One of my favorite jazz drummers, Max Roach passed away:
Max Roach, a founder of modern jazz who rewrote the rules of drumming in the 1940’s and spent the rest of his career breaking musical barriers and defying listeners’ expectations, died early today in Manhattan. He was 83.
Baking in $34 mil in 2006, Jay-Z is number one on Forbes‘ “Hip-Hop Cash Kings.” 2pac didn’t make it on the list (for obvious reason); however, he’s still making money from heaven.
Grumpy Ol’Reilly once again takes rap lyrics out of their context and uses them to blast rappers. He just proved his bigotry by loud-mouthing about Nas whose music he knows absolutely nothing of. Even when Bakari Kitwana, the author of The Hip Hop Generation: Young Blacks and the Crisis in African American Culture, tries to explain to him why Nas isn’t a gangster rapper and how he uses his words as a vehicle to heal instead of to promote violence. But O’Reilly is too much of a moron to understand that.
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NPR profiles Louis Armstrong as the trumpet innovator:
Armstrong vastly redefined the context in which the trumpet was played. His sense of rhythm and timing took jazz from a staid, 2/4 beat to a languid, more sophisticated 4/4 feel, paving the way for swing and for soloists to take center stage.
Listen to the program here.
An interview with jazz vocalist Kate McGarry on NPR.
You might not want your children to read.
I really like Mezzoblue’s latest theme. The good use of photo enhances the overall layout.
Listening to Mai Quoc Huy’s debut, Hanh Phuc Quanh Day, makes me want to strangle the shit out of that heartless bitch for him. In track one, she left his ass and the kid. In track two, she left his ass once again even though he has done nothing wrong. In track three, he finally realizes that it is time to part.
The drama gets worse as he reflects on the past. He talks to himself at night (Truc Phuong’s “Dem Tam Su”). Even the damn street he walks on carried her name (Truc Phuong’s “Con Duong Mang Ten Em”). Whenever he misses her (Hoang Mai and Thao Trang’s “Nho Nguoi Yeu”) or thinks of her (Ngoc Son’s “Nho Ve Em”), especially at the time when she was 15 (Hoang Phuong’s “Em Con Tuoi 15”), it brings back gloomy memories (To Thanh Son’s “Chut Ky Niem Buon”). Then he ends up drinking like a fish (Chau Ky’s “Tuy Ca”).
What would happen to him next is up the listeners to decide. The possibility is endless. He could drive, while under the influence, to the nearest Wal-Mart, cop a glock and blow his brain out. That way she’ll regret it for the rest of her life, and we all know she doesn’t give a damn.
Hanh Phuc Quanh Day has to be one of the most depressing albums to date. Mai Quoc Huy influenced by Che Linh so much that he could knock Truong Vu off the map and replace their god. Even if the king of “sen” Che Linh decides to retired, we will still hear his voice through his successors, and Mai Quoc Huy is the closest if not exact.