Word: soulfulness
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...sang about leaving a man with "dirty ways"; today Erykah Badu castigates her cell phone-hogging lover on her song Tyrone; TLC ridicules deadbeat men on No Scrubs, and the vocal group Destiny's Child cries out for men who can pay their girlfriends' Bills, Bills, Bills. Hip-hop soul singer Mary J. Blige, on her enjoyable new CD, Mary (MCA), continues the tradition. Blige sees through men and their cheatin' ways; she reads them, thumbing through them like magazines in a dentist's office, until their true feelings flutter out like subscription cards...
...Jets, she takes a look at her own emotional baggage. On Not Lookin', Blige derides "player sh__" but is confident enough to bring in male singer (and ex-boyfriend) K-Ci Hailey for a sort of vocal debate. Mary is somewhat inconsistent in song quality, but Blige's soul-singed vocals save the weaker material. There are also several high points: on Don't Waste Your Time, Aretha Franklin and Blige stage a soulful summit meeting on trifling men, and on All That I Can Say, Lauryn Hill, the song's producer and writer, serves up a gorgeous melody. Blige...
...then it was Mr. Dylan, all by himself. His chosen repertoire for the night was all his vintage basics, dressed up with enough electric guitar and soul to make Hendrix smile from above, from "Tangled up in Blue" to "All Along the Watchtower" to "Desolation Row". But the most touching moment was Dylan's "Not Dark Yet", which was the sole post-Blood on the Tracks song, from his most recent album, Time Out of Mind...
...have I been?" she asks in Hello, Old Friend. "Well, that can of worms ain't worth openin'/ Leave it at 'fine.'" But her songs (all of which she wrote or co-wrote) never leave it there; they explore the conversation a smart soul has with herself when she's just said "fine" to her no-longer lover. And Richey's lyrics fill the tense, unspoken spaces with hard truths, wry rear views and a desperate lucidity...
GOOD FOR MORE THAN THE SOUL Last week Duke University researchers reported that those 64 and older who attended weekly religious services were 46% less likely to die over a six-year period than those who went less often. Doctors think that those who attend benefit in several ways from having a larger social network. They are less likely to suffer from depression. And any new ailments they develop will probably be noticed earlier by family and friends and thus be treated more quickly...