Confessions of a Recordplayer

Agency of Rap

Not sure when its coming to the left short but the NY Times reviews a film about the state of hip-hop in Cuba.  It seems there are state sanctioned Rap artists who are commercially successful and are managed by Cuba's "Agency of Rap".   There are also those who still use it as a means of protest and joined together formed "the Youth Cultural Association" to  help take Cuban Hiphop into the mainstream..

Movie aside, can you imagine the US having an office of Hip Hop..  ~Today President  Bush made a recess appointment of Lil'Jon as America's Ambassador to the United Nations Task Force on Keeping It Real (UN TOKR)~  To the obstructionist Democrats who blocked his nomination because of inciting a topless riot in 2005, he said ~ Yeeaaaaahhh!!!!...~

Check out 2 CD's at Cuba's Website
Read about Cuban Hip-hop at Wikipedia.

In reality, the US State Department tried to use jazz musicians like Louie Armstrong during the cold war as Ambassadors of American culture.  Not always did it turn out as they expected...  But Jazz has  been exported all over the world..

Mankind is doomed.

Last night i went to see Save the Green Planet.  Part Sci-Fi, part social commentary and mostly silly..  and even a little sad Save the Green Earth is a South Korean film that won high awards at just about every festival it played in..  with good cause.   It'll leave you thinking about the future.. and that is we don't change our terrible ways, the aliens are going to blow us up..  unless we do it first.

"Lee Byeong-Gu is a sensitive, blue collar sad sack hopped up on conspiracy theories and sci-fi films whose life has been derailed by one bad break after another. Sly aliens who are planning to destroy our planet at the next lunar eclipse. The one alien possessing the Royal Genetic Code needed to contact the Crown Prince and stop the destruction just happens to be his old boss, CEO of Yuje Chemicals, Kang Man-Shik (Baek Yun-Shik).

So with the help of his circus-performer girlfriend he sets out to kidnap Kang and torture him until he confesses to his alien identity and stops the invasion. Of course, it's hard to confess to something that's just a delusion in a sick man's mind."

Playing at the Lumiere now...  Worth seeing...

Ray

I saw Ray last night, a movie about the life and times of Ray Charles.  A fan for sure, but I never really knew anything about him, and so the movie was a great glimpse into the struggle of a man.  First off I should mention that the script and acting were outstanding.  Jamie Foxx not only acted but played the piano and sang throughout the whole movie.  A oscar performance if I ever saw one...  Ray's life was one of courage and determination over adversity and strength over the easy way out..  While he was a junkie and womanizer he came through in the end to be a pilar of strength for those around him and a role model for those who think the world is too tough...

I (Heart) Huckabees

This weekend I had a lovely adventure with my new amiga Emily over the ferries to Sausalito to go watch "I Heart Huckabees". It was the silliest deep film i've ever seen. This tree hugger hires Existentional Dectives In the end they state, we're all connected but don't make too much of a big deal about it.. its all relative. I think i'll need to see it a few times to get it all.

I LOVE BUCKAROO BONZAI

Maybe Orson Wells "War of the Worlds" is not a hoax. Only one man can save mankind from the evil and ugly aliens. Kung fu, Brain Surgery and Physics are his specialty. And he does it in style... a must re-see....

And I refuse to talk about politics today. I'm over it. It sucks, it blows... I can only take so much negativity....