Open Feedback Thread
I wanted to do something a little different today. First, this week is pretty busy so I won’t be able to post as often as I’d like. But also, I figure it gives me a good opportunity to satisfy my curiosity.
I track visitors to this site, and I get a fair amount. Many people find this site and read every single post in one sitting. Yet the same handful of people comment or give feedback over and over.
So I’m going to try something different, an open thread. Which is always risky because if you make an open thread and no one comments in it then you look like a dick, but so be it.
Delurk and post a comment about anything you want in this thread. Your feelings about a particular post on this site in general, something interesting you read elsewhere, what you had for breakfast, your questions and concerns about life, why you love this site, why you hate this site, your dog, your chronic halitosis, what you want to see more of on here, what you want to see less of, who you are and where you’re from, the best TV show you’ve seen recently….whatever.
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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IF YOU ARE A LOVER OF MUSIC MAKE SOME NOOOOOOISE!!!!
Smash’s last blog post..The Greatest Hip-Hop Producer of All-Time!
Ruff shut up.
Desiree’s last blog post..Re: The Healthiest Relationship She Was (N)Ever In…
I’ll be writing a post about this coming up I don’t know if this happens as much in NYC as it does here but I call it the switch up. You meet a girl at the club, get her number, call her and agree to meet up for a date. You show up and the girl looks completely fucking different as if it was another person all together. WTF is up with that? I never really hear about it happening to girls as much as all my guy friends have had it happen to them. I’m really starting to think the girl sends her ugly stand in to the date as sort of a pinch hitter
Smash – Ruff, speaking of music the Roots at the Apollo this weekend was sick! They have this guitarist named ‘Captain’ Kirk Russell you have to see to believe.
Des – Oh shnap, oh shnap, oh shnap!!! You tell him.
VK – not only does it happen a lot in NY, sometimes it happens the same night you meet them. Like the lights come on in the club at the end of the night and there’s suddenly this gremlin in front of you and you’re like “oh shit, where did YOU come from?” You’re right though, doesn’t seem to happen to women that much, unless they just don’t talk about it a lot.
Actually I take it back, I do know one latina chick that got hit with the switch-up. I was dating her years ago and she told me about her first daytime “street” date with some guy she had previously met in a club. They spoke on the phone and arranged to meet in front of a specific building. As she was walking to the rendezvous point from across the street, she saw him standing there waiting, but he didn’t see her. He was apparently busted as all hell. She stopped, did a quick about face without being noticed and briskly walked away. When he called that night she acted like she got the street names wrong and went to the wrong meeting place.
He must have been a hot mess.
i fuckin love the roots. they are great act no matter which way you slice it. I gotta check this guy captain kirk.
speakin’ of guitars…i’ve been a big radiohead for a while now. thom yorke mentioned in an interview that the band needed to change their sound and progress otherwise they woulda become a poor rehash of the Pixies. With that inspiration and thru the magic of iTunes i checked them out. Phenomenal.
In an unrelated story… if the next OutKast album treats me like the last one did, Hip Hop will officially be dead to me.
Smash’s last blog post..The Greatest Hip-Hop Producer of All-Time!
Hey T- thanks, you totally stole those Roots tix from me. bern offered them to me, but some weird Blackberry outage didn’t allow me to et his email until AFTER you and Gary jumped on them. BTW thanks. Thanks a whole lot. :/
Desiree’s last blog post..Re: The Healthiest Relationship She Was (N)Ever In…
I like VK’s comment. I think theres isn’t an actual switch up, but I can only assume the numerous drinks consumed at the first encounter MAKE the troll appear attractive…then in the light of day (and sobriety) you actually realize she’s disgusting. Not exactly Rocket Sci
Desiree’s last blog post..Re: The Healthiest Relationship She Was (N)Ever In…
Apparently I’m “post” happy. Here’s a query for the boys (i wanted to write about this on my own blog, but was scared someone it pertains to would read it. Yeah I AM a wuss), anyway do you guys find that the table’s have turned between men and women and who wants to be in a relationship vs. who wants to just “be”. Clarification (sorry i’m not making sense, I should be working): I’ve noticed in my personal life as well as with friends that women, more than ever, want to just have a little fun but men are the ones who become all attached/clingy or want something more. Discuss!
Desiree’s last blog post..Re: The Healthiest Relationship She Was (N)Ever In…
fuckin “T-Bo and Gary.”
Sounds like an 80′s action-drama like “Hardcastle & McCormick”
in another completely unrelated story…is it just me or do “Blackberry” users always seem to find a way to insert a blackberry reference into any conversation? Maybe it’s just me.
Smash’s last blog post..The Greatest Hip-Hop Producer of All-Time!
To clarify on Ruff’s hateration: I am NOT a Blackberry user. Bernard is…. HIS crapped out, which made me assed out on those Roots tix.
Desiree’s last blog post..Re: The Healthiest Relationship She Was (N)Ever In…
Fuckin’ Bernard. I’ve known this kid for like 29 years-literally live 10 minutes away from him-but for the life of me i can’t remember the last time i communicated with him thru a non-text based medium.
Smash’s last blog post..The Greatest Hip-Hop Producer of All-Time!
but to respond to your query…lemme first say that i’m always suspicious of any woman claiming to not really wanna be in a relationship right now. I put that in the same category as a chick’s “Oh love watching football, too!” gimmick. That’s just some shit women say when they meet a guy because they know it makes them sound more cool and attractive. But try to build the relationship thinking that’s a persistent character trait and you’ll be up to your neck in it fast.
That doesn’t really answer your question though. I dunno, Des.
There’s as scene in one of my favourite adam sandler movies, Wedding Singer, where he’s talking to his philandering friend who finally admits to him:
“I just want someone to hold me and tell me everything is gonna be alright.”
I think that’s what all guys want, ultimately.
Some guys want it soon. Some want it later.
Some want it from a different woman every other night.
I dunno. I’m gonna go back to watchin’ Transformers.
Smash’s last blog post..The Greatest Hip-Hop Producer of All-Time!
oh! before i go and before i forget.
T, can you fix the timestamps on the site so it’s not posting Greenwich Mean Time on every comment.
Thanks.
Smash’s last blog post..The Greatest Hip-Hop Producer of All-Time!
Jay-Z is faltering (for me as a fan) in the later stages of an otherwise glorious career because he refuses to transcend from entertainer to artist. The shift requires a change in focus from external storytelling to internal exposition. I don’t want to hear fantasies about running drugs any more than I want to hear true life tales of partying with models in faraway lands. Those are cool in moderation, but his whole catalog is built on that material. Let’s progress. Bring me inside. I want to hear cerebral reflection on what it feels like to be a man who came from nothing and ended up with everything, what it feels like to find love in such a superficial industry, what it feels like to have to walk between worlds. Hov claims to have tried this route on Kingdom Come, but I have to call bullshit. There was no vulnerability on that album, no dropping the guard to give the listener an honest look at the MAN, not the persona. As the poster child for a particular strain of Black masculinity grown without fatherly influence, it isn’t surprising that Jay has a problem with showing weakness and opening up, but that’s what separates artists from entertainers. Art is supposed to provoke, to challenge the audience’s preconceived notions and world views and raise questions and lingering doubts about the certainty of one’s place in the world; in the alternative, art should expose the life of the artist so fully to the audience that they have no choice but to consider their own. Jay doesn’t do any of that. Not many in hip-hop do these days. I’ve been a dedicated Hov fan since damn near day 1, and I still maintain that he’s the greatest of all time…but I can’t say he’s my all-time favorite anymore.
Just wanted to get that out there.
Wow. I DO like watching football…. that isn’t a schtick, and I DON’T want a relationship. But then again, I’m pretty much a guy… with girlie bits.
Desiree’s last blog post..Re: The Healthiest Relationship She Was (N)Ever In…
Desiree,
Guys with girlie bits? I think I saw that porno
VK- Lol, sounds like a good one. Not.
You know what I mean, too many guy friends turns you sour!
Desiree’s last blog post..Re: The Healthiest Relationship She Was (N)Ever In…
that movie was phenomenal….WHOAH! what do we have here? someone tryin’ to tear down my nigga, Jay?!?!
eh. tear away. I have to agree with everything you said, mike. way to distinguish artist and entertainer. It’s like Jay always says, he all about moving product. When he sees that something he tried didn’t move units he’s not gonna go down that path. atleast not at the expense of his label’s profits. I suppose that’s a fair decision to make in his role as an executive. but he can’t carry the “artist” label then.
I mean what’s the worse that would happen if he just did what he wanted to do? If it can work for Kanye you’de think he can make it work for him.
anybody else here like kurosawa movies? i’m about to finish watching Throne of Blood. Love Toshiro Mifune.
Smash’s last blog post..The Greatest Hip-Hop Producer of All-Time!
Des – Yay blackberry outage! Wanna hear something crazy though? We met some people who bought tickets at the window about 3 hours before the show started and managed to get seats in the row IN FRONT of us. And we were already pretty close to the stage (5th row or so)! You could have gotten better seats than us right before the show started. Surprised the hell out of me.
Mike – Yeah, J is stagnating for me too. I always think of him as the guy that does one “artist” record, a record to move units, another artist record, and alternates accordingly. But his “artist” records have really gotten cliched. One group I love for their beats and flow for example is Mobb Deep, but they’ve rapped about the same fighting and shooting in the hood shit for like 13 years now!
Smash – Throne of Blood is AMAZING.
T’s last blog post..Open Feedback Thread
yeah man. i been on his samurai movie kick lately. sanjuro. yojimbo. 7 samurai. i know i’m not breaking new ground when i say
kurosawa+ toshiro mifune=magic.
Smash’s last blog post..The Greatest Hip-Hop Producer of All-Time!
Rashomon is the only Kurosawa flick I’ve seen. I could appreciate why film snobs dig it but it’s not a mobie I’d watch again. Seven Samurai is in the queue.
@ Smash – “I mean what?s the worse that would happen if he just did what he wanted to do?”
Exactly. At this point I have to think it’s just greed. Personally I don’t see why Jay or even Kanye would even still deal with the major label bullshit. They could just go Koch or some other indie label route that would allow them to keep more of what they sell per album; it’s not like they need the marketing budget to still do respectable numbers. This seems especially true for producer-rappers like Kanye (back when he carried most of the production) who don’t even have to sink much into a production budget. Shit, I’d extend it to a John Mayer or a Coldplay even. I dunno, maybe it’s fear of the unknown. Much respect to Radiohead for stepping outside the box.
@Mike:
What bugs me more is that these guys only give themselves one song to be vulnerable, and the rest of their albums will be the same junk. Like with Kanye, I’m sure there’ll be one and a half songs dedicated exclusively to his mom on the next album and the rest will just be about how awesome he is.
To be honest, the conscious rappers are even more annoying to me in this regard. Why is Mos Def still doing anti-whitey and anti-corporate songs and performing beat poetry about the “revolution” when he’s in tons of big name mainstream movies and doing commercials for SUVs and other corporate status symbols? Same with Common, he’s always about some black power version of nuts, twigs and berries hippie granola shit in his rhymes and images, but he’s doing commercials for SUVs, Coke and the GAP. I’d love to see these rappers actually rap about how their value systems have changed and they now love corporate sponsorship and the money and aren’t ashamed. Or just address it in some fashion rather than just pretending they are still the black bohemians they started out as.
T’s last blog post..Open Feedback Thread
Yeah, I hear what you’re saying, T. But it’s a tough thing. I’m of the opinion that the “artist” should always be given the benefit of the doubt. His job is so much harder than that of the critic. I mean, they go out there and try to create something new out of nothing that speaks genuinely of them but at the same time is somewhat accessible to the public at large. But he has limited time time and budget to do it.
The critic on the other hand has no limit to the time and effort he can put into critiquing the work. Sure the article needs to be submitted by Friday, but its just mental contemplation of a finished work of art. All the critic has to do is go “hit” or “miss.” Whereas the artist has to actively create that “miss.” I’m not saying that there shouldn’t be criticisms any more than I’d say there shouldn’t be opinions. But ultimately a frail, flawed human being will create frail flawed products. That’s non-negotiable. For me, what’s truly worth of inspection and analysis is
1.PURPOSE: By this I mean, what an artist is trying to do must be taken into account. There’s no pass/fail when it comes to this one because I truly believe that no man can judge another. To each his own purpose. But it does bear considering whether what your doing is new and if not then is it done better than other examples like i. or maybe its purpose isn’t to “enlighten” but to “extend” or “maintain” or even to “fail.” Whatever it is is what it is. but it’s worthy of consideration for its own merits and for consideration of…
2.EXECUTION OF PURPOSE: To what degree did the artist succeed in his own intended purpose. I don’t go crazy over club songs. It’s not my favorite subgenre of rap. But insofar as 50&Dre were setting out to create a “club-banger” they succeeded to a high degree with “In Da Club”. That shit is a classic. I don’t even like 50 but he did some great things on that first album. His purpose often divurge from my taste. But I gave him high marks for HIS execution of HIS purpose.
3. METTLE OF PURPOSE: This entails some of both of the last two points. The “meaningfulnesss” of purpose(and i accept that this is completely subjective) and the exucution of that purpose all contribute to its “METTLE”, or “Artistic Merit.”
So girl X might find high value in disco music. For her there is “meaning.” And Song X by Donna Summer might do a great job of fulfilling that purpose. check 1 and check 2. But How deep and substantive is the work. Do its merits transcend its novelty. Will it do for her in 10 years what it portends to do today? Or on repeated iterations?
Some albums sound great the first week. Or on 1 listen. Others sound better with time or throughout repeated listenings. Not every song has longevity as its purpose but i think there is something inherently meritorious in a piece of art that, whether by design or by circumstance, maintains its initial intended purpose in and throughout time. It speaks to the depth (and that’s not a value judgement) and substantivity of a work.
I’m not sure if i’m making my last point clear.
I can find two pieces of art fantastic on both of my first two metrics. and either though repeated listenings or after an extended period of time find that one maintains a value but much of it due to nostalgia or renewed novelty. And the other i might find as deeply impressing and relevant as the first or past appreciation. They’re both still “classics” or great works of art. But the latter had…i dunno…a density or substantivity that helped it withstand weathering. I guess this is a long winded way of saying “timelessness.”
Anyway, to bring it back to Jay-Z and other artists, i gotta just say that these guys, ulitmately are flawed men they are as much subject to contradiction and paradox as anything else.
this is what i loved about Kanye’s first album because it wore his contradictions conscpiciously.
Yeah these guys rail on some anti-establisment shit but part of them isn’t in some way a product of that establishment. even reaction to establishment is establishment. pressure from outside must equal pressure from inside to maintain stasis.
All I care about is whether the shit is genuine. Because as long as its genuine and scores high on my personal measures of art then i can access it for MY purposes when it suits MY purposes. Jay can rap about whatever the hell he wants as many times as he wants. as long as he does it well i’ll listen. It’s not as if he is actually rapping into my ear 24 hrs a day. it’s an album i own and can access at MY leisure. and as long as his material is consistently good then those days when i wanna have a Jay-Z marathon (and those days are often though maybe farther between the older i get) i’ll have more to choose from…or can have the playlist play for longer.
Ultimately they are putting out a product. I either consume or don’t consume. If i wan’t soemthing else i’m free to go somewhere else. These artists aren’t claiming to be Walmart-onestop shop. But if you want this shit…then i got something for you. You want something else…go ahead. Holla at Talib or Marlena Shaw for a minute. I’ll be here when you get back.
Smash’s last blog post..The Greatest Hip-Hop Producer of All-Time!
Is it just me or does ruff talk way too much?
Desiree’s last blog post..Re: The Healthiest Relationship She Was (N)Ever In…
@ Des: Technically he’s typing. But yeah.
@ Smash: I hear what you’re saying, but I just have a special level of annoyance for the “corporate revolutionary.” Like even in Common’s SUV commercial he’s got to have scenes where he’s helping the black kids realize their dreams yaddayaddayadda…nigga, you’re pimping cars! Just be real about it and stop trying to frame it in a bohemian, upliftment aesthetic.
Smash: i hear you on Kanye’s conspicuous contradictions – and i think that’s the thing i’ve always found appealing about him (apart from the fact that he resurrected the lost art of the sped-up soul sample)
one thing that always bugged me a bit about “conscious” rappers (even during the “Golden Age”) was the holy-than-thou, know-it-all vibe that so many of them projected. i find it refreshing that in Kanye’s attempts to address problems (eg “Diamonds From Sierra Leone” remix), he comes right out and says that he doesn’t know the answers, and that he is in fact part of the problem (and thus, he “beats himself up like Ike”)
i guess some people would see that as a cop-out, but i find it refreshing… that’s what *real* consciousness is to me: trying to open a discussion rather than close it with preprogrammed “answers.”
Uchenna’s last blog post..Stella Monye is here again!
Des: Stop the hate. Accept that its love that you’re feeling and all this will be much simpler.
Smash’s last blog post..“Presto Prestare!”
Love? eh, overrated.
speaking of, who else is super excited for the Arrested Development movie that is SURE to happen now that a one Michael Cera is super famous??? Yes!
Desiree’s last blog post..Re: The Healthiest Relationship She Was (N)Ever In…
oh definitely. michael cera is hilarious and that movie is gonna be phenomenal
Smash’s last blog post..“Presto Prestare!”
anyone besides me interested in the election returns tonight?
Smash’s last blog post..Lil’ Rascals!
I am, but mostly because I just really, really hate Hillary. I want to see if she cries again.
i’m SO depressed. i think obama not winning atleast ONE of the big states was the biggest setback the democrats as a whole could suffer. Now there’s little reason for either of them to concede before the convention. They’ll rip each other apart in the process.
Some say a unity ticket is the only option now but i doubt hillary will take a backseat given her “experience” and momentum. But who would begudge Obama for presenting his delegate lead as justification of his headlining the ticket.
From what i hear, Hillary is a sweet person and I do see some evidence of that at some times. But i just don’t like her general politrickin’ style.
I’m SOOOOO depressed.
Smash’s last blog post..Lil’ Rascals!
H. Klinton vs Obama. How you think who will win elections?
This election and the conversations that are being had because of it have the potential to truly disenfranchise me in a way I wasn’t over Kerry or even Gore.
I truly feel some measure of hurt over some of the criticisms being lobbed at Obama. Some of its empathy over his race but most of it is because his appeals to America’s intellect are not being received.
For me this is less about race or class but about sensibilities.
i don’t mind people not sharing my politics. I do mind not being able to speak intelligently with people about them.
Smash’s last blog post..GETHSEMANE
As a conservative and a cynic, I really don’t see this whole battle for the soul of the Democratic party that all my fellow NY’ers seem to be lamenting over. I just see a loosely held coaltion of self-interested people who barely like each other…blacks, unions, hispanics, limousine liberals, teachers, trial lawyers…begrudgingly cooperating and doing whatever it takes to regain power. I don’t really think either party has a soul. It’s just a bunch of pragmatists that will switch positions to whatever will get them the most votes. Giuliani can suddenly be anti-Abortion, Hillary can change viewpoints on the war, etc., etc. They care about winning, not about any so-called soul of the party.
T.’s last blog post..Open Feedback Thread
i feel like that post couldn’t have anything less to do with what i was talking about.
Smash – Go back to your March 5th comment. I was responding to that.
T,’s last blog post..Open Feedback Thread
Hey, I fucking love your blog. I lost you and came back recently and made sure to bookmark you. First time I stumbled across you was your first Charisma post which really gave me a solid definition of it. You know how there are a thousand ways to explain something, but when it is expressed just right for an individual, it sinks in so easy? Your definition did that.
Anyways, I love the nature of your blog, and your newest post about knowing your worth using the recent call girl affair as an angle impressed me. I like how you mixed that marketing lesson in there. Keep doing what you do, You are a refreshing.
Noah’s last blog post..New Blood
Hey Noah, really appreciate you stopping by man. I get a lot of readers that I track who read a lot of posts (meaning they must like the blog), yet never comment, so I’m never sure what they like best or why. So that specific feedback is always great. Thanks.
T.’s last blog post..Open Feedback Thread
gotcha, T.
I’m not necessarily concerned with the soul of the democratic party for any other reason but the fact that they’ll sponsor the candidate I want elected, Obama. In any other election year i would probably be enjoying the scorching of the earth. In fact, I generally welcome events that promote chaos and increased levels of anarchy (Carlin has a great bit that pretty accurately describes my reasons why).
But there is a chance that Obama’s candidacy and/or presidency represents a true socio-political shift in this country that can be had without any descent into that cathartic chaos, of which i would normally be a supporter.
This is the subtext of Obama’s appeal to “change” to which i’m most reseptive. Forgive the high language but I consider it America’s last “above board” chance at true redemption.
This is why I feel true hurt and disenfranchsement on the horizon…for me.
Like “Carlin’s Earth,” america or american politics will keep chugging along. But IIII won’t be around.
And you’re right. These aren’t coherent political parties but rather conglomerate coalitions (ill-fitting ones, to boot).
But one can hope.
hey, discovered your blog a month or so ago. started at the beginning and just caught up to this entry. as my introduction i’d like to offer up the following three line dialogue for interpretation/analysis:
me: where you getting movies from?
Sent at 2:36 PM on Sunday
her: video store or blockbuster
Sent at 3:06 PM on Sunday
her: there?
Sent at 3:20 PM on Sunday
I actually was linked to your blog from the perfect girl series but I didn’t have the time (college student) to really start reading until earlier today. I saw “what makes people tick, music and sleeping” and I was like holy fuck somebody cloned me..
First, I think you should check out the books an Ecology of the Mind by Gregory Bateson, Power vs Force by Richard Hawkins, and Influence: The Power of Persuasion by Cialdini if you haven’t already. About music, I fucking love the Cool Kids and I think I saw them live around the same time you did, like 2-3 months ago. And sleeping, why the hell haven’t you posted about sleeping yet.. I tried going polyphasic and succeeded for 8 days but gave it up because of the social implications. Nowadays I do a triphasic cycle with a 3-4.5 hour core.
Keep up the fresh nasty posts, I love to read about human ethology..
“Hey Noah, really appreciate you stopping by man. I get a lot of readers that I track who read a lot of posts (meaning they must like the blog), yet never comment, so I?m never sure what they like best or why. So that specific feedback is always great. Thanks.”
Garnering comments isn’t about the quality of the post or the quantity of readers that frequent the site, it’s about making the site “socially conducive” to commenting. Having read Roosh, VK, Roissy, and a lot of other blogs from the get-go (as well as having my own for a bit) here are my conclusions. Social proof is important. If there are already people commenting on a post, or if your website is frequently commented on, new commenters will have a greater inclination to hit submit. Secondly, aim to foster a dynamic within your comments section where commenters reply to each other. This ties the act of commenting to contributing, and makes the commenter feel as though they are adding value, making them feel good. Having a commenter hierarchy where comments are judged by everyone makes the act a regular process and keeps them coming back for more. On that hierarchy, you should always be at the top. It’s important to devote attention at the beginning in order to get a head start but when you’ve gained speed you should look more towards steering overall comment flow than individually replying to every commenter, thereby lowering your own value.
Pimp that shit out!
much love