Tool - The Patient - Live 6/26/10 - St Charles, MO
MAYA Arulpragasam, known as M.I.A., has never been shy about her politics and when she sat down with New York Times’ writer Lynn Hirschberg it seemed like another interview. Outspoken, confident, eloquent and one of the music industry’s most thought-provoking artists, M.I.A is always controversial.
Along with a brilliant new viral video (which wasinstantly banned from YouTube, MTV and MuchMusic), she has a new son whom she gave birth to after performing nine months’ pregnant at the Grammy Awards. Maya was also engaged to Ben Bronfman, son of the Warner Music Group chief executive and Seagram’s heir Edgar Bronfman Jr., and she was working on highly anticipated new tracks with some of the hottest producers on the planet.
Right from the outset, it seemed as if Hirschberg was challenging the performer on the conflict between being someone whose music is so heavily political and who is now living a lifestyle that most people only dream out. While those topics are certainly important to discuss, Hirschberg’s piece had the tone of someone who was setting out to do hatchet job.
Yes, Maya’s music is political. Yes, she now lives in Beverly Hills. Yes, she has modelled clothes for high-end designers and cares about fashion. Yes, she might like to eat truffle-flavoured french fries and yes, she still writes about the power of the people, but she isn’t a 20-something drunk pop star, partying the night away while singing about the injustices in the world. She has been the same person from Day 1: one foot in politics, one foot in popular culture.
“Maya had all the pieces of the puzzle,” said Jimmy Iovine, chairman of Interscope Records. “When I met her, I thought, ‘Who wouldn’t want to sign her?’ Her politics didn’t matter to me. The whole game is about waiting for that moment to move popular culture. Maya can move the needle. I want to go where she’s going to take me.”
Almost immediately after the piece ran, the firestorm began. Maya wasn’t impressed with how she was depicted in the lengthy, almost 9,000-word piece and posted Hirschberg’s personal phone number on her Twitter profile. She also got to work on a diss track, Haters, that she released for free on her website.
The New York Times has added an editor’s note that elements of the author’s interview were spliced together at different parts.
This isn’t the first time an artist has attacked the writer; she is best known for the notorious Courtney Love Vanity Fair interview that got Hirschberg death threats from Love’s then-husband, Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain.
FOR many people, bookmarks stored on a single machine are becoming the old way of doing things. Although there are other online options like iGoogle and Delicious.com, that doesn’t mean there aren’t newcomers like Symbaloo hoping to get your attention.
Recently out of beta testing, Symbaloo is a personal online tool that will help you organize your online life, no matter what computer or device you may be using. One of its most innovative features is you can share your personal web mix with anyone you want and integrate what other people send you into your front-page look. Already 20,000 customizable combinations have been made available.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition June 30, 2010 E3
Tuna’s End
If you are a sushi addict, chances are you eat your fair share of tuna. One of the most sought-after and expensive fish in the ocean, the Atlantic bluefin tuna stock has been depleted and is in dangerous territory right now. If Asian and North American consumers keep up the demand for the fish, they will disappear. “Tuna then are both a real thing and a metaphor. Literally they are one of the last big public supplies of wild fish left in the world,” writes The New York Times’ Paul Greenberg. “Metaphorically they are the terminus of an idea: that the ocean is an endless resource where new fish can always be found. In the years to come we can treat tuna as a mile marker to zoom past on our way toward annihilating the wild ocean or as a stop sign that compels us to turn back and radically reconsider.”
The Thriller Diaries
When it was released in 1983, the video for Michael Jackson’s Thriller was a game changer. With a huge budget, over-the-top dance sequences and film-like quality, Thriller became the metre stick to which all music videos would be measured — and still is today. It set the tone for the way videos would be made and helped make MTV a cultural touchstone. Vanity Fair’s Nancy Griffin takes a look behind the scenes of the epic 14-minute clip.
Boggs
Slugger Wade Boggs, giant beers, classic 8-bit graphics, girls in bikinis and hamburgers. What else do you need in a video game? Along with the World Cup, this addictive game is really hurting my productivity. Don’t feel bad if you waste an afternoon playing it, Boggs and Major League baseball are probably trying to shut it down right now.
MP3 of the Week: Crosstown Rivals – Exits
Although Crosstown Rivals seem to be on hiatus right now, you can still make them part of your 100 Mile Musical Diet with this cut from local digital label Better Swimmers’ debut EP. The Rivals’ indie dance-rock will sound right at home next to Tokyo Police Club and Wolf Parade on your next playlist.
Video of the Week: Free Fall
Brilliantly filmed by free diver Julie Gautier, this beautiful and simplistic clip is begging to be viewed on a massive HD TV. World champion free diver Guillaume Nery jumps into the massive Dean’s Blue Hole, located in a bay west of Clarence Town on Long Island, Bahamas.
I saw Llewellyn jump a bunch of times. Never disappointing. This post is for my Dad, Neal Brown, Garnet Butchart, JD, Davey Johnson, and everyone who ever skied at Lakers in Lac du Bonnet. Go hard or go home.
Eminem / Recovery
(Interscope/Universal)
AFTER the thrown-together and largely forgettable Relapse album last year — and having finally conquered his personal demons — Recovery is the Detroit-born MC’s most self-aware album yet.
Like The Motor City, Marshall Mathers is reinventing and re-envisioning himself, and that comes across most evidently on Not Afraid. Eminem sings “I’m not afraid to take a stand. Everybody, Everybody take my hand. We’ll walk this road together.” This is in stark contrast to the cartoonish, video-ready, pop cultural referencing tracks that used to anchor his albums.
While those name checks still come up, this is a major leap forward for Eminem. He has always been a skilled storyteller; it just seems now he’s spending more time focusing on real experiences. He may be still figuring out who he is as an MC, father and person, but at least he has decided he can leave behind some of the things he did in the past and is putting his life together track by track.
On Talkin’ 2 Myself (featuring Kobe), he proclaims “I finally feel like I am back to me, I finally feel normal.” While Eminem’s lyrics always had personal elements to them, this may be the first time they actually mean something.
With Recovery, there is no doubt Eminem is back in the game.
4 stars
AFTER having had a month to digest the finale of ABC’s Lost, do you feel a bit cheated or did it deliver exactly what you expected? If you felt ripped off by the way the flash sideways was wrapped up, you probably aren’t alone. The difference is you maybe complained about it with some friends or wrote a few posts on some Lost message boards. Some people took it a lot more seriously.
Looking to remove all traces of the flash sideways storyline in season 6, Lost Revised hopes to boil down the show to the essential elements that were introduced before the cliff hanger in season 5.
“Ultimately, the sideways world was a gimmick. It was a way to give a happy ending to characters who didn’t actually get a happy ending,” writes the unnamed video editor behind Lost Revised. “It was a way to give an emotional sendoff to the series by tugging at our heartstrings, rather than addressing the numerous hanging threads left over by the plot. At this point, I’m content to let those threads hang.
“However, I sincerely believe the show would have been better off without ever introducing the sideways world/afterlife in the first place, and the point of this experiment is to prove that. Or at least try to.”
Four episodes have already been uploaded to the web (with the flash sideways removed) and will give you something to watch during the slow summer TV season.
WITH the recent privacy concerns over social-networking sites like Facebook, a lot of users are wondering what happens when they want to shut down their profile and move on to something else. If you are concerned with what happens to your personal info and want to get rid of that outdated Friendster, MySpace or Facebook site, Delete Your Account is a great resource to help you navigate the sometimes tricky process. Now you don’t have to cringe every time you Google yourself and see all those old profiles.
AFTER numerous delays, which originally linked — at various points of development — George Clooney, Jason Lee, Jet Li, Jake Gyllenhaal and Kevin Smith to the film, The Green Hornet is finally going to get to the big screen on Jan. 14, 2011. It will feature a slimmed-down Seth Rogen, Jay Chou and Cameron Diaz, and will be directed by Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’s Michel Gondry.
Judging by the first trailer, it looks like a stylish, over-the-top film in the same vein as the Iron Man series. Only out for a couple of days, the short clip is already getting backlash from places like Videogum.
“I like Seth Rogen, OK? And I like Michel Gondry, OK? And when this comes out in the theater next January, I will see it, OK? But none of those facts change another fact, which is that we need to cool it with the oddball, sarcastic, knowing, self-referential superheroes,” writes Videogum. “Enough already! Bring back the actual superheroes!”
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition June 24, 2010 E3
This Isn’t a Market
The local food movement has been gaining momentum over the past few years. People want to connect with the providers of their food. Although Winnipeggers have the amazing St. Norbert Farmers’ Market, Crampton’s and St. Leon’s, and folks are trying to build up a sustainable summer market in Central Park, there isn’t an easy-to-get-to, year-around market like the ones you see in Montreal, Halifax or even Hamilton. The Forks is supposed to be a destination for out-of-towners and locals alike, but the market leaves a lot to be desired. In a recent post, local food blog Zollipop.com takes a look at Tutti Frutti produce stand and the lack of options at The Forks. “On his blog, Chef Alex from Bistro 7 1/4 has commented that it is the lack of competition at The Forks which allows for slippage in quality,” writes Zollipop. “But I think it is a little more than that: great produce, displayed artfully, is the anchor of markets around the world. The Forks management’s failure to banish the inedible produce suggests to me that they haven’t embraced the true mandate of a food market. I don’t really want handmade mugs or crocheted booties. I want fresh food. Moldy oranges won’t cut it.”
CFL Digest
Football season in Winnipeg kicks off on July 2 when the Bombers host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and fans aren’t really sure what to expect. Two pre-season games aren’t really a good way to judge a team, but at least the Blue and Gold seems to have a quarterback this year and doesn’t have a loose cannon like Mike Kelly calling the shots. If you want to keep up with the CFL, this site is the perfect place to start.
Quick Hits
MP3 of the Week: Joe Silva – That Jamba (Radio Edit)
If you missed Joe Silva’s performance with Pucona and Flow at the inaugural MEME festival at Old Market Square, make sure to grab this track and add it to your next party playlist. The original track was released on the influential Jazz Lunatic label two months ago.
Video of the Week:
Noah Pred – Live at The Cube (MEME Festival)
Nobody was really sure how the outdoor portion of the MEME festival was going to turn out. After an amazing day under the sun with a strong local lineup, Toronto’s Noah Pred christened The Cube with two-plus hours of forward-thinking techno. While this video may not do justice to what the MEMETIC organizing crew managed to pull off, it does give a snapshot of what is to come next year. Every other festival using the site has a lot to live up to.
Gob - Soda
Drake
Thank Me Later
Universal/Aspire
THE most anticipated hip-hop album of 2010 isn’t Eminem’s Recovery or Kayne West’s Good Ass Job, it’s from 23-year-old former Degrassi: The Next Generation star-turned-MC Aubrey (Drake) Graham.
After catching the attention of the hip hop world through a series of free mix tapes self-released through his website, Drake has been busy working with A-list stars like Lil Wayne, Kanye West, and Jay-Z. Along with that dream team of MCs appearing on his debut, Thank Me Later, Young Jeezy shows up on the slow-burning Unforgettable and Alicia Keys performs on the album’s first cut Fireworks, where Drake proclaims in the opening verse that “money has changed everything.”
While Drake may be the hottest rapper on the planet right now, his R&B-infused take on hip-hop is not only radio ready, but avoids falling into the pitfalls of success. There are times when Drake’s emotionally vulnerable lyrics can come across as simplistic, but his smooth flow and slick beats help you get past it.
Expect big things from this Juno-winning MC. Hopefully fame won’t change who he is, even though he claims his “15 minutes started an hour ago.”
4 stars
Wally Backman Gets Ejected And Unloads A Giant Can Of Awesomeness.
IF your productivity was down on May 21, you can probably blame Google. To mark the 30th anniversary of the release of the Pac-Man video game in Japan, the search giant made its logo a playable version of the popular game. According to RescueTime, a self-described “software tool that allows businesses and individuals to understand exactly how they spend their time and attention,” in 24 hours Google Pac-Man consumed 4,819,352 hours of time. That’s above and beyond the 33.6 million daily hours of attention that Google normally gets. (Even more time could have been gobbled up if more users had realized that something was different on the site.)
This was the first playable doodle in a long line of logo variations that have occurred since the site launched. The addictive game proved so popular, Google has made it available permanently on a separate page.
119 things Lost did (and didn’t) answer
IF you were a fan of ABC’s Lost, the two-and a-half-hour finale probably raised as many questions as it answered. Over six seasons, the show’s complex narrative sparked a whole new level of discussion about a TV show on message boards and blogs, and ushered in a new way for networks to build the myth about a show through the web.
If you’re still trying to fill in some of the details on the mysteries of the island, the survivors of Oceanic flight 815, Jacob/Man in Black, the smoke monster, the four-toed statue or any of the other questions that might be bothering you, Scifiwire.com looks at 119 Things Lost Did (and Didn’t) Answer.
AIRING Fridays on Food Network Canada at 7 p.m., CheF* Off is a new show that pits chef Michael Lyon from Banff and Ottawa chef Michael Blackie (who lost to former Winnipegger Makoto Ono at the Canadian Culinary Championships event that was featured on Mark McEwan’s TV show The Heat) in a culinary competition where they never really know what to expect.
From exotic ingredients to makeshift kitchens with little equipment, this isn’t going to be your regular cooking competition. If you were disappointed with the lack of actual cooking in Chefs vs The City with Aarón Sánchez and Chris Cosentino, this new show should be right up your alley.
BORROWING an idea from the 100 Bands in 100 Days blog, Chuck Walton of Fandango.com has set out to see and review 100 movies in 100 days. After 19 days, he has already seen a mix of new (Exit Through the Gift Shop, Robinhood, Date Night) and old (Beverly Hills Cop, Robocop). Follow Chuck on his movie quest while he battles junk food-induced weight gain, bad summer blockbusters and cinema burnout.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition June 10, 2010 E3
World Cup streaming online
For diehard soccer fans, one of the most frustrating things about the upcoming World Cup in South Africa can be the time difference. If you aren’t planning on skipping out on work or haven’t scheduled your holidays to coincide with the month-long tournament, you’ll be happy to hear the CBC plans to stream all games online. While there will be replays during prime time, if you want to avoid any spoilers, you’ll also be able to follow your favourite team live on the web. If you aren’t able to get in front of a computer, Rogers will be streaming video to smartphones such as the iPhone, BlackBerry or Android. You’ll have to cough up $5 for the company’s mobile streaming app and then another $10 to access all the World Cup matches on your device. Not surprisingly (since Canadians always pay a premium for their smartphones), the $15 does not include data costs, so unless you’re one of the lucky few who managed to get an unlimited data package with your device, make sure you’re using wi-fi to stream the video or you could quickly run up a massive cell bill after watching a few matches. The World Cup kicks off June 11 and the final is scheduled for July 11.
Videos of the Week – Nike - Write the Future & Adidas - Star Wars Cantina 2010
With the countdown to the World Cup in full swing, Nike and Adidas have released viral ads that have been spreading like wild fire. Clocking in at three minutes, Nike’s mind-blowing video has been racking up a million views a day since its release and features soccer heavyweights Ronaldinho, Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and even a cameo from Homer Simpson. Adidas decided to recut the famous Star Wars Cantina scene; its two-minute clip features David Beckham, Franz Beckenbauer, Snoop Dogg, Noel Gallagher, Ian Brown, Ciara, Jay Baruchel, Daft Punk and DJ Neil Armstrong.
MP3s of the Week – 100 Mile Musical Diet sampler
Need a fix of local music this month? Feast on 10 local acts ranging from Les Jupes to Tom Keenan on this free 100 Mile Musical Diet sampler. Make sure to head down to the West End Cultural Centre on June 10 to check out Magnum K.I. tackling the Weakerthans’ Reconstruction Site and Paper Moon covering Red Fisher’s War Wagon as part of an ongoing series of concerts highlighting local acts.
Plastikman Live at Movement in Detroit.
The 10 Stadiums of the World Cup
With the 19th FIFA World Cup right around the corner, soccer fans (known as football fanatics everywhere else on the planet) are eagerly awaiting one of the biggest and most-watched sporting events in the world. From June 11 until July 11, 32 nations will battle for bragging rights for the next four years. The elimination rounds started in 2007 and involved 204 of the 208 FIFA teams, rivaling the summer Olympics as the sporting event with the most competing countries. For the first time, the tournament will be hosted by an African nation. Spread out over 10 cities, here is a sneak peak at some of the stunning venues that will be the focus of the world for the next month. Italy (Group F) is the returning champ and play its first match against Paraguay. Visit www.fifa.com/worldcup/ for the full schedule.
Get Drunk Not Fat/Get Drunk Not Broke
With patio and BBQ season in full swing, chances are you have tipped back a few beverages with your friends on Corydon. If you want to keep your wallet fat and your waistline thin, these two recently launched websites will help you navigate your choices this summer. (Keep in mind the prices are American on Getdrunknotbroke.com.)
Pixel: A Pixel Art Documentary
If you grew up playing video games on your Commodore 64, Atari 2600, Nintendo or other first-generation video-game console, you’ll want to check out this fascinating short documentary. Pixel looks at the impact of 8-bit pixel art, computer animation and chiptune music.
Quick Hits
MP3 of the Week: Arcade Fire – The Suburbs & Month of May
Originally rumoured to be released sometime this summer, physical copies of Arcade Fire’s new double A-side 12-inch have already surfaced. Zane Lowe of the BBC’s Radio 1 got his hands on a copy and has played both The Suburbs and Month of May on his show. Radio rips instantly began popping up on most major music blogs. It looks like the 12-inch single will be officially available this week and the anticipated follow-up to 2007’s Neon Bible will be released August 2.
Video of the Week: Roland M. Dill — Baked Potato (Trapez 108)
Trapez recording artist Roland M. Dill offers up this quirky video for his new single, Baked Potato.
