Mary J. Blige’s music can best be described as heavy. Because so much of her repertoire comes from a place of emotional trauma (or recovery from it), there are scant few MJB tracks that are kinda mindless fun. “Family Affair” is one of those mindless fun songs-and it became (chart-wise, at least) the biggest hit… Read More “Family Affair” by Mary J. Blige (2001)
As I write this, there’s a major R. Kelly moment happening in the public discourse and it feels really weird to celebrate anything that man has ever been a part of. Although I guess that makes this moment no different from a million other moments that have occurred between 1994 and now. It should go… Read More “Contagious” by The Isley Brothers (featuring Chante Moore and R. Kelly) (2001)
“Can Heaven Wait” is one of Luther’s most heart-rending ballads. It comes from his self-titled comeback album, which would turn out to be the penultimate Luther Vandross album recorded during his lifetime. In the song, Luther receives a call finding out his girl has been in a bad accident. He’s asking if her life can be… Read More “Can Heaven Wait” by Luther Vandross (2001)
Invincible, the last studio album Michael Jackson made in his lifetime, is pretty fuckin’ messy. But “messy” doesn’t necessarily mean bad, and there were 6 or so gems buried in the album. “Butterflies” was one of those gems, and could’ve been a blockbuster…had it been properly promoted. Mike was looking for ways to update his… Read More “Butterflies” by Michael Jackson (2001)
Room For Squares dropped into my lap at some point in early fall 2001. New York City was still in a state of trauma after 9/11, and I was coming to work, just trying to come up with ways to get through each day. The store I was managing was being rebuilt, and I was… Read More “Back To You” by John Mayer (2001)
