¡Holy Tapatío!

I had no idea that Tapatio came in single serving packets. I was at a local eatery today looking for mustard and noticed that they had Tapatio! I love hot sauce, and more often then not food is just the vehicle that delivers my hot sauce needs. I'm so tempted to order packets so I have them when when I'm on the go. You never know when you might need some hot sauce.

Music Junkie

I felt it necessarily to explain my random blippings to my fellow blip.fm users. More often than not I choose a theme and run with it. This morning I was on a 90s indie blip kick. Other mornings I wake up and am really feeling the funk, and head in that direction. My appreciation of music goes far and wide. I listen to a lot of different genres with the same attention of detail. When I like something, I end up spending countless hours researching and exploring. Music is the one place in life that I do not limit myself. Please understand, like anyone else, there are definitely types of music that I dislike. Music I generally dislike is usually what one would hear on commercial radio. Growing up, my musical taste centered on alternative and rap/hip-hop. I definitely have a split personality when it came to music. I would spend countless hours at my local record store sifting bins. I tried to keep track of labels, some which released certain types of music (4AD, Factory, Tommy Boy, Sub Pop), and more often than not guaranteed a solid release. With the creation of the internet, my exposure to music has grown by leaps and bounds. I no longer have to rely on labels (although it’s sometimes is a good rule of thumb). I can easily listen to samples or track down individual song by that artist I’m interested in. I no longer have to special order LPs/CDs through my local record store; most gems are a click away. With the help of the internet I have been able to hunt down those records that were used as samples in those hip-hop songs I’ve always dug. This has opened a whole another world for me. I have learned that reggae is much deeper than Bob Marley and Peter Tosh (although these two are truly mighty). Country music didn’t always suck, there was a time when country was rowdy and fun. Rock music isn’t limited to the United States, it can be found on six of our seven continents. Jazz is not dead, truly amazing artist can still exist. Although it sometimes seems like music is dead or stagnant, there are artist or genres of music from other parts of the world that worth the digging. One could spend a portion of their life just exploring the music of Brazil or Africa!

Blip.fm is the first social networking site that has really captured my attention. I've tried many, but quickly grew bored with them. It's the music that has keeps me blipping. I feed off the blipsters, and hopefully the feed off me. It allows me to live out my multiple music personalities.

If you have the slightest interest in music I highly suggest you explore outside your comfort zone. Fly your freak flag without shame.

Little Beaver

During my blip frenzy today, I dropped a massive tune by the mighty Little Beaver. Little Beaver, whose real name is William Hale, is guitar legend in the funk and soul world. Little Beaver has collaborated with greats such as Betty Wright and Timmy Thomas. Jay-Z sampled "Get Into The Party Life," which was used on his "Party Life" track from the American Gangster LP. Little Beaver has been capable of unleashing some incredibly funky guitar. His grooves are laid back and quite deep. If you haven't heard him personally, check him out here.

Ip Man

Last night I was lucky enough to see Ip Man (aka Yip Man). Yip Man was the first Sifu (aka martial arts master) to teach the Chinese martial art of Wing Chun openly. Bruce Lee studied under Yip Man from 1954 to 1957. The film stars Donnie Yen as Yip Man, and the martial arts in the film are nothing short of spectacular. It's been a while since I've seen a martial arts movie of this caliber. I would rank it up there with Fist of Legend. In the wake of weak American taylored kung fu flicks from Jet Li and Jackie Chan, Ip Man is a nice change. There was more than one occasion where I said wow in reaction to the ass beating Donnie Yen delivers. The choreographer is the legendary Sammo Hung, who has worked and directed other Chinese film legends (Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, King Hu, Stephen Chow and John Woo). I highly reccomend this flick! If you don't do subtitles, you'll have to wait for the American release (currently available on a Chinese DVD release only).





Twitch Films has a review of the movie here.

Holy Taco!

This picture from Holy Taco cracks me up. Isn't she pretty in pink?

Boogaloo!

I love the boogaloo, it's that simple. Don't tell me you've never heard of the boogaloo! According to Wikipedia "Boogaloo or Bugalu (shing-a-ling, popcorn music) is a genre of Latin music and dance that was very popular in the United States in the 1960s." It doesn't matter wether or not that description is accurate, because most importantly, boogaloo has a groove that makes one want to shake their ass!

Boogaloo is one of the many music scenes/genres born out of New York city. Artist such as Ray Barretto, Eddie Palmieri, Pucho & His Latin Soul Brothers, Joe Bataan, and George Guzman have recorded many impressive LPs over the years. Dusty Groove has a great selection of these records.

This morning on the blip.fm, I located a great boogaloo track by Coco Lagos y sus Orates called "Guajira Boogaloo." The drums are tight and the groove is massive. The track is worth the listen. Let's Boogaloo!

Update - I just noticed that the The Funky 16 Corners blog has a great posting on Boogaloo featuring The The TNT Band.

Hitting The Wall

I'm having one hell of a time deciding what to Blip next. My mind is shooting blanks. Everything I think of is somewhat bleh in my minds eye. I am completely lacking any imagination whatsoever.

Here in the Pacific NW the skies are overcast and moist, and the temperature is pretty cool. 47.7 °F to be exact. The weather could be affecting my musical perkiness. I miss Joshua Tree and the mild So-Cal winter.

This was snapped at the end of December.