Filling my time...

...are many things. With a uni essay due soon and exams not-too-far after, I've entered Guilt Mode (TM) and thus can not enjoy my usual recreational activities to their full extent. It's a pity, because with some planning and a little organisation, I could have time to work and play. All I have to do is find out which organisation that is. ;-)

Stuff I'd Reccommend:

Movie: Wild Style
Surely one of 1982's finest, Wild Style (loosely) follows a few characters in Brooklyn, New York and the rise of grafitti and hip hop culture. Highlights include ol' skool cats like Grand Master Flash and MC Busy Bee and some lines which have been sampled in songs I've heard*. Hugely enthusiastic views on IMDB perhaps exaggerate a little, but like many low-budget films it's worth watching at a different mental angle than you would a regular movie. Selling for $4.95, it's (almost-hesitantly) classed as so-bad-it's-good.

*: "You just pick it up, it's like a virus", and "You've heard it on the radio and seen it on the TV show. A to the K? A to the muthaf**n Z."

Music: Prodigy - Their Law: The Singles 1990-2005
I'm a huge Prodigy fan and when I spotted a new album, I was not excited in the slightest about a compilation of singles. It's like a TV clip-show, where the same old stuff you've been over-exposed to comes back to haunt you in a 'new' episode. Well, turns out I was kinda wrong. All the tracks have been freshened up mastering-wise (Jericho sounds amazing with its new clarity), and some structure-wise (Spitfire 2005, though just a change of the kick drum on the sequencer and a new hi-range loop, sounds ten times meaner than the album version). While there's some rubbish on there, it's to be expected through fifteen years of any band's work. The album wins in the end, because for sometime-listeners it's a collection of cool tracks, while for trainspotters like me it's an insight into the original ideas behind some of the tracks.

Music: This Is... Jungle Brothers
While my knowledge of hip hop doesn't reach far enough to tell you more about the Jungle Brothers than words like 'pioneers' and 'ol' skool', they have been around since 1987 producing some awesome tunes. The album starts off with typically old-school, 80s-sounding hip hop (which I respect greatly, but don't go out of my way to listen to) and moves on to some fat 90s beats. My all-time JBs fave, 'How ya Want it We Got it' sounds better than ever and I think iTunes will soon start preemptively cueing it when it feels me hover over the program's icon.

Peace out.