the countdown to Christmas…# 4
The O’Jays. Grab something (or someone) cuddly and let Walt and Eddie croon to you.
video credit: originally uploaded to YouTube on October 6, 2010 by Thenicekid0618
Because it’s a special time of year,
~ M
the countdown to Christmas…# 5
We’re halfway through and I’m going with a classic for # 5. It is the impeccable and stylish voice of none other than Nancy Wilson. I love Ms. Nancy’s voice…it is soothing and enchanting. Her version of What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve is one of my favorites.
video credit: originally uploaded to YouTube on December 19, 2009 by LittleMissLounge
Welcoming in the New Year,
~ M
sunday morning, listening…
During this time of year, everyone seems to get so caught up. There are dinners to plan, parties to attend, gifts to buy. It is so easy to forget and move through these days without spending some time being still and listening. This Sunday morning, I’m up early and listening…to the silence.
It is during these silent moments, when my ears hear nothing, that I hear what I need to hear. It is in the silence that I find clarity. When the world keeps turning, when life continues to happen, I find comfort in the silence. I am reminded of my purpose, and reconnect with my focus on ensuring I’m living up to my destiny.
I fall short. I don’t think I’ve done all that I can do. But everyday that I get that touch and open my eyes, I am given a gift of a new day. This new day means that I can try once again. This new day means that I can continue walking. This new day means one more chance to be. I am chosen; God has favored me and that is the most humbling, beautiful thing I can even imagine. So who am I to not keep on living, keep on being, keep on listening?
I’m listening this morning. And my heart is full. I am in love, and love is in me.
I’d rather have Jesus,
~ M
the countdown to Christmas…# 6
This song reminds me of the times that my family gathers. I imagine my aunts, my mom, and my granny in the kitchen whipping up tasty treats with this song playing in the background. It is full of joy, and gently reminds us why we celebrate Christmas. Let’s listen to Soul Holiday by The Sounds of Blackness.
video credit: originally uploaded to YouTube on April 14, 2010 by SoundsBlacknessVEVO
Time to celebrate,
~ M
the countdown to Christmas…#7
Up next is something a little different. I always hear this song in the mall during the holiday season, and it always makes me snap my fingers and sing along.
Plus…it’s George Michael. Enough said.
video credit: originally uploaded to YouTube on October 25, 2009 by WhamVEVO
Last Christmas I gave you my heart,
~ M
the countdown to Christmas…#8
Christmas doesn’t begin until I hear Let It Snow by Boyz II Men. It has been that way ever since Christmas Interpretations was released; I have full faith that tradition will continue. And when I hear Let It Snow, my mind kicks into Christmas gear. I make myself and The Boy big mugs of hot chocolate and stoke up the fireplace and sit and listen to the entire album. I usually lose The Boy around the second or third song…this year, I’m not even sure if I can get him to sit through the first.
But I’ll still be there, by the fireplace, candles lit, Boyz II Men crooning softly. Since I put Let It Snow on the list last year, I have to choose a different song…and I choose Who Would Have Thought. Whew…those harmonies!
video credit: originally uploaded to YouTube on November 17, 2009 by Perdecat3
This feeling will never go away,
~ M
the countdown to Christmas…#9
I love O Holy Night. What I don’t love is that so many try to sing this song and they simply do not have the vocals to pull it off .
Well, Celine Dion does a fabulous rendition…but I’m choosing Mimi for this one. Mariah Carey gives me chills when she sings (or at least, she used to). When she hits that note way up in there around the 3:26 mark, I just want to jump and cheer. It is that good.
video credit: originally uploaded to YouTube on November 7, 2009 by MariahCareyVEVO
O Night Divine,
~ M
the countdown to Christmas…#10
Last year I did a countdown of my favorite Christmas songs. I spent a great deal of time trying to whittle that list down to just 10. I figured that since I’ve been blessed to see another Christmas, why mess with a good thing? I’ll just do another countdown of my favorites this year.
So we are going in no particular order (because really, last year’s Silent Night by the Temps and This Christmas by Donny Hathaway are still #1 and #2, respectively), and we begin with the voice of an angel.
Whitney Houston in the BEST Joy to the World version, period.
video credit: originally uploaded to YouTube on September 6, 2008 by selujlyrad04
With deep, resounding joy…go tell it,
~ M
poetry break #4
“
the heat
you left with me
last night
still smolders
the wind catches
your scent
and refreshes
my senses
i am a leaf
falling from your tree
upon which i was
impaled
”
~ from Autumn Poems, Nikki Giovanni
monday music…my favorite cd #5
I promised my son that I would listen to Take Care…I think my ears are bleeding. Aubrey is not fooling me with this soft-ass “I’m all in my feelings” and “I hurt too” shit. I am not drinking the kool-aid…sorry.
Anyway, my favorite CD # 5 is a direct contrast to Aubrey. Maybe I need to stop here and explain something. I like my Hip-Hop raw and rough, full of bravado and lies, disguised in hot beats. At the base of it, Hip-Hop was (I don’t really know if it still is) poetry. Poetry moves you. It is not a facade nor is it weak. It punches you in the gut and seeps inside of you…it remains with you long after that last beat drops in the song.
OK, back to the favorite CD. It is by the anti-Aubrey (I refuse to call him Drake)…the one and only Jay-Z. Miss me, please, with all the illuminati crap; all I know is the music is fire. No one since Biggie tells a story quite like Jay. No one since Pac delivers with such conviction. My favorite CD #5 is none other than The Black Album.
If you have listened to Jay since Reasonable Doubt, then you have witnessed the evolution of the man. From
Put this on in your car and take a ride around the city. I would bet money that you end your ride feeling like your life has been changed. the streets to being “a business, man”, Jay carries on what Hip-Hop was before Biggie and Pac were killed. Jay is a poet, like Biggie and Pac were, and his life makes for great music. I choose the Black Album because I believe this CD was where I first appreciated him fully. I felt his grown man status on these tracks. There is a royal hierarchy in Hip-Hop; Jay happens to be king. Now, he’s got a few people nipping at his heels, but for now, he is still the one leading the race. Those lyrics? That flow? No one even comes close.
They don’t paint pictures…they just trace me,
~ M
