November 15, 2001
my boobala says i should talk about music... perhaps you've wondered why i have a pic of me'shell ndegeocello on my page. (for those of you who've wondered who she is, you really need to find out...so peep the links on the left below her name.)
i heard a tape (yes, a tape) of her first album, plantation lullabies, in the spring of '94. i was in the car with some new friends, and was like, DAMN...who IS this?? and so began my obsession. i bought the cd...i bought her next one, peace beyond passion, the day it came out in '96. i saw her live for the first time in cleveland, in may '97. we almost didn't go...my (then) grrlfriend and i had had a HUGE fight the night before (not 5 months later, we would break up) and were half tempted to blow off the concert, for the sole fact that we had no desire to spend the next 2 days together on a road trip. but we sucked it up, drove to cleveland, and it was the best live show i'd ever seen...aside from the fact that i unwittingly caused a bar brawl (long story) and missed part of the opening act, rahsaan patterson. i saw her again in may '98, as part of the lilith fair tour. not her best show...but she seems to like it when the audience pays attention to her, and they weren't, so hey...i couldn't really blame her. actually, the highlight of that day was n'dea davenport. but i digress...*grin*
peace beyond passion became very significant to me, especially as i dealt with the pain of breaking up with my lover and partner of almost 4 years. it ended up being the best thing that could have happened, for both of us (we are now the best of friends...much closer than we were when we were a couple), but it was, of course, very painful at the time. though the album didn't address the whole "breaking up" thing directly, somehow it spoke to me in ways that no other music really had. it's difficult to explain...but i remember driving home from a party one night, pulling into my parking space, and just sitting there in my car, sobbing to "make me wanna holler". tho me'shell was talking about a different kind of pain in that song, i felt it...mine and hers...and it was a powerful release.
on that album, me'shell also addresses a lot of the same spiritual kinds of issues with which i have struggled. for a time, i wanted a tattoo of the lyrics, "your followers condemn me...your words are used to enslave me" around my ankle. i'm glad that i didn't go to that extreme, but i still love that line.
and then, after s. and i met online...moved past the acquaintance stage and got to know each other...and past (much to my surprise and delight) the "friendship" stage...me'shell's music and lyrics actually played a role in our courtship. *s* "you enchant me so...my bittersweet flower"..."i wanna hold your hand, take you to a picture showwwww" SO said the things that i wanted to say to her...helped me to express the yearning to hold her, touch her, know her, that was building in my mind, soul, and body with every passing day. we've now been together more than 3 1/2 years. she hasn't become the me'shell fanatic that i am, but she's indulged me in my desire to travel all over the place (ann arbor, chicago, st. louis, annapolis) to see me'shell and her band live in concert, and i don't think she's regretted it. have you, honey? *s*
me'shell's last album came out in '99. a huge departure from her earlier work, bitter is definitely worth checking out. her next--entitled "cookie: the anthropological mix tape"--is scheduled for release in february '02...and, based on what i've heard (including live in annapolis, maryland on november 1, '01), it threatens to become my new favorite. *grin*
10:47 AM
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