Tag Archives: rhythms in black satin

When My Ipod Gets Bored

08 Friday Aug 2008

Posted by in Feeding The Music Jones

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by vivrant thang on free music and great podcasts 

NOTE: NO OLD SCHOOL FRIDAY FOR ME TODAY. BE BACK NEXT WEEK!

Even with 80G of music in the palm of my hand at any given time, I still manage to get bored by Pink Panther (aka the ‘pod) on occasion. When I actually practice some restraint and don’t go spending the gas money digging in the crates at a few of my favorite spots, I hit up some of my favorite music-loving folks who work hard to share the love by creating podcasts and mixes that showcase what they are digging at the time.

I’ve been meaning to do this post for a while and I think it’s especially relevant while we are in the midst of voting for the Black Weblog Awards. Ya’ll don’t seem to be that good at clicking on links 🙂 If there was ever a post to do so, it’s this one. Trust me on this.

Be sure to share some of your favorite podcasts in the comments.

Todd Kelly: Flowink.com  (Known to many as the “Kaing of R&B Podcasting” (rhythm & blues, vintage soul, hip-hop, jazz, house, world wide soul)

EJ Flavors (I call him the “Master Teacher.” One of the very first podcasts I subscribed to. Since I’m a 90s music junkie, I particularly love his New Jack Swing mixes. They got me through many a morning commute to a job that I hated with every fiber of my being.)

Friday Favecast (a glimpse of urban lifestyle with music, fitness tips and social commentary with a comical flavor)

Soul Sanctuary: Where The Spirit Dwells ( a plethora of mixes from various DJs available for download, including Soul Sanctuary Radio hosted by The Vibe Mistress Stephanie Renee)

Gordon Gartell Radio (Phonte of Little Brother’s podcast; pure tomfoolery and hot music)

RIBS (Rhythms In Black Satin)  (T Grundy always takes a sista to school with some classic soul. I wasn’t even a twinke in my Daddy’s eye when a lot of the music he features was released. So I learn a lot.)

DJ Stylus: (aka “The Vibe Conductor” and the name fits; lots of international flava in your ear here which sets him apart from a lot of other podcasts out there. Check out his Project Vibe mixes, a station you should be listening to)

DJ Diva (Do the ladies run this mutha – hellll yea! You know I got love for the female DJ. I love her artist spotlights which have featured music from Al Green, Luther, Prince, Aretha Franklin, and The O’Jays)

The Infinite Ink: Soulrific (the best in Nu Soul, R&B, conscious Hip Hop and Jazz)

My Love For Music (smooth jazz, world fusion, new age, ambient, downtempo music)

Deeper Soul (for those lovers of soulful house music)

Also check out Soul Bounce’s mixtape roundups.

 In addtion to the podcasts, on occasion someone will drop a gem in my inbox for me to groove to. This week DJ Cuzzin B  who you may remember from that hot True School Corporation party I raved about earlier in the year hit me up with his Soul For Sale mixtape which features tracks from as Jazmin Sullivan, Raphael Saadiq, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Teedra Moses, and Strange Fruit Project f/Erykah Badu, 9th Wonder and Q-Tip f/D’Angelo. Yup, it’s as hot as it sounds. Download here.

Summer is winding down which means that soon my attention will be split between The Green Nation and my musical adventures. Won’t be enough hours in the day. I’m taking the summer out with a bang though. This weekend, I’m excited to get a get a first look at Jazmin Sullivan and Raphael Saadiq who are putting out two of the most highly anticipated albums of the year. I’ve been watching clips of Jazmin today on You Tube and I. CAN’T. WAIT. You know I’ll do all I can to bring it to you here.

J*Davey and Jill Scott videos coming to you next week so stay tuned!

Happy Valentine’s Day: The Show, The Afterparty, The Hotel

14 Thursday Feb 2008

Posted by in Feeding The Music Jones

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speakerboxxx.jpg

Happy Valentine’s Day
Every day the 14th!
I don’t think y’all heard me!
I just wanna say Happy Valentine’s Day!
Every day the 14th!
Can y’all dig that?

Until last year, Valentine’s Day was a big deal for me. In high school, I remember watching the popular girls walking around with their huge balloons, flowers and teddy bears. In college and beyond, the timing was always off. Either I hadn’t been dating anyone for a while, was only involved with a FEPO (for entertainment purposes only), or I had just broken up with the person I was seeing just before that day.

Last year, up to about a month before, it looked like it would be more of the same. That is until one of the exes popped up wanting to get back. While we were getting reacquainted, I casually mentioned that I had never had a nice Valentine’s Day [read: you need to make it happen]. He promised to make the day special for me. It had only taken 29 years. I was too hype.

He went all out with the planning and it was all very creatively done. As he started to reveal parts of the agenda for the evening, I was thrilled with the effort. I took care of everything on my end as far as my girly maintenance and outfits for the show and the “afterparty.” Other than that, I was instructed to just show up and be my “vivrant” self. I can’t lie. I was enjoying a man working to earn my affection. And it was going to be on Valentine’s Day – finally!

The evening didn’t quite go off without a hitch. I won’t tell the entire story but let’s just say it all came thisclose to being ruined. I had to let Jesus take the wheel and we got through it and went on to have a nice time.

In hindsight, while I greatly appreciated someone making the extra effort to ensure that I finally had a nice Valentine’s Day , it’s really just another day. What’s really important is how we spend the other 364 days of the year. For all he did on that day to get back in, less than two months later, it was quite apparent that nothing had really changed between us the second time around.

I will never become anti-Valentine’s Day, but in a future relationship, I don’t want that to ever be the only day that Mr. Vivrant Thang feels he has to put a little extra effort into us. I believe in regular date nights. Weekend getaways just for a change of scenery. Sweet “just thinking about you” notes left in random places. Naughty calls or texts in the middle of the day. It’s up to both of us to keep the fires going year round.

Now on to the music.

As you can tell by my Top 50 list, I am a fan of the slow and sexy jams. Over the years I’ve mixed up my share of slow and sexy CDs. Now, I like to leave it to the professionals.

The HNIC of my favorite music site, Soul Bounce, shares a couple of mixes he cooked up. Head on over there and grab them. Warning, one of them is called “The Babymaker.” Don’t say I didn’t tell you.

I was excited to see that fellow Jersey native T Grundy of Rhythms in Black Satin had issued a call a call for a carnival of Valentine’s Day mixes. Make sure you stop by Cupid’s Hunt: Searching for Love Music in All The Right Places and set your evening off right…better yet, your entire year off right.

For now, we do things a little more low-tech over here. If I had the time and the know-how, I would have turned my list into a podcast and participated. In any event, I thought I would share some of the songs that were a part of last year’s Valentine’s Day celebration. I decided to break them down into “The Show, The Afterparty, The Hotel.”

Enjoy, but make every day the 14th!

The Show

Fortunate – Maxwell
Say Yes – Floetry
Pretty Brown Eyes – Mint Condition
I Care 4 U – Aaliyah
He Loves Me – Jill Scott
Soul Sista – Bilal
Voyage to Atlantis – Isley Brothers
Damn U – Prince
I Need Love – Robin Thicke
Imagination – Floetry
Adore – Prince
Queen of Sanity – Bilal
Let’s Chill – Guy
A Love of My Own – Average White Band
You – Raheem Devaughn
Promise – Ciara

The Afterparty

I Love You – Keith Washington
You Don’t Have to Go Home – Boney James
Softest Lips –Eric Roberson
Ask Yourself– Raheem Devaughn
Do You Mind – Janet Jackson
Anytime, Anyplace – Janet Jackson
Can We Make Love – Silk
Feenin – Jodeci
If Only For One Night – Luther
Yearning for Your Love– Gap Band
Insatiable – Prince
International Lover – Prince
When We Make Love – Ginuwine
Three Letter Word – Jamie Foxx
Softest Place on Earth – Xscape
Hurry, Hurry – Pete Belasco
Can’t Get Enough – Tamia
Come Inside -Intro
Reasons– Earth, Wind and Fire
All This Love – Debarge
Love Won’t Let Me Wait – Luther
Once, Twice, Three Times – Howard Hewitt
The Beautiful Ones – Prince

The Hotel

Lay Down – Floetry
Turn Off the Lights – Teddy Pendergrass
Sex Me (Parts 1 & 2) – R Kelly
Til The Cops Come Knockin – Maxwell
Scandalous – Prince
Slowly – Tank
Slow Love – Prince
White Turns To Grey – Bilal
Between the Sheets – Isley Brothers
The Greatest Sex – R Kelly
Do Me Baby – Prince
Seconds of Pleasure – Van Hunt
Untitled (How Does It Feel) – D’Angelo
The Art of Love – Toni Braxton
Uhh Ahh – Boyz to Men
Sweet Sour U – Bilal
Sumthin Sumthin (Mellosmoothe) – Maxwell
You Got The Bomb – Brian McKnight
Your Love Is King – Sade

This Christmas

21 Friday Dec 2007

Posted by in Feeding The Music Jones

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by vivrant thang on all about me and feeding the music jones

thischristmas.jpg
Fireside is blazing bright,
We’re caroling through the night
And this Christmas will be
A very special Christmas for me

My apologies for being away so long. I’ve been hanging out at my other spot, blogging about books and literary news. That’s my other passion and I’ve been missing it.

Anyhow, you all shouldn’t be surprised that this is the title of my Christmas post. You know how I do. Donny will always be the Christmas song king.

Christmas has always been my favorite holiday but I hadn’t been feeling particularly festive this season. As a matter of fact, I had been feeling quite grinch-like. I didn’t decorate my house this year. I only sent out Christmas cards to those that sent them to me…and even that seemed like a chore. I am just pimping out the Myspace digs. What’s the deal you ask?

It’s been a number of things. However, the main issue is that for the first time that I can remember, I won’t be spending Christmas with my family. So that’s taking some getting used to. Actually, I was feeling decidely sorry for myself until I tried to make an appointment with my hair stylist and she told me that her house burned down to the ground a couple of weeks ago. Everyone made it out safely but her family lost everything…and two weeks before Christmas. I felt horrible for her, but she seems in pretty good spirits. Of course, she is just so glad that everyone made it out safely.

Hearing about that really put things in perspective for me. Here I am on vacation from work until the New Year with plans to attend an NBA game, a play, a concert in Philly and who knows what else. There they are trying to piece their lives back together after losing everything. My shit is really not that bad. I need to focus on the reason for the season and not sweat the small stuff. I may not be with my family, but at least I have a family. I am blessed beyond measure and I better be grateful for it because everything can be taken away in a flash.

So things are looking brighter. You should already know what’s helping. Christmas music! I have a few mixed CDs of all the classic Christmas favorites. I’ve also been feeding the music jones by feasting on some RIBS and stalking my brother in soul, T Grundy. He has been blessing us with the “sounds of the season” all month long. Head on over to his spot and satisfy any mood you’re in.

Feeling

Funky
Brokenhearted?
Bluesy?
Soulful?
Jazzy?
Romantic?

He got what you need! Check him out.

I want to wish all my readers a joyous holiday season. If you’re feeling grinch-like, remember your blessings and the reason for the season. If that fails, you can always spike your egg nog. Works for me.