The early 90s were so rife with quality Hip Hop releases that what was mediocre back then looks downright fantastic by today’s standards. Case in point Trends of Culture’s lone release, 1993′s Trendz.

I bought this album way back when with out any prior knowledge of it or the group whatsoever. I found it for really cheap and something about the cover made me compelled to drop the $3 on it. Come on man, 3 black dudes in front of a barbed-wire fence dressed as gully as possible with some awful typography? Always a tell-tale sign that there would be at least one good track! To my surprise I found an album that was solid from start to finish with some seriously tight production, including Off & On a Lord Finnese track. M.O.L. handles most of the production successfully infusing the 90s jazzy feel of Das EFX into some good old NYC rowdiness ala Onyx.

Lyrics weren’t Trends of Culture’s strongest suit. You’re not gong to come away from this with some memorable lines as they forgo wit for bravado. But MCs Nastee and Grapevine (whose flow is reminiscent of Jeru tha Damaja & Grand Puba) have tight flows that really make all the tracks beyond enjoyable.

My only question why is it Trends of Culture with an “s” but the album is Trendz with a “z”?

Trends of Culture – Trendz

Everybody’s working for the weekend and we’re putting in the overtime with our new online exclusive. We took our classic Simon skull and gave it the all over embroidered treatment on a black 59/50.

Flip the bill and see what awaits you as deaths hands grip your throat and won’t let go.

Strictly limited to our website!

Not many people can say they helped design a bike. I was talking to Twerps! the other night about design in general and how I’m used to designing architecture that’s based in the private sector. For the first time in a while, I’ve worked on the design for something for the public sector. Albeit a rather small percentage of the public, but still!

Drew from Milwaukee Cycles approached me over a year ago to ride for them. Since then, I’ve worked on improvements on their chainring guard and now a bike frame. We have nicknamed it a 700cmx for all intents and purposes. After a 6 month design process, we have a prototype!

DART rider Tony Fast is getting one as well. Expect to see a lot of these bikes in the forthcoming months. We’re all really stoked and it may not look like much to the average person or even the bicycle-friendly person, this bike is designed to take a beating and still be a comfortable urban fixed gear.

I had to match the first frame to my blog colors because, you know, I’m a hipster.

Coinciding with their addition to 2009 Coachella, alongside seemingly every other band in existence. Throbbing Gristle announce 3 other U.S. show dates. Why is this such a big deal? Not only are they owed a heaping amount of credit for helping carve and influence so much modern music, but I’m fairly certain they’ve never really played places like NYC or Chicago EVER!

Throbbing Gristle’s live shows of days gone past are legendary. I have no clue what to expect from them live some 30+ years later, but I know Genesis P is still bat shit and that I want to be there to experience it

• April 17th: NYC; afternoon set of In The Shadow of the Sun and evening show of greatest hits,album songs, etc, etc. I believe this is going to be at the Masonic Temple in Brooklyn.

• April 19th: Los Angeles; Coachella Festival

• April 23rd: San Francisco; Grand Regency Ballroom

• April 25th: Chicago; Epiphany; same show set up as NYC

I still fondly remember the first time I ever heard Throbbing Gristle and being profoundly confused and inexplicably drawn to it. Those of you in the know have I’m sure  noticed the countless Gristle visual and title references I’ve sprinkled into Mishka product. Needless to say they had a pretty big impact on me growing up!

Because we all have souls, I think everyone at the Bloglin has a soft spot for ridiculously cute puppy/kitten pictures. Mix that with Russian and you get the website Rolcats: English Translations of Russian Lol Cats. I have no clue if the translations they provide are honest, but they are hysterical. Can Crook get to the bottom of this?

Thanks Time Life!

At age 19, Cryer first appeared in the 1984 romantic comedy film No Small Affair, having the lead role as Charles Cummings. He went on to have small roles in films and television movies, and he made his breakthrough when he was cast to portray Phil “Duckie” Dale in the John Hughes film Pretty in Pink. In an interview with the Daily News, Cryer’s mother said that after Pretty in Pink, she started getting calls from teenage girls from all over the world, who would leave hysterical, giggling messages on her answering machine. Thanks to Pretty in Pink, Cryer slowly became more famous. In 1987, he portrayed Superman villain Lenny Luthor in Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. In 1989, he got the lead role in the TV comedy series, The Famous Teddy Z. His performance gained poor reviews and the show was canceled after the first season. – Wikipedia

I’ve been wanting to see Jim Van Bebber’s The Manson Family (2004) ever since I saw a trailer for the DVD at the start of either Frontiere(s) or Inside (I forget which). I quickly added it to my Netflix que, but it sat there buried by numerous other things I intended to watch. And even after it became available on Netflix’s Watch Instantly feature, I still held off. The multitude of bad reviews the film received had gotten to me and made me apprehensive.

I finally decided to give it a chance last night and couldn’t be happier with it. It was exactly what I was hoping it was from the promise of it’s trailer! But I also could understand why it got the volume of bad user reviews that it did.

The film is done in a Mockumentary style using archival footage of interviews of the followers intermixed with re-enactments of the events. And then for good measure some (intentional) convoluted present day plot lines thrown into the mix. It’s actually quite beautifully put together and not only captures the nostalgia of the time so exquisitely, but presents the story like you’re partaking in a sun drenched acid trip that is always teetering on the verge of going sour.

The film was done as a clear homage to the shorts of Richard Kern in style and substance. A point further hammered home by not only the inclusion of clips from Kern’s You Killed Me First within the film, but casting girls with striking resemblances to Lung leg. But it’s more than just Kern, The Manson Family has the fingerprints of Araki’s Doom Generation, Natural Born Killers, and even Jodorowsky Holy Mountain all-over it. All of which are favorites of mine. The over the top bad acting, extreme gore, graphic sex & surrealism were all here and working perfectly together.

That said, I can see why now it got such low grades. At the risk of sounding totally pretentious this is exactly the sort of film whose meaning is lost when viewed out of context and without knowledge of what it’s referencing. Without ever seeing any of Kern’s shorts or even Doom Generation you’d never know why the acting is the way it is, or why the editing is so choppy, and the picture so overblown at times. Unlike the typical serial killer thriller like say Zodiac, where you’re presented with “the story”. The Manson Family trys to evoke a reaction to the experience & absurdity of the events more so than tell their tale.

I know this isn’t a film for everyone,  but there is a world of people out there who eat stuff like this up with a spoon. Hopefully I can direct some of them towrads this recent & overlooked gem of shock cinema.

The Final chapter in Grant Morrison’s epic saga of dead gods, exiled monitors, tortured Batmen, multiple Supermen and the Apocalypse is finally over. There were some stand out moments in the book, I especially enjoyed the scene where The Question and Captain Marvel are recruiting Supermen from all across the Multiverse:

In Final Crisis # 7 we also got Barry Allen and Wally West out running Death (The Black Racer) and leading him straight to Darkseid. Then there’s Mandrakk and Ultra Man’s return ( from Superman Beyond 3-D). Earth gets saved and Kamandi has a few flash backs(?). Plus we  find out what really happened to Batman.

Even though the series was pretty confusing at times, I really enjoyed it. I definitely think it’s worth a read and I know I’ll be sitting down today and re-reading every issue.

In a article in this week’s Wizard Magazine, Grant Morrison says Final Crisis is his last big book with D.C. for now and that he never wants to ” do anything like that again.”

Once again Deepsession is in session!

This time it’s serious!!!

Check mopster heavyweight Sinden as he destroys some steel!!! RRRRARGH!

… But about the plight of the homeless and young urban blacks.

b4-4 (pronounced ‘before 4′ – a reference to the fact that there are 3 group members) was a boy band from Toronto, Ontario. The band had three members: twins Ryan and Dan Kowarsky, and Ohad Einbinder. Although friends for several years, the group did not officially form until 1999. After spontaneously walking into Sony Records‘ Toronto office, the group performed impromptu for Sony’s A&R head and chief recording engineer. Confused by their efforts, the trio was signed to the label, and the album b4-4 was produced.

b4-4 had moderate success in Canada. Notable singles include “Get Down”, “Go Go”, “Everyday” and “Men”. The album earned them a nomination for Best New Group at the 2001 Juno Awards. – Wikipedia