Scribbler's "Get Out of My Brain!" Countdown of the Month (October 2016)

Although I'm not someone who vehemently resists change, my subconscious somehow didn't get that memo.  Out of the ten songs from last month's countdown, five of them have returned for this month's list in their original form while another one has haunted me in an alternative form.  Out of those six songs, the beginning of this month's cycle began with a three-horse race between Ralph Tresvant, Silk and Sherrick for pole position, but if Simone Manuel's historic accomplishment taught us nothing, the initial leaders or favorites don't always win in the end.  (I know...hella dramatic.)  Of course, we always have to talk about the losers.  Mariah Carey's "Vision of Love" greeted me ferociously one morning as I reminisced about the summer of 1990, but she didn't make it past noon.  Even with Jermaine Jackson's "Two Ships" hitting me at two different points of the month, perhaps the waves from the passing ships didn't make enough of a splash in my mind.  "The Love I Lost" by Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes harassed me at work for a day or two, but my brain may have lost love for it.  Finally, discussing Babyface's brilliance on the Waiting to Exhale soundtrack immediately brought Mary J. Blige's "Not Gon' Cry" to mind.  However, her awkward rendition of Bruce Springsteen's "American Skin (41 Shots)" to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in a promo for her upcoming series on Apple TV, The 411, may have quickly unseated one of my faves from the Queen of Hip Hop Soul from the rotation.  So enough of the rambling about nonentities and on with the cut makers...

Scribbler's "Get Out of My Brain!" Countdown of the Month (September 2016)

You never know how a month's worth of random songs being lodged in the corners of your mind will work.  Once the last batch of brain invaders left the scene of the crime, the first culprit looking to raid was "In My House" by the Mary Jane Girls.  Truth be told, I can't even tell you what made me think of that song recently because as much as I've always liked it, I don't think about it very often.  Hence, I had a feeling neither "In My House" would make the cut nor "Put It In Your Mouth" by Akinyele, "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love" by Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack", "My Dad's Gone Crazy" by Eminem nor "The Lovers" by Alexander O'Neal.  Guy's "Goodbye Love" had three opportunities to make the list--twice on its own and once via sampling on Mary J. Blige's "Don't Go"--but still didn't make it despite a strong resurgence.  Of all people, Rihanna nearly made "Get Out of My Brain!" history with three entries including "Sex With Me" and "Needed Me", but you will soon see which one endured.  Now that the losers have been accounted for, let's talk about the winners...

Scribbler's Late AF Post of the Week: In Heavy Rotation (August 2016)

Whereas I went from a "Black Music Matters" in June to mainly "White Boy Wasted" in July, the August edition of "In Heavy Rotation" has its own swagger.  Not only could many of these picks be interchangeable, but most of them are from artists who I like and respect, but I'm nowhere near the head of their fan clubs.  However, that's the marvel of music: there's always an opportunity for an artist to change your mind or make you more of a believer in their work--especially if it's evident they have the talent and charisma to keep your attention for the majority or the entirety of a project.  So enough talking, let's get to the tunes...

Scribbler's "Get Out of My Brain!" Countdown of the Month (May 2016)

So in yet another attempt to expand my blog and include as many facets of myself as you can stand, I thought about how songs frequently get stuck in our heads for hours, days, weeks and even months.  There are some that we absolutely love, some that we are in like with and nails scratching on a chalkboard might pale in comparison to the rest.  Most times, they're renting out brain space because we associate them with a memory, a place or a person; other times, it's completely inexplicable.  Hence, I bring to you all a new monthly posting series: "Scribbler's 'Get Out of My Brain!' Countdown of the Month."  Now before we begin, two things.  First, I don't have an ASCAP or BMI representative in my head tracking every single spin in my own head, so these are totally metric-less estimations.  Second, y'all know that I can't kick off the inaugural post of a series like this without naming the songs that got bumped out like "Grateful" by Hezekiah Walker & LFC, "Hold On (Change Is Comin')" by Sounds of Blackness, "5 Steps" by Dru Hill (which almost came back into the countdown), "Truffle Butter" by Nicki Minaj and "Splackavellie" by Pressha (which some of y'all either don't remember, have never heard or haven't heard since it was out, so that would've need a nice throwback to '98).  It would've been nice to include those songs--all of which I fool with--but they didn't flood my brain as much as these ten little numbers...

Dirk Scribbler's 1st Annual Grammy Wrap Up

So I totally didn't plan on watching the 55th Grammy Awards last night.  I tend to have a love-hate relationship with award shows: I hate to love them because there are often so many disappointing moments.  However, Mrs. Scribbler convinced me to watch them--truthfully, she had the remote and wasn't gonna win that battle.  I must say that I ended up enjoying some very stylish folks strut their stuff on the red carpet and, subsequently, the actual Grammy Awards itself.  My issue regarding some of the coverage was that folks were "riding" certain artist's you-know-whats because they are who they are.  Therefore, a Grammy wrap-up wouldn't be complete without the more-self-proclaimed-than-world-renowned music aficionado in Dirk Scribbler giving you his take.