Month: January 2019

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The Air Force Loves DMX

Did you know that that the Air Force’s 124th Fighter Wing loves DMX?

Here’s how I feel about the 124’s DMX love. I enjoy late 90s and early 2000s hip-hop as much as the next person, and the Ruff Ryders have a sweet spot in my heart. “Double R What” slaps so hard. And then when the Pink Floyd sample comes in, it’s just magical. DMX is just ok, but he’s got some real club bangers.

But then it dawned on me that while the 124th Fighter Wing may love DMX, the intent of their comment is pride that a stealth bomber can murder people like DMX does in his songs. Genius.com confirms this.

This probably isn’t the first time songs are being misappropriated. The legend goes that in the first Gulf War, the fighter pilots played “Rock the Casbah” in their cockpits; upon learning of this Joe Strummer cried.

I find it in poor taste that a verified account of the Air Force is openly using the lyrics of a song about drive-by shootings to boast about their air power prowess. But I’m not sure that using jingoistic songs instead would be any better.

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Here’s a Little Story I Got to Tell: The Beastie Boys Book is Essential Reading

This was the background on my work laptop for over three years. Customer demo? Didn’t care.

In 1999 I was in eighth grade. To get on the internet, I had to have my parents enter in the password before the modem dialed up our internet provider. Clever me, I tacitly installed NetZero and was able to get on the internet without their knowledge. Once online, I downloaded Napster, and the first song I downloaded is the Beastie Boys’ “Intergalactic.” 

Flash forward a couple of months. I’m on a week-long church confirmation trip. My parents give me $100 to spend on souvenirs and to use on the roller coaster at Mall of America. The first stop our coach bus made was at a Wal-Mart in Wisconsin, and I dropped $35 on the Beastie Boys’ The Sounds of Science compilation. When the trip was over, my parents asked for their remaining money back. I told them there was none and lied about how I spent the money. Then they found all the CDs I bought. They were not happy, but for reasons I don’t remember, my dad was really not happy I bought a Beastie Boys album.

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