In Rotation: 07/09/05

Someone asked me a while back, "EJ, why do you put up mostly radio blogs? I mean, is there some hidden message there? What do they mean?" Without blinking I said, "No, there's no hidden message there. Either you get the flow or you don't. Either you feel it in your bones or you don't, in which case you click through them. I'm happy with the way the flow is." When listening to other mixes, other flows, I'm rarely ashamed to say, "I don't get the flow." Reading and absorbing thoughts and flows around me is essential. Listening to music is a learning experience, 24/7. In short, Vibing is fundamental.

I suppose I could sit and lament over life's issues and bring myself down. Lord knows there's a lot of 'em. Or, I can do as I always do, sit there and brood for a while, fuss around for a while, then put my headphones on, and then get back up and keep going, because the flow is always there. The tunes will always be here. And, as they always say, life will go on. It's always good to get a kick in my shins from a couple of people, 'cause that's what they're here for.

Now, where does the flow come from? Well, this time, I believe I've got enough space and time to put some words around my thoughts as I sequence the flow for this week's In Rotation. This is my month that I get to shine, since this is the month of my birthday, and marks the third year blogging and entering my second year of being able to share my music.

Most of the flows come through just from listening, reading, reacting, and movin around the internet and blogosphere. Check it:

This week's In Rotation: 07/09/05.

01 - Stevie Wonder - Signed, Sealed, Delivered (DJ Smash Essential Funk Mix). From Motown Remixed. JT and Terecico really liked the album and based on their recommendations, I picked it up.
02 - Vanessa Marquez f/ Justin Timberlake - Want You To Know. Rocka dropped this one to me exactly ten minutes after I had completed this mix, which made me have to reshuffle everything just to fit it in. There was no way I could have possibly ignored this cut.
03 - Five Point Plan - Tremble. From Rare, another recommendation from Honey.
04 - Mint Condition - That's The Way (It's Going Down). A lovely lady by the name of Lis has a new site devoted to Mint Condition which is called TMF: The Mint Factory. This is one of the cuts she has there for your listening pleasure, from the movie Good Burger. Check her site out, let her know what you think.
05 - Vanessa Freeman - Dawning Of A New Day. From the CD London Soul, which inspired me to check her out even more and order her CD. Be sure to stay tuned for more from Vanessa. This is only a taste.
06 - Will.I.Am - Swing By My Way. More Galactic Soul for you. By default, because of the flow, I had to followup with:
07 - Yam Who - Star Of The Story. More Midnight Soul for you. I never thought I'd say this, but this is a damn good remake that injects just enough funk to make it different but not take away from the original. Considering this is one of my all-time favorite songs that Yam Who remade, that's saying quite a bit.
08 - Anthony Hamilton - Icing On The Cake. From the new CD, Soulife.
09 - Raheem DeVaughn - You. If you don't have The Love Experience, then you need to go get it. Now. Everytime I hear this cut, I start thinking about Moments In Love by The Art Of Noise. Classic.
10 - Leela James - Don't Speak. Leela takes a song by No Doubt and injects gritty soul into it.
11 - Rebirth - Common Ends. Now, a while back I was mentioning that I was looking for this CD. Hypothetically Speaking immediately let me know where to find their CD. Glad she did.
12 - Dwele - Real Love (U Don't Love Me). Another single from Verbs and Predicates.
13 - Salakida - Like Heaven. From her album of the same name.
14 - Ivana Santilli - Caramel Sky. More Ivana. Just ask Tyrone from Palm Trees In The Ghetto.
15 - Lina - Story Goes (featuring Big Rube). Big Rube was one of the members of Society of Soul way back in the day, and can be heard on quite a few Outkast cuts. Nice flow from this track on The Inner Beauty Movement.
16 - Esthero - My Torture. Just ask Lisa from Nonsensical Musings, she'll tell you just how good this track is.

And if anyone should ever ask you-- yes, Cancers rule this month. Enjoy the flow.
Soon to come, my 10 After 6. Jason has started a revolution. Don't sleep.