Mildly Ridiculous Rap Music Video Round-Up

Videos from Young Jeezy, Jamie Foxx, and Kanye West prove the recession ain't breaking the idea bank.

Circulate - Young Jeezy

(in which Jeezy demonstrates his knowledge of monetary policy, stunning shortness, and burning desire to be Barack Obama)

Read the rest

Young Jeezy's anthemic new single produced by Cannon has to be the best track off his new album, The Recession. The accompanying video attempts to reach such epic heights as the blaring chorus's horns (goddamn, those horns!), but, come on, this thing is absolutely hilarious, for a few reasons:

1. Interpolating shots of D.C. landmarks, Jeezy being dwarfed by an American flag, and his looking, generally, presidential, all are glaringly obvious, ahem.

2. The first chorus's "unemployment on the rise" synced with the two girls licking the caked knife (0:53), intentional or not, is a thing of beauty.

3. For all the song's boasting lyrics, the video is ridiculously tame. The bottle of Grey Goose is never opened, those glasses are never even sipped, the girls (albeit ridiculously attractive) are quite conservative in their dress and their raging, and Jeezy himself maintains a pretty low level of excitement the whole three and a half minutes. Considering The Recession's album sales weren't too hot, the guy might actually be hard up for cash.

Video aside, the track is stellar, you have to admit (ugh, those horns, man).

Blame It - Jamie Foxx ft. T-Pain

(in which Foxx rolls into the club accompanied by a mélange of his closest actor friends and Richie Cunningham)

Ron Howard, Samuel L. Jackson, and Jake Gyllenhaal alongside T-Pain. I don't need to say anything more.

The song, though, I must admit, is stupidly, nay, retardedly catchy and I'd go so far to say it's in the top ten pop songs of the year thus far.

Also, the panda at the end? THAT should be Ron Howard.

Welcome to Heartbreak - Kanye West ft. Kid Cudi

(in which Ye fucks with you by making the video supposed to look like your Internet connection crapped out on you)

Undoubtedly the most visually interesting video of the three mildly ridiculous specimens here, it's also the most annoyingly self-indulgent. I mean, it's Kanye, sure, but Christ, weren't "Heartless" and "Love Lockdown" enough?

Emotional masturbation aside, one has to give Ye serious props for stepping up his music video game in promotion of 808s: "Lock Lockdown" and "Heartless" were easily the coolest and most compelling videos rap had seen in while (whether the music was good or not is another argument to be had at another time). "Welcome to Heartbreak" continues in the same experimental vein as his music and his previous two visual efforts, and it certainly pays off. Kanye winks towards music videos' new online medium and the frustrating glitches viewers encounter in watching them, lending the whole experiment a meta vibe.

[WAS]

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Prince is a mad, mad man

The artist formerly known as the artist formerly known as Prince is at it again. His new album - get this - is a TRIPLE CD SET. Only for sale at Target. For $11.98. And the cover is Prince's chin in a perfume bottle. WTF. Clearly unsatisfied with the controversy surrounding his last CD release, which was distributed for free in the United Kingdom, Prince seems hell-bent on living up to his reputation as pop's resident weirdo. Maybe he's just tired of fellow 80s icon Michael Jackson stealing the freak-show limelight.

The set's first CD, "Lotus flow3r," is apparently made up of guitar-driven rockers; the second, "MPLSOUND," is described as "experimental" (uh oh); and on the third disc, "Elixer," Prince is steps out of the limelight, letting protege Bria Valente take centre-stage. Silly, purposefully misspelt names aside (Prince, the innovative thrill of text language wore off at least a decade ago), I have to admit my expectations for the record are low. "Planet Earth," his last album, very much deserved to be given away free, and "F.U.N.K.," his latest single, was perhaps the worst thing he's put his name to, and that's saying something. Not only was the track an anaemic slice of pop-funk that sounded like a Prince tribute band rehearsal, but the singer made the disastrous decision of slathering his voice in Alvin and the Chipmunks-style vocal effects. Maybe Prince just got it confused with auto-tune in the studio, pressing the wrong button; because a tragic mistake is really the only way to excuse the song. He sounds like a desperately randy choirboy on helium, and I very much doubt that's what he wanted. Wow..."When Doves Cry" has never felt so far away.

Anyway, I guess it's good to know Prince is still out there, forging his own wild and wacky path without giving a damn what anyone else thinks. And track-listings do show a guest spot from A Tribe Called Quest's Q-Tip on one song. So at least there's that. [AXT]

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A Man From Argentina

After years of browsing and soul-searching, I've finally found the most heartbreakingly perfect song. Hint: the band's from Sweden, and the lead singer's a transvestite.



The track is "A Man From Argentina," by the eclectic band Billie the Vision and the Dancers. But nevermind names. (Please, don't mind their name.) At just over 3 minutes, this song features: an extremely catchy acoustic riff; a touching horn solo or two; the heartfelt reminiscences of a gender-challenged lead; and the most touching Jackson 5 quotation I've ever heard. You can dance to it, or you can cry to it, and I've done both. Plus, it's released on their own label: Love Will Pay the Bills.

Download here (it's safe): http://freedownloads.last.fm/download/29214367/A%2BMan%2BFrom%2BArgentina.mp3

[JCG]
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Exit the Theater

"I'm bored out of my mind," the man sitting next to me said to his wife ten minutes into a performance of absurdist playwright Eugene Ionesco's "Exit the King," currently on Broadway. And while, unlike him, I managed to sit through the entire show, I was very disappointed in spite of an all-star, Oscar-winning cast.



My mom and I went to see the show during spring break, drawn by our longtime love for Susan Sarandon. She plays the first Queen to Geoffrey Rush's King Berenger. With his more affectionate second wife (played by Lauren Ambrose of Six Feet Under), a doctor, and various royal staff, the Queen breaks the news to Berenger that he is dying. The next two hours -- which seemed to be an eternity -- are consumed by reflections on mortality, a crumbling state, and, naturally, the essence of existence.

I understand that Theatre of the Absurd works are inherently unrealistic and overly dramatic, but the pointless plot (obviously, the king will die) and false humor of "Exit the King" ruined seeing some great artists. More than anything, I can't understand why Sarandon chose this work, out of the many scripts she probably receives, to return to Broadway after 37 years. Her character is a one-note wench, a woman with seemingly no backstory and thus no redeeming qualities to justify her petty, blunt cruelty. At times she seemed just as bored as the man next to me, and she has nightly performances ahead of her.

Rush's performance was the one redeeming element. The writing demands the most of him -- physical comedy, childlike petulance, righteous indignation -- and he delivers. Everyone else seems to be going through the rather tedious motions. So even if the thought of seeing two Oscar winners up close -- so close, in fact, that Rush spit in one audience member's face -- entices you, skip this one out. [SXH]

Photo courtesy of The New York Times.
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Timbaland: Recycling himself again...

Timbaland's "The Way I Are," easily one of the most overplayed songs of the decade so far, was the first track to bring R&B singer Keri Hilson to worldwide attention. Before that track's infectious, stuttered synths and questionable lyrics rocketed Hilson - and a going-solo Timbaland - to international success, she was more of a background industry figure than an independent artist, working as songwriter and back-up singer for a number of major stars, including Chris Brown and Britney Spears.

This year though, she's striking out on her own. Well...not quite. The thing is, Hilson's stacked up such a starry list of contacts - including pretty much every pop producer there is - that her debut solo singles sound startlingly anonymous. It doesn't help that her voice is serviceable rather than exceptional - and if you feel like you've heard it before, that's because you have.



One of the first singles from the album to chart was unsurprisingly a Timbaland production, a jittery, synth-heavy duet called "Return the Favor." Watch out, now. I'm going to start ranting. See, the problem with the song isn't just its name, a clear and rather cynical reference to Hilson's work on "The Way I Are"... the scary thing is, "Return the Favor" sounds almost exactly like that song. Essentially, it's a remix, with a slightly altered beat and slightly altered lyrics, and the fact that Timbaland expects us to lap up studio scraps like this is evidence that his ego finally has gotten the better of him.

Now, Timbaland's often been accused of recycling his sound. Over the past year, especially, his clattering drum-work and stuttered vocal ticks have become repetitive, and it doesn't help that step 1 on the pop producer's road to success is "COPY TIMBALAND!" (see Justin Timberlake's rather stilted attempt on T.I.'s "Dead and Gone"). Still, the blatant recycling going on with "Return the Favor" is much more shamelessly lazy than anything he's previously done.

The synth riff is identical, with the exception of a couple of notes; Timbaland raps awkwardly with exactly the same rhythmic pattern; and even the melody's structure is a plain carbon copy, with terse, syncopated exchanges between the two singers leading to a decadent, sugary head-rush of a chorus. It's lucky that he's plagiarising himself on this one - rather than some obscure Scandivian techno-geek, as he was accused of doing on Nelly Furtado's "Do It" - or I could see some nasty court cases coming up for him.

I'll admit, I do have a soft spot for Timbo. He's done some great work in the past, and has certainly been more consistent in his output than many other super-producers. What's more, anyone who's had such a blanket effect on the sound of pop music worldwide is clearly a force to be reckoned with and respected. But he'd better watch out, or soon he'll be a has-been, and people will be returning him the favor. [AXT]

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Cyndi Seui Puts Thailand on the Music Map

Hey guys! Jon here.

So I've finally been convinced to start posting on the blog, and I felt the the first post had to be one of my favorite artists/producers of right now. The synth work is amazing, his voice completely matches the groove of the song and he's definitely on the up and coming. I hope you enjoy this one as much as I do.

Cyndi Seui- Sugar Rush



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Art of Two Germany's

Curated by LACMA's Stephanie Baron, Art of Two Germany's presents a chronological take of Post-Expressionist that accurately reflects the state of Germany from the conclusion of World War II through 1988. As expected, much of the art exhibited reflects the bleak attitudes held by insiders and outsiders alike with regards to the restructuring of Germany after the fall of the Third Reich. Interstingly enough, even beneath the underlying angst that riddles their work, many of these artists' maintained a positive outlook and keen concern for a cultural revival in a socially and politically divisive Germany. In some capacities, it's the art that plays a leading role in the countries re-unification and endless search for cultural identity.

Some highlights of the exhibit are fascinating series of paintings by Martin Kippenberger inthe 1980's room as well as a tremendously haunting Kiefer, entitled Deutschlands Geistehelden (Germany's Spiritual Heroes), 1973, which overwhelmes an entire a 1970's, drawing viewers into the long earie planks illustrated on the wall.

Art of Two Germany's rounds out what has proven to be a banner year for German and Expressionist art, with Kirchner and Kippenberger at the MoMa and Kubin at the Neue in New York. As one of the most well-curated and historically contextualized exhibits this past year, Art of Two Germany's provides a wealth of visual and mental stimulation. [AHLA]


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Time to Kill?

Well, perhaps not, but the new single, "In for the Kill" from London duo, La Roux, certainly seems to be an uplifting, frantic mix of kitschy synthesized beats that is definitely worth a listen. If you’re a fan of re-modulated, 80’s pop beats, this new release might just be up your proverbial alley. Have a listen, let your foot tap, and maybe have a little boogie and forget (just for a moment) about those things you’re “supposed” to be doing. [WBP]

http://www.schoolofmix.com/music/sp-hour17.mp3



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Forecasts of Chinese Velvet?

So now, in China, as of this past December, there is a "Charter 08." Inspired by Charter 77. Mainstream media hasn't really said a whole lot about it even though U.S. has been in support and the international response has been positive. If you haven't heard about it, check it out. This is big news, and I wish there were even more about it out there than there already is. I'm actually confused about why we college hipsters aren't rallying behind China's active netizens, why we aren't getting a hold of this thing to sign it ourselves.

A ton of dissident signatories were arrested upon its release, and an ulterior-motived internet "porn-crackdown" followed close behind as an excuse to wipe out websites and keep track of underground movements. Wikipedia it.

This is the rest of the post

It is a heroic open cyber-letter, and I'm inspired by its truth. Brings me back to my days (as in last year, by random library coincidence) obsessing over Havel's 'The Power of The Powerless."

Perry Link's translation in The New York Review of Books explains and divulges its contents. KMP

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"Drugs Win Drug War"

For some reason I thought that The Onion, THE satirical news source of the early 2000s, would never be able to extract itself from the grunge and irony of the '90s and make it fully into the age of Youtube and Internet 2.0. What was I thinking?? The Onion is the funniest thing to happen to America, and, it updates its twitter more often than The New York Times does ( "Oh No, Performers Coming Into Audience" was the update less than 20 minutes ago, while the NYT comes in snail-pace with their most recent, "N. Korea Says Reporters Are Detained," a whole two hours ago. Really? Nothing since?).



What's more: The Onion keeps its twitter strictly to the news, while NYT writers have started more 'blog-like' I guess you would call it twitter feeds, which are often absolutely terrible. See: T magazine's Travel Editor Nathan Lump. Beyond twitter, because there is much beyond twitter, The Onion News Network is again, hilarious, and also is wildly successful - over a million downloads a week. In case you've somehow missed all this, ONN, a 24-hour news channel on Youtube, has aired such greats since it was launched in 2007 as Child Bankrupts Make-a-Wish Foundation. Make sure to watch the ONN videos all the way through because the best part is often the transition to the next story at the end (just like how NPR plays fantastic indie songs at the end of segments). Bravo Onion, for everything that you do - and especially because Beijing Evening News believed you in 2002 that "Congress Threatens to Leave D.C. Unless New Capitol is Built." [LFR]
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Watchmen

So, the music choices in Watchmen were unique - in that they weren't unique. But they worked so well! New York Magazine has already noted the funniest part of the movie, when "Ride of the Valkyries" plays while the Comedian rapes and pillages Vietnam.

Well, funniest until Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" accompanies the Nite Owl II-Silk Spectre extended sex scene. Laughs aside, the mix of two Koyaanisqatsi Philip Glass songs - "Pruit Igoe" and "Prophecies" - was incredible, and reason enough to go see the film. [LFR]

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A Spin on Things

I'm about to go off the deep end.

What if a maniacal family-values Anscombe society interest group actually controlled Henry Selick's hands behind-the-scenes of Coraline? I don't think I have ever seen a movie so overtly blame self-involved, hip graphic designer-set liberal parents for ruining their childrens' lives quite this passionately. Coraline's writer mom ignores the poor child - the conservatives make sure that the mother doesn't even make Coraline lunch, or go school supply shopping with her! Through no fault of her own, Coraline becomes a quite mean - and valueless - person. She incessently pokes fun of a nice boy, Wylie, and easily succumbs to the grease-laden, delicious meals of the Other Mother. I see an indictment of writers, of any career where you stare at the computer all day long, of performers; that is, I see an out-of-touch (I say that, but really, the Mormon and deeply religious population of this country is enormous. numbers-wise, it's the rest of us who don't have a clue) nuclear-family, stay-at-home mother, anti-technology endorsing group seeping into Selick's thoughts.



I'm just playing around. I don't really think this is an early 2000s Republican propaganda film - but, I do think Coraline has a very strong message, and not the one to come from Neil Gaiman's novel. I haven't actually read it, but the internet tells me that it's a subtle, interesting story about learning to live with the family you have rather than a perceived ideal. I think Selick has brilliantly twisted this message to focus on the parents rather than the child - in fact, to focus on any adult. This film is for adults, not children. It's for those parents who take their child to see an edgy movie so that they can grow up into hip graphic designer/film producer/writers who will one day talk about how strongly they were influenced by their parent's great taste - for those parents who aren't listening to the particularities of their children and try to only mold, not follow inherent passions. It is time to live with the family you have.

On the first level, the film seems to be a warning to parents, and potential parents, to really think about having a child and how much time and energy it takes to raise it ("it"? I'm clearly not ready, but at least I realize this). I read a review somewhere that talked about how the film is clearly from Coraline's perspective, so the almost cruel treatment and utter negligence she receives from her real parents is skewed. This could easily be the case, but the film still stands as a warning to all of us to not be so self-absorbed. Coraline needs Wylie; we should all admit that we need our friends. Then, the film is positively inundated with body image references. Coraline's Other Mother is bulimic and the 2 batty ex-Coney Island stars are so obsessed with who has the largest breasts and was the most physically attractive that they don't even think through the fact that Coraline is parent-less for the second half of the movie.

Or, he could be saying none of this. The fact that Selick's subtle film - a children's film - inspired wildly divergent thought, and definitely not just about aesthetics, is a strong testament to his brilliance as a director. [LFR]
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GENIUS

...I use this word quite sparingly.  

In this case, it is none other than appropriate.  

Yesterday, my dear friend Devin Walsh introduced me to ListenToYouTube.com. 

My only response was "omg."  I kept saying it over and over again.  

This website serves as a converter from flash video to mp3 files.  

All you have to do is copy and paste the URL from a youtube video that contains a song you like, press GO, and this website converts and adds the file to your Itunes library in a matter of seconds.  

I know.  Too much.

So, all those mixes and mashups that you couldn't find on Itunes for .99 can now be added to your Itunes library for free!

Illegal?

Probably.

But no one said that conversion was against the rules!  Beware.  It's highly addictive.  [AKP]

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Bad Japan, bad!

Some team of Japanese programmers worked day and night to produce RapeLay, a video game which, if you haven't guessed the unfathomable already, is a rape simulator. Fortunately, it is not available for Wii. 

And now, to find God.

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Roald Dahl meets slowcore

Remember that scene in Matilda when the fat kid eats all the cake.
Everyone is really grossed out by it, but oddly, I found it so appetizing devil's food cake became my favorite.
Watch this video for a modern and indie twist to the cake eating bit. Great band, great song. (only like 7 lines of lyrics for all you shower singers out there)
Yum.

[MIB]





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I don't even understand music theory

and this is one of my favorite blogs. Wunderkind composer Nico Muhly is the expert at taking commonplace incidents and news stories, breaking them down, and making you see the totally weird/totally brilliant/really evil aspects of everyday life. This entry on Trick Daddy is a personal favorite.

Not to mention he sounds like an amazing cook - also sounds like he's managed to keep his ego in check after The New Yorker/every opera company in America became obsessed with him. You can hear his music-for-the-screen in The Reader, and some of his recent work on his myspace page. Also, this picture is what he puts in the Playbill when his work is performed. Awesome. [LFR]

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Ray Johnson: Please Add and Return

Appropriately named "New York's most famous unknown artist," Ray Johnson is making a resurgence, slowly but surely, back onto the radar of the contemporary art market. A versatile artist and performer, Johnson is most known for his enigmatic collage work and as a pioneer of "mail art," a conceptually simple but intricate and spontaneous genre. Johnson himself, remains a puzzle, not to be unraveled anytime in the near future.

After the watershed week during which Warhol was shot and Johnson himself was mugged, Ray seemed to slip underground so to speak, refusing to sell any of his work nor distribute it beyond the pieces presented to close friends as gifts, or mailed as portions of "please add and return" projects.

Sadly, Johnson's remained true to this threat until his body was found floating in Sag Harbor, NY on January 13, 1995. Since then, Princeton faculty member Andrew Moore and filmmaker John Walter have paid homage to Johnson with an award-winning documentary, aptly entitled "How to Draw a Bunny," after the quirky cartoon bunnies that plague some of Johnson's most profound pieces.

Leading the charge these days is Alex Sainsbury, who has mounted a tremendous Johnson retrospective, the best to date, as the inaugural exhibit in his brilliant new exhibition space "Raven Row" off Artillery Lane in London. With the help of Bill Wilson, Johnson's close confident, as well as Clive Phillpot, and Frances Beatty, to name a few, the exhibition has caused quite a stir. Be on the look out for further Johnson work but for now, be inspired, let your imagination run wild, maybe even start with drawing a bunny...[AHLA]
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DFW, posthumously

David Foster Wallace is not finished yet. The American literary giant, whose suicide this past September was a devastating blow to a generation of readers and critics, has left behind a manuscript. At about two hundred pages long,  The Pale King is far shorter than Wallace's monumental and self-establishing work, Infinite Jest (which, based on word count, is approximately 1500 pp). 

Length is not the only quality distinguishing the two works. According to the Guardian, fourteen years later, Wallace had moved away from the "maximalist" style of IJ, opting for a "new, straightforward technical direction". Lovers of the endnote may blanch; others can sneak a peek by browsing this week's New Yorker. [UEM.]

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DM Stith + ISP&TIOMCRMAB2M Day!

Did you know that today is "I'm so pensive and tragic, if only music could read my angst back to me" day? Well, it is. Celebrate by weeping!

If St. Vincent has left you wanting more melancholy, take a look at DM Stith. This track "Just Once" is a morose one, but it does not suffer from inertia. Stith's sadness is thickened by an anger he won't allow to be explicit. The restraint is masterly, the passion palpable. A truly haunting song results: pathetic, real, and unresolved. [Listen to DM Stith - "Just Once"]

EDIT: More DM!

DM Stith - "Thanksgiving Moon"

DM Stith- "Pity Dance"

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St. Vincent Returns

St. Vincent has released a new song from her upcoming sophomore album. Actor follows on the heels of her luminous 2007 debut Marry Me. 

"The Strangers" is haunting and frivolous, something like an abandoned carousel. The lyrics are as confused as the melody they emerge from: somewhat melancholy, somewhat light. A good song for early spring: [Listen to St. Vincent - "The Strangers" ]

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This year’s SCOPE Art Fair, currently debuting in New York before it moves on to Basel, is the ideal opportunity to sample some of the freshest art being made around the globe by some relatively unknown artists. Inside the large tent erected in Lincoln Center’s Damrosch park, an array of US and international galleries have congregated to display some of their finest works, each with the underlying hope that one of these might sell.

Although you might not necessarily be in the market to buy, SCOPE certainly offers the chance for artistic education, and visual stimulation. This gamut of paintings, sculptures, photographs and installations is varied enough to indulge any taste for compelling contemporary art.

If you’re into photography, head to amani olu projects, where you can check out beautiful photographic works by Bradley Peters and Michael Bühler-Rose. Or, if you’ve got a penchant for the scientific, Ryan Wolfe’s Branching Systems, 2008 might be of particular interest. This unique installation piece integrates digital technology with the arts by presenting a dispersed mass of plastic leaves that flap loudly according to the principles of chaos theory.

But in my opinion, Mike Weiss Gallery is the star of the show, exhibiting an impressive and varied selection of works. Their most notable series is one by Allison Schulnik, which includes a video titled Hobo Clown, 2008 – a disturbing and dark exploration of paint and color.

Although Sunday is the final day, I strongly recommend taking the time to explore the fair’s crowded alcoves. And remember, if you don’t have the chance to see it this weekend, you can always jet over to Basel in June - I heard that Net-Jets are running a special. For the rest of us, SCOPE will also be showing in the Hamptons from the 23rd to the 26th of July. [WBP] Read More......

Little Boots + U

Little Boots, the former lead singer of Dead Disco, majored in Cultural Studies at the University of Leeds. That's a fun fact! 

Now listen: Little Boots - "Mathematics"

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On a Croissant Kick

Wander down Witherspoon St. to the Witherspoon Bread Co.--owned by the same people as Teresa's and Mediterra--and you will find the almond and chocolate  croissant ($3.85) I dreamed about in my last post. Almond and chocolate really were meant to go together--the light nutty flavor of the almond complements the deep richness of the chocolate. And the pasty texture of the almond meshes well with the pastry's soft layers. Although the Little Chef's croissants win best in town when they are warm, Witherspoon's croissants definitely offer worthy competition. My arteries might be screaming, "Less butter!" but it's totally worth it. [AUM]

Witherspoon Bread Co., 74 Witherspoon St., Princeton, NJ

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YOOOO WHY WON'T YOU LET US BE GREAT!!!

The global economy is in freefall. The oldest, most venerable financial institutions in the world are hemorrhaging money by the billions. Unfortunately, we're not in great shape either. At this point, our balance sheet is looking almost as bad as Citigroup. (We asked Geithner for a loan, but he said Hank already gave it to AIG. Looks like we won't be seeing any of that money.) We tried repackaging our debt and selling it to some investors, but apparently these things are now considered 'toxic'—and you didn't realize that two years ago? Anyway, in order to keep our esteemed publication afloat, we are having—no, not a fire sale, we don't call it that—an estate sale.

Over the years we've accumulated some very cool stuff, and we'd like you to have some of it. All you have to do is stop studying for midterms for half an hour, come to Terrace on Saturday between 1:30 and sundown, and give us approximately all your money. Okay, not that much. Just some of it. There will be music, dancing (maybe), back massages (possibly), refreshments (limited time only), hair-wraps (yes, hair-wraps, you know you want one), original artwork (limited edition, signed by me), and all the sweet odds 'n' ends you could possibly ask for. Fun times guaranteed, legitimacy of goods subject to change. So stop by, get a hair-wrap, buy some of Sydney's luxurious deadstock knitting yarn, and support The Review. Seriously. It's going to be out of this universe.  Read More......

Banksy

New Banksy work appears. Young teenager with a boom box. Gold jewelry, though his clothes in tatters. Childhood stuffed animal hanging out of his pocket, assault rifle pendant around his neck. A wanderer before he can grow a beard. Victim of a recession he did not cause. The reincarnation of the 1960s hippie? He evokes a time both post-apocalyptic and futuristic. What does that say about where our society is headed? Have decades of materialism ushered in a new Cold War? [JCG]
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Real Italian Foolishness

Jon Harris says:  "Gigi Barocco is like Crookers...except better." Gigi Barocco's MySpace 
Re: Crookers, cf. here and here. [JH c/o UEM] Read More......

Heavenly Crescents

If there's any compelling reason to wake up before 9 am in Princeton, it's to snag one of the Little Chef's croissants fresh out of the oven. They're so warm that if you're too impatient, the piping hot raspberry ones ($2.50) might burn your tongue as the jam oozes out. I prefer a little less jam in my croissants, but it's really hard to complain about the Little Chef's creations. The outside of each croissant has the ideal quality of flakiness that crackles as you bite it; the inside is a buttery pillow that melts in your mouth. The chocolate and almond ones ($3) are perfect; absolutely nothing could be done to make them better--except perhaps combining the two flavors. Luckily, the coffee is just as delicious and can keep you going for the rest of the morning. Later in the day, you'll probably find yourself dreaming about the salty, sweet taste of the pastry, wishing that the Little Chef's case was still full with breakfast treats. You might even think about getting up early again tomorrow. [AUM]

The Little Chef Pastry Shop, 8 S Tulane St., Princeton, NJ

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"In Arms"

On the night of Mardi Gras, I decided to stop at the Lewis Center to see "In Arms," an autobiographical photo exhibit by Talia Nussbaum '10. Apparently it was near closing time. I was met not by the buzzing reception I had envisioned, but by an empty room choc-full of emotional tension, erotic sensuality, and sheer beauty (not to mention a very attractive older man). As I went from photo to photo, my party heels made noise and I felt irreverent.

"We're going to stay together as long as we are willing to make it work." I'd heard that line so many times before. In fact, I'd said it. These words came from the audio recordings accompanying the photos in the gallery. They were excerpts from interviews with the girlfriends of Israeli soldiers. Their boyfriends were currently fulfilling their mandatory military service. When describing their partners absence, each woman's tone was matter-of-fact... not nearly as emotional as I had expected. Their narratives were indicative of a state of acceptance, rather than grievance. It was a woman's war.

The rest of Talia's photos were even more intimate than the one featured on the poster (shown here). There were some of the partners alone, and a few of the couples together, 'in' each other's 'arms.' The men were photographed with their weapons... their eyes vacant and skirting the lens. Dutiful. As they avoided my gaze, they clutched their shiny, toy-like machine guns. A soldier's remote control. Even when the estranged couples were captured together, they looked dissatisfied, and again, the males never faced the camera. Solo, the women were usually scantily clad, if not completely nude. They were mostly reclining with peaceful facial expressions. They seemed one with their bodies. Rather, they seemed one with their difficult situations. In fact, their sentiment may not have been peace. It was meditation. Patience.

As you can see, Nussbaum's collection pulled me in many directions. The images evoked different meaning each time I pivoted and looked again. Yet she never let me forget the subject matter. It was of an Israel where violence is the norm. An Israel where these girlfriends had become accustomed to waiting. Waiting for the next time they'd see their lovers. Waiting for their frustration to pass. Contrary to their calm eyes and unwavering voices, these women were deteriorating along with their relationships.

Brava. [AKP] Read More......

Novel: Food on Prospect Street

The vendor that sells food to drunk people: a professional opportunity as old as the prostitute or mercenary. The famous Papaya Dog of New York City, for instance, sells hot dogs as late as you are awake for the outrageous price of $1.50. It seems that Prospect Street now has its own late night supplier of unhealthy sustenance that has lately attracted much attention from Princeton’s partying crowds. A local entrepreneur has found a void in the food market at Princeton University, where the recession has recently forced the formerly 24 hour U-Store to shut its doors at 3AM nightly. Parking his carnival-esque trailer outside the former Campus Club, this mystery-man vendor sells his chili hot dog concoctions for about $4 apiece (inflated price due to high demand and low inhibitions) on almost every Thursday and Saturday night, remaining until the early morning hours. He must be earning a relative fortune in this brutal economic epoch because I’ve never left Prospect Street without seeing a veritable herd of Princetonians in front of the “hot dog man.” What makes that inscrutable meat in hot dogs a successful culinary venture? I suppose one might call it chicken soup for the inebriated soul. Regardless of the quality of those chili dogs, it seems that every time I pass that damn trailer on Prospect I am inevitably left thinking “Why has nobody thought of this before?” -MAG
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