Artie Lange Tried to Commit Suicide... Get Well

*pic spotted on http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/

Sidekick on the Howard Stern radio show and MAD TV alum, Artie Lange apparently tried to kill himself. According to the NY Post, among other sites, the comedian stabbed himself 9 times. Dude was always funny to me and MAD TV is one of my favorite shows ever and probably what created my warpped sense of humor. Suicide is not a joke. It goes to show you that you never know what trials the person next to you faces. Get Well.

"Always make your words sweet..."
NY Post article: http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/stern_sidekick_in_suicide_try_5m9Hwhn1OvpONlzbsiW3oJ

Domino’s Pizza Finally Admits How Horrible Their Pizza (Is) Was

So I was watching TV last night, and all of a sudden a Domino’s commercial for their horrible, sweatshop factory mass-produced pizzas came on. At first I thought it was just another ordinary commercial, but then the chef dude read complaints about their pizza that I have thought to myself for years. The complaints were about how their “crust tastes like cardboard” and “sauce tastes like ketchup”. Really, I was taken back by their honesty. That crust does taste like cardboard, while their sauce does taste like ketchup. I don’t mean Heinz ketchup either, that stuff is good. I put it on everything (have you ever tried Heinz Ketchup + Lays Potato chip, it’s the poor man-child’s Nathan’s Hot Dog Fries). When I mean their sauce tastes like ketchup I mean that horrible, tasteless store brand ketchup that is always on sale because it literally takes ¼ of a cent to make a bottle’s worth. Now their pizza crust is supposedly made w/ garlic butter and their sauce has more herbs or something. I’m still not going to faithfully buy Domino’s though. It’s not that Pizza Hut is really much better… well it is, but I have never been to a clean Pizza Hut, and I know people who worked for Pizza Hut who admitted to spitting in the food, so I don’t trust them either. I just think for your money’s worth just hit up the no-name Chinese place down the street (there’s always one near-by). I just thought it was really desperate to admit they’ve been selling horrible pizza since the ‘80’s. Not to mention whenever I think of Domino’s I think of this…

Lil' Wayne - Rebirth review

Officially as of yesterday, Lil Wayne’s Rebirth album was pushed back to June 22. I figured I may as well review this now while people actually still care, but I guess that’s already fleeting, hence the pushback (again). Similar to Kanye’s 808’s & Heartbreak, this is Lil’ Wayne supposed dramatic style change. However where Kanye adopted autotuned, tribal drummed, synth-altenapop, Rebirth is supposed to be Wayne’s debut rock album. Also like Kanye, many predicted this would easily be his worst cd yet, and by the sounds of it, it seems like it. The difference in the two’s stabs at experimenting is that Kanye kept the autotuned, tribal drummed, synth-altenapop theme through the whole album and actually produced hit singles (“Heartless” and “Love Lockdown”). Lil’ Wayne’s album is more rock influenced (at times…) than all out rock, and he has not been able to spawn any hits, unless you count “Prom Queen” selling a lot on itunes, just because it was the first single, and people were interested. In all the album is very bad, I mean awful, but it does have its moments.
On one hand, “Da Da Da” may hands down be the worst song of his career, not to mention the past year. There are too many vocal effects (autotune and distortion), the production is too busy, Wayne doesn’t even try with the lyrics: “I know u want me/give me that monkey/ that funky monkey/ (screwed voice) that funky monkey”. The hook really is him on the autotune just saying da da da. “Get a Life” and “Runnin” really don’t fare that much better either. They are proof that Lil Wayne really isn’t cut out for trying to be “experimental” and should stick to what he knows, because this is not working for him. Also, Shannell (AKA SNL), the singer of Young Money and supposedly the driving force of the album really does not have that impressive of a voice either. With the right production she could make some pop hits, but really she makes Rihanna sound like Whittney Houston pre Bobby Brown. Most of the cd seems like a collage of vaguely rock-ish sounds being put together with Wayne and Shannell singing, screaming, and sounding like their dying with no regard for the actual music. Then some songs, just don’t even seem like it’s much of a rock influence at all. The second single, “On Fire”, with it’s clearly Miami sound would work well on a Rick Ross or DJ Khaled album.
The cd does have definite highlights though. The 1st single “Prom Queen” really is not awful and if all of the songs blended his hip hop roots to the new rock sound, the album may not have turned out so bad. Also, other than Shannell and Tyga, the guests definitely pick up the 2nd half of the album. Eminem delivers a great verse on “Drop the World”, Kevin Rudolf continues to make good (not exactly great) collaborations with Wayne on “One Way Trip”, while Nicki Minaj steals the show on “Knockout”. It actually seems suited for the Z-100 pop/rock base, but Nicki’s autotuned hook sounds poppy enough to get airplay, while she delivers a rap/yelled verse that shows she is conscious of the albums direction. The cd really was horrible, but no one goes to Lil Wayne for pushing the envelope or artistic expression. That’s what Kanye is for. If the cd actually comes out, which may not even happen…who knows, it’ll be interesting to see if it sells just on Wayne’s name alone, since the music wont sell it.

3/10: Listen to: “Knockout”, “Drop the World”, and “Prom Queen”
Avoid: “Da Da Da”, “Runnin’” and “Get a Life”

Neon Indian aka Acid the Musical

Honestly, it sounds cool to me. It's definitely not for everyone, but if you like Super nintendo, keyboards, and feeling like you're hallucinating, or just want something interesting to listen to give it a try. It came out last year, but Spin Magazine says they're artists to watch for this year so it must be true...

Lite (Coolroy) – Out To Lunch Mixtape Review

I’m assuming this is what everyone but me felt like last year when they listened to Drake’s “So Far Gone”. By no means will this get the buzz the Drake tape got, at least not now. The two tapes are similar, they’re both hipstery, rapping/singing, genre-hopping, “emo-raps”. The difference I guess is that Coolroy seems to come off as a more backpacker, underground version of Drake. There’s no “Best I Ever Had” potential, no superstar guests, like Lil’ Wayne, but I can definitely see a buzz building from this tape. As the title and by Coolroy’s own suggestion, the mixtape is something to chill out to. You can definitely tell this guy is from the West Coast. If I had to describe it, It’s probably what Shwayze (remember that guy “Buzzin” ,“Corona & Lime”, that Malibu rapper who never combed his hair & hung around Cisco Alder on that awful reality show on MTV like 2 years ago) was going for, but failed horribly.
Anyway, For the most part the mixtape, production-wise is full of laid back 90’s esque beats and samples, with a few detours, which actually seem to be common these days thanks to Drake & Kid Cudi. “E.T. L” is the now pre-requisite rapper making a electro-pop autotune song, but as far as those go, I’ve heard worse. “Burn” is the “at one time considered pushing the envolope cover of an alternative rock song”, this time by Pink Floyd. Which has been done by Lupe, Cudi, Drake, even Kanye covered Tears for Fears on 808’s. “Red Pumps” and “Never Over” are the attempts to liven the tape up, but really just ruin things. The only change in pace that really works is “My Girl”, it’s sounds like what Shwayze’s first cd could’ve spawned if he had talent. If there was a “Best I Ever Had” on the tape, this would be it. Other than that, the other of the 17 songs are consistent good lyrics and a show of Coolroy’s impressive everyday man storytelling ability. What guy can’t relate to “30 Seconds”…c’mon. Then, songs like “The Feeling” and “The Adventures of Charlie Tuna” really hit home. I really enjoyed this mixtape. Yeah, he pretty much took what already existed and repackaged it to his own image, but the end product really is more than the sum of its parts.

8/10: Listen to: “30 Seconds”, “The Feeling”, and “My Girl”
Avoid: “Burn”, “Red Pumps”, and “Never Over”

What Have I Been Into The Last 2 Months

Since I've been busy here's what I've been into summed up in 5 points.

1.MGMT - Oracular Spectacular: Off of a whim I decided to see what the hype was about, and its an like a warm, psychedelic, musical adventure - give it a listen. (here's my fav, I'm def copping the next album "Congratulations")


2.G-Shock Red G Rescue: It's big, gaudy, and full of functions I'll never use... cool.


3. Vintage MAD TV: With the little more freetime I've had, I've been hitting up youtube and ODing off vintage MAD TV clips from when they were funny.


4. LRG: LRG is starting to look effortlessly cool again. I just may have a reason to shop at Againt All Odds again lol. (I'll post my fav's later)

5. REST :)... It feels good for the grind to slow (it never stops)... A couple of days ago was the first time in months I had nothing to do... one of the best feelings.

Happy New Years
-Nel

...2010 and Forever

It's been a long time, but finals called, so spaceman had to answer. But I'm here now, and looking back... 2009 was probably my favorite year ever, real talk. I think that's the aim of life. Every year should be your new favorite year. I'm gonna be guerilla posting while on Winter break, so enjoy the flood of my mind. So with that, thanks to everyone for making 2009 fantastic & lets make 2010 the next favorite year ever.

-Nel