The Tuesday Slider Special (Vol. 1, No. 1)

I know...you're getting hungry, but please try to focus and wipe that drool off of the side of your mouth.  I don't want you getting committed somewhere by accident because you're reading this post.  Anyway, do you ever go out to eat and just want appetizers?  Specifically, do you ever have a taste for a burger, but you don't want the heaviness that comes with it or to have to split it in half--knowing the hassle that comes along with reheating a burger and recapturing the essence of it from the restaurant?  If on the menu, do you opt for the sliders instead to give you that taste for burgers without the need to be trotted out on a wheel barrel?  Well, in an effort to cover a wider array of topics without a five-to-seven-paragraph soliloquy for each one, I bring to you a brand new posting series: "The Tuesday Slider Special".  Quick takes from your soon-to-be favorite blogger that are easier to digest, but still filling nonetheless.  So without further ado, let's eat...

Scribbler's Rave & Favorite Five: Tuesday Night at the Movies, #5 Blade Runner

Before we begin breaking down why this movie has made my "Rave & Favorite Five" out of all of the movies that could've possibly made the final cut, allow me this caveat: I'm not really into science fiction flicks.  To be clear, I'd take them over horror movies, Westerns, anime and most martial arts films in a heartbeat, but I don't clamor for them over comedies, dramas, action flicks or animated films.  So when I had to dissect the underlying meanings behind Blade Runner for a film class during my junior year of college, I wasn't thrilled at first.  However, director Ridley Scott (known for Thelma & Louise, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, Hannibal, American Gangster, Prometheus and The Martian) knew how to draw in a fence straddler like me: make the cinematography exhilaratingly irresistible, the storyline brilliantly cavernous and bring in an innovative mind to compose a score well before its time.  Next thing I knew, I was an immediate fan--so much that between watching Blade Runner and reading George Orwell's 1984 in high school, I was convinced that I was going to make the hip hop equivalent to both.  Let's just say that never came to life--and considering how unrefined my rap flow and production were, it's probably a good thing that it didn't--but what did remain was a permanent love affair with a masterpiece.  So although I originally wanted to go through my favorite scenes from each movie in this part of the "Rave & Favorite Five" series, I have decided to enumerate the top overall things that have catapulted Blade Runner to #T5DOA Status...

Scribbler's Rave & Favorite Five: Songs for Momma Scribbler

Now before anyone gets any bright ideas about what songs they can expect from this edition of the "Rave & Favorite Five", this is what we're not going to do.  We're not going to do "A Song for Mama" by Boyz II Men, "I'll Always Love My Mama" by The Intruders (although that's my jam and a half) or "Dear Mama" by 2Pac because this is not your run-of-the-mill Mother's Day music tribute.  Why?  Simple: because this tribute is for my momma.  This ode to the greatest mother in the whole wide world--because everybody says that about their mother unless trash truck juice could do a better job as a parent--showcases the first songs that come to mind when I specifically think of her favorites.  As you will see, my mother is diverse in her listening tastes as she can go from loving a soft rock ballad to bobbing her to something with a little hip-hop flair.  So although I'll probably have to email her this link and urge her to get on the Interwebs to check out this post, here are the top five songs that make me think of Momma Scribbler a.k.a. [in my Devin The Dude voice minus the "muy bien marijuana" reference] my "lovely good motha"...

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...

Scribbler's Rave & Favorite Five Bonus Edition: A Tribute to Billy Paul

As if losing Prince on Thursday wasn't hard enough, now one of my favorite soul singers in Philly native Billy Paul has passed away at the age of 81.  For years, I only knew about three songs of his--one of which was his most popular in the 1972 across-the-board smash hit, "Me And Mrs. Jones".  However, around the time that my fascination with everything Philly soul began in 2003, that's when I doubled up and purchased two of his greatest hits albums because 1) many of his full-length albums were either hard to find or out of print and 2) one album had one or two more songs that the other didn't.  Although he had a very unique delivery, his jazzy style on songs like "Ebony Woman", "Love Buddies", "Let's Fall In Love All Over Again" and "There's a Small Hotel" always put me in the mindset of smoky nightclubs, stiff drinks and a grand piano.  Spending the first 13 years of his recording career working with legendary producers Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff, they crafted their sound around what he did best and didn't try to make his music sound too much like the rest of the Philadelphia International Records roster.  That's a huge amount of the reason why I fooled with him so tough because he wasn't like anyone else that they had in their stable of greatness.  So to pay tribute to his legacy, I present an impromptu "Rave & Favorite Five" celebrating Paul's music...