I’ll Tell You What The 80’s Like

It’s sort of frustrating right now for me, because I’ve stumbled upon a lot of songs this week that I like a lot, but I really have nothing to say about them other than “they’re really good and they make me happy”. “Young Boy” by Clipse (w/ The Neptunes) is full of joy and swagger. It’s sort of self-explanatory. “I Can’t Wait” by Jaguar Wright and Bilal is one of the more creative and inspired Prince impressions that I’ve heard in a long while. I said a few weeks back that I was surprised that so few people imitate Prince songs like “Forever In My Life” and “The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker”, and this song successfully pulls that off. “Good Times” by Styles is a lot like the best bits of Jay-Z’s The Blueprint album musically, even though the MCs on the track aren’t nearly as talented as Jay Hov.

Still, “Hey Ma” by Cam’ron is the song that is making me the most happy this week. I wish I had more to say about it, something clever, something more convincing than “it makes me happy”. But that’s the truth. Everytime I hear it, I smile.

I Think I’ve Done A Lot For Civil Rights

There’s an interesting and revealing feature about Conan O’Brien in today’s New York Observer. I think it is the first time I’ve ever read anything that gives me a sense of what Conan is like outside of his career. I find myself relating to him a lot. There’s a few good laughs in there, especially the bit about Lyndon Johnson towards the beginning.