I Can't Stop

MUSIC

SOUL REVIEWS

07-03-2023 13:38 GMT

Music by indie singer songwriter, Mike Hargreaves on Spotify | Bandcamp

Mike Hargreaves

"I Can't Stop"
Soul


Made my day.

How many times do I have to unfollow Kanye West and hide all his posts from my Twitter timeline before Elon Musk realises IDGAF when he’s trending? Waking up to Kanye AND Kim news in my timeline this morning was like receiving two unsolicited dick picks, so annoying – enough already. Everything was so calm. I thought the world was going back to normal, then this again. ("Sigh!!")

But let’s not waste any good time ranting about what can only be another rant – I didn’t click to find out, so forgive me if I’m wrong. And forgive me if you love Ye. Let’s move on quickly. 

Was Phoebe Buffay’s song “Smelly Cat” really about a cat? What do you think? It seemed much deeper than that to me, to be honest. And it has stuck with me till this day, several years after I first heard it. It’s so catchy and moving, but sadly today I got a hunch that ruined it for me quicker than a Kanye West sample. Just kidding, I’m sure he’s still an awesome producer but I’m just not into samples, I prefer original stuff from scratch. I don’t think it was about a cat at all. I think, being from the streets and all, she might have known someone who needed a douche really bad and couldn’t have one. Now I don’t like the song anymore but it's ringing in my head even more. I saw a homeless woman today. I started to smell something really funky as she walked towards me and immediately stopped myself midbreath and took off running at high speed in the other direction in my work shoes. I totally wasn’t ready for it. I hope she wasn't offended. Do you think God will forgive me? 

I really want to get into this song as much as you do but I’m stalling to find a good angle to approach it from. I’m like a hunter right now, sneaking up on my prey (the awesome music review), crouching in the bushes with my pen waiting for the right time to pounce on the metaphorical paper. Okay that’s a lie, to be honest with you I haven’t been to the office for a long time and I’m a little rusty. I took a few weeks off ‘cos I thought I was coming down with writer’s block – I wasn’t. I’ve never had that. 

Can I stall a little more? Please, please, please, please; pleeeease???

Thanks, here it goes. Did you know that the percentage of people who carry weird or questionable stuff in their pockets on a daily basis is significantly more than those who don’t? What’s in your pocket right now? Lemme see. See? You didn’t even want to tell without pausing to think first. Now, turn to the person right next to you (someone you know obviously, not a stranger – they may get the wrong idea). Now ask them and see how defensive or even embarrassed they get. Told you. Wanna know what I’ve got in my chest pocket right now? Nope that’s not a pencil, I’m just really excited you’re here. Do forgive. Just kidding he-he-he. Seriously, would you like to know? It’s a little weird but there’s a really long explanation for having it. Okay I’ll tell you, you’re so persuasive. It’s a cheque for 1 million pounds sterling. But that’s not the weird part. I wrote it out to myself a few months ago when my career started taking off in anticipation of what I demanded should be my new salary and what I in fact believe the universe now owes me. I didn’t date it and the scribblings in the signature line spell “smelly cat, smelly cat” if you can decipher it. But that’s not the weird part either. I don’t even have a penny in that account, I’ve never used it. And again, that’s not the weird part either. On the 1st of every month I go to the same bank and try to cash it. The scenario plays out exactly the same every time. The cashier looks down at the check and then immediately looks back at me with a reverse eyebrow raise, half a smile and a very indifferent facial expression that's just as furious as it is puzzled. I keep a straight face. I act shocked when the cashier tells me there’s not enough money in the account, and then make a huge scene about my salary not arriving on time before storming out. That’s not the weird part. The weird part is that no one has ever asked why I’m paying a check from the same account into the same account, or ever even acknowledged the fact. If they did, they would realise that the cheque is perfectly valid and will clear perfectly every single time leaving the balance exactly where it started. “Balance” is the keyword here – that’s why I do it. No matter what’s going on in my life or my career at the time, that seemingly weird balancing act puts everything in perspective for me and I walk out of the bank feeling renewed and ready to take on the world again one more time with a big smile from having just been handed a cheque for a million bucks, the exact amount I demanded. So there you have it. What’s your balancing act? What brings you back to centre? What puts the smile back on your face? Write in the comments section, and don’t say weed or new booty.

Okay I think we’re ready for the music review now. I’ve pounced on the metaphorical paper I was hunting earlier on.

I feel like I must remind you that this is not one of those self-righteous blogs, music review sites or magazines that reviews both good and bad songs. Why would anyone waste a perfectly good second ranting about something subjective and personal that they don't or didn’t like? That would be totally abstruse wouldn’t it? That remind you of anyone? Ey? Let’s move on, quick.. Music is subjective, and art as a whole is subjective too. Every song hits everyone differently. Everyone has different sweet spots. The intensity of the emotional response is what I look for in a song before I even think about talking about it. To be honest with you, my bar for good music is set so high that people can’t even see it – many don’t even know it’s there. To give you an idea - if you are a soul music or R&B music artist or band and you send in a song, it’d better be the best thing since the Isley Brothers’ performance of “Who’s That Lady” on Soul Train in 1973. They did it many times apparently – I wasn’t born then so I don’t know which exact performance it was, but you can [watch the video here]. It cuts out the exciting introduction by Don Cornelius and the band members introducing themselves at the beginning but I couldn’t find a better one on the whole of YouTube, I totally couldn’t believe it – I’ve NEVER not been able to find ANYTHING on YouTube, except when it’s really important, ("Sigh!!"). Darn social media and all this streaming stuff, to be honest I’m getting sick of it. I want my music player’s STOP button and my small book of telephone numbers back; so that the universe can tell when I’m done listening to music, and when I’m done socializing. And no, the actual finished recording of the song will simply not suffice - the live performance of the record on Soul Train is what I'm talking about. If you haven't already done so, watch it – it could change your life. The first time I heard that song I listened to it about 10 times in a row and then I passed out. When I woke up in the morning I was in love with somebody, but I didn’t know who – I was tingling all over and I had butterflies in my stomach and everything.  Yep, you guessed right. I’d been doing all the exciting things you suspect I’d been doing prior – I’d been drinking, smoking, and I had just got done f*cking; in exactly that order. Any adult knows it’s nearly impossible to hold a person’s attention after that succession of events, but I was about to turn off the TV and there they were. I was mesmerised, and till this day I haven’t heard a better song. Let’s get into this review, you’re totally ready – you know it’s gonna be awesome, I’ve just told you why. I hope this song totally doesn’t set your fire alarms off, ‘cos it’s HOT!! Stop everything you’re doing right now and let’s par-tay! Woo-hoo!! If nothing else does, this warm, soothing record will surely put a gentle smile on your face every single time. It’s refreshing, it’s exciting, it’s organic, and it feels like a fresh start. One of those records that will easily bring you back to your centre when you need it most, even when you didn't realize you were not centred at all. The music industry has strayed and continues to stray from organic sounds like the ones you’ll find here, so cherish this record like it’s your last bag of weed on a Friday night (Oops!! I mean your last slice of pizza). Sweet and soulful with a gentle groove; lyrically sound, exquisite vocal performance, what more could you ask for as a music fan? Good lord, this is amazing! 

Hit the play button and share it with everyone you know. Released on the 10th of February, 2023, the song is available to stream and download on Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple Music and all popular digital music streaming and download platforms. 

Have a pleasant day. See you tomorrow.

          

... forgave Spotify for all the songs it played me that I didn't like today

MUSIC

SOUL REVIEWS

06-08-2022 02:30 GMT

Music by indie artist, Mike Hargreaves on Spotify | Apple Music

Mike Hargreaves

"Until it Happens to You"
Soul


Good vibes so pure I almost wee-weed in my office chair ("sigh!"). I'm so happy. In fact I even totally forgave Spotify for all the songs it played me that I didn't like today. There were so many, as usual ("hiss!").

The good old phrase “I need a hand” seems to have taken on a whole new meaning in this sex crazy, deranged world we live in today. Did you know that? I had to find out the hard way. I rushed into my new intern colleague’s office early this morning before anyone else had come in and said it – “quick, I need a hand”. After a little blushing and a cheeky seductive smile, my eyes were met with something I was totally not expecting to see on a weekday morning and hands reaching towards somewhere I would normally not expect them to be going, again not on a weekday morning, in fact not on any morning in the office at all. The words “quick, before anyone else comes in” followed in gentle whispers that sent chills all over my body. Where my old teenage fantasies finally coming true? Years after I had given up trying to make them happen and buckled down to get my life together and be somebody? Was I ready? Was it right? Would we get caught? What if we did? Would the fantasies go a step further? So that whoever caught us joined in and instead of “blowing the whistle” blew on something else? To cut a long story short, I quickly snapped out of it and nothing happened. I shook my head and walked out in disgust, with anger and regret fighting every part of my body that was still tingling and I knew would tingle all day long. I didn’t tell anybody, except you. Don’t tell anybody okay? 

Now back to this sizzling hot record. The track was released back in 2020, but with all the stuff that’s been going on in the world, like most things it didn’t get the full attention it deserved because most of us were distracted, you know, with Covid, and bills and stuff. 

To be honest with you, I hate that I love this so much. Kind of like people who are so nice all the damn time. You know those ones who allow others to go before them all the time? The ones that, even if they needed to make poopoo urgently and were crowning, would still offer to let someone else go in the toilet stall before them? Arghh!! 

Have you noticed that people like that are becoming rarer and rarer? Like kids who used to toilet paper people’s front yards, you don’t see that at all of late – heck no, toilet paper gained a new respect from human kind during the pandemic, and it looks like things are going to stay that way for a very long time, ("sigh!!").  But we’re straying slightly, let’s come back to the song. I’ve got it playing right now and that’s what it'll do to you. You know those songs that just play away and fade into the background before burying themselves in the subconscious part of your mind and doing amazing things to you that you may not even realise they are doing till the song is over and you realise you've shared way too much information with a total stranger? Well, this is one of them. To be honest with you again, if this song doesn’t brighten up your day you’re really screwed – I hate to be that honest but sometimes it’s the only way to go. The minute you hit the play button you’ll know what’s about to happen to you and you will instantly do one of two things. You’ll either quickly hit the stop button, or rather the pause button (have you noticed thanks to Spotify the stop button has been completely abolished? When last did you see one? We’ll talk about how steamed we are about that later, darn Spotify, ruining everything). Or the second thing you may do is you’ll put everything down and just let go and let it do its thing. Which one did you think I did? I did the first one. I knew exactly what the song was about to do to me and I knew I wasn’t ready. I was elbow deep in some serious work with my hands metaphorically firmly gripping the horns of a really wild bull moments before flipping it over and making a stake out of it - yep, I take my work pretty seriously. To cut a long story short I successfully completed the task and I knew exactly what song to play as I sat back in my office chair arrogantly contemplating how much of a raise to demand next time I see the HR guy 😊. Now I can’t get the darn song to stop playing in my head every time I get my wallet out to pay for something – now that I think about it, it’s kind of like one of those infectious, really bright and colourful Bruno Mars type records, but better. 

Music Review: Baby I Want A Change by Soul Brother Mike - Soul - Ontario, Canada | Music Discovery XO

MUSIC
SOUL REVIEWS
21-04-2020 00:19 GMT

Music by indie artist, Soul Brother Mike on Spotify | Bandcamp

Soul Brother Mike

"Baby I Want A Change"
Soul


Smooth

Our first introduction to the artist, songwriter, producer and brains behind Ontario’s recently formed soul music collective, Soul Music City Co-op, “Baby I Want A Change” is the latest single by critically acclaimed independent platinum recording artist Crissi Cochrane’s husband, Soul Brother Mike. Forget about the plethora of bad pop you’ve heard claiming to be soul, even just over the past year alone. Forget about all the good soul music you’ve ever listened to. Forget about Sam Cooke, forget about James Brown, forget about Smokey Robinson and forget about The Isley Brothers even. Now clean the wax out of your ears and shove the resulting sugar daddy (it's a sweet, google it) in the nearest bin - smell it first. That last part was optional. Now hit the play button and watch as your socks slowly slide off your feet all by themselves.