Body Movin'

A true pioneer and musical hero died today. Adam Yauch, better...

Fri, 04 May 2012 17:41:00 -0400

A true pioneer and musical hero died today. Adam Yauch, better known as MCA, the raspy voiced soul of the Beastie Boys, lost his battle with cancer.

I’ve been a fan of the Beastie Boys for seemingly my entire life. I remember jamming out to “Intergalactic” when I was in elementary school. The line “I like my sugar with coffee and cream” was the first time I realized what wordplay was.

MCA, for his part, was equal parts Ringo and George. He was probably the most gifted MC of the group, but he was also the most grounded. MCA’s gravelly tones perfectly balanced the yawp of Adrock and the very New York twang of Mike D. The interplay between the three of them was why they were successful; I’d argue it was MCA’s voice that made them superstars.

When I started this blog, I couldn’t help but name it after one of my favorite Beastie Boys tracks. At the time, MCA had just announced that he was undergoing treatment for cancer - a plight I was particularly sensitive to at the time, as my father was undergoing treatment for cancer as well. I was as sure that MCA would beat it as I was that my dad would beat it. You always expect the people you look up to will end up alright.

My dad did end up beating cancer, and for the longest time, it seemed that MCA was on the road to recovery as well. We got the excellent Hot Sauce Committee, Part II almost exactly a year ago. I figured it would only be a matter of time before the Beastie Boys would be on tour supporting it, and I’d finally get to see them live. A tour never materialized, though, and today, the news of MCA’s death hit like a tidal wave, all but ending the Beastie Boys. Surprise, sadness, anger, all those emotions we encounter in death came to the fore.

But so did all the fond memories and reminiscences about the impeccable career that MCA, Adrock and Mike D had together. I saw hundreds of musicians, actors, writers and celebrities tweeting about what the Beastie Boys meant to them. At one point, all the trending topics on Twitter were Beastie Boys related. It was a stunning outpouring of great memories, happiness, sympathy and sorrow that I have only seen once in my lifetime - when Michael Jackson died.

I put Paul’s Boutique on my turntable, and I sang every fucking lyric. When “B-Boy Bouillabaisse” came on, I was filled with emotion. When the MCA showcase “A Year and a Day” started, I lost it.

So here’s “A Year and a Day”.

Namaste, MCA.

On Tuesday, the new @screamales album came out, and it is...

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 17:22:00 -0400

On Tuesday, the new @screamales album came out, and it is unsurprisingly kickass. Here is “Tell Me No”. Enjoy.

poorlatvia: Old Latvian proverb say “Is better to have potato...

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 02:34:15 -0400

poorlatvia:

Old Latvian proverb say “Is better to have potato and lose than never have potato.”

Of course is silly. No Latvian have potato in first place.

This one might be too clever by half, but I love it.

areasofmyexpertise: paulftompkins: Libraries are a good thing...

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 18:56:41 -0500

areasofmyexpertise:

paulftompkins:

Libraries are a good thing to support, I think. I am of the opinion that they may serve to decrease the level of ignorance in the world rather than increase it. We’re probably all set, ignorance-wise. I bet we could afford to go the other way for a while, see how that works. I do wish they had provided an explanation for the melting shoes, though.

IT’S ME AGAIN: Hodgman Actual.

Thank you for re-tumbling this Paul, and everyone. EVEN YOU, NEIL GAIMAN.

To answer your question, I found this answer on the YouTube page:

“Thank you, everybody! You’re all helping a lot! To answer: Our heat source is a grate in the middle of the library’s floor. It gets so hot that the soles of our shoes melt if we stand on it for more than 10 seconds. (It’s directly in front of the check-out desk.) It’s also obviously a hazard for storyhour, with kids crawling around!”

AND SPEAKING OF TINY LIBRARIES,

Here is the Robertson Memorial Library in Leyden, MA.

It is a good place and a place for good. You can give it money, too.

(Please note: they have a new copy machine!)

UNTIL WE START a separate tumblr for tiny libraries, I say THANK YOU EVERYONE.

This is Hodgman Actual signing off.

That is all.

For Converse, Gorillaz got together with Andre3000 and James...

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 16:27:00 -0500

For Converse, Gorillaz got together with Andre3000 and James Murphy, late of LCD Soundsystem to create a track. It came out today, and it’s pretty good.

Then Andre comes on and it’s great. Can we have his solo album now? And then a new OutKast album?

Mark Lanegan’s new album Blues Funeral is a gem....

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:24:00 -0500

Mark Lanegan’s new album Blues Funeral is a gem. Front-runner for my album of the year, though it’s only 7 weeks into 2012. This is the album-opener, “The Gravedigger’s Song”.

When I think “you know, fuck Valentine’s Day”,...

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 15:53:00 -0500

When I think “you know, fuck Valentine’s Day”, I think of @loscampesinos. Cheers!

poorlatvia: Why Latvians never play game hot potato?Is silly,...

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:35:19 -0500

poorlatvia:

Why Latvians never play game hot potato?

Is silly, potato never hot.

Also, no potato.

First joke submission, thanks to @eyricci.

poorlatvia: Latvian farmer grow many potatoes with son. Secret...

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 22:24:20 -0500

poorlatvia:

Latvian farmer grow many potatoes with son. Secret Police then take potatoes away.

Farmer wake up and think “Of course just dream. Son is dead.”

Everyone should follow Poor Latvia. Think of the potatoes.

It took me a while to get around to it, but Feist’s most...

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:15:00 -0500

It took me a while to get around to it, but Feist’s most recent album, Metals, is her best yet, and by a pretty wide margin, I think. “How Come You Never Go There” is one of a handful of gems.

Former Boston mayor Kevin White passed away today at the age of...

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:38:00 -0500

Former Boston mayor Kevin White passed away today at the age of 82. He was perhaps the greatest mayor Boston has ever had. He made Mayor Menino - a good, if incomprehensible mayor - look like as poor a politician as Warren G. Harding. White is perhaps best known for his action following the death of Martin Luther King Jr., when he successfully lobbied WGBH and James Brown to air Brown’s concert at the Boston Garden live, in order to keep potential rioters off the streets. The move was a success, and was recently immortalized in the documentary “The Night James Brown Saved Boston”.

In memory of the late former mayor, here’s some James Brown from his classic disc Live at the Apollo.

A little Sir Paul for your enjoyment.

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:21:05 -0500

A little Sir Paul for your enjoyment.

undun is so goddamned good.

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 00:24:17 -0500

undun is so goddamned good.

It’s really difficult to post any jazz on Tumblr because...

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 15:07:00 -0500

It’s really difficult to post any jazz on Tumblr because of the 10MB maximum. Any piece that has any real length to it is too big at a good sound quality, or too poor in quality once it’s downgraded such that it can fit. Really a shame.

On the upside, the classic, “Take Five” is like 9.9MB, so here’s that for your enjoyment.

This is one of my favorite songs, one of many that came up last...

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 00:14:00 -0500

This is one of my favorite songs, one of many that came up last night in conversation with @gracewitheface. Enjoy, one and all.

Chromeo is all the right kinds of cheesy.

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 21:30:00 -0500

Chromeo is all the right kinds of cheesy.

There are really only two songs worth playing on Christmas -...

Sun, 25 Dec 2011 12:41:39 -0500

There are really only two songs worth playing on Christmas - “Fairytale of New York” by the Pogues and “Christmas in Hollis” by Run-DMC.

darkesttimeline: paradigms-of-a-time-lord-memory: hymnealanuit:...

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 14:16:57 -0500

darkesttimeline:

paradigms-of-a-time-lord-memory:

hymnealanuit:

savecommunity101:

SaveCommunity-Savetheworld

My heart is full of love for this people.

Oh! So much love.

Can any of you guys see yourselves in this video?

Great work by NY fans of Community.

The world lost one of its premiere songwriters 9 years ago...

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 13:08:00 -0500

The world lost one of its premiere songwriters 9 years ago today, when Joe Strummer tragically passed away from an undiagnosed heart defect. Hope you guys spend some of your day listening to The Clash, or The Mescaleros.

areasofmyexpertise: COURTESY @cokes311, visual evidence of the...

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 16:16:53 -0500

areasofmyexpertise:

COURTESY @cokes311, visual evidence of the coming GEEK-JOCK CONVERGENCE

WHICH AS YOU KNOW is one of the 365 SURE SIGNS OF RAGNAROK.

That is all.

Hey, @cokes311 is me. Neat-o! Also TERRIFYING.