Welcome back boys and girls! While most of my forays into the writing world are driven by anger at the stupidity that surrounds me, today's journey is more nostalgia based. Is this a trip back to the days when I thought PDDFL was a great producer? Is it the fact that I could really go for a Chocodile and a Zeltzer Seltzer? Is it that I want to organize a Million Man March on Netflix headquarters in order to get BJ and the Bear streaming? Sadly, nay nay. What brings me here today is music.
I was driving to work this morning and heard LL Cool J's "I Need Love" on the radio. Hearing that song immediately brought me back to 1987 and the release of the BAD album (LL's BAD, not MJ's). This was the first "slow jam" rap that I had ever heard, and I can remember it playing after Mama Montego had told New Yorkers to "take care, darling...and walk good." This was LL's sophomore effort after he had stomped on the scene with the Radio album. As a 16 year old hip hop head, (pre lip licking) James Todd Smith was one of my favorites. We all know that he has gone on to become a film and TV actor today, but back then he was just a bad ass kid from Farmers Blvd with a hat like a shark's fin. He was so BAD that he had not one, but TWO DJs; Bobcat and Cut Creator. I can, to this day, sing every song on that record from "I'm Bad" all the way down to "The Do Wop". While many kids of my era will tell you that Zeppelin or Floyd shaped their musical tastes, I will tell you that LL's BAD album shaped mine.
Music is amazing; it can transport you to a time or place that is long gone. It has magical powers that do not require you to go 88 miles per hour, nor are you required to generate 1.21 jigawatts of power in order to go back in time. I am not a music snob, there are many songs from many different bands that can take me to many different times. Jethro Tull takes me back to my early youth, A-ha takes me back to the early days of MTV (back when they still played videos), Queen Latifah takes me back to the Catherine Street Center and my High School days, Another Bad Creation brings me back to Boot Camp....the list goes on. What I am trying to say is that music is a great thing.
I have been into hip hop since I was about 12 years old, but there is really no record that stands out in the "shaping of my youth" more than that one. While I know that this is not what all of you may have listened to, but you all have a song or a record that takes you back. Don't get me wrong, I do not wish that I were a kid again, like Ahmad (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyVu_v82vjM) but I do wish they made music like they used to. So...what am I trying to say? What is the song that takes YOU back? And where does it bring you? That's all for now...see you all in Los Gatos, California for the Million Man March on Netflix! Until then...Stay Salty.
-Salty Dog
Monday, November 5, 2012
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Monster Mash
Let me preface this mess by saying that anyone dying (except pedophiles and PDDFL) is no laughing matter. That being said, who lets their 14 year old...with a genetic heart condition..drink two Monster Energy Drinks in a day? As you can all see from the picture above, Monster posts a warning label on their cans stating "Not recommended for children, pregnant women, or people sensitive to caffeine." If you ignore these warnings, you cannot then sue the company for the death of your child.... who once again, has a genetic heart condition. The only thing that would make this decision worse is if the girl was pregnant too. Call me insensitive if you will, but I am not the one who let my 14 year old (with heart problems) drink 480mg of caffeine in a single day. While that is only 4 cups of strong coffee, it also equates to about 28 cans of Coke. So would any of you let your child drink more than a case of Coke in a day? I say nay nay.
Am I a nay sayer when it comes to energy drinks? More like a nay nay sayer, but not when energy drinks are involved. I am a huge fan of caffeine and all of its carbonated or non carbonated incarnations. I love my coffee, I have tried most every energy drink that has hit the market, I have ingested more caffeine pills than I have vegetables in the past 20 years; I am a caffeine junkie! On that topic, I am also 40 years old and know my limits. When I begin to shake like Michael J Fox, I know that I have had enough. I may be destroying my liver in the process, but I can't do any more damage than the daily allowance of Vitamin M (read Motrin) that the Navy put me on for 10 years.
If you are going to drink Monsters, or anything of the sort, go right ahead...and enjoy. Be careful with the purple ones, they somehow turn your shat to British Racing Green liquid. If there is a new drink that hits the market that doesn't taste like Red Bull (read wet car keys), please let me know so that I can try it. Please be your kid's parent, not their friend, and keep them away from this shit. If you DO let them drink energy drinks, monitor their intake, check their medical history, and don't try to sue others due to your own negligence if something goes wrong. If your kids have already stocked up on such beverages, feel free to mail them to me. I will dispose of them in the proper receptacle. Until next time...Stay Salty.
-Salty Dog
Saturday, September 15, 2012
F-R-E-S-H
Welcome back faithful few! Sorry to tell you, there is no tirade this time around. There is so much out there that I could go off about (the robot Presidential candidate, the fucktards in Egypt, the lack of BJ and the Bear on Netflix) but I won't. I am here to talk about the greatest concert of the year; Fresh Fest.
If there are any Lil Wayne fans reading (not that I believe that there are) you should turn back now because you will not understand anything I am about to say. As a die hard old school hip hop fan, there aren't a lot of concerts that I want to go to. The local clubs and "arenas" would rather bring in 2 Chainz or some other shit act than go with something proven. NTelos Pavilion in Portsmouth.... that is a different story.
Every year (for the past three) nTelos Pavilion has decided that since old school acts aren't touring together, they will invite them separately to play on the same night. The turnout for this show is amazing. While the majority of the fans that come out for this festival are over age 40, there are some younger audience members in attendance. This year's show saw Chubb Rock, Big Daddy Kane, Slick Rick, MC Lyte, and Salt n Pepa. There is not an artist on this list that I haven't been a fan of since the 1980s, and nTelos brought them all together on one stage.
This concert was like one big block party. Outside of my home, this is the closest I have felt to family. The other fans at this show felt the same as I did; THIS is hip hop. There was no fear of a fight breaking out, no worries of being shot by some dumb ass kid trying to be hard, nothing of the sort. This was a bunch of grown adults reliving their childhood, and the music that shaped their lives. There were no bouncers, no security guards keeping the crowd away from the stage, and no police stationed around the exits. There were shell toes, Kangols, giant hoop earrings, I even saw a guy with overalls on with one strap hanging off.
Not only does the rap music of today pale in comparison to the music of my teenage years (yes Bill, I understand where you are coming from, even if your wife doesn't), but the fans suck too. If Lil Wayne raps in the woods and there is no one there to hear it, does it still suck? I can answer that question with a definitive "Yes!" Hip hop is not just rap; it is a culture...it is a way of life. MCing, graffiti, b-boying, and DJing all make up what it is that we call hip hop. So while Dr Seuss is in essence a rapper, it takes a lot more to be an MC. Everyone on stage at Fresh Fest was a certified MC. So, to Lil Wayne and all his little carbon copies...rap may indeed be what you do, but hip hop..hip hop is what I am.
NTelos Pavilion...keep doing what you do. You keep bringing Fresh Fest, and the true fans will keep coming. Everyone else in the area, take notes. Do the masses want to see 2 Chainz? I say nay nay. Bring us KRS One, Kwame, Dana Dane, Black Sheep...hip hop shows that are safe for us to attend. Let us enjoy QUALITY hip hop, and we will keep coming back. Until next time people...Stay Salty.
-Salty Dog
If there are any Lil Wayne fans reading (not that I believe that there are) you should turn back now because you will not understand anything I am about to say. As a die hard old school hip hop fan, there aren't a lot of concerts that I want to go to. The local clubs and "arenas" would rather bring in 2 Chainz or some other shit act than go with something proven. NTelos Pavilion in Portsmouth.... that is a different story.
Every year (for the past three) nTelos Pavilion has decided that since old school acts aren't touring together, they will invite them separately to play on the same night. The turnout for this show is amazing. While the majority of the fans that come out for this festival are over age 40, there are some younger audience members in attendance. This year's show saw Chubb Rock, Big Daddy Kane, Slick Rick, MC Lyte, and Salt n Pepa. There is not an artist on this list that I haven't been a fan of since the 1980s, and nTelos brought them all together on one stage.
This concert was like one big block party. Outside of my home, this is the closest I have felt to family. The other fans at this show felt the same as I did; THIS is hip hop. There was no fear of a fight breaking out, no worries of being shot by some dumb ass kid trying to be hard, nothing of the sort. This was a bunch of grown adults reliving their childhood, and the music that shaped their lives. There were no bouncers, no security guards keeping the crowd away from the stage, and no police stationed around the exits. There were shell toes, Kangols, giant hoop earrings, I even saw a guy with overalls on with one strap hanging off.
Not only does the rap music of today pale in comparison to the music of my teenage years (yes Bill, I understand where you are coming from, even if your wife doesn't), but the fans suck too. If Lil Wayne raps in the woods and there is no one there to hear it, does it still suck? I can answer that question with a definitive "Yes!" Hip hop is not just rap; it is a culture...it is a way of life. MCing, graffiti, b-boying, and DJing all make up what it is that we call hip hop. So while Dr Seuss is in essence a rapper, it takes a lot more to be an MC. Everyone on stage at Fresh Fest was a certified MC. So, to Lil Wayne and all his little carbon copies...rap may indeed be what you do, but hip hop..hip hop is what I am.
NTelos Pavilion...keep doing what you do. You keep bringing Fresh Fest, and the true fans will keep coming. Everyone else in the area, take notes. Do the masses want to see 2 Chainz? I say nay nay. Bring us KRS One, Kwame, Dana Dane, Black Sheep...hip hop shows that are safe for us to attend. Let us enjoy QUALITY hip hop, and we will keep coming back. Until next time people...Stay Salty.
-Salty Dog
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