Arts Desk » Big Boi

Arts Roundup: Austerity Measures Edition

Benjamin R. Freed — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 12:40:19 +0000

Frank Rich to Washington: Drop Dead: In conversation with his editor Adam Moss, New York columnist Frank Rich contemplates Washington's problems in a discussion about the crisis over the federal debt ceiling on the magazine's Daily Intel blog. But then Rich, who grew up here, gets a dig in at his hometown's cultural offerings. "It does have far better food and many more cultural offerings than it once had (though for music, opera, dance, and arguably theater, let alone fashion, it's still second tier — not just compared to New York and Chicago, but also, in many of these fields, to Boston, Philadelphia, L.A., Miami and San Francisco.)...the city's signature artistic event will remain the cheesy-looking annual CBS special billed as the Kennedy Center Honors." Jeez, Frank. Why not just punctuate your part of the conversation with #fuckyouwashington?

Flip Flop Rock: Is Outkast getting back together any time soon? Yes, David Malitz reports over at Click Track, just not in the studio. In a quick interview with Malitz at The Park on 14th on Monday, Big Boi dodged reports that André 3000 will be featured on Big Boi's upcoming Daddy Fat Sax LP and rumors about a rumored Outkast album in 2012. But the duo are going on vacation this weekend with their families.

Code to a Grecian Urn: Get your Byzantine relics while you still can! Modern Art Notes reports that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signed an agreement with Greece to restrict the importation of ancient Greek artifacts to the U.S. The agreement covers everything between the Stone Age and the Byzantine Empire. Maybe I can get this Palaeologan-era mosaic to Antiques Roadshow before the the treaty goes into effect. Greece has other problems to sort out first, right?

Yesterday on Arts Desk: Upcoming releases from Dischord. Office of Future Plans briefly lost electricity at Fort Reno on Monday—see them power through it.

Don’t Be Bored: Pictureplane, Big Boi

Ally Schweitzer — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 17:58:24 +0000

Pictureplane, the 26-year-old producer Travis Egedy, makes big-room music for small spaces. Tonight, touring on his clubbiest album yet, Thee Physical, he’s playing the least clubby of venues—Subterranean A, a private residence located around the corner and down a staircase from a cluster of actual nightclubs. But there’s no irony here. Though Pictureplane runs his finger across a highly accessible library of ’90s club tunes, he embraces the dungeon. The black leather-gloved hands in Thee Physical’s artwork resurrect the dark dance music heroes of the 1980s: Liasons Dangereuses, D.A.F., Fad Gadget. On “Trancegender,” “Real is a Feeling,” and “Techno Fetish,” Egedy’s captivation with sexual ambiguity and subversion is crystal clear—albeit a little stuck in an undergrad gender studies workshop. But the real subversion is in his hodgepodge of influences: The album snacks on darkwave, drum & bass, electro, and diva-licious handbag house—convincingly and often pleasurably. Pictureplane’s touring mates Teengirl Fantasy, a couple other guys known for unearthing ’90s pop just to smack it around, make this show a giddy exercise in cruel and unusual punishment. 8:30 p.m. $10.

MUSIC

The Hellmouth reopens when teen actress Miranda Cosgrove (from iCarly) plays Wolf Trap tonight with YouTube sensation Greyson Chance. As charming as the 18-year-old can be, Cosgrove's 2010 single "Dancing Crazy"—penned by Avril Lavigne—sounds like it was originally written in Japanese, translated into three other languages, and finally distilled into this pitch-adjusted English language version, a bizarre and disorienting onslaught of meaningless slogans. "I like you and you like me! We get together and we're happy!" "Hot! Hot! Keep it comin'!" "Everybody's ragin', ragin' crazy!" 7:30 p.m. at Wolf Trap Filene Center. $20-$100.

Local pop rock stars Title Tracks return to Fort Reno in a make-up date for their rained-out show a couple weeks back. Office of Future Plans and The Akoma Drummers are also on the bill. 7:15 p.m. at Fort Reno Park. Free.

Oh yeah, this is gonna back up traffic on 14th Street: Big Boi comes to the Park at 14th tonight in a concert sponsored by Crown Royal. 7 p.m. 21+. Admission price will be "based on capacity."

Indie folk group Mountain Man is at IOTA Club & Cafe, the best cafe/bar/music venue in Clarendon. (That's not really saying much, but it's still a cool venue!) Take a listen to the band. 8:30 p.m. $12. Correction: This show is on Tuesday night.

FILM

Screen on the Green, duh. The well-loved summer series kicks off tonight with In the Heat of the Night. 8:30 p.m. or so on the National Mall between 8th and 14th Streets NW. Free.

BOOKS

Sally Jacobs reads from her book The Other Barack: The Bold and Reckless Life of Obama's Father, at Politics & Prose. In a Washington Post review, David J. Garrow says Jacobs' astonishingly well-researched book unveils some critical facts about the president's father's life, but "the cumulative effect of her thoroughly researched biography is deeply depressing...her richly sourced account of how a promising young adulthood quickly descended into daily alcoholic binges and serial domestic violence paints an even more dramatically downbeat portrait than did Obama’s namesake son 16 years ago in Dreams From My Father." 7 p.m. Free.

Fixing “Pretty Girls”: Ways Wale Can Work Around Gucci Mane’s Incarceration

Jonathan L. Fischer — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 19:44:15 +0000

Check out this behind-the-scenes video from the set of Wale's "Pretty Girls" promo. For starters, it'll need a reshoot or two following yesterday's near-kerfuffle: Members of the go-go group Backyard Band—whose own standard "Pretty Girls" is sampled in Wale's single—were upset they weren't included and took their grievances to Twitter and Facebook (they've since deleted the relevant tweets). The near-beef's been dodged: Wale told WKYS last night that Backyard Boys vocalist Weensey will now appear in the video. Phew?

But "Pretty Girls" also raises another ish—what do you do when your guest artist is in jail? Consider Gucci Mane, who 1) probably dropped more guest verses than any other rapper in 2009; and 2) is currently serving a 12-month jail sentence for violating his probation. To judge by this clip, Wale's, erm, prepostproduction answer is to nod in front of a green screen while looking conspicuously bored.

Not to frustrate what's already turning into a video shoot of Rube Goldberg-like complexity, but we hope Wale will figure out a way to incorporate his incarcerated friend that's slightly more creative than Big Boi's recent attempt. In the "Shine Blockas" video, shots of the OutKast rapper occasionally fade into repentant, martyrlike stills of Gucci that come off as utter overkill—especially since, despite the jail-stay, Gucci will probably release two albums in 2010 to Big Boi's zero. Some ways that Wale can avoid such pitfalls after the jump:

Make the most of the green screen: Here, Wale can follow Omarion's lead. Check out the "I Get It In" video, for which the former B2K singer and Gucci probably didn't even stand in the same room. For "Pretty Girls," Wale could tap some archival footage of Gucci, or, like, bake a Flip camera into a birthday cake and hope it makes it through prison security. That plan always works, right?

Animation: Gucci with superpowers? Gucci in a flying house? Gucci with unicorns? Instant gold.

Sock puppets.

Inventive casting: The I Am Tiger Woods Spartacus manoever. To avoid all future beefs, Wale could just tap everyone he's ever known, ever, and dress 'em in Gucci Mane T-shirts—or, for that matter, "Free Gucci" Tees. Teach everyone the words to Gucci's verse and we're good.

Make a Blingee:

If none of the above works: Jail break.

Leakproof: LCD Soundsystem, Julian Casablancas, Slava, Big Boi

Aaron Leitko — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:55:26 +0000

LCD Soundsystem: "Bye Bye Bayou" (Alan Vega cover)
LCD Soundsystem has made many homages to Suicide (the musical act, not the Swedish pastime), frequently appropriating the New York duo's spooky sense of pulse. So, it's nice to hear James Murphy cover a tune from Suicide singer Alan Vega's 1980 solo debut. Murphy flattens out the original's bluesy shuffle but does a pretty impressive job of capturing Vega's beatnik-Elvis-impersonator singing style.

Julian Casablancas: "River of Brakelights"
Remember how the Strokes were going to save classic rock? That was a misinterpretation. On "River of Brakelights," the second song to leak from his forthcoming solo debut Phrazes for the Young, Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas reveals that he actually wanted to save classical rock. Powdered wigs and fugal pretensions aside, baroque counterpoint hasn't had such a solid chance of cracking the Top 10 since Falco walked the Earth.

Slava: "Dreaming Tiger"
The Chicago/Brooklyn-based production team honors the glory days of Brian Eno and David Byrne's creative union by pairing lush synths and house percussion with mantra-like vocal samples. "Dreaming Tiger" could have fit nicely on My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, and not just because the title sounds like it was lifted from postcolonial literature.

Big Boi featuring Gucci Mane: "Shine Blockas"
If Big Boi's endlessly delayed Sir Luscious Left Foot ever lands in stores, there won't be any surprises left (maybe a few skits?). But if it's any consolation to Def Jam, "Shine Blockas," the umpteenth awesome track to leak from the Outkast rapper's solo record, should garner multiplatinum YouTube views.

Weekend Music Round-Up

Hilary Crowe — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:00:00 +0000

Friday

The Dance Party, Ra Ra Rasputin, Tigercity, Casper Bangs. 9:30 club. $15. All ages.
Deja Blue, Clarence “Bluesman” Turner. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.
Handsome Furs, Dri, The Cinnamon Band. Black Cat. $12. All ages.
Lynne Fiddmont. Blues Alley. $25.
Atheist, The Faceless, Psyopus, The Agonist, Gnostic, Condemn the Infected, A Bloodbath in Boston. Jaxx. $20/$23.
Alex Brown Quartet (Fri. & Sat. show). Twins Jazz. $15.
Sunsets with a Soundtrack: The U.S. Army Concert Band. West Steps U.S. Capitol. Free.
Video Games Live! Filene Center at Wolf Trap. $20–$48.
Samantha Crain & the Midnight Shivers. Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. Free.
Chopteeth, DJ Thick. Rock and Roll Hotel. $15. All ages.
Chance Gardner, Molehill, Gist. The Red & The Black. $8. +21.

Saturday

Mike Terpak Blues Explosion, Groove Quest. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.
Trophy Wife, The Caution Curves. Black Cat Backstage. $8. All ages.
Old Time Banjo Festival w/ Mike Seeger, Bruce Molsky, Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer, Clarke Buehling, The Old 78’s, and Adam Hurt. Birchmere. $29.50.
Jimmy Bruno. Blues Alley. $25.
Bugs Bunny on Broadway w/ the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Merriweather Post Pavilion. $12.50–$45.
Hamlisch Conducts Hamlisch. Filene Center at Wolf Trap. $20–$48.
Honor By August, Trustfall, Red Wanting Blue, Colourside. 9:30 club. $15. All ages.
Washington National Opera Institute for Young Singers. Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. Free.
Chali 2na (of Jurassic 5), Whosane feat. Pangea, Educated Consumers. Rock and Roll Hotel. $15. All ages.
Feedback Dance Party w/ DJ Stereofaith, The Hardy Boys, DJs Dave Nada, Johnny Blaze, Trevor Martin, Andrew Jaye. DC9. $8. +21.
Inkwell Strings, Dennis Manuel (Army of Me) performs Elvis Costello's The Juliet Letters. IOTA Club & Cafe. $12. +21.
The Circus w/ Tyrone Norris, Bomani Armah. Expo. $8. +21.

Sunday

Barbershop Jam, Blues Jam with the Idle Americans. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.
National Trustees’ NSO Summer Music Institute Orchestra Concerts (July 12–26). Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Free.
Rock the Bells w/ Nas, Damian Marley, The Roots, Common, Busta Rhymes, Big Boi, Reflection Eternal (Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek), Tech N9ne, RZA, Raekwon, K-Naan, Sage Francis. Merriweather Post Pavilion. $51-$101.
Reggae 2009! w/ Beres Hammond, Culture featuring Kenyatta Hill & Lenya Wilks, w/ Harmony House Singers & Musicians. Filene Center at Wolf Trap. $25–$40.
5th Annual D.C. Latin Rock Fest w/ Locos Por Juana, Nayas, Oda's, March Of Us, Pistolera, Reynolds, Ocho de Bastos, Los NeuroNautas, Machetres. 9:30 club. $20. All ages.
The Nine @ DC9 w/ Justin Trawick, Molly Hagen, Jason Ager, Ted Garber, Laura Tsaggaris, Jason Masi, Ken Wenzel, Victoria Vox, Matthew Bryce. DC9. $8. +21.
Kung Fury, Super Potent Death Baby, King Giant. The Red & The Black. $6. +21.
Questlove, DJ Dummy. Liv. $15.

Handsome Furs photo via MySpace.