Last episode of the season!!!11 (self-proclaimed) duke and duchess of snapchat Konrad and Erica sit down with us to talk about their new obsession (begins at 13:04). Akshay, Tesh and Tara discuss the upcoming Xbox, the difference between computers and game consoles, and whether or not Glass will take off.

- Everything we think we know about the upcoming xbox
- Divinity: Original Sin (already funded already done sorry)
- No Feed for Chrome
- The Leap Motion controller

(apologies for lack of intro, blame it on the shortened reading week)

This past New Years’ Eve my friends and I were counting in the year to the soundtrack presented by BET’s “Top 50 of 2012.” Around count 10 I proposed a bet to my friends: we each picked a word we expected to hear in the next song on the countdown, whatever that song might be. I lost that bet.

BET’s list is not balanced genre-wise, skewing toward hip-hop and R&B. Fresh off hearing Nas’ “Daughters,” at number 10, which ends with the word “love” (its only mention of the same) I picked “love” as my word, knowing popular statistics were on my side. My two friends selected “niggas” and “pussy.”

The next song, Rick Ross’ “Stay Schemin’,” included plenty of “niggas” and even “pussy,” yet not one mention of “love.” Following songs were also heavy on the N and P words, and naked of the L word. My mistake, I admitted, may have been I was expecting to hear more R&B, the preferred form for love ballads, and gangster rap was a wholly different genre.

Yet both genres originated in the underground. Hip-hop originated as a genre of rebels and protesters looking for an alternate musical outlet, and while not yet homogenized, hip-hop as a culture has developed its own norms. One apparent norm today is not rapping about love.

On his 2008 album, I’m Innocent, rapper Murs drew attention to this problem in his song “Love and Appreciate 2.” In the song, Murs speaks as intro “we’ve been talking about how for our hip-hop generation it seems like there’s no more love songs—it’s like all the women are Bs and Hs, and it seems like nobody’s man enough to talk about love.” But is the problem really a lack of manhood in hip-hop, or is the problem a misunderstanding of manhood?

Despite that I am a woman, I recognize my genre of choice (hip-hop) is yet another place in the world where gender stereotypes predominate and male and female roles are far out of balance. Likely this is another contributing factor to hip-hop’s over-developed testosterone. To prove their manhood rappers too often assert their dominance over women. Note too that Murs, a vocal critic of his own genre’s direction, is considered an “indie” or “underground” rapper—not a rapper likely to be displayed on the Billboard’s top charts.

Back in the day, in old school hip-hop’s origins, with groups such as Public Enemy and Rum-DMC leading the development of a new sound, love was not yet a hip-hop taboo. To the contrary, Public Enemy’s early works included songs “MKLVFKWR (Make Love Fuck War)” and “Whole Lotta Love Goin On in the Middle of Hell.” Among Run-DMC’s originating works was the song “Let’s Stay Together (Together Forever).”

As this article goes to press, topping the Billboard charts are Baauer’s “Harlem Shake” and Macklemore’s “Thrift Shop.” Though these songs are considered perversions of the genre, they adhere to its norm—not a single love reference. On the other hand, the top R&B songs, by Bruno Mars and Justin Timberlake, are unafraid to drop the L word.

Maybe this explains hip-hop’s evolution: the “soft” in the culture are relegated to R&B, and those who want to keep their hip-hop label (and avoid becoming one of Dre’s “Bitch Niggaz”) develop a harder edge. Yet to avoid becoming a genre of anger and flash, and lose its substance, hip-hop artists need to step up, and remember the words of Run-DMC.

To quote “Let’s Stay Together,” on behalf of the relationship between hip-hop and love, may hip-hop remember with love the genre has “been down together since day one.” So hip-hop, this is love speaking—and let’s stay together.

Sonic Meditations

A Critically Sincere Aural Memoir Diary Conversation

Carl Chen & Marc DeWitt

Episode 11:

Sam Huber

4/26/2013, Friday, 4 pm EST

Meditation:

Living with Criticality

Sonic Background:

Four Tet – Rounds (2003)

Aural Tracklist:

Nina Simone – I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free

LCD Soundsystem – All My Friends

• 1:10 — NBA Playoffs: Kobe’s tweets, the on-fire Knicks, and Stephen Curry’s first trip to the postseason (13 minutes)
• 14:00 — NFL Draft: our analysis may be two days old, but the overall themes still ring true (12 minutes)
• 26:00 — A rare soccer coverage sighting on SportsWeek! Man U’s Premier League title and the semifinal legs of the Champions League. (5 minutes)
• 32:10 — The Steubenville High School football coach got a contract extension after last year’s scandal…why?  (4 minutes)
• 36:30 — With one move this week, the ACC may have effectively put an end to conference realignment. What are the consequences? (12 minutes)
• 48:55 — Evan and David look back at the year in Yale Athletics. (5 minutes)

Podcast player is posted below!

We bring to you the last episode of the year. Full NBA playoff coverage. Plus, we discuss the changing tide in European soccer.

A late game-winner from Chris Paul gave the Clippers Game 2 of the playoff series.

NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!!!!! The Bulldogs prevailed over rival Quinnipiac in the championship game on Saturday. Also, what does Roy Halladay’s 200th victory say about the future of 300 game winners in major league baseball?

Roy Halladay earned his 200th win

(For now, anyways)….Translation Party may be bidding listeners farewell for the summer, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t relive the first season finale! Just click play to share one final hour with Rachel, Peter, and Chloe (or you could even download it if you want to be a REAL member of the fan club’s inner sanctum). Our radio voices will be back in a few short months, but until then, you can enjoy a diverse selection of melodramatic goodbye songs!

VIVA’S LAST STAND.

Join Queen VIVA for her last show of the semester as she once again goes rogue and unapologetically plays some of her favorite tracks.

On this week’s episode: The La’s, My Bloody Valentine, Beach House, Catwalk, The Greatest Band to Ever Exist  The Smiths, The Sonics, Tyrannosaurus Rex, The Soft Pack, and MANY, MANY MORE!

You will laugh, you will cry, you will revel in the glory.

Get it while it’s H-O-T!

“Infinite x’s and o’s- VIVA FOREVER”

In the finale, Kelsey and Laura review Japanese animated drama From Up On Poppy Hill and the restaurant Thai Pan Asian. They are joined by special guests Tara Abraham and Thomas Rokholt. Don’t miss the stunning conclusion to this season of Dinner and a Movie!

Study to this! Shouts out to the New Haven IP that listened ~ 7,000 times last week, sorry if it was really your internet cutting out you should upgrade to cable. Tracklist.

Madteo – Vitruvian Nightmare

STL – Six in a Row

Samann – Sensation

Omar S – Air of the Day

Gerry Read – All The Time

Rootstrax – Harlequin (808 Dub)

HNNY – Trummor (Jeremih – Let Me Down Easy tease)

Audiojack – Get Serious

Huerco S. – Elma (Ruff Rub)

youAND:THEMACHINES – Sway

Gingy & Bordello – Iron & Water

Cooly G – Dis Boy (DVA’s Hi Emotions Remix)

A Made Up Sound – Malfunction (Adjust)

Kerri Chandler – Atmospheric Beats

Bobby Champs – Bureau

Jon Convex – Vacuum States

Head High – It’s A Love Thing (Sigg Gonzales Island Mix)

Parris Mitchell – All Night Long (feat. Reggie Hall) (Bok Bok Remix)

Kowton – De Bisous

Double Helix – LDN VIP

Norm Talley – Untitled

Lumigraph – Wavewatcher

Gang Colours – Dance Around The Subject (Pedestrian’s Dusty Warehouse Remix)

Hypno – Over The Top

Untold – I Can’t Stop This Feeling (Pangaea Remix)

(4/23, 10 pm) choco and clove demand you listen to the final installment of rock solid. have you ever wanted to live forever, to grow old and see everyone you ever knew die until you were all alone forever like in that one darren aronofsky movie with the tree? yes. rock solid can never die—but it can end. and this could be the last show. we will always love you.