09. Will President Obama ever be President of Black America give a speech in front of a Black audience where he speaks as the President rather than the Daddy-in-Chief of Black America?
08. Did you know that premium canned tuna was so amazingly good?
Best song of the year and worst video of the year
07. Will I ever get tired of Robin Thicke’s song Blurred Lines?
05. Why do I miss the NFL so much?
04. What interesting place have you been to lately?
03. Which is worse; the threat of tornadoes or the threat of earthquakes?
02. Will Anthony sexting scandal Weiner be the next mayor of New York City? (I’d vote for his wife Huma, above)
The mainstream media has largely ignored the violence in the city of Chicago while giving almost unprecedented coverage of violence in White communities like Sandy Hook, Connecticut and in Boston.
So, it is certainly about time that a major mainstream media outlet devotes time to the continuing violence in Chicago. Tonight on CBS the news magazine 48 Hours devotes an hour to the violence in that city. It will also cover the tragic shooting of Chicago teen Hadiya Pendleton. (photo above)
The only sore spot in the coverage is that it seems that CBS thinks in order to make the killings in Chicago’s mostly African American neighborhoods more interesting to the general population that they must also include a segment on drug use in the suburbs of Chicago. Oh well, I suppose it’s a start.
CBS’ 48 Hours airs tonight at 10pm eastern/ pacific. See a preview of the episode here.
If you watch the episode please let me know what you thought of it.
When a hot new group comes on the scene with a big hit it’s very easy to think they will be around for a long while. This is especially so if, like the groups I feature today, they have something unique about them. But, one hit single and some cool style is not always enough to set the stage for a long and successful music career.
The music business is complicated and filled with roadblocks. Record companies can make or break an artist by doing a good job of promoting or a bad job. There are internal conflicts within groups. And, there is a fickle public that can love an artist today and forget them tomorrow.
Considering all of that it is truly amazing when a group can form and keep it together long enough to even sign a record deal, much less actually release an album. And, having a hit single is like winning the lottery, it’s so rare. So, while sometimes one hit wonders are the butt of jokes, they should be applauded for doing what millions try and fail to do. This is what makes one hit wonderdom so interesting.
Today’s Flashback Friday will feature two groups from 1992 who became one hit wonders.
Joe Public was a band from Buffalo, New York. It consisted of lead singer and bass guitarist Kevin Scott, keyboardist and guitarist Jake Carter, percussionist and drummer Dwight “Mr. Dew” Wyatt and lead guitarist Joe “J.R.” Sayles.
They are best known for their one and only hit single “Live and Learn,” from their January 1992 self-titled album. That song reached number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
(Safe for work/ There is a 20 sec commercial before the video)
House of Pain was a (mostly) Irish-American hip hop group consisting of Everlast, Danny Boy and DJ Lethal. In July 1992 they released their self-titled first album. That album contained their one and only legitimate hit, “Jump Around”. That song peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. None of their other singles from that album or any other came close to the success of that song.
(Not safe for work)
Do you remember these groups? Did you know they were one hit wonders? Did you jam to these songs?
I watched a documentary about former world class track and field sprinter Marion Jones. It covered her rise to the top and her eventual downfall after admitting to using performance enhancing drugs. After watching the documentary I realized how much I miss seeing Marion competing. And, I realized that I also have a soft spot of fallen women.
I remember a few years ago when former Detroit public official Christine Beatty was under a full blown attack in the media after being caught-up in a scandal, that I was pulling for her. And, even though she admitted to doing wrong, the wrong didn’t really matter to me. What I saw in her was an extremely bright woman who made a big mistake.
I wonder what it is about me that makes me pull for and support these women even after they have fallen from grace. I’m not sure what it is other than maybe that women who fall tend to have a much harder time making a comeback then men.
Or, maybe it’s as simple as I like believing in women who are very talented and smart, even if they screw up.
Whatever the reason, I still think of these two women occasionally and I hope they are doing okay. And, at some point I hope they fulfill their promise and rise to the top again.
Do you have a soft spot for fallen people? Were you a Marion Jones fan before her fall? Why do you think I have a soft spot for these women?
Very few and I mean very few comedians can literally make me cry with laughter. Sinbad is one of the few. So, for this Flashback Friday, rather than highlighting some of my favorite music, I will showcase some classic material from Sinbad. Get your tissue ready.
Here are some people, places and things on my mind at the moment.
People
01. Robin Thicke spends way too much time trying to be that cool White boy giving Black women advice on dating and not enough time doing what he does best, which is making some seriously cool and sometimes funky music.
His brand new song, “Blurred Lines” featuring T.I. and Pharrell is seriously funky and is the perfect spring/ summer jam. Check for it to top the charts in a few weeks.
02. President Barack Obama is making sure that corporate America gets its money’s worth with his new nominee for Federal Communications Commission Chairman. His nominee, Tom Wheeler, who as FCC Chairman will oversee America’s broadcast media was a lobbyist for guess who? The wireless and cable industry. That’s who. Which not so coincidentally will be the same companies that he will now oversee. Isn’t that nice and cozy! I bet AT&T and Comcast are having a party as we speak.
Places
03. I know that some of you that read this blog on a regular basis probably think I’m a little weird or at least a little off-beat. So, this next little item will reenforce those thoughts.
I’ve been thinking for a long time now about starting a cult intentional community. According to Wikipedia, an intentional community is a planned residential community designed from the start to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, religious, or spiritual vision and often follow an alternative lifestyle.
Detroit seems like the perfect place to do this. There are blocks and blocks of empty land for farming as well as thousands of empty buildings and homes that can be bought many times for literally a few hundred dollars.
I’d love to get a group of young progressive African Americans and others together to build a community form scratch with the intent of living in a safe, self-sufficient and welcoming environment.
Anyway, maybe this is just a dream or maybe one day I’ll say f it and hit the road for Detroit.
Things
04. Boeing‘s plane of the future, the 787 or Dreamliner, was grounded this past winter after fires on at least two of the brand new jets started because of its high-tech batteries. This past week the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) cleared the Dreamliner for service after months of testing the batteries but without mandating a change of batteries. Instead allowing only modifications to the problem batteries.
Of course the grounding of Boeing’s brand spanking new plane cost the airplane maker and its commercial airline users millions of dollars. Which may have been the reason the FAA gave the plane an AOK to fly without mandating any major changes.
Once again the FAA has shown itself to be more of an advocate for the airline and airplane industry and less of an ally for the travelling public. Many of you know that I love airplanes but, this is one plane I will not fly on. I personally believe it’s a lemon.
Do you like Robin Thicke’s new song? Are you surprised by the President’s FCC nominee? Have you ever been to Detroit? What do you think of my idea to start an intentional community? Would you fly on Boeing’s 787?
AK with the President of the United States 
The mainstream media has largely ignored the violence in the city of Chicago while giving almost unprecedented coverage of violence in White communities like 
