Old School Music Fridays: Michael Jackson

I haven't done one of these in a long time...there was no way I could miss this week's theme, Michael Jackson.

When I first heard that Mike had a heart attack, I was a bit surprised but not really. I heard he was pretty frail these days, and with all the stress and pressure he's been under for the last 15 years, it would have worn down anyone, point blank...I fully expected him to recover. But then when I read he'd died, it felt like someone had socked me hard in my chest--I could not believe what I was seeing. I involuntarily began to cry.

Tho I have been side-eying Michael and his antics for quite some time, all I could remember was that my first real memory of music and dancing as a toddler was to Michael. My parents had these huge speakers in the den, the outside was made of real wood; completely old school. I remember dancing to Mike and his brothers facing those speakers, in my fuzzy bunny slippers and pajamas, my hair all wrapped up in the scarf I would sleep in to keep my hair neat and pretty--I loved that music so much! The first concert I ever went to was Mike and his brothers--I was so excited cause I got to touch Jermaine on his way by...

That's the only way I choose to remember Michael, for his music, for I believe he did the best that he knew how, and he never seemed to be able to mend his heart and overcome his issues and demons like say...Prince. I would have loved for him to enjoy what appears to be the peaceful, lavish, respected life Prince has, but I am also glad his pain is at rest.

Me being me, here is a mini-movie video that Mike made back in the day, with icons Eddie Murphy, Iman, and Magic Johnson. It is a fantastic tribute in my eyes to the beauty of Blackness, and I was very proud of Michael when he made it. Enjoy and have a blessed day:

Micheal Jackson - Remember the Time
Uploaded by R33f. - Watch more music videos, in HD!

Please visit my Old School Fridays fam and folkses today for your fill of Micheal Jackson tributes and remembrances:

AJ - http://overanalyzeit.wordpress.com/Believer 1964 - http://ruhoffman.blogspot.com/BklynQueen’86 - http://vanitydark.blogspot.com/CC Groovy - http://ccgroovy.blogspot.com/Chocl8t - http://thechocl8tdiaries.wordpress.com/Cooper - http://wonderlandornot.net/Shawn - http://dallassouthblog.com/Danielle Vyas - http://modernmusings.com/Dee - http://donotcolorme.blogspot.com/DP - http://therealready.blogspot.com/Fresh and Fab - http://freshandfab.blogspot.com/Hagar’s Daughters – http://hagarsdaughters.blogspot.com/John - http://altjirangamitjina.blogspot.com/Kevin - http://slanttruth.com/Kim - http://thepunkin-patch.blogspot.com/LaKeisha - http://kreativetalk.blogspot.com/LaShonda - http://thee-biz.blogspot.com/Lil Creole Pimp - http://creolepimp.blogspot.com/Lisa C - http://lisacwrites.blogspot.com/Mahogany - http://www.mahoganydymond.net/Malcolm - http://popculturedish.blogspot.com/Marcus - http://marcuslangford.com/MarvalusOne - http://www.conversationswithmarva.com/ Mike - http://thehappygoluckybachelor.blogspot.com/Mrs. Grapevine - http://mrsgrapevine.com/MsLadyDeborah - http://msladydeborah.blogspot.com/Pjazzypar - http://www.tracesofastream.blogspot.com/Pop Art Diva - http://popartdiva.blogspot.com/Quick - http://thequickcatchup.blogspot.com/Regina - http://reginasfamilyseasons.blogspot.com/Shae-Shae - http://heyshae.com/blogSharon - http://thetrueurbanqueen.blogspot.com/SJP - http://sojournersplace.blogspot.com/Thembi - http://whatwouldthembido.blogspot.com/Villager - http://electronicvillage.blogspot.com/Vivrant Thang - http://songsinthekeyoflife.wordpress.com/Zenobia - http://from-the-battlefield.blogspot.com/

Here I Is...

^To quote the late, great, Notorious B.I.G.

Thank you so very much for my birthday wishes. Between my fasting and prosperity journey with my good pal Sistah C., my job, personal boring responsibilities, my quest to triple my fundage, and my new found E-Bay addiction for low priced but hellacious clothing (yes, I'm late on that), I haven't really felt like blogging. I always say if blogging feels like a job, or a duty, no es fun anymore. If I take breaks from time to time, Ms. Invisible can keep rollin'. I love Black Film, and I feel lots of good things are coming this year, so I want to be here with you to discuss most of it....

Anyhoo, after an unplanned absence I usually come back with an Old School Music Friday, which I haven't done in eons. This week's theme is Originals Vs. Remakes, and I'd like to take it back to my origin of making mine Black Cinema related.

Here is the first, true original one, and the one that I really enjoy most. The remakes get progresionally...ummm...questionable, but it is always an amazing song no matter who is singing it:



The next is of Aretha Franklin singing it. She is skinny, with some short blondish (sort of) nappylicious hair, and she has seemed to maintain her apparent complete and total disdain for any type of boobage support for decades. But girl can sing, what can I say?



The last is En Vogue, who actually did a wonderful homage to the original in their 90's video of the remake. I always feel an affinity to them cause I went to school with Dawn Robinson, and we admitted years later that we had always admired each others style, even back then. Unfortunately, the original video is nowhere to be found on youtube (and I was too lazy to look elsewhere), but I did find many different versions shot on many niggaratti cell phones. Here is one--peep the wardrobe as well; how the mighty have fallen.... :-(



PS: Who are the people supposed to be in the poster above? Awful! Please visit my other OSF fam for their choices on this meme:

AJ - http://overanalyzeit.wordpress.com/Believer 1964 - http://ruhoffman.blogspot.com/BklynQueen’86 - http://vanitydark.blogspot.com/CC Groovy - http://ccgroovy.blogspot.com/Chocl8t - http://thechocl8tdiaries.wordpress.com/Cooper - http://wonderlandornot.net/Shawn - http://dallassouthblog.com/Danielle Vyas - http://modernmusings.com/Dee - http://donotcolorme.blogspot.com/DP - http://therealready.blogspot.com/Fresh and Fab - http://freshandfab.blogspot.com/Hagar’s Daughters – http://hagarsdaughters.blogspot.com/Invisible Woman - http://invisible-cinema.blogspot.com/John - http://altjirangamitjina.blogspot.com/Kevin - http://slanttruth.com/Kim - http://thepunkin-patch.blogspot.com/LaKeisha - http://kreativetalk.blogspot.com/LaShonda - http://thee-biz.blogspot.com/Lil Creole Pimp - http://creolepimp.blogspot.com/Lisa C - http://lisacwrites.blogspot.com/Mahogany - http://www.mahoganydymond.net/Malcolm - http://popculturedish.blogspot.com/Marcus - http://marcuslangford.com/MarvalusOne - http://themarvalusview.com/Mike - http://thehappygoluckybachelor.blogspot.com/Mrs. Grapevine - http://mrsgrapevine.com/MsLadyDeborah - http://msladydeborah.blogspot.com/Pjazzypar - http://www.tracesofastream.blogspot.com/Pop Art Diva - http://popartdiva.blogspot.com/Quick - http://thequickcatchup.blogspot.com/Regina - http://reginasfamilyseasons.blogspot.com/Shae-Shae - http://heyshae.com/blogSharon - http://thetrueurbanqueen.blogspot.com/SJP - http://sojournersplace.blogspot.com/Thembi - http://whatwouldthembido.blogspot.com/Villager - http://electronicvillage.blogspot.com/Vivrant Thang - http://songsinthekeyoflife.wordpress.com/Zenobia - http://from-the-battlefield.blogspot.com/

Old School Music Friday....

First of all, I want to thank all of you who left your comments on my last post, Reader Opinion: Who Are Today's Black Hollywood Greats? Very interesting reads....keep it coming!

This week's meme is kinda scary, and maybe Mrs. Grapevine was exhausted from running after her toddlers when she thought this one up. It is Prince, and everybody and their cousin knows that when you post this dude, disaster soon follows...I'm gonna live dangerously and participate, but if you come back later and my blog is gone at least you'll know why!

Prince has probably made as a single force the largest amount of my favorite songs, and I have loved him from the very day he came on the scene. No one comes close to his genius in my opinion, except for maybe Stevie Wonder. I am going to be a bit different today and post a very short intro he did when he was on "American Bandstand" when he was 19. If you think he grew into his weirdness, think again....this video is confirmation that dude was pretty much born that way. What's really strange is that he looks almost exactly the same now as he did then...Dorian Gray anyone?:


Prince - Interview American Bandstand
by halloaluile

Update: Found this--I used to love this song--my friends would tease me cause I played the living sh*t out of this album. Here is Prince looking like his best David Bowie:


One More-just cause I love this one so much too!:




Please visit my other OSF fam for other dangerous music:

AJ - http://overanalyzeit.wordpress.com/Believer 1964 - http://ruhoffman.blogspot.com/BklynQueen’86 - http://vanitydark.blogspot.com/CC Groovy - http://ccgroovy.blogspot.com/Chocl8t - http://thechocl8tdiaries.wordpress.com/Cooper - http://wonderlandornot.net/Shawn - http://dallassouthblog.com/Danielle Vyas - http://modernmusings.com/Dee - http://donotcolorme.blogspot.com/DP - http://therealready.blogspot.com/Fresh and Fab - http://freshandfab.blogspot.com/Hagar’s Daughters – http://hagarsdaughters.blogspot.com/Invisible Woman - http://invisible-cinema.blogspot.com/John - http://altjirangamitjina.blogspot.com/Kevin - http://slanttruth.com/Kim - http://thepunkin-patch.blogspot.com/LaKeisha - http://kreativetalk.blogspot.com/LaShonda - http://thee-biz.blogspot.com/Lil Creole Pimp - http://creolepimp.blogspot.com/Lisa C - http://lisacwrites.blogspot.com/Mahogany - http://www.mahoganydymond.net/Malcolm - http://popculturedish.blogspot.com/Marcus - http://marcuslangford.com/MarvalusOne - http://themarvalusview.com/Mike - http://thehappygoluckybachelor.blogspot.com/Mrs. Grapevine - http://mrsgrapevine.com/MsLadyDeborah - http://msladydeborah.blogspot.com/Pjazzypar - http://www.tracesofastream.blogspot.com/Pop Art Diva - http://popartdiva.blogspot.com/Quick - http://thequickcatchup.blogspot.com/Regina - http://reginasfamilyseasons.blogspot.com/Shae-Shae - http://heyshae.com/blogSharon - http://thetrueurbanqueen.blogspot.com/SJP - http://sojournersplace.blogspot.com/Thembi - http://whatwouldthembido.blogspot.com/Villager - http://electronicvillage.blogspot.com/Vivrant Thang - http://songsinthekeyoflife.wordpress.com/Zenobia - http://from-the-battlefield.blogspot.com/

Old School Music Friday

OK, I promise to post some REAL Black Cinema tidbits this weekend. In the meantime, it's Old School Music Friday time. This week's theme is "Baby Making Music".

I told writer Michael A. Gonzales (please check him out HERE) that I thought this was maybe the most romantic song of all time, and there is an awful lot of competition out there. Michael also wrote a very interesting series about this group for Vibe--I don't have the direct links but you can Google it--it's very worth your time, especially if you aren't familiar with this group and the amazing voice of the lead singer.

Please believe that if any dude I'm with plays this for me, he's 99% there to close the deal, haha! (there is a second song in this video that the dude with the perm sings--could not find my song by itself on video)

Switch - There'll Never Be & Want To Be Closer
Uploaded by reesedogreese

Please visit my other OSF fam for other baby makin' music:

AJ - http://overanalyzeit.wordpress.com/Believer 1964 - http://ruhoffman.blogspot.com/BklynQueen’86 - http://vanitydark.blogspot.com/CC Groovy - http://ccgroovy.blogspot.com/Chocl8t - http://thechocl8tdiaries.wordpress.com/Cooper - http://wonderlandornot.net/Shawn - http://dallassouthblog.com/Danielle Vyas - http://modernmusings.com/Dee - http://donotcolorme.blogspot.com/DP - http://therealready.blogspot.com/Fresh and Fab - http://freshandfab.blogspot.com/Hagar’s Daughters – http://hagarsdaughters.blogspot.com/Invisible Woman - http://invisible-cinema.blogspot.com/John - http://altjirangamitjina.blogspot.com/Kevin - http://slanttruth.com/Kim - http://thepunkin-patch.blogspot.com/LaKeisha - http://kreativetalk.blogspot.com/LaShonda - http://thee-biz.blogspot.com/Lil Creole Pimp - http://creolepimp.blogspot.com/Lisa C - http://lisacwrites.blogspot.com/Mahogany - http://www.mahoganydymond.net/Malcolm - http://popculturedish.blogspot.com/Marcus - http://marcuslangford.com/MarvalusOne - http://themarvalusview.com/Mike - http://thehappygoluckybachelor.blogspot.com/Mrs. Grapevine - http://mrsgrapevine.com/MsLadyDeborah - http://msladydeborah.blogspot.com/Pjazzypar - http://www.tracesofastream.blogspot.com/Pop Art Diva - http://popartdiva.blogspot.com/Quick - http://thequickcatchup.blogspot.com/Regina - http://reginasfamilyseasons.blogspot.com/Shae-Shae - http://heyshae.com/blogSharon - http://thetrueurbanqueen.blogspot.com/SJP - http://sojournersplace.blogspot.com/Thembi - http://whatwouldthembido.blogspot.com/Villager - http://electronicvillage.blogspot.com/Vivrant Thang - http://songsinthekeyoflife.wordpress.com/Zenobia - http://from-the-battlefield.blogspot.com/

2 Snaps Up In A "Z" Formation....

I know I missed "Old School Music Friday", but for the life of me I could not think of one girl group I cared enough to post about, the subject of this week's meme.

Instead, I present to you a Soul Train clip I found on Wonderman's blog. It is definitely NOT the Soul Train that I remember....to get the full effect in all it's glory, please watch with the sound muted and turned off, and focus on the men. Straight fever beginning at 0:45!

Old School Music Friday....

OK, let me just confess that I haven't posted in a couple of days, cause these here Republicans have put Madame Invisible in a deep and complete funk. I was so angry the morning after Sarah Palin's speech that on my way to work, some old dude honked at me and flashed his lights cause I changed lanes in front of him, tho I was a clear 3 car lengths ahead of him. I was in a foul mood, so I switched lanes and slowed down to look at his ass, and lo and behold--he looked exactly like Dick Cheney--only fueling my pissed-offedness to the ninth degree. I must have chased that fool for blocks, yelling every obscenity I could think of. The dude looked like he was gonna pass out on the dashboard. Afterward, I knew that that I must not let these f*cking idiots get the best of me, and tried to focus on things that didn't make me want to roundhouse kick somebody in the face. This week meme, "Disco" makes me feel a bit better.

I used to sing this song in front of a mirror and pretend I was a straight diva when I sang it (even tho I was already one in the making, haha). My parents would play this song, and I loved it to death...and still do. The Diva that sang it (yes, with a capital D) came into a new horizon with this song (if I remember correctly, it was produced by the dudes from Chic)....and even tho this You Tube video doesn't have the full song, those of you who know it won't need it anyway. I chose it because it gave me extra levity when I watched it--I laughed out loud; the backup dancers are zestier than 10 bags of Florida oranges, straight from "The House Of La'Beija", and the precursors to Madonna's "Vogue" video before she even knew what was up. Check out the video, if only just for them!

Update: I meant to talk about this part but I forgot (thanks sdg1844!)...now that I'm older I know that this song is all about getting some righteous Vitamin D(ifyaknowwhatimean)--were my parents horrified when they heard me yelling out this song? haha!

AJ - http://overanalyzeit.wordpress.com/
Believer 1964 - http://ruhoffman.blogspot.com/
BklynQueen’86 - http://vanitydark.blogspot.com/
CC Groovy - http://ccgroovy.blogspot.com/
Chocl8t - http://thechocl8tdiaries.wordpress.com/
Cooper - http://wonderlandornot.net/
Shawn - http://dallassouthblog.com/
Danielle Vyas - http://modernmusings.com/
Dee - http://donotcolorme.blogspot.com/
DP - http://therealready.blogspot.com/
Fresh and Fab - http://freshandfab.blogspot.com/
Hagar’s Daughters – http://hagarsdaughters.blogspot.com/
Invisible Woman - http://invisible-cinema.blogspot.com/
John - http://altjirangamitjina.blogspot.com/
Kevin - http://slanttruth.com/
Kim - http://thepunkin-patch.blogspot.com/
LaKeisha - http://kreativetalk.blogspot.com/
LaShonda - http://thee-biz.blogspot.com/
Lil Creole Pimp - http://creolepimp.blogspot.com/
Lisa C - http://lisacwrites.blogspot.com/
Mahogany - http://www.mahoganydymond.net/
Malcolm - http://popculturedish.blogspot.com/
Marcus - http://marcuslangford.com/
MarvalusOne - http://themarvalusview.com/
Mike - http://thehappygoluckybachelor.blogspot.com/
Mrs. Grapevine - http://mrsgrapevine.com/
MsLadyDeborah - http://msladydeborah.blogspot.com/
Pjazzypar - http://www.tracesofastream.blogspot.com/
Pop Art Diva - http://popartdiva.blogspot.com/
Quick - http://thequickcatchup.blogspot.com/
Regina - http://reginasfamilyseasons.blogspot.com/
Shae-Shae - http://heyshae.com/blog
Sharon - http://thetrueurbanqueen.blogspot.com/
SJP - http://sojournersplace.blogspot.com/
Thembi - http://whatwouldthembido.blogspot.com/
Villager - http://electronicvillage.blogspot.com/
Vivrant Thang - http://songsinthekeyoflife.wordpress.com/
Zenobia - http://from-the-battlefield.blogspot.com/

Old School Music Friday...

Let me start by saying I love Rock music, the subject of this week's meme. I really love 90's rock; Stone Temple Pilots, Nirvana, U2, etc. But my secret fave is the 70's Rock, just like my favorite music just period is 70's Soul.

Fleetwood Mac, Todd Rudgren, Queen...loves it! But there was always something about this dude that has always appealed to me. His different style of music, dress, even his choice of spouse...everything about him just grabbed me from when I was a kid until now. I saw him on an old Dick Cavett show from the early 70's recently, and was shocked by how painfully shy he used to be....he was so super ethereal looking, he really did look like he might be a real Ziggy Stardust. My man was fresh to death, tho....he even had a pimp cane/walking stick when he came out with a velvet suit.

He is a Rock Star in every sense of the word, but all of the best rock stars have tons of soul....I saw a video he made in the 70's and a superfat Luther Vandross was one of his backup singers...and his wife has the soul of Africa. And speaking of soul, here is a video link of him on Soul Train (wanted to post it, but embedding for this one was disabled...damn!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uB3G5dxx0zU. Love the dance moves to the Bowie, haha.

I don't know what it is about this song, but I adore it--check it:



Just had to post some of his ummm...interesting fashion choices:

(oddly enough, this perm was the most disconcerting for me of the pix)

Check out my other OSF fam too!

Believer 1964 - http://ruhoffman.blogspot.com/Cassandra - http://celeb-blitz.com/CC Groovy - http://ccgroovy.blogspot.com/Chocl8t - http://thechocl8tdiaries.wordpress.com/Danielle - http://funkyfingaproductions.blogspot.com/Danielle Vyas - http://modernmusings.com/Dee - http://donotcolorme.blogspot.com/DP - http://therealready.blogspot.com/Fresh and Fab - http://freshandfab.blogspot.com/Hagar’s Daughters – http://hagarsdaughters.blogspot.com/LaKeisha - http://kreativetalk.blogspot.com/LaShonda - http://thee-biz.blogspot.com/Lisa C - http://lisacwrites.blogspot.com/MarvalusOne - http://www.themarvalusview.com/Mrs. Grapevine - http://mrsgrapevine.com/Quick - http://thequickcatchup.blogspot.com/Regina - http://reginasfamilyseasons.blogspot.com/Shae-Shae - http://shaedoves.blogspot.com/SJP - http://sojournersplace.blogspot.com/Villager - http://electronicvillage.blogspot.com/Vivrant Thang - http://songsinthekeyoflife.wordpress.com/AJ -http://overanalyzeit.wordpress.com/Mike - http://thehappygoluckybachelor.blogspot.com/Thembi - http://whatwouldthembido.blogspot.com/ Kim - http://thepunkin-patch.blogspot.com/

If I've left anyone off, please let me know!

Old School Music Friday...

This week's meme is "Break Up Songs". This is an interesting one for me, as I've only really felt two of the break-ups I've had in my whole life. I know lots of my old school crew are going to post something sad and serious, but for the most part, my attitude is pretty much like this hip hop group's right here; "NEXT!"



Believer 1964 - http://ruhoffman.blogspot.com/Cassandra - http://celeb-blitz.com/CC Groovy - http://ccgroovy.blogspot.com/Chocl8t - http://thechocl8tdiaries.wordpress.com/Danielle - http://funkyfingaproductions.blogspot.com/Danielle Vyas - http://modernmusings.com/Dee - http://donotcolorme.blogspot.com/DP - http://therealready.blogspot.com/Fresh and Fab - http://freshandfab.blogspot.com/Hagar’s Daughters – http://hagarsdaughters.blogspot.com/LaKeisha - http://kreativetalk.blogspot.com/LaShonda - http://thee-biz.blogspot.com/Lisa C - http://lisacwrites.blogspot.com/MarvalusOne - http://www.themarvalusview.com/Mrs. Grapevine - http://mrsgrapevine.com/Quick - http://thequickcatchup.blogspot.com/Regina - http://reginasfamilyseasons.blogspot.com/Shae-Shae - http://shaedoves.blogspot.com/SJP - http://sojournersplace.blogspot.com/Villager - http://electronicvillage.blogspot.com/Vivrant Thang - http://songsinthekeyoflife.wordpress.com/AJ -http://overanalyzeit.wordpress.com/Mike - http://thehappygoluckybachelor.blogspot.com/Thembi - http://whatwouldthembido.blogspot.com/ Kim - http://thepunkin-patch.blogspot.com/

If I've left anyone off, please let me know!

Old School Music Friday...

OK, I've broken my promise more than once to start blogging regularly again, but believe me (please!) it's coming back very soon. I had to show love to my old school music fam tho--this week's meme is favorite female singer. I don't know why, but almost all of my favorite singers are men (hmmm, whassup with that?), and two of the five of my favorite female singers are not old school--Jill Scott and Erykah Badu. The other three are Nina Simone, Chaka Khan, and Roberta Flack, and I have always believed that Roberta was a genius since I was a little girl---my mother played her all the time. This song has also been used in several films, both Black and non-black. It is a classic in every way:



Believer 1964 - http://ruhoffman.blogspot.com/
Cassandra - http://celeb-blitz.com/
CC Groovy - http://ccgroovy.blogspot.com/
Chocl8t - http://thechocl8tdiaries.wordpress.com/
Danielle - http://funkyfingaproductions.blogspot.com/
Danielle Vyas - http://modernmusings.com/
Dee - http://donotcolorme.blogspot.com/
DP - http://therealready.blogspot.com/
Fresh and Fab - http://freshandfab.blogspot.com/
Hagar’s Daughters – http://hagarsdaughters.blogspot.com/
LaKeisha - http://kreativetalk.blogspot.com/
LaShonda - http://thee-biz.blogspot.com/
Lisa C - http://lisacwrites.blogspot.com/
MarvalusOne - http://www.themarvalusview.com/
Mrs. Grapevine - http://mrsgrapevine.com/
Quick - http://thequickcatchup.blogspot.com/
Regina - http://reginasfamilyseasons.blogspot.com/
Shae-Shae - http://shaedoves.blogspot.com/
SJP - http://sojournersplace.blogspot.com/
Villager - http://electronicvillage.blogspot.com/
Vivrant Thang - http://songsinthekeyoflife.wordpress.com/
AJ -http://overanalyzeit.wordpress.com/
Mike - http://thehappygoluckybachelor.blogspot.com/

If I've left anyone off, please let me know!

Old School Music Friday...

Hey all...sorry to be late, but the Cali weather has a Negress twisted. Three days ago we had a record breaking heatwave, and yesterday there were tornadoes, mudslides, fires, and snow, hail and thunder storms all in the same day. I mean, what the eff?

But I seriously digress...this week's meme is Best Guitar/Bass Solos. To tell the truth, my favorite guitar solos are by Nirvana, but that would be another digression. This one is a bit cliche, but he is really one of the best guitarists that ever lived. Fans of his weren't surprised by all of the talent that came out in this film, but I believe it was singlehandedly responsible for making the great masses aware of him for the first time. Here he is performing the song that made him an international star at Coachella last month.

Update: Ok, Danielle let me know that the video has been taken down, as is almost anything that has to do with Prince, so here is Maroon 5 covering it (sorry) :-)



Old School Music Friday fam: Electronic Village Funky Finga Productions Mrs Grapevine Quick Cassandra Danielle Lisa C Chocl8t DP Kreative Talk MarvalusOne Regina LaShonda AJ Sharon Dee SJP sHaE-sHae songs in the key of life Hagar's Daughter There...Already Dallas South If I missed anybody, please let me know!

Old School Music Friday...

This week's meme is "Remakes", though this version is a kinda mangled one. It is from the film "A Low Down Dirty Shame" with Keenan Wayans and Jada Pinkett, which might be better off left forgotten, just like this so-called remake and it's $56 dollar video. Some classic songs should just be left alone:



I used to see those two chicks around...they were an unlikely and odd duo. I always wondered if they were friends first, or someone put them together for the group...

Old School Music Friday fam: Electronic Village Funky Finga Productions Mrs Grapevine Quick Cassandra Danielle Lisa C Chocl8t DP Kreative Talk MarvalusOne Regina LaShonda AJ Sharon Dee SJP sHaE-sHae songs in the key of life Hagar's Daughter There...Already If I missed anybody, please let me know!

Old School Music Friday-1988

Ironically, this week's theme for Old School Friday was supposed to be movie soundtracks, and I am the only one blogging about something else. 1988 is a year that I remember more for it's art than it's music. Modern artists born out of the graffiti age were coming into notoriety, Basquiat and Keith Haring most notably. I remember feeling a lot of love for the up and coming New York artists.

As far as the music...well, let's just say there was a lot less love. When I looked over the top 100 songs of 1988, I saw a list of songs that either I didn't remember, couldn't care less about, or absolutely hated. Who the f**k was Will To Power? They were in the top 10.

There were songs on there that I really used to loathe, and still do. I did, and will now, change the station when I hear them, especially "Gett Outta My Dreams" by Billy Ocean, "Pink Cadillac" by Aretha Franklin, and "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley. The last one I swear they played every 8 minutes in rotation. I also think I was the only Black person in America that didn't think Anita Baker was the second coming.

Songs ranged from the blandly corny; "Fast Cars" by Tracey Chapman, to the blandly poppie "Girlfriend" by Pebbles. Even the reggae was watered down--"Red Red Wine" by UB40. No wonder "Welcome To The Jungle" was so hugely popular; it was the only song that could keep you awake that year. Thank God for the wave of new styled music that came soon afterward.

I did like Keith Sweat's "I Want Her", but who didn't? I also liked this one, which was used once by my old school music fam, but it is a classic, and I still would listen to it all day:

By the way, for those of you that might be interested, I will be on WFMU with Billy Jam and Michael Gonzales about the year 1988 between 3-6pm EST today. You have to check their website to see if it will be streamed. Here is a list of the others that are scheduled to drop in; hope to have you come by and take a listen:

1. Lisa Cortes, former Def Jam ex./current film producer for Lee Daniels Entertainment

2. Todd Craig, writer and teacher/has written a literary hip-hop novel called "tor'ca" (swank books)http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=158723809&MyToken=d34472d0-be10-433b-ae3d-9f337b7c6274

3. Steve Flemming, music blogger :http://auralexamination.wordpress.com/

4. Marcus Reeves, author of Somebody Scream (he might be in the studio with us)http://www.amazon.com/Somebody-Scream-Musics-Prominence-Aftershock/dp/0571211402/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books
&qid=1210090372&sr=1-1

5. Donnell Alexander, author & editor/"Rollin' With Dre"http://www.donnellalexander.com/books

6. Serena Kim/ former Vibe editor, writer

7. Miles Marshall Lewis, writer and editor

8. Bill Adler, hip-hop renaissance man

9. Amy Linden, writer (tentative)

Old School Music Friday

In honor of "Claudine", one of my favorite movies of all time, coming on Saturday AND Sunday on TV One this weekend, this is my selection. I actually posted this in July, but since I had less than 200 readers that month (damn!) you probably didn't see it, haha.

This is by far one of the best soundtracks of all time. Gladys is amazing, as is Curtis Mayfield, once again:




btw, there is no excuse not to see this if you have cable and have never seen it before....see it this weekend! Here is a clip of Claudine hiding her things (and her man) from the "welfare lady":

Electronic Villager Chatting Over Cocktails Ms Grapevine Quick Cassandra Danielle
Lisa C Chocl8t DP Kreative Talk MarvalusOne Regina LaShonda AJ Sharon
Dee SJP sHaE-sHae songs in the key of life

Old School Music Friday

This week's meme is supposed to be weddings, what you played or would play at yours. I couldn't find one that suited Black Cinema (or at least couldn't think of one), so I chose a song that is ultra sexy. There are 2 versions here; the newer one from the soundtrack of "Love Jones" a reader favorite, and the classic version, that I never get tired of hearing:

Quick -Mrs. Grapevine -Regina -Lisa C-Chocl8t -Kreative Talk-MarvalusOne -LaShonda-aj -Rosemarie -sHaE-sHaE-Electronic Village - Chatting Over Cocktails

Old School Music Friday

Okay, okay. I was avoiding this one cause it's so very cliche, but the meme for this week's Old School Music Friday is 1971. What is one that's limited to Black Cinema soundtracks to do? haha

It is undeniable that this is probably the most well known song from Black Cinema ever, and with massive good reason. It also won an Oscar. All bow down to "Black Moses" (Issac Hayes) as they called him back in the day, and Gordon Parks who directed, one of my heroes.

This is the opening to the film that started it all:




trivia: did you know the bar-kays were also involved in the score? (also featured in one of my faves, "Wattstax")



Quick -Mrs. Grapevine -Regina -Lisa C-Chocl8t -Kreative Talk-MarvalusOne -LaShonda-aj -Rosemarie -sHaE-sHaE-Electronic Village - Chatting Over Cocktails

Old School Music Friday

How can you talk about Black Cinema music and not talk about Curtis Mayfield? It's impossible really, they go together like peanut butter and jelly.

My selection this week is a song from "Superfly", one of my favorite films from the "blackexploitation era" (a term that I am not really big on). I love looking at 70's archives, the fros, the clothes; it's all very interesting to me.

Erykah Badu just used this sample for her song "Master Teacher" from her new CD "Amerykah", which is my favorite cut on that joint by far. All hail the Mayfield....




For a completely different and unusual take on this song, check out black punk(?) band Fishbone's version. I used to see these dudes around LA...they were good guys, but they really let it go it their shows, that's for sure....and that's not a bad thing:

Quick -Mrs. Grapevine -Regina -Lisa C-Chocl8t -Kreative Talk-MarvalusOne -LaShonda-aj -Rosemarie -sHaE-sHaE-Electronic Village - Chatting Over Cocktails

Old School Music Fridays

This song brings up SO many memories for me. It is one of the best songs ever, for one, and from a fantastic soundtrack. As a matter of fact, I loved the soundtrack infinitely more than the movie (a factoid I've learned to keep to myself). Flav used to be it, yes? No one could predict that future, that's for sure.



This is also one of the most memorable opening sequences for a film ever. LMAO at those moves now. Rosie wasn't much of a dancer, was she? I was there when she met Spike, and she is proof positive that a little boobage can go a loooong way.

-Quick
-Mrs. Grapevine
-Marcus LANGFORD
-Regina
-Lisa C
-Chocl8t
-Kreative Talk
-MarvalusOne
-LaShonda
-aj
-Invisible Woman
-Rosemarie
-sHaE-sHaE

Old School Music Fridays

After writing that mess this morning, I need something to put me back in my ordinarily mellow mood.

I know I might be pushing the limit of "old school" with this one....

While reading Regina's blog this morning, she posted a video by the old school group "A Taste Of Honey". You know "boogie oogie oogie"? She stated that the bassist in the duo was Raphael Saadiq's sister. I have known the Tonys for years (they're from my hometown, Oakland), and never knew that. They have a huge family, most of them musically talented...amazing.

Anyway, it got me to thinking about them. And I've been thinking about Ms. Badu ever since her CD came out on Tuesday. This combines them both, with the ultimate homage to "old school hip-hop music". I absolutely adore this song and video in every way (way more than the movie it came from). Please excuse the beginning--it was the only clear embeddable version I could find. Check it.

1. Quick 2. Regina 3. Cassandra 4. Chocl8t 5. MarvalusOne 6. AJ 7. Rosemarie 8. Marcus LANGFORD 9. Lisa C 10. Kreative Talk 11. LaShonda 12. mrsgrapevine 13. sHaE-sHaE

Old School Music Fridays

I am doing an old school music meme with some other bloggers...of course mine will always feature songs from Black Cinema.

First up is a live performance of Bobby Womack (who had definitely seen better days) doing the blackploitation classic "Across 110th Street". His voice is still tight, tho.




Here is a clip from the original movie, for those who think the song was from "Jackie Brown". Can you believe Anthony Quinn was in this? He was about 80 years old beating up every Negro in Harlem....

1. Quick
2. Regina
3. Cassandra
4. Chocl8t
5. MarvalusOne
6. aj
7. Rosemarie
8. Marcus LANGFORD
9. Lisa C
10. Mrs. Grapevine
11. Kreative Talk