MIKE JORDAN

This Face In My Dreams Seizes My Guts

2/21/2014

 
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...She floods me with dread. Soaked in soul; she swims in my ice, by the bed.

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Yeah, NahRight. Wrong.

11/8/2013

 
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You'd never believe this shit, but there is a such thing as journalistic integrity. When you're credited or recognized for having it, you've usually shown that you are careful to only report facts, able to remain as objective as possible, and those kinds of things. One major no-no is taking money for your content without stating to your reader that you're doing exactly that.

Hey, bills. They've gotta be paid and all; I get it--I get it. But there is a long-standing model for how you do this. Major newspapers, magazines and websites have been doing this for much longer than blogs have existed. All you basically do is have some way of alerting your reader that what they're laying eyes on has been purchased.

Why does it matter? Simple, really. When you buy something, you own it. If you own something, you control it. If you control the message, you usually don't follow anyone else's rules, although there's no rule saying that you couldn't follow them if you wanted to do such a thing--it'd be weird and strangely altruistic, but pretty awesome as well. Of course this doesn't happen often.

So when a hip-hop blog, which was once the premier source for quality underground and mainstream music, decides to just all of a sudden start dick-riding Moet & CHandon, well, it's kind of depressing. Not just because it's written in a very lame manner by the well-respected founder of the website, but mostly because never once does he come on out and say he's being paid. And really, is this bottle really that nice? Not that I'm an authority on Champagne bottles, but really. It's pretty loudly out of place, and by linking to Moet's Instagram account--twice--Eskay is damn near pulling a hamstring bending over to touch his toes for the brand that's quietly backing him up on this (I mean financially, of course).

Now, have I ever written about new alcohol products or packaging designs? Maybe. Hell, I'm drinking wine now, so I'm not exactly of sound-enough mind to recall, thanks. But have I ever been paid for doing so? Nope. As someone who  attended media tastings and knows what these folks ask "journalists"(bloggers) to do in return for their invitation to the free food-n-drank event (and future invites, ahem...), I can tell you that Eskay is doing exactly what a publicist or marketing rep wants him to do just by the language and links. NahRight is too big of a brand (or at least I thought it was) to be doing this kind of stuff for free. Eskay may be reckless by drunkenly putting overpriced bubbly ads, cloaked as content, in between posts about rap artists Hopsin and Roc Marciano (I know..., "Who?," right?), but yeah, I guess I'm hating or something...

Anyway, read the post here; tell me if you think I'm just tripping. Better yet, tell Eskay in the comments of his blog. He could use the feedback (not as many comments these days), and I wouldn't count on my comment passing approval...

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The Dope Show: Art Beats + Lyrics

10/27/2013

 
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Here's a rumor that would certainly be sucktastic if it turns out to be true. Art, Beats & Lyrics, the annual traveling show that started in Atlanta and now includes several other major U.S. cities (NY, LA, DC, … St. Louis?), will end after this 2013 show. Without having spoken to my friend Jabari Graham, a promoter who started the show six years ago with Atlanta artist Dubelyoo, I can't confirm it, but I hope that it's either a wickedly clever promotional play or a vicious lie. Either way, at least it looks like we'll have something new from the same team. Yae-yaeeee!

Anyway, here are some pics of amazing art created by ATL residents, throngs of people enjoying free Gentleman Jack cocktails, and two music legends--DJ Quik and Teddy Riley--performing live.

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Pumpkin Beer Today, Gone Tomorrow

10/9/2013

 
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My favorite beer-drinking time of year is "pumpkin." With that truth comes plenty of side-eyed glances, but it also usually comes with delicious flavor and a rabid hunt for whichever bar, beer store or growler shop still has the dark orange brew available by bottle or tap.

What sucks is that this year it was all sucky, and therefore everybody's tastebuds got all jacked up and thrown out of whack. Take, for example, this Paste Magazine pumpkin beer ranking. And hey, Paste represents Atlanta, so I love them. But there are some numbers on this board that are so ridiculous that you remember that whoever wrote it gets drunk off pumpkin beer, if you will. So I wanted to share some trill thoughts on the subject.

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Dinner, Drinks, Dancing & Donell Jones: The Shark Bar & Grille in Southwest ATL is Where You Wanna Be

7/12/2013

 
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You don't get many chances these days to tell people there's a Donell Jones show tonight. As a former employee of LaFace Records, even I get pretty nostalgic and fan-happy remembering the '90s, when R&B singers still wore fedoras and suits, and sang songs that were just simple enough that dudes felt comfortable singing along.

Donell Jones is indeed back, celebrating a new album release and performing in concert tonight at The Shark Bar & Grille, a swanky/sexy ("swexy"?) new lounge renovated from the shell of what used to be The Pearl Bistro & Bar. Instead of the warmer, rustic-earth orange/gold/cream interior color scheme, there are now lush nighttime hues of deep blue, purple, and glossy black.

The spot stays open until 3am on Fridays, Saturdays, and because why not, Tuesdays. Featured on the menu are pastas like Chicken and Sausage, a gargantuan $18 serving of Louisiana Gumbo with shrimp, crawfish, chicken and other gumboey things, and what they swear you'll say are the best catfish fingers in town, unless of course you've ever shaken Manti Teo's hand.

Again, Donell Jones performs tonight -- I know, that's like three or four times now -- and I'd guess he's hitting the stage around 11pm or later. Get more info at The Shark Bar's Facebook page, get more info on the venue at SharkBarATL.com, and click Read More now to check out a gallery of interior photos. You know what's up. (sorry... couldn't help myself)

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