Archive for December 2008
Last year, I procrastinated heavily. I think there were a lot of good records that came out the last couple of years, but I started to think that for every record that came out, there was an equal number of these “best-of” lists being bandied about. At first I thought, “Wow, it’s finally happened. Everyone’s a music critic.” Then, with this pervasive thought entrenched in my gourd, I started reading these other lists before making my own.
I suddenly felt small.
So deadlines for the “best of 2007″ rolled around, and I was in a tailspin, dogged by the massive amount of music I had encountered. I kept reflecting on these words of Billy Corgan that I’d read years ago. Billy had once quipped to, I think, Rolling Stone, that, “Not every year can be a great, or even good, year in music.” This thought just stirred in my head and fed into some neurosis. The thought actually fucked with me; maybe 2007 wasn’t that great? Or was it? So I slacked until it was way too late to really do it with any fervor.
Newsflash: Shit aint happening like that this year. I’m past all that, and this year’s going to be different.
If we can agree that the legacy built by Stax Records christened Memphis “Soulsville U.S.A.”, how fitting that in 2008 a new generation is breathing life into (and giving birth to) a new legacy in soul music, re-christening our fair city as Neosoulville. There are so many names that are a part of this important movement in music, and none are more dynamic or gifted than Tonya Dyson. A performer who exudes passion with every note, Tonya has shared the stage with the likes of Stevie Wonder, Justin Timberlake, Eric Roberson, Calvin Richardson, Algebra Blessett, Kindred, and Jaguar Wright. In other words, people, Tonya don’t play.
This coming Tuesday night, December 9th, be sure and tune in to VH1’s Soul Cities when host Nelson George goes deep, showcasing the best of Memphis’s culture, food and music, in particular the deeply soulful strains of Tonya Dyson herself.
VH1’s Soul Cities will premiere on VH1 Soul Tuesday, December 9 at 9PM ET/PT. “Find My Way” will be available 12/16/08 from iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody and other music retailers. Check back for complete details on how to purchase.
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Heaven must be a beautiful place today. We here on Earth have lost the legendary folk and blues singer Odetta, a woman whose music made her a central figure of and one of the most cherished of voices for folk music and, more importantly, the civil rights movement in America of the 1950’s and 1960’s.
