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Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven

For those of you that are like me, I sometimes have a lot of difficulty finding the proper words when someone close is going through a hard time. There are the standards: Things happen for a reason. Time heals all wounds. You’ll be ok.

But truth of the matter is sometimes we’ll never know the reason. Time might heal the wound but leave a scar. And sometimes you never know if you’ll be ok. This is one of the reasons art exists. - whether it be music, poetry, painting or something else. It helps us express those emotions we can’t quite convey at times.

Today’s post is dedicated to B. I know that you love music in all forms and I hope this helps just an ounce. You and your family will continue to be in my thoughts & prayers.

-CaliDre

Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven

Would you know my name
If I saw you in heaven
Will it be the same
If I saw you in heaven
I must be strong, and carry on
Cause I know I don’t belong
Here in heaven

Would you hold my hand
If I saw you in heaven
Would you help me stand
If I saw you in heaven
I’ll find my way, through night and day
Cause I know I just can’t stay
Here in heaven

Time can bring you down
Time can bend your knee
Time can break your heart
Have you begging please
Begging please

(instrumental)

Beyond the door
There’s peace I’m sure.
And I know there’ll be no more…
Tears in heaven

Would you know my name
If I saw you in heaven
Will it be the same
If I saw you in heaven
I must be strong, and carry on
Cause I know I don’t belong
Here in heaven

Cause I know I don’t belong
Here in heaven

air france - collapsing at your doorstep

this song starts with a sample that goes “sorta like a a dream, isn’t it, no… better…”  these words immediately embody the whole song for me.  with the breezy strings and repetitive voice it really takes me to another place during this cold and rainy day in atlanta.  one of my students actually put me on to this song earlier this week and i’ve had it on repeat every day since.  this song inspires me to do everything else, but write about it.  when i get time i really want to go and shoot a video or take photographs for it.  this song inspires me visually in a synesthesia sort of way.

Bob Marley - Lively Up Yourself (live)

i’m a little late with my bob marley post seeing as though it was his birthday this past saturday and was celebrated all across the globe.  but… screw it.  i can’t say anything that hasn’t been said about bob marley so i’m going to get right into the song i chose for today.

‘lively up yourself’ is a favorite of mine.  as you can probably see from a lot of my posts, i love strong bass lines that rock the whole song.  musically it’s just funky to me… damn i use that word a lot, but that’s what i love.  this song is simple, but is really an anthem for me.  i have made up in my mind to be a lot more positive and less cynical.  i have decided to only surround myself with positive people, because with all i dealt with in the past couple of years i’m just happy to alive and sane.  i know a lot of folks that may read this blog may be down on themselves and down on their situations, but really think positive and hope for better things and better days.  you really only have one life to live so make the best of it and enjoy it…. that little preachy point came out of nowhere, but that is the beauty of drinking high gravity beer while relaxing in a coffee shop.  enjoy

Lively up yourself and don’t be no drag
Lively up yourself, ‘cause this is the other bag
Hey, lively up yourself and don’t be no drag
You lively up yourself, dig it, the other bag

Hey, you rock so, you rock so, like you never did before
You dip so, you dip so, and you can dip thru my door
You come so, you come so, oh yeah, like I do adore you
You skank so, you skank so, and-a I can assure you

You can lively up yourself and don’t be no drag
Hey, you lively up yourself, can you dig it?

Hey (you rock so, you rock so), like you never did before
You dip so, you dip so, can you dig it?

You lively up yourself and don’t be no drag
You lively up yourself, ‘cause this is the other bag
Hey, lively up yourself

Lively up yourself, other bag
Can you dig it? Can you dig it? …

Aly-Us - Follow Me

i try to tell people all the time that growing up we didn’t really even dance to hip hop back in philly during my high school party days (late 90s).  hip hop was used to warm up the club/ymca/random gym.  during the hip hop set everyone usually rolled into the party, hold up the wall, plot on what girls you wanted to dance with, holla a little.  the party did not really start until the dj began playing house, b-more club, and dancehall.  when songs like follow me, watch out for the big girl, freaks, and kill the bitch would come on, everyone went nuts and the party became a whole different place.  people doing acrobatics, girls being held up in the air, people dancing on the floor… basically simulated sex.

now the funny thing about ‘follow me’ is that it is unlike the other songs i just mentioned earlier that were basically about sex and dancing in the club.  ‘follow me’ is a completely positive song about us as a people getting to a place where we all can feel free.  freedom to me is simply equality and we have not reached that place yet in any society on earth.  i last thought of this song as i was bugging out with some of my friends on inauguration day listening to music.  we joked that obama should’ve just came out playing ‘follow me’ on the speakers and just rocked the simple two step to make his point.

‘follow me’ is a house classic and it’s a shame that it’s not dropped at every party anymore.  it’s also crazy that you can’t find any information about the song or the group online even though this was strictly rhythm’s all-time best selling record.  it’s shocking though that there is actually a video for this song on your god… youtube (i didn’t even notice until just now that the person who posted the youtube video also said it could be an obama theme song)

it’s nuts that the lyrics to follow me are not online, so i attempted to transcribe them.  there are a couple of parts that i couldn’t make out all the way, so if you know what they are please leave a comment.

Follow me (8x)
I’m hoping
To see the day
When my people
Can all relate??
We must stop fighting
To achieve the peace
That was taught in our country
We shall all be free

Follow me
Why don’t you follow me
To a place where we can be free

Come with me
Over there
Let’s put a interracial hatred
And learn to share
Can you feel it
It’s in the air
Now it’s time for changes
Time for us to care

Follow me
Why don’t you follow me
To a place where we can be free

(random skatting)

where we’ll all be free

Noisettes - Cannot Even (Break Free)

And yet another album that I was addicted to for a period.  The Noisettes are a band from London whose first album came out in April 2007.  The whole album is dope and one that you can play straight through on repeat.

The song above is “Cannot Even (Break Free),” I chose this one especially for a friend who’s dealing with some things and it also fits in with the year end mood.  2008 is over and I know for myself it is time to let go of the many challenges and trials that occured during the past year and move forward.  I’m a little lazy today, I mean I am still on vacation, so enjoy and leave your thoughts.

You are alone, that’s that
Nobody’s home inside your head
You cannot even speak
Think everybody thinks you’re a freak

And you wish you could be
On a magic carpet
Yes you wish you could be
Ever so transported from here, from here

Why don’t you break free, break free
I want you to break free
Break free break free
Give me something, say we
Break free break free
I want you to break free
Break free break free
Give me something

Get on, get on wanna wanna (etc)

This time it is for real
And this time it’s you who’s making the move So tell me what’s the deal?
Will it be you who’s breaking the rules

Still you wish you could be
On a magic carpet (somewhere)
Yes you wish you could be
Ever so transported from here, from here

Why don’t you break free, break free
I want you to break free
Break free break free
Give me something, say we
Break free break free
I want you to break free
Break free break free
Give me something
And get on get on
wanna wanna get on get on
See its time to get on, get out

It’s time to go (ha ha ha ha ha ha x 18) Wipe your eye I’m on your side No compromise It’s time to go Wipe your eye It’s time to fly

Kenna - War in Me

Kenna’s album “New Sacred Cow” is severely overlooked.  This is yet another album that took over my life way back during college.  New Sacred Cow came out before the 80s revival was a trend and “innovative.”  Kenna is now signed to Star Trak the Neptunes label and came out with a second album “Make Sure They See My Face” last year.  Regretfully I haven’t really listened to that album that much, so I’ll probably check it out today.

The song “War in Me” is not really indicative of the rest of this eclectic album, but is a powerful ballad about going through many decisions in life.  I love the concept because decisions can really become a war where you’re staying up all night thinking, meditating, praying, and just trying to figure out what the hell to do.  Hmm… another decision-making song, but really this seems to be the theme of a lot of people in their 20s and I’m actually posting this song for a friend.  Also musically everything just goes together with the violins, hard drums, sawed out synths, and violins.  Remember this came out in 2002 and he was not shouting out how innovative this album was back then.  Enjoy and check out the rest of this album, it’s like $3.00 in the used section on amazon.

The call call call on me
I suffocate in all of it
The call, call on me, it’s hard to breathe
I suffocate and choke on it

It’s bittersweet for me to know
A fever’s taking over
When the status of my fear soars
I’m waging a war
A war in me
The war in me is welling
I, I still believe

To channel this is short of bliss
To kill the cycle that I’ve fed
The labyrinth in me
Is every sin, and every gain
And all blame

It’s bittersweet for me to know
Fever taking over
The status of my fear soars
I’m waging a war

War in me, a war in me
A war in me, blaring
I, I believe
I believe, colors bleed
In a war, war for me, a war for me
A war for me is blaring
I I-I-I, I I-I-I can see
Heaven’s tears for me

Here, it’s bittersweet for me to know
Fever taking over
When the status of my fear soars
I’m waging a war
War in me, a war in me
A war in me, it’s blaring
I, I believe, I believe
It’s a war, war for me, a war for me
A war for me is blaring
I I-I-I, I I-I-I can see
Heaven’s tears

Oh, it’s bittersweet for me to know
Fever taking over
The status of my fear soars
In a war, a war in me
A war in me, blaring
I, I believe,
I believe
There’s a war, a war for me, a war for me
A war for me,blaring
I, I believe, I believe, yeah
There’s a war, a war in me
A war in me, blaring
War in me
A war in me, blaring
A war in me

Broken Social Scene - (7/4) Shoreline ft. Feist

This is Ms. Leslie Feist around 2 years pre-ipod commercial/1234/blowing up.  Broken Social Scene is a 19 member collective of musicians formed in 1999.  So with 19 people you can easily see why the sound is so big, on some phil spector wall of sound type stuff with an indie rock twang.  The group mostly does instrumental work and Feist was brough along with a bunch of other singers for the live show.  Now I am personally in love with Feist, her album The Reminder along with Erykah’s Mama’s Gun are the two albums I play when ever I need to relax and get done work.  Putting any singer next to Erykah shows how deep my love is for that album.

As you can see from my first couple of blogs the thing that I like most about the singers is the feeling I get behind the vocals.  I grew up singing in a variety of different choruses and in church gospel choirs.  So I have seen plenty of amateur talent that blows most singer out of the water.  I don’t really get impressed by just hitting notes, but it is about the way a singer manipulates their voice and uses it more like an instrument.  This is all why I love Feist so you’ll probably see some more stuff from her later on.

The song 7/4 (Shoreline) grabs you immediately with the minute long intro, which adds instrument after instrument in the odd (7/4) time signature.  Sidenote: I actually have a dope mash up of this song with one of the greatest ignorant r. kelly songs - i’m a flirt.  See if you can find it online, but I will post it up at some point.  When Feist comes on she immediately shines through the wall of sound and sings with a great amount of passion.  To me the song is talking about stepping pass the shore (the area of land right before an ocean) and diving in.  Making the decision to do what you love and owning it.  Not just “living a lie” aka doing some bs that your heart is not in, which would causing you to have love for something that you loss.  If you have any other thoughts please add in the comment section.

it’s a shoreline
it’s high speed
its a cruel world

and it’s time
and you want to get away
oh where to go to
when you want to get it out
oh how to get through
if you want to get it all
you can own what you choose
and you want to live a lie
and love what you lose

it’s a shoreline
it’s high speed
its a cruel world
and it’s time

And you’re walking away
And you try to get through
but youve got another life
from the lies they told you
and you try to do it right,
and they all will see you
if you try to steal the beat ohh
the beat will steal you

its coming
its coming in hard

Watch the video also to see the energy behind this song

Cat Stevens - Don’t Be Shy

I first heard this song while watching Harold & Maude.  I actually have no clue what made me rent this film (likely the intelligent netflix recommendations), but I am grateful because it’s now a favorite.  The soundtrack for the whole film is done by Cat Stevens and is literally one of the greatest OST that i ever heard and unfortunately only 2500 copies of the soundtrack were released 36 years after the film came out.

The songs take you on a journey of self-reflection as the film takes on the traditional coming of age theme in the most untraditional way possible.  The songs also discuss finding the type of love that pushes you forward in your life and on your journey to becoming the person inside of you.  I almost broke my own theme by posting this whole album and not digging in to one song, because they are all excellent.

The song “Don’t Be Shy” sets the whole film up perfectly as we watch Harold go through the act of committing “suicide”.  At first it seems contradictory and morbid as in saying that shyness will lead to suicide.  The song speaks to Harold and tells him to let out his true personal feelings and forget about fear.  Many people do not take the first step when it comes to love whether of a person or for a dream out of fear.  A very simple song with a very poignant message.

Don’t be shy
just let your feelings roll on by
Don’t wear fear
or nobody will know you’re there
Just lift your head
and let your feelings out instead
And don’t be shy
just let your feeling roll on by
On by

You know love is better than a song
Love is where all of us belong
So don’t be shy
just let your feelings roll on by
Don’t wear fear
or nobody will know you’re there
You’re there

Don’t be shy
just let your feelings roll on by
Don’t wear fear
or nobody will know you’re there
Just lift your head
and let your feelings out instead
And don’t be shy
just let your feeling roll on by
On by
on by