Ok not that kind of memory, but in a way the memories that we will discuss in this post are stored in a similar manner. Cue: Bob Hope.

If we are lucky enough to have the part of our brain that deals with memory functioning properly we have a place to go from time to time. Memories can rage from the very pleasant to the tumultuous and sometimes memories have the ability to change over time depending upon how honest we might want to be with ourselves or those around us.

The subject of my mini-rant today is of course: Music. To be honest with you all, I’m afraid, very afraid.

Why am I afraid? Well to put it simply, I’m afraid that musically we’re not making enough room for new memories at the expense of the old. What’s different now than in decades past is we (literally we as in any of us or all of us)have the power to stay comfortable and continue to seek out the familiar, thus giving zero opportunity for something new to occupy the cherished space with our old favorites. Now granted, music has to earn the right to be played over and over. It has to be compelling, it has to beckon to us and quite frankly no amount of marketing and promotion can substitute for a song and performance that’s just incredible. Many lovers of music turned off the corporate schlock of radio many moons ago only to find that the internet is often full of musical schlock that just so happens to not be corporately sponsored. So what do most folks do? Well, we often do what’s natural: retreat.

Trust and believe I totally understand this phenomenon because I have been guilty of it many, many times. It’s easy, its safe, heck you even feel like an adult by saying “Back in my day, the music was blah, blah, blah.” Yes it was. But how did it get to be that way? Repetition? Right? Isn’t that how we often learn/remember? What happens when you play something once? Ok, now what would happen if you played the same piece 10 times in a row? You may still not like it but it’s going to stick with you in one way or the other because of the experience.

My fear lies in the fact that because soooo much music comes at us soooo often that we just don’t have the time anymore to take in and experience music in the way it should be. I’m not necessarily talking about forcing something on you that you don’t like (because we all have to account for personal taste) I mean finding those safe musical places where folks can talk openly and honestly about what’s good and what’s not and bring the same zeal and fervor to music made in 2013 that is done for music made in 1973 if the music deserves it.

What’s really sad is the deserving. Some folks believe if you beat people over the head with awareness(read: marketing and promotion) of music that’s the same as experiencing it. It’s not. The best marketing (at least for me) is someone I trust saying: “You need to check this out!” my GFM cohorts will tell you because I’ve used this example to death: A few years ago I got an email that said “You should check this music!” granted that happens all day everyday so trust and believe I have an entire grain elevator dedicated to my thoughts on that. But because of trust I said to myself “What the hey?”. Accounting for taste I liked all the songs that were sent to me, but one in particular I could not stop playing, like literally. That’s the type of memory I’m looking for. That’s what music is supposed to do.

We’re all struggling to sift through the terrible to get to the great. It’s hard because there’s a lot of terrible music out here. I mean a lot. Unfortunately, we live in a landscape where constructive criticism is not welcomed and because everyone has a bullhorn it’s hard to be heard over the noise. I often wish that more musicians and their “teams” could be from Missouri because there’s a lot of talking but the product often does not match the hype.

I shoulder as much blame as anyone and the entire blogosphere at times because in the race to get views, likes, etc., etc., sometimes the very thing that looks, walks and smells like a duck is not being called out for what it really is… this is why we struggle with making new memories. You know there are seven days in a week and I think the concept of Throwback Thursday can be cool in moderation… but if we are constantly throwing back everyday of the week which direction are we headed?

Tamela Mann has finally released a video for her truth telling, Grammy-nominated anthem, “Take Me To The King” The video features Tamela’s powerhouse live performance of “Take Me To The King,” which moved the audience to worship along with Tamela on the 2013 Stellar Gospel Music Awards. And, she looks stunning, to boot. Enjoy.

What is there to say about this record except it has the right title. The song is guaranteed to heat up those special evenings and the video warms things up without going too far and leaves the ending of the story up to imagination of the viewer. Enjoy.

GFM Fam I wanted to put your all up on a very progressive project from tai allen who readers of this blog will know from his work as one half of vicelounge. Free from convention this is music which follows the muse. The music is crafted in a manner that almost suggests that you are being presented with a mixed media installation for your auditory pleasure. The project is due out on June 4th and check out the press release after the jump to find out more about this set that you will want to add to your collection. You can checkout some audio snippets here

From the press release

- ARTIST
tai allen (of vicelounge)
- GENRE
poet / singer / producer / arranger
- TITLE
vicious boy (the sample ep)
- RELEASE (official)
june 4. 2013
- BRIEF
i wanted to make a record that held some of the audio art that runs through my head. this EP was done with the understanding that i making life difficult for reviewers, buyers, fans and subsequently me. but, this is what came out. a record that focuses less on a unifying theme or pushes one form. even in the past we have mixed mediumed our releases but usually under one concept.
my attempt this time was to make a bunch of music then create an EP of the best material. i pray that was accomplished. on the project I am rocking live with Onaje Allan Gumbs; spitting a poem in the middle of cypher; singing about missing work to stay with a lover, with the snare drum absent; telling about my love for the world’s children and my/jonn nubian’s; getting electro-soulish to discuss sex; and, dropping some break beats that would make James Brown and Sade envious. i had fun making music — and it shows here.

“work it out, tai! work it out!!” – luquantum leap, off stage during 16Tons.

- CREDITS
all music: tai allen
all mixing: tai allen + vespertine
except
open door: jonn nubian (music)
when it comes: jonn nubian (music)
smile: tai allen (music) + jonn ( add’l drums)
16Tons: onaje allan gumbs & new vintage (music)
good water: tai allen + bradd marquis with l michael gipson (mixing)
airport kiss: tai allen + jonn nubian (mixing)

Our friends over at YouKnowIGotSoul caught up with Fantasia and with all of the interviews out discussing her personal life, YouKnowIGotSoul took the opportunity to really dig into the new album “Side Effects of You”, discuss her musicality and voice, decision to go with Harmony on producing the whole album, “Rock Soul” movement, and much more. Enjoy.

Time to get your weekend going with a great mix from none other than DJ Phaze… classic Stevie for your weekend ride out. Peep the playlist after the player.

DJ Phaze – GFM Stevie Wonder Mix by GrownFolksMusic

Rocket Love
Heaven Is 10 Zillion Light Years Away
My Cherie Amour
Bird Of Beauty
I Was Made to Love Her
I Love Every Little Thing About You – Stevie Wonder Presents Syreeta
Galaxy Paradise 
Music Talk
One Of A Kind 
I Ain’t Gonna Stand for It
Smile Please
Dark ‘n’ Lovely 
A Place in the Sun
Another Star
As if You Read My Mind

This guest post comes to us from New Orleans raised bassist Blyss who currently calls San Francisco home while holding the bass chair in the band of legendary Meters drummer Zig.

That SOTT/BLACK/LOVESEXY era is so special to me personally because it was a time of serious change and transition. Oh man, the golden days when Prince was dropping a record a year… I was 17 in 87, my senior year of High School and that year we were also moving out of my beloved Treme, trading it for an area of New Orleans called Gentilly. Okay, I know I’m supposed to be saying something about these records but, damn, that whole era brings back serious memories!

“Lovesexy” is, in my opinion, one of the last great concept albums with it’s theme of struggle between good and evil. This record isn’t just a collection of songs and even the famously annoying early releases of the CD with all of the songs listed as one track let you know that Prince wanted it to be heard as a complete work. I ain’t mad at him. It really is a record that you can listen to from start to finish.

Prince hadn’t been in town since the “Purple Rain” tour and quite honestly he’d lost quite a few people…a lot of people. I remember camping out downtown to buy tickets from a Ticketmaster inside a department store downtown but not nearly as many people as I’d expected were there. The night of the show much of the Lakefront Arena was empty. You could see large sections of empty spaces but that didn’t bother me. The show was simply fascinating. It was like watching a Broadway musical, the quintessential Rock Opera.

Whenever I think of Lovesexy, I do not think of the album. I always immediately think of Lovesexy, the tour. I went two nights in a row in Atlanta, Georgia at The Omni on Oct. 13 & 14 of 1988. Lovesexy became the bar that I judged every Prince tour ever since. My first Prince tour experience was 1999 in Birmingham, Alabama at the age of twelve (Thank you, Mama, for letting me go, and thanks to my Aunt Net and Uncle Carl for taking me.) I am super jealous of anyone who had the opportunity to see him during the Controversy or Dirty Mind tours, but I would have only been ten:( I always wish I had been born a decade earlier just so I could have experienced these tours. My second Prince tour was for Purple Rain in Atlanta in January of 1995 also at The Omni. The Lovesexy tour was awfully important to me most notably because it seemed as though 4 decades had passed since I had seen Prince live even though it had been only 4 years. He hadn’t toured the states for ATWIAD, Parade, nor SOTT, so I was feenin’ to see Prince live again.

What was so special about this tour? First of all, the band. Sheila E. on a full drumkit was mind-blowing to witness. I had seen her open for Prince for the Purple Rain tour with her timbales setup and glowing drum sticks, but this was totally different. Boni Boyer on keys and vox was heavenly. The addition of Cat created mad energy on stage, and Eric Leeds & Atlanta Bliss together were a match made in heaven. Then, there was the stage–in the round–which I had never experienced before in my limited concert exposure at that point, and seeing Prince being truly mobile on stage was a treat. However, what was more phenomenal than the stage setup were Prince, Sheila, and Cat’s clothes adorned with letters and color blocking. Being a budding graphic designer I realized that design was everywhere. I often say everything I learned about design I learned from Prince, and this Prince period really cemented this for me. And don’t forget about Prince’s hair at this time. I loved how he rocked his long, curly locks–one of the reasons why “Alphabet Street” is one of my most beloved Prince videos to this day.

As for the album, if I only had one day to live, and I could only listen to one Prince album, Lovesexy would NOT be the one. In fact, if I had to choose between Lovesexy, which was released in place of the Black Album originally, I’d choose the Black Album every time. Whenever I want to listen to a song from the Lovesexy period, the first thing I listen to is the 12″ of “I Wish You Heaven.” I listen to Scarlet Pussy, and then I flip it over and listen to Parts 1, 2 & 3 of “I Wish U Heaven.” If I still need more Lovesexy songs I follow up with “Alphabet Street,” “Anna Stesia,” “Positivity,” or “Dance On.” However, when I want to listen to the Black Album, I want to listen to the Black Album in its entirety from start to finish. I still get goose bumps listening to “Cindy C.”, after hearing this literally hundreds of times. “Bob George” is the song that I knew Prince always wanted to record as Prince, as previously he would cloak his humor through tunes like “Tricky” by making it into a Time production. “Superfunkycalifragisexy” is a beast of song with that guitar chicken grease. There are no words that can even being to describe how amazing “Rockhard in a Funky Place” sounds with the beautiful Susannah on background vocals. In retrospect, I do find this kind of ironic being that Lovesexy was originally released as one single 45:07 track, when I wish that the Black Album would have been since it is sequenced so perfectly.

So for me, Lovesexy is more than an album. It is the tour. It is Prince’s image. It is the album that should have come out instead of Lovesexy at the time, The Black Album.

However, the one thing that is unforgettable about Lovesexy is the album cover… NO ONE will ever forget that cover… you know the one I speak of;) It is forever emblazoned on the retinas of Prince fans everywhere.