Do Yourself a Favor

The feverishly religious and their militant hopes are thronging my street, besieging this castle of solitary splendor with their clamor and their annoying pipe horns and their constant shouting that has no doubt caused the very god they're praising to plug his ears with the divine ear plugs and roll over in his bed muttering very ungodly things.

But here I sit, nursing a swiftly mending heart and a truly divine cup of that nectar that only serves to prove the presence of the Divine - coffee. Yes, it's my holy sacrament along with Bourbon biscuits and a leather couch. Praise the Goddess of my quiet nights!

So...to drown out these hooligans and their cacophonous celebrations I have been doing what any self-respecting New York souled boy would do - playing really really loud music. Even my neighbors are happy. So I thought I would share the playlist with you, my darling friends and followers of this man's ramblings.

1) John West Feat Pusha T - Lovely : Came upon this quite by accident and have been playing it on repeat ever since. The voice, the production, not to mention that delicious girl in the video. Sweet Lord o mine. Music is the only real magic left in the world other than a woman's caress whilst listening to said music. Enjoy me hearties.

2) Cassie Feat Fabolous - Radio : "Shook Ones" is one of my all time favorite beats. Just pure hip-hop knocking through your speakers. And although this song isn't perfect, I wish that Fabolous had some more bars to bless rather than give over to the only mediocre voice of Cassie, I must tip my fedora to the effort. A very very decent song. Worthy of being played this night.

3) ACDC - Thunderstruck : No one needs to be told how powerful a good ACDC song can be. They have and can still shake you all night long. This song was reintroduced to me by Pushan, one of the truly more spectacular humans I've had the pleasure of befriending. A man whose musical tastes and refinement actually exceed my own. Trust me. Play this really loud and I guarantee you'll be starting bar fights and speeding and smacking asses in no time, no matter how blue you might be.

4) The Game - Ricky : For hardcore lovers of Hip-Hop only. And if you've ever been curious, give this a listen. The R.E.D. Album recently released has been something of a disappointment. The Game clearly isn't trying to fix his flaws so much as cover them up with proper production and lyrics but fair enough. At least even in a mediocre album he's able to come out with such a banger. I love the way they used the audio from John Singleton's classic "Boyz n da Hood" and that beat...that beat be sounding like it's been performed by an orchestral pit of silverbacks and Odinsons. Shit gets the people going, son. Louder louder louder.

5) Drake - Marvin's Room : I'm sure most of you've heard this before. I really really like both the song and the idea of it. Many of us have drunk dialed or called our exes in the depths of the heavier emotions looking for something we can barely understand. When the loneliness and the feeling that our lives have lost foundation and we're adrift in a sea of self-indulgence and self-destructive impulses. This is a song I relate to right here, right now. Worth a listen even if you don't like Hip-Hop.

6) Alexandra Stan - Saxobeat - Cyrus Sahukar and Satyadeep Misra, this one is for you brothers of my soul. Just listen to the song. It'll shake the dance out of your clogged arteries.

7) Miles Davis - Chocolate Chip : If you don't know who Miles Davis is...sigh, oh the humanity. Find out here. Do yourself a favor.

8) Asa - Baby Gone : All my friends have heard this song and loved it. Which is usually the most critical acclaim a song can get, because they are all people of highly selective, highly eclectic tastes. Asa is one of my favorite soul singers whose self-titled album and the newer one "Beautiful Imperfections" I highly recommend. But listen to this song. Again a song about heartbreak, I know I know, but I'm in that kind of month. But so gorgeously sung that it transcends the heartbreak that inspired it.

9) Jay-Z - Public Service Announcement (Paul Nice Remix) : Good God Almighty that is one bomb-ass beat over one of the best of all time doing his thang thang. Hip-Hop I love. Enough said.

10) Cassie Feat Jadakiss - Make You A Believer : This beat just friggin BANGS. And Jadamuah earned his paycheck. Definite grinding club banger right here.