Episode 058: Changing A Cruel World

What does it take to change a cruel world? For starters, you need to identify the source of the improprieties and take aim at it. It never feels good to receive the short end of the stick, and that’s whether it’s politically, socially, or romantically. This week, Heit & Cheri dedicate the show to a soulful combination of artists who tackle topics from social disillusionment to lost love.

You’ll hear songs by Jessie J, John Mayer, Solomon Burke, Little Dragon, Nas, and Conetik.

Call us at 202-446-1886 and let us know what you think about the show. Also, please consider donating your Facebook or Twitter account for an occasional post to help us get the word out! => http://bit.ly/LhEeiC

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Segment 1

Discussion about the intro song, “Let Your Soul Glo,” which was featured in the movie, “Coming to America.”
Next week, Heit & Cheri’s album, “Improper Conduct” will be available for purchase. It’s full of original songs by Heit & Cheri.
Discussion about the claim that Obama and Romney refused to debate in front of a Black audience due to scheduling conflicts. They will debate in front of a primarily Latino audience.
Discussion about September jobs numbers. Overall unemployment dropped two-tenths of a point, while Black unemployment remained steady.
Discussion about voting and people being ignorant about how the president is actually elected.

Song 1: “Price Tag ” – Jessie J ft. B.o.B.

Seems like everybody’s got a price
I wonder how they sleep at night
When the sale comes first and the truth comes second
Just stop for a minute and smile

Why is everybody so serious?
Acting so damn mysterious
You got your shades on your eyes and your heels so high
That you can’t even have a good time

Everybody look to their left
Everybody look to their right
Can you feel that? Yeah
We’ll pay them with love tonight

It’s not about the money, money, money
We don’t need your money, money, money
We just wanna make the world dance
Forget about the price tag

Ain’t about the cha-ching, cha-ching
Ain’t about the ba-bling, ba-bling
Wanna make the world dance
Forget about the price tag

We need to take it back in time
When music made us all unite
And it wasn’t low blows and video hoes
Am I the only one gettin’ tired?

Why is everybody so obsessed?
Money can’t buy us happiness
Can we all slow down and enjoy right now
Guarantee we’ll be feelin’ alright

Everybody look to their left
Everybody look to their right
Can you feel that? Yeah
We’ll pay them with love tonight

It’s not about the money, money, money
We don’t need your money, money, money
We just wanna make the world dance
Forget about the price tag

Ain’t about the cha-ching, cha-ching
Ain’t about the ba-bling, ba-bling
Wanna make the world dance
Forget about the price tag

Yeah, yeah, well, keep the price tag and take the cash back
Just give me six strings and a half stack
And you can keep the cars, leave me the garage
And all I, yes, all I need are keys and guitars

And guess what, in 30 seconds I’m leaving to Mars
Yes, we leaving across these undefeatable odds
It’s like this man, you can’t put a price on life
We do this for the love, so we fight and sacrifice every night

So we ain’t gon’ stumble and fall, never
Waiting to see, a sign of defeat, uh uh
So we gon’ keep everyone moving their feet
So bring back the beat and then everybody sing, it’s not about

It’s not about the money, money, money
We don’t need your money, money, money
We just wanna make the world dance
Forget about the price tag

Ain’t about the cha-ching, cha-ching
Ain’t about the ba-bling, ba-bling
Wanna make the world dance
Forget about the price tag

It’s not about the money, money, money
We don’t need your money, money, money
We just wanna make the world dance
Forget about the price tag

Ain’t about the cha-ching, cha-ching
Ain’t about the ba-bling, ba-bling
Wanna make the world dance
Forget about the price tag

Yeah, yeah
Oh, forget about the price tag

Cheri really likes Jessie J’s voice, and this song. Jessie J. also performs another version of this song in a New York subway station. It was awesome:
Cheri liked the lyrics:

Seems like everybody’s got a price
I wonder how they sleep at night
When the sale comes first and the truth comes second
Just stop for a minute and smile
Cheri feels like these lyrics encompass the theme of the entire song. She also liked the hook of the song.
If you listen to a live version of Jessie J singing Price Tag, you can hear her creative runs near the end of the song.
Heit’s favorite line was the following, because it points to everything being about the image. The concern over one’s image prevents them from being who they are and having a good time:

Why is everybody so serious?
Acting so damn mysterious
You got your shades on your eyes and your heels so high
That you can’t even have a good time

Song 2: “Waiting On The World To Change” – John Mayer

Me and all my friends
We’re all misunderstood
They say we stand for nothing
And there’s no way we ever could

Now we see everything that’s going wrong
With the world and those who lead it
We just feel like we don’t have the means
To rise above and beat it

So we keep waiting
(Waiting)
Waiting on the world to change
We keep on waiting
(Waiting)
Waiting on the world to change

It’s hard to beat the system
When we’re standing at a distance
So we keep waiting
(Waiting)
Waiting on the world to change

Now if we had the power
To bring our neighbors home from war
They would have never missed a Christmas
No more ribbons on their door

And when you trust your television
What you get is what you got
‘Cause when they own the information
Oh, they can bend it all they want

That’s why we’re waiting
(Waiting)
Waiting on the world to change
We keep on waiting
(Waiting)
Waiting on the world to change

It’s not that we don’t care
We just know that the fight ain’t fair
So we keep on waiting
(Waiting)
Waiting on the world to change

And we’re still waiting
(Waiting)
Waiting on the world to change
We keep on waiting
(Waiting)
Waiting on the world to change

One day our generation
Is gonna rule the population
So we keep on waiting
(Waiting)
Waiting on the world to change

No, we keep on waiting
(Waiting)
Waiting on the world to change
We keep on waiting
(Waiting)
Waiting on the world to change
Waiting on the world to change
Waiting on the world to change
Waiting on the world to change

This is Heit & Cheri’s favorite John Mayer song.
This song sounds “old school.”
Discussion about whether one of the instruments is a tambourine or some other instrument.
Discussion about whether the current generation can/will affect social and political change.
The media serves to advance the agenda of the people who are broadcasting.
Cheri’s favorite lyrics were:

Now we see everything that’s going wrong
With the world and those who lead it
We just feel like we don’t have the means
To rise above and beat it
Why are they “waiting”? “So, the world…” seems to indicate that there is a devine poert
Discussion about various forms of standing against the system.
The system is set up so that the younger generations cannot change things through the system. Younger people are always acted upon by the older generations, but eventually they will become the “ruling” generation.

Song 3: “Cry To Me” – Solomon Burke

When your baby leaves you all alone
And nobody calls you on the phone
Don’t ya feel like cryin’, don’t ya feel like cryin’
Well, here I am honey, c’mon, you cry to me

When you’re all alone in your lonely room
And there’s nothing but the smell of her perfume
Don’t ya feel like cryin’, don’t ya feel like cryin’
Don’t ya feel like cryin’, c’mon, c’mon, you cry to me

Nothin’ can be sadder than a glass of wine alone
Loneliness, loneliness, such a waste of time, oh yeah
You don’t ever have to walk alone, oh you see, oh c’mon
Take my hand, baby won’t ya walk with me? Oh yeah

When you’re waitin’ for a voice to come
In the night but there is no one
Don’t ya feel like cryin’
(Cry to me)
Don’t ya feel like cryin’
(Cry to me)

Don’t ya feel like cry-cry-cryin’
(Cry to me, cry to me)
Don’t ya feel like cry-cry-cryin’
(Cry to me)

This is an old song, but a great song.
Heit & Cheri agree that this song is about a man trying to get with a woman by reminding them of how lonely they are. Heit mentions that all of the love songs are “about taking those panties down.” Cheri points out that in the use of the words “cry to me,” cry is a double entendre. He offers the woman to literally cry to him and to cry out to him in bed.
Cheri didn’t have a favorite line. Heit’s favorite line is, “Loneliness, loneliness, such a waste of time, oh yeah.” The idea here is that many people feel that it is more important to be social, thus being alone is a waste of time. Heit mentioned this concept on the last music show during the discussion about the song, “Chasing Cars.”
Heit mentions one of K-Rino‘s songs where he raps about being part of an experiment where they are trying to see if people can live alone.
Heit noticed that the end of the song sounds a lot like Samuel Jackson singing in the movie “Jungle Fever:”

Song 4: “Ritual Union” – Little Dragon

ritual unions
got me
love’s sinking in the sand
pedals falling on demand
my feet are runnin like the wind
i’m sorry, boy that we sinned

love is not like they say
a light is hard to make it stay
i drown my feelings in the sea
then dry out over on the beach

ritual unions
got me
in trouble again
i was wonderin
how the white dress
and the mistress
and his spirit
are holdin my hand

mother tell me how it is
i know you’ve been through all of this
you ran away so many times
your kids
your heart
a couple dimes

love is not like they say
a light is hard to make it stay
i drown my feelings in the sea
then dry up over on the beach

ritual unions
got me
in trouble again
i was wonderin
how the white dress
and the mistress
and his spirit are holdin my hand

Cheri first heard Little Dragon in a commercial for a video on YouTube.
The group has a pretty unique song–not just in the vocals, but the music is also interesting
Heit thinks that the vocalist sounds like Tweet or Missy Elliott.
The song left Cheri feeling like there were some holes left to be filled in. Heit says the song is about a woman, her husband and his mistress. The white dress is symbolic of the union.
Cheri thinks that the lyrics have to do with Christian theology.
We still don’t know what the reference to “a couple of dimes” means.
The viewer or listener is the one who determines its meaning. Therefore, Heit & Cheri will explain this song according to their interpretations.
Further discussion about the relationshop of the song to Christian theology.
Perhaps the woman in the song is the mistress.

Song 5: “New World” – Nas

Uh, it’s a new world, it’s a new world,
It’s a new world, it’s a new world
Uh, it’s a new world, it’s a new world

Yo, celebrate the new life
New ways to make money
New ways to break dummies
Forge they name and take money
Computers ain’t that smart
Whatever man built could be taken apart
Anything new can get old
Like dudes started rockin’ platinum, some stopped wearin gold
solar-energized rides, no steering wheel, tell it how to drive
No propellers in the sky
Airplanes like many rockets
Waitin lists for the rich to get tickets to visit Mars
While the poor people starve, computers takin over they jobs
A man’s forced to live off land
Now it’s back to the caveman era
When we made fire, by two sticks rubbin together
The truth is, many are too scared of new data
America Online, cut off, see you later

[(Hook) 2x]
Yo, welcome to the new world, new beginnin
A new way to play, a new way a livin
Cash is the past, a new way a spendin
New life for man, children, and women

Yo, the new Mike Tyson’s Roy Jones
Bill Clinton’s the new JFK, without the hole in his dome
The new Don Trump is Bill Gates
Not because his occupation, it’s ’cause we respect his cake
And cake mean his stock, net gross
Young kids step it up, go for the most
New cameras in police cars takin pictures
New hustlas gettin new street figures
And US embassies overseas
almost every foreign country’s under seige
Covertly startin wars, CIA, NAVY Seals
Commit larcenies that be worth over mil’s
Oil in the earth spills
Girls blow they body up, birth control pills
African’s pick diamonds out a dark caves
Then we wear it on our necks just so we can light up the stage

[Hook]

Say goodbye to the brainwashed
Say goodbye to the young kids who not smart
Say goodbye to the toasters and Pop-Tarts
Yo, it’s real
Swallow a little pill, there’s a four-course meal
Say hello to the one world
Say hello to the sky, somethin’s out there watchin you and I
More enticin than Star Trek, StarTec phones
Your genes and DNA is used to make clones
You got CD-Rom, everythang operates by computers
Then what happens when circuit breaks
Y2K’s the big scare
Scientists say we ain’t prepared
What I feel is contrare
Alexander Graham Bell made telephones, yes
But now we request for your e-mail address
I might be old fashioned, stuck in my ways
But nothin make me more happier than seein today

[Hook]

Discussion of Cheri’s favorite part of the song:

Say goodbye to the brainwashed
Say goodbye to the young kids who not smart
Say goodbye to the toasters and Pop-Tarts
Heit’s favorite lyrics are, “Computers ain’t that smart. Whatever man built could be taken apart.” Any intelligence computers have originated with man.
Discussion about computers and technological advances.
This song sampled a popular Toto song.
All these years Cheri thought that “Ghetto Superstar” was a Nas song with Mya. It was actually Pras from the Fugees with Mya in that song.
Heit & Cheri watched a documentary called “Skid Row,” in which Pras goes undercover and poses like a homeless man to get the documentary footage. He lives on the street for a couple of weeks. Cheri doesn’t like it when rich people pose as poor people, supposedly for the sake of
Cheri cannot believe that she thought that was Nas on Ghetto Superstar! How could she have been wrong all of these years. That song was from the movie Bulworth–starred Halle Berry and Warren Beaty.
Discussion about Mya’s best songs. Ghetto Superstar was one of her best.
Discussion about the song Ghetto Superstar. Cheri redeems herself by revealing that Ghetto Superstar was a sample of the song “Islands in the Stream” by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers.
Discussion of the song “Take Me There” that Mya did with Blackstreet, which was sampled from the Rugrats Movie soundtrack. Cheri thinks that she’s heard the melody from the Rugrats movie some place else besides the Mya song. This same melody appears in the New Edition song, “If It Isn’t Love.”

Song 6: “Lovesong #1 (synthpop)” – Conetik

Sadness overcomes me
Sometimes you’re just not enough
You take what you find
Then you leave me lying
And I don’t care if this is right
And I don’t care if this is wrong
And no, you can’t stop feeling
Though your heart is bound to break in half
You know from before
This is the coldest place I know
And still dependent on the one that hurt you
The one that let you down
And still relying on the pain to save you
And I don’t care if this is right
And I don’t care if this is wrong
So many ways to say goodbye forever
Leave with no goodbye
So many ways to say goodbye forever
Lovesong number one
Sadness overcomes me
Sometimes you’re just not enough

Heit loves this song because he loves synthpop.
Heit & Cheri like the robotic sound that says “Love song #1″ in the song.
The song feels good. It sort of reminds Heit of Moby.
It also reminds Heit & Cheri of songs that you would see in a dramatic movie–crying or driving while raining.
Heit says they should have used this song in the movie, Titanic. This movie was the first DVD that Heit ever watched. Cheri admits that she bought the movie at Blockbuster at midnight on release night.
Heit recounts a story about using an antique CD player that a friend loaned to him.
This song had a lot of emotion, with very interesting electronic sounds within.
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Audio Credits

“Let Your Soul Glo” – Coming to America via YouTube
“Jungle Fever” – via YouTube
“Oops (Oh My)” – Tweet ft. Missy Elliott
“Africa” – Toto
“Ghetto Superstar” – Pras ft. Mya and ODB
“Islands in the Stream” – Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers
“If it isn’t Love” – New Edition
“My Heart Will Go On” – Celine Dion

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Heit & Cheri

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