Sure Fire Traffic Grabber: New Fugees, "Take It Easy"!

Lauryn's still on my Hotty Top 5

I've been somewhat eagerly awaiting this reunion for awhile. Hip hop reunions have a dubious history. But, The Fugees used to be great, so you never know. Everybody loves Lauryn Hill and she's always been the best part of the Fugees, but Wyclef has done some pretty goofy wacktracks since Fugees broke up. Pras, he just dropped off the face of the earth seemed like. So, without any further ado, download this brand spankin new track and tell me what you think of the new Fugees. I'm gonna hold off on my opinion until I get some posting action on here. (Traffic around the site has been down lately so this is my attempt to get people buzzing around here again.)

The Fugees - Take It Easy

The Last Good Day of the Year

So, I'm finally getting back into the swing of things, sorry it's been so long since the last post. Music just hasn't been on my mind like it usually is. But, I'm back with another mix cd that I compiled for fall and just stuff that sounds good right now for whatever reason. I just spent the weekend in a wedding (my 8th wedding tux rental, in case you're keeping track at home) up in my old stomping grounds of Grand Rapids, Michigan and it was an absolute dream of a weekend, ideal really. The leaves are just barely starting to fall from the trees and the weather was perfect. I drove around my old college town, past my old houses, old hangouts, old memories. I met the hottest, hardest partying cop/bridesmaid I've ever seen, a blond chick with a rockin body and, presumably, handcuffs on her person at all times. I danced like a man possessed. I flirted with bridesmaids. I partied with old friends I hadn't spent time with or seen in years. I had the best weekend I've had in awhile.

But, I digress. This latest mix I made, it originally started out as a psychedelic folk rock mix, but I realized I didn't have as much of that stuff as I thought I did. So, I filled in the holes with some songs from different countries. Peruvian Beattlesque pop, Nigerian funk folk, Brazilian soul rock, French chanteuse rock pop, Burmese psych surf rock...it's all there, baby! I think it all works together really well as a mix, too, sort of a globetrotting, aural taste-testing. It's just some joyful, melodic tunes that exist for their own sake, not to change anything or make you think or make you dance or make you sad, just good music. That's just about exactly what I need right about now, something simple and good...And, since I haven't been posting up new tunes in awhile, and because I'm in a good mood, I'll post up a bunch of the songs from this mix. Enjoy the hot eats/cool treats, hideawayheads.

Harry Nilsson - Gotta Get Up
The Band of Bees - These Are the Ghosts
Jon Brion - I Believe She's Lying
The Coral - Shadows Fall
Antonio Carlos E Jocafi - Kabaluere - (Brazilian tune that was jacked by Chali 2 Na & NuMark)
The Kinks - Victoria
Beta Band - Dry the Rain
Cousteau - The Last Good Day of the Year - (I think this was on a car commercial awhile back)
My Morning Jacket - Wordless Chorus - (Beautiful tune from MMJ's forthcoming album 'Z')
Loretta Lynn w/ Jack White - Portland Oregon
Bongos Ikwue - Woman Made The Devil - (70's Nigerian tune about women & the devil)
Lashio Thien Aung - You Got What You Got - (Burmese psychedelic pop from the 60's)
Jon Brion - Walking Thru Walls - (the background vocals crack me up everytime)
Sea and Cake - The Argument - (pre-solo Sam Prekop)
Francoiz Breut - La Fin Du Monde - (a French chick making good use of handclaps)
Paul McCartney - Monkberry Moon Delight
Velvet Underground - Who Loves the Sun?
We All Together - Children
The Hassles - 4 O'Clock in the Morning
Weldon Irving - Morning Sunrise
Love - Everybody's Gotta Live

The Flood

First off, I apologize for the last post. I posted it as soon as I heard about the levees breaking in New Orleans, not fully realizing what that was about to cause. It seems flippant to me now. But, I deal with tragedy like anybody else, I gotta find a way to vent my feelings. I feel the need to write something about this and express my feelings through someone elses songs (skip straight to the bottom of the post for the songs that are helping me get through this.)

Like everybody, I've been totally waylaid by the flooding in New Orleans and the fact that this tragedy has gotten worse by the day. At least during 9/11 things got relatively better after the initial event. The after-effects of this natural disaster have taken me by surprise. Unfortunately, it's also appeared to have caught the government that is supposed to take care of tragedies like this by surprise, as well. That is a fact that I have a hard time getting my head around. It's unforgivable. I think that this is horrible, on-going event is going to be a tipping point in coming to grips with the big questions connected to it. Why are poor people the hardest hit by tragedies like this? Why are most of the poor people in New Orleans black? Why haven't I heard anybody attacking the poor leadership being shown by Louisiana's female governor? Why are the reports of violence in the city creating impressions that the city is a war zone or a dangerous jungle instead of a human disaster area? Is it because some of the people arrested for the violence are black? Why is violence in the city slowing down the aid that is supposed to be coming there? Why are police and the public so worried about looting when people are dying from lack of food and water? (Because the police have been so worried about looters, there are more people that are dying from lack of food and water. Who cares about material stuff and stealing at a time like this?) Why have white looters been depicted in some media outlets as looting "food and supplies" while black people are shown hauling off vaccum cleaners and tv's?

Some people are becoming very angry about this situation. I can understand that, but I simply don’t share the feeling. Being angry is a way to cope with what has happened and it’s never done much for me. I think right now people are entitled to feel however they wish and do what they have to in order to get by. Blaming people is a way to feel more secure and provide an outlet for frustrations and unanswered questions. But, blaming our leaders who should be protecting us doesn’t make me feel any better about all this. I wish it did because I’ve got a lot of questions weighing heavily on my mind right now. As a man of faith, I feel the only effective thing I can do right now is pray. I need to ask God to help the neglected people left stranded in New Orleans. I will give of my time and money, too, but right now I need to pray. But, why did God allow this to happen in the first place? How can his plan for this world use anything so horrible for any kind of good? Don't listen to anybody who tells you that they have an answer to why God allows this to happen. Of all the Godliest men I’ve ever talked to or heard speak, they’ve all acknowledged that we simply cannot know the God's reason for allowing suffering and trials like this. Of all the big questions connected to this tragedy, this is the biggest: “Why?” To still believe in a God who will allow devastation like this is the definition of faith. In the Bible, Job was tortured through the end of his days because God allowed Satan to test his faith. Job was hugely successful and prosperous until God allowed Job’s family to be wiped out and for his crops to be destroyed. Then he developed painful sores over all of his body. But, through all of it, Job maintained his faith. When he refused to give in the Satan's testing, it became all that he had. It wasn’t until Job died that he found out the reason for it all. And, Job is the quintessential example of the power of faith in the Bible. No one could’ve told Job the reason for it all while he was still on earth and don’t let anybody tell you they know why God allows bad things like this to happen.

Spiritualized - Lord, Can You Hear Me? - this one brings tears to my eyes. Nothing as powerful as a song like this coming from a guy who once named an album, "Taking drugs to make music to take drugs to"...

Curtis Mayfield - Here But I'm Gone - the tendency for me to slip into escapism during a time like this is powerful. Reality is too real sometimes, ya know? Curtis recorded this entire album on his back in the studio, paralyzed. It's from his last album, New World Order. He would die a few years later.