Hatorade & Blowin’ In The Windy City (Back-To-Back)

Yeah, yeah, we all know that the Florida Gators repeated as the Men’s NCAA Basketball Champions this year…blah, blah, blah. What y’all don’t know is that I was in Atlanta for the festivities to back my Bruins. The other thing that you don’t know is that Florida fans are ridiculously obnoxious. You won back-to-back championships, big deal. Try winning 11 bball championships, or 7 in a row, 99 overall before you start with that “Gator Bait” bullsh*t. How long has U of F been around? So what’s the excuse?Anyways, off of the Hatorade for a minute, I did have a good time kicking it with some southern belles out there (y’all know how to console a brother), got to see Ludacris perform for free, ate one of top 10 meals I’ve ever had, and even got over to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. All in all a good trip, except for you know what. In terms of ATL’s music scene, here are some of my favorites off my IPOD playlist:

[MP3] DJ Unk feat. Andre 3000 & Jim Jones :: Walk It Out

{Some good ol’ crunk to remind you of why you loved it when Andre would spit}

[MP3] Deerhunter :: Strange Lights

[MP3] Collective Soul :: December

[MP3] TLC feat. Andre Benjamin :: Sumthin' Wicked This Way Comes

{Some good ol’ LaFace R&B via ATL super-producers, Organized Noize, to remind you of why you loved it when Andre would spit…pre-3000.}

[HIPPO’S NOTE: This post was supposed to go up eons ago, so if certain references aren’t current (ie the UCLA/Norte Dame football game 10/2006), there’s a good reason. The main reason would be that we were down (thanks a lot EZarchive!!!) and are back…knock on wood. A lot has happened since then (MAINLY THIS!!!, I was there and it was a riot, definitely made up for those 30 seconds in South Bend), but I need to get this out there since I’ve already taken the time to put it together months ago. Funny how these “city music scene” posts always coincide with a Bruin loss…maybe I should stop doing this]

Chicago is known for a lot of things like sites (museums, Sears, Wrigley), tastes (beer, pizzas, subs), sports (Bears, Bulls, Cubs, White Sox, Blackhawks), even bball playground legends (Isiah Thomas, Tim Hardaway, Antoine Walker, Dwayne Wade), and lets not forget Oprah. Went for R & R and to see Notre Dame, the “gold and blue”, play. Will never forget South Bend. If only Rudy was there. One thing, got tired of hearing the “Notre Dame Victory March” for what seemed like every 1st down. Got me thinking though, what do y’ all think is the best school fight song? Any dope remixes? And it wouldn’t have been a worthwhile trip if I didn’t focus on the sounds of this soulful place, dig at all the spots, and post some my favorites of Chi-Town’s long heritage of great innovative music.

[MP3] Chicago :: Beginnings

{Can’t do a post on Chicago without mentioning the group Chicago. Lot’s to choose from, but here’s one of my favorites in their catalogue. One of their earlier jams.}

[MP3] Howlin’ Wolf :: Backdoor Man

{Blues Brother #1.}

[MP3] Jerry Butler :: Never Give You Up

{Everyone knows about Curtis Mayfield or the Chi-lites, but what about some mutha uckin’ Jerry Butler?}

[MP3] Common :: Resurrection (Extra P. Remix)

{It was a tough call cause Com’s most recent album, Be, had production by one of Chicago’s finest (Kanye West on the majority of the album), but I opted for the song that made him off the album that made him, Resurrection. I know I could have gone with the original production of legendary Chi-Town producer No ID, but I don’t think you’ll be angry at me for putting up this ill remix by Large Professor. Both great, but very different versions. I chose the rarer, more jazzy, somber of the two.}

Trips are fun.

:: MISTA HIPPO::