Tag Archives: soul music

New Flava In My Ear: Alice Smith ‘SHE’

19 Tuesday Mar 2013

Posted by in Feeding The Music Jones, New Flava In My Ear

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Alice-Smith-She

I was first introduced to the musical powerhouse that is Alice Smith several years ago at what would be the last Black Lily Festival (RIP). Black Lily, based in Philly, was a multi-day event showcasing the best in women’s artistry: music, film, visual arts, and more. That last festival in 2008 would be the only time I got to see Amy Winehouse perform. But this ain’t about her!

I still remember being completely awestruck as Alice, a tall, striking beauty took the stage in jeans and a ponytail and blew me away with her four octave vocal range. I don’t remember what she performed. She likely performed music from her debut album, For Lovers, Dreamers and Me (which you can stream on Spotify) which was released back in 2006. I just remember how the music made me feel. And I never forgot her name.

After a long absence from releasing new music —though not from performing— (thanks Industry Rule 4080!), a year ago, I saw posts about a Kickstarter for a new album she had in the works. I now want to kick my damn self for not getting around to supporting it because as soon as I pressed play, SHE went on my “Best of 2013” list. There is not a single song on this album I don’t like. Did you hear me? There are absolutely no skips here. It’s a stone cold groove from the first to last note. If this is what crowdsource funding for an album produces, more artists need to get into it!

Check out Alice performing one of my favorite tracks on the album, “The One,”  a slow groove with the refrain, “I’m not the one, don’t play me son, don’t you play, DON’T YOU PLAY IT!”

You’ve probably seen or heard the killing she put on Cee-Lo’s “Fool For You,” which has been floating around the interwebs for over a year. [Watch here] So glad that gem made the album.

I’ve seen so much excitement about this album from my real music loving friends all across social media. I’ve also seen a lot of “I’ve never heard of her!” That’s why I’m here — to let you know that you need to get familiar quickly and cop the new album today!

Alice is also touring so stay locked in to her website, Twitter and Facebook  feeds to see when she is coming your way. Her stage presence is mesmerizing and this is an album you’ll definitely want to see come alive on stage. DC music lovers, we’re fortunate to have her in the area twice in the coming weeks so get your tickets now!

Support real music. Cop SHE today and spread the word!

Music Playlist for Healing: Love’s In Need Of Love Today

15 Saturday Dec 2012

Posted by in In Heavy Rotation

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I am truly at a loss over yesterday’s events in Connecticut.

For my international readers (hey ya’ll!) and those in the US who have been living in the deepest of caves, a monster forced his way into an elementary school in Newton, Connecticut and shot and killed 26 people. 20 of them were students. Babies. I literally feel sick to my stomach just typing this.

We don’t know why he did it. The coverage of this story and the misinformation being spread out there has been  horrific. I hesitate to link to any news source out there because the media has been disgustingly irresponsible in their coverage, putting out false information in a rush to be the first ones on the scene. We won’t talk about the cable news outlets and their tragedy porn.

President Obama’s statement about the tragedy in Connecticut was just painful to watch. While he is the President, he was also speaking as the father of two girls.

The only things that have been getting me through this (and all of the multiple tragedies this year) is time with loved ones, prayer and of course, music. Music heals.

Here’s a playlist I put together on my favorite music app, Spotify. (If you’re not on there, you should be. More on that later.)

I hope that this helps those out there that are hurting over this in some small way. Regardless of whether you are personally affected by this, it’s a national tragedy. Families are waking up today, if they even slept, without the babies they sent to school yesterday. To school. A child is waking up without his mother.  This is hard, ya’ll.

What songs do you listen to when you need to be lifted up in times of tragedy? If you’ve experienced a lot of loss in your family (as I have), what songs have helped you to heal? Help me update this playlist.

Me, Myself and I

16 Tuesday Sep 2008

Posted by in Feeding The Music Jones

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by vivrant thang on all about me

This past weekend was one of the best I’ve had in a long time.

Friday evening, I took myself to see Tyler Perry’s new movie, Family That Preys. LOVED. IT. And I’m far from a Tyler Perry fan. This is only the second movie of his that I’ve really enjoyed. (Why Did I Get Married?was the other). So believe me when I say, support this movie. Maybe then we will see less of Madea and her tomfoolery.

Saturday, I went to the Kennedy Center’s Open House, a day of exposure to all the artistic, musical and cultural offerings of this historic institution. It made me smile to see all the families out with their small children who were playing with musical instruments, drawing, and participating in other creative outlets.

 

However, the top item on my agenda was to see Algebra Blessett perform. I’ve been a fan for a while now but I’ve never seen her live. I have her last album, Purpose, and I have to admit I wasn’t feeling it save a couple of songs, “Run and Hide,” and “What Happened.” So I was especially anxious to see her live performance. As I’ve mentioned before, a great stage show can turn me from a fan into a stan.  She did not disappoint. Check out her reggae-flavored version of “Run and Hide,” complete with a side of Bob Marley’s “Waiting In Vain”and Jazmine Sullivan’s “Need U Bad.”

I got my album signed and also took a picture with her. We got that glow like Shonuff and Leroy, huh?!

On the way home, I popped the album back in and sure enough, I gained more appreciation for it. I definitely still have my stand out tracks, mostly on the first half of the album. Algebra will be on my list of artists to support whenever she is in my area.

That same day, I moseyed on over to the Silver Spring Jazz Festival. I was there to finally catch Marcus Johnson Project, one of the premiere jazz acts out of the DC area. I’ve been in the area almost ten years and I have never managed to catch him live. I’ve been sleeping. He had me grooving out there under the stars along with all the other jazz aficionados. Clearly, I’ve been sleeping.

I wasn’t able to get many videos as taping wasn’t “allowed” and I was too mellow to don my undercover operative hat. Here he is covering Floetry’s “Say Yes.” Sax man Marcus Anderson came up from North Carolina to sit in on the set.

Ironically, what made these days so wonderful for me is that the only company I had for the majority of the weekend (other than fellow music fans) was me, myself and I. I was telling my mother that I think I’m beginning to enjoy my own company a bit too much – especially after my solo vacation! I just loved be-bopping down the street at my leisure and doing what I wanted to do in my own time without having to take anyone else into account. 

Although I ended the weekend by joining a fabulous group of women for the first meeting of our new Sunday Brunch/Dinner group, the   still that time spent alone. Although I’m an extrovert, on occasion “me time” is just what the doctor ordered.

*Note: Raphael Saadiq concert review coming up on Wednesday. I know, a date late. coming very soon. I blame football. Meantime, cop The Way I See It, which is in stores TODAY.

Old School Friday: Remakes

16 Friday May 2008

Posted by in Feeding The Music Jones

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by vivrant thang on old school fridays

I went way overboard with this one. Just been that kind of week and I needed some good music to get me through.

This week’s theme was remakes. So many places I could have gone with this. The first artist that entered my mind was the King of Remakes, Luther Vandross. Once he remade a song, it became his. A lot of people have been surprised to know that many of their favorites were not his.

I needed some inspiration and found it here and here. I decided to weigh in on which version is my favorite. Some of my choices will probably be blasphemous. Feel free to add your two cents in the comments.

Sara Smile (Hall and Oates v After 7)
Although I LOVE After 7’s version, there’s just something about that blue-eyed soul. Besides, H&O’s version is one of my top fifty songs.)

As We Lay (Shirley Murdock v Kelly Price)
Really like Kelly’s video for this one, especially having Shirley make a cameo. However, this will ALWAYS be Shirley’s song. I really think she recorded this the second she got up out the bed with ‘Husband’)

Killing Me Softly (Roberta Flack v L Boogie)
This might draw some criticism from the few old heads that visit, but I fell in love with L Boogie’s sweet alto on this one. This became my version.

In the second video, Roberta joins the Fugees for the performance, which says a lot. Now that is the perfect combination.

Sweet Thing (Chaka Khan& Rufus v Mary J Blige)
This remains Chaka’s song…if only because she is SLAYING them in that red dress. Another off of my top fifty songs list.

Love Don’t Live Here Anymore, (Rose Royce v Faith Evans w/ Mary)
Don’t beat me down old folks but I got to go with Faith on this one. She got Mary on the joint too! Another perfect combination! Admittedly, I’m biased. Faith is one of my all-time favorite albums from start to finish.

Ain’t No Sunshine, (Bill Withers v. Michael Jackson when he was cute)
Michael’s version is so sweet. But Bill will always own this song. No one else can capture that distinctive sound. I’d like to see the Anthonys give it a try – that would be David and Hamilton)

Head on over and check out the other participants. This is a great theme this week and I KNOW you will enjoy what they come up with.

Electronic Village | Chatting Over Cocktails | Mrs Grapevine | Quick | Marcus LANGFORD | Cassandra | Danielle |  Lisa C | Chocl8t  |  DP |  Kreative Talk | MarvalusOne | Regina |  LaShonda |  AJ | Sharon | Invisible Woman | Believer 1964 | Dee  |SJP | sHaE-sHae

What About Your Friends

12 Monday May 2008

Posted by in Feeding The Music Jones

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by vivrant thang on what about your friends

What about your friends will they stand their ground
Will they let you down again
What about your friends are they gonna be low down
Will they ever be around or will they turn their backs on you

I know a sista has been a little scarce around these parts over the last couple of weeks or so – slacking in the comment response and such. I still love ya’ll but I have been going through a couple of things, as you can probably tell by today’s ‘song in the key of my life.’

True friendship has always been very important to me. Over the years, I have had lots of associates and activity partners as I’m the type of person people are drawn to. However, I can count the number of true, ride-or-die friends that have come into my life over the past 30 3/4 years – that are still in my life today – and have plenty of fingers left over. And that’s okay. I don’t think you need that many.

My best friend and I met during our sophomore year of college. Our friendship has certainly been battle tested, but she has truly been there for me and I know she’s real. She actually introduced me to another woman and our friendship grew to the point that I just knew she would be one of those lifetime friends. She was there for me during the break-up last year (one of the people who kept me from catching a case). She encouraged me when I thought I would never escape from the mental imprisonment that was my former job. I have been there for her over the past few years that we’ve known each other in similar ways.

Our relationship has mostly grown over the phone because we’ve always lived in different states and have never had the chance to hang out extensively. Recently we had the opportunity to spend some time together and let’s just say, a sista’s eyes were wide open  when she boarded the plane back to DC.

Let me explain. This is a bit uncomfortable for me to talk about because I’m a modest woman. However, this is also something that my mother has had to deal with all of her life and it’s the reason why at 61 years-old, she does not have any female friends. Not one.

Jealousy.

Whether it’s the way she carries herself, the way she dresses…or simply who she is, she has always drawn insecure women to her that eventually hurt her in a major  way because they were jealous or envious of her. Yes, a couple of them have admitted it to her after the friendships were over.

Appears I’m following in her footsteps…at least with this friend.

Two weeks before my birthday, she did something to me which I will eventually forgive, but never ever ever forget. As a result, the friendship is over. Has to be – because the trust and respect I had for her is completely gone. (Yes, this was a biggie.) I never thought that she was the type of woman to let her insecurities get the best of her to the point where she would intentionally do something as hurtful as she has done to someone that is supposed to be friend.

This isn’t an easy thing to admit but when I was heavier, I had some of those same insecurities. So besides the fact that I am highly intuitive, I recognized what some of her behavior was really saying when we were hanging out because I’ve felt a lot of the same things. However, I have never let those feelings cause me to hurt my true friends intentionally.

Luckily, although I’m not religious, I am spiritual and I do have faith. I definitely believe in everything happening for a reason and that life’s events, good and bad, are all part of a larger plan. I know that there’s a reason why this happened and I am just waiting for the lesson to be revealed.

Folks, even if you don’t have romantic love in your life, please cherish your true friendships. They are hard to come by – and even harder to keep.

Enough of this shit.

Be sure to stop by tomorrow to celebrate the birthday of the 8th Wonder of the World – none other than Mr. Stevie Wonder! You know we gonna part-tay up in this joint! No Stevie, no Songs In The Key of Life. So ponder your favorite Stevie joints tonight, as I know you have many, and be ready to share with me tomorrow.

If you’re celebrating Stevie on your blog tomorrow, be sure to leave a note in the comments so I can link you up.