On October 18th, a, now infamous, televised debate was held for New York‘s 2010 Gubernatorial election.  Along with conservative Republican candidate, Carl Paladino, the current NY State Attorney general/Democratic nominee, Andrew Cuomo, and 4 others, there was one relatively unknown third-party candidate that managed to overshadow the other 6 and take the world by storm.  Looking like a cross between Rudy Ray Moore and Dr. Zaius, Jimmy McMillan used his pimp-style cadence to express the core positions of his “Rent Is 2 Damn High Party“, which include a pro-gay-marriage stance and, as would be expected, a belief that the rent in NY is “too damn high“.  Over the last 2 weeks, McMillan‘s stock has risen, as the footage from the debate has continued to spread across sites like Youtube and spring-board him to into full-on internet meme status.  In this relatively short period of time, the McMillan footage has been treated to the usual auto-tune remix treatments and SNL parody, while the man himself has received backlash, due to information suggesting that he doesn’t even pay rent on his own apartment, but rather provides maintenance services in exchange for his housing.  Now, the latest news surrounding the aspiring Governor involves another step towards celebrity status with the release of his very own full-length LP of poverty-inspired soul jams.

Before we delve further into that topic, however, we want to provide you with some original footage from the debate, as a foundation for anyone who has yet to see it:

Click here to view the embedded video.

The internet age has provided mankind with the ability to spread and mutate information at an unheard of and alarming rate.  Although, most people were completely unaware of McMillan‘s existence until recently, this isn’t his first foray into politics or the public eye.  In fact, Jimmy started the “Rent Is Too Damn High Party” 20 years ago, under which he has already run for Mayor of NYC in (1993, 2005, & 2009), Governor of NY State (1994) , and US Senate (2000).  His 1993 run, under the moniker “Prince Jimmy McMillan” (aka: Papa Smurf), involved him being involved in such newsworthy fiascos as being found blindfolded, doused in gasoline, and tied to a tree next to the Belt Parkway and scaling the Brooklyn Bridge, while demanding TV coverage, after which he was talked down by police and hospitalized.  That election found him coming up 300 signatures short of qualification for the general election ballot.  For the 1994 Gubernatorial race, he stayed in shelters, while traveling on foot from Brooklyn to the site of the Democratic Convention in Buffalo, where he commenced heckling, then governor, Mario Cuomo and was tossed out.  He failed to make the ballot from lack of signatures that year, as well, and was removed from the 2000 senate ballot, in which he was challenging Hilary Clinton.  For his mayoral runs in ‘05 and ’09, McMillan did qualify for the general election ballots but, with his new found fame, tomorrow’s Nov. 2nd Gubernatorial election should put McMillan in, arguably, the best position that he’s ever had to give his party the National recognition that he has fought so erratically passionately for.

The more information that is released about McMillan, the more fascinating he becomes as a figure.  Beyond his political aspirations, Jimmy has also been credited as a Karate master/instructor, actor, postal worker, “independent private investigator”, a bodyguard for Mel Hall (ex-Yankee Outfielder/convicted rapist), author, former stripper, and Vietnam vet.  His time in NAM and, more specifically, his exposure to Agent Orange are what he attributes to his constant “need” to sport his trademark black gloves, by stating, “When I get home tonight, I know I’m not going to be able to breathe if I take them off. It could be psychological, I don’t know, but I just put em on and wear them anyway.“  He’s been referred to and/or adopted such names as “Prince Jimmy McMillan“, “Papa Smurf“, “The Black Hulk Hogan“, “Santa Clause on Venus“, and “Rambo“, but there’s one specific pseudonym that has, surprisingly, gained much less exposure, recently.  That alias is none other than “JIMMY MACK“, soul singer extraordinaire.

Here’s a popular Jimmy Mack‘s single titled, “A Woman is So Hard to Understand” that was released 35 years ago by Hamster records.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Tomorrow is now much more than a day for Jimmy to earn the support of New Yorkers and take a shot at becoming governor, it also marks the release of his official return to the music industry.  His new release, The Rent is Too DAMN High (Volume 1), will receive a worldwide digital release from iTunes, Amazon.com and other digital music outlets, on Tuesday, Nov. 2nd, with a physical release slated to follow on December 7th.  We received our copy today and it’s 12 songs deep; composed of electronic drum beats, soulful grooves, and funky synth jams.

Here’s the first single, titled “What Is This?”

Why this track was chosen for the lead off single, I can only speculate.  In my opinion, it is definitely not one of the strongest efforts on the release and it didn’t really showcase his vocal abilities.  I would have probably dropped something like the super funky, “Ghostbusters“-era Ray Parker Jr jam, “Come To The Floor” or the NELLY-esque rap-inspired, 2-step “Landlord Listen Up“, before anything.  This album jumps from sounding like Rockwell and Ready for the World into spooky “Murda Was the Case“-style Dr. Dre production.  Then there’s the song “R.E.N.T” with it’s chaotic mish-mash of overlaps, which sound like the voice of satan being ghetto-processed through a Casio SK-1 sampler.  Basically, what I’m trying to say is that… it’s kind of awesome and probably better than you would expect.  On top of that, you have to give McMillan props for making the entire album all by himself.  Keep in mind, this is a full-length album and, just because the last two weeks have provided McMillan with a platform to release it, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the whole thing was simply thrown together within that time frame.

Here are some quotes from the man himself, pertaining to the effort:

“I like to listen to myself as I drive around campaignin’. It keeps me focused and gets me really pumped up. I wrote and recorded all these songs myself and never thought anyone would like them.”

and:

“The guitar is my main instrument but I play everything from drums to the violin.”

As you might have guessed, most of the subject matter on the album is restricted to the topics of rent, the cost of living, and voting.  With an album full of lyrics which encourage the listener to “Vote for the Rent’s 2 Damn High Party and Jimmy McMillan November 2nd” being released on the one and only day that would make that suggestion even remotely relevant, one has to worry if the youth will even receive that dire message in time.  But don’t worry folks, “as a karate master” and Vietnam Vet with “3 Bronze Stars“, Jimmy Mack is no fool.  He knows that you can’t make a real soul album without at least one track devoted to making sweet love and sweet love making is one topic that is not only universal, but timeless, as well.

On the track “My Place“, Jimmy begs the question, “Does he ever take those gloves off?“, as he woos the ladies with such lyrics as:

“I know you didn’t come to talk

Let’s get it on

We can do it in the hall, In the kitchen

We can do it while I’m talking on the phone

We can do it while I’m moppin’ the floor

We can do it while I’m cleanin’ the kitchen

We can do it while I’m rakin’ the yard

We can do it in the car,

in the backseat, on the hood, on the truck, on the floor, in da- oh MY GAWD!“

But is that enough, really?  The election is tomorrow, but the physical release of the album doesn’t come out until December 7th.  I hear ya… but, like I said, Jimmy McMillan is no fool!  He’s got it covered folks, with a brand new Holiday classic just in time for the season.

The following lyrics are taken from the track “Rent 2 High Christmas“:

“Santa Clause got evicted

Cause he couldn’t pay his rent

Now he sleeping in a park, in a tent

Yeah, he homeless“

In all honesty, the stripped-down holiday tune might be my favorite song on the entire album, so far.  Regardless of the fact that it is cursed with the combination novelty of being both a Christmas tune and part of a political campaign, Jimmy‘s vocals are incredibly soulful and I’m a sucker for the melodica-style keys that support it.  Plus, it’s somber groove allows it to operate outside of the polarizing formulas of “overly cheery” or “depressingly religious” that Holiday music is generally restricted to.

If you want to buy the album, it’s available for only $5.99 through our Amazon link HERE.
If you want to see a karate fighting, glove-clad soul-singer become Governor of NY, make sure to place your vote for Jimmy McMillon on November 2nd.

Click here to view the embedded video.

TRACK LIST

1. Come 2 The Floor
2. Aint Nothing To Talk About
3. This Is What I Like
4. Vote 4 Me
5. What Is This?
6. R.E.N.T.
7. When You Can’t Pay Your Rent
8. Yaba
9. Land Lord Listen Up
10. My Place
11. Rent 2 High Christmas (listed as “Rent Party Christmas” on Amazon)
12. I Never Seen

LINKS

Jimmy’s official site
Jimmy on Twitter

Everyone has been waiting around to find out what was up with the Fall tour dates which, at this point, have really become much more like Winter Tour dates.  This morning, in typical Phish 3.0 fashion, the dates were introduced via a video on their website.  Most of you will be happy to know that the rumored dates that have been floating around for so many months have officially been confirmed as legit.  The real surprises are the two additional dates added to that list; one in Syracuse and another in Portland, Maine.  The Portland show is scheduled to take place at the Cumberland County Civic Center and will easily be one of the hardest tickets of the year to get your hands on.  The “C4“, as I have just decided to start referring to it as, is listed with a capacity of only 9,000.  What’s more is that the Syracuse show will be held at War Memorial at Oncenter (capacity 8,000).   ZOIKS!

Click here to view the embedded video.

I’m sure that there are going to be plenty of “I told you so you stupid mother fuckers” being delivered, today.  Someone’s probably even going to end up getting punched in the skull somewhere.  The speculation and debate around the band’s every upcoming move has been at an all-time high and can cause a great deal of animosity between their arguing fans.  This isn’t necessarily anything new but, if one band has really harnessed the power of the internet, it’s PHISH.  Plus, we still feel forced to write something and feed into this shit too because , with our recent post about the speculated dates, it seemed irresponsible not to do a follow up.

Here are the tour dates with the dates that they go on sale listed beside them:

Fall Tour 2009

• 11/18/09 – Cobo Arena – Detroit, Michigan (on sale 10/24)

  11/20/09 – US Bank Arena – Cincinnati, Ohio (on sale 10/23)

  11/21/09 – US Bank Arena – Cincinnati, Ohio  (on sale 10/23)

  11/22/09 – War Memorial at Oncenter – Syracuse, NY (on sale 10/23)

  11/24/09 – Wachovia Center – Philadelphia, PA (on sale 10/24)

  11/25/09 – Wachovia Center – Philadelphia, PA (on sale 10/24)

  11/27/09 – Times Union Center – Albany, NY (on sale 10/23)

  11/28/09 – Times Union Center – Albany, NY (on sale 10/23)

  11/29/09– Cumberland Cty Civic Cntr – Portland, ME (on sale 10/24)

  12/2/09  – Madison Square Garden – New York, NY (on sale 10/24)

  12/3/09  – Madison Square Garden – New York, NY (on sale 10/24)

  12/4/09  – Madison Square Garden – New York, NY (on sale 10/24)

  12/5/09  – John Paul Jones Arena – Charlottesville, VA
  (on sale 10/23)

A limited number of tickets are available NOW directly through Phish Tickets’ online ticketing system at http://phish.portals.musictoday.com. The ticket request period is currently underway and will end Friday, October 16th at 5:00pm EST.

Tickets go on sale to the public beginning Friday, October 23rd, with additional dates going on sale Saturday, October 24th. For full show and ticketing information, please visit the tourdates page at Phish.com.

Banksy is one of the most influential and forward thinking graffiti artists of the last 20 years. He is well known for his stenciled bombing which he honed in the Bristol area of the United Kingdon.  In his book “Banksy: Wall and Piece” (2005) he states that he decided to start doing his tagging with a stenciling format after being caught and running from the cops at the age of 18.  He claims that, while hiding, he “spent over an hour under a dumpster truck with engine oil leaking all over (him)“.   He looked up at a stencil on the fuel tank and realized that he had found his answer to cutting his painting time down to a fraction of what they currently took.

I highly recommend “Wall and Piece” because it is, not only an impressive composition of his collected work, but also full of quotes and passages that display the artist’s distinct vision and philosophies.  What makes Banksy’s work consistently relevant isn’t his ability to draw or paint, or even his cunning vandalism, but his voice.  I’m not going to claim that all graffiti is vital and has something to say beyond simple territorial pissings or blind destruction, because much of it is done ignorantly, but I will openly argue with anyone that claims that Banksy’s work isn’t absolute art in its purist form.  His graffiti work evokes thought, inspires hope, and contains strong social commentaries about capitalism, politics, and, most of all, humanity.  Like artist Ron English, Banksy’s hopeful, yet “illegal“, art pieces are often created in response to the corporate advertisements and “legal” oppressive imaging that we are bombarded with on a daily basis.

Wikipedia describes Banksy as “pseudo-anonymous“.  This is because he is obviously well-known enough to publish books and have gallery shows but it’s doubtful that you will see his actual face on the cover of any magazine, or program any time soon.  You won’t even find it on his website.  He’s been able to achieve the oft-elusive feat of transferring from underground renegade artist into one that commands universal respect, but continues to enjoy the freedom and versatility of street art that warrants such anonymity.

Galleries are great, but they sometimes have the ability to almost quarantine art and remove it from the rest of society.  They don’t provide the same effect as a giant, unexpected, apocalyptic mural in the center of Wall Street.  In the past, the tagger has altered large building walls, in both the UK and in San Francisco, to read as “Designtated Graffiti Areas“.  The scheme encouraged locals to come and vandalize the properties based on the fact that the walls were labeled to infer that the areas were permitted by the local authorities and government agencies.  In 2006, Banksy teamed up with DJ Danger Mouse in London to replace hundreds of copies of the Paris Hilton album with hoax versions.  Danger Mouse remixed tracks and renamed songs to have titles like, “Why am I famous?” while Banksy slipped the copies with alternate booklets into local retailers.

This August, Banksy spent time throwing up some new work in the New Orleans area, in his classic stenciled graffiti street art style.  The paintings were done to commemorate the 3 yr anniversary of the Hurricane Katrina disaster and has been chronicled nicely on sites like Wooster Collective.  For this month of October, however, Banksy has made his way up to New York and it appears that the artist has been able to find himself the perfect middle ground between gallery-style artist residencies and the awe-inspiring specatacle of street art.

Banksy’s “Village Pet Store and Charcoal Grill” has a giant storefront window located at No.89, Seventh Ave. South in Greenwich Village, New York.  It’s set up with the motif of a pet store but all of the “creatures” inside are constructed using animatronics.  I write “creatures” because, although there is a lifelike robotic rabbit with full make up, filing it’s nails in the mirror, there is also everything from fishsticks swimming in a tank to chicken nuggets with feet eating out of a BBQ sauce container.

His art has often contained images of rats and other animals in the past and his 2003 animal rights activist enraging work “Turf War” had the artist spray-painting graffiti directly onto the sides of cows and pigs.  There is a quote from Bansky on Wooster Collective where he says the following of the animatronic pet store:

“New Yorkers don’t care about art, they care about pets. So I’m exhibiting them instead. I wanted to make art that questioned our relationship with animals and the ethics and sustainability of factory farming, but it ended up as chicken nuggets singing. I took all the money I made exploiting an animal in my last show and used it to fund a new show about the exploitation of animals. If its art and you can see it from the street, I guess it could still be considered street art.”

The project is scheduled to run until Halloween and is open daily between 10am-12am, but is also viewable at night.  If you are in the area we suggest going down there and checking it out.  If you are able to make it down but choose not to do so, we suggest punching yourself in the genitals.

For those of us who will not likely be able to view the splendor first hand a video is provided below.  The site Notcot.com commissioned artist filmmaker Seth Brau to make the following film which, at least at this point, appears to be the best video document of the exhibit available.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Big Cats
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IpriP5Bl20

Sausages
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVJtXiujDVQ

Fish Fingers
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbsPCaxS-ec

Rabbits
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emFgmo1UeQM

Nuggets
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxNjikJNjdk

Primates
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZAwOMrpCSU

CCTV
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2u239zSO1tQ

For coverage on more amazing artwork, make sure to check out he following sites as well:
www.Banksy.co.uk
www.Woostercollective.com
www.Notcot.com

-Dead C