Welcome to the estranged metropolis we’ve come to call Atlanta, Georgia, the heart and soul of the Dirty South. Atlanta is a city in which only those who reside can try to personify, and truthfully, most of us have just about given up. We dwell in a self-appointed “community” where fine wine and prime rib is as common as sweet yams and fried okra, where a BMW drives high on your left and a ’77 Chevelle rides low on your right. In this extremist-defined population, we compromise and classify through our art: the makers, the players, the hustlers, and the good ole’ audience. Because here, if you’re not somebody, then you’re nobody. When mass appeal becomes irrelevant and art is enjoyed for the shameless sake of enjoyment, the people will congregate and decide the next representers of this mecca of manifold men, also known as Atlanta, Georgia.
It’s barely February, and I have already discovered my first favorite new release of 2012.
“Set my heart on fire, I want, I need you baby,” Karen.Alise coos on her latest track “Fire.” This is Late mornings, early nights. This is 808′s and Breakdowns. This is that #unFUCKwithable Andre 3000esque space drawl. Say Hey Ya! to the love below, Atlanta based singer/songwriter Karen.Alise. Listen and download “Fire” below.
Once upon a time, two star-crossed lovers meet and make beautiful music together. They share these 60’s-tinged melodies with their friends and before they know it, fame and popularity is birthed. They’re on NPR, Nylon Magazine and even Vogue talking about their trippy music that was just a haphazard, little project to get away from the boredom from film school. Now they live as 21st Century’s John Lennon and Yoko Ono, without those pesky other insects, side-by-side with label-mates like Lily Allen, Ke$ha and Beyoncé.
….The Light$ are so bright they blind me
Singer, songwriter and funk-soul party starter Richelle L. Brown has been rocking crowds in Atlanta for the past few years. On her latest dance floor killer “Magazine,” Richelle captures that energy that she exerts so effortlessly into a three minute song that will have you flipping through a magazine or two yourself.
My great grandmother recently passed away, she was one of the few heroes in my life and I always looked towards her for some type of peace and humor. We’d had no spats, but when it concerned music. Her record collection was massive. Billie Holiday, Chaka Khan, Marvin Gaye, Hall & Oates, Jennifer Holiday, Sarah Vaughn, Ray Charles. My grandmother had at least five-hundred records of classic soul and R&B tunes, and when I attempted to compete with her, I’d lose. Not just lose, but get berated with comments on why the music was not good. “There’s no soul. Where’s the fun? Where’s the mystery, Myles? Where’s the story? Where’s the personality?” She was right. There was none. Until one day, in my sophomore year of high-school I played a song I fell in love with a song called “Bonafied Lovin’” by Chromeo.
As a child, I always loved stories. My favorite ones were the ones like “The Wizard of Oz” or “Alice In Wonderland”. A child escaping her humdrum town and landing in a magical world of the bizarre and mystifying all while having the absolute time of their lives with some seedy and unique characters. Fadia Kader’s CMYK show hosted by Atlanta based musician, Bosco was just that for me, except I’m not sure if Alice or Dorothy were offered PBRs during the duration of their adventures.
Hell hath no fury like an indie pop princess scorn. Ze!, you may remember her from Noise Porn, has a bone to pick with her ‘X Lover’, and things aren’t looking up for him. Poor guy. And simply for the Twitter generation in you, watch Ze!’s ‘X Lover’ different ways.
Back when we were younger, life was just a dream
- Goldleader
