(This week, we started the show reviewing Drake's new album "Views", so if that's not your thing, dodge the 32:00 - 55:00 area. Yeah. That much. We even acknowledge, without knowing the time mark, that some on you only listen to the first half of the show, and some, the second half. We dig.) Oh boy. We get QUITE the body count this week! On this episode of 'My 3 Dads'... er... 'The Flash' titled "Rupture", Zoom's back in town, with Caitlyn in tow, ready to do to Earth-1 what he did to Earth-2. The fun thing about serial killers is they lack creativity, so Wells paints a picture that quickly comes to pass. Barry has to face the idea of risking it all to become The Flash again, Iris has to face the fear of risking it all again to get her man, and Cisco has to face the fear of having a conversation with his punk ass brother! As Zooms plans unfold, we get the event that births new speedsters, the long awaited return of Henry Allen, and MAYBE a bit more insight as to who may be under that mask in Prison Zoom! Doppelgangers, mass murder, and really durable camera equipment! Trav talks about the joyous even that was his sister's wedding, I try not to scream as I tell you all about landing my acting gig, we get mad at Hollywood for whitewashing everything, and get really excited for Cap 3: Civil War. All this and more on this week's Fan X Fan Show!
Showing posts with label austin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label austin. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 7, 2016
Friday, April 29, 2016
Fan X Fan Show: Spring Break #3 (Wrestlemania Edition)
* Originally posted 4/13/16*
It's still spring break for the Fan X's, as our beloved Flash decided he needed a bit more time in the oven. Luckily, we get to tell you about our super exciting weekend in Dallas for Wrestlemania! We take you through our parallel trips to meet up, the journey that was the Dallas road trip, our fantastic meetup at the Kung Fu Saloon, and of course, the epic tailgate leading to the big event. It wasn't all sweet, and Trav tells you about his often stalled journey home, I fall down in hallways and steal footballs but get away with it because I'm so gosh darn handsome, and I let you know about a very special pair of $300 sunglasses. We also take a bit of time to talk THE AUDACITY OF A BATMAN V. SUPERMAN EXTENDED CUT, Suicide Squad re-shoots, Desiigner having a single that charted higher than any Future single, and why your feedback helps keep the show going. All this and more on this week's Fan X Fan Show!
It's still spring break for the Fan X's, as our beloved Flash decided he needed a bit more time in the oven. Luckily, we get to tell you about our super exciting weekend in Dallas for Wrestlemania! We take you through our parallel trips to meet up, the journey that was the Dallas road trip, our fantastic meetup at the Kung Fu Saloon, and of course, the epic tailgate leading to the big event. It wasn't all sweet, and Trav tells you about his often stalled journey home, I fall down in hallways and steal footballs but get away with it because I'm so gosh darn handsome, and I let you know about a very special pair of $300 sunglasses. We also take a bit of time to talk THE AUDACITY OF A BATMAN V. SUPERMAN EXTENDED CUT, Suicide Squad re-shoots, Desiigner having a single that charted higher than any Future single, and why your feedback helps keep the show going. All this and more on this week's Fan X Fan Show!
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Pudding Pops, Pusha T and Paramount Pictures - Bill Cosby? Not your Father.
I went to a Hannibal Buress show earlier this year. I knew him as an SNL writer, and a supporting character on the show 'Broad City' I rave about. Buress is my kind of comedian - he's in the know. Well read, but not removed from urban culture. In a crowd that mostly early 30's white men and women, I was one of the few reciting the Pusha T songs that played during the pre show. You can't control your audience, but you can control what you give them. In a post Dave Chappelle world, it was nice to have a comedian that operates in a space similar to mine.
The show was really, really good. He covered a wide range of topics - music, sex, race, violence, drugs... all the things we laugh about, cry about, and stay up at night contemplating. That, coupled with the fact that we brought in a few flasks, made for a fantastic experience. Months later, Buress did what lots of comedians do - he took a very real situation, deadpanned it, and waited for the crowd to react. Bill Cosby, famous TV dad, legendary comedian and crotchety old Black guy, spent YEARS stressing that, in many cases, we as young Black people were our own worst enemies. "pull up your pants, use your suffixes, turn your hat around" the whole nine. I've had this argument with parents, kids, teachers, hell, strangers, about the validity of such a statement. I could write an entire post on the intricacies of who's at fault there, but that's for another time. Before I talk about Bill Cosby being the scum of the earth, I want to explain to you my adoration of Bill Cosby. I'm a 28 year old Black Man from the east coast with a college degree. I fucking love Bill Cosby. I love Bill Cosby for the Huxtable family. This was a Black family of Doctors, Lawyers, Teachers, and dedicated students. They weren't "holier than thou" people. They made being educated seem NORMAL, like that's the way things were supposed to be. Even when light skinned Elvin decided showed up to lead Sondra astray, Elvin came from an educated family, so even if his common sense was gone, he had the tools to help people out in the world.
Even heavier than that, 'A Different World' was, and still is, mandatory viewing for children Black, white, and in between. I've seen every single episode front to back, and they still hold up. I've never seen LIFE on screen the way Hillman was given to us. The place was alive, teeming with ideas, hunger, fear... it was what I wanted from adulthood before I even knew what adulthood was. Looking back on it as a person older than those characters now, you see the ignorance the apprehension, the desire for understanding. It was a look at life after high school, but before the world really begins, that hasn't been replicated since.
So Bill Cosby, or Heathcliff Huxtable, or Debbie Allen, or Carmen Finestra, someone, was definitely a surrogate parent for me. But arrogant ass that I am, when people start talking crazy, I start separating the characters from the men behind them. BILL COSBY HAS BEEN ACCUSED OF RAPE FIFTEEN TIMES MAN. Now, I knew that, Weez and Travis probably knew that (hey guys) I'm certain Miles knew that, and Bradford and Chad knew that, because they know everything. I'm at the barbershop Wednesday, like I typically am on Wednesdays, and we started talking Cosby after the story came across the HLN ticker. I'll tell you something about Black people, if you weren't aware - we are VERY SLOW to condemn our successful individuals. Because we claim them as our own successes, it's very hard for us to throw them away. I had a spirited discussion which ended with me being called a coon because I choose not to listen to Michael Jackson anymore. Without getting into too much detail, MJ's catalogue is great, and I'd never tell anyone else they shouldn't partake... but I'm cool over here. So the first reaction from a woman in the shop was "that's a shame, someone trying to get Bill Cosby." In a very even tone I responded "this is the 15th time he's been accused of rape or sexual abuse." The two barbers nodded their heads, and that was the extent of the conversation. You damn near have to kill a Black baby while entering a white woman to have the Black community turn against you!
So understand my shift in feelings if you will - Bill Cosby, who told us to "act" a certain way for years and years, had access to channels other Black actors/ artists never did, because of the wholesome image he portrayed. Here's where it gets a little dark. How does a Black man, albeit a world renowned one, get accused of rape that many times, and most folks NEVER EVEN HEARD ABOUT IT? Because that's an image organizations work hard to maintain, because they can make a fucking MINT off that image. There are people who do bad, bad things that you'll never know about, because they mean too much to someone in power for that information to be as widespread as it should.
Who knows what'll happen from here - maybe Bill Cosby's life finishes out in prison, maybe he goes broke paying off lawsuits, maybe he "gets away with it" and spends his remaining days in a big house on a pile of money. Just be aware that the things we grew up on, the things that shaped us, were at least in part put out there to turn a profit. Don't let Bill Cosby ruin Heathcliff Huxtable. Or 'Ghost Dad'. That guy was a Saint.
Bonus - Me at the Hannibal Buress Show - Gibberish Rap x Ballerinas
The show was really, really good. He covered a wide range of topics - music, sex, race, violence, drugs... all the things we laugh about, cry about, and stay up at night contemplating. That, coupled with the fact that we brought in a few flasks, made for a fantastic experience. Months later, Buress did what lots of comedians do - he took a very real situation, deadpanned it, and waited for the crowd to react. Bill Cosby, famous TV dad, legendary comedian and crotchety old Black guy, spent YEARS stressing that, in many cases, we as young Black people were our own worst enemies. "pull up your pants, use your suffixes, turn your hat around" the whole nine. I've had this argument with parents, kids, teachers, hell, strangers, about the validity of such a statement. I could write an entire post on the intricacies of who's at fault there, but that's for another time. Before I talk about Bill Cosby being the scum of the earth, I want to explain to you my adoration of Bill Cosby. I'm a 28 year old Black Man from the east coast with a college degree. I fucking love Bill Cosby. I love Bill Cosby for the Huxtable family. This was a Black family of Doctors, Lawyers, Teachers, and dedicated students. They weren't "holier than thou" people. They made being educated seem NORMAL, like that's the way things were supposed to be. Even when light skinned Elvin decided showed up to lead Sondra astray, Elvin came from an educated family, so even if his common sense was gone, he had the tools to help people out in the world.
 |
| No funny quips here... except "jammin' on the one!" Loved that. |
Even heavier than that, 'A Different World' was, and still is, mandatory viewing for children Black, white, and in between. I've seen every single episode front to back, and they still hold up. I've never seen LIFE on screen the way Hillman was given to us. The place was alive, teeming with ideas, hunger, fear... it was what I wanted from adulthood before I even knew what adulthood was. Looking back on it as a person older than those characters now, you see the ignorance the apprehension, the desire for understanding. It was a look at life after high school, but before the world really begins, that hasn't been replicated since.
 |
| When being smart became being awesome! |
So Bill Cosby, or Heathcliff Huxtable, or Debbie Allen, or Carmen Finestra, someone, was definitely a surrogate parent for me. But arrogant ass that I am, when people start talking crazy, I start separating the characters from the men behind them. BILL COSBY HAS BEEN ACCUSED OF RAPE FIFTEEN TIMES MAN. Now, I knew that, Weez and Travis probably knew that (hey guys) I'm certain Miles knew that, and Bradford and Chad knew that, because they know everything. I'm at the barbershop Wednesday, like I typically am on Wednesdays, and we started talking Cosby after the story came across the HLN ticker. I'll tell you something about Black people, if you weren't aware - we are VERY SLOW to condemn our successful individuals. Because we claim them as our own successes, it's very hard for us to throw them away. I had a spirited discussion which ended with me being called a coon because I choose not to listen to Michael Jackson anymore. Without getting into too much detail, MJ's catalogue is great, and I'd never tell anyone else they shouldn't partake... but I'm cool over here. So the first reaction from a woman in the shop was "that's a shame, someone trying to get Bill Cosby." In a very even tone I responded "this is the 15th time he's been accused of rape or sexual abuse." The two barbers nodded their heads, and that was the extent of the conversation. You damn near have to kill a Black baby while entering a white woman to have the Black community turn against you!
 |
| How Black folks treat Black celebrities with "issues". |
So understand my shift in feelings if you will - Bill Cosby, who told us to "act" a certain way for years and years, had access to channels other Black actors/ artists never did, because of the wholesome image he portrayed. Here's where it gets a little dark. How does a Black man, albeit a world renowned one, get accused of rape that many times, and most folks NEVER EVEN HEARD ABOUT IT? Because that's an image organizations work hard to maintain, because they can make a fucking MINT off that image. There are people who do bad, bad things that you'll never know about, because they mean too much to someone in power for that information to be as widespread as it should.
 |
| Hold up... YOU want ME to pull up MY pants??? |
Who knows what'll happen from here - maybe Bill Cosby's life finishes out in prison, maybe he goes broke paying off lawsuits, maybe he "gets away with it" and spends his remaining days in a big house on a pile of money. Just be aware that the things we grew up on, the things that shaped us, were at least in part put out there to turn a profit. Don't let Bill Cosby ruin Heathcliff Huxtable. Or 'Ghost Dad'. That guy was a Saint.
 |
| HOW WAS THIS EVEN A THING? |
Bonus - Me at the Hannibal Buress Show - Gibberish Rap x Ballerinas
Monday, October 6, 2014
ACL Festival, Day #1 - Videos
Here are some clips of the OutKast performance at ACL. (the photos from my day at the festival can be seen here.)
Andre 3000 - Hey Ya
Big Boi - Kryptonite (I'm On It)
OutKast - Ms. Jackson
OutKast - International Player's Anthem
Andre 3000 - Hey Ya
Big Boi - Kryptonite (I'm On It)
OutKast - Ms. Jackson
OutKast - International Player's Anthem
ACL Festival, Day #1 - Pictures
For all my non facebook using friends (Josh) you're welcome!
Here are some of the sights and sounds from Day 1 of the Austin City Limits Music Festival, headlined by my favorite group ever, OUTKAST!
Here are some of the sights and sounds from Day 1 of the Austin City Limits Music Festival, headlined by my favorite group ever, OUTKAST!
 |
| ALL MINE! |
 |
| People that are always on their phone... that's not a good look! |
 |
| Why's she take this? I'll never know. |
 |
| They were showing the ALDS in a pavillion. so.... we took a break. |
 |
| So much happening here. |
 |
| It is I, the B-I-G the B-O-I! |
 |
| Dre's jumpsuit tonight read "Drake Love Live War". FLAMES. |
 |
| Best group since ever. EVER EVER. |
Friday, June 27, 2014
Orange SUV's, Kris Kross, and that Girl I Met from H-Town - The Legacy of the June 27th Freestyle
Go ahead and listen while you read. It's fine, I promise.
I was late to the party. SO LATE to the party. I moved to Texas in 1996, after being born in Maryland, and spending 3 years in Wyoming (pre-meth Wyoming.) Probably the first song I ever heard with any real Houston ties was Lil' Troy's 'Wanna Be a Baller'. It was was a hymn - it was a sing-songy chant where you wanted to imitate the hook as best you could, and well, learn all the verses later. It was the first time I remember someone's guest verse "Stealing a song". When Yungstar said 'switch from Motorola to a PrimeCo phone!' I damn near jumped out of my seat! But I knew the style of the song, the FUN of the sound was something I'd grow really, really fond of.
I'm a bit of a music snob, in that I don't listen to the radio. At all. It doesn't make sense to me: in a world where I have access to literally anything I want o hear at any moment, why would I listen to the same 10-15 songs all day with COMMERCIALS IN BETWEEN? That's as such a commentary on San Antonio/ Austin radio as anything else, but I digress... I was at Fiesta, a yearly celebration in San Antonio devoted to food, culture, parties, and at least in 2001, mix tapes. I was with my pal Shawn, and we came to a table selling mix tapes (back when you actually sold mix tapes) and I saw a partly hand drawn, partly photo shopped cover featuring a damn orange SUV on giant rims and a south park character. I asked Shawn what it was, and his response was "you don't know about the Color Changin' Click?" HELL NO I didn't know about the Color Changin' Click, but I really wanted to. So I paid the $20 and purchased the CD.
It was INCREDIBLE. It was the first time I had heard rappers over another artist's beat, which to me was mind blowing. I didn't even know you could do that! This was Chamillionaire and Paul Wall YEARS before anyone outside of Texas had heard of them - young, hungry, and without the boundaries of hooks, melodies. It was akin to the 50 Cent mix tapes prior to 'Get Rich' without the blatant (but precise and fantastic) swagger jacking. I wanted more. Anything I could get my hands on, Slim Thug, 3rd Degree, Freestyle Kings, I was all over it. So the more things I listened to, the more I wanted to know where it all came from
DJ Screw was gone. He was already outta here before I ever heard a slowed down track. I don't say that to sound callous, I say it because it makes him more of a legend than a guy. He birthed something and left it for me and didn't even ask for a thank you. It was just given to me. The name comes from his distaste of certain records. If he thought a record SUCKED, he'd scratch the damn thing with a screw, simple as that. His personalized tapes, which he intentionally slowed down to replicate the feeling of "lean", the popular promethazine/codeine/sprite mixture, became all the rage. People were literally lining up at the guy's door to get tapes. This birthed "Screwed Up Records & Tapes", his own store to sell albums and tapes. This would become a huge staple the State, with people opening their own mix tape/ album spots to huge profits.
He's also the Professor X of the "Screwed Up Click", a super team of Texas Emcee's that appeared on his songs/tapes/albums together. Some of the notable members are Big Moe, Lil' Flip, Lil' Keke, Big Hawk, and Big Pokey. One thing these artists were known for, in particular Big Moe and Lil' Flip, was there ability to freestyle. Not "lemme write this down and put it over a beat" freestyle, but "off the top of my head, let me make this up and spit it" freestyle. Sometimes simplistic, something hilarious, but always enjoyable, Texas-flavored freestyles were all the rage in the late 90's to the mid 2000's. This in many ways birthed the modern "anyone can rap" movement. If you were quick enough, and had enough life experience/stimuli, damnit you could freestyle. It seems that every party I went to from 2001-2006, I ended up in a freestyle circle, spitting god knows what about god knows who to anyone that would listen. Requisite "man hold up" and "i done came down" chants could be heard all throughout. Everyone swore they had the hottest lines, some people would go until they were FORCED to spot, but it was always fun.
Enter the 'June 27th' freestyle. Does anyone, ANYONE, remember Kris Kross' 'Da Streets Ain't Right'? ANYONE? Because I don't think I've ever heard it. But Screw lifted that Jermaine Dupri beat, gave it the slowed down treatment, and the backdrop for the 'June 27th' freestyle had been born. It isn't so much a song as it is an exhibit - it's a moment in time that was pure, it was fun, it was unapologetic. It didn't always rhyme, it wasn't always coherent, but it WENT. It was that SNL sketch that kept your attention because as much as it was a production, it was people adapting to what was happening and making the most of it. There were no do overs. And on top of that, people know that 35 minute + track WORD FOR WORD. Even the rhymes that aren't really rhymes! That comes on, you just go with it.
Take some time out today to listen the 'June 27th'. Sing it with your friends, drink something purple (preferable just juice folks) zone out and listen to it all alone. But take in that moment, that time when the music was just fun, it wasn't selling you anything, it wasn't prompting you to act, it was just there with you, and for you. It's the ones that smoke blunts witcha, see ya picha, now the wanna grab the guns to come and get ya...
Bonus - Drake's November 18th -
I was late to the party. SO LATE to the party. I moved to Texas in 1996, after being born in Maryland, and spending 3 years in Wyoming (pre-meth Wyoming.) Probably the first song I ever heard with any real Houston ties was Lil' Troy's 'Wanna Be a Baller'. It was was a hymn - it was a sing-songy chant where you wanted to imitate the hook as best you could, and well, learn all the verses later. It was the first time I remember someone's guest verse "Stealing a song". When Yungstar said 'switch from Motorola to a PrimeCo phone!' I damn near jumped out of my seat! But I knew the style of the song, the FUN of the sound was something I'd grow really, really fond of.
I'm a bit of a music snob, in that I don't listen to the radio. At all. It doesn't make sense to me: in a world where I have access to literally anything I want o hear at any moment, why would I listen to the same 10-15 songs all day with COMMERCIALS IN BETWEEN? That's as such a commentary on San Antonio/ Austin radio as anything else, but I digress... I was at Fiesta, a yearly celebration in San Antonio devoted to food, culture, parties, and at least in 2001, mix tapes. I was with my pal Shawn, and we came to a table selling mix tapes (back when you actually sold mix tapes) and I saw a partly hand drawn, partly photo shopped cover featuring a damn orange SUV on giant rims and a south park character. I asked Shawn what it was, and his response was "you don't know about the Color Changin' Click?" HELL NO I didn't know about the Color Changin' Click, but I really wanted to. So I paid the $20 and purchased the CD.
 |
| Top 5 LIFETIME PURCHASE. NO REGRETS. |
DJ Screw was gone. He was already outta here before I ever heard a slowed down track. I don't say that to sound callous, I say it because it makes him more of a legend than a guy. He birthed something and left it for me and didn't even ask for a thank you. It was just given to me. The name comes from his distaste of certain records. If he thought a record SUCKED, he'd scratch the damn thing with a screw, simple as that. His personalized tapes, which he intentionally slowed down to replicate the feeling of "lean", the popular promethazine/codeine/sprite mixture, became all the rage. People were literally lining up at the guy's door to get tapes. This birthed "Screwed Up Records & Tapes", his own store to sell albums and tapes. This would become a huge staple the State, with people opening their own mix tape/ album spots to huge profits.
 |
| The Essentials. |
 |
| THAT'S how you make a 37 minute track. |
Take some time out today to listen the 'June 27th'. Sing it with your friends, drink something purple (preferable just juice folks) zone out and listen to it all alone. But take in that moment, that time when the music was just fun, it wasn't selling you anything, it wasn't prompting you to act, it was just there with you, and for you. It's the ones that smoke blunts witcha, see ya picha, now the wanna grab the guns to come and get ya...
Bonus - Drake's November 18th -
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Hannibal Buress - Gibberish Rap x Ballerinas
Writer/ Actor/Comedian Hannibal Buress was in Austin, TX last night as part of the Moontower Comedy Festival. It was a really fun show from start to finish (in part because the other half smuggled in the disposable flasks) and the finish was... well take a look -
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Get into an argument with your gal at the Relays, ruin a perfectly good slab.
If you read the piece on my experiences with the Texas Relays earlier, you may have seen this coming. And well... it's important to keep domestic disputes verbal, and in private. Whoa.
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Race Records and Race Relations - Trying to Explain the Texas Relays
In 2008, I saw Leo Manzano run a sub
-4 minute mile. 3 minutes, 57 seconds (3:56.98 to be exact). It was
amazing, from the crowd, to the announcer somehow giving a play by play of a
guy running in a circle, the history of the old record he was on pace to break,
and the roar of the crowd as he crossed the finish line. It was a great
moment to celebrate success with total strangers. We all knew we had seen
something special.
 |
| The Texas GOAT. |
In 2004, I took a Hispanic Lady friend downtown, and ran a sub -4.6 40 (Cameron Jr. was fastlsummbitch) in the opposite directions on gunshots that rang out of the most popular street associated with one of the most famous Universities in the world. This is the duality of the Texas Relays - it's a celebration of some of the greatest athletes in the world that doubles as a weekend where a heavy dose of the wrong element occupies a normally (not always, but normally) safe environment.
The Texas Relays was birthed in 1925 as a response to the Kansas Relays (IT WAS TOO DAMN COLD IN KANSAS) and has grown into the second largest track meet in America, behind the Penn Relays. The top athletes from the high school, college and pro level compete in front of a packed stadium for records and yearly bragging rights. I've seen Maurice Green Run. Live. In Person. GREATNESS! Even my old high school pal (IN ALL THAT DAMN PURPLE) went out there and burned up the track, so the Relays are a great mix of nostalgia, as well as seeing the future of Track and Field all compete together.
 | |
| 2009 LSU Women's Mile Relay Team - BURNERS! |
Now, take a second to consult the Google. Type in "Texas relays" then choose the images tab. Better yet, I'll do it for you. "Party, Slab, 6th St., Cars." WHA? What does any of that have to do with a track meet? Monetarily, plenty. It's estimated that the city brings in an additional 8 million dollars in that individual weekend, mostly due to events geared towards young African Americans. Like these:
 |
| I would kinda like to hear a new Big Pic Verse... |
 |
| Griff, Chykie, Chris and Curtis... not a bad secondary... |
 |
| Other than DJ Grip... I don't know any of these people... |
 |
| I'd say avoid this one... |
 |
| Damnit James, you fight to well to be nicknamed "Mandingo"!!! |
 |
| That's a lot of people. |
So the dedicated out-of-towners for Texas Relays weekend bring a mix of excitement, entertainment and well, fear to a city used to a certain style and pace. There's no shame in not participating in the events ,especially the ones that happen after dark. But well - the silver lining? YouTube videos like this:
See y'all at Myers Stadium! Maybe...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)