Monday Madness...

"Turn the lights down low, something you gotta see.  Gotta let you know, all that's here in me..."  W/As My Girl - Maxwell

4 more days until divine happiness.

My American peoples, please do not forget to register to vote.  Your day - November 4th,  is coming right around the corner.  Here is an extra little helping hand if you have not registered as yet.  For my Canadian peoples, our election is any day now - October 14th and I ask the same of you.  Please make sure you are registered to vote.  Even though I am here in NYC, I still made sure that my vote counts.  Here is your helping hand.  My peoples, let's get to it.

Without further adieu, here is Monday Madness - the news that made me cuss, cringe or shake my head.  And oh dear lord, there was soooo much to choose from!:

1) The slaughter-ation of the James Bond Theme: Another case of "if you have nothing good to say, don't say it at all."  I relay that message to Noel Gallagher from Oasis.  He called Miss Alicia Keys and her partner Jack White just another and I quote "bunch of fucking americans" in relation to their song "Another Way To Die" for the James Bond soundtrack.  Jealousy is certainly a sin.  Now, Noel can shut it as far as I am concerned, however the song is, as my man Darius Lovehall said  - a masterpiece of minimalism.  Check it out for yourself.

2) Ohhh Joe: I was so disheartened when I read this on Soulbounce, I had to mention it here. Would you believe that Joe Thomas aka R&B crooner Joe, is that daft?  Joe's reasoning for not voting come November 4th was that, "...Obama will win hands down..."therefore he does not need to vote.  WTF?  Well this is a message to all of you who feel the same way, if you do not vote, do not complain when your country is sent into a spiraling abyss by the help of Bushinator 2 and his sidekick MC Palin with mic in hand giving SHOUT OUTS everywhere.  You can listen to the whole interview on the Tom Joyner show here. (blackandmarriedwithkids.com)

3) Song regurgitation: I have not taken a listen to JHud's album as yet, and I can't honestly say what I am waiting for.  I have read reviews, however I always like to have my own opinion.  Reading through a few blogs, I happened to fall on this one and yes, it made me shake my head.  I know that songs are passed around in the industry, that is just how it is.  Even so, I believe that Jennifer Hudson, being the diva that she has the potential to be, could have nixed this song all together and come up with something else.  I mean going to Alicia Keys for advice is WAY different than going to, let's say,  Patti Labelle.  And I say this especially because T-Pain in de arse is concerned.  Apparently, he just laid his tracks and sent it out with no thought in mind.  So the toss up is between Sara Stokes and Jennifer Hudson, both ex-American Idol alums.  Ohhh the fickle music industry and it's pets...I mean artists. Read and listen here. (milk-mag.com)

4) Now the farm animals are going nuts: I just couldn't believe this when I read it.  It is very serious, yet at the same time I cannot stop hyperventilating from my snorking.  What is wrong with people?  A 32 year old woman was sentenced to a month in jail for blocking traffic, screaming at police and chasing kids - while wearing...are you ready?  A cow costume.  Yes, a cow costume.  Apparently she had alcohol on her breath and was slurring.  I hope she gets the help she needs, perhaps with AA.  I don't even know what else to say, because I am still shaking my head.  PRECIOUS.

5) I think I saved the best for last: Now I am not the biggest Puff Daddy fan, but you have to respect what he has done with himself over the years.  Dids has a youtube channel and he posted the most hilarious video about his thoughts on Sarah Palin and her stuttering interview with Katie Couric.  Seriously, Sarah can't even name The New York Times, The Boston Herald or The Los Angeles Times?  Hell and those are right off the top of my head!  And I am Canadian!!  Maybe it's the Alaskan air...Any who, check out Diddy's 2 cents, I thought it was wicked.

Flashback of the day: I am still in a hip hop mood, I have been killing vintage tunes in Tangie all week.  You know, I think I already played this track, but who cares!   I absolutely loved this track back in the day, and I still do.  Feel it and listen to it...

See y'all soon...

Tha Connoisseur 

The Key To Longevity...

"Let's get physical, physical..."  Olivia Newton-John – Physical

Yes, I went for the cheese today.  I know some of you are wondering if I have gone off my rocker with the choice of quote.  But no, I haven't.  I just wanted to use it for the double entendre that it was when the song was originally released.  As cheesy as the song was, we were still jamming to it–DON'T LIE!

There is a method to my madness though, I wanted to touch on a topic close to my heart.  As we all know, Sunday April 20th would have been Luther Vandross' 57th birthday.  Luther was a man that we could never forget.  There is not one Luther song that can play on the radio, without you displaying a bevy of emotions.  From sadness, to jubilation, to a great big smile on your face–Luther is love.  From "A Brand New Day (Everybody Rejoice)", "Superstar", "Love The One You're With" or "Never Too Much", Luther knew what he wanted to convey with his music and he did just that.  He was the type of singer who touched everyone with his songs, incredible stage shows and talent.  Luther was not a man of mediocrity, he always took a song, even cover songs, and made them all his own.  I never got the chance to see Mr. Vandross in concert in all of his glory and that is something I will obviously never get over.  There will be an album of the week to come soon by Luther, no doubt.  But today I have brought Luther Vandross forth because of the disease that took him away.

Diabetes is a disease that is a deadly killer in all communities, but quite prevalent in the Black population. With diabetes being one of the most serious health issues raging through the black community, it is only fitting that we take a minute to reflect.  We all know and can attest to some of our stubborn family members who are as "healthy as a horse"... you know who I am talking about.  The ones who claim, "I'm fine, it's nothing!" when something starts to go askew and they refuse to go and get the ailment checked.  I think that now we, the children who are now the adults, are in the position to put our foot down and tell them about themselves.  We are now at the age where we are unfortunately going to start seeing our favorite aunts and uncles,  and our mothers and fathers leave us and move on to greener pastures above.  There are ways for us to keep them around for longer periods of time.  We should enforce the fact that nutrition is a big factor in longevity.  You are what you eat.  Exercise is essential and I don't mean running a treadmill everyday.  But taking a 20 minute walk to the park, the store or wherever makes so much of a difference.  And we have to make them see, that seeing a doctor when something is wrong is not the end of the world.  Hell I hate doctors too, but if an ailment needs to be taken care of–so be it.

I have watched my Dad take insulin from since I can remember, I have seen my Dad go into a diabetic coma and I have also watched my Dad succumb to cancer and diabetes.  This is all the while watching other family members who have recently passed away from diabetes or have had amputations.  All of the mentioned instances are all more of an incentive for me to take care of myself and those around me.  I watch what I put into my system, I exercise and try to do best by my body.  I also plan to have kids and do not want them to be exposed to this disease, even though it is in my genes.  However, I am too much of a stubborn mule to have this disease get the best of me.  We all have the power to do what we have to do to keep ourselves in check and to keep our loved ones closer for a time to come.  So in terms of getting physical, get on it!!  It can be sports and yes, it can mean sex as Miss Olivia meant...do you know how many calories you can burn?  Good lord!!!  Remember y'all, our bodies are our temples.

On a more musical note, here are a few videos that are milling around the net that I thought you would enjoy if you haven't seem them already.

Alicia Keys' "Teenage Love Affair" - Alicia's homage to School Daze is well done!  And if you don't know you better ask somebody!!  It's one of Spike Lee's best movies!  Check it out:

Ledisi's "In The Morning": Sexy soul music at its best.

And I know this one is EXTREMELY late, but it's a gem nonetheless.  Here's Jimmy Sommers featuring Vikter Duplaix "If I Knew":

And the flashback of the day is of course, vintage Luther...enjoy!

We miss you Luther...

In NYC Podcast coming tomorrow!

See y'all soon...

Tha Connoisseur 

Monday Madness...

"Well all I need is the air I breathe and a place to rest my head..."  One Republic - Say (All I Need)

This quote resonates so much with me today.  Last night your girl was in the middle of madness when a fire broke out in my building.  I have gone through alarms and what not, but when it really happens you really have to spring into action and hope and pray for the best.  My Aunt and I by the grace of God, got out safely with a little smoke inhalation on my part.  There is a lot of damage and the inside of the building looks like it was dipped in a soot glaze.  It is a hot mess out there.  However I give thanks that everyone got out safely, no one was hurt and we all have another day to give thanks for.

So it is kind of ironic that I am launching my new theme today entitled, "Monday Madness."  It's a collection of things that I either heard or came across during the week or weekend, that I did not get to mention.  So here are the top 5 things that made me 1) shake my head in disgust 2) curse my MacBook while I was reading the story or 3) think are just weird, dumb or stupid!

1) R Kelly's gold Hair:

I think the picture says it all really...I mean seriously??

2) Internet Beating Movies:  If you have not heard about the beatings lately that have taken place, you must be oblivious to everything around you.  Or you just don't want to hear it.  The most disgusting thing about this is that there is more than one instance and they are not the first.  This is an ongoing occurrence from since last year, however these cases are recent.  There was one where a teacher was beaten by one of her students in her CLASS while everyone just looked on.  And the thought of one student, instead of going to get help, was to pull out their camera phone and tape the whole damn thing.  The other was of 8 teens who beat the crap out of a 16 year old girl who was talking smack about them on her MySpace page.  Another set who decided to tape the beat down and post it on the net.  What the hell is going on??  And I may get in trouble with some of y'all out there, but these kids need a good WHUPPIN' man, SERIOUSLY.

3) Kobe Bryant jumping over an Aston Martin:  As cool as this may look, I think it is the most stupid act on his part - ad for new shoes or not.  You know what I have to say about this, real or not?  DUMBASSIDRIE. Dude is a mulit million sports figure, his body is his bread and butter.  If he would have landed differently, his ass would have been on the unemployment line and he would be saying bye bye bye to the NBA.  "I got this..." my ass!  Think before you do Kobe!

4) Alicia Keys' stance on gansta rap in Blender magazine:  Somethin' ain't right, but oh boy this is a doozie.  I am hoping and praying to the great music gods up above that Miss Alicia is not going on a paranoid militant rant. Her perspective is, "It was a ploy to convince black people to kill each other and Gangsta Rap didn't exsist."  Oh my my. We know she is an intelligent and talented black woman, but whoa there now. Nonetheless, everyone is entitled to their perspective whether we agree with it or not. You will have to buy the magazine to read the whole article, but there is a clip of it on Blender magazine's website.

And lastly...

5) Mariah Carey on the cover of Jet Magazine:  Everyone already knows how I feel about Mariah's new album E=MC2.  The songs that have been released and leaked for our torturous pleasure have been enough to make me want to staple my ears to my head.  And to make things worse, she comes out on Jet magazine with this:

I know she didn't exactly write that subtitle but...SAYWHAAAT??!!  Staying true to her music?!  Please do not get me started!!!  I am just going to leave that alone and stop right there.

Flashback of the day y'all:

I'm in a sentimental mood and I love this song.  After all the mess I just wrote about, we need a cool vibe to bring us back to sanity.  Here is Mr. Biggs at his best.  It's not a video for the song, but it does the trick.

 

Before I forget, my partner in crime Danalee was on vacation - hence no podcast.  I PROMISE we will have one for you soon!

See y'all soon...

Tha Connoisseur