The S-T period to the I-D-E to the S!
December 2, 2011 11:05 AM Subscribe
In 1991, Ice Cube was a force of nature. The idea that he could someday star in Are We There Yet? was inconceivable. Still, commercialism wasn't foreign to him. He shilled St. Ides malt liquor as furiously as he called out the police.St. Ides, manufactured by Pabst Brewing Company, targeted young black people. They built an advertising strategy around rappers and hired DJ Pooh to produce beats and commercials. Rappers responded with zeal.
They started with King Tee, but Cube soon became their linchpin (or perhaps linchpin), making half a dozen jingles with DJ Pooh. (They didn't mind jackin' their own beats. Track #2 is an adaptation of Jackin' for Beats. The last track reprises the schtick from It's a Man's World, featuring Yo-Yo taking a feminist stand on the drinking 40s.)
Pooh and Ice Cube brought in the Geto Boys to get some St. Ides ends.
EPMD joined the business (along with Pooh's beat from A Bird in the Hand).
Eric B and Rakim lended some of their GOAT rep to the malt liquor.
Kool G Rap tapped on the bottle.
St. Ides established a Wu-Tang quorum for a radio spot and had Raekwon shooting lasers in Shaolin for TV.
Cypress Hill took a break from the bong to warn about drinking and driving. But also to encourage drinking.
In the G-Funk era, they introduced flavors. Tupac and Snoop came on board to push blueberry.
Warren G and Nate Dogg weren't left out, and Dre showed up to smile and nod at the end of a commercial dominated by phallic special effects.
Who couldn't they get? Public Enemy. St. Ides definitely tried. But Chuck D noted they didn't sell that shit in the white neighborhood.
They started with King Tee, but Cube soon became their linchpin (or perhaps linchpin), making half a dozen jingles with DJ Pooh. (They didn't mind jackin' their own beats. Track #2 is an adaptation of Jackin' for Beats. The last track reprises the schtick from It's a Man's World, featuring Yo-Yo taking a feminist stand on the drinking 40s.)
Pooh and Ice Cube brought in the Geto Boys to get some St. Ides ends.
EPMD joined the business (along with Pooh's beat from A Bird in the Hand).
Eric B and Rakim lended some of their GOAT rep to the malt liquor.
Kool G Rap tapped on the bottle.
St. Ides established a Wu-Tang quorum for a radio spot and had Raekwon shooting lasers in Shaolin for TV.
Cypress Hill took a break from the bong to warn about drinking and driving. But also to encourage drinking.
In the G-Funk era, they introduced flavors. Tupac and Snoop came on board to push blueberry.
Warren G and Nate Dogg weren't left out, and Dre showed up to smile and nod at the end of a commercial dominated by phallic special effects.
Who couldn't they get? Public Enemy. St. Ides definitely tried. But Chuck D noted they didn't sell that shit in the white neighborhood.
Ice Cube's sitcom, Dre's commercials for Best Buy, and Snoop cooking with Martha Stewart have all combined to make me feel trapped in some bizarre parallel universe where I am old and dorky.
posted by elizardbits at 11:15 AM on December 2, 2011 [9 favorites]
posted by elizardbits at 11:15 AM on December 2, 2011 [9 favorites]
I worry that if Tupac had lived, he'd have a daytime chat show now.
posted by elizardbits at 11:15 AM on December 2, 2011 [11 favorites]
posted by elizardbits at 11:15 AM on December 2, 2011 [11 favorites]
Eh yo my G's
We roll 50 deep
In the club VIP
Sippin' on Donaghy
posted by Trurl at 11:16 AM on December 2, 2011 [3 favorites]
We roll 50 deep
In the club VIP
Sippin' on Donaghy
posted by Trurl at 11:16 AM on December 2, 2011 [3 favorites]
I've never even tried malt liquor and I feel like I'm missing out. I can report that gin and juice is ok if you're out of tonic. Internet Celebrities, free show idea: take products sold only in "black" neighbors for a taste test in the village.
posted by 2bucksplus at 11:16 AM on December 2, 2011
posted by 2bucksplus at 11:16 AM on December 2, 2011
Told all my friends, don't drink eight ball, 'cause St. Ides is giving ends. -- Ice Cube
posted by chrchr at 11:17 AM on December 2, 2011
posted by chrchr at 11:17 AM on December 2, 2011
Ha. I read the first two sentences of this post and immediately thought of the image in the "Are We There Yet?" link.
posted by brundlefly at 11:19 AM on December 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by brundlefly at 11:19 AM on December 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
immediately thought of the image in the "Are We There Yet?" link
A wise man once said "He who fucks nuns will later join the church."
posted by Trurl at 11:21 AM on December 2, 2011 [12 favorites]
A wise man once said "He who fucks nuns will later join the church."
posted by Trurl at 11:21 AM on December 2, 2011 [12 favorites]
Malt liquor tastes like a cheap lager beer but a bit stronger. Not bad IMO, but then I also kind of like PBR.
posted by drjimmy11 at 11:22 AM on December 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by drjimmy11 at 11:22 AM on December 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
A wise man once said "He who fucks nuns will later join the church."
Yes, and he said on the soundtrack of Lords of Dogtown, a film so poor my old roommate still gives me crap for making him go see it with me in the theater.
posted by drjimmy11 at 11:23 AM on December 2, 2011
Yes, and he said on the soundtrack of Lords of Dogtown, a film so poor my old roommate still gives me crap for making him go see it with me in the theater.
posted by drjimmy11 at 11:23 AM on December 2, 2011
St. Ides Special Brew 20oz'ers (Flavored) were a popular bonfire drink with my mostly white High School. Mid to Late 90s. To this day, I am still unable to enjoy anything labeled as "passion fruit".
posted by PlutoniumX at 11:23 AM on December 2, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by PlutoniumX at 11:23 AM on December 2, 2011 [2 favorites]
If it's all you can afford at the time, it tastes great.
posted by furiousxgeorge at 11:25 AM on December 2, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by furiousxgeorge at 11:25 AM on December 2, 2011 [2 favorites]
How did "Pretty Fly For a White Guy" go again?
They didn't have Ice Cube so he bought Vanilla Ice?
Does not compute.
posted by Talez at 11:25 AM on December 2, 2011
They didn't have Ice Cube so he bought Vanilla Ice?
Does not compute.
posted by Talez at 11:25 AM on December 2, 2011
But yeah. People get older. We saw it with rock stars and now we're seeing it with rappers. And I'm sure we'll see it with whatever kind of musicians are considered new and shocking after hip-hop is old and passe.
No one stays cool forever. Well, no one except Leonard Cohen.
posted by drjimmy11 at 11:25 AM on December 2, 2011 [8 favorites]
No one stays cool forever. Well, no one except Leonard Cohen.
posted by drjimmy11 at 11:25 AM on December 2, 2011 [8 favorites]
Yes, and he said on the soundtrack of Lords of Dogtown, a film so poor my old roommate still gives me crap for making him go see it with me in the theater.
Oh thank God that turns out to be a cover.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 11:25 AM on December 2, 2011
Oh thank God that turns out to be a cover.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 11:25 AM on December 2, 2011
Oh thank God that turns out to be a cover.
Oh is that song not originally by Social Distortion? How embarrassing. I never do that. I even know "I Love Rock and Roll" is by The Arrows.
posted by drjimmy11 at 11:28 AM on December 2, 2011
Oh is that song not originally by Social Distortion? How embarrassing. I never do that. I even know "I Love Rock and Roll" is by The Arrows.
posted by drjimmy11 at 11:28 AM on December 2, 2011
And I guess now I have called myself out as never having listened to "London Calling" all the way through. Oh well.
posted by drjimmy11 at 11:29 AM on December 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by drjimmy11 at 11:29 AM on December 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
Too expensive, I'll take a 40 of Green Lightning or a 64 of Ballantine.
I only knew one kid who drank St Ides. He was insufferable, he would say "Get your girlie in the mood quckier, get your jimmy thicker with saint ides malt liqour" over and over and over while he drank it.
posted by Ad hominem at 11:31 AM on December 2, 2011 [3 favorites]
I only knew one kid who drank St Ides. He was insufferable, he would say "Get your girlie in the mood quckier, get your jimmy thicker with saint ides malt liqour" over and over and over while he drank it.
posted by Ad hominem at 11:31 AM on December 2, 2011 [3 favorites]
But The Electric Boogaloo (featuring Toni Basil!) told me Schlitz Malt Liquor was better.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:34 AM on December 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by filthy light thief at 11:34 AM on December 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
I'm pretty sure that Ice Cube's claim that St. Ides will "get your jimmy thicker" qualifies as false advertising.
posted by dortmunder at 11:34 AM on December 2, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by dortmunder at 11:34 AM on December 2, 2011 [2 favorites]
drjimmy11, there's no shame in falling for the old "Social Distortion does a decent cover of a great" song dodge. They got me with a Merle Haggard song, and I just about shit my pants when I figured it out.
posted by COBRA! at 11:35 AM on December 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by COBRA! at 11:35 AM on December 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
I only knew one kid who drank St Ides.
There was also an old lady who swallowed St Ides
I don't know why she swallowed St Ides
posted by Hoopo at 11:38 AM on December 2, 2011 [3 favorites]
There was also an old lady who swallowed St Ides
I don't know why she swallowed St Ides
posted by Hoopo at 11:38 AM on December 2, 2011 [3 favorites]
There was also an old lady who swallowed St Ides
I don't know why she swallowed St Ides
Wouldn't the more appropriate nursery rhyme be "As I was going to St Ides I met a man with seven wives"?
posted by Talez at 11:41 AM on December 2, 2011 [2 favorites]
I don't know why she swallowed St Ides
Wouldn't the more appropriate nursery rhyme be "As I was going to St Ides I met a man with seven wives"?
posted by Talez at 11:41 AM on December 2, 2011 [2 favorites]
O frabjous day! I finally have an opportunity to self-link on MetaFilter!
I have an abiding interest in Ice Cube, and have written about his fascinating and sometimes seemingly contradictory star persona in two places online.
The first of these is on my own very infrequently updated blog, here.
The second, more comprehensive essay, appears in a recent edition of the online film journal 16:9, here. (It's a Danish journal, but the essay is in English.)
If you read them, I hope you enjoy them. I think they're germane to the discussion here, even if the post is largely about St. Ides.
posted by Dr. Wu at 11:42 AM on December 2, 2011 [6 favorites]
I have an abiding interest in Ice Cube, and have written about his fascinating and sometimes seemingly contradictory star persona in two places online.
The first of these is on my own very infrequently updated blog, here.
The second, more comprehensive essay, appears in a recent edition of the online film journal 16:9, here. (It's a Danish journal, but the essay is in English.)
If you read them, I hope you enjoy them. I think they're germane to the discussion here, even if the post is largely about St. Ides.
posted by Dr. Wu at 11:42 AM on December 2, 2011 [6 favorites]
drjimmy11, there's no shame in falling for the old "Social Distortion does a decent cover of a great" song dodge. They got me with a Merle Haggard song, and I just about shit my pants when I figured it out.
Yeah, but it's inexcusable that people will now think it's just a song from that crap movie, rather than one of many great songs from one of the best albums from 'the only band that mattered.'
posted by BigHeartedGuy at 11:42 AM on December 2, 2011
Yeah, but it's inexcusable that people will now think it's just a song from that crap movie, rather than one of many great songs from one of the best albums from 'the only band that mattered.'
posted by BigHeartedGuy at 11:42 AM on December 2, 2011
free show idea: take products sold only in "black" neighbors for a taste test in the village.
The very concept makes me feel kind of uncomfortable. It seems like it would end up being a case of "making fun of black people without technically making fun of black people." Although, I have no knowledge of "Internet Celebrities" and the approach they would use...maybe it wouldn't feel exploitative.
Also: malt liquor is not only sold in black neighbourhoods. At least where I come from, it's sold mostly -- though far from exclusively -- in poorer neighbourhoods (which are not necessarily racialized neighbourhoods). It's basically just really strong lager. It generally does not taste good, although I am actually pretty fond of TNT. It's not just a cheap, high-alcohol beer. It is a cheap, high-alcohol, decent-tasting beer.
Of course, when most people think of malt liquor they're thinking of 40s of Colt 45 and St. Ides. In my opinion, having dared to drink Colt 45 and Axehead, this type of beer is generally awful.
posted by asnider at 11:43 AM on December 2, 2011
The very concept makes me feel kind of uncomfortable. It seems like it would end up being a case of "making fun of black people without technically making fun of black people." Although, I have no knowledge of "Internet Celebrities" and the approach they would use...maybe it wouldn't feel exploitative.
Also: malt liquor is not only sold in black neighbourhoods. At least where I come from, it's sold mostly -- though far from exclusively -- in poorer neighbourhoods (which are not necessarily racialized neighbourhoods). It's basically just really strong lager. It generally does not taste good, although I am actually pretty fond of TNT. It's not just a cheap, high-alcohol beer. It is a cheap, high-alcohol, decent-tasting beer.
Of course, when most people think of malt liquor they're thinking of 40s of Colt 45 and St. Ides. In my opinion, having dared to drink Colt 45 and Axehead, this type of beer is generally awful.
posted by asnider at 11:43 AM on December 2, 2011
established a Wu-Tang quorum
I have found my new phrase for establishing a consensus.
I'm using it in my PhD thesis.
I only wish I had 36 chapters.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 11:48 AM on December 2, 2011 [10 favorites]
I have found my new phrase for establishing a consensus.
I'm using it in my PhD thesis.
I only wish I had 36 chapters.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 11:48 AM on December 2, 2011 [10 favorites]
Cube's graduated to shilling for Coors Light now. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.
posted by the painkiller at 11:48 AM on December 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by the painkiller at 11:48 AM on December 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
So many brand names, you'd think they were getting paid for product placement.
Yes, there are a number of good reasons to think that.
posted by IAmUnaware at 11:49 AM on December 2, 2011 [2 favorites]
Yes, there are a number of good reasons to think that.
posted by IAmUnaware at 11:49 AM on December 2, 2011 [2 favorites]
I used to enjoy Ice Cube's Black:White "reality" show. Yeah, it was not-as-real as purported (two of the "stars" had previous acting credits), but many of the scenarios were still very interesting/enlightening.
posted by Oriole Adams at 11:50 AM on December 2, 2011
posted by Oriole Adams at 11:50 AM on December 2, 2011
also, if you have a 40 oz of anything you better be sharing it with someone. A 40 oz is flat and too warm by the time you get 2/3 of the way through even if you drink fast (provided you're not chugging the whole thing down at once.) They're pretty much gross, if you're gonna drink the cheap stuff stick with a 6-pack and leave the ones you're not drinking at that moment in the fridge. The coldness dulls the horrible taste somewhat.
posted by Hoopo at 11:51 AM on December 2, 2011
posted by Hoopo at 11:51 AM on December 2, 2011
Also: malt liquor is not only sold in black neighbourhoods. At least where I come from, it's sold mostly -- though far from exclusively -- in poorer neighbourhoods (which are not necessarily racialized neighbourhoods).
asnider, the marketing of malt liquor towards African Americans is pretty well documented. No one is saying "only black people drink it!". But it's dishonest to naively pretend that ethnic marketing doesn't happen.
posted by IAmBroom at 12:00 PM on December 2, 2011 [2 favorites]
asnider, the marketing of malt liquor towards African Americans is pretty well documented. No one is saying "only black people drink it!". But it's dishonest to naively pretend that ethnic marketing doesn't happen.
posted by IAmBroom at 12:00 PM on December 2, 2011 [2 favorites]
Well when I was drinking 40s you could get OE or a 12 pack of cans of meisterbrau warm for almost the same price. It was a toss up, get a 40 that was going to get warm, or just start out drinking warm beer.
I am almost ashamed to admit I did Edward 40 hands once a year into my 30s. The last time I projectile vomited all over my new rug from drinking warm malt liquor, that was a real moment of self reflection for me.
posted by Ad hominem at 12:01 PM on December 2, 2011 [4 favorites]
I am almost ashamed to admit I did Edward 40 hands once a year into my 30s. The last time I projectile vomited all over my new rug from drinking warm malt liquor, that was a real moment of self reflection for me.
posted by Ad hominem at 12:01 PM on December 2, 2011 [4 favorites]
A wise man once said "He who fucks nuns will later join the church."
That always struck me as kind of a no duh line because CHURCH IS WHERE THEY KEEP THE NUNS.
posted by villanelles at dawn at 12:01 PM on December 2, 2011 [11 favorites]
That always struck me as kind of a no duh line because CHURCH IS WHERE THEY KEEP THE NUNS.
posted by villanelles at dawn at 12:01 PM on December 2, 2011 [11 favorites]
I only knew one kid who drank St Ides.
I have way too much to say about 40oz of St Ides today. Anyways, the insufferable kid I knew who drank these back in high school was named Mike. A lot of the badass kids in high school used to go out into the woods and have bush parties where I grew up, and we'd have a bonfire and smoke and drink. Even in cold-ass Canadian winters, pretty much any weekend you could walk out to the woods and after a while you'd hear the hollers of drunken teens, and just follow them until you saw the fire and found the spot.
Mike used to do this thing at the end of the night to put out the fire before we all went home. I do not recommend this anytime other than the dead of winter when your fire pit is surrounded my snow because in dry conditions you will burn the forest down. Actually I don't recommend it ever, because if you do this you're an idiot. Anyways, Mike would take one of his empty 40oz bottles and piss into it, then twist the cap back on. He'd then drop this bottle into the red hot coals and yell "Run!" We'd all run and hide behind trees, and the bottle would start whistling, like a cartoon bomb dropping sound effect. Then BOOM! A big green(!?!?) explosion and glass and embers thrown everywhere. Ah, high school bush parties. Good times.
posted by Hoopo at 12:06 PM on December 2, 2011 [7 favorites]
I have way too much to say about 40oz of St Ides today. Anyways, the insufferable kid I knew who drank these back in high school was named Mike. A lot of the badass kids in high school used to go out into the woods and have bush parties where I grew up, and we'd have a bonfire and smoke and drink. Even in cold-ass Canadian winters, pretty much any weekend you could walk out to the woods and after a while you'd hear the hollers of drunken teens, and just follow them until you saw the fire and found the spot.
Mike used to do this thing at the end of the night to put out the fire before we all went home. I do not recommend this anytime other than the dead of winter when your fire pit is surrounded my snow because in dry conditions you will burn the forest down. Actually I don't recommend it ever, because if you do this you're an idiot. Anyways, Mike would take one of his empty 40oz bottles and piss into it, then twist the cap back on. He'd then drop this bottle into the red hot coals and yell "Run!" We'd all run and hide behind trees, and the bottle would start whistling, like a cartoon bomb dropping sound effect. Then BOOM! A big green(!?!?) explosion and glass and embers thrown everywhere. Ah, high school bush parties. Good times.
posted by Hoopo at 12:06 PM on December 2, 2011 [7 favorites]
I remember drinking 40's, listening to "O.P.P" and using phrases like oh snap!
posted by phaedon at 12:10 PM on December 2, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by phaedon at 12:10 PM on December 2, 2011 [2 favorites]
This doesn't relate to a damn thing but since Wu Tang's been mentioned I have to link to The Wuseum, which I just found out about and think is about the greatest. That is all.
posted by roobot at 12:10 PM on December 2, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by roobot at 12:10 PM on December 2, 2011 [2 favorites]
Ohh snap, you should have seen this honey I was scoping on the train.
I think after work I'll get some 40s and some dutch masters and try to buy weed in the park.
posted by Ad hominem at 12:13 PM on December 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
I think after work I'll get some 40s and some dutch masters and try to buy weed in the park.
posted by Ad hominem at 12:13 PM on December 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
In late 1991, when this first came out, I lived in a squalid apartment with a bunch of other dopes (5 rooms, seven people, no heat) in Brooklyn and we drank a LOT of 40s. I was 18. We liked Olde English 800, but we'd go with a Colt .45 or Budweiser (quarts though, not 40s) in a pinch. We'd rarely drink St. Ides. It was generally opined (and so far as we were concerned PROVEN SCIENTIFIC FACT) that St. Ides made you more aggressive and rowdy, and that really wasn't our thing. Although we were more or less punks we were fairly 'into' rap culture, we loved Ice Cube, we loved the Ice Cube St Ides ads, they even sold it in 'our' bodega, but we didn't drink St Ides. Much. Covert, ingrained racism, or terrible beer?
The kids who waited for the bus on our corner mostly drank OE, too. No fooling.
posted by dirtdirt at 12:14 PM on December 2, 2011
The kids who waited for the bus on our corner mostly drank OE, too. No fooling.
posted by dirtdirt at 12:14 PM on December 2, 2011
Oh, in case that wasn't clear in the context of 18 year old me being a 'kid' too: the kids waiting for the bus were high school kids.
posted by dirtdirt at 12:15 PM on December 2, 2011
posted by dirtdirt at 12:15 PM on December 2, 2011
man, Ad hominem, it was never OK to buy weed in the park.
posted by Jon_Evil at 12:18 PM on December 2, 2011
posted by Jon_Evil at 12:18 PM on December 2, 2011
I've always been confounded by all the naked commercialism in hip hop. So many brand names, you'd think they were getting paid for product placement.
I think what you're being confounded by is all the naked commercialism promoted by... naked commercialism. As KRS-One said - rap is a product, hip hop is a culture. Confusing one for the other is a mistake.
posted by FatherDagon at 12:24 PM on December 2, 2011 [2 favorites]
I think what you're being confounded by is all the naked commercialism promoted by... naked commercialism. As KRS-One said - rap is a product, hip hop is a culture. Confusing one for the other is a mistake.
posted by FatherDagon at 12:24 PM on December 2, 2011 [2 favorites]
I think this was already linked to on MetaFilter, but it seems like a good time for a re-post: Drankoff 2011.
> Yes, and he said on the soundtrack of Lords of Dogtown, a film so poor my old roommate still gives me crap for making him go see it with me in the theater.
When my wife and I rented Dogtown and Z-Boys she got up and left; "You'd think these guys landed on the moon or something!"
posted by The Card Cheat at 12:33 PM on December 2, 2011 [2 favorites]
> Yes, and he said on the soundtrack of Lords of Dogtown, a film so poor my old roommate still gives me crap for making him go see it with me in the theater.
When my wife and I rented Dogtown and Z-Boys she got up and left; "You'd think these guys landed on the moon or something!"
posted by The Card Cheat at 12:33 PM on December 2, 2011 [2 favorites]
asnider, the marketing of malt liquor towards African Americans is pretty well documented. No one is saying "only black people drink it!". But it's dishonest to naively pretend that ethnic marketing doesn't happen.
That wasn't my intent. I was refering to the implication that you'd have to go to a "black neighbourhood" in order to buy the product. Of course, I suppose it is rarely true that you'd literally have to go to a specific neighbourhood to buy a "black product." I think I may have read 2bucksplus's comment too literally.
Also, I am Canadian and so malt liquor -- when it is marketed at all -- isn't marketed in nearly the same way as it is in the US; my experiences are slightly different than those of Americans. Or maybe I'm just not viewing black media.
posted by asnider at 12:34 PM on December 2, 2011
That wasn't my intent. I was refering to the implication that you'd have to go to a "black neighbourhood" in order to buy the product. Of course, I suppose it is rarely true that you'd literally have to go to a specific neighbourhood to buy a "black product." I think I may have read 2bucksplus's comment too literally.
Also, I am Canadian and so malt liquor -- when it is marketed at all -- isn't marketed in nearly the same way as it is in the US; my experiences are slightly different than those of Americans. Or maybe I'm just not viewing black media.
posted by asnider at 12:34 PM on December 2, 2011
I had a lot of malt liquor when I was 18-19. I really don't think they're awful when you drink them cold, but like someone said, they go warm before you finish them. Also, good beer is wasted on me. Country Club is the worst I've had, but I'm not a fan of Steel Reserve or King Cobra. I found Mickey's to be the most palatable.
I remember watching that trashy show 1000 Ways to Die, and it had a group of kids playing Edward Fortyhands in a South Boston basement. One of the kids spits out a blunt he was handlessly smoking and it rolls under a couch and, well, they all end up dying from the fumes and fire because they can't use the doorknob.
(Either they were too drunk to think of breaking the bottles or just overzealously devoted to following the rules)
posted by Pope Xanax IV at 12:36 PM on December 2, 2011 [2 favorites]
I remember watching that trashy show 1000 Ways to Die, and it had a group of kids playing Edward Fortyhands in a South Boston basement. One of the kids spits out a blunt he was handlessly smoking and it rolls under a couch and, well, they all end up dying from the fumes and fire because they can't use the doorknob.
(Either they were too drunk to think of breaking the bottles or just overzealously devoted to following the rules)
posted by Pope Xanax IV at 12:36 PM on December 2, 2011 [2 favorites]
Also, I am Canadian and so malt liquor -- when it is marketed at all -- isn't marketed in nearly the same way as it is in the US
I can vouch for this. My town didn't have a black neighbourhood, and all beer and malt liquor is sold at a quasi-provincial vendor called "The Beer Store"
posted by Hoopo at 12:38 PM on December 2, 2011
I can vouch for this. My town didn't have a black neighbourhood, and all beer and malt liquor is sold at a quasi-provincial vendor called "The Beer Store"
posted by Hoopo at 12:38 PM on December 2, 2011
As a Canadian kid whose television picked up Detroit stations, these were the malt liquor commercials I grew up with.
posted by The Card Cheat at 12:40 PM on December 2, 2011
posted by The Card Cheat at 12:40 PM on December 2, 2011
(Either they were too drunk to think of breaking the bottles or just overzealously devoted to following the rules)
You can't remove the bottles for any reason! I always had a person without giant glass bottles taped to their hands, for emergencies and for cutting the tape off our hands when we were done.
40 hands meetup?
posted by Ad hominem at 12:46 PM on December 2, 2011 [2 favorites]
You can't remove the bottles for any reason! I always had a person without giant glass bottles taped to their hands, for emergencies and for cutting the tape off our hands when we were done.
40 hands meetup?
posted by Ad hominem at 12:46 PM on December 2, 2011 [2 favorites]
Country Club is the worst I've had ...
I used to drink Country Club regularly (40s were $1.25!!!). It eventually became the very first alcoholic beverage about which I've said "I am never drinking that shit again." God, that stuff was horrible and did terrible things to my brain.
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 12:47 PM on December 2, 2011
I used to drink Country Club regularly (40s were $1.25!!!). It eventually became the very first alcoholic beverage about which I've said "I am never drinking that shit again." God, that stuff was horrible and did terrible things to my brain.
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 12:47 PM on December 2, 2011
Me and my hammies can get with the Stewart's Root Beer, doncha know....
posted by y2karl at 12:54 PM on December 2, 2011
posted by y2karl at 12:54 PM on December 2, 2011
The Great Big Mulp; what you said, only replace "Country Club" with "Olde English 800." It didn't help that I started that night off with a can of Faxe...God damn, I'm lucky to be alive.
posted by The Card Cheat at 12:54 PM on December 2, 2011
posted by The Card Cheat at 12:54 PM on December 2, 2011
Country Club is the worst I've had ...
Ah, I see you have never had Crazy Horse.
posted by elizardbits at 12:57 PM on December 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
Ah, I see you have never had Crazy Horse.
posted by elizardbits at 12:57 PM on December 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
Malt Liquor (in a variety of bottle sizes) can be purchased in any convenience store or grocery down here. The drink of the poor.
But if I want Royal Crown Pomade, I have to hit a couple of stores in African-American neighborhoods before I can find it. Murrays . . . you can find that shit in any Walgreens.
I guess if there were such a thing as a rockabilly neighborhood, I might be able to find it there.
I'd like to see the show that takes hair grease to the people in the Village.
That would be . . . enlightening.
posted by Seamus at 1:02 PM on December 2, 2011
But if I want Royal Crown Pomade, I have to hit a couple of stores in African-American neighborhoods before I can find it. Murrays . . . you can find that shit in any Walgreens.
I guess if there were such a thing as a rockabilly neighborhood, I might be able to find it there.
I'd like to see the show that takes hair grease to the people in the Village.
That would be . . . enlightening.
posted by Seamus at 1:02 PM on December 2, 2011
I prefer Anaconda malt liquor.
posted by narcoleptic at 1:07 PM on December 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by narcoleptic at 1:07 PM on December 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
Midnight Dragon was the worst, I'm not even sure it was Malt Liquor, it might have just been especially bad beer sold in 40s.
posted by Ad hominem at 1:08 PM on December 2, 2011
posted by Ad hominem at 1:08 PM on December 2, 2011
One more thing, here is A History of Malt Liquor that is actually pretty interesting.
posted by Ad hominem at 1:13 PM on December 2, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by Ad hominem at 1:13 PM on December 2, 2011 [3 favorites]
Great post, these ads are very much a part of the soundtrack of that era of my life. And that wu commercial is still good enough to be an actual song.
I'm still baffled as to what exactly they put in St. Ides. I've done quite a bit of recreational drinking in my life, all along the quality spectrum, and the crooked I stands out to me as having a very unique effect. Very much akin to having too much cough syrup.
posted by billyfleetwood at 1:15 PM on December 2, 2011
I'm still baffled as to what exactly they put in St. Ides. I've done quite a bit of recreational drinking in my life, all along the quality spectrum, and the crooked I stands out to me as having a very unique effect. Very much akin to having too much cough syrup.
posted by billyfleetwood at 1:15 PM on December 2, 2011
Private Stock is still where it's at, but St Ides is my back up
posted by WhitenoisE at 1:22 PM on December 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by WhitenoisE at 1:22 PM on December 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
That's ghostface shooting lasers, not raekwon.
posted by neuromodulator at 1:22 PM on December 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by neuromodulator at 1:22 PM on December 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
One of my housemates my sophomore year of college drank Mickey's occasionally. (I have never like beer of any kind, FWIW.) Most memorably while when my boyfriend was driving out to a large summer outdoor music festival, shortly after the roommate had been dumped by his girlfriend. We stopped at a gas station along the way, and IIRC he picked up and drank a whole 6-pack of stubbies, then got drunk as quickly as I've ever seen anybody get drunk. When we got to the event, he wandered off into the crowd, turned up a few hours later. I asked him to hold my glasses while I cooled off under some sort of hose setup, turned around and he was gone again. A few hours after that, I found him sitting on a curb, looking totally desolate. My glasses, which had been in his bag, got broken when he wandered into a mosh pit. During THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS.
Ah, 1993. When any goddamn band could inspire a mosh pit.
Also, Dr. Wu: "Perhaps the truest mark of this cycle’s impact is that fact that its films are the target of at least two parodies" - and no mention of CB4?! (Great article & blog post, BTW.)
posted by epersonae at 1:49 PM on December 2, 2011 [2 favorites]
Ah, 1993. When any goddamn band could inspire a mosh pit.
Also, Dr. Wu: "Perhaps the truest mark of this cycle’s impact is that fact that its films are the target of at least two parodies" - and no mention of CB4?! (Great article & blog post, BTW.)
posted by epersonae at 1:49 PM on December 2, 2011 [2 favorites]
Afroblanco: "I've always been confounded by all the naked commercialism in hip hop. So many brand names, you'd think they were getting paid for product placement. I mean, I get that it's a status thing, but it's so at-odds with the (mostly-white) anti-consumerist counterculture I'm most familiar with."
Wealthy white people have money, things, try to hide it.
Poor black people, don't have money, things, try to hide it.
Bragging/bling in rap is about getting what you never had. It's so a common a motif it's almost invisible.
Or just read the lyrics to All Falls Down:
Couldn't afford a car so she named her daughter Alexis.
posted by danny the boy at 1:49 PM on December 2, 2011 [4 favorites]
Wealthy white people have money, things, try to hide it.
Poor black people, don't have money, things, try to hide it.
Bragging/bling in rap is about getting what you never had. It's so a common a motif it's almost invisible.
Or just read the lyrics to All Falls Down:
Couldn't afford a car so she named her daughter Alexis.
posted by danny the boy at 1:49 PM on December 2, 2011 [4 favorites]
Whoops, you're right! Rae and Ghost are United, but not interchangeable!
posted by ignignokt at 1:50 PM on December 2, 2011
posted by ignignokt at 1:50 PM on December 2, 2011
Whoops, you're right! Rae and Ghost are United, but not interchangeable!
In your defence, if you asked me which Wu-Tang members can shoot lasers, I would say, "All of them."
posted by neuromodulator at 2:01 PM on December 2, 2011 [4 favorites]
In your defence, if you asked me which Wu-Tang members can shoot lasers, I would say, "All of them."
posted by neuromodulator at 2:01 PM on December 2, 2011 [4 favorites]
Olde English 800 'cuz that's my brand
Take it in a bottle, 40, quart or a can
Drink it like a madman, yes I do
Fuck the police and a 502
posted by porn in the woods at 2:55 PM on December 2, 2011
Take it in a bottle, 40, quart or a can
Drink it like a madman, yes I do
Fuck the police and a 502
posted by porn in the woods at 2:55 PM on December 2, 2011
All things have an antipode.
This here's the wine snob antipodality.
(relax, its a beautiful thing)
posted by Fupped Duck at 3:05 PM on December 2, 2011
This here's the wine snob antipodality.
(relax, its a beautiful thing)
posted by Fupped Duck at 3:05 PM on December 2, 2011
Bragging/bling in rap is about getting what you never had. It's so a common a motif it's almost invisible.
I love the more dated examples of bling-bragging these days, like when you listen to Biggie bragging about having both a Super Nintendo and a Sega Genesis. He must have like a million dollars!
posted by Hoopo at 4:00 PM on December 2, 2011 [3 favorites]
I love the more dated examples of bling-bragging these days, like when you listen to Biggie bragging about having both a Super Nintendo and a Sega Genesis. He must have like a million dollars!
posted by Hoopo at 4:00 PM on December 2, 2011 [3 favorites]
However, blacks buy 75 percent of all malt liquor, which has up to twice the alcohol of beer.
*looks at bottle of founder's dirty bastard, contemplates the next bottle of brooklyn black chocolate stout*
you're drinking the wrong beer
posted by pyramid termite at 5:00 PM on December 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
*looks at bottle of founder's dirty bastard, contemplates the next bottle of brooklyn black chocolate stout*
you're drinking the wrong beer
posted by pyramid termite at 5:00 PM on December 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
Wow! until this post, the only musical experience of St Ides I'd had was via Elliott Smith. I have a lot of catching up to do. Thanks for this.
posted by mean square error at 5:45 PM on December 2, 2011
posted by mean square error at 5:45 PM on December 2, 2011
I'm late to the game. I'm not a huge drinker, but when I do drink my beverage of choice is OE. Additionally, I live in a predominantly black neighborhood and I'd say about 50% of the time I buy an OE I get cajoled by black customers at the store. I suppose it's a novelty to see a white person drinking a 40.
Anyway, you have not lived until you have tried "FOUR O" it tastes like Robitussin mixed with malt liquor and has the most hilarious label of any beverage ever: an amateurish depiction of a wall with child-like graffiti proclaiming the drink, "Street Legal", which is highly doubtful, but I wonder if anyone has ever used that as a defense when nabbed for an open container?
Here's an article on Four O. At least get a bottle for it's quaint collectible value!
posted by cloeburner at 6:21 PM on December 2, 2011
Anyway, you have not lived until you have tried "FOUR O" it tastes like Robitussin mixed with malt liquor and has the most hilarious label of any beverage ever: an amateurish depiction of a wall with child-like graffiti proclaiming the drink, "Street Legal", which is highly doubtful, but I wonder if anyone has ever used that as a defense when nabbed for an open container?
Here's an article on Four O. At least get a bottle for it's quaint collectible value!
posted by cloeburner at 6:21 PM on December 2, 2011
Ahh, you youngsters. If you're old school you remember:
What's the word?
Thunderbird!
How's it sold?
Good and cold!
What's the jive?
Bird's alive!
What's the price?
Thirty twice!
posted by TedW at 6:29 PM on December 2, 2011 [2 favorites]
What's the word?
Thunderbird!
How's it sold?
Good and cold!
What's the jive?
Bird's alive!
What's the price?
Thirty twice!
posted by TedW at 6:29 PM on December 2, 2011 [2 favorites]
Even 20 years later, I don't think I could handle the smell of St. Ides, let alone chug it out of a baby bottle.
posted by orme at 7:01 PM on December 2, 2011
posted by orme at 7:01 PM on December 2, 2011
This is Billy Dee Williams saying, I like my beer like I like my women, ready to pass out.
posted by 445supermag at 8:09 PM on December 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by 445supermag at 8:09 PM on December 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
I like my beer like I like my women--full of alcohol and created by master craftsmen in small wooden casks.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 12:16 PM on December 3, 2011
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 12:16 PM on December 3, 2011
On Only Built For Cuban Lynx, they're listening to this in the background on Spot Rusherz. This is RZA's best flow. I don't know why he did so well in this particular moment.
posted by shushufindi at 5:40 PM on December 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by shushufindi at 5:40 PM on December 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
The St. Ides jingles are collected on an awesome album credited to DJ Drank. The Wu one might be my favorite.
posted by box at 12:14 PM on December 4, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by box at 12:14 PM on December 4, 2011 [1 favorite]
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posted by yoink at 11:08 AM on December 2, 2011 [8 favorites]