Urban Decay

Part of me still calls Detroit home. A city that I never really knew. Streets I never really walked down. People I never had the chance to meet. I look at Detroit now like a decaying work of art. It's like a faded painting where you try to picture the vibrancy of the colors, but so much of its beauty relies on imagination. I saw this photo today and it make me want to cry. 

Photo of United Artists Theater by Yves Marchand & Romain Meffre

When in Doubt, Beatbox

Beatboxing in hip hop is as frequent as harmonizing in folk duos. But when you throw it into a different genre, it adds a new layer of dynamic complexity that really makes a song "wow." 

Bjork turned to the Godfather of Noyze and former member of The Roots, Rahzel, for her Medulla album. Amid a collection of a cappella ballads, Rahzel's contribution adheres to the rawness of Medulla, while providing a unique and unwavering distinction that seems to ground the work as a whole. 

More recently, I've been listening the British duo, Nizlopi, quite a bit. Comprised of Luke Concannon on vocals and guitar and John Parker on bass, guitar and beatbox, these guys turn to beatboxing as their percussion instrument of choice and seamlessly blend their love of hip hop into heartfelt love songs. 

So if you have a great song, and drums just aren't doing it for you, consider adding a beatbox to the mix. It might be just the thing your song needs to take off. 

Attaining Greatness

I have had endless love affairs with music. Some songs are quick flings, even one night stands. Others I find newness in months, years, even decades after our first encounter. So this got me thinking: what makes a song not just good, but great?

I think that a song is only as good as where it takes you. That's what makes music so personal...so unique to each and every individual. With any relationship, sometimes there is chemistry and sometimes things fall flat. With a song, it either speaks to you or it doesn't; makes you think a different way or feel a different way, or leaves you hollow and disappointed.

I listened to a song today and it gave me goose bumps. It literally made me tingly all over. It was wonderful.