maybe a new direction

If you haven't seen it or heard it yet, check out Ryan Leslie's new music video, "How It Was Supposed To Be." I can't say it's a work of art, but then again, in plain terms, it doesn't suck. And by the way, I do love the song. I really love how his music is incorporating the rock qualities, but I have always been biased towards his work =P. If RLes continues in this direction with his music and mass marketing his material, it will definitely hit off in the mainstream.



So, something's been boggling my mind now, since listening to the song. There's a sample of a beat that repeats over and over again. If you listen to the first couple seconds of the song that's the beat I'm talking about. It's making me crazy because I just can't put a finger to it. But I think it reminds me of Timbaland's "Scream," especially the chorus part of "Scream." Am I right or am I wrong? Or hopefully somewhat close. Just give me some peace of mind to my craziness.



Also, thanks to my co-worker and her husband, I checked out this bookstore called Second Story Books. Small hidden gem in Dupont to find used books, they even have a small music section, which I immediately headed over to. Now as as an AmeriCorps member, we all know I don't really get paid much. And it doesn't help when I have to save money this month, big time for the holidays. But, alas, I gave in to the power of the books and my passion for music. I bought a hardcover of Raising Hell (about Run DMC), and let's just say, I'm thankful for not paying the retail price (well at least now with my AmeriCorps allowance =P)

I've determined for myself this book will be one of my investments for my passion for music. I know I can always google or wiki information about the artists out there, but just having the hardcopy to refer back to is nice. I'll also admit that I did buy the book to get a little more knowledge about RunDMC. I didn't always grow up listening to Run DMC, until high school/college. I was a little kid who loved her Vietnamese, Disney, soft contemporary pop music and classic r&b, like Mariah and BoyzIIMen (and even then I didn't know all their music). Only did I reach middle school was when I was more exposed to different genres of music. So any time I can get my hands on something that I should have known more about back in the day, I just get it now, and take it whole heartedly. I'll tell you how Raising Hell is, and you tell me if I'm right about RLes's song being similar to Timb's song.

Like I always say to my volunteers, we never stop learning. Every day we're always learning something new.