(Take Two, this is the second time I've tried to type this, lost all of this hella long blog post in a freak accident, and thus, I'll try to restate my love for these following songs.)
These are the songs that moved me, grooved me, made me sing and dance and made me hum and mumble to myself in public, these are my Top 9 of '09! (In no particular order.)
- Know Better, Learn Faster, by Thao With the Get Down Stay Down
Whenever I hear this song, I'm conflicted as to what to do next. Do I dance in a shimmy, or do I headbang to the drums? Do I hum Andrew Bird's violin or do I whistle his whistling part? Sometimes I find myself singing the song just as violently as she does. ("I...disarm you in the morning, but I! Was Up! In Arms! All Night!")
- Heartbreaker, by MSTRKRFT featuring John Legend
John Legend turns what could have been a simple dance tune into one with which you can cruise and to which you can croon. Part of me sincerely believes that someone seriously brought John Legend to tears when he sings,
- Saxon, by Nicki Minaj and Rihanna
- Paranoid, by Kanye West
- Blame It, by Jamie Foxx featuring T-Pain
This song annoys the hell out of me now, but it's only because it topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for 14 weeks and it still plays like 80 times a day throughout the country. It makes my list because I while on the way to Ocean City, Maryland with my friends, this song played about 30 times on the way, 47 times on the way back home and every time, I sung it with every fiber in my being, especially the lines, "Girl, I know you feel goooood!"
- Wasted, by Gucci Mane featuring Plies
Gucci Mane has an amazing ear for beats that he'll sound good over. This song is a great example of this, enough bass, strings and whatever that whirring sound is to give you that False Sense of Gangsta. Putting two of Rap's most divisive artists in the same song does not automatically equal just a hit, but one to which you and your Grandmother can get wasted.
- Rockin' That Sh!t, by The-Dream
My sister once told me about a conversation she had with some guys about The-Dream. Essentially, they said The-Dream spoke to the Romantic within them that could never be seen because they had to keep up a hard-shelled image. That sums up The-Dream pretty well, because he's the 'hood figga' that uses Shawty and profanity laced sentences. He has an odd mastery of toeing the line between hip hop and R&B, and this lyric is a good example,
- Shark In The Water, by VV Brown
- Molalatladi, by the Blk Jks
Any honorable mention that you would like to add? Lemme know in the comments!
Hope you have a safe, happy, merry, awesome and amazing New Year's celebration! I hope to see you next year and there's a lot in store! Until Next Year!
~`*Tina
I was originally going to post Phonte of Little Brother's "HOJ Christmas Jam" and I will, if you ask nicely. But that song couldn't outdo this Nike commercial, rapped by Lupe Fiasco and KRS-1. Me and my dad find it hilarious, so here it is.
But enjoy, love it, yo.
Dunkin' on that Reindeer!
~`*Tina
I put a question mark there because this song has nothing to do with any holiday ever made (but a Dia do Uniao Black would be cool, though). This song, however, is just funky enough to surpass a possible language barrier and brighten up any party...that is the parties I have in my head where my guests would appreciate this music...
Test before you play!
*Oh, all the innuendo without an explanation; it's by a Brazillian band from the 70s known as Uniao Black. This is from their latest album, Banda Uniao Black. I happen to think they're dope.
~`*Tina
There's something about music that surpasses every barrier placed before it (that is, except soundproof doors). With language especially, music will convey a feeling that can be understood without words you may understand (which explains why lots of people get lyrics wrong, despite the fact that they ARE in your native language.)
I say all this to say, you don't need to know that Molalatladi means rainbow, all you need to do, is feel it.
~`*Tina
They wonder where Beyonce, Lil' Wayne, Gucci, Missy Eliot, M.I.A., Kelis and Ludacris got their beats from.
In in an issue of VIBE or something, I remember reading about a producer named Bangladesh who was in the high of the release of Kelis's song, BO$$Y. They asked him how he wanted to be remembered, and he said something in the vein of,
I was reminded of the greatness of Bangladesh the other day with the release of Gucci Mane's "Lemonade,"
Anyway, see how Bangladesh is hamming it up for the camera? Any accolades he receives here on out are well deserved though, because his beats are deceptively simple, but with every bass drum and clap and piano keys in the right place to give you that False Sense of Gangsta.
So when looking at more of Bangladesh's work, I discovered that he was responsible for many a great hit.
From 'What's Your Fantasy?'
To one of my favorite M.I.A. jams, Hit That
And finally, Bangladesh can throw a little Hip Hop into his R&B, by helping Beyonce out with a few hits. The most recent and my favorite beat, Video Phone.
If there is anything connecting these songs, it's the bass. So if you have a good subwoofer, use it.
Enjoy!
~`*Tina
On my way home with my father yesterday, I noticed the music he had playing through our radio/mp3/anythingbutacdplayer. It was the Average White Band, a band that I had found music through various paths.
and....from Floetry to Fatboy Slim, the Average White Band is everywhere without being anywhere. They should be in an edition of Unsung, no?
Anyway, I heard this song and told myself, I need to add this to my iPod, because I cannot not have this song in my life any longer.
~`*Tina
I've gotta split real quick and study and sleep (Great combo, by the way) but I just wanted to say that this album IS HELLA DOPE.
Sure it came out a little more than eons ago (if you count the non-release leaking and this one as well) but yo, this album is freaking dope.
Gettin' Up is literally my alarm in the morning, and I listen to it like six times on the way to class in the morning, and ...well, I'll get to it all in another post. I just wanted to hype you guys up and let you know that I haven't died.
~`*Tina
(Hey, if I knew how to get those accents in there, I woulda done it by now!)
While watching Mancora the other day, I noticed something smooth occurring in the background...
I'm a big fan of BGM (Japan reference if you've ever been) and I pay close attention to whatever is playing in the background, even if it came from a place like Extreme Music, aka, where ALL background music comes from for American Television.
So when I noticed this smoothness through the scene (I'm trying hard not to say anything bad about the movie, so if you wanna know how I felt about it, ask in the comments) I had to know what it was.
This is what Google and a little Spanish is good for, ladies and gentleman.
I couldn't figure out which version it was, therefore I obtained a copy of them both to enjoy...
The original ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sRBvBnnP9M ) Some linking problems occurred...
and the cover...
~`*Tina
Hace nieve, ya'll!
This has restored my hopes of a white Christmas, as I was just complaining to a fellow about how it's been rare for my area to have white Christmases, it's more like a grey slush Christmas.
In honor of Nature's gift for today, I present to you one of my sister's favorite songs, and one of my favorite angry Brian McKnight cameos,
~`*Tina
Thing is, it's the end of the semester, and I'm hog-tied with work. It's gotten hectic and ridiculous, and while I'm still pretty music obsessed, I just can't even devote a minute to the blog right about now. I'm going to do a quick write up about what I'm gonna do in the upcoming weeks so I don't forget, check back this weekend, no?
- More on the Seatbelts Live: Souvenir from Japan
A little about Mancora, and a song I discovered watching the movie
Some of my favorite Xmas songs
The redundancy and dopeness of Bangladesh
- And more! From a tidbit about another subculture of music that I enjoy, and all kindsa other madness.
So...stay tuned!
