I hope everyone's having a pretty good holiday. I've got lots of good presents from some great people, but best of all, I got a chance to communicate with some great people this season, and it's been a blast. I've been on a mini-hiatus this month, but the stress has seemed to alleviate itself, and when all is said and done, I'm glad it's all over.

I've gotten some great music from great people, and this is the just the first dose.

Old School Wednesday: Christmas Presents, 2005.

01 - Change - Paradise
02 - Slave - Party Lites
03 - Shalamar - Take That to the Bank
04 - Imagination - Who (Tell Me Who)
05 - Frankie Knuckles - Rain Falls (featuring Lisa Michaelis)
06 - Lisa Stansfield - Love In Me
07 - MFSB - Old San Juan (Instrumental)
08 - The Bee Gees - How Deep Is Your Love
09 - The Sylvers - I Wish That I Could Talk To You
10 - The System - Lollipops & Everything
11 - George Duke - Sweet Baby
12 - Stephanie Mills - Two Hearts
13 - Club Nouveau - Heavy On My Mind
14 - Zhane - You're Sorry Now
15 - Tara Kemp - Piece Of My Heart

Who (Tell Me Who) was produced by Arthur Baker, and Leon Sylvers demonstrated his production duties on I Wish That I Could Talk To You and Take That To The Bank. I had never heard the Imagination track before I received them from Thierno and I had never heard The Sylvers' track before Wayne In SB dropped it to me, particularly since Leon Sylvers II (the father of Leon Sylvers III) passed on recently. May he rest in peace. Much love to both.

Hope you enjoy.

Today is the first day of winter. What better way to kick it off with:

Old School Wednesday: Winter Solstice, 2005.

01 - Chic - I Want Your Love
02 - Heatwave - The Groove Line (Extended)
03 - Sun - Sun Is Here
04 - Steve Miller Band - Fly Like An Eagle
05 - Andy Gibb - An Everlasting Love
06 - Steely Dan - Peg
07 - Michael Franks - Your Secret's Safe With Me
08 - Teena Marie - Portuguese Love
09 - Rufus & Chaka Khan - Everlasting Love
10 - Mica Paris - Breathe Life Into Me
11 - RJ's Latest Arrival - Hold On (Extended)
12 - Intro - My Love's On The Way
13 - Portrait - All Natural Girl
14 - Frankie Knuckles - Sold On Love (featuring Lisa Michaelis)


Major props to Nikki for Hold On. And Sun? Well, I hadn't heard the track in more than 20 years, but thanks to John K., I was graced with Sun Is Here . Hope you enjoy.

I couldn't think of a name to describe this one. Thanks to KB, he named it perfectly.

Old School Wednesday: Funk Time Zone.

01 - Raydio - Jack And Jill
02 - Earth, Wind & Fire - Star
03 - Chicago - Street Player (Dance Mix)
04 - Sister Sledge - He's The Greatest Dancer
05 - L.T.D. - Holding On (When Love Is Gone)
06 - Electric Light Orchestra - Evil Woman
07 - The Isley Brothers - Voyage to Atlantis
08 - Everything But the Girl - Driving
09 - Heatwave - The Star of The Story
10 - Boz Scaggs - Jojo
11 - Steely Dan - Black Cow
12 - Meli'sa Morgan - Fool's Paradise
13 - Portrait - Heartstrings
14 - RJ's Latest Arrival - Heaven In Your Arms

Four the groovy way - KB, Saga, J. Brotherlove, and James added a little spice to this with their suggestions.

I'm sure it's been a while since you've heard Steely Dan, Boz Scaggs, and Everything But The Girl. Here's the kicker though - remember the house cut that sampled Street Player?

Enjoy.

I don't know where you live, but down here it's freezing. I'm under the covers right now.

Old School Wednesday: Winter Warmup, Volume 1.

01 - Isley Jasper Isley - 8th Wonder Of The World
02 - The Brothers Johnson - Runnin' for Your Lovin'
03 - The O'Jays - Message In Our Music
04 - Earth, Wind & Fire - September
05 - T.S. Monk - Bon Bon Vie
06 - Donald Byrd - Lansanna's Priestess
07 - Swing Out Sister - Everyday Crime
08 - The Family - Desire
09 - Minnie Riperton - Wouldn't Matter Where You Are
10 - Herb Alpert - Pillow
11 - Bobby Ross Avila - La La Love
12 - Mica Paris - Truth & Honesty
13 - Loose Ends - Easier Said Than Done
14 - Johnny Gill - Just Another Lonely Night
15 - Con Funk Shun - (Let Me Put) Love on Your Mind

I was a big fan of Different Drummer, which is why I pulled 8th Wonder Of The World out. Grant and I think alike, which is why we both dropped Bon Bon Vie. I'm still on the Mizell tip, which is why the instrumental Lansanna's Priestess was dropped. (Let Me Put) Love On Your Mind is one of my favorite cuts from Con Funk Shun. The rock and soul ballad strikes home with me. I even managed to throw in some Minnie Riperton with a wonderful track, Wouldn't Matter Where You Are, to compliment The Family's Desire.

I then threw in some Mica Paris, Swing Out Sister and Loose Ends to give England its due, and I even threw in Bobby Ross Avila, since someone conjured up La La Love.

Enjoy.

B12: All Over The Place. From KB's Baker's Dozen.

The concert: what started out good and ended up dissapointing...........

1. A lovely weekend starts off with going to see Rahsaan Patterson and Trina Broussard in concert.
2. Problem number one: when a concert is supposed to start at 9pm and doesn't start until 10:30 or so, you know that there's a problem brewing.
3. So, Trina Broussard starts at approximately 10:30pm, and ends a little after 11:00pm. Great intro from her, so it's all great.. We wait for them to setup for Rahsaan.
4. Problem #2: He finally takes the stage at about 11:30.
5. Problem #3: He sings exactly 4 songs 7 songs, all extended versions (read: more than 6 minutes apiece). Also, both Algebra and Sol Elder were also at the joint - singing background.
6. The killer: he then leaves the stage at exactly midnight. And no, he doesn't return for an encore, despite the audience chanting for him to return.
7. I leave a bit irritated, and run into a couple of people that made life a little bearable: Jodine, Van Hunt, and Anthony David. Now that was a proper ending to an otherwise slightly dissapointing experience.

Stir Crazy: when I need to get out of the house......

8. After waking up and needing to get outta the house, I went to go check out Aeon Flux. even though I had read both good and bad things about the movie.
9. My verdict? I liked it. My favorite character? Sithandra. Yes, there are better films out there, but I wasn't going for art, I was going for entertainment. It was entertaining enough for me to keep me in my seat through the movie....
10. ....so much so, I added Aeon Flux to my wishlist. I'm all for taking this season, if you wanna give. I'm jus' sayin.....

Getting Back To Music: since it's obvious I should be listening to some music constantly....

11. I pulled out my Rahsaan Patterson and Trina Broussard, to hear the songs I should have heard in concert but didn't. I also pulled out Van Hunt, Algebra, and Anthony David, since I saw them. But not only that...
12. ...I also pulled out some Benny Sings. Since I was feeling his vibe, I pulled out some Beady Belle and some Si Sé. Yeah, I couldn't let a week go by without a rotation:

In Rotation - 12/05/04

It may seem that music, work, and life and general is on my mind 24/7, but it's not. You see, the world is not a perfect place. The world is larger, much larger, than just music, more extensive than the workplace.

There's a four letter word out there that's been a debilitating force. Its complete name is the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. You may know it as AIDS. Even though this is World AIDS Day, we can't merely dismiss this day as something that affects ourselves - and the entire world - to just one day.

AIDS is here.
All day, every day.
There is no cure yet so it won't just go away.
So don't stop.
I can't, and I won't.

Want more? Check the list here for those who have spread love today. Show your love.