Scribbler's Rave & Favorite Five: The Valentine's Day Goosebumps Playlist

One of the most wonderful aspects to music about love, romance and intimate relationships is how it can make you want to be in love no matter what your dating or marital status is.  Although my alter ego's favorite music to perform and produce is hip hop, the triumvirate's consensus choice of listening pleasure is R&B because it's one of the best genres at capturing the aforementioned sentiment.  So as a tribute to one of the sweetest, most romantic "holidays" ever conceived, what you all are about to read is what will likely go down as the most difficult "Rave & Favorite Five" I've ever had to consider.  Get your chocolates ready and, depending on your situation, keep your Kleenex handy...

#5 USHER, "Here I Stand" (Here I Stand, LaFace, 2008).  Truth moment: beating out legends like The Isley Brothers and Luther Vandross is no small feat, but as a 26-year veteran, fellow Libra "Ursher" is one of the most consistent artists of my generation who could've had more than one song on this list--"The Many Ways" and "U Got It Bad" are simply two other examples.  However, one of the biggest reasons this song made the list is frankly because Mrs. Scribbler reminded me of it.  Once that happened, I immediately remembered how much I love this song for how well it's produced--courtesy of frequent collaborators with Jill Scott, Kindred the Family Soul and Mary J. Blige, Dre & Vidal--and well written it is.  The second verse has always been one of the most endearing parts of this ballad: "You're like a mirror to my soul, but a queen/And finally now I know just what that means/You're the blessing I never thought I would get/And to the Lord, I humbly bow my head."  Delivered with some of the most sincere conviction I've ever heard Usher deliver in his illustrious career and as the best song on the album of the same name by far, "Here I Stand" is truly deserving of being on this list as it compels you to feel this way about someone or want someone to feel this way about you...

#4 PROFYLE, "Just Can't Get You Off My Mind" (Whispers in the Dark, Motown, 1999).  Even if you recall their only No. 1 hit, "Liar," you still might say, "Of all the songs you could've put on this list, why them and why this?"  To that, I'll save one of my comments for later and say this for now: this isn't the only Profyle song which could've made this list as it was a toss-up between this and "Lady".  One of the reasons why I chose this is because, like two of the top songs on this list, I enjoy singing this song.  (Granted, I always sing it when I'm alone, but you can't tell me I'm not the long lost member of Profyle when I'm in my Accord belting TF out of this song.)  The biggest reason is because of the lyrics, as evidenced in the second verse: "I know she's probably used to guys with fancy cars or lots of money/And I wonder if she could be interested in a guy like me/I ain't no business man or a politician/But I make my living honestly/Now I know, I know I'm just a regular old type of guy/But I deserve someone special in my life/And I'd do, I'd do, I'd do anything for you, baby/If you were my woman, I swear I'd make everything just right."  My final tidbit as to the importance of "Just Can't Get You Off My Mind" comes via the eloquent words of one Aubrey Graham: "That's all me, all me for real."

#3 INTRO, "Ribbon in the Sky" (Intro, Atlantic, 1993).  No, I did not put Stevie Wonder's version on here because, much like "Lately" and Jodeci's revisiting, I have not believed he has the superior version since 1993.  I have never run the original in the ground.  I didn't rush to Kemp Mill Records at Iverson Mall for any other version but Intro's, although I was thoroughly disappointed it was only the radio edit and not the album version.  Granted, you don't top his musicianship and you don't get a hit like this without his pen, but the late Kenny Greene is the reason why Intro's rendition of Wonder's classic lands on this list.  You needed a powerfully soulful voice like Greene's to deliver heartfelt lines like these: "We can't lose with God on our side/We'll find strength in each tear we cry/From now on, it will be you and I and I/And a ribbon in the sky/A ribbon in the sky/A ribbon in the sky for our love."  Whereas Wonder's version focused more on the beautifully-composed musical elements in the song's final two minutes, Intro's remake showcased flawless harmonies and conviction from the opening tap to the last audible notes which could only be found in a 90s R&B ballad.  Moreover, Wonder's original might have made me want to be in love, but another song bringing out my inner crooner, Intro's reboot made me wanna embarrass myself by saying it with my chest...

#2 PRINCE, "Adore" (Sign o' the Times, Paisley Park/Warner Bros., 1987).  Truth be told, I'm kinda mad this song isn't No. 1, but I nearly made the fatal mistake of leaving this song off of the list altogether because there were so many choices.  Nevertheless, there's no excuse for why it was even left off for an hour or two while compiling these songs: "Adore" is mando not only because it's my favorite Prince songs which hits all of the pertinent areas for a great song--vocal performance, musicianship, lyricism--but it's also one of the most perfect songs ever created in any genre of music.  Although the middle parts of "Adore" make it the most sensuous entry in this countdown by a country mile, the hook did exactly what it was supposed to do in terms of putting the listener in a particularly tender mood: "Until the end of time/I'll be there for you/You own my heart and mind/I truly adore you/If God one day struck me blind/Your beauty I'd still see/Love's too weak too define/Just what you mean to me."  I also have no doubt in my mind words like "that night I had to call you", "rappin' 'til the sun came up" and "tellin' you just how fine you look" seeped into my soul and added layers upon layers to my game.  While every other song on this list might be sweeter, "Adore" had cayenne sprinkled in with its sugar...

#1 HAROLD MELVIN & THE BLUE NOTES, "Yesterday I Had the Blues" (Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, Philadelphia International, 1972).  So allow me to tell y'all how serious it is with this song: there's a small crew of songs which make me emotional when I sing along with them, including Luther Vandross' rendition of Delaney & Bonnie's "Superstar" and Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes' "I Miss You".  Unlike the latter two songs, however, "Yesterday I Had the Blues" is more of a tears of joy type of deal.  While running their Blue Notes & Ballads compilation album into the ground and taking a joyride uptown in my old Toyota Camry sometime in 2003, I poured myself into the song as if I were a young Teddy Pendergrass bringing some of the most powerful soul ever heard in Sigma Sound Studios.  By the second pre-chorus, I had a Kevin Hart "this sh** just got real" moment: "You came inside of my heart/Yes you did/And started a spark/Of love burning so hot."  Failing to fight back the water works, hearing more simple but profound lines like "I'm a brand new man" and "I got a brand new walk" took it over the top for me.  Not only is this one of my favorite songs from one of the strongest albums in the entire PIR catalog, but it also evidently stirs up a loving feeling no other song on Earth can.

So maybe a few of you are thinking, "I might can get down with one or two of these, but how do you leave out [fill in the blank]?"  First and foremost, you must remember this critical factor: this series is titled "Scribbler's Rave & Favorite Five", so I can only speak for myself and what songs have made me yearn to be in and/or stay in love with someone special throughout my life.  What's funny is when I told Mrs. Scribbler about this idea, she said, "You gotta pick the sappiest songs possible!"  Going by that criteria, this list would be more representative of the 15-year-old Dirk.  Thank God a brother matured, experienced some things and got a little more soul and swagger to his love game.
 

So what songs inspire you to be in love?!?!  Please feel free to share your personal playlist in the comments.  Don't forget to return soon for the next edition of "Scribbler's Rave & Favorite Five"!!!