Funkdoobiest – Rock On (Remix)

Big L – M.V.P.

RumpleTILskinZ – Is It Alright

Wu Tang Clan – M.E.T.H.O.D. Man

Mic Geronimo – Masta I.C./The Natural

MIDNITE TILL DEATH MARCH 20th AT CAKE SHOP from Matthew Caron on Vimeo.

Namaste

For Lost, this episode was about as structurally basic as the show gets. The storytelling jumped back and forth between 1977 and 2007, but the islanders stayed put in their respective times. It was solid all across the board and gave the audience a chance to just kick it and soak in the dope performances without scratching their scalp every five minutes. Seriously, everyone shined in this one and I felt really satisfied when it ended. Possibly my favorite of the season so far. We know these characters so well and this episode allowed the actors to just do the damn thing. Highlight of the night for me was the friction between Jack and Sawyer; bet yer life the static’s only gonna get deeper between those two. Sawyer has settled comfortably in his leadership role (as LeFleur) and he’s already clashing with headstrong Jack, the lowly “Workman.” Jack grew pretty accustomed to taking orders while off the island (from Ben, mostly), but having Sawyer for a boss is going to epically get his goat. He’s infuriated that Sawyer is just “reading a book” while they need to start plotting their escape before The Purge goes down. Jack was obviously never a student of Churchill. Looking forward to see how this dynamic pans out (or explodes).

Sayid’s back in the game, albeit captured as one of the Hostiles. A young, googly-eyed Ben brings Sayid a Dharma Sandwich (I was realy hoping for a fish biscuit on the side). At this point in time, Ben has probably met Richard and the Hostiles and is aiding them in setting up for The Purge. This means he’ll be an ally to Sayid, most likely breaking him out. Next week’s is Sayid-centric and the preview showed him kicking much ass so GET PUMPED!

Kate was in this episode and…really did nothing.

It was great to see that Frank is going to do more this season than just crash the plane. Him and Sun take the outriggers over to the main island and this is where the show started to give me the willies. They arrive at the dilapidated Dharma domains and it’s straight-up creepsville. Christian makes a paranormal appearance and invites them into the old processing center seen earlier in the episode. Sun is shown a picture of Jin from 1977 and Christian states that she has some time-traveling to do. I didn’t notice this, but everyone online is jerking off over a shadowy figure behind Sun’s shoulder about 55 minutes in (see below). Concensus so far is that it’s Claire. This makes sense as we saw her and Christian palling around in season 4. It looks like it could also be Charlotte. To me, it looks like Anne Hathaway. She’s probably looking for me, I better go talk to her.

PS: I grab all these pic from the almighty Lostpedia. Just wanted to give them their dues. The Battlestar ones I take myself when I’m rewatching it on iTunes, sans pants.

PPS: This Friday is it for Battlestar. I could not be more excited to see Adama get bullshit on the Cylon Colony. The Re-Up for that will be up Late Sunday/early Monday. I’m leaving Boston Saturday morning for NYC so I can use the bathroom at 350 Broadway.

While everyone is creaming over the new Doom album I’m steady laying in the cut waiting patiently for Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2. The slated drop is June/July of this summer however, this album has been in the sights since 2006 and Wu members have never been know for their punctuality. The Chef can take as long as he needs as far as I’m concerned considering CL2 is a follow up to his magnum opus and best Wu solo release. If the two currently leaked tracks are any indication of the overall quality of CL2 then shit is going to be juicy.

Raekwon – Wu Ooh ft. Ironman and Hot Nikkels

Raekwon – Criminology 2

I’ve never thought that Raekwon got the burn he deserved. Even though he was one of the most gifted of the founding Wu members people always seemed to peg him as that guy that rolled with Ghostface. The Chef was never flamboyant and always spit pure street knowledge, unadulterated. You could pull the beat out from under any Lex Diamond track and you’d instantly have books on tape that would sell at Chapters/Indigo in the true crime section.

Let’s take a moment to listen to Raekwon lace an Alchemist track with some more of that gully shit.

Raekwon – Spot Rusherz

True crime from Lex Diamond. All day.

In the wake of our much anticipated Grand Opening here at 350 Broadway, we are pleased to announce the first delivery of our 2009 Spring Cut & Sew line for all of you you weren’t able to get first crack at it at our retail space.

From hoodies and knits to a full line of new jackets and outerwear as well as shirts and tops, we went the extra mile to create a Spring line that’s sophisticated, versatile, and fun in the spirit you’ve all come to know that is Mishka.

Furthermore, we’ve re-stocked some recently out of stock Spring tees and hats and also added the often requested sticker packs, pin packs and brand new iron on patches.

So keep watch as we have more to come as Spring pushes forward and don’t hesitate to come visit us and check everything out you see here (and more) in person at our flagship store at 350 Broadway in Brooklyn.

DOOM – Born Like This (2009) [Lex] // Grade: A-

MF Doom returns as DOOM after a lengthy and quite noticeable absence with his most solid album of work since King Geedorah’s Take Me to Your Leader (yes I think it’s better than Madvilliany).

Doom forgoes the high brow attempts at the concept albums he’s spent the better part of this decade dabbling in and delivers on what he does best… Born Like This is a showcase of the clever lyrical ability that made people fall in love with him in the first place and the sort of stripped, eclectic and soulful production that is uniquely his and downright hypnotizing. J. Dilla and Jake One’s contributions are no slouches either, but in the end Doom sounds best over Doom. As for the guest spots, the two highest profile ones of Ghost & Rae only enhance their respective tracks. I was initially worried that both would be phoned in favors used as marketing ploys, but thankfully that is not the case.

Clocking in at a modest 40 minutes, Born Like This features 13 tracks that either don’t hit the 2 minute mark or just cross it. It’s that sort of skill and confidence in craft that makes MF Doom, MF Doom. While most MCs or producers would have lingered for another 2 minutes, Doom cuts the fat and delivers a memorable lyrical and musical punch before moving on at just the right moment. And even if you want more, you’re never left hungry as the the next track is just as satisfying as the last. The only time this ever poses a problem is when you hit the end and still want more… but that’s what the repeat button is for.

So I know I already dipped into this particular well last week, but, well, I couldn’t help myself. Take the Pointer Sisters, some Moebius-meets-Monty Python-watching-Yellow-Submarine-style animation shit and—of course—learning…what do you get?

I wanted to make some sort of snarky/clever “…from the STREET!…” comment here, but after staring at it for 10 minutes, I decided to give up. You can only think of how to say ‘Streets is watching’ in a funny/smart way so many times (and fail) before you start to feel like Michael Scott signing a bird-day card. So yeah. Ironical, Sesame-Street-goes-Gangster comment here.

Check out MORE PICS of our store opening courtesy of Nate “Igor” Smith over at The Village Voice!

Since I moved to the Witch City about five years ago, I’ve been happily without a car. Salem aint that big of a city, but there are plenty of ways to get around and getting to Boston is cake. Then about a year ago I got a job in scenic Ipswich. It’s a 20 minute train ride or hour bike ride; depending on the hangover. I started making pretty good $$$ and decided to get myself some wheels. A deep hatred of cars dwells within my cycling soul, so I opted for a scooter instead. Just as quickly as I fell in love with my Yamaha, I learned that cars have just as much respect for scooters as they do for cyclists. It’s like I’m fucking invisible. My commute to work is about 30 minutes each way and at least once I’ll be cut off, run off the road, or heckled by a bluetooth in a Beemer. Sometimes I get some petty victories in by passing on the right when traffic is slow or cutting onto a sidewalk to avoid a light, but it still amazes me how retarded drivers are. This goes for the po-lice too!!! Beat cops in Salem are on some bullshit; telling me to stay off to the side when the curb is lined with double-parked, shit-box Hondas (does hanging a CD from your rearview really deflect radar?). Two-Wheeled Soldiers of all kinds keep your eyes open and your middle finger aimed at the cars!!! Other countries know what’s up!

Dan Deacon – Bromst (2009) [Carpark] // Grade: C+

When I first heard this album I absolutely hated it. I suppose Dan Deacon’s brand of peppy electronics  just doesn’t work on a stressful grey day. But after a few listens on crisp spring mornings, Bromst feels like a shot of sunlight in your eyes. But then again so did Spiderman of the Rings which is exactly what this album sounds like. The two are so entirely interchangeable that I’m sure when played on shuffle even the fervent of Dan Deacon fans wouldn’t be able to tell which album all of the songs belong to. I understand that sometimes you just need to stick with a formula that works, but reusing the same melody & chord structures over and over again between the two albums with just slight variations is taking things a bit too far.

As background music, Bromst like Spiderman of the Rings is a huge success, but beyond that it falls quite short. There just isn’t any sort of variety or the sort of depth that makes you want to come back to this album again and again. It’s just there, pleasant and well that’s ultimately it. The euphoria of a Dan Deacon live show… the experience of the music in conjunction with the visuals and the crowd around you just doesn’t seem to translate onto an album, at least not in a way that could be viewed as anything more than frivolous.