Yep. I worked some overtime Wednesday night and started my regular schedule last night. The fun part is that it's Hell Week time. Seven (well eight now) glorious days seeing the same people for 12 hours a night. If that's not motivation, I don't know what. One of these Hell Weeks, I may put up a post a night to show the slow decline that is brought on at this time. It would be amusing. Pictures would be better, but I know that wouldn't happen even if I did have a cameraphone. Anyway, in the meantime, Check out my other blog, I See Stupid People with my girl, The L. There is a funny post on there which has sparked me to pull out some stuff that I wasn't going to mention. Actually, I'll be glad when I get off my butt and post the one or two posts I've started on.

Oh, also in the meantime. are you looking for events in your area? Are you having an event in your area. Well, check out upcoming.org. I just came across this site last night and it seems interesting. you can search out your area to see if there are any events coming up there. It looks as though you can post an event there also to get the word out of it, check your friends events, and I believe, do RSVP's from there. I hadn't checked it out thoroughly, so you can see. when you go to it, it looks as though it will bring up stuff in your area automatically but you can look in other places or change the one that comes up. Anyway, bored? Check it out. There might be something going on around that you didn't know about.

Peace


Technorati Tags: misc,

Is it wrong that after a long night at work, after a long weekend at work, that the only to be excited about in the last past long week is the fact that the hot sign was up at the only Krispy Creme doughnut spot (that is well out of the way of the trip home)? I mean Snoopy dance excited(well okay, not THAT excited).


Also, last night I saw about 5 minutes of the new show, "Heroes" on NBC. Coincidently, I saw the first 5 minutes of the show, "Windfall", a few months back. They seem similar to me for some reason. Instead of money, these people get powers. Go figure.

We interrupt the previously scheduled rant for something a little more or less productive.

For those of you Pandora users, you might want to check this link out.

jkOnTheRun: As if we needed more to like about it: 15 Pandora tweaks

Now, i've talked about Pandora enough in the past and I probably won't stop talking about it any time soon.  This post, outside of having some other good links, clicks through to this post on the Lifehacker site:

Technophilia: 15 ways to get more out of Pandora - Lifehacker

As the title says, there are some useful tips for handing Pandora. Some of them I have heard of and/or used before. An issue in one of these tips, I hadn't encountered. The only one I didn't see is the one on how to rewind a track and I know there was a way out there. I'm not so much concerned with saving tracks (which is mentioned in one or two or the tips), but it is handy, I guess. At any rate, if you use Pandora, check it out. If you are curious about it, check out my stations to the left of this post.

And now back to the previously scheduled rant or whatnot.

Well, I least I think it's number 3. I can't remember the last one I did that counted as one. I have one I've been sitting on for a couple of months, but haven't put it up yet. Forget that, this one has priority.

So I was talking music with my dear friend Baby Jaguar last week (Hi Daneita) and she asked a question that I totally could not answer, until NOW. The question was...

Where the HELL is Maxwell!

And I thought to myself, yea, where the hell is he? He hadn't had an album since 2001's Now. Hell, Sade's done something since then and you KNOW she can space out her albums like nobody else. And Maxwell was on a pretty good run when he came out. The voice, the timing, the blowed out hair, it was all there. However, I didn't go snooping around for it right off the bat. It wasn't until I was listening to a NeoSoul Cafe podcast last night at work when I heard "Each Hour Each Second Each Minute Each Day: Of My Life"(I love his song) from his second album, Embrya. This is what sent me to finding out what's the deal is. So let's back up a bit.

Maxwell hit the ground running with his 1996 debut album, "Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite". I knew the album was going to be something when I saw the video for "'Til the Cops come Knockin'". And I only saw it once on B.E.T. The whole album was a hit and it played out like a story, or a suite, if you will. Notable songs* were, "Ascension (don't ever wonder)", 'Reunion', "Sumthin' Sumthin'" (of course), and my personal favorite, "Suitelady (The Proposal Jam)". He followed this album a year later with an MTV unplugged album. Let me go ahead and say that I don't usually count "live" albums as full albums because they usually they are usually concerts centered around whatever album was out at the time and not full of any real new material. This one was no exception, but it did spawn a single from it and it was popular. He remade Kate Bush's "This Woman's Work", it took off, and he rode it until the wheels came off.

The video that started it all (for me)




1998 saw the release of the aforementioned album, "Embrya". This also brought the release of some quite long and strange ass song titles. Nonetheless, the album was about as good as the first. Some would argue better. It worked the way it worked for me. Notable songs, "Everwanting: To Want You to Want", the single "Luxury: Cococure", "I'm You: You are Me and We are You", "Submerge: Til We become the Sun", and my personal favorites "Matrimony: Maybe You" and the aforementioned "Each Hour Each Second Each Minute Each Day: Of My Life" Which, by the way, is exactly what was being taken typing all of this out. Jeez! Pretentious, much? Anyway, good album, terribly long titles.

Now that my hands are tired, i'm breezing through the res of this. Maxwell rode Embrya until 2001 (not really, but go with it) when he released "Now" where he re-ran "This Woman's Work" as the jump off. This album was as good as the other albums, in my opinion, which is good. I happen to like consistency in an artist. Call me crazy. I guess now I should take the time to say that through out all of the albums laid the consistent production of Stuart Matthewman. The name may not sound familliar but the his sound does. He is part of the group Sweetback who also doubled at one point as Sade's backing band (okay, do you see the connection?). So if you know the sound, then you know what this album sounded like. In fact, I forgot that Sweetback's album and Maxwell's first album came out the same year, so they had the connection even then. Maxwell also sung the song "Softly Soflty", which is a nice song, on their album (go pick it up. It's sexy).

Back on track. Notable songs... really, f like the first two albums, you probably liked this one. But since you insist on having notable songs here they are: "Get to know ya", "W/as my girl", and the hit single, "Lifetime". After that, he dropped off the face of the earth. Or so I thought.

I just so happened to do a Myspace check and sure enough, he's there. Not only that but it appears that he is working on a new album that looks to be out around Valentine's day? This is great news, personally. There is one thing that has me worried. If you go to his Myspace page, you will notice something quite wild. No, not the fact that there are 3 tracks presumably from the upcoming album. The brother done cut his blow out! Oh wait, I think he just has it dreaded up and pulled back. his hair was kind of signature for him, so I got worried. Actually, I still am. Is this going to be the Maxwell of yesterday with some new material, or is this a new Maxwell that feels the need to flow with the mediorcrity of today's R & B? Who know? Well, I guess I would if I had checked out the tracks on Myspace and I will later on. Right now, I'm kinda glad to see the brother is coming back out. Maybe lifting up the underground (Neo)soul genre, perhaps? We'll see. Hopefully, he'll still do a little Sumthin' Sumthin' (yuck, yuck yuck).

Sorry, had to make the joke.


Technorati Tags: Soul, music, Neo Soul

Today is the birthday of my "baby sister", Audrey. I call her Cookie 'cause she's a SHWEETY!! Hopefully, she won't be too mad that I put her on blast like this, but I think she'll forgive me. I thought I was going to be up that way today for the A & T game, but no luck. I wanted to surprise her (or at least call while I was up there) even though she might have been out most of the day with her hubby and Mom.

So Cookie, since I wasn't able to get there and I don't have a cake for you, I hope that you will accept this in lieu of a gift (for now). And I hope that that you will also accept this: