Brotha

When I first heard this song, it immediately struck me as a love letter to me and others like me. Angie Stone was proclaiming a serious love for Black Men in her beautiful song Brotha and as simple as it sounds musically (just a repeated loop of a guitar lick over a simple bassline and percussion), it's profound in it's lyrics.

She gives a shout out to all kinds of Black men doing their things trying to make it in this world and that even includes those men currently incarcerated. Off of her Mahogany Soul CD released in 2001, Brotha was a stand out as far as I'm concerned because there weren't a lot of songs like this (and still aren't), showing Black men love, appreciation, and respect. Brotha really didn't do much damage on the charts but it was heard, praised, and admired by this man for talking about our worth instead of singing about us at our worst.

In the midst of the cries for justice for Trayvon Martin I thought this was a song worth blogging about. I don't know if Trayvon ever heard Angie's love letter to him and those like him but he was a Brotha and I dedicate it to him. Enjoy.

Just Like You Imagined

This is the third time this group has graced my blog so you can positively say that I am a fan. If you don't know of this group by now then there's probably something wrong with you. Yeah, I said it! Anyway, if you don't know this song then allow me to introduce you to it. It's entitled Just Like You Imagined and it's what I like to call a symphony of sound. Before Trent Reznor was scoring movies and winning Oscars, he helmed the seminal group Nine Inch Nails and back in 1999 they dropped a 2 CD album called The Fragile. On disc 1 was Just Like You Imagined and if you can imagine, I had a hard time getting to disc 2 because this song grabbed me by the ears and wouldn't let me go.

The way it starts off is simple and subtle enough. A sparse piano piece with shallow sounds in the background, that is until the drums and bassline comes in. They ride together until the guitars come in and just when you think this thing has picked up steam in comes the piano again played by Mike Garson. It's a nice little respite before the fire, before the symphony of sound. Trent builds this track almost to the point of breaking and layers sounds on sounds until you get lost in them. It could be mayhem but he makes it work and the foundation is a beautifully dark melody that brings the track to a close.

I called NIN seminal earlier because in my opinion they were the forefathers and the inspiration behind the electronic music and dub step movement we have today. For so many disinterested kids, this was their soundtrack and Trent Reznor was their King. They went on to make music because of NIN and if that's not seminal then I don't know what is. Yeah, I said it!

Crash This Train (acoustic version)

I don't usually get into patriotic music or the "Bless the Troops" movement. While I respect it, it's just not my cup of tea. When I heard this song though by Joshua James entitled Crash This Train I couldn't get it out of my head. It's really hard not to fall for it. It pulls you by the melody and his voice is perfect for the sentiment of this song.

It's an anti-war song and it's beautiful. It was found by accident and at first I ignored it because like I said, I don't usually get into music like this but I was stained. I couldn't wash this song off of my soul so I introduce it to you to see if you get effected too. Crash This Train is off Joshua's EP called The Garden which was released back in 2008 (so he's definitely got Bush in mind when he mentions the President and his pleas to end the war).

Maybe you'll hate this song and I can understand that but, if you hear it once, it may just stain your soul too. If that happens then it'll be as hard for you to ignore it as it was/is for me. Enjoy.

Tell Me

If you know anything about soul and R&B music then you know one of the most recognizable grooves in the history of the genre belongs to this song. The song is Tell Me by Groove Theory which was the start for both singer/songwriter Amel Larrieux (who went on to seek fortune and fame as a solo artist) and producer Bryce Wilson (who went on to star in a few Toni Braxton videos and some movies). Before these two went their separate ways though, they put together one album and on that one album was this stand out, Tell Me.

The second you hear that beat and that bassline you know what it is. It was the number one song in New York City for the summer of 95 and was played at every house party, block party, and dance club. Basically there was no escaping this song as it raced up the charts and reached the top five on Billboards Hot 100 and R&B chart.

With Amel's singing and songwriting and Bryce's production it seemed like the sky was the limit for these two but the broke up in 99. They've supposedly reunited and were working on new material with the hopes of dropping something else for us to lose our minds over. If they do, fantastic and if they don't, well at least we'll always have this hot track and can remember with fondness the fun those two creative souls brought us back in 95.

Time Will Remember Us

I was on the subway dealing with a massively long delay (as the NYC Subways have been known to make its riders endure) and this song came up next on the playlist. The second I heard it I was reminded of a debate I had with another fellow music lover about whether or not epic scores could touch ones soul. Grandiose conversation I know, I know but to me this song and one other much like it have that ability to make you feel it.

It's a beautiful piece called Time Will Remember Us is off of the Epic Score Volume 6 collection and it's one of my favorites. Don't ask me who did it, don't know. Don't ask me why it was created, don't know. It's been in no movie I've seen (and I see a LOT of movies) or trailer which is surprising because this can definitely be considered trailer music. It starts off with a dark piano melody which carries you into the intense strings. The strings and piano then carry you into the orchestration which then carries you into the next movement, the surprising percussion. Then comes the drums which adds a flavor you wouldn't expect, then comes the voices and this thing takes flight.

It ends like it begins, coming full circle back to the lone piano taking you out. I think it's a beautiful piece of music and one worth listening to on your BBS (that's big boy speakers if you don't know by now) because it will truly impress. Enjoy.

Only Love

A few days ago a good friend of mine posted her favorite Judds song on facebook. That got me to thinking and this song came to mind. It's not a Judds song but it IS a Wynonna Judd song and it's the first country song I can firmly remember ever truly liking. I was working in a record store (big shock, I know) back in 93 and this song was on one of those in store playlists and I can remember always looking forward to hearing it come around again. The song is called Only Love off of her 1993 release Tell Me Why.

It's not the lyrics that grabbed me though it's a well written love song. What snatched me was the melody. The song slowly builds, as is the M.O. of country music with strings being added to give a nice lush feel to the song. When Wynonna sings the chorus of Only love sails straight from the harbor/only love will lead us to the other shore/and out of all the flags I've flown/one flies high and stands alone, it's hard not to appreciate this song.

Did this song make me a country music fan? No. Did it turn me into a Wynonna fan? Again that would be a firm no. What it did though was let me know that even back in 93, I knew a good song when I heard it and that's good enough for me.

Come Around

This is a song I came across by accident. I was up late one night and chose to see what was out there I haven't heard, to see if there was anything new or old and this song hit me upside the head. It's by Rosi Golan and it's entitled Come Around. She's a singer songwriter in that mold of the typical singer songwriter. Her voice isn't all the special and her "look" looks like every female singer songwriter that's come before her. This song however IS special because it doesn't matter if you're a jazz lover, a hip hop head, or a metal music maniac, this song invokes a scenario we have all experienced. Being so head over heels for someone that you just want them to stick and stay.

It starts of with just Rosi and the piano and it's the melody that contrasts with the lyrics. The melody is somewhat dark but her lyrics are all about love and being so happily high that she doesn't ever want to come down. When she sings you're the one/you're the one you feel it (at least I do). The come around reference can be taken two ways which makes this song not just pretty but witty as well. She chastises herself for being a fool and waiting so long to let this person know how she feels that come around could be a plea. A pleas for this person to come around to feeling for her how she feels for him.

It's off of Rosi's 2008 release The Drifter and the Gypsy and if you like this cut then you should really look into that collect of songs. Especially check out Hazy (feat. William Fitzsimmons), it's a pretty good song in its own right. Enjoy.

Your Hand in Mine

I love this group, let me state that from the outset. I have almost everything by them and this song is one of my all time favorites by them. The group is called Explosions In The Sky and song is entitled Your Hand in Mine. It's so aggressively poignant, it reminds me of my childhood. There were times when I remember just losing my mind and cutting lose and then there are those moments I remember just being still and letting the day pass me by as I got lost in a book. This song captures both of those extremes to me in a way I've never heard before. I first heard this song and of this group when I went to see Peter Berg's movie Friday Night Lights. I was so moved by the song, I had to find out who was responsible for it.

The song starts off slow, nice and mellow, with a collection of guitars playing off of one very simple melody. It can conjure up images of watching clouds pass over head, that is until the drums come in and add some spirit to the melody. That's when the song begins to gel for me. As quick as they come though, the drums fall away and it's like that throughout which I like. The melody changes and somehow, to me at least the song never gets boring.

If you like this song then look into Explosions, much of their stuff has this feel and this sound to it. Their music will quite possibly make you think, remember, and reminisce. I know it does that to me whenever I hear them.

Forever (feat. Musiq Soulchild)

When I first heard this song I thought it may have been one of those rare gems found and put on a "best of" album of Floetry. I fell in love with this song the second I heard it because it was so profound. If you know anything about the group Floetry and their music then you know that after just two moderately successful albums the two talented females chose to go their separate ways. It was made to look like they had chosen to seek fortune and fame on their own and that both were cool with that. The real story was while the singer Marsha Ambrosius seemed fine with going on alone Natalie Stewart, the spoken word part of the duo didn't take the break up as well. She was honest with whoever asked her how she felt and more than once she expressed dismay and disbelief that Floetry was done.

So when this song hit my ears it immediately made sense to me. Natalie's lyrics tell more than one story, not just thanking a lover for being there but also sounding like they were born from the aftermath of the end of her group. Laid out over a really smooth groove reminiscent of her previous sound and with that familiar voice of Musiq adding some additional seasoning, this song is a winner in my opinion.

I won't get into how bad the video is but don't let that take away from the simple beauty of this song. This is a timeless song and it's the kind of song one hopes to have dedicated to them by that someone special in their life. At least I'd like to think so anyway. Enjoy!