Pair Of Pods

Events

Marc Maron’s WTF Podcast guest list just keeps getting better and better. He drops a new episode every Monday and Thursday, and I’m always excited to see who’s on the show. Maron, who mostly interviews comedians, has had a few musicians on in the past, but to my utter delight he had on James Mercer of The Shins last week! WTF for reals! Such a pleasant surprise, and a great conversation to listen to. Check it out…

Download/Stream WTF Podcast with James Mercer of The Shins

Maron also recently had comedian/actor Kevin Hart on his show, which I was very excited about because I’m a big fan of his. I first remember seeing him in Paper Soldiers with Beanie Sigel, and then his amazing scene in The 40 Year Old Virgin. Remember?

I’ve been watching his stand up specials on Netflix too, and I really like this guy’s comedy. I can totally relate to all his material about having young kids, it cracks me up. Def check out his interview with Maron below, it’s interesting to hear his back story…

Download/Stream WTF Podcast with Kevin Hart

Picking up the slack on Westcheddar. More posts coming. Thanks for staying tuned…

*BONUS*

Some throwback footage of The Shins performing “Girl Sailor” off Wincing The Night Away. Love this track…

*SUPER BONUS*

WATCH: The Shins Live on KCRW 2012 (FULL SET AND INTERVIEW)

Long Vows

Events

Oh shit! A live video of a new Band of Horses song just showed up in my email! Those are my dudes! It’s titled “Long Vows” on YouTube and in this post, but that’s not the official name of the track, so for now consider it an untitled gem with a nickname. The clip was filmed live at Lollapalooza Brazil, and supposedly, the song is from their new album which they are recording with recent Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Glyn Johns, who has worked with everyone from The Beatles to Led Zeppelin. Hopefully we will hear more new material surface soon. BOH 4 LIFE!!!!

Double Clutch

Events, Sports

It’s not often that I literally jump up on my couch filled with joy while watching the Knicks. Usually, I’m throwing the remote in frustration. But it happened yesterday against the Bulls. Twice. Props to Carmelo Anthony for putting on one of the greatest holiday performances Madison Square Garden has ever seen. 43 points, and two enormous 3s. First, to tie and send it to overtime. Then, from the same spot, down by two, to win the game. Watch them both below…

Wow.

Aziz Steez

Events

Aziz Ansari is probably my favorite stand-up comedian on the scene right now. He’s got great energy, awesome material, and he’s relatable to my generation. One of my favorite things about him is his ability to tell stories about his interactions with famous rappers. He talked about hanging out with Kanye West on his first DVD, and told a hilarious story about how Jay-Z doesn’t like the movie E.T. on his Juan Epstein appearance a few months back. And now, on his new online special Dangerously Delicious, which you can cop HERE for $5, he tells a story about how he eavesdropped on 50 Cent in a restaurant and discovered that 50 didn’t know what a grapefruit was. LOL on a hundred thousand trillion…

And for those of you who like to read interviews (I DO!), check out his sit-down “Dinner with Daniel” on Grantland HERE. It’s a fun read! Aziz came back to Juan Epstein last week too, which you can download HERE. I might have to go check this dude one night during his new tour (see poster above and click HERE for dates). I haven’t seen a comedian live in concert since Dave Chappelle came to the University of Maryland in the late 90s. Good shit Aziz!

Fly Females

Events, My Dudes, Published Material

This appeared on Egotripland yesterday as part of their new partnership with UpNorthTrips. Check it out, it came out pretty dope…

UpNorthTrips Presents The 10s | Honey Dips: 10 Classic Raps About Fly Females

March is National Women’s History Month, so to end it off, we thought we’d sneak in a fresh new edition of The 10s, dedicated to the flyest females ever immortalized on wax. Proppers to our big homies at ego trip for their brolic list of “69 Songs Dedicated To That Special Lady” (which you can find in their Book of Rap Lists), but we thought we’d narrow it down and update their list a bit for UpNorthTripspurposes. We included a handful of our favorites from their list, mixed with some post-’98 joints, all named after the the honeys they pay tribute to. From the girl who claims she’s a virgin, to the chick with the “ass so fat you can see it from the front,” we celebrate the baddest of the bad in this episode of The 10s.

1. Slick Rick — “Mona Lisa”
Album: The Great Adventures of Slick Rick
Year: 1988
Description: She tells Rick, “I got courage, and I don’t like porridge/ I’ve never been to college, but I’ve got crazy knowledge/ over eighteen and my eyes are green/ I wear more gold than that man on A-Team/ trim, slim, and also light skinned/ best believe Mona’s a virgin.” A virgin??!?!
Breakdown: The Rulers sees Mona Lisa in the pizza shop, and decides to push up. But his friend cock-blocks him, shoving him in a cab abruptly to go see some more “mature women,” leaving Mona Lisa singing that familiar Dionne Warwick melody, “If you see me walkin’ down the street, and I start to cry, walk on by…”

2. A Tribe Called Quest — “Bonita Applebum”
Album: People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm
Year: 1990
Description: “Stunning newness” with “elaborate eyes” and the perfect figure, “38-24-37.”
Breakdown: Tip is glad to meet Bonita Applebum, who is certainly appealing to him on another level. He questions his feelings, saying, “Do I love you? Do I lust for you? Am I a sinner because I do the two?” Either or, or both, Tip wants to get put on. And he’s got “crazy prophylactics” if it comes to that. Let’s hope she likes rap songs, for his sake.

3. Eric B. and Rakim — “Mahogany”
Album: Let the Rhythm Hit ‘Em
Year: 1990
Description: “Almost looked Korean, but European.”
Breakdown: Rakim is cooling before a performance with Eric B. at the Palladium, when he sees Mahogany, and tells her, “I wanna get to know you better.” They dip off to take a walk before the 1 a.m. show time, and it’s clear that his ability to get inside her head has her wide open. Then, seeing the God rap on stage only magnifies her desires, and quickly they murk off together after his set, back to his condo. Now tell us he ain’t finesse Mahogany.

4. EPMD — “Jane”
Album: Strictly Business
Year: 1988
Description: “She’s fly, haircut like Anita Baker.”
Breakdown: During the first episode of the “Jane” series, Erick and Parrish introduce us to Jane. As fly as they think she is, this is actually a bit of a diss record towards her. Parrish even refers to her as a “skeezer” in the intro banter. But it seems that she’s the one doing the dissing, as she claims in her bedside note the morning after a night of gettin’ buckwild, “You have to be better, bigger, stronger, and much faster.” But this is just the beginning. The saga continues.

5. Ghostface Killah — “Beauty Jackson”
Album: Fish Scale
Year: 2006
Description: “Her voice was a slow jam, full length white mink/ hella fine with a beauty mark on her right cheek.”
Breakdown: So, she’s standing at the bus stop, no lollipop. Ghostface introduces himself, “Sweetie call me Tony Starks, Ghost if ya like ta,” and he lights her bogie as he admires her attributes. It’s not long before the bus comes, and he has to rush to pass off his math to Ms. Jackson, and as he does he accidentally “dropped the chrome.” Not a good look, Starks. Then again, maybe she respects heat holders.

6. Mos Def — “Ms. Fat Booty”
Album: Black on Both Sides
Year: 1999
Description: “The type of girl giving out fake cell phone and name” with her “neck and wrist laced up, very little makeup” and an “ass so fat that you could see it from the front.” Mos reveals, “She was like Jayne Kennedy, word bond, to my mother man, she was that ill.”
Breakdown: Mos meets Charise, but at first she plays him when he asks her to dance. Soon after, he sees her again, and is properly introduced to her by his boy. Turns out she was playing hard to get, but was actually feeling him, and ends up asking him to dance. Say word. After “weeks of dating and late night conversation,” he finally “smashed it like an Idaho potato.” But months into their love affair, she suddenly disappears. It isn’t long before Mos discovers Sharice is actually a bi-sexual stripper. What?!?!?

7. The Lost Boyz — “Renee”
Album: Legal Drug Money
Year: 1995
Description: “Her gear was mad phat” and “she wants to be a lawyer, in other words shorty studies Law.”
Breakdown: Mr. Cheeks, intrigued by Renee’s dope wears, approaches her on the street as she’s heading towards the train. He cops them a couple hot dogs, and as she reaches into her bag for a subway token, she drops a pack of rolling papers. Wait, Renee smokes trees?!?! Keeper! They proceed to go back to her crib to twist up and get it in. Then tragically, weeks later, after Cheeks basically wifes her up, Renee is shot and killed. Damn, son. RIP.

8. Poor Righteous Teachers — “Shakiyla [JRH]”
Album: Pure Poverty
Year: 1991
Description: Shakiyla is “no hooker, no slut, no bitch, and she listens.” She’s “civilized, and despises the drugs you sell.” Simply put, she’s a “wise, black queen.”
Breakdown: No need to flaunt your wealth around Shakiyla, and try to bag her by sending her gifts. She’s not into that type of shit. Wake up. The Earth don’t give a fuck about materialism. She respects wisdom.

9. O.C. — “Stronjay”
Album: Jewelz
Year: 1997
Description: “Five foot six, body thick, hair silky/ she could make the hardest man melt and turn milky.” Also, “bugged out shit, one eye was hazel, one was blue.” In other words, “The bizomb.”
Breakdown: O.C. sees Stronjay shopping in the city, and says to himself, “This sugar be a dime.” He invites her to have a drink, and they end up in a Sushi bar, politicking over Saki. His G must’ve been correct, because she invites him back to her penthouse suite on Park Avenue, and she’s whippin’ the 500 Benz and all that. She wastes no time, slipping off her draws in the elevator, assisting O.C. in taking off his clothes upon entering her crib, and eventually engaging in a full-on skinz session equipped with Moet, strawberries, and whip cream. Hey love.

10. Aceyalone — “Makeba”
Album: All Balls Don’t Bounce
Year: 1995
Description: “Not a young girl anymore.”
Breakdown: Aceyalone runs into his old girl Makeba after a few years, and they catch up on what’s been going on in their time apart. It seems Makeba’s been traveling, and searching, and most likely leaving every man that she’s met along the way in a tizzy. And Aceyalone’s moved on to new women, and been doing his thing with the raps. They reminisce on their days of love making and smoking cheeba together, and recall how loyal they were to each other and how they wanted to get married and have mad kids. But it seems she’s all grown up now, and has changed quite a bit during their separation. Still, there seems to be a chance that the two will re-unite, and hopefully, if it happens, she won’t leave Acey lonely again.

words by @StanIpcus / mix by @UNITEDCRATES / graphics by @CNTRBND

The 20 Best Shins Songs

Events, Published Material

To celebrate The Shins’ new album, which was released today, I put together a list over at Pigeons & Planes of the 20 Best Shins Songs. It’s not so easy to rank your favorite band’s best songs, but I gave it a whirl, and I’m pretty proud of how it came out. Props to Confusion for hooking up the pics and artwork and audio streams. Check the intro and link to the feature below…

The Shins released their fourth album today, Port of Morrow—their first in five years—led by brilliant songwriter/musician/auteur James Mercer and supported by a 2.0 version of the band. Even with a new lineup, the album has everything we love about The Shins on it. The songs are gorgeous, with enough pop sensibility to sing along to and the right touch of indie appeal to keep music snobs happy.

To celebrate The Shins’ latest opus, we gathered our picks for the 20 Best Shins Songs in their discography. From the song that Natalie Portman insisted would “change your life” in Garden State, to a B-side off one of their early 7 inch record releases, to their awesome Squeeze cover, we considered them all. Find out the stories and meanings behind their most celebrated records (via quotes by James Mercer), what song off Port of Morrow cracked our Top 5, and of course, the melancholy masterpiece we crowned #1.

The 20 Best Shins Songs | Pigeons & Planes

This is probably the last of The Shins wave of posts here at Westcheddar, so I hope you enjoyed them. But hey, you never know, their may just be another one around the bend! Now go cop the album. Thanks for reading…

*Bonus*

The Shins Live on Letterman (Full Set)

SXSW Highlights 2012

Events

So SXSW really stepped it’s game up in 2012, huh? Lucky for music fans like me who were unable to leave their daily grind to enjoy the party in Austin, Texas, there were lots of shows streaming live, and some quality video footage was recorded and posted on the internet in the past week from the various venues too. And the cool thing about the festival is that not only is it for up and coming acts, but the big boys like Jay-Z and Nas were doing their thing also! Here are Westcheddar’s choice clips from the week, led by my favorite rapper out right now by a mile, Action Bronson, who goes in on stage with the raps! Plus, my other current faves, including The Shins, Electric Guest, and Alabama Shakes…

Action Bronson (Full Set @ Shady 2.0)

Action Bronson x Smoke DZA (The FADER FORT)

The Shins “Bait And Switch” & “It’s Only Life” (#VEVOSXSW)

 Electric Guest “Amber” (Virgin Mobile LiveHouse)

Alabama Shakes “Hold On” (Hotel San Jose)

Maybe one year I’ll actually make it down to the festival. Stay tuned for Nardwuar’s interview with Action Bronson live from SXSW, I hear it’s coming soon…

*UPDATE*

It’s here, and it’s incredible. Nardwuar interviews Action Bronson…

The Godfather Turns 40

Events

40 years ago today, on March 15, 1972, the epic Mafia movie The Godfather was released. I think I saw it for the first time in when I was in my late teens, and I remember a period during my sophomore year of college where I was completely obsessed with both The Godfather and The Godfather Part II. I love Goodfellas, and Carlito’s Way, but The Godfather trilogy (minus Part III lol) is where it’s at. Every time I watch the first and second Godfather, I notice something new that I never picked up on before. To celebrate the film’s 40th, I encourage you all to read this in-depth story from Vanity Fair (originally published in 2009) about the making of the film. It’s an excellent look behind the scenes of how arguably the greatest movie of all time came to be…

The Godfather Wars | Vanity Fair

Shout to AMC, who has been running The Godfather trilogy all month. Keep your eye out for it. Later gangsters.

*Bonus*

Stan Ipcus “The Godfather” (off Real Breezy)

Biggie Remembered

Events, Interviews, My Dudes

The greatest rapper of all time, Biggie Smalls aka The Notorious B.I.G., died 15 years ago on March 9th, 1997. To celebrate his life and remember his contributions to hip-hop, various sites have been paying tribute to B.I.G. today. Thanks to UpNorthTrips, who I helped put a Biggie Tribute together with in 2010, we can check out 15 of the most important links on the 15th anniversary of his murder, including a chilling interview done with a former LAPD detective by Complex Magazine’s Rob Kenner (who I work very closely with on the reg) uncovering who exactly is responsible for killing Biggie. Check the links, courtesy of UpNorthTrips

15 YEARS | 15 LINKS

The Notorious B.I.G. “ego trip” Magazine Article (1997) (via @egotripland)

Biggie’s Top 10 Jamaican References (via @LargeUp)

Former L.A.P.D Detective Says He Know who Killed Biggie (via @complexmusic/ @boomshots)

Biggie’s Best Bball References (via @SlamOnline)

Top 5 Notorious B.I.G Trademarks (via @villagevoice/@soundofthecity)

The Notorious B.I.G.: From Unsigned Hype To King Of NY (via @hiphopwired/@Dart_Adams)

J. Period & G. Brown’s Complete B.I.G Tribute Collection (via @jperiodBK)

How Ya Livin Biggie Smalls? (via @thefader)

Ready To Die: By The Numbers (via @XXLstaff)

The 50 Best Notorious B.I.G Songs (via @complexmag/@fakeshoredrive)

Machine Gun Funk: Producers Remember B.I.G (via @nodfactor/@JLBarrow)

Was The Notorious B.I.G’s “Hustler’s Prayer” Answered? (via @tsscrew/@justintinsley)

Lil Kim, Lil Cease, Mister Cee, DJ Premier and More Tell Biggie’s Life Story (via @vibemagazine)

What IF Christopher “The Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace Had Lived? (via @allhiphop/@chuckcreekmur)

Notorious B.I.G’s 15 Biggest Billboard Hits (via @Billboard)

Shouts to my dude Ev Boogie at UNT. We got some shit cooking up for ’12 so stay tuned…

*BONUS*

Mr. Cee’s 3 Hour B.I.G. Tribute Mix | Hot 97 (via RapRadar)

RIP B.I.G.

The Shins Live in Manhattan

Events

In association with NPR Music, The Shins played a private show at le Poisson Rouge last night to promote their upcoming album Port Of Morrow which drops March 20th. I know, I’ve been posting mad Shins shit, but fuck it. This is my favorite band, and them coming out with a new album after a five year hiatus is a big deal here at Westcheddar. Last night, the show streamed live on the NPR Music iPad app (which is free and super dope), and I tuned in happily, enjoying every minute as they played the perfect mix of classics and new tracks from POM. It was a pleasant alternative to watching the Knicks stink it up for a second night in a row. And now, the entire show is available to watch on the NPR Music website! Yes!

The Shins Live at le Poisson Rouge, March 7th, 2012 | NPR Music

By the way, I was sent a copy of the new Shins album this week, and I really like it. At first, it’s hard to hear songs that I was introduced to originally through live recordings and YouTube footage. But the production is great, and it’s totally my speed, so I’m slowly but surely starting to prefer the album versions to the live ones I previously had in heavy rotation. Def go get it when it comes out. Peace.