Introducing: Mayer Hawthorne

What happens when a 1960's crooner time-travels to 2009? Ladies and gentlemen, introducing Mayer Hawthorne. (Ok, maybe Amy Winehouse did it first, but he's not too bad and he is more likely to stay out of rehab and jail!)

Here are few more of his gems. Enjoy.

~ flav ~

First Quarter 2009 Music Playlist

Since I haven't published a playlist at all this year, today's blog posting covers everything I was listening to from January 1 through March 31, 2009. (Yes, its very late, but I'm not very committed to this blogging thing...)

And here it goes...

My Top 20 Songs for the First Quarter of 2009. As you will see, I was into my usual indie hip-hop and R&B/soul classics, but I clearly lost my mind and grabbed every 70's soft rock classic I could find. I don't know what got into me, but I apologize in advance... [ As usual, these songs are not in order of preference. ]

1. One More Drink | Ludacris & T-Pain | Theater of the Mind | Hip-Hop. Just when I thought I was too snobby to listen to radio music, Luda hit me over the head with this banger! Killer track and entertaining lyrics means pop gold!
   
2. Send for Me | Atlantic Starr | The Best of Atlantic Starr | Classic R&B. Oh man! I used to love this classic slow jam. While I was at it, I decided to download other Atlantic Starr hits such as Circles, When Loves Calls, Secret Lovers, and of course, Always.
   
3. I Got The... | Labi Siffre | The Best of Labi Siffre | Classic R&B. Jahsonic rocks this joint during his sets at Soul Fly and Marvin and my neck nearly snaps off every time he plays it. This cut is probably best known for the sample used in Eminem's "My Name is...", but that would be doing it a major disservice. Labi and his band kill it from start to finish. Now I gotta go explore all of Labi's folk-ish stuff...
   
4. (Every Time I Turn Around) Back in Love Again | L.T.D. | L.T.D. Greatest Hits | Classic R&B. I just realized this year that my favorite James Ingram songs were really L.T.D. songs. This is probably my favorite L.T.D. dance track, but I can't forget about Stranger (one of my favorite slow jams of all time) and Holding On.
   
5. Ashby (Frequent Flyers Remix) | Fineprint | Fineprint | Hip-Hop. Fineprint is an eclectic hip-hop band and I find myself listening to this song's clever lyrics and catchy piano riff at least once a week.
   
6. Vacation | Jazz Liberatorz & J-Live | Clin d'oeil | Hip-Hop/Jazz Fusion. The Jazz Liberatorz, a hip-hop/jazz fusion production team from Paris, flew in a number of U.S. indie/underground hip-hop giants to record this album. Most hip-hop/jazz fusion albums sound a little forced to me, but JL does a much better job. J-Live, one of my favorite hip-hop artists/activists, flows lovely over this relaxed jazz groove.
   
7. Doo Wa Ditty (Blow That Thing) | Zapp | Zapp II | Classic R&B. There are lots of Zapp classics to pick from, but this is one of my childhood favorites.
   
8. Don't Wait Too Long | Madeleine Peyroux | Careless Love | Jazz. I know Madeleine must be tired of hearing this after all of these years in the business, but damn she sounds like Billie Holiday! Fortunately, that is a very, very good thing...
   
9. Be Alright | Skillz | The Million Dollar Backpack | Hip-Hop. Stylus recommended this album in his 2008 roundup and I've been blasting this cut ever since. This might be my spring anthem!
   
10. Saturday in the Park | Chicago | The Very Best of Chicago - Only the Beginning | Classic Rock. I've never been a big Chicago fan, but this soft rock classic has always stuck in mind over the years.
    
11. Steal Away | Robbie Dupree | Robbie Dupree | Classic Rock. Ok, I will admit it-- I had no freakin' idea who Robbie Dupree was back in the 70's, but I sure loved listening to this song at the beach!
    
12. Betterman | Dutchmassive featuring Median & Von Pea | Rawkus 50 Presents: Crush Your System | Hip-Hop. Dutchmassive is solid, but any track with Median (Justus League member and frequent Little Brother collaborator) or Von Pea (of Tanya Morgan) has the potential to be indie hip-hop gold. Put all three lyricists together and you can't lose!
    
13. There's Nothing Like This | Omar | The Collection | R&B. I discovered that I had some glaring holes in my Omar discography when I heard that he was coming to DC in April to start his U.S. tour. This song reminds me of why I have been worshiping this Brit Soul demi-god since the early 90's.
    
14. Friend of Mine | Rahsaan Patterson | Love in Stereo | R&B. Somehow, I managed to completely miss this 1999 album. Amazing and beautiful song.
    
15. Can You Feel It | Mr. Fingers | The Original Chicago House Classics | Classic House. For me, this song epitomized Chicago house music in the 80's. I can still remember Eddie Brousard spinning this song at a house party on South Hill of University of Maryland's campus!
    
16. What About This Love (Dub Version) | Mr. Fingers | What About This Love? - EP | Classic House. This is my favorite house song of all time and its taken me 20 years to find it! God bless the Internet and United States of America.
    
17. Finer Feelings | Spoon | Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga | Rock. I don't know much about indie rockers Spoon, but iTunes Genius was sure that I would like their stuff. Well, so far, so good. I'm literally addicted to this particular campy jingle, but I like alot their work that i've sampled. [ I'm really amazed when technology works, despited being a geek myself... ]
    
18. Clocks (Buena Vista Social Club Mashup) | Coldplay & Buena Vista Social Club | Rhythms Del Mundo: Cuba | Latin Jazz. Oz would rock this joint at the end of his sets at Fly Lounge and it would force me to flex my weak salsa skills in front of my friends! Its a must-have for everyone's music collection.
    
19. Baby Come Back | Player | The Best of Player | Classic Pop. I hate to admit it, but I loved it when Biz Markie sampled this song for Things Get a Little Easier.
    
20. A Chunk of Sugar | Roger | The Many Facets of Roger | Classic R&B. So you thought Roger/Zapp only recorded "talkbox" songs? Oh no. Here is a great disco-ish instrumental track from one of Roger Troutman's early albums.
    

As usual, I've also included some honorable mentions so I don't feel guilty leaving something out:

• Say Say Say (12" Version) | Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson | Pipes of Peace | Classic R&B
• I'm in Love | Evelyn "Champagne" King | Platinum & Gold Collection: Evelyn "Champagne" King | Classic R&B
• Fooled Around and Fell in Love | Elvin Bishop | The Best of Elvin Bishop | Classic Rock
• Balance | i-EL | The Prelude | Hip-Hop
• So Real | Kaze featuring Erv Ford & Wordsworth | Rawkus 50 Presents Block 2 the Basement | Hip-Hop
• I'm Not the One| The Cars | The Cars: Complete Greatest Hits | Classic Rock
• This Is It | Kenny Loggins | The Essential Kenny Loggins | Classic Pop
• Can't Go Back | Silent Knight | Rawkus 50 Presents Hunger Strike | Hip-Hop
• The Veil | Young Raven | Escape Velocity | Electronic
  
• More Love | Kim Carnes | The Best of Kim Carnes | Classic Rock
• Lowdown | Boz Scaggs | Boz Scaggs: Greatest Hits Live | Classic R&B
• Walk In My Shoes | East featuring Young Flu & Kaze | Rawkus 50 Presents The Right Direction
  

Enjoy and I'll be back shortly with my April playlist...

~ flav ~

My Favorite Music of 2008

I know its late, but I promised alot of people that I would email them my favorite music from 2008. But its 2009 and in 2009, we blog it out!!! So here we go...

My Top 25 Favorite Songs of 2008. These songs are not in order of preference and alot of the music here came out before 2008-- these are songs I picked up sometime in 2008 (some recommended by you) and they got the most airtime on my iPod. And just in case you can't figure it out, the format is song name | artist | album name | genre.

1. Jacksonville, Pt.2 | Willie Evans Jr | Rawkus 50 Presents: Communication | Hip-Hop
2. Tamborim, Cuica, Ganza, Berimbau | Azymuth | Latin Essentials, Vol. 11: Azymuth | Latin Jazz
3. You Get the Best from Me (Say, Say, Say) | Alicia Myers | Back to Back | Classic R&B
4. Keep That Same Old Feeling | Side Effect | Side Effect / What You Need | Classic R&B
5. If You Want To | Dwele | Sketches of a Man | R&B
6. Kinda Live | Guilty Simpson | Ode to the Ghetto | Hip-Hop
7. Hot Thing REMIX | Talib Kweli featuring Jean Grae, Ne-Yo and Luther Vandross | Hot Thing REMIX Single | Hip-Hop
8. Oh Happy Day | The Edwin Hawkins Singers | Oh Happy Day: The Best of The Edwin Hawkins Singers | Classic Gospel
9. Blackeyedsusan | Jose James | The Dreamer | Jazz
10. Hurt You | The Sounds | Dying to Say This to You | Electronic-Rock
11. It's Over Now | Statik Selektah featuring Termanology & A.G. | Spell My Name Right | Hip-Hop
12. You Can't Turn Me Away | Sylvia Striplin | Another Late Night (Zero 7 Compilation) | Classic R&B
13. You Can't Say | White Denim | Exposion | Rock
14. Baby I'm Scared of You | Womack & Womack | Love Wars | Classic R&B
15. Koko | Goldfrapp | Supernature | Electronic-Pop
16. Up All Night | Johnson & Jonson | Johnson & Jonson | Hip-Hop
17. Acceptable in the 80's | Calvin Harris | I Created Disco | Electronic-Dance
18. She Moved Outta Cincy | DJ Soul & Tanya Morgan | Tanya Morgan is a Rap Group | Hip-Hop
19. If I Ever Lose This Heaven | Average White Band | Cut the Cake | Classic R&B
20. Loving You, Holding You | Don Blackman | Another Late Night (Zero 7 Compilation) | Classic R&B
21. Taper Jean Girl | Kings of Leon | Aha Shake Heartbreak | Rock
    
22. Sweetest Smile and the Funkiest Style Hey Now Hey (The Other Side of the Sky Outtake) | Aretha Franklin | Rare & Unreleased Recordings From The Golden Reign of The Queen of Soul | Classic R&B
23. Keeping the Faith in Love | Patrice Rushen | Pizzazz | Classic R&B
24. Me | Erykah Badu | New Amerykah, Pt. 1 (4th World War) | R&B
25. Solo Flights | Eagles of Death Metal | Heart On | Rock

It was really difficult to pick just 25, so I've also included some honorable mentions:

• New Soul | Yael Naim | Yael Naim | Pop-Folk
• Yo Yo Affair, Pts. 1 & 2 | Madlib | WLIB AM - King of the Wigflip | R&B
• Black Cow | Steely Dan | Aja | Classic R&B
• Without U | Black Milk featuring Colin Munroe | Tronic | Hip-Hop
• You See the Trouble with Me | Barry White | All Time Greatest Hits | Classic R&B
• Rollerdisco | Black Moth Super Rainbow | Dandelion Gum | Electronic-Dance
• If She Breaks Your Heart | The Foreign Exchange featuring Yahzarah | Leave It All Behind | R&B
• Glamorous Indie Rock and Roll | The Killers | Sawdust | Rock
• Chemtrails | Beck | Modern Guilt | Rock
• Take That to the Bank | Shalamar | Disco Garden | Classic Disco

My Top 20 Albums of 2008.

1. Jose James | The Dreamer | Jazz
   
2. Johnson & Jonson | Johnson & Jonson | Hip-Hop
   
3. The Foreign Exchange | Leave It All Behind | R&B
   
4. Willie Evans Jr | Rawkus 50 Presents: Communication | Hip-Hop
   
5. White Denim | Exposion | Rock
6. Ananda Project | Night Blossom | House
7. Basic Vocab | The General Dynamic | Hip-Hop
8. DJ Soul & Tanya Morgan | Tanya Morgan is a Rap Group | Hip-Hop
9. Dwele | Sketches of a Man | R&B
10. Hercules and Love Affair | Hercules and Love Affair | Retro-Disco
11. Jackson Conti | Sujinho | Brazillian Jazz
12. James Pants | Welcome | Electronic
13. Lightheaded | Pure Thoughts | Christian Hip-Hop
14. Madlib | Madlib Remixes 2 - Saturday Morning Edition - All Samples 1977-1982 | Hip-Hop
15. Madlib | WLIB AM - King of the Wigflip | Hip-Hop
16. People Under the Stairs | Fun DMC | Hip-Hop
17. Thes One | Lifestyle Marketing | Hip-Hop Instrumentals
    
18. 88-Keys | The Death of Adam | Hip-Hop
    
19. Snoop Dogg | Ego Trippin' | Hip-Hop
20. Radiohead | In Rainbows | Electronic-Rock

My Top 20 Discographies of 2008. Every year, I select artists that deserve to be delved into deeply. Instead of just downloading a "Best of..." album, I try sampling music from their entire discography (if possible). These were my favorites from 2008:

1. Average White Band | Classic R&B
   
2. Azymuth | Latin Jazz and R&B
   
3. Aretha Franklin | Classic R&B
   
4. Cameo | Classic R&B
   
5. Diana Ross | Classic R&B
   
6. George Benson | Classic R&B
   
7. Goldfrapp | Electronic
   
8. Jamie Cullum | Jazz
   
9. Lina | R&B
   
10. Quincy Jones | Classic Jazz and R&B
    
11. Rick James | Classic R&B
    
12. Patrice Rushen | Classic R&B
    
13. Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra | Electronic Instrumentals
    
14. Teddy Pendergrass | Classic R&B
    
15. Teena Marie | Classic R&B
    
16. Ray Parker, Jr. | Classic R&B
    
17. Ty | Hip-Hop
    
18. Shalamar | Classic R&B and Dance
    
19. Stephanie Mills | Classic R&B
    
20. Rod Stewart | Classic Rock
    

Well, there you go. What did you like in 2008? What's playing in your iPod now?

~ flav ~