Friday, August 23, 2013

Friday Filler/Friday Night Fun

As most of you know, I live in a little beach town in Florida. It's perfect for me. I can walk two blocks east from my house to the Atlantic Ocean or go one block west and hit the Indian River (it's actually not a river but an Intracoastal Estuary, but whatever). The weather is generally pretty great and the lifestyle is laid back. One major drawback to where I live is that no good live music ever comes to town. When I was growing up The Wailers used to play a yearly show on the deck of one of the local beachfront hotels (where the Teej  & Mrs. Teej stayed earlier this year) and last year Fishbone played at a local bar, but by in large if you want to see any live music of renown you have to travel to Orlando, or farther.  As I've gotten older, I make it to less and less of these shows, especially if they occur during the work week.

Somehow, tonight is the exception to this rule. One of my favorite hip hop acts and one of the better live shows in hip hop, Atmosphere, is playing at an outdoor venue Cocoa Village as part of the Kickin' Up Dust Tour. Also playing will be Slighty Stoopid as well as West Coast underground hip hop stalwarts Eligh and The Grouch. I can't emphasize enough how rare this is, or how excited I am.

Atmosphere is a pretty unique group in hip hop. They hail from Minnesota and were one of the earlier underground/independent label hip hop groups to enjoy critical and (light) commercial success (They also had a distribution deal with Epitaph records at one point. A first for a rap group). The first time I heard Atmosphere was back in Gainesville when I heard The Woman with the Tattooed Hands.



It was, and still is, unlike any rap song I'd ever heard. From that point on, I tried to get my hands on any new music from Atmosphere. Then they released God Loves Ugly which still ranks as one of my all time favorite hip hop albums. Slug and Ant have somehow found a way to make "emo rap" without sounding like whiny complainers. If it sounds odd, that's because it is. It's different but very good. If you're in Minneapolis and they're playing (Rob) or they come to your town, I encourage you to check them out. And because it's Friday, here's one of my personal favorites that also happens to go well with most of our preferred Friday evening activity.



Enjoy the weekend, Gheorghies.

28 comments:

Clarence said...

My brain's sluggish these days, but I still remember that Slug had a damn fine showing in the Cauc Hop 4 years ago.

Danimal said...

z - check out some new zoot models at www.zootsports.com - some color schemes there that are probably a little more conducive to the z-taste. but with a name like zoot...need i say more? guy? traveled from west coast home in mine yesterday. lovey dovey. on that topic, in men's journal there is a section on new products and their unique designs. those goofy adidas centipedes (springblades) are featured.

zman said...

I will check out the Zoots. If I get a pair will they be zZoots?

On a more boring note, I'm preparing for my FFL draft, trying to figure out which two players to keep, and I can't believe I went 7-7 with Aaron Rodgers, CJ Spiller, Jamaaaal Charles, Doug Martin, and Jimmy Graham.

Mark said...

Jesus that team is loaded.

rob said...

that's some shitty coaching right there.

mark, atmosphere have any intersection with doomtree? minny's got some pretty good hiphop acts for a honky paradise.

Clarence said...

Is Ichiro a Hall of Famer?

Ichiro!!

rob said...

i think he's a no-brainer hall of famer, in terms of chances of being selected. he's borderline in terms of numbers (and would be better than that if he'd played his whole career in america), and he's a great story and untouched by steroid rumors, so i think the media will usher him in.

zman said...

I also ha welker, Wallace, and James jones but no one cares.

Ichiro belongs in the hall. I think he will get to 3000 hits and his breakthrough as the first Japanese position player should be considered as well.

Clarence said...

He's no Kaz Matsui.

I agree with you both, and those Gold Gloves don't hurt. 112 career OPS+ is not all that impressive, but methinks the prestigious BBWAA still goes for BA/HR/RBI.

rob said...

well, his hr/rbi numbers ain't much (though his average is), but the aforementioned gold gloves, the mvp, the stolen bases, and the cultural impact all weigh heavily in his favor.

rob said...

also, for the record, neko case's new record is fucking fantastic.

zman said...

I think ichiro is the only player to win ROY and MVP in tr same season? If so that has to help too.

My son's new favorite toy is a stuffe squirrel that squeaks when you squeeze it. Like rob only bigger.

zman said...

And he has the single season hits record. Ichiro, not zson.

T.J. said...

Zman, Fred Lynn accomplished that as well.

zman said...

Fuck Ichiro then.

Mark said...

Zman is playing in a fantasy league by himself. Or against a bunch of middle school kids. That's the only explanation.

Rob- Doomtree member POS has a solo deal on Rhymesayers which is Atmosphere's label. And there is a good hip hop scene in Minneapolis. Awesome annual summer hip hop concert there called Soundset. Tons of huge acts each year. Look it up.

zman said...

The guy who won it all did not keep AP. instead he drafted stafford, Jennings, and RGIII in the first three rounds, them Luck in the seventh. It's all luck.

rob said...

he drafted three quarterbacks and won the league? what kind of shit-crazy scoring system you operating up there?

zman said...

He traded one for Frank Gore and was generally very lucky.

Mark said...

Nobody likes a song named "Pour Me Another"? So disappointed in you guys.

rob said...

my daughters are mouse-sitting for a neighbor's pets. we have two cats. i don't see how this could possibly go wrong.

Mr KQ said...

If you put on headphones and listen to Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town, and crank it (turn up the volume as well), the contrast between McCready's lead in the right ear and Gossard's acoustic rhythm in the left is pure magic. Subtle yet always one strum away from going off. Brilliant guitar chemistry in a classic tune IMHO.

Mark said...

Two cats, Rob? For shame.

zman said...

Real men have two cats.

Mark said...

You too, Zman? This is a sad night. Also, the Raiders are fucking terrible. Beyond terrible.

zman said...

One of them is feral, a ferocious mouser.

Mark said...

We have two pit bulls and one cat. The cat is a Maine Coon. Maine Coon's are fat assholes.

Mark said...

Warren Sapp's alma mater, the Apopka Blue Darters, about to play on ESPN. Football! It's high school but its still football.