Dart Adams presents Nostalgia by Veidt*

One thing I 've learned during my 33 years on this Earth is that every generation thinks that things were generally better when they were younger. Of course, it's always bullshit. While some things may have been better (in theory) overall there's NO way that could ever really be true. When you tend to get a certain age you get nostalgic for all the things you loved about your childhood or youth and secretly wish that things could go back to the way they were in your younger years. It's a natural occurrence but the truth is that things may have always sucked, it's just that we were too young to realize it. I present to you all a new blog entitled "Dart Adams presents Nostalgia by Veidt*". Enjoy:

I was born in 1975 and as a young child I got to witness the culture of Hip Hop grow by leaps and bounds firsthand. I remember the controversy over the first Rap records like it was yesterday. I remember when the media first got a hold of Rap music and/or became aware of it. I remember people talking about the Funky Four Plus One performing on Saturday Night Live. I remember Sister Sledge performing Run DMC's "It's Like That" when they guest appeared on "The Jeffersons" (it happened, trust me!).

I remember the looks folks used to get when they rocked Hip Hop fashion in public before they knew what it was. I remember reciting routines and battles from crews and emcees I heard on tapes my cousins sent us from New York . I remember when "Right On!" and "Black Beat" barely even acknowledge that Hip Hop or Rap music even existed. I remember that Madison Avenue and Hollywood didn't even know Hip Hop existed until about 1984 after Run DMC got on MTV (even though the films "Wild Style" and "Style Wars" both came out in 1983) . Then all of a sudden weird shit started happening all around me.

Next thing I knew, people were making movies about Hip Hop culture like crazy. I'd see articles about Hip Hop in mainstream magazines. I'd see Hip Hop in commercials everywhere I looked. There were B Boys and B girls poplocking and doing windmills for Hershey's chocolate bars on one channel and the next channel has Fred and Barney bustin' rhymes and scratchin' records about Fruity Pebbles. Then came LL Cool J tearing shit down on American Bandstand. The cat was officially out of the bag now and there was no turning back.

Adult classes started forming across the country and people were trying to learn about this new "breakdancing" craze that was sweeping the nation. Forget that B-Boying had been around since the 70's or that Sally Baines had first written about B-Boying back in a Village Voice article in 1981 ("Physical Graffiti: Breaking Is Hard To Do"), it was now 1984 and it was the new "in" thing. Street fashion was so hot that all of a sudden designers started making their own interpretations of it after Madonna appeared on the scene. The very same Madonna that everyone thought was Black (like Shannon) until they saw her videos for "Burnin' Up" and "Lucky Star" on MTV. There was money to be made and everyone wanted to cash in, as kids we thought that our culture and our art was just finally getting it's due. Not so much.

I remember seeing all of those old "Hip Hop/Rap" films and thinking nothing of it. I remember Kelly Jo Minter being the mysterious masked B-Boy (?) called "The Pilot" in an old TV movie that featured a few notable B-boys and B-girls...and then nothing. I remember watching "Beat Street" and loving it. I remember watching "Body Rock" and hating it. I remember thinking that "Breakin'" was meh but loving "Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo". My big brother even said once "that's the fastest I ever saw someone make a sequel!" but I didn't see the big picture because I was just a little kid.

Next came flicks like "Rappin'", "Krush Groove", "Disorderlies", "Tougher Than Leather" and then Hollywood completely lost interest with Hip Hop culture for a while. Anyone born after 1984 wouldn't know what it would be like to live in a world where everyone hadn't always been aware of Hip Hop's existence. The thing about growing up in an earlier time than someone else is that you always think that things were better in your generation regardless of if they actually were or not. Some of the cartoons I used to watch my older cousins used to say sucked at the ones they watched were better. I thought that they were full of shit and there was no way that the "Cattanooga Cats" were better than "Rubik, The Amazing Cube". Get my point?

We always fall into the same nostalgic trap generation after generation. Cartoons were better when we were young. Music was better when we were young. TV shows were better when we were young. Movies were better when we young. We often forget that we didn't even figure out who we were or what we liked or develop taste of any kind until we got older and learned to discriminate or even begin to think critically. I loved "He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe" as a kid but when I watched those episodes I loved as a kid in 1996 I thought to myself "This show sucked! I can't believe I ever liked this shit!" That doesn't change the fact that "Jonny Quest" or "The Herculoids" kick ass regardless of how old I get. Some things will stand the test of time others won't.

Some people fondly remember playing videogames on their Atari 2600's, Colevisions, Intellivision/M Networks but admit it, they sucked in comparison to the Nintendo Entertainment System. The NES then sucked in comparison to the Sega Genesis and so on and so on. I remember playing games back in the day that looked like absolute crap on all of those systems because while the year may change things always suck overall and some things are good. The only things that change are you and your ability to perceive things around you.


It has NEVER been all good in anything back in the day. Nothing was better all the way across the board in the past. Maybe Hip Hop was more fun and enjoyable because it was exciting and new but there were MORE wack emcees than good ones back in the era that it first broke nationally all the way up to the end of the first Golden Era (1983-1988). There were so many wack records and style biters it was ridiculous. I heard some many fake Crash Crew's, Treacherous 3's, Fearless 4's, Run DMC'S, LL Cool J's, Melle Mel's and T La Rock's that it seems that the "Be original" credo that heads preached back then was completely discarded somewhere along the line.

Just because I experienced some of the greatest eras of growth for several genres of music do I want to fall into the trap of thinking that since music doesn't sound like it did in 1988 that it automatically can't be counted as classic material. If Hip Hop producers had access to the kind of technology we had now 20 years ago do you really think the music would've been the same? They were EXTREMELY LIMITED in what they could do musically in the studio back then and it lead to a bunch of innovations due to that fact. Let's not penalize today's producers merely because they were born too late and didin't have only one to four total seconds of sample time available to them!

With all that said, if we think hard enough things have never always been "better" in the past. Shit was always 50/50. I always see people bitch and complain online about how much better X and Y used to be back in the days and they always discount all of the stuff that sucked. Nickelodeon wasn't necessarily "better" in the 80's and 90's, it's just that you grew up and now it seems suckish to you. Your perception of all things changes with time. Now I watch movies I loved as a kid like "The Last Dragon" and realize that they actually sucked.

I guess one clue would've been the usage of outdated slang like "jive sucker", the horrendous script and terrible acting. Then again, I was 10 when I first saw it. Back then, I also thought that there would never be a better album than Run DMC's "King Of Rock" and that Michael Jackson was better than Prince. There was a show I loved as a kid that was recently put on DVD due to a petition from nostalgic Generation X'ers. I saw it again recently and got flashbacks of Buck Rogers and Battlestar Galactica..the 80's were truly a bitch, man.

*If you don't get the reference then you really need to read the "Watchmen" graphic novel.

One.

What's New In Dart's iPod #56 AKA The 404's & Heartbreak Edition

Several of my favorite blogs have either been missing in action, suspended, hacked, erased or just inactive lately. Among them personal favorite Stuntin' On Prose (404...What up J. Burn and Tank!), Konstant Revolution (404), Steal Bars (404), Universoul Productions has been under construction since September 16th, Hyperfrank hasn't posted since September 19th, The Dice Game was completely wiped of all of it's archives on October 27th (keep ya head up, Bankhead) and Model Minority has been down since October 30th but M. Dot'll be back sometime down the line.

I also had to fix a situation in which there was a warrant out for my arrest since November 6th for allegedly dodging jury duty. I spent the past week plus running around Boston trying to get the situation squared away and on the 12th I finally served and everything's been resolved. Nothing is scarier than the prospect of police officers knocking on my door in the morning or possibly facing either jail time, a fine or community service because of something as trivial as jury duty. According to records, I hadn't served since February 2000 so I was gonna get the proverbial book thrown at my ass.

I'll filling out my posts for the week this weekend again and I'm not sure if I'll be doing the Fat Tape/CD-R anymore as it's getting to be more and more of a chore to do it with all of the extra shit I've had to focus on lately I'll just play it by ear in the future. This blog may also go into hibernation one day as I'll be taking a break from it for a while in or after March 2009 and then I'll determine the future of Poisonous Paragraphs from there.

This week I'll be reviewing five new projects that either leaked or recently hit store shelves in the following order: Blue Sky Black Death "Slow Burning Lights", D.I.T.C. Records presents "The Movement", T-Pain "Thr33 Rings", Von Pea "The Further Adventures Of Von Pea" and Kanye West "808's And Heartbreak". For those of you new to the party, I don’t rate albums on a scale or assign them a numerical value out of 5 or 10, instead I merely answer the all important question of “Is it worth buying or not?”. Here's how my "Cop It Or Not" ratings system breaks down below:


Oh No! This CD is a drink coaster/table balancer/doorstop/gerbil/hamster room divider/frisbee/discus/makeshift shield/last ditch choice for a visor/alternate shuriken choice. Sell this shit to whoever is dumb enough to buy it from you.

Maeby (Maybe)! Depending on your own set of personal preferences you might like this joint. Give it a listen first to see if it's in your lane or not.

Mos Def! Cop the album when it drops...'Nuff said.

Spit that Kurt Vonnegut/that blow your brain Kurt Cobain that Nirvana shit © Jay Electronica


Best Joints: Secrets, Once Away, Hot Night, Honestly, Stillness, Movements, Come Inside, Tokyo Underground, Pretend and The Darkest Time

Hot Garbage: N/A

Dart's Take: Blue Sky Black Death has put in quite a bit of work so far in '08. They've put out the excellent instrumental album "Late Night Cinema", the Jean Grae collaboration "The Evil Jeanius" and the headache inducing "Heads Will Roll" by uber gangsta rapper Gutta. This album is much in the vein of "Late Night Cinema" but with the vocals of Yes Alexander added to the equation it's reminiscent of the type of albums that were coming out from popular groups and vocalists circa 1997-2000 (I won't name them because people will scream on me for comparing this release to some of those classic albums).

After hearing tracks like "Secrets", "Hot Night", "Honestly", "Pretend" and "The Darkest Time" you'll feel the same way I did (provided you're into that sort of thing). This album was like an atmospheric soundtrack to an ultra emo indie film about isolation and teenage angst and as anyone who reads this blog knows that type of shit appeals to my failed artist/film geek side. I give "Slow Burning Lights" a highly recommended maybe.




Best Joints: Time Travel, Mad Live, Experience, Shine My Way, Hard Hit, Energy, Air Y'all, Insomnia and True Lies

Hot Garbage: When We Rollin', Bow and Boys Is Doin' It are all just meh.

Dart's Take: The best thing about this album is that it carries the prestigious D.I.T.C. name on it. The biggest problem with this album? You guessed it, it carries the prestigious name on it. When you think of the legendary Diggin' In The Crates crew you think of top notch beats and rhymes and and a list of names that includes some of the best that ever done it...and their extended families. This album is more like a short compilation with some D.I.T.C. heavy hitters sprinkled sparsely throughout.

Lord Finesse handled three tracks, Showbiz contributed three joints (one was co-produced by E Blaze), Buckwild was behind the board on one jam and the rest of the project was handled by Drawzilla (Premo, is that you?) who did his thing on 3 tracks, and Amed and E. Blaze each did boardwork one cut each. Surprisingly enough, the joints that made want an instrumental both came from Drawzilla ("Mad Live" and "Shine My Way") which featured Gwetto Dwellers D Flow and Party Arty. The other standout track that made the rounds in the bloggerverse was the Lord Finesse produced Joell Ortiz track "Air Y'all", everything else was just standard fare.

Other than a few album tracks from O.C. and A.G. there wasn't much to get excited about. D Flow, Party Arty, Boss Money (Players) and A. Bless are not going to have you hitting the rewind button too often and the other beats aren't really going to have your neck hurting if you know what I mean. The project is missing Finesse on the mic and Diamond D both in front of and behind the boards. There is very little special here so the best I can do is a maybe.



Best Joints: Welcome To Thr33 Ringz, Ringleader Man, Chopped N Skrewed, Freeze, Blowing Up, Can't Believe It, It Ain't Me, Therapy, Long Lap Dance, Reality Show and Keep Going

Hot Garbage: Superstar Lady and Karaoke were both meh while Change and Digital just straight up sucked.

Dart's Take: I thought I would hate this album but it turns out that it's pretty good once you gaet past the obvious attempts at singles and the godawful circus themed skits featuring Eddie Griffin. Tracks like "Chopped N Skrewed", "Freeze", "Can't Believe It", "Long Lap Dance" and "Reality Show" could easily stand up next to the best joints from classic R&B albums circa 1996-2000.

The overabundance of guest appearances, AutoTune vocal effects and recycled hooks ("It Ain't Me" is from June and Johnny Cash) and cliche themes just overwhelmed me in the end. I give this album a maybe but it's a lot more of an enjoyable listen than I initially though with my judgemental backpackin' underground oldhead hater ass.




Best Joints: Introduction, Players!!, Web 2009, All Day Hell, So Supreme, The Bubble, Pea Greenery, Mainjawn, Starstruck, Options (The Great Escape), Love and One Man Circus

Hot Garbage: N/A

Dart's Take: Madlib/Quasimoto instrumentals + Von Pea vocals + Lessondary Crew guest appearances = the first mos def recipient of the week. If you're a fan of any of the previous things I mentioned then this mixtape should be on your hard drive yesterday. I can't wait for "Brooklynatti" or Che Grand's "Everything's Good Ugly". Download Che's "Breakfast At Wimbeldon" mixtape as well while you're at it.



Best Joints: Say You Will, Welcome To Heartbreak, Heartless, Amazing, Love Lockdown, Paranoid (Any Way), Robocop, Streetlights, Bad News and See You In My Nightmares

Hot Garbage: Coldest Winter doesn't suck but for some odd reason I just feel like I'm hearing something so personal that I shouldn't be listening to it. Strange but true.

Dart's Take: When I think of a Kanye West album I have an idea of what it'll sound like and what kind of tracks will be on it usually before I hear it in most cases. This is not one of those cases as Kanye West has had quite a tumultuous 2008. Sure, his last album was a monster and his subsequent Glow In The Dark Tour was one of the biggest and most successful tours in recent memory but he also lost his biggest fan in his mother and his engagement with his long time girlfriend ended. Kanye was on top of the world but he still had one foot in hell after suffering both traumatic losses.

He had several notable guest appearances on some big tracks but lately he'd been hitting the AutoTune kinda hard when he premiered "Love Lockdown" at the MTV Video Awards he raised quite a few eyebrows. After the second single for "808's and Heartbreak" was officially released and more and more songs leaked from the project it became apparent that the WHOLE album was gonna be like this. Some folks were already skeptical of how the album would sound and others abandoned ship altogether.

Kanye has often said that you can't take the album and dissect it on a track to track basis or remove one track from the rest of the album as the project is a continuing narrative that needs to be heard in it's proper context. Without a good quality version of these tracks it's a waste of time to even listen to it as certain subtle things in the track can change the entire atmosphere of the track. You should just sit down and listen to the entire album from beginning to end and put yourself in the mindstate of the person who created the music so you can understand where he's coming from on each song.

After listening to the album all the way through songs like "Heartless" and "Robocop" that you'd hear on their own and think "WTF?" make all the more sense and when you hear "Love Lockdown" bookended by the Joung Jeezy guested "Amazing" and the Kid Cudi assisted "Paranoid (Any Way)" you further appreciate the tone of the album.

As the exceptional 'Streetlights" blends into "Bad News" and the Lil' Wayne appearance on "See You In My Nightmares" goes into the final track which takes on much more of a meaning after hearing the rest of the album "Coldest Winter" since this Winter/holiday season he won't have either of his greatest supporters by his side anymore it makes you really grasp what he was trying to do with this CD rather than just rap about how dope or fly he is and how much shit he has and how many hits and accolades he's accrued over the years. I can't hate you for that, Mr. West.

This album is not for everybody (Duh!). Just like when people were telling me that "The Love Below" sucked (Huh? What! © Joeski Love) when it first came out because Andre 3000 "sang too much" and it "wasn't Hip Hop" heads will not really be embracing this album like that. This album, however, is NO "The Love Below" as I think it fell well short of being a masterpiece. The important thing is that I'm sure that his mother Donda would've loved it and that Kanye thinks it's dope which is all that really matters anyway since he's the one that performs these songs onstage. I give "808's and Heartbreak" a recommended maybe.



Late Passes (For Doz Dat Slept):


Projects I'm Looking Forward To Reviewing Once They Leak...I Mean Drop:

Rhymefest-El Che
Jay Electronica-Act II: Patents Of Nobility
Jay Electronica-Abracadabra: Let There Be Light
Royce Da 5'9"-Street Hop
Big Boi-Sir Luscious Leftfoot
Mos Def-The Ecstatic LP
Royce Da 5'9"-Street Hop
Magnif & J Dilla-Detroit Royalty
Blu-God Is Good
Sean Price, Guilty Simpson & Black Milk-Random Axe
Platinum Pied Pipers-Abundance
Method Man & Redman-Blackout 2
Redman-Muddy Waters 2
B.O.B.-The Adventures Of B.O.B.
Billy Danze-Behind Gatez
AG & O.C.-Oasis: Together Brothers
Baatin-Titus
Phat Kat and Elzhi are Cold Steel
The Beatnuts-The Planet Of The Crates
Skepta-Microphone Champion
Wiley-I See Clear
Ski Beatz-Half Man, Half Amazing
Evidence-Cats & Dogs
MF Doom-Born Into This
50 Cent-Before I Self Destruct
Jadakiss-The Last Kiss


Let me know...Do I still have time to grow? © Kanye West

One.

Comic Book Titles No One Remembers Anymore AKA A Poisonous Paragraphs Special Comic Book Nerd Edition

I decided to do another comic book drop about some titles that only oldheads and comic book nerds really remember. I almost included "The Savage Sword Of Conan" and "King Conan" but since the news got out that President Elect Barack Obama used to collect "Conan The Barbarian" I decided to to be super original and not include any titles that dealt with the Hyborean Age. Without any further ado I present to you "Comic Book Titles That No One Remembers Anymore":

Logan's Run (1977)

Logan's Run was the Marvel Comics adaptation of the ultra popular 1976 Oscar nominated sci fi film of the same name (adapted from the sci fi novel of the same name...it never stops!). The title failed to find an audience and was promptly canceled after only 7 issues. This is the main reason that no one remembers that this film spawned a comic book (or a TV show that lasted 14 episodes for that matter). People will start looking for all of this old shit when the "Logan's Run" remake film hits theaters some time in 2010.


Human Fly (1977)
Marvel Comics made a title about a man of unknown identity that folowing a car crash that nearly killed him and was instead given complex surgeries that replaced much of his skeletal structure with metallic alloys. After he went through serious rehabilitation he began donning a uniform and performing stunts to benefit young people with disabilities, children's hospitals and the like.

Eventually, some goddamn super-villain would show up and try to steal the loot and The Human Fly would risk life and limb and do the impossible to defeat them in the process. Marvel tried to convince kids that The Human Fly was a real dude, too. It turns out that he was based on some real-life stuntman that I've never heard of. After just 19 issues "The Human Fly" was a wrap, B.


John Carter, Warlord Of Mars (1977)
This title was an adaptation of Edgar Rice Burrough's character John Carter from his long running Mars series of novels that began with 1917's "A Princess Of Mars". John Carter was a Virginian that fought in the Civil War became rich in after striking gold in Arizona. He supposedly died on Earth but was transported to Mars where he's perpetually 30 and due to the gravity of Mars versus Earth, he's a superman (how else do you think he ended up Warlord Of Mars?). This comic book expounded on the comic strips and comic books from the 30's and 40's. The title ran 28 issues before it was finally discontinued in late 1979.


Battlestar Galactica (1979)
In Marvel's neverending quest to adapt damn near every popular series from film and television into comic book form the next step was to tackle the sci fi series "Battlestar Galactica". As a kid it bugged me out to see Commander Adama, Colonel Tigh, Starbuck, Apollo, Boomer and Athena all hand drawn looking like they did on TV. The comic book eventually suffered the same fate as the show and it was cancelled after almost a two year run (23 issues). Collector's have been picking these up like crazy since the Sci Fi Network series became insanely successful.


Ka-Zar The Savage (1981)
Ka-Zar was originally a Timely Comics creation having first appeared back in 1936 as a response to the comic book tales of Edgar Rice Burrough's "Tarzan". He made sporadic appearances between 1936 and 1939 before the character was resurrected and updated in 1965 (X-Men #10). Ka-Zar was a British noble whose parents found the Savage Land and were killed by the denizens there.

Ka-Zar befriended the super intelligent sabre toothed tiger Zabu and became the unofficial protector of The Savage Land. He later encounters and romances Shanna The She-Devil and in 1981 Marvel dedicates a title to him and his exploits. The title lasted 34 issues before it was finally cancelled and only us oldhead remember that you had to buy it direct from Marvel (or via subscription) and you couldn't find it on newsstands.


Team America (1982)

Team America? Fuck yeah! This team of superheroes on motorcycles (?) kicked off in the pages of "Captain America" and the title is best decribed by the phrase "Mantlo'd out". This team of bike ridin' badasses often clash with HYDRA and a weird collection of super villains. There was a brother down with them that designed the bikes and was a genius level mechanic, too.

The big hook of the series was the mysterious and seemingly superstrong rider called "The Marauder" that would appear when needed the most and perform some type of kickassery. Nowadays only oldhead comic book fanatics remember the "astonishing" secret of "The Marauder" and "Team America" when they appeared in the "X-Men" and "New Mutants" in later years. (Yeah, Wrench and The Marauder will both be in my February 2009 reboot of my famous "Black Like Me" series)


Blade Runner (1982)
Marvel Comics were famous for doing these adaptations of films called Marvel Comics Super Specials. They made one for the film "Blade Runner" but this post is about the alternate version that was printed as a two part mini series since that's the one I read as a kid. When I finally saw the film my mind was blasted, forget about blown (Russell Peters reference). As a little kid it didn't get cooler than Decker, fuhgeddaboutit!


One.

Dart Adams presents Even More Anime

After perusing a couple of anime related threads on Okayplayer in recent weeks I realized that a few joints I recommended in those threads I failed to mention in any drops on my own personal blog. In order to rectify that situation I present to you all a drop in which I shine a light on some of my favorite older anime that has overshadowed by popular contemporary series' and OAV's in recent years. Here's "Even More Anime":

M.D. Geist (1986)
The world's most dangerous soldier has been put to sleep like state of suspended animation and then launched into orbit after he snapped and went on a killing streak. He is the final warrior left from a program in which the government genetically altered some soldiers and tinkered with their DNA until they had become unstoppable killing machines. The big problem came when the MDS (Most Dangerous Soldiers) all went beserk and began killing any and everyone, their own support soldiers, allied forces, the enemy...if you moved, blinked or breathed you were dead.

Geist, the final soldier remaining of the MDS program crashes on one of Earth's colonies that is dealing with a bloody civil war. After he's freed from his stasis pod he begins to do what he does best: crush, kill and destroy shit. Since this joint clocks in at under an hour that action is fast and furious and it even spawned a sequel. In recent years, this anime classic has almost been forgotten about except for old head anime fans that rejoiced when the Director's Cut first dropped years ago.


Black Magic M-66 (1987)
Two experimental battle androids are being shipped to a military facility when during transport the military chopper carrying them experiences some difficulty and thinks it's under attack. The pilots abandon the chopper and it crash lands in a forest near a major city. The two androids are activated and thinking they're in enemy territory begin killing everyone and everything they encountered.

The military show up and try to recover both androids but they only encounter one and after it took out a few of their soldiers they were able to take it down and ultmately destroy it. The other M-66 had a head start on it so the officer in charge decides to find the scientists that engineered and programmed the androids to figure out what they're doing. It turns out that a young female reporter stumbles on the Major, his Special Ops squad and the scientists in hopes of getting an exclusive story.

It turns out that the androids were implanted with a dummy program in which they were programmed to go after the lead designer's grand daughter Ferris. The female reporter, Sybel then aids Professor Matthews in beating the android to his grand daughter and then saving Ferris before it executes it's programming and kills her. Can Sybel succeed in preventing a deadly killing machine from taking an innocent life? Watch and find out.


Madox-01: Metal Skin Panic (1988)
A young mechanic lucks out and finds a top secret mechanized battle suit in his garage complete with an instruction manual. He decides to don the mecha just to discover that it accepts him as it's pilot and won't let him out. When the military discovers that the unit has been activated a team of soldiers goes out to recover it so the pilot has no choice but to master the mecha and fight or die. Can Koji survive and discover how to get the armor off so he can go out on a date with his girl? Watch it and find out. Clocking in at around 45 minutes, the film is fast paced.


Baoh (1989)
A teenager is an a car accident with his family and an evil corporation called Doress (are there any other kind in these flicks, really?) decides that he's the perfect candidate for their experiment and they kill his family in the hospital to avoid any future complications. After Ikuro is injected with a parasitic worm that gives him a myriad of bizarre superhuman powers he manages to escape from the hospital and eliminate the guards with his newfound powers and the help of a little girl that Doress had imprisoned because they hoped to use her psychic powers for their own gain.

Ikuro and Sumire stay on the run from Doress and their super powered minions as they try to either recover the Baoh worm and or destroy it and it's host body before it destroys them and puts a halt to their evil operations. The action comes fast and furious because this single episode OAV is just 50 minutes long. Based on the classic manga "Baoh: The Visitor".


Shadow Skill (1995)
Elle a master fighter and her adopted brother Gau take a trip to train and prepare Gau to become a master of a special martial art so he can eventually take on the greatest of fighters, a mysterious warrior known only as Scarface. The OAV ran 3 episodes at 45 minutes each and it's also spawned a TV series that followed a different storyline. This title has been but forgotten as more and more quality anime series get created and the years pass. Don't make the same mistake and sleep on it.

One.

Dart Adams presents Crows by Hiroshi Takahashi

"Crows" is a highly influential, long running manga series created by writer/artist Hiroshi Takashi. It was a teen crime drama/action series that ran for 26 volumes all published between 1990-1998 and was set at the most dangerous school in all of Japan, Tokyo's Suzuran High School For Boys AKA The School For Crows. They're referred to as crows because they're loud, boisterous, annoying and they tend to overrun things and cause chaos making them largely undesirable to the other denizens of the city.

Suzuran High attracts the worst of the worst from all over the country and it becomes a sort of minor league for the organized crime world as many members of the Yakuza and those with aspirations of one day joining an organization often enroll or transfer there with the dream or aspiration of becoming the King Of Suzuran High one day. The Best Of The Worst (or the Worst Of The Worst depending on how you look at it).

In order to take over the School Of Crows, you'll have to not only be able to fight but find out how to recruit the right people and pick the right crew, then you need to be wise enough to know when to be diplomatic and pick your fights. Then you need to know when to form alliances and who to align yourself with. There are several key players and factions all vying for dominance at Suzuran High. If you pick the wrong side and strike too soon you could be out of the game and forced into another school (forget about the ICU or the ER!) where you can be the BMOC but it won't matter because you couldn't hack it as a Crow.

After a four year absence, the "Crows" theme and the further adventures of Suzuran High Schhol For Boys were chronicled in the sequel series appropriately titled "Worst". "Worst" had an extremely successful run fueled by the popularity of "Crows" and a loyal audience that were thirsty for more Suzuran stories along with a new generation of readers that were reading the old "Crows" series and now had their own. "Worst" had 20 chapters all published between 2002-2005 and the popularity of Takahashi Hiroshi's brutal world of high school gangs plotting and fighting in the hopes of being rulers of the toughest school in all the nation.

The characters that appeared in the pages of "Crows" and "Worst" have made such an impression all over Asia that world famous Japanese director Takashi Miike (City Of Lost Souls, Dead Or Alive, Ichi The Killer, Sukiyaki Western Django) took the job of bringing the motion picture adaptation of "Crows" to the silver screen. In order to carve his own niche in the continuity of the series he made it so that the premise of his film is all of the events occur the year before the events in the "Crows" manga happened. This is why the film is called "Crows Zero".

In the "Crows"/"Worst" universe (mangverse?) "Crows" occurs two years before "Worst" so by preceeding both series' Miike doesn't have the same headaches he'd have trying to straight up adapt the series directly from the manga. If you think fanboys are a problem in the States multiply that by about 50 and you'd have an idea of the hell Miike would catch in Asia if he butchered "Crows". When Donnie Yen and Wilson Yip (Kill Zone, Flash Point) decided to tackle the super popular Chinese comic book title "Dragon Tiger Gate" (also known as Jademan's "Oriental Heroes" to North Americans) they knew that they'd be in for it as well from diehard Asian fans if they dropped the ball.

What Miike delivered was an even drama/action film that appealed to not only fans of both manga series both casual film fans as well. Watching the whole story unfold as Genji Takakaya, son of a local Yakuza boss decides to transfer to Suzuran High to spite his father and accomplish what he couldn't: becoming the undisputed King Of The School Of Crows. There's one major obstacle standing in his way however, Tamao Serizawa, the current top boy at Suzuran controls the school with an iron fist and he has a crew that managed to crush everyone that's attempted to snatch the throne from Serizawa in the past.

Genji gets help from a local Yakuza member who instructs him in how to be more diplomatic in his mission and to seek out allies and form alliances since he's new to the school. He begins to maneuver his way through the school and recruit more and more supporters for his cause through favors and the occassional asskicking. There were a wide assortment of excellent fights in close quarters in this film that reminded me of some of my favorite fight sequences in Walter Hill masterpiece "The Warriors".

"Crows Zero" was a huge box office success when it finally opened in Japan, Korea and China in October 2007. It managed to wrest the top spot away from "Hero" and made 2.5 billion yen at the Japanese box office alone ($25 million USD) and just under $17 million USD in worldwide box office receipts. It was so well received that a sequel was greenlit and is currently in production. Expect "Crows Zero 2" to follow the exploits of Genji and the GPS Crew eight months after the events in "Crows Zero" and right before graduation. It should hit theaters in Asia sometime in Summer 2009.

If you haven't yet seen "Crows Zero" yet it was released in North America and distributed through Media Blasters this past April and it's also available for rental through both Netflix and Redbox. If you've never read any of either the "Crows" or Worst" manga series' you can read both series' through online scanlations (page scans translated to English) by clicking on the name of the manga you wish to read here: "Crows" or "Worst".

One.

Dart Adams presents The Dartflix Film Review: Quantum Of Solace

"Quantum Of Solace" has quite a hill to climb being that it's not only the second film in the darker, more realistic reboot of the influential world famous Bond series of films but it is following what was easily the best film of the entire series. "Quantum Of Solace" opened on October 31st in the UK and Europe and on November 7th in Asia and India and immediately claimed the #1 box office spot in all of those countries (Thanks to my UK connects I saw the flick this past weekend). It will manage to make an estimated $175-$200 million dollars before it even opens in North America on Friday (Edit: It has made an estimated $190 million in worldwide box office receipts as of Nov. 14th).

Bond is still racked with guilt over the death of his girlfriend Vesper Lynd and is on a reckless campaign to find the person/people responsible. He's catching bodies left and right and he's pushing M's patience to the brink. Following the capture of Mr. White (these events directly follow the ones from "Casino Royale") it's revealed that MI-6 contains moles and a leak. The people responsible for Vesper's murder are still a mystery. Bond isn't amused in the least by this reveal and M wonders who in her circle she can actually trust since one of her own men just tried to off her.

As Bond goes lone wolf and follows some leads he stumbles on to some information that leads him to Haiti. He then encounters the lovely Camille and her on/off boyfriend that doesn't seem too pleased with her. He seems to be conducting some none to kosher business by the pier with a shady character. Bond observes and send his recon photos to MI-6 to get some info on the folks he's shadowing.

He ends up saving Camille before she met quite a disastrous end and he continued in his quest to get leads on who tried to kill M and also try to get some idea as to who was responsible for the demise of the woman he loved. A Bond with actual feelings and a conscience? I can rock with that. He discovers the the man he's after is named Dominic Greene and he was with a deposed dictator named General Madrano. What's the deal? Bond decides to do some more recon to find out.

Bond and MI-6 discover that Dominic Greene is apparently an environmentalist and an activist that is working with several corporations to save lands in some South American countries. He is also a person of interest to the CIA and the American government so something else has to be going on with him and his operations. What's his (Greene's) plan exactly? A weather device that can control the world? A large pyramid that can block electric power to certain parts of the world? Oh...nah, that's Cobra. My bad.

At some point or another Bond discovers what one phase of the plot is and breaks it up. He aslo identifies the main players in the plan and gets a lead that can help him break open the whole operation. He once again encounters Camille after having a tryst with his new *ahem* handler Strawberry Fields (forever!). Oh, did I mention that he went and got Mathis out of retirement to assist him along the way? Shit, I knew I forgot to do something! *Ahem!* SPOILERS!!! LOL.

Bond figures out the entire nefarious (comic book word) plot and he eventually stops it. A lot of stuff blew up in the process, some sex was had and someone's lifeless body ended up in a dumpster and another person was drowned in oil. Bond killed some more folks, used different vehicles to get to some exotic locales, drank some liquor, had a few highly informative conversations and did some parkour/free running along the way as well. Bloody good show!

This film was highly entertaining and there was a gang of action but it fell short of toppling 'Casino Royale" as the GOAT Bond film ever. Either way, I will be copping this the Tuesday it comes out...on Blu-Ray. Fuck the dumb shit. I give this action packed paranoia and insomnia induced thrill ride of killer emo Bond film a mos def. Hopefully, next time I get to see Felix Leiter actually catch a body for a change and earn his paycheck. I expect this to cruise to the #1 box office spot this weekend. Watch the fanboys find a reason to bitch about it! *Checks IMDb*


One.

What's New In Dart's iPod #55 AKA Brother, Can You Spare Some Change?

This past week America surprised the hell out of me and voted Barack Obama into office by an overwhelming margin that saw the United States experience it's greatest voter turnout in more than 100 years. He (Obama) received 68% of the youth vote, 66% percent of the first time voters, 95% of the Black vote, 68% of the Latino/Chicano vote and and a surprising 43% of the White vote. To put that into proper historical perspective that's a higher percentage of the national White vote than both Al Gore and John Kerry got...it's also more than Bill Clinton got in 1992 and 1996 when he won both presisential elections. Wow.

I was very proud of John McCain for not allowing the people to continue booing Barack Obama during his concession speech and I appreciate that he never went for it when his supporters would say that the were "afraid" of what would happen if Obama/Biden won the election. Will things change overnight? That's an impossibility because you have 8 years of mess and ineptitude to clean up first. Remember how long it took the Clinton Administration to get things rolling after the quagmire the previous 12 years of the Reagan/Bush Administration immersed this country in? I sure do.

The man has the job now and it's time for him to roll up his sleeves, loosen up his tie and execute when he's finally gets inaugurated. Whether you like it or not, Barack Obama is the 44th President Of The United States. Getting him in office was the easy part, the hard part will be restoring the United States to it's former glory and all of us have a part to play in doing that just as we did in this election.

This week I'll be reviewing seven new projects that leaked or recently hit store shelves in the following order: Beyonce "I Am...Sasha Fierce", DJ Skee & Evidence "The Layover Mixtape", Jedi Mind Tricks "A History Of Violence", Krohme "The Beasts Released: South Of Heaven Vol. 1", Royce Da 5'9" "The Album", Small Professor "Slowbus" and 88-Keys "The Death Of Adam". For those of you new to the party, I don’t rate albums on a scale or assign them a numerical value out of 5 or 10, instead I merely answer the all important question of “Is it worth buying or not?”. Here's how my "Cop It Or Not" ratings system breaks down below:


Oh No! This CD is a drink coaster/table balancer/doorstop/gerbil/hamster room divider/frisbee/discus/makeshift shield/last ditch choice for a visor/alternate shuriken choice. Sell this shit to whoever is dumb enough to buy it from you.

Maeby (Maybe)! Depending on your own set of personal preferences you might like this joint. Give it a listen first to see if it's in your lane or not.

Mos Def! Cop the album when it drops...'Nuff said.

Change is gon' come...yes it is! © Sam Cooke

Best Joints: If I Were A Boy, Halo, Disappear, Broken-Hearted Girl, Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It), Radio, Diva, Sweet Dreams and Video Phone

Hot Garbage: I thought that Ave Maria and Satellites were both kinda meh

Dart's Take: Since this album only has 11 tracks on it (and 4 additional songs are on the Deluxe Edition) it doesn't really make any sense for this to be a double CD unless it really is a cheap way for Mrs. Carter to try to beat Alicia Keys' sales record. I actually like "If I Were A Boy" better when I actually sit down and listen to it and I don't get distracted by the visual of Beyonce in a police uniform. One issue that I have with this project that it's too steeped in what's hot on the radio instead of having it's own direction.

Almost the entire first half of the album was a bunch of slow songs and the track "Halo" sounded like a T-Pain, The-Dream or Ne-Yo song while on the second disc "Radio" sounded a little too much like Janelle Monae for my taste and "Diva" was just a rehash of Lil' Wayne's "A Millie". This album has of course taken on the Techno/Electro sound of the music that's dominating the airwaves and charts right now. While it isn't very original or progressive (no Sol-Angel and The Hadley St. Dreams) it will move units. I give it a recommended maybe because it doesn't suck by any stretch but it's really too short and this album really doesn't need to be on two separate discs at all.



Best Joints: The Layover, FreeP, Tip The Scale, Recognize, Beatiful Day Remix, Beats Like This, Let Yourself Go Remix, Calmly Smoke Remix, Hits From The Bong 2008, Hush Now, One Shot, All Said & Done Remix, For Whatever It's Worth, Half Off, Celeb Reality, Bigger Dreams, For Whom The Bell Tolls, Hot & Cold Remix and The Last Shall Be First

Hot Garbage: Worldwide EV was the lone miss of this entire mixtape.

Dart's Take: This mixtape will do the job of making the 18 day wait for the "Layover EP" that much easier. The big wait, of course, will be for Evidence's 2nd solo LP "Cats & Dogs". The mix of new mixtape tracks, remixes of older material and a couple of tracks from the upcoming EP did the job of earning this mixtape a highly recommended maybe. If you're not a fan of Evidence's style and last year's "The Weatherman LP" did nothing for you then don't even bother with this.