378 - Toots and the Maytals - Funky Kingston

When you think of reggae, can you think of any artists other than Bob Marley and his genetic offspring? If you find yourself stretching to UB40 in order to think of someone other than Bob, then you really should find a copy of Funky Kingston by Toots and the Maytals. This album will become your soundtrack for those happy, mellow days of your life. The reggae shuffle is perky, the harmonies blend nicely, and it is hard not to smile while listening.

Songs I knew I liked: "Time Tough"

Songs I didn't know but now like: "Funky Kingston," "Pomp & Pride," "Got to Be There," and "Pressure Drop."

Songs I can go the rest of my life without hearing again: I like the cover of "Louie, Louie," but can't seem to embrace the cover of "Country Roads." My brain just can't wrap itself around a reggae song praising West Virginia.

Citizenship Merit Badges Class Report

During the first week of August, I held a class for any scouts in my troop that wanted to work on most of the requirements for Citizenship in the Community and Citizenship in the Nation merit badges (MBs). Others have done classes to do the entirety of those MBs, but I've noticed while sitting on Boards of Reviews with scouts that did that, it seems they didn't actually do a lot of what they were supposed to do. I've been hesitant to do classes because of that burden of ensuring each boy in the class did everything themselves and not ridden their classmates' coattails.

Upon hearing that there were three boys working on Citz/Community together, I pondered what I would consider worthwhile for class. I decided that I was fine with doing a class that focused on the requirements for doing or seeing things: see a city council/school board meeting or a court session, visit a Natl Historic Landmark or building on the Register of Historic Places, interview someone in govt about a local issue, watch a movie about a person or people that inspire others, read the front page of a national newspaper for 5 days, and learn about a charitable organization and volunteer 8 hours with them. One of the other requirements for Citz/Community is for each boy to create a presentation about their community (history, cultures, education, popular places, current challenges). I decided to include a tour of numerous sites around town to help provide information and inspiration on what they might want to include in their presentations - which they would put together and present at some later date. I had 5 scouts RSVP for the class that would be taking place the last week before public schools started their new year.

Here is the report I turned in to the Scoutmaster about the class:
( The Official Report of All of Our Activities )

377 - TLC - CrazySexyCool

CrazySexyCool polished TLC's music into a more mature sound and reaped great commercial rewards for it. Left Eye's raps were cut to mere occasional interludes. New Jack Swing is combined with a more raw sexual edge. This is music for teenage weekend nights - sweet but with a slightly awkward sexuality. While the music alone (with deft hands like Babyface and Jermaine Dupri) will automatically dim the lights of the room playing this album, the lyrics unfortunately demonstrate the youth of the band. "Red Light Special" wants to be a Prince song, but suffers from cheesy lyrics.

This album has a lot of "interludes" like many other 90's rap albums, but these are not skits (although "Sexy (interlude)" goes for some lovely potty humor) and most actually fit the role of assisting in the segues between songs. But not all segues are all that smooth. How does one make the transition from the effort towards being sexy in "Red Light Special" to the morality tale (and part AIDS contemplation piece) of "Waterfalls?" TLC is no Marvin Gaye.

I did have a good smile when I heard Andre Benjamin (Andre 3000 of Outkast) rapping on "Sumthin' Wicked This Way Comes."

Songs I knew I liked: "Creep" and "Waterfalls"

Songs I didn't know but now like: "Diggin' on You" (although I get annoyed with how loud the drum machine is in the mix), "Case of the Fake People," and "Switch"

Songs I can go the rest of my life without hearing again: "Kick Your Game" and "Red Light Special"