My Favorite Scenes: Let's Go to Church

Editor's note: I've had this post sitting on my computer since March...pre-hiatus.

An Old School Friday Post made me think of all the random church episodes on television shows. When a need to demonstrate singing or deal with some moral can't be otherwise weaved into a plot, all of a sudden "the chuch" comes into play. Now note, there were some shows based on the church. (That link will bring you to one of my favorite short lived shows "Good News" on UPN. Can we have a channel that just shows old, kinda bad but lovable tv?)






But then there are these where we end up at church. Not that it's a bad thing to go to church- the sometimes religion reflects the nation on a whole- but it sure is random in retrospect.

227
This isn't the only time the show and "the chuch" combined so this one isn't really random. Mary and her lot were extremely active within their church community. Church was incorporated into the episodes and there was an obvious connection. I want to post this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWRGi9wCzSo but can't embed it, so this one will have to do.

Family Matters
Carl yelled often, but not often about church.


Sister Sister
I've posted this clip before. But church is really a great reason to get some singing in on a show.


Fresh Prince
I find it hard to believe that the Banks family did not attend a more bougie church. There has to be an Abyssinian counterpart in L.A.


Sometimes singing goes wrong.


Do you have a favorite church scene? Let me know...leave a comment!

Old School Friday: Dance for Me!

HEYYYY I'm Back to Old School Friday! I've been missing out on all the fun, but today is one big ol dance party. Now in my senior year of college it turned out that the big dance songs for the majority of the college were Journey "Don't Stop Believin", Neil Diamond "Sweet Caroline" and Lynyrd Skynyrd "Sweet Home Alabama" If you ever want to see preppy New Englanders get all happy jumping up and down, play these songs. Really...this was in 2007, you wouldn't believe it. And I can't front, I love those songs as well. For a modern taste we got down to Madonna "Like a Prayer"

BUT,growing up I was in the very different world of Flatbush, West Indies USA. Since Obama declared this Caribbean Heritage month, here are some of the jams that will get any Caribbean party moving.



This next song, no lie I went to my friends birthday party when I was 9 and the whole family had a choreographed dance to it. My first experience with the Trini party style.



ANDD for good measure, this was on our elementary school Dancing with Richard Simmons to the 80s video we had to watch for class. Everytime I hear this song, I have to do the dance



Join in on the Old School Friday Fun!
Anyone can join in on the OSF fun. Check out the rules here and peep other participants below. HAPPY Old School Friday!

AJ - BklynQueen’86 - Bria - CC Groovy - Chocl8t - Cooper - Shawn - Danielle Vyas - Dee - DP - Fresh and Fab - Hagar’s Daughters - Invisible Woman - John - Keith - Kevin - Kim - LaKeisha - LaShonda - Lil Creole Pimp - Lisa C - Mahogany - Malcolm - Marcus - Martin - MarvalusOne - Mike - Mrs. Grapevine - MsLadyDeborah - Pjazzypar - Pop Art Diva - Quick - Regina - Revvy Rev - Shae-Shae - Sharon - SJP - Staci - Tami - Tha Connoisseur - Thembi - Vérité Parlant - Villager - Vivrant Thang - Wheneva Whateva - Zenobia -

Old School Friday: If I Were A Boy

So of course, if I were a boy I'd want to be Theo Huxtable or Dwayne Wayne. Alas, they aren't real ppl. And as much as I love Shad Moss, he is also not my choice out of fear that I'd suffer from short man syndrome. But this was hard, because there are quite a artists I'd emulate if I were a boy. Sean Combs almost made it on, but I spared you. I'm not sure if I'd be funk like Prince, a crooner like Gerald Levert, or rock out like Lenny. And I also didn't include anyone who has passed away...because if I were a boy, I'd like to be alive.

My Boy Choices Pre-1999:
Nas... Yes, even during Snaggle Tooth Era. He tee-totals through different genres of rap, but is always himself and you'd be hard pressed not to find a message through most of his music (note I said most. Oochie Wallie is obviously not included...but that's a perk of being a guy, isn't it?). And while he hasn't diversified his act, is prone to antics like naming his album N*gger, he remains sharp in what he does and is married to Kelis.



Jamie Foxx. This man oozes talent...even when he wasn't a recording artist. Go ahead Wanda!



Sigh, if only Theo's rap career took off:



Join in on the Old School Friday Fun!
Anyone can join in on the OSF fun. Check out the rules here and peep other participants below. HAPPY Old School Friday!

AJ - BklynQueen’86 - Bria - CC Groovy - Chocl8t - Cooper - Shawn - Danielle Vyas - Dee - DP - Fresh and Fab - Hagar’s Daughters - Invisible Woman - John - Keith - Kevin - Kim - LaKeisha - LaShonda - Lil Creole Pimp - Lisa C - Mahogany - Malcolm - Marcus - Martin - MarvalusOne - Mike - Mrs. Grapevine - MsLadyDeborah - Pjazzypar - Pop Art Diva - Quick - Regina - Revvy Rev - Shae-Shae - Sharon - SJP - Staci - Tami - Tha Connoisseur - Thembi - Vérité Parlant - Villager - Vivrant Thang - Wheneva Whateva - Zenobia -

Old School Friday: I Had A Bad Day At Work

I've been there. There's a reason Daniel Powter's "Bad Day" and Janelle Monae's "Lettin Go" were some of the most played songs on my I Tunes list.I believe in indulging my sulky mood, before uplifting myself. And while those would be my picks, they are not Old School. But check out that Janelle Monae, pre-Diddy single. It speaks directly to a bad day at work. As a teenager my go to song was My Reflection by Christina Aguilera for Mulan. To this day, my favorite Disney jam. I could keep going on, but you all may think I have way too many bad days. I don't.

Generally anything reminding me of my long gone youth, be it my elementary school's school song, "This is My Father's World" or a sad Mary J. Blige song that I knew all the words to would get me going, but I'll stay close to the theme and hopefully add something to your arsenal.



The problem with me listening to Bob, is I just don't stop. For my reggae sulky song, I usually go to the Sizzla standby, Dry Cry. Not at all work related and not Old School enough but fun to sing along with when you want to sulk.

Moving on. (Let's imagine I posted the Billy Joel catalog here, starting with Piano Man. Just because, he's fun...and that one Journey song everyone knows)

This is representative. My college roommates called me on my tendency to start playing the nearest gospel song when I thought I was going to go ballistic after some bad club meeting.




I went to Kirk Franklin because we performed him in elementary school. We did Lean on Me and Revolution from the Nu Nation Project. We were no Tia or Tamera. ( This was such a great episode and I will never deny that I watched way too much tv...I should not still know all the episodes of Sister Sister)



Anyone can join in on the OSF fun. Check out the rules here and peep other participants below. HAPPY Old School Friday!

AJ - BklynQueen’86 - Bria - CC Groovy - Chocl8t - Cooper - Shawn - Danielle Vyas - Dee - DP - Fresh and Fab - Hagar’s Daughters - Invisible Woman - John - Keith - Kevin - Kim - LaKeisha - LaShonda - Lil Creole Pimp - Lisa C - Mahogany - Malcolm - Marcus - Martin - MarvalusOne - Mike - Mrs. Grapevine - MsLadyDeborah - Pjazzypar - Pop Art Diva - Quick - Regina - Revvy Rev - Shae-Shae - Sharon - SJP - Staci - Tami - Tha Connoisseur - Thembi - Vérité Parlant - Villager - Vivrant Thang - Wheneva Whateva - Zenobia -

Old School Friday: Baby

This week we bring you songs with "Baby" in the title

The first song is simply named Baby. Besides for laughing at the glorified tackiness of the mid 1990s, it's nice to remember that Brandy had a lot going for her. I still blame her for the loss of many people's hairlines. They did not realize that she got her extensions redone regularly.

And sadly, even back then Sinbad didn't have a job. (Trivia: Which Norwood did Sinbad actually have a sitcom with?)



And simply because I couldn't resist. As disrespectful little kids we would sing this behind ppl on the street.


This can only explain why songs like this rose to popularity later on.

Happy and Joyful Old School Friday

Check out other OSF bloggers:

- Electronic Village - Fresh And Fab - - Kim

- Ms Grapevine -Quick - Vérité Parlant -Marcus LANGFORD

- Cassandra - Kevin - iriegal -Mahogany -Hagar's Daughter - Lisa C

-Chocl8t - DP - Dallassouth - John - The Connoisseur - Kreative Talk

- Regina - MsMarvalus - Clnmike - Vivrant Thing

-AJ - Sharon - RevvyRev - Prof. PC - Invisible Woman

-- Cooper - SJP -Bria - BklynQueen 86 - Hey Shae -

- From the Battlefield - Thembi - D Spot - Malcolm -

-Pop Art Diva - Pjazzypar - MsLadyDeborah -

Old School Friday: Songs with Heart

I know, I was gone. I was busy working on a production of FENCES, that went fantabulously well.

Today's Old School Friday Theme is Songs with Heart. I'm assuming this means Heart in the title, or predominately in the lyrics.

For the first time in a while, I've had to think long and hard to even find a song. Forget connections to television.

The first song that pops to mind is Celine Dion, "My Heart Will Go On" I think I may have been the only person that didn't feel moved by the Titanic, but I did love me some Celine Dion. Maybe if I watched it now, I'd feel different. But as an eighth grader getting my hair cornrowed and hit with the brush because I didn't want to look at the blue corpses, thus leading me to squirm too much, it just wasn't doing it for me.



And then, one of my junior high favorites, "Heartbreak Hotel." NOT THE ELVIS version. This Whitney albums was also one of my favorite albums back then. I actually listened to this yesterday while looking for break up songs for www.rbmvibes.com. But in actuality, this could have just been a OSF: Whitney Houston post. *humming "Hearts are often broken, when their words are spoken....."



But for everyone that stick by the originals, I'll include the Elvis version. You'll see that they're very very different songs. Just the same name.



HAPPY OSF Yall!

Post Script. Just thought of another Whitney Classic, "Where do broken hearts go" But I'll respect the OSF rules, and not post it.

Old School Friday: New Edition

First off: Happy Black History Month!
The appropriate new cover/banner will be coming soon.

Okay, down to Old School Friday business. Today we are doing songs by New Edition or members of New Edition. I have a tendency to utilize this group often, and in all actuality one of few popular mainstream songs I can recall knowing at 3 or 4 was Poison. (Another is Iesha by ABC, a Ne-BBD derivative). I had no idea how to pick just two. I'm not even going to do my favorite, "Is This The End?" Before my sister got her best of New Edition CD from one of those Columbia House memberships, I was much more familiar with songs by members of New Edition than New Edition themselves. This was mostly due to TV. So I bring you two songs and their corresponding Family Matters moments, because I was apparently raised by TGIF.







Skip to 7:20 for a typical mini singing moment on Family Matters



Skip to 1:55 for a guest star moment



Goodness, they never stopped: really was their demographic watching TGIF that often?


I actually miss Being Bobby Brown. That ish was hilarious and I have no shame in my tv show choices.
Happy OSF! Check out other participants here: http://www.themarvalusview.com/osf/

Haul,
The Queen

Twin Booty is a Thing of Beauty

Once in a while an academic decides to take hair dresser and barber shop conversation and turn it into a topic worth of discussion. As someone who's taking a fair share of Media and African and African American Studies courses, I am well versed in the art of turning something you said at dinner into the most superfluous paper or article ever read. Sociologists and Anthropologists do not seem to be interested in stopping this practice soon, but it is always nice to know that there is some legitimacy to the arguments you and your friends have been having for years.

In one of the better pieces I've yet to see on the significance of the behind in today's culture, Myra Mendible puts together a decent summary of the place the buttocks has had in society. (http://www.alternet.org/sex/117518/?page=entire) It reiterates a lot of popular discussion, places some emphasis on the similarities in the Hispanic and Black behinds.

---Okay, I can't keep the farce up for much longer. Body issues really aren't my realm of intellectual discussion. Really the first thing that came to mind when a friend sent me this peace was the "Twin booty is a thing of beauty," rap by Cold Dog (played by the one and only Flex Alexander) on an episode of Sister Sister....and then Sir Mix -a-lot and then Venus Hottentot. Apparently my mind works it's way up the cultural ladder and also backwards historically.

The conclusion leaves me a little uneasy. While we have seen slight progression in terms of body types and acceptance in the USA, I don't see a movement. Also, of all the "ethnic" features the but tends to be one of the most celebrated and the one that "ethnic" people have little issue with is their butts. Beyond the brazilian butt lifts casually referenced in the articles, there was a huge craze of Jamaican women eating animal feed in an effort to increase their buttocks size.

I have no conclusion to this piece. It's not that I don't have a dream for female equality, it's that some conversations are better left for the dinner table and Sociologists. I'll just be around to nod, object and insert a personal reference and pop culture moment.

If you walk out that do', don't come back no mo'


HAUL,
The Queen

ps thanks to nai for the link.

Old School Friday: Blogger's Choice

Today's Old School Friday is Blogger's Choice. Where does that leave a free spirit like me? The choices are too many!!!! ACKKKKKK.


I just graduated (again) . So I'm in a happy graduation mood and always wanted Ain't No Stopping Us Now to be my graduation song.



I am also a fan of good ol' Tevin Campbell singing "Tomorrow"





Remember when Will graduated on The Fresh Prince and had to finish his music theory.





THIS IS WHAT I MEAN BY SETTING NO BOUNDARIES:

Tony Rebel, "Love you like a Fresh Vegetable." When I was in the second grade I sang this song all the time when I had vegetables and when V8 first came out (which is a whole other story about 6 year olds and the power of advertising).

BTW, I do not support the Legalize Cannibus label on the video, but have no time to create my own.




Check out other OSF participants here. Happy OSF!

HAUL,
KIM

Old School Friday: Threats-Jason Weaver

This man is too talented for his own good.





















Maybe not as much, but a good deal. Throw him a bone!




Actor/Actress Gone Singer/Singer Gone Actor/Actress

Rappers are way to skilled at this, so they have been excluded.

This week's Old School Friday is right up my alley. If you can't tell by my usual choices, I'm slightly obsessed with television and always think its great when there is a little musical feature. I discussed my obsession with Musical Guest Stars here (and provided handy You Tube references...so go check it out).

Most of us are familiar with a lot of the biggies. Tisha Campbell has had her fair share of opportunities to blow. Countess Vaughn outshined (okay, maybe not) Brandy on Moesha. Kyle and Max's love on Living Single was symbolized by his music career. And The Cosby Show/A Different World was really a big showcase, and little Raven got to start there. Heck, even Tatiana Ali got an opportunity to tell all of us to stop playing with her mind when Alfonso Ribiero wasn't dancing and singing all over the place.

Since we're keeping it Old School (ish)...I'm going to go against my original through to highlight the stars of Family Matters and dedicate this post to Jason Weaver, who was not a half bad teen actor. But maybe there's a reason his singing career never took off.

Singing with Brandy on Thea


Singing voice for Simba, since JTT didn't really hold a note


Little Michael Jackson


Smart Guy


He's gone on to do more movies, notably Drumline and ATL and played convincing roles in both. Here's to hoping for the best for him and that his career won't be remember like this.

As far as I know, this was the extent of his music career. But, he's only one call away...



An honorable mention goes to Joey Lawrence, because no one gives him any love at all anymore.


As for singers who can act ( a much harder transition to do well, unless your a rapper), besides for Marques Houston and Disney Channel kids(yes I am young) that's a little harder. But a few mentions (of which you are more than welcome to disagree) will include Whitney Houston, Ne-Yo (that new video is really good), Mandy Moore and Barbara Streisand. All of Patti LaBelle's roles don't seem to be acting per se.

I obviously have way too much time on my hands. Check out other OSF participants here: http://www.themarvalusview.com/osf/


EDIT: Ach, I must also shout out Sheryl Lee Ralph and Loretta Devine, the orignal Dream Girls. Forget Jason Weaver..this blog should have been about them. Ms. Ralph has gone away to second rate cable channels, but Loretta Devine still gets a song in or two on Eli Stone.

Old School Friday: Jazz Rebirth

This week's Old School Friday is all about Jazz. Since I disappeared for a long time, I thought my choice was fitting as a rebirth of my status. Enjoy the Jazz and Rap Fusion!

Digable Planets- Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)


And because I can make anything become related to Do The Right Thing, peep Spike's use of jazz, hip hop, and Spanish music to create this scene. ( No it's not my You Tube account, but I did have to write an essay on this clip.)



Happy OSF!
Check out other participants here:http://www.themarvalusview.com/osf/

Random sidenote: Thelonious Monk went to my high school. There was a memory cube on the first floor (music floor) dedicated to him.

Throwback Pop Culture Clip; New Show Openings

So Ugly Betty just started and there is a new opening for the show. I don't like it. New openings used to cause excitement. Remember the Cosby Show? Even in syndication the different seasoning openings are something to look forward to.

I bring to you the revamped opening for Sister Sister. The twins straightened their hair, became "cool" and the WB11 continued to be the post-Fox source for Negro entertainment, before UPN took over that mantle.



Okay so the song is annoying, but see the evolution...feel the change.

Old School Fridays: Neo Soul-Groove Theory, Zhane

It's that time of the week again. Old School Fridays! This week's theme is Neo-Soul, and I'm going to bring you some pre-1999 goodies.

A pre-solo career Amel Larrieux in Groove Theory's 1995 'Tell Me"

Groove Theory-Tell me
Uploaded by
SirDroopy

Zhane's "You're Sorry Now" I went with this instead of other tracks like "Hey Mr. DJ," "Groove Thang," and "Sending My Love," but they're all solid tracks you can google.

Zhane - You.re Sorry Now
Uploaded by mahdi1

I'll leave crazy Erykah for someone else to cover. That does my Old School Friday for this week, check out other Old Shcool Friday participants here: http://www.themarvalusview.com/osf/ .

Throwback Pop Culture Clip: Anamaniacs, GoodFeathers, Pinky and the Brain

It's the last of the WB cartoon clips. This week I pull from the Anamaniacs, to show not only Yakko, Wakko and Dot; but also some of my other faves: the GoodFeathers and Pinky and the Brain! Enjoy!!!

Throwback Pop Culture Clip: WB Saturdays, Earthworm JIM

Earthworm, Earthworm, Earthworm JIM

Continuing with WB Saturdays: here's Earthworm Jim. Some super fan has created a montage of the greatest moments. I saw AWESOME!

Old School Fridays: Social/Political Songs

Judging from the fact that I secretly burned one of my old professor's Black Power: Music of a Revolution disc collection, this Old School Friday is right up my alley. A younger, less wiser me of less than a year ago would have included Boys II Men's "Why Christmas" if only for the simple reason that I was convinced the lyrics were "It's gonna be a white Christmas. My brothers and my sisters...they don't have any toys."

1st up: Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes "Wake Up Everybody" The video with the actual performance, can't be embedded so here. And yes it was remade a few years ago.:



2nd. A song from the said burned disk. Ain't no Stoppin Us Now: McFadden and Whitehead. I really wanted this to be the graduation march song in the 8th grade.




3rd. West Coast All Stars "We're All in the Same Gang." I've featured it before, but its such a classic! Yea for Reebok giving away free videos.



CHECK OUT MORE OLD SCHOOL FRIDAY PARTICIPANTS HERE.

Throwback Pop Culture Clip: WB Saturdays

Next up on our trip down WB Saturday memory lane is Freakazoid. I guess every 16 year old boy's alter ego is a strange old man.

He runs around in underwear. Freak a me...Freak a you.
Back to editing for me. Enjoy!

Steppin' The Movie. Every Black 90s star you could want

No Explanation: Just Joy!
Thanks to Nai for putting me on a few months ago.

Old School Fridays: Motown

Is it a cop out for me to use this song seeing as how they start with the word Motown? Yes. Do I care? No. I'm young...this is the Motown I know.




Other Old School Fridays participants shown here

Throwback Pop Culture Clip-Wayne Head: Actors and Their Cartoon Selfs

"The Party's Just Begun!"
Somewhere in doing research for my dissertation and watching Hollywood Shuffle, I remembered the joy that was the WB 11 Saturday morning cartoons. Sometimes ABC just didn't do it for you. Keeping in line with the rest of this weeks posts and my homage to comics in character form with Robin Harris in all his Bebe's Kids glory on this season's cover, this week's throwback is Wayne Head. This wonderful little cartoon, based on the wonder that is the Wayans family, was definitely a favorite of mine. I'll keep going with the WB toons in later weeks.






Wayne Head was in the same multicultural vein of CBear and Jamal but a little less Hey Arnold and probably a bit more like Fat Albert. And since we're paying homage to comics in cartoon form we can't leave out Bill Cosby who's done it to himself not once, but twice. Unfortunately there are no appropriate Little Bill video clips online. They are all a little warped and perverted.




That's it. Enjoy your day.