Recently in rotations, 2004 Category
There's things that have been going on inside my head, in the gym, and in my workplace that have made this a seriously long week, and I'm just glad to get through it all. I know everyone's missed Old School Wednesday, and along that same token, even though I have lots of things around me, I'm lacking one small thing, and that's time.
Not to say there isn't a lot of good stuff out there, because there is. Let me shine some light onto three blogs specifically that have been lighting me up for the past couple of days.
- Todd Kelley's Old School Wednesday was my personal highlight, and I forgot to mention it and give him his props. I grew up in the south and Zapp was played so frequently, I could pretty much sing all the songs from memory.
- Toshi's Groovy Mix Volume 1. I would be lying if I said I had ever heard half of these songs. It's eclectic, it's danceable, and it's great stuff.
- J. Brotherlove's Deck The Halls With Drum n Bass. J introduced me to drum and bass a while back and while my favorite music these days is mellow, electronica grooves, there's great stuff that I often miss when my mind is strictly in the old school vibe. I've got to say he's taught me well.
Enjoy, people, enjoy. There's a little something for everyone.
You too can work at 16 hour day, miss The Apprentice, and still manage to do a radio.blog. Had to keep myself energized, too, so I got a little help...
Friday Melodies XX - Working OT: Rap and Hip Hop.
We're doing all hip hop/rap inflected music today, because my homey Godizus* was able to drop quite a few of these tunes to me while I was setting up for the long evening ahead. He's got wisdom and a magic touch. Check it.
It's been a long week.
Friday Melodies XIX - The Original Way, and now A New Way. I'm still working on the new way and it has it's kinks, but it's pretty nifty. We have Ofrenda to thank for this hookup.
| 1 | D*Note | Say What You Mean |
| 2 | Mojaji f/ Jag | No Disguise |
| 3 | Lalah Hathaway | Outrun the Sky |
| 4 | New Edition | Newness |
| 5 | Koop | Waltz For Koop |
| 6 | Loose Ends | Love Controversy, Part I. |
| 7 | Caron Wheeler | Enchanted |
| 8 | Davina | Love's Comin' Down |
| 9 | Kenny Bobien | Hiya Luv |
| 10 | Martin Luther | Liquid Sunshine |
| 11 | D'Nell | This Thing |
| 12 | Georg Levin | (I Got) Somebody New |
| 13 | Enzo Cicala and Marie Tweek | Our Family |
| 14 | Justin Timberlake/Timbaland | Good Foot |
Music has gotten me through this week. It's been a little stressful (ok, very stressful), and I'm sure I could talk about work forever, but I think I'd rather just listen to music. Let's end it on a high note, shall we? There's hip hop, there's mellow music...in fact, there's a little house here too.
Mixing it up a little-- Friday Melodies XVIII.
| 1 | Jon B with Dirt McGirt | Everytime |
| 2 | Raphael Saadiq | I Know Suggie Otis |
| 3 | D-Influence | Phunky Times |
| 4 | LL Cool J | Can't Explain It |
| 5 | Toshi with Mos Def | Living For Today |
| 6 | Talib Kweli | Never Been In Love |
| 7 | Rafael Saadiq /Tony Toni Tone / Lucy Pearl | Rifle Love |
| 8 | Jon B | Lately |
| 9 | De La Soul featuring Yummy | Much More |
| 10 | Lyfe Jennings | The Way I Feel About You |
| 11 | Slum Village | Old Girl/Shining Star |
| 12 | John Legend | Live It Up |
| 13 | Joi Cardwell | Be Yourself |
| 14 | Cheryl Lynn | Sweet Kind of Life |
| 15 | Abenaa | Rain |
Two tracks (2 and 7) are from Rafael Saadiq's Ray
Ray album, but the one that is most special to me is the track Rifle
Love, with Tony Toni Tone and Lucy Pearl accompanying him. Tracks 1 and
8 are from Jon B's new album, Stronger
Everyday. Notice the vocal stylings (!) of Dirt McGirt in Everytime.
Track 10 is from Lyfe Jenning's Lyfe
268-192 album. Cheryl Lynn's Sweet Kind of Life is a nice track
off of the Shark
Tale soundtrack. Be Yourself by Joi Cardwell
is from the awesome house CD Blaze
Presents Artists United for Life.
Nod your head. It's a little bit of everything. Enjoy.
After doing such a superb job with OSW and having a great week at work, I thought maybe I'd just skip the Friday Melodies and try to post something a little more substantial. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I'd leave out a piece of myself to start the weekend off with. Besides, there were a couple of things going on that I couldn't just let fall by the wayside:
1. KB's third anniversary of Buccho. Listen to his Friday Melodies. Read about it. Show your support.
2. Ray talks about Sexomania.
3. Lis had Wendy And Lisa's I've Got No Strings in her radio.blog, which made me find this interview with the two.
4. Lynne's man Q is really getting his scribe on.
Dropping the tunes late in the evening, but the weekend's just beginning, right? Right. Friday Melodies 17.
| 1 | D'Influence f/Lily Roy | Wondering |
| 2 | Mayisha | Orbit |
| 3 | Magic Number | Turn Back |
| 4 | Miguel Migs | Brand New Day |
| 5 | Calvin Harris with Ayah | Let Me Know |
| 6 | Zap Mama | Yelling Away |
| 7 | Brand Nubian | Where Are You Now |
| 8 | Kaskade | Maybe |
| 9 | Raphael Saddiq/Teedra Moses | I Want You Back |
| 10 | De La Soul | Church |
| 11 | Toshi | It's Time |
| 12 | Talib Kweli / Mary J. Blige | I Try |
| 13 | John Legend | I Used To Love You |
| 14 | Toshi | Beating of My Heart |
| 15 | The Rebirth | This Journey In |
Groove it forward.
I said it before, and I'll say it again....and as Michelle, JT, and KB said it: October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Make your donation, show your support. All day. Every day.
Onward and upward. Friday Melodies 16.
This one's also an A Side/B Side. The A side is comprised of some songs that made me feel good, with quite a bit of it from recommendations from others. Side B is a direct result of Lalah Hathaway's new album Outrun The Sky. Several of the tracks were produced by Mike City, inspiring me to go back and pull some of his production from the not-so-distant past.
Side A:
01 - "Rise" by Martin Luther. When Trent speaks, I listen. I wanted to place more tracks of his in this mix, but a little bit every week is good.
02 - "Down Here In Hell" by Van Hunt.
03 - "Testin' Me" by Pevin Everett. This song was part of the mix of Unabombers's first release of Electric Soul. Obtaining the second set and liking it so much made me go back and pull the first release.
04 - "Maybe" by Eric Roberson. From Esoteric. This song always makes me smile.
05 - "Hard Times" by Queen Latifah. From The Dana Owens Album, the new release. I'm impressed by this album.
06 - "(Where Do I Begin) Love Story [Away Team Mix]" by Shirley Bassey. This is from the Supperclub Presents Lounge, Volume 3. I liked this because it added heavy beats to a classic song. Quite different.
07 - "Let Me In" by Larry Heard. From the new CD, Love's Arrival. Mellow house.
08 - "Show Me Love" by D'Influence featuring Sarah Anne Webb. One can hope for a reunion, right?
Side B: Mike City
09 - "A Little Sunshine" by Sunshine Anderson. The release first single released, Heard It All Before, was well known, but there were several other highlights on the album. This was the one I wished was released.
10 - "I Wish" by Carl Thomas. We can't call it old-school, according to the definitions above, but we can certainly say it's a great song, can't we?
11 - "One Woman Man" by Dave Hollister.
12 - "Full Moon" by Brandy.
13 - "Love It" by Bilal.
14 - "Better and Better" by Lalah Hathaway. It's on her just-released album Outrun The Sky, one of my favorite cuts from the CD.
15 - "No Place Like Home" by Blu Cantrell.
16 - "Make It Right" by Carl Thomas.
Everybody needs a little sunshine to brighten up their day.
