Today while at work I was listening to my newly purchased History: Past, Present and Future - Book 1 CD by the late King of Pop Michael Jackson. I popped in the second disc first to hear my joints Scream, They Don't Care About Us, Stranger in Moscow, Earth Song, D.S., Come Together, You Are Not Alone, Tabloid Junkie and Smile.
The first disc alone provided me with a strong hour and a half of music and you know that I was in the office getting my groove on and singing at the top of my voice along with music maestro himself when the music finally came to an end.
Looking up at my rather large THIS IS IT movie poster of Mike, I shook my head and grabbed disc one to play all the classic joints: Billie Jean, The Way You Make Me Feel, Black or White, Rock With You, Bad, I Just Can't Stop Loving You, Man In The Mirror, Thriller, Beat It, The Girl Is Mine, Remember the Time...
I never did get to hear the rest of disc one because as I was so enthusiastically singing along to Remember the Time certain lyrics caught my attention...
Remember The Times
Ooh... In The Park
Remember The Times
After Dark..., Do You, Do You, Do You
Remember The Times
Do You, Do You, Do You, Do You
Now for those of you who never followed Michael's career those words mean nothing to you... well nothing that would hold significant meaning. For those of us who have spent our entire lives enthralled with MJ's music and personal life these very words gave an exclusive and intimate detail inside of his personal and very private life.
Sadly the only thing this discovery did for me was validate what I believed to be true all along. As a fan I have always respected Michael's personal and private life and even though he has passed on I still respect that private side of his life even though embedded in every lyric of every song he gave his fans glimpses of his most intimate moments of life.
I remember getting into a heated debate with a fan who doubted the validity of a book that shares the same title as the song that enlightened me today. The fact that I logged onto www.michaeljackson.com to discover a discussion going on about this very book while listening to the song and hearing the lyrics at the same could have been a unlikely coincidence but somehow I think it was Michael's way of easing lingering doubts in my head once and for all.
In 'Tabloid Junkie' Mikey sings so passionately:
Just because you read it in a magazine Or see it on the TV screen
Don't make it factual
Though everybody wants to read all about it
Just because you read it in a magazine
You see it on the TV screen
Don't make it factual, actual
It would seem that the truth was always on the surface and written for us all to see. Now that he is gone I think it is up to us all to find relevance in the meaning of his music and determine the truth of Michael's life as a human being... as a man... not the musician we all loved.
I have been a fan of John Forte since when Lauryn Hill was still rapping and singing with The Fugees. It broke my heart when I heard that John had been arrested on drug possession charges. However, I am elated to know that the prison system didn't break John's spirit. Listening to him share the details of his arrest and incarceration on The Mo'Nique Show made me adore him even more.
His fall from grace served a purpose; to reconnect with the man he was designed to be. Although I'm sure John is fully aware of the man is he, I'm not quite sure he sees how beautiful his spirit has become. Through self evaluation one can see the bad choices made that sparked a course of negative retribution... John openly shared his faults and re-examine his flaws that ultimately cost him his freedom.
As a fan, there is nothing more humbling than the person you look up to admitting that the aren't perfect... I mean this with all sincerity. And as Mo'Nique stated, John is a good dude... a righteous dude... and intelligent dude who just made some bad choices in life and that should be recognized and reconciled and not held against him. I'm just happy that Mr. Forte is back on the right track with his life and music.
By the grace of God if John happens to read this blog post; I want him to know how proud I am of him owning his past and moving forward into the future with a positive and very uplifting mindset. There aren't enough brothers in this world who could travel the road you have and come out mentally and spiritually stronger.
As a child of Berkeley Adam Stern knows exactly what it takes to make love and instead WAR. The track 'Cornerstone' featuring Elevaters from his current album The Dreamer Child is definitely an anthem for the socially conscious hip-hop heads and the tree-huggers of the world.
Dipped in an edgy funk and back with the genius lyrical word play by the talented Elevaters, Adam's soul searching tale of finding his strength amidst the distruction of his world as he knows it through family and friends is something we all can relate too.
If you love good music with deep a rooted message, you'll definitely love this track! Peace & Blessings, ChicaWest Cornerstone by Adam Stern featuring Elevaters (download)
RECOMMENDATION: Click the link, listen, download and share it! :) Adam Stern Bio
Adam Stern is a Los Angeles-based artist originally from Berkeley, California sharing artistic manifestations of the Soul in the name of oneness, peace, coexistence, love & compassion through music. In 2009, he independently released his debut full-length record, "The Dreamer Child," which is available on iTunes, Amazon and CDBaby. Adam is currently immersed the creation of his follow up effort to "The Dreamer Child" entitled "Planetary Spirits" due in late 2010.
The Resident Evil franchise returns to the big screen September 10th with it's third film reprising Milla Jovovich's role as Alice. James Cameron teams up with Vincent Pace to bring Paul W.S. Anderson's sci-fi thriller to life with cutting edge 3D technology. Prepare for another rip-roaring, heart pounding and jaw dropping adventure as Alice seeks rid the chaotic world of its brain eating zombies and mega-ugly science projects gone wrong.
To my surprise I logged onto my twitter account to read some very honest words from my beloved Glam Rocker Adam Lambert. According to his tweets, not only does he not celebrate Easter or Passover but he hasn't for years. Proclaiming that he is JEW ish by blood but not by practice, Adam Lambert does believe in a higher power and wished all of his followers a beautiful Easter or Passover anyway.
I personally found it refreshing to read Adam being open and honest to his fans about why he does or does not celebrate Easter Sunday or Passover. Though I do not believe him being JEW ish by blood diminishes his reasoning, I do wonder if the reason why he doesn't celebrate any Jewish holidays is because he's gay.
Adam if you read this, please feel free to add clarification to my last sentence. Thanks! :)
Twitter Files - Adam Lambert
@AdamLambert - But just b/c I don't celebrate it: I'd like to wish those who do a beautiful Easter or Passover. Hope your day is grand!!
@AdamLambert - I DO believe in a higher power.
@AdamLambert - I haven't celebrated Passover in over ten years either. I'm Jew ISH by blood not by practice. I'm not religious. More spiritual. Now u know
@AdamLambert - Thanks for the wishes, but I don't celebrate Easter friends. I'm not Christian. :)
There has been so much fuss about the indecency of Erykah's nudity in the video. While I do not get the concept behind the video other than draw attention to the release of her new album New Amerykah Part Two: The Return of Ankh the message of killing off what one does not understand seems to be the centralized theme for the video. The depiction of evolution in which Badu speaks of at the end of the video is meant to be received as a tolerable message of love but the video falls short and ends up coming across as a PSA for the mentally ill.
The song is wonderful and I believe Miss Badu could have been really creative (like she has been in the past) with this video for the single; however what has been done is forever archived. Now she is being fined by the city of Dallas, Texas and possibly to have her video restricted to late night rotation on popular television stations only or removed from the airwaves all together.
It's been a long time since I've been emotionally drawn into a book. However, Tatiana De Rosnay's book 'Sarah's Key' is not only an emotional story detailing the lost of innocence and life; it's a bittersweet tale of two families intertwine by the inhuman actions of the Jewish roundup that took place in the late 1940's throughout France.
The past and the present collide when the truth is revealed by Sarah's Key and the gruesome life changing discovery of Sarah's 4 year old brother Michel in the apartment that becomes occupied by a Parisian family oblivious to the thousands of Jewish/French citizens being sent to the concentration camp in Auschwitz.
This is an unforgettable book is worth reading and sharing. The beautiful backdrop of the city of Paris softens the emotional core of the story, but the characters are compelling and real. It's a heavy read but a MUST; this is one to discuss with family and friends.
Who: Adam Stern, Damon Castillo, Matt Masih and The Messengers and Elevaters
My best friend Connie Harris and I are first and foremost music lovers, secondly we are HUGE fans of the Elevaters so when we both heard that the band was going to be back in San Francisco we had to be there! So Connie ordered our tickets with the anticipation of seeing our guys rock the stage once again.
Both Connie and I have frequent the Red Devil Lounge in San Francisco for past shows, however last night Friday night (03/26/2010) when we arrived to the venue a highly charged energy seem to consume the place. People were happy and in a positive mood as Connie and I entered the venue. We were greeted by familiar faces and most of all by the musicians set to take the stage. Matt Masih (a long time friend and brother from another mother) was the first to greet us with his BIG smile. Just earlier that day I'd sent him a facebook message letting him know that Connie and I would be at the show... he was thrilled to see a familiar face in the building.
After exchanging hugs with Matt both Connie and I made a beeline to the front of the stage so that we had the best seats in the house. While standing mid center of the front row Sam Golzari of the Elevaters stepped off the stage to greet me. I gave him a smile followed by hug while asking about the show for the night.
"It's gonna be fun!" He said... "The new songs are dope, I think you're gonna like em!" To be honest, those guys could sing the Alphabets backwards and upside down and it wouldn't matter to be because they are that damn good.
Anyhow, we embraced one last time before he made his way over to give Connie a hug and as he released me he was like "Damn girl you smell good what are you wearing?"
"Versace Bright Crystal," I stated with pure confidence and smiled.
"Like that?!" he asked.
I laughed and answered back, "Hell yeah!"
Then as Sam left to go back stage I ran into Miles at the bar and was greeted with a loud "KESHA YORK-JENKINS!" For those who know Miles, you know he is crazy as hell but loveable nevertheless. The interaction between he and I was similar to what Sam and I had shared only moments ago. He greeted Connie and gave her a hug as well and told him that he was excited that we had been able to make it out to the show... he said that it was going to be a good show.
Now it has become cliche' to promise a good show even if there is a chance that the show may be dreadful. However being that they won us over nearly a year ago to the date with their highly charged performance at Hotel Utah Saloon in San Francisco we knew that when they said we were in for a good performance; we were going to get just that!
We're also really good friends with Berkeley's favorite flower child Adam Stern, so while tuning up on stage for his performance Connie and I dropped by the stage to say hello and give him a hug for good luck. He like Matty and the fellas from Elevaters was excited to see us as well. It had been a year since he'd seen us and just was happy to see friendly familiar faces back in the Bay.
Now out of all the shows I've ever been too I had never felt such a personal connection with the performing artists but it felt great to know that the guys really appreciated our support and enjoyed being in the presence of true music connoisseurs that understood their passion for the music they played for their fans.
As a dedicated soul to music I can dig the hard work and dedication that these artists put into a show. So as the lights dimmed as Adam took the stage I made it a point cheer on my dear friend as he strummed his guitar to classic tunes like Stronger Everyday, Backstab Baby, California Sun, The Dreamer Child and War. The one song I would have loved for him to do with Elevaters is Cornerstone but he gave a solid performance that left me out of breath.
However what neither of us counted on the San Luis Obispo musician Damon Castillo and his band to grace the stage with such fierce determination that Connie and I could help but notice how deeply rooted Damon's groove was. Belted out tunes like All I Know, Surrender, That Ain't Love, Breakdown, Encore and Prince's Musicology brought the level of intensity to a feverish pitch as the band's saxophone player jazzed up the funk on the band's cover of Prince's tune.
By the time Matt Masih took the stage the crowd was really digging the vibes and rocking to the Messengers as Matty sang pitch perfectly to Take Me Away, Commotion, Just Friends, the Jackson 5 I Want You Back and Stevie Wonder's Superstition. As a long time Michael Jackson fan I found Matt's tribute to the late King of Pop to be fitting and wonderful.
Once Matt's set was over there was about a 10 minute break as the Elevaters prepared to take the stage. Every artist that performed made their way into the crowd to witness the phenomenon about to happen on stage. Both Adam and Matt know the musical genius of the band... after all they are all friends. Just as the energy began to erupt from the eager fans to the left and right of me Sam took the stage with Miles and Benjamin in tow.
After a brief introduction the Elevaters kicked off their set with their brand new single 'Tonight' followed by crowd pleasing tracks like Take Me Out, Can't Stop It, Trippin and a saucy dedication of Patience to my best friend Maharisha. By the time they ended the show with The One I was dripping buckets of sweat and my hair was all but shot! But it was well worth it! The Elevaters gave a high energy, high impact performance that left me wanting more.
We all have at some point in our life share a little more about ourselves than we should have. Telling our business when it wasn't necessary and often sharing too much of our private lives with the wrong people.
I too have done it a time or two, but to error is to be human, right? But when is too much information just that... too much?! Granted one can only learn about the human condition through sharing experiences, but shouldn't there be limit on what we share with whom we share that information with?
The social networking has allowed people from every corner of the globe to come together under a veil of social technology to learn about each other via myspace, facebook or twitter.
While I find it fascinating to learn about the people I socialize with online, I'm not quite interested in really knowing what unsavory activities their involve with offline.
For instance I recently had to give some chick the boot off my twitter followers list because she was a bit of a hoe bag. She and I had corresponded for about six months and she seemed like a cool person... that was until I started noticing her raunchy late night tweets in my feed the next morning.
I try not to judge, really I don't but it's hard not to wonder why someone who indulge in such loose behavior like using twitter as a universal black book to hook up with men and women and then brag about it on twitter.
It's cheap and tacky and I didn't want to have anything to do with her little exploitive game she was playing on twitter so I gave her ass the boot. Had she kept her little escapades to herself I would have never known what she was doing.
However, being that she was so comfortable sharing that part of her life with whomever would read her tweets without questioning her actions made it all too easy for her to share her business online with random ass strangers. Let me say it again, I try hard NOT to judge but she made it real easy for me to cut her loose without looking back.
Some of the other things I have run across on twitter and facebook is people in relationships drawing attention to the flaws of their relationships by inviting others in speak openly about the problems they (the couple) is having.
Now there is nothing wrong with friends seeking the advice and guidance of other friends, but I do have a problem with pulling EVERY friend into a situation that does not call for an audience.
Allowing everyone into your business only complicate things, yet I can't tell you how many times instigators from the outside were invited in only to cause online drama between girlfriend/boyfriend or husband/wife.
The point I am trying to make with this post is that when you share too much of yourself or your business online you open yourself up for all sorts of foolishness and manheim. When you limit what you share online, you spare yourself from being butt-hurt when someone says something about you that you don't like or they judge you because you say something that they don't like. Either way it's a screwed up situation that you should stay away from.
People having issues in their marriage are better off sharing their deepest and most private secrets with a marriage counselor, not your "online" friends. While it's great to have them as a source for guidance and support, depending on what the situation is you may want to get to the bottom of your disparaging marital issues without the peanut gallery messing up your chances for reconciliation.
