Music Monday – Grammy’s 2010

Of course, Music Monday is dedicated to last night’s Grammy’s. Since this is not a news/gossip entertainment blog, I’m not going to recap all of the night’s highlights. There are a few events of the evening that stuck out to me for various reasons.

 The decision to have Lady Gaga kick off the night was a great one. As many predicted her costume was,  ummmm…distinctive.  My kids and I were hoping she’d perform ‘Paparazzi’ but were satisfied with ‘Poker Face’.   It was a nice surprise to see Seaweed [from Hairspray the Movie] as a part of her performance though I didn’t really get his purpose. Wait a minute, I tried to actually understand something during a Gaga performance. *smh* My bad.  The Worst Seat of the Night award goes to whom was sitting behind her.

 Black Eyed Peas… Umph… Never mind.  

Another divalicious performance of the night was Beyonce’s number. Honestly, I expected a bit more. The song selection, of “If I Were a Boy” with her version of Alanis Morrisette’s  “You Oughta Know” was more torturous than entertaining. I kept anticipating the beat of “Single Ladies” blending in so Ms. Fierce could give us what we really wanted! I was disappointed. It was confirmed that I wasn’t the only one bored with her set when I noticed more comments/tweets about her hair ‘enhancements’ than her performance.  And what was up with the soldier backup dancers?

The best tweet I saw about them came from my homie, Kelly: “The s1w’s and Stormtroopers had babies and they grew up to be Beyonce’s dancers.”

 There must have been a war theme going on because Jamie Foxx came out wearing what looked like a Civil War uniform with matching knee boots (Sidebar: Dudes in really tall boots make my eyebrow raise.) Perhaps he’s expressing his interest in a sequel to the movie Glory. T-Pain took the stage looking like he took grooming tips from Rick Ross. Though I didn’t understand his connection to the song Doug E. Fresh was a pleasant surprise. Ditto for Slash from Guns ‘N Roses. For a split second I thought Gabbie from the Precious came out to dance but it wasn’t her. And I’ll just leave it at that.  Beside those things I actually enjoyed this part of the show because it livened the night back up.

 I won’t front the MJ tribute brought tears to my eyes. “Michael just wanted to heal the world. Mike ain’t wanna hurt nobodyyyyy!” is what ran through my head then came the sniffles. *clears my throat*

 Take goodness to Ms. Roberta Flack for stepping in to intercept Maxwell’s squealing. I love ya Maxwell, really I do, but those pretty wings were broken last night.  Max and Roberta’s duet was pleasantly melodic. She seemed to gaze off like she didn’t know where she was a few times but she sang beautifully.

I would comment on the Drake, Lil Wayne, Eminem performance but it was so edited that only about 4 bars of it could actually be heard.

 Best performance of the night goes to Pink: 

Ok, the trapeze thing is way played out now but she still smashed it! Bravo

 Click here for an official list of all the winners and nominees. 

Here’s Special K’s unofficial list of Celebrities That Couldn’t Get Into The Grammy’s:

K-Ci and Jo Jo
Montel Jordan
Ms. Jay from America’s Next Top Model
T-Boz and Chili
Kelly and Michelle of Destiny’s Child

Honorable Mentions:
Blu Cantrell
Beanie Seagel
Sunshine Anderson
The Eastside Boys (-Lil Jon)
Junior Mafia
Mr Cheeks.

I was elated to see this person actually was granted access:

 lol See ya!

Music Monday – Purple Pain

Music Monday is decided to Prince and his atrocious anthem for the Minnesota Vikings. The Purple Wonder created a song so horrible that even Vikings fans cussed him out. Hear for yourself:

When I heard the song for the first time my immediate thought, after WTF?, was “Oh yeah, they are going to lose. Thank you Prince!” (my hubby can vouch for this) Yep, I thought that song was such disaster that it would jinx the Vikings and the Saints (my team) would win. Haha I proclaimed to a few others that the song would jinx the Vikings and even posted it on my Facebook profile. To the surprise of many the Saints won and are headed to the SuperBowl for the first time in their franchise history. Was it because The Saints are a great team? Was it because The Vikings made too many careless mistakes? IMO both are true but a tiny piece of the puzzle could also be the Vikings thoughts of Prince’s “Purple and Gold” airplay being prolonged if they won another game and they’d rather lose than hear it again. ha Don’t get me wrong; I like Prince but now I know what it sounds like when doves cry… no wail in agony!

The only thing left to say is: WHO DAT?!

Team CoCo

The good ol’ days!

I remember being in my late teens/early 20’s and laughing at the awkward comedic genius of a lanky, pale, red-headed guy that came after all the “whitebread late-night talk shows” went off.  His intro alone was entertaining. (If your are unfamiliar the routine was to do a jump, a James Brown spin and sometime top it off with the patented “String Dance” with his hips. lol Yes, it’s as funny as it sounds)  The outrageous characters like the Pimp-bot, the Masturbating Bear and Triumph the Insult Dog made my jawdrop.  I’d instantly burst with laughter when Conan would interview various high profile celebrities via teletron, which were actually photos with mouth area strategically removed and replaced it with a staff member’s lips.  Oh and who could forget “In the year two-thou-sooooond”, (In the year 2000) a skit of humorous predictions for the year 2000 that was so popular that it continued long after we welcomed the new millennium.

 

Being a Conan fan, I was crazy happy for his big move to from Late Night to the Tonight Show. I thought “My boy Conan is finally going to get his props!” At the time was a little sad to see Jay Leno ‘retire’ because I honestly liked Jay’s monologues and the “Headlines” skit every Monday. BUT I was more of a Conan fan so I happily waved goodbye to Jay. I’ll be honest; I did notice a change in Conan after the move to the Tonight Show. His material was more tame (not in a good way) and it seemed that he was restricted from being the goofy geek that I was used to. I chalked it up to him trying to appeal to that “whitebread crowd” that faithfully watch the Tonight Show and I continued to keep tuning in. Apparently, I was the only one because NBC tried to give Conan the shaft because of low ratings and here I am preparing to watch the last episode of the Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien.

 

The whole situation sucks but I’m glad Conan and his staff was hit off with a healthy settlement. It’s really messed up when you think about the move from N.Y.C. to L.A. that Conan, his family, his staff and their families made in order to be a part of the Tonight Show legacy!  The big wigs at NBC and Jay Leno should be ashamed (I will not be watching his show anymore) and my boy Jimmy Fallon better watch his back!

 Well let me get comfy so I can give “Coco” my full attention. Ha

 Oh last but not least Rest In Peace to Apache and Mr. Teddy Pendergrass.  

Music Monday – Audiogalaxy

Hello world! And by world I mean the two people that actually read this blog. lol I had every intention on filling in the blank between these two Music Monday entries but that didn’t happen.

 Anyway, MY version of Music Mondays can be about anything music related not just my favorite artists or songs. I dedicate this week’s Music Monday to something I held near and dear to my heart, the music sharing site, Audiogalaxy.  

 

From afar I saw the rise and fall of [free] Napster in the late 90’s. That didn’t affect me much because I was one of the cool nerds that knew early, Audiogalaxy made Napster look like an 8-track jukebox. With the easy to navigate site and extensive genre categories it was a snap to find music you were searching for and discover new music based on your steez. My PC was loaded with some Hip Hop classics, Baltimore Club Music mixes, and rare House music remixes that I still haven’t been able to find online since! (This was long before iPods and other MP3 players.)

 As with anything that’s too good, there were some repercussions for my over usage. The hundreds of songs lead to my computer getting a vicious virus, which caused it to totally freeze immediately it was booted. It was so bad that I couldn’t even get to Windows’ desktop. Nothing a call to my favorite computer repair crew couldn’t fix. Umph! After having the PC wiped clean and back in business, the normal person would have left Audiogalaxy alone. Not I. Armed with the latest virus protection I went back to Audiogalaxy to rebuild my collection. Everyday I notice more and songs were ‘blocked’ or not searchable. Eventually Audiogalaxy was taken down by “tha man” (to my surprise Wikipedia says Rhapsody is the reincarnate of Audiogalaxy). Anyway, I was forced to dapple in Kazaa, and Limewire, which were cool because there were videos, but I never clung to them as I did Audiogalaxy.  According to the new Audiogalaxy site it’s supposed to be re-launching this year but I’m sure it will fail in comparison to the first one.

 *pouring out a little liquor for the original AG*

I’ll end this Music Monday entry off on my new favorite slow jam, from B-more’s own, Paula Campbell featuring Ne-Yo (yes, NE YO!)

“Denial” (remix) – Paula Campbell featuring NeYo
http://usershare.net/2lxbc0d90gub

Yes you can download…I mean sample it free at that link. *shh!*

Also check out the interview/article I did on Ms. Paula back in 2004. (Wow. Time flies!)
 http://www.citypaper.com/special/story.asp?id=8601

Peace!

 

Music Monday – A Lovely Sade

HAPPY 2010!

Don’t you just love the prospect of a new year and new beginnings. Yes it’s a new year but much like the last previous year(s) I’m already crazy busy. Today I’d planned to kick off the start of 2010 with what I’ve cleverly coined “Music Monday”. What better way than to kick off the week than with favorite music? However during my 10 hour job shift I was slammed with post-holiday flood of work then it was immediately off to dinner with relatives that stopped in town. Upon getting home and getting settled I noticed that Monday is over! Well there are still 3 ½ hours of Monday left on the Westcoast so I guess I could stick to my original plan. Or maybe I’ll just kick off the year with “Tuesday Tunes”… Errr, never mind.

Since this BAND is releasing a long awaited new album this year I’ll dedicate this Music Monday to SADE!

No, that wasn’t a typo (for once), Sade is actually a band made up of the Sade Adu, Stuart Matthewman, Paul Denman and Andrew Hale. The facts about Sade can be Googled so in this dedication I’ll include my favorite Sade videos:

^This is a cut from my very favorite Sade album, Love Deluxe. Beautiful song, beautifully sensual yet simple video. 

^Not my favorite Sade song but the video is captivating. Handle your business, mama!

^This is from the era when the world fell in love with Sade.

^Many of Sade’s best cuts werent huge hits. Umph The bassline in this song is sick! I already loved this track but I really love this concert video (from Love Deluxe tour in1993) because it shows the band jammin’ and having fun but they still sound fantastic. There weren’t in stops in Baltimore then but I did attend the Lover’s Live tour when it came to town in 2001. Amazing show!

Sade’s latest album is scheduled to drop this February. To check out the first single visit www.sade.com , of course!

Whats old is new again

One of the quirky things that I do is collect fortune cookie fortunes. Today at work my department ordered lunch from our favorite Chinese joint. As usual I cracked off half of the cookie to pull the fortune out, in preparation to finish it then read my ‘destiny’. For the first time I noticed that my cookie had more than one fortune. Not two but three fortunes were stuck together in there. I thought it was so cool that before I even ate the other half or read the fortunes I grabbed my phone to take a picture (Yes, I’m a dork).

Anyway, all three fortunes read: ” You will be singled out for promotion. “ 

Intially, I had some mixed emotions  about my fortune(s). I’m thankful to be employed  and all but I’m not so sure this gig is THE one. Yes, I was ready to drop kick a former project partner  for not holding up her end of the workload but it was more about the principle than the actual job.  On the other hand, a promotion would get a very warm welcome from my bank account. Hmmm… Ok, let me slow my roll. I can’t go planning shopping sprees based on  seven words shoved into a  tasteless cookies… Or can I? ha

We are coming to the end of the end/decade and like every prior year most people do a recap of all the significant events of the past 365 days. The biggest headlines of this year, the US having a Black president and the death of Michael Jackson, still leave me speechless so I’m not even going to try to recap. I’ll save that for every other form of media to do that. In my own little world I witnessed many tears and many smiles with the death of my father-in-law and the birth of my youngest child. Instead of the long sentimental/humorous memories of the year I’m going to post the stuff that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this past week. Ironically, some of my recent favorite things just prove the saying: what’s old is new again…

Biz Markie’s Radio Shack/Nikon commercial

My 2 year old jumped up and yelled “OH SNAP! Guess what I saw!” every single time this commercial came on. Hip Hop lover allready!

In 2009 I never though I’d say “that new Snoop song is my sh!t!” but I have!

Only Snoop could take an amped up song like It Takes Two, slow it down and make it fit like glove. The video is fiyah (the dance crews are excellent for keeping the kids’ attention) but all the poppin’ and jerkin’ is an optional form of entertainment because the cut is crazy smooth. Go ‘head Snoop. show them youngins how it’s done!

Chasing magic mushrooms,  pouncing on turtleshelled dragons and searching for portals to secret worlds was how I spent countless hours back in 1986 but this is also how I spent hours of this past weekend. Over the years I’ve played sequels that tried to capture the fun of the first but finally I can say Super Mario Bros is BACK:

Gen Xer’s will appreciate the many features from the orginial Mario Bros but our kids are entertained but the crazy antics and excitement of the new obstacles. I will admit that 2 player mode will make you want to hurt somebody if your partner is wack but its still fun. [Sidebar: Wii Resort is a winner too. I have a twinge in my shoulder as a result of ninja style swordfight fighting but instead of taking a break I just switched my fighting stance. Yeah it's that's addictive. You have been warned!]

Welp, this will more than likely be my last entry of the year. I want to wish you all a safe and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Not the Same

Hey there e’rybody!

 Usually I’m in Jersey this time of year but because of a few unpredicted events, that tradition had to be broken. That’s life, huh?

My Facebook status from yesterday: Let’s skip tomorrow and go straight to Charlie Brown Christmas specials, cranberry sauce and the Temptations singing “Silent Night”.

I won’t be a total Thanksgiving Scrooge. Today is a day for giving thanks and I have a lot to be thankful for but I’m going to shoutout the little overlooked things in life.

 I am thankful for…

…the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade for making me remember past Thanksgivings when I would watch it from my grandmother’s house. As I speak, my oldest children are sitting on the floor ooooing and ahhhing over the floats and performances.

…those little “rubber-finger-condom-thingies” that keep you from getting paper cuts.
Currently, I’m handling a lot of paper on a daily basis and without that wonderful invention my fingers would look like I shook hands with Freddy Kruger. 

…online access via my cell phone. Remember the world before cell phones OR the Internet?! That’s back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, right?

…Breyer’s Mint Chocolate Chip 

well, Breyer’s in general. Ditto for Hershey’s. Yes, my mid-section and thighs are cursing you but my tongue is eternally grateful.

…household cleaning products. Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, Shout, Swiffer, Orange Glo and all other domestic blessings.

…every shoe company that makes cute shoes in wide widths. My feet really < heart > you.

…DVR. 

 

 

Recording something on t.v. without fumbling with bulky VHS tapes or praying the VCR works properly is on of those small blessings I really like. It’s a trip because I’m so addicted to rewinding stuff that one time I was listening to the radio in the car and I thought “What did he say? Let me rewind that…” haha

 

…WordPress and all other blogger host sites that give us the freedom to talk about everything and nothing!

 

[Sidebar: Much love to Blogs By Black Women !!! They have added this blog to their network. THANKS! ]

 

Welp, I just rocked out with the kiddies to the Yo Gabba Gabba and Jim Fallon w/ the Roots songs during the parade. *whew * Since I’m not feeling that festive and I have to work tomorrow, I’m going to get ready to go shopping in an hour or so. Yep, I’m making it a Black Thursday. ha! Anyway…

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Me, Myself and I

This morning I woke up to my new favorite channel, Centric.  They were playing the Hip Hop classic “Me, Myself and I” by De La Soul. During this time in Hip Hop I loved De La, actually the whole Native Tongue Posse (De La, A Tribe Called Quest, Queen Latifah, Monie Love, The Jungle Brothers, Prince Paul…) As I looked at the video for the first time I realized how ‘crazy’ those dudes looked. Their clothes, their hair…Wow. I had to chuckle to myself because I realized I looked JUST like them at that time. Crazy. What was I thinking?! Well, actually I was thinking “This is me and I don’t have to do the norm because I’m ME, damn it! ”  Going against the grain has never been something I’ve had a problem with. I will admit that it’s not always easy to be yourself. Unusual things often scare and/or confuse folks. But even at the height of my weirdness I had homegirls and boyfriends that accepted me for me. Even back then I figured out that most of the time opinions from random people don’t matter.  If the loved ones in your corner are digging you, why care about what “John Q Public” has to say?  I’m not saying as long as you have people that like you it’s cool to act a-natural-ass-fool to everybody else. Haha I’m just saying that there are times when you have to unplug from the Matrix and walk your own walk.

Currently, I’m working on professional projects that requires me breaking away from the white-bread world that I’m experienced in. Honestly, I think I’m a little crazy for taking such gambles but I also know that I wasn’t on the path that I belong on. It takes a lot of strength to be yourself and  follow your dreams. I’d rather face those fears than to drown in a sea “What if”.  

 This entry goes to the whole Native Tongue Posse and everyone else that has the courage to jump out of the box.

De La Soul – Me, Myself and I (performed on the Arsenio Hall Show)

Jungle Brothers – Doin’ Our Own Thang (Remix)

De La Soul – Buddy

Queen Latifah feat. Monie Love – Ladies First


A Tribe Called Quest – Award Tour

Wasted

Last night while watching Jim Fallon I saw this jaw dropping clip of a warehouse fork lifter operator hard at work:

Damn, damn, DAMN! The shelves that came tumbling down were stocked with over $250,000 of Russian vodka. Hmmm…a forklift DUI, maybe?

 

This reminded me of another wildly popular clip that involves shelves and liquor.

 Blame it on the Budweiser? Ok, this dude may have been on a bit more than an alcohol influence. I have so many questions about this one. 1) How did he get from his house? Lawd please don’t tell me he drove! 2) Why is he acting like his head weights a ton? I’ve seen people’s bodies do strange things while fucked up but I’ve never seen anyone act as if their head was an Olympic medicine ball.  3) What circus does he belong to? In a few scenes his back bends are so gravity defying that I thought I was watching a magic show.

 

While I’m on the subject there was no way I could forget the KING of all liquor store related clips:

  …Originally I saw this clip a few years ago without a soundtrack and I literally had to make myself stop replaying it because I got a headache from laughing so hard. The incidents of the video plus the genius of adding Akon’s “Locked Up” caused me to laugh ‘til I was in pain all over again. 

 

Lastly in lic’a related news my favorite drinking buddy and best friend of twenty years is moving out-of-state this weekend. Our farewell festivities took place on Halloween night. All I’ll say is we went to two parties but the very best costumes can still be found walking down the street in Fells Point, the very best drink of the night was my own mix of fruit punch, lemon Ketel One and Paul Masson brandy, and the very best girlfriend I have is Stacey! Since we were in full-on party mode over the weekend it didn’t sink in that my main homeslice won’t be living 7 minutes away from me anymore. I miss her already! Ok, now I need a dranky-drink. *pout*

 

Ciao folks

How you REALLY FEEL

Up until a few minutes ago I didn’t know what this blog entry would be about. Earlier this evening, I came across a messageboard post about someone that felt unsure about their relationship. They basically knew what they wanted to tell their mate but instead of being honest they just let the relationship drag like a soggy diaper. After reading, I wondered what kept them from going with how they REALLY FEEL about their mate. At my day job, the department head decided to create a Suggestion Box for our department to drop anonymous thoughts in to ‘make the office run more smoothly’. Apparently, there is some tension going on amongst co-workers that I’m basically clueless about because my head is usually in the clouds while at work.  Anyway, various passive-aggressive notes were read out loud during the staff meeting and they seemed to be directed at particular people/situations. After the confused thoughts escaped my mind, I wondered why  the authors of these notes don’t say how they REALLY FEEL?  Just a few moments ago, I uploaded a picture that I took while at Morgan State’s Homecoming Parade:

Ok, this sister is telling Senator McFadden how she REALLY FEELS, huh? 

Now I do believe that everyone should be treated with deserved respect and it’s not cool to purposely hurt someone’s feeling but sometimes a lot of stress and drama can be eliminated by telling someone how you REALLY FEEL. In some cases the advice you give may benefit someone or at least make them think about the situation from another perspective.

 You all know my blog enties are all over the place and don’t have to stick to one topic so I’m going to close this out with fun non-related stuff simply because I FEEL like it!  

My mother is my bargain-hunting buddy and we recently went to a popular store that’s known for low prices. While browsing the aisles of this discount store, I came across a piece of framed art that would match really well with my dining room. The colors scheme was perfect and at first glance the message was sweet. At FIRST glance.  I picked it up for a closer look then read the print again…
 Wait a damn minute; “family” only has one ‘i’ !   Ok, I’ll overlook a scratch or something but I can NOT knowingly purchase some shit that has “Faimily” on it.   As I shook my head and placed the artwork back I wondered how many people bought one without taking a good look and how the item made it to the shelves in the first place!  Even for a discount chain that’s a no-no. As the saying goes, you get what you pay for.

 

 Sidebar: Please don’t think  that I go around looking for mistakes in print. I’m a typo queen so I would have some nerve purposely looking for other’s errors. All of these are things that happen in my everyday life and I just happen to have a camera ready.  

 This video was brought to my attention by my homie, Jahli. (Hey OOWE sista!) Initially, this little chick made me laugh but by the end of the video she made me get up and want to whine it out!

 

*bow*