I remember one of VIBE's 20 Questions was, 'Why does almost every successful black female have to dye their hair blonde?' And while Kid Sister is technically, 'In-Between and Both', I have to say, I'm resisting the change visually.
'But, I guess I can live with this. As long as she stays 'fun'.
Funny, that's what she, The Cool Kids and other upcoming artists are being pegged as.
I dunno, I think a lotta music is fun. But okay.
Also, Pimp C died. :(
I know, right? Well, to that I'll say, 'Play on Playa'
and call it a day.
MY FAVVVORITE CHRISTMAS SONGS
1. This Christmas-Donny Hathaway (regardless of how OVERPLAYED this song has become in the last 10 years and regardless of the cliche' movie title that is popular now....this still resides as my favorite!)
2. Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year - TLC(I'm a child of tha 90's what can I say!)
3. Let It Snow-Boyz II Men feat. Brian Mcknight (although I can't help it that Brian Mcknight has my favorite lines in the song! Definetly outshadowing the Boyz!
4. I saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus-The Jackson five (I JUST got it!)
5. Santa Baby-Eartha Kitt (It's like Sex Kitten in the Winter!)
6. Santa Baby -Rap All Stars (It was cute yet totally hood!)
7. "Silent Night" The Temptations (I can't remember the title, but I remember the line "Merrryy Christmas, from the TEMPTATIONS!"
8. All I Want for Christmas (My Black/White Girl Christmas moment!)
9. One Little Christmas Tree-Stevie Wonder (My 'I'm Sad/Broke and Alone on Christmas Song!)
10. Someday at Christmas- MJB (My 'Bush got these niggas at war Christmas Song!)
Lemme tell you a quick story.
On our way to Florida, road trip style, and it's late. My father listens to all the Rhythm and Blues radio stations on the way there, claiming that no matter the pace of the song, if he knows the lyrics, he's gonna sing the heck out of it, and stay awake and drive the whole trip.
My mother and I both thought that that was his plan. It's execution was questionable. For anyone. Florida from Maryland is a twelve plus hour trip.
Somewhere along the trip, in the middle of the night, I wake up to hear him drumming on the dashboard singing the crap outta this song....
Let's not waste any time, shall we? It's Eleven Fifty Seven, and I've gotta catch some Z's, however, my obsession over my music will not let me rest until I finish.
Oh-kay?
"
1. I'm from MD. So when Spank Rock appeared with their debut album, YoYoYoYoYo, I just HAD to check it out. Dancing is something that I did as a child -ridiculously, I might add, it was never a serious passion- and still do as a teen, just, not as publicly. Baltimore Club (-or Go-Go even-) is something that'll always have a spot in my music catalog. So while searching out everything Spank Rock, I came across the label of Hollertronix, a collective of DJs Diplodocus and Low Budget. Diplo, having started other projects gave off the latest projectile from the Hollertronix centrifuge (of dance, techno and whatever else you wanna throw in there), M.I.A.
You see, her first album, Arular, was being released, and everyone in America was just getting to know this UK upstart all at once. The first song I heard by her, had to be Bucky Done Gun, and I had seen the video online. I don't know what tempted me to listen to it, but I did, and I was gladly rewarded with something I could flail around to while no one was looking.
And yeah, she was really cool to me. Very outspoken with a past you only see on Oprah, and she was really making something out of all of her experiences.
So I download Arular -I just bought it, it took me a year to get money to spend like that!- and bang out Galang, U.R.A.Q.T. -helped by that Bmore Club Sample- and all that I can play. I am contented, but not for long.
3. Like, she was totes involved with this dude Diplo, and stuff. And like, Diplo's all into this Funk Carioca, Baile Funk madness releasing mixtapes like Favella On Blast and whatnot. So after a night of digging into what was labeled as Baile Funk and whatnot, I found a mixtape she released with Diplo called Piracy Funds Terrorism.
Within it, one of my favorite gems, Baile Funk Two.
5. Kala is then released, giving me another song to flail around and sing off key, Jimmy (not to mention it's sample, Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy Aaja)
6. And along with Kala, you get the remixes. One of the best I've heard is from Time Machine (my first ever time hearing of them, maybe soon they'll get a 6 Degrees), with their remix of Boyz.
~`*Bonus!
Now, if I had to dig into Baile Funk -well, I didn't exactly have to dig when groups like Bonde Do Role are dropping songs like Geremia
---I had to dig into the style that gave me Boyz, one of the most amazing songs of the year, to me. So I did, and my search brought me to this guy at Youtube.
" endquote!
So, did you like it? You better, there's a lotta media on this post, so you better enjoy it!
~`*Tina
The album cover at the top is from Death From Above 1979's album cover. I found out about them via Bloc Party, as they had their song 'Luno' remixed by the duo and I must say, they remixed the crap outta that song.
Luno (Bloc Party vs. Death From Above 1979)
I mean, really, they ripped a new one into it. Then they were later idolized by CSS in their song, "Let's Make Love (And Listen To Death From Above)."
But um, seeing as they're not together anymore, I mean, doesn't that make this blog look kinda dated? But hey, it's the only music-esque layout I saw, so uh, I'm not complaining. Much.
And hey, when I found out about them breaking up, I was a tad more than devastated, you know. Like, I seriously was JUST starting to get into them, I mean, they're a little too hard rock for my tastes, but hey, I liked 'em.
Oh well. There's still Bloc Party. And I'm not complaining.
~`* Tina
1. HOW CLICHE'....It's almost as corny as Eric Dyson's Why I love Black Women book
2. Not at all catchy....what are the first lyrics again??? Hell...what is the damn hook???
3. Its boring! ...."Woman,Woman, Woman.....
4. Didn't he already dedicate a song to us?? ('YOU') Gotdamn...I get tha point!
5. Does he even have a woman? I heard he was dykin...
6. .......ahhh hell...I'm sick of talkin' about it..you listen to that shit......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gXCcLs6HGw
~`*Dee
I'm a summer baby, and this crazy transition from heat to cold has got my body freaking out. I'm sore, joints poppin' and ish, chest tight, lungs creakin', it's a sad time for me. And especially when it comes to my music. Some songs are unbearable if not in the right context.
Here are some of the songs in my library that I can post, that represent my summer best....
Part One (parte uno)
- Let's Ride by Q-Tip (The vid)
Seriously, whenever I hear this song, I picture me and my sis driving down the kuntry path with the open road ahead and nuthin' but sun all over. I know, but when this song comes on now, with it being all rainy and cold outside, I just press the next feature on my Zen, it's just not right.
But even Wale took a stab at this song (he's getting on my great side) and made something all his own with the help of Mark Ronson. That I can post properly.
This song is priceless, maybe it's the mention of summer or the heavy synthey beats that make me feel the NY heat, but whatever it is, the song is here. In all of it's awesomeness. The Cool Kids are rightfully so, you should check 'em out.
- Ocean Avenue by Yellowcard
Sadly, I haven't treally looked into Yellowcard after this song. I let it come and go with me, but it still has a permanent spot on my heart. Whenever I go out of my way to type up "ocean avenue lyrics" in my Google search bar, I'm really into your song, and I wanna rock it properly. No stumbling over words here! And the vid helped too.
~`* Tina
Ah, here we are again, guys. Here's some things I learned from the days I spent researching:
1. Vox does not support 'wma' files. Yeesh, that's all I have! Damn you Napster! Mac wins again!
2. I procrastinate.
3. I don't have patience for HTML and all that other ish.
Thank you for reading. I apologize. Maybe I'll post with files I DU have.
Lemme try this again.
~`*tina
It all starts with Dilla.
Dude was a musical giant in such a practical yet frail package. Everyone he was associated with all had something different and soulful to bring to the table. Geez, producers like him are hard to come by, and people wonder why he's loved so much.
Anyway, this six degrees starts with him. It's not like the usual Six Degrees where you go from point A to point B in six steps, no, I'm just gonna map out a mini musical journey starting with one and ending to where my journey has paused as of today, you see, point B isn't really an end. It's a picture of where the end would be, or something like that.
So just follow along, I'll guide you from here on out of the first edition of Six Degrees.
"So here I was waddling along the interweb when I happened upon Toddkelley's dedication to Jay Dee aka DILLA, via Honeysoul's blog. I had never really heard of the name, so naturally, curiously, after seeing the roster of artists on the playlist, I had to take a listen. Then I heard
1. Fingertips by Poe
The songs lilting sample was what pulled me into Jay Dee, but that's for another post. The sample is what gets the light today. It was of Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66 in their song, Like A Lover.
2. Like A Lover by Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66.
Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 – Mais que nada
I swear after I heard this song, I went ga-ga for the lyrics. How poetic, how adorable, as if they were done by, how do you say, like a lover? Turns out Sergio wasn't dead like most of the artists I end up loving (I see you Johnny Guitar Watson!) and was still cranking out hits with the help of Wil.i.am. of the Black Eyed Peas with their album, Timeless. Needless to say, I delved into his catalog of music, downloading all his albums (hey, you give me a hefty sum sum for their discography!)
and listening like crazy. Only then did I understand the parallels in the music then and the album Timeless, most of the songs were supposed to be remakes- dur! (And "omigod", that's why it's called 'Timeless!', cause the songs never really lost their touched and are revamped and... OMIGOD!) Including the ever so popular Mas Que Nada featuring The Black Eyed Peas.
Mas Que Nada, Samba de Bencao and other songs in the Brasil '66 catalog like Agua de Beber and So Many Stars were not just theirs. Turns out, that's how Sergio and Dem became so popular, by remaking American and Brazilian classics with some samba and American flare, respectively, and bringing them to both coasts.
Another man responsible for bringing the samba to America was Stan Getz in his incredible song, The Girl from Ipanema. (No, I'm not going to post it, if you haven't already heard the Grammy winner, I suggest you leave the rock you're under and go find it yourself. Trust me, you'll thank me when you do. Now, where was I?)
The song featured the beautiful looking and sounding, Astrud Gilberto. Who did another version of the song, Agua De Beber (Personally, I like Al Jarreau's version the best).
3. Agua de Beber by Astrud Gilberto
Even she, however, got her inspiration from someone else I was to learn. They all got IT from another man, a man I read about in Waxpoetics. Not Joao Donato exactly, but I learned about his work with Jorge Ben, and thus I was compelled to dig both of them up through Napster and Wikipedia and get a feel for his version of Mas Que Nada.
4. Mas Que Nada by Jorge Ben
THANK GOD for Waxpoetics. After missing the Rick James issue (C'mon, now! The magazine is like, NINE DOLLARS! I can't afford that, AND the Scarlet Letter! Are you listening Waxpoetics! I'm a struggling high school student. Some patronage, pweeze!) I pick up this one, not knowing who he is at all. I'm compelled, however, to read every article in Waxpoetics because I feel it's my obligatory duty as a child in this day in age, to learn more about music. It makes me feel ignorant, to put it bluntly, to see all those names and only know who two are. After featuring the powerhouse that is Marcos Valle I knew I had to hear his version of The Face I Love, 'cause if Astrud can do it effortlessly, this babyfaced man has some high standards to go up to.
5. The Face I Love by Marcos Valle.
The issue mentions Joao again, I believe and I'm compelled to look him up. (It was a treally long blink, I know, I swear I wasn't sleeping!) And I download what his most popular downloads are. Of them is the gem,
6. Lugar Comum by Joao Donato.
And this is where it ends."
Clean ain't it?
It's not over, I'll tell you.
With a little help from my friends (i.e. YOU) these degrees'll add up to something like 360, whoknows. Maybe I'll finally figure out how to pronounce Joao and put those accent marks in my writing? Or maybe I can finally figure out a way to put wma. files onto vox?
Find out the answer to this and more in the next edition of Six Degrees!
~`*tina
