I have listened to Take Off Your Cool, Outkast w Norah Jones, between 10 and 15 times today. The itunes play count says 17, and i basically just discovered the song a couple hours ago before i then left the house for a few hours, so consciously i have only ever played it tonight, between 7 and 8 pm and then from about 11pm onwards...but i figure some of those counts must be from previous times i was playing another outkast song and just let the itunes roll through the alphabet like-so.
i spose i'll know tomorrow if the song truly is that good--if i listen to it and feel the way i do right now--or if its just resonating with something about today for me. nothing explicit or literal in the lyrics (i know this because 1. i'm not listening to the words since the first time i played the song and 2. it's been making me miss John deeply and specifically, someone whose Cool was taken off for me so long ago), but some other quality of the song is hitting me right now as it plays on repeat. hitting is too abrupt, there is no other way to explain it but that it just...resonates.
like astrologists describe alignment? the gravity that such and such planet etc X Y Z planet force aligned alignment aligns gravitational forces planets at the second we were born making us who we are? i know that isn't a fair representation of zodiac but it's what i think of because some intangible invisible thing is ALIGNing right now between my soul and this song, and it's as inexplicable to me, as without a logic i can follow, as the way it sounds when someone does try to explain zodiac.
its on its ninth rotation since i started typing.
and the earth rotates around and around and around, and everything is in a rotation and in a rotation is everything right?
Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts
4/15/10
3/24/10
Bear Hands
Bear Hands is a really, really great band. They are on tour with Passion Pit. If you can see them on this tour, do.
I'm used to living on the other side (but I really like this band)
I'm used to living on the other side (but I really like this band)
1/26/10
SMKA: it's MUCH bigger than hip hop hip hop hip hop hip
.
Ok its time.
Its time for me to give enough time and credit to the ridiculousness that is SMKA. SMKA is a recoring label created by Atlantins that love this city. Home town pride is something I deeply respect. I love it when people love their city. SMKA takes to a level beyond rocking a (404) tee shirt and telling all your Northern friends that they "don't even know" (both obviously things that I have done.) SMKA decided to celebrate hip hop in a way that both actually brings people together and promotes great music.
Friday night was the CD release party for the 808-Experiment Volume Two, SMKA's second mix tape that features fantastic talent. Download it. Go ahead. It's free. It's great. 808-Experiment Volume Two">Just do it now.
I walked into the release party, which was held at the Star Community Bar in Little 5Points, by myself. After noticing that I was counting out $1's and change and obviously feeling stressed about the (not very expensive but i haven't have a job in a while) cover charge, the door guy took pity on me and let me in without paying. I say this not to piss anyone off but it is important to understand the community oriented feel I found myself in the middle of. I met up with highschool friends all of whom were thrilled to see people we went to school with doing so well and really, passionately excelling.
SMKA is made up of 808 Blake a.k.a. Blake German , Mike Walbert and 7King a.k.a. Kyle King. These are folks that love hip hop so much that they want our current definitions of hip hop to get better and broader and want those definitions to be in conversation with pop definitions of hip hop. i.e. when we can get trap artists talking to the nappy roots, we're on to something.
I ran into probably 8 or 10 people I knew on Friday from all walks of life in Atlanta. All twelve of the performers (just a sampling of the works on the mix tape)absolutely killed their performances. The energy started high and never went back down.
The 808-Experiement Volume 2 features music from the likes of A.Leon Craft, a clever and supremely talened MC who you can hear on the first mixtape as welland on 2 highly anticipated albums coming out this year and Tom P, (who I personally have known since I was was four and who I beyond thrilled to see perform live) who was described on Friday as the "hardest working man in atl hip hop." Just to name a few.
The show paused at one point to collect money for a small organization in Haiti. The woman who went on stage to collect spoke briefly about how it is all well and good to offer money to large corparations and relief effots but that often a great deal of work happens on small scale levels. Her family has started doing such work and she was excited to talk about the importance of supporting such organizations. People passed bills forward across the crowd and a couple people had to hop on stage to help her hold and collect it all. I just read that SMKA decided to match the money donated Friday night.
Much to my excitement it wasn't all dudes! Neo-soul singer (my label, not sure how she self-describes) Alexandrea Lushington held it down. She started her piece by saying, "I'm the only non-MC on this mixtape," to which the crowd responded with various versions of "whooo!" and "get it!"
Jokingly, in conversation with a friend I said that I wondered if SMKA was sitting around talking and were like "Oh Shit We Need A Woman!"
"As Men usually are," he said.
"True," I responded. "And as hip hop usually isn't."
"True," he said.
I had a blast Friday.
SMKA, keep doing what you're doing.
EDIT ~~~ can't believe i forgot!
I GOT THIS and MY LIFE IS NOW COMPLETE:
Ok its time.
Its time for me to give enough time and credit to the ridiculousness that is SMKA. SMKA is a recoring label created by Atlantins that love this city. Home town pride is something I deeply respect. I love it when people love their city. SMKA takes to a level beyond rocking a (404) tee shirt and telling all your Northern friends that they "don't even know" (both obviously things that I have done.) SMKA decided to celebrate hip hop in a way that both actually brings people together and promotes great music.
Friday night was the CD release party for the 808-Experiment Volume Two, SMKA's second mix tape that features fantastic talent. Download it. Go ahead. It's free. It's great. 808-Experiment Volume Two">Just do it now.
I walked into the release party, which was held at the Star Community Bar in Little 5Points, by myself. After noticing that I was counting out $1's and change and obviously feeling stressed about the (not very expensive but i haven't have a job in a while) cover charge, the door guy took pity on me and let me in without paying. I say this not to piss anyone off but it is important to understand the community oriented feel I found myself in the middle of. I met up with highschool friends all of whom were thrilled to see people we went to school with doing so well and really, passionately excelling.
SMKA is made up of 808 Blake a.k.a. Blake German , Mike Walbert and 7King a.k.a. Kyle King. These are folks that love hip hop so much that they want our current definitions of hip hop to get better and broader and want those definitions to be in conversation with pop definitions of hip hop. i.e. when we can get trap artists talking to the nappy roots, we're on to something.
I ran into probably 8 or 10 people I knew on Friday from all walks of life in Atlanta. All twelve of the performers (just a sampling of the works on the mix tape)absolutely killed their performances. The energy started high and never went back down.
The 808-Experiement Volume 2 features music from the likes of A.Leon Craft, a clever and supremely talened MC who you can hear on the first mixtape as welland on 2 highly anticipated albums coming out this year and Tom P, (who I personally have known since I was was four and who I beyond thrilled to see perform live) who was described on Friday as the "hardest working man in atl hip hop." Just to name a few.
The show paused at one point to collect money for a small organization in Haiti. The woman who went on stage to collect spoke briefly about how it is all well and good to offer money to large corparations and relief effots but that often a great deal of work happens on small scale levels. Her family has started doing such work and she was excited to talk about the importance of supporting such organizations. People passed bills forward across the crowd and a couple people had to hop on stage to help her hold and collect it all. I just read that SMKA decided to match the money donated Friday night.
Much to my excitement it wasn't all dudes! Neo-soul singer (my label, not sure how she self-describes) Alexandrea Lushington held it down. She started her piece by saying, "I'm the only non-MC on this mixtape," to which the crowd responded with various versions of "whooo!" and "get it!"
Jokingly, in conversation with a friend I said that I wondered if SMKA was sitting around talking and were like "Oh Shit We Need A Woman!"
"As Men usually are," he said.
"True," I responded. "And as hip hop usually isn't."
"True," he said.
I had a blast Friday.
SMKA, keep doing what you're doing.
EDIT ~~~ can't believe i forgot!
I GOT THIS and MY LIFE IS NOW COMPLETE:
11/2/09
listening, on a lighter note
SO re: listening.
i listen to pop radio an unfortunate amount these days (well the unfortunate part is that i like it), and every time i hear this song, i laugh. out loud. and i'm pretty sure it isn't supposed to be funny?
check some of the lyrics:
[Verse 2: Trey Songz]Put the code in the gate
Pull up to the driveway
Cause she like the way I touch her
Listenin to usher I got a confession
kno we bout to sin but your body is a blessing (Papa forgive me)
Can we take it up stairs
My bed when and there
All I want to do is
Give you all of me
And want you give me all of you
I want your body like right now (right now)
You know I live a magnum lifestyle (lifestyle)
Baby turn the lights down
And ima turn you on
[Chorus: Trey Songz]Girl let me get you to the crib (let me get you to the crib)
Upstairs to the bed (upstairs to the bed)
Girl you gonna think [x4]
Girl when I pull back them sheets
And you climb on top of meGirl you gonna think [x4]
You gonna think I invented sex [x2]
Cuz im gonna do it like I did
THAT DOESNT EVEN MAKE SENSE. you are going to think i INVENTED SEX.
i listen to pop radio an unfortunate amount these days (well the unfortunate part is that i like it), and every time i hear this song, i laugh. out loud. and i'm pretty sure it isn't supposed to be funny?
check some of the lyrics:
[Verse 2: Trey Songz]Put the code in the gate
Pull up to the driveway
Cause she like the way I touch her
Listenin to usher I got a confession
kno we bout to sin but your body is a blessing (Papa forgive me)
Can we take it up stairs
My bed when and there
All I want to do is
Give you all of me
And want you give me all of you
I want your body like right now (right now)
You know I live a magnum lifestyle (lifestyle)
Baby turn the lights down
And ima turn you on
[Chorus: Trey Songz]Girl let me get you to the crib (let me get you to the crib)
Upstairs to the bed (upstairs to the bed)
Girl you gonna think [x4]
Girl when I pull back them sheets
And you climb on top of meGirl you gonna think [x4]
You gonna think I invented sex [x2]
Cuz im gonna do it like I did
THAT DOESNT EVEN MAKE SENSE. you are going to think i INVENTED SEX.
9/26/09
fiasco
lovin the playlist idea, ruby! keep 'em coming.
still stuck in a lupe fiasco rut (well, i clearly don't feel that way-- i can't get enough, but i'm assuming the roomies are getting a little fed up of me playing the same thing ALL THE TIME, and not even a compilation but one artist. well, at least he has lots of others featured...)
since i saw him speak on a panel--about poetry, rock, hip-hop, and words-- at the Brooklyn Book Festival a weekend or two ago.
he was pretty great.
one story about the panel reports that Lupe "explained that before he worked with music and beats, he filled notebooks with words. "I had a plethora of words," he said. "See how many pieces I could collect."
final food for thought:
Lyrics to Intruder Alert :
(feat. Sarah Green)
She said there was no love in her heart,
Cause one day a rapist attacked her and broke that heart apart,
She said there was no way to fix it or to cover her scars,
Then one day a guy came along and probably could help her start,
He was sincere, made her believe it was safe for her to trust again,
Before long she was cool with giving hugs to him,
Knew that it was right, cause something was wrong,
The alarms in her mind didn't tell her he didn't belong,
There was no,
Intruder, [x4]
Alert [x4]
He said nobody else ever loved him,
That's why he'd get high enough to go touch the heavens above him,
Vividly remembers every pipe, every needle that stuck him,
Every alley he ever stepped in, every purse that he snuck in,
Every level of hell he's been to and the one that he's stuck in,
The one he can't escape, even though it's of his own construction,
Maybe you can relate, maybe you're one of those that just doesn't,
Maybe he doesn't care, loves to allow these demons to come in with no,
Intruder, [x4]
Alert [x4]
Famine striking his home, landing no social standing,
In the econmic pecking order of emergency relief distribution systems,
Is in disorder, he's checking water, making sure it's safe enough for his daughter,
To float across in the boat he built, hopefully strong enough to support her,
Praying border patrols don't catch her and process and deport her,
Before she reach the shore of the land of the free, where they feed you,
Treat you like equals, deceive you, stamp you and call you illegal,
and there's an,
Intruder, [x4]
Alert [x4]
find these lyrics very engaging for the linkages they make between violence on different scales, from interpersonal/domestic violence to international/state violence. will look back to syllabus from Borderlands lit class from my last semester at school, cause i know i read some stuff makin some of the same powerful connections about violence in one form--say, state or societal-- re-creating or re-appearing in another form--like interpersonal--, that we as a society have an awful habit of trying to isolate as if it weren't related... get back to you on that one. another example i always think of though is the wall that Israel has built up around Palestine, as if that kind of aggression and violence WASN'T going to just create more in the opposite direction. every action has an equal and opposite reaction, right? basic physics. we're too advanced a society at this point to not be getting this stuff that ISNT THAT COMPLICATED. love--> more love. hatred--> more hatred. bah.
still stuck in a lupe fiasco rut (well, i clearly don't feel that way-- i can't get enough, but i'm assuming the roomies are getting a little fed up of me playing the same thing ALL THE TIME, and not even a compilation but one artist. well, at least he has lots of others featured...)
since i saw him speak on a panel--about poetry, rock, hip-hop, and words-- at the Brooklyn Book Festival a weekend or two ago.
he was pretty great.
one story about the panel reports that Lupe "explained that before he worked with music and beats, he filled notebooks with words. "I had a plethora of words," he said. "See how many pieces I could collect."
final food for thought:
Lyrics to Intruder Alert :
(feat. Sarah Green)
She said there was no love in her heart,
Cause one day a rapist attacked her and broke that heart apart,
She said there was no way to fix it or to cover her scars,
Then one day a guy came along and probably could help her start,
He was sincere, made her believe it was safe for her to trust again,
Before long she was cool with giving hugs to him,
Knew that it was right, cause something was wrong,
The alarms in her mind didn't tell her he didn't belong,
There was no,
Intruder, [x4]
Alert [x4]
He said nobody else ever loved him,
That's why he'd get high enough to go touch the heavens above him,
Vividly remembers every pipe, every needle that stuck him,
Every alley he ever stepped in, every purse that he snuck in,
Every level of hell he's been to and the one that he's stuck in,
The one he can't escape, even though it's of his own construction,
Maybe you can relate, maybe you're one of those that just doesn't,
Maybe he doesn't care, loves to allow these demons to come in with no,
Intruder, [x4]
Alert [x4]
Famine striking his home, landing no social standing,
In the econmic pecking order of emergency relief distribution systems,
Is in disorder, he's checking water, making sure it's safe enough for his daughter,
To float across in the boat he built, hopefully strong enough to support her,
Praying border patrols don't catch her and process and deport her,
Before she reach the shore of the land of the free, where they feed you,
Treat you like equals, deceive you, stamp you and call you illegal,
and there's an,
Intruder, [x4]
Alert [x4]
find these lyrics very engaging for the linkages they make between violence on different scales, from interpersonal/domestic violence to international/state violence. will look back to syllabus from Borderlands lit class from my last semester at school, cause i know i read some stuff makin some of the same powerful connections about violence in one form--say, state or societal-- re-creating or re-appearing in another form--like interpersonal--, that we as a society have an awful habit of trying to isolate as if it weren't related... get back to you on that one. another example i always think of though is the wall that Israel has built up around Palestine, as if that kind of aggression and violence WASN'T going to just create more in the opposite direction. every action has an equal and opposite reaction, right? basic physics. we're too advanced a society at this point to not be getting this stuff that ISNT THAT COMPLICATED. love--> more love. hatred--> more hatred. bah.
Playlists
I'm broke. Money is tight. Blah Blah Blah. My recent and inexpensive way to do gift giving lately is to make mixes for people. I know people have been doing this forever but I have not so for me this is new and SO FUN. Today I feel compelled to share LIANA'S HAPPY LIFE IS GREAT MIX.
I know I should know by now how to share songs on the blog.. but I don't. so I will link videos if they exist -- if there are no official videos I will like youtube clips of the song with videos. If that is annoying or lame I apologize. Its the best I can do. Teach me.
Liana's HappyLifeIsGreat Mix
1. As Cool As I Am by Dar Williams
2. I Remember, I Believe by Sweet Honey in the Rock
3. Put Your Records On by Corinne Bailey Rae
4. Stir It Up by Bob Marley [the first 8 seconds of stir it up get me EVERY TIME talk about timeless]
5. Anthems for A Seventeen Yearold girl by Broken Social Scene
6. Golden by Jill Scott
7. Heartbeats by Jose Gonzalez
8. Don't Stop Believin' by Journey
9. Post-War by M.Ward
10. The Fox by Nickel Creek
11. Rain Down by Angie Stone and Eddie Levert
12. I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me by Billie Holiday
13. Loves Me Like a Rock by The O'Jays [words and music by, you know paul simon.. you had to know i'd get him on here somehow] IF YOU ONLY WATCH ONE VIDEO PLEASE WATCH THIS ONE It is a Photo montage of Barack Obama & family set to the song, "Loves Me Like a Rock", from The Fighting Temptations soundtrack performed by the O'Jays. LOVES ME LIKE Barack?! Anyone? eh? eh? Seriously, I'm famous for finding amazing homemade videos to really wonderful songs let's not forget the My President is Black incident a la ST Lab @ Wesleyan University. We should have been kicked out for the outbursts.
Turns out some of these videos are amazing and perhaps as a consequence of not growing up with a tv i'd never seen a lot of them before. enjoy. send me playlists. even if its just new artists to check out.. i'll listen to pretty much anything.
Coming soon: My new and much improved ATL list.
I know I should know by now how to share songs on the blog.. but I don't. so I will link videos if they exist -- if there are no official videos I will like youtube clips of the song with videos. If that is annoying or lame I apologize. Its the best I can do. Teach me.
Liana's HappyLifeIsGreat Mix
1. As Cool As I Am by Dar Williams
2. I Remember, I Believe by Sweet Honey in the Rock
3. Put Your Records On by Corinne Bailey Rae
4. Stir It Up by Bob Marley [the first 8 seconds of stir it up get me EVERY TIME talk about timeless]
5. Anthems for A Seventeen Yearold girl by Broken Social Scene
6. Golden by Jill Scott
7. Heartbeats by Jose Gonzalez
8. Don't Stop Believin' by Journey
9. Post-War by M.Ward
10. The Fox by Nickel Creek
11. Rain Down by Angie Stone and Eddie Levert
12. I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me by Billie Holiday
13. Loves Me Like a Rock by The O'Jays [words and music by, you know paul simon.. you had to know i'd get him on here somehow] IF YOU ONLY WATCH ONE VIDEO PLEASE WATCH THIS ONE It is a Photo montage of Barack Obama & family set to the song, "Loves Me Like a Rock", from The Fighting Temptations soundtrack performed by the O'Jays. LOVES ME LIKE Barack?! Anyone? eh? eh? Seriously, I'm famous for finding amazing homemade videos to really wonderful songs let's not forget the My President is Black incident a la ST Lab @ Wesleyan University. We should have been kicked out for the outbursts.
Turns out some of these videos are amazing and perhaps as a consequence of not growing up with a tv i'd never seen a lot of them before. enjoy. send me playlists. even if its just new artists to check out.. i'll listen to pretty much anything.
Coming soon: My new and much improved ATL list.
12/12/08
Jon Krist
Dear, Dear Friend Jon who left this side for another is in my thoughts every day. His family started the Jonathan Krist Foundation. They offer scholarships to young people seeking to exercise their creative selves. How we remember people is so important. I try to say his name out loud everyday. My mama says saying someone's name out loud keeps them with us. May his memory be a blessing. His memory is a blessing to me.
10/27/08
Mimi
My soul friend Mimi Naja is creating so much energy through music and its getting so exciting for those of us that have been blessed to be around her and know her. Yesterday she was in Atlanta returning to the place of upbringing for a show. In her off time her family organized a show for her to perform at their house. My mama went. Part way through my mama asked her to play something from high school. Mimi said she knew just the thing and performed Doria Roberts' "Perfect." As is the way with Mimi and me I "happened" to call my mama right then. She held the phone up so I could hear Mimi play and when she was done Mimi explained to everyone that her and my friendship was started over this song when we were 14. I love you Mimi.
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