Cooking High Worldwide

I read in a book once that the best time to go to Paris is when you are in love. I say you have to see Brooklyn one of those summer days when all your heart knows is love.
…

There is nothing better than a sunny Sunday morning. Actually, there is – Sunday morning waking up from the warmth of the body next to you. His hand is around your waist, his breath tickling your neck and this strange feeling that grows in you stomach. Then you open your eyes slowly, afraid this sensation may vanish because we all know perfect things don’t exist but no, it is still there. And this strange, rogue feeling crows out of your belly and spreads through your body to the tips of your toes till it stretches your mouth in an involuntary smile and a sigh slips out through your dry morning lips. You roll on your back thinking life is beautiful but a naughty ray of light sneaking through the shades does not leave you alone. Then you realize that the only thing missing to frame this picture perfect is the smell of coffee. Of course there are some even better than this Sunday mornings -- when the warmth leads to a touch and the “strange feeling” turns into ecstasy but lets get back to the smell of coffee.

This is where I found my Paris – the corner of Hancock St. and Fulton, Brooklyn, New York City. There was something special about this corner that goes beyond Sunday mornings. I don’t know if it was the gorgeous brownstones pleading through the tree lines street, or it was the fact that when I was 12 years old I told my parent that I’m going to live in NYC. Maybe it was the two percussionists I heard playing in a restaurant down on Fulton that morning on my way to get coffee. Or maybe it was the old beige faded Chevy truck that stopped on a red light and Coltraine poured through the rolled down front window. Whatever it was, it happened right then and there – that moment of ultimate peace, content and happiness. Complete nirvana, a mighty orgasm. Easy like a Sunday morning.

Before I fell in love with the boy, I fell in love with the city – New York City. I soon got tired from the tourist skyline. I wanted to go deeper, further, to explore. I knew there was something else out there, more real, more private. A part with no skyscrapers, no pretence. A part that somehow fell behind the American dream but had a dream of its own. I had seen the heart of the city pounding with thousands beats in a second but what I was searching for was the soul. Now take a walk with me thought Brooklyn on a summer day but be careful, love is infectious!

1. Dog Days Are Over/ Florence And The Machine
2. Antichrist Television Blues/ Arcade Fire
3. Howlin' For You/ The Black Keys
4. Rumor Has It/ Adele
5. Miss You/ Rolling Stones
6. You're No Good/ Linda Ronstadt
7. You Know I'm No Good/ Amy Winehouse
8. Blue Sunday/ The Fantastics
9. Time of the Season/ The Zombies
10. Suzie Q / Creedence Clearwater Revival
11. Mercy/ Duffy
12. Stand By Me/ Ben E. King
13. Steady As She Goes/ The Raconteurs
14. Is She Really Going Out With Him?/ Joe Jackson
15. Futurolog/ The Crickets

"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." Albert Einstein

1.Supermagic - Mos Def
2.Soldier - Erykah Badu
3.Change It - Kathleen Cleaver
4.Changes - 2Pac
5.Standing & Fighting - Malcolm X
6.Gasoline Dreams - Outkast
7.We Care A Lot - Faith No More
8.Violence Is As American as Apple Pie - H. Rap Brown
9.Killing In The Name Of - Rage Against the Machine
10. Stop Singing And Start Swinging - Malcolm X
11. Born Free - M.I.A.
12. Revelation Dub - Kabanjack
13. Government Man - Christel & the Goldmaster Allstars
14. The World's Gone Mad - Alex Kapranos/Barrington Levy/Del tha Funkee Homosapien/Handsome Boy Modeling School
15. All Spice - MF Doom
16. It Ain't Hard To Tell (Instrumental) - NAS
17. Swangin’ - DJ Grumble
18. Fall in Love - Flying Lotus
19. Mellow Mood (Part 1) - Barry White
20. Something - Al Greene
21. People Make the World Go Round - The Stylistics
22. Home - Kon & Amir (Unknown)

1. Lost Ones Outro/ Lauryn Hill
2.A snippet from DJ Qool Marv’s collection
3. The Look of Love/ Dusty Springfield
4.Playing Your Game Baby/ Barry White
5.I Want You/ Erykah Badu
6.May This Be Love/ Jimmy Hendrix
7.Take Me Higher/ Fertile Ground
8.Rush Over/ Marcus Miller & Me’Shelle Ndegeochello
9.A Long Walk/ Jill Scott
10. Light My Fire/ Jose Feliciano
11. Could Heaven Ever Be Like This/ Idris Muhammad
12. Sweet Power/ Kon & Amir collection
13. Feelin’ Good/ Nina Simone ( Joe Claussell Remix)

Track List:
1. Tomorrow Is My Turn/ Nina Simone
2. "Head Title" aka Distant Lover/ Marvin Gaye
3. Money Don't Matter Tonight/Prince
4. Heaven Help/ Lenny Kravitz
5. All This Love/ DeBarge
6. Edith and the Kingpin/ Joni Mitchell
7. Sugar Man/ Rodriguez
8. I've Seen That Face Before/ Grace Jones
9. I Was Made for Loivin' You/ Kate The Cat
10. Stone Me( Into the Groove)/ Trombo Combo
11. Speed of Light/ Alphawezen
12. 1940/ The Submarines
13. Walk in the Sky/ Bonobo feat. Bajka
14. Inject love Song/ Nesekomix
15. Breath/ The Cinematic Orchestra

1. I've Been Thinking / Cat Power/Handsome Boy Modeling School
2. So Fresh, So Clean / Outcast
3. Before the Night Is Over / Joe Simon
4. Bed Stuy / Spec Boogie
5. Saffron / MF Doom
6. Nautilius / Bob James
7. Gone, The Promises of Yesterday / Mad Lads
8. Summer Breeze / Ray Conniff
9. Morning Sunrise / Weldon Irvine
10. Let Me Go / Kenny Latimore
11. Trouble, Heartaches & Sadness / Ann Peebles
12. One Step Ahead / Aretha Franklin
13. Ms. Fat Booty / Mos Def
14. Balck Coffee / Heavy D & the Boyz
15. Straighten It Out / Pete Rock & CL Smooth
16. Betta Listen/ De La Soul
17. Tosca/ Heidi Bruehl (SA-RA Remix)
18. Everybody / Gonzworth Bently feat. Andre 300, Kanye West & SA-RA
19. Shine / Lamont Dozier
20. Give Me Your Love / The Sisters Love
21. Melting Pot / Booker T. & The M.G.'s

February 9, 2010 9:11 PM

Welcome back after a long break dear friends! I hope you missed me as much as I missed you and this is why I have something really special for you today. But before we even get to it I want to assure you that you will be served 12 course meal this year so get ready. The first episode of 2010 will take you on the Balkan Xpress to visit and experience my home country Bulgaria. I'm leaving you in the hands of DJ Kosta Kostov and don't drink too much because I know this is what happens when you start hanging out with Bulgarians.

Kosta Kostov is not a nickname! Born in the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, Kostov grew up in the unique Balkan way of celebrating. Moving to Germany didn't stop his passionate search for the best rhythms and melodies from the Balkans. Today working as a music journalist and dj, Kosta Kostov is the mastermind and resident "machinista" of the balkanXpress, the turbulent party in Cologne’s club Gebäude 9.

In April 2004, the balkanXpress started in Cologne’s club scene first as a regular party, to introduce and represent the many-facetted music of Southeastern Europe. It quickly became a reference for people who love spontaneous and passionate celebration. The balkanXpress takes you on a dance journey through the valleys and hills of the Balkan beats and breaks, always with view out to new horizons... The rhythms of typical music and dance-styles like horo, račenitza, čoček, rembetiko or klezmer are quite similar to the beats of drum ’n’ bass and breakbeat and offer a great space for fusions. The Balkan music also share a common ground with musical phenomena like the sounds from the Orient & Maghreb, the hispano-brazilian flavas or the Bhangra beats. The trip with balkanXpress will take you beyond the Balkans, to the music related neighbours that have more similarities with Southeast European music than expected.
That’s the reason why prominent Global Village DJs like DJ Panko (Ojos de Brujo), DJ Click (No Fridge), DJ Gaetano Fabri (Electric Gypsyland), DJ Eastenders have participated to the balkanXpress.

Meanwhile the balkanXpress is travelling not only through German lands. Kosta Kostov is a well seen guest in the Barcelona clubs Sala Apolo and Sidecar, in Paris’ Divan du Monde, in Athen’s Altera Pars and Booze Club and in Vienna’s Ostklub. On March 2007, the balkanXpress brought for the first time the transbalkan beats and breaks to the clubs in the Brazilian cities of Belem, Aracaju, Brasilia Capital, Porto Alegre, Florianpolis and on 10.11.2007 it was at GO EAST!, the first party 100% balkanbeats in Rio de Janeiro.
Jump on the balkanXpress and enjoy Kosta Kostov's frenetic BABUSHKA-BREAKS, HORO-DUBS, KLEZMER-RIDDIMS, GYPSY-SPEEDBRASS!

March 26, 2009 5:59 PM

It’s almost April, when did that happen? Spring still shies away and the temperature is slowly crawling up the thermometer but I’m so ready to be outside, soak up the sun, and run the streets of Brooklyn. Since I have way too much time on my hands being unemployed for a first time in my life I try to keep busy with my favorite activities. I can’t afford a gym membership but it doesn’t cost a thing to dance your heart out in your living room and that’s exactly what I hope you do while listening to this episode. The blending is not perfect but since I don’t have pitch control the idea is what counts. So all the dancers out there - pull the baby powder out and let’s go. Those of you stuck behind a desk, ya’ll can tab with you feet. And don’t look like you’re having fun because you know how much your boss hates to see you having fun during work hours. Like that automatically excludes productivity. So here’s some love in 4/4 for the dancers.

March 3, 2009 12:21 AM

Waiting is a b**ch, especially if your mind is as busy as the devil’s workshop and you feel like you have energy to lift up the world and change it’s direction. I’m waiting for the spring, waiting to hear from the million people I sent resumes and cover letters to. I’m waiting for things to be better, so while I’m waiting I thought I should drop another Cooking High episode, maybe it can make your boring work day shorter, the cold winter night warmer, or just give that overstimulated brain of yours a little brake.

I went to the Studio Museum Harlem last weekend with a group of new found friends to see Barkley L. Hendriks: Birth of Cool. If you haven’t see it yet, go. Black is beautiful brothers and sisters! Not to mention now I feel much better about my nude self-portraits although I probably could never hold a public office. It’s the age of communication my dear friends. Arts and science and finally getting their deserved place in society, I’m only waiting for the legislation to follow.

Music is my therapy. So let the healing begin.

December 22, 2008 3:20 PM

Here it is - the last 2008 Cooking High episode! Don’t say I didn’t give you anything for Christmas. Yeah, I know it's been a while since I last cooked for ya'll but I have a good excuse – I've been taking pictures and the trill they gives me can be only compared to cooking of course or making love. No, I did not say sex, I said making love. And the main ingredient in all of this is inspiration.

This Christmas episode is dedicated to my friend Chance Morrison and the car she inherited from her grandmother – a 1984 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, 2 door coupe. 1984 was Oldsmobile's best year ever which saw them churn out 1.2 million cars. If you know me well you probably know how I feel about vintage cars, mainly American made from the 50s to the 80s. The Cutlass is in great condition! I don't know if it is because everything made back in the day seems to last much longer than things made these days or because grandmas know how to take good care of things, like the 50 year old sweater I inherited from my grandma (R.I.P.) and I’m wearing today.

Average BPM in this mix is about 103, perfect for rolling wheels so I hope you listen to it in your car Ms. Chance and I hope you remember you promised me a joyride . I can wait till spring though.

Happy Holidays to all of you and I hope you enjoy what is about to follow!

June 1, 2008 10:45 AM

Awww, I’m so late! I have the nerve to publish our May episode on June 1st. I hope you forgive me but the warm nights and sunny days kept me outside hanging out with a you, my friends.

This episode we are having a guest but she’s not a stranger. She’s been here before as half of the Student Body Presents. You had a chance to first hear their debut album promo back in July 2007 and it still available in our archive:

For this episode of Cooking High I asked Miasha to put together a selection of the music that inspires her to write and create. What I find in my mailbox few weeks later definitely deserves its name: Headphone Treat.

It’s a treat for me to have her here and I hope you enjoy Miasha’s company in the next one hour while she takes you on a journey through the sounds that shaped her cosmic mind.

April 20, 2008 7:20 PM

Hi everybody,
Was it almost 80 degrees few days ago or I was hallucinating desperate for a sun kiss? Walking down Fulton Street with flip-flops and a skirt on gave me that tingly feeling in the stomach like summer was here. Yeah, you know, like when it is all nice and warm. You walk down the street and you see all these beautiful men pass you by like “Hello there! Where were you all during winter? Do fine men hibernate? If you do… it must be some beauty sleep cuz baby mmm…mmmm…mmmmm!” Of course I don’t say that, I would probably look down at the ground if I cross eyes with any of them but you better believe I’m thinking it. Shades hide my devilish eyes but the body doesn’t lie. It just gets that sway.

Ladies, I gotta give it to you all too. Cute little sandals on perfectly pedicured feet, pretty summer dresses, hair all done, hiding behind big sunglasses like movie stars. You drive men crazy. Summers in Brooklyn! This is what this episode is all about. Yeah, you know what I’m talking about. Everywhere I turn I’m surrounded by beautiful people and I’m sipping my Margarita thinking what a joy.

This episode you are going to hear sliding trumpets, heavy beats, and long breaks. I also hope you are all over 18. Hey, I didn’t write the songs, I just mixed them! And if you ever wondered where I get my wild style from, that on the cover is my mom. I look a little bit like her, huh

March 14, 2008 1:10 AM

Hello again, my dear friends! Welcome to yet another episode of Cooking High! Some of you may be just joining me for a first time and some of you have been with me a whole year. Yes, Cooking High turned 1 year on March 7th an oh, how happy I am to be around! I guess this is a time to look back, reflect on what I have done and decide if it is worth the time and energy. Well, what I HOPE I have done is give you an hour of good music, possibly good read, and a cool cover art once in a while. I hope you have heard a song you liked or you’ve never heard before. I hope you have read something that has moved you or made you think positively. I hope the music, imagery, and words have taken you to places in your memory and imagination long forgotten or newly found. And I hope you are happy to share your time with me as I am with you.

This anniversary episode is inspired by the sound and cultural phenomenon of girl groups from the 1950s and 60s. Black girls rule! It is dedicated to my mother Miglena, who used to rock a 60’s hairdo and a mini skirt like no other, and to the Hancock Street Ladies – Shannon Washington, Theresa Johnson, Danyell Rascoe, Shannon Pridgen, and Yolanda Daniels. Ashaki and Miasha, although you are not in Brooklyn anymore, my heart is with you! These girls are my sisters. I got nothing but love for them!
In the beginning of the 20th century African American music put its foot on the door of the fast industrializing music business and changed the world forever. In the late 50s, after the phenomenal success of jazz many indie labels were putting out new performers and creating new sounds like Stax , Blue Note, Motown, and Atlantic Records.

Among the earliest acts categorized as a "girl group" are The Chantels, whose 1958 hit “Maybe” had many of the qualities of what would become the classic girl-group sound: looser harmonies mixing elements of pop and rhythm and blues, an identifiable lead vocal within a harmony arrangement, and subject matter centered around young love. The girl group genre was closely associated with the Wall of Sound technique of recording developed by producer Phil Spector. He created a dense, layered, and reverberant sound that reproduced well on AM radio and jukeboxes by having a number of electric and acoustic guitarists perform the same parts in unison, musical arrangements for large groups of and various orchestral musicians and then recording the sound in an “echo chamber.”

The short lived but prominent genre swept Europe, Africa and Asia, and what was later called British Invasion started simply as covers of black music pressed on wax 5-6 years or more in the US. These days the songs are considered naïve and melodramatic but they addressed the problems of adolescent love with a female voice in a time women were fighting against societal repression and searching to find a place in culture and a purpose in life. Woman’s roles, responsibilities, and conception of herself were being frantically rearranged by society. Sexual desire is essential to the girl group image and sound.

The rise of the genre helped challenge sexual norms in and helped nurture the growth of a youth-driven culture in America. Some of the themes that often run through these songs are “cry baby songs” like “Run Mascara” by the Exciters or “Queen of Tears” by Gladys Knight and the Pips. Or “advice on love songs” like “Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)” by Betty Everett, or “You Can't Hurry Love”, by the Supremes. There also were “break-up songs” like Tainted Love” by Gloria Jones or “Bye Bye Baby” by Mary Wells.

These young black women broke racial and gender barriers, and they did it with style! By 1960, the image of the girl group was everywhere in popular culture--spread across through radio and TV. They were style icons. The girl group image alludes to both youthful innocence and sexual desire, usually for heterosexual men for whom the groups were originally marketed. Traditionally a trio or quartet in number, members are young, attractive women who are groomed in a noticeable way--they appear in matching clothes, for example, or wear designer dresses. Their hair is styled fashionably and members often wear makeup. The image is one of a young woman representing the man's ideal woman or Dream Date. She is pretty, she is all made-up, and she is dressed for a lovely dinner, a night of dancing, or a romantic movie. Sex is always a part of the image, although this theme has been used in different degrees throughout the genre's history.

What’s a better way to talk about a love affair than with the voice of the queens of melodrama? This episode will take you back to a time when singing about broken heart would make you snap your fingers and leap walking down the street!

Cooking High presents The Blue Note Collection

February 23, 2008 11:18 PM
In the loving memory of my grandmother Yordanka Todorova
Dec 18th 1918 - Feb 18th 2008

It is February and technically, it is time for another Cooking High episode. The truth is, walking down on Hancock Street I noticed once again how beautiful my neighborhood is. Century old brownstones pleat through the tree lined sidewalks with sandstone stairways, round wooden doors, and stain glass windows. In the summer kids play Double Dutch on the street and old men gather on the stoop of one ‘s house to share stories, people watch, and hang out. Music is coming out of cars, windows, and some times even speakers put out on the sidewalk. Like Biggie says Bed-Stuy is “the livest one”. Smell of food is in the air as soon as the sun warms up the Brooklyn streets and house music echoes through the summer Sunday evenings in Von King Park.

Bedford Stuyvesant is one of the oldest free black communities in the U.S. and a cultural center for the African American population in Brooklyn. Among the natives of this area are Shirley Chisholm, Notorious B.I.G., Chris Rock, Lena Horne, Mos Def, and James "Rocky" Robinson. I even heard that Coltrane once lived on my block and I believe it because I swear I can hear music when I step out of my apartment. This is the place I call home 4882 miles away from where I was born.

Although it has been considered a desirable neighborhood in the last two or three years with new small businesses and organic food section in the grocery store, I remember very well when people would not come to visit me or just raise their eyebrows when I tell them where I live. The stigma of the “do or die” years is still clearly visible from the careless thrown garbage on the sidewalks to the boarded houses or empty lots full of junk that are often part of the landscape. Call that urban charm if you want but it is simply poverty.

But Bed Stuy wasn’t always a ghetto; in the late 1800s the village of Bedford was an exclusive and highly desirable suburb for rich New Yorkers of Dutch and German descent. Market pressure led to rapid urbanization of the area: “the suburban district of freestanding frame and brick homes was gradually transformed into a more urban neighborhood of brick and brownstone row houses.” Crucial for popularizing the area was the construction of the electric trolleys and the Fulton Street Elevated. With the rapid urbanization the demographics of the neighborhood changed dramatically. Jews, Italians, West Indians, Irish and other ethnic groups settled in this declining yet still comparatively appealing area. Many homeowners were becoming too poor to pay their property taxes or just wanted to sell before their property devaluated further. The depreciation was corresponded to the massive migration of black Southerners and West Indians to New York that began in the 1910s and 20s. Bedford became port of call for black immigrants due to its proximity to already existing Black communities in Weeksville, Carrsville, and Fort Green. The brownstones quickly switched ownership and Black in-comers filled up the houses abandoned by previous immigrants but not without the resistance of white homeowners who tried to persuade people not to or simply refused to sell to the black newcomers. Often black families were forced to pay $20 000 for a house that at the time was sold for $3000. The construction of the A train in the 1930s made the commute between Harlem and Bedford much easier and many people came from uptown to central Brooklyn, which offered more jobs and better housing. Institutionalized racism, segregation, economic crisis, unemployment, and predatory real estate practices were some of the main reasons for the decline and “slumification” of Bedford-Stuyvesant. “The schools were not receiving adequate support, city services and public works were almost non-existent,” and the police is still feared rather than reassuring. In the late 70’s and early 80’s crack hit the streets and some of the darkest times begun. For a glimps of what is it like to live in the ghetto just play a Biggie record and you’ll get a pretty good idea.

I moved to Hancock Street in November 2003. For a while I never came across another Caucasian in the grocery store, the train station or just walking down the block. Now it is different, the low housing cost attracted artists and young people, and the neighborhood is slowly becoming diverse but not without doubt and tension. The real estate sharks once again are trying to take advantage of the situation scamming, buying houses from people exhausted by life in the ghetto and in search of a better life, not else but down South. Sometimes it is simply “pricing out” the current residents and resale the property to the newcomers for sometimes close to a million dollars. This process, my dear friends, is called gentrification. But do you believe that reconstruction is possible without displacement? I do. The answer is to give the Bedford-Stuyvesant status of a Brooklyn historic district and get it out of this lock of purposeful “slumification” for profit. What makes a ghetto is not the people that live in it but the economic, political and social conditions they have been subjected to. Give opportunity and incentives to its residents to stay and build their schools and take pride in their community. These are reparations you can’t cash but their legacy is priceless.

I will always love Bed-Stuy no matter where I go. I’ll never forget the house on Hancock Street I spend years watch life go by, sitting on the steps in the hot summer days. My two-doors-down neighbor Kenny, always on the stoop rain or shine, drinking cool-aid “on the rocks”. Anya, my downstairs neighbor, an awesome photographer and educator who wears her hair like a real African queen. And my landlord Jamal, who is nice enough between his own parties to throw one for the kids on the block, so they can have a dance competition. This next Cooking High episode is inspired and dedicated to my neighborhood Bedford-Stuyvesant! And what better way to take you there than a collection of Blue Note records – the most ground breaking and longest running jazz label. And now ladies and gentlemen, without further delay, live from Bed-Stuy!

For more information:
-- Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedford-Stuyvesant,_Brooklyn)
-- Bed-Stuy on the Move (Demographic Trends & Economic Development in the heart of Brooklyn) Master Thesis by Matias Echanove (http://www.urbanology.org/BedStuy/)
-- David Ment & Mary Donovan, The People of Brooklyn; A History of Two Neighborhoods, Brooklyn Educational Cultural Alliance, New York 1980
-- Mary H. Monomi, Bedford Stuyvesant the Anatomy of a Central City Community, Quadrangle, The New York Times Book Co., New York 1973

Track List:
1.Beggar For The Blues/ Patti Drew, 2. 90% Of Me Is You/ Gwen McCrae. 3. I’m On My Way/ Candido, 4.I’ve Had A Little Talk/ Horace Silver, 5.Wind Parade/ Donald Byrd, 6.Deb Sombo/ Jimmy McGriff, 7.Freio Aerodinamico/ Os Tres Morais, 8. Blue Bossa/ Joe Henderson, 9.Midnight Blue/ Kenny Burrell, 10.Sitting Here All Alone/ Waters, 11. Book Of Slim/ Gene Harris And The Three Sounds, 12.A Brighter Day/ Ronny Jordan, 13. Melody/ Molly Johnson, 14. Inside You/ Eddie Henderson, 15. Song For My Father/ Horace Silver, 16. Intro From Blue Note Live At The Roxy

January 25, 2008 11:52 PM

Happy New Year to all of you my dear friends! It’s great to be here and have you all in my life. I know you are GOOD friends because every time I procrastinate or can’t find time to do what I love so much somebody pokes me “When is the next one coming?” So here it is, the first 2008 Cooking High episode! 

Café Au Lait was inspired by La Nouvelle Vague or French New Wave cinema from the 60’s. This hasn't been the first episode inspired by this particular time of our collective past. The 60’s were an era of social and political change that echoed through out every continent. Time that brought counter culture, social revolution, and alternative point of view to the forefront. 

The New Wave film directors were part of this phenomenon through their work, making radical experiments with editing, visual style, and narrative. Godard, Truffaut, and Resnais brought international acclaim to this genre. Although never formally organized as a movement they had in common the self-conscious rejection of classical cinematic form, deliberately deconstructing the dogmatic ideas of time, space, and reason of the past in search of new prospective and self- expression.

I remember when I first saw Breathless. I must have been about 15 years old. Although on that young age I didn’t understand some of the discrete allusions I was so impressed with its cinematography and characters that it broadened my horizons in search of meaning. I hope you all enjoy! 

Track List:
1.L’Ombre Et La Lumiere/Coralie Clemente, 2. A Man And A Woman/45 Dip, 3. Je Suis Venu Te Dire Que Je M’en Vais/Claude Monnet Presents Monica Nogueira, 4. Homme/Brazillan Girls (Naked Mix), 5. Belle/Alif Tree, 6. Et Ecoute Ces Choses/Rouge Rouge feat. Karin Viard, 7. Pour Faire Le Portrait D’une Oiseau/Yves Montand, 8. Saint Germain Des Pres/VA, 9. Les Champs Elysees (Stephane Pompougnac Remix)/Clementine, 10. Un Monde Sans Frime/Dr. Jazz Universal Remedy, 11.L’Amour/Rouge Rouge, 12.Je T’aime Moi Non Plus (Dzihan & Kamien Dampfbad Dub)/Serge Gainsbourg, 13. Last Tango In Paris/Gothan Project, 14. Summer In Paris/DJ Cam strarring Anggun

November 22, 2007 3:37 AM

Alice had been looking over his shoulder with some curiosity. `What a funny watch!' she remarked. `It tells the day of the month, and doesn't tell what o'clock it is!'

`Why should it?' muttered the Hatter. `Does your watch tell you what year it is?'

`Of course not,' Alice replied very readily: `but that's because it stays the same year for such a long time together.'

`Which is just the case with mine,' said the Hatter.

Alice felt dreadfully puzzled. The Hatter's remark seemed to have no sort of meaning in it, and yet it was certainly English. `I don't quite understand you,' she said, as politely as she could.

`The Dormouse is asleep again,' said the Hatter, and he poured a little hot tea upon its nose.

The Dormouse shook its head impatiently, and said, without opening its eyes, `Of course, of course; just what I was going to remark myself.'

`Have you guessed the riddle yet?' the Hatter said, turning to Alice again.

`No, I give it up,' Alice replied: `that's the answer?'

`I haven't the slightest idea,' said the Hatter.

`Nor I,' said the March Hare.

Alice sighed wearily. `I think you might do something better with the time,' she said, `than waste it in asking riddles that have no answers.'

`If you knew Time as well as I do,' said the Hatter, `you wouldn't talk about wasting it. It's him.'

`I don't know what you mean,' said Alice.

`Of course you don't!' the Hatter said, tossing his head contemptuously. `I dare say you never even spoke to Time!'

`Perhaps not,' Alice cautiously replied: `but I know I have to beat time when I learn music.'

`Ah! that accounts for it,' said the Hatter. `He won't stand beating. Now, if you only kept on good terms with him, he'd do almost anything you liked with the clock. For instance, suppose it were nine o'clock in the morning, just time to begin lessons: you'd only have to whisper a hint to Time, and round goes the clock in a twinkling! Half-past one, time for dinner!'

(`I only wish it was,' the March Hare said to itself in a whisper.)

`That would be grand, certainly,' said Alice thoughtfully: `but then--I shouldn't be hungry for it, you know.'

`Not at first, perhaps,' said the Hatter: `but you could keep it to half-past one as long as you liked.'

`Is that the way you manage?' Alice asked.

The Hatter shook his head mournfully. `Not I!' he replied. `We quarrelled last March--just before he went mad, you know--' (pointing with his tea spoon at the March Hare,) `--it was at the great concert given by the Queen of Hearts, and I had to sing

"Twinkle, twinkle, little bat!
How I wonder what you're at!"

You know the song, perhaps?'

`I've heard something like it,' said Alice.

`It goes on, you know,' the Hatter continued, `in this way:--

"Up above the world you fly,
Like a tea-tray in the sky.
Twinkle, twinkle --"'

August 16, 2007 11:16 PM

Sometimes in order to see you have to close your eyes. This is what my father taught me when I was about 12 and I first started paying attention the music he was playing on the sound system at home. Charlie Parker was pouring through the speakers in our small apartment and quite frankly was driving me insane.
‘How can you listen to this, sounds like cacophony. You can’t keep beat, I just don’t get it...’ I was complaining.
‘Every instrument has a story to tell,’ my dad said. ‘Close your eyes and listen.’

My dad introduced me to jazz, imagination, and creativity. He encouraged to me push boundaries, redefine ideas, and search for balance, and harmony. For this episode of Cooking High I asked him to put together an hour of his favorite jazz tunes and few days later I found a link in my mailbox.

When I was little I used to close my eyes and let the sounds from the speakers take me places -- from the streets of Harlem to the Mississippi delta. Living in a gorgeous house in Bed-Stuy, now I close my eyes and let these same sounds take me back home - the place I miss so much - Chaika, building 44, Apt. 5. Still emotionally jet lagged and high on the American experience, I start a journey thought the dusty hidden corners of my memory.

P.S. Miss you, daddy!

July 27, 2007 10:44 AM

This episode of Cooking High is devoted to a portrait of a person and an era. Just like the rest of the world, West Africa in the 60’s was full energy and excitement, swept with social and political upheaval. Time of independence and optimism. Everything was new, modern, hip, and fashionable. Malick Sidibe captured this phenomenon in his work and what you are about to hear in the next one hour is a humble attempt reflect the sound of Africa in a time of a cultural revolution.

Track list:
1.Witch Doctor/Baranta with Miatta Fahibulleh, 2.Mahlalela/Letta Mbulu, 3.Ahvuomo/Baranta with Miatta Fahinbulleh, 4.Keleya/Moussa Doumbia, 5.Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou Dahomey, 6.Zomaye/Gigi. 7.Ayele/Tony Allen, 8.Been Such A Long Time Gone/Hugh Masakela, 9.Marahaba/Hassan Hakmoun and Adam Rudolph, 10.Ah Ndiya/Oumou Sangare, 11.Sanjina/Orchestre Regional de Kayes

July 16, 2007 9:08 PM

THE STUDENT BODY PRESENTS is like a breath of fresh air! Their debut album ARTS AND SCIENCES was released on the German label Phazz-a-delic last year and sneaked its way in to the US. Behind the intriguing project are MIASHA WILLIAM vocalist/writer and producer ERIC PORTER, based in Oakland, California. The album in fact wasn’t their first commercial release. The third track, Boxes, was featured on the Black Rock Coalition’s 2005 promotional compilation Rock n’ Roll Reparations II. And in 2006, the track Rush Hour was featured on Rubaiyat’s Female Future Transatlantic. Boxes also shared a 7” single with German Band, The Messerschmit Twins.

The Student Body’s avant-garde electro sound is spanning through genres with ease and finesse. Warm and acoustic in Driftwoodit, progressive and experimental in Eunice, or just straight head banging in Boxes. Eric Porter is a downtempo mad scientist. He started as a DJ back in the mid 80’s and has opened shows for Rakim, Outkast, and Dead Prez. He has previous releases on the Bitasweet and Almalgama. As a performer, he has played in venues such as Blue Note in New York City and the Jazz Cafe in London, as a part of Julie Dexter’s band. Porter creates a new reality with his chilled, beat-driven, and dark at times sound. His delayed lingering synthetic keyboards are combined with heavy, often complex bass lines.

And the rest is history is probably the best way to describe the significance of Madam Williams and Sir Porter’s encounter. Miasha’s lyrics are powerful and stream of thought like on this retro futuristic, whimsical, sonic background. Her clean yet distinctive vocals range from whispers to holler with the same command. She takes us on a journey down the rabbit hole where nothing is what it is and you can control time and space. Innocent but clever, she’s exploring the art and science of love and life often challenging cultural and social stereotypes. Even when her voice drifts off tune we follow it with curiosity because it’s so pure and sincere. She instantly connects with the audience. In fact the mic is nothing new to the Oakland native. She had performed her poems on the local scenes in The Bay Area and New York City. From the Black Dot Cafe, to Brooklyn Moon, the Nuyorican Poets Café, and CBGB’s Gallery.

The Student Body are definitely new comers you are about to hear and see much more of. They already created a buzz on the West Coast and caught the eye of some well-known independent labels. Sky is the limit for this talented duo that is about to rock the underground music scene. Get an exclusive album promo on your iPods, on Cooking High, mixed by Sir Porter especially for our program and your listening pleasure.

Track List:
1.The Title Song, 2.Eunice, 3.Boxes, 4.Driftwoodit, 5.Hora, 6.Nephew, 7.Broccoli, 8.Mantra, 9.Mind Your Rudder, 10.Rush Hour, 11.Just A Substitute, 12. Who Whos

July 4, 2007 1:57 PM

There’s nothing that says summer in Brooklyn more than reggae music. Your stoop is too hot to sit on, the air is full of coal fumes, and little beads of sweat are running down your skin like water drops on an ice cold ginger beer. There’s nothing that taste like Jamaica more than an ice cold ginger beer.

This episode is a retrospective of Jamaica’s finest from Ska to Dub, from Kingston to Zion, pass me the Rizla, pass me the herb!

June 19, 2007 11:20 PM

It is my pleasure to present this episode’s selector -- my dear friend Henry Ng, an awesome graffiti writer and illustrator who was supposed to be born in London in the late 60’s, start a rock band and marry Kate Moss. Somehow due to a mix up in the paperwork and delay in the application of the Ng family, Henry popped up on the North Side of Chicago with a spray paint in hand and appetite for destruction. Check out his website:

www.zheik-one.com

And these are Henry’s June Tunes....
Track List by Henry Ng/ mixed by Love44

1. L.A. Woman/The Doors, 2.So Long/Willy Mason, 3.Antichrist Television Blues/The Arcade Fire, 4.Past In Present/Feist, 5.Dig for Fire/The Pixies, 6.Dear Prudence/The Beatles, 7.1-2-3-4/Feist, 8.Let’s Go Away for a While/The Beach Boys, 9.Luckie/Laura Nyro, 10. Death on the Stairs/The Libertines, 11. Berlin/Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, 12. Strange Lights/Deerhunter, 13.See My Friends/The Kinks, 14.Together (Silver Spoon Theme - original version)/Rick Howard and Bob Wirth, 15.Halah/Mazzy Star, 16.Too Busy Thinking About My Baby/Marvin Gaye, 17.Caravan/Van Morrison, 18. Darling Dear/ The Jackson Five

ll see you there!

“Num cantinho um violão
Este amor, uma canção
Prá fazer feliz a quem se ama
Muita calma prá pensar
E ter tempo prá sonhar
Da janela vê-se o Corcovado
O Redentor, que lindo!

Quero a vida sempre assim
Com você perto de mim
Até o apagar da velha chama
E eu que era triste
Descrente deste mundo
Ao encontrar você eu conheci
O que é felicidade
Meu amor “
; Corcovado,
Antonio Carlos Jobim

Track List

1.Afro Braziliero/Nu-Perspective, 2.Early Diaquiris/Club Des Belugas, 3.Minus 8/White (New Vocal Version), 4.Onda Anda A Meu Amor/Orlandivo, 5.Humana/Zuco 103, 6.Mas Que Nada (Melodic Side)/Bab & Rolando 808, 7.O Preguicoso(Versao Acustico)/Intuit, 8.Falador Passa Ma/Sambasonics, 9.Neguinho/Banda Favela, 10. Maria Monita/Nicola Conte apresenta Rosalia, 11.Tamborim, Cuica, Ganza, Berimb/Azymuth, 12.O Caminho (Guy Sigsworth Mix)/Bebel Gilberto, 13.Deusa Do Amore/Moreno Veloso, 14. A Flor E O Espinho/Paulinho Moska, 15.Berekeke/Geraldo Azevedo

May 10, 2007 2:56 PM

I love the corner of Fulton and Bedford where one of the biggest mosques in Brooklyn is located. I often drink Millie’s Ice Tea in bushbaby across the street and watch the beautiful muslim brothers pass by with their crispy white thobes and rolled above the ankle pants... This episode is devoted to the beauty and mysticism of Islamic culture. Let the beat take you on a journey through ancient lands and civilizations where beauty is purity and God is Love.

“The sultan passed the night with Schehera-zade on an elevated couch, as was the custom among the eastern monarchs, and Dinar-zade slept at the foot of it on a mattress prepared for the purpose. Dinar-zade, having awakened about an hour before day, did what her sister had ordered her. "My dear sister," she said, "if you are not asleep, I entreat you, as it will soon be light, to relate to me one of those delightful tales you know. It will, alas, be the last time I shall receive that pleasure."

Instead of returning any answer to her sister, Schehera-zade addressed these words to the sultan:

"Will your majesty permit me to indulge my sister in her request?"

"Freely," replied he.

Schehera-zade then desired her sister to attend, and, addressing herself to the sultan, began as follows......”

1001 Nigh

May 7, 2007 1:37 AM

“At the heart of Jamaican music, ‘sounds’ continue to the present day, as may be attested to by anyone who has attempted to get a night’s sleep in Kingston on a Friday, the favourite party night. Whenever Jamaican communities have moved, sound systems have accompanied them - London’s annual Notting Hill carnival features tons of boxes, tons of house of joy, as they are known in Jamaica.”

Chris Salewicz & Adrian Boot
Reggae Explosion
: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; font: 18.0px 'Helvetica Neue UltraLight'; color: #1a1a1a;">The Story of Jamaican Music

Track List

1.Outro Lost Ones/Lauryn Hill, 2. The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face/Marcia Griffiths, 3. Rock On/Gregory Isaaacs, 4. Moody's Mood For Love/Amy Winehouse, 5. Don't Leave Me/Delroy Wilson, 6. Tell Him/Lauryn Hill, 7. Soul Rebel/ The Gladiators, 8. Ring The Alarm/ Tenor Saw, 9. Sometime/G.Nervous & The Tremblers, 10. Declaration of Rights/Johnny Clarke, 11. Sun Is Shining/Sly Dunbar & The Tamlins, 12. Slave Song/Sade, 13.The Richest Man in Babylon/Thievery Corporation, 14.Spying Glass/Massive Attack, 15. Kuff (Fuck Backwards) Shelly Thunder, 16. Uptown Top Ranking/ Althea & Donna, 17. The Mighty Gates of Gozo/Tommy McCooke & The Aggrovators

Now we demand a chance to do things for ourselves
We're tired of beatin' our head against the wall
And workin' for someone else
We're people, we're just like the birds and the bees
We'd rather die on our feet
Than be livin' on our knees
Say it loud, I'm black and I'm proud!

James Brown (1933-2006)

Track List:

1. Mystery Train/Citizen Kane, 2. Can We Pretend/Bill Withers, 3.Drama/Erykah Badu, 4.Dollar/Steve Spacek, 5. Back Stabbers/MFSB, 6. Do It/Sass, 7.I Want You/Marvin Gaye, 8. Losalamitoslatinfun/Gene Harris, 9. Daylight/Ramp, 10. A Presa/Azymuth, 11. Meu Samba (Nicola Conte bossa ahead mix)/Eli Goulard Bando Do Mato, 12. Transmission 94 (Part 1 & 2)/Bonobo, 13. Hello To The Wind/Bobby Hutcheson, 14. Nude And Next To Nature Theme/Jean Claude T, 15. Is This All?/Bobbi Humphrey, 16. Maybe/The 3 Degrees

Dedicated to my ancestors, the victims of the genocide, and the holly mount of Ararat.

“I sigh not, while thou art my soul !
Fair one, thou art to me

A golden cup, with water filled of immortality.
I sit me down, that over me may fall thy shadow, sweet;
Thou art a gold-embroidered tent to shield me from the heat.
First hear my fault, and, if thou wilt, then slay this erring man;
Thou hast all power; to me thou art the Sultan and the Khan.”
Sayat Nova’s Love Song

Track List:

Futures/Zero 7 2. Surround Me With Your Love/3-11 Porter 3. The Time Is now/ Moloko 4. Sun Trust/How Insensetive 5. High Noon/Kuder & Dorfmeister 6. The Moon People/ Hippy, Skippy Moon Street 7. Espuna Bossa (acoustic mix)/ Panaphonic feat. Liliana Gimenez 8. Swondosophy/ Infracom presents (re:jazz) 9.Tunnel (The Dining Rooms Rework)/ The Dining Rooms 10. Xibaba/ Duke Pearson 11. Deep Ocean (jazz edit mix)/ Ptchworks presents Dapper Ray 12. Kool Bavaria (Patchworks remix)/ Crusho 13. Mr. Dope/ Kenny Dope 14. Windy C/ Leon Ware 15. Round About Midnight (Outro)/ Antenna