Since I'm hearing about Lady Gaga and Beyonce's new Telephone everywhere, I figured I would throw in my two cents as well. I'm a music geek, but I'm also a music biz geek. What that means it that I can equally love and hate something for totally different reasons. I see the perspective of art and artist, but also of sales tool and image. So, here we go...
I figured a good way to start 2010 is to invest in my own romantic karma. So, I bring to you The Ultimate Melt The Sheets Playlist. Disclaimer: this is a grown up collection of music that sets a mood, so if you're more into songs about poppin, droppin, smackin, and lyrics about body parts, this may not be for you.
This playlist if for couples who need a little bit of spark! Life has a way of killing the love in our lives. For those of you lucky enough to still have a bit, here's my gift to you! This is about snesuality, connection and intimacy without all of the obvious selections. I've added a little audio to give you an idea where it's going. So, open your mind, do a little leg work (BUY the music...if you can find it) and let me know how you like it!!
I have been reading Vibe since the first issue. It was a Christmas gift from my mother. Followed by a gift a few Christmases ago of the Vibe Photography coffee table book. I grew up on Vibe and felt too cool when I found out that along the way one of their Editor-in-Chiefs was the granddaughter of my grandfather's ex wife. When she wrote her first novel, More Like Wrestling, he got a copy and passed around the family for all of us to read. It's still one of my favorite books.
When she was brought back on as the EIC, I was excited. I was holding out hope that the magazine would go back to it's original quality and originality. And I think she made great improvements. She also made the round on TV, which was a great move. In the years between her first stint at Vibe and her second, TV clip shows and appearance on news networks for big entertainment stories had become part of the cultures landscape. She was great at that.
But, yesterday, I cam across the NEW Vibe Magazine (pictured above). I flipped through it and was really impressed. The look of the magazine has grown up, the feel of the ads was really edgy and made a big impact and the articles were fantastic. The staff is really working hard to revamp the entire brand. From the article on Shakir Stewart's suicide to, yes, the Chris Brown interview and the Amber Rose fashion layout I was really impressed. Kudos to them for bringing back and institution bigger and better!
Here's a preview of Amber Rose giving it ALL for Vibe!
I'll preface this blog post with a disclaimer: I am an uberfan of Foreign Exchange. I love them. Period. And, my love of Foreign Exchange led to me becoming a fan of Little Brother, Darien Brockington, Yazarah, Zo! Musinah and Carlitta Durand, all people who's music I hadn't previously gotten into until discovering this group. Some I'd heard of, some I hadn't, but they were my gateway into tones of other great music. That's a pretty damn powerful thing and for that, they should be admired.
I remembered how I discovered Foreign Exchange. I was up late one night watching VH1 Soul. At the time it was one of my main ways of finding out what else was out there besides the obvious. It was before I had a myspace page, an iPod, a laptop or an iTunes account. Sincere came on. I was in love instantly. So, the next day I looked them up and came across an MTV online article about how they made the album from two continents and met in person prior to the video being shot. I didn't even listen to anything else, I went straight to Amazon and ordered the album. Any artists that can accomplish that and put out a song as fantastic as Sincere had my vote.
When it arrived I ripped it open and turned it on full blast in my kitchen. My mom and I sat there and listen to the whole thing. I wore out my first copy of Connected and my first copy of the Connected instrumentals. Why I didn't get an iPod right then and there, I don't know. Fast forward to 2008 and the rumblings I hear of a new Foreign Exchange Album. When I finally got it, I was floored! It sounded like nothing I owned in my library and they had grown a lot since I first discovered them.
To this day, when I'm in a day place or having a bad day, I listen to Leave It All Behind. When they finally came to LA for their first live show, I was excited. Ok, that's an understatement. There ere so many posts and Facebook statuses, my friends actually asked me if I was going to talk about anything else. Well, fuck you very much, no I'm not! And I wasn't alone...that 1st show was amazing. I wasn't the only obsessively excited fan. There was a full theater full of people who had waited 4 years for that moment. Foreign Exchange fans had become an exclusive club. "Who's that? Foreign Exchange! Who? Oh, you don't know?" It was always followed by a disapproving "oh, you must listen to bullshit" look. I did it too.
But that night we, my mom included, danced, sang every word and made instant friends with everyone in the room. It was one of those shows that attracted a perfect picture of real music fans in LA. Standing around smiling at each other because we could only imagine what was about to happen. All colors and ages, singing every word. My friends and I rank the shows we go to for the year and that night instantly skipped ot number 1, even above Janelle Monae's Grammy show at Skybar.
For people like me, who have worked in and around the independent music scene and knows the hustle, their story is one of those once in a lifetime occurrences. Foreign Exchange has accomplished everything we all say we can do, all on their own, being themselves. AND NOW THEY'VE BEEN NOMINATED FOR A GRAMMY!!! They make music for people that love music. Year after year, awards shows become less and less about the music. But this year, real music fans are excited. My mom almost jumped of the couch when I told her Foreign Exchange had been nominated. Along with them, and the nomination for Lalah Hathaway and Eric Roberson, for the first time in a while, I'm excited to get out during Grammy season, I'm excited to watch the show. I'm excited that music I know and love will get the spotlight they deserve.
This, like I said, is the blog of a FAN, not an industry person, singer or a musician, but a fan. I very, very happy fan...
