Undercover Black Man

Worst Broadcaster in the World

2009-11-04T06:39:00.001-08:00

Last night, on television, Keith Olbermann casually referred to a sitting U.S. congressman as a “son of a bitch.” Within five minutes, Mr. Olbermann also told Glenn Beck and his followers to “go to hell.”

As with his occasional utterances of “goddamn” on the air, one can argue, I suppose, that this is entertaining.

Inarguably, it is crass. It is weak writing. (Each profanity was carefully scripted.) Such vulgarity is unpersuasive as political speech and, of course, unprofessional for a major-league journalist.

(Yes, Mr. Olbermann does consider himself a journalist... in the Edward R. Murrow tradition, no less.)

Hey Keith... you child... what’s next? Gonna talk about Rush Limbaugh’s mama? Call Glenn Beck a faggot?

I bet you dollar money Sean Hannity has never – not once, not ever – referred to anybody as a “son of a bitch” on his air. And Hannity’s the King of All Douchebags!

But he is a better broadcaster than you, Keith.

You think it’s hip to make the cable news experience more like reading lunatic blogs or watching “Family Guy”? Or maybe, being wrapped like a Hollywood mummy in liberal sanctimony, you think you’re speaking truth to power. Or impressing us with your passion.

Get over yourself, Keith. The words that tumble from your mouth are making the world just a little bit worse. You are contributing directly to the degradation of our political culture.

UPDATE (11/04/09): And looky here. The Huffington Post is encouraging him! It’s a daggone shame, people...

Something semi-animated from Basement Jaxx

2009-11-03T18:31:00.000-08:00

Featuring Lightspeed Champion.

Tuesday 12-inch Flashback: ‘Standing On the Top’

2009-11-03T08:14:00.000-08:00

I always felt a little sad for the Temptations when this record was out.

Yeah, I know it was a hit. But after everything the Tempts achieved in show business, only to have Rick James barking “Temptations, sing!” at ’em... that shit wasn’t right.

Nice bridge, though. Real nice bridge.

Who dat? Who dat?

2009-11-03T05:00:00.001-08:00

Who dat sayin’ they gonna beat dem Saints?

Sometimes I miss journalism.

2009-11-02T12:21:00.000-08:00

My last newspaper job was at the Washington Post. I wrote for the Style section from 1990 through 1993. I had a ball there.

The hands-down best writer on Style was Henry Allen. Every piece he wrote was an event. In 2000, he won a Pulitzer Prize.

One day, during my first year at the paper, Henry Allen said to me: “You got chops.” The rest of that day I was walking on air, boy. Never will forget it. “Henry Allen said I’ve got chops!”

Now comes this extraordinary gossip item from Harry Jaffe at Washingtonian magazine:

“Details are sketchy, but numerous witnesses report that veteran feature editor Henry Allen punched out feature writer Manuel Roig-Franzia on Friday. ...

“It should be noted that Allen is nearly seventy, but he served in the Marines in Vietnam.”

According to Harry Jaffe, the incident began when another Style editor assigned Roig-Franzia and Monica Hesse a story about political secrets inadvertently revealed. The reporters turned in their piece. “Allen took a look and didn’t like,” writes Jaffe. “He started ranting about the number of mistakes he had found. ...

“Allen, according to sources, said: ‘This is total crap. It’s the second worst story I have seen in Style in 43 years.’

“Roig-Franzia then wandered into the newsroom. A veteran foreign correspondent, he has been turning out political features for Style. He heard Allen’s rant and stopped by his desk.”

Supposedly, Manuel Roig- Franzia told him, “Oh, Henry, don’t be such a cocksucker.”

Then... “Allen lunged at Roig-Franzia, threw him to the newsroom floor, and started throwing punches. Roig-Franzia tried to fend him off. [Executive Editor Marcus] Brauchli and others pulled the two apart.”

Wow.

Damn-near everybody I knew at the Washington Post is now gone. They took buyouts as the Post went about shrinking its staff. I chatted with a Style reporter just last week who said there’s a weird vibe in the air.

I had no idea how weird. (I also had no idea that Henry Allen could draw. That sketch above is a self-portrait.)

UPDATE (11/02/09): Meanwhile, blogger Matt Dornic of FishbowlDC posted this afternoon: “[W]e regret to inform you that our sources have disclaimed [Harry Jaffe’s] account saying, ‘Jaffe’s story is full of hyperbole -- it was a single punch and no one was on the ground.’ ”

More to come, no doubt.

UPDATE (11/02/09): Erik Wemple of the Washington City Paper reports that Henry Allen has been banned from the Washington Post newsroom. According to Wemple:

“That sanction is not as harsh as it sounds: Allen’s last day was to be Nov. 20. He is 68, had already accepted a buyout, ... and had already announced his retirement.

“Of his swing, Allen says, ‘The last time I threw a punch at anybody was in the spring of 1963 in Parris Island, S.C., in Marine Corps recruit training.’ ... Roig-Franzia hung up when called on this matter.”

Random whiteness

2009-11-02T04:21:00.000-08:00

A free Janelle Monáe download

2009-11-01T11:11:00.000-08:00

Today’s FREE MP3 is a quirky new cut from Janelle Monáe, the girl from another planet.

Click here to hear “Come Alive (The War of the Roses)” on my Vox blog. To download it, follow this link to Giant Step, the marketing website.

Saturday morning cartoon

2009-10-31T05:33:00.000-07:00

Yes, my friends, embedded here is the complete classic half-hour cartoon “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown”... the one we all grew up on. It originally aired on CBS 43 years ago.

(Reminds me that I should’ve dapped up Bill Meléndez during Hispanic Heritage Month.)

Happy Halloween to all!

Dr. John in New Orleans (10/29/09)

2009-10-30T15:45:00.000-07:00

Got a chance to hang with some “Treme” folks last night at House of Blues.

The great Dr. John played a charity gig to benefit the New Orleans Musicians Clinic.

’Twas my first time seeing Dr. John. And he can still spank the hell out of those keys, though he moves a bit slow getting to the bench. (Dude has been making records for 50 years!)

He had plenty of guest stars with him: George Porter, Jr. (of the Meters) ... James Andrews (whom I just mentioned earlier this week)... Irma Thomas...

Dr. John rocked such old crowd-pleasers as “Tipitina,” “Goodnight, Irene” and “Let the Good Times Roll.” Speaking of crowd-pleasers, the packed house went bananas as guest vocalist/trumpeter Andrews led the band through “Oo Poo Pah Doo,” a New Orleans R&B classic.

I left early, because at this point in life, for me, nothing tops sleep. Long about 10:30, I was standing there thinking, “Oooh, I’mo fuck that mattress up tonight. I’m gonna sleep gooood.” Wound up missing Irma Thomas, and I’m told she was fantastic.

Maybe the longer I’m in New Orleans, the more stamina I’ll get. Meantime, let me spin a couple of platters on my Vox blog...

Click here to hear Dr. John’s 1972 recording of “Let the Good Times Roll” (a.k.a. “Come On”). Click hear to hear Earl King’s original version from 1960.

My thanks to photographer Dino Perrucci, who allowed me to post one of his shots from the show. Dr. John strapped on a guitar for “Let the Good Times Roll.” (Come to find out guitar was his first instrument.)

A free Fela Kuti download

2009-10-30T12:37:00.001-07:00

Are you into Fela Kuti? Or did you never get around to exploring the prodigious recorded output of Nigeria’s king of Afrobeat?

Now comes news that Knitting Factory Records will remaster and reissue Fela’s entire catalog over the next 18 months. Those people are on a mission from God.

I got into Fela back when I was buying most of my music on cassette. Time for the upgrade.

Meanwhile, I can point you to a FREE MP3 off the new “Best of the Black President” deluxe double-CD.

Click here to hear “Zombie” on my Vox blog. It’s a 12½-minute cut from 1977. To download it, follow this link to Giant Step, the marketing website. (If you’re a Mac user, CTRL+click and “Save Link As...”)

Random hotness

2009-10-30T05:12:00.000-07:00

I don’t know which I’d rather be... the chick or the dude.

Elvis Mitchell interviews Chris Rock

2009-10-29T14:08:00.001-07:00

Been writing for the past few weeks, so I haven’t gone to the movies... or even felt like going to the movies. Which means I haven’t seen “Good Hair,” which opened nationwide last week. But I intend to.

My man Elvis Mitchell interviewed Chris Rock on his radio show, “The Treatment,” last week. I love listening to these cats shoot the shit.

Click here to hear a 3½-minute excerpt on my Vox blog. If you want to stream or download the entire half-hour conversation, follow this link to KCRW.

Random Asianness

2009-10-29T08:01:00.000-07:00

I bet you Timothy DeLaGhetto gets more Asian ass than a rickshaw seat. The Filipinas are all over him... and he’s Thai. Play on, bruh!

A free Boo Boo Davis download

2009-10-28T18:43:00.001-07:00

Boo Boo Davis, a latter-day Delta blues singer, spent the summer touring Europe with his band.

He took a couple of days in July, went in a Dutch recording studio and cut a new album... hot, raw and live-to-tape.

Click here to hear a funky track called “Silvermine.” To download it, click the song title below.

Europe must be where the blues is really happening, because Boo Boo Davis has gigs booked into next spring, and it’s all about Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Poland, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic...

Fuck ’em up, Boo Boo.

“Silvermine” (MP3)
Album available at iTunes Music Store

‘This Is It’

2009-10-28T09:43:00.000-07:00

If you see it, please let me know what you think.

UPDATE (10/28/09): Author and filmmaker Nelson George saw the movie today and shared his thoughts on Facebook:

“My friend Tigist went with me and cried on and off for the entire film. I didn’t cry but was quite impressed.

“I saw Michael perform many times over the years and thought his stage craft was at a very high level. His performance of ‘Human Nature,’ ‘Smooth Criminal’ and especially ‘Billie Jean’ were extraordinary.

“That said, he did look frail to me and I’m not convinced he could [do] that show for 50 nights without more bulk and upperbody strength. I was also aware that this was a very selective use of footage. They made a two hour film of 110 hours of footage. By definition much was left out. But that’s speculation.

“What is clear [is] that This Is It [is] a great document of the 20th century’s last great entertainer.”

Toto, we’re not in L.A. anymore.

2009-10-27T15:33:00.000-07:00

You know when you really know you’re in a different place? When you turn on a local talk-radio station... and you hear a caller who talks like this.

That’s a “John Osterlind Show” clip from early last week... when the news was all about a backwoods Louisiana justice of the peace who wouldn’t marry interracial couples.

Interesting show, actually. A black woman named Jalinda called and lumped Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson in with the redneck justice of the peace... because “they’re reversing racism on people!”

Click here and listen to Jalinda for a few minutes. She uses one turn of phrase that’s so tasty, I’m gonna steal it and put it in a “Treme” script. Can you guess which phrase I mean?

Tuesday 12-inch Flashback: ‘Love Hangover’

2009-10-27T12:01:00.000-07:00

Best. Disco. Record. Ever.

A free Preservation Hall Jazz Band download

2009-10-26T18:06:00.000-07:00

I’m still in a New Orleans frame of mind, peoples. I delivered today a fresh draft of my first “Treme” script, and now I’m cooling out.

Found another FREE MP3 from the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, which has been a New Orleans institution for almost 40 years.

This version of “Peanut Vendor,” recorded in 1966, was recently reissued in digital format. This configuration of the PHJB includes the legendary clarinetist George Lewis.

Click here to hear “Peanut Vendor” on my Vox blog. To download it, click the song title down below.

The melodic hook should be somewhat familiar to all... even if the words “Peanut Vendor” don’t ring a bell.

Turns out “Peanut Vendor” (or “The Peanut Vendor,” or “El Manisero”) has quite an interesting history. With lyrics inspired by the chants of Cuban street vendors, this tune was composed in Cuba more than 80 years ago by Moisés Simons.

A 1930 recording of “Peanut Vendor” touched off a “rumba craze” in the United States that lasted into the ’40s.

Louis Armstrong recorded it in 1931, thus introducing “Peanut Vendor” into the New Orleans canon through a side door.

Over the years, many major artists have recorded “Peanut Vendor.” Stan Kenton, Dean Martin, Chet Atkins, Xavier Cugat... and every Cuban star who ever drew breath: Desi Arnaz, Perez Prado, Mongo Santamaria, Candido, Paquito d’Rivera...

I like this jaunty Preservation Hall version a lot.

“Peanut Vendor” (MP3)
Album available at iTunes Music Store

Random genius

2009-10-26T09:11:00.000-07:00

(Hat-tip: Bold As Love.)

A free Flying Neutrinos download

2009-10-25T14:29:00.001-07:00

One cool thing about working on the upcoming HBO series “Treme” is that I’m familiarizing myself with the breadth and depth of New Orleans music.

Is you hip to a “retro swing” band called the Flying Neutrinos? Lead singer Ingrid Lucia is kinda trippy. She comes from a family of street musicians. Her vocal style owes a debt to Billie Holiday.

I got a FREE MP3 for you.

Click here to hear the band’s take on “St. James Infirmary,” probably my favorite old-time jazz standard. (James Andrews, self-described “Satchmo of the Ghetto,” is guest vocalist and trumpeter.)

To download the track, follow this link to the Flying Neutrinos website, and look under “Live from New Orleans.”

Saturday morning cartoon

2009-10-24T05:17:00.000-07:00

Posted without comment

2009-10-22T19:08:00.000-07:00

(Hat-tip: Shadow and Act.)

Muzak karma

2009-10-21T16:57:00.000-07:00

While shopping last night at the only Whole Foods Market in the city of New Orleans, I had a surprising and quite pleasant experience.

First let me say... I wasn’t at the Whole Foods because I’m ultra bourgie or anything. Heck, I go to the Walmart on Tchoupitoulas as well. But sometimes I wanna get cute with my mustard selection.

Or watch with my own eyes as they put $85 worth of groceries into one paper bag. (Whereas at Walmart, they put $40 worth of groceries into 15 plastic bags.)

Anyhoo... last night I stopped in my tracks, somewhere around the prepared foods aisle, when this song came over the Muzak.

Now you must admit, that is one frickin’ deep cut to be hearing at the grocery store. I was delighted. And it wasn’t no fluke, because earlier in the mix was “Fancy Dancer” by the Commodores... another deep cut.

I’ve been having good Muzak karma lately. Over the weekend at Burbank Airport, the cuts weren’t deep, but they were plenty tasty. “Love Hangover”... “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)”... “The Groove Line.” Sounded like something I might’ve mixed.

(Photo above by Walter Parenteau.)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mwparenteau/ |CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Random silliness

2009-10-21T06:13:00.000-07:00

(Thanks, Susie.)

Bokeem Woodbine... rock star?

2009-10-20T16:01:00.000-07:00

Y’all know I like it when famous actors be singing and shit, right? I’ve shared with you the musical stylings of Billy Bob Thornton, Robert Downey, Jr., Steven Seagal and others.

Well... I just found out that Bokeem Woodbine fronts a hard-rock band called 13 Purple Dragons.

Below is a clip from a Hollywood gig 10 months ago. And because the song is titled “Don’t Hate,” I shan’t tell you what I think of Mr. Woodbine as a musical talent. (I dug him in “The Big Hit,” though.)