This Is How We Do The Old To The New... Thursdays

Maybe it is all about the heartbeat…

What do you know about music in the late 70s and early 80s? I’m talking about songs at least 8 minutes long, sometimes longer. LOL. I’m talking about flashlights, neon lights, oh flashlights… roll, skate, rock, bounce…. I’m talking about a time when every soul song had a little bit of--dare I say it-- disco in it. I’m talking about the birth of hip-hop and raps over classic break beats like Chic’s “Good Times” and this classic song -- “Heartbeat.”

Now this song brings back memories... Sure, I was only 11 or 12 years old when it came out. But I remember singing along with Taana Gardner, “heartbeat, you make me feel so weak… moving all around with my head to the ground. Everything you said went right straight to my head…” I loved this song so much that I had to include it in my novel Sweet Sensation . It’s the break beat Flex plays the first time Deidre raps for him. “Heartbeat” like “Breaking Bells” and “Big Beat” has become a classic hip-hop break beat. Lots of rappers have sampled it. The Treacherous Three rapped over the instrumental back in 1981 when it came out. But during the golden era of hip hop, De La Soul (featuring Tribe Called Quest the Jungle Brothers and Monie Love) made a song called “Buddy” and flipped the “Heartbeat” into something fresh and new. I love “Buddy.” This song takes me back to my undergraduate days and many a campus party. So, you know I was feeling Musiq Soulchild when he freaked “Heartbeat” in his own version of “Buddy” last year. I have to say, every time I hear “Heartbeat” I like it. It is a classic one hit wonder song that has managed to stick around and be reinvented over and over and over again. You’ve got to love it! Enjoy…

Taana Gardner “Heartbeat”



Treacherous Three “Feel the Heartbeat”



De La Soul “Buddy”



Musiq Soulchild “Buddy”

This Is How We Do The Old To The New...Thursdays

Maybe it is just about him begging you to stay…

Can you ever really have too much begging? I don’t think so. I know in the eighties we all had jokes about Keith Sweat and how he begged and whined too much in his songs. But I think it wasn’t the begging so much that had folks clowning Keith but the whining. Begging and R&B love songs go together like peanut butter and jelly, like hot butter and popcorn, like trash talking and bid whist, like... Well… you get the point…

Anyway one of my favorite songs from the eighties has some good begging going on. “Stay with me… Stay with me… Stay with me… Stay with Me… Ohhh you should be right here with me, babe… Won’t you come and stay with me because I love you so…” The song is “Stay With Me” by DeBarge. Can you think of the eighties without thinking of a DeBarge song? And what girl didn’t have a crush on at least on of those DeBarge brothers?



Man, I loved El DeBarge! What a voice. What a family full of voices. From Switch in the 70s to DeBarge in the 80s to the young Chico DeBarge (he was a fine one too...) in the 90s, that family has given us some great music. “Stay With Me” is one of those classic DeBarge songs. Biggie took the melody and flipped it in the remix of “One More Chance.” And he took the lyrics “Let me help you find yourself… Cause you don’t need nobody else” for the hook. I loved these words in the original DeBarge song. Something about the way El DeBarge sang them had me saying, ‘yes, El, help me, find me…’ Anyway... singer Neyo’s version “Stay” takes the DeBarge hook and flips it. I love this version because when you add the boom bap to anything I love it, and also because I love that hook. “Stay with me… stay with me…” Nostalgia... Gotta love it! I like all of the versions of this for different reasons. I like the DeBarge’s song because of the lyrics and the voice. I like Biggie’s song because that was a hot song and brings back fond memories of my graduate school party days. Like I said, nostalgia, gotta love it... And, I like Neyo’s song because he really took the old and made something new and fresh. Check them out and let me know what you think…

DeBarge “Stay With Me”



Biggie “One More Chance” (Remix)



Neyo “Stay”

This Is How We Do The Old To The New...Thursdays

Maybe it's really all about a soul holiday...



Every Christmas, I take out my many Soul Christmas CD compilations and put them in heavy rotation. I have so many and there is really nothing like hearing the Temptations sing a Christmas carol, or Boys to Men or the Supremes... I love them all. Hearing little Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5 sing about mommy kissing Santa Claus just warms my heart. It doesn't matter how many soul versions of the "Little Drummer Boy" I hear as CD after CD plays. There are a lot of Christmas songs, but not that many after all. And each soul artist puts his or her own spin on the song. I have to say; I don't mind a Christmas soul remake. But I do have an all time favorite Christmas song and that is Donny Hathaway's version of "This Christmas." That song just seems like the epitome of a soulful Christmas to me. It makes me think of the kind of Christmas the people in the picture above might be having. The kind of Christmas, I'm hoping for as I play my CDs and sing along with Donny... And I have to say I was happy with the movie This Christmas . The film showed a wonderful Black family Christmas. It was a nice feel good movie, perfect for the holidays. And I think Chris Brown did an excellent job putting his mark on a Christmas classic. So, enjoy both versions of this wonderful, soulful song...

Donny Hathaway “This Christmas”



Chris Brown “This Christmas”

This Is How We Do The Old To The New...Thursdays

When remakes go horribly, horribly wrong…

Everyone who has read this blog knows I have a thing for Curtis Mayfield’s music. I think “The Makings of You” is one of the sweetest most romantic songs ever made. I love it when I hear the Curtis Mayfield version. I love it when I hear the Gladys Knight version from the film soundtrack of my favorite movie ever … Claudine . I just love the song. I love it so much that anyone even attempting to remake it, take the melody, or otherwise tamper with it had better come correct. Do you have any songs like that? Songs you wouldn’t want anyone messing with?

Anyway, before I go on, I should say that I love the singer Monica. I think the girl can sing any song she wanted to sing and sing the hell out of it. But Monica did a very bad thing when she started messing with my favorite song and created some kind of hybrid cross between Curtis Mayfield’s “The Makings of You” and R. Kelly’s “You Remind Me of Something.” How in the hell can you take the most romantic lyrics I’ve ever known and mix them with a song that’s comparing a woman to a damn car? She needs to be ashamed of herself. And in her lyrics she’s comparing her man to her tire rimes because he shines… Ummm… no words... Except, this is an example of when remakes go horribly, horribly wrong… I have included the Curtis Mayfield version. And since I can’t put Chester-the-Accused-Child-Molester on my blog again (he was in Aaliyah’s video and got on by default a couple of weeks ago) I've included a spoof of the “You Remind Me of Something” video that is a hoot. And then I give you the train wreck that is Monica’s song… “A Dozen Roses…” Enjoy….

"The Makings of You," Curtis Mayfield


"You Remind Me of Something" (R. Kelly) Spoof Video



"A Dozen Roses (The Makings of You)," Monica



Have a great weekend!

much love and peace,

Gwyneth

This Is How We Do The Old To The New...Thursdays

The Sugar Hill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight” was the first rap song I ever heard. I was nine-years-old at the time and that song blew my mind. I became a hip-hop head right then and there. I don’t know what clicked or why but some part of me knew I would probably love rap music and hip-hop culture for the rest of my life…

Now anyone who knows anything about hip-hop will tell you that biting someone else’s rap is a no-no. When you think about it, it’s sort of funny since a lot of early raps were done over stolen beats... Like “Rapper’s Delight” over Chic’s “Good Times”… And just imagine how much James Brown’s estate would have really been worth if he’d gotten what he was owed from all those samples. Not to mention the fact that over half of the rhymes in “Rapper’s Delight” were stolen from other rappers... Big Bank Hank stole all of his lyrics from Casanova Cas… Still, for most hip-hop heads biting is frowned on. So for me the very idea that someone would remake a rap song just seems sacrilegious. It’s just not done. And yet Snoop Dogg remade Doug E Fresh and Slick Rick’s “Ladi Dadi” and the Def Squad (Eric Sermon, Redman and Keith Murray) remade “Rapper’s Delight.” The original will still always have a special place in might heart, theft or not. It’s the longest song in the history of songs. But, I still know all the words and can do a mean karaoke performance all by myself. So, enjoy Chic's "Good Times" for the melody and beat. Check out The Sugar Hill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" for some nostalgia. And then take a listen to the Def Squad remake… Enjoy…

Chic "Good Times"



Sugar Hill Gang "Rapper's Delight"



Def Squad Eric Sermon, Redman and Keith Murray "Rapper's Delight"

This Is How We Do The Old To The New...Thursdays

Sometimes it really is all about a song...

There are some song lyrics that touch you no matter who is singing them (as long as the person can sing that is). And "At Your Best" is one of those songs. I love the Isley Brother's version and Aaliyah's version of this song. Enjoy...

At Your Best (You Are Loved)

Isley Brothers



Aaliyah

This Is How We Do The Old To The New...Thursdays

Okay, I know some people mentioned getting peeved when they hear the beginning melody of a song and they think they’re about to jam to an old favorite. Then, surprise! It’s not an old favorite after all but a remake by another artist or a sample of the beat and a totally new song by a different artist. That happens to me a lot too. But how about when you hear the melody and beat and get ready to get down dancing and the sample is being used in a gospel song? That happened to me every time Mary, Mary’s “Heaven” came on the radio. I always thought that The Honey Cone’s “Want Ads” was about to come on. I would get all hyped and start moving and dancing in preparation for “Wanted, young man single and free. Experience in love preferred, but will accept a young trainee. Ohhhhh ohhhhh.” Then I’d feel bad for shaking my bootie to a church song. LOL. When this song came out in 1971, I was probably barely a year old. But luckily for me they played a lot of good old music in the house when I was growing up. I remember falling in love with this song and dancing to it when I was a kid. I don’t know why I loved this song so much when I probably had now idea at 6 or 7 years old what they were singing about. But my fast behind sure did dance and sing right along.

So, has that ever happened to you? Have you ever heard the beginning of a song already to dance and found yourself shaking your thing to a church song? Not in a “Crank That Holy Ghost” kind of way… But more like the similarities between the two songs below kind of way… Enjoy…

I'm flying to Ohio at 6:00 in the morning. If I have access to the internet, I'll check in later. If not, I check you all out when I get back on Saturday.

The Honey Cone, Want Ads



Mary, Mary, Heaven



much love and peace,

Gwyneth

This Is How We Do The Old To The New...Thursdays

Maybe it's always about a melody...

Last week's "Old to the New" made me remember the time I was in The Underground Atlanta and a band was playing The Isley Brother's "Between the Sheets." A young man said, "That's hot! They're playing that old school Biggie..." At the time I was too shocked that this youngster considered Biggie old school to be saddened that he didn't even realize that it was The Isley Brothers that the Bad Boy camp sampled... I mean when Puffy said "take hits from the eighties and make 'em sound so crazy..." he ain't neva lied. Anyway, I thought I'd give a little more space to The Notorious BIG and the notorious Mr. Big before he became Mr. Big, Ron Isley. That man has an amazing voice... Is he out of jail yet? Enjoy...

The Isley Brothers “Between the Sheets”



Biggie “Big Poppa”

This Is How We Do The Old To The New...Thursdays

It's about a banging track...

Who doesn't remember MTUME's "Juicy" from the 80s? The track just pulls you in and you can feel the desire and passion that the lyrics express. It's a banging track so of course the Bad Boy camp had to resurrect it in the 90s with the late Notorious BIG's "Juicy." "It was all a dream. I used to read Word Up Magazine. Salt-N-Pepa and Heavy D in the limousine. Hanging pictures on my wall..." And because banging tracks don't go out of style, of course producer "supa dupa fly" Missy Elliot had to flip it for the 21st century in Keysha Cole's "Let It Go." This song has become a ladies’ anthem. I know I rocked it on my MySpace page for more than a minute and quiet as it's kept a sista has it as her ring tone right now. I think the reason why this song is speaking to so many folks now has to do with the liberating lyrics and the "Juicy" legacy. But mostly I think the reason this track has spaned three decades with hits is because it's banging! :-) Enjoy!

MTUME “Juicy Fruit”



Biggie Smalls “Juicy”



Keysha Cole “Let it Go”

This Is How We Do The Old To The New...Thursdays

Sometimes... It's about a song...

Today's pick is the Ojays classic "Cry Together." Am I the only one who thinks there's something a little bit sexy about a guy who can allow himself to be vulnerable enough to shed a tear or two? Especially a guy who is caring enough to shed a tear because his woman is crying... Now I'm not talking about some whining and childish temper tantrum throwing brother like Kanye West when he doesn't win an award. But I think y'all know what I mean. Anyway, that's why this song and the beat has been recycled so much... it's so romantic... :-)

I couldn't find the Ojays version alone on You Tube. But I did find the remake by Prophet Jones and a nice mix of the Ojays, Lil Mo, JA RULE, and The Diplomats. So enjoy!

Prophet Jones "Cry Together"



"Cry Together" Mix of Various Versions by the O’Jays, Lil Mo, Ja Rule, The Diplomats



much love and peace,

Gwyneth

This Is How We Do The Old To The New...Thursdays

It's about a melody...

Today's melody is so tough three stunning artists from three different generations laced their vocals over it. The first is Eddie Kendricks with "Intimate Friend." The second is Sweet Sable with "Old Times Sake." And the most recent is Alicia Keys with "Unbreakable." And I know I clowned Alicia Keys's song on this blog before... And honestly her song is my least favorite of the three. But I figured I'd include it anyway. The song really shows how the right melody will have you humming and singing along even when you don't like a song. (Yes, I know all the words to "Unbreakable" and sing them whenever the song comes on the radio...What!?) But my favorite of the three, the one that takes me back to my, err... youth... is Sweet Sable's "Old Time Sake." I love that song!

"Intimate Friend," Eddie Kendricks



Gotta love that voice... Nothing like a smooth falsetto...

"Old Times Sake," Sweet Sable



When I hear the words, hip-hop love song, Sweet Sable's "Old Times Sake" comes immediately to mind...

"Unbreakable," Alicia Keys



It's about a melody...

Have you ever found yourself drawn in by an old melody in the guise of a new song?

much love and peace,

Gwyneth

This Is How We Do The Old To The New...Thursdays

It's about a beat...

Have you ever heard a new song on the radio, automatically loved it and couldn't figure out why? Did you then hear an older song that you used to love and realize that the new song samples the old one?

Because I love music--all kinds of music--this happens to me a lot. Sometimes it's just a snippet of the beat sampled and it takes me a minute to place where I've heard the beat before. Sometimes it's enough for me to tell right away where it comes from. In any case, I thought I'd try something new on the blog and devote Thursdays to music that makes the old school new again. And first up we have a song that had me stumped like crazy. You see I had never purchased a Beyonce CD or a Destiny's Child CD. And I was pretty much content to never purchase one. Not that I have anything against them... But, I have a three-song rule when it comes to buying new music and I've never made it there with them.

Until Beyonce's latest CD B-Day ... I loved "Ring the Alarm." But I didn't love it enough to buy the CD. I loved "Irreplaceable." But I didn't love it enough to buy the CD. I was really feeling "Get Me Bodied" and even envisioned myself working out to that song--when and if I ever start an exercise routine. But it was "Upgrade U" that made me finally, after months and months, buy the CD. I thought what is it about this song that made me finally crack? Then one day I was listening to my Best of Betty Wright CD and heard this song:

Girls Can’t Do What the Guys Do… (Betty Wright)



Then I knew what it was about Beyonce's song that initially pulled me in. It sampled Betty Wright. It adds a little hip-hop flavor but it's that old school feel that sparks the fire in me. I really liked "Upgrade You." And, while I might have liked it without the sample--maybe--I think it was the sample that made it possible. The lyrics are sassy and boastful and ironically bold and brash. Beyonce is boasting like a boy on this track. So I guess the 21st Century version has girls doing what the guys do and doing it very well. I like that. So in light of my blog getting an upgrade, here's Beyonce:

Upgrade U (Beyonce)



much love and peace,

Gwyneth