Ris Richards is, at this point, a DC institution. Since "Q AND NOT U" disbanded in 2005, the man has kept busy: releasing his own album, forming "BULLETS" with Dave Nada, DJing away (next up-Dec. 15th with the Brazilian Girls at Garutachi) and being everywhere anyone worth their salt in DC wants to be.
He is opening for Ted Leo at 930 club this Saturday and so we figured, WHY NOT ASK HIM TO WRITE HIS OWN WHAT I LIKE ABOUT YOU, DC column.
He extra kindly obliged.
So, enjoy some inside info, because you know you want to:
Inspired by that Papoose song where he raps the alphabet, (except hopefully not as lame), here's my list of D.C.'s greatest persons, places and things......A-B-C-D.C.......
"Ask Bob" - I check the City Paper every week for fresh counsel from Bob Mould: punk-legend-turned-alterna-legend-turned-DJ-turned-advice-columnist. Real talk.
Best song on Ben's Chili Bowl jukebox - Patrice Rushen's "Haven't You Heard."
Commonwealth - So glad these Va Beach dudes decided to open their amazing streetwear boutique in our humble town. Fresh!
Dahlak - My favorite bar in the world. Live, mind-melting Eritrean dance music on the weekends.
Eddie's Hair Creations - Best place to get a tight fade whilst watching Earth Wind and Fire concert DVDs.
Farmers markets - Mount Pleasant (never crowded, heavenly bok choy) and Dupont (grillable apples, buskers jamming).
Gravelly Point - You're chilling on a placid soccer field between the river and National Airport when - "WHRROOOOSSHHH" - a 747 comes ripping 100 feet over your pretty little head. Cheap thrills in the post-industrial age.
"honi soit qui mal y pense" - An exhibition of paintings by the brilliant Ian Whitmore that kicked my ass earlier this fall.
Identifying D.C., Maryland and Virginia as "the DMV" - Slang-as-incredibly-apt-metaphor-2K7.
Juju - Did you know that Washington once produced a totally rad spiritual jazz troupe called Juju? Fans of Art Ensemble of Chicago and that ilk should try and find an old copy of Juju's "Message from Mozambique" on wax. It's a killer.
K and 17th NW - The intersection where a food cart peddles D.C.'s best burrito. Get yours any weekday from 11am-2pm.
Little Ethiopia- This stretch on 9th Street NW hosts some dope record stores and the city's tastiest Ethiopian restaurant, Etete.
Memory Lane - Northwest has more awesome vinyl spots than ever (Som, Red Onion, Smash, Crooked Beat...) but lately I've been geeked on this alphabetized-to-the-letter record emporium out in District Heights, MD.
Dave Nada - The best DJ in D.C. and probably THE PLANET EARTH.
"One-Hundred Miles and Runnin" - The latest mixtape by future rap superstar and D.C. native Wale. You can still download it off his MySpace page for free.(Free! And so much better than the Radiohead album).
"Phatty" - Hottest song to come out of D.C. this year. It's by go-go super geniuses CCB. myspace.com/criticalconditionband
Q and Not U t-shirts - My people, if you make eye-contact with me at the club and you're wearing your old Q and Not U t-shirt, don't get all embarrassed and look the other way - say what's up! Your sartorial pledge to my former gang makes a dude feel good!
Radio CPR - Fuck the FCC. Pirate radio is alive and well in Mount Pleasant.
Soft Focus - Washington's favorite son Ian Svenonius (author of the so-necessary "Psychic Soviet") spreads his media tentacles into the televised realm, joining the ranks of Larry King and Charlie Rose with his very own one-on-one interview show. www.vbs.tv/softfocus
Thanh Son Tofu - This counter-service joint at the Eden Center in Falls Church sells mouth-watering slices of deep-fried tofu that you can purchase by the box. I'm signing up for Flexcar just for this shit.
Uggghhhh!!!! - The sound I made when I realized I missed the Alex Ross lecture/signing at Politics and Prose a couple weeks back. If anyone wants to buy me a signed copy of his new book "The Rest is Noise," and bring it to the 9:30 club show on Saturday, I'll trade you for as many Ris Paul Ric LPs as you want.
Vegetate - Great food, great DJs, and after much struggle, a liquor license.
Wizznutzz.com - The only way to cope with Gilbert's all-but-season-ending knee injury.
Malcolm X Park - AKA Meridian Hill Park, home to the only Sunday afternoon drum circle that doesn't make me want to jump off my roof.
Yazuzu - Absolutely delicious Mediterranean food served cafeteria-style in a room that looks like something out of Kubrick's "2001."
Zzzzzzzz - The sound of y'all sleeping on Tabi Bonney, D.C.'s BEST rapper. Get with it! His debut disc "A Fly Guy's Theme" is in stores.
PS!!!! I'm still looking for a frontwoman for my new crossover band. If you know any ladies in their 20s who can sing, rap, dance and throwthefuckdown, have them email crankdc@gmail.com. We're going places.....!!!!
And what those places may be?
Catch Chris opening for Ted Leo at 930 this Saturday
and DJing at the "Brazilian Girls" Garutachi at RNR next Saturday
http://www.myspace.com/rispaulric
Previously in I Heart DC:
- 2/2: DC News You Can (Maybe) Use:
- 2/1: DC News You Can (Maybe) Use:
- 1/31: DC News You Can (Maybe) Use
- 1/30: DC News You Can (Maybe) Use
- 1/30: Capital City Diner: Up All Night
- 1/27: DC News You Can (Maybe) Use
- 1/26: DC News You Can (Maybe) Use
- 1/25: DC News You Can (Maybe) Use
- 1/24: DC News You Can (Maybe) Use
- 1/24: PHOTOS: Washington Ballet's Mad Hatter Dance Party
God loves a cheerful giver.
damn son, you hit all my fave spots.
p.s. Real Talk
This is a joke, right? A parody of what self-righteous DC hipsters like? Funny! "A" for Effort!
Patrice Rushen’s “Haven’t You Heard.”
Best part of this post.
Oh and the thing that tipped me off that this is all a put-on was that its oh-so-PC throughout from the vegan food to the Etriean bar. But then at the end the guy's like, "Oh yeah and I need a GIRL IN HER 20s for my band" - awesome. That's what I like to see. Get your game on with the young girls, Ris. I knew you were way cooler than the "farmer's market"!! "Thanh Son Tofu", though...that kinda took your bit here a little far. Still funny though. Enjoyed it.
i like, "Kubrik's 2001", not to be confused with Eli Roth's 2001.
but do vegans eat pussy?
*Psychic* Soviet, not Secret, but good pick regardless. And Soft Focus is the best.
And Marty, "Kubrick's 2001" as opposed to, perhaps, the year 2001?
Wow. He didn't hate on anyone or anything. Some of your other contributors could learn alot from this man.
If its 20-year-old pussy and it sings, raps, dances and throwsthefuckdown...I bet even vegans would make an exception.
if you enjoyed this you may enjoy our Valentine's day special featuring all sorts of local heroes LOVING ON DC:
http://www.brightestyoungthings.com/i-heart-dc/valentinesweek-special-reasons-why-we-love-dc-1-to-25/
http://www.brightestyoungthings.com/i-heart-dc/valentinesweek-special-reasons-why-we-love-dc-26-to-55/
http://www.brightestyoungthings.com/i-heart-dc/valentinesweek-special-reasons-why-we-love-dc-56-to-80/
http://www.brightestyoungthings.com/i-heart-dc/valentinesweek-special-reasons-why-we-love-dc-96-to-120/
ETERNALLY wonderful.
best gospel remix of patrice rushen:
oops.
Everyone used to complain that we never hated anything, so we got some haters, now they complain that we hate too much.
pout
DC is gay
I love that BYT loves D.C. I get oh-so-tired of people - some very dear to me - saying how much they hate the city. I've lived here since 1999 and couldn't love it more. And this site is a haven for all of us who have been talking friends out of moving for years upon years. I love you, D.C. and don't forget it.
nothing but love mike.
nothing.but.love
This is post is post PC my friend. These are tastes developed thru taste. Rapcat will make you eat burgers.
Real talk: I hate the Bob "Ask Bob" Mould column.
People who hate dc are gay, and not in a good way. Awesome list.
ps Talk Hard
Forgot this one too, which contains mine
http://www.brightestyoungthings.com/i-heart-dc/valentinesweek-special-reasons-why-we-love-dc-121-to-the-end/
That one just implies your ongoing obsession with the cult of (self) celebrity.
And still cracks me up.
at least we all agree on 'real talk'........
i think Bob's a good guy, but i do wish the questions on 'ask bob' we're a bit spicy-er, out of his 'comfort zone' so to speak.
Sorry about the Secret/Psychic typo. Svetlana - can you change that?
And Susie! Sorry my veganism and musical taste offend. Also: I'm in my 20s and looking for a bandmate my age. Also: women's voices sound different than men's. You should audition!
all typos involving Ian Svenonius books fixed!
We should have a BYT picnic at Gravelly Point next summer!
Dear CR,
Marry me?
Sincerely,
AL
little eden shopping center is the awesomest. i've never had the thanh son tofu but WILL next time i'm there buying three dollar shoes at national wholesale liquidators.
susie, you have some sexism issues of your own if you don't get that men don't just wanna be in bands w/ women to fuck them. work it out girlfriend.
I just wasted two minutes of my life reading this column and all the comments except for morgan's.
Oh, and Jason's comment calling out the Bob Mould column for sucking, because it really really does suck. I tried reading it weekly hoping that something interesting would be asked, or at least he'd come up with something interesting to say. Weeks and weeks went by...
isn't the burrito cart at K and 17th gone now?
I thought the guy was retiring to Florida after November 20th.
made too much money on bananas
This is a man who loves D.C. and his neighborhood and it shows. I am really over the "hipster" comments. There must be a reason you read this site, right? For new ideas? Get over it.
The burrito cart at 15th and K has closed. 17th and K is still open for business and is wayyyyyyyyy tastier.
Dude, Art Ensemble of Chicago is fantastic. Thank you so much for sharing Juju. Lord knows how you stumbled upon that, but I'll be searching for it at flea markets up and down the east coast.
dear ris richards,
why the hate for the "ch", and why not follow through with your hatred and be known as "ris riards"?
much love,
adam
[...] Richards recently mentioned that Bullets, his R&B/club/hip-hop crossover project with DJ Dave Nada, was looking for a [...]
Sometimes I forget how lame DC is. Thank you for reminding me! Moving to New York was the best thing I ever did.
i'm just salty because i'm old and busted and love burger king! let's double up!
thanks for posting my youtube video!