Halcali Vs. Fannypack

Don’t be so quick to call us music snobs... contrary to what you may believe, many of us at WFMU have embraced the genre of underaged, pre-packaged all-girl pop groups. After hearing a hyper-cute Halcali song on Charlie’s show this week and investigating, I found that this Japanese hip-hop duo has much in common with NYC’s Fannypack. Check the stats:

Halcali                                                Fannypack

Hometown                     Meguro, Japan                                     Brooklyn, NY

Members                       2                                                        3
                                    Halca                                                  Jessibel Suthiwong
                                    Yucali                                                 Belinda Lovell
                                                                                              Cat Hartwell

Songs (click                   Track 2 from their album                       “Hey Mami”
to hear Real Audio)          “Bacon”

Street Cred                    Never heard the term                            Electroclash uniforms,
                                    "hip hop" before forming                         were selected for Fannypack
                                    Halcali                                                 because of "their multicultural
                                                                                               good looks and command of street                                                                                                                     level slang."                              

The Men Behind             Rip Slyme Ryo-z                                  Matt Goias
the Curtain                     DJ Fumiya (AKA Oshare                       DJ Fancy
                                     Track Factory)

Fame Factor                 Friends with Halfby, Yuka                       Their song “Cameltoe” spent
                                    Honda (Cibo Matto), Denki                      a full 15 min in the spotlight
                                    Groove, and Okamura
                                    Yasuyuki (who all appear on
                                    their upcoming remix album),
                                    along with photographer Muga
                                    Miyahara

Lyrical Epiphanies         "Darling falling love/electric                     "Get outta town then pack it up/
                                    sensai is in the house"                          killing me soft Roberta Flack it up"

Comments

[pampelonne]

Hmmm, I see your double McTaco and raise you a cheesesteak.

Pookey Blow vs. Tic And Toc
(Ok, Pookey Blow ain't a goyl, but until doin' the research for this post, I thought he was!)

Hometown --
PB: "NYC" bwo Connecticut
TT: Philadelphia, PA

Members --
PB: 1
TT: 2?

Songs --
PB: "Get Up and Go To School"
http://wfmu.org/listen.ram?show=11323&starttime=0:14:36

TT:
"Hey Jay (Is It True What They Say)"
http://wfmu.org/listen.ram?show=11484&starttime=1:37:01

Street Cred --
They both sound pretty legit.

The Men Behind the Curtain --
PB: Mr. Magic
TT: [dunno]

Fame Factor --
PB: Lot's o'play on WFMU
TT: Monica's "had it in my collection all these years but never bothered listening until now" 2004 tops list entry.

Lyrical Epiphanies --
PB: Didja ever go to school feeling tired and weak/ and the only thing wanted to do was go to sleep?

TT: You got to be silly/ to match with someone who comes from Philly

(Monica, http://wfmu.org/playlists/shows/11484, Brian Turner, http://wfmu.org/playlists/shows/11323, for the archives!)

[KayPee]

David Challenges Goliath… Texas independent record label threatens Wal-Mart with a 100 million dollar lawsuit

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 4, 2005, In a statement released today Kirk Phillips, chief executive of Houston based record label GoreallaEntertainment.com, is publicly putting Wal-Mart on notice: “Carry our product, in the original unedited format or face serious legal action.”

Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer and record store have a standing policy since 1996 of not stocking CDs, which carry parental advisory labels. Phillips cries foul whenever the policy is mentioned.

“It is time to level the playing field,” says Phillips “Wal-Mart has been making money ‘Just below the public consciousness’ off the sale of risqué, salacious, or otherwise objectionable entertainment items for years.” “While at the same, Wal-Mart’s ridiculously unfair policy aimed at keeping so-called indecent products of the shelves has been in effect and that very policy is financially oppressing independent record labels,” asserts Phillips.

Wal-Mart is accused of trying to keep the independent record labels out of the lucrative global retail market by making it more expensive for them to compete. “ I must manufacture a whole separate run of edited product just for Wal-Mart… have you seen the edited version of Hollywood movie at Wal-Mart?” “Neither have I,” grumbles Phillips “and that’s just wrong!”

“Hollywood DVDs are sold unedited in Wal-Mart with a simple R rating and a perfunctory disclaimer; and likewise video games are sold unedited in Wal-Mart with just the “self-governing” rating system sans the cursory disclaimer contained on DVDs. They both contain the same type of potentially objectionable material that is required to be censored by record companies.”

Wal-Mart has profited to the tune of hundreds of millions dollars off the sales of graphically violent, profanity laced video game titles (The Grand Theft auto series of games: GTAIII, GTA Vice City, and GTA San Andreas, to name a few).

“Requiring independent record companies to edit their albums slated for sale in Wal-Mart puts them at a competitive disadvantage to big-budget record labels, big-budget video game producers, and big-budget Hollywood movie studios: our direct competition for the same retail entertainment dollars” says Phillips.

“This is the Bottom line, if Wal-Mart uses their oppressive anti-small business policy to keep our forthcoming album off of their retail shelves, then they should get ready to face our legal team and a 100 million dollar lawsuit in return, period.”

The upcoming release by GoreallaEntertainment.com artist X-Conn is titled “Mister Number One” and is scheduled for a May 17th release via prospective distributor Select-O-Hits.

-END-

For more information: www.GoreallaEntertainment.com/contact.html