Albert Camus

Selected quotes from the late French philosopher, father of "the absurd":

ART:

"A guilty conscience needs to confess. A work of art is a confession."

"A man's work is nothing but this slow trek to rediscover, through the detours of art, those two or three great and simple images in whose presence his heart first opened."

MEANING:

"The struggle itself towards the heights is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy."

"You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life. "

GIVE IT ALL AWAY!!:

"Your successes and happiness are forgiven you only if you generously consent to share them."

Further reading here.  I recommend the Myth of Sisyphus.

The Carter Documentary

Just copped and watched this; simply amazing.  Cop it here.

BlakRoc Album Officially Drops

Now available on ITunes: The BlakRoc Album.  

BlakRoc Trailer from Creative Control on Vimeo.

Alex Prager - Week-End

Alex Prager's Week-End series.  Click here for the entire collection.  (via polaroidforever.com)

Lupe Fiasco - Enemy of the State

I was going to post one song from this mixtape, but it's too good.  You need to hear the whole thing.  Short, succinct, and showcasing Lupe at a new pinnacle of lyricism, Enemy of the State is a must listen.  You might listen to it as a sort of companion to Wayne's No Ceilings, as it establishes a swagger and flow that prove marketable lyricism is possible without traditional hip hop cliches. Download here.  I hope all who observed the holiday had a blessed Thanksgiving.

The Low Anthem - "Charlie Darwin"

Thanks to Coco Michaels.

David Rawlings Machine - Method Acting, Cortez the Killer (Conor Oberst, Neil Young Cover)

Probably my favorite "Conor cover" ever.

"I Can Talk" - Two Doors Cinema Club

Beginning with today, I will be attempting to provide one interesting subject, every day, to permeate your consciousness.  Such subjects may include a photograph, a quote, a song, or a piece of film.  Today's inaugural subject, for your attention and consideration, is:

"I Can Talk" Music Film by Two Doors Cinema Club (as seen on ye's blog):

A catchy song, indeed, but absolutely amazing how this filmmaker has capture a kind of dream-consciousness... really feels like a dream.

My (Little) Brother Does Work

Smokin' Joe Goniprow is a beast.  The former Gatorade Player of the Year in Rhode Island (and current younger brother to yours truly) now anchors arguably the best defense in I-AA football as a defensive tackle at UPenn.  In fact, Penn's defense currently allows fewer total yards per game than any team in I-A or I-AA, Florida, Texas, and USC, included.  

Joe's defied expectations throughout his career, playing at the highest level in every league he's competed it; though some claim he's undersized (really? have you seen him?) for the NFL, don't be surprised if Joe once again proves the naysayers wrong.  So, if your fantasy league has defensive players on its roster, you heard it here first... be on the lookout for drafting Joe in the near future.  The kid's got a good head on his shoulders and if the football dream doesn't pan out, he's most likely headed to law school.  Who's trying to face a defensive tackle in arbitration??

Yeats

 "We make out of the quarrel with others rhetoric, but of the quarrel with ourselves, poetry."

BlackRoc (Black Keys x Damon Dash)

This project is gonna be redonculous!!  The Black Keys cooked up some crazy instrumentals with hip hop artists in mind, then hooked up with Damon Dash (Jay-Z's former partner in Rocafella, get it... BlackRoc??) who brought the talent to the table.  

The talent?  Mos Def, Jim Jones, Raekwon, Q-Tip, and the most underrated emcee of all-time (Pharoahe Monche), just to name a few.  From the little snippets I've heard so far, the records sound like tracks Mark Ronson made for Amy Winehouse, while tripping acid, that were stolen by Wu Tang and dragged through the mud of the Mississippi River before being mastered.

Yea.  Sooooo, you can check out behind-the-scenes footage of the recording process at BlackRoc.com... the project drops on 11/27.  Go out and get this record!!

Here's a little preview of what was going down in the studio when these records were getting cut:

I love my tags on this...