||baby it's cold outside||

because, really it is...

||in a sentimental mood||

a friend introduced me to mr. ellington and mr. coltrane a few years back. oh how sweet it is...enjoy your weekend!

In A Sentimental Mood: Duke Ellington, John Coltrane
Uploaded by MoonSymphonie

||that's what friends are for||

bein' a few thousand miles away from you home; even if it is your "home away from home", sometimes you can't help but feel lil out of place. thought i'd send a special shout out for those small things in life that mean the most...

||soul 4 real - leavin'||

||maxwell - this woman's work||

you grow up with 4 older sisters and you live out the generation gap on a daily basis. i reminisce of moments where i was introduced to a different slice of life. this was just 1 of many tracks they opened my ears to; and for that i'm thankful...

||smokey robinson||

after a long week of work i was faced with the challenge of keeping this blog "fresh". i failed miserably. however, while sitting in front of my computer one evening i thought to myself, "how does one find solace after a long work week?" during a very quiet and calm ride home i found myself humming a very classy tune and from that i came to this conclusion...

||subway & 702 - this lil game we play||

it's been sometime but i'm glad i'm back. here's one for the relatively younger ol'skool.

702 - steelo
702 - where my girls at
702 - get it together
subway - fire

||swv - weak||

swv - right here
swv - you're the one
swv - anything

||an r&b birthday request||

a close friend sent me a special request asking me to dig the crates for an apparently special song. now, i don't normally do this but i guess r&b is r&b. so, this goes out to my buddy's bff'a...which apparently is a new form of "best friend" which has special criteria that needs to be met...without further ado...

||let's pause for a moment||

so i've lagged a bit with my posts and i can honestly say i'm a bit disappointed with myself to say the least. however, thinking back these past few weeks i'll be the first to admit that life's been rather bland. i realize my last post was on 2 october but i haven't really been puttin' down much content in my posts. with that in mind i thought i'd take a moment and really put some thought down on paper; i guess it'd be more like "on screen".

my initial intention for this blog was for it to be a repository for r&b tracks from days gone by. with all the new music comin' out i've been a bit torn between posting golden oldies and the latest bangers. after taking some time internalizing my dilemma i've found myself back at my point of origin. after all, these new tracks will most likely be blogged about years down the road as "old skool", at which time they've earned their worth to be blogged about. for now, i'm more interested in diggin' for those melodies that you hear in the back of your mind, that remind you of that day when it happened with that someone; that song you remember but can't seem to name; those lyrics you repeat over and over again tryin' to remember how the music went.

enough with the script, let's get to the music...

al b. sure! - night and day
roberta flack & donny hathaway - the closer i get to you
el debarge - another chance
portrait - how deep is your love
fourplay ft. chaka khan - between the sheets
tamia - who do you tell
stevie wonder - i love every little thing about you
zapp & roger - it's gonna be alright
shalamar - the second time around
earth, wind and fire - can't hide love

||usher - trading places||

||new r&b - sep 29/08||

tank - i can't be with you
marques houston - wonderful (remix)
ashanti - all that i need
teddy bishop - i gotcha girl
unknown - calendar pages
tiffany villarreal - almost naked
teddy riley ft. men of vizion - she was sleeping

||rachelle ferrell - i can explain||

with a voice like that; there's really nothing for her to explain...

||soul 4 real - ain't no sunshine||

snippet of a classic bill withers track sung by a talented group of brothers...whatever happend to soul, for real?

||bikes 'n bubbles||

bikes 'n bubblesOriginally uploaded by Guillaume Kayacan

caught my eye and couldn't help but post it. gotta love that vw in the background. great comp and check them kicks...

||3rd annual livestock block party||

so, i finally got my pics uploaded. it took some time but it's done, and that's what counts. enjoy!

||joe thomas - new man||

Official Joe Thomas Playlist

||boyz II men - never go away||

so as my evening draws to a close i find time to rummage through some old favorite clips and, having so much respect for live vocals, i thought i'd close the evening with it...

||alicia keys - tender love||

as a special request from a special individual, it is my pleasure to present my viewers with a very special rendition of a very classic slow jam r&b track done by a very special artist...with out further ado

||lupe fiasco w/ pharrell, q-tip & sarah green - paris, tokyo (remix)||

as the sun shines outside i'm stuck at my desk wondering what it'd be like to just escape. well, this track definitely helped me do so, even if for just a few minutes.

Lupe Fiasco w/ Pharrel, Q-tip and Sarah Green - Paris, Tokyo (remix)

and for the jazz lover in you...

Lupe Fiasco w/ Chris & Denise Paultre - Paris, Tokyo (live jazz remix)

||marques houston - sunset||

after a rather nerve-rackin' weekend filled with uncertainty and a lot of "shots in the dark" it couldn't have ended any better. it's always good to know good people which is why it wouldn't hurt to be good people every now and then.

here's a track i'm currently trying to "diy" on the guitar...give me a few weeks and who knows

marques houston - sunset (remix)

||honorable mentions||

and it just doesn't stop...i just couldn't help myself so here's a few more before i close out for the evening. enjoy!

adonis - only human
alicia keys & jack white - another way to die
ashanti - imagine
ti feat. justin timberlake - dead and gone
t-pain feat. lil wayne & kardinal offishall - can't believe it

||ne-yo feat. jamie foxx & fabolous - she got her own||

so i know i just blew out 3 posts in one day but i fell a little behind in my readings and haven't had a chance to really get the word out. nonetheless, here's another find worth your time so lend an ear...

||jon b - ooh so sexy||

it's good to have you back...

||london - talk about it||

as the newest addition to the motown family i, for one, am curious to see whether this young singer-songwriter out of okland, california can live up to carrying on the legacy that "is" motown. his debut album, "man of my word" is expected to drop early '09 but who can honestly wait til then. so without further ado, here's a little something to tickle the eardrums

||stevie wonder - send one your love||

got home at 5am...woke up at 2pm...rummaged through crates for about 5 minutes...what a way to start the day...

||cosby jazz||

one would think that wakin' up at 11:45am isn't a hard thing to do. after 2 cups of coffee late in the evening, the night before, you would think otherwise. i should have know better but my poor judgement get the better of me. although my eyes were closed and the body was still, my brain just wouldn't turn off. and there i was at 8:20am still wide awake driving my niece to school; not having slept one wink all night. after a short-lived "nap" i found myself on the couch watching a episode of the cosby show; of claire's 49th birthday with a guest appearance by placido domingo. out of the blue the air was filled with the delicate tenor's voice singing besame mucho. that's when a thought occurred to me...so now, i leave you with my thought...a few notable guests from the cosby show...

dizzy gillespie - a night in tunisia
lena horne - stormy weather
joe williams - i let a song go out of my heart
stevie wonder - i just called to say i love you
nancy wilson - the very thought of you

||alicia keys - you don't know my name||

reminiscing...

so within the past 24 hours i've been in touch with the "not so distant" past of mine...it just so happens that in the past 24 hours i felt a most genuine and sincere connection; one i hadn't felt in some time. moments relived in memory and just some heart felt sharing of news and good tidings. on that note i'd like to pay homage to my "not so distant" past through nothing else but...song...

You Don't Know My Name lyrics - Alicia Keys lyrics

You Don't Know My Name Video - Alicia Keys Music Videos

Music Videos by VideoCure

Quincy Jones - Moody's Mood for Love (B. McKnight, Take 6, Patti Austin (orig. Rachelle Ferrell)
Oscar Peterson - You Look Good to Me
Babyface & Gwyneth Paltrow - Just My Imagination

*note: with the exception of Oscar Peterson, i realize that these songs are not being sung by the original vocalists, but as i said this is an homage to my "not so distant" past and therefore these versions have significance...

||boombox saints||

an oldie but a goodie from the saints...maybe you've heard it before, maybe this is your first time hearing it...what ever the case may be, this track never gets old...be on the lookout for their upcoming radio podcast recorded live from their studio in the sky

boombox saints - those eyes

||the collector||

don't be fooled by the image...scratch the surface past what you see and you'll find the collector in you

||the soloist||

i haven't seen a movie at the theatre since "pineapple express"; and even i have to admit that watching it was accidental. the soloist, however looks interesting enough that i might just purposely catch it in the theatre when it comes out. if not for the music then at least to see jamie foxx play a schizophrenic.

||raphael saadiq - the way i see it||

if you're still not convinced, have a listen and let the music take control...

The Way I See It Exclusive Listen

||tony! toni! toné! - anniversary||

so having come across raphael saadiq's new tracks i thought i'd provide you with a little taste of r&b passed...enjoy

tony! toni! toné! - i care
tony! toni! toné! - whatever you want
tony! toni! toné! - lay your head on my pillow

||raphael saadiq - love that girl||

"my girl"..."tracks of my tears"...60's-70's soul and r&b...what else can i say...

Love That Girl Video

||robin thicke - the sweetest love||

Robin Thicke
Originally uploaded by ShhPeKo

off his upcoming album, "the sweetest love" proves simplicity in song can say more than heavy drum lines and catchy hooks. this piano ballad pay homage to old skool r&b at its finest.

robin thicke - the sweetest love

||ne-yo - yours||

image by: ginny suss

yet another groove from a very talented r&b legend in the making. ne-yo's "year of the gentleman" album is due out september 16, 2008. if this track is any indication of what's to come, the 16th can't come soon enough.

ne-yo - yours

||strength||success||swagger||

||forgotten unforgettables||

lyrics...melodies...vocals...and rhythm

growing up i'd hear songs that would strike a chord in me like being hit by lightning. whether it was the lyrics or the melody, something in the song would resonate throughout the body and echo to the farthest reaches of my mind. it didn't matter what the artist was wearing, only what they were saying; how the melody carried a pulse on its own. heck, stevie couldn't even see what he put on before steppin' into the booth to lay down a track like "ribbon in the sky"; yet he dressed the world with music fashion at its finest. what ever happened to days when the voice you heard on the radio meant more than the bling on your wrist or size of the rims on your ride. r&b raised me and it raised me on soulfood that quenched your thirst and fueled you for the chase.

i was ready for the world after each milestone even if it was after7, and on the surface i knew that a portrait was being painted of earth, wind, & fire.

"how do we know where we're going if we don't know where we came from"

tamia - last first kiss
ruff endz - if i was the one
blackstreet - money can't buy me love