New CD Arrivals

I have gotten two new CDs and I’m really looking forward to reviewing them.

First, I went out and bought the 2-disc reissue of Jaylib’s Champion Sound album.

Since I didn’t get into J. Dilla’s indie stuff until after his death, I was happy to pick up this re-release.

The only thing that’s a little disappointing is that a couple of beats have been changed from the original release (“The Red” and “No Games”). From what I understand, some sample issues forced the changes. While the original beats are better, the new beats (likely provided by Madlib) are very good substitutes.

I haven’t checked out Disc two in full, but it’s pretty packed with stuff. I’m always a sucker for instrumentals and disc two has instrumentals of 15 of disc one’s tracks.

The other CD I received was my review copy of The Chemical Brothers’ new album We Are The Night. My first listen to it was a full one and so far, I like it. It seems to be a throwback to the techno of their first album.

One thing that I’ve always found kind of funny is how there is almost a distinct formula to many of their albums. You’re virtually guaranteed to hear the following:

• A well-known English vocalist (Noel Gallagher, Richard Ashcroft)


• A rapper (Q-Tip, Fatlip on the new release) or rapper sample (Missy Elliott, Schooly D)


• A dreamy-voiced female singer (Beth Orton, Hope Sandoval)


• A long opus (“The Sunshine Underground,” “The Private Psychedelic Reel”)

Despite this, I usually really like their stuff. I’ve bought every album since Dig Your Own Hole, which was the second electronic music album I ever bought (The Crystal Method’s Vegas was the first). I can’t wait to listen to their new album some more.

Look for my reviews of my new CDs soon, hopefully.

A Brief Review Of Hairspray

I saw the new musical movie remake of Hairspray on Friday and I’ve decided to share some brief thoughts.

Go see this movie. The End.

...

Okay, I’ll go into a little more detail.

There aren’t many movies that you could genuinely call “crowdpleasing” but Hairspray is one of them. It’s happy, brightly, peppy, and a hell of a lot of fun to watch.

The movie rests on the shoulders of newcomer Nikki Blonsky as Tracy Turnblad and she hits it out of the park. She has a nice voice and her dancing is top-notch.

The rest of the cast is great too. All of them did a great job but two stuck out for me. Elijah Kelley is damn near a mini-James Brown as Seaweed Stubbs. Also, I can say that after all that hype, John Travolta puts in a really good performances as Edna Turnblad. He makes it work by not overdoing it.

Oh, and I can’t forget about the music. I hadn’t seen the musical play of Hairspray, so I was blown away by the music. Songs like opener “Good Morning Baltimore” and “Welcome To The 60’s” were great.

One of the best things about Hairspray, though, is that it avoids the major pitfall of movie musicals: length. It's under two hours long and because there are few scenes without songs, it moves at a brisk pace.

Overall, this is a summer movie that’s worth your money. Fans of John Waters’ original movie will like the cameos by Waters and members of the original Hairspray cast. It’s family-friendly but still remains a bit edgy in the form of subtle wit.

Go see this movie. The End.

CD Review: Music Is My Savior by Mims

In the intro of Music Is My Savior, the debut album from NY rapper Mims, he talks about how music saved his life and kept him “in the right place at the right time.” The title of the album shows how thankful he is that music kept him from a rougher, potentially sadder way of life. Hearing something like that at the beginning of a debut album really makes you hope that the album will be something special. Unfortunately, that's just not the case.

Music Is My Savior isn't as bad as some would lead you to believe. However, it isn't that good either. It's an album that lies smack dab in the middle. There are times when he's pretty decent and there are times when he's almost embarrassing. The end result is something mediocre.

There are some good things about Music Is My Savior. The album's two singles, “This Is Why I'm Hot” and “Like This” are both fun songs. The part of “This Is Why I'm Hot” where various regions are referenced musically (with small clips from songs like “Jesus Walks”) is clever and helps the song stand out. “Like This” is just a nice little club track.

There are also some other good tracks. “Doctor Doctor” has Mims talking to his psychiatrist about his problems. The beat works well with the material. On “Don't Cry,” the album's outro, he talks about his life. The first half of the song, where Mims raps over some sparse piano, works really well. However, once Purple Popcorn enters the picture, the song becomes a little overblown and cheesy. Still, it's one of the album's better tracks.

For the good tracks on Music Is My Savior, there are also some annoying ones. The worst songs on the album are cursed with really weak hooks. If you thought the chorus to “This Is Why I'm Hot” was bad, you'll want to run from tracks like “Superman”: “Hold up / Wait / Look up in the sky / It's a bird / It's a plane / No it's me cause I'm fly / I'm fly / I'm fly / I'm fly....” Then, there's the awful “Big Black Train,” where Mims croons: “Shorty wanna ride / Don't worry about a car / Cause we can take a ride on my big black train....” Other tracks like “Just Like That” don't make much of an impression.

Music Is My Savior may not end up being the worst hip-hop album of 2007, but overall it's an underwhelming debut. There are some nice moments on this album and some songs I wouldn't mind listening to again. However, they are overshadowed by the good amount of bad or just unimpressive tracks. Also, it doesn't help that Mims doesn't have a distinctive flow. There are times when he sounds too much like other NY rappers, particularly Jay-Z. If Mims can distinguish himself more and focus more on his lyrical content, then he just might make a good album instead of a so-so one.

Book Review: Your Movie Sucks by Roger Ebert

“Speaking in my official capacity as a Pulitzer Prize winner, Mr. Schneider, your movie sucks.”

This line, the closing of film critic Roger Ebert's review of Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, is what inspired the title of his newest book. Your Movie Sucks is Ebert's second collection of negative reviews following 2000's I Hated, Hated, Hated This Movie. Featuring more than 170 reviews, this book proves that negative reviews are often more fun to read than positive ones.

After acknowledgments and a short introduction, the book begins with a preface called “Setting The Scene.” This section features three of Ebert's more notable negative reviews. The first review is of the aforementioned Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo. The next is a review of a horror film called Chaos. Ebert's zero-star review annoyed the filmmakers so much that they put a full-page ad in the Chicago Sun-Times responding to the review. The text of the ad is reprinted here as well as Ebert's response to the filmmakers.

The saga involving Vincent Gallo's film The Brown Bunny follows and it's a rare example of a critic changing his mind. After its premiere at Cannes, Ebert called the film “the worst film in the history of the festival” and started a “feud” with Gallo. Ebert's interview with Gallo, contained in the book, reveals the lead-up to the film's Cannes showing. It also reveals that he actually liked the final, shorter cut of the film. Ebert's full review of the film ends the preface and is the only positive review in the whole book.

The rest of the book features a slew of other negative reviews, arranged alphabetically. A wide variety of films are covered here. There are certified clunkers (Catwoman), sequels (Men In Black II), remakes (Yours, Mine, And Ours), gross-out comedies (Tomcats), and even foreign films (La Mujer de Mi Hermano). Horror films are also well-represented as in addition to Chaos, High Tension, Wolf Creek, Cabin Fever, and others all get lambasted by Ebert. Two movie series, Resident Evil and The Princess Diaries, are represented in full.

Like most critics, these negative reviews are an outlet for the creative side of Ebert's writing to shine. There are many great lines to be found here. He calls the Charlie's Angels movie “eye candy for the blind.” In his review of Tom Green's Freddy Got Fingered he says “This movie isn't below the bottom of the barrel. This movie doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence with barrels.” He compares the Steven Seagal vehicle Half Past Dead to “an alarm that goes off while nobody is in the room. It does its job and stops, and nobody cares.”

In addition to various one-liners, there are times when Ebert writes decidedly unconventional reviews. His review of the Hilary Duff film A Cinderella Story is structured like a letter to a young movie fan mentioned in a Wichita, Kansas newspaper article. The review of the comedy Wet Hot American Summer is written to the tune of Allan Sherman's famous “Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh.” The review of the comedy Just Friends has Ebert telling us that he's setting a “timer on the stove to go off every sixty seconds as a reminder to stay on the subject.” Of course, he doesn't stay on the subject of the film and his diversions into such observations as why screenwriters like to name female characters “Samantha” are punctuated with the “Ding!” of that timer.

Even though the one-liners and put-downs in Your Movie Sucks stand out, there is a lot more to Ebert's negative reviews than that. Most of these reviews explain what Ebert sees as the problems in these films. He frequently explains flaws in logic of the film's plot and characters. He also praises actors he likes in these negative reviews. In the review of The Sweetest Thing, he praises the cast: “I like everyone in this movie...I like their energy. I like their willingness....” Even as he says bad things about these movies, he's often hopeful about the abilities of those involved. He says the filmmakers behind the film Undead “are obviously talented and will be heard from again.”

Your Movie Sucks is a fun-to-read collection of reviews from America's premier film critic. Although a couple of notable reviews are missing (The Life Of David Gale, Tyler Perry's Diary Of A Mad Black Woman), this collection is pretty solid nonetheless. It really makes you realize what we missed during Ebert's illness. Now that he's gradually getting closer to full-speed (he recently reviewed A Mighty Heart), I hope that we get to see another collection of negative reviews...or at least just another collection of his work in general.

A Fourth Third: Ocean's Thirteen

Every movie I've seen so far this summer has been a third: Shrek The Third, Spider-Man 3 and the third Pirates Of The Caribbean movie. Now, I've seen Ocean's Thirteen and it just might be the best third of the four.

The movie begins with Ocean associate Reuben (Elliott Gould) lying sick in a hospital bed. He got sick after getting shafted on a new casino deal with Willie Bank (Al Pacino). Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and the rest of the gang decide to exact revenge on Bank. Their plot involves spoiling the grand opening of Banks' casino by making him lose a ton of money.

It's clear that everyone in this movie is enjoying themselves and that feeling passes on to the audience. There are less in-jokes (with the notable exception of the last lines in the movie) and more of the laidback goofiness that made the first movie so enjoyable. It's also a nice touch to have Al Pacino and Ellen Barkin working together. Many people may (or may not) remember that the two of them starred together in the movie Sea Of Love.

However, if there's one thing missing, it's suspense. You know they are going to succeed in their task but there aren't really any parts where you almost think that they won't. The main roadblock they encounter is pretty much an excuse to bring back Andy Garcia as Terry Benedict. Even if there's little suspense, it's just fun to see the events in the movie play out.

Overall, Ocean's Thirteen is a really fun summer flick. It's not too long or too short and you can turn off your brain at the door if you want to. This is a movie that will certainly be watched more than once when it comes to cable.

This Week On My MOG

From my MOG:

This week's Yoko Kanno Day tracks:

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Also, check out my post "Did Kanye West Pick The Wrong First Single?".

Out Of The Mouths Of Children

When you work with the public, there are times when you hear people say the most ridiculous things. Other times, you hear things that really make you pause.

While I was at work on Tuesday night, I helped an old white woman and what looked to be her grandson (or maybe nephew). He probably had to be no more than about seven or eight years old.

The woman was looking for life jackets for children. As she looked at our selection, the boy looked at me and said “Can I ask you a personal question?”

I didn't really get a chance to answer when he proceeded to drop this bombshell: “How do you stop someone from going to the Army?”

I was kind of taken aback by that, but I answered honestly that I hadn't the slightest idea.

The boy then told about how he planned to shave someone's eyebrows so that when he went to Iraq, he'd have to wear a cap all the time. He told me that his plan would work because the person's mother would be around.

The older woman didn't so much as acknowledge that the boy told me all this and after he finished talking, she asked me some questions about the life jackets. I didn't bring up what he said to her and once they were done, I told them to have a nice day.

The thing that got me about what the boy said wasn't so much the implication that someone he knew was going to Iraq. It was the way he said it. He had a mischievous smile on his face the whole time he told me. It was his devious little plan to try and keep the person he knew from going to Iraq.

The sad thing about this is that his plan won't work, just like how kids try to keep their parents from divorcing. That person he knows, whether it's his brother, uncle, cousin, or family friend, is going to Iraq and there's nothing he can do about it.

But at the moment he told me all this, that boy was innocent enough to think that maybe, just maybe it would work. And that just seems so sad to me.

CD Review: Gutterfly by Lifesavas

Hailing from Portland, Oregon, Lifesavas (made up of rapper Vursatyl and producer/rapper Jumbo The Garbageman) have made one of 2007's best hip-hop albums with their latest release Gutterfly. Drawing inspiration from blaxploitation films and other sources, Gutterfly features a surprising array of guest stars and top-notch lyrics and production. It's positive and socially conscious without being preachy or pretentious.

Similar to great hip-hop albums like De La Soul's De La Soul Is Dead, Gutterfly is a concept album. The intro, “Welcome To Razorblade City,” introduces listeners to this album's world. Razorblade City takes the place of Portland on this album while the members of Lifesavas take on other personas. Vursatyl became Bumpy Johnson and Jumbo The Garbageman became Sleepy Floyd. Interludes between songs tell the story of the two characters and how they tried to survive and thrive in the hood.

There are no real skits on the album and unlike something like Prince Paul's A Prince Among Thieves, none of the songs have the Lifesavas or guests really rapping in character. However, the songs on Gutterfly adhere to the themes present in the album's “story.”


“Double Up,” the album's first real song, turns some simple vocal samples into a beat layered with flute and other sounds. The song deals with the risks and choices you make in life. This might make you think that the song is somewhat serious or downbeat. On the contrary, Lifesavas use some fun wordplay and lyrics to get the message across. The real highlight of this song is the final verse where Vursatyl and Jumbo go back and forth. It sounds sort of like a routine, the way the two of them play off each other here. What makes it better is that they realize this mid-verse and give us references to classic comedy routines (Abbott and Costello's “Who's On First?”) and classic cons (the shell game).

Legendary group Fishbone contributes to “Dead Ones,” a song that sounds a lot more upbeat than the title suggests. The pouding drums and the sing-songy chorus (“La la la la la la la la... / To my dead ones.”) help mask the bleakness of the first parts of the song: “...And there's no survival / Snuffed out underachievers / Consumed with self-denial / Told them they wouldn't make it / And they believed it....” However, a sung breakdown in the middle tells the song's real message: “We strive / Keep a dream alive / When your dream dies / You got to bring it back to life....”

One of the album's best tracks is the heartfelt “Long Letter.” This song has Lifesavas directing their verses to people who are no longer with them. While the song starts off about people who have passed on, it really takes a turn when they direct their verses to a friend who is serving in Afghanistan. The two verses at the end of the song capture many of the feelings of the families of those who serve in the military. The shock at (and acceptance of) someone going into military service is talked about here: “How could you risk your life as a full-fledged G.I.? / It hurt at first / Understand / But see I / Respect the path you chose as a man....” As are the worries and sleepless nights for those who are left behind: “It's a war goin' on / Oh and / We watching CNN just prayin' you come back again....”

Gutterfly is an excellent album that proves that socially conscious doesn't always mean cerebral and boring. Lifesavas have crafted an album that's fun and intelligent, things that are usually mutually exclusive in hip-hop today. This album should not be forgotten when it's time to make the Best of 2007 lists.

It's Anime Thoughts Time!

With summer here and the normal TV season done, I've been catching up on some anime watching.

Hayate no Gotoku (Hayate The Combat Butler) is hilarious. I watched the first episode and enjoyed it quite a bit. Then again, when a show actually features the words “Combat Butler” in the title, it's destined to be funny. The thing I liked most was the way the show broke the fourth wall. Those types of gags always get me. This looks to be a really fun show and I can't wait to watch more.

Darker Than Black seems to be tailor-made for anime fans. It's from Studio Bones (Wolf's Rain, Full Metal Alchemist). It's got a cool hero who wears a black trenchcoat. It has music by Yoko Kanno. Fortunately, all of that wasn't wasted on a show that sucks. So far, this show seems pretty interesting. Like Hayate no Gotoku, I have only watched one episode. However, that one ep definitely makes me want to watch the rest.

One show I was kind of surprised I liked was Ookiku Furikabutte (or Oofuri for short). It's a sports show (baseball) and those can be hit-and-miss. However, I have enjoyed what I have watched so far. This doesn't seem like your typical sports anime (at least not yet). It's a bit more relationship-driven, especially in the way the main characters (the pitcher and catcher) relate to each other. Yes, it screams “OTP!” but that helps set the show apart. There is a little more here than “We're going to try to win!”

That's it for my anime thoughts this time around. I'm going to take a look at Reborn and Guren Lagaan soon and probably write about those as well.

Book Review: The Art Of ReBoot

Considering that every major animated film coming out of Hollywood these days is CG, it's amazing to think that there was a time when CG wasn't as prevalent as it is now. There was a time when CG was considered unproven and risky. There was a time when the prospect of making even a CG movie seemed almost preposterous. This makes it all the more incredible that something like the Saturday morning animated series ReBoot actually happened.

Premiering in 1994, before the world would be wowed at Pixar's Toy Story, ReBoot was the first full-length, completely computer animated television series. Produced by Canada's Mainframe Entertainment, ReBoot imagined the world inside a computer, a world where sprites, viruses, and binomes roamed. This action/adventure series, peppered with a unique sense of humor and lots of geeky references, garnered a large cult following.

Now, DMF Comics has released The Art Of ReBoot, a fascinating and eye-opening look into the creation of this groundbreaking TV series. Featuring tons of never-before-seen artwork, this book not only confirms the artistry of this series, it's a love letter to the show's fans.

The Art Of ReBoot is not a hefty coffee table book. It's a slim hardcover with a glossy exterior and full-color pages. The book features a wide variety of artwork from the TV series including production and pre-production art, screenshots from the series, and other artwork including a look at the toys from the show. It also acts as sort of a guide to the series. In the sections dealing with the various characters, short (and sometimes spoileriffic) character bios are included. People who worked on the show, including co-creator Gavin Blair, tell about their experiences in short blurbs throughout the book.

Given that ReBoot was a CG show, you might think that the bulk of the artwork in the book would be CG. That's not the case. Everything CG has to start off as 2D designs first, and this wonderful artwork is the revelation of the book. The drawings, many of them drawn by production/character designer Brendan McCarthy, are great. Seeing these drawings makes you realize the incredible amount of artistry involved in making animation of any kind. It's also really cool to see how well these drawings translated to CG animation. In some cases, such as the villain Megabyte, the designs are so good that little is changed. There is so much life in these drawings that you realize that ReBoot would've probably made a cool 2D animated series too.

Apart from all the production artwork, one of the most interesting parts of this book is the section entitled “ReBoot Re-Imagined.” This section features comic book artists' take on the ReBoot characters. There is some very nice artwork found in this section and it makes you hopeful that the ReBoot story (which ended on a cliffhanger in Season 4) could continue in the comic book format. Other shows such as Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Gargoyles have continued in comic book format and I'd love to see ReBoot added to that list.

The Art Of ReBoot is a nice artbook that is a must-purchase for fans. It gives you a fresh look at this animated series and all the hard work that went into it. With the show being off American television for years and only sparsely available on DVD, this book is one of the few ways for newcomers to learn about the show. ReBoot proved that the type of animation used didn't matter as long as the story and talent was there. That's a lesson that Hollywood would do good to learn.

The Art Of ReBoot can be ordered direct from the publisher at ReBootArt.com.

Three Third Movies: Spider-Man 3

If there's going to be one of the three third movies that has to be a party pooper, Spider-Man 3 is it. This is really the only one of the three I was truly disappointed in.

While I liked the original Spider-Man movie, Spider-Man 2 was a serious leap in quality. The story was better. The villain was multidimensional. The effects were better. It just beat the first movie at everything. I hoped that the third movie would continue the upward trend, especially since I really liked the whole black suit/Venom storyline from the comic book/TV show. However, Spider-Man 3 is a dive from the previous film.

The biggest problem with this film is the villain situation. The more villains in a superhero film, the more it usually sucks. Spider-Man 3 had too many. There's Harry Osborn, Sandman, and Eddie Brock/Venom. If you want to, you also could count the symbiote itself as a villain. That would make it four villains in one movie. In cramming all this stuff into this movie (in addition to the iconic Gwen Stacy character), there are a ton of missed opportunities.

There isn't enough time to really see Peter's gradual transformation thanks to the symbiote. Instead, we see Peter become emo instead of borderline evil. Venom, easily a big enough villain to be the lead, is basically shoehorned in and wasted. Sandman isn't allowed to get the depth that Dr. Octopus got in Spider-Man 2. The storyline with Harry was probably handled the best. However, if the relationship between Gwen Stacy and Peter actually went anywhere, that storyline would've really shined.

Sam Raimi's penchant for the goofy is more of a curse in this movie than in the others. Dark, “emo” Peter is hilarious and the humor drifts from intentional to unintentional quite easily. I doubt that I was supposed to laugh (or want to laugh) when Peter slaps Mary Jane while under the symbiote's influence. Also, a certain villain's demise was, by far, the funniest villain death I've seen in a long time. Again, I'm not sure if that was intentional or not.

With these moments, this movie almost veered into Ghost Rider territory. While I enjoyed Ghost Rider for the way it teetered between goofy good movie and funny bad movie, I didn't really want to see that in Spider-Man. I don't hate Spider-Man 3...I just wish it was better.

Spider-Man 2 > Spider-Man > Spider-Man 3

Three Third Movies: Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End

The impromptu Three Third Movies series continues with my take on the third Pirates Of The Caribbean film At World's End.

I think one of the reasons why so many people enjoyed the POTC films is because their expectations were low. I know I didn't know what to expect when I saw Curse Of The Black Pearl and that made the movie so much better. Then, knowing that sequels can suck, I tempered my expectations for Dead Man's Chest and enjoyed that. I did the same thing for At World's End. I didn't even read spoilers and I usually read them for just about every movie.

Fortunately, At World's End turned out to be a good movie. I enjoyed this movie quite a bit and any movie that can make me almost forget that I've been in a movie theater for nearly three hours is good in my book.

All the principals came back this time around, and it's great to see them. Johnny Depp continues his nutty brilliance as Captain Jack Sparrow and gets to show it off even further in this movie. An early scene featuring many versions of Jack interacting (sort of like the “Malkovich Malkovich” scene of Being John Malkovich) is hilarious. I also enjoyed the rest of the cast. However, I was really glad to see Geoffrey Rush back as Captain Barbosa. If Jack Sparrow is a strange sort of pirate, then Barbosa is your traditional pirate with a hint of crazy. You can tell Rush is having a blast playing this role and I enjoyed him so much that I wanted to see more of him.

Much has been said about this movie's labyrinthine plot. Frankly, I didn't think it was all that bad. It's easy enough to follow in the theater (although I lost track of it once) even if you can't exactly describe it after the movie is over. Considering that many summer movies are shallow plotwise, we should probably be happy that there is one out there that actually makes us think and pay attention while we have fun.

If I had to compare At World's End to Dead Man's Chest, I'd say that At World's End narrowly beats out Dead Man's Chest. Dead Man's Chest has more creative action sequences (the sword fight in the wheel, the escape from the natives) but At World's End has more energy and more emotion. There were times where Dead Man's Chest felt a little sluggish while most of At World's End has a nice, brisk pace to it.

Curse Of The Black Pearl > At World's End > Dead Man's Chest

Three Third Movies: Shrek The Third

How funny is it that the three biggest films of the summer so far are all the third installments of popular franchises? In addition to that, I've seen all three films. Considering that I saw all of maybe 3-4 films last summer, I guess that's a good start.

None of the three big third movies, Spider-Man 3, Shrek The Third, and Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End, are better than the original films whose success lead to them. However, they are all at least decent.

First up in this mini-series, Shrek The Third.

After the surprisingly good Shrek 2, I kind of wondered if Shrek The Third would be any good at all. The buzz wasn't all that great. Then, I watched the HBO First Look special and it made me want to see it more. Shrek The Third ended up being better than I thought it would be, but not as good as its predecessors. Like the previous films, the voice acting was pretty good. The newcomers to the Shrek series (such as Justin Timberlake as Artie) did a good job too.

One of the things I really liked about this movie was the fact that it relied less on pop culture for gags than Shrek 2 did. There were some really funny subversive gags here, such as a death scene that occurs early in the movie. Also, the supporting cast such as Pinocchio and Gingy, had some very funny scenes. At the same time, there weren't as many gags in this movie as the other two. That probably was because of the slightly more serious storyline which dealt with Shrek's impending fatherhood.

There were some problems with this movie, though. For one thing, the villain and his storyline were pretty weak. Also, there were probably too many characters given the running time. I wanted more of characters such as Merlin and the Princess Squad. I also think that there should've been a little more time used to flesh out Artie's character.

Overall, I liked Shrek The Third. It was funny and entertaining. However, it's not as good as the other two films.

Shrek > Shrek 2 > Shrek The Third

Coming Soon...

A review of the book The Art Of Reboot

I was a big fan of the show and when I first heard about this book, I had to get it. My copy came in the mail on Saturday and I couldn't be happier. I'll give my thoughts on the book in a few days but in the meantime, check out this high-res scan I made of the front cover.

And Now, Some Yoko Kanno

I've been posting Yoko Kanno tracks every Tuesday and Thursday on my MOG. If you don't keep up with that site, here are some of the tracks I've posted this month, which is dedicated to Cowboy Bebop:

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My Brief Encounter With "The R."

On the same Saturday as the failed sale I mentioned last post, Chicago's own R. Kelly came to the store and did some shopping. You see, The R. himself lives in the area near where I work. He often goes to stores and restaurants in that area. This wasn't the first time that he's gone to our store. He's been there on at least two other occasions. However, instead of hearing about his visits from other people, I actually got to see him in person.

I found out he was in the store in the most unusual way possible. I was walking around my department looking for people to help when I saw a customer I had helped earlier. I asked him if he needed any more help and he told me that everything was good. His two sons tagged along behind him and the older one (who had to be no older than about eight or nine) stopped and told me “Did you know that R. Kelly is here?” in that excited way that little kids talk. I replied “Oh, he is, huh?” and sure enough, when I looked up, I saw R. Kelly in my department looking through some clothing.

I've encountered some semi-famous people before while at work. Former Chicago Bulls player Craig Hodges was in the store a few days ago. I rung up purchases once for singer Dave Hollister. I once rung up a guy who, very likely, was part of 1st and 15th Productions, Lupe Fiasco's crew. I helped WGCI's DJ Phantom find some fitness stuff and helped the brother of football player Antwaan Randle-El. However, R. Kelly is far and away the biggest celebrity I've ever been in the direct presence of.

While I was a little nervous, I didn't get flustered or scared when I saw him. I just did my job. I did my usual thing and asked how he was doing. He told me that he was doing good. I asked him if he needed help finding anything and he replied that he was finding everything okay. He also said that he was going to leave soon. I replied “Okay” and told him to have a good day. He said “Thanks” and that was it.

I didn't bother him again during the time he was in the store. My philosophy with celebrities is to treat them like I would anyone else. That's exactly what I did with R. Kelly.

I saw him a couple more times before he left the store. In the store, we have a summer display that has a gazebo with some reclining chairs, a cooler, and a grill under it. As I passed by the display to put something away, I noticed some women sitting in two of the chairs. I didn't really think anything of it since people always sit in those chairs. When I continued to walk by, I saw that R. Kelly was sitting in the head chair in the display. He and the two women who were with him stayed back there in those chairs for about another 20 minutes.

Then, while I was putting some stuff away, I heard my name called over the PA. I went to Customer Service where R. Kelly was getting helped by the cashier. She told me to get an item with a tag for him so she could scan it. I went back to my department and I obliged.

Finally, while I was putting something else away, I passed right by R. Kelly and a guy he came to the store with. They were talking and since I didn't want to even remotely appear nosy, I slipped right past them and kept going.

There you have it. I saw and encountered a pretty big celebrity. As I think about it, I wonder if there's any celebrity that I would just go crazy over if I saw them in person. Frankly, I'm a bit insecure about myself so I don't even want to meet most celebrities, even those I admire. If I wasn't at work and if it wasn't my job to help customers, I would not have so much as even spoken to R. Kelly. I would have watched him and his entourage pass by and do whatever and stayed out of the picture.

There's no way of knowing if I'll ever encounter another big celebrity. If it ever happens again, I can guarantee you that the blog post about it would be shorter than this one.

Anatomy Of A Failed Sale

Saturday was a weird day for me. First, I ended up staying two hours later than I should have due to my replacement not showing up. Then, a certain famous Chicago R&B singer came to the store (which will be the subject of another post, I promise you). However, one thing that kind of irked me about Saturday was a sale I failed to make.

Looking back on it, everything about it made it doomed to fail. Perhaps by recalling what happened here, I can learn from my experiences.

The first thing wrong with that experience was the fact that the customer had to wait. Since my replacement never showed up, I ended up being the only person helping people in my department(s). A customer on one end of the store could easily spend 10 minutes waiting as I help multiple people in another side of the store. Even if I get paged to go to said other side of the store, I still end up bombarded on my way there.

I finally go to help the customer and I'm just about there before a different customer stops me dead in my tracks. I ended up taking care of him really quickly before going back to the waiting customer. I probably should have made the bogarting customer wait. That was clearly a mistake on my part.

When I get to the guy I was trying to help, he shows me what he wants. In the span of a couple of minutes, I start to help him and let him know about the item. I let him know that the item may not be in stock because of a store policy about certain clearance items. He asks me if buying the display would be cheaper, I told him that it would be. Then, he tells me that he doesn't want the built one, and I told him that I would go back and see if the item was still available. It was at that point that the customer stopped the sale.

Claiming that he goes by “energy,” he decides to end the sale because he was getting “bad energy” from me. He rails off all the bad signs: the waiting, the fact I didn't look him in the eye, and me allegedly steering him to buy the display he didn't want. Instead of me letting him go, I try to defend myself and in the end, it doesn't work. He leaves and I tell him to have a good day.

Let's rattle off the other mistakes. First, I admit that I didn't really look him in the eye. That's something I don't always do. When I'm talking about an item, I tend to turn over and look at it to demonstrate and so on. That was the case with the customer in question. When I told him about the bike, I showed him stuff on it. However, I considered this just the beginning of the sale. I barely had time to really sell him anything before he decided that the “energy” wasn't right.

Another mistake may have been informing him that the item may not be in stock right away. I tend to mention any issues upfront with customers to keep from having to disappoint them at the end. There have been times where I'm sure something is in stock only for me to have to recant and tell customers that it isn't. There also have been times where I didn't let customers know that the display item was the only one we had left. This would usually result in the customer getting mad at me or the store. By getting rid of any issues at the beginning, I hoped to avoid things like this. The strategy backfired with “energy” man and it made him feel like I was trying to get him to buy something he didn't want.

I really should not have tried to defend myself. The sale was over and there was nothing I could do. I should've been cordial and let him leave. Usually, I am very good at dealing with nasty, rude people no matter how much they make me sick. However, that wasn't the case here.

One more complaint that the guy had was that I was taking the sale “too seriously” like he was “buying a car” or something like that. He said that he was just buying a “$130 item.” Well, I've helped plenty of people who would think that dropping that amount of money on something would be serious. I've seen people gasp at prices that even I wouldn't gasp at. In my opinion, if you're spending your money on something and you are relying on someone to help you out, that sale better be serious.

Ultimately, I wonder if the guy expected bad things from the sale from the get go. I could've been pitch perfect and he would not have bought the item just because he didn't like something about me. Also, the way he talked to me as he left gave me the impression he kind of felt that salesmen were toxic anyway.

Everyday, I try to be something kind of rare. I try to be a good salesperson who doesn't try to swindle you with every sale. I don't work on commission, so there is really no incentive for me to swindle even if I did do it. I usually tell the truth to a fault. Most of the time, this really works for me. I get repeat customers who come back to the store specifically asking for me. I get complimented daily on how nice I am, how I answer peoples' questions, and for my knowledge on what I'm selling.

I guess this is why that failed sale annoyed me. The one that gets away always makes you re-evaluate yourself a bit. I will probably tweak my approaches a bit but I don't plan to change that much after this experience. Why? Well, considering that a failed sale like this doesn't happen too often for me, much of what I'm doing has to be working.

DVD Review: Tex Avery's Droopy: The Complete Theatrical Collection

Fred “Tex” Avery is widely considered one of the most original and influential animation directors of all-time. After a career at Warner Bros., where he helped create and define the Looney Tunes style as well as characters like Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, and Bugs Bunny, Tex Avery moved to MGM. It is there that he created one of his most enduring characters, Droopy.

Now, Warner Bros. brings this classic character to DVD in Tex Avery's Droopy: The Complete Theatrical Collection. Featuring every theatrical Droopy cartoon, including those not directed by creator Tex Avery, this 2-disc set marks the first time that non-Tom and Jerry MGM shorts have been released on DVD in the U.S. Although some video issues pop up on some of the cartoons, this set is well worth your time.

First appearing in the 1943 cartoon “Dumb-Hounded,” Droopy isn't your typical cartoon hero. While characters like Bugs Bunny are filled with energy, Droopy is not. He moves slow, talks slow, and rarely shows any emotion. Yet Droopy always succeeds in the end. Usually, he succeeds not because of things he actively does, but simply because he's “the hero,” the one who goes up against arrogant jerks who always underestimate him. Droopy, as a character, is a jab at the traditional notion of a cartoon hero.

What makes the Droopy cartoons so great is the wild world that Tex Avery created for them. Avery's cartoons, especially those he made at MGM, move at a breakneck pace with gags that come a mile a minute. Anything could happen in Tex Avery's cartoons and it often did. Characters broke the fourth wall and commented on the action in the cartoon. Gags always defied expectation and every scene was a chance for another laugh. Even though some of the cartoons on this set are over 60 years old, they feel fresh and contemporary in an age of shows like Family Guy.

Twenty-four cartoons appear on this DVD set, with 17 of them directed by Tex Avery (not 18 as indicated on the packaging). The cartoons are presented in chronological order across the two discs and they are uncut. This is notable because a couple of the cartoons contain some outdated racial gags. The DVD packaging makes it clear that this set is intended for adult collectors and if you somehow miss that, a disclaimer also appears at the start of each disc.

The video quality on this set is pretty good overall. Most of the shorts look pretty nice with the quality varying from short to short. The final seven Droopy cartoons were done in CinemaScope and they get anamorphic widescreen transfers on the DVD. When these shorts were broadcast on TV, they were usually pan-and-scanned, so it's wonderful to see them in widescreen for the first time.

Unfortunately, there are also some issues caused by the use of DVNR (or Digital Video Noise Reduction) software in cleaning up dirt and scratches. Most of the time, DVNR software works well in cleaning up old movies. However, caution has to be taken when using it on animated films. If the DVNR software isn't calibrated correctly, the software will mistake lines of animation for scratches and erase them. This is exactly what happened to four cartoons on this set. Things look relatively normal when there is little movement in the cartoon. As soon as things start moving, the DVNR errors are noticeable. With some lines of the cartoon missing, things look blurry in motion. The affected cartoons (“From Wags to Riches,” “Daredevil Droopy,” “Droopy's Good Deed,” and “The Three Little Pups”) can be enjoyed despite the DVNR errors, but the video is still disappointing.

There are not a lot of extras on this set, but they are enjoyable nonetheless. The short documentary “Droopy And Friends: A Laugh Back,” is a look at Tex Avery's career, the creation of the Droopy character, and Tex's legacy. “Doggone Gags” is a short compilation of some of the funnier gags from the Droopy cartoons. There are also various trailers for animated DVDs on the set including one for the highly anticipated Popeye The Sailor Volume 1 DVD set.

Overall, Tex Avery's Droopy: The Complete Theatrical Collection is a set that serves as a nice introduction to the world and characters of Tex Avery. These cartoons have held up pretty well over time and audiences weaned on cartoons influenced by Avery will find something to enjoy here. Considering there are over three hours of cartoons to be found, the price is pretty low as well. This set is definitely worth picking up whether you're a classic animation fan or just someone who wants a good laugh.

CD Review: Red Gone Wild: Thee Album by Redman

It's been a long time since Redman released an album. How long? When Redman released his last album, Malpractice, Kanye West was still just a producer, no one outside the South had really heard of T.I., and 50 Cent's G-Unit empire was still just a dream.

Now, Redman has finally made his return with Red Gone Wild: Thee Album and it's a triumphant one. While some artists sound rusty when they return after a long hiatus, Redman sounds rested and refreshed. He may mine familiar territory with this new album, but he does it quite well.

During Redman's absence, labelmate Ludacris sort of filled in Red's niche of clever party rapper. However, with Luda going serious on his last album (and winning a Grammy as a result), the timing is perfect for Redman's return. However, don't call it a comeback because Redman doesn't. Listening to this album, it feels like Redman never left.

Most of Red Gone Wild follows Redman's typical formula. There are odes to weed (“Merry Jane” featuring Snoop Dogg and Nate Dogg), collaborations with Def Squad members (“Walk In Gutta” featuring Erick Sermon, Keith Murray, and Biz Markie), funny skits (“F**k Ur Opinion” is inadvertently timely), and even another installment of the “Soopman Luva” series (featuring the resurrection of rapper Hurricane G).

There are many solid tracks to be found here. “Rite Now” is a signature Redman track with its Al Green-sampling, Erick Sermon beat. The wordplay is top-notch on the Red-produced “Wutchoogonnado” featuring vocals by Melanie Rutherford and Red reunites with Method Man on the track “Blow Treez.” Red also gives us the beginnings of a new persona on the silly “Pimp Nutz.”

Just like fellow Def Jam artist Ghostface Killah did with his excellent 2006 release Fishscale, Redman doesn't stray too far from what works for him on Red Gone Wild. There are no attempts to be serious, no blatant attempts to be trendy, and no dumbing down of his style to appeal to the current hip-hop crowd. Redman just makes some wild and unapologetically fun hip-hop music. In sticking to what he knows, he has made music that doesn't sound like anyone else's.

Welcome back, Redman. Now let's just all hope that we don't have to wait another six years to hear more from you.

*Make sure to check out my MOG to hear a track from the album!

New At The MOG

If you haven't visited my Mog, you've been missing out on Yoko Kanno Days, my twice-weekly series where I share songs produced and/or composed by Yoko Kanno. The month of May is Cowboy Bebop month for this series and so far, I've shared "Piano Black" from OST 1, "Blue" from OST 3: Blue, and the live version of "What Planet Is This" from Cowboy Bebop: The Movie.

Also, I post about music-related blog posts on my Mog, adding relevant songs. For example, the posts about my Time Mixmania mix and the Bonus Mix feature songs from each respective mix.

So, while this blog is in another brief dry spell (at least three music reviews are on the way, trust me), check out MOG and mines while you're at it.