On June 2, 2010, Amoeba fan and friend Sir Paul McCartney was presented with the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song by President Obama at the White House. McCartney also performed several of his hits to mark the occasion, including "Michelle," which was of course dedicated to Mrs. Obama, and artists like Jack White, Elvis Costello, Stevie Wonder, Dave Grohl, Emmylou Harris and many more performed tracks from McCartney's deep catalog, plus remarks were made by Jerry Seinfeld!

Luckily for those of us who were not invited to the event, this award ceremony was captured on tape for all to enjoy, with performances, behind the scenes footage and interviews! It is set to air on PBS tomorrow -- July 28. Check local listings for exact air times!

To whet your appetites, here's a balls to the walls performance of "Mother Nature's Son" (with a bit of "That Would Be Something") by Jack White:

R.E.M. just gave their song "You Are the Everything" -- which first appeared on the group's 1988 album Green (Warner) --  to MoveOn.Org to use as the soundtrack to the recently completed moving message video that tackles the stalemate that American health care reform currently finds itself in. The video, co-edited and compiled by Laura Dawn, is a slide show of average Americans who need health care or have family members and friends who need it but simply (like so many of us) cannot afford it under the current system. 

Laura tells me that the video, which was made out of desperation to alert people to the seriousness of the need for adequate health care immediately, has a very straightforward message: "We can't afford to wait for real health care reform, that our friends and neighbors and fellow citizens should never have to get sick or die due to an inability to get health care--if you believe health care is a right and not a priviledge only for the wealthy." She added that the video includes "Thousands and thousands of MoveOn members submitting the pictures in this video," but due to the overwhelming response only a small percentage made the final cut. For more info on this issue click here.

The first roommate I had here in LA was completely out of her mind. We’re talking a real nut. I won’t go too far into details, but I will say skydiving without a parachute would have been more pleasurable than living with that woman. Her little sister, on the other hand, who used to frequently visit from NY, was the polar opposite; she was well read, sociable, easy to please, giggled perpetually, she didn’t steal my stuff, and she found enjoyment in sharing things. One thing she shared with me was here love for a local emcee from her hometown, Amanda Diva. I was unaware of her at the time, but completely open to discovering new music. She played this track for me called “40 Emcees,” and my head spun.


Now, nearly three years after my first encounter, I see and hear Amanda Diva almost everywhere, from her show on her YouTube spot, Diva Speak TV, to here guest appearance on Q-tip’s album, to her blog, to The Roots, to Floetry. I tracked Miss Diva down to chat her up about female emcees, the First family, the Internet and her new EP Spandex, Rhymes, & Soul.

What is a diva to you?

The above video, which, note, is serious, not ironic, has been making the rounds since it first surfaced on YouTube a couple of weeks ago and after the pair of young conservative "rappers," Serious C and Stiltz (aka The Young Cons), recently got airtime on -- big surprise -- FOX News. On the network, they expounded upon their political rap, which includes lyrics such as "Terrorists were imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay, now they’re in our neighborhoods, planning out doomsday" (for more of their distorted logic, see full song lyics below). 

The pair appeal to the legions of disgruntled, Obama-hating, anti-abortion, anti-socialist, right wing conservatives (many not rap fans but who are drawn in by the Cons' politics). There appear to be many of these types of people, judging by the majority of the almost 6000 YouTube comments the pair has received to date.

Admittedly, I do not agree with their political views, but that's not why I dislike the Young Cons. It's because their mic skills totally suck. Please peep the video above and/or read the lyrics below and post your opinion in the "comments" box below. And for more background info on the duo, visit the Young Cons' MySpace.

My good buddy Daz I Kue of London's pioneering Broken Beat crew Bugz In The Attic recently sent me this fantastic remix of James Brown's "Funky President" that he's done under his Bloodfire alias -- one he's applied to cheeky less-than-official reworks of other jams like Syl Johnson's "Is It Because I'm Black" and Syreeta's Stevie-penned "To Know You Is To Love You," both of which are fantastic and worth the tracking down, if you can find either out-of-print 12".

Recently married and residing in Atlanta, Daz channeled his emotions over the recent presidential election into this fantastic bit of dancefloor badness which juxtaposes the untouchable original with "Yes We Can" chants, putting the whole thing into glorious, evocative focus.

Many thanks to Daz for giving us permission to post the track here. No MP3 either, this is a full-spectrum AIFF CD-quality soundfile, suitable for club play. Play it loud!

Bloodfire V Funky President (Yes We Can Rehash) (sendshare link to 71mb AIFF)
and here's a 16MB MP3 in case you're balking at the file size!