There’s nothing like a massive headache to start your day. It got so bad, I had
to leave work early, work from home, take two Advil, and then lay down. It was
only then that I started to feel good. I started out mellow, and I went a little
more mid-tempo.

Old
School Wednesday: Feeling Good.

Here’s the flow….

01 – Shalamar – Sweeter as the Days Go By, because Honey
turned 21 today, and heck, what better way to start it off….
02 – Randy Crawford – You Might Need Somebody. Shola Ama does a great
rendition, but I thought it would be good to go to the source.
03 – The Jones Girls – Children of the Night. Classic, simply
classic. I’m sure Yolie
agrees.
04 – Marvin Gaye – Come Live With Me Angel. Because I know that
Fave
would love the track….
05 – Lil’ Louis & The World – Share. Sure, Club Lonely is the classic
cut for Lil’ Louis, but this is quite possibly my favorite cut from him.
06 – Shanice – Do I Know You?
07 – Deja – That’s Where You’ll Find Me. Because Qamar
came through for me (mad props)….
08 – Pebbles – Stay With Me, because Todd
made sure I played it….
09 – Ephraim Lewis – Drowning in Your Eyes.
10 – S.O.S. Band – Even When You Sleep.
11 – Quincy Jones – Betcha’ Wouldn’t Hurt Me.
12 – Cherrelle – Keep It Inside. Yes, that’s Alexander O’Neal on vocals
also.
13 – Caron Wheeler – I Adore You, because Will
saw me vibe to it, and shouted out…
14 – Chaka Khan – Give Me All, because **RPM**
wants to hug herself when she hears it…..
15 – Nu Colours – Want Your Love 2 B Mine. Their album Unlimited
was a great album that never got their justice.
16 – Rude Boys – I Feel for You.

I’ve still got a headache and haven’t hit everyone, I’m sure…but it
all comes down to feeling good and making sure everyone else feels good, know
what I mean? Enjoy the flow. This one’s for all of you.

Xquizzyt1 thought a new
wave vibe was essential for the start of autumn, so here we go:

Old
School Wednesday: New Wave.

01 – Kano – I’m Ready
02 – ABC – Be Near Me
03 – Yaz – Situation
04 – Gary Newman – Cars
05 – Naked Eyes – Always Something There To Remind Me
06 – OMD – If You Leave
07 – Level 42 – Lessons in Love
08 – Human League – Don’t You Want Me
09 – Simple Minds – Don’t You Forget About Me
10 – Soft Cell – Tainted Love
11 – Thomas Dolby – She Blinded Me With Science
12 – Madness – Our House
13 – Tommy TuTone – 867-5309
14 – Duran Duran – Hungry Like The Wolf
15 – Men Without Hats – Safety Dance
16 – J Geils Band – Centerfold
17 – Phil Collins – In The Air Tonight

For those who haven’t picked up to the old school vibe from last year
similar to this mix, Euro
Groovin, Volume I and Euro
Groovin’ Volume II are still around for your listening pleasure, with only
a few duplicates. Enjoy.

There’s a lot going on with life as usual, and I thought that maybe I should retire
the OSWs for a little bit and catch my breath, ’cause it takes a little while to organize
and get it together. Well, when I put the thought out there, a mini-revolution took place. KB the originator
told me no. **RPM**
was going to put me in a chokehold, ’cause she looks forward to it. And Todd,
well, he not only told me to keep doing it, but threw down a design on my site,
as you can see. Now, I’m still trying to get the rest of the kinks out, but it’s the
happiest I’ve been in more than a little while. And to come up with a design in
a day? Now that’s hotness. I’ve even managed to break down into categories and
visualizations, and even
upgrade to MT 3.2, thanks to Carla’s
thumbs-up about it. I’ve even suspended Typekey for now, and shaking out the new features of the upgrade. Now if there were only more hours in the day, right? But hey,
onward and upward…

Jabriel mentioned
that there was a concert right around the corner from my house, so I showed up,
and
took some pictures also. Since that made my Saturday, I asked Xquizzyt1
again, as she loves to do, to knock another Old School Wednesday out the box.

Old
School Wednesday: EJ’s Request Line, Volume 1.

I asked for some Lisa Lisa, some Big Daddy Kane, and some Whodini, and
all vibes in between. She delivered.

01 Shannon – Let the Music Play.
02 CBank – One More Shot.
03 Nu Shooz – I Can’t Wait.
04 Debbie Deb – When I Hear Music.
05 Freeze – IOU.
06 Full Force – Alice, I Want You Just for Me.
07 Malcom McClaren and the Rock Steady Crew – Buffalo Gals.
08 Art of Noise – Beat Box.
09 Man Parish – Hip Hop Be Bop.
10 Schooly D – PSK What Does it Mean.
11 T La Rock – It’s Yours.
12 Just ICE – Latoya.
13 LL Cool J – Dear Yvette.
14 Stetsasonic – Sally.
15 Kool Moe Dee – Go See The Doctor.
16 Big Daddy Kane – Warm It Up Kane.
17 Whodini – Friends.
18 Dana Dane – Delancey Street.
19 Bad Boys – Inspector Gadget Rap.
20 Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam – I Wonder If I Take You Home.

Enjoy the vibe, and pardon the dust as we try to clean up the spot around
here….

Just last week, it took me a while to try to come up with a title, which got bestowed
upon Will. Well, little did I know that there were not one, not two, but three
birthdays on that same day: Lynne,
KB, and Will.
Well, it’s time for me to make up for one of them now. To one of the coolest women
you would ever want to meet. This one’s for you, Lynne.

Old
School Wednesday: The Lynneluvah Mix.

01 – Lalah Hathaway – Heaven Knows.
02 – The Stylistics – People Make the World Go Round (Full Version).
03 – The Crusaders – Streetlife (Complete Version).
04 – Gap Band – Yearning For Your Love.
05 – Slave – Just a Touch of Love.
06 – D Train – Walk on By.
07 – Chaka Khan – Clouds.
08 – Yarbrough & Peoples – Don’t Stop the Music.
09 – Change – The Glow Of Love.
10 – Nu Shooz – I Can’t Wait [Dance Mix].
11 – Teena Marie – I Need Your Lovin’.
12 – Lisa Stansfield – All Around The World.
13 – Evelyn Champagne King – Betcha She Don’t Love You.
14 – Expose – Let Me Be The One.
15 – Aurra – Make up Your Mind (Extended Version).
16 – Loose Ends – Slow Down.
17 – Five Star – Let Me Be The One (Extended Version).

Oh, but wait. There’s more. You don’t think we would have forgotten about
my man, KB, would you? No, not
the KC’er. Hop on over here to Nasty
Bastard‘s for yet
another belated birthday mix. These two should keep you busy for more than
a little while. Happy belated birthday, Lynne and KB!

After such an adventurous weekend and a busy week, I’m all tapped out. No theme
here, just good tracks. My imagination is gone. Any takers for an official title? Looks like we’ve got a winner:

Old
School Wednesday: The Untitled Mix Will’s Birthday Mix.

01 – Gary Taylor – Compassion. From the eponymous debut
album.
02 – Zhane – Sending My Love. From Pronounced Ja-Nay.

03 – Slam/Slam Feat. Dee C. Lee – Giving It Up. While I was in Philly,
my friends let me into their basement. It was all over. I think I spent at least
6 hours in there. Makes me want to pull out The Style Council.
04 – Mr. Fingers – What About This Love? More Larry Heard.
05 – Patrice Rushen – Number One [Instrumental]. Grammy nominated cut
from Straight From The Heart.
06 – Patti Austin – Gettin’ Away With Murder. From the album of the same
name.
07 – Curtis Mayfield – Give Me Your Love [Love Song]. Everyone’s theme
song.
08 – Mary J. Blige – Love No Limit. Since Mary (read: Sean Puffy Combs)
sampled Curtis Mayfield on her second album, it made me pull this track out. From What’s The 411?
09 – D’Influence – Good 4 We. From their debut album, which made me spend
most of my college money on cassettes from Great Britain.
10 – Shanice – The Way You Love Me. From Discovery.
11 – Michael Franks – Now I Know Why [They Call It Falling]. Back when
funk was ever-present in 1985, I bough three copies of this cassette tape and
played this cut endlessly. From Skin Dive.
12 – Stevie Wonder – With Each Beat of My Heart. From Characters.
13 – Maysa – More Than You Know. From Maysa.
14 – Earth, Wind & Fire – Fantasy. From All N’ All.

Happy birthday, Will!

It’s hot and muggy outside. Why don’t we take out drinks, and cool out after
the sun sets?

Old
School Wednesday: Summertime Cooldown.

01 – DeBarge – Stay With Me. I was actually thinking
about Notorious B.I.G. and thought I would dig in the crates for the song he sampled
from.
02 – Daryl Hall & John Oates – One on One. Blue eyed soul at it’s
finest.
03 – The Chi-Lites – Give It Away. I was thinking Swing Out Sister’s
influences when I pulled this out the crate.
04 – Switch – Don’t Take My Love Away. Nikki
mentioned that this was one of her favorite B-sides from them, so I pulled it
out.
05 – Stevie Wonder – Rocket Love. I could have done an entire radio blog
of Stevie’s cooldown tracks to represent this summer.
06 – Michael Jackson – It’s The Falling In Love. Remember this cut from
Off The Wall?
07 – Alexander O’neal – Look At Us Now. From his debut abum.
08 – Michael Cooper – Dinner for Two. From Love Is Such A Funny Game.
09 – Kashif – Help Yourself To My Love.
10 – Lionel Richie – Love Will Find a Way. From Can’t Slow Down.
11 – Gwen Guthrie – (They Long To Be) Close To You. A great cover of
a hit by The Carpenters.
12 – Soul II Soul – Missing You. Kym Mazell lights up this track.
13 – Colonel Abrams – Table For Two. He was known mostly for his house
tracks, but this mellow cut was overlooked.
14 – Pebbles – Baby Love. From her debut album.
15 – Portrait – You.

Enjoy.

My man Godizus is at again, yo:

Old
School Wednesday: Summertime Hip Hop Volume II.

Check it:

01 – Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince – Summertime
02 – Pete Rock and CL Smooth – They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y)
03 – Audio Two – Top Billin
04 – Biz Markie – Nobody Beats The Biz
05 – Boogie Boys – A Fly Girl
06 – Common – I Used to Love HER
07 – Jazzy Jeff And The Fresh Prince – Brand New Funk
08 – Doug E. Fresh – Keep Risin’ To The Top
09 – Eric B. and Rakim – Microphone Fiend
10 – Joeski Love – Pee Wee Dance
11 – Kwame – Ownlee Eue
12 – Marley Marl – The Symphony
13 – MC Lyte with Positive K – I’m Not Having It
14 – JJ Fad – Supersonic
15 – Readhead Kingpin – Do The Right Thing
16 – Steady B – Serious
17 – Pharcyde – Passing Me By
18 – UTFO – Bite It

Nod to the tracks.

It’s summertime and what better time for some hip hop? Presenting:

Old
School Wednesday: Summertime Hip Hop.

Thanks to my pal, Godizus, we’re able to spin a little hip-hop. Check
it:

01 – 3rd Bass – Pop Goes The Weasel
02 – Arrested Development – Mr. Wendel
03 – Big Daddy Kane – Ain’t No Half Steppin’
04 – Black Sheep – The Choice Is Yours (Revisited)
05 – Chubb Rock – Treat Em Right
06 – Dana Dane – Cinderfella Dana Dane
07 – D Nice – My Name Is D Nice
08 – EPMD – Crossover
09 – Fu-Schnickens – La Schmoove
10 – Kid N Play – Rollin’ With Kid N Play
11 – Leaders of the New School – Case of the P.T.A.
12 – MC Lyte – Cha Cha Cha
13 – Nice And Smooth – Sometimes I Rhyme Slow
14 – Queen Latifah Feat Monie Love – Ladies First
15 – Special Ed – I Got It Made
16 – Afros – Feel It
17 – Three Times Dope – The Greatest Man Alive

Turn it up…..

Since my birthday was laid back and kinda chill, I had music to vibe me through,
so I reached into the crates for this one. This one goes out to the Leos. This is how we do it. Take notes.

Old
School Wednesday: The Gauntlet, Volume I.

These are cuts that I’m sure everyone can vibe to that have either not
hit the charts or have placed on or below the top 20. Here we go. You remember
these? If not, let me help you.

01 – Shuggie Otis – Inspiration Information. Only went as high
as #52 on the R&B chart. Classic, classic song.
02 – Heatwave – Happiness Togetherness. From Central Heating in 1978.
Never hit the charts.
03 – First Love – Things Are Not The Same (Without You). This cut was
pulled from the crates by the one and only London
Lee. Classic cut that was written and produced by Jason Bryant of the SOS
Band we believe, and personally reminds me of Tell Me If You Still Care. Thanks,
Lee. I owe you one.
04 – DeBarge – A Dream. Sung by Bunny DeBarge, and never hit the charts.
05 – Shalamar – Over and Over. Went as high as #26 on the R&B chart
in 1983.
06 – Switch – Call on Me. This cut should send shivers down your spine.
Sung by Terrance Gaines (not Bobby or Tommy DeBarge). Went as high as #70 in
1982.
07 – Mtume – C.O.D. (I’ll Deliver). Tawatha Agee anyone? 1984 at #20.
08 – The Jacksons – Give It Up. From the Triumph CD in 1980. Never
hit the chart.
09 – Rufus & Chaka Khan – Live In Me. From Masterjam in 1979.
10 – Phyllis Hyman – Ain’t You Had Enough Love Baby. Reminds you of
Loose Ends? It should. Written by them and of course- and on background vocals?
Jane Eugene. Went as high as #29 on the R&B chart in 1987.
11 – Patti Austin – Only a Breath Away. If it sounds somewhat like
Pleasure Principle, it should. This was written and produced by Monte Moir, who (along with Jimmy Jam) was a keyboardist for The Time. He was also part of the original Flytetyme team.
12 – Change – Warm. Produced by Jam and Lewis while they were in Italy. They never got paid for this either. This is off
of Change Of Heart, released in 1984.
13 – Central Line – Don’t Tell Me. Released in 1982.
14 – GQ – Shake. Released in 1981 and went as high as #23 on the R&B
chart.
15 – Dynasty – Day And Night. Leon Sylvers anyone? Released in 1983.

Vibe it through.

Two Cancerian women just had birthdays – this
one, and that
one. So I asked ‘em both to come up with a list of tunes they would want
to hear. Have you ever seen two women born in the month of July so excited?

Old
School Wednesday: The Cancer Ladies.

01 – Stevie Wonder – Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing
02 – Bill Withers – Lovely Day
03 – Donna Summer – Love To Love You Baby
04 – Jeffrey Osborne, L.T.D. – (Every Time I Turn Around) Back in Love Again
05 – Cheryl Lynn – Got to Be Real [Single Version]
06 – Al Jarreau – Roof Garden
07 – George Duke – I Want You for Myself
08 – Natalie Cole – I’ve Got Love On My Mind
09 – Larry Graham – Just Be My Lady
10 – Tom Browne – Funkin For Jamaica
11 – Chaka Khan – I Know You, I Live You
12 – Ray Parker Junior & Raydio – You Can’t Change That
13 – Miki Howard – Baby Be Mine
14 – Phyllis Hyman – You Know How To Love Me
15 – Rick James – You and I

Love is here, there and everywhere. I’m sure you said happy birthday to the
both of them already, right?

I didn’t get to make it to Chicago for the fourth, thanks to not being able to
rebook my flight, so I hate
that
I missed
out on all
the activities, good
times, and
all the other
stuff that
went on in
the city this
past weekend, but not to worry, I’m trying to make it up there for a second
time. I’m also planning on being in Philadelphia later on this month, so stay
tuned. I’m sure that everyone had a good Independance Day.

Xquizzyt1
gives it to you again:

Old
School Wednesday: Xquizzyt1: The Dancehall Mix, Part II

01 – Barrington Levy – Murderer
02 – Dawn Penn – You Don’t Love Me (No, No, No)
03 – Foxy Brown – Sorry
04 – Beres Hammond & Cutty Ranks – Tempted to Touch
05 – Shabba Ranks – Roots and Culture
06 – Shaggy and Rayvon – Big Up
07 – Reggie Stepper – Kimbo King
08 – Buju Banton – Dickie
09 – Beenie Man – Old Dog
10 – Louie Culture – Ganga Lee
11 – Shabba Ranks – Telephone Love
12 – Super Cat – Don Dada
13 – Buju Banton – Champion
14 – Mad Cobra – Flex
15 – Sanchez – The Saddest Day of My Life
16 – Bounty Killer & Barrington Levy – Living Dangerously

On part one, I mentioned that I knew none of the songs. In this selection, I knew
seven of them, so I’m not as unfamiliar with dancehall as I previously thought.
Enjoy.

Today, it’s an Old School Wednesday where melanin is not required. Yolanda
presents us with:

Old
School Wednesday: Ballads From The Other Side

01 – Bonnie Tyler – Total Eclipse of the Heart
02 – REO Speedwagon – Can’t Fight This Feeling
03 – George Michael – One More Try
04 – Bonnie Raitt – I Can’t Make You Love Me
05 – Foreigner – I Want To Know What Love Is
06 – Taylor Dayne – Love Will Lead You Back
07 – Sinead O Connor – Nothing Compares To You
08 – Phil Collins – Against All Odds
09 – Rod Stewart – Have I Told You Lately That I Love You
10 – Berlin – Take My Breath Away
11 – Billy Vera & the Beaters – At This Moment
12 – Bryan Adams – Everything I Do I Do It For You
13 – Cyndi Lauper – Time After Time
14 – Simply Red – Holding Back The Years
15 – Jennifer Rush – Power of Love
16 – Righteous Brothers – Unchained Melody
17 – Rod Stewart – The Way You Look Tonight
18 – The Police – Every Breath You Take
19 – Bryan Adams – How Do You Talk To An Angel
20 – Chris Deburgh – The Lady In Red

How many of these tunes do you remember? Don’t front….

There’s more than a little bit going on, so let’s see if I can get it all out.
If you’re in the ATL on Friday, I can be seen at a movie Flip
The Script. Major props to Rainmayan
for giving
his review. If you’re looking for me on Friday evening that’s where I’ll be.
Come and join me. **RPM**
also called me a couple of evenings ago and had an absolutely great time. *Slides
the Lizz Wright CD just out of her reach.* After that conversation, it made me
appreciate the effects of vodka & tonic (or the lack thereof). And yes, I’m
still planning on checking out Donnie
on Saturday
(thanks, Fly Girl,
for letting us know).

This OSW was created by no other than Godizus, who doesn’t have a blog but always
has tunes in his ear. I present to you:

Old
School Wednesday: The Freaky Mix

01 – Grace Jones – Pull Up To The Bumper
02 – Rick James – Give It To Me Baby
03 – Mary Jane Girls – In My House
04 – Prince – Erotic City (extended version)
05 – Vanity Six – Nasty Girl
06 – Janet Jackson – Nasty
07 – Bell Biv DeVoe – Poison
08 – Adina Howard – Freak Like Me
09 – Wreckx-N-Effect – Rump Shaker
10 – Jodeci – Freakin’ You
11 – Whodini – Freaks Come Out at Night
12 – Raekwon – Ice Cream
13 – Rob Base – It Takes Two
14 – De La Soul – Buddy
15 – Salt N Pepa – Push It
16 – EU – Da Butt
17 – Raze – Break For Love
18 – 2 Live Crew – Doo Doo Brown
19 – Super Cat – Girlstown (remix)
20 – Red Fox – Pose Off

Erotic? Check. Freaky? Check. Memories? Umm…. I plead da fifth!
Enjoy. Chicago! See you on July 2nd and 3rd! I’m comin’, Golden and Kelvin…..

Vibe Music Fest

…as seen by ej flavors.

I had a very, very exhausting weekend working with the Vibe Music Fest which was in town.
That’s alright though, I made it through! Stay tuned for the story. Meanwhile,
let me tell you about this mix:

Old
School Wednesday: The Last Rites of Spring

I was going to try and perform a strictly England mix since I got a chance to
meet up with Loose Ends this weekend for the Vibe Music Fest, but I just went
with the flow this round. I put the headphones on and thought about the end
of spring and the beginning of summer and it came out this way…

01 – Shanice – It’s For You, with verses dropped by one of the guys from…
02 – Portrait – Commitment – one of my favorite cuts, which
reminded me of…
03 – Alexander O’Neal – What’s Missing, because I knew a lot of people have been wanting to hear a little Alex, am I right? Then, I felt like vibing
to….
04 – Vanessa Williams – Work To Do, with rap by Dres, since
Will’s down
in Miami taking lots of photos, damn him! That in turn me think of….
05 – Heavy D – Somebody For Me (big props to Nastybastard).
But then, I thought about Xquizzyt1
and Honey, and decided
to drop…..
06 – Taja Sevelle – Popular…but then I couldn’t go without
the first cut I heard from Loose Ends this past weekend during their performance….
07 – Loose Ends – Stay a Little While, Child [Remix], which
was a perfect segue into the mellow…
08 – Zhane – Just Like That, which made me think of **RPM**,
which is why I dropped….
09 – Chuckii Booker – You Don’t Know, which was an absolutely
perfect prelude to….
10 – Cherrelle – Where Do I Run To? with vocals by Rick, Ran,
and Dan. Cherrelle singing made me pull out….
11 – Mary J. Blige – Reminisce… but then I had to go back
into the crates and pick on Yolanda
and pull….
12 – Soul II Soul – Love Come Through, which reminded me of…..
13 – Club Nouveau – Situation Number 9, and then I had to tip
my hat to Gwen and drop…
14 – Aleese Simmons – I Want To Be Your Lover, and then finally
I had to give a shoutout to Hypothetically
Speaking and to Sister
Outsider and close it out with….
15 – Loose Ends – Dial 999.

I came up with this mix in about 45 minutes. Think I did alright? Groove with
me.

Alright, people here we go. It’s Xquizzyt1
time again.

Old
School Wednesday: Xquizzyt1: The Dancehall Mix

01 Shelly Thunder – Kuff
02 Shabba Ranks – Twice My Age
03 Ninja Man – Murder Dem
04 Cutty Ranks – A Who Seh Me Dun (Wake Da Man)
05 Spragga Benz – She Nuh Ready Yet
06 Tenor Saw – Ring the Alarm
07 Reggie Stepper – Drum Pan Sound
08 Nardo Ranks – Burrup
09 Joseph Stepper – Wife
10 Little Lenny – Punnanney Tegereg
11 Terror Fabulous – Nadine Sutherland – Action
12 Buju Banton – Batty Rider
13 Panhead – Punny Printer
14 Cutty Ranks – Limb by Limb
15 Dirtsman – Hot This Year
16 Super Cat Junior Cat Demus – Cabin Stabbin’
17 Shabba Ranks – Caan Dun
18 Chaka Demus & Pliers – Murder She Wrote
19 Pliers – Bam Bam
20 Sister Nancy – Bam Bam
21 Nardo Ranks – Dem A Bleach

Now I know nothing about dancehall. At all. I’ve never seen these tracks before
either, so I’ll have to put this question out there- what’s the thrill of dancehall
music? I think I need a little education, people.

Also – stay tuned for Friday. We’re havin’ a little birthday tribute to the Big
La. Get ready for it.