Tune In Tuesday: Freedom (Theme from Panther)

It amazes me how many things happen without my knowledge. I didn't realize until just recently that a movie was made in 1995 about the Black Panther party. I'm going to see if I can get it from my local public library or on my Netflix queue.

Did y'all already see the movie, Panther?

I learned about the movie when the theme song, Freedom, came to my attention. I imagine that y'all are already hip to these two versions of the song as well, huh?

Tune In Tuesday: The Temptations

The Temptations have been part of the musical scene for over 40 years. Everyone has a favorite hit by The Temptations. Personally, my favorites are probably My Girl, Ball of Confusion and Silent Night. The Temptations made Motown famous with their sharp dress and tight dance choreography. Every villager reading this post knows that they've tried to mimick those Temptation moves at some point in their life!

The group started as The Primes and The Distants; two Detroit groups that came together in the early 1960’s. Their combined their forces and signed with Berry Gordy’s Motown Records, changing their names first from the Elgins then to the Temptations. They added singer David Ruffin, and had their first smash hit in 1964 with “The Way You Do The Things You Do”. After Ruffin’s legendary lead on “My Girl” the Temptations were stars.








I'll end this tribute to The Temptations with a song that has great meaning to all of us at this time of the year. Merry Christmas Villagers!

Tune In Tuesday: The Drifters (White Christmas)

I'm officially in a Christmas mood. There are so many great Christmas songs that I think we will be popping up with them on and off over the next month or so.  

We begin today with an animated Christmas cartoon (by Joshua Held) featuring the vocal stylings of The Drifters, featuring Bill Pinkney on lead bass and Clyde McPhatter on tenor.





I'm curious ... what is your favorite Christmas song?

Tune In Tuesday: Jasiri X Shares "Dr. King's Nightmare"

I suspect that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was giving the side-eye to his neice, Sarah 'Mama Grizzly' and Glenn 'Elmer Gantry' Beck this past weekend. Young rapper (Jasiri X) shared his vision of what Dr. King would say if he was still speaking to us:

Tune In Tuesday: Kenny G Video is Unworthy of His Music

I woke up this morning with an ol' school song by Kenny G on my mind. Do you remember his hit, Hi, How Ya Doin'? from back in the day? I decided that I wanted to share it with other villagers so I sought out the video.

Arrrgh!

I suspect that if I made a list of the top 10 videos that ruined my audio-image of a song ... this video would be on the list.





What music videos do you recall that ruined the great audio visuals that you had in your mind?

Tune In Tuesday: The O'Jays

My maternal grandmother's branch of the family tree is holding its first family reunion this summer down in Conway, Arkansas. I've only been to Conway once in my life. I've been going back and forth on whether or not to attend this family reunion. My three children (shown above) have never met their distant cousins, aunts, uncles and such from this side of the family.

I think that The O'Jays may have pushed me in the right direction when I listened to the lyrics of their golden oldie, Family Reunion.

Tune In Tuesday: Eels

Villagers who have followed this blog for awhile know that I'm a science fiction fan. As such, I've been watching the first season of a SyFy television series called, 'Stargate Universe'. The episode last week ended with a song that I had to look up. The song is Agony by a group simply known as Eels. I invite you to listen to the song and share your own thoughts if you have time or inclination.





Womanist Musings created a weekly meme today called Tune In Tuesday. She noted that our blogs often deal with serious issues and it might be nice to lighten the atmosphere every once in awhile. Music has the ability to trigger happy memories and much of our lives are marked by song. To that end each Tuesday this blog intends to offer a song and tell you about what it triggers for me and in return you are welcome to share any memories that you have associated with it.

Tune In Tuesday: The Foreign Exchange

I'm opening my mind and ears to some folks that I hadn't heard before. One of my colleagues suggested that I take a moment to listen to The Foreign Exchange.

Here are two songs from them:




I'm enjoying the flow from this group ... and I love that there ain't any booty-shakin' or other misogyny nonsense in these lyrics or videos. Were you already aware of The Foreign Exchange before this blog post?

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Womanist Musings created a weekly meme today called Tune In Tuesday. She noted that our blogs often deal with serious issues and it might be nice to lighten the atmosphere every once in awhile. Music has the ability to trigger happy memories and much of our lives are marked by song. To that end each Tuesday this blog intends to offer a song and tell you about what it triggers for me and in return you are welcome to share any memories that you have associated with it.

Tune In Tuesday: Eric Roberson

I have only become aware of Eric Roberson in the past few weeks. I'm working behind the scenes to see if he'll perform at a benefit concert later this summer.

Check out these two tunes from the young brother.



I enjoy the mellow vibe from this brother. Had you heard of him before?



Womanist Musings created a weekly meme today called Tune In Tuesday. She noted that our blogs often deal with serious issues and it might be nice to lighten the atmosphere every once in awhile. Music has the ability to trigger happy memories and much of our lives are marked by song. To that end each Tuesday this blog intends to offer a song and tell you about what it triggers for me and in return you are welcome to share any memories that you have associated with it.

Tune In Tuesday: Stacy Lattisaw

Stacy Lattisaw had a strong run of R&B hits in the 1980s. She stopped making records in 1989. One of her most popular hits was 'I Found Love on a Two-Way Street'.




Of course, the song that first brought her to my attention amazed me because it turned out that she was a young teenager at the time. Her voice was so strong that she was soon the opening act for Michael Jackson. Are any of you ol' school enough to remember, 'Let Me Be Your Angel'?




Feel free to use the COMMENTS section (click on 'village voices') to share your memories of Stacy Lattisaw or to suggest other artists that I should feature in future Tune In Tuesday blog posts.

Tune In Tuesday: Zapp featuring Roger Troutman

Roger Troutman and his brothers made up the heart of a remarkable band known as Zapp. The band is still touring today. The Troutman family is from just down the road in Hamilton, Ohio.

I first heard Zapp while I was in college when they came out with a song called More Bounce to the Ounce. As a radio disc jockey we played the heck outta More Bounce. Folks could not get enough of the bass, the beat or Roger's talk box sound.

It will come as know surprise to those who know me that my favorite song by Zapp was a ditty called 'Computer Love'





But the Zapp saga is about more than music. During the height of their popularity, the Troutmans put scores of low-income families into houses they built from the ground up in their hometown of Dayton, Ohio. They maintained a drug-free, hard-working ethic that separated them from many of their peers.

All of that came crashing down on April 25, 1999 when, to everyone's shock, Larry Troutman shot his brother Roger to death, then turned the gun on himself. Suicide rearing its ugly head in the Black community.

The entire story of Zapp is shared in a recent episode of TV One's "Unsung". I encourage all villagers with TV One access to watch this episode. I didn't realize that so many Roger beats were sampled by hip-hop stars like Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, 2Pac and others.

His top individual hit was 'I Want to Be Your Man'




I hope that you enjoyed this week's Tune In Tuesday meme. Please take a moment to share your enduring memory of Roger Troutman and Zapp.

Tune In Tuesday: India Arie

Soulclap to Lady D for pointing me in the direction of India Arie. The best feeling in the world is when you and your soulmate are both ready for love at the same time. Too often we go through life where one partner is ready and the other partner is looking someplace else.

India Arie lays it down and I hope that villagers enjoy her flow:



What is your experience with India Arie? Which of her joints do you enjoy the most?

Tune In Tuesday: Billie Holiday and Johnny Cash

In our lives we hunger for those we cannot touch
All the thoughts unuttered & all the feelings unexpressed
Play upon our hearts like the mist upon our breath
But, awoken by grief, our spirits speak





My heart is heavy today. I've experienced a loss that is difficult to deal with in many ways. Johnny Cash put my Hurt to music many years ago:




I encourage all villagers to take a moment today to reach out to someone that you haven't talked to in a long time ... someone that you feel needs to hear from you. Even if that person isn't receptive ... reach out again ... and again. Never stop trying to make a human connection. I've learned that you can regret the things you don't do as much as the things you do.

Rest in peace little sister.

Tune In Tuesday: Sade, 'Soldier of Love' (video)

Two of my favorite entertainment options are coming together. First, Sade is back after an 8-year absence with a remarkable album that debuts next month. Second, the television series, Lost, is back with the first epsiode in the sixth and final season coming on television next month.

I've been a Sade fan for years. I've shared her music on this blog before. The audio for her song, Soldier of Love, has been out for a few weeks. I hope you enjoy the official video of her song as well:

Sade - Soldier Of Love (Official Video)
by GaGa-Vision

Imagine my surprise when I saw an ABC promo video for Season 6 of Lost. The video features Sade's new song. What a coup for both Lost and Sade when they decided to combine their internationally reknowned talents. Check out the promo video:




It doesn't get much better than this. Are you a Lost or Sade fan?

Tune In Tuesday: Star Trek

I went to the movies last week to see Avatar. The theatre was sold-out. I enjoyed it very much. I look forward to watching it again when it goes to DVD. Oddly, none of my children seemed eager to see Avatar. 

My children don't have an itch for science fiction as I did when I was younger. Science fiction used to amaze me in books ... at the movies ... even on television. I suspect that the current generation of young 'uns experiences such a rapid evolution of technology that things we used to think of as 'fiction' have become 'fact'. 

Were any of you Star Trek fans back in the day? I recall the enjoyment of watching Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine when they were both out. I knew that I was going to be glued to my television set when the theme music from either show came on:







I think that young villagers are missing out on great memories if they aren't reading sci-fi novels by Arthur C. Clarke or Robert Heinlein or Larry Niven. I think that young villagers who do not know the Ferengi Rules of Acquistion have an incomplete education.

Are there any other science fiction fans in the village?

Tune In Tuesday: Coko

Soulclap to Carla Nix for pointing me to Coko. Coko is a young R&B singer who is now focused on sharing her musical talents with gospel tunes such as 'The Winner in Me'.



Had you heard of Coko before today?

Tune In Tuesday: Edwin Starr

America is engaged in two wars at the moment -- Afghanistan and Iraq. President Obama promises that we will be out of Iraq by August 2010. In a few hours he will announce his decision on whether or not to send more troops into Afghanistan. Personally, I find myself doubting the need to continue the war in either country. However, I am open-minded to what our President will tell us tonight.

In the meantime, I hope that he has Edwin Starr someplace on his iPod. Do any of y'all remember a song popularized in 1970 by Edwin Starr called, 'War' back in 1970. The song was originally recorded by The Temptations. The Vietnam war was at the height of its conflict, and the peace movement was gaining speed.




The song talks about war in general, not specifically the one in Vietnam. The lyrics raise the question of whether there must be a better way to resolve conflict. What are your thoughts as you sing this song to your computer screen?

Tune In Tuesday: George Benson

George Benson had the music and lyrics that could cut to the chase. I find myself lost in a masquerade much too often. I 'spose that is one of the beautiful things about having a blog. You can hide behind the mask of your blog personna. Enjoy the flow of Bro. Benson.





I still hold out hope. I still think that I can regain my footing and make a difference for myself, my family, my community and my people. I still think that the light will overtake the darkness. I just need to get my mojo back. Just need to get back to that joyous feeling of breezin' through life with a purpose. One thing that helps is to smile ... and George Benson makes me smile!

Tune In Tuesday: Bootsy Collins

Soulclap to LaShawn for reminding me about this song from Bootsy Collins and his Rubber Band. I warn you in advance that this video is not appropriate for workplace viewing ... however, when you get it home I encourage you to enjoy the flow! Ain't no funk like the P-Funk!

Tune In Tuesday: Jill Scott

I can't find my little iPod thingamajig. I may have left it in Atlanta when I was down there a couple of months ago. As a result, I don't listen to much music nowadays. However, when I do get a new iPod ... I'm going to load up on Jill Scott songs. She is truly a talented sista who doesn't seem to get her full measure of respect. Anyhow, I invite all villagers to check out these two videos showing different aspects of Jill Scott's magic:












What is your favorite Jill Scott joint?