Friday, December 13, 2013

Verses From the Abstract ... AND the Dragon!

Long-time readers know how much I love A Tribe Called Quest. Q-Tip and Busta Rhymes (formerly of Leaders of the New School, another member of the Native Tongues posse) released a new mixtape of old and new songs. It's like Gheorghemas came early!



As a special bonus, here's the video for "Thank You" which technically features Lil Wayne and Kanye West, although they add nothing.



Be alert look alive and act like you know!

36 comments:

Dave said...

i approve of this gheorghemas present. environmentally friendly! no carbon footprint! i will listen to it fourth period.

TR said...

Following up on Squeaky's Caddy comment from last post, my issue with Cadillacs is not with the cars themselves, but with the douchewhistles in NJ who buy them.

Can't stand to think of the "douche by association" factor.

zman said...

In a perfect world I'd be driving a Cadillac CTS-V wagon. There is nothing douchey about a 550 hp 6-speed station wagon.

Greg said...

TR, "douche by association" is simply unavoidable these days. For example, Jerry loves endless fist-pumping to DJ Danny Tsettos's "Shiny Disco Balls" for hours on end.

mayhugh said...

CTS-V is a fun ride. Fastest sedan out there from 0-60 I think.

I'm looking to buy a cheapy midsize SUV with 4 wheel drive. Today. Any suggestions?

T.J. said...

There will apparently be a Naked Gun reboot. Hollywood can suck a bag of dicks.

zman said...

Late December is a brilliant time to buy a car. Manufacturers (not so much the dealers) are interested in showing the highest sales numbers possible so you can get some good deals.

If by mid-sized SUV you mean a 5 passenger SUV, then my suggestion is don't buy one. I planned to write a "What Would zman Drive" post about this and still might, but the punchline is that a station wagon has more room than just about any 5 passenger SUV, gets better mileage, and sits closer to the ground so you don't feel like you're driving a refrigerator.

If you insist on AWD would look at the Volvo XC70 (I have one and so does Squeaky, it's a great family car and the CPO is a bargain), the Subaru Outback (insanely reliable), or the Subaru WRX (smaller but stupid fun to drive). If you can tolerate FWD, the VW Jetta Sportwagon is available in a diesel with a stick and I almost bought one until my wife said "A diesel stickshift station wagon? Why do you have to be such a fucking contrarian?"

If you really want to get an SUV, look at the Dodge Durango. The underpinnings are the same as the Mercedes GL and if you want to flash some sack you can get it with a Hemi. So it's a 360 hp Mercedes SUV for under $40k.

zman said...

But I suspect that, in the end, the answer to your question is: Honda CRV.

mayhugh said...

Good input. I am not looking for a family truckster with cb radio and rally fun-pack just yet. Want something reliable that seats 4 comfortably and can be driven in any weather. Present car does not check many of those boxes. I have typically been a Nissan/Honda guy.

The wife and I were watching Airplane the other day (she had never seen it, so it was required viewing). After noting that the movie is over 30 years old, she asked if it had ever been remade. My answer was that no-one could remake a true slapstick movie along the lines of Airplane or Naked Gun. Apparently I was wrong...

zman said...

I like to check boxes. I would at least look at the WRX if I were you. The worst that can happen is you'll have a fun test drive.

Greg said...

I drive a lot of rental cars and the Durango is surprisingly agile for a vehicle that size. Your dark-horse here might be the Ford Edge, which I guess is called a cross-over but it seats 4 comfortably and the AWD is great for snow & ice. I drove one from Seattle to Whistler & back and it was great. It feels like a more expensive car than it actually is.

Greg said...

Also, note that I'm driving rental cars which are fairly new and so I don't have any input on "owner" things like maintenance issues,etc.

Mark said...

I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Danimal said...

boxes are cool.
since you mention a Nissan preference the mrs used to drive a murano. once she got prego (someone here hates that word) with #3, we had to ditch it. we liked it while we had it though - drives like a car & very quiet engine. lots of models to choose from depending on your desire for bells & whistles.

zman said...

I rented a Ford Edge on zfamily vacation and it reinforced my dislike of tall cars. The instrument panel has no real gauges, they're all computer simulations of gauges so it's like playing a video game. And instead of having real buttons and knobs it has an iPad-like panel of fake buttons and knobs that is painful to use. But it carried all of our zstuff capably and was generally comfortable.

Danimal said...

and a good buddy & his wife used to have an edge prior to having their 3rd....I second what greg said - that's a nice vehicle. plus it's a FORD! MERICA. FUCK YEAH. having just been in Detroit, you should probably go that route. place needs help yo.

Danimal said...

knobs and boxes

Clarence said...

Toyota Highlander was one of the best cars I have owned. Drives like a car, fit the family, and was as reliable as my Honda Accords of years past.

Marls said...

Jeter has an Edge.

Clarence said...

So does Bono.

Dave said...

i'm listening to "the abstract and the dragon" and it has nothing to do with biz marquee's "the dragon."

subaru outback is -- as zman said -- insanely reliable and the best car i've ever driven in the snow.

zman said...

I drove a 2003 Subaru Legacy through 16 to 19 inches of snow in Vermont with a hangover and experienced nary a wheelslip. I couldn't see the road, I just followed the blue line on my TomTom and hoped for the best. Subaru and Audi have the best AWD systems IMHO.

zman said...

While walking into the faux-marble lined confines of my office's atrium, I let loose what I expected to be a subtle breakage of wind but turned out to be a rambunctiously booming fart. It sounded like I was playing a bassoon out of my ass and it echoed on the fake stones. I couldn't stop giggling, not even when my colleagues came around the corner. I did not explain what was so funny because unlike TR I don't think they enjoy farts.

rob said...

i drove a durango for a number of years until my wife decided it was time to give up all hope and transition to the minivan. i loved that fucking car. big engine, agile for something that size, lots of room for stuff. plus, durango is fun to say, and went with my cowboy hat.

mayhugh said...

Thanks for the feedback. I went with the Murano. No bells, nary a whistle. Drives like a car. I like that.

Mark said...

I don't understand why families with less than 3 kids need a minivan. Both my sisters got one with only two kids (one of them has 5 now).

Danimal said...

They are pretty damned convenient...loads of room, they drive well, the automatic doors....1 kid, 2 kids, 5 kids...are the shiznit and can't be overstated. And I can't believe I just wrote that. Heading to yoga and then p.t.a.

Dave said...

mark, i thought the same - and i have two kids -- but the minivan is awesome. we went to vermont, threw snowboards, dog, kids, everything inside. if you get snow tires, they are so heavy that they stick. also great for coaching -- i store two teams worth of equipment in the van and i can still drive a bunch of kids to games, practices, etc.

rootsminer said...

Yeah, minivans rule. After a year of having an extra vehicle, I finally had to decide between keeping the car that I actually like to drive and our beater minivan. I chose the van, just for the ability to haul kids/sports gear/plywood etc. I dislike driving it enough that I'm planning to bike commute all winter long.

zman said...

Past Dave would jam all of you.

Mark said...

The ability to carry extra shit is appealing. Not appealing enough for me to get a minivan though. It wouldn't be my car anyway but my wife gets a new Impala every two years because she's a (kind of) cop so it's definitely not happening.

Danimal said...

Mark....can you get into the evidence room?

Marls said...

Minivans suck. Except for TR's minivan from college.

Mark said...

Sorry, Danimal. No dice.

rootsminer said...

Pretty sure TR's van sucked too. At least that what I thought while bad tripping in it with a couple of Charlottesville townies on the last night before the deer slayed it.

Clarence said...

Hi, Gheorghies!