Thanks To Our Golden Circle

Hey Soul Mates,
lots going on in RushHourSoulLand. We've been listening to the latest mix of our rerecording of A Talent For Loving. In a word: SLAMMING! It's big. We're going to make a real run with this track in the UK. Doug predicts 14 weeks at the top of the charts. Hello!

I have to, on behalf of the band, thank a very select group of people without whom our video project would not be happening. They have all made a sacrifice for Rush Hour Soul (and our fans) by contributing heavily from several hundred to several thousand dollars. Rush Hour Soul is extraordinarily grateful to have such supporters and the future of the group has been secured by their generosity. They are:

Nathan Kelsey (please visit sponsor link: KS1 Security)
Pat Vail
Herb Kelsey, Sr.
The Tokahutas
George Christo, Jr.
The Kutacs
The Rolstons (please visit sponsor link: Free Heart Farm)

Many more of you helped us on our way to the UK back in May. All of you will be remembered by this band. You are truly the steam in our engine.

The video for A Talent For Loving (directed by William Archer; line production by Home Films, Ltd.) will be completed in the next few days, pending our approval of the audio mix. We cannot wait to share it with all of you and the whole wide world. It's been a long process for us, but worth every ounce of energy and resources for us to fulfill part of our dream. That's right, part. Because this is simply the beginning.

Now get our there and have a great weekend.
Love, Power, Peace

Feel The Heat. Songs of the Summer 2006.

Hey Soul Mates,
it's a day in the a/c here in SoCal. Couldn't believe it hit 111 here in North Hollywood on Saturday. As noted in an earlier blog, we've moved closer to the sun. There melts the neighborhood.

As a result, there's been lots of indoors time to catch up on popular culture past and present. I don't normally watch a lot of comedies anymore, but I finally saw Anchorman and Pootie Tang. Both, I would highly recommend. Also got around to On The Waterfront. Damn, that Brando (and Steiger) could do his thang. There are so many "classic" films I've never seen. Thank goodness, I got in Pootie Tang. Cole me down on the panny sty.

And lots of time spent in the pool. I haven't done this much swimming since I was eleven. I had forgotten how much chlorine straightened my hair.

Summertime is always a good time for new pop music. And there's some interesting summer tunage this year:

The new Justin Timberlake is the hottest track. SexyBack has got an early 80's hip hop beat and wildly processed male vocals not heard on a mainstream single since Prince's U Got The Look. A very bold move for an opening single to promote a new album. Justified remains one of my favorite LPs of this decade, so my expectations are high for Timberlake's new disc. If SexyBack is any indicator, we're in for another massive album.

Nelly Furtado gets high marks for Promiscuous/Maneater, if only because she held down the top spot simultaneously in the US and UK pop singles charts with each song, respectively. Her stabs at these tunes on SNL were regrettable, but these are fine productions, not performance pieces. It can't be easy for a folky singer songwriter to reinvent herself as a disco queen.

Christina Aguilera's first solo single in years is pure heat, too. And she proves she is the real deal. There's virtually no music going on per se, other than a drum beat and a horn sample yet, she's got a real melody going on on this track. Ain't No Other Man does what Outkast's Might "O" can't in its attempt at 30's jazzy, retro-ness. Pharrell and Kanye's Number One is growing on me. Probably because everything Pharrell does sounds (musically, not vocally) like an outtake from Off The Wall.

The second biggest surprise of the summer has to be Oakenfold's Faster Kill Pussycat which features vocals by actress Brittany Murphy. I had no idea she could sing and wail like that. Pretty cool. And drum roll, the most eye-popping, jaw dropping surprise for this summer is how solid Stars Are Blind by Paris Hilton is. Granted, it's got a user-friendly reggae beat, a listenable hook, was tailor-written for her (no expense spared, I'm sure), but Stars Are Blind is a genuinely sweet performance and I've said as much to close friends and associates. Years from now I may recant, but for now, I'll stand by this opinion.

Other Summer '06 songs on my sonar:
An Easier Affair - George Michael
Fill My Little World - The Feeling
Touch It (remix) - Busta Rhymes & Mary J. Blige
Steady As She Goes - The Raconteurs (easily the best modern rock track of the summer)

Too early to tell:
Deja Vu - Beyonce & Jay-Z (at least it's got Hova on it)
Call On Me - Janet Jackson & Nelly

As you may have noticed, there are very few rock & roll acts here. Well, they have kind of let me down this summer. Ain't naming names. So there's my weigh-in on the hottest newest for your Summer listening. Discovering new music and telling people about it has always been one of my passions. Did you find this article helpful? If so, press 1. If not, press 2.

Love, Power, Peace