Crib Notes

For the first installment of Crib Notes’ new Roll Call we call out Ben Coleman of the Atlanta electro duo Judi Chicago.

Who are you?
Ben. I’m in a band called Judi Chicago. Pleased to meet you.

Describe yourself in three words.
Mouthy Dancehall Immigrant.

Who — dead or alive — would most you like to meet?
Robert Wyatt, Antonin Artaud, Terry Riley, Sylvester, James Brown, Syd Barrett, Lemmy, The Marx Brothers and Judy Chicago. Preferably all at once, over a good dinner.

Who would you most like to slap in the face?
Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, or any other cretinous faux-patriot bigot-gollum within reach.

What song do you wish you had written?
“Eat Yrself Fitter” by the Fall. “Wind It Up” by the Prodigy. “St. Elmo’s Fire” (the Brian Eno song or the John Parr song, you pick). Anything by Underworld. “Loose Booty” by Sly Stone. “Big Time” by Peter Gabriel.

Elvis Costello or Elvis Presley?
Presley. Costello is a little bland for these buds. I’ll take Reg Presley over both if I have the choice.

LP, CD or MP3?
LP, if I have a choice, but I’m not making a big deal about it. It’s the music that counts, not the medium. However, vinyl remains the best sounding format, and I like big cover art.

If you could start one trend, what would it be?
Dancing in an unironic way to something more interesting than a mash-up or Soulja Boy.

If you could end one trend, what would it be?
Posing / sulking and just generally being an anally retentive know it all misery guts.

With whom would you most like to play a game of spin the bottle?
Girls Aloud, the best British girl group ever. Closer to home, the Coathangers, although I’m pretty sure they’ll beat me up for saying it.

Listen to Judy Chicago’s “Mad Ape.”

See Judi Chicago:
Nov. 8. — 8 p.m. ‘Underground’ at Eyebeam Studio NYC w. Roxy Cottontail. NYC.
Nov. 28 — 8 p.m. Beep Beep Gallery ATL.
Dec. 5 — 8 p.m. Lenny’s Bar – Acid House Party, Judi Chicago Live + D.J ATL.

(Photo by Zach Wolfe)

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While Sarah Palin was preparing for her guest appearance on “Saturday Night Live,” rapper Lil Wayne took the liberty to throw a lyrical diss at the Republican VP candidate and McCain while rapping onstage at the 2008 BET Hip Hop Awards in Atlanta.

It was certainly a pro-Obama night at the Atlanta Civic Center, where the third annual show was taped. Even during a performance meant to honor women in hip-hop (which required calling ’80s and ’90s rappers Salt N Pepa and DJ Spinderella, the Lady of Rage, MC Lyte and Yo-Yo out of semi-retirement) a classic tune like Salt N Pepa’s sexually implicit “Push It” became a rallying cry to Barack the vote.

“In 2008, we’re pushing for change in America, and we’re pushing for Barack Obama,” said Cheryl “Salt” Wray.

The partisan show of support was no surprise, but still sorta ironic considering the BET network’s founder and former CEO Bob Johnson vehemently opposed Barack Obama’s candidacy during the Democratic primaries when he was a staunch Hillary Clinton supporter.

You can read more about how hip-hop and politics mixed at the BET HHA in this AJC story.

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According to Reuters, after being appalled by the use of their song “Barracuda” as the unofficial theme song for Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin, sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart have sent a cease and desist letter to the party that wrought the menace from the great white north.

“The Republican campaign did not ask for permission to use the song, nor would they have been granted that permission,” according to a statement issued by the Wilson sisters on Thurs., eve.

But the cease and desist letter is probably just a matter of wishful thinking at this point. The McCain campaign said it had obtained the appropriate licenses to play the song.

“The McCain campaign respects intellectual property rights,” spokesman Brian Rogers said. “Accordingly, prior to using ‘Barracuda’ at any events, we paid for and obtained all necessary licenses.”

Doh!

Read the story here.

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