Childish Gambino stretches hip-hop’s conventions with new CD ‘Camp

Hip hop has always been hilarious. It’s just that the sober issues surrounding it — race and “realness,” not to mention the inability of outsiders to get the references — obscured its lighter side.

Even so, few hip-hop artists have blurred the boundaries of rap and humor more subversively — or for a more serious end — than Childish Gambino.

At this point, he’s more widely known as a comic than a rapper. Under his birth name, Donald Glover, Gambino has written for “The Daily Show” and “30 Rock” and enjoyed a recurring acting part on “Community.”

He also boasts zero street cred, having attended the pricey NYU after growing up in a leafy suburb (as did P. Diddy, lest anyone forget). Gambino’s first quasi-corporate CD, “Camp,” appears on Glassnote Records, home to the hit, non-hip-hop bands Phoenix and Mumford & Sons.

Yet at the same time, he has issued four full hip-hop albums on indie labels, dating back to 2002’s “The Younger I Get.” And he became the guy to watch at this year’s key backpacker hip-hop fest, Rock the Bells.

Just how “alterna” he’s willing to get can be summed up by the title Gambino chose for his CD: “Camp,” a term as central and stirring to modern gay identity as coming out. Gambino (who took his nom-de-rap from an online Wu-Tang Clan random name generator) isn’t making a statement about his sexuality. He’s showing how far he’ll go to undermine assumptions about what makes a rapper credible, let alone virile.

In fact, that’s the central motif in and purpose of his raps. Many of his stories find him trapped between worlds, stuck in an all-white school where he’s utterly misunderstood. This leads him to first question his own racial identity, and then to confront everyone else’s assumptions about it. “I used to get called Oreo and fa—ot/I used to get more laughs when I got laughed at,” he raps in “Fire Fly.”

Gambino’s verse can be hysterically rude, like any good comic, or like Chris Rock and Eminem (at his Slim Shady-est). But it’s all to an ironic purpose. Unlike Shady, Gambino’s flow seldom apes a comedian’s mugging. There’s a surprising sincerity to his delivery and a conventional use of hip hop’s minimalist notions of melody, despite his stated love of uber-wimpy, collegiate indie acts like Grizzly Bear and Sufjan Stevens.

Gambino directly mentions the latter in his lyrics, claiming to be the only black kid at Stevens concerts. In fact, it’s Gambino’s verse that varies and individualizes his work more than anything musical. Check out his references to Francois Truffaut and the East Village club Pianos.

In that sense, he’s expanding on arty hip-hop stars like Kanye and Kid Cudi (not to mention, eons ago, De La Soul). He’s widening the definition of what has become an increasingly inclusive genre. And that gives his music, even at its most routine, the thrill of liberation.

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Dr. Conrad Murray guilty of involuntary manslaughter in Michael Jackson’s death: Jury Read more:

LOS ANGELES — Michael Jackson’s personal doctor killed the King of Pop with his unprofessional actions — and now must face the consequences, a jury declared Monday.

Dr. Conrad Murray, a Houston cardiologist, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for giving the iconic singer a surgery-strength anesthetic as a sleep aid in Jackson’s rented West Coast pad.

Murray, 58, who faces a sentence ranging from probation to four years behind bars, was immediately tossed in jail without bail.

“I’m happy now,” the Gloved One’s mother, Katherine Jackson, said softly as she was led out of the packed courtroom, flanked by body guards and court officers.

performing in 1988

There were 17 Jackson relatives in the courtroom. His brother Jermaine Jackson put his hands together as if praying, pulled them up to his face, and nodded triumphantly.

“Michael was looking over us,” La Toya Jackson said.

The verdict showed that the jury believed the testimony of an expert on the anesthetic propofol, who said the breath-suppressing medication is much too dangerous for use in a home setting.

Throngs of Jackson supporters outside the courthouse — some waving signs reading “Guilty!” — erupted in wild cheers over what they saw as swift justice.

Prosecutors had argued that on the day of Jackson's overdose death — June 25, 2009 — Murray had “abandoned” Jackson's bedside after giving him propofol and left him without adequate monitoring, resuscitative equipment or backup staff.

The panel of seven men and five women announced its unanimous decision before the crowded courtroom, where Jackson's family had sat front and center for most of the six-week trial.

The judge then offered scathing criticism of Murray before deeming him a flight risk and ordering him locked up pending the sentencing on Nov. 29.

“Dr. Murray’s reckless conduct poses a demonstrable risk to the public,” Judge Michael Pastor said.
Prosecutors hailed the jury’s decision, reached on the second day of deliberations.

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Fall Back: Daylight-Saving Time Ends Tonight

Why do we fall back every year, only to spring ahead four months later?

Ben Franklin was only kidding when he suggested 227 years ago that towns should employ the use of church bells or cannon blasts, if necessary, to wake citizens at sunrise so they could take full advantage of sunlight – a thrifty alternative to pricy candle power.

More than two centuries later, the joke's still on us.

Daylight-saving time is no longer just an amusing idea; it's taken hold with a vengeance.

Twice a year we're forced to adjust our sleep habits, synchronizing our biological and digital clocks in order to squeeze more sunlight into our waking hours.

Meanwhile, sleep researchers insist we should be cutting back on our waking hours if we really want to live long and prosper.

So here we are, caught somewhere between popping sleep aids and chugging Red Bull, not sure how to feel about our collective changing of the clocks.

David Prerau, recognized as one of the country's leading experts on our human quest for saving time, has devoted much of his life to chronicling the history and science of DST.

He served as a consultant to the U.S. Congress back in 2005 when they enacted a law extending daylight saving time as an energy saving measure, and he also has been a consultant on DST to the United Kingdom Parliament. He holds a Ph.D. from M.I.T.

Although Franklin certainly gets a historical nod for his amusing social commentary about our waste of perfectly good sunlight, Prerau points to British early riser and golf fanatic William Willett as the godfather of daylight-saving time.

"He used to go for early-morning horseback rides and wondered why nobody else was up enjoying this beautiful time of day," Prerau said.

Willett detailed his time-wise idea in a pamphlet, "The Waste of Daylight," and spent years lobbying Parliament in vain to adopt daylight-saving time – he died in 1915 before that would happen, Prerau 

said.

Germany was right on time, however. Seeing merit in Willett's bright idea, they adopted it in 1916 to conserve energy and resources during World War I. That launched a daylight-saving domino effect in countries around Europe.

Britain was finally shamed into adopting the policy three weeks after Germany.

Not to be left in the dark by our European counterparts, the U.S. officially adopted daylight-saving time for the first time during WWI, and again during World War II.

But it was not without controversy, even then.

By the end of WWI, city dwellers learned to love daylight saving, Prerau said. But country folk, still in tune with nature's clock, became disgruntled once they realized they'd actually have to rise before the sun if they were to get their goods on outbound trains that, under daylight saving, left town an hour earlier.

"Rural people bombarded Congress with requests to repeal daylight saving time," Prerau said.

Among them, New Hampshire Gov. John H. Bartlett, who in April of 1920 went right to the top, urging President Woodrow Wilson by telegram to inform senators and congressmen "that New Hampshire demanded prompt action to remedy the injustice being done the rural communities through changes in railroad schedules to conform to daylight saving hours."

Bartlett didn't know Wilson was a big fan of daylight saving.

When Congress voted to repeal daylight-saving legislation, Wilson vetoed it. And when Congress voted a second time to repeal it, Wilson vetoed, again.

"It was an interesting time in history," Prerau said. "Because then Congress voted to override Wilson's veto – that's how contentious it was," Prerau said. "If you look back in history, not many things are passed by overriding a presidential veto."

In his 2005 book, "Seize the Daylight," Prerau includes all kinds of historical anecdotes about the chaos that ensued over the random nature of daylight saving until federal legislation finally standardized it in 1966.

One of his favorites is the one about the bus ride that spanned 35 miles and seven time zones between Ohio and West Virginia.

"It became nationally famous as a sort of curiosity. People rode the bus just to change their watches seven times," he said.

Prerau believes the upside of daylight-saving time isn't economic; it's the lifestyle benefit. People have more time to mingle and recreate.

"People don't like driving in the dark, and daylight savings reduces traffic accidents. Crime is reduced also, because of that extra hour of daylight," he said.

Savings in electrical energy is only about 1 percent, said Prerau. "Which may sound low, but if you think of it as something you get for free, it's a good side benefit."

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 went into effect as of 2007, extending Daylight Savings in the U.S. by three-to-four weeks in the spring and one week in the fall. Since then, more studies are in the works to see if increased use of air conditioning may actually negate whatever savings were originally calculated, Prerau said.

"There's going to be more studies, and if they end up being negative, Congress may want to reconsider," Prerau said.

"But I doubt it. There's the other problem, of having to reprogram computers and clocks. It was a big deal for companies last March. And having gone through that once, people may be reluctant to change back," Prerau said.

Time will tell.

Either way, looks like daylight-saving time is here to stay. Prerau, for one, isn't losing sleep over it except, perhaps, on March 11, 2012

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Penn State

A former defensive coordinator for the Penn State football team was arrested Saturday on charges of sexually abusing eight boys across a 15-year period. Jerry Sandusky, 67, who had worked with needy children through his Second Mile foundation, was arraigned and released on $100,000 bail after being charged with 40 counts related to sexual abuse of young boys

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LSU Vs. Alabama Recap: How It Impacts Stanford And BCS Rankings

The No. 1 LSU Tigers won a gritty defensive battle Saturday evening, defeating the No. 2Alabama Crimson Tide 9-6 in overtime in Tuscaloosa. Both teams had some opportunities to get some bigger scores, but both defenses absolutely locked down the opposition.

Alabama lost the toss in overtime and started on offense. A quick three and out with a five-yard penalty and a five-yard sack forced the Tide to attempt a 52-yard field goal. Cade Foster missed, setting up LSU for what would prove to be an easy score. The Tigers rushed for 3 yards followed by 15 yards to set up first and goal at the seven yard line. LSU centered the ball and attempted a 25-yard field goal on 3rd and goal. Drew Alleman's kick was true and LSU retained their number one ranking.

LSU is now in the driver's seat for one half of the BCS national title game. They still have to beat No. 7 Arkansas at home and the SEC East winner in the conference title game, so this is no gimme. Nonetheless, they have established themselves as the best team in the country right now.

Alabama's loss leaves the BCS in a tricky situation. This was an incredibly close loss to the best team in the country. It was a home loss, but this was not some random team in the SEC. The question becomes how far the Crimson Tide drop in the Week 11 BCS Rankings. Oklahoma State escaped with a wild 52-45 victory over a ranked Kansas State team. Is it enough to get them past Alabama? It should be, but the voters can be tough to figure out. The computer ratings will also be hard to determine given that this was No. 1 vs. No. 2 and improves Alabama's strength of schedule.

For Stanford and Boise State, they are left waiting to see how much work they have left in front of them. If I had to make a prediction right now, I think Oklahoma State climbs to No. 2 and Alabama drops only one spot to No. 3. The Crimson Tide remain in the thick of the national title race, even though they likely won't win their conference. We could indeed see a rematch of this game in a couple months.

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TV This Week: 'Allen Gregory,' 'Rock Center with Brian Williams,' 'Top Chef: Texas' debut

Remember when the new fall TV season used to barge into our living rooms in one huge, concentrated barrage? For a couple of weeks in September, the networks would debut all of their freshman series. By late October, viewers would've had the chance to sample whatever sounded intriguing. The good part about this massive attack was it got the season launch hoopla over with fairly quickly. The bad part was so many shows premiered at the same time that promising ones sometimes got lost in the shuffle as viewers suffered from new-show overload. 

While potentially good series still get canceled too soon (I haven't forgiven Fox for yanking "Lone Star" after two episodes in September 2010), at least the networks now take their time about unspooling the goods. Sunday night, for example, the new animated series"Allen Gregory" premieres on Fox. And it's not even the last new series debut on the schedule. Fox is also sitting on a rookie sitcom called "I Hate My Teenage Daughter," which isn't slated to premiere until Nov. 30. In the case of that show -- which stars Jaime Pressly and Katie Finneran as farcically ineffectual mothers -- the longer it sits on the shelf, the better. Judging from a first look at the pilot, it's in the running for worst new comedy of the season -- quite an achievement. 

This week also brings fresh editions of reality-show franchises ("Top Chef" is back, and this time they're messin' with Texas); a TV newsmagazine show ("Rock Center With Brian Williams"); and the return of some familiar faces ("Bones"). And since Halloween is Monday night, we're not out of the spooky woods yet. 

It's not surprising the cable channels go nuts with paranormal ghost-hunter shows and horror movies on Oct. 31. But a special Halloween episode of "The Sing-Off"? With dismal ratings in its Monday time slot, maybe NBC is hoping to scare up more viewers. 

SUNDAY 

"Once Upon a Time": Last week's series premiere scored impressive ratings, so we'll see if viewers come back for another visit to Storybrooke, the Maine hamlet and its cursed fairy-tale characters. (8 p.m., KATU) 

"Allen Gregory": Actor Jonah Hill is the creative force behind this new addition to the Fox Sunday night animated series lineup. Hill voices the title character, a pretentious 7-year-old schoolboy. (8:30 p.m., KPTV) 

MONDAY 

"The Sing-Off": I feel sorry for this likable a cappella competition series. After doing well in short-run stints for the network, NBC committed to a full season in a prime time slot. And the show's been getting killed in the ratings. Oh, well. Tonight's outing features a Halloween-y opening medley of "This Is Halloween," "Werewolves of London" and "Ghostbusters." (8 p.m., KGW) 
"Rock Center With Brian Williams":The actual show is a newsmagazine featuring the NBC anchor, along with correspondents such as Oregon's own Ann Curry, of the "Today" show, and her co-host, Matt Lauer. The show will be broadcast live (well, on the East Coast) from Studio 3B in Rockefeller Center, focusing on the week's notable news, people and stories. Now that I've gotten that out of the way, can we talk about the ridiculous title? Yes, I know it's a play on Rockefeller Center, but "30 Rock" has already done that. "Rock Center" sounds like an off-brand chain of guitar stores. Maybe their first story can be explaining why we shouldn't make fun of the title. (10 p.m., KGW) 

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