Month: September 2002

Categories
News The Fly-By

Continuing the Dream

PHOTO BY ROBIN SALANT
The view from Martin Luther King’s room at the Lorraine Motel

We’ve got to give ourselves to this struggle until the end. Nothing would be more tragic than to stop at this point, in Memphis. We’ve got to see it through. …

And let us move on in these powerful days, these days of challenge to make America what it ought to be. We have an opportunity to make America a better nation. …

Well, I don’t know what will happen now. … But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land.

— from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Mountaintop” speech, April 3, 1968

hen the dreamer is killed, does the dream die as well?

The National Civil Rights Museum will get an opportunity to answer that frequently asked question with the opening of its expansion project on Saturday, September 28th. The $11 million project, called “Exploring the Legacy,” will allow the museum to explore the events that followed King’s assassination.

“The expansion is a wonderful opportunity for us to extend the message and the lessons of the movement beyond civil rights to human rights,” says museum executive director Beverly Robertson. “The existing museum begins to chronicle the story of the civil rights movement from the earliest days of the freedom struggles in the 1600s to the pivotal years of the movement and the struggle to the death of Dr. King in 1968. People who come here really ask us three questions: Where did the shot come from? What really happened after Dr. King was killed? And what has been the international impact of the movement? So we are expanding to address those questions.”

The expansion will add almost 13,000 square feet to the existing museum, including two additional buildings connected by a tunnel. The project connects the main campus of the museum, housed in the former Lorraine Motel, the site of King’s assassination, with the Young and Morrow Building and the former boardinghouse on Main Street, from which James Earl Ray allegedly fired the fatal shots. Visitors will be taken into the boardinghouse through a corridor that chronicles the events immediately after King’s assassination. Photos of the funeral procession, the organization of the Poor People’s Campaign, and an audio recording of King’s “Mountaintop” speech provide the final reminders of his leadership.

Once inside, the exhibit leads to Ray’s room and bathroom — recreated as it would have looked in 1968 — and a replica of the Ford Mustang allegedly used as the getaway car.

“In addition to the events in Memphis, there will be a panel explaining what was happening in the country,” says Robertson. “People forget that the Vietnam War was raging in this country, the civil rights movement was in some of its peak days, and there were surveillance issues with the FBI and CIA.”

PHOTO BY ROBIN SALANT
The view from James Earl Ray’s boardinghouse window

Information from the House of Representatives select committee’s investigation, the King family’s investigation, and the Justice Department’s reinvestigation opened by Janet Reno explore evidentiary material and eyewitness testimony and will allow visitors to draw their own conclusions about the assassination.

The expansion also issues a call to action for young visitors by showing them their place in the human rights movement and its evolution from civil rights. “We begin to connect young people to the movement in a compelling way through a series of exhibit panels which speak to why people struggled, fought, bled, and died,” says Robertson. “We address legislation that has been passed which affords some of the freedoms that we enjoy. The interactive panels deal with issues like freedom, choice, and achievement. [The exhibit] reengages young people to realize that not only do they stand on shoulders, they are challenged to make something of their lives because there are people who are coming after them who are depending on them.”

The civil rights movement’s impact on Memphis and on world events rounds out the exhibit. The lives of international leaders such as Nelson Mandela are presented in interactive panels.

The remainder of expansion space includes a new gift shop on Main Street and a park/promenade. The existing gift shop in the main museum will be converted into a coffeeshop, and the museum will now be a stop on the trolley line.

“When visitors leave here, we want them to understand that the movement was a movement of common everyday people doing extraordinary things. Each of us is challenged to make a place for ourselves in history by challenging wrongs when we see them,” says Robertson. “There are still atrocities that exist today. There are miles to go before we sleep.”

Categories
Opinion Viewpoint

Close to Home

HUGHES, Arkansas — If at any time last year someone had told me that in late summer of 2002 I’d be in American Equatorial Arkansas, my response would have been (edited for family consumption), “Heh heh.”

But as a philosopher king once remarked, One never knows, do one?

Hughes — forty miles south and west of Memphis — is one of those river towns not on the river. As a knowledgeable Mississippian once said when I used that term, “The river? Oh, yeah. The River.” The Father of Waters, America’s large intestine.

The River is fifteen miles to the east and just across it lies the Mississippi Delta. Hughes is in the Arkansas Delta. The similarities are evident.

This is poor country. Some public schools classrooms have, here and there, sheets of plywood covering broken windows. This gives them a “Closed” look. Some schools have no textbooks. There’s not much happening economically. Today’s agriculture is techno-chemo-mechanical. This translates into fewer jobs and more and more water pollution at no extra charge.

This is far from the land of plenty we know in Tennessee with its jobs, highways, air conditioned classrooms, computers, and liquor by the drink. Delta economy balances precariously on agriculture. The soil is rich and the current soybean crop may be astoundingly large as it comes to fruition.

Occasional fields are flooded in what looks to be 30-acre squares, neatly fenced by low, earthen dams. Aerators spray water high into the air. Catfish farming is perhaps the first successful new crop introduced here since the soybean came over from China sixty-five years ago. It is said that an acre of water produces more food than an acre of land. At one of these commercial fish ponds, a lone man wets a line and awaits a tug that’s sure to come. These places teem with catfish, though you’d guess they aren’t often hungry.

If you think all these swamps, all this casual water — in summer unmoving bayous grow a thick, green surface algae — incubate mosquitoes, how right you would be. There may be three or four on your arm at any moment.

At a discount store, I ask the comely clerk where I can buy a six-pack . Next door, she says, but better to go to Red Top, which is cheaper. She smiles, displaying a set of teeth in desperate need of intensive and expensive work.

A tiny black child presents her purchase and a dollar bill. “It’s a dollar and eight cents,” the clerk says. The child is speechless. Another customer tosses a dime out there and the clerk says, “Now, honey, tell the man thank you.” She does.

At school, there’s a difficult task. “I’m old leather,” an aging black lady says, “but I’m all together.” She pitches in.

I tell a coach about the downside of a family member’s rental arrangement. “Our two have grown up and moved on. If she has a problem, she can live with us.”

A service station attendant hustles out to inform me I’ve stopped on the wrong side of the pump. It’s a borrowed SUV.

A Bud Light driver departs from his truck and waves.

A black guy inflating a tire looks up and says, “How ya doin’?”

I find myself nodding, smiling, waving, tipping the hat. In the midst of squalor, there’s this unconquerable spirit – courtesy, friendliness, sweetness. A brother’s keeper thing, maybe.

Maybe not.

Hank Haines is a former resident of Memphis and East Arkansas newspaper editor who now views things (and writes columns about them ) from the middle distance of Murfreesboro.)

Categories
Music Music Features

Spirit In the Park

California, both metaphorically and physically, is about as far as you can travel from Alabama within the 48 contiguous United States. Yet for the last few weeks, at least, the Blind Boys Of Alabama have called the Golden State home. “I’ve been out here too long,” Clarence Fountain laughingly says, the group’s leader, in a telephone interview shortly after shooting the Blind Boys’ first-ever music video. “We hope it turns out all right,” he adds in a deep, mellifluous voice. “But as far as I’m concerned, I’m done with it.”

It’s been a busy year for the Blind Boys. They’ve been on the road almost constantly, performing at the New Orleans Jazz Fest and the Newport Folk Festival and everywhere in between. The hectic pace is de rigueur for Fountain, who says that he likes touring. “I like to keep moving. You know, in 1944, we hit the road and never looked back. We’ve been goin’ on ever since.”

And what a journey it’s been: Fountain, a native of Tyler, Alabama (“50 miles from Montgomery, out in the Cotton Belt”), came to the Talladega Institute For the Blind in 1939, when he was just 10 years old. He joined the all-male chorus there then decided to form his own four-part harmony group. “For a while, we called ourselves the Happy Land Singers, and we toured all around the country,” Fountain remembers. “Then, a promoter put us on a show with another blind group, the Jackson Harmonies from Mississippi. He billed it as a contest between the Blind Boys Of Alabama and the Blind Boys Of Mississippi. The name worked good, so we stuck with it.”

While the group enjoyed great success on the gospel circuit, Fountain eventually left for a solo career. He recorded a handful of albums for the Jewel label then rejoined the Blind Boys in 1980. “It’s better to sing with the group,” he says today. “It gives me more oomph, a real foundation to lean on.”

On the Blind Boys’ latest, Higher Ground, Fountain leads fellow singers Jimmy Carter and George Scott through a dozen rousing tunes. Their intricate harmonies imprint time-honored gospel standards like “I Shall Not Walk Alone” and “Precious Lord” as well as nontraditional numbers like Funkadelic’s “Me and My Folks” and Prince’s “The Cross” with the Blind Boys’ signature sound.

“The Cross” gets a particularly poignant reading from the group. “I never thought about singing a Prince song,” Fountain admits, “but once we got through the logistics of the harmonies, we just wanted to jump up and sing it. As long as it’s not someone talking about ‘my baby’ or ‘I love her’ or ‘please, do it to me!,’ then it’s all right.”

A successful attempt at reinventing the Blind Boys for a new audience, Higher Ground also features covers of songs from Curtis Mayfield, Aretha Franklin, and reggae icon Jimmy Cliff. And the Boys are backed by a new generation of roots musicians, most notably pedal-steel player Robert Randolph and his Family Band, along with organist Ben Harper. Randolph’s guitar work constantly drives the group forward, swirling and soaring to great effect, particularly on the album’s title track, a Stevie Wonder cover.

“Here’s the deal,” Fountain continues. “If we think the song is right, we sit down and take it apart and listen to the words and see how they correspond to how we want to sing it. Music is music, and a song is good if you can feel the emotion to really sing it. We’re doing a good thing, thinking about God, knowing how God works, and knowing what to do and how to do it. I’m glad we do what we do. Like tonight, we’re playing a concert here [Sacramento], and in the morning, we’ll jump on a flight to Chicago and sing a show with the Spirit Of the Century Band [John Hammond, David Lindley, Charlie Musselwhite, Danny Thompson, and Michael Jerome, the band who backed the Blind Boys on last year’s Grammy-winning Spirit Of the Century album]. It’s just a circle that goes ’round and ’round.”

“We love to get up and celebrate and do what we need to do. Thursday, we’ll be doin’ it in Memphis. We’re gonna do it, don’t worry about that!” Fountain exclaims. The deep voice suddenly becomes quiet, and for a moment, Fountain is lost in thought. “One of my favorite composers, Rev. Herbert Brewster, was from Memphis,” he says contemplatively. “When you sing one of his tunes, it comes out just like it was supposed to. He was quite a songwriter. To think about the songs that he wrote It seems like all the good gospel singers are dead and gone.” And then he’s off and running again: “I like Memphis because it’s just a big ol’ country town. Good food — I like the good Memphis barbecue. When we go, we just hole up and get a belly full of food and then get to work. Anytime you’re going to where the good food is, you can count me in.”

Categories
News News Feature

CITY BEAT

IS THE LOTTERY’S NUMBER UP?

Got a little spare change for a down-on-its-luck state government?

That’s what it’s come to in Georgia — the state rattling its tin cup in the face of every citizen via the Georgia Lottery’s newest offering, the Change Game, played with 25 cents to 99 cents.

Will Tennessee be next? Voters will decide on November 5th. Yes votes adding up to a majority of the number of ballots cast in the governor’s race will be necessary to repeal the state constitutional ban on lotteries. That means more people could vote for repeal than vote against it, but the measure could still lose if there’s an apathy factor and a lot of people vote for governor but skip the lottery referendum question.

“The Tennessee Constitution is the hardest constitution to amend in the country,” said Michael Nelson, a professor of political science at Rhodes and coauthor of a recent book on the politics of gambling. “First, it’s hard to get an amendment on the ballot. Then it has to be approved by a super majority. But (lottery proponent) Senator Steve Cohen did something shrewd and persuaded the legislature to put the lottery question right next to the governor on the ballot.”

Placement on the ballot is one issue. Placement on the public agenda is a bigger one at a time when the country is at war, gambling is well established in neighboring states, the stock market is in shambles, and the state budget has to be cobbled together in a last-minute slugfest every year.

Polls show the lottery amendment getting support that falls anywhere from 56 percent to 74 percent of eligible voters.

“If the lottery is anywhere below 60 percent then it’s in trouble,” said Nelson. “In state after state, support for the lottery goes down the closer you get to the election. If it’s above 65 percent then it’s in very good shape.”

The somewhat complicated nature of the question — a constitutional change as opposed to a “do you want a lottery, yes or no” — could also be a factor.

“You would think the more complicated it looks, the more likely some voters are to say no,” said Nelson.

If voters do approve the referendum, Nelson said it would be “extraordinary” but not impossible for the legislature to not follow suit and refuse to approve a lottery next year.

Alabama voters rejected a lottery by a 54-46 margin in 1999, but Nelson noted that the economy was strong and the state treasury was “pretty flush.”

“Alabama shows you can beat a lottery,” he said. “It doesn’t show whether you can beat a lottery in economic hard times.”

In fact, the issue has resurfaced in Alabama, which, like Tennessee, shares a border with Georgia. The 10-year-old Georgia Lottery and HOPE Scholarships are the envy of lottery proponents. The lottery put $726 million into Georgia’s education account last year and $5 billion since it began. Some 600,000 Georgia residents have received full-tuition scholarships to in-state public universities or as much as $3,000 a year for private colleges.

The so-called “education” lottery is a huge boon to the college-educated middle class. Tuition at public colleges is already heavily subsidized with or without a lottery. At the University of Georgia, a hot college in most surveys, out-of-state tuition is almost $15,000 a year. The financial aid office says only 70 out-of-staters got full scholarships this fall. Georgia, like every other state, is looking out for its own. Tennessee’s Bicentennial Scholars program and Mississippi’s Eminent Scholars program award full tuition scholarships to in-state students with top academic records and test scores, partly to compete with lottery-funded scholarships in Kentucky and Georgia.

With states accustomed to fighting for college students as creatively as they fight for new industry and lotteries established in 38 states, Tennessee is late to the party. The gambling issue has lost some of its pizzazz. A big yawn could hurt both sides. Projected revenues might not materialize; on the other hand, scare tactics no longer work so well. Memphis has somehow survived and perhaps even prospered for ten years with Tunica.

One thing that’s for sure is that the lottery itself has evolved into a different animal than many people who don’t regularly patronize it realize.

“When people get bored with the initial round of lottery games the pressure on the lottery commission to come up with new and presumably more exciting things to keep that money coming into the state treasury is enormous,” said Nelson.

In Georgia, that includes on-line games, CASH 3, CASH 4, Fantasy 5, Lotto South, Mega Millions, the Change Game, and Quick Cash Keno. The latter offering, according to the Georgia Lottery web site, is for folks who like to “linger and spend a few hours.”

There is also a sizable bureaucracy. In Georgia, there are eight district lottery offices of the state commission. Although the lottery put $726 million into the education account, that was only about 30 percent of the $2.45 billion in sales.

Categories
News News Feature

HOW IT LOOKS

Categories
We Recommend We Recommend

The Play’s the Thing

I had noticed the posters around town advertising, in screaming pink letters, the run of Anton In Show Business at Circuit Playhouse. But I couldn’t make sense of it, even after reading what the play was supposed to be: hilarious and smart, a madcap comedy that takes you backstage for a hysterical look into the world of theater. I thought, Do I want to go to the theater to see a play about theater, to be lectured?

Anton In Show Business is a play about the struggles and successes of modern American theater. It centers around three actresses, Holly (Angela Groeschen), Casey (Mary Buchignani), and Lisabette (Mary Hollis Inboden), who find themselves in San Antonio, Texas, and cast for Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters. The actresses represent some of the folks you might meet in the theater world: a naive small-town actress (Lisabette) who believes that theater is the greatest thing in the world and everybody is sooooooooooo nice, a burned-out New York actress (Holly) who lost one breast because of cancer and is grateful for finally getting a paying acting job, and a slutty TV starlet (Casey) who wants to use theater as catapult into fame and fortune.

Right at the beginning, you’ll find out that “American theater’s in a shitload of trouble” — not economically viable and not really theater if it’s not New York theater performed “sort of between 42nd and 52nd Street.” Actresses and actors are frequently out of work anyway, and playwrights, directors, and producers are always bowing to what theater critics demand of them.

Jane Martin’s script for Anton calls for females only. All costume changes are supposed to be done by females, most of the actresses play numerous roles, and there are no men acting in the play, though there are male characters.

“Eighty percent of the roles in American theater are played by men, and 90 percent of the directors are men. The point of having a male director played by a woman is to redress the former and satirize the latter. How’s that?” asks Kate (Lindsey Scott) who, in Anton, is the producer for Chekhov’s Three Sisters. Stressing the obvious without trying to hide the obvious and with the obvious as the subject is a high-wire act. If not done properly, it can easily become very annoying.

But Anton In Show Business balances pretty well, if it weren’t for Joby. Joby (Rebecca DeVries) is the ever-questioning conscience, the overly critical audience, and the extremely inquisitive theater critic placed among the audience, frequently interrupting the play. “Is the director supposed to be a man played by a woman? What’s the point? Is theater culturally important enough to be the subject of a play? Wasn’t that stereotyped behavior?” she asks, and so on.

The exceptionally strong cast, feeding off one another, easily carries the message to the audience, especially in the first act. I understand that Joby is supposed to be the “offstage” part of American theater, but the audience is very capable of “getting the message” without Joby hammering it in throughout the play.

It’s not poor acting on DeVries’ part. It’s what the script calls for. But even though the audience may not be a bunch of intellectuals who read Kant before breakfast, they’ll be able to follow. The playwright needed to put a little trust in her audience, challenging but not belittling them.

Overall, the theme — theater makes fun of the theater — works well in the first half, loses momentum after the intermission, and becomes almost predictable at the end.

Is it worth going to the theater to see a play about theater? In this case, it is — but not so much for the play as for the great acting.

Through October 6th.

Categories
Sports Sports Feature

City Sports

Open Season

The Grizzlies are ready to test new players as training camp opens.

By James P. Hill

Jerry West, Grizzlies president of basketball operations, left Los Angeles and arrived in Memphis on the last day of April. Grizzlies fans from Vancouver to Collierville were amazed, shocked, and thrilled to have the NBA icon (Mr. Logo) in the Bluff City. West said he was determined to help build a winning NBA franchise here.

It didn’t take long after he arrived for the questions to begin. What could the Grizzlies do to win more games next season? Should the team stay together or should a blockbuster trade be made to rebuild the Grizzlies from scratch? Who should Memphis pick in the NBA lottery? And what about free agents: Could the Grizzlies sign some shooters?

Fast-forward to September, less than a week before NBA training camps open. The new-look Grizzlies have addressed some of their needs and are still in a position to improve their future. What will it mean on the court? Only time — and some games — will tell.

“We think we’ve added some talent to our team,” says West. “Talent does not necessarily equate to wins, but we feel that we’re ahead of ourselves a year ago in certain areas. We’ve got more shooters and that was a concern. We have some depth at positions that we didn’t have a year ago.”

Looking at the new additions to the roster, you’d be hard-pressed to miss Drew Gooden, the 6’10” forward out of Kansas (fourth selection overall in the 2002 NBA draft lottery). As far as free agents, Grizzlies management acquired sharp-shooting 6’6″ off guard Wesley Person in a draft-day trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers, where Person lit up the league from behind the three-point arc last season. A trade with the San Antonio Spurs garnered the services of another 6’6″ shooting guard, Gordan Giricek out of Croatia, who some analysts say has the skills and desire to be one of the best young shooters in the league.

The signing of Earl Watson, a 6’1″ free-agent backup point guard from the Seattle Sonics, could also prove to be a good move. The retirement of Bryant “Big Country” Reeves, whose career was cut short and marred by injuries, created a gaping hole in the post for Memphis. Last season, the team used former University of Memphis star Lorenzen Wright at center, but after signing Cezary Trybanski, a 7’2″ Polish center, the position should be better manned this season.

Other encouraging news has Michael Dickerson healthy and ready to compete for the starting job at the shooting-guard position. Last year’s core squad — Shane Battier, Brevin Knight, Jason Williams, Pau Gasol, and Stromile Swift — will also be in camp ready to compete and, hopefully, help the team win more than 23 games this season.

Grizzlies players, management, and fans are optimistic. The team’s — and West’s –commitment to winning seems obvious. In conversations, West makes it clear he will call on his blueprint for success as a player, coach, and general manager for the Lakers to help get the franchise moving in the right direction. He describes his ideal: an atmosphere where competing, hard work, and teamwork set the tone.

“We want these players to be pushed and have to earn everything they get here,” he says. “If they do that, I think, internally, we’ll create the kind of competition that we need to be successful. But more importantly, they will carry that over from practices and intersquad games into the regular games, and it should make us better for the future.” n\

The Grizzlies play eight preseason games, including four at home. Tuesday, October 8th, they host Yao Ming and the Houston Rockets at 7 p.m. in The Pyramid.

A Way Of Life

The violence that permeates American culture is finding its way onto the field.

By Ron Martin

While I don’t condone the actions of the two simpletons who attacked Kansas City first-base coach Tom Gamboa on the field, I don’t understand the gnashing of teeth and wailing by national and local sports pundits. It’s as though everyone is surprised the attack occurred, when, in fact, it should’ve been expected.

The exploitation of on-field violence has been tempting fans such as William Ligue Jr. and his son for years. Only a few days prior to their attack, the Monday night NFL game between Washington and Philadelphia was stopped when pepper spray drifted onto the field as police tried to quell a near riot among fans.

Both incidents came late in the game and both appeared to involve heavy consumption of alcohol.

The sale of beer has become a moneymaking staple for stadium owners and teams, and many fans gulp their way into a frenzied state. Football fans get an early start on game day with tailgate parties, some of which rival the food-and-drink orgies of ancient Rome. The tradition began with college football and has found its way into the NFL. Owners encourage the wild pre-game parties and turn a blind eye toward the number of drunks entering their gates and buying more beer.

The games themselves are becoming more violent. It’s not unusual to see batters charging pitchers following a brush-back, which inevitably leads to a bench-clearing brawl. Football players taunt each other on such a regular basis, it has become a part of the game. Taunting of opposing players has now been extended to taunting of fans by visiting players. It’s little wonder that some fans charge onto the field. Such fan involvement is always met with refrains of disapproval from the media and the league. This was the case in Cleveland last fall, when irate fans chucked beer bottles at referees to protest a call that went against the home team. The incident was decried as clear evidence that fans were becoming uncontrollable. No one thought to suggest that the players or stadium owners might have had a hand in the act.

NBA players are constantly taunting fans; it’s become as commonplace as missed free throws. Each time a fan and player meet in a violent confrontation, the blame is placed on the arena or the fans, not on the player who has spent the game showboating and taunting. There is equal blame to go around.

Violence as a way of life in America: Stadiums have invested millions of dollars in huge screens to replay violent hits, player taunting, and questionable calls by officials. Americans and their sports teams have embraced violence with their pocketbooks. And as we all know, in sports as in life, money talks.

Flyers The Army-Navy football game is for sale. Will the Memphis-Shelby County Sports Authority buy it? They should at least investigate it.

Quotable: University of Memphis football coach Tommy West, after being asked by Tigers broadcaster Dave Woloshin if the Tulane game was important: “The only important thing is having air to breathe.”

Ramblings Coach Jeff Fisher has lost control of the Titans There is a lot to like about the Tigers’ DeAngelo Williams, and he’s also a pretty good running back … The Ole Miss broadcast team’s comparison of Doug Zeigler lying on the turf with a broken leg to the late Chuckie Mullins lying on the field paralyzed was, in a word, stupid Feel-good story of the year: Notre Dame UT coach Phil Fulmer apologized for his team’s performance against Florida, but there is much more to apologize for I like Bama’s Dennis Franchione.

Categories
Music Record Reviews

Short Cuts

The Best Bootlegs In the World Ever!

Various Artists

(no label)

The Best Of Boom Selector, Vol. 2

Various Artists

(no label)

If you’re much of a serious music fan, you’ve probably read about them. And if you’re less of a Luddite than I am, you’ve probably heard plenty of them. They’re mash-ups or blends or bootlegs: the practice of blending two (or sometimes more) different songs into one new creation, usually adding the vocals from song A to the instrumental track from song B. This practice, made possible by home-computing technology and easily distributable via file-sharing programs, has turned any music fan with the right equipment and a little imagination into a remixer. The results of this democratic revolution can be found all over the Internet, with some of the more infamous mash-ups (such as “A Stroke Of Genie-us,” which blends Christina Aguilera’s vocal from “Genie In a Bottle” with the music from the Strokes’ “Hard To Explain”) crossing over to radio and mainstream magazine exposure and some of the more successful sonic architects (such as “Stroke” creator Freelance Hellraiser) becoming actual stars in some locales and circles (especially Europe).

Luckily, for those of us more comfortable with traditionally packaged music, someone has bootlegged the bootlegs. A 17-song collection of some of the best of the boots, The Best Bootlegs In the World Ever!, began popping up in independent record stores in New York and London earlier this year. A seemingly unconnected sequel, The Best Of Boom Selector, Vol. 2, showed up a few months later — though there is no Volume 1 and the set doesn’t seem to have any affiliation with the Boom Selection Web site, which has become the definitive chronicler of the phenomenon (at BoomSelection.net, where you can purchase a three-disc mp3 set of this stuff that’s over 30 hours long).

Taken as albums, these records are sort of like K-Tel collections of online music culture, where trademark artists such as Soulwax (who seems to get off on the pure sound of the form) and Freelance Hellraiser (a brilliant recontextualizer) share space with one-shots and more “minor” artists. Some source material keeps reappearing: Missy Elliott, Eminem, Destiny’s Child, and Fatboy Slim seem to make up the Mount Rushmore of mash-ups. And one of the consistent cultural outcomes of the music is to unite styles that may seem opposed, melding “black” hip hop and R&B and “white” punk and hard rock (though, too often, it’s vocals from the former with music from the latter, hardly ever the other way around).

The best of these culture clashes can be divided into three categories: good jokes, great grooves, and (pardon the pun) strokes of genius.

Some of the jokes are funny in concept but don’t really hold up to repeated listens — for example, Evolution Control Committee’s “Rebel Without a Pause,” which lays Public Enemy vocals over a Herb Alpert instrumental, and DJ French Bloke’s “Destiny’s Kennedys,” which matches “Jumpin’ Jumpin'” with “Holiday In Cambodia.” Others are funny in concept only (and with Sealion Dion vs. Cigar Ros’ “Bium Bium Bambalo,” which proves that the atmospheric soundscapes of highbrow Icelandic rockers Sigur Ros are every bit as much of a snore as the new-age overemoting of middlebrow diva Celine Dion, concept is plenty).

But other jokes are deeply, wonderfully hilarious. Picasio’s “Craig the Survivor” has Survivor’s macho “Eye Of the Tiger” power chords driving a vocal from wispy British slow-jam singer Craig David. On Kurtis Rush’s “Enter the Bitch,” the ominous rumble of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” gives way to the sassy braggadocio of Missy Elliott’s “She’s a Bitch.” (I’ve heard this at least two dozen times now, and I still chuckle every time.) Best of all is Mighty Lord Fenn’s “The Power Of Bizkit,” which drains all the machismo from Fred Durst’s embarrassing “Rollin'” vocals by laying them atop the eternally square synth rock of Huey Lewis & the News’ “The Power Of Love.” It seems safe to say that there will never, ever be an official Limp Bizkit song half as fun as this.

Even better than the jokes are mash-ups as how’d-they-do-that groove music: DJ EZG’s “Rockerfaction” makes history by intertwining two of rock-and-roll’s greatest blasts of noise –“Satisfaction” and “The Rockafeller Skank” — into a groove that, like prime James Brown, could extend to infinity without losing its physical pull. Similarly thrilling is Freelance Hellraiser’s “Public Prince,” which unites the two greatest rhythm artists of the ’80s by putting the vocals from Public Enemy’s “Nighttrain” atop the keyboard-and-drum vamp of Prince’s “1999.” And Soulwax’s “Push It/No Fun” is a hip-hop/punk shoutalong that imagines Salt-N-Pepa fronting the Stooges.

Others flow so smooth that cultural collision is beside the point. On “Dreadlock Child,” Soulwax (a duo that has released some of its mash-ups legally in its native Belgium under the moniker 2 Many DJs) uses a reggae track I can’t ID to skank along perfectly with Destiny’s Child’s “Independent Women, Pt. 1.” And who knew the Clash was one of the great disco bands? Ultra 396 and Basement Clash did, apparently. The former’s “Rock the Party” segues the vocals from Pink’s “Get the Party Started” onto the band’s “Rock the Casbah,” while the latter puts the vocal from Basement Jaxx’s “Romeo” over the music from “The Magnificent Clash” to create “The Magnificent Romeo,” in both cases creating flawless mixes that transcend any of the source material.

Actually, “The Magnificent Romeo” is so perfect that it qualifies as one of the genius cuts, a title it’ll have to share with three Freelance Hellraiser mixes, all, along with “Romeo,” found on Best Bootlegs. “A Stroke of Genie-us” earns its reputation: By divorcing the yearning of Aguilera’s vocal from its standard bubblegum-R&B backing track and the crisp coolness of the Strokes’ guitar-bass-drums from lead singer Julian Casablancas’ bored-boy whine and then combining them, Hellraiser humanizes both. And by doing it so assuredly, he (I’m assuming) creates a brand-new song that, if only legal, would probably be a massive hit. Hellraiser also gives these records their most priceless joke: Depeche Mode’s bouncy synth-pop “I Just Can’t Get Enough” + Eminem side project D-12’s drug-abuse-celebrating “Purple Pills” = “I Just Can’t Get Enough Pills.” Don’t tell Lynn Cheney about this one. Then there’s Freelance Hellraiser’s (and from what I’ve heard, the form itself’s) grand achievement, “Smells Like Booty,” a mash-up that layers Beyoncé & company’s “Bootylicious” vocals over Kurt Cobain & company’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” musical assault, resulting in a record that, however seemingly impossible it may be, is actually better than its title. The first 25 seconds of “Smells Like Booty” may be the most undeniable, giddily rapturous music produced this year.

Judging these of-the-moment pop artifacts as competing objects with any album listed in Billboard or reviewed in Rolling Stone requires traditionalists to come to grips with the notion that, outside of post-9/11-oriented albums from Bruce Springsteen, Wilco, and Sleater-Kinney, the records that most crucially define the current state of pop music are not available commercially — at least, not legally. I got mine through back channels, and the only advice I can give is to hunt around — that or download them and burn your own. This music’s worth whatever detective work it requires.

Grades: Best Bootlegs — A; Boom Selector –A-

Categories
News News Feature

TRANSLATION: MEMPHIS

PICKING WINNERS

Well, it’s Best of Memphis time again here at the Flyer, and I know that most of you are dying with curiosity as to what my picks are for this fine city of ours. It’s so hard to be a trendsetter…

I could go through the official list and fill in the blanks for you, but instead I’m going to do this freestyle. So here’s my list of what kicks butt about our city.

But where shall I begin?

Oh hell, I’ll just be random about it. Because that, my friends, is my absolute favorite thing about Memphis. Randomness.

I’ve touched on this aspect of our collective life repeatedly, and unless we face a communist lockdown of some sort I don’t think this will ever change. Tammy Faye at The Big One. Strange people genuflecting at intersections with hubcaps. Prince Mongo. Whoever, whatever, whenever, always.

But even amidst this plethora of strange, hidden, and unexpected moments, there are, of course, some more concrete bests.

Like the fact that you can find almost anything dirt cheap if you’re willing to search a bit.

From thrift stores to pawn shops, estate sales, auctions, and yard sales, it seems that everything is for sale here in the River City. My personal favorite is the Gene Elder Auction on Summer Ave., where you can sit amidst a gaggle of random (!) chain smokers and fight for your perceived treasures.

I also frequent the weekly offering of estate sales, where you can get pretty much anything at any price while poking around some really cool houses.

And finally, there’s The Cotton Exchange on Cooper, where you can buy or sell your duds and come out looking quite sassy. Come to think of it, you’ll look pretty sassy either way, huh?

Then there’s the food. I’m going to run the risk of exposing my inner Northerner here, but I’ve got to give the Jenn Medal of Honor to Fino’s on this one. Right at the corner of McLean and Madison, their sandwiches bring me right back to some of the better Italian deli’s I used to frequent in Jersey. Thick, hearty bread. Piles of cold cuts, and a hell of a lot of yum. I’m actually drooling right now, in case you wanted to know. Forget Jersey Mike’s. This is the real thing.

As far as “Southern” food is concerned, there’s really nowhere to even begin. This is the barbecue capital, and I’ve grown convinced that the title is duly earned. Mmm, ribs.

On the coffee tip, I have grown addicted to the Mystery Train at Java Cabana. A latte with splashes of hazelnut and vanilla, this little beverage will wake you up pretty quick. Not to mention that the coffee shop itself is way cool, offering art for the eye, open mic poetry for the mind and ear, and an assortment of books and clothing for your inner shopaholic.

But I’m full now, so let’s move on, shall we?

I suppose no best of list about Memphis would be complete without a mention of music. Whether you’re in the mood for blues, punk, rockabilly, chamber, country, gospel, Elvis impersonation, or metal, it’s all going on all of the time.

But in my case, the plot thickens. You see, I’ve got a weakness for musician boys. There’s just something about a man that can serenade. So if you’re sitting around complaining that there’s nothing to do, go check some bands out. There’s bound to be somebody playing that will get you booty movin’. Perhaps in more ways than one…

Ooh, that was bad, huh?

Anyway, as far as general vibe is concerned, I’d say that Memphis is a best of, in and of itself. It’s mysterious in a way, and probably largely due to that river of ours. To sit at Mud Island at sunset, you really get a sense of a strange phenomenon here, wherein time seems to go by while standing still. I mean, how many people have wandered these streets and for how many different reasons? And in some small way, all of those people have left something here that can still be sensed.

You can see it visually, roaming the streets and gazing at one of our many old storefronts. You can hear it as the riverboats steam by. And you definitely can feel it.

Which leads me to a final best of. This October, in the Snowden Circle area, there will be a ghost tour. Now I’m not saying anything one way or the other about the argument over “ghosts.” But regardless of whether you’re convinced that there’s a specter that does cartwheels through your room at night, or if you think it’s a bunch of rubbish, the tour gives you the history of some neat old Memphis homes where all sorts of strange things have happened. Real things. History.

I went last year, and though I didn’t see any heads rolling down the staircases, I enjoyed the chance to get a peek into the private history of those old homes. And if you do believe in the things that go bump in the night, then bewareÉ

So, that’s it. This list is in no way exhaustive of the things that intrigue me about the city, but it’s definitely a start.

And if you have any of your own personal “best of” selections that you think I should know about, then by all means tell me. I’m always looking for new things to explore

Categories
We Recommend We Recommend

wednesday, 25

Framing History: Photography and the Civil Rights Movement, a photography lecture by renowned Memphis photographer Ernest Withers at the U of M Psychology Auditorium. And now I must vanish. As always, I don t really care what you do this week because I don t even know you, and unless you want to send me back to Vancouver for more research and to be healed, I m sure that I don t want to meet you. Besides, it s time for me to go feed my cats some of those coffee beans, have them pass through her intestines, sell them for a fortune, and hire a personal trainer and dietician, because I am fat.

T.S.