Episode 28: The Geography of Hip-Hop (Ya Don't Stop)

We ain't no joke.

Don't you ever wonder why half of the hip-hop songs begin with some dude loudly bellowing out a place name? "Brooklyn!" "North Carolina! Put yo hands up!" Well, when we're talking about popular musical forms firmly rooted in place, there is no better place to go than the deep, storied, and cartoonishly commercialized world of hip-hop.

 

 It grew, pretty categorically, out of the Bronx in the late 60's and early 70's and took all of two decades to basically own the popular music landscape, so who's to say that place doesn't matter when you've got (1, 2, 3, 4, or 5) MCs and one DJ (or two)? Many of us grew up fondly(?) remembering an era when they loudly bragged about shooting each other, depending on which coast they were from.

If any of you ever meet Ice Cube or Dr. Dre, $100 to whomever shows them this photo.

 
This week, our buddy Fernando joins us to talk about the ever-changing geographical face of hip-hop, the genre that constantly battles (verbally and metaphorically) over authenticity, representation, and in the case of Lil Jon, DRAAAAANK! WHAT! And you best believe we freestyle here, too. By "freestyle" I mean go off on tangents about hip-hop coming from all over the world, our own experiences getting into it over the years, and drawing the ideological parallels between hip-hop and punk music. This was a fun time.




Produced by Tyler S. for Sonic Geography
Theme Song: "The Face of the Earth" by The Dismemberment Plan
Other Music Featured:
Mos Def - "Hip Hop"
Bliss n Eso - "Eye of the Storm"
Jurassic 5 - "Improvise"
Atmosphere - "Get Fly"
Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa feat. Bruno Mars - "Young, Wild, and Free"

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* I should comment that we somehow got through an entire hour without discussing Public Enemy, Common, or Wu-Tang Clan. For this, we wholeheartedly apologize and hope that this doesn't deter you from listening to our next episode on the Geography of the American Civil War. We won't leave out Josh Chamberlain! Dude was badass!

The Casual Geographer Episodes 26 and 27!

What's that? 2 New Episodes in one post? The hell you say!

Well, the two episodes make up for the definitive lack of graphics or fanfare. We apologize for not updating this blog recently, but as the crow flies, we need to change our hosting plan, and sort out the iTunes situation. For now, though, we are excited to post the new episodes right here. Spread the love/RSS and we'll be back with you soon.

Episode 26: Bret's Journey to Japan and Korea


While Tyler was lame and remained stateside over the holiday break, Bret took matters and transpacific flights into his own hands and went to Tokyo, Suwon, and Seoul. What happened? Well, listen here to find out, kids.



Episode 27: LA's Ethnic Enclaves

So, Tyler and Bret still have a lot of work and research to do, but in their time bouncing all over the LA region, they've spent quality time in enclaves brought to you by various tempers of immigration. We're talking Little Ethiopia, Little Armenia, Chinatown, and various others. Hear them babble about them here, and then go eat some delicious Kefta and listen to System of a Down.




Produced by Tyler S. for Sonic Geography
Theme Song: "The Face of the Earth" by The Dismemberment Plan

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Presenting Episode 17: "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles!"

To all the haters who said we'd never be able to incorporate Steve Martin and John Candy into a cover graphic for a TCG episode, feast your eyes on this. We can't hear your hating anymore over the sounds of champagne bottles popping at headquarters. Seriously, this is a big deal.

You know what else is a big deal? Voting "YES" on anything to approve greater transit infrastructure. Why? Because if you live in a city of any kind, take a few minutes to read about how it has developed. It didn't happen on its own; it took buses, trains, airplanes, and all sorts of creative ways to shuffle those together into a dense urban fabric to make your beloved hometown the hometown that it is today.

What we're trying to say it, Bret and Tyler have got some opinions to share with you on the matter, and maybe may convince a few of you to give a different form of transit a shot than your usual. Because that's how you get to really know a city.

ALSO, we get a surprise appearance from our buddy Dennis (yes, the diving expert from Episode 2!), who gives us a quick preview of an episode we have coming up about My Refuge House, a locally based org that's doing some incredible work.

Enjoy! Below, or on iTunes.



Produced by Tyler S. for TDC Productions
Theme Song: "The Face of the Earth" by The Dismemberment Plan
Other Music Included:
Skankin' Pickle - "I Missed the Bus"
Pete Rock - "Take the D Train"
The Monkees - "Last Train to Clarksville"

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Episode 5: Catalina Island

Ho Ho Ho, fellow casual geographers. Merry Christmas. We trust that you've all been good this year, and because you have, we've got an extra special, extra serene episode here for you. We think you'll enjoy it! And even if you don't, I think anyone would agree it's better than coal.

What's it about? We're glad you asked. About twenty-five miles off the shore of Los Angeles County, there exists a majestic island, full of breathtaking views, amazing beaches, tiny isolated towns, extraordinarily rich people, and buffalo (yes, that kind of buffalo). Our guests this week, our good friends Robert Cisneros and Julia Urcis, joined us to chat about their unforgettable experiences with this island. Robert is, in fact, one of the finest cartographers we know. Evidence below:

That's right: he charted his own hike across the island and mapped it so you don't have to. But that doesn't mean you should deprive yourself of experiencing this wonderful place. If you're in the LA area, head down to the Port of Los Angeles and hop on a ferry, or if you're a hardcore ironman, swim out (it's been done a bunch of times). But don't just take the Descendents' advice, tune in to this week's episode and hear what our guest have to say about it. You may learn more about it than you bargained for. And that, my friends, is the greatest Christmas gift of all. Hope you enjoy it, and have a safe, fun, happy New Year!

Love,
The Casual Geographer

Episode Info
Produced by Tyler
Theme Song by The Dismemberment Plan
Other Music includes
"Swimming in Sand" by Buck-o-Nine
and "Catalina" by The Descendents (of course)
All Photos and Maps here by Rob A. Cisneros

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Episode 3 Posted! INTERSECTION SONGS

Well, hello there, thanks for being here once again, and thanks for being you. But mostly, thanks for being here, with the full intent of listening to episode 3: Intersection Songs!

This week, we took a handful of great songs by some great artists that describe particular intersections and talk about their individual stories, and how those intersections have evolved since the songs were published. Sounds neat, huh?
Have a listen here, and it should be on iTunes very soon!



Songs in today's show.
1. The Ramones - "53rd & 3rd" - City: NEW YORK - Street View
2. Tom Waits - "9th & Hennepin" (1985) - City: MINNEAPOLIS/TOM'S BRAIN - Street View
3. Good Riddance - "Queen & John" (1999) - City: TORONTO - Street View
4. The Afghan Whigs - "Fountain & Fairfax" (1993) - City: LOS ANGELES - Street View
5. The Dismemberment Plan - "13th & Euclid" (1993) - City: WASHINGTON DC - Street View

We hope you enjoy it! Once again, The Casual Geographer in socialmedialand:
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Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and to our friends abroad, a great rest of the week. It's almost December!