Tracy McGrady is back!

Don’t get too excited doctor, he still has a ways to go.

Is it me or have the Houston Rockets performed better without McGrady? T-Mac says he wouldn’t mind sticking around H-Town despite rumors saying he will be traded or bought out of his $23 million dollar contract (God dam, is anyone really worth that much cake?)  McGrady becomes a free- agent next summer. Just so you know, he played 8 minutes in each of his first two games.

“Money is not an issue for me,” the swingman said after going scoreless in a 111-101 loss to Denver at the Pepsi Center in his second game this season after missing the first 22 while coming off knee surgery. “If it boiled down to it, I got a great, great Adidas contract. So money is not an issue. I just want to win. That’s my main focus. McGrady told Fanhouse

“At this stage of my career, it’s all about winning. I don’t care about a max contract or nothing like that. I want to play basketball, and I want to win. … There’s no question (about wanting to return to Houston). I don’t want to put all my eggs in one basket, but definitely this is where I’d love to be.”

One question though-why does it take so long for professional athletes to wait until they’re at the end of their career’s to realize ‘it’s about winning‘?

Defending, sharing the ball, playing with energy, being coachable, teammates enjoying playing with you, not causing a disturbance in the locker room, working hard to improve, not pouting, playing hard…all traits winning players possess.

Darko Milicic has told the NY Post he’s leaving the U.S. of A to finish his career in Europe.  Darko’s one of the people who is identified by his first name and first name only.  Like Prince, Madonna, and Michael. Remember all the hype this guy received as a teenager from all the so-called, ‘experts’? Perfect example of Chuck D’s line, ‘Don’t Believe the Hype’.

How about the upcoming games the Texas Longhorns men’s basketball team have the next few nights.  They play North Carolina Saturday and then Michigan State a couple nights later.

I’ve been living in East Lansing, Michigan for the past 13 years and I have seen a lot of good high school players come through the area over that time.  But I don’t think there has been this many quality players in each class during my tenure.  Magic Johnson is from Lansing and he is considered the best to come out of here but guys like Jay and Sam Vincent, Carl and Charles Thomas, Ben Poquette, Doug Herner,  Marcus Taylor, and Thomas Jackson formerly of Butler University all have played in the area over the years who were outstanding ballplayers.  I’m sure the folks from Lansing who read the blog can come up with some other top players from over the years.

DRIVE-DETERMINATION-DESIRE

-Coach Finamore

Hoops135@hotmail.com

the good & the bad news is that Invincible is prolly the ONLY FEMALE MC I’m checkin for these days.   But whoowee, she got me on that mix of a Bahamadia, Talib Kweli & Kiwi vibe, heard?

I’m seriously hopin for an Invincible performance at the June USSF 2010 in Detroit!  Realness, she’s a skilled lyricist with ill flow & reps the progressive, social justice,  grassroots movement revolutionary vibe.  (oh, hold up fam — whatchu know about USSF? School ya soul & awaken: http://www.ussf2010.org/)

via YouTube - SXSW 2009 Music Video: Invincible – Sledgehammer.

Dopeness, right?

as described by SXSW:   ”Invincible’s spitfire wordplay has gotten her acclaim from Hip Hop fans all across the world, while her active involvement in progressive social change has taken her music beyond entertainment, and towards actualizing the change she wishes to see. Repping Detroit, MI, many are already familiar with her work with Waajeed and the Platinum Pied Pipers, Finale, the all-female *ANOMOLIES crew, Black Star, and many others. Dubbed by XXL Magazine as ‘every A and R’s worst nightmare’ for rejecting major label deals and general”

(* btw, that should say “A No Mo Lies” crew)

Ropes ft Tiombe Lockheart (I <3 Tiombe!)
and props for Invincible’s RealTalk about the real issue & backstory in the intro.

One of my personal favorites, here’s a ive version of “No Easy Answers” ~ love her reppin the line from the Slum Village track: “Love got somethin to do with — uh— being a WOMAN & handlin yo biz.   what love got to do widdit? ask SV it’s all bullshit! you know what love is.. say it wid me one time… you know what love is! “

(click here for the album cut)

“One of the most talented emcees I’ve ever heard black or white, male or female…” -Talib Kweli

“Invincible is one part emcee, three parts revolutionary, but the recipe is all Hip Hop.” -Shook Magazine

Here she speaks so eloquently & passionately about her politicization via Chuck D & Public Enemy:

I don’t take credit for this idea – I freely admit I heard Chuck D of Public Enemy push it on NPR while driving to my mom’s house for Thanksgiving.  Follow this link if you’d like to learn a little more of his take on the thing.  Once again, the man is a genius and rabblerouser in ways that I have admired since I was old enough to hear and understand the things he means.

The RIAA has an eerily cheery message it’s trying to get across.  Try it here. Now, as I understand it, and I confess I am posting out of my ass on this one, should a song be performed on the radio, then not only would the label get a cut, but the musicians who worked on the thing would, too.  The major conglomerates who own radio stations across the country sort of object, of course, as the fees they pay would seem at first glance to be exorbitant.  Imagine every station in your home town, wherever it may be, having to pony up a percentage to every guitarist, drummer, singer and bassist, audio engineer or kid with a laptop who puts out a track that’s heard on your radio.  Well, if you are like me, you hardly ever listen to the radio already, as it mostly sucks.  Hey, I don’t have anything against Kanye West or Lady Gaga or Aerosmith or Korn or whatever it is people listen to on the radio these days.  But I hear it all over and over and over and I flip over to something else.  Usually watered-down college radio at 88.5 WUWF, my local NPR station, sadly nothing like the college radio I heard when I was growing up in Miami.  I greatly admire the fine folks at WUWF, as they keep me informed, but they don’t have the same teeth and youth I used to hear and now associate with college radio stations.

In one sense, this could be a disaster!  If the conglomerates kept playing the same crummy shit they play now, you’d need to hear a dramatic increase in commercials just to cover the overhead.  This would take the incentive to own a radio station down to nil.  Who’s going to listen to a channel that plays very little music and news but a whole lot of those clever commercials for Viagra-like substances all day?  You could call it 101.8 KVGR!  Or whatever.  All over the world, radios would become switched off in anger.  Right?  Well, this is something that radio-station owners (even smaller “mom-and-pop” chains!) would have you believe.

As Chuck D points out, this could very well mean a boom in local stations playing local music!  I lament the old days of 90.5 WVUM in Miami (format sadly changed right after I graduated high school in ‘93).  I heard some college kid DJ play the Misfits, the Buzzcocks, and Black Flag one day while riding the Metrobus home from track practice.  It opened a whole world of music up to me that I hadn’t previously been aware of.  Thanks to my friend Martin C.

In a supply and demand economy, I imagine that should the prices to play this catchy tripe they play on the radio rise high enough, suppliers (e.g. media giants like Viacom and Comcast) would have incentives to find cheaper sources of stuff to put on the airwaves.  Get some bonehead kid who goes to local bars and records live shows of punk rock or R&B or country western saloons, pay him a pittance to have the artists send us the forms, and play that shit all day long!  Would it sell?  Probably not at first, but maybe the folks who go to those shows would tune  in, local companies would advertise on it, and local bands would get noticed, get money, and get incentives to have more shows!

Is the corporate ownership of radio (and other media) strangling our culture?  Yeah, I would assert it is.  We hear what some douchebag far away wants us to, sprinkled in with bad ads for shit very few people will buy.  If I heard Frank Booth and the PBR Blues on the radio, I’d haul my ass down to the Handlebar to hear and see them.  Sadly they broke up.  Why?  Too much work, too little money.  If they had a couple of tracks sell after seeing some performance revenue from a local college radio station, maybe they would have some incentive to keep going…  There are plenty of folks in local bands who would appreciate some scratch from their music being heard.

I imagine (but don’t rightly know) that a system like this, done well, would be a boon to local music everywhere.  I haven’t followed up on the thing, but these were the thoughts that Chuck D stuck in my brain before I clogged it all up with my mom’s sausage dressing and turkey last week.  Imagine a world where your favorite local band was heard on the radio and got paid for it, and next you heard an awesome new (to you) band that you wanted to see live.  You’d go out and see them, help out your local venue, meet cool new people and have a good time…

Or you could keep listening to the 95 country music stations in your home town playing Shania Twain and Tim whatsisface all day.  Those people are rich already.

Ask me about how the education system in our country makes people dumb, lazy, fat consumers.  I heard that on Neil Boortz on the radio, too.  I think it’s related in some way, but am apparently too dumb to sort it out (thanks, public schools!)  Hmm.  I hope I don’t get all my info from the same angry fellas.  Gotta hunt up some new stuff.

One last thing:  Prometheus Project. A good idea.  Hope they keep up the good works.

Causecast’s Music Manager Brandon DeRoche is constantly traveling the country documenting  how musicians are doing their part to influence positive change in the world.

He’s ended up in some pretty odd places, and sometimes when the pictures come back all we can wonder is… where the hell was DeRoche?? This photo is fresh off the wire, and leaves us here baffled.

My best guess? Chuck D’s grandmothers house.

Quote of the this weeks travels?

“According to Flava Flav I look like Jack Black, followed by ‘WOOOOOW” - Brandon Deroche

I would have loved to see a P.E. concert on a truck.

I realize I’m very fortunate not to be apartment-less in 2009 and damn I love that they performed Terminator X on the Edge of Panic! The clueless narrator mentions Flav’s name first but we know it’s Chuck and Flavor!

Percy Chapman aka Trag is a true master.
You can check his credentials in this documentary about…

“Queensbridge: the world’€™s largest housing project, with the richest legacy in hip-hop: from The Juice Crew, to Nas, Mobb Deep and the realest of them all: Tragedy. While still in his mother’s womb, Tragedy’s dad is shot dead. Thirteen years later, with his mom hooked on smack, Trag has to hustle to survive, but the kid’s a rap genius and is signed to the world famous Juice Crew ’til he’s busted and sent to Riker’s at 16. Trag emerges political, releasing his Intelligent Hoodlum album. ‘Nuff respect, but he’s eclipsed by young rapper Nas. Trag falls prey to the streets where he discovers teen rappers Capone-N-Noreaga. After dissing Snoop Dogg, they get a record deal. Trag is hailed as a genius for masterminding their geo-political War Report album.
Capone is busted and Noreaga finds stardom, leaving Trag to starve. Then Trag’s mom ODs. At first Trag turns to crime, then finds inspiration, turning pain to beauty with underground albums Against All Odds and Still Reporting. Trag meets Nore to talk about making music together again, but cops pull up on ‘em, throwing Trag in jail. Out on bail, Trag is still reporting from the hood, keeping it real in Queensbridge.“

Prison sentence: On December 27, 2007, Tragedy was convicted of selling narcotics and sentenced to a maximum of four years in prison.
He is scheduled to be released on January 21, 2011

by: Randi M.

Click image for source: USA Today.

Public Enemy decided to give back to honor National Homeless Youth Awareness month. Yesterday Flava Flav and Chuck D. hosted an early Thanksgiving dinner at the homeless youth shelter, Sasha Bruce House, in Washington D.C. According to USA Today, the rappers road through the streets in a truck and tossed copies of their cd to fans before their concert at Lisner Auditorium. It’s good to see celebs helping out the needy.

Le frère Ali revient cet automne avec un troisième opus, faisant suite à l’époustouflant The Undisputed Truth paru en avril 2007. Ce dernier essai reçut un succès unanime lors de sa sortie, propulsant ainsi le rappeur albinos au sommet du rap underground outre-Atlantique. Entre temps, il y eut la fournée The Truth Is Here, en mai dernier, censée préparer l’arrivée de ce nouvel album. L’EP composé de 9 titres laissait entrevoir une nouvelle vibe, moins voluptueuse qu’au préalable, mais tout aussi appréciée par la critique. Puis comment oublier cette collaboration miraculeuse (« The Truth ») entre Jake One, Freeway et Ali sur le White Van Music du producteur de Seattle, fin 2008 ? Autant de réussites qui présageaient le meilleur pour la sortie de ce Us, le 21 septembre dernier.

 Le meilleur… Il y avait tout de même un doute qui me pesait depuis la parution de ce troublant EP daté du 4 mai. La production, pourtant toujours signée Ant du groupe Atmosphere, semblait migrer vers un univers plus cuivré, et surtout nettement moins majestueux que sur The Undisputed Truth qui, je le rappelle, m’avait laissé pantois. Une gène rapidement (et malheureusement) confirmée par l’écoute de ce nouvel essai. Une gène qui s’est rapidement (et péniblement) transformée en déception. Pas simple d’un côté de faire mieux que ce deuxième opus, ô combien remarquable et remarqué. Seulement voilà, un artiste ne peut pas se permettre de rester bloqué sur un disque sous prétexte que c’est son œuvre de référence. Au lieu de s’entêter à vouloir la reproduire continuellement, son dessein est d’évoluer, de grandir, et de se développer musicalement. C’est en somme le pari que se sont lancés Ant et Brother Ali avant de confectionner cet album. Murir, s’ouvrir et se renouveler.

 Attention tout de même à ne pas vous y méprendre. N’imaginez pas qu’entre deux projets, le ‘preacher’ s’est convertit à l’auto-tune et à l’euro dance. Non non non ! Il s’agit seulement d’une évolution logique dans la façon d’aborder la musique. Et une chose est même certaine : d’un point de vue purement objectif, cette livraison est un nouveau joyau. Les critiques l’encensent et les magazines l’adulent. Suite à ce que je viens de dire, j’entends déjà les : « Mais alors, d’où te vient cette déception si la réussite de cet opus est unanime ? ». A ceux là je répondrais simplement : « Des beats ! ». Voilà, pour moi, l’unique (mais gros) défaut de ce disque, que je tiens vraiment à souligner. Comparées au précédent effort, certaines productions sont, non pas mauvaises, mais nettement moins mordantes. J’en veux pour preuve ces mollassons « Crown Jewel », « House Keys » et « Bad Mufucker Pt. 2 », mais également cette collaboration sans intérêt entre Ali, Freeway et Joell Ortiz (« Best@it »), qui n’arrive pas à la cheville d’un « Truth Is ». En somme, ces instrumentaux aigus et cuivrés sont, selon moi, inappropriés à Brother Ali. L’irritant « Games » en est l’exemple. Connaissant sa voix déjà haut perchée, les productions basses et profondes lui conviennent mieux.

 A ce titre, comment ne pas succomber à la beauté d’un « You Say (Puppy Love) » ou à la force d’un texte comme « The Travelers », traitant de l’esclavage avec une vérité et une émotion déconcertante. Dans le rôle du street « Preacher », Brother Ali est toujours le maitre incontesté. Ce n’est d’ailleurs pas un hasard si l’album devait initialement s’appeler ainsi. N’oublions pas que, malgré les critiques personnelles que j’ai assigné à certaines, les productions de Ant demeurent toujours angéliques dans la plupart des cas. A noter que des morceaux comme « Babygirl », « Tight Rope », « You Say (Puppy Love) » ou « Us » relèvent tout de même du miracle.

 En somme, cet album est la preuve que l’équation Brother Ali + Ant = réussite assurée, se vérifie (pratiquement) toujours. La parenthèse est pour ma pomme car, pour la première fois, le rappeur m’a déçu. Enfin, plutôt sa musique et ses choix artistiques devrais-je dire, car lui, en temps que MC d’exception, reste fidèle à lui-même. Dans tous les cas, Us apporte la certitude qu’en matière d’underground, le Hip Hop se porte bien. Avec en ses rangs des pointures comme Freeway, Atmosphere, Evidence, Jake One, Doom, P.O.S. et Brother Ali, Rhymesayers Entertainement est un label qui marche, et bon Dieu, pourvu que ça dure !

15 / 20

In 2003, acclaimed movie director Martin Scorcese produced a series of seven films, each created by another acclaimed director, and they called the whole thing “Martin Scorcese Presents The Blues.”  The series aired on PBS and my favorite episode was “Godfathers and Sons,” directed by Marc Levin (not the idiot right-wing talk radio guy).

Levin paired Public Enemy rapper Chuck D with Marshall Chess, son of Leonard Chess and heir to the Chess Records legacy, in Chicago and the film followed them as they produced an album combining contemporary hip-hop musicians with veteran blues and jazz players.  But along the way the film explored the rich history of Chicago blues as recorded by Chess Records, and there was great footage of Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, Bo Diddley and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, along with original performances by Koko Taylor, Otis Rush, Magic Slim, Ike Turner and Sam Lay.

As good as the film was, the soundtrack CD is even better: it could be the greatest blues album ever released.  Among the 22 tracks are a couple of hip-hoppers and white boys, but when I’m playing the blues I always seem to gravitate back to this album.  There’s a couple of genuflections each to the two gods of Chicago blues – Muddy Waters is represented by “Mannish Boy” and “(I’m Your) Hoochie Coochie Man,” while Howlin’ Wolf checks in with “Spoonful” and “Little Red Rooster,” classics all.  And the killer lineup includes Koko Taylor with “Wang Dang Doodle,” Jimmy Rogers, Buddy Guy, Magic Slim, Little Walter and Jimmy Reed performing their best-known songs.   And what would a Chess anthology be without the late, great Bo Diddley – he could fill an album all by himself but here he’s represented by “Diddley Daddy.”

Contemporary Chicago blues shows up in the music of Lonnie Brooks (from Port Arthur, Texas – my man!), Magic Slim and the brilliant Etta James.  The rock-blues connection is essayed by two songs from the Paul Butterfield Band, one a cover of Elmore James’ “Shake Your Moneymaker” and the original “Born In Chicago.”  And the other white boy is this weird kid from Minnesota whose music was greatly influenced by the blues, Bob Dylan doing “Maggie’s Farm.”  The Butterfield and Dylan tracks all feature the blistering blues guitar work of the also late-great Michael Bloomfield.  And you got yer rap, courtesy of Public Enemy and another hip-hopper, Common.

The only weird thing about the film, and the soundtrack, is its fixation on a truly minor Muddy Waters album from the late 1960s, Electric Mud.  During that era the Chess artists were not selling so Marshall Chess had the idea to re-record some of the classic songs with the original artists, but with contemporary backing bands and arrangements.  Electric Mud had some psychedelicized versions of “Mannish Boy,” “Hoochie Coochie Man” and “I Just Want To Make Love To You.”   Chess also put out a similar album with Howlin’ Wolf (This Is Howlin’ Wolf’s New Album … He Doesn’t Like It).  So anyway, for the film they got some of the original backing musicians to recreate some of the “magic” with Chuck D and Common.   The one song from this session that appears on the soundtrack is “Mannish Boy,” and it’s pretty good.

Marshall Chess comes off as more than a little impressed with himself in the film, and I think the hip-hop/blues collision storyline might have been simply a concession the filmmakers made in order to get the keys to the Chess vault.   Whatever, the new “Mannish Boy” and a new “I’d Rather Go Blind” by Etta James is a great way to wrap up this album, the greatest blues album you can own.

MP3: “(I’m Your) Hoochie Coochie Man” by Muddy Waters

MP3: “Wang Dang Doodle” by Koko Taylor

MP3: “Feel Good Doin’ Bad” (live) by Lonnie Brooks

MP3: “Shake Your Moneymaker” by the Paul Butterfield Blues Band

MP3: “Mannish Boy” by Chuck D, Common and the Electrik Mud Kats

Martin Scorcese Presents The Blues website by PBS

Nardwuar interviews Flavor Flav and pulls out a copy of issue #1 of the official PUBLIC ENEMY comic book series by myself and Chuck D. A nice little piece of publicity. I just wish the 30,00+ views resulted in as many comic sales. Issue #1 as well as the trade paperback that collects issues 0-5 are still available for sale at AmericanMule. Order today and get your books autographed along with two FREE cds! Show some love for a hard working, independent artist.

P.E.ace!

the National Museum of Hip-Hop (NMoH) will host an exclusive celebrity fundraiser to benefit the development of the “first ever” true Hip-Hop Museum. This Red Carpet affair will take place on Feb 9, 2010 at the M2 Ultra Lounge, 530 West 28th Street, NYC. This exclusive star-studded gala will raise funds and awareness for the construction and community initiatives of the museum. Guests will have a preview of some of the museum’s building plans and programs. 

This “invitation only” affair will welcome entertainment executives, celebrity rappers, dj’s, b-boys, legendary graffiti artists, Hollywood entertainers, celebrity media personalities, and community leaders. Guests include: Ice T, Akon, Redman, Dana Dane, MC Lyte, Kurtis Blow, Nice -n- Smooth, DJ Red Alert, Kid Capri, Ralph Mcdaniels, Ja Rule, Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Black Sheep, Cold Crush Brothers, Rock Steady Crew, Furious Five, Brand Nubian, Chubb Rock, Bones Thugs -N-Harmony, The Roots, Pete Rock, D Nice, Marley Marl, N.O.R.E., Kid –n- Play, Roxanne Shante, Melly Mel, and an extensive list of others.

The Event Co-Chairs include Bill Adler, Dr. Ben Chavis, Andre Harrell, KRS One, Chuck D, Afrika Bambaataa, Terry Stewart, and Jim Fricke.

“The timing is perfect for the development of a museum that will preserve the great culture of hip-hop; a museum that will serve as not only a beacon for hip-hop’s achievements but also as a hub for community upliftment,” stated Craig Wilson, MBA, President of the Museum.

Once fully developed, the museum will conduct job training programs for the local homeless, substance-abusers, and unemployed borough residents. NMoH will also provide free classes that teach the political process and sponsor students with political career interests, by providing a space/platform for practice debates, campaigns and the development of programs and policy.

The Museum’s Hall of Fame, catering & restaurant operations and profits from visitors will generate millions in economic activity and create great job opportunities throughout NYC.

About  NMoH

The National Museum of Hip-Hop is a NYC based non-profit 501 (c) (3) founded in 2005 and created to commemorate the historical and cultural achievements of hip-hop and artists, throughout the World, while educating area residents and global visitors about every aspect of the culture’s elements.

The plans for this project are to house the museum within a 100,000+ sq., foot facility in NYC.  The program will feature initiatives and policies which require a strict adherence to community issues and interactivity. NMoH will exist as a hub for community advancement, economic development and political education.  The Advisory Board consists of Executives who have long histories of large museum development, as well as inner-city community involvement.  Board Members include: Russell Simmons, Dr. Ben Chavis, Andre Harrell, Leyla Turkkan, Bill Adler, Bob Santelli and Terry Stewart.

Teledysk do utworu Chucka D pt. “Get Used To Me”, nagranego w hołdzie Muhammadowi Ali.

Promocja dnia w sklepie Pretorian – sprawdź teraz!

Is there a connection between Andy Warhol’s painting of Campbell’s Soup cans and Public Enemy’s sampling of Clyde Stubblefield’s drum beats? Is sample-based hip-hop art or theft? The two questions have been at the base of a legal and cultural debate for almost two decades now, and while legally it appears the “theft” side has won, culturally, the “art” side will not be silenced (see GQ’s excellent profile of mash-up artist Girl Talk). It’s a loaded argument, and while COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS filmmakers Benjamin Franzen and Kembrew McLeod don’t necessary offer a defining statement on the debate, they do a fine job tracing the history of sampling from its raw and humble beginnings in the boroughs of New York City to its MTV fame, Rolling Stone magazine covers and top of the Billboard charts and back down again — or depending on how you look at it, up again, at least when it comes to digital critical mass — where it thrives in the nightclubs of the UK, college town concert venues (again, see GQ’s excellent profile of mash-up artist Girl Talk), You Tube, home laptops and cell phones.

NPT, together with ITVS, Hands on Nashville and the Nashville Public Library, wants to engage you in the discussion with a free screening of COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS, this SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18 at 3:00 p.m. at the Main Library downtown. Come early for a 2:30 reception with Franzen. Joining him after the film for a panel discussion will be Lynn Morrow, entertainment attorney with Nashville firm Adams and Reese, and Shane Martin, aka Pimpdaddysupreme, Nashville DJ and self-proclaimed copyright anarchist. Jonathan Martin, co-anchor of Channel 4 News Today/Saturday on WSMV-TV, will moderate.

The post-screening discussion should be particularly lively, especially after the final quarter of Franzen and McLeod’s film, when the bottom falls out of sampling’s free-market reign and the lawyers swoop in. It’s then that Public Enemy producer Hank Shockley goes from (paraphrasing) “we didn’t know we couldn’t use the samples” to “we used to bury the samples so you couldn’t tell where they were from.” It’s in this latter part of the film that correlations to contemporary art are presented, including very eloquently by Jeff Chang of SoleSides Records. It’s a valid argument that I wished was explored more and defended more by the artists. Ultimately, you walk away realizing that when it’s really all about money, it’s really not about art. Which is why I was slightly disappointed that the concept of the Creative Commons copyright isn’t explored more (or at all). But the film can’t possibly cover every aspect of the issue and still be a palatable length. It needs a symposium (any takers?). And where Community Cinema is concerned, leaves perfect room for debate and spirited discussion.

Incidentally, Campbell’s Soup wasn’t too keen on Warhol using its label for art, until it realized how much the artist’s work was revitalizing its brand. But what happens when another brand associates Warhol’s iconic work with an entirely different brand? About a year ago, Pop Burger in New York City found itself on the receiving end of a legal letter demanding the burger outlet refrain from using multiple images of Warhol’s famous work. Its premise? “…displaying the famous red, gold, black and white label makes it seem that the restaurant is ‘affiliated with or sponsored by Campbell in some way.’ ” Pop Burger’s response to the New York Post: “”Who knew that Campbell’s Soup still existed? The only reason they are probably still in business is because Andy gave them a place in pop culture history that will forever be celebrated as some of the best art work ever created.”

Fascinating.

N.A.S.A. “Money”

feat. David Byrne, Chuck D, Ras Congo, Seu Jorge, & Z-Trip

This post has moved.  Please go here to review Caitlin’s investing tips part II

Public Enemy wants you-fans- to fund their next album in return for a share of the profits.Rap legends Public Enemy  signed an agreement with an online fan funding engine-SellaBand-so they can raise 250K , hit the studio and record a new disc.If you ‘re a Public Enemy devotee it will cost you $25 to receive a numbered copy of the record and a share in any revenue it pulls in.

Hip-hop icon Chuck D says, “SellaBand’s financial engine model goes about restructuring the music business in reverse.

“It starts with fans first, then the artists create from there. The music business is built on searching for fans and this is a brand new way for acts to create a new album with fans first, already on board.

Source