3 1/2 years after we last heard from U2, they’re back. Get On Your Boots is the first single from their new album No Line on the Horizon, and you can listen to it here. My initial thoughts? Sounds like the boys are rocking harder than they have in years. Boots sounds a bit like Vertigo, the first single from their last album, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, but with a little bit more stank on it. All in all, a solid welcome back for Bono and the boys. Now, what do YOU think?
So, I could have very easily stuck Stevie Wonder’s Happy Birthday here or gone with John Lennon’s Imagine, but I wanted to do something a little different.
Back in 1986, at the height of We Are the World-style group singalongs, a slew of R&B and hip-hop artists got together to form the King Dream Chorus & Holiday Crew. Among the contributing artists: Kurtis Blow, Whodini, The Fat Boys, DMC & Jam Master Jay, New Edition, Menudo (featuring a teenage Ricky Martin), Teena Marie, Stephanie Mills, Kool & the Gang’s JT Taylor, El DeBarge, Full Force, Lisa Lisa and Whitney Houston.
For the first time in my 32 years, I can see tangible evidence of us moving forward to try to achieve Dr. King’s goal of equality, even if we’re only talking baby steps here. There’s still a long way to go, but we can all take our own individual baby steps and make sure we treat our brothers and sisters with respect-regardless of ethnicity, social status, sex, age or sexual orientation. It starts with just one, people.
Now I’ll get off my soapbox so you can enjoy the video.
I figured this would be an ideal posting, given it’s timeliness. Did you ever know that Boy George was down with the new jack swing? The Culture Club frontman scored a Top 5 R&B hit in the spring of 1989 with Don’t Take My Mind on a Trip, which was produced by producer-guru Teddy Riley (of Guy and BLACKstreet fame). This uptempo banger finds George lamenting a potentially unfaithful lover, but more interesting than the song is this clip, which was taken from a British chat show hosted by the late Paula Yates. First off, you’ve gotta love the fact that in the interview portion of this clip, George is asked what depresses him and he answers “violence”. In light of the fact that George is headed off to the pokey for a year after beating the shit out of a trick, that strikes me as more than a little ironic. Additionally, you’ve got to love the lip-synched performance with the highly caffeinated DJ, the clueless chick keyboard player and George in all his shoulder-padded glory. Enjoy, boys and girls.
*Insert joke about George going to jail here*