Whodini – Friends Live at the Apollo 1990 (Assigned to Matt Ramah by Scotty2Hotty)

Tylenol, Beer or…… Headphones?

I’ve got a sickness and it needs more….headphones?? You’re damn right. It has been one of those weeks (Months really) where work has been out of control busy. There are not enough hours in the day. Frankly, I could work 12 hour days and be good, but that is not a sacrifice that I will make with my son waiting at home to see me. The stress is enormous at times and it is hard not to let it get to me. There are a few things that help during these times. Cocktailing always will calm the nerves, until you find yourself up too late watching a meaningless NBA game just asking for a reason to have one more beer. Going home to my awesome family puts things into a positive perspective. But there is one thing that at any moment in the day can cure whatever ails me at that time, music.

I could probably punch holes in a wall today with the amount of work flowing in. Two people have saved me today, Skylar Gray, who in my opinion has the most amazing voice in music and Whodini. Scotty assigned me “Friends” from their 1990 Apollo performance and I have been sitting on this one for a while. I’ve listened to it a few times and hadn’t felt the inspiration to write about it. Nasty Nas created a monster jam sampling this beat with “If I Ruled the World,” but I didn’t have a blog’s worth of inspiration from that connection. I could probably write a book talking about my friends, so I wasn’t going to take the easy way out and write a 5 paragraph blurb. It was 4 o’clock and I needed to put in some extra time and I figured that I would throw this song on and see what it did for me.

I found myself energized. It was the combination of the message, the beat, Nas’s version and just that 90’s groove. I found what I needed to not let frustration and anger overcome me, making me useless in finishing out my day. My final push was achieved, just simply by throwing in the headphones. ~Shameless plug- I love my Bose in-ear headphones!~ My emotional balance was on the wrong side of the scale and such a simple action changed it at the 1st beat.

This week has been eclectic. From Dave Matthews to E-40, from Skylar Grey to Outkast. I have listened to the new Foo Fighters album and I have checked out some new music from Nino Bless. All music that at that time was perfect for the situation I was in. It was a jump start to my morning, the alley-oop windmill dunk that was assisted by caffeine. It has been the extra motivation for the final reps in the gym or the wind down music in the sauna. At the end of the day it proves to be the cure for that “2:30 feeling.”

I’m thankful for having friends that share my musical passion. In fact, that is one of the reasons this project was started. We joined together to inspire each other (And you readers) through new music and challenge each other to break out of our comfort zones. We text each other new music and talk about it. In fact, some of my best memories with these three individuals can always trace back to new music. So when you find yourself struggling with your day, some bad news, getting in a good work out or whatever it may be, throw on a go to jam or call up your friends and get into something new. Either way you will surely find answers to whatever situation you were trying to solve.

-Matt Ramah-

Let Nas Down by J. Cole (Assigned to Scotty2Hotty by Matt Ramah)

We all have our own personal relationship with the stars. Some of us see the heavens above, while others see unique clusters of gaseous space dust. The night’s sky is our original amusement as human beings. We connect the dots to create our own images dancing above the horizon. Those tiny twinkling lights are dying to shine down on us and nobody can argue with that.

Somewhere throughout history we began to reference creatively talented people as “stars”. We also began to perceive them as these untouchable inspirations. They seem out-of-this-world like the actual stars overhead. We see them as something better than we’ll ever be and we let that blind us from the fact that they’re human, just like us. All the time we give them this status, we expect them to never let us down. Yet when they do, we feel betrayed and resent them for being… just like us.

Our best role models are our peers. When we have people we share our lives with that we can admire and learn from, there’s nothing to keep us from our hearts’ desires. We can still look up to those people we call stars, but we only should if we believe in ourselves too. If we’re driven enough we could even find ourselves sharing the light with them. For some of us that’s just crazy, but for others it’s the absolute truth.

The thought of doing all that work to stand shoulder to shoulder with a “star” we idolize should seemingly be glorious. However that star may never see us as an equal because of the choices we made to reach their level. These particular stars have the chance to burn us with their criticism no matter how inspiring they were to us along our path. Talk about a truly disheartening experience. Only side by side sharing a view of the sky could overcome such a petty point of view.

Long live the idols, may they never be your rivals

It’s not about Jesus or whoever wrote the bible.

Look up to the stars in the sky, not the ones who sin

Believe in yourself and let your story begin.

-Scotty2Hotty- “I’m a star? I’d rather be a comet by far..” – Andre3000