My mom can’t feed me, my boyfriend beats me
I have sex for money, the hood don’t love me
The cops wanna kill me, this nonsense built me
And I got no place to go
They bomb my village, they call us killers
Took me off they welfare, can’t afford they health care
My teacher won’t teach me, my master beats me
And it hurts me soul
— Hurts Me Soul by Lupe Fiasco
With more supply than got demands
Still they take it from my people who got the lands
Cuz overseas pays Gs
They don’t understand
That they wearing dead men on their necks and hands.
— Red1, Keep the Beat
Whenever he calls my name, sounds slow, sweet and plain,
Right here, right there, I feel the burnin’ flame.
There’s a hot lookin’ dresser got a hold on me
Or is this the way love’s supposed to be?
— Heat Wave by Martha and the Vandals. (I feel so nostalgic whenever I hear this song.)
We gonna kill all you mother fuckers.
Now when I came out I told you it was just about Biggie.
Then everybody had to open their mouth with a mother fucking opinion.
Well this is how we gon’ do this: Fuck Mobb Deep, Fuck Biggie, Fuck Bad Boy as a staff, record label, and as a mother fucking crew.
And if you want to be down with Bad Boy then fuck you too.
Chino XL, fuck you too.
All you mother fuckers, fuck you too.
— Tupac Shakur, Hit ‘Em Up
A nigga never been as broke as me (I like that)
When I was young I had two pair of Lees (besides that)
The pin stripes and the gray (uh-huh)
The one I wore on Mondays and Wednesdays
While niggas flirt, I’m sewing tigers on my shirt
And alligators
Ya wanna see the inside, huh, I see ya later
Here come the drama, “oh, that’s that nigga with the fake” — blaow!
“Why you punch me in my face?” stay in ya place
— Sky’s the Limit by the Notorious B.I.G.
When I’m weak, you’re tellin’ me that I’m strong.
When I’m right, you’re tellin’ me that I’m wrong
But I know, now I understand, now I see,
I see your wicked plan. I’m a Junglist!
— Junglist by Tribe Of Issachar
I get along without you very well
Of course, I do
Except perhaps in spring
But I should never think of spring
For that would surely break my heart in two
— I Get Along Without You Very Well by Billie Holiday
24 November 2006, early morning
I grabbed Blind and Static and Silence by the Sundays. Blind was the follow up album to the very excellent Reading, Writing, Arithmetic. When I first listened to Blind I was a bit disappointed: it just didn’t have any tracks that I thought really stood out. However, listening to it a few more times at work my opinion has totally changed. It’s a really cool album. I’d describe it as a cross between the first album and something by the Cocteau Twins. A song like On Earth sounds very much like an “approachable” Cocteau Twins tracks; the song has that same ethereal quality, but still maintains a sort of pop sensibility. The Sundays are definitely one of those bands I’m disappointed stopped making music.
& I say
when you’re hoping for some more from your life
shouldn’t wonder you’ve had enough
& in my town
sounds of England swallow you down
Music | Lyrics
Son, they shook, ‘cause ain’t no such things as halfway crooks
scared to death, scared to look
they shook, ‘cause ain’t no such things as halfway crooks
scared to death, scared to look
livin’ the live that of diamonds and guns
there’s numerous ways you can choose to earn funds
some of ‘em get shot, locked down, and turn nuns
cowardly hearts end straight up shook ones
he ain’t a crook son, he’s just a shook one
— Shook Ones Part II by Mobb Deep
Please could you stay awhile to share my grief,
For it’s such a lovely day,
To have to always feel this way,
And the time that I will suffer less,
Is when I never have to wake.
—Wandering Star by Portishead
And I see love and disaffection
and the clouds build up and won’t pass over.
This is my road to my redemption.
And my life is just an image of a rollercoaster anyway.
11 August 2006, mid-morning
I bought the Sundays’ first CD, Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic, last night on the way home from a protest. The only song I knew from the CD before hand was Here’s Where the Story Ends, which I first heard as a cover performed by Faye Wong. (Faye Wong’s version is called Being Criminal; written in Chinese, the name is apparently a play on her name and her former husband Dou Wei’s name.) The first Sundays song I actually heard was Summertime, which I think was on the charts when I was in grade 11 or 12. It’s a very nice pop song: catchy and sweet. Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic is a great CD. I’ve been listening to it on repeat since I bought it. The cashier at HMV looked at the CD when I gave it to her, held it tight in her hands, smiled, and then told me, “This is such a good CD.” She seemed to reflect on it for a moment, before ringing my order through.
you’re not the only one that I know
and I’m too proud to talk to you anyway
you’re not the only one that I know
and I’m far too proud to talk to you any day
so I say I’m in love with the world
Music | Lyrics
You gotta go downtown
That’s the way to my love
Take it round and round
Oooh, you can’t stop ‘til you find my love
Go downtown, To taste the sweetness
Will be enough
That’s the love that you’ve been dreaming of
—Downtown by SWV. (R&B is hardly ever subtle, is it?)
Shyness is nice, and
Shyness can stop you
From doing all the things in life
You’d like to
So, if there’s something you’d like to try
If there’s something you’d like to try
ASK ME – I WON’T SAY “NO” – HOW COULD I ?
—ASK by The Smiths.
And i’m reminded
Of the time that i was blinded
By the sun
It was a welcome change
From the sight of you hanging
Like a willow off the arm of yet another visionary
Prophetess East Van. punk
—Painter in your Pocket by Destroyer
If you always get up late
You’ll never be on time
If you always get up late
You’re never gonna be on time
And that’s a shame
Cause I like you
I never see you.
—Swimmers by Broken Social Scene
Es pasion delirio
de estar contigo
pero, pero, pero
soy dichoso mi amor porque me quieres tambien.
—Tu Mi Delirio sung by Astrud Gilberto
As we stroll along together
Holding hands, walking all alone
So in love are we two
That we don’t know what to do
So in love
In a world of our own
—So Much In Love by Timothy B. Schmit
15 August 2005, late evening
There are a few bands whose passing I really do lament. One such band is Portishead. Everytime I listen to their albums I hope that they will get back together and make a new album. It probably won’t happen. Apparently both Beth Gibbons and Geoff Barrows don’t get along all too well. Least they made two really good albums before parting company.
Did I see a moment with you
In a half lit world
I’m frightened to believe
But I must try
If I stumble if I fall
I’m reaching out in this mourning air
Music | Lyrics
So much on my mind that I can’t recline
Blastin holes in the night till she bled sunshine
Breathe in, inhale vapors from bright stars that shine
Breathe out, weed smoke retrace the skyline
Heard the bass ride out like an ancient mating call
I can’t take it y’all, I can feel the city breathin’
Chest heavin’, against the flesh of the evening
Sigh before we die like the last train leaving
—Respirations by Blackstar
For all we know
We may never meet again
Before you go make this moment sweet again
We won’t say goodnight until the last minute
I’ll hold out my hand and my heart will be in it
For all we know this may be only a dream
We come and go like a ripple on a stream
So love me tonight
Tomorrow was made for some
Tomorrow may never come
For all we know
— For All We Know by Billie Holiday
As much as i definitely enjoy solitude
I wouldn’t mind perhaps
Spending little time with you
Sometimes
Sometimes
Possibly maybe probably love
—Possibly Maybe by Björk
Punctured bicycle
On a hillside desolate
Will nature make a man of me yet ?
When in this charming car
This charming man
Why pamper life’s complexity
When the leather runs smooth
On the passenger seat ?
I would go out tonight
But I haven’t got a stitch to wear
This man said “it’s gruesome
That someone so handsome should care”
—This Charming Man by the Smiths
Close your eyes and I’ll kiss you
Tomorrow I’ll miss you
Remember I’ll always be true
And then while I’m away
I’ll write home every day
And I’ll send all my loving to you
I’ll pretend that I’m kissing
The lips I am missing
And hope that my dreams will come true
And then while I’m away
I’ll write home every day
And I’ll send all my loving to you
All my loving, I will send to you
All my loving, darling I’ll be true
—All My Loving by the Beatles.
God that was strange to see you again
Introduced by a friend of a friend
Smiled and said “yes I think we’ve met before”
In that instant it started to pour
Captured a taxi despite all the rain
We drove in silence across Pont Champlain
And all of that time you thought I was sad
I was trying to remember your name
—Your Ex-Lover Is Dead by Stars