things and time will tell.

Sade – Flower Of The Universe (From Disney's "A Wrinkle In Time") RCA Records – none 2 x File, FLAC, Single, Mar 9, 2018 info A return to a long delayed series tracking Sade soundtrack contributions for no particular reason... Parts 1 and 2 here and here . In 2018, Sade released a new song recorded for the soundtrack of Ava DuVernay's adaptation of Madeleine L'Engle's  A Wrinkle In Time . This was the first new song the band issued in 8 years, since their 2010 studio album,  Soldier Of Love (and a few unreleased tracks included on the 2011 Ultimate Collection  greatest hits set). And if a big-budget children's movie isn't where you expected Sade to pop up (especially after the somewhat darker, adult sound of the previous album), that would make sense, but this works well: Sade Adu's vocals as rich as ever, singing a love letter to a child and set over her own wordless backing vocals and a simple guitar. The music continues with the drumless, spars...

Various Artists – Special Selections From The Soundtrack Philadelphia (Sampler) Epic – AED 5695 Vinyl, 12", 33 ⅓ RPM, Promo, Sampler, US, 1993 info This soundtrack is questionable compared to the last one , but to be fair, Sade's track is actually just fine. She's back with the band on this one, turning in a cover of Percy Mayfield's lovely Please Send Me Someone To Love  as their contribution to the soundtrack for the Denzel Washington/Tom Hanks blockbuster, Philadelphia .  ...Which, by the way, makes this another soundtrack to a film I've never seen. (Pay attention and you'll notice a pattern.) The Sade song isn't going to wind up in your top ten, but it's definitely worth a spin. Please Send Me Someone To Love  is a nice piece of songwriting to begin with. You've probably heard five different versions of it over the years and, if you mostly remember the chorus, it's a cut with a surprisingly heavy set of lyrics . Interesting to hear Sade play...

Various Artists – Absolute Beginners - The Musical (Songs From The Original Motion Picture) EMI America – SV-17182 Vinyl, LP, US, 1986 info Sade fans aren't impatient. The group's first four albums came out within about 8 years, between 1984 and 1992. After that though, they pumped the breaks and slowed their album release schedule to roughly once per decade. Their last studio release was 2010's Soldier Of Love and, although I think they're still officially an active group, I've never heard news, leaks, or promises of a new record coming despite the twelve year gap. I don't read enough interviews or music news to have a clue whether that's attributed to perfectionism, semi-retirement, writer's block or what, but they don't owe me anything and I appreciate their (very high) quality over quantity. There's been the occasional "best of" compilation or vinyl reissue, but we haven't even seen "deluxe edition" cash-ins packed wit...

Boogie Down Productions – Jack Of Spades / I'm Still #1 Jive – 1169-1-JD Vinyl, 12", US, 1988 info About a week ago, S sends a text to me and R saying "I know y'all are watching this brilliance!" Um... I had forgotten. A few seconds of panic followed as I tried to piece together what I had dropped the ball on. Another text or two and I realized it wasn't a union press conference or something that I was missing, but something far more important and profound: the KRS-One/Big Daddy Kane "Verzuz" battle! My son had it up on his iPad a minute later and we got to catch an hour that gave me more joy than anything I've seen on TV in years. Plenty of other places to  see what you missed ,  hear some highlights from the battle  or  read some color commentary . Of course I think KRS won, but I'm biased. My Boogie Down Productions cassette tapes were life changing. KRS-One got called "the Teacha," but it wasn't just that his rhymes and com...

Various Artists (Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad) ‎– Luke Cage Marvel, Netflix ‎– D002532221 Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Limited Edition, US, 19 Jul 2017 Info A few days ago, I was listening to a member of the union jump into an important discussion at a training I attended. He made some really thoughtful points, but in the middle of his comment he mentioned Luke Cage. Right away he paused to explain to everyone: "Sorry. Luke Cage was a comic book reference if that didn't make sense." Well, apparently we live a world right now where a good number of union members sitting in a meeting not only know who Luke Cage is, but have opinions on where he would stand on police, black lives matter, and union struggles. (The consensus, by the way, among people I spoke to was that he would clearly be on our side.) Ten years ago, if you had told me that one day there would be a Luke Cage TV show and that it would actually be good, I'd have been skeptical. If you said that the s...