The Soundtrack of My Life

the music that keeps me going…

What’s in my earbuds, summer ’11 edition

Hey!

It feels like its been forever since I blogged. I dont even apologize for it. I’ve been living life, enjoying the hell summer and while music is ALWAYS a part of that life–writing about it sometimes just isn’t. I hadn’t even logged into wordpress the entire time. I did miss it, glad to see folks still discovering the site and reading it. No post is too old to comment on, in my opinion. 🙂

But in the month and a half or so hiatus of living “off the wall”  there has been TONS of new music released. TONS. so much that I still haven’t wrapped my good “listening” ears around much of it. but I’m working my way through.

one thing I don’t like to do is rush my tastes because something is hot. I kinda rushed thru Marsha Ambrosius’ CD the last time I did a post like this. I like it a lot more now than I did then, which I figured I would.

so let me first get the obvious out of the way: Beyonce. so, yall know I’m no King B stan–actually I think calling herself King is stupid as hell, but I digs the hell outta “4” like seriously, I haven’t rocked with Bey hard since Dangerously in Love, and I mean that.  She’s had singles here and there on her other projects I liked, but I don’t have a full Beyonce CD on my ipod at all. On first listen “Rather Die Young” and “Countdown” stood out to me, the first for the melody and her vocals, the second just for that catchy ass Boyz II Men sample. Plus her quotables like “all up in my kitchen in my heels, dinner time” and “ooh I think I luh dat boy, do anything fuh dat boy” ahh, the romantic in me  thinks that’s so sweet *sigh* okay moving on. After repeat listens, I definitely feel “I Miss You” those lyrics speak to me, and despite her saying “algeba” I DO like “1+1” as well. Also while it’s 2011’s Irreplaceable, I enjoy “The Best I Never Had.”

“Party” goes hard, but ‘Ye and 3 Stacks dont’ go quite as hard as they couldve–I mean wtf is swagu? I guess. It is a pop song. Just listening again this weekend in the car (you HAVE to test CDs for whip approval) I noticed the throaty efforts on “Start Over” which work for me too. Overall I just think its a good pop album, and I have no problem admitting that it pleases my ears. A lot. I’m such a typical girl for this but I don’t care. lol

^^ face beat, tits sitting high, fierce hair, giving much face! I love Jilly from Philly.

I wanted to post this pic instead of her album cover just because its so damn fly!!!

ok The Light of the Sun is a CD I’m still working thru. I don’t love it yet. But honestly I only loved her first two CDs immediately. Vol. 3 had to grow on me, but baby when it did!?!?!?! LOVE. Jill does no wrong in my eyes so while I’m not in love yet, I love HER, and I’m pleased with her latest offering. Faves include: “So In Love” with Anthony Hamilton, “So Gone”, “Hear My Call”, and “Making You Wait”

I love me some Lloyd.  I consider Street Love to be a hood classic. Year of the Lover was no slump either. I wrote a post awhile back on how consider my boy to be seriously slept on. I didn’t check for Lloyd’s first CD but Street Love is what made me a fan. He is as I say “my favorite nasally yodeler”. “Lay Your Head” is a song I HATED on first listen but damn if that “ole ole oooooleeeee” aint grow on me! I mean, its Lloyd. He  does it for me like The Dream–I often ask myself why I love them so, but then I just resolve not to question it, just vibe to the music. SO I DO!  Now “Cupid” is a song I immediately thought was cutesy and the visuals in the video helped me to enjoy it more. Still need to give this one a few more spins before I identify faves.

Miss Moses, Miss Moses! Yall know this is my grown woman crush and I STANS for Teedra! She’s gorgeous, she’s fly,and she has just a splash of hood that makes her relatable to me. lol Her latest offering is short, but definitely sweet.  I am anxiously awaiting a feature album. “Another Lovr” “Invitation”  ok how about all of it is hot to me. With only 10 songs. not too much extra or fluff, just the chill vibe that Ms. Moses is known for. Check it out for download here.

I’ve also been listening to Ledisi’s Pieces of Me, Jean Grae’s Cookies or Comas, Kendrick Lamar’s Section.80–prior to hearing this I had not listened to any of his music, so I was pleasantly surprised. And older music is always in rotation.

so tell me, what has your summer soundtrack been looking like? If you’ve heard the joints featured in this post–what are your faves? let me know!!! 

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The Fact Is…

…I need you.

so I spend a lot of time reading blogs and now twitter–much to my detriment. lol. I’m easily amused, and therefore just as easily irritated. I like discussions on music (which is why I started this blog), I enjoy pretty girly things like shoes, dresses, purses, and makeup. I’m a Sociologist at heart and by discipline and I love interacting with people, observing people…discussions on relationships are bound to come up, in real life or online. I am aware that perception is not reality, but I’m 100% me on and off the innernets. I recently hit 20K tweets and my good friend (that has known me since childhood) said “motor mouth”to me  and I thought, well duh, because I tweet as much as I talk in real life and…well I was nicknamed Chatterbox at age 4. lol

so anyway back to the song. My aura has been corrupted on what is all wrong with women–you all have read the articles about how black women aint’ ish, we will be single forever, have the net value of $5 and oh yea, all have the herp. I can’t make this stuff up, folks. In addition to the articles are the blogs (I do NOT consider them one in the same), and the commentary.

so on a Wednesday like any other I’m vibing to my iPod, I decided to play my “lovesongs” playlist to spring some inspiration, and Jilly from Philly comes on. Now I had to check the archives and make sure I didn’t write on this before…cuz this is my SONG!  But the lyrics just mean more today. That despite our bad attitudes, and all the other things that men like to point out are “WRONG” with us womenfolk. we still need you…and face it–you need us too! peep the lyrics.

I can pay my own light bill baby
Pump my own gas in my own car
I can buy my own shoe collection
I’ve been blessed thus far
I can kill the spider above my bed
Although it’s hard because I’m scared
I can even stain and polyurethane
But some things just don’t change
I need you yeah
Sometimes so hard to say oh
I need you
Some things remain
I could buy my own groceries baby
Get my hair tight, my nails right
I can floss my own bling bling
Write the words to the songs I sing
I can even raise the child we’ll make
Make sure he’s loved and knows what God gave us
I can teach him how to walk and stand
But he needs you to help him be a man
We need you
So hard to say
We need you
Some things don’t change
I could be congresswoman
Or a garbage woman or
Police officer, or a carpenter
I could be a doctor and a lawyer and a mother and a good girl
God what you’ve done to me
Kind of lover I could be
I could be a computer analyst, the Queen with the nappy hair raising her fist
Or I could be much more and a myriad of this
Hot as the summer, sweet as the first kiss
And even though I can do all these things
I need you
And even though I can do all these things
We need you
We need you
We need you
And even though I can do all these things by my damn self
I need you
I do, I do, I do, I do
And even though I can do all these things
I need you
We need you
We do
We need you yeah
We need you

Sometimes I wish men would stop knocking us for our inconsistencies, and our “problems” and realize that we  DO need them–so they should act like the honorable men that women would want to need. #thatisall

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what’s in my head/on my heart…

not gonna do a lot of talking/explaining/breakout down lyrics today but these are a couple songs that are on my heart on this very day.

just a random thought of how I’ve been feeling lately. If there were a such thing as a conscious stream of thought via music/lyrics, this would be it 🙂

Algebra : U do it for me, simply because, he does.

Jill Scott: The Real Thing

Eric Roberson: The Hunger

Lauryn Hill: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill–I’ve had this song on repeat for the past 15 minutes and its ministering to me. every.single.word. AMEN.

just wanted to share today’s soundtrack.

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