ahem. this thing on? no. no it is not.

Moved. And with a completely inadequate apology post, even.

rashi busted me. . .

It has been 38 days since my last post.

The whole month of April. Really!

What in the world have I been doing? Man. I don't even know. But off the top of my head, in no particular order or preference:

-- applying for summer work
-- visiting Chicago (yay!!)
-- cooking
-- trying to ready a couple of papers for possible conference applications
-- procrastinating
-- paying bills
-- reading approximately 16 books on globalization, diaspora studies, identity politics, multiculturalism, cosmopolitanism, and the various failures and evils of neoliberalism
-- cleaning
-- buying a new pair of glasses
-- pondering the meaning of life and the existence of Japanese beetles
-- trying to find a suitable jacket for the crazy up and down weather fluctuations that constitute a spring here
-- trying to find a suitably-priced pair of straight-leg, dark wash jeans that don't stop at my ankles
-- neglecting my friends and family (so sorry. :( please forgive me?)
-- writing approximately 80 pages of scholarly academic writing
-- planning my trip home for my brother's graduation (woo hoo!)
-- watching American Idol (shut up! Elliott rocks.)
-- finally enjoying the spring weather

An interesting month, no?

No, not really. But at least now you know!

My finals are dunzo on Friday, but I'm out of town this weekend. So perhaps I'll have more to say come Monday.

Anything's possible, eh?

sooooooooooooo. . .

tired.

Sorry I haven't updated in a while! And sorry I'm not updating now!

I will soon. Promise.

And by soon, yes I mean less than 38 days.

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A Verse For You Today:

Wait for the Lord. Be strong, take heart, and wait for the Lord. ~ Psalm 27: 14

snow day!!!

What a great way to begin a spring break.

If I could find my camera, I'd let y'all see just how much of a winter wonderland we're becoming. But for now I'll just be happy that I don't have to trudge through the madness on the streets to get to school.

stmmfsbasp, part 7

Annnnd we're at the end. You might know what this last song is. Oh, sure you do!

*

You really don't know? Well go back and reread all the other posts in the "So Black And So Proud" series. And you might also consider the title of the series.

Still no clue? Ah, well, I'll give it up:

Say It Loud (I'm Black And I'm Proud), by James Brown

(All ready for you right here.)

Once again, we have the title telling all. I actually wish there was more I could say about the power of this song, but it truly does speak for itself. From that very first lick of the ever-present snare drum, spinning of into a contempo kinetic riff that smoothly ushers in those beautifully brash trumpets, you just know exactly where the song's going. So you've already been indoctrinated by the time JB comes in with those first words, "Say it loud!" and that revolutionary teenybopper chorus answers so confidently, "I'm Black and I'm proud!"

His commanding, encouraging delivery lends a forceful persuasiveness to the tone of the lyrics, and adds more of a revolutionary spirit to the whole that defies the "too cool to fight" aesthetic in some other music of the period. I myself am enraptured with spoken-word, jam-session, Gil Scott-Heron feel of this song, and the strutting mood of both the words and music never fail to get me up "with my bad self," saying "it" so loudly that my neighbors have to come by and ask me to hush. But I think now it's time to stop rambling and let the song tell you what's going on. Happy Black History Month! (Yes, I know it's March now, but who cares! Black history is everyone's history, and we can celebrate all year long!)

****P.S. for all y'all who told me I needed to represent some hip hop on the list, sorry! I had to go with what I know. I know there is a lot if inspirational "black and proud" hip hop out there, but none of it moves me like the songs I chose. But hey, you can always make your own list! (hint, hint.)****

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Lyrics For You Today:
"Say It Loud," of course. The awesome album can be purchased here. Find out why they call him Soul Brother #1.)

Unh! With your bad self!
Say it loud!
(I'm Black and I'm proud!)
Say it loud!
(I'm Black and I'm proud!)

Look here, some say we got a lot of manners,
some say it's a lot of nerve.
But I say we won't quit moving
until we get what we desrve.
We've been buked, and we've been scorned.
We been treated bad, talked about
just as sure as you're born.
Just as sure as it takes two eyes to make a pair,
brother we can't quit until we get our share.

Say it loud!
(I'm Black and I'm proud!)
Say it loud!
(I'm Black and I'm proud!)
One more time: say it loud!
(I'm Black and I'm proud!)

I work long jobs with my feet and my hands,
Do all the work I did, but for the other man.
Now we demand a chance to do things for ourselves.
We tired of beating our heads against the wall,
and working for someone else.

Say it loud!
(I'm Black and I'm proud!)
Say it loud!
(I'm Black and I'm proud!)

Now we demand a chance to do things for ourselves.
We're tired of beating our heads against the wall,
and working for someone else.
We're people, we're just like the birds and the bees.
We'd rather die on our feet than be living on our knees.

Say it loud!
(I'm black and I'm proud!)

stmmfsbasp, parts cinque and seis

Oops! Sorry for missing a day. The demands of Idol plus part one of the Project Runway finale proved to be more than I could handle in one evening. You know, not to mention class, work, getting my taxes done, and all the other little unimportant stuff.

Long story short, you get to enjoy two new uplifting, inspiring, consciousness-raising songs from my "So Black and So Proud" collection. Lucky you! So let's get started, shall we? We shall.

Part Cinque:

Black Orchid, by Stevie Wonder

(You know the deal by now, of course.)

I treated the brothers on Tuesday, so of course I have to follow up with something special for the sisters.

Now. I love Stevie Wonder. I believe he is a musical genius, and he is a GREAT (no noun needed). So he had to be represented on this list. That was a given from the start. What wasn't so obvious was which song of his I would choose to introduce. Well, I picked "Black Orchid" for many reasons, not the least of which is its obscurity.

Why don't people know about this gem of a song? Good question! The answer:

Many years ago there was a plan to make a film called "The Secret Life Of Plants," or something like that. Stevie was approached to score the film, and he agreed. He worked out a score, but the film fell through (which is, all things considered, probably a good thing). Stevie having already put so much work into the music decided to go ahead and release it as a popular album called "Journey to the Secret Life of Plants." Never heard of it? Then congratulations, you're quite normal. But, JSLP does give us some remarkable songs, including "Black Orchid" and the better-known "Send One Your Love." But we're talking about "Black Orchid," and we're talking about it because it's a soul-stirring tribute to the beauty and strength of the Black woman. Yeah!
The lyrics are backed by a sparse arrangement of strings and clavinet, and the minimalist approach works wonders (no pun intended, but it turned out well anyway!) because it allows the lyrics to take precedence. And what beautiful lyrics they are! By the time Stevie's done waxing poetically about "a pearl of wisdom entrapped by poverty," and "love besieged by years" I feel like the rarest, most beautiful thing in all the world. I feel like I can take what nature has given me and bloom into the most extraordinary flower the world has ever seen!

Okay, so I'm exaggerrating a little bit. But, I am serious about the power in the lyrics. You check it out for yourself. See if it doesn't make you want to shout "it."

Part Sies:

Brown Skin, by India.Arie

(You know what's up.)

Yeah. So, there's not too much to be said about this song. You can tell by the title that it's a celebration of brown skin tones. (Ah, flashbacks to my comps talk!) Aside from the absolutely lovely instrumental opening that immediately draws you into the lovey-dovey mood, there isn't much to say about the music. But pride starts to flowing whenever Ms. Arie details the various beauties of a rich, brown skin. She also makes liberal mention of romance, but we'll let that alone.

Bottom line: Forget a color complex! Celebrate the wonders of your lovely brown skin, no matter what shade. I'm a mix of peanut butter and toast myself. Delicious!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lyrics For You Today:

Well, this post is already super long! So you'll find the lyrics:

here

and here.

Enjoy!

stmmfsbasp, part vier

4 days in a row. I'm positive that's a personal best.

Still with me on this? Good for you! I've got a treat in store for today:

Brotha, by Angie Stone.

(Get it how you live, right here.)

There's nothing like a good old affirmation. The world is full of struggles -- racism, injustice, and depression, and some have argued that those struggles are much harder for Black men than they are for Black women. I don't agree with that point of view (in fact I have serious disagreements with that point of view), but this isn't the time to consider all that. The fact remains that Black men do have a hard time in the U.S. If they're not getting stereotyped as violent, lascivious thugs on the streets, delinquent hardheads in the classroom, and lazy absent fathers in general, then they're given a hard rap as corporate sell-outs and wannabe flunkies. That's harsh language, isn't it? Abominable language, in fact. Yet, it's no more than what I hear in the streets and in classrooms on a regular basis, from people of all races.

Good Black men don't get enough love. Angie Stone realized that when she decided to write this song. It's a lovely song, and nothing too deep about it. The lyrics might be simple, but that doesn't mean they aren't powerful. This song moves me just by saying things I already know, but that I don't get to hear often enough. Affirmation. A good reality-check to fly in the face of all that negativity that pours in from news reports, media outlets, statistics bureaus, and institutional reports. Take a listen to the song, and celebrate all the good brothas you know.

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Lyrics For You Today:
"Brotha" of course. You can buy the album here.

He is my King, He is my one
Yes he's my father, Yes he's my son.
I can talk to him, cuz he understands
Everything I go through and everything I am.
My support system, I can't live without him.
The best thing since sliced bread
Is his kiss, his hugs, his lips, his touch,
and I just want the whole world to know, about my

Black Brotha, I love ya, I will never try to hurt you.
I want ya, to know that, I'm here for you for forever true,
Cause you're my Black Brotha, strong brotha, there is no one above ya.
I want ya to know that I'm here for you for forever true.

He's misunderstood, some say that he's
up to no good around the neighborhood.
But for your information: a lot of my brothers got education.
Now check it. You got your Wall Street brotha, your blue collar brotha,
your down for whatever chillin on the corner brotha.
Your talented brotha, and to everyone of y'all behind bars,
you know that Angie loves ya.

You mean so much to me, you give me what I need.
I'm so proud of you.
I love you for staying strong, you got it going on.
I'm so proud of you.
Going through thick and thin, brothas you gonna win.
I'm so proud of you.
Whenever you're facing doubt, brothas gon work it out.
I'm so proud, I got unshakable faith in you.