Hua Hsu

While I was sitting in Huerequeque's bar, next to me a pig kept rubbing with self-absorbed persistence against a case of beer. Then it disappeared behind the counter. A broom was lying on the ground as if felled by an assassin.-from Werner Herzog's astonishing Fitzcarraldo diaries (in the current Paris Review)* * *One way to keep publishing afloat: a judge sentences a crooked exec to write a book. * * *In 1983, Motorola introduced the first commercially available…… More »

Jay at Arthur with a nice post about the little-known Harlem Festival of 1969. He links to Nina Simone's entire performance, which is absolutely stunning.Related: Tools of War recently announced this summer's line-up of NYC park jams. Jazzy Jay, Theodore, Tony Touch, Bambataa, Red Alert and Cash Money in the Bronx, Mao, JBX, Rockin Rob in Harlem...it's going to be a good summer.Joshua Clover shares excerpts from his hotly anticipated book on 1989 here (self…… More »

Chairman Mao -- who also runs a very fine blog here -- with an expert blend of Latin, boogie, disco, etc. "You need this." (Click on Radio Archive in the top right corner.)Brilliant, summery mix from the Meanest Man Contest. Highlights: portly Brazilian soul man Tim Maia, Neil Innes' versioning of "Cum on Feel the Noize," Minnie Riperton hitting the high notes, and DOOM massacring all comers.Madlib on Radio Nova.Matt Africa with a tribute to DJ Quik: "America'z…… More »

"The harmonies are beautiful, man."An amazing clip of Roger Troutman and his talk box in action. Tech N9ne's fist pumps are especially charming. If you can't spare the full five minutes, start watching at around 1:34. All of which is to say: my friend Dave Tompkins -- the authority on all things speech enhancement/encryption/synthesis-related and author of the forthcoming How to Wreck a Nice Beach (Stop Smiling/Melville House) -- has a wondrously expansive piece…… More »

As we countdown toward the twentieth anniversary of June 4, it should be a frenetic week for China-watching (though probably not in China itself). Blogs -- one of the central outlets for reformers and dissidents -- have been shut down. And the latest: Chinese authorities have disbarred about 18 lawyers working on human rights cases.Also: Zhao Ziyang's fascinating "alternate, if-the-students-had-won history of China" … More »

On the road this week, so updates will be erratic, brief and pretty random:-"Look at that Fucking Hipster" (I recommend May 19 and April 27)-"Everything Tracy Jordan Said" ("It's the way my world is right now.")-Shoals holds a mirror up to Shaq's true self halfway through his latest Free Darko masterpiece.-Interesting podcast examining Chinagrass, or modern-day Chinese folk.Also: I'll be on Joshua Clover/Jane Dark's Cultural Revolution today ~ 5pm Cali time.… More »

Cool but slightly weird: this December, Duke University Press will publish the completed but never revised dissertation of S. Ann Dunham, otherwise known as Barack Obama's mother. … More »

MIXES-Boogie on: Dam-Funk reminds you what the 80s really sounded like here.-His name is Paul Pre: You can always trust a German's taste in spacey instrumental hip-hop (I recommend his Best of 2008 mix)-Classic material: Best of Bad Boy Radio freestyles.-Best of Janet Jackson mixtape: "Admit it, back in the day when Tribe, De la, and all the rest were dominating the scene, this is what you were really listening to."NOT A MIX, BUT STILL DOPE-The Meaning of Dope blog…… More »

Piece in the Times yesterday about Vice, once merely a thorn-in-the-side magazine and now probably the only multi-everything lords of the tricky youth demographic. I'm surprised Virtue (their brilliantly named autonomous advertising branch) hasn't been on the cover of every issue of Portfolio but that's just me. I remember when Vice had that back cover ad with a mirror and lines of coke spelling out "Op." When I figured out that it was actually an ad they had…… More »

Just heard from Oliver that the historian Ron Takaki passed away yesterday at the age of 70. Major bummer. When I was a student at Berkeley, Takaki's books (especially Strangers From a Different Shore and Iron Cages) were the ones you didn't sell back to Ned's. His lectures were like five hundred kids having simultaneous epiphanies. I remember attending a debate between Takaki and Ward Connerly on affirmative action at some point in the late 1990s. I don't remember…… More »

The Guardian asks: what is your goal of the season?UK scientists: "Listening to football on the radio while driving is dangerous"Incredible headline alert: "Culture of Bling Clangs to Earth as the Recession Melts Rappers' Ice"… More »

This morning I was reading some recent blog posts about the John Conyers-sponsored H.R. 848, otherwise known as the "Performance Rights Act," otherwise known as "the bill that would destroy black radio." In theory, the bill would require commercial radio stations to pay yearly license fees (in addition to the ones they already pay) directly back to the artists, thereby helping aging artists (like Duke Fakir, original Four Top) and bringing broadcast radio level…… More »

A: So let me get this straight.B: Okay, sure. Take all the time you need, sir.A: You want me to dress up like a police officer and run after some musicians?B: Yes. They're a rap group called N.W.A.A: What does that stand for?B: It doesn't stand for anything. Are you interested in the gig? It's pretty easy work, you have to admit. It's part of a bit they're doing.A: A bit?B: Like a scenario.A: Okay. So I'm supposed to dress up like a cop and chase them down the…… More »

Worktime.Astounding trove of disco and boogie mixes from DJ Red Greg.Afterwork.Few humans follow contemporary dance music as closely as Philip Sherburne. Check out his recent Mayday mix.… More »

Jia's Esquire spread was designed to look like the nineteen-eighties. When I asked, "What's with all the fire?" he broke into a mischievous grin and said, "The eighties had a few fires."Evan Osnos recently wrote about genius Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhangke for the New Yorker. Among the more startling insights: Jia's favorite film as a child was Breakin'.Osnos has a video clip of some of Jia's more action-packed (I'm being ironic) moments here. Hopefully this spurs…… More »

I participated in a conversation on hip-hop in the age of Obama with a couple other Atlantic affiliates. The N.W.A. clip from the Arsenio Hall show that I link to on the last page is highly recommended.Speaking of which: Rap Radar recently unearthed this incredible 20/20 special from 1981 on this new thing called hip-hop.And I simply love Arshavin's description of Barca (though I reject his conclusion):That is why I hope Barcelona beat Manchester United in the…… More »

A genre that once thrived by flipping off authority now has a place on the president's iPod. Where does rap go from here?… More »

(In case you're wondering, that lyrical jewel is from Kobe Bryant's best forgotten "K.O.B.E.")Last night I read Grant Farred's Phantom Calls (part of the consistently amazing Prickly Paradigm pamphlet series). Farred situates the Yao Ming Event within larger discourses on race and globalization--I won't get into it here--but one thing that did stick with me was Yao's unironic self-identification as just another Chinese worker. Because, obviously, most Chinese…… More »

Each Thursday, links to our favorite podcasts, mixes, etc.-Mr. Thing and DJ Format present: HOLY SHIT, a collection of extraordinary (and weird) gospel tunes.-Atlas Sound's MICROMIX 20, forty moody minutes highlighted by the Spades' far gone and out "We Sell Soul," a lovely Beach Boys demo and "The Reason Young People Use Drugs."-Toddla T BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix. An all-over-the-place mix that ranges from "Wrekonize" to Saint Etienne. … More »

Mark Taylor's "End the University as We Know It" has been making the rounds for a couple of weeks now, and it slots nicely into an ongoing debate about the future of higher education in the age of, well, everything: collapsing financial markets/Wikipedia/post 9/11 threats/neoliberalism/hyper-specialization/etc.… More »