Music, Teaching, Leading, Birds, Nature in General, Sports, Basketball mostly to play, Football to watch. Oh yeah, and the Sweet Science of Boxing. Coaching Bball and FBall (Double Wing). Languages. Drumming. Cultures of the world, especially African cultures, the motherland. Astronomy. Science in general. Oh yeah, and Peace. I'm interested in peace. Harmony and the like.
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New Stuff I am digging from Sweatshop Union, the Boom Bap Project from the 206, and Sally Jayne from Jackson, MS. I like all genres, even got over my hatred of country by realizing that it was more than just the schlock I heard on the radio at the time. (No I don't listen to country on the radio, but I like listening to music that IS country, think "O Brother" soundtrack, and there's more than just one country in the world) Anyways, here's some ish about my musical preferences.First and foremost, I grew up on Top 40 radio. Casey Casem and Michael Q-Seng on 93FM-Q (Funny how all the pop stations are 93.3 FM) So I'm down with anything on the radio from mid 70's Jacksons to late 80's poppy crap.Now for my passions. ------------------------------------------------------------ ---Reggae:An afterschool leader got me into two things with music when I was like 10 or 11. His name was Rudy Acoba, and he got me into Jimmy Cliff (The Power and The Glory, still in my semi regular rotation) Since then I have been into Reggae pretty heavily. I even ran Ital Sundays, a reggae show on KUGS (WWU's station), for like two years or so. Obviously, Bob Marley is a huge influence, but I loved the original Wailers band. Thus the Barrett brothers are also highly influential. Other acts I highly recommend: Steel Pulse, Peter Tosh, Jimmy Cliff, Third World, Pato Banton, The Gladiators, Clinton Fearon and the Boogie Brown Band, Little Big Man, Mystic Revelation of Rastafari, The Ethiopians, The Abyssinians, Toots and The Maytals, Lee (Scratch) Perry, Burning Spear, The Skatalites, The Wailing Souls, Linton Kwesi Johnson, The I-Threes (Especially Judy Mowatt), Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs, Eek - A - Mouse, Frankie Paul, Yellowman, Ziggy Marley, King Tubby (a legend in his own right), Scientist, Derrick Morgan, Mutabaruka, Jacob Miller, Isreal Vibrations, Alpha Blondy, The Itals, Max Romeo, Black Uhuru. Not so much new school stuff, except for LBG and Clinton Fearon. I'm not into the commercialization of any music, you might notice a trend. ------------------------------------------------------------ -----------Hip Hop:My next passionate genre would have to be Hip Hop. I first got into it through Run DMC and the Beasties, playing PunchOut and Excitebike for hours at a time at the Safeway while rockin' Raisin' Hell. "I'm not the best, but at least I'm the one you like." Then after I moved to Seattle, Straight Outta Compton came out and I was blown away. NWA was it for me for a long while. Eventually, I came to realize the positive messages many artists put out, but I have to admit, I like phat beats regardless. Here are some super influential artists, kind of in chronological order. Run DMC, Beastie Boys, Salt n Pepa, Public Enemy, N.W.A. (all members solo efforts as well), Eazy E, Too Short, Big Daddy Kane, Eric B. and Rakim, Ice T, Afrika Bambaata, Zulu Nation, BDP w/ KRS One, Kool Moe Dee, Sir-Mix-A-Lot (Kid Sensation lol), De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Digital Underground, Black Sheep, Tone Loc, Naughty By Nature, Arrested Development, Geto Boys, Dr. Dre merits his own mention, and of course Snoop, Warren G, Cypress Hill, House of Pain, Wu Tang Clan, Meth, Red, Rza, Gza, ODB, the whole crew, Biggie Smalls, Nas, Common, Tupac, The Fugees, Lauryn Hill (She's starting O on my team), Wyclef, Gang Starr, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, OutKast, Dead Prez, Handsome Boy Modeling School. Top five would probably include: P.E., Beasties, De La, OutKast, and Tribe, Those are definitely the most listened to. Bubble teams: Dead Prez, Arrested Development, Snoop & Dre, Fugees, Too Short, Tone Loc (OK I'm stopping)--------------------------------------------------- -----------------------I also dig Punk/Hardcore/metal?. The Accused (Oh Martha!) is one of my ALL time favorite bands. They recently got back together for awhile and played some shows and I got to see them play in Seattle, down the street from my house in Tacoma, and at the 3B in the 'Ham. Other favorites in or near this genre would have to include: Poison Idea, the Gits, Dumt, Metallica, Sepultura, Black Flag (pre Rollins, just haven't gotten into much what they did with Henry), Suicidal Tendencies, Anthrax, The Butthole Surfers, Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper, The Dead Kennedys, Wehrmacht, NOFX, Circle Jerks, Body Count, Jane's Addiction, Fear, Gwar (only one album I like really, but I love "Scumdogs of the Universe" this much), 7 Year Bitch, Daterape, Neon Bubble Gum, Soundgarden, The Sex Pistols, Slayer, Smashing Pumpkins, Primus, Rage Against the Machine, Fugazi, Minor Threat. The Soundtrack (& the movie) to The Decline of Western Civilization (not pt.2) is non pareil. ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------Now for some Soul. I dig on Al Green, James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Aretha, Stevie Wonder, and Otis Redding, Anthony Hamilton, Hall & Oates, Jackson 5, --------------------------------------------------Classic Rock: Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Aerosmith, Van Halen, Jethro Tull, Rush, Steppenwolf, The Eagles, The Beatles, Chicago, Crosby, Stills, and Nash, The Rolling Stones, and Neil Young oh and AC/DC. ------------------------------------------------------------ I also friggin love Funk music. Think Parliament Funkadelic.
New Hits include Brick and The Lookout, and Winter's Passing. The Big Lebowski, Hustle & Flow ("Whoop That Trick, Get 'Em!") written and directed by Craig Brewer, Office Space, The Life Aquatic, Old School, Garden State, Super Troopers, Half Baked, Friday, Freeway, Hoosiers, O Brother Where Art Thou, Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, Crash, Fargo, Nappy Dynamite, Donnie Darko, Anchorman, Dodgeball, The 40 Year Old Virgin, Boondock Saints, The Waterboy, The Decline of Western Civilization, Winged Migration, March of the Penguins. And I love documentaries. I also used to love watching old Kung Fu movies in the Aloha State. They would come on at 2:00am on Fridays? Old School Kung Fu rocks.
I like this a little too much right now. Apart from sports, not including auto racing, I look forward to shows like My Name is Earl, The Office (I like both versions, the American one hits home for me more, what can I say, I'm an American bloke), Scrubs (Thanks Jess), Lost, CSI, and this year, I have to say that for the first time, I have actually watched and gotten into American Idol. The seeds were planted last year when I noticed a couple of people (I think they were the last two) for their vocal talents, and I just got sucked in. Guilty pleasure. But I'm not ashamed. In the fall on Sundays, it's all about The Sunday Ticket. And How can I forgot some classics. The Sopranos, The Daily Show, South Park, and the original, innovative Jackass.
Recently read recommendations: After Dachau by Daniel Quinn and Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. I like these. Historical and fictional. Stephen King is a favorite. The Dark Tower series is my favorite story, finally finished it this January. I also highly recommend The Buying of The President (it's a series that comes out every four years, election season, examining each candidate's financial wrangling) For all of you who might think this is a partisan subject, it ain't. The series started in 1996 and the next book should be out by early 2008. Every, and I mean, every voting American should read this book. Then we might be able to do something with this knowledge. Money talks.
I've realized that most heroes are flawed, at least most of mine are. Here's a short list of my heroes along with some flaws. Bob Marley (infidelity, violence, hey the man was a lover and a fighter), Muhammad Ali (pride, brashness, I'm sure he regrets some of the things he called Joe Frazier back in the day), Magic Johnson, I had a front row seat to "Showtime" in Hawaii cuz all the Laker games were broadcast on Prime Ticket back in the day (he slept around on his wife and got HIV), Amy Goodman (I am not familiar with any glaring flaws of hers, but if you don't know who she is, she is the voice of Democracy Now!, a terrific news show giving voice to many who are muted and author of The Exception to the Rulers) www.democracynow.org check it out. Other heroes are Aston "Family Man" Barrett, bassist for the Hippy Boys and later the Wailers of Nesta fame, and many Freedom Fighters around the world. Here are some I have studied and learned to appreciate. David Walker, Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Stephen Biko, Kwame Nkrumah, Mandela, Noam Chomsky, George Washington, Chuck D, Flea, and lastly a pal of mine from High School that I don't keep in touch with (check that, we're back in touch, THank You MySpace), but is still a hero. His name is Tony Volpentest, and he is a stud athlete despite some issues at birth. He was also a cool cat who I have good memories of hacky sacking with, even though he didn't really have feet. His flaw was that he liked dachsunds a lot. He brought his to my job at the Vet Hospital a lot. Haven't seen him since those days, but he's still a hero to me.