95 North. . . The Newspaper

the pale blue dot The musician Chan Marshall (Cat Power's the stage name) once said that "there is a grain of truth in every song". In these songs below, there's at least enough grains of sand to make a beach. Without further ado, here are the songs-they're in no particular order. I'd like to think that together, these songs represent a collage of human experiences in 2017. Each of these tunes is worth a close listen- enjoy! We'll start things off with " Tell Me" by the late Sharon King . Ms. King sadly passed from cancer this year. The former choir leader and Atlanta native made joyful music right up into the end. I love this song. It's celebratory nature is infectious. R.I.P, Ms. King. Thank you for your commitment to music and bravery.  Rapper Sho Baraka splices this woke tune (" Pendantic ") with audio clips from Denzel Washington-" If don't read the newspaper, you're uninformed. If you read the news...

Cold Specks-a musical moniker for Canadian songwriter Lassan Hussein-just released my favorite new song of 2017, "Wild Card". Something about this song connects deeply, soul to soul. After all, all eyes are on "you", not her, here. This song won't  hit you upside the head and turn you around. Instead, it seeps into your consciousness slowly and surely, like a trusted friend. Here, you'll hear humming keys, faint handclaps, and a singer with an uncanny sense of melody. For a July night, it couldn't get any better: If you'd like to check out Ms. Hussein's KEXP session, click  here.