Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

This really is a full service blog.

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

I’m pretty sure there’s only one Jack Smith.

Putin dreamed of ending NATO, and now it’s Finnish-ed.

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

The GOP is a fucking disgrace.

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

A consequence of cucumbers

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

I know this must be bad for Joe Biden, I just don’t know how.

The republican caucus is already covering themselves with something, and it’s not glory.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

If you are still in the GOP, you are an extremist.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

You are here: Home / Music / Another Open Thread

Another Open Thread

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After our open thread on Rap Essentials the other night, I’m listening to the Low End Theory again and think it is just the logical extension of Paul’s Boutique.

Let the flame wars begin.

*** Update ***

I was vague- I’m just talking about the excellent sampling, not the rap/jazz bridge. BTW, you all need sum Gifted Unlimited:

Fucking genius and there is no replacement.

Reader Interactions

101Comments

  1. 1.

    Steeplejack

    I bookmarked the other thread to mine the gold later, but I’m going to have to bow out of this one. I just got home from work a little before midnight, and I have to get up at 8:00 a.m. to go out again. The good news is that it’s to pick up my new* car! Yee-haw.

    + New to me, that is. It’s an ’09 Kia Rondo. No, I had never heard of that before either. But the car’s in excellent shape, it looks good in a funky way, and (I think) I got a pretty good price on it. Just don’t nobody tell me it’s the modern equivalent of the Ford Pinto. Let me get through the honeymoon first.

    I was going to throw this into the other thread–Sagat, “Funk Dat”–but I didn’t because it’s not really rap. But I love this song and this video.

    ETA: Well, this can’t be a good sign, if I’m the first one in after 17 minutes. Meowch.

  5. 5.

    Yutsano

    @Steeplejack: I’m preternaturally biased against Korean cars. However if you have at least some factory warranty and a mechanic’s all clear go for it. I brought mine shopping with me, he almost was gonna buy the Malibu if I wasn’t!

  6. 6.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @John Cole:

    John, how are you planning to celebrate ten years of bloggy balloony goodness? And what date should I put in my 2012 calendar to mark the occasion?

  7. 7.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Here are a couple more questions: How much longer are we going to have to wait for pictures of Tunch, Lily and Rosie? And why am I wide awake at fking 2:04 in the A of M?

  10. 10.

    Shaolin

    Guru, rest in peace, has long been my favorite MC. Moment of Truth has gotten me through some tough days.

  12. 12.

    Steeplejack

    @Yutsano:

    Still got mucho warranty; the car’s got only 34,000 miles on it. Don’t hex this for me, Yutsy, just because you drove a Kia into a ditch during band camp back in the day and were brutally taunted by the woodwind section.

  15. 15.

    Steeplejack

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Thanks. I’ve been living the urban hiker lifestyle for so long that it’s going to take some adjusting to get back into automotive mode.

  18. 18.

    Bubblegum Tate

    I relate Paul’s Boutique much more to 3 Feet High and Rising, mostly due to the layering of loops and the offbeat sensibility. The Beasties apparently did, too–in interviews, they talk about how they thought they were really on some next shit with Paul’s Boutique, but then 3 Feet High and Rising came out, and they were all bummed out that De La had beaten them to the punch. The production on both those albums is amazing, though–some of the best sample-based compositions of all time.

    On the jazz-sampling tip, spend some quality time with Daily Operation. I still maintain that it’s the best Gang Starr album. Premier was touching some incredible stuff there. That Sugar Billy loop for “B.Y.S.” is a monster.

  19. 19.

    amk

    @Steeplejack: Kia is an upwardly mobile gaining brand name and their warranty on new cars is topnotch. After hiring an ex-ferrari designer, they’re giving some european marquees a run for their money.

  21. 21.

    John Cole

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    John, how are you planning to celebrate ten years of bloggy balloony goodness? And what date should I put in my 2012 calendar to mark the occasion?

    I’ll have two fingers of scotch, then sit in the chair with Rosie on the left hip, Lily on the right hip, and Tunch on mt far gut. So basically, just like every other day.

    If you meant on the website, I doubt I will remember. I think it is ten years some time in January or Feb. But really, who fucking cares?

  22. 22.

    Steeplejack

    @amk:

    Not sure I’m seeing the Ferrari design influence, heh, but it feels tight and relatively peppy and will (I hope) be good for poking around town and taking the occasional road trip. Probably going to drive to Rehoboth Beach, DE, this weekend to stretch the legs and spend some quality time with it.

  24. 24.

    JGabriel

    Bubblegum Tate @ 18:

    The production on both those albums is amazing, though—some of the best sample-based compositions of all time.

    Not really rap, but if we’re talking about great sample-based compositions, then we have to include The Avalanches’ Since I Left You from 2001:

    To create the songs on the album, members Darren Seltmann and Robbie Chater spent countless hours sampling the chords from many records. Chater estimates the numbers of samples on the album to be over 3,500.

    Since I Left You
    Frontier Psychiatrist

    .

  25. 25.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @John Cole:

    But really, who fucking cares?

    Well, actually, me. When I remember the endless song-and-dance Sully went through earlier this year or whenever he celebrated his tenth, it seems we (meaning, of course, you) could give a mild nod to the occasion. But it’s your blog.

  28. 28.

    JGabriel

    John Cole:

    I think it is ten years some time in January or Feb. But really, who fucking cares?

    I kind of care, at least to the extent that it gives us an excuse to get drunk, party, and post songs.

    For instance, here’s my favorite new song of the year, so far: Queen of Hearts (aka David Meets Veronika), by Fucked Up.

    Sun rises above the factory but the rays don’t make it to the street.
    Through the gates come the employees, beaten down and dragging their feet.
    A group of lefties hand out pamphlets to the workers coming in.
    For two people on the pavement life will never be the same again…

    .

  29. 29.

    CarolDuhart2

    @John Cole: So you’re having a stay-at-home New Year’s like me? Every year I find myself yearning for company and at the same time not wanting to do anything that involves going out in heels on a 23 degree night and trying to get a ride home somehow or waiting hours for a cab. Coffee, a friend and a board game would be nice, but I usually just have coffee and a board game.

  30. 30.

    Kristine

    @CarolDuhart2:

    Every year I find myself yearning for company and at the same time not wanting to do anything that involves going out in heels on a 23 degree night and trying to get a ride home somehow or waiting hours for a cab.

    Cole’s never mentioned doing anything that involved going out in heels, but there’s a first time for everything I guess and not judging, me.

    2am threads in this place have their own weird charm….

  31. 31.

    CarolDuhart2

    @Kristine: They do, don’t they , Kristine. I was thinking of New Year’s Eve-and that’s just as good a day for celebrating a blog anniversary as any.

    One more thing. Thanks to all of you guys for introducing me to artists I would never have heard of otherwise. Cincinnati sucks when it comes to new music over the air. Sure, we have some local bands, and I think there is some room on the other public radio stations for some of it, but basically the variety sucks around here.

  35. 35.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Steeplejack: Not Ford Pinto, Mercury Bobcat. I kid. I think the Korean manufacturers today are about where the Japanese were 30 years ago. IOW you probably got yourself a solid, reliable vehicle will serve you well. It won’t impress the 20 year old hotties or valet parking attendants, but you can probably live with that.

  37. 37.

    Ben Cisco

    Quote from TNC to Nice Polite Republicans’ Inskeep:
    __

    “African-Americans don’t have the luxury of thinking about the Civil War as a sports event.”

  42. 42.

    amk

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Korean manufacturers today are about where the Japanese were 30 years ago.

    Nope. I have both japanese and korean cars and the quality and reliability are not that different.

  43. 43.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @amk: I was speaking more of marketing and perception. Also I am not saying that Korean cars today are of same quality as Japanese cars of 30 years ago. Rather, Japanese cars 30 years ago offered a reliable, practical auto that did not have the prestige of the American and Euro brands – brands whose quality they frequently equaled or exceeded. The Japanese brands have moved upmarket, and the Koreans have stepped in admirably to fill the empty segment.

  45. 45.

    Rihilism

    My apologies, in advance, for the less than savory source of this story (the dreaded Arianna gossip and celeb fest), but apparently our Republican overlords want to grant themselves some sort of veto power over Executive regulations.

    The kicker quote:

    “Who do the regulators answer to? No one,” said Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas) in debate on the House floor. “When the regulators go to work everyday, like most people go to work, their work assignment’s a little different,” Poe said. “In my opinion, they sit around a big oak table, sipping their lattes. They have out their iPads and their computers, and they decide, ‘Who shall we regulate today?’ And they write a regulation and send it out to the masses and make us deal with the cost to that.”

    All Hail, King Boner! Save us from those latte-sippin’, iPad-usin’, unelected regulators/communist dictators in training…

  48. 48.

    Commenting at Balloon Juice since 1937

    I have been encouraged by the recent incorporation of the cello in a lot of bands I listen to. After hearing this, I feel the need for more vibraphone too.

  50. 50.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    For what it is worth I bought a used 2000 Kia Sephia in 2001 and it has been the best car I have ever owned. It is so solidly reliable that I am afraid of jinxing myself just saying it. In the 10 years that I have owned it, other than the obvious regular maintenance (oil changes, new tires, new brake pads etc) I have only had a couple of issues with the battery connectors (they tend to corrode really easily), a a/c switch that had to be replaced and a CV joint on the front which had to be replaced. That is it, in ten years, and it now has 125K miles on it. I fully intend to drive this one until it totally falls apart and then buy another Kia.

  51. 51.

    Steeplejack

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    I think the Korean manufacturers today are about where the Japanese were 30 years ago. IOW you probably got yourself a solid, reliable vehicle will serve you well.

    Yeah, that’s my play. Had a long talk with my brother and his auto-nerd friend, and the consensus was that I could be getting in ahead of the wave on one of those old Toyota/Subaru type things. “God, I wish I still had my old Celica. Most reliable car evah!” But the main thing is getting (auto)mobile again.

    It won’t impress the 20 year old hotties or valet parking attendants, but you can probably live with that.

    Unfortunately true.

  54. 54.

    Mark S.

    The fat one has spoken: criticism of Newt will not be tolerated. Also, too:

    [T]he conservative movement is made up of me, talk radio, the Tea Party and the American people who are conservative. But a conservative movement made up of movement media people, there hasn’t been that since Mr. Buckley passed away. I really don’t believe so.

    I’m certain Buckley would have loved what the tea party is doing to the GOP.

  56. 56.

    bemused

    I could use some cat toy suggestions, homemade or new, for a pair of mischievous almost 6 month old kittens. They will get bored with most of their toys and start looking for something else to do, get into.

  58. 58.

    Lawnguylander

    @Bubblegum Tate:

    3 Feet High and Paul’s Boutique were the albums that turned me from a casual fan into a real hip hop fan. I was one of those who thought sampling =ed lack of creativity but then I heard Eye Know on the radio (and they’re from Lawnguyland, you say, Mr. DJ) and realized that if you could do the seemingly impossible and make a Steely Dan tune not suck, why not do so?

  59. 59.

    Peter

    By coincidence I just watched “Beats, Rhymes, and Life” the other night. (Michael Rappaport’s documentary on A Tribe Called Quest). Pretty interesting, and it definitely shows how revolutionary The Low End Theory was when it came out.

  60. 60.

    Raven

    @Litlebritdifrnt: I bought my 66 Chev 27 years ago. Almost all of the drive train is new except for the differential that has a broken pinion gear tooth. Handle’s like a sports car, goes like a rail!

  61. 61.

    Cacti

    Not questioning its cultural significance, but am I alone in thinking “Rapper’s Delight” was a pretty terrible song?

  64. 64.

    Schlemizel

    @Mark S.:

    Except Lamebrains idea of a conservative his, himself and whatever Republican he is currently fluffing. Once a ‘conservative’ has left office and his manifest failures made obvious he will brand them as liberals – see Nixon, Poppy Bush and Boy George for examples of how he does this.

    And Buckley would be thrilled that so many of the little people are so willing to give complete control over to their betters, people like Buckley and his wealthy buddys.

  66. 66.

    GregB

    Whenever I think of the bloated pill popper I think of a post on a blog comment section by a wingnut responding to the Bush nomination of Harriet Meiers.

    It went something like this:

    I am going to have to wait to form an opinion until tomorrow when I hear Rush’s opinion.

    In the words of Medvedev, these clowns are sheep getting F****** in the mouth.

  68. 68.

    gene108

    @Suffern ACE:

    WTF’s wrong with an Ambassador?

    It’s a damn fine car for India, especially the AC (air-conditioned) Ambassadors.

    Sturdy for bad roads and easy to fix/cheap to maintain.

    It’s one of those iconic cars that deserves some respect.

  70. 70.

    bemused

    @jeffreyw:

    Good cheap idea. Ours love balled up pieces of paper and will play catch. I’m working on training them to bring the paper ball back to me. One is catching on. They hear me scrunch up paper and come running. The problem we have is that our dogs want to eat them, the paper, not the kitties.

  71. 71.

    khead

    Just wanted to pimp Kia. I hate the stupid new commercial, but we are happy with the Sorrento we bought in June 2010.

    Also, Kool Moe Dee and early LL Cool J. I can’t believe how long it took to get to these guys in the other thread.

    And finally…. we haven’t gone out on New Years Eve in at least 10 years. Maybe 15.

    That oughta cover the stuff in this thread.

  74. 74.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @bemused:

    There are some laser stations that set up in a corner of the room and provide self-directed fun for hours. You might try a google search…I don’t have any URLs handy.

  75. 75.

    RossInDetroit

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    The Japanese brands have moved upmarket, and the Koreans have stepped in admirably to fill the empty segment.

    That was a very good assessment and in my opinion very accurate.

    I’d add that when a ‘new’ brand is trying to build a reputation they have to give more content for money because the nameplate has less value. The Japanese had to build excellent cars in the ’70s and ’80s and sell them below the price of comparable American ones because people would pay more for an established American nameplate.
    This may make a Korean car a relative bargain in terms of quality and content.
    Conversely, once a company has built a rep for a nameplate they can ‘sell the brand’, charging more money for inferior goods because of the label. For an example, Google Cadillac Cimarron. That works to fatten profits for a while before customers catch on.

  77. 77.

    Suffern ACE

    @gene108: Nothing wrong with the ambassador. However, had he bought one, I would have posted Indian rap, just like I posted Korean rap in honor of the Korean car on an open thread that started out about rap. Now, you can come at me for dismissing Indian rap. I’d be fine with that, actually. A thread about the merits of Indian vs. Korean rap with defenders on both sides might yield some interesting outcomes.

  78. 78.

    FlipYrWhig

    @bemused: Before our cats got old — one is getting arthritic, the other is a fat tub of goo — they loved rolled-up balls of aluminum foil. Dozens of them would roll out from under the couch.

  79. 79.

    amk

    Yet another disgraceful shrub’s neocon govt fuck up.

    “Incinerated partial remains of at least 274 troops were reportedly dumped at landfill between 2004-08 by the largest military mortuary in the US.

    The Washington Post report was based on data from Dover Air Force Base, the main entry port for US war dead.

    The newspaper first broke the story last month, but it was not known how many remains were dumped at landfill.

    Families, who had agreed for the remains to be disposed of respectfully, were unaware of the practice.

    Pentagon officials did not authorise the procedure, which was reported by whistleblowers.

    Air Force officials, who have denied a cover-up, said last month they could not estimate the precise number of casualties’ remains sent to the Virginia landfill.”

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/world-us-canada-16081240

  81. 81.

    RossInDetroit

    @FlipYrWhig:

    Before our cats got old—one is getting arthritic, the other is a fat tub of goo—they loved rolled-up balls of aluminum foil. Dozens of them would roll out from under the couch.

    One cat we owned would steal used pipe cleaners (ick!) out of the ash tray, chew them up, bat them around the room and lose them under the couch. We once moved the couch for carpet cleaning and found 44 crusty brown chenille wire wads.
    That cat would go nuts if you took a pipe cleaner, twisted it into a spring shape and tossed it on the floor for him to bounce around.

  82. 82.

    Brachiator

    Remembering John Lennon

    St Vincent channels John and Jimi Hendrix to deliver an awesome version of Dig A Pony.

    As one commenter noted, “This makes p^rn look like Sunday school.”

  83. 83.

    Mnemosyne

    @bemused:

    Laser-wise, we are on our second one of these and I just bought a new one for backup because the current one seems to be on its last legs. Charlotte can literally play for HOURS, so it’s been a real sanity saver for all of us.

    There’s also the classic ball track toy.

  84. 84.

    RossInDetroit

    @Mnemosyne:

    There’s also the classic ball track toy.

    My mom got that and her cats fought for the privilege of playing with it. After a year they got bored and now just use it as a perch in the living room. But worth it for 12 months of cat amusement.

  87. 87.

    Hill Dweller

    Predictably, Senate Republicans just filibustered Richard Cordray, preventing him from heading the CFPB.

  88. 88.

    RossInDetroit

    @Mnemosyne:

    Cats have weird tastes in herbal stuff sometimes. Our cat found his wrapped catnip present under the Christmas tree, tore it open, dosed himself and disappeared under the bed for a day. After that he exhibited zero interest in catnip. Must have been some trip.

  89. 89.

    catclub

    “JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon’s fine whine that “most of us wage earners are paying 39.6 percent in taxes”

    is wrong on _two_ counts. First, that Yglesias mentions, is that the top rate is 35%.

    The second is that the 35% rate kicks in for income of over $379,000 dollars for a couple filing jointly. That really does not sound like ‘most of us wage earners’ to me.
    It sounds like less than 1% of wage earners.

  90. 90.

    RossInDetroit

    @catclub:

    is wrong on two counts.

    Three, actually. He’s citing the rate (incorrectly), not the actual amount paid. The wealthier you are the more likely you can structure your income to pay the least tax. And capital gains, of course, are taxed at a lower rate.

  91. 91.

    rikyrah

    At the Press Conference:

    President Obama’s answer to reporter asked about GOP accusing him of appeasement:

    “Ask Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda and whomever is left out there if I engage in appeasement.”

    KAPOW!!!

    YEAH, BABY!!!

  92. 92.

    James K. Polk, Esq.

    Pandora is your BEST friend if you like Hip Hop, but don’t know where to start….

    Try the following channels (all artists):

    Mobb Deep
    Jurassic 5
    RJD2
    Lauryn Hill
    Pete Rock

    All should be suitable for novice heads.

  93. 93.

    Nutella

    One good thing in the news about Sandusky being arrested again:

    $250,000 cash bail. If Sandusky can post bail, he will have to wear an electronic ankle monitor and be subject to house arrest. He is not allowed to make contact with the accusers or witnesses and cannot have unsupervised contact with minors.

    This sounds like a much more reasonable bail setup than their earlier no-cash gentleman’s agreement. House arrest is arguable but the other provisions are long overdue.

    It’s horrifying that he molested so many kids and got away with it so long. I’m sure these two are not the last.

  95. 95.

    cckids

    @bemused: Ours loved those little mousies made of real fur. They’d “hunt” them, toss them around & hunt/kill them again. Much fierce growling ensued.

    Also, a good time was usually had via tormenting the Pomeranian (they’d all sit on chairs & grab his tail as he walked by. He’d look behind him, but never look up.)

  96. 96.

    4jkb4ia

    Congratulations burnspbesq, you’ve got Albert Pujols. I will now wallow in the sheer catastrophe for the rest of the afternoon.

  98. 98.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Nutella:

    Wonderful! Thanks so much for this info! Even if John wants to be all grumpy and curmudgeonly about the tenth anniversary of Balloon Juice, there’s no reason the rest of us can’t have a good party.

  99. 99.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Nutella:

    Wait, wait, 2003? So why is one of the rotating tags “Consistently wrong since 2002”? I have to wait a whole nuther year before the B-J anniversary party??

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