Music Monday 121 :: Kanye West's "Power (Remix)"

Music Monday 121 :: Kanye West's "Power (Remix)"

With the Grammy Awards fast approaching, thought I'd highlight one of the nominees.

I know that Kanye is not highly regarded by some. Meanwhile he continues to be one of the most nominated artists annually at the Grammys. This year Kanye's the top nominated artist for the third consecutive year.

Whether you cringe or congratulate, his music, continues to stretch the boundaries of the hip hop genre. This song, "Power (Remix)," has some punch to it. It's one of the ultimate workout songs.

One of my fav lyrics is "I've seen people abuse power, use power, misusin' and lose power ..." That's ironic; cliche and profound.

Seems hard, though, to locate the 'official' video.

Kanye West - Power (Remix) feat Jay-Z and Swizz Beatz (Official Video) #eLijTV

Music Monday 74 :: Grammy Nominations

MUSIC MONDAY 74 :: Grammy Nominations

The 2011 Grammy nominations are now available for you to check out.

On the list, a song that I've written about in two previous "Music Monday" blog posts "F**k You" by Cee-lo Green. You've gotta love that that song's been nominate for Song of the Year and Record of the Year (as well as Best Urban/Alternative Performance)! Ha ... and ha ha ha ...

My fav band "The Roots" got some love for two of their projects: "How I Got Over" and the collabo w/John Legend "Shine" and "Wake Up! Everybody", both from the "Wake Up!" project.

There are so many other interesting nominees. Looks like there are some talented folks who are getting some recognition. That doesn't mean that some folks are being left out though.

Music Monday 37 :: "Dream" by Alice Smith

"Dream" by Alice Smith (2006)

Despite getting a Grammy nod in 2007, Alice Smith is just not getting her due. At least not in my book.

I got this cd before it's wide release, but I let it sit on my desk for a bit and I eventually gave the disc to my sister. She promptly asked me if I'd listened to the cd. Well, you can see how it went: I introduced my sis to a bomb diggity new artist and she in turn introduced the artist to me. Weird.

"Dream" is the first track on Smith's debut cd "For Lovers, Dreamers & Me". It's a sultry track and it's got a long slowness to it. I'm not a fan of ballads, so the fact that I'm hooked is a sign of a good thing. Smith knows just when to drag out a word and bend them in the most contorted ways. The way that "Dream" climaxes is astounding. It's not too overboard, but almost.

Check out Alice Smith's performance on "Ellen" last year.

Music Monday 13 :: The 2009 Grammy Awards

So the 2009 Grammy Awards is less than a week away. I get excited for these babies. For lots of reasons:

• I like to see the live performances
• I want to see who shows up (and in some cases, shows out)
• I like to hear a good acceptance speech

I don't care about the red carpet and who is wearing what, though I do take note of who looks the part and how looks a 'hot mess'.

I have not listened to many of the 2009 Grammy nominated songs, but I hope to catch up before the big day arrives, which is Sunday, February 8, 2009.

I get the feeling that one of the Brit's will be Record of the Year. There are three females vocalists from the UK up for that one:

• Adele "Chasing Pavements"
• Leona Lewis "Bleeding Love"
• M.I.A. "Paper Planes"

In the album of the year catergory, Lil Wayne could sneak away w/this one for "Tha Carter". I think Coldplay will win for "Viva la Vida ...". But it would be nice to see Ne-yo win for "Year of the Gentleman"; it seems he's played a pivotal role in keeping classic R&B alive and giving it some flavor along w/some captivating lyrics.

The one album that I really want to check out because the title seems so cool and fun is Marcia Ball's "Peace, Love & BBQ".

I'll be doing some Twittering while watching the show on Sunday. So let's have some fun.

Do you have any picks for this year's Grammy Awards?

The Grammy Nominations

I love awards season ... a chance to see all my pop culture heroes get their kudos! Just a quick post about the Grammy nominations:

• Alice Smith: I had this cd in my office for well over six months, then I tried to give it away to the students and they overlooked it, I listened to it again, thought that it was okay and ended up giving it to my sister who fell in love, love, love with it! She went to see her perform recently and said the live performance was quite nice. Alice reminds me (just a bit) of Macy Gray.

• Amy Winehouse: Tough time recently for this brit, but she's got the talent. I first became aware of her through ?uestlove of The Roots - he wrote about her in his blog. I got wise, purchased a copy via the interweb and gave it to my sis last Christmas - I enjoyed this one quite a bit myself. A few weeks after Christmas when I asked my sis if she had listened to it, she said no ... but she finally got around to it and shared the love w/her friends and co-workers. She is now a bonafide Amy Winehouse fan.

More to come later ... enjoy the list:

50th Annual Grammy Awards Nominations List