Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Bombast

Completely agree with what Meth said in a recent interview on Sirius. Seated with Ghost and Rae, he unloaded on bloggers -- telling them to at least put their pictures or home addresses on their sites, to take ownership of their hostile commentary.

No doubt, all these punk bitches should identify themselves on their blogs. I mean, what the fuck?

Still, Johnny Blaze shouldn't dismiss the constitutional protections for anonymous speech, a bedrock principle of any free society.

Meth of course has repeatedly asserted the due process rights of criminal defendants on his tracks ["Filthy/ "Innocent until I'm proven guilty"] , and he probably knows as well as anyone that civil liberties giveth and taketh away, depending on the context.

Still, bloggers, put your pictures online. Sack up. I mean, what the fuck?

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Caffeine

A lot of Wu members, RZA and GZA especially, disavow it completely. But I gotta believe Trife, one of the more energetic satellite members, drinks at least six cups of coffee a day. Guy's got a manic presence on all those Ghost tracks.

Great to listen to, but you can't hit that fever pitch without a little help.

Monday, February 27, 2012

Rush

Can't stop playing that Meth track "Rush," GZA's got great vocals on it too. Basically a dance track with an edge.

As I've said many times on this widely read blog, Meth has regained his edge after a 10-year hiatus.

Friday, February 24, 2012

The Gravel Pit Video....

Some caveman shit that I never quite understood. But I'll accept it. I'm sure RZA had a hand in the direction, and he likes trying new shit.

Sue the fuckin' guy.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Dude on the periphery

A part of Cappadonna will always sound like Cookie Monster, and I can fuckin' dig that. You can certainly find the menace, the nefarious underbelly of the whole rigged fuckin' game, in cartoons and puppets and the like.

Everything is everything, as the man said on "The Pillage."

Also on Cap, how come I've never heard anyone mention other aliases for him? Everyone else has a laundry list.

The fuck?

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Meth and Baby U in Britain

Heard Meth and U-God freestyle inside a British radio station recently, and afterward John John said something like, "Tryin' to show the younger cats we still got it."

In fact I'd say they've put out better work in the last two or three years than they had in the intervening period after "Forever."

They sound angrier and more focused. Wittier too, with very little tired imagery coming out of the new stuff.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

On the diamond

You figure nine generals, I'd put RZA on the mound, Raekwon at third, Ghost at short, Masta Killa at second, Capp at first, Deck in left, Meth in center.

Not sure who'd fill the other spots 'cause I gotta run. Feel free to weigh in. Matter of fact, someone leave a comment somewhere on this fuckin' blog.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Cameos

RZA needs to move beyond them and play a starring role in one of the films that he scores. He surprised me in American Gangster. Didn't think he could credibly play a cop, but he did.

Of course the Ghost Dog score is one of the most stunning achievements on record in contemporary American cinema. So in one respect you could say, who gives a fuck if the guy never plays any leading roles?

But I think Jarmusch or Tarantino could find the right part for him. Who knows? Maybe they already have.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

That old Rolling Stone photo

You know the one: it ran with the article on the abbreviated tour with Rage Against the Machine, circa 96 or 97. A black-and-white shot of the RZA's face, inches from a light bulb. He didn't look thugged out or self-consciously mysterious.

Just genuine, and it's tragic that Rolling Stone won't run shit like that anymore.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Whose helping?

Raekwon calls himself the chef so often that whenever I hear him talk I start wondering what kind of restaurant he'd open if he felt up to it.

I'd bet on something French, just to fuck with everyone.

Friday, February 17, 2012

The Legend

"Legendary Weapons" has a funk vibe that I haven't ever heard on a Wu group album. And as usual, they turn a celebratory style into some truly haunting shit.

Who the fuck does it better? Who?

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Pub Crawl

Anyone else remember that frame in the "Brooklyn Zoo" video where Dirty's stumbling around the bar and swinging his arms in the middle of a tiny entourage?

It broke the hip-hop video mold because it showed a guy completely unhinged, instead of utterly composed and content with his harem.

Great, great stuff.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Killa vocalist

Tekitha should figure much more prominently in future Wu group albums. She fits their scheme perfectly -- all soul, no glamour.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

LL

Ladies Love Cool James mentioned great moments in Grammy history during his intro tonight and missed a golden opportunity.

He shoulda repped ODB's cameo back in the early 90s, when he crashed the stage in a red tux, ripped the mic outta Shawn Colvin's hands and said all that crazy shit.

A great moment? Nah -- the fuckin' greatest in the history of an otherwise incredibly vapid ritual.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Essential items

Hope they've got flashlights and bug spray in the Wu Mansion. As I understand, it's in the Catskills. Lotta mosquitoes and power outages up there.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Flasher

Listening to "Martial Monks" and taking note of Raekwon's verse where he says "flash-dance on the universe."

Even Rae, the most menacing Wu member by far, will say shit that doesn't quite belong in the thug lexicon.

The witty unpredictable indeed.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Birds of a feather

It makes sense that the RZA would gel with Jim Jarmusch and Forest Whitaker. All three men have quiet quirks, devoted followers, and well-deserved reputations for putting out pretty fearless shit.

Monday, February 6, 2012

Still waiting for it...

Meaning the defining Wu Tang documentary. Suggested filmmakers include DA Pennebaker, Hype Williams, Spike Lee, Martin Scorcese, Julian Schnabel, and -- if they wanted to take a huge risk -- some kind of collaboration with the Wooster Group directors.

I raise that possibility not because the Wu clique is highly theatrical in its musical or performance aesthetic -- quite the contrary. But the Wooster Group stable may understand how to portray a group of artists who are, at their core, pretty fucking unknowable.

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Tao, Now

Still haven't read the Tao of Wu, the RZA memoir/theological treatise, in its entirety. Read the first couple pages in a bookstore ('member those?) and made a mental note: buy this book.

Hasn't happened, which I regret. Have to move forward. Have to buy the book. I could tell after skimming that it's far more coherent and engaging than the Wu Tang Manual, which had its moments.

Friday, February 3, 2012

Identity Politics, Shaolin Style

I remember one line from Cappadonna -- track title escapes me -- where he says to an adversary, "You a homo thug."

Interesting how he concedes that a homo can still be a thug, especially since I'm pretty sure the track was recorded before Omar Little became a cult phenomenon.

As usual, the Wu clique was ahead of the curve.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Ghostly

If he wasn't a Wu member, Ghost would be in MOP. Can't think of another group that even approaches the same energy level on the vocals.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Signs from Meth

Another great Method Man line from the mid-90s: "Sign of the times/conspiracy to overthrow the mind/behind every fortune there's a crime."

To think he wrote that during the Clinton boom years! What did he see coming?

Why did he take a comedic turn in the late 90s and early aughts, and why does he seem to be abandoning it now? This guy's a mystery.