The Hed Rush: in mp3 form

One of the great sources of joy I’ve had in my life is having the opportunity to host my own radio show. Multiple times. Without getting into an in-depth history I’ll say that I’ve done radio (either live or Internet) on and off since 1994.

So now, after an over four year hiatus I’ve got my own show again, thanks to my long-time homie/high school potna, JB d’Mulatto. Only this time the show is in podcast/mp3 form. Recorded in JB’s studio, aka Ma’s House, I present to you, Hed Rush, the radio show.

Here’s the 411: The Hed Rush Radio Show features myself and JB playing and conversating on hip-hop from the late '80s through the '90s. We also discuss in-depth some of the trends and context that surrounded the music when it was released, and how it reflects hip-hop today.

It’s lots of hip-hop that I grew up on, and lots of JB and I talking. And cracking corny jokes. So if you like hip-hop from that era, and want to hear a couple of cats shoot the shit about it, you just might enjoy these podcasts.

Here’s the link Pt. 1 (about an hour):

http://rapidshare.com/files/200855493/1-01__1__Pt._1.mp3

And here’s the link to Pt. 2 (about 70 minutes):

http://rapidshare.com/files/200869147/01__1__Pt._2.mp3


The only problem now is that it’s going to be at least another month until me and JB can record another one of these podcasts. JB is currently on the road, helping manage the cross-country tour of The Whitest Kids You Know. As soon as he’s back, there’ll be more music. I’m hoping this is the first podcast of many. I certainly have a lot more music I want to play. Eventually I’ll figure out how to hook this up on iTunes or something. And I also promise that I’ll also start updating this blog with more music.

Until then, listen and enjoy. And let me know what you think.

More Steroid Stupidity

I really don’t care about this budding Alex Rodriguez scandal. Not even a little bit.

I seriously couldn’t care less. I’m not going to feign outrage and yell about he betrayed my trust and set a bad example for the children (“WON’T SOMEONE PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN!”) I’m not going to call him A-Fraud or A-Roid or any other lame-brained nickname. I’m not going to lecture how he’s ruined his legacy and doesn’t deserve to be in the Hall of Fame. None of this matters to me. These allegations (coming from multiple unnamed sources) don’t change the way I feel about Rodriguez.

Since, you asked, here is what I feel about A-Rod: He’s essentially a vastly talented base-player that also happens to be more than a little weird and completely obsessed with his own self-image and how the public perceives him. In those respects he’s exactly like any other athlete-celebrity. The fact that he’s also fixated on people far less talented than himself (Derek Jeter and Madonna) is a fairly odd, but it’s not like he’s eating babies. A-Rod is one of the most-gifted baseball players to ever to ever put on a uniform, and he also happens to be yutz. Anyone disputed the former is either a deluded Derek Jeter fan club or a member of the Red Sox Nation.

What more concerns me is how this information on his positive test ended up getting to the press. These urine tests, conducted back in 2003, were supposed to be confidential. They ended up the government’s hands after they raided the lab where they were processed and stored as part of the BALCO investigation. The players thought they’d never see the light of day. Neither did the union. And Major League Baseball certainly didn’t want the results to become public either. It’s one thing to talk about reforming the game, and even take steps to actually reform it, but that the names getting out there is bad for business.

As soon as the government seized the samples a few years ago, I knew it would only be a matter of time before the list of the players that tested positive would become public. It might be in MLB’s best interest to keep things under wraps, but the Federal Government leaks like a fucking sieve. This whole fiasco feels even sleazier than it had before, which is an impressive feat. There could be dozens of reasons why four sources working closely with the federal investigation leaked A-Rod’s name, including the fact that they’re case against Barry Bonds is looking shakier by the day, and they want to put a new “enemy” in the spotlight. But no matter who’s names are named, it certainly won’t hurt the federal government in any way.

And honestly, it doesn’t really help anyone else either. We in the general public (especially sport-writers) may yammer on about how we’re entitled to “the truth,” but in this case, we’re really not. Each and every other person would want there own privacy respect and promises made to them honored. Baseball players shouldn’t be accord any less respect. But I doubt that’s going to stop any more serious clamoring for the list naming the other 103 players that tested positive six years ago.

I HATE every single part of the steroids scandal. I hate the posturing everywhere I turn on this issue, from the players, to the union, to the ownership, to the sports writers, to the Federal Government. I HATE that it keeps Jose Canseco in the public eye. I HATE that it’s never going to stop. Just shut up already and let me try to enjoy my days and nights at the ballpark.