Darth James Comes Alive

LeBron James finally became Darth James last night. Or maybe he just morphed into him for one night to mask for a fact of not being able to do it more often. It was beautiful revenge - THIS is the LeBron I want to see. A guy who plays with anger, a chip on his shoulder and a killer instinct to rise to the moment and carry his team.

Darth James entered Cleveland the hated villain. The hometown hero once removed. Booed from the jump by angry fans who showed up to boo him instead of cheer their team to victory. Nevermind the fact that Cleveland is back to playing terrible basketball, let's rise as an Empire scorned to hate our prodigal son.

For the recap, Darth James is a killer. A killer who cares about ripping hearts and dominating the court at will. It's LeBron James as Super Saiyan 2, an unstoppable force who knows his power and uses it with no fear. He's also oblivious to hatred and has no desire to be loved. Sound familiar? It's Larry Bird, Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant's trump card. Cold-blooded arrogance matched with rising to the occasion.

The Heat became the Evil Empire and Darth took the first blow - an easy jumper to score the Empire's first points. 14 points in the first half to share the lead with Flash Wade. But the true damage would come after halftime.

I sat during the third quarter watching Darth shoot from all over the court with almost nobody in his face. A three pointer here, a mid-range jumper there. An alley-oop layup for an And-1. And all I heard was silence. An arena watching the life sucked out of it with no mercy. Their deficit grew to 20 and then 30. All those folks coming to boo instead of cheer their team were silenced.

And then the kill shot. LBJ - i mean Lord Vader - hit a tough jumper in the face of two defenders. Nothing but net and then ran down the court staring down and barking at the Cleveland bench. I laughed out loud - Cleveland was letting him do this without daring to respond. Nobody wanted to be Luke Skywalker - they were all scared pawns in his wake once again, proving why LeBron deserved to leave them.

24 points in the quarter. Reminded me of the 25 straight he scored against the Pistons in the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals. He transformed into the villain who didn't care about anything but the bottom line. And I loved it!

He did whatever he wanted. Talked trash. Joked in their huddles during/after timeouts. Nobody dared to rise against him because they knew he owned them. They were beaten from the jump. Whenever your fans have more heart than you, its over.

Even better was taking shots at Dan Gilbert - oh how I loved this story. Hey Danny, instead of being pissed and doing stupid things like investigating if the Heat tampered with LeBron, how about you realize LeBron was right and your team isn't good enough without him.

All respect to Daniel Gibson for speaking his mind AFTER the fact. At least somebody said something but what good is that when you don't handle it during the game. Who was gonna step to him with a cheap foul? Who was gonna say "Not in our house, chump." Byron Scott was sitting there perplexed, thinking about how in the 80's/90's, this never would've happened. Cleveland has no heart and taking a butt-whipping like that confirmed LeBron made the right call.

Of course, now LeBron has to understand that this can't be a one-night focus. He has to bring out Darth James every night because the Heat are everyone's favorite villains. Be a killer every night. LBJ hasn't shown that he has it in him and that's the next level - learn to kill every night and have everyone rise with you. Pick your spots, tag-team with Flash Wade and build with him, not feel the need to do it without him.

And don't have your boy Maverick Carter speak anonymously. Erik Spolestra is your coach. He'll make you better, not baby you. Learn from him because bringing Pat Riley down will show you what a cold-blooded killer looks like and you won't grow from that.

But for one night, it was good to see the Darth James finally come out instead of watching him play with rabbit ears. Cleveland fans got their wish and will get their wish every year until he retires. Focus on your team now and together we'll watch if Darth James can actually uphold a label he's been given in a game that matters.

Let's Do It Again: My Grammy Reaction

I didn't want to do it because it felt like I'm stating the obvious. I didn't want to do it because it might be a waste of energy throwing more dirt on a dirty game. But it's tradition. Some stuff can't be avoided so here it is, my take on the Grammy Award nominations.

Album of the Year: Oh boy, where do I start. Katy Perry????? Really???? Come on, who in their right mind thinks is a good album, let alone a quality one? It's no secret I think Katy is cute but as a musical artist, she's an average vocalist live benefiting from overproduction. This is the 2nd thing this year she earned that she didn't deserve.

And Lady Gaga getting a nomination for an EP? Just stop. Even if it's well reviewed, an EP better be the "Thriller" of EP's to get nominated over full albums. Whatever man. Props to the Arcade Fire getting deserved AOTY love. As for Eminem, I'm happy for him but can't say this album deserves that slot.

I love "Recovery" as a great comeback album. Eminem's inspired with some of the best songs he's released in years. But to be simple, there were better hip-hop albums, let alone other albums.

Who I'm happy for:

- Cee-Lo for one of the best songs of the year. People keep forgetting his career in Goodie Mob and his 2 solo albums before Gnarls Barkley but this time, he gets to stand alone with Record/Song of the Year noms. "F You" - hilarious!

- I became a fan of Bruno Mars watching him on Saturday Night Live. I clowned him on Twitter for getting busted for coke but his vocal chops, musicianship and stage presence won me over. He helped produced "F You" and got love for "Nothin on You" with B.O.B. Kudos for 7 overall noms, including Producer of the Year but no Best New Artist?

- Earlier comments aside, I'm happy for Eminem. He deserves (fair) praise for a great album and leads the pack with 10 nods. I wouldn't be shocked if the Grammys used this to make up for 10 years ago when he should've won for Marshall Mathers LP instead of Steely Dan. Hip hop deserves a good win even if it's not the best one.

- B.O.B. = 5 nods, The Black Keys = 4 nods, John Legend + The Roots = 4 nods. Love this. Black Keys made one of the best rock albums of the year and deserve to get as much shine as Arcade Fire.

- Lecrae getting love for Best Christan Rock/Rap Album. "Rehab" hit me and my crew pretty well.

- Producer of the Year. Always usually excellent.

- California Gurlz NOT getting any major nominations. Chicks love it but for a Cali anthem, I couldn't embrace it.

- Treme nominated for Best Soundtrack. The music added to the great New Orleans vibe of the show and this is WELL deserved.

- Best Movie Score: Avatar and Inception - the music added to the great moods. Brilliance.

What I hate

- How did Janelle Monae and Big Boi only get TWO nominations? Take away both sharing one for "Tightrope" and they only ONE a piece! Two of the best albums of the year, folks.

- Best Rap Album - I wish The Roots could win this but that overrated trash Blueprint 3 will probably win.

- Thanks to Grammy eligibility rules, Jay-Z is gonna get plenty of love for "Empire State of Mind". Even though I'm sick of it.

- Jay-Z and Eminem dominating 4 out of 5 slots for Best Rap Song. Doesn't speak well for diversity of the genre.

- Drake nominated for Best New Artist. Didn't he get nominated 3 times last year?? Then again Silversun Pickups got nominated last year despite that being their 2nd album. (Sidenote, this New Artist category is interesting. Bieber, Drake, the impressive Florence + The Machine, then who???)

- Rock was kinda weak this year so no surprise the nominees are iffy. I love seeing recognizable names such as Alice in Chains, Korn and the return of Soundgarden. But I wish I found more rock CD's like Black Keys that made me wanna rush to support it.

- Barely any love for Sade. Great comeback single and it's almost like she didn't even return. Wait til her tour next year.

?uestlove tweeted that 4 out of 5 nods for Record of the Year were hip hop or R&B affiliated. I'd be happier if that were Song of the Year because that gives credit for songwriting. Our music deserves Grammy approval  for being exceptionally written among all genres. Doesn't matter, can't anyone tell me that.

I remember in 2005, the Grammys nominated Kanye's debut, Usher's Confessions, Alicia Keys' 2nd album, and Green Day's American Idiot for AOTY. All great albums that still stand timeless. Even though Ray Charles would win for his final album, you can't argue enough for how great those 4 were.

The year before, it was Speakerboxxx/Love Below, Elephant (White Stripes), Missy Elliot's Under Construction among the group. See ya'll, Album of the Year at least nominated some worthy albums in the past. This year has to be the weakest in recent memory and make last year's look even better.

Oh, and the Grammy eligibility continues to suck (August to August) and that's why we see 2009 songs/albums nominated here instead of outstanding 4th quarter songs/albums. Kanye's album is probably better than all these yet we gotta wait 12 months for him to get love.

I wish I ran the Grammys. I'd scale back the eligibility window from January 1 to November 27th-December 1st, do the nominations in January, hold the ceremony in February. Oh, and ask my voters to please consider Metacritic, Pitchfork, rap critics and other sources besides who has hits. Just my 2 cents. See you in February

Electric Relaxation: Incubus "Warning"

This is a case where you love a song the minute you hear it and then discover years later that it speaks to you differently and more powerfully. "Warning" might be my favorite single off Morning View even more after this.

First time I heard this was on KROQ out here in LA in 2002. I was driving and my ears said "What is this??" "Was this some old Incubus song I never heard before?" I kept listening til the end and when the DJ said this was a brand new song off Morning View, I said "WHOA!" I think that was the thing that finally pushed me to buy the album.

There's a sound effect at the intro and in the breakdown that just sounded all kinds of epic. DJ Kilmore must've scratched it in and it sounds so cool yet fit the musical vibe. Throw in the fact that it was just a straight-forward rock song that just builds to an overwhelming sound at the end where Brandon sings "Don't ever let life you pass by" and the rhythm repeats even longer than it does on the radio.

The words seemed so cryptic to me back then. "I suggest we learn to love ourselves before it's made illegal"? "Floating in this cosmic jacuzzi, we are like frogs oblivious, to the water starting to boil"? It just seemed to add to this spacey vibe that reminded of me why I loved "Stellar" and "Pardon Me."

Flash forward to today. I'm at a personal crossroads wanting to fully take control of my life, which I shared on here. I want to take advantage of what I have in my mid-20's and not sit back and watch life pass me by. One night, this song came on and something told me to listen closer. The words suddenly made sense and spoke to me right now.

"Those left standing will make millions writing books on the way it should've been" - I mean that's just great writing. Too many people talk about how you should live life and they end up rich instead of gaining the value of tasting that life they sing about.

Now I got what the warning was about. "Dont ever let life pass you by." Yes! This was what I needed to hear. Don't be the lady in the song who wakes up old and realizes life's gone, only left to warn those not to follow her.

The intro is almost a challenge to do something you've never done or always wanted to do. The 2nd verse - suggesting for selflove - now means we gotta do it before we can't. Before we end up telling folks how to live because we failed. It's the flipside to Switchfoot's "Meant to Live", a song that challenged us to live for more than what we're seeing.

Floating in the jacuzzi means you're sitting there being comfortable, unaware that you're dying in your comfort and never moving on. Well-written with vivid imagery, this song now became my anthem of what not to become.

I wonder how they came up with this song. Sitting in Malibu off Pacific Coast Highway , watching one of the most beautiful beaches in the country. It's almost like they were relaxed, yet found a way to send out a message of urgency and living life to the max.

I was sleeping on this message for almost 8 years. Now as I'm waking up and rediscovering what I want, this song is another part of the fuel. Just one more reason why I love this album. Be encouraged from it.

Electric Relaxation: Death Certificate = Greatest West Coast solo hip hop album

Along with Nas, Ice Cube is my favorite MC. I bought his first 3 albums the summer of 2005 and they were the soundtrack to understanding why Cube was hands down the hardest MC in his prime. You can only get so much from downloading individual songs like I did.

I've told folks that Cube from 1990-1993 can stand toe-to-toe with any MC (and for that matter, throw in his NWA years since he was the main songwriter along with MC Ren). He balanced realness with pop success. He sold well, had everyone listening to him and most of all, he scared folks with brutal honesty about growing up in 90's Los Angeles.

His 2nd album Death Certificate is one of my favorites in any genre. A brilliant concept album that has influenced more MC's than you think. I'm going on a limb and saying it's the greatest solo West Coast hip hop album. The only album worth competing is Tupac's Me Against the World or 7 Day Theory. Death Certificate combines of both of those albums - passion, anger, sobering realism and uplifting his audience.

Just from that picture, you knew it was serious. Cube with his hand over his heart over Uncle Sam's dead body. You knew this wasn't just any rap album. It was about to get raw and real, as soon as that preacher finished his monologue on the opener.

DC was a more independent, focused Cube. His first album was made with the help of the Bomb Squad but this was all him, Sir Jinx and the Lench Mob. NWA had already dropped their followup and went #1 - proving they could survive with Cube and take shots at him. If AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted was his warning shot, DC was his full-on assault that showed he was the wrong brotha to mess with.

DC is split into 2 sides. The Death Side - Cube running wild like a typical hood kid who doesn't know any better, being angry, reckless and ends up dead. The Life Side - A rebirth where Cube realizes the error of his ways and becomes an advocate for the community in the vein of Malcolm X, Nation of Islam and the Black Panthers.

I love the Life Side because it shows Cube at his most conscious, volatile and angry. You can tell he became a full on Muslim with how he goes off on folks. Hard to pick a favorite song so I'll highlight some of my favorite tracks that sum up why this album earned 5 mics in the Source

"My Summer Vacation" - Cube's brilliant storytelling shines here. A tale of drug dealers going to Minnesota/Seattle to find work. Think further proof of DJ Quik's "Just Lyke Compton"

"A Bird in the Hand" - A song you don't hear about today. Everyone wants to be drug kingpins and all that but Cube is the one to admit the reasons behind most folks doing it. A last resort after trying to find work with no diploma and being short on cash. The BB King sample makes it feel even more bleak.




"True to The Game" - an attack of Black folks who sell out their communities/culture. The video is incredibly provocative and I wish Spike Lee used this in "Bamboozled." Be true to who you are and not who you think you should be.

"Us" - Cube pointing the finger at Black folks for contributing to their problems. As angry as he is as America, white folks and Korean store owners, he's quick to show it here as well as call for doing more to help themselves. Again, something we don't hear often that we need, especially today.

"Alive on Arrival" - 3 years before Biggie kills himself on wax and at the same time Scarface did the same on his debut, Cube writes from the P.O.V. of a guy shot in the streets and slowly dying in the hospital. Also a  critique on bad health care in the Black communities. It's also the next to last song on the Death Side before Cube is reborn.

Oh yeah, the only guest appearances are on "Color Blind" with a pre-fame WC and Coolio among the verses. There's also skits from Khalid Muhammad closing the Death Side and beginning the Life Side. But this is all Cube holding his own and making footprints in hip-hop. It also has one of the greatest disses ever in "No Vaseline" where he destroys NWA and Jerry Heller.

It's better than Snoop Dogg's debut because while Doggystyle is sonically and lyrically tight, there's no social commentary on there. It's better than The Chronic although while it created a whole new sound that Cube later emulated, Snoop was arguably the star of that album just as much Dr. Dre. Tupac's best work rivals it because Ice Cube was Tupac before Tupac hit the mainstream.

And for all the controversy surrounding the racial content,  it still went No. 2 on the pop charts and platinum. Proved that Cube was arguably the biggest solo rapper in America and not only does controversy sell, so does artistic integrity. .

Why do I love it?  Because it's a coming of age album. It describes the life of most Black men in that era - from being like O-Dog and Doughboy to Furious Styles. It's a maturity in hip-hop that isn't heard enough today. It's cinematic in its approach as Cube is a street reporter who tells it like it is without sugarcoating or exaggeration. It's music made with a purpose.

Case in point, this album is West Coast hip-hop at its finest. Check that, it's hip-hop at its finest.

Football Wrap Week 12 - Boise State Blues, Cam's Revenge, TCU Love

Nothing like a lil shake up to see things more clearly. Except Kyle Brotzman might still be the loneliest man in America outside of Buffalo Bills WR Stevie Johnson and Boise State feels like the rebel who got dethroned.

Black Friday provided one of the best days in college football in recent memory. Probably the best since 1998 when UCLA and Kansas State lost in the final minute to shake up the first BCS poll and put Florida State in the title game with Tennessee.

Auburn was down 24-0. I left home thinking Auburn would wake up at some point. Came back to them 24-14. Then Cam Newton took over and showed that leadership that'll earn him that Heisman in a few weeks. Biggest comeback vs. Bama ever. 28-27 and Killa Cam all but sewed up that trophy.

(Sidenote: I'd love to be a NFL GM and have to decide between Andrew Luck or Cam Newton. Love both of their styles, their pocket presence and mobility. Luck will probably get more "Golden Boy" love but Cam got a combo of Vince Young's gifts with Donovan McNabb's head)

Oregon was down to Arizona late and then the Ducky Boys exploded as usual. Like I've said, both Auburn and Oregon have defenses that can flip on a switch better than anybody else and go into shutdown mode to give their offense a chance to move.

Then there's Boise State. Y'all remember that Fiesta Bowl where Boise won on miracle plays? Their game vs. Nevada was karma coming back. After one of the best passes of the season from Kellen Moore to Titus Young to set up a chip shot game winner, Kyle Brotzman shanked it. Brotzman proceeded to out-do himself by missing another gimmie a few minutes later in OT.

Nevada wins. Boise sees their BCS dream go bye bye. Somebody go comfort Kellen Moore and the Broncos.

Wisconsin, Ohio State and Michigan State all won so the Badgers are headed to a BCS bowl. Throw in Stanford's and TCU's dual demolition and we got a clear-cut BCS ranking.

What does that mean for this weekend? TCU has to root for Oregon State and South Carolina to upset the Ducky Boys and Cam's Crew to have any chance of the national title. Stanford QB Andrew Luck needs to root for South Carolina to make Cam look average in defeat so he can earn some Heisman love.

Guess all the Boise St. haters got their wish as Ohio State president Gordon Gee looks vindicated for being an elitist. Good ole America squeezing out the little guy - capitalists everywhere rejoice while us workers continue to scream for a playoff.

It's unfair that Boise State loses to a Top 20 team on the road in OT and tumbles out of the BCS top 10. People couldn't wait to say Boise was finally overrated yet they won't penalize another team that harshly who does the same thing.

I hope TCU wins just to make them crash the party and play a worthy opponent. I'll be watching this weekend to see how this all shakes down. It always come out clear even if it's not perfect but I'll never use this as an excuse to justify a flawed system.

NWA and Guns N' Roses: Kindred Spirits

The first time you hear "Straight Outta Compton", it sounds like a sonic assault of rage and inner-city anger. It's powerful and then when you hear Ice Cube's booming voice on the intro, it's on like a runaway train.

The first time you hear "Welcome to the Jungle," you get the same feeling. It's raw, violent and dangerous. The soundtrack to the dark side of Hollywood and Axl Rose's wail sounds like a maniacal host.

NWA and Guns N' Roses. Two of my favorite artists linked by their meteoric rise, being in LA and sad fall. Both of them changed the game by bringing some edge into it. Both scared folks and made them step their game up. Five men in each group being among the best in their craft.

Axl Rose = Eazy-E: The leader and volatile personality who was the face of the group.
Slash = Ice Cube: The most talented member, regarded as one of the best to ever do it.
Duff = MC Ren: Underrated yet valuable and consistent
Izzy = Dr. Dre: The rhythm of the group, the engine that made it churn.
Steven Adler = DJ Yella: The 5th wheel who's important in their own way.

Appetite for Destruction and Straight Outta Compton were released 13 months apart yet both albums were incredibly similar. Los Angeles was defined by the hair metal scene and it was all about the party without the substance. Popular music needed a swift kick in the rear and along came these two albums that paved the way for Nirvana's nail in the coffin in 1991.

No Guns N' Roses song matches the social commentary and Black anger as "F The Police" or "Gangsta Gangsta" (Paradise City might capture that rage in its blistering 2nd half). No NWA song was anywhere near the beautiful ballad "Sweet Child O' Mine" (although Express Yourself might come close). Yet both albums were almost mirror images of angst, chemistry and purposed rage in that summer of 1988.

I'm pretty sure both of them knew how powerful they were. Axl started wearing an NWA hat on tour and NWA had a song called "Appetite for Destruction" on the Efil4zaggin album. I admire both of them because they represented the soul of a Los Angeles that's rarely seen. LA isn't all surf and sun (c) Ice Cube - it's got some grit mixed in there. And most of my favorite L.A. bands captured that.

The saddest thing was both were too good to last. Comets in the sky. Axl and Eazy-E played key roles in destroying what they built. By 1993, NWA was splintered and Guns N'Roses released their last album as we know it (Chinese Democracy doesn't/shouldn't count). Yet their legacies remain as two of the greatest artists of not just the past 25 years, but of all time.

Watching this NWA documentary on VH1 tonite, it made me miss the power of Dre's early beats, Ice Cube and MC Ren's booming voices and Eazy-E walking around like a boss. And it reminded me of Axl's powerful voice and the twin guitar assault of Slash and Duff.

Absolutely brilliant. Music doesn't scare or challenge people lyrically or sonically in the mainstream anymore and this is a reminder when music could be legitimately hard and still make a dent on the pop charts. Killer Mike and Rise Against are two of the few artists today that remind me of that raw, potent energy.

Here's hoping that we can get an NWA reunion on Dre's final album Detox (10 years since "Chin Check" and "Hello") and a true G'N'R reunion at the Rock'N'Roll Hall of Fame in 2012.

Football Wrap Week 11: Bengals' Blues, Josh Freeman and the Iron Bowl

No lead story this week. Just quick hits since I was distracted by my choir's concert on Sunday. Let's start with the NFL and the new laughingstock of the league

- You're up 35-14 at halftime. At home. You're supposed to win. Carson Palmer and the Cincinnati D are the GOAT's of the year for not only losing that lead but giving up 35 UNANSWERED POINTS to Buffalo. Oh yeah, Terrell Owens isn't to blame for that.

He's having a great season and he's been giving his all in every game. I blame Carson looking like an average QB and their defense being terrible before I blame TO or OchoCinco.

- Peyton Manning can only do so much with a patchwork group of RB's and WR's - nevertheless, Brady won that game. I almost feel bad for PM but I'm impressed with how he manages to stay close in every game. Do y'all realize how many careers he's helped? Reggie Wayne, Edgerrin James, Marvin Harrison, Joseph Addai, Dallas Clark, Brandon Stokley...

- I haven't talked much about Josh Freeman or Tampa Bay's 7-3 record. If there's a Pro Bowl caliber more under the radar than him, I want their name pronto. I may be biased because he's starting above my fellow USD alum Josh Johnson but game recognizes game and Freeman's showing leadership/decision-making and a knack for winning.

- Vince Young needs counseling. He needs somebody who'll keep him in check. Physically he's a great QB but he's reminding me of where Michael Vick used to be. A great arm, great feet, but mentally he's soft. I root for him to get it together because he's still one of the best QB/athletes I've ever seen.

Long story short, Titans owner Bud Adams needs to release him and let him get a fresh start. It's not your fault, it's best for both of y'all in the long run.

- Dallas won two games in a row? STOP THE PRESSES. My 'Boys finally got some pride in them! And San Diego won too? Fire up some bottle rockets and let's celebrate this glorious moment of both my teams winning.

NCAA Preview

The Iron Bowl on Friday is the biggest college football game of the season. It's bigger than just Alabama-Auburn and their great rivalry because there's more at stake. If Alabama wins this, all heck will break loose in the BCS.

If Bama wins, TCU or Boise State would rejoice because they're going into the title game. Auburn still has to win this game and beat South Carolina again on a neutral site for the SEC title. Oregon's gotta be rooting for Auburn because they don't want to see Boise State again after last year.

Speaking of the Ducky Boys, they got Arizona Friday night. Oregon hasn't been slowed down and I don't think Arizona's got the horses to do it. But will it be a great game? You bet. The Ducky Boys have been tested by Cal and Arizona knows they have a better QB who can test that defense.

But this game is one more test before the ultimate test. The Civil War with Oregon State next week - that weekend deserves its own crazy blog but we can't go there yet til this one is done.

Saturday's crazy action keeps coming with Ohio State-Michigan. Michigan State needs to root for Michigan to win because should there be a 3-way tie for the Big 10, they'd be screwed because the tie is broken by BS (i mean BCS) standings.

The Spartans beat Wisconsin and by some bad scheduling, don't get to play Ohio State. They need to hope that Terrelle Pryor doesn't decide to end his rivalry with Michigan with a bang.

(Even madder than Sparty if Ohio State wins? Iowa, who not only beat Michigan State but lost to Ohio State and Wisconsin by only 4 points. These. Are. The Breaks.)

My predictions? Auburn wins the Iron Bowl by 9 or less. Ohio State wins by 14 and Shoelace Robinson has to miss part of the 2nd half again. Oregon beats Arizona by 15.

Oh yeah, went 3-1 in fantasy this week. Still alive in the playoffs for 3 of my teams with winning records. But it's time to wonder how I'm gonna survive without Hakeem Nicks for 3 weeks.

JFK, CS Lewis, Aldous Huxley - Death Anniversary

John F. Kennedy, CS Lewis, Aldous Huxley. All 3 men died on the same day in history - November 22, 1963. Weird coincidence considering all 3 remain heavily influential in their field and beyond.

I remember being fascinated as a kid when I read about CS Lewis in the encyclopedia and saw he died the same day as JFK. It was weird cause in America, November 22 remains one of the saddest days in history. The definitive where-were-you moment for folks 50 and older. 

But it got even stranger this year when I was looking up Aldous Huxley. The author of "Brave New World" and influence on The Doors also died on 11/22/63. Trippy? Even Alanis Morissette would call this a lil too ironic.

People still hail Brave New World as not just one of the greatest books of the century but relevant in today's era, probably why I want to read it after I found it around the house.. CS Lewis has a new audience thanks to the Chronicles of Narnia movies as well as his Christian literature/philosophy that's still being read today (been reading The Screwtape Letters this year). 

And one only has to look at Barack Obama to see a reminder of JFK's youthfulness, vision and desire for change.

The only death anniversary that had the same amount of irony was July 4, 1826. On that date, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died within hours of each other, the 50th anniversary of them signing the Declaration of Independence. Adams gave the memorable last words "Thomas Jefferson still lives", not knowing that Jefferson preceded him in death.

Something to ponder...

CSI - My How You've Grown

I was watching the CSI pilot episode on Thursday. It's one of my favorite shows and I started watching it around 2003-04. For my money, it's one of the most influential shows of the last decade as far as influencing the awareness of forensic evidence and being a successful show about Las Vegas.

So of course, I think why not see how it all started. Just if anything to laugh at how young the characters looked. Sure enough, Gil Grissom and Capt. Jim Brass set the whole episode off by investigating a homicide and Grissom's typical wit set off the intro.

First thing I noticed was old the graphics looked in 2000. It looked like a typical CBS drama with the block lettering and dusty camera work. If I saw that show at 15/16, I probably would've been curious but would've passed on it because it didn't look cutting edge or fresh like the "24" premiere did my senior year.

Second, I saw some good old stereotyping in how Warrick Brown was portrayed early on. As the leading Black character on the show, he was hot-headed, distrustful, spoke in slang, rebellious to authority and a bit prejudiced. Not to mention he was pulled over for DWB (Driving While Black). It was bad but not as bad as the side Black character in the lab who got something right for Grissom and was so happy, he started dancing.

It just showed that TV's come a long way from the Black character explicitly having to fit certain stereotypes. But it also shows how far the show has come. I know that Warrick had a gambling problem that he overcome so I wasn't surprised to see that. It was more interesting how it played out and how deep he was involved in it.

I loved how they showed Nick Stokes' empathy right away too. I've long believed that Nick's the glue of the show because he can be forceful when he has to be but always shows a genuine care for the victims and witnesses that sets him apart from the cold-hearted cops he works with. Along with Chloe from "24", he's one of the best side characters in recent TV history.

Gil Grissom had a great quote in the show that not only summarized the premise of CSI, but also a great way to view things in life. "Focus on what cannot lie, the evidence." Evidence can be manipulated to support any agenda but taken as it is, it'll usually lead to the truth.

It's always funny to see how a show matures over its run. 10 years and counting and I love watching to see how the series continues to evolve.

Electric Relaxation: Camp Lo "Luchini (This Is It)"

It's Friday so why not start the weekend with one of the most underrated hip hop songs of the 90's. Plus I haven't done an Electric Relaxation post in a while. Cue the horns!




The best horn intro this side of Pete Rock, the whole song just makes you happy from start to finish. The horns make it feel like some theme music, like when you walk into a room, this plays. That hypnotic chorus makes you want to celebrate the minute you hear it. "This is it what!, Luchini pouring from the sky, let's get rich what!" and then the first bar: "Introducing, phantom of the dark" - thats like perfect walk-in music!

I hadn't heard this song before until one night at the paper. It was one of those hip-hop head joints that everybody talked about as underrated but the average fan probably never heard. I decided to check via Youtube and was mesmerized. I ended up buying their classic debut Uptown Saturday Night soon after (a GREAT album I should add)

Even better is that this song/album was produced by Ski Beatz, the same guy behind the vibe on Jay-Z's soulful debut "Reasonable Doubt". As opposed to the soulful joints he created on that album, all the Camp Lo joints remind you of more uptempo 70's music to create a sonic layer that fit Geechi Suede and Sonny Cheeba's fascination with 70's references. A sampling.

"Bottoms Up, Sunshine. Love Potion No. 9"
"We magnets to moolah, livin with Charlie's Angels hornets"

Still have no idea what both of them are talking about in this song, but it's filled with great 70's references and laidback yet on-point flows. Raise ya glass and toast to the weekend. This song is a celebration and it always makes me smile.

By the way, those horns come from "Adventures in the Land of Music" by Dynasty. Check it out here.