The Wu-Tang is possibly the best dance that there is on the face of the planet.
It also originated in (North) Philly, so I have extra special love for this dance. It never got big, unlike snap dancing and the rock away, i guess cause Philly's hip-hop scene has never been mainstreamed.
Anyway, here is a video of some good wu-tanging:
The Urban Dictionary had this to say, for those who are looking for an "official" definition.
Busta Ryhmes "Gimme Some More" This song has such a great intro:
"As a shorty playing in the front yard of the crib Fell down, and I bumped my head Somebody helped me up and asked me if I bumped my head I said "Yeah"
So then they said "Oh so that mean we gon, you gon switch it on em'?" I said "Yeah, Flipmode, Flipmode is the greatest" Knowing as a shorty, I was always told That if I ain't gon' be part of the greatest I gotta be the greatest myself"
Last night I went to the Kyber to check out my friend Dave's (along with Thom, Max and Julia) band Sweatheart. They were opening for Gil Mantera's Party Dream.
I had heard that Sweatheart was a little lackluster, and I went expecting a pretty gimicky show. However, except for the two lead singers' inability to NOT babble into the microphone constantly between songs, I enjoyed their set. Since they couldnt seem to lose their mouths, it was fortunate that they were pretty decent singers, and though the lyrics were very kitche, I could appreciate that at least some time and effort had gone into them.
Rose, one of the lead singer's claimed it was her birthday and she was turning 40 (she was actually turning 35, but regardless, she still looked like a 16 year old in spandex up there, so i can only say YOU GO GIRL), and the other singer (who also looked 16) breathed into the mic, "look at this 40 year old vagina". Then Dave brought out a birthday cake with trick candles, and Thom smushed it into Rose's face, and she rubbed it all over her body. It was sort of enjoyable, but only when they started playing music again, so Rose and the other singer would stop repeating "you can't wish for your ass virginity back" into the microphone.
Dave really came alive on stage, and he is a very decent drummer, so it was very nice to see him shine. I also liked Thom's simple but often elegant guitar riffs.
I had read good things about Gil Mantera's Party Dream, so I decided to stay for their set. Man am I glad I did. I loved their set--though they fit so easily within the hipster indie rock stage gimmick paradigm (and a wardrobe that would make any Oberlin student drool), but, while they do seem to have a finely tuned sense of irony, these cats keep it REAL, which is more than I can say for a lot of these other acts I have seen over the years. The brothers look like they are straight out of the WWF. Gil was wearing underpants, a girl's necklace, and a chain around his waist. He had jazzercse moves to the max, and he utilized every cheesy effect and drum beat their probably was on his keyboard.
Donny was genuinely hilarious, which, beyond Gil's dancing and attire, was the main reason I thought the show was so good. He told a story about going to "Kiki's Resturant" with his marine father, and ordering toast. "Best dining experience I ever had." This was very funny. Sorry if I am bastardizing the story now. Here are some visual aids:
It made me a little sad though, knowing that if I bought their cd, I was sure to be disappointed. While I liked the syth-pop music and Donny's nice guitar playing, Gil Mantera's Party Dream is definately not an experience you can take home with you. They are one of those bands that are so dynamic live it would be impossible to capture that on a cd.** So I went home with a $15 t-shirt (pricy, but worth it), dreaming of when I might see Gil and Donny again.
**I stick by my statement that a cd of Gil Mantera would not be as good as the actual thing, but I havent listened to a cd of theirs, so until I do, this is a very unqualified statement. Goodday.
I have always thought the New Years was a kind of depressing holiday. I don't know, something about it just being about getting drunk...then again, there is also something magical about it. I think I see more people doing PDAs on New Years than I see on Valentine's Day. It's not just the kissing at midnight thing, which, dispite my cynicism, i still find a pretty cool tradition. I wish people kissed all their friends at midnight more than once a year. I dont think it would make it any less special.
In terms of New Year's resolutions, I dont think I know anyone who makes them, and I always forget that that is something you are supposed to do. On a related note, There was an interesting article in the New York Times that talks about Free Will, which made me happy because it basically reaches a simliar conclusion that I made about free will a couple years ago (basically that "free will and determinism can co-exist"), but had no science to back up my theory, which is: you have free will in the (mostly moral) sense that you have control over everything you do, but that what you do is inevitable. After an action is completed, it could never have been any other way. I don't know, when I postulated this theory to myself a couple years ago as I walked down the street and wondered if each step I was taking, now skipping, now stepping on a leaf, could have been any other way, I was most pleased with my idea.
I guess I believe that it is sort of like time being written backwards or something.
This reminds me of how I was considering what I like better: art reminding me of something from my life that has already happened, or something happening in my life that reminds me of some work of art. I think the former sensation gives me more pleasure...which leads me to think that I only like art because it reinforces my already held beliefs, or that I am simply being self-indulgent.
But really, i think i hate on self-indulgence more than I should. My ideas about worth while activity have been so influenced by this martyr complex that I have, which really made me forget that art should be, if not over indulgent, gratifying to the self.
I mentioned this before in a previous post. I guess it is something i really struggle with. Must be all those years I spent in Catholic school.
