The Five Lil Wayne Songs You've Never Heard

Thursday, November 4th, 2010. A Day which will live in infamy. Free Weezy Day.

This Thursday, Dwayne Carter gets released from Rikers Island Penn to wreak havoc once more, create music, and feed off the souls of the innocent.

In celebration of this momentous occasion I compiled a collection of personal favorite, creative, and even compelling songs by the misunderstood genius (Rolling Stone said it).

But first a few cool facts on Mr. Carter (No not Jay-Z)

• He attends the University of Houston, majoring in psychology.
• He bought a sky box at the Louisiana Superdome with fellow rapper and mentor, Birdman.
• Born in New Orleans
• At the young age of 13, Wayne would drop out of school to fully pursue a rap career.
• On August 14, 2006, Lil' Wayne was arrested on charges of possession of less than 1 ounce of marijuana and possession of a controlled substance. Police claim the rapper was in possession of several unlabeled bottles - one containing 60 pills of Alprazolam, a generic form of Xanax that is used to treat anxiety disorders and panic attacks; another containing 59 hydrocodone pills
• Sign: Libra
• IS INSANE 

And now the list. Forgive the archaic hyper links, but putting the entire videos all up seems to be rocket science. Check them out. You won't be disappointed. 

1) "La La La"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7n6P2ge6kw

A beautiful portrait of a life in New Orleans, this song has a very sweet beat infused with reggae and hip hop. Wayne raps about his hard times as well as the happy times growing up in poverty to a successful and lucrative entrepreneur. 

2) "I Feel Like Dying"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cykGnl1KvcM

This was the first song I ever heard from Lil Wayne. Super hypnotic beat and very very crazy strange lyrics. Legend has it, he drank an entire bottle of codeine cough syrup mixed with Sprite and a jolly rancher (a classic party drank in the south known as purple drank or syzurup), stepped in to a booth and BAM! This was the result. Still one of my favorites just for how strange it is.

3) "Shoot Me Down"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6hveNHvvTw

The only song that I know comes from an album, "The Carter III" is very similar to "I Feel Like Dying", but introduces one of the cooler things about Lil Wayne. His fondness of the guitar. In fact one of Lil Wayne's idols was Kurt Cobain of Nirvana.

4) "Paper Planes Remix"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSIy9JLYMwY

Don't know who he is raping with, don't know where this came from, don't even know if that is the right title, but dammit MIA's "Paper Planes" was to awesome of a song not to be remixed five million times including Wayne (Kid Cudi also has a really cool remix of the summer time jam, but that's for another day).

This song reminds me of hanging out with my little brother and than maybe going and robbing a bank with him for some bother/thug bonding. Word Son

5) "Office Musik"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CucdaMUku_E

f "The Office" and Lil Wayne collided in real life, it probably wouldn't be this gansterific. Seriously one of the coolest renditions of "Hustla Musik". It's creative, it's funny, and dare I say it's even cute.

For all of you who took time to learn a little more about Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. thank you and for all of those who probably still dislike, hate Lil Wayne, or even hate him more after reading this than that's you. The point is for some crazy reason this 5'6" Wild Man has touched me with his music, his all out craziness, and his bravery and courage to do what he wanted to do in life. You can say he is immoral, innapropriate, and even idiotic, but you can't say that he has definitely made some sort or of lasting impression.

10 Music Facts I know that you don't

1) All the members of Rush have Masters Degrees in Music, Music Theory, and Loving.

2) Jack White of the White Stripes used to work odd jobs after dropping out of community college. Before becoming famous with his "sister" Meg (actually they were married and divorced however wanted to keep the band together) he was a talented upholsterist and even worked in a chicken factory like the one in Napoleon Dynamite which he later contributed music to.

3) Gore Verbinski, the director of such films as "The Ring" and the first three "Pirates of the Caribbean" films got his start in the SoCal punk rock scene in the band The Little Kings. He and his band were signed to Epitaph records along with Bad Religion, L7, the Offspring, Rancid, NoFx and Pennywise. He even direct music videos for the bands and worked in the labels marketing department

4) On the topic of the Offspring, Noodles the bands lead guitarist is considerably older than the rest of the group. He was their high school janitor who they only asked to join the band because he was old enough to buy bear.

5) Hip Hop group Bone Thugs N Harmony originally were known as Bone Enterprise. They released their first CD when they were all around the age of 15 with the notable song "Bless Tha 40 oz"

6) Brad Knowel of Sublime was in a very romantic relationship with Gwen Stefani of No Doubt. The two toured together for a very long time until Knowel died of a heroin overdose and Stefani went on to marry UK Kurt Cobain grunge counter part Gavin Rosdale of Bush

7) German Industrial Metal band Rammstein's pyrotechnics are so out of control that they have been banned to play in the U.S.A since 1998 after numerous close calls in numerous venues while on the Family Values Tour.

8)Tool's guitarist, Adam Jones used to jam with guitarist Tom Morello  of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave before the two parted ways in the early 90's. Morello went off to Harvard to study political science. Jones stayed in LA and created special effects for movies like Jurassic Park. The two got a chance to jam once more at Bonaroo Music Festival in Tennessee.

9) Iggy Pop used to work for drugs as payment from David Bowie. Instead of receiving royalties he would get his monetary worth in speed, dope, heroin, marijuana, and cocaine all which Iggy would use up more than he would sell.

10) Bono of U2 has a third nipple... or so they say.

2 Legit to Quit

This is the message I just received a little under 15 minutes ago. A little overview: I got a nice young lady's number the other day in class, proceeded to text the pretty young lady the next day just saying hello. Here is the response:

Thurs, Sept 30, 12:48am

"Hey Sorry I didn't text you back the other day, Ive been super busy  but I just wanted to let you know (Even though it has been a couple days and it's almost 1:00 in the fucking morning *NOTE* this is not in the original text)

me and my boyfriend have been on the outs for a while but now were back together (thank God, I was worried there for a minute)

You seem like a really "legit guy" (Mc Hammer was pretty legit too so thanks)

I'm sorry I wasted your time (some more by sending you this dribble while you are trying to go to sleep)"

I don't get it.

Why the hell would you send someone a  message like this out of the blue? To be perfectly and frankly honest, I was happier not getting any message back. It was easier just to cut the loses and run, but to me this is just adding insult to injury and it's pretty weak.

Why would you think I would want to read this right now in the middle of the night? Why would I care about you and your boyfriends problems? Why do you think I said "hi" in the first place?

It just makes common sense to have left it instead of pointing out the facts I didn't really want to know.

Anyways, Im just bitching more than likely to a lot of people right now about my own insecurities and issues, but whatever. I guess tonight was just the straw to break the camels back. Now I'm just fired up.

Thank God Kid Cudi is around. He can put things in to better perspective. Check him out if you haven't and don't knock it until you try it. I hated rap a year ago and now it's the soundtrack to my life. This whole year has felt like this song to me so I'd like to share it with you. I won't even sugar coat it, but I've been lonely in my life lately. It's not that I don't have friends and family that I love dearly and are the reasons why I do what I do, but it it a crime to want more than that?

Back to the topic at hand, this is Kid Cudi's song "Man on the Moon" go to Youtube and listen now.

 Alright run it
I never gave a fuck
I never a fuck about what niggas thought about me
I mean I did but like fuck it you know what I'm sayin
You gon' love me man
You gon' love me man

V1
They can't comprehend
Or even come close to understanding him
I guess if I was borin they would love me more
Guess if I was simple in the mind
Everything would be fine
Maybe if I was jerk to girls
Instead of being nice and speakin kind words
Then maybe it would be ok to say then
I wasn't a good guy to begin with

HOOK
But my mind is all crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy...
They got me thinkin I aint human,
Like I came in from above, above, above, above...
Feelin like a airplane in the sky
But then they say I'm crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy...
They got me thinkin I aint human,
Like I came in from above, above, above, above...
Feelin like a bird sittin high high

CHORUS
I be that man on the moon
I'm that man on the moon
And imma do what I do so
Do you hey hey
I be posted with my blunt and a brew my dude
I'm that man on the moon
I'm up up on the moon

V2
Close my eyes, hide in the dark
It's a curtain call, come on come all
All I do is try to make it simple
The ones that make it complicated
Never get congratulated
I'm somethin different in all aspects
Don't want a woman just to love her assets
I Still wife her up even with her flat chest
The type to get hurt
But that's the past tense

HOOK
My mind is all hazy, hazy, hazy, hazy...
I be thinkin that I'm wrong,
Cuz they used to call me lame, lame, lame...
My swag was a little different
But then my mind is hazy, hazy, hazy, hazy...
I be thinkin that I'm wrong.
But they the ones who lame, lame, lame, lame...
I got the last laugh nigga

CHORUS
I be that man on the moon
I'm that man on the moon
And imma do what I do so
Do you hey hey
I be posted with my blunt and a brew my dude
I'm that man on the moon
I'm up up on the moon

Thanks for letting me vent. Again I really don't intend or want to sound like a Negative Nancy or that I'm some lame emo bitch whose all hung up and sad about  nothing. It's just frustrating out there sometimes to the point of insanity and shit like this little late night text stunt really pushed me over. But I guess that's why this blogs here for me to just let lose.  Please feel free to share any insights or comments. 

Good Night :)

Bogo  

Only in Colorado Springs (Craig Gets Roofied)

Sorry for being MIA. College life can get pretty hectic with all the BS-ing papers, chasing girls, and all out bro-ing out one man can handle.

On the topic of bro stuff a very unbro thing happened this weekend in Downtown Colorado Springs.  My buddy Craig got roofied.

Here is a brief overview

• ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!?! The one time we EVER go out… EVER, someone gets roofied.  Go figure
• Of all the people we were with, it happens to a burly man
• That shit isn’t as funny as “The Hangover” portrays it. In fact it’s almost reckless, but that’s Hollywood for you.
• WHAT THE HELL?!?!?!?! SERIOUSLY! The one time we try to take in the nightlife and it could've turned in to a crappy LifeTime Original Movie really quick…  Just Ridiculous.

The night started like any other day, I just got off work at 10 PM and headed over to pick up Craig and our buddy Chris “Franzia/ Franz” (Don’t ask where the nickname came from. It’s not that interesting) for our first real Down Town Colorado Springs romp.

We started the night at Tony’s, a local Dive with pretty good pitchers and fun crowd. Franz was being his usual manimal self, slopping everywhere, and talking mad shit about our friend Summer’s boyfriend’s legendary beast dong. The look on Summers face was priceless and I was about to give Franz an Oscar for “Greatest Actor EVER” because I was laughing my ass off. Franz is such a functional drunk he just becomes the life of a party, cracking jokes, and being an all around smooth bitch. He’s like a modern Frank Sinatra on acid. I can never tell if he’s acting around, being serious, or is just shitfaced.

The night progressed on as the party train we were on bounced to Blondie’s, a very classy establishment know for its strict dress code and bevy of girls waiting to get down.  Franz and I just made our ways to both roof top patios to just chill. It was a pretty dope spot and was the last really fun place we were at. Franz and I had a couple drinks, mingled, and told our party we would catch up with them.

Colorado Springs has some pretty cheesy bar names, so the last place we went to I don’t even properly remember. It either way it was once Rum Bay or the Thirsty Parrot, or some other shitty name that was an attempt to put a little taste of Jimmy Buffet in a quiet, respectable, Christian, God Fearing, minority fearing mountain town.  Their rum and cokes were super strong though that you had to squeeze the orange slice they gave you in it to keep it from burning your nostrils every sip. Franz and I found our way to the restroom where we made some clever and entertaining “God bless America, 9/11, Freedom isn’t Free, and no midget-pissers in my country” conversation with a local before finding Craig down stairs with Summer and our friend Mike ready to go.

This is the part where Craig gets roofied.

We stopped by for one last drink at Jack Quinn’s, the classic homely Irish Pub where dock workers would travel to after a long days work and drop $20 on a beer and some fish and chips. Craig was acting pretty strange at this point, but not out of the ordinary. He just seemed really drunk. We did our business before eventually making our way to King Chief, a local baller ass eatery with the best breakfast burrito of all time.

At this point, Summer and Mike were off in some trendy/ super lame/ College kids go in and stick out like a sore thumb Martini and Cigar bar, while Craig, Franz, and I waited to feast when all of a sudden Craig stands up and says “I’m out” and just left.  I was perplexed as to what to do. Our food showed up, and Craig just bounced. I looked at Franz and said “What do we do?”… Franz’s response… “I don’t even give a fuck anymore… our foods here” Craig just went outside to meet Summer and Mike. Franz and I destroyed our plates and rolled out. We said our peace and bounced. From that point, Craig got home safely through Mike, but had one hell of a night wondering why he was puking his guts up all in to the Sunday.

Franz’s night and mine ended a little less exciting. By this point Franz is no longer Al Pacino and is acting more like a drunk man begins to piss in the middle of Acacia “Hey let’s go see what it feels like to get stabbed” Park when three dudes start talking nonsense. Franz and I collected ourselves, kept it real while these three dipshits continued to look for trouble until we got to the car. We bounced, I dropped him off, than I headed home.

Thus ended the first journey in to the heart of Colorado Springs. Will it be the last? Probably not, but from now on I know everyone is fair game in this when it comes to psychotic, asshole, monstrous, and down right low life behavior when trying to have some good old fashioned fun…. Another reason to love this city.

Is Mark Zuckerberg a Wiener?

In the day and age of Social Media there is a God amongst mere mortals that goes by the name Mark Zuckerburg that loosely translates in to Papa Facebook.  A little less than a decade ago, even before the boom of text messaging the only way to get in touch with anyone was a good old-fashioned calls (something we need to continue to do today, but that is another story).

Regardless of that and literally overnight Mark Zuckerburg changed communication and our way of life. Facebook created the opportunity to be connected 24/7, to know everything about everyone, and shifted the dynamic of human interaction. The crazy thing is the fool isn’t even 26 and was about my age when he did all of this, 21.

He has done a lot in so little, becoming a prominent figure of our time and even getting his own flipping movie about it.

“The Social Network” comes out later this October and chronicles the rise, demise, revenge, scheming, backstabbing, and triumphant of Zuckerberg's Facebook adventure. Early reviews say it is pretty awesome, the trailer is really cool and they even compared it to a modern “Citizen Kane.”  The movie stars Jessie Eisenberg (the wiener from “Zombieland” who openly rags on Facebook in that movie) as the King of Nerds (Michael Cera used to be, but until the  “Arrested Development” movie comes out he can shove it).

Also the movie is directed by David Fincher, a Denver native and all around badass of cinema. “Se7en”, “The Game”, “Benjamin Button” “Fight Club”. Come on. Can’t touch it.

But back to the point, Zuckerburg is a very wealthy and popular man, but doe that fact alone makes him a complete wiener/ someone to hate?

It has been argued that Mark is a little bit of a shy guy, but also that he is a ruthless competitor who will stop it nothing to get to the top.  His combination of silent observation and own intelligence led him to the position he is in today. A billionaire at 26 years old, but do his supposed actions as well as documented actions speak differently? (He called facebook users “fucking stupid” in a message to a friend a couple years back and has known to make a faux pas pretty persistently).

Today he gave away $100 million dollars to Newark, NJ schools and education programs to ensure the future of thousands of students everywhere. That’s a pretty douche move if you ask me. 

So the question is do you hate Mark Zuckerberg because he was able to do something incomprehensible by most people’s standards? Should you hate him because he was successful? Because he was smart?  It’s one thing to say shit it’s another to back it up. 

Everyday I hear “Facebook sucks… I’m going to get rid of it” or “why do I waste my time with it?” or even flat out “Mark Zuckerberg is a wiener” or worse, but yet everyday people flock to see status updates, what their friends are up to, or stalk up on their favorite crush. The times are changing and it’s time to change with them. Don’t be afraid to tell the world how you truly feel.

Write back soon,

Bogo   

Charlie Kelly is the Coolest Fake Person You Know

So apparently I have blogged before. I use to write notes on facebook. They were often stupid and super emo and in fact I encourage anyone who wants a cheap laugh to go through them if you would like. It’s basically reads like some theatre queens diary, so enjoy.

But, I did stumble across some cool and funny ones. Including this one about Charlie Kelly the loveable fool on the show, “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” I was even hanging out with a couple friends outside of class one day when a girl they knew walked up and said I hi to all of them and proceeded to call me Charlie. It was one of the happiest moments of my life. 

He is played by actor Charlie Day and his interpretation of the character has always been one of my favorite. In fact I can relate to him a lot.  If you have never seen the show stop reading this, go to Hulu.com or F/X.com (the cable network it is on, Thursday nights at 9:00/ 10PM), search the show and watch ANY episode. It’s about 4 friends who own a bar in South Phili and their wacky intentions and adventures. Plus halfway through season 2, Danny DeVito just shows up to be a part of the gang. It’s beyond funny.

After that feel free to swing by and read my brain.

And now for you’re reading pleasures, a reflection of Charlie Kelly from a very old facebook note I wrote like two years ago :):

I find very odd relationships with fictional characters from television.

For example Charlie Kelly from “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” I see a lot of myself in him. I am pathetic at times, love sick over women who want nothing to do with me, make stupid comments/ assumptions, wear the same clothes on a daily basis, have irrational outbursts, and have nothing without my friends even if they are sick, twisted, self-absorbed, and without morals.

Than there is the rational side of me that sees that I am not like Charlie in any way. I have goals and aspirations, I clean up pretty well, and I can read and write, my friends aren’t totally evil. He is an awesome character that I can relate to in many ways, but at the same time kick myself when I act like him in anyway, which is on a daily basis.

For all my friends I ask you who are you? Who do you relate to? We all have heroes and inspirations in our lives. Who are some of yours alive, real, dead, fake, imaginary, good evil etc,? 

Welcome to My Brain

Hola.

My name is Bogo Mandera or Tom to those who know me well. This Blog is dedicated to my friends who've inspired me to share my insights with the world instead of just on their back porch or swank parties.

First things first. Who is Bogo Mandera and why should you care? Well Bogo could be a lot of people. He could be your neighbor, your kids gym teacher, or some strange person I just made up.

The fact is Bogo Mandera  was the the name on a letter a good friend of mine received addressed to his house. The name was so outrageous/ strange it had to stick. I wish it were more glamours than that.

But why should you care about a crazy man whose name sounds Australian? Other than the fact that Ausies are wonderful people with upstanding morals and excellent hygiene, the reason  Bogo is so special is because he is inside of all of us. He is that crazy bit of randomness that we all have but never let out. He is that voice in the back of your head who asks the hard hitting questions like why was Mike Tyson in "The Hangover" or if Leprechauns aren't real why are there Irish people? or Why is Lebron James so handsome? I fortunately have just let this beast of complete and total nonsense take over my brain and body for your entertainment.

Now that that is out of the way let me take this time to welcome you the fun, randomness, wacky world, that is my mind. It's gonna be quite the ride... So sit back, relax, and enjoy the insights and always remember that it's all just for fun. We can't always be so serious and should take the time to escape the real world to one  where we can really be ourselves.

Aloha

Bogo