Carry On A Groove, Moonrise, We Shine!

With energy so intense, it passes through structures and depressions, holds the weight of metric tons on a single wavelength, buries itself so deep in earth, it comes out suspended in space, stretched across infinity, and rises in revolutions in our night sky as a groove we all dance to.  

Carry On A Groove, Moonrise, We Shine Track Listing:

    1.    (0:00:42) Maxwell BAD HABITS - This song is easily in the top 5, if not my number 1, song of 2009.  From his brilliant Blacksummers'night LP.  My brother and I think the master of R&B/hip hop drumming, Mr. Aaron Spears, is on drums, but I can't seem to find the answer to that.  If you know, please inform me.  I won't say much more, because I've included at least 3 other tracks from this LP in past mixes, so you can refer to the liner notes there.  Maxwell, you've got my vote, bro!  
    2.    (0:06:24) John Legend feat. Estelle NO OTHER LOVE - Chi-town R&B soon-to-be-Legend, if not already admired as such, collaborates with UK's own star, Estelle, on this reggae-backed song from his 3rd LP, Evolver.  Since Kanye West produced Mr. Legend's debut LP, Get Lifted, his music hasn't been quite as powerful and fresh, but every once in awhile he makes a gem.
    3.    (0:10:09) One Block Radius LOOK OUT BELOW - Featured on the Hieroglyphics Emporium compilation, this San Francisco-based underground hip hop group features R&B vocals mixed with rap.  They've released 2 LPs, Long Story Short and One Block Radius.  
    4.    (0:13:34) New Edition HIT ME OFF - Ronnie DeVoe, Bobby Brown, Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, Ralph Tresvant, and Johnny Gill form supergroup in the 80s.  Each of these artists were some of my favorite R&B artists growing up in the '80s, especially BellBivDeVoe & Bobby Brown (from a musical standpoint, and all personal drama aside).  My father actually took me to see Bobby Brown for my first music concert experience during his Humping Around tour.  All I remember from that show is the giant heart-shaped bed, where he proceeded to 'get it on' with an actor, I presume, during an extended version of one of his songs.  Probably, Humpin' Around.  I wonder what my dad thought...haha!
    5.    (0:17:42) Brother Ali FRESH AIR - Well, I gotta treat for you Mr. Ali.  Not only do you get to hear yourself on this mix, but I brought your friend, Al Green, into play, so everyday can be Sunday for you and your kids!  This Rhymesayers smash rapper has transgressed underground boundaries and has produced one of 2009's most promising and intelligent hip hop record, Us.  
    6.    (0:22:09) Ruth POLAROID/ROMAN/PHOTO - Wow, I heard this crazy cool French '80s track blasting through my roommate's speakers, and immediately knew it had to go onto a mix.  This is off of a compilation called BIPPP French Synth Wave 1979 - 85.  
    7.    (0:27:00) Lykke Li BREAKING IT UP - Swedish indie singer, Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson, came out with Youth Novels, her debut LP, in 2008.  Child of art, grew up in Stockholm, Portugal, Lisbon, Morocco, Nepal and India.  Moved to Bushwick, Brooklyn for 3 whole months when she was 19 before returning to Sweden to record her debut.  
    8.    (0:30:33) Janelle Monae SINCERALY, JANE - Yes, I spelled the song's name properly :) Zany and wicked Kansas City-Atlanta-New Yorker hooking up with Big Boi of Outkast to work on Idlewild before releasing her fantastic EP, Metropolis Suite I of IV.  Love this girl!!!
    9.    (0:35:07) Roisin Murphy DEAR MIAMI - Ex-Moloko frontwoman before going solo in 2005 and hooking up with creative director/composer, Matthew Herbert, to record Ruby Blue.  This gem is off her sophomore LP, Overpowered, which is far more disco/house than her eccentric jazzy-electronica debut.  
    10.    (0:38:43) Bell Biv Devoe POISON (EXTENDED CLUB VERSION) - Probably haven't been featured twice in an hour mix since their height in the 80s, but Funky Soul Burner doesn't care!  Here is one of the hottest tracks to come out of the 80s, and you can still hear this bumping in clubs today.  
    11.    (0:45:42) Raphael Saadiq feat. Stevie Wonder & CJ Hilton NEVER GIVE YOU UP - Cannot miss out on Mr. Saadiq and Mr. 8th Wonder!  Stevie is does not sing a verse, but rather plays a harmonica solo for us listeners.  Respectively placed Maxwell and Saadiq on the same mix to represent two of my favorite R&B outputs in the last year or so.  
    12.    (0:49:48) Duffy SYRUP & HONEY - Another wicked track, this time on the slow side of the metronome, from one of UK's up and coming stars.  This is off her Rockferry LP.
    13.    (0:52:48) Al Green LOVE & HAPPINESS - Mr. Greene was the sixth of ten children and started performing at age 10 in a quartet called the Greene Brothers.  Al later dropped the 'e' from his last name years after when he became a solo artist.  This track came out in 1977 on the I'm Still in Love with You LP.
    14.    (0:57:36) Common BE - Kanye-produced opening gem off Common's Be LP.  This short track is one of the most powerful opening tracks to any hip hop album ever made, and the lyrics, "I wanna be as free as the spirits of those who left/I'm talkin' Malcolm, Coltrane, my man, Yusef/Through death grew conception/New breath and resurrection..." and later, "The chosen one from the land of the frozen sun/When drunk nights get remembered more than sober ones/Walk like warriors, we were never told to run/Explored the world to return to where my soul begun/Never looking back/Or too far in front of me/The present is a gift/And I just want to be," are some of the most powerful lyrics ever
    15.    (0:59:34) Mountain Goats PSALMS 40:2 - Heavily praised singer-songwriter, John Darnielle, and company, have released 17 albums since 1991.  The Life of the World to Come, which this track is taken from, is a continuation in religious theme concepts for the Goats, as they have explored in the past.  Each track is inspired by a particular verse from the Bible.
    16.    (1:02:37) Regina Spektor FIDELITY - A friend of mine once attended SUNY Purchase with this indie-cult-phenom, and said she was bound to make it big from the crowds she entertained then.  Her quirky lyrics and vocal style make her music tolerable, in my mind, which sets her apart from most other piano-based singers  Apparently she wrote this after watching the film Hi-Fidelity.  This song, in particular, features an amazing studio drummer named Shawn Pelton to help build the song's intensity.  Pelton joined the Saturday Night Live band in 1992, and is the longest serving member.  He also studied with drum-teaching guru and Tony Williams'  (one of the world's greatest drummers, ever...featured on previous mix with Miles Davis) teacher, Alan Dawson, for a couple of summers.  This track is off Regina's Begin To Hope LP.  
    17.    (1:06:19) Frank Sinatra BLUE MOON - Original standard ballad written in 1934 by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart.  Louis Armstrong to Ella Fitzgerald to Sam Cooke to Billie Holiday to Bob Dylan to Mel Torme to Rod Stewart and Eric Clapton to Tori Amos have all covered this song.  After Ol' Blue Eyes performs, you'll hear me do a stanza, too!  haha!