Comments on: The S-T period to the I-D-E to the S!

The S-T period to the I-D-E to the S!

ignignokt — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:05:06 -0800

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.

By: yoink

yoink — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:08:08 -0800

Oblig.

By: elizardbits

elizardbits — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:15:04 -0800

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.

By: elizardbits

elizardbits — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:15:56 -0800

I worry that if Tupac had lived, he'd have a daytime chat show now.

By: Trurl

Trurl — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:16:29 -0800

Eh yo my G's We roll 50 deep In the club VIP Sippin' on Donaghy

By: 2bucksplus

2bucksplus — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:16:55 -0800

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.

By: chrchr

chrchr — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:17:09 -0800

Told all my friends, don't drink eight ball, 'cause St. Ides is giving ends. -- Ice Cube

By: brundlefly

brundlefly — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:19:42 -0800

Ha. I read the first two sentences of this post and immediately thought of the image in the "Are We There Yet?" link.

By: Trurl

Trurl — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:21:43 -0800

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."

By: drjimmy11

drjimmy11 — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:22:20 -0800

Malt liquor tastes like a cheap lager beer but a bit stronger. Not bad IMO, but then I also kind of like PBR.

By: drjimmy11

drjimmy11 — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:23:30 -0800

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.

By: PlutoniumX

PlutoniumX — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:23:48 -0800

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".

By: furiousxgeorge

furiousxgeorge — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:25:00 -0800

If it's all you can afford at the time, it tastes great.

By: Talez

Talez — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:25:24 -0800

How did "Pretty Fly For a White Guy" go again? They didn't have Ice Cube so he bought Vanilla Ice? Does not compute.

By: drjimmy11

drjimmy11 — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:25:41 -0800

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.

By: Bulgaroktonos

Bulgaroktonos — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:25:50 -0800

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.

By: griphus

griphus — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:26:09 -0800

Did someone mention Ice Cube?

By: drjimmy11

drjimmy11 — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:28:22 -0800

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.

By: drjimmy11

drjimmy11 — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:29:43 -0800

And I guess now I have called myself out as never having listened to "London Calling" all the way through. Oh well.

By: Ad hominem

Ad hominem — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:31:28 -0800

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.

By: filthy light thief

filthy light thief — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:34:13 -0800

But The Electric Boogaloo (featuring Toni Basil!) told me Schlitz Malt Liquor was better.

By: dortmunder

dortmunder — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:34:21 -0800

I'm pretty sure that Ice Cube's claim that St. Ides will "get your jimmy thicker" qualifies as false advertising.

By: COBRA!

COBRA! — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:35:03 -0800

By: Hoopo

Hoopo — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:38:45 -0800

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

By: Talez

Talez — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:41:08 -0800

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"?

By: Dr. Wu

Dr. Wu — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:42:06 -0800

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.

By: BigHeartedGuy

BigHeartedGuy — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:42:24 -0800

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.'

By: lkc

lkc — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:42:31 -0800

The dude who makes family movies?

By: asnider

asnider — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:43:57 -0800

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.

By: curious nu

curious nu — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:45:59 -0800

Everything is exactly right...

By: Afroblanco

Afroblanco — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:47:20 -0800

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. Then again, I also never understood why people would wear, carry, or own something emblazoned with a brand name logo. I mean, why give any company free advertising? And what is that supposed to say about you, other than the fact that you can afford to buy the thing you're wearing. I guess it's just Not My Thing. (shrug)

By: Mr. Bad Example

Mr. Bad Example — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:48:22 -0800

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.

By: the painkiller

the painkiller — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:48:53 -0800

Cube's graduated to shilling for Coors Light now. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.

By: IAmUnaware

IAmUnaware — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:49:31 -0800

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.

By: Oriole Adams

Oriole Adams — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:50:59 -0800

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.

By: Hoopo

Hoopo — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:51:05 -0800

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.

By: IAmBroom

IAmBroom — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 12:00:48 -0800

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.

By: Ad hominem

Ad hominem — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 12:01:14 -0800

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.

By: villanelles at dawn

villanelles at dawn — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 12:01:47 -0800

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.

By: Hoopo

Hoopo — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 12:06:16 -0800

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.

By: phaedon

phaedon — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 12:10:30 -0800

I remember drinking 40's, listening to "O.P.P" and using phrases like oh snap!

By: roobot

roobot — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 12:10:52 -0800

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.

By: Ad hominem

Ad hominem — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 12:13:52 -0800

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.

By: dirtdirt

dirtdirt — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 12:14:28 -0800

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.

By: dirtdirt

dirtdirt — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 12:15:55 -0800

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.

By: Jon_Evil

Jon_Evil — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 12:18:21 -0800

man, Ad hominem, it was never OK to buy weed in the park.

By: FatherDagon

FatherDagon — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 12:24:41 -0800

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.

By: phaedon

phaedon — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 12:27:02 -0800

Peach flavored Swisher Sweets. Mmm, culture.

By: The Card Cheat

The Card Cheat — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 12:33:18 -0800

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!"

By: asnider

asnider — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 12:34:57 -0800

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.

By: Pope Xanax IV

Pope Xanax IV — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 12:36:47 -0800

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)

By: Hoopo

Hoopo — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 12:38:31 -0800

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"

By: The Card Cheat

The Card Cheat — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 12:40:40 -0800

As a Canadian kid whose television picked up Detroit stations, these were the malt liquor commercials I grew up with.

By: Ad hominem

Ad hominem — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 12:46:49 -0800

(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?

By: The Great Big Mulp

The Great Big Mulp — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 12:47:29 -0800

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.

By: y2karl

y2karl — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 12:54:14 -0800

Me and my hammies can get with the Stewart's Root Beer, doncha know....

By: The Card Cheat

The Card Cheat — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 12:54:49 -0800

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.

By: elizardbits

elizardbits — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 12:57:42 -0800

Country Club is the worst I've had ... Ah, I see you have never had Crazy Horse.

By: Seamus

Seamus — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 13:02:34 -0800

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.

By: narcoleptic

narcoleptic — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 13:07:02 -0800

I prefer Anaconda malt liquor.

By: Afroblanco

Afroblanco — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 13:07:45 -0800

Country Club is the worst I've had ... Could someone please explain to me why the purveyors of plastic bottle vodka always give their foul libations names that would indicate some kind of social status? (self-link)

By: Ad hominem

Ad hominem — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 13:08:02 -0800

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.

By: Ad hominem

Ad hominem — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 13:13:51 -0800

One more thing, here is A History of Malt Liquor that is actually pretty interesting.

By: billyfleetwood

billyfleetwood — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 13:15:05 -0800

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.

By: WhitenoisE

WhitenoisE — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 13:22:31 -0800

Private Stock is still where it's at, but St Ides is my back up

By: neuromodulator

neuromodulator — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 13:22:49 -0800

That's ghostface shooting lasers, not raekwon.

By: epersonae

epersonae — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 13:49:36 -0800

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.)

By: danny the boy

danny the boy — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 13:49:49 -0800

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.

By: ignignokt

ignignokt — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 13:50:01 -0800

Whoops, you're right! Rae and Ghost are United, but not interchangeable!

By: neuromodulator

neuromodulator — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 14:01:04 -0800

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."

By: Afroblanco

Afroblanco — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 14:53:58 -0800

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. You know, I've wondered about that. So many brand name shout-outs. Is there any evidence of paid-for product placement in rap? It's so weird. I heard some rap the other day that name-checked Kodak. I mean, Kodak? It's not like that's a prestige brand or anything. In fact I was surprised to find out they're still in business. So it's not like a luxury signifier like Lexus or whatever.

By: porn in the woods

porn in the woods — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 14:55:00 -0800

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

By: Fupped Duck

Fupped Duck — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 15:05:51 -0800

All things have an antipode. This here's the wine snob antipodality. (relax, its a beautiful thing)

By: Yakuman

Yakuman — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 15:29:11 -0800

Beware the St. Ides of March.

By: Hoopo

Hoopo — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 16:00:48 -0800

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!

By: pyramid termite

pyramid termite — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 17:00:59 -0800

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

By: mean square error

mean square error — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 17:45:19 -0800

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.

By: cloeburner

cloeburner — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 18:21:46 -0800

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!

By: TedW

TedW — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 18:29:43 -0800

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!

By: orme

orme — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 19:01:20 -0800

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.

By: 445supermag

445supermag — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 20:09:20 -0800

This is Billy Dee Williams saying, I like my beer like I like my women, ready to pass out.

By: Mr. Bad Example

Mr. Bad Example — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 12:16:41 -0800

I like my beer like I like my women--full of alcohol and created by master craftsmen in small wooden casks.

By: shushufindi

shushufindi — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 17:40:16 -0800

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.

By: box

box — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 12:14:12 -0800

The St. Ides jingles are collected on an awesome album credited to DJ Drank. The Wu one might be my favorite.