Music Update: The Hip

I'm listening to The Tragically Hip's latest album, In Between Evolution. The Pharaoh put it to me this way:

Imagine it like this: IBE was made by a different band from the one that made Day For Night and Road Apples and Fully Completely. A suckier band. Then it's OK to like it!

Which is an interesting way to approach an album made by, like, your favourite band of all time, but whatever. It's growing on me in a serious way.

Yeah, whatever. Also, a walking dog.

Apparently SOME PEOPLE (/me points below) have too much time on their hands.

Also, these people who taught their dog to walk erect have too much time on their hands. Thanks, boingboing.

The Funny is taken: preemptive emulation and potty-mouthed hands.

I thought I was being marginally amusing when I referenced the subject of yesterday's post, i.e., hip-hop, as "Hip. Also, Hop." One trip to Google has revealed that my comedic innovations have been preemptively emulated by that inimitable laughter-factory, the Chicago Sun-Times.

NBC's coverage will be far out and groovy, man

January 30, 2002

BY RON RAPOPORT SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST

Here's a message from NBC to everyone who will be watching the Winter Olympics on television: Hip. Also, hop.

Great. I'm a hack. For more hackery, please proceed to my own blog, Pharaohmagnetic Spin. It would seem that I am wresting Shiny Things Distract Us from the potty-mouthed hands of its founder, the one-and-only Fraxas. Hackery for Everyone! Now, only he can rescue this blog.

Hip. Also, Hop.

So a guy I know just won a freestyle rap competion, which is very cool. Here's an article that seamlessly weaves this topic with my main interest, science, and the dropping thereof:

Droppin' Science: Hip Hop's Lyrical Roots

Being well-versed in scientific terminology, even nominally, was seen as a shortcut to being a good MC. “You gotta have actual knowledge of the world in order to understand the world,” RZA says. “The prior generation of rappers got all these slang terms from reading and studying books they bought from street peddlers, about everything from Kemet, the ancient name for Egypt, to the properties of matter from 100 years ago. Brothers would read them and turn it into music,” he says, adding, “There was a series of books called Pathways in Science that we all learned from in high school. Some of their verses are direct readings from those books.”

The Onion this week has a topical infographic.

Why Are We So Much Better Than All the Other MCs?

25% Roget's Dictionary of Similes, 3rd Edition
11% Frequently Remind audience who we are, what we're here to say
16% Provide trenchat observations on art of pimping
19% Believe our résumé speaks for itself
29% Fresh-ass breath

Yet Another Intro Post: Metacommentary

So -- here's the deal. I pretend I'm giving a standard introductory post, and you pretend you're interested in what I have to say.

This is my second attempt at a blog; the previous one I had was nowhere near this easy to use. gogo blogger.