>should we necessarily put
>them on God level because
>they do some good music.

I haven't been putting them on a 'god level'... have you. I mean, ?uest's fro is pretty impressive, but I don't think he's gonna wave his hand and make the world a better place.

Yes, we get excited when a new album drops, and we often praise it as the next best thing. Most of us (most, not all) are pretty sensible though... we realize that we won't really know how good this album is for a year or two. We gotta wait, let it soak in... all we know is we really really dig it now, it's set apart from other stuff we hear, it's just plain damn good. We know they aren't gods... well, except for Mercedes. I mean, have you seen the lady? Damn... my bad, she's not a soulquarian. Eh, I'm still keeping that part in there.

> I think it's going
>to they're head, and they're
>jus slippin.

How are they slipping? Seriously... I'm not "slammin" you, I'm just asking for an example.

Mama's Gun was in no way a slip, if that's what you're insinuating. Whoever put that in your mind has a pretty long stick up their ass, and you'd be wise to help them pull it out before they pollute your brain much more. Mama's Gun is a pretty damn impressive album... there's a lot going on there that separates it both from what's going on in "mainstream" music, and the "soulquarian" sound.

I mean, what is the Soulquarian sound anyway? Voodoo was the first real "soulquarian" record. That sort of set the scene. LWFC came around, and I can sort of see some parallels between the two album's sound, but there's definitely quite a bit of distinction going on. Voodoo was all soul in its sound (genre wise) while Com was on a hip hop/afrobeat/muted jazz mix. Then we have Mama's Gun, which doesn't at all sound like either of the two... I don't hear AD 2000, Penetentiary Philosophy, Cleva, Bag Lady or Kiss Me On My Neck (!) on any of the two aforementioned albums.

And what we have coming - Bilal and Nikka Costa - sounds pretty set aside as well. Hand Me Down and Sometimes as well as Your Love Sent To Me are not only incredible songs, they're INNOVATIVE songs. They've got their own thing going on. I heard a Nikka Costa joint on Brainchild's radio show two weeks ago, something about a tug of war or a rope or something (bad with titles) which blew my mind... didn't sound at all like the typical Soulquarian stuff.

Point out where they've slipped... if I'm nice I'll correct you. :) Seriously, though, I think people are simply talking about the Soulquarians slipping or becoming stale or sounding the same because of the realness that's present in all of it... and I mean that sincerely. They're all different stylistically, but they all have an element of sincerity, of realness to the art that lumps them together - when I hear AD 2000, I often then go and listen to D's Africa because there's a similar realness to both pieces. When I hear Kiss Me On My Neck, it makes me want to go listen to Your Love Sent To Me, because I feel a connection there.... can you feel what I'm sayin? (c) Minnie Ripperton...

-thebigfunk
"And you may ask yourself... what is that beautiful house?
And you may ask yourself... where does that highway go?
And you may ask yourself... Am I right? Am I wrong?
And you may ask yourself... MY GOD! WHAT HAVE I DONE!?!" - "Once In A Lifetime" - Talking Heads

"Trouble in transit/got through the roadblock/we blended with the crowd
We got computer/we're tapping phone lines/I know that ain't allowed
We dress like students/we dress like housewives/or in a suit and a tie
I changed my hairstyle/so many times now/I don't know what I look like!
You make me shiver/I feel so tender/we make a pretty good team
Don't get exhausted/I'll do some driving/you ought to get some sleep
Get you instructions/follow directions/then you should change your address
Maybe tomorrow/Maybe the next day/Whatever you think is best
Burned all my notebooks/What good are notebooks?/They won't help me survive...
My chest is aching/Burns like a furnace/The burning keeps me alive..." - "Life During Wartime" - Talking Heads