Electric Relaxation: These are a few of my favorite...albums

In a better attempt to answer the question "Who am I?" I'm gonna just post some of my favorite albums since Facebook won't let you and I doubt anyone wants to go snoop around Myspace for me.

A 20 year old wrote this???? He wrote "Halftime" at 17-18??? When the list of prodigies in music come up, this album proves that Nas was one. "Memory Lane" and "Life's a B***h" keep me reflective.

This is hands down, the definitive album IMO of what it was like to be a Black man in the 1980's and 1990's. The first half, Cube is running around being young and dumb and ends up dead. The second half shows him awakened with a newfound consciousness, looking inward at his community causing their own ills. Oh yeah, it also has one of the greatest disses ever in "No Vasoline"

I talked about this with my friend Tracie on Twitter. Stephan Jenkins is one of the great pop songwriters of the last 15 years. He has a knack for being catchy, being cryptic (reread lyrics of Semi-Charmed Life), writing anthems and has the voice to pull it off. This isn't a guilty pleasure pick, I love this album as one of the best alternative albums of the era.

It's a shame Bradley died before this got released. It starts off with a mellow "Garden Grove" and ends with "Doin Time" - and in the middle is just a darn near perfect mixture of several genres. I can't find anyone who doesnt love this album - What I Got, April 29th, Caress me Down, and on and on...

I became a Prince fan late but I had to buy this album despite the high price tag. A rare double album that doesn't suck yet crosses multiple genres and touches on various themes (religion, love, not being worth a girl's time, the big issues of the day, randomness - Starfish and Coffee???). Oh yeah, he practically made this album himself. As much as I love Michael Jackson, he never made an album like this and that's not a knock on Thriller, that's the greatness of this album

One of my teachers in college gave me this album. I'll never forget what i wrote on Myspace when talking about it - "the most beautiful, original album I had ever heard." I knew nothing about Nicolay or Phonte before this and this album made a fan of them/Little Brother. Go listen to "Sincere" or "Happiness" and tell me its not beautiful hip-hop.

This isn't about the best albums ever. People confuse best and favorite albums all time. The best albums are great whether you heard them, like it or not, no bias or BS. Favorite is all about personal preference. So here ya go.

And note - some of these I just heard this year and I immediately got attached to them. This isn't the definitive list of Virgo Kent - just a peek.

Michael Jackson - Thriller

A Tribe Called Quest - Low End Theory, Midnight Marauders (perfection)

Incubus - Morning View

Gang Starr - Moment of Truth (helped me enjoy the first months after graduating)

Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back

Red Hot Chili Peppers - By The Way (yes I love it more that Blood Sugar Sex Magik)

Jay-Z - Reasonable Doubt, Blueprint

Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory

Jurassic 5 - Power In Numbers

Kanye West - College Dropout (one of the first albums that I felt spoke to me)

Talib Kweli - Quality

Mos Def - Black on Both Sides

Switchfoot - Beautiful Letdown

Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream

Stevie Ray Vaughan - Texas Flood (One of the greatest debuts EVER)

U2 - All That You Can't Leave Behind

Outkast - ATLiens, Aquemini

Common - Like Water for Chocolate, BE

Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique (sampling at its finest)

DC Talk - Jesus Freak

Little Brother - The Listening

Zwan - Mary Star of the Sea (sorry Billy Corgan, I still love this album 6 years later)

Alice in Chains - Jar of Flies (short and sweet, dirty and beautiful - AIC's last stand with Layne)

Matchbox 20 - Yourself of Someone Like You

Lecrae - When The Music Stops (candidate for best Christian Rap album ever)

Cross Movement - Holy Culture

Electric Relaxation: Rusty Cage (Soundgarden)

For the record, Chris Cornell is my favorite singer in rock. I was geeked about Audioslave because it combined one of my favorite vocalists with one of my favorite bands. And I love gaining a better appreciation for Soundgarden - for the record, I don't see any of the Big Seattle 4 as grunge bands, they all had their own style that embodied great rock.

Anyways I discovered "Rusty Cage" this year thanks to my favorite talk radio show Petros And Money, who played it when former NBA player Don McLean came on. I just love it because it's perfect driving music - starts off with a slow intro that builds into a pulsating rhythm that demands you bang your head and get hyped.

A word of advice - listening to this song while driving will make you break speed laws.

It's got three parts and honestly the last part drives me crazy. Its a sludge that kinda drags the song's energy down but its like hammering the final nails home. Hard to appreciate but essential in the long run.

I related to the words especially this year. Sometimes I just wanted to break away from things and just run away. I felt like I was shaking the cage of my life, my job and I was just antsy - hoping I could find something better to just make me free.

"I'm gonna break my rusty cage and run" - thats my theme of hope.

But enjoy the listen. Chris and Kim Thayil just murder that riff in the first part and Chris drives the lyrics home.

Grinds My Gears: The Grammys get it wrong again

Where do I start? Where do I start? First off when eligibility period ends August 31, a lot of great music this year gets screwed and a lot of great 2008 music gets "token noms". I remember in 1998 when the eligibility ended in October/November. At least you got to see the majority of albums from the year honored. But now, so many deserving songs/albums are overlooked, I agree with the LA Times Music Blog...change it to December and make it a true ceremony.

Anyways. On to my reaction to the nominations. *cracks knuckles* had to make this a "Grinds My Gears" edition with a few props. This is the Beyonce, Gaga and Taylor Swift show.

Album of the Year: Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Black Eyed Peas and.....Dave Matthews Band????? I didnt hear much about that album but it wasnt that highly touted. And Black Eyed Peas sold a lot so thats why it's there....garbage as it is. *barfs barfs barfs*

I had said that if Taylor Swift wins this, I will unload a barrage of hate like never before. (Calm down, Virgo....save that venom for the end of this). Sigh. On to the next take

Record of the YR: So happy Kings of Leon got love here. Halo, Poker Face, I Gotta Feeling and some Taylor Swift joint....meh. Maxwell's "Pretty Wings" wasnt big enough to be here I guess.

Song of the YR (Songwriting): I'm happy here. Kings of Leon "Use Somebody", Maxwell's "Pretty Wings" (My Song of the Yr). "Single Ladies" and "Poker Face" was gonna get something here. And of course something for T-Swizzy. Best of the 3 categories

Best New Artist: This is a major joke. How the bleep are my favorite rock band Silversun Pickups a new artist when they've been out since 2006 in the mainstream. They were on Guitar Hero 4 in 2007. They are far from new. Lauryn Hill and Shelby Lynne thinks this is a crock of crap.

I understand being out of touch but how the bleep do you ignore an artist from your backyard!!!!! They live in Silver Lake, not far from the Grammy HQ downtown. Give me a freaking break. Anyways, props to Keri Hilson and MGMT.

Quickie hits

- Male Pop Vocal Performance is nearly all R&B (Stevie, John Legend, Maxwell, Seal) except for Jason Mraz

- Maxwell got robbed. Maxwell got robbed. Can't say this enough. That album was on the level of Voodoo and Confessions for some of the best R&B of the decade and it shouldve been Album of the Year. But I'm glad he got SOTY and Best Pop Instrumental Performance - creativity gets no love

- Rap at the Grammys is always questionable. But two Jay-Z songs for Rap Song of the Year??? Geeez that album was nowhere near American Gangster let alone his best work.

- Ummmm in a historical sense, props to Drake for a mixtape single getting Grammy love. Best buzz since 50 Cent?

- My friend Tracie told me that a gimmick song is in the Rap/Sung Collab category..Lonely Island is a comedy troupe with T-Pain. The annual WTF moment.

- Best Rap Album is a joke. Glad Q-Tip and Mos Def got nominated (Q-Tip was a 2008 casualty here), but Common's whack album? Flo-Rida??? Em was a name that got nominated. Eh.

- Props to Foreign Exchange for a nomination in the R&B category. That album is definitely slept on.

- Props to The Tonic and Da Truth representing Cross Movement Records with Grammy nods.

- Silversun Pickups didnt get a rock album of the year nomination???? Endless fail.

While I'm angry Maxwell got no love for the one of the best R&B albums (and comebacks) in years, it's gonna be Ladies First with Beyonce, Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga. Neither of them are really high in my book and I fear Taylor Swift will win Album of the Year here and the Shammys live up to their name.

A freaking teenager wins the award???? Oh the humanity. Beyonce could win it but given what I said about her, I'm ambivalent. Grammys grabbed names but didnt reward enough art. You want to be relevant? Don't just nominate popular people, nominate some deserving people in there too.

It's a shame some artists were left out. But for deserving artists like Kings of Leon (who went old school and got love overseas first), its a great thing for them. I dont hate Taylor Swift but i dont get her appeal - she's a younger Carrie Underwood with musicianship but eh. Not my cup of tea

Alright I'm done with this rant. Yes I'll watch and do another recap blog. But the blandness of the nominees just shows why the show is out of touch.

Arthur Ashe (World AIDS Day tribute)

Twitter is going red today in honor of World AIDS Day. The first post I made at midnight was about one of the most famous victims of the disease, tennis legend Arthur Ashe. Ashe is one of my inspirations based on how he lived his life - a man of deep convictions, quiet strength, thoughtfulness and a fine tennis player who broke barriers for Blacks in tennis.

He made his mark at UCLA helping them win the national championship in 1965. He was the first Black player to win a Grand Slam Tournament. He also championed the start of the ATP, the player's union for men's tennis. He helped the US win the Davis Cup and later coached it

But his biggest mark was how he used his voice. He supported various charities, was a vocal critic of civil rights in America and South Africa's apartheid government after he was banned from a tournament because he was Black.

He was arrested in 1985 for protesting outside the S. African embassy - who cares if he was elected to the Tennis Hall of Fame that year, apartheid was more important to stand against.

"I believe I was destined to do more than hit tennis balls" - Ashe in 1992

He discovered he had AIDS in 1988 as a result of a blood tranfusion during heart surgery years earlier. You can criticize him for keeping it private, but as an intensely private man he had the right to. He did for four years before USA Today pulled one of the biggest punk moves in recent journalism history.

The newspaper threatened to break the story of his illness unless he went public with it. He went ahead and did it but seeing clips of it later was heartbreaking. Here's an intensely private man losing the right to fight his battle in private and decide when to make his cause public - but he turned it into a positive.

1992 was a big year for him. He became a full-on AIDS advocate, going before the UN to advocate for AIDS research. He fought the disease with no fear and used his cause to help others, founding an That was his life's mission - to help others beyond himself.

One of my favorite incidents is how he was arrested that year outside the White House for protesting American treatment of Haitian refugees. He would be dead five months later but it show how deep his convictions ran. The image of him in handcuffs knowing that he was dying says all you need to know about him. Powerful.

After winning Sportsman of the Year in 1992 (a rarity for a retired athlete but a noble gesture for a man who transcended his sport), he died in 1993 of AIDS-related pneumonia. As today winds down, here is someone who you can champion as not a victim of the disease but a reminder to keep fighting like he did and look to a life with purpose.

Quadruple bypass surgery couldnt stop him, AIDS couldnt stop him, racism couldnt stop him. And death for the past 16 years has failed to dim his light as a fine example (to quote another) for his race - the human race.

"I know I could never forgive myself if I elected to live without human purpose," he said, "without trying to help the poor and unfortunate, without recognizing that perhaps the purest joy in life comes with trying to help others."

*Please go read the Sports Illustrated Story on him from 1992 here, a touching testament of his mission*

Tiger Tiger, Burning Bright (Under the Glare of the Paparazzi)

Here's my two cents on what happened with Tiger Woods. A situation that is getting sadder by the minute and shows a clash between privacy and public information.

People looking for Michael Jordan in the NBA have overlooked that it existed in another sport. Tiger Woods is the next Mike - a clutch killer in his sport, a champion and an immensely private individual who has carefully crafted his empire. Everything Tiger is doing is similar to what MJ would've done.

I don't believe we have a right to know what happened between Tiger and Elin Nordgren. I don't believe the media has the right to know either to an extent. And I don't believe Tiger has the right not to tell the police anything.

Anyone who is familiar with law enforcement (or watches crime shows) know that the less you say, the more police will dig. Woods did the wrong thing by ignoring law enforcement for the first two days and because it was a police investigation, you should just give them a story and keep it moving.

That's all he owes. I don't care that the first thing I saw when I looked up his accident on google news was a rumor of an affair. Woods has the right to handle this privately to the public but not to law enforcement who will quickly remind you are a citizen, not a celebrity.

There's plenty of questions we may not know the answer to. Do I think Woods would do himself service by being like Kobe Bryant and holding a press conference. Yes, but remember Kobe was accused of a crime. I only compare the two because both of them were crystallized prodigies of privilege who got into bad situations that became public. Kobe's rep was forever changed and the jury is out on Woods.

My friend Shane has taken the opposite approach in his well-written two cents on this. He made a great point that Tiger deserves the benefit of the doubt here. Where I differ is who I think he should talk to. Stonewall the starving public, stonewall the curious media, but beware how you treat the police.

It's a shame that TMZ and the papparazzi will infiltrate the wall he has put up. But I hope that the truth will come out to those who need to know and nobody is unfairly demonized - its easy to go after Elin but before I call her the Swedish Jazmine Sullivan, I want facts first.

And just think. The biggest story involving Tiger this year was his comeback from knee surgery. Guess not sadly.

Giving Thanks

So I'm spending the holiday in Dallas, TX, with my family and thinking about all that we went through this year, this trip was worth it. For those who don't know, my uncle passed away earlier this year and we all gathered in San Antonio to say goodbye. Since then, we've come together for my cousin's graduation and now Thanksgiving.

I almost didn't want to come. I figured we would be on standby to host it at our house because my cousin that usually hosts it just underwent surgery. Plus I knew we were trying to watch our spending after moving into the house last month. But as always, I'm glad I did.

Nothing is better than watching the Cowboys on Turkey Day - except when you're doing it in Big D when everything shuts down to watch it. Waiting in line for our rental car I counted three people wearing Cowboys gear and I felt like I was home. Next goal: Watch a game in the new Stadium.

This has been one of those years that really shook me physically and mentally. So let me just say I'm thankful for my health, thankful for God still being there when I've fallen away this year, and truly thankful for those people I call friends.

I'm really thankful for Twitter because in January when I started, I really didnt get it. But without it, this year would have been duller and I wouldn't have gotten to know people around the country/world who I've shared a lot with. I've gotten to meet some of them and it's been a great joy.

I'm thankful for anyone who has read my blog, commented on it or discussed it with me. Sharing views isn't easy but whether your feedback was positive or negative, I appreciate it.

Thank you to all. I'm not gonna turn all Alanis Morrisette and start thanking the intangibles but life really is about trying to be as grateful as we can. Hope everyone enjoyed their Turkey Day (Turkey and Chicken Wings on deck to-NIGHT!!)

Newsflash - Albert Pujols is only 29

Albert Pujols won his 3^rd MVP award (unanimous) at the ripe old age of…29? Is there any question who the player of the decade is? We are watching one of the greatest hitters of all time and there’s a chance he’s just now entering his prime.

How many more MVP’s can this guy win? He’ll win at least one more, joining him with Barry Bonds as the only 4+ MVP winner. We can’t even compare him to anyone in the game right now – it’s all about seeing where he ranks with the legendary hitters.

Just peep his crazy stats. As a rookie, he finished 4^th in the MVP voting (.329, 37 bombs, 130 RBI’s, 194 hits) – overshadowed of course by Barry Bonds’ murdering the record books. That just started the madness in his nine year career

· Top 10 MVP finisher every year. Top 5 MVP finish in all but one years

· He’s the active leader in batting average (.331), slugging percentage (.628),on-base percentage (1.055)

· He’s led the majors in several categories at least once (home runs, batting average, on-base %, slugging %, hits, total bases, doubles, extra base hits, )

· 30 HR, 100 RBI’s in every season. He’s statiscally had a better career than Joe DiMaggio in 4 less seasons.

In the last 30 years, only Tony Gwynn and Ichiro can rival him as the best hitter in baseball and neither possessed his power. It's ridiculous what he's done in a short period of time.

I decided to look up the greatest Cardinal of them all, Stan Musial. It baffled me as a kid how I would hear how he’s the most underrated player in baseball history but looking at his stats, they are just looney. 3 MVP’s before 30. 24 All-Star Games, 3 World Series rings, seven batting titles, made his debut on my birthday in 1941, .331 career average, 3600+ hits, 475 home runs.

Who knew that 60 years after his debut, a player would come along who dominated the game the same way. Not flashy but with machine-like productivity. By 2019, we could celebrate Pujols as one of the greatest players of all time and he might still be productive into the 2020’s.

All Hail King Albert. I can only pray this guy doesn't drop off in a new decade like my all-time favorite player Ken Griffey Jr. did.