Day 20: As I Am (2007) by Alicia Keys

I just somewhat challenged my Professor of Hip Hop Culture to a rap battle. Hahaha...not really. Someone suggested that for extra credit we should write a flow. He jokingly said that he finds that scary since it's hard to listen to bad rhymes. I yelled out, "How do you know we're bad?" The class laughed and kinda was like "oh snaps!" Hahaha...but again, not really.

Since this is my blog and my blog only, maybe I'll just write down my notes for class for today. I know this probably has nothing to do with Alicia Keys' album "As I Am," but fuck it. I could do whatever I want.

Hahaha...naw. I'm just playin. As much as I love hip hop and the politics of hip hop, I gotta get out of that mind set sometimes.

Aight, the last couple posts have been a bit political in nature. Tonight, I'm gonna do a little self-indulging.

First off, I didn't expect what I got from this album. I'm a huge fan of soul and r&b, but Alicia Keys just hasn't been bringin it for me the last couple of years. She had some really great early singles like "Fallin'," "A Woman's Worth," "You Don't Know My Name," and "Diary." And let's not forget "If I Aint Got You." But her last few singles were a bit bleh to me. A little more poppy, a little less soul.

So I have really been putting off listening to this album for a while. I believe I got this album from my buddy Daryl when he was giving me his collection of albums about two years ago or so. It was part of the package including T.I., some Daft Punk, Radiohead and Jay-Jay Johanson. I've listened to just about every other album, but this is the last one that I've taken time to listen to.

And damn. She surprised me. There are some pretty soulful songs in this album. Songs like "Where Do We Go From Here" and "Wreckless Love" made it easier to listen to songs like "No One." Like my girl Linda "Smash" from Culinary Combat said to me, the album is better than its singles.

Speaking of Smash, we been jammin together for the last few months, along with Tostada on rhythm guitar and Marino on drums. She mad kills it when we jam. Great singing voice. I play lead guitar, although I'm probably gonna move to bass. I think that's where my skill will be best used. Anyhow, together we are SOLO ENSEMBLE (shameless plug). All we're doing is covers for now, but once we get more accustomed to playing together, we'll come out with original stuff. Now if only we can get my girl Jean to come out. You remember her? The one that almost fought Humpty Dumpty in the first post. Yeah, she can fill it in with the keys.

Imagine this in a mini skirt.

Anyhow that is all for today. I'm dead tired and I gots to go teach some kids to read in the mornin. Join me tomorrow when I do another Al Green album, Lay It Down.

Peace, bruthas and sistas!

Day 19: Al Green's Greatest Hits (1975) by Al Green

So I been in an Al Green mood the last two days. I been bumping him before I go to sleep, while at work, driving, etc., etc. But how can I not be? How can you deny the man above?

In reality, this is partly due to the fact that I listen to an album based on the order that I have it in my Itunes. At the same time, once I start playin his albums, I can't stop. This guy is just too good. And to listen to a Greatest Hits album by this guy? Ho...ly...shenanigans.

On the real, I feel it's hard to listen to a greatest hits collection. It's always some aging band, on the downslope of their career, now amassing their singles to resell them to us. The singles, for the most part, were the only "good" songs on their respective albums. Sometimes they add a new song, but it's never as good as the originals. It's all marketing.

Maybe I'm being a little harsh. Not all bands that release a greatest hits collection are bad, nor are the songs the only good songs on their original albums. But every once in a while, we get gems like this:

Or:

(On a side note: if you play guitar, play the notes in the chorus of "Higher." Now change the lyrics to "Hero" by The Foo Fighters.)

Now, I hope I get no flack for posting N'Sync. "Hey, V, I understand hating on Creed, but N'Sync?" I don't want to alienate my female readers, all three of you. I'm just saying that this group came out with, what, three albums? I'm still waiting for the next N'Sync album. But a greatest hits album after a few years of existence? Psh! Get JT to call the rest of the guys, bust out another album, and then we'll see.

Anyhow, I don't think there's that problem with Al Green's Greatest Hits. It's hard to hate on this album because each of those songs have been played incessantly in the last 35 years and, let's be honest, they're pretty classic. Now I'm a pretty big hater, and had I been alive in 1975, I probably would have been hating. But I'm here now, and I gotta say, I'll probably be bumping this for a while. As a matter of fact, "Love and Happiness" will be the next song I'll learn to play.

Speaking of hating, it kinda reminds me of this:

"Haters Through Time" would have been more appropriate, but I like this one better. Anyhow, no matter what era I would have lived in, I would have been That Guy. Always hating, bemoaning all the new shit coming out, I-remember-when-I-was-your-age and the such.

But when you think about it, I'm 24, and I'm starting to sound like those old people that hate young people. Hell, most of the people I know do that.

The reality of the fact is that no matter what age you're from, for every sick "classic" album that existed, there's 10 shitty albums that came with it. I'm sure they did this back in Beethoven's time.

"Yo, that last Beethoven album was sick, but his new shit is whaaaack!"

Hahaha...I'm just saying. Everyone thinks their generation is the best, when it comes to music or otherwise. Let's appreciate each other, old school, new school, or no school.

Anyhow, that's it for today, boys and girls. Catch ya tomorrow when I do Alicia Keys' "As I Am."

Peace bruthas and sistas!