How funny was that? The people that created the video did so as part of a web series called ”Custom-built, Micro-Budget Commercials for MicroBilt Customers”. And it appears that the people in the video are the people you’ll find moving furniture down at the North Carolina store. They addressed the video (as posted on YouTube) by explaining “We knew this video was going to be controversial. Anytime race is discussed in any capacity, controversy ensues. The racial reconciliation concept was a joint effort between the Red House staff and us. They pointed out the fact that their employees and customer base were like the “Rainbow Coalition”, and we thought something with a comical racial reconciliation theme would be fun, as well as a conversation starter…This video is an attempt to use humor to spark a discussion about race issues, because we still have a long way to go.”

– But back to our regularly scheduled program (this shit is hilarious)…

The video features actor Seth Rogen and the song “Like A Boss” from the Incredibad album by The Lonely Island.

– Can’t blame a guy for trying…

Funny thing about this comes from Shy Theerakulsit, the creator of the film, while explaining that Sarah Silverman “just happened to be walking by” before showing up in the clip at the very end. Further insight includes… “Mostly shot while waiting in line for Shakespeare in the Park tickets. I used an old VHS-C camera… I actually sent this in as a Survivor audition tape; oddly enough they never called me. Also, I happened to love Short Skirt/Long Jacket by Cake, so it was a good excuse to listen to it a THOUSAND TIMES while editing… and yet I still like the song.”

– And now, P.O.S. gives us a cover of Pearl Jam’s “Why Go” for a music video channel…

P.O.S. explains (as copy-and-pasted from YouTube)… “I was asked if I was interested in covering a pearl jam song by mtv2. I thought it was funny that they wanted to include me, being a rapper and all, but I wanted to take a shot at it. I loved ten when it came out, rocked the tape till it popped. One of my favorites on it was why go, none of the bands they asked had picked it yet so I did. I though about reworking the original lyrics into a rap kind of situation, but then I was playing the melody on one of my keyboards and thought it might be more fun to just straight cover it. So I did. It was fun. I hope you likes it.”

– Looks like guitars were all the rage long before Guitar Hero and Rock Band silliness came along…

The third full-length album from Minneapolis native P.O.S. falls into the same category as recent releases by El-P and Saul Williams, brilliantly unlistenable.

Let me clarify that by stating how utterly amazing those two releases were by the aforementioned artists, both in production and lyrical content. But you don’t just ride around to The Inevitable Rise & Liberation of Niggy Tardust! by Williams or El-P’s I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead. And they aren’t necessarily Sunday morning records either. But along with P.O.S.’s Never Better they fit perfectly into my favorite musical genre – headphone music.

Only through headphones can such intricate and purposeful music be completely enjoyed.

P.O.S. is one of the rare hybrid artists whose music feels thoroughly authentic. He grew up on punk, hardcore, and hip-hop and he uses all of those musical influences to create a genuine sound that, although it veers, stays deeply rooted in traditional hip-hop. The melodies, the hooks, the lo-fi production are all evidence of his punk past. But what is completely undeniable about this Doomtree and Rhymesayers representative is the fact that he can absolutely rap his fucking ass off. Pick an artist that could ride the beat of Drumroll with such finesse and force.

A smartass with a gift for deft lyricism, P.O.S. doesn’t tread lightly when it comes to subject matter. Social commentary can often be boring if it isn’t treated with the same introspection and selfishness that we view our own reality with, and vice versa. But this album, as with his previous two, is full of perfectly constructed criticisms of life.

The intro song “Let It Rattle” is ideal for that slot on the album. It showcases his raw flow that gains momentum as the song builds while delivering brazen lines like “It’s a goddamn recession/show a little respect you Pfizer babies..” and “They out for presidents to represent them/you think a president could represent you/you really think a president would represent you/yeah right” (like MF Doom’s penchant for flipping cliché phrases, P.O.S. often plays off of famous rap lines to create a sarcastic viewpoint). As the song progresses the beat begins to work to a thunderous roar that you expect to break into a violent surge of drum patterns and sound effects, and in a way it does. But like P.O.S. on a whole, that violent surge you expect he’s building to is met with melody and subtle textures that create a beautiful chaos.

The two most straightforward hip-hop beats appear on “Savion Glover” and “Out of Category”, where the MC first displays his sarcastic lyrical dexterity, then storytelling abilities. Also, the Doomtree posse cut “Low Light Low Life” featuring Sims, Cecil Otter, and my hip-hop crush, Dessa, boasts a rolling horn and drum hook-friendly beat that serves the chemistry between the four MC’s well.

But if you want to know why I truly dig this album then you have to listen to “The Basics”. With a break-neck pace drumbeat and a gut-wrenching stuttered bass line as its foundation, this song sounds so melodic and utterly confusing all at the same time. But the brilliant part is how he neither juxtaposed his flow with the beat nor rhymed completely in synch, but used it as another part of the production instead. Now that’s not a new way of structuring your rhyme pattern, but to do it to this beat truly amazes me. What really sells this song though is its refrain. It epitomizes the ethos of the independent hip-hop scene, or really any independent scene that truly functions self-sufficiently. “We don’t want nothing from no one/we don’t need nothing you’re selling/we don’t see anything moving/we don’t have the time/we just need something to eat/we just need some place to sleep/we need the basics and baby we are gonna be alright”.

True indeed.

If you’re not currently a fan of P.O.S. then I encourage you to give him a try. Try hard though, because that’s what his music demands. Effort. And if it doesn’t work for you, then move on. But if you get it, if you find yourself in the midst of the chaos and you like the way the wind sounds then consider your effort rewarded.

Tear down boundaries. That’s what the Tow Away Zone does every Wednesday morning from 10 am-12 noon in the basement of 91.5 FM (www.WPRKDJ.org) at the Rollins College campus in Winter Park, FL. As 2009 approaches and the one-year anniversary of the show nears, host J. Charles sheds light on the past 11 months…

Why Call It Tow Away Zone? – On Jan. 28, 2008, without a name for my new radio show, I drove in circles around Rollins College in search of a place to park. Running behind schedule (as usual), I made a questionable decision to park alongside a curb that appeared to be out of harms way. Security tried to send me a warning via cell phone. I figured it was about 43 minutes into the show when it happened. I made my way out to the parking lot afterwards to find my car was gone. A $20 cab ride and $100 to get my bucket from the tow yard and I was back in the driver seat once again. So became the name of the show.

Backbone Each Week - Instrumentals and Interludes have been a staple since the show began. For the sake of keeping that element of surprise somewhat intact I offer only the minds behind those sounds (in no particular order)… Wax Tailor, Blockhead, The Budos Band, Omega One, J Dilla, Booker T. and the M.G.’s, Jel, RJD2, DJ Shadow.

Most Called Upon, Most Requested – (In no particular order) – Johnny Cash “The Time of the Preacher”; Kid Beyond “I Shall Be Free”; Azeem “Bush Is A Gangsta”; DJ Revelution (w/ Iriscience) “The Revolution”; Spoon “The Underdog”; Murs “Everything”; Bob Marley “Mr. Brown (DJ Spooky remix)”; Mr. Dibbs “Blind Loyalty”; Menomena “Weird”; Flowers Forever “American Dream”; Why? “These Few Presidents”; Q-tip “Shaka”; Black Sabbath “Who Are You”; El-P (w/ Suzanne Venzina) “Constellation (remix)”; South “Wasted”; The Foreign Exchange “Daykeeper”; Tim Fite “All I Need”; Psycho Realm And Street Platoon “The Beginning”; Brother Ali “Here”; Skillz “Pastor Skillz”; Skillz (w/ Common, Talib Kweili) ”So Far So Good (remix)”; Coldplay “Lost”; Radiohead “All I need”; Elbow “Grounds For Divorce”; Vast Aire “Shu (The God of Aire)”; Blur “Brothers and Sisters”; Saul Williams (w/ Zach De La Rocha) “Act III, Scene 2 (Shakespeare)”; Baba “Xperience”; Devotchka “Along The Way”; The Helio Sequence “Halleluhah”.

The Usual Suspects – Along with those bands mentioned above were the likes of (once again, in no particular order)… Beck, The Flaming Lips, Atmosphere, Clinic, John Lennon, The Roots, Mos Def, Ghostface Killah, Digital Underground, Rakim, Nas, Cee-Lo, Jay-Z, Public Enemy, Iggy Pop, Buck 65, Jean Grae, The Beastie Boys, J-live, Jane’s Addiction, Erykah Badu, Modest Mouse, The Beatles, Big Daddy Kane, The Toadies, James Brown, KRS-ONE, MF Doom, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Parliament, Gil Scott-Heron, Presto, Gorillaz, RZA, Shape Of Broad Minds, The Black Keys, Shortstack, Nine Inch Nails, Glue, Gang Starr, Slick Rick, Sage Francis, Lupe Fiasco, Morphine, P.O.S., Primus, David Bowie.

Local Orlando/Florida Connection – On average there have been two songs with local flavor played each week by the likes of Solillaquists Of Sound, X:144 And SPS, DJ Kittybat, Sincere Vega, The Black Hammock Band, All Good Funk Alliance, Kap, Alias The @ikt.

Can’t Forget Back Home – In an effort to never forget where I came from there have been a smaller number of additions to the playlist… AMC “Dun Dun Dunno”; Ryan Weaver “We Dream Tomorrow” and “Long Long Long”; Flux “River Dog”; Vic Freeze “Senora”.

By no means does this cover the whole gamut but it does provide some insight into what the show has evolved into. Tune in to find out where it goes from here.