Category / music

by Lexine

A Prince-ly Valentine’s

I’ve been listening to Prince the past couple of days, and it’s fitting I’m still in the mood for His Purple Badness on this Valentine’s Day. 💜❤️

(Side note: I first heard this song from the OG Beavis & Butthead run, and their commentary on this song will ruin your mood…from lots of laughing! Don’t ask what they thought the music video had a close-up of.)

(The guitar at the end of this is delicious.) 

I’ll end this on an upbeat note…

The ultimate Serve in one video & song: vocals, instruments, beats, clothes, face, and HAIR! 

By the way, remember the days of YouTube when it was beyond tough to find a Prince song on the site because he was that protective of his work (and rightfully so)? 

I also have my own story on him that I’ll share as it gets close to the anniversary date of it. (No, I never knew him personally, but it’s still a cool story.) In the meantime, have a Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!🩷

by Lexine

A Christmas Playlist

The weather outside is frightful (at least here in the Bay Area), as is having to be subjected to the same ol’ Christmas music. I’m one to get into the holiday spirit but I also don’t care for traditional Xmas music; working in retail eons ago rendered me this way. It’s worse now thanks to crappy Camp Rock remixes of the classics like “Silver Bells” and “Winter Wonderland”. That said, I have my exceptions…

I’ll always be down for 80s/90s rap and upbeat R&B with a Christmas twist!

One holiday tradition of mine is watching A Charlie Brown Christmas, so of course the soundtrack also gets some play. “Linus and Lucy” and “Skating” are two of the few Xmas classics that I enjoy, and “Christmas Time Is Here” is simply enchanting (I prefer the instrumental over the vocal version).

*That* one holiday song will keep Mariah a forever multi-millionaire, but this other holiday song of hers gets all the airplay in my house! I first heard this particular version of “Joy To The World” in one of those BBC Essential Mixes from the 90s (go to the 1:02:00 mark), coincidentally mixed by the same guy who made this remix. This song deserves more appreciation during the holidays; give it a listen if you need a break from hearing Mimi’s money-maker.

Speaking of BBC Essential Mixes, there are no holiday-themed songs in this one, but I always saw it as a “holiday” mix as it originally aired two days before Xmas (and it just turned 30 years old this year). Forget caroling–I’d rather rave around the Christmas tree with this mix!

by Lexine

Throwback: Aretha Franklin Concert, 2015

Happy 10th (and five days) anniversary to when I got to see THE Queen Of Soul Aretha Franklin perform live! 🤩 The show took place three years before her passing, and it was my one and only time I got to see her. To hear her sing (the mic was definitely ON) remains a moment I’ll forever be grateful to witness. I still vividly remember seeing a lady two seats down from me bawling with emotion while Aretha belted a lovely gospel song. Babyface (lower left pic) also opened for her, and I’m always down for some classic Babyface. Two icons in one night, and I only paid a little over $50 for it! 😱

by Lexine

A Christina Summer

Christina Aguilera on Rolling Stone magazine, Double Issue, July 2000

This cover is oh-so 2000. The first Best New Artist Grammy winner of the new millennium on the cover, wearing low-rise bottoms and a playful smile with a CD player in tow, and headlines on Napster (IYKYK) and Slipknot. And if you’re wondering, yes, a Boy Scout can be gay. 

Seeing that Christina has been reviving her Genie In A Bottle days lately, from bringing back her wardrobe from that era to revamping her debut album on its 25th anniversary last year, I wonder if she’ll do something for the 25th anniversary of her first Rolling Stone cover this month.

Also, I want her shirt! 

by Lexine

Strike A Pose For June

Madonna, photographed by Herb Ritts for Interview magazine, June 1990

Once upon a time, magazine covers featured celebrities with some actual talent and substance, and everyone and their grandparents knew who they were. Some celebs got bold in their portraits, and no one took more brazen pics than Madonna herself. This could very well be my favorite mag cover of hers. It just POPS. You don’t get more in-your-face than grabbing your crotch. That a female celeb did *that* made it more ballsy; I bet the incels and prudes in 1990 sent hate mail to Interview then. I can’t imagine what the reaction would be if, say, Taylor Swift or Sabrina Carpenter struck the same pose on a mag cover these days. Although it would be pretty cool if either of them did that.

The editorial and her interview is also worth a look! 

by Lexine

Now Playing (4.30.25)

What else would I play on International Jazz Day? 

Listen to the lyrics of this song. More relevant than ever. (The song also reminds me of the movie Casino, oddly enough.) 

TIL that the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz (which he is a part of, naturally) is the lead partner for IJD. 

There are a few versions of the last song, with its only constant being Gillespie playing on every version. I’ve always preferred this collab with Miles, and the beat also got sampled in this early 90s rap song, which I first heard before “Tunisia”.

It is not IJD without some actual international flair via bossa nova jazz! While I also enjoy the vocalized version, the instrumental version above will always be next-level aural paradise. 

by Lexine

Scenes From Kylie’s Tension Tour!

Yesterday, I got to break some tension in San Francisco by attending the Tension Tour featuring pop icon Kylie Minogue! While I got to see her for the first time a year ago, it’s not every year she tours the States. Let’s get to it with the pics!

(Note: there are no pics of her opening act Rita Ora, but only because I was in a long-ass line for Kylie merch while she was performing. Sorry!) 

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