Suga-Sweet Guilty Pleasures

Confession time: I have always loved… the (now defunct) Sugababes. Particularly the first two line ups.

No, I will not run.

I mean, yes, they are about as pop as the year 1999, and were probably manufactured by a bunch of old, rich dudes in a cold boardroom somewhere, but dudes, those three-part harmonies man….

And you know what, these girls always had flavour. They weren’t your typical, plastic, pop princesses a la Brit and them. Sometimes, but not always.

Anyway, I love them and that’s that. No shame.

So they went through a bunch of line-up changes over the years that kept getting worse with each change. 

This was exhausting..

But now the original members are back together under a new name, MKS. 

Black and White always looks good man

They are; Mutya who has a killer lower register, all rich and delicious and things, Keisha a gorgeous black girl with a sugary sweet soprano and Siobhan (I love that name), whose voice I don’t know but is lovely all the same. Also she should seriously play a young Elizabeth I in a movie one day. I mean, come on.. 

All Hail..

These girls have been doing a bunch of covers including this gem of a track that I stumbled on on the youtubes..You are welcome.

Where do I start?

Right. For starters, these girls are ballsy.

I don’t need to tell you how big Kendrick Lamar’s Swimming pools is. To do a cover of something that big is always tricky cause die-hards don’t want to hear a version. Ever. At least I usually don’t. Do you guys? 

Even if it’s a great rendition, I usually have a hard time reconciling myself with anything other than the original.

Cause you know, songs have moments. That’s what I look for. For the different moments. These moments are very particular. They are exact. They are established after you have formed a sort of relationship with the original song. 

They cannot be replicated.

Covers, even good ones, don’t have these moments and that kinda kills it all. But this track created whole new moments for me. The whole chorus is a freaking moment! I have never experienced that before.

Secondly, these chics can SING. I mean, homie, there’s no one who can tell me anything on this. It’s a declaration. I have declared. I know some of you will be like, “Oh, these girls aren’t belting notes that only dogs can hear! Like Mariah!”

Yes. 

And that’s exactly why I know they can sing. They have such freaking control of their instruments. You can tell they could go all Christina Aguilera on you if they wanted but mamis are so chill man. You don’t have to go all gospel to be an amazing singer.

And lastly, This song stood completely on its own even if it borrowed heavily from the original. The song is an accurate interpretation of what Kendrick was talking about on “swimming pools” that is done in a voice that is distinctly MKS’. They didn’t get swallowed up by the original and they didn’t lose the plot. Do you realize how delicate a balance that is? These girls are professionals. Such rare thing amongst pop artists.

I love this song so much man, I don’t even know.

Do you? Let me know on the comments section, or on twitter @Karingaringa_ or on facebook.

And whilst you are there share your pop guilty pleasures. You know you have them ;)

Happy Friday.

K.

Doh-ray-me....

song

 noun \ˈsȯŋ\

: a short piece of music with words that are sung

: the act of singing

: a series of musical sounds that are produced by a bird or an animal (such as a whale)

To double-offering Thursdays. Hear, hear.

No. 1.

Remember my friend DanDan who bakes divine banana bread and  properly put me on ATCQ a few months ago? Well, he's responsible for this one as well. Also, he's my boyfriend now.

Naturally.

I gets mine son.

The track is by Japanese house-god Towa Tei.

Yeah, I didn't know of him either till around a week ago.

Why don't you have a listen first....

So, this isn't my natural soundscape. I'm a bass girl. I like to feel the music somewhere very primal. But dudes, this is just so smoooooooooth!

Granted, it does sound a little dated (came out in 1994), but good is good, even if it's 130 years old, as we've seen.

And that video....

Towa Tei has such an undeniable cool factor. And in the midst of all the garish synths that have come to define today's electronica, sweet little chords are such a breath of fresh air.

I'm really liking this and I'm gonna go crate digging for sounds of this era. Will keep you posted on how that goes.

His new album. Lucky (2013) is out. See if you like it.

No.2

Still a result of being in the constant company of DanDan.

This is a well-known song I hadn't heard in eons that I was pleasantly surprised to hear on his kitchen playlist. (He can't cook without music. Weirdo.)

It feels like it's been in every rom com. Turns out it's only two. Or at least wikipedia says so.

Oh, and it's about Nicole Scherzinger. Still wikipedia. She is in the actual video though, so it might be true.

Enjoy.

Once again, it is a bit dated and a little bit cheesy on account of all the rom coms it's been used in, BUT, it just feels so freaking good.

It makes you want to drive somewhere on a warm afternoon.

And that lovely reggae skank on the guitar works perfectly.

This song can sort out a bad day if you let it.

I think I'm at a place where I'm gravitating towards actual songs with chords and melodies and harmonies and intelligent song writing. There's not a lot of that on the radio right now.

If you have a good song that's actually a song, please share on the comments or on twitter @karingaringa or on facebook

K.

Lufthansa Music

Today’s jam is 130 years old.

By jam, I mean piece of music that I really, really like. No disrespect meant to all classical music enthusiasts. And really… 

So we can still call it a jam.

It is the flower duet from the French opera, Lakmè by Lèo Delibes`. (Dudes, are you wondering how I’m putting that accent mark on the all the letter Es? Because I didn’t even look it up on help. I just figured it out and it is giving me very cheap thrills J )

Here it is. (Warning: You might get a little light-headed at about 0.38)

I’m sure this music isn’t unfamiliar to you. That’s cause British airways used it in an ad back in the day. I had originally thought it was (the now defunct) Lufthansa when I heard it earlier in the week. Remember Lufthansa? That airline that was in all the European magazines at the dentist’s office when you were a kid? No? Maybe it was just me then.

Anyway, aside from being appropriated by a giant airline, this piece of music has also been used in a bunch of films. You’d see why that would happen though, cause it is such a lush, evocative composition. It gives one a sense that they are floating above everything. An aerial view of life so to speak. Maybe that’s why the BA used it! Ha! Clever buggers!

There is a melancholy to it though. I find that’s the case with a lot of classical stuff. Always has a tinge of sadness. Like Halle Berry’s face. There’s an underlying sadness in all that beauty. 

Don't cry, Halle. :(

And thanks to Hollywood, classical music also carries an air of creepiness to it. Noticed how it is the music the rich psychos kill to, in a lot of movies? J Ridiculous.

I didn’t hear that in this piece though. It was so airy and yet full of substance. Good God those sopranos can sing! I dare you not to sing along and for a second imagine you sound exactly like them.

The song itself is about going to a river with flowers or something. It could be about different envelope shapes for all I care, it is simply divine.

Do you have any classical stuff you like? Share in the comments or on twitter @KaRingaRinga.

Also, look out for this week’s mix that will feature the songs we talk about. Will upload the sound cloud link on Sunday.

It’s lunch time. I am going to make a sandwich to this song, serve it with a garnish( read tomato slice), drink water from a wine goblet and pretend  I’m on a Lufthansa plane to a Budapest.

Cheap thrills.

K.

P.S. Happy Birthday Steve!

It's all alright friends...

Let’s start the year on a wonderfully hippie note, shall we?

Listen as your day unfolds, challenge what the future holds

Try and keep your head up to the sky

Lovers, they may cause you tears

Go ahead release your fears, stand up and be counted

Don't be ashamed to cry

You gotta be

You gotta be bad, you gotta be bold, you gotta be wiser

You gotta be hard, you gotta be tough, you gotta be stronger

You gotta be cool, you gotta be calm, you gotta stay together

All I know, all I know, love will save the day

Herald what your mother said

Reading the books your father read

Try to solve the puzzles in your own sweet time

Some may have more cash than you

Others take a different view, my oh my, heh, hey

You gotta be bad, you gotta be bold, you gotta be wiser

You gotta be hard, you gotta be tough, you gotta be stronger

You gotta be cool, you gotta be calm, you gotta stay together

All I know, all I know, love will save the day

Time asks no questions, it goes on without you

Leaving you behind if you can't stand the pace

The world keeps on spinning

You can't stop it, if you try to

The best part is danger staring you in the face

Remember, listen as your day unfolds

Challenge what the future holds

Try and keep your head up to the sky

Lovers, they may cause you tears

Go ahead release your fears, my oh my heh, hey, hey

You gotta be bad, you gotta be bold, you gotta be wiser

You gotta be hard, you gotta be tough, you gotta be stronger

You gotta be cool, you gotta be calm, you gotta stay together

All I know, all I know, love will save the day

You gotta be bad, you gotta be bold, you gotta be wiser

You gotta be hard, you gotta be tough, you gotta be stronger

You gotta be cool, you gotta be calm, you gotta stay together

All I know, all I know, love will save the day

Happy New Year! To good tunes and consistency in 2014. And to  Des’ree who is somewhere in Canada right now. Those cheekbones man...

Might I add, perfect song for an unshowered, regret-ridden morning bus ride. Try it and tell me bout it on twitter @KaRingaRinga or on my email soundscribe.email@gmail.com. Please and thanks.

K.

Bonita. Bonita. Bonita.

Chairman of the board/ the Chief of affections
You got mines/ to sway in your direction...

My friend DanDan let me raid his hard drive last weekend. He's pretty awesome, DanDan is. He makes bad beats and bakes bad cakes. He really does. His banana bread is straight fire. DanDan is taste maker literally and figuratively :)

Ok, enough of that.

DanDan has incredible music and I stole some. Among my booty was A tribe Called Quest's debut album, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm (1990).

Love long album names.

Now, confession time: I had never really listened to ATCQ before last weekend.
Don't eat me.

I don't know why. I mean, I had listened to few singles, "Can I kick it?", "Stressed Out", "Against the world" etcetera, but no albums.
I know. Sacrilege. I have no defense.
Mercy.

I have already taken steps to remedy my wrongdoing and let me tell ya, I am remorse personified. If for nothing else, for only now discovering the gem that is "Bonita Applebum".

I had heard the reference several times. Everybody from Jay Z ("Bonita Applebum, I gotta put you on. If I didn't when we cuttin' the feeling would be too strong") to PM dawn (Christina Applegate/ you gotta put me on) have used it. So naturally, it was among  the first songs I gravitated to when I played the album.

Being that I just might be the last person to discover ATCQ, I am still quite jazzed by how simple and melodic their flow is. It's like nursery rhymes. Very simple flow. But what makes it really sublime is that these brothers' content is intelligent. That juxtaposition is most enjoyable to listen to man.

The content of the song itself is basically the slickest, most ninja macking I have ever heard. Q tip is charming as hell here and I doubt there's a lot of girls who wouldn't respond to respectfully being described as "extremely desirable". Mind you he does looks a bit lecherous in the video :) Regardless, the song is charming and if I wasn't a toddler in 1990 and Q tip told me to put him on, I probably would.

With much aplomb.

The lines flows nice yo, what can i say?

The little magical touch in this track though was the vocal chatter that was in the background as Tip rapped. Tiny element that would have made all the difference if it wasn't there. Reminded me of the vocal chatter in Marvin Gaye's "What's going on?" which also happened to give that song the uniqueness it has, in my opinion. (Anybody have that album by the way? soundscribe.email@gmail.com)

The production was spot on. Simple boom-bap and some killer samples,my favourite being Mathar by the Dave Pike Set. Same sample was used in The Fugees' "Killing me softly" as most of you will realize.

Basically, the song is perfect. It's my song of the week. That's a thing now. I just decided that. What's your song of the week? Hit me up on the comment section or on email or on twitter, @Karingaringa_

Quite psyched to listen to low end theory which i hear was their baddest album. Will let you know how that goes.

K

A music blog in 2013...how original.

I am not the best writer. I'm not being self-deprecating so as to manage your expectations. It's just the simple truth (Not terrible either, so you won't find this hard to read, worry not).

I am also not a musical expert. Didn't study musical theory, can't tell the difference between C major and Sergeant Major and I still don't fully get James Blake's sound, embarrassed as I am to admit it. Basically, I do not qualify as a conventional music blogger.

So why am I doing this? And in friggin 2013? 

Honestly? I just love music. I know everyone does, but I'm among those people who love music more than anything else in their lives. The only thing I love as much as listening to music is hearing and reading and talking about it. I love hearing why songs make people feel the way they do when they hear them. And I love sharing how music makes me feel.

I have wanted to write about music since I was around 16. I watched this reality show on MTV where a bunch of young music journalists were competing for a job at Rolling Stone. The stuff just resonated with me. I was so envious of all of them. There was this bad ass Asian chic who was a big hip hop head. That was her niche. She lived, breathed and wrote only about hip hop. I don’t even know if she won but she was bad. And I wanted to be bad-ass-asian-hiphop-writer-chic when I was 16. I don’t anymore because honestly, I don’t remember much about her or that show. But the need to share thoughts on music, and especially music I love, has stayed with me till now.

Why this year? Again, honestly?  I was too lazy or preoccupied to do it any other year. I am aware that this might be read by exactly three people since there are about a gazillion music blogs out there, 99% of which are better written than this one, but none of that matters now. This isn't about being something. It’s about getting all these thoughts out. It’s about doing it because I really wanted to at some point, and I clearly still do. It’s about possibly hearing from people who love music as much as I do, and having those conversations.

So, yeah, that's what I'm doing here.

*                       *                      *                    *                 *                     *                   *

I'll start by sharing a song I believe could possibly be the best song in the world, ever.

You will find, if you continue reading this blog, that I don't do superlatives. I feel that they are traps that limit our experiences, and therefore, our lives. But I would have to say “Where would you be?” by Yaw is an exception.

I first heard it in mid 2010 on a podcast  called “The Space”. It’s hosted by this guy called Dijon who is one of the biggest influences on my musical tastes. He’s amazing. Super-eclectic but still very clear about what he digs. You can find him here. So, when I first heard it, I dismissed it. Yeah, I dismissed the best song in the world. Let me explain.

You see, Yaw is a powerful, male soul vocalist, and he sings in the tradition of Soul masters like Al Green and Otis Redding. A very full, rich, glorious sound. But then,  I just couldn’t hear it.

Let me explain further.

I had just discovered Dubstep thanks to some new friends I’d made, and I was eating it up. Consequently my ears were kind of rejecting anything that had words. All I recognized were wobbling bass lines. So when  I first heard those beautiful brass notes, I was like, “NEXT!” and swiftly moved to a thumping  DJ Ale Fillman mix (Who also happens to be bad-ass, hear his sounds on his website.)

Luckily, I worked at a bank at the time, and the only thing that stopped me from jumping from my 3rd floor office window everyday(which would have been be a very painful and ineffective suicide attempt) was “The Space”. One particularly soul sucking afternoon, I decided to stop working on whatever it is I used to do there (honestly don’t remember) and really listen to the music I was playing on the company computer. That’s when I was hit by the force that is “Where would you be”.

I am not gonna attempt to describe what I think to be the most beautiful piece of music ever created.  I can’t do it. Not adequately. The best I could do is describe the sensation that washed over me. Strange metaphors ahead.

When the first  notes hit my ears,  It was like I was suddenly and  slowly being enveloped by a warm, gentle being. By the time Yaw had started to sing in that gorgeous falsetto of his, I was completely overwhelmed. From there the embrace of this being became so exquisite, I was quite sure I was going to die. I was going to be strangled to death by the organic emotion one cannot escape when they hear Yaw’s voice.

It was devastating.

When it ended, I was practically catatonic for the rest of the day. Couldn’t. Do. a. thing. Completely and utterly stunned.

Needless to say, I listened to it a few million times after that and shared it with everyone I met. Not all were as enthusiastic about it, but isn't that the beauty of Music? It's brand new for every ear.

Surprisingly, the Ghanian-born singer is still pretty underground. I have no idea why.  But you can check out his myspace to hear more of his stuff. And if you live in Chicago, you could probably see him live…You lucky bastards.

And if someone could get me the limited edition vinyl release that features this track, I will give you my first child.

Or at least name it after you.

K.