Don't let the Vanity Stop

Happy Monday!

Old School Friday: Prom or something like it.

So I graduated high school after 1999 and in elementary school they randomly decided my year that our prom with our parents invited wasn't "Christian" enough. But I'mma pretned like we had a prom, and that it ws the best eighth grade prom ever.

This was the year in which Spice Girls, Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, NSync and Christina Aguilera all collided. Missy, Ginuwine, Nas, and Blackstreet all released albums that school year. Remembering my elementary school, where we sang round of "No Scrubs" and "No Pigeons" in between Kirk Franklin's "Revolution" and whatever Mr. Vegas song we were deciphering and drumming the beats out on desks, if we chose our prom songs there would have been a nice little mix.

The kids would have probably gone for these choices:

Oh Foxy, your lip gloss was poppin.

Foxy Brown - Hot Spot
Uploaded by UniversalMusicGroup. - Watch more music videos, in HD!

Okay, yea no way theyd actually play these songs. This was probably as hype as we could get.





Want more OSF? Check it out here: http://www.conversationswithmarva.com/osf-themes/

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: Child Singers

Today's Old School Friday is all about the children. And I couldn't help but go to the reggae child singers.

First up is Lil Vicious. He came out at the Martin Luther King Wingate Concerts a few years back because Doug E. Doug was performing and did this same song. His brother was in my sister's class in our small Christian elementary school. Yes it's alright if you shake your head at this little boy singing about "some gal a freak."



And now for more children singing about inappropriate matter, that you just sang along with anyway. This time we go about a decade earlier than Vicious and across the pond to Britain, where Musical Youth covered a song, "Pass the Kutchie" by The Mighty Diamonds, and renamed it "Pass the Dutchie." I'd dare say this is infinitely more popular than the original.



I remember the day it clicked for me that my mother called her soup pot a "dutchie." Oh, synonyms! No joke, Musical Youth has some really good songs. I suggest checking out their catalog. The rest of their songs are more kid friendly as well.


In case you were wondering, child reggae performances are still as relevant today as ever. I present: my senior year of college.




I'm hitting post before I change this into child singers on A Different World and post the episodes with "The Boys," "Immature," and "Kris Kross," or before I post my favorite Brady Bunch Songs.

HAPPY OLD SCHOOL FRIDAY
Anyone can join! Check out other OSF posters and rules here:http://mrsgrapevine.com/old-school-music-meme/

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 Fridays: Road Trip Songs

This one is a little tough for me. Growing up, road trips consisted of two tapes played over and over again: one was by the Grace Thrillers and the other was by the Grammy Award winning Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir. Trust me, "The Midnight Cry" is not exactly what you want to hear as a kid on 3 hour car trips in the rain and in the dark boonies. You will be convinced the world is ending that night.

Thankfully, I also went on school trips where we sang songs loudly in the back of the bus. Killing Me Softly and Fugee-la-la were faves, as was any reggae/calypso/soca song of the moment.


Yea...we were special...There's a joy singing songs that call for dancing, in situations where you can't dance.

Then I went to high school and met the wonder that was Billy Joel's Piano Man. But nothing beat listening to my team belting this song on the bus after tournaments.




Check out other OSF participants here.

New Morgan Heritage Song/ Obama Cover

I had the wonderful opportunity to see the Royal Family of Reggae perform live once again last night and definitely love one of their new songs "Headline Fi Frontpage"


Listen to it on their Myspace



In other news, Obama is on the cover of September's Vibe. I haven't seen the article, but it's a nice cover.



You can read the editors in chief's letter "The Brother's Gonna Work it Out" here

HAUL!