Recovery - Eminem

Eminem has a new album that will drop tomorrow (June 22nd, 2010). This is his first studio album in about forever (ok...maybe since last year, but whatever) and it is his seventh studio album. To me, this album is kind of a look back on his life of fame. He apologizes for not really coming with fire of late and even speaks about being jealous of other rappers (Kanye and Lil' Wayne). And of course, he shits on Mariah and Nick Cannon. Nothing is off limits in this album, a couple Michael J. Fox references and even a reference to Michael Jackson and his hair catching fire. Each song has compliments his style and the message held within. The beats and production are all on point given the subject matter of each track.

This album makes Eminem seem much more mature and introspective. Even in the songs where he is just shooting the proverbial shit, he keeps 'on message'. That message is that I'm back and literally dropping knowledge with every word.

My favorite tracks so far are (in no particular order) Talkin' 2 Myself, On Fire, Going Through Changes, Seduction, No Love, and 25 to Life. All the tracks bring something interesting to the table and I find myself unable to skip any of them (even W.T.P.). The test of any great album is the ability to replay it several times and never be irritated. This album has that potential (I have listened to it about 15 times over the past two days).

So go get Recovery by any means necessary...I give it 5/5.

Hot Tub Time Machine

Recently (read yesterday) I went out with my lovely wife for a night on the town. The night began with food and then realizing that we were late for our movie. This made us stop in at a bar (MoJo's Lounge...affixed the cup of joe in the mall) where we experienced a great happy hour and some of the OSU NCAA basketball game (they lost...another blog, another time). We each had two drinks (rum/coke, 2 whisky/ginger ale, Guinness) and were ready to leave (so we wouldn't be late for the new showtime), but alas, the barkeep friend we had made the week before gave us a free beer (joy/sadness). That beer didn't last long (devoured). [note the overuse of parentheses] We hurried into the theater, found our seats, and still had at least two previews left. By the way, why do movies have so many previews in 2010? I realized this trend back in 2002 during a trip to Puerto Rico (15 previews and commercials...I shit you not). But what is the explanation?

Finally it was time for Hot Tub Time Machine. But only after being told not to ruin the movie by adding our own soundtrack. What the fuck? I can't laugh now? Fucking movies. Anyway, the movie begins in several hilarious ways (showing each of our heroes lives) and we learn a little about each of them. Then they take a trip and we learn of the hot tub. Keep in mind that I was already DYING of laughter before this part of the film. I can't explain the jokes, but if you enjoy raunchy, irreverent humor, then this film has your name ALL OVER IT!

The film has plenty of dialogue, gags, and running jokes to keep you cracking up. I highly recommend you take some time and watch Hot Tub Time Machine. I give it 5/5. Or maybe 4.5/5. I should check Lougle and see what RottenTomatoes.com gave it...(inside joke)

SL Music Review: Blueprint 3 (SL= Steven L.)

I have it. 10 days early at that; and I am listening to the full thing. I'll give you a track by track rating....

Track 1 "What we Talkin About" 3/5

Nice line includes one from the concert freestyle " I ain't talking about Jimmy I ain't talking about Dame."

Track 2 "Thank You" 4/5

Really like this track. Good production and horn section. Jay's flow is the one we know and love kind of like, dare I say, before. " I was going to kill a couple rappers but they did it to themselves/ I was going to do it with the flow but they did it with their sounds." On repeated listenings, this track really sounds like it could be the bonus track on the classic Camp Lo album "Uptown Saturday night". One of the top 3 tracks on the album.

Track 3 "DOA" 3.5/5

I am certain you all have heard it. I like the track, with by far the hottest line to me being "You n***** jeans to tight, you're colors to bright, you're voices to light" I've been screaming that for YEARS.

Track 4 "Run this Town" 1.5/5

Don't like it. The less Rihanna appears on Hip Hop albums, the better.

Track 5 "Empire State of Mind" 3/5

Nice production. Alicia Key's part really adds to the song. Jay's flow is still recovering on this track.

Track 6 "Real as it gets" 2.5/5

Jeezy rhymes first with a couple nice similes, Jay follows with a normal flow. Nothing jumps out at me.

Track 7 "On to the Next One" 4/5

At first I thought this beat was trash, until I got about a minute into the song, I realized Swizz is a sorcerer. The beat coupled with Jay's flow is crazy. Talks about the progression of the game and defending why he moved away from his Reasonable Doubt style.

Track 8 "Off That" 2/5

This song gets that score just off of the strength of not having Jimmy spit a verse. Not feeling the production.

Track 9 "A Star is Born" 3/5

Talks about the stars that came after him in the game and how they have done, and gives them a "clap".

Track 10 "Venus vs. Mars" 3.5/5

Heard this one a while back as well. I like the metaphor, as well as the beat. Flow as well as production really favors LL Cool J circa "Doin It" and "Hey Lover."

Track 11 "Already Home" 3.5/5

Nice strings, good flow. Jay's 2nd verse much better then the first.

Track 12 "Hate" 3.25/5

FINALLY. Kanye rhymes without autotune. Interesting rhyme scheme between the 2 of them. Wish they were a bit faster with it though. Edit: They actually get faster with the flow about a minute and a half in. Ye could have done a better beat though.

Track 13 "Reminder" 3.75/5

Jay's flow is nice on this one, nice beat. One of the better tracks on the album.

Track 14 "So Ambitious" 4.10/5

Love it. Plays like part 2 to excuse me miss, but more a life mission/bragging tale/goal setter.Pharrell brought a grade A beat, unlike 'Ye. Listen to it on a lazy Sunday afternoon driving with the sunroof open on the way to pick up a snow cone with your chick. Sorry, my mind was wandering. Hot song.

Track 15 "Young Forever" 3.0/5

A direct example of Jay's "new" sound. Very much a ballad. Nice message with the hook.

Track 16 Ghetto Techno 2.0/5

Only reason I give this score is because of the beat, and the fact that I was really expecting Ain't I or so many other tracks that should have been at the end of this album. Jay trying with the Em flow at the begninning.

Final score: 47.1/80

An OK album with a few notable tracks, but lacks the "listenability" of his earlier releases (almost anything pre black album).

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Here's my review...

This film has the necessary elements to not totally piss off those who have read the book and it will totally intrigue those who have only seen the movies. What does that mean? It means it has the action, story, special effects, and comedy to make a well rounded film that is quite enjoyable.

The book that is paired with this film centers around the development of young Lord Voldemort (or Tom Riddle). Its focus is on his family history and difficult childhood. This film misses out on a lot of character development of Tom Riddle. However, I contend that the film series provides enough information to show that Tom Riddle is extremely evil and had a troubled past before even attending Hogwartz. I will also state that the film only has a limited window and has to catch your attention much faster than any book (books are usually drawn out with extra details and unnecessary information). Having said that, let's get to the review.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is probably the second best movie in the series (this is not to say that it was the closest film to its respective book) after the Prisoner of Azkaban. It has suspense, story, action (am I repeating myself...thought so), etc. The film begins with a great opening sequence of Death Eaters attacking both the Wizard world and the Muggle world. And from that the film really never slows down. I think they did a great job of explaining the Harry and Slughorn relationship as well as telling the story of Draco Malfoy. Some things were left out, but overall the film worked for me.

This movie will be a great summer film in a series of terrible summer films (Wolverine, Transformers [yes, too long, boring story...], etc.) and will be enjoyable for many folks. My rating? 4/5.

BLACKOUT 2 Review

Here is my Blackout 2 minireview: GET THIS ALBUM TODAY. That is pretty much all that needs to be said about the Method Man & Redman new album. First, we know these guys can flow with some of the best, but the greatest aspect of this album is the fact that it is so HIP HOP. What does that mean? Its rough, raw, has club appeal, and will make this a great summer for anyone who gets the album. I couldn't find one song that I didn't enjoy on the album. Seriously. It reminds me of some other great albums in Hip Hop history. Name one and it can be in the same paragraph at the least. Take the album for what it is, a critique of the current direction of the industry, a great summer album, and some slick lyrics. None of that New Age Hip Hop shit.

What are some of the standout tracks? A-Yo, Dangerous Mcees, I'm Dope Nigga, Errbody Scream, City Lights, Mrs. International, Dis Iz 4 All My Smokers, and many more. I just listed most of the album. The whole thing stands out. And I'm not the only one. Most of the people who have heard the album are saying that it proves Hip Hop is still in the land of the living.

So that is my minireview. Go get this album in whatever method you usually get your music. You won't be disappointed. I give this newest work from Method Man & Redman a 4.5/5. That means it may be one of the best albums of the year. BELIEVE IT.

Review of Kobe Doin' Work

I caught Kobe Doin' work thanks to my trusty dvr, and let me tell you, dont start watching this movie expecting to get some insider knowledge of the lakers or kobe. It was pretty much a puff piece following Kobe during a 2008 regular season game against the Spurs. Ironically, Kobe didnt actually do much work ending with 21 and not shooting that well. I will say though that after viewing this, it is clear to me just how physical the NBA is. On almost every play, contact that technically is illegal occurs, and Kobe is no different. The amount of shoving, grabbing, and sleight of hand fouls during shot attempts is quite amazing. I also got the clear feeling that Kobe was acting differently from how one would normally act with 30 cameras watching his every move. His fake laughter and overeagerness to be chummy with his team sickens me, especially because I have read several accounts (The Last Season: A Team in Search of Its Soul) which portray him as a complete selfish idiot. The little things in his mannerisms become more pronounced, like him wiping his hands on his jersey at least 30 or 40 times. Also as good as the cinematography is, they must have shown his hideous shoes 10 times in the film, even him untying them after the game.Overall, i wish Spike had followed Lebron instead or had the presence of mind to capture Kobe's 61 point game on film against the Knicks. Nothing extraordinary, i grade it a C+. As far as ESPN productions go, I strongly recommend you check out Through the Fire about Sebastian Telafir's journey to getting drafted into the NBA. Much better stuff.

Twitter!

The following is a brief discussion on Twitter. Enjoy

Theo
Ok. So the three of us have joined Twitter and now Twitter is going mainstream. Here is some of the things I don't like about Twitter, random followers that aren't real people and fake celebs. Other than that and the fail whale, I think it is a great communication tool. Let's talk about the bad of Twitter before we discuss the good. Any other things you two can think of?

Steven
I actually like the fake celebrities, some of them are hilarious, especially Darth Vader, Yoda, Fake Bill OReilly, etc. I wish Twitter didn't have consistency issues like being turned off. I txt off at night, and it takes anywhere from 2 minutes to never for it stop updating me on the people I am following. That gets frustrating...I also would like the option to do threaded twitter messaging with selective people I follow/talk to.

Theo
I guess when I said fake Celeb, I mean the ones impersonating a real celeb (Seth_Rogen) or celebs who have assistants write their tweets (ala Brittney Spears). I turned off the text updates, too invasive for me, due to the fact that I can check the Twitterfon app every few minutes or whatever. I think the "threaded twitter" idea (something similar to Gmail reply all, etc.) is great. That way some conversations would only include certain people. I recommend that no one use Twitter via the internet unless you wanna make friends with the fail whale. I would say a twitterclient or text is your best option.

Fabrice
The thing I like about twitter is the speed at which it operates. It's still amazing to me when I put up an update and 4-5 people have seen that shit and responded. I also like the way me, you Steve, Alexis, Matt, and the rest of our crew get together at night and have our random convos. It's like an AOL Instant Messenger conference call or something.

You can help us keep the discussion going by adding your comments! We'd like to know what you think of Twitter, so be sure to share!