"Crash" Rating: 7.5 out of 10

***IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE DON'T READ THIS****

I've been wanting to see this movie since it was in the theaters and finally got a chance to sit down and watch it this past weekend. I really didn't know what it was about before I watched it, but I knew that it was comparable to a "Magnolia" type flick with a different approach to character integration. The overall issue that was discussed in every scene was race and racism in the US today. It wasn't just about black & white, but addressed racism as a whole whether you're black, white, persian, mexican, spanish, arab, or indian. However redundant this topic may seem, "Crash" actually took the issue a step further. It didn't just address the fact the racism and stereotypes exists in particular areas but then threw in the actualities of these stereotypes (case in point Ludacris bitching about racism and then hijacking a car). The point that was being made was that yes, there are stereotypes and racism in the US, BUT the sad part is that half of the time, those stereotypes are accurate. So then why are the innocent victimized? Is it because they are immediately labeled as a gangbanger or a thief or a honkey cracker? "Crash" led you through the lives of many different people with many different backgrounds, integrated their wrongdoings in life and followed them as they all managed to right their wrongs. Of course, there was a little twist in the storyline as well. The movie's way of bringing you into the character's consicious and also the human will to make things good actually brought sympathy from the viewer even for the seemingly bad guys of the film. Strange twists of fate and irony also led you to believe that the decisions you make in life always seem to follow you no matter where you go. I can't say I completely disagree with that statement.

Definitely one of the best dramas I've seen in a while and worth the rent.

~WW

Give a Monkey a Brain and he'll swear he's the center of the Universe

"Properties of Propaganda" mp3, Fishbone

"Everyday Sunshine" m4p, Fishbone

I was going through some of my old CD cases a few days ago and first of all, I was amazed I used to lug all that shit around in my ride. Good thing I used to have a SUV or I wouldn't of had enough room to fit all the damn CD cases. Ahh, the sweet sweet iPod. Anyways, as I was looking through the wide variety of music that had accumulated over the years, mixed in with mostly garbage were a few random discs that I used to love and listen to all the time. Some dated waaay back to even middle school. Severely scratched and completely unlistenable, I went to the iTunes music store and downloaded some of the old memories. One of the random-ass acts I used to always listen to (especially the album above) was Fishbone. I really don't even remember how I ended up with a few Fishbone discs, but it was fun to go back and listen to some of the tracks. I would describe Fishbone as a ska slash hardcore rock band with a horns section. The lead singer, Angelo Moore, enjoys headbanging onstage with a pencil thin braided mohawk while occasionally dabbling in the mosh pit.

Of course, around the same time I was listening to this disc all the time, I was also listening to Pantera, Gwar, Front 242, Rage against the Machine, The Ramones, Alice in Chains, and Megadeth so basically I just wanted to give you a sneak peek into the evolution of my dome, musically.

~WW

Scratch Perverts tracks...

here's a few tracks I promised off fabriclive.22...enjoy

"I'll be surprised" m4a, Skinnyman

"Fame & Money" m4a, The Booty Bouncers

damn that disc rules!!!!

Sumosonic 40 (Heavy)

"Quiet N Dayglo" m4a, Am


Another CD club I recently joined was the free cds offered by heavy.com. A buddy of mine told me about this and you pay $5 a month for shipping, and you get a cd every month of about 20 tracks. The first one I got had everything from pop to indie pop to hip hop to alt to house. I had heard of about 30% of the featured artists and enjoyed hearing some new talent that's out there. You can go to www.heavy.com/freeoffer (I'm pretty sure that's it) and sign up from there. The m4a tracks I'm featuring today (again, sorry about the format but if you've got iTunes you're set) are off the latest installment from heavy. The first one "Quiet n Dayglo" by the group Am sounds a hell of lot like the Pixies to me. The second track is a little different as Hard-Fi serves up the first wave-esque 6 minute track that claims "we can fight" which surely means only on the dance floor. Enjoy

"Middle Eastern Holiday (Chicken Lips Vocal Mix)", m4a, Hard-Fi