this journey we call life

09:35 pm - what's really going on...

I had no intentions of really ever speaking out on this, but a quote on twitter by
RevRunWisdom brought this to the forefront of my mind, and I decided I should speak on it. The following is the tweet that inspired this.

Protect ur passion with all ur might!! STAY FASCINATED!! THE saddest tragedy is a heart that has lost fire!

Sadly, I think that tragedy has happened to me to some degree. Not enough space to elaborate on that though.

Current Mood: indescribable

05:07 pm - confession time

I'm considering changing my username everywhere. As things have unfolded with the death of Michael Jackson, RIP, I'm realizing something.

How can I claim to be the rnb_capricorn, or in other places luv4randb when my MJ collection is, well, nonexistent?

The truth is this... I find his music listenable, in fact I've liked more and more of it as I've heard it over the years, but I've never gone back to collect his music. Shame on me! Shame on me for going back and catching up on other artist's works and not this man's. Shame on me for claiming luv4randb all over the web and not owning the works of the man that iinspired damn near every artist who's music I have bought.

It's crossed my mind more than once to hit up the amazon page and collect his discography, but I know I can't plop down that kind of money. I don't even know exactly how many albums he has out and thus can't guess how much it would cost, but at probably $10 an album I know it would at least be a cool $100.

Instead I'm listening to a Michael Jackson marathon on a local radio station, but I shouldn't have to be doing this. I thought I at had his "Bad" CD here at the house, I kinda borrowed and never returned it to my parents, and I did get one disc of his "History Vol I" at one time. However, beyond that, I am ashamed to admit his music is not on the computer. I did get ahold of the 25th anniversary edition of "Thriller" today, but again, for shame that I had to take it there.

And worse still is that it's not until his death that I'm realizing my lackluster tendencies.

I apologize that my username claims a love for a genre and I am seriously lacking in supporting it. I love R&B music, always will, but if y'all are in agreement with me that I should change the usernames right about now I don't blame you. I'll get over it, but these are my thoughts for now.

Again, RIP Michael Jackson. Thanks for your unique music that has inspired everyone under the sun and affected so many others. You will truly be missed.

Current Mood: indescribable

10:24 pm - more John Legend tour dates?

Yep, there's more of them! Just when I thought I'd have to go to Cincinnatti...


Click Here to check them out!

Some of those dates are ones we already knew, but the one in southern IN? That one's new! And better still? On a link that I read from I'm not sure where but perhaps
John Legend's twitter it said that his "special guest" for he IN show... India.Arie. Now you talk about an amazing show! I had to reread that to make sure I wasn't in fact dreaming that one up. Yes, I have got to get to this! Luckily, the roommate is on board. I shall let everyone know the progress of this on Wednesday as that's when the presale is and of course I'm a fanclub member and will gain access to all that!

*tries not to get too hopeful on the off chance something goes wrong...*

No, I refuse to think that way! I'm going someway somehow!

Current Mood: excited

10:15 pm - perhaps I could see John Legend, maybe?

We shall see but
this article gives me hope. Tour date in Cincinnatti? Hello, that's closer than IL was! I'm thinking/hoping I can pull this off! We shall see but I'll keep y'all posted!

Of course if I *really* had my way I'd just go attend the Essence Fest, but since I don't have funds like that... I'll think more realistically. Back to the Cinci concept...

10:54 pm - Lupe Fiasco concert review

Lupe Fiasco songs on random courtesy of ITunes. Let's get this thing started.
( Lupe Fiasco concert recap )

And if anyone is wondering I did attempt to meet Lupe again, but it didn't work. So there's no need to put that behind a cut because there's nothing to say about it. All I'm going to say is security was no joke and was ready to get rid of us with a quickness!

That'll do it for the Lupe Fiasco review from the concert at Eastern Illinois University.

Current Mood: accomplished

05:45 pm - ugh, it's not been my weekend!

I won't go into it all but now I'm not sure one of my promised reviews is going up. I came home, pulled up my E-mail, found the message that I *think* is supposed to have El Che's "The Mannual" link in it... think my damn E-mail client might've stripped the link. Unless I can beg someone for a resend I guess that review isn't happening. :( Whatever... just add it to the list of frustrations on the weekend. Maybe it was a hint from a higher power that I'm supposed to continue to steer clear of album reviews.

As for the Lupe Fiasco concert review... I'll get to that before the night is out I hope. I need to get my mind right or I'll end up putting something up here that I'm not happy with. I'm not trying to do that! Let me settle in, (I've only been home maybe 30 to 45 minutes), and we'll reconvene this conversation.

Current Mood: frustrated

01:19 am - nothing in particular

Except to say that despite having free wireless internet the Lupe Fiasco concert review is not happening tonight. I'm so not in the recapping mood. So I suppose I'll just have to hate myself tomorrow, oops that's today I guess since it's past midnight, when I have to do up an album review and a concert recap all in one day. It is what it is. For now I'm going to attempt to sleep, attempt being the opperative word since the neighbors in this here hotel seem to think being loud as hell at these hours is a good idea. Ugh! Like I said, not in the mood!

Current Mood: bitchy

05:47 pm - it's beena while!

I have no idea when the last time is that I've written a music related entry, but I've got good news if you've missed them!

This weekend turns out to be a busy one with music related things!

First of all, I'm seeing Lupe Fiasco in concert tomorrow! I've been looking forward to it for the last month, or however long it's been that I've had the tickets purchased. For the price it's worth the 2 hour road trip! And of course concerts do not go by without recaps! So expect that to be here either Saturday night after the sho or more than likely on Sunday. It all depends on if I take the computer, if the hotel has decently priced internet, (free would be nice), etc. Nonetheless the update will be up this weekend.

And then there's more! I still keep up with Rhymefest, AKA El Che, and he's got a mixtape coming out! It was supposed to be out already, but I won't even go into discussing delays. Nonetheless, he put out an offer, which I took, that gets me the mixtape a day early. Said offer requires a review of the mixtape. I don't know if I should've but I agreed to do it. As I thought about it though I figure this will make me get into that album reviewing mode that I've neglected for so long. Perhaps the reward of getting somethign in advance will fuel the fire, never mind I did make a commitment and I need to stick to it. So a review of themixtape, "The Mannual" will be forthcoming as well.

I might hate myself on Sunday when I'm writing all this out, but for now I'm actually kind of excited to have a good reason to put some substantial music stuff up here. It's been way too long!

Current Mood: hungry

09:34 pm - dang it!

I was checking my E-mail and saw a ticketmaster alert. "Don't Miss India.Arie!" Really? But then I clicked it... I'll be doggone if it's not in Chicago. Damn! And yes I've gone to Chicago for concerts before, but that's because I've had someone to go with. I'm not sure I could talk my roommate into seeing India.Arie. Man, so close, yet so far! If she were coming here I'd chance going alone if I had to, especially if it were in a theater setting. It would totally be worth it! And to add to the frustration I think May 17 is on a Sunday. See, I couldn't do a road trip to Chicago because I'd miss Monday at work. I'm telling y'all I just need to move to Chicago already! One of these days...

01:25 pm - I knew there was a reason I didn't want to go out yesterday!

The *1* thing I wanted to see on VH1 and I missed it, and I can't find a list of rerun dates, assuming they exist, to save my life or my ass. That just freaking figures!

Kanye West's story tellers aired on VH1 last night. I *knew* it was on last night but admit I forgot, and to top it off even if I remembered I wasn't even at home because I was talked into going out shopping when really I didn't want to, feeling like shit thanks to a sinus infection. And I was told, "Oh we won't be out until 10:00." Bullshit! Is that why we were out until really close to that? I know how this works! Whatever, guess I'll have to fight with it segment by segment on the VH1 site, which BTW is also a piece of crap.

Facebook pissed me off today, twitter sucks at life in letting me sign up, and now this. I'm done. Fuck technology right now!

In the only piece of good news I have at the moment, at least a video I watched about Rhymefest did give a release date for his upcoming album "El Che." June 9 is what he's saying right now with a mixtape dropping before the album.

Goodbye, done with technology before I break it. It would just be fitting if this didn't post up correctly wouldn't it?

Current Mood: pissed off

09:01 pm - that was worth it!

I don't even care that I missed Idol. That Stevie Wonder program was worth it!

I had read a news story on CNN earlier today that President Obama and his wife were set to honor Stevie Wonder and the show would air tonight. I didn't know what time it would be on, but I checked at 7:00 to find nothing and then again at 8:00 to see that it was on. At that point I thought, you know what? I'll just check the net for Idol results. I'm glad I did!

The show started off with Michelle Obama giving an introduction and Stevie Wonder performed first. I dare not recap the entire hour or I'll be here far too long but performances included songs done by India.Arie, Martina Mcbride, a female opera singer who's name I don't recall, a female jazz vocalist who's name I also don't recall, Dianna Crawl, and the gospel group Mary Mary. I feel like I'm forgetting something and/or someone, but it happens like that I guess. I thought will.i.am was also set to perform, but either I somehow missed that or he didn't end up performing after all. Nonetheless the bulk of the performances were good, and some of the artists put interesting twists on Stevie's songs to make them their own. Oh and I know who I'm forgetting. I forgot Paul Simon and Tony Bennett. Anyway, after the performances President Obama gave a short speech to present Stevie Wonder his award. Stevie of course gave an acceptance speech and then he performed a few songs. A very enjoyable program indeed! If you're interested in checking it out hit up
the PBS site who has said they'll put the show up in its entirety for viewing starting tomorrow. If you're a Stevie Wonder fan it's worth the watch!

Current Mood: good

08:08 pm - favor from fellow Idol viewers?

There's a Stevie Wonder progran on. Can someone fill me in on results?

11:38 pm - okay so I sort of fibbed...

CNN, my usual source, hasn't put up their winner's list. And since I have some pretty active duties first thing tomorrow morning at work and must be fresh and ready for them I should probably call it a night. I'll do my best to get ahold of a list when I get home from the job site tomorrow, or if I have time I'll maybe at least E-mail post a raw link and edit it later.

But to be quite honest the grammys didn't impress me this year. I was relatively bored for most of it. My favorite performances were probably Estelle and Kanye singing "American Boy" and TI and Justin Timberlake doing one of TI's songs that I confess I don't know the title of.

Fave artist count? As far as I've seen Alicia Keys got an award, Mary J Blige took 1, and John Legend got one with Al Green. Boo to the fact that Lupe Fiasco walked out empty handed, despite being nominated for 4 of them. I guess it happens.

And with all that said I'm off to bed for now. 5:00 AM comes real early. Good night all.

Current Mood: tired

03:27 pm - yes I've been a slacker but...

I do have plans if nothing else to put up a winners list for the grammys tonight. I will pay for this late night when I have to be up early for work, but sometimes you do what you gotta do. I'd like to think I'll do up a recap, but I refuse to make those types of promises, especially when my wake-up time will be roughly 5:00 AM. We'll see though! I might bite the bullet and do it anyway and just live on caffeine for my Monday. Nonetheless, I'll be in here with a list, because I know my fellow screen reader users will be like me... wanting an accessible list, which BTW the official grammy site usually does not have. I do usually give them a chance and check them first, but I typically end up over on CNN reading it that way.

And I'm definitely not doing up predictions! I did just look at the nominee list, to refresh my memory, but I don't even know how this will play out! Some of the things up for nomination I'm like... what the hell is going on? And other things that aren't on the list, IE I'm still shocked that Alicia Keys's album got passed over, I'm equally like, what the hell? But that's just it... some people think those awards are easy to predict, but I find surprises each and every year. So I'm not going to make an idiot of myself this year and attempt to figure out how their minds work. Instead I'll just sit back and watch it unfold and report the results. Sounds good to me!

Off to do some other things so I can be in front of the TV at 8:00 PM sharp, if not before then. Sometimes I can get a heads up on who won the untelevised stuff by watching the preshow. We'll see how that works out.

Current Mood: hungry

08:22 pm - We're not Lupe Fiasco fans or anything!

That subject was sarcastic as hell! And this post is silly and random as hell but...

In the span of the last half hour my roommate and I have put on display our musical preferences thanks to ringtones. And both of them are by, you guessed it, Lupe Fiasco! Mine started it with "Go Go Gadget Flow," which is my default ringtone for everyone who doesn't have custom tones, and then just now hers went off playing it's default "Superstar," also her default ringer for everyone who doesn't have a custom ringtone.

But no, We aren't Lupe fans at all! We don't display it at all either!

I'll stop with the randomness now.

Current Mood: amused

01:26 pm - will.i.am/Obama

Roughly a year ago will.i.am strongly voiced his support of Barack Obama with his video that if memory serves correctly won him an emmi. Remember this?
Yes We Can

The music creation continued shortly there after with this.
We Are The Ones

And now...

It premiered on CNN today. I present to you a short film, created by will.i.am, taken from his experiences at the inauguration.
A New Day
Note: you have to press play to get that video to start
Now let's not get that confused with the song
It's A New Day which I believe was released shortly after the election.

Who knew a year ago when that first video was created that it would come to that? I admit I hoped it would, but that was January or maybe it wasn't until February, and November was a long way off. At that time there were multiple candidates in each party. One year later "yes we can" turned into yes we did!

And as a side note I saw
this inauguration video at some point during all these festivities, but I had no idea will.i.am was behind that one too.

I couldn't help but share the Obama journey through music. Thanks will.i.am!

Current Mood: indescribable

06:36 pm - wow...

This just blows my mind!

'Prom Night in Mississippi' reveals racial divides

By Alan Duke
CNN

(CNN) -- The same week an African-American family moves into the White House, a movie about a Mississippi high school's first integrated dance debuts at the Sundance Film Festival.

The integrated dance "just was a marvelous affair," Canadian director Paul Saltzman said.

What's most significant about "Prom Night in Mississippi" is not that an interracial prom was organized, but that the historic events took place less than a year ago.


click here to read the rest.

Wow, absolutely mind blowing! I'm not blind to the facts and realize that racism still exists, but I guess I just had no idea that in some places it still ran that deep.

For the record I'd be interested to see this movie, if it ever comes to the big screen, but I'm sure it would have me enraged in some parts.

I just felt compelled to share that. I'm still a llittle lost for words. The things I find on CNN! That site has seen a lot of me lately, and no it's not just presidential news. I log on there when I catch breaks at work sometimes and then stream the vids when I get home since streaming is forbidden at work.

05:25 pm - quick one...

Acquired from lsu_tiger_81 and jenandbronze

What brought you to my LJ?

What keeps you here?

I think I asked this question once before. So finally there's a thing going around for it? Hey, I'll take it!

10:30 am - thoughts on 808s and Heartbreak

As I sit here with my MP3 player on random it occurred to me that I never posted up my thoughts about Kanye's new project. So while I have a free second...

I hate to have to admit that I like it because lord knows I've bitched in here about autotune like it's my second job. But I can't help it, I like this album! It's like I've told several people I've talked to about the album though... it's how Kanye put it together that makes it work. The instrumentation makes the music interesting, and the lyrical content definitely lets you know he put his heart and soul into this one. It's not that he doesn't put his all into his rap albums, please don't get me wrong, but this one is deep. So while I still wish autotune would run and get lost somewhere, I have to admit that I can almost forgive the use of it on this album. I don't like every single song on the album, but I do like the vast majority of them. Favorites include "Heartless," and "Welcome to Heartbreak."

Current Mood: okay

01:10 am - song of the moment...

Sorry, couldn't resist!




Musiq - If You Leave (featuring Mary J Blige)

Figured I should do the link for those who can't get at and/or dont' like imbedded content.

And I just hit up amazon to make sure this song is on Musiq's new album set to come out on Tuesday. It is! Problem is, now that the album drops so close to Christmas I have this rule about not getting CDs in December. Noooo! So unfair!

Current Mood: hungry