Spittin' Wicked Randomness, Vol. XXVIII

TiVo ALERT: Over the last few years, I have become obsessed with the films of Jacques Tati. These low-key comedies are so stuffed with choreographed gags and visual puns that, by the time you get to his masterpiece Play Time, you're not sure where to look. There's something going on in every inch of the widescreen frame. Chaplin and Keaton are obvious influences (his movies generally have very little dialogue), but I think he must have also been familiar with Ernie Kovacs.Plus, Play Time, Mon Oncle and Trafic have some of the coolest examples of space-age design you've ever seen. Set your TiVo Thursday night, as TCM is showing a QUADRUPLE FEATURE of Tati's films: Jour de Fete (which I've never seen), M. Hulot's Holiday (a great end-of-the-summer film), Mon Oncle and Playtime (but sadly, no Trafic). As a bonus, this is followed by a Buster Keaton double feature! How great can life get?

Generation Z comin' through!

Aa a follow-up to their last great show documenting the economic apocalypse, This American Life has a new episode up entitled Another Frightening Show About the Economy. Give it a listen. It breaks down a lot of what's happening into language you can understand (although you'll still have to pay attention to keep up). It also makes me think that there is just an entirely too large portion of the economy that does nothing but...well, make money. Not making money by doing things, but just making money. It's pretty great food for thought, and I'll probably have a more in-depth post about it soon. Here's another good post on how we got into this mess.

South Florida rockers Charlie Pickett and the Eggs have a new anthology coming out.

Why did I not follow Ice Cube's solo career in the early 90's? This may have been one of my biggest mistakes of my life, possibly even bigger than abandoning De La Soul after 1991. I mean, I dug Straight Outa Compton and 100 Miles and Running (yes, I realize Cube isn't even on the latter), but I mostly thought of them as blaxploitation. And I know I heard Eazy E's first solo record, and was unimpressed, so I guess I let that color my view of Cube. I remember hearing "Today Was a Good Day" and "Check Yo Self", but those aren't really representative of his sound. And I guess I heard just enough repugnant shit ("What I oughta do is kick the bitch in the tummy") taken out of context to keep me away. Lord, what a fool I was! I checked The Predator out from the library, and...FUCK, I can't believe how good it is. I mean, probably in my top 5 hip hop albums of all time after half a dozen listens, tops. Now I need to check out Amerikkka's Most Wnated and Death Certificate.

There'll be another Punk Single up soon.