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odds and ends · by Rafi Kam
1. In my Game post I neglected to mention Joey’s review of Doctor’s Advocate at Straight Bangin.
I haven’t given a real listen to my download of Doctor’s Advocate. So I don’t know if I side with Joey who found that the album mostly missed or with Sacha and others who say that it’s one of the best of the year.
But in any case the review was a good read.
2. Brian Williams says of election night: It’s crack.
Aren’t TV news anchors supposed to refrain from saying things like “It’s crack”?
The tone just isn’t right. It’s about as appropriate as CNN giving all its attention to Faith Hill, Britney and Borat on Election Day. (see Idolator)
3. Thousand dollar thespians. Raekwon movie in stores today.
4. A big list of rap music videos from YouTube. Catch them before they’re pulled down by Google lawyers. Warning: An avatar shortly after the list is in no way safe for work (unless you happen to work in the porn industry catering to a specific fetish).
5. Some rare B-sides from No Need For Alarm era Del. RHS points out that two of these were on a cd released a few years ago called The Best of Del: The Elektra Years.
6. This method for doing comments at any point in a post is amazing. I’m thinking this would be a perfect tool for the annotations/corrections I said I’d want to put in my imaginary improved OHHLA.
Spotted via 37 Signals
7. Borat am whatever you say he am.
I haven’t seen the movie but it’s always fun reading opposite extremes about the same topic.
The PC sensitive thugs at MultiCultClassics and Racialicious ponder whether “Borat Means Bigot”
But Wild About Movies contends that Borat’s creator is a Leading Civil Rights Scholar
Baron Cohen was involved in the ARA anti-racist alliance for many years – actually marching against fascists and racists in London and against apartheid in the 80s.
The Times wrote a piece entitled “Ali G Creator is in fact Leading Civil Rights Scholar,” which examined how Baron Cohen made a pilgrimage to the birthplace of Martin Luther King while doing research for his dissertation in Cambridge. Entitled “ A Case of Mistaking Identities – the Jewish Black Alliance,” the thesis examines the nature of cooperation between the African-American and Jewish communities and suggests ways of how to improve relations in the current day. His professor describes it as a major work of importance on the civil rights movement and is suggested reading for history students in Cambridge.
Meanwhile Jesse is starting a campaign for Baron Cohen to win an Oscar for his performance.
Comments for "odds and ends"
that youtube vid list is awesome
also cohen’s civil rights scholarship has nothing to do with his capacity for prejudice/bigotry. i haven’t seen borat so i can’t speak on it but history has proven that liberals/radicals/leftists/scholars have the same capacity for bigotry as anyone
— jb Nov 7, 10:51 PM
No doubt that they have the same capacity for bigotry.
But I just don’t think Cohen is doing anything of the sort. And I worry about those whose complaints about society reside largely with the work of satirists.
Cohen sends up his characters for their ridiculously inappropriate behavior but of course the joke hinges on us seeing how people reply to this behavior. As he crosses more lines do they just grin and bear it out of some combination of simple politeness or cultural superiority, do they try and “correct” him or do they roll with whatever he’s saying.
I think it’s a lazy sort of logic that calls Borat xenophobic. The Americans being spoken to and indeed watching the movie are every bit the butt of the joke.
— Rafi Nov 8, 04:19 AM
Well there’s no need for the improvements to be imaginary Rafi. We just need to find another good night to hash out the next step in the process via IM’s.
— DJ Flash Nov 8, 05:52 AM
Hey thanks for the Racialicious shout-out! I’m very intrigued by the whole Borat debate. I haven’t seen it yet so can’t say I have any strong opinions either way. But it poses an interesting question which also lies at the heart of all of racial satire: Is it justified to depict offensive stereotypes in order to expose/critique others’ beliefs in them? I guess Chappelle decided at the end of the day that he couldn’t justify it.
Or can Cohen and Chappelle be compared at all? It would seem to me that there are some parallels. Just as there are people who will “get” on a deeper level what both men are doing, there are those whose only takeaway will be “I’m Rick James, bitch!” and “Niiiiiice!” And does the artist bear any responsibility for those people’s reactions to their work?
— Carmen Van Kerckhove Nov 8, 11:54 AM
Just to clarify, I don’t think that The Game has the album of the year. But it IS a really good mix of dope production and confessional rap even if it can get overbearing at times.
— Sach Nov 8, 01:18 PM