American Gangster: Wilford Brimley

Remember those commercials for Quaker Oats where Wilford Brimley would tell viewers "it's the right thing to do and the tasty way to do it"? I always thought he sounded a little too terse for a commercial about breakfast. Didn't you just wake up? What could have happened to make him so crotchety that early?
Topping that, he came back to promote Liberty Medical, a company that sells testing supplies for diabetes. He advises (or rather commands...I don't even have it, but was pretty close to ordering some supplies purely based on intimidation) viewers with diabetes to "check your blood sugar and check it often". He also single-handedly in the same commercials changed the pronunciation of diabetes from "die-a-bee-teez" to "die-uh-bee-tuss". If Liberty is a company that specializes in diabetes testing, don't you think someone on the set would be learned enough to have tried to correct Brimley in that pronunciation? My guess is that someone tried and was swiftly smacked across the mouth. And the most gangster part of it all is that the commercial still ran and is still on the air, regardless of the mispronunciation. Priceless...

Finer Things: Arrogant Bastard Ale

An excellent beer. Extremely hoppy, but you have to love the story written on the back of the bottle explaining why you shouldn't like the beer, basically saying that if you're not the snobbiest of beer snobs, your palate won't even accept a beer like this. This beer definitely stands out among beer snobs, but may take some getting used to if you normally drink Heineken or something of that nature. Arrogant Bastard Ale leaves you with something sticking to your ribs, which is especially desirable of any beer you enjoy in the winter. That corner-store swill you're drinking isn't going to do much for you in these winter months!

Sheet Music: Guaranteed to Provide a Colorful Evening

In no particular order, here are a few songs you can download (or preferably buy from the hard-working artist) to really kick off the evening for you and a loved one. Enjoy:

• "Sensuality" The Isley Brothers - the whole catalog is priceless, but if this one doesn't set the mood, I don't know what will.
• "Show Me" Jill Scott - Black love...beautiful
• "Music" Jazmine Sullivan - 20 minutes of greatness
• "You" Goapele f. Dwele - obscure, but worth the effort to find
• "Queen of Sanity" Bilal - priceless.
• "Come Smoke My Herb" or "Beautiful" by Me'shell Ndegeocello - laid-back and guaranteed music-buff props for having it.
• "Take Off Your Clothes" Christion - make it plain.
• "'Til the Cops Come Knockin'" Maxwell - yes, indeed.
• "Hey Now" and/or the appropriately named "The Babymaker" Carl Thomas - underrated, unadulterated soul.
• "Meeting In My Bedroom" Silk (come on, now) - Silk knows what they are good at...
• "Everybody Here Wants You" Jeff Buckley - Jeff Buckley...the good die young.
• "Breathe" Raheem Devaughn
• "Float" Anthony Hamilton
• "Like You'll Never See Me Again" Alicia Keys - Alicia has a penchant for songs that sound like Prince wrote them (he actually did write "How Come You Don't Call Me Anymore"), but she does an amazing job at it.
• "Said Enough" Ronald Isley f. Jill Scott

What do you put on???

Finer Things: Trader Joe's Vintage Ale

Anybody that knows me knows that I am a beer lover. Not just any beer, though. Pass me a Bud Light in a can and you just might have a fist-fight on your hands or at least a stern talking-to. I'd rather drink human blood than put a canned beer to my lips, let alone light beer in a can. So I tend to look for something of a higher quality.

My fiancee, Amber, brought home Trader Joe's Vintage Ale a few weeks ago and I was anxious to try it out. I wasn't disappointed at all. The first swig I took straight out of the bottle like the barbarian I am and noticed that this is a beer that sticks to one's ribs. I then poured it into a glass and once I had filled it, noticed an almost two-inch head of foam at the top of the glass with a little bit of dark, dark brown ale visible at the bottom. The consistency is like a mix between champagne and Guinness with hints of brown sugar and molasses.

This is definitely a beer for the winter. It's got a woodsy taste to it that makes you want to take a few bottles to a cabin somewhere and just drink the day away. I'd like to see what this beer tastes like after a few years in a cellar. This is a beer that gets better with time, hence the name Vintage Ale

Humble Thanks!

A humble thank you to all who have joined so far! It means a lot! The next step though, is to comment on my posts! Whether you agree or disagree, any thoughts are appreciated and help me grow my blog into something bigger and better! Also, e-mail me at sbernardshaw@gmail.com with any ideas for new topics or things I should check out. Thanks again and keep readin'!

Believe the Hype: House of Saddam

I would never do you wrong.

House of Saddam came on HBO this Sunday while I was in the process of shaving and my hands were occupied (I use one of those old-timey straight edge razors like in Color Purple) so I didn't have the ability to change the channel at that moment. I wasn't planning to watch it, but was drawn in eventually. The series focuses on (obviously) the rise to power of Saddam Hussein and the effects that this had on his family, followers, and country. I know that this doesn't sound like the most entertaining series ever based on that description, but you would have to see it to believe it. This series was so beautifully shot and created with so much attention to detail that it warrants a serious, devoted watch: no bathroom breaks, no computer, etc. That's how I was rollin'.

"You think violence is a pasttime!?! It is a tool!!!"

This is a quote from a poignant scene where Saddam is addressing his son, Uday Hussein. Uday had just recovered from an overdose of pills, a suicide attempt triggered by fear of his father's retribution for his murder of Saddam's trusted servant. Saddam throws his son in jail for his recklessness and contemplates killing him for it.

This show reminds you that behind every feared tyrant is a human being, a family, and in Saddam Hussein's case, a devotion to honor that is difficult for Western minds to understand. I saw the footage of Saddam Hussein being hanged and was disgusted more than anything else, but I must say that all I knew about him was what the Western media let me know, which is common of most Americans, unfortunately. Once you get past the brilliant casting (nothing but brown faces onscreen is a beautiful thing), the great wardrobing, and the amazing cinematography, you realize there is a story to be told that has never and probably will never be told again from that angle. Like I always say, get familiar! It'll be On Demand tomorrow and the next part of the series is next Sunday. Let me know what you think!!!

Get Familiar: Christion "Ghetto Cyrano"

This is one of the greatest R&B/soul albums I have ever heard.

I could almost leave this posting with just that sentence to express just how good it is. The first song I heard off of this was the single "Full of Smoke", a soulful hustler's anthem that recalls the work of Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield. I bought the CD (it dropped in 1997) and was blown away. Christion, originally from my native Bay Area, were signed to Roc-A-Fella Records, a label which was good at marketing rap acts, but maybe didn't do Christion much justice in that department.

After "Full Of Smoke" and the smoothed-out gangster musings of "Pull It", Christion kicks off the best part of the album with the song "Midnight Ecstasy"..."Welcome home/ unplug the phone/ tonight's the night for me we're all alone/ forget about the bedroom dear/ lay down I'm gonna do you right here..." Just to let you know they mean business, in case you didn't know what this music was designed for! In the same vein, the self-explanatory tracks "Take Off Your Clothes" and "Anything Goes" are also baby-makers.

Christion covers the classic "I Wanna Get Next To You" flawlessly as they segue into the ballad portion of the album. "Bring Back Your Love" is the quintessential please-baby-please song, with one of the guys talking to a woman's answering machine throughout the song, at one point saying "I wish I could climb through this telephone line and kiss your lips". God-damn. "Come To Me" is a masterpiece, plain and simple. "Soon" is easily the crowning glory of the album, with minimalist production and solid vocals.

Every review I have read about this album has been positive, and for good reason. Christion brings to mind classic acts like The Stylistics, Smokey Robinson, and the Dramatics while maintatining their originality. Even minus the vocals, the instrumentation on the album would stand on its own. This is the kind of effort that is lacking in a lot of music these days, particularly in the R&B world. Do yourself a favor and get this album!

Get Familiar: Bilal's "First Born Second"

Music lovers everywhere are always looking for that album that is the perfect masterpiece, one that plays from start to finish without touching your player. Bilal's First Born Second is one such album that speaks to every possible emotion that one might have, not only in relationships but in life in general. Bilal puts the extra effort in to make life songs instead of just love songs, with enough soul, jazz, and rock infused to please the most eccentric of musical tastes.

"For You," "Fast Lane" and "All That I Am" are those songs you put on in the morning to get you through the first part of your day. "Reminisce" and "Sometimes" make you wanna spark a li'l somethin', burn some incense and have a glass of wine and reflect. "You Are", "Love Poems", "Love It", and "Soul Sista" are equally satisfying, but standard love songs that are unconventional in their written approach.

The ballad "Queen of Sanity" deserves its own paragraph, so here goes. This song is easily the best song on the album, starting out at almost a whisper and building into a controlled roar. Bilal has a Prince-like mastery of his vocals and goes from very high to very deep at a moment's notice, giving his music considerable texture. His musical backing is always on point as well.

I saw Bilal at the 9:30 club in DC, which also makes me somewhat biased in this review, because he was excellent in his live show, just as he was on the album. He was an hour late, but nobody cared because Bilal and his band came out hard and didn't stop killing it until the set was over. Great vocals, great band, great show, great album. And for the underground 'heads, Bilal's "Love for Sale" is hard to find but worth the effort, with tracks like "Get Out Of My Hair" and "White Turns to Gray" making it another perfect album. Buy the albums, buy the tickets, and support real music by supporting this artist!

Kanye Needs A Hug

808's & Heartbreak is a heartbreak in itself.

I wanted to like it. I wanted to love it. I wanted to feel the same way about 808's & Heartbreak as I did about College Dropout, Late Registration, and the Graduation, but Mr. West did not deliver. Understandably, Kanye's going through some things recently, but he may have needed some personal time before getting in the studio for his next project.
Musically, the project is more than sound. Kanye's work is sonically seamless throughout, but it's the lack of variety that makes the listener feel somewhat robbed. It was one thing when you first heard 'Ye use the auto-tune technology that T-Pain became famous for. But to make an entire album using it and singing as opposed to rapping when you are so evidently not a singer? Questionable.

The standouts on this album seem to be where Kanye invited a guest along for the ride. In "See You In My Nightmares", Li'l Wayne rides shotgun, croaking out a synthesized verse alongside Kanye's crooning. Young Jeezy makes a surprising appearance on "Amazing", which is also a bright spot. "Heartless" bounces along as one of the more upbeat songs on the track, despite the subject matter. Halfway through, one realizes that the common thread of the album is self-pity, an emotion that doesn't really make for feel-good music or even get-you-through-the-day music. "Robocop", "Street Lights" and "Bad News" just blend together into a cluster-fuck of incredible musical arrangements mixed with sub-par vocals and pretentious themes.

As a hip-hop fan who also has an affinity for Radiohead, Paul Oakenfold, and Thievery Corporation, I can appreciate the unique musical direction, but what I don't like is that I expect hip-hop to stay true to hip-hop to some degree. If Kanye had infused about four or five solid hip-hop tracks like "Get 'Em High" or , he could have showed his hardcore fans that he still values their following. It's never healthy to limit an artist to a categorized box, but you can't just go to Mars and expect people to go with you without having a few questions for you.

The artwork above is available at www.whoartnow.co.uk/images/ajh-cnv-227l.jpg