BEST GEORGIAN NAME CONTEST

This could be somebody's birth announcement.


Poplicks Contest!

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution created an easily searchable database of all the names of children born in Georgia during the past 18 years.

I learned, for example, that there is at least one Junichi and one Junichiro in Georgia.

Speaking of Japanese names, I also found that there is at least one boy named Teriyaki.

(Oh, how I wish I could learn Teriyaki's last name. I'm hoping it's Jones. Teriyaki Jones.)

Even better, I discovered that there are 13 girls named Peaches, one girl named Peachtreanna, and one boy named Peach in the Peach State.

But now it's your turn to search.

What's the most amusing name that you can find in the database of Georgian names?

The best name discovered, as selected by me, will be the name of either a future child of mine or the name of my current cell phone. Guaranteed.

As of now, Peachtreanna will be the name of my future daughter or my iPhone.

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #131

Don't worry, water polo players in this photo.
Poplicks is not a gay porn site. It just has a wide stance.

This Week's Question:

The Orange County Register recently reported that many photographs of unsuspecting underage male water polo players from several Southern California high schools were posted on various gay porn sites.

According to the Register:

"[I]mages of local high school athletes, some as young as 14, according to parents, are juxtaposed next to photos of nude or semi-nude young males and graphic sexual content. The photos are the subject of lewd comments from chat room participants as far away as Australia. ...

The presence of the photos on these Web sites has alarmed local parents, coaches and school officials and traumatized high school athletes who were unaware they were being photographed. In some cases, boys have sought counseling after learning their photos were on the Web sites, parents said."

Question: Would the boys and their parents still be traumatized if the photos were only being posted on websites catering to women?

In other words, how much of this controversy is about privacy and protecting children vs. homophobia?

--Junichi

HILLAR, PLEASE.

In light of the smörgåsbord of offensive statements the Clintons made in both courting and dismissing the black vote in South Carolina, I believe the picture above says it all.

Heck, this might even be the best photo in the history of presidential politics.

*

The numbers out of South Carolina's primaries are stunning:

Democratic voters in yesterday's primary: about 530,322
Republican voters in last week's primary: about 446,000

Keep in mind that South Carolina hasn't gone "Blue" since 1976.

*

Another astonishing fact is that Sen. Clinton didn't even win the white vote among Democrats in South Carolina. According to exit polls ...

Edwards 39%
Clinton 36%
Obama 24%

Unfortunately, these numbers don't bode well for Obama.

Still, I'd like to believe that those who voted for Edwards and Clinton would vote for Obama in the general election.

Which is to say, come November, South Carolina could very well be the state that pushes the electoral count in favor of a black Democrat winning the White House.

Whowouldathunkdat? Given that the confederate flag still flies on the front lawn of South Carolina's Capitol building, this is quite a welcome development from the Palmetto State.

--Junichi

MITT ROMNEY WILL BE THE FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT

Later in the day, Gov. Romney ran into some Puerto Ricans and insisted he was livin' la vida loca.

--Junichi

BOOKS THAT MAKE YOU DUMB

Sure, there are problems with causation and correlation.

But it's still fascinating to see a chart that shows the results of cross-referencing the ten most popular books at every college (based on Facebook profiles, which, in my opinion, isn't representative of much) and the school's average SAT score.

Source: http://booksthatmakeyoudumb.virgil.gr/

Why am I wasting my time reading Choke? I need to go get me a copy of Lolita and 100 Years of Solitude right quick.

I wish somebody would do a regression analysis for television shows and IQ.

(Or is it just a foregone conclusion that Rock of Love actually makes people dumber?)

--Junichi

A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING?

AZN LUV!
A few sites are making notice of the fact that Lucy Liu's character on Cashmere Mafia kissed an Asian American male character the other night.

On the lips, no less!

Some have opined that this may be the first time this has ever happened on primetime network television.

I'm intrigued by this idea and two things come to mind.

1) I think people are wrong about this. Asians have been on television - albeit rarely in roles we'd want to champion - since practically the invention of the damn thing. Insofar as that's true, there must have been some previous instance and my guess is that it would have happened in the 1970s. I'd put money on that. Seriously, there lurks some old "Love Boat" or "Fantasy Island" where AZNs lock lips. Doesn't PBS count? Or how about Pat Morita? Margaret Cho? Nobu McCarthy? [1]

2) Even if it's not the first time, the fact that no one can precisely remember the last time they saw it happen says a lot. Volumes. So regardless if it is technically the first or not, it's rare enough that it strikes us as unusual whereas practically any other ethnic group in America takes for granted that intra-racial romance is alive and well on the airwaves. Which is rather depressing.

As is the fact that "Asian American kiss" turns up 8 finds in google, almost all related to this very question.


[1]Even though they're technically not Asian American, I think it's splitting hairs to conveniently overlook Sun and Jin on Lost. Ok, sure, their characters are Korean but when I see them smooching, I'm not thinking, "oh, that's sweet. Too bad neither is Asian American." It's rare enough to just see Asians getting their kiss on primetime t.v.; if it's about reassuring ourselves that we find one another, you know, desirable/attractive, then I'll take Sun and Jin, citizenship be damned!

--O.W.

NOW THAT YOU'VE SWITCHED TO DIGITAL ...

... you might as well do something creative with those LPs.




Source: Sleeveface Pool

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #130

That's the ticket!

This Week's Question:

I am about to send in my absentee ballot for the California Democratic primary, which, for the first time in forever, may decide the Democratic presidential nominee.

Of the three viable candidates, I like John Edwards the most. Among other things, he is the only candidate who has been consistently addressing issues of poverty and income equality.

Unfortunately, John Edwards' national poll numbers are dipping into the teens and he doesn't seem to have a real shot at winning the primary.

Moreover, given that the contest has been reduced to Obama vs. Clinton, a vote for Edwards almost has the same effect as not voting.

I do like Barack Obama and strongly prefer him over Hillary Clinton.

Question: should I vote for Edwards (my first choice) or Obama (my second choice)?


(P.S. Here is my annual plug for Instant Runoff Voting, which would ensure that I am never stuck in this painful dilemma again. Why isn't IRV the national standard for voting?)

--Junichi

FRIDAY FEEDBACK: FOXY BROWN

Chinchill Na Na

This week's Friday Feedback track is:

"Lights Go Out" by Foxy Brown feat. Kiara
from the forthcoming LP Brooklyn's Don Diva

I dare you to name a better new song from an artist who is currently in solitary confinement.

And just to hedge my bets, I dare you to name a better new song by an artist who reveals that her "na na na tastes like Jamaican kiki" in the song.

I don't know what Jamaican kiki is or what it tastes like, but I hope my na na na will one day taste like that, especially if the lights go out.

I especially enjoy the line "Me and my girls real hard in the Bentley Arnage."

One would think that her attacks on nail salon workers, fights with Jamaican cops, beatdowns of neighbors with a Blackberry, and attacks on other prison inmates would have been enough to solidify the "hard" image. But hey, I guess driving in a Bentley Arnage is pretty hard, too.

So back to the music, what do you think? Are you feeling this song?

--Junichi

MILLIONAIRE, PART II

Feel free to Photoshop this horrendous photo and alter it as you see fit.

I posted Part I (originally aired Friday, January 11, 2008). Here, below, is Part II of my appearance on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.

Let me begin my commentary by saying that there is nothing more stressful than attempting to absorb all the knowledge of the world in less than three weeks.

For the first time since the era of piano recitals, I was nervous to the point of not being in my own body. The lights, the camera, the audience, talking to Meredith -- none of that made me nervous. But having your intelligence tested before everyone you know? I'd almost rather strip during the Super Bowl halftime show. You can see my jitters through my freakish eyebrow twitches.

Backstage, I was chatting with two other fidgety contestants who were both law students. They were commenting on how worried they were about potentially missing a legal question. I promptly pointed out how much more embarrassing it would be for a law professor to miss a legal question.

I was the first one in my group to go. I walked down a very long corridor, escorted by two producers, headed for a big chair seated in front of spectators. Undoubtedly, it's totally inappropriate to analogize the experience to death row, but I would be lying if I didn't admit that I thought about yelling "Dead Man Walking!" during that long walk to "the chair."

I really wanted to get through the first five questions. After that, I knew I could relax and regain control of my bowels. Naturally, I was quite relieved that I did not leave with $0 like this poor guy.

Once I got past the $1000 milestone, which was my goal, I started to have fun. Since the trip to NYC cost about $1k, anything above $1K was icing on the cake. What kind of icing? Cream ... got the money, dollar dollar bill, y'all!

Now that I've made my obligatory Wu-Tang reference, let me briefly address my appearance. You may have noticed that I'm wearing the same clothes on both days. I brought multiple outfits (as instructed), but they didn't let me change. The producer explained that it was unnecessary since I was only on for three minutes on the previous episode; plus, they were running late. Had I known that it would appear to the viewing audience that I slept in the studio for 72 hours, I would've brought a fake beard and mustache to wear for Monday's show.

Meredith is as friendly and charming as she seems. Backstage, when just the two of us were waiting for the cue to walk on to the set, she was swinging around a beam and I, naturally, complimented her on her pole dancing. (She laughed, thankfully.) During one of the commercial breaks, we also talked about how she read aloud a letter that I helped compose when she was on The View. After the taping, she sent me a nice hand-written congratulations card.

As for the questions, I felt they were fair. That said, anybody who hasn't seen the show since the Regis era should note that the questions are much harder now. (The syndicated daytime show obviously has a much smaller budget. Not surprisingly, after 1000 episodes and 1000+ contestants, only two people have won a million dollars from Meredith. I would estimate the average winnings are somewhere around $15,000 these days.)

The $16,000 question about the leveret haunts me for a variety of reasons.

First of all, I actually studied animal trivia during my preparations. I practically memorized the names for groups of animals (e.g., a school of fish, a parliament of owls, and, best of all, an unkindness of raven), the female names for animals (e.g., dog -> bitch, sheep -> ewe, etc.), and the male names for animals (e.g., goose -> gander, pig -> boar). But I never thought to study the terms for animals' babies.

It's also haunting because I was 90% sure that the term for a baby goat was not a leveret. (It's a "kid" or a "billy.") Which is to say, I should have told the audience, before polling them, that the correct answer wasn't a goat. But I hadn't slept the night before and my self-doubt took over.

Perhaps the scariest part is how much I lucked out with the 50/50 lifeline. If the computer had left opossum and hare, I would've sided with the audience and chosen opossum.

(Since the taping, I've been looking for the word leveret to pop up in newspapers, magazines, books, and websites. I even pick up rabbit books looking for the word. But I have yet to see it.)

As for the $25,000 question, I thought the correct answer was Aramaic. I'm glad I called Tom Halpern, one of my Stanford Law School classmates, who has been a contestant on Jeopardy, Win Ben Stein's Money, and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire with Regis. (I was actually one of Tom's Millionaire phone-a-friends, but he never made it past the fastest finger portion.)

You may have noticed that I didn't begin by reading the entire question to Tom. I had arranged, in advance, that if the answer was something that could be Googled, I would begin by saying the exact terms that I would type into a search engine. Worked like a charm. (Using the Interweb, by the way, is not a violation of the rules.)

After Tom fed me the correct answer, I said to Meredith, "Tom makes the big bucks as a hotshot lawyer, so I think he can spot me the $15,000 I'll lose if I get this wrong." That line was cut.

After the commercial break, Meredith asked me about my professional blogging job. We had a fun chat, in which I defended why I was "spending time in the Dixie Chicks' dressing room." In the course of discussing the experience, I also referenced Dima, who was my on-air companion. But the entire conversation was cut, which is a major bummer because I really wanted to use TiVo to watch my wife squirming in slow motion.

As for the $50,000 Olympic royalty question, here is what I knew: (1) Prince Albert is the reigning monarch of Monaco and (2) that he is a renaissance athlete. I had a vague recollection that he had competed in the Olympics. But I didn't know that he was on the bobsled team. And I certainly didn't know if the reigning monarchs of the other countries had ever competed in the Olympics.

Needless to say, I should have gone with Monaco. At $50K and above, you're lucky to be able to make any kind of educated guess. My curiosity was too great; I couldn't help but to switch the question and see my other option.

Now, anytime I see something I wish I could afford, I say, "Monaco!" and raise my fist in frustration. Hey, is that the new hybrid Honda Accord? Monaco!!!!

The second $50,000 question will haunt me for the rest of my life.

While I was racking my brain to conjure up clues, I remembered this article about the comparison of American Idol's voting numbers with the 2004 presidential election. But most of my recollections about numbers and percentages were actually about the 2000 election (in which the voter turnout was barely a majority, if that).

Sadly, I forgot about how Jon Stewart, on The Daily Show, commented about how the youth rocked the vote in the 2004 election and the overall voter turnout was high ... but Bush still was re-elected, despite that.

(Perhaps there's an argument that 85 million is actually the correct answer since 40 of the 125 million votes were supplied by Diebold.)

There is one comment of mine that I am most disappointed ended up on the cutting room floor.

Before I answered the final question, I said, "You know, Meredith, I was too depressed after the 2004 election to remember any of this stuff."

(I suppose that banter about working for the Dixie Chicks and lamenting Bush's election was just too much.)

I never imagined I would lose on a question about the 2004 presidential election. Aside from questions about Pez dispensers or Public Enemy, I could not have asked for a better subject.

But alas, I was punished for my lack of faith in the American public.

Sorry, America. I learned my lesson.

I have not received a check yet, but I plan to sink most of it into paying off my debts (which includes credit card debt for the nice Caribbean vacation that Dima and I took in December) and some of it to Amnesty International, my charity of choice.

Overall, I'm quite a happy camper. w00t!

I suppose my 15 minutes are up now.


Bonus: Watch the commercial.

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #129

If only Thom Yorke had a better sense of humor ...

This Week's Question:

Radiohead's In Rainbows topped the Billboard album charts this week, despite the fact that the album was available for a "name your own price" (i.e,. "free") digital download from the band's website.

What does this say about the state of the music business? Or, if you prefer, what does this say about Radiohead?

--Junichi

MILLIONAIRE, PART 1

Damn, I look nervous.



After the 'Cape of Good Sushi' answer choice on the $100 question, I immediately replied something along the lines of: "I see these questions were written for a Japanese person."



But it got edited out.



Part II airs tooday (Monday), except in Los Angeles/Orange County, where it will air on Tuesday night.



Thanks to Nancy Atkins for the clip.



Oliver adds: for those who missed JS's first brush with game show stardom...enjoy

--Junichi

BOOOIIINNGGGG!

This is Ruben, one of my and Junichi's close friends from college. Shot in Macau, on what is supposedly the tallest bungie jump in the world. Crazy.

--O.W.

2007 IN MUSIC PT. 2

See Part 1.

Favorite reissues of 2007

• V/A: Twinight's Lunar Rotation. Numero Group has already established itself amongst the best reissue labels in the world and their dedication to revisiting specific labels reaches a zenith with their 2-CD anthology of Chicago's Twinight label. Though best known for being the starting place for Syl Johnson, the imprint goes so much deeper. This isn't a case of a handful of great songs surrounded by lesser releases - the consistency on Twinight was remarkable.
  Peep: The Kaldirons' "To Love Somebody"
  
  
• East of Underground: S/T. Wax Poetics took one of the holiest of holy grails - a 1971 soul album, recorded as a part of a "battle of the bands" contest in Germany by U.S. servicemen and finally has made it available for wide release. The backstory behind this album alone is fascinating but the music is extraordinary, especially given that East of Underground was basically a glorified cover band (but oh, what a cover band). The album has it all - sweet soul harmonies and fiery funk tunes. Used to be, you had to drop $1000 for this...now it's within more reasonable means.
  Peep: "Poppin' Popcorn"
  
  
• Betty Davis: S/T + They Say I'm Different. I'm obviously biased considering I wrote the liner notes to these two albums but they do fill a very valuable gap in musical history by finally, legitimately, reissuing the first two albums by Betty Davis. To me, she's one of the most fascinating figures in pop music over the last 30 years and these reissues do justice to that legacy which, until now, has gone mostly under the radar.
  Peep: "Anti-Love Song" + "Shoo-B-Doop and Cop Him"
  
  
• DJ Rumor: Fania Live 01: From the Meat Market. In the wake of the purchase of the Fania catalog by Emusica, they've been rolling out all sorts of projects that shine attention on the extensive Latin soul/boogaloo titles that Fania holds. Of this batch, I found DJ Rumor's to be a great introduction into not just that catalog, but Latin soul in general. Though the liner notes are not the most extensive, musically speaking, this serves as a solid primer for the uninitiated.
  Peep: Ray Barretto's "The Teacher of Love"

New + reissued songs that rocked my world

This isn't a list of singles of the year insofar as several of these songs were never singles to begin with but they constitute the tracks that, at some point or another, I had on serious heavy rotation.

• Ben Westbeech: So Good Today
  From Welcome to the Best Years of Your Life
  
  It's like the lemonade that you get at Hot Dog on a Stick. You feel a little sheepish, indulging in it at first but then you just give into the sugary goodness.
  
  
• Charles Bradley: The World (Is Going Up In Flames) + Menahan Street Band: Make the Road by Walking
  Both from Dunham Records 7"
  
  Goes without saying that the folks at Daptone have had a banner year - not just backing Sharon Jones, Amy Winehouse, Anthony Hamilton, and others but I'm glad they're also making time to put together their own projects, especially the new material coming out on the Dunham subsidiary. The Charles Bradley is one of the best songs I've heard out of this camp - period - while "Make the Road By Walking" would be a great instrumental on its own; the fact that it became the basis for "Roc Boys" is just icing on the cake.
  
  
• Common: Start the Show
  From Finding Forever
  
  I didn't find this album as compelling as I hoped I would but I do think it starts out great with this Kanye-produced track that lights things up like the old Vegas neon days.
  
  
• Craig G: Catch a Lyrical Beatdown
  From Top Shelf 8/8/88
  
  The album this comes off of might be total fugazi but the songs are real enough in terms of their quality. This Craig G song, especially, is both funny in how it really tries to sell the '88 angle (word to Mike Dukakis!) but it's also a very, very good Craig G song, showcasing one of the undersung masters at his fast-rap best.
  
  
• Devin the Dude feat. Lil Wayne and Bun B: Lil Gone Gone (Mr. JPatt Remix)
  From DJ Benzi's None Higher (We Got the Remix)
  
  Not a great song on the album but the remix, in my mind, puts it in a whole new light, or er, sound with JPatt's melancholy loops. I never really listen past Wayne's verses but the affect is enough that the song continues to linger.
  
  
• Flight of the Conchords: Bret, You Got It Goin' On + Most Beautiful Girl In the Room
  From their HBO Show
  
  "Why can't a heterosexual guy tell a heterosexual guy that he thinks his booty is fly?" b/w "you're so beautiful, you could be an air hostess in the '60s".You might think this is all kind of juvenile but the songs will stick in your craw for days. I just hope these two haven't spent their creative energies on the first season.
  
  
• Jay-Z: Success
  From American Gangster
  
  I didn't think the album was so extraordinary, but "Success" is one of the hardest hitting Jay-Z songs I've heard since "P.S.A." Those Larry Ellis organ vamps that No ID flips are what one could score wrecking balls demolishment with.
  
  
• The Kaldirons: To Love Someone (That Don't Love You)
  From Twinight's Lunar Rotation
  
  Possibly the rarest of the 45s reissued on this anthology and wouldn't you know? Also the best. What a sublime synergy between the strings, bass, piano and vocals. I cannot get enough of this song.
  
  
• LCD Soundsytem: All My Friends
  From Sound of Silver
  
  As my friend Hua put it, this song is infused with "melancholy greatness." Those hammering piano keys creates a hypnotic feel all its own and James Murphy's lyrics strike to the heart of life regrets that only someone over the age of 30 can appreciate.
  
  
• Lil Wayne/Juelz Santana: Black Republicans + Lil Wayne: Upgrade U
  From Da Drought 3
  
  Lil Wayne might as well get artist of the year platitudes even though he has nary an actual album to this name (just several dozen mix-CDs, or so it feels). That said, I actually think Juelz Santana is the one who comes off the best on "Black Republicans," all the more prescient with the rise of the "young Barack[a] Obama" (we're all for it). Weezy, however, owns the "Upgrade U" remix all on his lonesome. So many ridiculous one-liners here, my favorite involving his deaf and blind admirers.
  
  
• Marco Polo feat. Large Professor: The Radar remix
  From The Radar EP
  
  Hard. As. Hell.
  
  
• Mark Ronson feat. Amy Winehouse: Valerie
  From Version
  
  To me, the single best Amy Winehouse song this year wasn't even on her album; it was her cover of the Zuton's "Valerie" on Mark Ronson's album. People pop a lot of sh-- about how terrible her voice is but I can't hear it, especially not in how she tackles this song. It's like she was born to sing it. (Peep the acoustic version).
  
  
• M.I.A.: Paper Planes
  From Kala
  
  The Clash + cash register sounds + gun shots = unfadeable. Bo! Bo! Bo!
  
  
• Timothy McNealy: I'm So Glad You're Mine
  From Truth and Soul 7"
  
  Covering Al Green is tough, especially on a slower ballad like this one but Indianapolis' McNealy does a fantastic job here, especially with a more stripped down version of a song that was sparse to begin with. Hopefully they'll get these back in stock - this is what reissued 45s were meant to do.
  
  
• UGK feat. OutKast: Int'l Players Anthem
  From Underground Kingz
  
  I saved the best for last: hands-down, the song of the year. Is it how the song opens with Andre 3000's verses? How the drums don't kick in until Pimp C jumps on? The Willie Hutch sample? The lush video? Yes. All of it. And then some.

--O.W.

2007 IN MUSIC PT. 1

Yeah, I know - I'm a little bit late but this is the earliest I had time to work on this.

For whatever reason, I've decided not to participate in the big consensus-making projects that I've contributed to for close to ten years now. The thing is: the only time these lists were meaningful to me was in my ability to advocate for something...if I felt like I wanted to make sure the Coup album got some shine or push up the singles I personally really liked. But instinctually, I have an aversion to list-making when it feels arbitrary or limited by nothing more than a nice, rounded number such as "10". There's a deeper issue too - namely that I've never listened to all the "major" pop albums in a single year; I can't even claim to have ever listened to all the major rap albums in a single year. Perhaps if I had ever been a full-time critic (or just incredibly obsessive), it might have happened but generally, I don't feel the obligation to have to be up on everything. There are other critics who've done that longer and better; I'm content with liking what I like.

2007, more so than probably any year before it, brought all this home because I've found myself less and less interested with contemporary pop music (hip-hop included), and much more invested in listening to music of the past. In other words, it's like I turned 35 and got reborn a baby boomer. I'm as surprised as you are.

Believe me, this is not something I'm proud of and I'd hate to think I'm (d)evolving into another one of those crotchety middle aged dudes who insist whatever music was hitting in 1989 is all the music I'll ever need. And it's not like I don't listen to new music...but it's that I don't see new releases as being inherently more interesting or compelling than older ones. It's not a great trait for a working writer to take on (though it certainly plays exceedingly well as a blogger) but that's the luxury of me not being one of my friends, like Ann Powers, or Jon Caramanica. It's their job to be up on the latest Lil Wayne + LCD Soundsystem collaboration whereas I'm still idly flipping through my box of 45s or "discovering" songs that have been out since May.

If all this reads as so much navel-gazing that's because, well, it is...but as some of my friends chide me - I tend to do a lot of my private thinking in public and my relationship to pop music - past and present - is never far from my mind.

In any case, this is all a long, long wind-up pitch to my picks for my favorite music of 2007 but this is, by no means, an attempt at anything that's definitive or comprehensive or even meaningful in any real way except that, for me, it gives me an excuse to revisit the past year and remember what the hell I've been listening to. You'll see a lot of sub-genre breakdowns because, well, I don't like lists but I like sub-genres. Here we go:

New albums I liked

• Devin the Dude: Waiting to Inhale. Not necessarily Devin's best album but a solid one nonetheless, with a nice, laid back charm that goes well with Devin's own ultra-relaxed drawl and everyman lyricism.
  Peep: "What a Job"
  
  
• Prodigy: Return of the Mac. Sure, it's a one-note album but Prodigy manages to strike that note very well. I think many people's expectations of this were low but to me, P put out a surprisingly effective effort, especially when backed by Alchemist who puts together some of his best material here.
  Peep: "Nickel and a Nail"
  
  
• Feist: The Reminder. I don't care how overexposed she is now post-iPod Nano ad: I still like this album, thin, brittle voice and all. It's not something I'd pump up prior to a fight or anything but it passes the time nicely, regardless.
  Peep: "Limit To Your Love"
  
  
• Brother Ali: The Undisputed Truth + Pharoah Monch: Desire. These two albums flew way under the mainstream radar but I thought both showed a great deal creative daring that'd be admirable just on principle but the fact that they're able to execute is all the more impressive.
  Peep: "Walking Away" + "Desire"
  
  
• Blu and Exile: Below the Heavens + Marco Polo: Port Authority. Neither of these were quite as emo-ed out but what they had were 1) strong rhymes and 2) exceptional production. Marco Polo, in particular, had what I think was a banner year in terms of putting his name out there and working with exceptional talent. Meanwhile, Blu and Exile are the latest rapper/producer duo to show that good chemistry in a partnership is something you can hear in music. Their CD really gave me flashbacks to a previous era of hip-hop in a way that many artists aspire to but few achieve.
  Peep: "Blu Collar Worker" + "Nostalgia"
  
  
• Now Again: Re:Sounds Vol. 1. One of the less splashy of Stonesthrow's many releases, this was a personal favorite, especially in making available a few songs that hadn't been on CD before, especially all the remixes involving "Blind Man" by L.A. Carnival. Add to that some great J. Rocc and Kenny Dope remixes and you have a slick little package that deserves to be re-discovered if you missed it the first time.
  Peep: "Blind World"
  
  
• UGK: Underground Kings. Obviously, with Pimp C's passing, this album takes on added weight and importance but even without that tragedy, this was still an important accomplishment and celebration of both UGK's legacy as well as continued relevance. All that plus some gorgeously soulful production, including what I think was one of the best singles I've heard in years, "Int'l Players Anthem."
  Peep: "Int'l Players Anthem"
  
  
• Ghostface Killah: Big Doe Rehab. Ghostface doesn't break new ground but his consistency is unfadable as a storyteller, as an MC who loves words for the sake of, as one of the last, dependable rappers from 15 years back whose making as good - if not better - music as he gets older.
  Peep: "Shakey Dog"

New albums I loved

• The Shins: Wincing the Night Away. My wife found this album derivative of at least half a dozen New Wave artists from the 1980s and that's probably a completely fair critique but I was so taken by its melodies and textures, I hardly cared. This album plain sounds good to me and perhaps it's because it subliminally gives me flashbacks to my '80s days, growing up in L.A. but I do find it to be the perfect soundtrack for driving through my sprawling city.
  Peep: "Sleeping Lessons"
  
  
• Amy Winehouse: Back to Black. It's fascinating how divisive a figure she is...most people either treat her as the worst thing ever or the best thing ever and it's hard to discern the logic applied to either position. I like this album, I think it sounds great (hello Dap-Kings) and I like the mix of the sardonic and the sincere. It's a pity she's self-destructing in public but hey, that's pop music. One complaint: leaving "Addicted" off the U.S. versions of this album. Weaksauce.
  Peep: "He Can Only Hold Her"
  
  
• Turf Talk: West Coast Vaccine (The Cure) + Freeway: Free At Last. These two represent the two best rap albums I heard all year and even though they're separated coast-to-coast, both share a hunger so strong that it's palatable. Maybe it's because they're younger dudes - or just their shared penchant for grunting - but Turf and Free chew up their rhymes with a visceral ferocity and passion. Both albums also benefit from superior production; Turf Talk's ranges from the Mantronix resurrection on "Sick Wid' It Is the Crew" to the smoky soul of "Back in the Day" to the crushing beats of Rick Rock on "Bring the Base Back." Likewise, Free may not have Just Blaze behind him on this one but you'd hardly miss him given how so many of the tracks have that seering soul style of JB already infused into them. It's funny that the two even collabo together on Turf's album (pity that didn't go both ways).
  Peep: "Intro" + "When They Remember" + "Minnie Minnie"
  
  
• M.I.A.: Kala. Politically uneven but sonically incredible. It'd be worth it just for that impossibly low note on "Hussel" but you have an embarrassing bounty of riches from the clapping rhythms of "World Town" to the sound-Clash of "Paper Planes."
  Peep: "Paper Planes"
  
  
• Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings: 100 Days, 100 Nights. Ha - bet you saw this coming. Much as I probably contributed to this idea that there was an Amy vs. Sharon competition, for the most part, I'm just glad both of them celebrated their best albums yet. Jones and the Dap-Kings really stepped up with this album musically; it's so much more sophisticated and diverse in sound and style. Makes one excited for what they'll cook up on their next LP.
  Peep: "When The Other Foot Drops, Uncle"

Albums I might think are better later than I think they are now

• Jay-Z: American Gangster. Two great songs ("Roc Boys" and "Success") but as far as "concept" albums go, I found this surprisingly thin. It's a better album than Kingdom Come but that's not saying much. Maybe a year or two later, I'll revisit this and think its genius but presently, I just find it to be an "ok Jay-Z album."
  Peep: "Success"
  
  
• Kanye West: Graduation. Not a bad album but not nearly as adventurous as his last and more to the point, it came off like Sunshine Anderson: I heard it all before. Then again, "Big Brother" alone makes this album completely fascinating but maybe not for the right reasons.
  Peep: "Good Life"

Still remaining...Part 2.

--O.W.

"WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE" AIRDATE

A preview of what I look like getting caught with my pants down

The dates are set.

I will be embarrassing myself by appearing as an ignoramus/contestant on the game show, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, on this upcoming Friday, January 11, 2008 and Monday, January 14, 2008.

Here are the channels and air times for most of the people I know:

San Francisco/Oakland: KGO 11:30 am
Fresno/Hanford: KFSN 11:30 am
Austin, TX: KEYE Noon
New York City: WABC 12:30 pm
San Diego: KGTV 7 pm
Los Angeles/Orange County: KCAL9 (Saturday 7:30 pm / Tuesday 6:30 pm)

Update: For those of us in LA/OC only: the show got preempted because of the Lakers game. So instead of Friday & Monday, it will be on Saturday at 7:30 pm and Tuesday at 6:30 pm.

In order to find out what channel and time the show airs in other parts of the United States, click here: http://www.millionairetv.com/tunein.html.

I will only appear for the last two minutes on the Friday 1/11 show, so if you have to pick one day to stay home from work, choose Monday.

Let's see if the cameras add 10 pounds to my dunce cap.

Place your bets now on the subject matter or category of the question that will ultimately cause me to leave the hot seat.

(This is assuming, of course, that I did not succeed in my last-minute effort to absorb all the knowledge of the world and win a million dollars.)

--Junichi

ON THE MENTAL CALCULATIONS OF A CRIMINAL

In one cartoon, Ted Rall has managed to convey all the fallacies in the argument that the death penalty serves as a deterrent.

Is there anybody in the United States who would stop from murdering somebody in a death penalty state but would go through with the crime in a state where the maximum sentence is "life in prison without the possibility of parole"?

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #128

Worst lodging ever

This Week's Question:

In 1977, the Supreme Court banned the death penalty for persons convicted of the rape of an adult. Since then, every person executed in the United States has been convicted for a crime that involved killing.

The Court just agreed to hear the appeal of a death row inmate in Louisiana who was convicted for the rape of a child.

In your opinion, if it's ok to execute murderers but not ok to execute adult rapists, should it be ok to execute child rapists?

--Junichi

FRIDAY FEEDBACK: DIPLO / PETER BJORN & JOHN

Skinny Diplo

This week's Friday Feedback track is:

"Youngest Folks" by Peter Bjorn & John / Remix by Diplo
not on the "Young Folks" CD single

Arguably one of the biggest songs of 2006 and 2007, Peter Bjorn & John's "Young Folks" gets the Diplo treatment here. (You can also hear a slightly different version here.) Apparently Kanye West's rapping over it on his mixtape and AT&T's jacking it for a commercial hasn't killed the song.

For me, that ubiquitous hook is starting to surpass the theme song for The Andy Griffith Show as the most recognizable whistled melody in music.

What do you think? Is Diplo doing something fresh with the song? Or do you think he's starting to get lazy by playing a Casio beat underneath the original and passing it off as a remix?

--Junichi

I [HEART] HUCKABEE!

Victory!

Congratulations to Governor Mike Huckabee on winning Iowa's Republican Caucus.

This is great news for those of us who ...

• ... equate gays and lesbians with pedophiles and necrophiliacs
• ... do not believe in evolution
• ... think school shootings are caused by abortion
  
• ... consider environmentalism equivalent to pornography
  

Hooray!

(Seriously, could this not be the best news for the Democrats?)

*

Update 10:12 pm: I'm thrilled that both Edwards and Obama beat Clinton. I prefer Edwards on the issues, but Obama's victory speech was goosebump-inducing good.

Despite the historic win for Obama, here's what I consider the most heart-warming news of the night:

Total Voter Turnout:

356,000

Percentage of total vote:

24.5% Obama
20.5% Edwards
19.8% Clinton
11.4% Huckabee (R)

Source: Group News Blog

--Junichi

NO LONGER A CHICK MAGNET

All Cried Out

Finally, my two years as an embedded blogger with the Dixie Chicks has come to an end.

I think that picture above of Natalie Maines dressed up as Amy Winehouse and me as Masi Oka (as Hiro Nakamura from "Heroes" when he was disguised in a samuari outfit as Takezo Kensei) belting out a Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam duet on Halloween night pretty much sums up the experience.

But for those who would rather read (or re-read) all the details, here is a link to all my major articles on MSN. My favorite ones are followed by an asterisk. The last article listed is my feeble attempt at an encapsulation and final reflection.

Articles (in chronological order):
Goodbye Earl, Hello Junichi
Fly (If I Can Get Past Airport Security)
The First Meeting
Hobnobbing with the Time 100*
Hotel Pseudonyms
15 Minutes on 60 Minutes
Serving Time
Ready to Rock
Getting Fresh Air*
Preparing for the Cameras
The Chicks vs. The View*
A Square Foot of History
Opening Night
Bowling for Albany
Monkeys in the Barricades
Hatching Shut Up and Sing
The Mother of All Chick Flicks
Taking The Wrong Way Down Under: Surfing and Singing in Australia*
The Chicks Have Arrived: Backstage at the Grammy Awards*
Tribute to Don Henley
Brave New Girls
Livin' On A Prayer
Leaving Las Vegas
God Delivers A House
Life on the Bus
The Future of the Dixie Chicks: An Interview with Emily
A Dixie Chicks Halloween*
The Chaos of Life Backstage*
The Least Hard-Working Band in Show Business
Interview with Dan Wilson
Three Chicks and Seven Peeps
Evolution of an Anti-Dixie Chicks Protester*
Interview with Tina Maines and Kim Maguire
The Final Essay: Memoirs of a Dixie Chicks Blogger*

There are other stories to tell for another time (battles with MSN over what gets published, anyone?). But I figure 75,000+ words are enough for now.

I also put together a slide show of my favorite photos.

You can read commentary on most of the photos here:

Photos:
My Favorite Photos #1 - 25
My Favorite Photos #26 - 50
My Favorite Photos #51 - 75

No doubt, it was a surreal, educational, rewarding and amazing experience. But given that it was only supposed to last a few weeks (as opposed to 21 months), I'm exhausted and ready to return to life with only one job. Plus, Poplicks could use a bit more love and attention.

When I'm done catching my breath, however, I'll be waiting for your call, Wu-Tang Clan.

--Junichi

WHICH WAY YOU LEAN?

No doubt, this sinks my chances at getting nominated to the Supreme Court (that and the fact that I haven't gone to law school).

Economic Left/Right: -8.38
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -7.18

The Political Compass

--O.W.

A TOAST TO 2008

Here's hoping we all survive the final year of the Bush Administration.

--Junichi