The Square Project from Jesse Benjamin on Vimeo.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
Why I LOVE the New York Times
A great article written by David Segal at the NYT relating Political Talk Radio and Hip-Hop. Weird, but definitely interesting to say the least! Check it out below!
"Call It Ludacris: The Kinship Between Talk Radio and Rap"
September 20, 2009
Call It Ludacris: The Kinship Between Talk Radio and Rap
By DAVID SEGAL
If you’re driving alone through the plains of Nebraska and need a little company, you can’t do better than the nationally syndicated maestros of political talk radio. Hour after hour, rant after rant, it is a feast of words and feverish emotion, interrupted only by regular commercials and the occasional call from the awe-struck fan.
I’d heard these voices before, but only in sound bites. When you don’t own a car and don’t tune in at home, you probably don’t run into Michael Savage, Rush Limbaugh or Mark Levin. On the highways of the Cornhusker State, they ran into me, every time I hit the scan button. After a while, it felt like a series of visits from very colorful and highly agitated relatives. Or it would if I had a lot of relatives certain that America is slouching toward a socialist abyss.
The apparent influence of these conservative talk professionals has caused more hand-wringing than usual in recent weeks, in the wake of our summer of angry town hall meetings and the “You lie!” outburst of Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina. And when you hear Barack Obama likened to Pol Pot — as Mr. Savage did in a recent show— you can understand the concern. But to my uninitiated ears, there was something reassuringly familiar about political talk radio, and not because I know a lot about firebrands.
It’s because I listen to a lot of rap. Gangsta rap, in particular.
I’ll admit that the parallels between Jay-Z and Rush Limbaugh do not seem obvious, and to grasp them you need to look beyond the violence and misogyny that have made rap a favorite target of the right wing. (Come to think of it, perhaps each of these realms will be chagrined to be likened to the other.) But as soon as you dig beneath the surface, the similarities between talk radio and gangsta rap are nothing short of uncanny. And these similarities are revealing, too.
But before we get to the revelations, let’s examine the kinship. For great careers in both businesses you’ll need:
EGO Extolling your greatness is nearly as crucial to rap as it is to talk radio. One consistent theme of Jay-Z’s lyrics is the genius of Jay-Z’s lyrics. He claims a charisma that is almost mystical and skills on the mic that make him the “Mike Jordan of recording,” “the Bruce Wayne of the game,” a “god.”
Rush Limbaugh peppers his show with self-adulating incantations that would seem right at home on a Snoop Dogg track, calling himself “Chief Waga-Waga El Rushbo of the El Conservo Tribe,” “doctor of democracy,” and “a weapon of mass instruction.” Both he and Jay-Z have referred to themselves as “a living legend.”
HATERS You’re nobody in hip-hop until you claim to have hordes of detractors. The paradox, of course, is that the artists who regularly denounce their haters have a huge and adoring audience. How does Lil Wayne complain in song about the legions who seek his ruin even as he dominates the charts? Ask Michael Savage, who is forever describing himself as an underdog, marginalized by the media — on the more than 300 stations that carry his show.
FEUDS 50 Cent vs. Ja Rule. Lil’ Kim vs. Foxy Brown. Jay-Z vs. Nas. Every couple of years, one rapper will pick a fight with another and battle it out with the winner typically determined by sales. This will sound familiar to anyone who has followed, say, Bill O’Reilly’s broadsides at Mr. Limbaugh (“Walk away from these right-wing liars!” Mr. O’Reilly said of an unnamed rival, described as someone who smokes a cigar and owns a private jet) or Mark Levin’s attack on Mr. O’Reilly. (“He has a fledgling radio show, that has no ratings,” Mr. Levin said in 2008, “and he’ll be off radio soon because he’s a failure.” Levin’s predication came true in January of this year.) Liberal ranters can partake, too, as MSNBC host and fulminator par excellence Keith Olbermann has proven with his long running O’Reilly spat.
VERBAL SKILLS Without them, you can’t rap and you’ll never make it as a talk radio opinion-machine. Free-style rap requires precisely the facility with words that it takes to free-associate for two or three hours a day. Forget, for a moment, what the Fox TV and radio gabber Glenn Beck is saying and marvel for a moment at how long he can say it — and how sharp and funny he can be. In a recent and genuinely hilarious bit, he lampooned the sleepiness of NPR talk shows by affecting a plummy British accent and repeatedly urging a caller — a member of his coterie in actual fact — to “please use your indoor voice,” though the caller was talking at a perfectly reasonable volume.
Mr. Savage’s riffs are a quirky, zig-zagging flow of ideas that at their best are a kind of talk show scat, jumping from a mini-lecture about the Khmer Rouge, to a rave about barbecue chicken, to a warning that he feels a bit manic, which means he’ll be depressed for tomorrow’s show.
If Mr. Limbaugh is conservative talk radio’s answer to Jay-Z, Mr. Savage is its Eminem — a man whose own neuroses are one of his favorite topics.
Even beyond simple matters of style, rap and conservative talk radio share some DNA. Once you subtract gangsta rap’s enthusiasm for lawlessness — a major subtraction, to be sure — rap is among the most conservative genres of pop music. It exalts capitalism and entrepreneurship with a brio that is typically considered Republican. (Admiring references to Bill Gates are common in hip-hop.)
Rappers tend to be fans of the Second Amendment, though they rarely frame their affection for guns in constitutional terms. And rap has an opinion about human nature that is deeply conservative — namely, that criminals cannot be reformed. The difference is that gangsta rappers often identify themselves as the criminals, and are proud of their unreformability.
Finally, rappers and conservative talkers both speak for a demographic that believes its interests and problems have been slighted and both offer stories that have allegedly been ignored.
Obviously, there are limits to all these parallels, but there is one more worth noting: rap has inspired its share of fear and now, liberals and moderates are asking the same question about conservative talk radio that conservatives have long asked about rap: How dangerous is it?
There’s a curious role reversal here, with fans of Mr. Limbaugh, et al., now under the very suspicion that had long been cast on fans of gangsta rap. The suspicion boils down to another question: Can people listen to highly provocative words (and in rap’s case, irresistible beats) and still be civil?
This seemed like a good question to pose to a man uniquely situated to opine about the shaded part of the Venn diagram of rap and conservative talk radio. I’m talking about DJ Clayvis, né Clay Clark, an Oklahoma-based, right-leaning talk show host and rapper. He has written anti-Obama raps, including “Audacity of Nope” and, though he believes his favorite talkers are sincere conservatives, he has long understood that his two different callings have a lot in common.
“The differences between Ludacris and Rush Limbaugh are not that great,” he said. “Both have a huge egos, both bring a lot of bravado, both are sort of playing characters when they perform. And at the end of the day, they’re both entertainers.”
September 20, 2009
Call It Ludacris: The Kinship Between Talk Radio and Rap
By DAVID SEGAL
If you’re driving alone through the plains of Nebraska and need a little company, you can’t do better than the nationally syndicated maestros of political talk radio. Hour after hour, rant after rant, it is a feast of words and feverish emotion, interrupted only by regular commercials and the occasional call from the awe-struck fan.
I’d heard these voices before, but only in sound bites. When you don’t own a car and don’t tune in at home, you probably don’t run into Michael Savage, Rush Limbaugh or Mark Levin. On the highways of the Cornhusker State, they ran into me, every time I hit the scan button. After a while, it felt like a series of visits from very colorful and highly agitated relatives. Or it would if I had a lot of relatives certain that America is slouching toward a socialist abyss.
The apparent influence of these conservative talk professionals has caused more hand-wringing than usual in recent weeks, in the wake of our summer of angry town hall meetings and the “You lie!” outburst of Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina. And when you hear Barack Obama likened to Pol Pot — as Mr. Savage did in a recent show— you can understand the concern. But to my uninitiated ears, there was something reassuringly familiar about political talk radio, and not because I know a lot about firebrands.
It’s because I listen to a lot of rap. Gangsta rap, in particular.
I’ll admit that the parallels between Jay-Z and Rush Limbaugh do not seem obvious, and to grasp them you need to look beyond the violence and misogyny that have made rap a favorite target of the right wing. (Come to think of it, perhaps each of these realms will be chagrined to be likened to the other.) But as soon as you dig beneath the surface, the similarities between talk radio and gangsta rap are nothing short of uncanny. And these similarities are revealing, too.
But before we get to the revelations, let’s examine the kinship. For great careers in both businesses you’ll need:
EGO Extolling your greatness is nearly as crucial to rap as it is to talk radio. One consistent theme of Jay-Z’s lyrics is the genius of Jay-Z’s lyrics. He claims a charisma that is almost mystical and skills on the mic that make him the “Mike Jordan of recording,” “the Bruce Wayne of the game,” a “god.”
Rush Limbaugh peppers his show with self-adulating incantations that would seem right at home on a Snoop Dogg track, calling himself “Chief Waga-Waga El Rushbo of the El Conservo Tribe,” “doctor of democracy,” and “a weapon of mass instruction.” Both he and Jay-Z have referred to themselves as “a living legend.”
HATERS You’re nobody in hip-hop until you claim to have hordes of detractors. The paradox, of course, is that the artists who regularly denounce their haters have a huge and adoring audience. How does Lil Wayne complain in song about the legions who seek his ruin even as he dominates the charts? Ask Michael Savage, who is forever describing himself as an underdog, marginalized by the media — on the more than 300 stations that carry his show.
FEUDS 50 Cent vs. Ja Rule. Lil’ Kim vs. Foxy Brown. Jay-Z vs. Nas. Every couple of years, one rapper will pick a fight with another and battle it out with the winner typically determined by sales. This will sound familiar to anyone who has followed, say, Bill O’Reilly’s broadsides at Mr. Limbaugh (“Walk away from these right-wing liars!” Mr. O’Reilly said of an unnamed rival, described as someone who smokes a cigar and owns a private jet) or Mark Levin’s attack on Mr. O’Reilly. (“He has a fledgling radio show, that has no ratings,” Mr. Levin said in 2008, “and he’ll be off radio soon because he’s a failure.” Levin’s predication came true in January of this year.) Liberal ranters can partake, too, as MSNBC host and fulminator par excellence Keith Olbermann has proven with his long running O’Reilly spat.
VERBAL SKILLS Without them, you can’t rap and you’ll never make it as a talk radio opinion-machine. Free-style rap requires precisely the facility with words that it takes to free-associate for two or three hours a day. Forget, for a moment, what the Fox TV and radio gabber Glenn Beck is saying and marvel for a moment at how long he can say it — and how sharp and funny he can be. In a recent and genuinely hilarious bit, he lampooned the sleepiness of NPR talk shows by affecting a plummy British accent and repeatedly urging a caller — a member of his coterie in actual fact — to “please use your indoor voice,” though the caller was talking at a perfectly reasonable volume.
Mr. Savage’s riffs are a quirky, zig-zagging flow of ideas that at their best are a kind of talk show scat, jumping from a mini-lecture about the Khmer Rouge, to a rave about barbecue chicken, to a warning that he feels a bit manic, which means he’ll be depressed for tomorrow’s show.
If Mr. Limbaugh is conservative talk radio’s answer to Jay-Z, Mr. Savage is its Eminem — a man whose own neuroses are one of his favorite topics.
Even beyond simple matters of style, rap and conservative talk radio share some DNA. Once you subtract gangsta rap’s enthusiasm for lawlessness — a major subtraction, to be sure — rap is among the most conservative genres of pop music. It exalts capitalism and entrepreneurship with a brio that is typically considered Republican. (Admiring references to Bill Gates are common in hip-hop.)
Rappers tend to be fans of the Second Amendment, though they rarely frame their affection for guns in constitutional terms. And rap has an opinion about human nature that is deeply conservative — namely, that criminals cannot be reformed. The difference is that gangsta rappers often identify themselves as the criminals, and are proud of their unreformability.
Finally, rappers and conservative talkers both speak for a demographic that believes its interests and problems have been slighted and both offer stories that have allegedly been ignored.
Obviously, there are limits to all these parallels, but there is one more worth noting: rap has inspired its share of fear and now, liberals and moderates are asking the same question about conservative talk radio that conservatives have long asked about rap: How dangerous is it?
There’s a curious role reversal here, with fans of Mr. Limbaugh, et al., now under the very suspicion that had long been cast on fans of gangsta rap. The suspicion boils down to another question: Can people listen to highly provocative words (and in rap’s case, irresistible beats) and still be civil?
This seemed like a good question to pose to a man uniquely situated to opine about the shaded part of the Venn diagram of rap and conservative talk radio. I’m talking about DJ Clayvis, né Clay Clark, an Oklahoma-based, right-leaning talk show host and rapper. He has written anti-Obama raps, including “Audacity of Nope” and, though he believes his favorite talkers are sincere conservatives, he has long understood that his two different callings have a lot in common.
“The differences between Ludacris and Rush Limbaugh are not that great,” he said. “Both have a huge egos, both bring a lot of bravado, both are sort of playing characters when they perform. And at the end of the day, they’re both entertainers.”
Sunday, September 20, 2009
The GreenShows -- Eco-Friendly Designers @ NY Fashion Week
Last week marked a week that I would never forget. Thanks to State Public Relations I have had the opportunity to learn life long lessons as well as skills that I will be able to use to further my career. At the peak of NY Fashion Week, I was given the pleasure of working with Ryan Urcia and The GreenShows.
The GreenShows--A first for New York Fashion Week, The GreenShows Eco-Fashion Week is the only premiere fashion event exclusively committed to eco-friendly, ethically sound, fair-trade fashion in New York City. This two-day event will feature a selection of eco-conscious fashion designers who have been given the opportunity, support and resources to show their Spring/Summer 2010 collection under one roof.
The GreenShows was held at The King of Greene St in Soho, and my GOSH was it rewarding. Within the two day event, I was able to meet some of the nicest, down-to-earth, dedicated designers, photographers, models, djs , producers, volunteers (Tara Segree, youre my main biiitch!) and publicists (State PR of COURSE!). I worked closely with Brooklyn designer, Tara St. James on her 4 Square Project for her line STUDY, and DUDE, she was AMAZING (Tara-- Thank you for being so great and patient!) and a well-known UK designer Isobel Davies and her line Izzy Lane.
The shows consisted of other designers such as Bodkin, House of Organics, Bahar Shahpar, Mr. Larkin (ABSOLUTELY LOVED!) and Lara Miller. Celebrity guests included Russell Simmons, Summer Rayne Oaks, Kate Dillon, Fonzworth Bentley, and last but not least...the call girl turned model, Ashley Dupre!
The volunteers were were given organic shirts that were painted with organic paint as well as eco-friendly recycled sneakers called Simple Shoes that are made out of recycled plastic, old car tires and organic cotton (Cool huh!?). The clothes were obviously genius, and I am literally itching until Spring comes around so I can finally purchase all of the collections. I literally want it ALL!
A special thank you to Lara Miller for her shout out to State PR and I on her blog, it makes me feel good that even as an intern, my hard work is recognized!
Here are all the collections featured on TreeHugger, take a peak and see how the fashion industry has GONE GREEN!
STUDY by Tara St. James
Bahar Shahpar
Bodkin
Lara Miller
House of Organics
Mr. Larkin
Izzy Lane by Isobel Davies
Great fashion, for a great cause. I LOVE IT! Spring get here soon pleaseeeee!
The GreenShows--A first for New York Fashion Week, The GreenShows Eco-Fashion Week is the only premiere fashion event exclusively committed to eco-friendly, ethically sound, fair-trade fashion in New York City. This two-day event will feature a selection of eco-conscious fashion designers who have been given the opportunity, support and resources to show their Spring/Summer 2010 collection under one roof.
The GreenShows was held at The King of Greene St in Soho, and my GOSH was it rewarding. Within the two day event, I was able to meet some of the nicest, down-to-earth, dedicated designers, photographers, models, djs , producers, volunteers (Tara Segree, youre my main biiitch!) and publicists (State PR of COURSE!). I worked closely with Brooklyn designer, Tara St. James on her 4 Square Project for her line STUDY, and DUDE, she was AMAZING (Tara-- Thank you for being so great and patient!) and a well-known UK designer Isobel Davies and her line Izzy Lane.
The shows consisted of other designers such as Bodkin, House of Organics, Bahar Shahpar, Mr. Larkin (ABSOLUTELY LOVED!) and Lara Miller. Celebrity guests included Russell Simmons, Summer Rayne Oaks, Kate Dillon, Fonzworth Bentley, and last but not least...the call girl turned model, Ashley Dupre!
The volunteers were were given organic shirts that were painted with organic paint as well as eco-friendly recycled sneakers called Simple Shoes that are made out of recycled plastic, old car tires and organic cotton (Cool huh!?). The clothes were obviously genius, and I am literally itching until Spring comes around so I can finally purchase all of the collections. I literally want it ALL!
A special thank you to Lara Miller for her shout out to State PR and I on her blog, it makes me feel good that even as an intern, my hard work is recognized!
Here are all the collections featured on TreeHugger, take a peak and see how the fashion industry has GONE GREEN!
STUDY by Tara St. James
Bahar Shahpar
Bodkin
Lara Miller
House of Organics
Mr. Larkin
Izzy Lane by Isobel Davies
Great fashion, for a great cause. I LOVE IT! Spring get here soon pleaseeeee!
Friday, September 18, 2009
And maybe a happy ending doesn't include a guy, maybe... it's you, on your own, picking up the pieces and starting over, freeing yourself up for something better in the future. Maybe the happy ending is... just... moving on. Or maybe the happy ending is this, knowing after all the unreturned phone calls, broken-hearts, through the blunders and misread signals, through all the pain and embarrassment you never gave up hope.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
It's NY Fashion Week!!!!!!! :)
Working 8 shows during this Fashion Week and I CANNOT WAIT!
Pictures to follow!! :)
Pictures to follow!! :)
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Friday, September 4, 2009
Ne-Yo: Don't Worry About It
I know I already posted the music video to this beat-killin, body-rockin song, but I just had to post the lyrics because it sums up my current life to a tee.
Nothing relieves stress better than a little booty shakin.
come and dance with me
oooohhh yeah.
im feeling good
as the world comes crashing down down down
my smile is tattooed
it means im permanently happy now now now
so many reasons to shed so many tears
that i could drown / mmmm
but i stay high and dry
floating above the water on this cloud
and i wont come down oh.
theres always something wrong its just the way it
goes oh oh oh.
and all that stress will still be there
tomorrow oh oh so
im gunna dance like aint nothing wrong tonight
im gunna dance like aint nothing wrong
im gunna dance like aint nothing wrong tonight
im gunna dance like aint nothing wrong
im feeling good
as the world comes crashing down down down
see i no and that one day my heart will stop
but so long as its pumping now
im gunna find some other reals that do
im gunna look em in the eye and say yeah me to
i no that times its hard
i no that life is tough
how about we dance now
and worry when the sun comes up
theres always something wrong its just the way it
goes oh oh oh.
and all that stress will still be there
tomorrow oh oh so
im gunna dance like aint nothing wrong tonight
im gunna dance like aint nothing wrong
im gunna dance like aint nothing wrong tonight
im gunna dance like aint nothing wrong
dance like aint nothing wrong tonight
im gunna dance like aint nothing wrong
im gunna dance like aint nothing wrong tonight
im gunna dance like aint nothing wrong
hey hey
same life
but you've been waiting all your break Forever
you might aswell have some fun while you wait
come and dance with me / oohh yeaah
come and dance with me / ooh
ooohh
theres always something wrong its just the way it
goes oh oh oh.
and all that stress will still be there
tomorrow oh oh so
im gunna dance like aint nothing wrong tonight
im gunna dance like aint nothing wrong
im gunna dance like aint nothing wrong tonight
im gunna dance like aint nothing wrong
Nothing relieves stress better than a little booty shakin.
come and dance with me
oooohhh yeah.
im feeling good
as the world comes crashing down down down
my smile is tattooed
it means im permanently happy now now now
so many reasons to shed so many tears
that i could drown / mmmm
but i stay high and dry
floating above the water on this cloud
and i wont come down oh.
theres always something wrong its just the way it
goes oh oh oh.
and all that stress will still be there
tomorrow oh oh so
im gunna dance like aint nothing wrong tonight
im gunna dance like aint nothing wrong
im gunna dance like aint nothing wrong tonight
im gunna dance like aint nothing wrong
im feeling good
as the world comes crashing down down down
see i no and that one day my heart will stop
but so long as its pumping now
im gunna find some other reals that do
im gunna look em in the eye and say yeah me to
i no that times its hard
i no that life is tough
how about we dance now
and worry when the sun comes up
theres always something wrong its just the way it
goes oh oh oh.
and all that stress will still be there
tomorrow oh oh so
im gunna dance like aint nothing wrong tonight
im gunna dance like aint nothing wrong
im gunna dance like aint nothing wrong tonight
im gunna dance like aint nothing wrong
dance like aint nothing wrong tonight
im gunna dance like aint nothing wrong
im gunna dance like aint nothing wrong tonight
im gunna dance like aint nothing wrong
hey hey
same life
but you've been waiting all your break Forever
you might aswell have some fun while you wait
come and dance with me / oohh yeaah
come and dance with me / ooh
ooohh
theres always something wrong its just the way it
goes oh oh oh.
and all that stress will still be there
tomorrow oh oh so
im gunna dance like aint nothing wrong tonight
im gunna dance like aint nothing wrong
im gunna dance like aint nothing wrong tonight
im gunna dance like aint nothing wrong
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Lost in Translation
Great news! I have an interview tomorrow with a great company called TransPerfect! The company is quite young, but very successful. The business does very interesting work with the best companies throughout all business industries, from non-profit to major luxury brands. I believe that I can do really well for the position I am being interviewed for, therefore, I am getting on my game and STUDYING!
Just like in college! Man, I miss college. Anyways, so I remember a few cases that I studied while back at good ol' Jorge de Mason, and started researching marketing campaigns that flopped due to translation errors.
This one was my favorite!
Latte Anyone? 2004-03-16
Latte means milk in Italy. In English, Latte is a coffee-drink. Many folks like to head to Starbucks or other coffee shops to take early morning latte breaks...
In Germany, Latte is a well known word for an erection. So, "morning latte" is when you wake up in the morning with an erection! The word "break" means "destroy", so taking that "morning latte break" is destroying that erection. I'll leave the details to your imagination, as well as all the puns on how you take your steaming hot drink.
This item is thanks to Jochen Gumpert, a standup guy! Apparently, Germans are amused at American morning television shows called "Morning Latte" and book's like the popular Amanda Hesser's book "Cooking for Mr. Latte"!
Hilarious indeed. No matter what it means, I'll always dig a LATTE!
Just like in college! Man, I miss college. Anyways, so I remember a few cases that I studied while back at good ol' Jorge de Mason, and started researching marketing campaigns that flopped due to translation errors.
This one was my favorite!
Latte Anyone? 2004-03-16
Latte means milk in Italy. In English, Latte is a coffee-drink. Many folks like to head to Starbucks or other coffee shops to take early morning latte breaks...
In Germany, Latte is a well known word for an erection. So, "morning latte" is when you wake up in the morning with an erection! The word "break" means "destroy", so taking that "morning latte break" is destroying that erection. I'll leave the details to your imagination, as well as all the puns on how you take your steaming hot drink.
This item is thanks to Jochen Gumpert, a standup guy! Apparently, Germans are amused at American morning television shows called "Morning Latte" and book's like the popular Amanda Hesser's book "Cooking for Mr. Latte"!
Hilarious indeed. No matter what it means, I'll always dig a LATTE!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
STRAT LOVIN'
To all my Strat ladies out there, whether you're in America or in Europe, I will always love you. Ya'll are the women that got me through college, through good times and bad we always came out on TOP! I miss you all and I can't wait until we're all reunited! In honor of my ladies, here is the latest from Cascada, and of course the song that made us all famous at Mason!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)