Lights Off, Lights On

I'm not sure why, but it just feels like chillin' with T-Boz and some Kool-Aid seems like a good thing to do.

Diggin' On You - TLC

"Diggin' On You"
TLC
CrazySexyCool
(Arista/LaFace Records, 1994)

CrazySexyCool was my very early first exposure to hip hop/R&B music - or more accurately if less politically correct, music by black people who weren't Ella Fitzgerald. And even if I didn't quite understand it and it scared me a little, I can't express how much this album influenced me and my musical taste, in what I of course believe is a highly positive way. I always thought this song was fun though, if a little overproduced (it's a totally early '90s song, but my sensitivities lean much more toward the minimalist sound of the late 2000s and today anyway, hence my lack of affection for 80s music in general).

What I'm Thinkin' Of

I thought I'd serenade the L.A. bar patrons as they make their way home (or to the next after-party) with a rousing soul ballad from Corinne Bailey Rae's debut album.

Breathless - Corinne Bailey Ra...

"Breathless"

Corinne Bailey Rae

Corinne Bailey Rae

(EMI/Capitol Records, 2007)

Mmm, yessir, I've always thought this to be her sexiest song by far; I love the horns in the chorus, and the way the typically demure-voiced singer really brings out a bit of old fashioned lusty growl. Interestingly, this song was released as a single in the US only, and although not promoted by EMI it spent twelve weeks on the Hot Hip Hop/RnB Songs chart, peaking at number 70.

Thank You For the Extra...Foam

Man, at 7am I can think of one thing that is more than often necessary: COFFEE. Sure, the Manhattan Transfer sing of their love for el cafe in "Java Jive," but since last I checked South American beans don't celebrate Presidents' Day, so how about we go with a little more of the human touch?

Taylor, The Latte Boy [*] - Kr...

"Taylor, The Latte Boy"
Kristin Chenoweth
As I Am
(Sony Classical, 2005)

Chenoweth, best known perhaps for her role as Glinda in the original Broadway cast of the musical Wicked, is halfway to the fourway milestone Barbra Streisand so famously holds (Tony, Oscar, Emmy, and Grammy), with a Tony Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical (You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown) and, most recently, a sentimental (if not undeserving) Emmy for the by then already canceled Pushing Daisies. She is set to reprise her role as a boozing alumna this spring on Fox's musical phenomenon American I... sorry, Glee.

The Way You Call Me "Baby"

A charming indie pop gem from Ingrid Michaelson. If there's more romantic than telling someone you'll buy him Rogaine when he starts losing all his hair, I haven't heard it.

The Way I Am - Ingrid Michaels...

"The Way I Am"

Ingrid Michaelson

Girls and Boys

(Cabin 24, 2006)