Flashback Friday 36: So Slide Over Here...

I decided to do a little research to see what was the #1 song in the US of A 20 years ago this week, and I found this:

INXS - Need You Tonight/Mediate

I was half way around the globe when Need You Tonight was first released, and I still remember the DJ of the local American station saying, "And now, a new sure-to-be-hit from that Australian band Inks"!

That's right. That's how this DJ pronounced the band's name.

Inks.

The DJ wasn't an Arab, which could have at least given him some excuse for the poor pronunciation. This wasn't INXS' first hit either (enter What You Need and Listen Like Thieves), therefore there was no real reason for any American DJ to screw up the band's name. Unless the DJ was either really square, a classical DJ subbing in for the Top 40 guy, or both.

Speaking of square, I thought the whole flipping the signs in Mediate was cool. And original. Until I saw this clip being played during a Dylan documentary on PBS a few years later:

Bob Dylan - Subterranean Homesick Blues

So I guess I'm a little slow on the uptake when it comes to pop culture references, but hey, did you know INXS was paying homage to Bob when their video just came out? Didn't think so.

In any case, there's this one small unassuming, non-attention-grabbing game that's being played here in town on Sunday, and so, in the spirit of it all, I'll leave you with this:

The Chicago Bears - The Super Bowl Shuffle

You know all the words. And you also want to play the cowbell while you rap. Don't lie.

Have a great weekend.

From the PMA Collection 3

I discovered some kickass bands which I've since become a big fan of by watching an obscure satellite channel at my parents' house whenever I was there to visit. Sure, quite a few of the videos were of the typical world music variety that you'd really need to be in the mood to listen to at length while incense cones burned in a corner, but they'd also throw in videos of bands that were massive amongst the pierced youth elsewhere in the world, maybe to attract more viewers that weren't 45 and wearing wooden beads and eating vegan Thai for dinner.

One of those videos happened to be this one:

Kinky - Soun Tha Mi Primer Amor

A video of a sad schmuck riding a jackass, getting dissed by every chick he hands a flower to until he meets his one true love, but then....

Ok, the video's plotline isn't all that noteworthy unto itself, but the band's sound wasn't remotely what I was expecting when the world music VJs said, "...and now, here's a band from Monterrrrrey, Mexico!" Especially since it was following a video of some random Kazakh farmer girl singing about a cow and her runaway shepherd boyfriend. I'll say right here that I'm ashamed to admit I had no idea at the time that Mexico had such a kickass music scene. Something way the hell beyond Maná, mariachis, and the odd accordion. This guy who thinks he knows quite a bit of shit about the world just got schooled big time.

Thus began my adventures into el universo de la música alternativa, with Kinky being the gateway band into mi pendiente en el oblivion. Did that even make any sense? My Spanish sucks. So does my writing these days. Anyway, as for said Kinky, the band kicks ass. I've caught them live a number of times in small clubs and they've never disappointed. Great energy. Awesome music. Definitely recommended. What this random Pakistani guy is doing listening to Meximusic, who the hell knows. Some of us apparently follow Bruce Springsteen. Others follow Mexican bands. It all makes sense.

As for Link TV, again I'll admit they're fully responsible for me knowing this band. But I'd say through me, I'm responsible for a bunch of my friends knowing this band. Which then begs to ask the question: who should Kinky pay commission to? Me or this TV station? I've know I've gotten my friends to buy Kinky's CDs. How many people did Link TV get to buy Kinky's CDs? One (who was me - because you know all those 45-year old wooden-bead wearing, vegan Thai food-eating viewers download this shit for free).

* Soun Tha Mi Primer Amor appeared on PMA 2

Goes to show you should never talk smack about Canadian finches...

Well, looks like this sad reporter just got served.

Which brings us to our Now That's One To Grow On Lesson of the Week: Don't look up into trees, mofo, because you never know what's on its way down.

Happy Monday, amigos.

Flashback Friday 35: Sarfraz Manzoor, This One's For You

You know, you just start up the 2nd generation of your blog, you start posting, and in one of those posts you write about a book you own about a Pakistani guy who has his life altered by the music of Bruce Springsteen but haven't read it yet (but you want to except you are also a piddling lazy ass), but then you get the flu and you ignore the blog for a few days, and in the interim, the author of said book comments you back, imploring you to get off your lazy ass and read his well-crafted work.

Well, Sarfraz Bhai, you probably weren't expecting it, but you just got yourself roped into a Flashback Friday. A shukria to you for helping me figure out what the hell I was going to post this week, because my flu-addled brain was at a complete and utter loss.

Lo, behold:

Bruce Springsteen - Dancing In The Dark

Yeah, I think this pick is pretty much obvious. It's an awesome song. It's got Bruce. It's got a vat-load of white man dance moves. It's got an unsuited Max Weinberg on drums, way before Conan found him. I think it's got Silvio Dante lurking the shadows somewhere, but I can't spot him (can you?). And it's got Courtney Cox, back when she was a hot midwestern-looking pixie who didn't speak but just got pulled onto stages and just danced the white girl dance and then smoothly faded to black. And I'm wondering: who was her agent? Because without her 20 seconds at the end of this video, would she have been commanding $1 million plus on Friends? Would she even be an extra on Friends?* You gotta ponder. Such is the power of The Boss.

Bruce Springsteen - Brilliant Disguise

Obviously Bruce decided to become more serious once we hit junior high. No more adrenaline-pumped concert videos or misinterpreted national anthems that really talk about the plight of Vietnam vets of our elementary years. New Bruce was mellow. Scaled back. No angular star of the Scream series in sight. This was the Bruce that could do an entire studio video in one shot, 3 years before Sinéad stared blankly at a screen for 5 straight minutes. Talking about disguises and tunnels of love and all that. This album may not have been the most engaging for a kid in his teens, but I appreciate it a lot more now. Maybe that's because I'm now in that whole "adult contemporary" demographic. Hell, I don't even understand VH1 anymore.

In any case, to all of you, have a great weekend. My weekend is going to encompass me lying on my couch and drinking chicken noodle soup (note: I really hate chicken noodle soup at this juncture, although I still won't complain about lying on my couch).

And maybe, while I'm doing nothing besides staring at the wall, I'll go ahead and actually read a book. Because sometimes I'd like to think of myself as being spontaneous and productive. Right? No?

Cue crickets.

* No offense to anyone who is a rabid fan of Courtney Cox, "Friends", or white girl dance moves

From the PMA Collection 2

Having the flu sucks.

Now with that out of the way...

MC Solaar - Au Pays De Gandhi*

I've been a fan of Chadian-Senegalese-French hip-hop maestro MC Solaar for several years now, and was surprised when he included this desi-inspired track on Mach 6 back in 2003. Sure, this song is not even remotely deep (and the video doesn't really help in that department either), but it's still got a good enough beat and the lyrics sure as hell sound better in French than in English (where, if translated, the song would be lamer than a combo-pack of tube socks). Still worth including, though.

* Au Pays De Gandhi appeared on PMA Vol. 4

Caffeinated Spin Control

So, two days ago an article made the rounds of the interweb news talking about the dangers of caffeine, specifically pertaining to pregnant women:

click to read full article

Seems like a legitimate cause for concern as far as I can tell. However, less than 24 hours later, this article starts making it rounds:

click to read full article

Look suspicious? Especially considering the second study, if you read the full article, is completely inconclusive. But the headline definitely takes away the stigma of caffeine's impact on women's health from the previous day. Did the "Caffeine Industry" see the bad news and decide to go into PR spin overdrive? None of these articles actually mention who's funding the research. I wonder if there should be some mandated acknowledgement by journalists as to who's actually sponsoring these statistics (instead of hiding behind names like Harvard Medical School). Shouldn't the reader have a right to know so they could make a more educated conclusion and look at all sides of the story and not just one? Especially when it comes to health? I know my idea's DOA, but I feel it's worth thinking about.

I guess the regular person's too lazy or doesn't have the time to go seek all the necessary information. And the media and the corporations know it. I guess I'll shut up now...otherwise I'll experience a media blackout like John Edwards.

Disclaimer: I in no way am attacking caffeine itself. For at least this very moment, it's my best friend.

Someday I'll Read This Book That's Collecting Dust On My Bookshelf, Part 1

I don't know if I read a single book in all of 2007, which is a lame state of affairs. I don't really have an excuse to top it off, either. I can't say I was voraciously blogging my life away, because the vast bulk of you who're reading this know I'd be full of shit if I actually said that. Or I guess I could say I was studying for a test or 100, because that's actually true. But still...not one book?

Now don't get me wrong. I'm not an ingrate. I buy books. Often. It's just that they then sit there uncracked on my bookshelf. Why this phenomenon happens while I'm perfectly content re-reading the same National Geographic article about Mt. Vesuvius while sitting on the throne is beyond me. I guess I could stop buying books and just check them out of the library when I actually want to read one, but that would actually make me a logical human being. And who needs that.

Anyway, the book above is called Greetings from Bury Park and written by a Pak Brit named Sarfraz Manzoor. I actually scored an advanced readers' edition from a friend who works in a local bookstore, saw it, read the back, immediately thought of me, and there you have it. Sitting on my bookshelf. Waiting. Bored. Listless.

I guess I owe it to my friend to actually read it. Besides the fact it's gotten great reviews. And besides the fact that the author's someone I could probably relate to. And besides the fact that it's not that long. I just need to get off my lazy ass. I know Naples is at the mercy of a simmering nearby volcano. Why do I need to re-know it? Magma really isn't all that interesting.

Anyway, in case you're more diligent about reading books than I am and are up for some PakLit, here's the synopsis:

Sarfraz Manzoor was two years old when, in 1974, he emigrated from Pakistan to Britain with his mother, brother, and sister. Sarfraz spent his teenage years in a constant battle, trying to reconcile being both British and Muslim, trying to fit in at school and at home. But it was when his best friend introduced him to the music of Bruce Springsteen that his life changed completely. From the age of sixteen on, after the moment he heard the harmonica and opening lines to “The River,” Springsteen became his personal muse, a lens through which he was able to view the rest of his life. Both a tribute to Springsteen and a story of personal discovery, Greetings from Bury Park is a warm, irreverent, and exceptionally perceptive memoir about how music transcends religion and race.

So a book about Pakistanis and The Boss. Why in the hell haven't I read this yet? Oh yeah, because I'm lame.

Anyway, if any of you end up reading it before me, just don't spoil it. Bruce would be pissed.

Barren Serenity

I'm not remotely near the level of a professional photographer, but I'm having a good time learning, even with all the cruddy bunk shots that have resulted from a lot of trial and error with my camera set on manual.

It was around 110 degrees F when I hiked up this sand dune in my Birks and shot this pic, but I'd say it was worth the effort (and a pair of toasted feet).

Have a great Monday.

Flashback Friday 34: Your First College Concert

Digable Planets - Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat)

Digable Planets was the first paid concert I saw in school. We were probably a few weeks into the year when I saw fliers with their faces posted up on bulletin boards. I grabbed some tickets in no time. Probably because ever since I saw the above video I'd been infatuated with Ladybug. And, of course, in the small campus pub environment of the show, I soon found myself up front and Ladybug threw down some sweet verse while gripping my hand for an entire song and looking into my eyes like some intense poetic vixen. I was 18. I was a dork. And she had me completely transfixed.

But then they moved on to the next song and she let go of my hand and turned her attention back to the audience at large and I came back to reality with a thud. In any case, Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat) is classic. I wish Digable stuck around longer than they did - but record companies were more interested in numbnuts like Ja Rule instead. Such is life.

Sunscreem - Love U More

Our campus also had these free shows on Friday nights called TG's (short for TGIF's which is lame but it worked in the early 90's), and I think Sunscreem was the first band to perform right when we started class. They were known for their one song, Love U More (seen above), and pretty much nothing else. I remember going with a bunch of folks from the dorms to see them play, but I don't really remember the concert itself. Could be that I'm old and senile or that they really were forgettable.

But then, there's the first BIG show I saw back in school:

U2 - Until The End Of The World (Live)

So the Zoo TV tour pretty much kicked ass. Sure, Bono's ego had increased to megalomaniacal proportions by 1992, but experiencing those tracks from Achtung Baby come to life for the first time was priceless. Except for the fact that to balance my budget for buying that ticket I ate nothing but cafeteria food and Top Ramen for the next month. But worth it, bar none.

Have a great weekend folks (or you, lone folk person, who is probably the only one reading this).

From the PMA Collection 1

You know what, I think I'm going to start a new music series.

Why?

Because I can. Just like that.

Something that the new blog will have that the old one never got a chance to.

• This is going to be a series featuring tracks that I've stuck on one of my PMA CD compilations that I've made for my friends over the years
• The vast bulk of PMA CDs were produced as party favors (centered around either New Year's or my birthday). But since I don't anticipate throwing a big bash in Arizona anytime soon, my friends usually get CDs via envelope. Or osmosis. Or "soon."
• What's on a PMA CD? All the rock, hiphop, pop, electronica, percussive cultural mishmash coming from the rest of the planet. Argentina? Check. Pakistan? Check. Senegal? Why not.
• 99.79% of the lyrics on any of these tracks aren't in English, so if you hate movies with subtitles, you'll probably hate these posts. So head back to Counting Crows-ville, because this ain't your bag.
• Having this video series doesn't mean Flashback Friday will disappear. Because craptastic videos from high school and beyond are worth saving for posterity.
• From the PMA Collection doesn't necessarily have to appear on Thursday, either. It'll appear whenever. Completely random, just like the tracks themselves.

And so, with all that said, I present you the first video:

La Caution - Thé à la Menthe*

La Caution is a hip-hop duo consisting of two brothers of Moroccan heritage, Hi-Tekk and Nikkfurie, who hail from the hardscrabble suburbs of Paris (I feel like I'm writing an artist bio in a music magazine and will stop this portion now).

Anyway, I've got into their music only relatively recently (about 8 months), mainly because I forgot they made this one track which, when I heard it playing during the scene of this one movie, I thought was awesome but then I promptly forgot about it. Probably because the rest of the movie was also forgettable.

You know, that one:

So if you actually sat through Ocean's 12 (to which, I commend you), then you probably recognized the music from what is the movie's most (and probably only) memorable scene. And if you watched the actual La Caution video, you'd notice that Vincent Cassel (Mr. Capoeria Laser Dance Man) is also in it. That's because he's been in the same arts collective as the brothers Caution for years and it was he who recommended their track for the movie, giving them exposure to a much larger audience (including myself). And for that, I thank him.

But then there's this other piece of trivia about Vincent Cassel...

He's married to Monica Bellucci, supreme goddess of all things goddess.

Bastard.

* Thé à la Menthe appeared on PMA Vol. 6

As if Pakistan doesn't have enough problems ...

Earthquakes, Taliban, political assassinations, foreign meddling, low literacy rates, rampant corruption, feudalism...and Britney Spears.

Equally destructive to any country.

Flashback Friday 33: Back and In Effect, BBD Style

Well, it's my first Flashback Friday in who knows how long. I'm not really sure as to, after all this time, where to begin.

Wait.

I know...

Bel Biv DeVoe - Poison

I think I once tried to co-opt some of BBD's moves during a high school dance, and I looked like a chicken undergoing electrocution instead. As such, I stopped.

Now I don't know what I have mad skillz in. I do know it's not dancing. Me doing any of the moves above equals laughter for everyone else and a pulled rib and hamstring muscle and humiliation for me.

That said, Poison wasn't the only BBD anthem on the radio back in the day:

Bell Biv DeVoe - Do Me

The time was 6 o'clock on the Swatch watch
No time to chill, got a date, can't be late
Hey, the girl is gonna do me
Move to the Jacuzzi, ooh, that booty
Smack it up, flip it, rub it down, oh, no.......

I wonder if our parents knew about this song. I don't think they did. But I have a feeling that Bel Biv DeVoe flew under the national moral radar while 2 Live Crew got the Moral Majority going crazy. And given that so many of my friends are already parents, how cool would they be with their kids hearing Do Me? Much less rapping to the verse above?

Food for thought.

My head's so burny

I've got a man cold right now. I can relate.

Two Years On

Exactly two years ago on this day at this time, I landed in Phoenix to start a new chapter in life, and wrote a blog post from the room seen above, wondering what lied in store for me in my new home and whether I made the right decision to come here. It's insane to think about how quickly time has passed.

A lot has happened between then and now. Some for the good, and some for the bad (of which one result was me taking my old blog off the air). To say the transition has been challenging is an understatement. But all part of the parcel.

And then I thought, after a long hiatus, it was time to head back to the blogosphere, however cautiously. Since most people who need to know what's going on with me know what's going on with me, I'm not going to share much of that out here in cyberspace anymore.

This new PMA 2 will be a spot for me to park some more mundane ramblings. Maybe some photos. Maybe some reviews of both movies and music. And maybe, just maybe, a return to Flashback Fridays. We'll see. Basically like my old blog. Just without my life and other people bit.

I'm pretty much noncommittal on the blog right now, but since most likely no one else is going to be reading this anyway, hey, no worries.

Who knows where the next two years lie ahead. Let's hope they're interesting, at least.