Cinnamon Cheesecake Chimichanga...

well, i guess it's time for my first post of 2011!!! this weekend has been great, what, with OU beating UCONN and then me getting two new tattoos. what you say??? YES!!! i got some new ink!!! i now have a total of six tats!!!

my arms aren't usually that dirty lookin'...


ok, so yeah, they might seem cheesy as all get out, but seriously, these two characters are the very first tats i ever wanted. i decided on these back when i was in high school. on my left arm is the bear logo from Radiohead and on my right is the White Pony symbol from the Deftones. these two bands changed my life and got me through some tough times, so i just wanted to show my love. heh heh, i'd forgotten how narly getting tattoos were...

movin' on, i have big plans already in mind for the start of 2011. first off, and most importantly, i want to get better. i've been sick since my last year of college and i'm very tired of it. i'm going to work extra hard on getting healthy and in shape and allowing myself to enjoy life more often. that includes going out, hanging with friends and possibly dating. (if i'm ever so lucky...)

another big plan, and one i've mentioned quite a few times here, is moving. i'm starting my application tomorrow and i'm a bit nervous, but i need to do this. i have to move out of here. i need my own life away from my family's close contact. not to say i'm moving to stay away forever, no. it's just that i need my freekin' space ya know??? shoot, i can't even blast my music here without someone having a conniption fit...

so anyways, here's to the new year and all the exciting things that might be happening!!! oh, and here's to The Roots, for being the music choice on today's post!!!



some might think i completely ignore the Hip-Hop/rap genre, and i can understand that. so far it's been slim pickin's on this here blog. so today i want to change that and post on my ultimate favorite Hip-Hop group, the roots. this crew started back in 1987 and has primarily consisted of founding members, tariq, "black thought" trotter and ahmir, "?uestlove" thompson. they hail from philadelphia, pennsylvania and are considered to be one of Hip-Hop's most cherished and acclaimed acts.

take note that this isn't the same kind of rap music like Lil' Wayne or Lil' Jon. (do those guys even make rap music???) this is straight up soul music. well, i consider it soul, or at least neo-soul. these cats mix in r&b/blues/folk and jazz. oh, and what made me like them in the first place is for the fact that they play their own instruments. yes, this was my first look at a live Hip-Hop group instead of some studio produced mc wannabe. the roots have awesome talent and it shows throughout their long recorded career. i got the chance to see them at Coachella 2007 and they rocked it. awesome set and awesome band. if you like artists such as Mos Deff, Talib kweli, Erika Badu, Maxwell, A Tribe Called Quest and Jill Scott, then you will surely like the roots.



like i said, they have a long recorded career, so i'm going to try my best to post their entire discography here. in first place is their self released debut full length, Organix!. after that came their first release on a major label, which was the ep, From The Ground Up. after that they released their critically acclaimed full length album on a major label called, Do You Want More?!!!??!. next came their second album, Illadelph Halflife, then their most cherished work, Things Fall Apart. (named after the novel of the same name by Chinua Achebe...) shortly after they released The Legendary ep, then their first live album simply called, The Roots Come Alive. (that was actually the first thing i ever listened to by them...) after that the band took some time off and then came back to start their musical takeover in the 2000's. so, first off in 2002, they released the album, Phrenology. following that is the album, The Tipping Point, then Game Theory. the final two albums to list are, Rising Down and How I Got Over and that's about it. oh, and i purposefully left out their live collaboration with Jay-Z and then their latest collaboration with John Legend because i just want the focus to be on them. so, with that i hope you like this and keep an open mind. ah, and be sure to catch them be the house band on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. enjoy!!!


http://www.megaupload.com/?d=FHG5M760


http://www.megaupload.com/?d=V5H2SK7Z


http://www.megaupload.com/?d=RP83I5NW


http://www.megaupload.com/?d=BLI7Q538


http://www.megaupload.com/?d=QFQ947K1


http://hotfile.com/dl/91759744/0f43baa/6168.zip.html


http://www.megaupload.com/?d=TKDXVZNU


http://www.megaupload.com/?d=B0JP0294


http://www.megaupload.com/?d=JH5Z1HTX


http://www.megaupload.com/?d=FV1L0ESQ


http://www.megaupload.com/?d=GKNL3KI3


http://www.megaupload.com/?d=V13H6XY0



get some soul...

Read the writing on the wall...

last night i went to sleep being creeped out by my own imagination. i rolled over like a burrito and faced the wall which is opposite my bedroom door. i woke up quickly and realized my force field had been shut down due to me turning away. as a child i use to sleep facing the more open parts of my room so i could spot whatever monster was gonna kill me. this was my defense against the fright of the inevitable and darkness. good thing i had a glowworm to light up in case things got wicked. this story reminded me of the Squee comics by johen vasquez. squee did the same exact thing, he rolled over in his sleep and woke up realizing he had his back turned and was facing the wall. when he slowly turned around he saw a monster. ha ha

well i didn't see 2012 last night. i chose to go to a concert instead. the concert would have been great if i actually did go... i changed my mind again and just stayed home playing call of duty. i later went to my best friends which is always a treat and we just hung out. every time i go there i seem to learn a bit more about myself and life in general. i guess its from seeing him being married and having children. he is totally different than what i remember from back in our high school days. it's interesting to watch how this is working. maybe it's for the best that i see all of this now because it is definitely preparing me for those kinds of future decisions i know i will have to make. i just hope that i make the right ones...

i feel a bit nostalgic today, so here is an older band that almost everybody out there knows. they were one of the most talked about live acts during their prime in the 90's. their political opinions were at the top of many debates and they released stellar albums that became better than the last. here for you all to enjoy is: Rage Against the Machine.



this band formed way back in 1991. lead singer zack de la rocha use to sing for the hardcore band Inside Out which were freekin' awesome by themselves. that band made a song called "rage against the machine" and thus the song became the band name here. guitarist tom morello and bassist tim commerford with drummer brad wilk joined zack and made rock history.

the music created by these guys was not heard of that much outside the underground, or at least until the majors got wind of it. some other bands out there were doing a bit of the same thing, but none were as good as rage. i'm of course talking about the rap-rock thing. yes, this band is what i consider the best rap-rock band in existence. better than Korn and definitely better than Limp Bizcuit. those clowns couldn't hole a candle to how awesome and superior rage were and are. i actually hate to lump those bands in with rage since i don't even consider them to be in the same category. rage, like the Deftones, were their own thing and untouchable. many imitators, but none who knew how to do it with such passion for the music and the subjects at hand.

sadly the band broke up before i got to see them in their prime. i remember the MxTxVx music awards show were they blew the roof off the house, but lost to limp bizcuit in the hard rock category. it was total bs, but whatever. they came on and just did their thing and then left. well, bassist tim did jump onto a piece of the scenery and made limp bizcuit look like a bunch of douche bags, but whatever. it was after this that they played some final shows and then broke up. it wasn't until 2007 that i got my wish to see them play live. they re-united at Coachella: Valley and Arts Festival 2007 in indio california to rave reviews and 70,000 people. i was one of them and let me tell you, it was quite a show. first off it was the biggest crowd i have ever been in and second i was three full days deep into a weekend of music before they took the stage on the last day. it was amazing and the crowd exploded like an atom bomb as they opened. one of the few events in my life i will always remember.

so like i always say, with that here is the music!!! first album listed here is the self titled debut. this is the one that started it all. be sure to listen to the song "freedom". the music video was all about political prisoner leonard peltier, who all native americans know. the second album is my personal favorite. it's called Evil Empire. it's just solid through and through. the third album is what many consider to be their best, The Battle of Los Angeles. and last but not least is Renegades. this is an album made entirely of covers with the exception of one new song. it showcases how diverse this band really was and how they could make older songs even better with their own style thrown into it. so here ya go, the epic rage against the machine post. if you haven't yet, get into it!!!


http://www.megaupload.com/?d=pvppgo18


http://www.mediafire.com/?4dwx3t1ywny


http://www.mediafire.com/?k2fqimw1zvm


http://www.mediafire.com/?dziolkmuyim

sleep now in the fire...