Spud’s Stud
Video shows Nate Robinson rattling the rim at the NBA All-star game
Anthony Augustine
NBA 2006 Dunk Contest — tinyurl.com/gp3nt
— Back in the late 1990s, NBA superstars would be lined
up three-deep to participate in the annual dunk competition. Over
the past few years, the contest has lost much of its appeal after
a string of sub-par performances and increasing pressure from
the public to go big or go home. With rumours swirling that commissioner
David Stern was going to cancel the dunk-off unless the quality
of the competition improved significantly, it’s surprising
the league still chose to focus on emerging stars and didn’t
try to convince players such as Kobe Bryant, Lebron James and
Vince Carter to participate. This clip from You Tube (my favourite
new Internet tool right now), strips away all the missed slams
and botched attempts, leaving just dazzling dunks from Spud Webb
protege Nate Robinson, Memphis’ Hakim Warrick, Philadelphia’s
Andre Iguodala and Atlanta’s Josh Smith. Although the 5-foot-9
Robinson won the contest this year, many believe Iguodala’s
behind-the-backboard-bounce-pass dunk would have earned the trophy
had it been saved for the final round.
Death Cab for Maddy— www.partyben.com
— Even though San Francisco’s Party Ben has shut
down The Sixx Mixx, that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been
spending time in the studio. The reigning king of U.S. mashups
seems to have hit another home run with Hung up on Soul, which
mixes Death Cab for Cutie’s Soul Meets Body and Madonna’s
Hung Up into a massive house monster that’s just begging
to be slid into DJ Oxide’s next set.
Run the Road Vol. 2 — tinyurl.com/baroj
— With all the attention focused on Britney behind the wheel
with her baby on her lap, you probably missed professional slob
and rookie rapper Kevin Federline jamming out in his home studio
Popozao. K-Fed plays air synth, lip-synchs, bobs his head, turns
some knobs and makes himself look like a complete ass while MTV
captures the whole thing. The crew over at G4 TV’s Attack
of the Show has whipped up its own parody of the segment, and
it’s as good as anything SNL or Mad TV has done in the last
few years. As Federline would put it, “That’s the
fire!”
Mash Culture — viceland.com/records/rtr2
— Even though 2005’s critically acclaimed Run the
Road compilation may have paved the way, the jury is still out
on whether North American audiences will fully embrace grime’s
hard and heavy sound. With rhyme slingers such as Dizzee Rascal,
Lady Sovereign and Miss Dynamite already making inroads in the
U.S. thanks to a busy tour schedule, video exposure and some well-received
singles, Run the Road Vol. 2 may not be such a hard sell. Grime’s
cheap eight-bit Casio sounds, skittering drum breaks, out-of-sync
flows and larger-than-life MCs may have been influenced by slick
U.S. hip hop, but it’s the streets of London that shape
this tough, unrelenting genre. New tracks from The Streets, Kano,
Plan B and a bunch of other underground MCs are available on this
soon-to-be-released comp.
Daniel Lim — www.daniel-lim.com
— New York-based artist Daniel Lim is one of the first contributors
being featured by Headquarters Galerie & Boutique. Located
in Montreal, Headquarters is a project of two former Winnipeggers,
former Old Harper bassist/artist Tyson Bodnarchuk and clothing
designer Angie Johnson. They hope to put on bimonthly exhibitions
featuring underground art from around the world, and they want
to have handmade toys, limited-run clothing lines and independent
music available at their fledgling enterprise. Much like Winnipeg’s
Kenneth Lavallee or The Royal Art Lodge, Lim’s world brings
together curious children, domesticated wildlife and whimsical
themes that turn reality on its head. An online portfolio is available.
Anthony Augustine is a freelance music and pop culture writer
who spends way too much time in front of the computer. He also
hosts a weekly two-hour electronic music program on CKUW 95.9
FM Got a site you think he should see? E-mail him at anthony.alloneword@gmail.com. |
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