Robert Frost - Nothing Gold Can Stay [1923]

Nature's first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf's a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay.

Redbone - Wovoka [1973 - USA]

Redbone is a Native American rock group that formed back in 1969 in Los Angeles, California. Some might remember their big hit "Come and Get Your Love" that reached #5 on the US Billboard charts in 1974. What I like most about this group is their creative incorporation of Native American musical elements into their songs. Wovoka is their 5th and most successful album.

My fav track on this album is definitely "Clouds In My Sunshine" which hip-hop producer Hi-Tek cleverly chopped up for "This Means You" (featuring Mos Def) off his and Talib Kweli's 2000 album, Train of Thought.

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Edgar Degas - L'etoile (The Star) [1978]

2pac - Keep Ya Head Up [1992]

sing along...



Some say the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice
I say the darker the flesh then the deeper the roots
I give a holler to my sisters on welfare
Tupac cares, if don't nobody else care
I know they like to beat ya down a lot
When you come around the block brothas clown a lot
But please don't cry, dry your eyes, never let up
Forgive but don't forget, girl keep your head up
And when he tells you you ain't nuttin don't believe him
And if he can't learn to love you, you should leave him
Cause sista you don't need him
And I ain't tryin to gas ya up, I just call em how I see em
You know it makes me unhappy (what's that)
When brothas make babies, and leave a young mother to be a pappy
And since we all came from a woman
Got our name from a woman and our game from a woman
I wonder why we take from our women
Why we rape our women, do we hate our women?
I think it's time to kill for our women
Time to heal our women, be real to our women
And if we don't we'll have a race of babies
That will hate the ladies, that make the babies
And since a man can't make one
He has no right to tell a woman when and where to create one
So will the real men get up
I know you're fed up ladies, but keep your head up

oooo child things are gonna get easier
ooooo child things are
get brighter

I remember Marvin Gaye, used to sing ta me
He had me feelin like black was tha thing to be
And suddenly tha ghetto didn't seem so tough
And though we had it rough, we always had enough
I huffed and puffed about my curfew and broke the rules
Ran with the local crew, and had a smoke or two
And I realize momma really paid the price
She nearly gave her life, to raise me right
And all I had ta give her was my pipe dream
Of how I'd rock the mic, and make it to tha bright screen
I'm tryin to make a dollar out of fifteen cents
It's hard to be legit and still pay tha rent
And in the end it seems I'm headin for tha pen
I try and find my friends, but they're blowin in the wind
Last night my buddy lost his whole family
It's gonna take the man in me to conquer this insanity
It seems tha rain'll never let up
I try to keep my head up, and still keep from gettin wet up
You know it's funny when it rains it pours
They got money for wars, but can't feed the poor
Say there ain't no hope for the youth and the truth is
it ain't no hope for tha future
And then they wonder why we crazy
I blame my mother, for turning my brother into a crack baby
We ain't meant to survive, cause it's a setup
And even though you're fed up
Huh, ya got to keep your head up

To all the ladies havin babies on they own
I know it's kinda rough and you're feelin all alone
Daddy's long gone and he left you by ya lonesome
Thank the Lord for my kids, even if nobody else want em
Cause I think we can make it, in fact, I'm sure
And if you fall, stand tall and comeback for more
Cause ain't nuttin worse than when your son
wants to kno why his daddy don't love him no mo'
You can't complain you was dealt this
hell of a hand without a man, feelin helpless
Because there's too many things for you to deal with
Dying inside, but outside you're looking fearless
While da tears, is rollin down your cheeks
Ya steady hopin things don't fall down this week
Cause if it did, you couldn't take it, and don't blame me
I was given this world I didn't make it
And now my son's getten older and older and cold
From havin the world on his shoulders
While the rich kids is drivin Benz
I'm still tryin to hold on to my survivin friends
And it's crazy, it seems it'll never let up, but
please... you got to keep your head up

Gabe Soriano - Demo 2005 [2005 - USA]

Collect all three!

Here's Gabe's first album, appropriately titled Demo 2005. Once again, all songs written by Gabe Soriano; all instruments played by Gabe Soriano.

BTW, stay tuned- Gabe tells me he's recording a new album this month.

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Día Prometido - [1971 - Spain]

This is the kind of stuff crate diggers freak out over, and not to mention pay big bucks for. But guess what? I'm kind enough to share it with you.

Día Prometido is comprised of a Chilean and an Iranian who live(d) in Spain. As you can see in the picture they get down on some interesting instruments including the santur which is an Iranian hammered dulcimer.

I dug up this 45" back in '05 in Madrid at El rastro (a really cool flea market that goes down every Sunday just outside of downtown).

I've been looking for the LP for years, so if anyone has it, let me know!

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Langston Hughes - Juke Box Love Song

I could take the Harlem night

and wrap around you,

Take neon lights and make a crown,

Take Lenox Avenue busses,

Taxis, subways,

And for your love song tone their rumble down.

Take Harlem's heartbeat,

Make a drumbeat,

Put it on record, let it whirl,

And while we listen to it play,

Dance with you till day-

Dance with you, my sweet brown Harlem girl.

Lô Borges - Lô Borges [1972 - Brazil]

For years I wondered- How is it that Milton Nascimento's album, Clube da esquina, is so much more amazing than his numerous other albums? Well, I finally figured it out. Clube da esquina is a collaboration with Lô Borges; and after listening to Lô's solo albums, you can really hear how he's responsible for what I would say are the most creative parts of that album.

So, if you're a fan of Clube da esquina, you need to give Lô a listen.

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Does Life Have Any Meaning?

From a church pamphlet:

Does life make any sense? For many people, it means only a slow death, agony that never ends. To be born, to suffer, to have hearts betrayed and broken, to labour simply to find food and shelter, then for it to disappear...Does life really have any meaning? We must never doubt!

Life, especially human life, knows its seasons. The gloom of autumn and the cold of winter are replaced with the living spring and an enchanted summer. Even though there is often rain and even hail in life, there are also rays of sunshine.

However, the highs that alternate with the lows, the return of health after an illness, prosperity, or the happiness of loves ones, these are not the true reasons that give my life meaning. I uncover the true sense in life by the power of my faith.

Gabe Soriano - Into the Noise [2006 - USA]

Prepare yourself as Gabe Soriano takes you Into the Noise!

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Cartoons in Graff

Ewok [New York]

Bons [Italy]

M. C. Escher - Three Worlds [1955]