I don’t have a lot to say about “Don’t Lose My Number”. It was the third single from No Jacket Required, which was his biggest album. He won an Album of the Year Grammy for it. I didn’t actually see it happen; I listened to my mom and stepdad watch it from my room where… Read More “Don’t Lose My Number” by Phil Collins (1985)
A few random thoughts. I think Neil Finn is a class “A” songwriter, but I think his most effective lyricism was with Crowded House. I’m not sure why that is. But whether it’s Split Enz, his work with Tim as The Finn Brothers, or Neil’s solo stuff–none of that hits me the same as any random… Read More “Don’t Dream It’s Over” by Crowded House (1986)
The summer of 1988 was a motherfucker, wasn’t it? A Salt With A Deadly Pepa, Follow The Leader, In Effect Mode, By All Means Necessary, Heart Break, Long Live The Kane, Guy, Don’t Be Cruel, Strictly Business. Black music underwent a massive sea change during that period, and it seemed like not a week went… Read More “Don’t Believe The Hype” by Public Enemy (1988)
Aretha passed away a little under a month ago, and what a blow that was. While Aretha was up there in age, and she’d been ill for a while, it’s still crazy to think of a world without the Queen of Soul. “Do Right Woman, Do Right Man” is another one of those songs that always… Read More “Do Right Woman, Do Right Man” by Aretha Franklin (1967)
Long, Long Ago: In the summer of 1985, my cousin Antoinette came to stay with my grandparents. By this time, I was living in Michigan with my mom and stepdad, but I was spending summers in Brooklyn. Antoinette (who we called Tootsie, which she quickly realized wasn’t going to fly in the hood in Brooklyn)… Read More “Dancing With Myself” by Billy Idol (1981)
T-Boz and Chilli, y’all are singing my language with this one. “Damaged”, without even knowing the lyrics, is a killer tune. Great melody, great hook, awesome ‘80s guitars. In another era, the song could’ve been a hit for Heart or Pat Benatar or John Waite. The lyrics of “Damaged” hit me hard because…well, if you… Read More “Damaged” by TLC (2002)
Listening to Passion Pit’s “Constant Conversations” now, it’s hard to not think that the song was ripped straight from Michael Angelakos’s personal journal. Angelakos, who in essence is Passion Pit, famously developed the musical project as a gift to his then-girlfriend. The musical project turned into an actual idea for a band. Local success turned into national/international… Read More “Constant Conversations” by Passion Pit (2012)
In the music industry’s pre-streaming salad days, the bigwigs at RCA/Arista Records would rent out an auditorium at a fancy hotel somewhere in New York City and usher in tastemakers for 2 or 3 days of new music and performances. This convention was part of their 4th quarter rollout every year. In addition to rubbing… Read More “Comin’ From Where I’m From” by Anthony Hamilton (2003)
I discovered Snow Patrol on VH-1, when the video for “Run” was popular. I enjoyed that song enough to buy its parent album. A few years later, when “Chasing Cars” came out as the first single from the band’s second album, I was psyched that they had a legitimate smash on their hands. “Chasing Cars” was anthemic and… Read More “Chasing Cars” by Snow Patrol (2006)
The Wu revolves around several things that I am quite unfamiliar with: the projects and Staten Island. Many of the Wu-Tang members are from S.I.’s Stapleton Projects. I’m sure a lot of people who don’t know my background think that I’m bougie or that I come from middle-class means. Someone actually called me “Theo Huxtable” once-fairly… Read More “C.R.E.A.M. (Cash Rules Everything Around Me)” by Wu-Tang Clan (1993)
Five Star Jamz 