Category: reviews

audio review : Heartbreak Hotel ( song ) … Michael Jackson

Fans expecting a cover of the Elvis Presley song; the only other popular song with the title; are in for a pleasant surprise. Before you can grab the doorknob; it’s actually one of those fancy handles; you’re greeted by a bellboy who offers to carry your luggage.

Michael Jackson’s Heartbreak Hotel is indeed more extravagant and much better than Presley’s, though it’s more like a prison. “Every smile’s trial thought in beguile to hurt me,” the singer laments, “The man next door… he’s been here in tears for fifteen years.”

my rating : 5 of 5

1980

audio review : Blind Leading The Blind ( song ) … Willie D ( featuring Menace Clan )

You can hear Scarface doing backing vocals, but, despite being the best song on the Resurrection album, this isn’t really a Geto Boys song. It’s Willie D featuring the Menace Clan and the concept has to do with that old idiom of the Blind Leading The Blind. Where to? This poignant hood anthem never explicitly says, but the implication is poverty and death.

my rating : 4 of 5

1996

audio review : The Resurrection ( album ) ... Geto Boys

video review : Ming Shi versus Xiaocan Feng at UFC Fight Night

video review : Ming Shi versus Xiaocan Feng at UFC Fight Night

Xiaocan Feng is prettier, but the most beautiful moment of this Road To UFC finale comes at the end when Ming Shi; Doctor Sleep; lands a “massive” head kick à la Valentina Shevchenko versus Jessica Eye. It knocks her opponent out cold to the point where Feng is carried out of the Octagon to the hospital on a stretcher. Brutal.

my rating : 3 of 5

2024

audio review : Facts ( song ) … Ice Cube ( featuring J-Dee )

I don’t know when this song was made; it wasn’t released until Ice Cube’s Man Down album; but it should’ve been put out in 2021 shortly after, speaking of releases, J-Dee of Da Lench Mob’s 20-something-year prison stint. That’s what it’s all about; Cube sets the scene with his opening monologue; and it’s a (gang) banger.

my rating : 4 of 5

2024

audio review : Man Down ( album ) ... Ice Cube

audio review : Man Down ( album ) … Ice Cube

audio review : Man Down ( album ) ... Ice Cube

The title could just as well refer to Ice Cube himself. What made the rapper standout in the late 1980s and early 1990s was his brute insolence and racial/political indignations. This album includes hints of both, but the richer calmer Man he’s long since matured into just isn’t as interesting.

The best songs include the J-Dee reunion; Facts about Dee’s 20-something-year prison stint; and 3 Lil Piggies. Rollin At Twilight, at the beginning where it is, with its odd vocal breaks, comes across as a tacked-on demo. Cube should’ve omitted it to start and end the set with Ego trips.

my rating : 3 of 5

2024

audio review : Gratitude ( album ) … Mary J Blige

audio review : Gratitude ( album ) ... Mary J Blige

It’s awkward to begin your album with a guest verse. It’s also off-putting to start it with trite samples and interpolations. Luckily for Mary J Blige, rather the longtime fans she apparently dedicated this album to in a show of Gratitude, things get more original and less irksome (better) from there. Groovy highlights include Beautiful People, Can’t Wait For You and Don’t Fuck Up.

my rating : 3 of 5

2024

video review : UFC 309

video review : UFC 309

Jon Jones should’ve retired here. It would’ve been a fairytale ending to his nearly impeccable career. Instead he retires his opponent; heavyweight “goat” Stipe Miocic; and does “the Trump dance” as the former/future president cheers him on from the audience. It is perhaps the event’s most endearing moment and, make no mistake about it, those two; Jon Jones and Donald Trump; are the stars of the show.

The most entertaining fight honor goes to Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler as expected. Paul Craig and James Llontop do much better than expected, putting a damper on the hype of their prospect victors. The “overrated” Bo Nickal actually gets booed by the finicky crowd. Viviane Araújo also defeats a tired Karine Silva, though Silva scores points on my card every time she lays on her back with her legs open.

my rating : 4 of 5

2024 November 16

Bang : Peach Mango

Bang : Peach Mango

“When life puts you to the test, don’t settle for second best”, the can reads, “Grab a Bang Energy and fuel your destiny!” This one does taste like Peaches and Mangos; a semitropical fruit blend that results in a mildly pleasant flavor. It’s the carbonation that dampers the experience.

my rating : 3 of 5

Fast Twitch : Glacier Freeze

Fast Twitch : Glacier Freeze

You can enhance the concept of this energy drink, brought to you “from the makers of Gatorade”, by putting it in the Freezer to ice it up. Be careful though. It chills and becomes undrinkable, meaning it’ll have to be thawed, quicker than you might think. The taste is sweet and Kool-Aid-like.

my rating : 4 of 5

Fast Twitch : Strawberry Watermelon

Fast Twitch : Strawberry Watermelon

This Fast Twitch, “from the makers of Gatorade”, tastes like Kool-Aid with too much water in it… or not enough sugar. That’s appropriate enough considering there’s “zero sugar”; a health boast nearly rescinded with the addition of its sucralose substitute. It’s an energy drink made for sports athletes.

my rating : 3 of 5

Goat Fuel : Gummy Bear

Goat Fuel : Gummy Bear

This is supposed to taste like Gummy Bears. It sort of does, but not enough to warrant the namesake. Speaking of which, as far as energy drinks go, it’s far from the “Greatest of all time”, though the can suggests the acronym actually refers to the quintessential drinker; the Muhammad Alis and Michael Jordans of the sports world.

my rating : 3 of 5

Fast Twitch : Grape

Fast Twitch : Grape

This Fast Twitch, “from the makers of Gatorade”, tastes like the Grape Robitussin or Dimetapp I was given as a child. It smells like Grape Jolly Ranchers. Grape is one of my favorite flavors/scents, so, nostalgia aside, I like it.

The fact that it also provides enough caffeine and electrolytes “to help athletes ignite power and athletic performance”, with no stinging carbonation to damper the experience, ranks it among the better energy drinks.

my rating : 4 of 5