

Worldwide is an institution for the obscure gem and Gilles is king of digging up those gems. But Fabio did an excellent job. So much so that I've been listening to a recording of the show pretty much on repeat this week.

I had a semi-difficult time finding a link to a recording of the show that would stay live. A lot of the links would die quickly, or not work at all. So I made my own. Feel free to download it and share it as much as you want since it's on zShare.

Fabio - Worldwide (2008.08.07) (zShare)

The show is full of old classics and new heaters. One heater that particularly stood out is this ace remix from dubstep kingpin, Caspa. The original by TC had some strength to it, but this remix is some next level thump. So peep the entire show, but feel free to hit repeat on this video as many times as needed. I'm at about 200 replays by now. This is from a radio rip, with vinyl due out in September.

TC - Where's My Money (Caspa Remix)

Just to get the negative/anger post off the top of this blog, I'm going to quickly post some awesome things.

First, for any fans of Goodfellas, you'll love this. The Simpsons' re-edit of one of the best scenes in all mafia related movies or shows:



Next up, if you want to see a columnist that never fails, check out Frank Rich astutely articulating what needs to happen with this election, and needs to happen fast. His column "Wall-e for President" is right on the money.

Simply Awesome

Back on June 24th of this year, BET held their largely inconsequential award show. Shockingly, Aaron McGruder was not nominated for any awards.

However, one musical highlight did emerge, and that was a tribute to Al Green. And the best part of that tribute was the (surprising) performance of Maxwell, who has largely hid out of sight in recent years. But he tore up an amazing version of Al Green's "Simply Beautiful." BET, because they're part of the morons at Viacom, have taken down any YouTube clips that go directly to Maxwell's performance. Instead if you want to see it, you'll have to watch through Jill Scott and Anthony Hamilton before you get to Maxwell.

Skip ahead to 3:11 left in the video to watch it.

Or just go ahead and download the mp3 I made for all of you so you can listen whenever you want:

Maxwell - Simply Beautiful (Live at the 2008 BET Awards)

I usually don't use this blog to call out local people. I live in a town that is too small and too gossipy for me to say anything about anyone. But I heard some shit while setting up for my gig tonight and I feel the need to publicly call out someone I don't know. So if on the odd chance this person does read this posting, let me start by saying, "Fuck off. Don't come back to my bar."

Good. Now that I've got posted early, let me explain what happened. This woman, who looked in her late 30s/mid 40s, was sitting at a table at Boltini right near the DJ booth. She was talking to some of her friends, and it seemed like she was out of town because she started asking, "well where is the bar where gay people can go and comfortably hang out?" And one of her friends, who had obviously never heard of C Street, said "here." The woman then proceeds to freak out, saying how she hates bars that make a point to be outwardly friendly to gay people because "then the gays feel free to get on everyone in the bar."

Now the first thing I wanted to do was correct the whole table. Contrary to popular belief, Boltini isn't a "gay bar." Yes, we are friendly and welcoming to gays, lesbians, and even cross dressing Downtown Debbie. But we are also friendly and welcoming to douchebag townies in bright orange chief shirts, to young people (well at least 21s and up), old people, people on dates, people looking to dance, people that know nothing about music, and people that know everything about music. We have no dress code. We have no drink requirements. We never have a cover. We've hosted everything from jazz to fetish parties. I know heterosexual couples that met at Boltini and are getting married. Hell, I think even if Bin Laden walked into Boltini, we'd serve the guy.

In short, we're not a gay bar. We're a bar that is open to everyone.

But what really pisses me off is the insinuation that all gay people decide to prey on anything that moves. How fucking ignorant do you have to be to believe that? I have many people in my life that are homosexual, and yet I don't feel like they're trying to get on me. And in fact, if you ask most girls that go out to bars, especially Boltini, it is random guys trying to grope women, not random guys trying to grope the guys.

So bitch, if you're reading this, here's some knowledge for you: You are a small town hick, that knows nothing about the world at large. You have no culture. You have no style. Keep wearing that low cut shiny pink shirt, because in a few months I'm sure your tits will be sagging awfully and they'll match your old wrinkled face. By all means, come back to Boltini cause we don't turn people away. But if I hear you saying that shit again, I'm going off on you.

Fuck I'm pissed off right now. And I fucking hate that Champaign was all small town tonight. I want the fuck out of here.

Coming Together

If there is one thing that will calm me down, it is a good tune and Hercules and Love Affair are certainly purveyors of many good tunes. They're finally starting to get the respect they deserve, even getting an article in today's New York Times. Their first single, "Blind," was a killer, and I featured the b-side on my most Electric Undercurrents submission. They've also remixed one of my favorite songs from the 80s, which I will not name here because it is going to feature prominently in my new mix project (but even the most lazy of googler's could figure it out).

Anyway, if this disco revival really is for real, maybe there will be more tolerance for homosexuals, electronic music and people that enjoy being creative. Then again, this is America and I'm sure hicks will find a way to fuck that up too.

But in the meantime, there are songs like this one... It's H&LA's new single called "You Belong" and it will be out July 7. I'm just going to post the video for now, but when the remixes come out, I'll try to get one of those posted up here. Hope you enjoy it, because this song conjures up everything I loved about electronic music as a kid (I didn't know New Order was electronic music, I just knew I liked it). It's great to see this vibe making an extremely strong comeback:

Do you remember that first time you had chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream? I remember the first time and I was struck by this feeling of "my god, why haven't I been eating this stuff before today?"

I can imagine it's much the same feeling a crackhead has to have after his first rock. However, the important thing to learn from crackheads like Tyrone Biggums is that sometimes, too much of a good thing, even the best of things, can be a bad thing.

Well folks, I'm here to announce there is a new crack in town, and it is a Ben & Jerry's creation. Celebrating their 30th birthday, these Vermont tree-hugging hippies have created an ice cream so good that it would send more people to rehab than the crack addicted welfare mothers that they coddle up there in hippie land (i keed i keed.... mostly cause I like making fun of Vermont). Anyway, the ice cream is called Cake Batter and it basically tastes like yellow cake and goey chocolate frosting. Not only is the combination naturally delicious (you can already taste the really good yellow cake, right?) but being in ice cream format is one of those "why hasn't this been going on for ages?" moments at first bite.



Seriously, the stuff is crack. Beware. But if you really want to get addicted to this stuff, use Ben & Jerry's very cool Flavor Locator Tool to find a pint near you. Congrats on the 30 years Ben & Jerry's, and keep the good stuff comin!

... and some new Kraak (& Smaak)

Some things are just smooth and tasty, like Cake Batter ice cream, or a fresh crack rock, or an old school duet by Bobby and Whitney, or an old school duet by Bobby and Whitney about Cake Batter ice cream with crack rocks sprinkled on top. Equally smooth and tasty are the tunes from the Netherlands' very own, Kraak & Smaak.

In addition to having a fantastic name, this trio of producers churn out a wide variety of sounds, that always seem to retain a quality that makes it pretty easy to identify as a Kraak & Smaak track. Right now, they're riding high with a great tune called "Squeeze Me" that has Ben Westbeech on vocals and a super cool video. Their music has a great balance between funk, breaks and straight up house that makes Kraak & Smaak not only a lot of fun to listen to, but really useful to have in a crate of records at DJing gigs that span a lot of genres.

But enough about the serious music talk, we've got crack to discuss... and if we're discussing crack, and Kraak & Smaak, then the only thing to post up here is Kraak and Smaak's fantastically smooth, but still punchy cut, oh so appropriately titled Bobby and Whitney. Be careful with this one, cause dancing, addiction, and constant rewinding may soon follow.

Kraak & Smaak - Bobby and Whitney

Those of you that regularly check out my blog (or have just scanned through the archives) probably can pick up on the theme that I don't post as regularly as I have been this week. I think the major reason for my influx of posts is Google Reader.

I try to keep up with two things every day: the news and music. Before I used a desktop based RSS reader, and I was always falling behind, and always beholden to being at that particular computer. With Google Reader I can keep up from anywhere in the world.

Then Google Reader added this function of sharing articles or posts so that other people with Google accounts could see what you wanted to share. Then about a week ago Google made it possible to add notes to what you share, thereby allowing your comments on the piece to be seen by everyone. Right now it is more micro-blogging than these long-winded posts here, but it still helps show why I'm sharing a particular article or a particular song.

And just to show that they're the best in the world at everything, Google also automatically creates a web page that you can link people to. So here is my Google Reader page so you know what I'm reading and what I find interesting and insightful. Call it a backup plan in case I start lagging on the blogging in the future.... which will probably be next week.

And for the record, yes I know the ninjas on my Google Reader page are horrendous and the page layout is pretty blah, but it is a fairly new service and I'm sure Google will improve on it in a very short time.

And yes, the President's book is upside down in that picture.

Gorgeous Weather = Reggae

There are certain types of music that only works with certain types of weather. For example, if I was sitting on a beach and it was all sunny, the last thing I would want to hear is Burial. Or if I was alive and breathing and the earth wasn't being sucked into a blackhole, I'm pretty sure there's no way I could listen to Soulja Boy. In fact, even if the earth was being sucked into a black hole, I wouldn't listen to that guy.

But if there is one absolute in music, it is that warm sunny weather and reggae go hand in hand. It's just true. Don't try to argue with me, because it is an empirical fact. And considering it is a gorgeous Friday afternoon (71 degrees and sunny) I feel compelled to post up a reggae tune.

Now I've always been a fan of Alicia Keys' voice, but not always of the beats she gets backing her. Like nearly every other review I've found online, her song "No One" may suffer the most from the "god what an awful beat" phenomenon. Thankfully though, people realized that lyrically and melodically, "No One" is made to be a reggae song.

In fact, it was so obvious that this should have been a reggae song that there are a ton of reggae versions floating around out there, including an official reggae remix featuring Damien Marley that Keys' own blog posted up. But skip right past that my friends.

The version that you want features Junior Reid and if it doesn't make you want go outside and enjoy nice sunny weather, then turn in your ears.

Alicia Keys - No One (Reggae Remix featuring Junior Reid)

The Cubs signed former Cardinals centerfielder Jim Edmonds on Wednesday.

Today marks the beginning of my boycott of my favorite team in all of sports.

My boycott will end when Jim Edmonds is no longer on the Cubs.

You might wonder how simply picking up an awful, washed up center fielder (he was hitting .178 before the Padres let him go this season) is enough to make me give up on a team I have loyally followed since I was five years old. I mean, as a fan I have survived in recent years the Cubs putting an impatient guy that couldn't hit as their leadoff man, a catcher that caused gasps of shock whenever he managed to make contact with the ball, not one, not two, but three abhorrent closers who probably are the cause of my hair falling out, and a manager that relied on such an awful approach to baseball that after leaving the Cubs, he also ruined the Cincinnati Reds in less than half a season. And let's not even talk about how the Cubs poor management destroyed the arms of Kerry Wood and Mark Prior.

I even put up with obvious off season crap that the Cubs organization was directly responsible for. Steve Stone, the best color analyst in baseball and as much a Chicago broadcasting legend as Harry Caray, was driven away by Cubs management for simply speaking the truth about a bad team that every Cubs fan knew was bad (and agreed with many of Stone's reasons). In a shameless grab for money, the Cubs put the word "Bud Light" on the famous bleachers even though Budweiser is the official beer of the Cubs's arch-rivals, the Cardinals.

And then there's that little fact that we haven't even been a part of the World Series since 1945.

But the level of patience that is required to put up with all of that is what it means to be a Cubs fan. I still love the Cubs players. There are few places on earth that make me happier than Wrigley Field. And I still love the Cubs. But Jim Hendry, the Cubs General Manager, has crossed the line with Edmonds.

Not only is Edmonds one of the Cardinals that Cubs fans hated the most, but he has no offensive pop left in his game, he flops and he cries like a little baby all the time. In short, he's the last thing the Cubs need on a team that this year has consistently shown the selfless team unity like the Red Sox have shown the past four years.

What probably is the toughest thing for me is that the signing of Fukudome has been so amazing. He, along with Theriot, Reed Johnson and (I can't believe I'm writing this) Ronny Cedeno have been patient and effective. It's made the Cubs everything I've hoped they'd one day be. This is a year where I would watch every single game if I could. Now I won't watch a single one until Edmonds is gone.

I understand that Felix Pie hasn't been performing the way Lou would like and Lou wants another left-handed bat in the lineup. But has Felix really been given the chance? The longest stretch of consecutive games that Pie has started this year is four. It's impossible to think that someone can get their batting average up if they're being yanked around that much.

Back to Edmonds, the level of hate for this guy is parallel to the Bulls signing John Starks (which they did and which made me stop watching the Bulls), or if J.J. Reddick had transferred to UNC, or if Derek Jeter was signed by the Red Sox or if the Democrats put Dick Cheney as their nominee for president in 2008.

Anyway, I could just keep trying to articulate why the signing of a single player has made me shun a team that I still love. But there's no way to say with words how much I hate this decision. If you're a real Cubs fan, you understand exactly what I'm talking about. And if not, sorry for making you read this much.

Someone wake me up when this asshat Edmonds is off the team.

Radiohead was gooooood.

Ironically, I was in that awful town of St. Louis yesterday to see the anything but awful Radiohead. This was my third time seeing what could, and rightly should, be called the most important band of my generation.

Their live show has always been something astounding. I don't know how they do it (or why other bands can't do it), but their sound, their dynamics and the balance is unlike anyone else. Even in an outdoor ampitheater the sound was better than most people's home systems. You could clearly hear every part, and when they rocked out it was studio quality.

But that was part of the interesting thing about the show. It really only had a few true rock out moments (Idiotheque, Paranoid Android, Airbag and Reckoner) and the rest was extremely mellow, mostly composed of tunes from their new album In Rainbows. But even some of the older tracks like You And Who's Army or The Gloaming were of the more subdued nature as well. For the world's biggest rock band playing in front of a sea of people, it felt like the setlist was originally designed a small venue or even a coffee shop. It was a weird dynamic I haven't fully wrapped my head around yet.

Two notes about the crowd: First, there were way too many frat types there. It's shocking how a band that has done so much to purposely try to alienate its fans seems to draw in people that don't listen to similar music with open minds. Second, people in St. Louis smell awful, including the guy standing next to me. He smelled like he had been out drinking Bud Light all day in the sun, but instead of hiding his stench with deodorant or heaven forbid a shower, this guy cleansed himself with a strange combination of vanilla beans and dead fish.

But I paid little attention to the crowd. The stage show was amazing, including a lighting setup that featured these long metal rods that were able to create a whole slew of awesome visuals including an ocean type setting for Weird Fishes, rain for a few songs, and a rainbow psychedelic visual feast during the closing Paranoid Android. Here's a picture that shows what the stage looks like.

Hopefully I'll be able to dig up some video and more pics in the near future. But if you'd like to see the setlist (and another shot of the stage) here is a link to the setlist in some shoddy St. Louis paper (they don't have quality things in St. Louis).

Obviously I'm going to post up a song that Radiohead played, but not the version you think. The studio recording (and subsequently the live version) of The Gloaming is pretty darn boring. It's a song that doesn't seem to do much.

However, in 2004 DJ Shadow remixed The Gloaming, and pressed it to a super cool looking shaped picture vinyl.


Yes, that's what the actual record looks like. DJ Shadow gave this record to anyone that ordered more than $22 from the DJ Shadow store. It was an unannounced give away and there are only 2,000 copies pressed.

The remix is phenomenal, with a hilarious George Bush loop at the start, and Shadow's trademark punchy drums rescuing the dull original.

I've tried six times to get a copy of the vinyl on eBay, but my $99 bids have never been enough. However, I was able to snag an mp3 of the remix, and now you can snag one too:

Radiohead - The Gloaming (DJ Shadow Remix)