58) the Countdown Begins

finally! in less than a week, i'll be able to see your smiling face again... not on the computer or on the phone but real live and pretty in person. for the last 58 days, this is as much as i've seen of you:

(dragging my fingers across your face, bubba-ing your lips, smearing your glasses, imaginarily picking your nose, and i kinda gotta poke you in the eye to set an alarm, on another screen)





even on the skype all i get's your melon; which is lovely, don't get me wrong, but it's all pixely and delayed and it just don't measure up to the real thing. these next 6 days are gonna fly by. and i'm sure the six we'll spend together won't feel like enough (because it isn't). it will be extraordinary, filled with forever memories. (forev-mories). with that in mind,



do you think she's in love with the dog wearing sunglasses? i do. otherwise, this video just doesn't make any sense.... in the best ways possible.

LRV, b

57) One Last

one last for good luck



next run.... anticipation!

LRV, b

56) I'm Feelin' Free...

got criminally profiled today. was stopped for my expired tags. soon as that polices got behind me, i tried to casually avoid/move away from him, but he got me. i got my license and reg out for him and explained that i'm a pizza man and on my meager wages it's been difficult to repair the things that kept the car from passing inspection. the cop, i guess, appreciated my candor. what was weird, though, is that as he was running my license, one of his buddies appeared. you know how pigs do, they see a sow stopped somebody and they wanna get a piece too. so as the dude who stopped me returned to my car, with only a warning ticket, the other dude went around the other side and started eyeballing the shit inside my car. yep, my flour-y work shirts, loose cassettes, a couple empty cig packs, my groceries. intense, right?

but then he shouted "what's in the baggie in your center console?", which the guy who stopped me repeated. it was funny, like the second guy thought he'd just discovered a ticking bomb or something. he actually stood back and got his hands at the ready, above his cuffs and gun. i was like, "it's a button. i keep a spare button for my jacket in the car in case i lose one." i handed it to the first officer and he inspected it, took a little look-see around my car too, and warned me that most of his colleagues aren't as nice as him. (no kidding, really? his buddy was ready to aggressively arrest me over a button!) so yeah, more shit i can't afford. and now it's crucial. i can't afford to get caught again with expired tags, or maybe an elbow patch on the dash!

guess they figured "he's got a beard. he must be up to no good." yeah. i'm a button trafficker!

i thought i could maybe find a Madlib track about something like this, but nobody's posted Crime by Quasimoto, and i've already done Quas and Madvillain... and the stick-up story on the Kweli collaboration (Keep the Engine Runnin') is nowhere near as good as Happy Home which should flow nicely into tomorrow's final Invasion post....



some day we'll make a happy home together, again. eight days til i see you!!!!


LRV, b

55) Masala

day 5 of Madlib Invasion, Beat Konducta in India promo montage. again, it's one you know but probably haven't seen/heard in a couple years.



not a lot to say about today other than i LRV you. i'm proud of you for your donation this afternoon. you truly are a caring individual and the world's a better place with you in it.

LRV, b

54) Keeping Hip-Hop Fresh, One Month at a Time

last year, Madlib released a mixtape (almost) every month. don't know why the last couple installments were parlayed, but #11, Low Budget Hi Fi, has just been released including a bonus disc of new beats called Beat Konducta Around the World. the #11 mix itself seems to be all sorts of collaborations, new and old, all in the hip-hop vein. judging by what i know of the Beat Konducta series, my guess is that the Around the World mix may be site-specific, like this song...



sounds a lot like Dilla, am i right? it's nothing terribly flashy, or head-spinning like much of his beat/collage work can be (see Madvillain, Quasimoto, et al.) but even when Madlib is just spinning wheels he's way ahead of most other producers, in my mind. he's never played in to the over-production-equals-better-music mindset (Kanye), preferring to keep it simple. and even his flurry of ideas come across as a stream of consciousness adventure as opposed to a vain, forced restlessness, (Kanye again). on the other side, most producers who pride themselves on their minimalist approach (most club-ready dancefloor guys), i feel, condescend their listeners by giving them cold, numb beats and elementary synth work over which they shout about how bad and how rich and how virile they are. it only leaves me thinking, "one reason you got so much money is you probably don't spend a dime on quality beats." because if they did (Three 6 Mafia, Rick Ross*, most of the shit on the radio) they'd find out quickly that they can't hang with it. they need to keep that shit ghetto, for their machismo and the illusion of skill. unfortunately, those are the people that make waves and headlines, and money. true artists are relegated to the fringes.

there's a nostalgia in this track that's palpable for someone, like myself, who's never even visited the area (which will change soon!). who among these pop producers can deliver something so potent? not to say that crunked-up, high rolling, ass shaking, coke sniffing rap isn't potent, (*i do like "Blowin' Money Fast", the Larry Hoover track) but it offers no subtleties, no complexities, and ZERO warmth. its effectiveness is only surface. Madlib's volumes of quality and quantity are infinitely deeper, and can be really intimidating sometimes. it's nice to hear a track that's inspiring and attainable, even if it is (perhaps) an afterthought on a supplemental mix cd from an album that will be out of print before you exhale.

in today's hip hop climate Madlib is a rare bird, indeed.

LRV, b

53) Oh My Aching Hands

from raking in grands and breaking in mic stands...



brought the kitchen up from nothing this morning, pretty much single-handedly. we'd gotten slammed last night, and of course the late night crew didn't do anything to help. (apparently, prep work is not in their job description. bullshit.) sure i had a little help, but not a lot. i don't wanna rat anyone out but it really grinds me that people treat me like i'm their boy, and since we're cool then they can laze around. at the same time, though, i'm not paid enough to really care. if they want me to manage, to light fires under asses to work more than chill, then they can step up my pay. otherwise, yes it sucks to be one of the only employees who actually cares that everything gets done, and very little, if anything, is left over for the next shift apart from their usual tasks. i'm not about to complain about having a long list of work to do, nor am i gonna ride anyone's ass to pick up the pace or lend me a hand with my list. that isn't my style. but it is annoying how much nothing these kids get away with when they're with me, or un-managed in general. because if we all worked so casually, the place would crumble. urgh.

loved seeing you last night. you look great. i don't get to tell you that very often these days. we should probably do that more often, no?

LRV, b

53) Blacker than the Landlord's Soul

(must've run aaaaaaalllll day!)

needs no introduction, one of the most bizarre and engaging videos i know of; the "making of" doc on the DVD is awesome too. i apologize for the brevity as of late. you usually catch me before i have the chance to write. and it feels strange to reiterate what we've talked about, just to have something to show here. guess that's why the music is so integral. if there's not much going on in life, and i don't wanna bore you with intimate details of how the writing's going, then we can always talk about the music. but this song you know and love too, so ain't much to say other than "don't. give. in . on. me"!




LRV, b