Music Monday: French Pop for French Lessons

Hi Meltingpot Readers,

So the push to parlais francais is on. And while I've been watching toddler videos and sometimes switching to the French version on some of my favorite films, I thought about listening to some French music to help me along. Of course I had no idea where to start. And then I remembered.

Way back in the 1980s, somewhere around 1987 I believe, my sister came back from her AFS summer abroad experience in France. I was so in awe. In just three short months she had become totally Frenchified. She ate her French fries with mustard instead of ketchup. She wanted to put raisins in the chicken! And the music. My sis brought back a handful of vinyl records that she played over and over again in her room, while I listened just outside her door. I couldn't understand a single word, yet I fell in love with the music anyway. When she told me that the young singer, Daniel Balavoine had died tragically in a helicopter crash, I was even more impressed. French music. Tragic death. Romance and Drama? As a 13-year-old girl in suburban Milwaukee, wanting to escape her hum-drum existence, Daniel Balavoine gave me a reason to believe.

Here's a song that I used to sing. I could sing this entire song phonetically but had no idea what I was saying. I never saw the video. So, here it is. If anyone would be so kind and tell me what the song is about, I sure would appreciate it. Sadly, my French skills, still aren't that great. Merci!

Music Monday: Zap Mama

Hi Meltingpot Readers,

Do you know Zap Mama? If you don't, you should get acquainted. Here's one of my favorite songs, called Damn Your Eyes. Enjoy.


For all of you fans, what's your favorite Zap Mama song? I'm listening.

Peace!

Music Monday: "Tell Me if You're with Me or Against Me"

Hi Meltingpot Readers,

The whirlwind of the holidays has caught up with me. Every year I think I'm going to get better at planning and preparing. Every year I think I'm going to have a party, make dozens of cookies (without flour ), get my holiday cards sent before December 15 and look like Martha Stewart in the process. Instead, my house is devoid of any Christmas cheer, my oven is on the fritz and ask me if I've even addressed a single envelope.

But, I'm not complaining. Today in the Kinky Gazpacho household, we start making Christmas. We're going shopping. I decided if the oven doesn't work, we'll make rice krispie treats (no wheat there) and I'll have the kids address the envelopes. Whew. But that means I don't have much time to write, so I'm leaving you instead with a video of one of my favorite Spanish songs. Thanks to el esposo, I actually figured out the name of the artist. The name of the song is Kamikaze and the singer is Amaral. Imagine me listening to this song to keep me energized through the madness.

I hope you like it.




Do you have a go-to song to keep you sane when things get hectic. Please share!

I'm totally listening.

Peace!

Food for Thought and Music Monday All Together Now!

Hi Meltingpot Readers,

I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving holiday as much as I did. You know how we continued the good feelings of our T-day meal? We ate some more. On Saturday night, the night before everyone flew back to their respective homes, we gathered for a Jamaican feast, cooked by my aunt's 'manpanion,' who hails from Kingston. He's almost 80 years old, but the man can throw down in the kitchen. We ate ackee and codfish, jerk neck bones, boiled bananas, fried plantains, callaloo, rice and avocados. For appetizer, there was roti stuffed with curry potatoes. Oh my god, I ate myself silly.

Folks don't believe me when I say I'm from Milwaukee and I have such a diverse family. They think Milwaukee is all White and devoid of color, but that's not exactly true. Milwaukee is incredibly segregated, but diversity there is. Before we sat down to enjoy this island feast, we blessed the food in all of the languages represented in my aunt's home that night. We heard blessings in Arabic, Hebrew, Hindi, Spanish, and Jamaican English (I made that up, but I'm not sure what the correct term for the distinct Jamaican language/dialect. Please don't crucify me. But feel free to enlighten me.). It made my kinky gazpacho heart sing.

And while I can't give you a taste of that delicious meal, I can leave you with a song to make your hearts sing. Enjoy!

Music Monday --Flashback to My Year in Spain

Hi Meltingpot Readers,

Today I begin my descent into grading hell. I will be spending the next six days correcting final papers 24/7. It's the dark side of being a professor. So, I have not a moment to write, but I wanted to leave you with my current musical trip down memory lane. I found The Counting Crows CD at a Borders Closing Sale and snapped it right up. This song, Mr. Jones is what sustained me during my lonely days as a college student in Salamanca, Spain. I think because the song mentions "Spanish dancer" I felt it was somehow relevant to my experience. (whatever!). Enjoy and wish me and my red pen good luck.

Do you remember where you were when this song was hot? Tell me about it.

Music Monday --Bruno Mars & Janelle Monae Together in Concert

Hello Meltingpot Readers,

I just found out that two of my new favorite artists will be touring together this spring and early summer. Bruno Mars and Janelle Monae are launching their "Hooligans in Wondaland" tour this Wednesday in New York City. I love Bruno Mars' voice, look and real musical talent (and I'm hoping his indiscretion with the white stuff truly was a one-time deal). Janelle Monae, to me, is a breath of fresh air with her tiny body, booming voice, unique style and boundary busting music. And I'd be lying if I didn't mention that I totally dig her hairdo.

For more information about the Wondaland tour and to see if they're heading to your city, check out the tour website.



Peace!

Music Monday -- The Hottest Asian Voice

Hi Meltingpot Readers,

Did I tell you I'm teaching a class called Race and Racism in the News? I'm loving it and my students are too. We are having some great conversations in the class about race and stereotypes and the media's role in perpetuating those stereotypes. Currently we are talking about Asian-Americans and how limited the coverage of Asian-Americans is in the mainstream media as well as in Hollywood.

The one Asian-American in my class (yes, there's only one out of 36) is Filipino, and he has shared a lot of his personal experiences to demonstrate just how annoying/insidious stereotypes about Asians in America are. One pet peeve of his was that people don't think Asian-Americans can sing. At all. Yet as a Filipino, he informed us that so many Filipinos sing and that singing is really important in the Filipino culture. To wit, he pointed out that the hottest singing sensation in the world right now is 18-year-old super voice Charice Pempengco. If you haven't heard of her check her out on the Ellen DeGeneres show:



And that was kind of awhile ago. She's now a frequent cast member on Glee and people, she's hot all over Asia and Europe. We're just slow catching up over here. Surprise. To learn more about Charise, check out her website.

Enjoy!

Peace.

Music Monday- Adele and Her "Dark, Bluesy, Gospel, Disco," Sound

Meltingpot Readers,

I'm officially in love with Adele, otherwise known as the latest British Blue-eyed-soul singer to take the music world by storm. I realize I'm a little late on the discovery, but I still needed to share. El esposo just received her new album, 21, for his birthday and I have officially claimed it for my own. It is phenomenal. Adele's voice seriously grabbed my heart and soul from the first note out of her mouth.

After hearing this song, Rolling in the Deep, I was convinced this British singer had to have some significant Black influence in her life and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that she didn't. One of her earliest influences? The Spice Girls! I love it when people refuse to fall into our own preconceived notions. Forces you to expand your own limited imagination and ideas. I know I did.

Anybody else an Adele fan? What's your favorite song?

I'm listening.

Peace.

Music Monday -- Best New Artist: Esperanza Spalding

Hi Meltingpot Readers,

Last night for the first time in ages, I watched the Grammy Awards. Not the entire show, but enough to catch the announcement of the best new artist. And while my kids were SHOCKED that Justin Bieber did not win, I was thrilled to see jazz phenom, Esperanza Spalding pick up the award.

A brief tour around the internet this morning proves that a lot of people don't know much about the amazingly Afroe'd singer/songwriter/instrumentalist so I thought I'd dedicate today's post to Ms. Spalding who besides her awesome musical talent has a great meltingpot background (African-American, Hispanic, Welsh and Native American) which fuels her interest in an eclectic range of music.

So, here's a story that ran on Latina.com about Spalding's win last night. And then of course you can go directly to her website for more information, including tour dates. And finally, I leave you with a little bit of music to begin your week. Sorry Justin Bieber, you didn't stand a chance.



Peace!

Another Hair Story, A Giveaway and a Link or Two

Hi Meltingpot Readers,

So, the picture you see there is me in Milwaukee over the Thanksgiving holiday. I did a reading at Boswell Books and for the occasion decided to straighten my hair. All that means is that I sat in a stylist's chair for three hours while he blow dried the kinks and curls out of my hair, then flat ironed and hot combed them into the big fat curls you see in the picture. It was fun to get all gussied up for the reading, but there were some unintended consequences to me going 'straight.'

My boys L-O-V-E my hair. They want to touch it and comb it and style it for me. Now mind you, my hair isn't bone straight. It's just kind of soft and fluffy. In fact, my older son says it feels like cotton candy. Isn't that cute? Now the hair revolutionary in me at first kind of balked at how much my little manchildren just seemed to instinctively adore my hair when it's straightened as opposed to my usual kinky 'fro. They've never compared the two and sometimes my older son says he wants an Afro as big as mine, but when I say my boys 'adore' my hair straightened, I mean I'm getting googly eyes from the two of them.

But then I had another thought. I'm teaching my little manchildren that Black hair in its natural state, is versatile and beautiful. Hopefully it will be a lesson they internalize as they mature and start assessing beauty in young girls and women. Isn't that the proper way to take this lesson? Do you agree or disagree? Of course some might say I'm making a mountain out of a molehill, in which case, I should probably take a moment to listen to this song by the divine Ms. India Arie.



And in completely unrelated news, if you'd like to hear about my latest writing journey check out this great new website called Girlfriends Book Club. My post is up today and there's a chance to win an autographed copy of Substitute Me. It's also just a great site to check out for book suggestions and the writer's life.

I hope everyone is staying sane as the holiday season heats up.

Peace!

Music Monday: My Teenage Dreams!

Welcome Back, Meltingpot Readers.

Did I mention that I am a crazy fool and decided to participate in National Novel Writing Month? Yes, Nanowrimo is when every frustrated novelist in the world dedicates the month of November to writing a novel. That's 50,000 words in 30 days. And if you peek at your calendar, you'll see tomorrow is the last day of the month. Yikes! To be honest, I'm actually only 3,000 words away from hitting the big 50K, but that doesn't mean I'll actually be done telling the story, but I'm going to try.

Anywho, all that to say, I don't have time to write here on the Meltingpot today, because I have to get back to my unfinished novel. In the meantime, I'm going to leave you with this little ditty by Katy Perry, called Teenage Dreams. It's my go-to song for inspiration for this book, because the story is about a teen girl who finally discovers how fun life can be when she lets go of all of her fears.

Enjoy! And the next time you 'hear' from me, I'll have a new novel completed. (Fingers crossed!)



What's your go-to song for inspiration these days?

Music Monday: Cree Summer

Meltingpot Readers,

Did you know November is National Native American Heritage Month? I didn't either until a couple of days ago, so don't feel bad. However, if you're like me and you don't necessarily have a direct connection to Native American culture, you might be wondering, well how should I celebrate? How about if you just try to pay attention to some of the people, places and things that make our culture wonderful that come from Native Americans. That way you'll have a month of endless celebrations.

For example, one of my favorite most overlooked female singers is Cree Summer. Technically, she's Black and Native Canadian, not Native American but since she was born in the US, I think we can claim her for this month's celebratory purposes. Some of you may know her from her role on the 1980s sitcom, A Different World, where she played Freddie Brooks. Or, if you have kids, you'll know her as the voice of Clifford the Big Red Dog's poodle friend, Cleo. Clearly, she's multi-talented, but her solo album Street Faerieis why I will always love her. I love every single song on the album. But for some reason her studio didn't push the album and we've never gotten a new album from this amazing musician.

But hold the phone, I just found this video on YouTube which is her most recent work, I believe. It's powerful stuff people. Can somebody get on the phone and get Ms. Summer to make another album?



Peace!

Music Monday: It's a Book, It's a Song, It's a Spork!

Meltingpot Readers,

Prepare to fall in love. With this video, with this song, with this book. Tell me what you think.



To buy the book, Spork for all of your Mixie friends and those who love them, try amazon. To read more about the super cool author, Kyo Maclear, visit her Spork website.

Tra-la-la, the times are a-changin...

Peace!

Music Monday: Brought to You By Sesame Street

Today's musical selection comes from our friends at Sesame Street. I've now seen this clip about a puppet who loves her Black hair only about a million times on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and sent to me in my inbox. And one million times is not enough. I love it and am so thrilled that the folks at Children's Television Workshop decided to tackle this very serious self-love identity issue on their show.

So without further ado, enjoy my new favorite song, "I Love My Hair."



What do you think about the video/song? Of course when we talk Black hair, there always has to be a dissenting opinion. Here's one such opinion by a guy who thinks some of the hairstyles our little muppet friend wears aren't really natural. (sigh)

What do you think dear readers?

I'm listening... while I love my hair.

Peace!

Music Monday: Substitute Me, The Musical!

Okay, so recently during a long car ride, I was listening to the soundtrack of my favorite Broadway musical, Aida by Elton John and Tim Rice and I realized, gee, except for the location in Egypt and the like 1000 year time difference, the story line from Aida and Substitute Me is remarkably similar.

Here's a clip from the original cast of the Broadway Musical that kind of sums up the conflict in both stories. The clip comes from the song "Elaborate Lives."



Those of you who have read, Substitute Me, what do you think? Am I right? On so many levels?

And for people who could care less about the similarities between my first novel and a Broadway Musical, but love Meltingpot stories, please check out the Korean cast of AIDA, performing the same song.


(*Note, I have spent far too much time watching the Korean version of Aida this morning. It's truly amazing, especially the God's Love Nubia).

Happy Monday!

Peace!

Music Monday: Chris Akinyemi

Happy Monday Meltingpot Readers,

So, here's my latest meltingpot music discovery, Chris Akinyemi. Like many of you, neither Chris nor his music fits nicely into a identity box, which of course makes me love him even more. I guess technically he's 'African-American' as he was raised in the US by Nigerian parents.

I've only heard his one single, Radio but I love it already. Let me know what you all think. And here's a cute little interview with Chris so you can better understand the man behind the music.

What do you think Meltingpot readers? Is he destined to be a superstar?



Keep the music alive!

Peace!

Music Monday: Bruno Mars Makes Beautiful Mixie Music

Okay Melitngpot Readers,

I'm going to assume that some of you, like me, aren't exactly keeping track of what's happening in the world of popular music. Maybe other areas of your life keep you from knowing who's hot and who's not. Well, thank goodness you have me.

I would like to introduce you to my new musical crush, Bruno Mars, otherwise known as that ambiguously brown dude who sings the chorus on The Billionaire song. After a wee bit of research on that incredibly reliable source of information known as wikipedia, I discovered that Mr. Mars was born and raised in Hawaii by parents of Puerto Rican and Filipino descent. His real name is Perter Hernandez, Jr. and like his mixie heritage, his music also defies easy categorization. In an interview on About.com he explained why he titled his EP, "It's Better if You Don't Understand," regarding his musical style and his heritage.

"Yeah, you know, a lot of people...there's always been so much question about what kind of music I do. Everything. You know, what's his nationality? Is it R&B? Is it pop? Is he a rapper? Is he really that short? A lot of things. There's so many...I always thought that was my struggle, explaining the kind of...you know you asked earlier what kind of music. It's hard for me to explain. Not because I'm trying to be out of the box or...it's just like, man, I just write songs. Hopefully, I try to write songs that touch a lot of people.

So that phrase, "It's better if you don't understand," resonated so well with me because that's been my whole life, a campaign. Just listen, basically. It's a way to say just listen to this music and you be the judge of what it is and how it makes you feel. Opposed to me telling you I am a pop singer or an R&B singer or a soul singer. I want the audience to have their own personal feelings toward my music."

Nice, right? I love his voice and his songs are brilliant. And I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I also find him absolutely adorable.

So Bruno Mars is about to Blow Up big time. His first debut album is slated for an October release. But now you can all talk about him with authority because you read about him here on the Meltingpot. Ha! Anybody else out there already a Bruno Mars fan? What's your favorite song?


Peace!