The Blogger's Soundtrack

The title alludes to Skyzoo's "The Shooter's Soundtrack" which was one of the top hip-hop releases of the year.  Straight up gully beats and lyrics - no guest spots and nothing radio friendly about it.  However rather than making a traditional 2009 Music Year in Review, I just want to recap my personal playlist of 2009:

Keri Hilson/Kanye/Ne-Yo - Knock You Down - Fell in love with the track after the first leak. "Til I met this pretty lil missile that shot me out of the sky"

Kid Cudi - The Sky Might Fall/Soundtrack 2 My Life - The Emo Hip-Hopper's Anthem. "I got 99 problems, and they're all b!tches"

Alicia Keys - Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart - hahah don't look too much into this, but this is a jam, as Al, Ar and Rol can attest to. I think we listened to it like 15x straight. Too bad the video is freaking weird.

Flo-Rida/Ne-Yo - Be On You - last year's camping song was Weezer's Heart Songs, and this was the dilly this year

Angels & Airwaves - Everything's Magic - because we rock out to this on Rock Band. Evokes memories of Sugarcult's 'Memory'. It's a hard-hitting Alt-Rock joint

Beyonce/Kanye - Ego Remix - I fault Mr. West for increasing the size of my ego, as well as every urban kid under 30, errr 35, for thinking that they posses mad swagger.  For real though, I need to have humble pie for dessert once in awhile.

Jay Sean/Lil Wayne - Down - Only because my lil godson Isaiah goes bonkers when this song comes on haha. He made Fel replay it like 10x in a row once.

Drake - Best I Ever Had - Las Vegas July 2009 - where a group of men became legendary.

Jay Electronica - Exhibit C - Helped me believe in hip-hop once again and cemented Just Blaze's legacy in the pantheon of beatmakers.

Jay-Z/J-Cole - A Star is Born - To continue with the Jay theme, this song probably got the most play from me on BP3. I like nostalgic verses.

Trey Songz/Ma$e - I Need a Girl Remix - I never really was a fan of Mase in his heyday, but he came through on his few guest spots this year.

Mayer Hawthorne - Just Ain't Gonna Work it Out/Maybe So, Maybe No - these pretty much personifies my 1st half of 2K9, and they're back to back tracks on the album!

Ne-Yo - Easy/Move Along - you didn't think I would leave out him yeah? But these were 2 unreleased joints retrieved from 2DopeBoyz weekly R&B post. I *heart* them.

So here is what's been dominating my earwaves in 2K9.  Maybe I'll come back with the traditional categories later on.
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Giving 'em Eargasms With My Mellow Accent

Ever since my Bose earbuds died on me [note to readers: Bose doesn't make good earbuds], I've been half-heartedly looking for a new set of either earphones or on-ear headphones.  While there's way too much information on the web, I scoured head-fi.org and decided I was either going to cop the Klipsche or Sennheiser earbuds.  They tested the best, had the most bang for the buck and most importantly, were available at the Apple Store since I had credit there.  If you've seen the Beats By Dre buds, they're obviously an upgrade, but we all know how overpriced Monster products are and you could get equal if not better quality for a fraction of the price.  Being a financially shrewd person, these were definitely not an option.  Besides, I only had $40 store credit, while the buds I wanted ran around $80 for a total OOP cost of around $40 for the math impaired.

So I perused to the Union Square location and I mess around with the various headphones on display.  I checked out the Sennheisers, and yeah they sounded clean.  The overpriced Beats By Dre Solos were right next to them, and almost had a certain glow to them, so I just peeped them too - I had to ensure my due diligence was complete.  It should be noted when Norm visited last week, I tried on his BBD Studio editions, but those were too heavy and fragile for my sake.  Plus they were $300! Anyway the Solos had recently came out at a much more modest $180 [it sounds a lot by itself, hence the comparison to the studio editions lol] and once I put them on, I felt like this dude here:


They sounded clean. I primarily listen to Hip-Hop, R&B and Glee V1 and V2 so these are optimal for those genres. However I told myself I wouldn't fall for the hype. Cons included sound leakage [but for real, I would be the ones wearing them, so that's almost moot.  I remember when I got Sen-Dog, and a con was rear seating. I'm not gonna be sitting back there ya heard.]  My OOP budget was like $50, and these would run an additional $150, so the Klipsches are looking more promising.  I probably spent more time at peeping how I looked in them rather than the actual acoustics, but it only took me one song [Cudi/Ye/Common's 'Make Em Say' - the selections were limited] to know that I wanted them. If I were to cop the Sennheisers, I would've settled. And Reeg doesn't settle. And Reeg gets what he wants. And these were what I wanted, so I got them.  It seems like I need to justify my purchases, but the bottom line is that I dig it. Once a hypebeast, always a hypebeast.

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My Christmas Wish List 2K9

I should've came with this list prior to the 25th, then I probably would've received something! Seriously though, even if I had this up for awhile I still wouldn't have got anything related. Anyway I wanted to do daily updates, and I just realized it's been over 3 weeks since my last entry. My bad. Please note everything not obtained from my prior year's [see my 2007 and 2008 ones here] still are to be desired, but they won't be represented coming up.   So here it is - my retroactive wish list:

Motion Sensor Garbage Can - My garbage can sometimes smells since it's not covered, but at the same time, I'm not sure I want to have it exposed.  When your garbage requires batteries, you're on some next level ish.

Sony Playstation 3 - I think it's time for a new console, but not for gaming purposes.  Although my screen has 720p limits, Blu-Ray still would look fresher on it.  I kinda dig the sleeker refresh of it too.

 

D Collection Toggle Coat - I need a heather coat, preferable a short form-fitting one with toggle connectors and a detachable hood.  And I think I found it!  I did try this one, but it fit a bit snug.  I guess I should just go up another size?

SkyGolf SkyCaddie - My depth perception seems to go away when I play courses that have heavy topography.  I would be a more disciplined golfer.  Only drawback is that it wouldn't help me around the greens.

Jay-Z Tickets March 24, 2K10 - I've never seen Hova show, as the Fade to Black DVDs don't count.  In fact, I don't even think I've seen a show with any of my brothers.  Maybe we could make it happen!

Nike Air Stab Foot Patrol - Yes these done came out 4 years ago but wasn't feeling them too much.  But now I'm on a hunt for them.  I mean pairs are available, just haven't really been on my grind.  One day.

Wustof Classic Black Knife - I bought a block of 1 man Henckels, and while they've done their job commendably these past few years, I feel its time to upgrade.  "All I need is one knife* /Nas voice.








I have a precedent for obtaining about half of my wish lists, so by the time the 2K10 holiday season rolls around, don't be surprised if I get these!  My bad this blogging session was uninspired - I have a tee-time in a few hours and wanted to knock this out.  Merry Christmas everyone!
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Graze Anatomy

What's one of the first things I notice in a chick? It's probably not what you think. It's weird, when I was younger I zoomed in on the chesticles and the cheeks. But now, if she has a pretty face I go straight for the hand - then the T&A stuff. I dunno, I guess subconsciously I want to see if the girl is taken or not, since you don't want to get caught playing catch in another man's backyard. Don't get me wrong, I'ma still be staring, albeit discreetly, if it's warranted even if she has one on, as I can get in beastmode sometimes.

So yep, here are the body parts in order of my noticing: face, left hand, hair, grill, rack/buns [interchangeble, as I'm neither an assman or breastman, but rather a hybrid of both], hips, drumsticks [if she has chicken or turkey legs], toes, stomach, feets [would be higher, but not always noticeable], clavicle [if it's exposed], arms, and then ankles, but that's not to say the latter parts aren't important. Since I'm a great observer, I could process all of those after a few seconds. It might seem like a lot, but it's not really - think of the domino effect, as that's what the f__ I call a chain reaction.

Oh man, what a clever title name too.
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What Time is It?

So I've been looking at timepieces lately, well, because theuglystick has and I follow him. 4runner? check. Mizunos? check. Taylor Mades? check. Ping putter? check. iPhone? check. Whatever SLR I'll cop [whenever that may be], I'll probably ask him what he got too! However he's more Asus than Apple when it comes to computing needs, and I'm more Samsung than Sony when it comes to televisions.

Anyway while window shopping on TimeZone [yet another zone to be in!], I noticed the following pic in the trading forum:



FYI this isn't the piece that I want, but I do what a chronograph automatic on a bracelet. But for real, look at that Owner's Manual. It's bigger than my whips! I'm not sure what I'm getting myself into. I don't know how the manual could almost resemble a phone book. I thought you could just set it and forget it. When its time for DST, you would just pull the knob and crank it forward or backward. If you want it to illuminate, then just depress a button. Maybe if you're paying that much, there's some crazy secret ish it could do. If I already have issues with my digital Nike sports watch, then I might have migraines if I get a grown-up piece.
Maybe there's different languages? It must contain every one, possibly even Hieroglyphics. Sigh...so much to consider.
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Resolutions volume 2K9

Okay I'm trying to get a head start on these new year's resolutions. Previously I tried to delay my actual new years to coincide with the Chinese folk, but that never really worked out. I could easily blame Holiday hangover and year end work stuff, but really those are just convenient excuses. So let's switch it up and be proactive rather than reactive. Plus I'm ready for the year to end so I figure why not? If companies can have fiscal year-ends in the butt crack of summer, then my new year's could be a month ahead. Man it's past 1am and you might think I'm having problems sleeping. Hardly. I'm just waiting for Olivia Munn to appear on Fallon. She's so fly. And she just referenced Kid Cudi. I *heart* her.

Anyway I was brain-storming some resolutions, and aside from repetitive ones from prior years, it was more like a brain-sprinkle. I was stumped like a cut-off tree. "Resolutions" has a root word "resolute," which is derived from the word "resolve," which has Latin origin meaning "to loosen." And you just thought I was good with numbers. But yep, I need to loosen up - break the monotony I've created. In sports terms, being "in the zone" is a good thing. And having comfort sounds well, comforting. However, this comfort zone I presently find myself in is more like the twilight zone, and hell no I'm not referring to the movies. I'd guess I would be on Team Jacob though, or whomever the beast is. Ironically, my comfort zone is actually uncomfortable. "You gotta git up, git out and get something...don't let the days of your life pass you by" - first heard as a 15 year old listening to OutKast's first album, and it still rings true today.

Seriously though...I'm open to suggestions. Maybe I need to do something I've never done before, like work-out, or rock some Reeboks, or something crazy like that. I don't feel confined, yet I need a sense of liberation. I guess for anything new, I'd be Down like Amel Larrieux, Blink-182, Chris Brown & Jay Sean [the artists with said title currently in my iTunes. I probably should've just said Down, Down Down like DJ Quik - he's the only artist with that song name.] Anyway, I guess it's not good if your annual resolutions are recurring - what the heazy was done in the prior 365 days? You [me] need a way to hold yourself accountable, or at least see yourself make progress. Here is where you play a part - check up on me periodically please. I dunno, it seems the most successful sites are user-driven, so maybe i'll take a [foot patrol] stab at it. But for real, I have serious resolutions that I have that I probably won't share here. I know - I'm such a tease. But you probably could figure some out if you know me well enough!

The gym bag is packed. See you in my next installment.
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