Nina Simone

-The passion of Soul music Revealed-

• I've just recently started reading this novel called "One Day" by David Nicholls (Great book so far...highly recommend it to 80's culture lovers, literature junkies, smart talkers, quote grubbers, and the like lol. I'm only on Ch.3 and its touched on so many topics...it's hard to keep up but I love it.) Now to the point, as I was reading said book, the name "Nina Simone" came up and It caught my eye because I knew I saw her name not too long ago. Her song "Sinnerman" is actually in my last post. It's a Felix Da Housecat remix and the video is there if you want to check it out. I've been listening to some of her other songs and I'm in awe because her voice is just so....wow...unique...and you can almost feel the pain, suffering, yet happiness of life she tries to encompass in her music as the lyrics slip through her lips. And this seriousness to her performances that only help express her passion and focus, its really exciting. I feel like I'm watching a true legend when I watch her performance videos. You can't fake that. She's the real deal of should music. Just see for yourself.

  -All you MUSE fans should recognize this little tune. It still amazes me just how songs can be remixed in completely different ways. I like both versions very much.  ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmwRQqJsegw )






  -Here is the original version of the song Sinnerman that Felix Da housecat remixed.






-This song had me at full attention and when the piano kicks in...thats really just someonething else. Her piano playing is just as amazing and powerful as her voice. It's pretty incredible if you ask me:).



• I believe music has some real potential within these genre and I don't think people give them the attention it deserves. Of course not all of it is good but there are a handful of songs I listen to that truly blow me away. The joining of the different beats that come together well or the collaborations with old songs remixed into a new beat ( my favorites :] ) , those songs just really show how you can manipulate a single tune in countless ways. Music at it's best. Some of my favorite artists are IIO, Felix da Housecat, DJ Tiesto, Basshunter and a couple more. You see Trance and Dance music is relatively new for me so this post should really help me learn more about it myself. 

The Genres

-Trance

* So trance isn't really a genre all to itself, more like a combination of genres. The biggest difference being its hard focus on the beats themselves. No real lyrics are expected but the beats and music itself is what people look for in Trance.

-Dance

*So Dance is apparently the main genre of Trance and House (Techno, Electronic) all those sub-genres that get people moving...yeah that's all mainly Dance music as well. Makes sense.haha >.<

Reggae

• My secret obsession! I can never get enough of it. No I'm not just talking about Bob Marley (although he plays a big part in the rise of reggae) but UB40 , Big Mountain, Inner Circle,Wayne Wade, well those are some of my favorites. Though I know the list doesn't end there. Reggae has a lot of good artist. Unfortunately some people identify Reggae as music for marijuana smokers for the simple fact that Rastafarians(Reggae's roots) used to practice their religion with the drug. But to be honest I think the music really holds it's own. Anyone who believes Reggae music is for people who smoke weed is just being arrogant.

REGGAE

So from what I know, the word Reggae was taken from a jamaican word "Regalia" which translates to "Ragged Clothing"...I'm guessing that has to do with the fact that Reggae rose from Jamaica and being that Jamaica is a very poverous country, the founders of Reggae wanted to identify the name with their roots. But thats just my guess :) lol.

History - Reggae in the 1960's was highly influence by African Music, jazz, rythm and blues then eventually progressed to a more ska and rocksteady mix.The instruments used for Reggae are drums, bass, guitar, keyboards, and horns.  The lyrical themes include praise for the Rastifarian god "Jah", poverty, government resistance and social opression. Just listen to Bob Marle's music and you'll see every single one of those themes within his songs. The music was meant for the Jamaican people to rise above the social and political issues of the time.