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RECENT BLOG POSTS from T-Mad’s Music
CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL BLOG POSTS
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INTERVIEWS from T-Mad’s Music
Bernadette Cooper of Klymaxx — September, 2009
NEW
Jean Baylor, formerly of Zhané — March, 2007
Jim Brewer, formerly of Mazarati — May, 1998
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ARTIST FANSITE PORTAL from T-Mad’s Music
Back in the day during the original run of T-Mad’s Music, I featured
a series of unofficial fansites for various artists who at the time did not have a presence on the Internet. Believe it or not, there are still artists
that either do not have their own websites or who have websites but with limited information on themselves. This section is a portal to my fansites
for these artists listed below.
KLYMAXX — Updated version of a landmark mini-site from the early years of
T-Mad’s Music for the eighties female soul and funk band Klymaxx and its alumni and associated acts.
CHOCOLATE MILK — Updated version of a landmark mini-site from the
early years of T-Mad’s Music for the seventies New Orleans soul and funk band Chocolate Milk.
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MUSIC REVIEWS from T-Mad’s Music
This is not your typical music review section. Since this site
deals with classic soul and funk and so forth, I will feature either a new or recently released CD or an older release which
I consider good music that may have slipped under the radar and was ignored when originally released.
ME’SHELL NDEGÉOCELLO
Devil’s Halo
© 2009 Mercer Records
The ever-prolific Meshell Suihailia Bashir Shakur Ndegeocello (or, for the sake of simplicity, Michelle Johnson) is back with her latest CD.
Meshell (she in reality has long since dropped the punctuation and accent marks from the spelling of her name) has never been one to easily peg musically. She habitually defies categorization, which is a big part of why the mainstream doesn’t really hear her music on the radio any more since her first two CDs.
Well, that hasn’t changed — this latest CD, Devil’s Halo, also does not easily fit into a simple box.
If you are looking for the easily definable hip hop neosoul stylings of her 1993 debut CD Plantation Lullabies or the equally definable funk of her sophomore CD Peace Beyond Passion, or even the easily identifiable jazz of her more recent CD The Spirit Music Jamia: Dance Of The Infidel, you need to look elsewhere.
However, if you are open to headier music with complicated, ethereal musical rhythms and thought provoking lyrics, then this CD is for you.
The one major shortcoming of the CD is its length: it clocks in under 37 minutes, which makes it akin to an old school vinyl album in length. Such short lengths became unheard of during the heyday of the CD era when artists began pushing their album lengths closer to the 80-minute maximum length of an audio CD and even more so in today’s MP3 era.
Now what about the music itself, you ask? Well, the overall musical vibe of the CD is part psychedelic, part ethereal spaciness, part soft rock, part downtempo moodiness, all masterfully crafted.
Lyrically, Meshell seems to be in a different place. It is no secret that she is bisexual. However, up to this point her song lyrics really have not taken on any overt lesbian/bisexual overtones (the controversially titled Leviticus: Faggot from her 1994 sophomore CD notwithstanding).
This time around, on her latest release, many of the songs seem to overtly incorporate expressions of lesbian love in the lyrics. Not in a blunt, in your face, beat you over the head fashion. Simply in the same fashion that typical male-female relationship songs do. If you can accept that, then you can enjoy the music.
Since we’re in a time where LGBT issues are being raised in more force and President Obama himself is addressing these issues now, I guess it can be said that Meshell Ndegeocello’s more open expression of lesbian love tales in her lyrics is kind of timely. As a heterosexual married man, I personally do not find the way in which she expresses it offensive.
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FEEDBACK
Feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you think of the new look of the site, make requests for
music you want to hear, pass on music-related information you want me to share here, or just say hi.
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JOIN MAILING LIST for T-Mad’s Music
This is where you get to become a member of the site in order to get newsletters and other information sent to your e-mail.
Go ahead and sign up below.
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MUSIC-RELATED LINKS
This section will feature five random music links for you to check out.
Tammy Harris of RootSoul
R&B singer Tamara Harris recently graced the pages of the blog area at T-Mad’s Music. She is a great talent in the 21st century with a new CD out
titled “Natural Vibe”. She first came onto the scene in 2004 with the CD “Can’t Keep A Good Woman Down”.
Check out her website.
Soul Walking
The U.K. has a great appreciation for Black music. This site, run by a man named Toby Walker, is no exception. Check out his impressive database
of bios on various artists and music personalities in the world of soul music.
Dusty Groove America
If you collect classic soul and funk in vinyl, this is a good place to go for rare vinyl albums and 12″ singles.
Dawn Silva/Brides Of Funkenstein on MySpace
An old friend of T-Mad’s Music from the early days of the website (and current friend on MySpace), P-Funk alumnus Dawn Silva has been giving the
funkateers what they want when they want it and they want it all the time! Check out her MySpace page for the latest happenings with her.
The Official Mandrill Website
My wife and I had the great pleasure of hanging out with this group both backstage in concert and in a social gathering and they are a great bunch
of guys. Even after all these years, they can still throw down some hard tight funk and they’re still doing it. Check out the official site
of funk band Mandrill.
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