Category: reviews

video review : Maycee Barber versus Alexa Grasso at UFC 258

video review : Maycee Barber versus Alexa Grasso at UFC 258

This is the UFC 258 bout I anticipated the most and it doesn’t disappoint. I was rooting for Alexa Grasso but would’ve bet on Maycee Barber, partly because of her confidence. She said she’d become the youngest champ in The UFC, but apparently predicting The Future isn’t one of her skill sets.

She wins Round 3; Joe Rogan commends her for that comeback effort; and a 5-rounder might’ve went her way, but Alexa Grasso takes the first two. I like watching her (Grasso) fight; she’s so cute and reserved; and she seems to be getting better. Who would’ve thought she’d dominate on the ground?

my rating : 4 of 5

2021

audio review : Courage ( song ) … Lianne La Havas

Lianne is lonely, “terribly lonely”; bewitched with memories of a past romance. She still talks with that special someone occasionally, but “I lose my head every time we speak, so I sing instead all of these melodies.”

She describes her feelings of desolation with the metaphor of being high up on some sort of cliff, afraid to climb down, which is a weird comparison, but it’s a nice song, thanks mostly to her aforementioned vocal melodies.

my rating : 4 of 5

2020

audio review : Lianne La Havas ( album ) ... Lianne La Havas

audio review : Mad Izm ( song ) … KRS-One + Channel Live

Izm is a New York/Jersey street term for marijuana, but, as far as Channel Live and KRS-One are concerned, smoking it seems to also be a metaphor for showcasing your rap skills. With that, The Blastmaster easily outsparks his pupils over a boom-bap beat he apparently produced himself. “Switch me; mix me; somebody get me,” he warns, “Don’t let me rip out my clothes like Bill Bixby.”

my rating : 4 of 5

1994

audio review : Enough ( song ) … Q-Tip ( featuring Jarobi White )

This song would be better if the music didn’t change during the chorus, which makes for a frustrating listen when you’re trying to vibe to the main beat. It’s like going limp during sex with the girl you rhetorically asked to make “nut”.

Q-Tip’s charismatic verse is the best part, though I would’ve put it before an extended sixteen-bar version of Jarobi White’s to balance things out. I also like the Michael Jackson ad-lib someone (Q-Tip?) does forty-five seconds in.

my rating : 3 of 5

2016

audio review : We Got It From Here [ Thank You 4 Your Service ] ( album ) ... A Tribe Called Quest

video review : Rust Creek

video review : Rust Creek

Rust Creek may not be as scary as Wolf Creek for a girl stranded away from home, thanks in part to a friendly meth cook she meets along the way, but it’s still bad. College senior Sawyer has two; make that three; killers after her; one of which is sworn to protect.

The movie is good at the beginning, but once the suspense lets up; I was hoping she’d be alone in the woods for most of it; it loses its way. It returns near the end; muddy footprints are the cue; but by then, the believability of the plot has been compromised.

my rating : 3 of 5

2019

video review : Unidentified : Inside America’s UFO Investigation [ Season 2 ]

video review : Unidentified : Inside America's UFO Investigation [ Season 2 ]

This second season of Unidentified is a slight improvement over the first in that it seems to repeat itself a lot less. The Tic Tac UFO is revisited, but Lue Elizondo and Chris Mellon also cover several new (other) cases.

The best parts are when the eyewitnesses; the supposedly unanimous ones of which could be easily identified; tell their stories over visual recreations. The Airline Encounters and Triangle Mystery episodes are particularly fascinating.

my rating : 4 of 5

2020

audio review : No Wonder I ( song ) … Lake

I probably would’ve went with a snappier title like Clouds or Petals, but perhaps that’s just me being nitpicky. You’d be hard-pressed to find a more placid song with drums in it. Here they act as a mental metronome as a nature girl takes in the day.

She’s “walking by cherry blossoms in the sky”, excited “to be living” but “tired of talking”, so she hums “like washing machines thru the window”. She’s not alone though. There seems to be hints of heterosexual romance, but the implications aren’t clear.

my rating : 4 of 5

2013

audio review : The Element Of Surprise ( album ) … E-40

audio review : The Element Of Surprise ( album ) ... E-40

E-40 is one of the most entertaining rappers in the game. 2Pac was kind of boring in comparison, but The Element Of Surprise doesn’t match the quality of his double-length magnum opus. 40’s flamboyant wit is better than ever, but the set eventually falters.

Lieutenant Roast-A-Botch; a funny duet with Sylk-E Fyne; Jump My Bone and One More Gen are definite highlights, but most of the other songs on the second half should’ve been cut. That would’ve made this a standard album and probably E-40’s best one yet.

my rating : 3 of 5

1998

audio review : Love Me Not Love Me Now ( song ) … Ryce + Planet Girl

It sounds like the Girl is saying Love Me Now three times; one of which would make for a song title that’s a lot less awkward and more grammatically correct, thus better, than it actually is. Still the melody of that chorus, sang over a warm summer beat led by what sounds like an old ukelele, is dreamy and delightful. Ryce sounds good too, especially when he too starts to sing.

The song; a quintessential romantic Love song; could easily be a classic if it weren’t so unconventional. It’s not just the title. The structure; a 16-bar chorus followed by an 8-bar verse followed by an 8-bar bridge, then back to the chorus with no ad-libs or anything significant added to peak it out; makes it come across as more of a demo. That’s a shame given how damn groovy it is as is.

my rating : 4 of 5

2019

video review : Dominick Cruz versus Cody Garbrandt at UFC 207

video review : Dominick Cruz versus Cody Garbrandt at UFC 207

Dominick Cruz is the better trash talker; the lead-up to this fight was even more entertaining than the fight itself; but Cody Garbrandt gets the last laugh, sometimes literally as he mocks his opponent for nearly the entire bout, displaying some slick dance moves in the process. Rounds 3 and 4 are especially tough for the now former Bantamweight Champion, who’s knocked down and nearly out more than once.

my rating : 4 of 5

2016

audio review : My Ghetto Report Card ( album ) … E-40

audio review : My Ghetto Report Card ( album ) ... E-40

The worst songs here suggest even the most charming rappers need matching beats to keep things interesting. Too much of this album is E-40, now under the wing of Lil Jon, over bare-bones 808-driven breakbeats, which’ll have supporters of San Francisco’s Hyphy movement bobbing their heads in approval while the rest of us long for the days when a new E-40 album basically assured some of the dopest beats the streets have to offer. Those days aren’t long gone. Grit And Grind from just a few years ago gave us Gravity, probably the best beat I’ve ever heard him rap to.

Elsewhere potential bangers are ruined by weak hooks, though E-40 also uses this album to step his lyrical game up. Breakin News had him holding his wit at bay, but for this one, he utilizes metaphors and similes to drop a shitload of quotables. “Old-school vans; doors open; me and my crew,” he says at one point, “We some stoners; we get high like Shaggy from Scooby Doo”. The best songs standout because the quality of the beats and hooks match the quality of those verses. When all’s said and done, sticking to the school Report Card concept, a former B student earns himself another C.

my rating : 3 of 5

2006

video review : Dan Hooker versus Michael Chandler at UFC 257

video review : Dan Hooker versus Michael Chandler at UFC 257

I’d say Bellator fighter Michael Chandler couldn’t have hoped for a better UFC debut, but perhaps it wasn’t a matter of hope. He seemed confident in not only getting an impressive victory here but going on to become UFC Champ and he’s already accomplished the first goal.

All it takes is a fake right followed by a sneaky left (punch) to the face to drop The Hangman just halfway into the very first round. The only solid strike a backfooted Dan Hooker, who hints at retirement by throwing his gloves down after the bout, manages is a low calf kick.

my rating : 3 of 5

2021