For some reason, I have been thinking about VH1’s Save the Music for the last couple of days. I remember years ago when the foundation was founded and televised concerts were held to promote the foundation’s purpose. I specifically remember when *N Sync and Gloria Estefan performed Music of My Heart at a STM concert in the early 2000s. (Hey - I was a fan of boy bands. Don’t hold it against me!) As I sit here, I wonder why I have not heard about any recent concerts. After looking at the STM Twitter profile, I found a link to the Save the Music website and found out there are a list of cities that will host a summer tour. But, the tour is not televised! I realize that the foundation’s current strategy may be somewhat different than the previous strategy as it appears that the foundation relies heavily on donations and percentages of artist ticket sales. However, there are so many people that know nothing about Save the Music and it is time to get the word out!
I am personally thankful for the music programs that were offered in the schools I attended. I know for a fact that being in band helped mold me into the person I am today. Playing in my middle and high school bands taught me to be competitive, increased my math abilities, and enhanced my skills as a team player, among other things. I made a commitment years ago that I will give back and donate time and money to my high school band in years to come. I was quite young when I made that decision, but I realized the importance of music in a child’s life. My conclusion came partly from my own experiences and the presence of Save the Music.
Now it is Save the Music’s responsibily to promote their goals and purpose to a younger generation of music lovers and future influencers. After all, these are the individuals who require the educational programs and will give back when they are older and able.
I saw this LG sponsored commercial earlier and thought it was representative of the passion, love, and dedication for music that Save the Music fosters.
by Zero 7: I was going to put off posting this like I do everyday. Hence, why there has not been a post in a week or so. When I decided to search for Zero 7’s album to download it, I realized I must simultaneously blog about this song. I hear this song quite often and every time I love it more than the previous time. At first, I kept forgetting the song and tagged it on Shazam everytime I heard it. Eventually, I realized this was the same song I heard the previous 4 times. The song is so calming and peaceful. It is guaranteed to make you relax, smile, and think about a loved one. It might even make you sing along:
When I’m weak, I draw strength from you and
When you’re lost, I know how to change your mood and
When I’m down, you breathe life over me
Even though we’re miles apart, we are eachother’s destiny
Simple Things, the album in which Destiny is tracklisted, just completed it’s download. I plan on listening to the album as I pick up my workout regimen tomorrow. I will keep you informed of my top favorite tracks off Simple Things and others as I venture into the 3 additional albums by Zero 7.
by Bow Wow: I haven’t written a blog post in what feels like a few days, but I just realized it has been almost a month. I constantly think about writing, but I am making it a point to free my mind of all the music knowledge I have gathered over the last few weeks. I usually like to post quality music, videos, and musical experiences, but I feel I need to broadcast this contradiction. Bow Wow has been promoting his new video Pole In My Basement for a few months and recently released the video. When I say I am so disappointed in this video. This video reminds me on how awful the portrayal of music is generally. The first time I watched the video, I was more interested in the video than the song. I read a viewer comment for the video on YouTube and I think it is extremely accurate. In summary, it stated that for years Bow Wow has maintained a solid fan base of females and this video was to expand into the male audience. His goal is all well and good, but at least have a talented chick in the video! Yes, the female is light skinned and has long hair. But, that is all she is good for. Not once do you see her “dance” on the pole. Matter of fact - she can’t dance. Please check her YouTube profile if you do not believe me. The song is a club banger as expected, but I am so over this video. #FAIL
After ONE MONTH, Luam finally posted a new video today!!! There are some choreographers who can dance in one style very well. Some are a beast at hip-hop. Others prefer jazz. But Luam continues to surpass the rest. She can perform and choreograph across all styles and genres of music. Take this track, All I Need, by One Republic, which is a pop rock band. I know it is so, oh so, hard to choreograph a slow song. Yet, she kills it! I love the choreography, but I especially love when the chorus begins and each dancer goes his or her own way as they let the music take over their body.
by Keri Hilson: I absolutely LOVE this track. How many tracks so you know promote safe sex while also being a club banger? This is the only one I know! I wonder why this track didn’t make it on her album because it would have been a great addition! I hope Ms. Hilson received some funds as an endorsement of Trojan condoms. If not…Keri, girl….you know your manager, label, or whoever makes those deals needs to have Trojan on the phone asap! Times are too hard to be making endorsements for free!
by Aries Spears: This has to be one of my all time favorite freestyles! I saw this video a few years ago and I continue to watch it randomly when I want a good laugh. Or, I show people this video when I want them to trip off Spears’ ability to impersonate rappers. He sounds JUST LIKE them. If you listen to the words without seeing the video you would believe that the vocals were from LL, Snoop, DMX, and Jay, but I suggest seeing the video to believe it. The impersonation of Jay’s laugh is remarkable. The DJ is heard saying “Dude, that was awesome!” prior to the video ending. I concur!
by Vertical Horizon: I have an application on my phone called Shazam which is my favorite app on my iPhone. Today, I was in the grocery store and heard this song playing on the grocery store intercom. I used to listen to this song all the time back in the day but instead of having to look up the artist and song title when I got home, handy dandy Shazam told all. I want to create a new series called “Thanks to Shazam” in which I will include all of the songs that I tag on Shazam in unplanned locations. These will be songs that I know and songs that I don’t. They will be random, but systematically chosen due to my point of view on the song. Overall, these songs will be worthy of being posted. The following is the second song posted from Shazam, first in the series.
by Fast Life Yungstaz (F.L.Y.): The quality of this video is definitely outside of my musical character, but I love this track. Whenever I hear it, I automatically feel the beat and want to dance. This is probably the most ‘Atlanta local’ song that has been posted on my blog. You may ask what do I mean by Atlanta local? I mean that this is a song that currently only Atlantans know primarily because the track is indicative of the area as artists who reside in Atlanta made the track. This is definitely a club banger and I’m positive, given a few months, you and the remainder of the US will be jamming to this song too.
by Eiffel 65: For some reason, this song has been in my head for the last two days. It is so random I love it! Or, maybe I love it because my favorite color is blue. After years of listening to this song and hearing the lyrics, today I finally realized what the group says and got further than “I’m blue da ba dee da ba die”. Now I can sing, “I have a blue house with a blue window. Blue is the color I thought I’d wear. Blue are the streets and all the trees are too. I have a girlfriend and she is so blue…” Hopefully, with help from my lyrics, you can reminisce and attempt to sing this throwback track.
by Kid Cudi ft. Wale: I have been listening to Kid Cudi a lot the last few days and this track justifies my reasoning. When I say this song is a beast, I mean this song needs to be on a cd in EVERY person’s car! If I had a cd with me right now, I would put this track on there to listen to it as I drive home. I have listened to this song ALL day, back to back! I know that the production on this track is BOMB and will be a great addition to the ‘riding music’ playlist that I have yet to make.
