B’Town to R’Dam

First, tonight’s (TUESDAY’S) Beat Research is a special session featuring three button-pushing beatsmiths: Hailing from Toronto, Doldrums comes to town during a tour taking him around the US and over to Europe. Omnivorous in his sampling, and known to release VHS-only mixtapes, Doldrums — who often adds video collage and his own voice to the […]

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Best African Dance Ever

So, yeah. There’s rearing; and then there’s rearing — Slightly older kids, well enculturated & irrepressibly motivated, can tend to take things to the next level, bumping body parts with acrobatic abandon and lighting rooftops (and laptops) on fire — Devotees of dancehall reggae and reggaeton will no doubt recognize elements of perreo and daggering […]

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Watagataparatext (EL QUÉ?!)

In my recent post on “Watagatapitusberry” I wondered aloud, in so many words, where “the text” in question might reside, given that most people have been exposed to an intermediary “fan”/peer-produced text (a video) more popular than the original “text” (a recording), tho perhaps soon eclipsed by a new “official” video with potentially greater reach […]

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¿Como Se Dice “Talking Head” en Español?

I’m excited to announce, for a couple reasons, that next week PBS will begin airing the 4-part series, “Latin Music USA.” Episode 1 (Latin Jazz, Mambo) and Episode 2 (Salsa) will air on Monday, October 12; Episode 3 (Chicano Rock, Tejano, Norteño) and Episode 4 (Latin Pop, Reggaeton) will air the following Monday, October 19. […]

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Super Freaks and the Collective Talent

I love the moment at 0:21 in this credit card commercial: It’s obvious why, no? MC Hammer’s “U Can’t Touch This” — a “work” which, in addition to the song itself, includes as a part of its whole a now iconic video, known as much for its choreography as parachute pants — has become a […]

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Musee de Beau Zack

History of Hip-Hop Radio (NYC 1986-1991) / audio – GRANDGOOD wow — a mixtape combining excerpts from golden age NYC hip-hop radio — nice work! what a window into a wonderful world — (h/t noz) (tags: hip-hop NYC radio mix archive goldenage) CBRAP » A Very Fresh Way To Learn butterfly in the sky, i […]

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8 Mile on the Nile

In my sha3bi searches last night I came across all kinds of odd & awesome stuff. And I don’t say ‘odd’ as an uninformed outsider (though I am one, relatively speaking), but b/c some of the cha3bi vids one finds are truly bizarre mashups of footage ranging from what looks like a Francophone African music […]

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linkthink #9816: Cumftable?

Jonathan Zittrain | The Colbert Report | Comedy Central berkman’s JZ goes on colbert to talk about the future of the internet — and how to stop it :: nice job, JZ (tags: berkman harvard colbert tv internet humor tech) Minus 10-Year Anniversary | XLR8R podcast recounting 10 years of minimal biz on minus records […]

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Charlie v. Colbert

Today / tonight, my ever entertaining, unpredictable, visionary father-in-law (and, yes, now a grandpa, thx to Nico) is going to be on the Colbert Report! He’ll be there primarily to discuss his latest passion, poker as strategic thinking and educational tool (though you never know what might come out of Charlie’s mouth, esp as prodded […]

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What Chew Know About Down in the Hole?

I’m not really a TV watcher. Really. I mean, sure, I’ve watched something like 2000 videos on YouTube over the last couple years (and I don’t think that even counts videos embedded in blogs, etc.). But I probably watch OldTube only a couple hours a week at best — like if, say, a big Bawstin […]

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Hallelujah Holla Black

Some readers might remember that I participated in a panel about ego trip’s White Rapper Show earlier this year at the annual meeting of IASPM-US. I’ve been wanting to share my thoughts / comments from that session here for a while, but haven’t had a moment to collect (or transcribe) them. Well, I just spent […]

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It’s a News Story

Charlie Nesson has been on a YouTube tear of late. And though, given that his clips often lack a certain coherence, I look fwd to the day that my dear dad-in-law (“in law” indeed) becomes a video wiz, I love that he’s been embracing the tech (as always) and launching headlong into exploring and sharing […]

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Hold Me Closer, Tainy Dancer

Given that it pays homage, follows a venerable reggae tradition (see, e.g., the rankses, the bantons, the demuses, the cats), makes a pop culture pun, and invokes a myth of national origins, I gotta admit — Tainy Tunes is a fantastic name for an up-and-coming reggaeton producer. Kid’s only 17, so we’re not gonna judge […]

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