Music Therapy with Miss Moon

" You can't run away from trouble.  There ain't no place that far."
~ Uncle Remus

" Adversity is the mother of progress."
~ Mahatma Gandhi

" Life is truly known only to those who suffer, lose, endure adversity and stumble from defeat to defeat."
~ Anais Nin

Just when you think you've got a pretty good handle on your life, something happens that makes everything topsy turvy and difficult to find your bearings.

Such has been my life lately, but I think I've reached an epiphany that I'm currently testing to see if it's correct. Generally when I feel swamped by adversity, I admittedly crumble and fall to pieces, shake my fist to the heavens, wonder what I did in a former life to deserve such tribulations, get a second wind, gather my strength and push through it.

This time around, I am looking at it with different eyes. I am looking at it as an opportunity to test my strength and convictions, and to clear what is unnecessary in my life. I am going to take this challenge head on and recognize that it will ultimately strengthen me and bring forth knowledge that will help me through the next phase of peace.

So today's music therapy song choice is one that best sums up my attitude about adversity or trouble in my life. And if you are encountering a tough time, I hope that it will inspire you to keep cool, keep positive, and keep looking for a way out of the turmoil. Here's Marvin Gaye's "Trouble Man" revamped by Neneh Cherry.



I've come up hard, baby, now I'm cool
Didn't make it sugar, playing by the rules
I've come up hard, baby but now I'm fine
In checking trouble sugar, moving down the line

I've come up hard, baby, but that's okay
'Cause Trouble Man don't get in my way
I've come up hard, baby, I've been for real
Gonna keep on moving, gonna go to town

I've come up hard, I come up and get down
There's only three things that's for sure
Taxes, death and trouble
This I know, baby

Oh, that's right

Oh, I've come up hard, baby, with troubled mind
But then I've got my share of what's mine
Oh, I've come up hard, baby, but that's okay
'Cause Trouble Man don't get in my way

Oh, I've come up hard, baby

I know some places and I see some faces
I've got the connections, they dig my directions
What people say, that's okay
They don't bother me

I'm ready to make it, don't care what the weather
Don't care about no trouble, got myself together
Got the kind of protection
It's all around me

I've come up hard but now I'm cool
I didn't make it, baby, playing by the rules
Oh, I've come up hard, baby, but that's okay
'Cause Trouble Man don't get in my way

Oh, I've come up hard, baby, with troubled mind
But then I've got my share of what's mine
I've come up hard, now I'm fine
I'm checking trouble sugar, moving down the line
Moving down the line, moving down the line
Moving down the line, yeah, moving down the line

A Little [NENEH CHERRY] for a Saturday Night

Happy Saturday, Everybody!! I'm back with another of my favorite female musicians. Those of you who know me personally know my love and adoration for Neneh Cherry. Her albums sincerely got me through my  teen years! And I've always said this... that as a (sometimes) musician, if I could get away with doing an entire album of Neneh covers, I SO would!! And I would start with tonight's song. I hope you all will enjoy the beautiful and melodious, "Move with Me"!!

Music Therapy with Miss Moon

"Only through our connectedness to others can we really know and enhance the self. And only through working on the self can we begin to enhance our connectedness to others."
~ Harriet Goldhor Lerner

In a world where people are so vastly different from each other, it can be difficult to acknowledge what connects us sometimes... our lives. We all strive to grow and prosper, and we all make up the world we live in.

I think about myself and.... one of the Basketball Wives, for instance. I cannot fathom having ANYTHING in common with those chicks, aside from our genders and races. And I shake my head constantly when I happen to catch commercials for the show on television.

I'm sure there are countless other people in the celebrity world, or even in our everyday lives that you feel the same way about. They seem so far removed from who you are and what you're all about... but I bet if you looked beyond the surface, there would be a common ground revealed.

Ultimately its in finding that common ground that results in empathy and compassion for one another. Imagine how beautiful this world would be with those characteristics being the predominant one in all of us? It's a world I definitely want to live in.

This week's Music Therapy with Miss Moon is a song about our connections. I hope you all will let it inspire you to join me in envisioning a life without apathy. Here's 1 Giant Leap with Speech (of Arrested Development), Neneh Cherry and Ulali in "Braided Hair".



Yo we was talking earlier and I was telling you talking bout life
I feel like life is like braided hair
Its sorta like twist you know
Bout braided hair like twist
You know three strands twist together
Ultimately you get to where you wanna get to

From the same dirt from the heels of my ancestors
The naked roads and the fields where the pain festered
And I wonder where the hold came from
In the deeps of my heart make me yearn for the drum
It's the same place where the cross is burned
The same place where the loss was earned
It's the place where the floss was yearned
Gold teeth and bling ice on the ring baby sure

Chorus: We've all got things that are hanging about
Things that make us cool,
Things that make us whack,
Things that make us mad
Things we wish we never had done
But they're just the things that make us real
Not the maps to guide where we go from here
The road twists and braids our hair
Until we all get there

I like that I don't know some mysteries
Ancient things and beginnings
Excited about the day when I don't have to hear all the theories
My scalp needs some grease
It's the same place where the crosses burned
The same place where the loss was earned
The only way we all can learn
Is if we have these braids with the twist and turns so

Walking in the race of life
Looking for my own pace
Not always wanting to but I have to
Sometimes feeling like I've bitten off much more than I could chew
But the wind goes though my hair
Lifts me up with ease not a crease
Hair full of grease no weave embracing me
It's you I see
I am you and you are me I see yeah
I am you and you are me I see

We might survive as brothers yeah or perish here as fools
Go place your bets
Don't bet too soon
You might find me in another
Feels like someone you once knew
You know that face yeah we all do
Braided hair (what's it all for?)

Music Therapy with Miss Moon

This week's selection for Music Therapy with Moon goes out to the ladies... with a message. We are stronger than we sometimes give ourselves credit for. Every once and a while, we need to hear an anthem. One that motivates us and reminds us that no human would be here without us. This anthem comes from Neneh Cherry, and the song is "Woman". Enjoy!!





Woman

You gotta be fortunate
You gotta be lucky now
I was just sitting here
Thinking good and bad

But I'm the kinda woman
That was built to last
They tried erasing me
They couldn't wipe out my past

To save my child
I'd rather go hungry
I got all of Ethiopia
Inside of me

And my blood flows
Through every man
In this godless land that delivered me
I've cried so many tears even the blind can see

This is a woman's world
This is my world
This is a woman's world
For this man's girl

There ain't a woman in this world
Not a woman or a girl
That can't deliver love
In a man's world

I've born and I've bread
I've cleaned and I've fed
And for my healing wits
I've been called a witch

I've crackled in the fire
And been called a liar
Died so many times
I'm only just coming to life
(Woman)

This is a woman's world
This is my world
(Woman)
This is a woman's world
For this man's girl
(Woman)

There ain't a woman in this world
Not a woman or a girl
(Woman)
That can't deliver love
To a man's world
And my blood flows
Through every man and every child
In this godless land that delivered me
I cried so many tears, even the blind can see
(Woman)

This is a woman's world
This is my world
(Woman)
This is a woman's world
For this man's girl
(Woman)

There ain't a woman in this world
Not a woman or a girl
(Woman)
That can't deliver love
In a man's world
(Woman)

Oh, this is a woman's world
Woman
Woman
Woman

Music Therapy with Miss Moon

I used to play this song on a loop (I think my Mum to this day silently curses whoever invented the repeat function of a CD Player!) for hours at a time. The only time you will catch me rapping is if I am rapping along to Neneh!!







This song is my version of the Rocky theme... it motivates me and encourages me to go for it! Will I ever win? Who know... but I'm still trying!

Yummm! Neneh & Andi Dish It Up : Sunday Lunch

Here's a little secret about me (and the folks that know me from way back can vouch): When I was 11 or 12 years old, I wanted to be Neneh Cherry. So much so, that I almost got a Wave Nouveau for my 6th grade graduation, after showing my stylist a picture of her. Fortunately, I realized what she was trying to do in time and it never happened!!!

Imagine my joy years later when I discovered (courtesy of YouTube) that Neneh Cherry is a Foodie, like I am... and in fact actually had her own cooking show with BFF Andi Oliver? This show is dope, nuff said. The few episodes I've been able to see online were great. I wanted to share one of my favorite episodes, along with the recipes. Enjoy!!!





Balsamic, maple and molasses-dipped roast lamb
Ingredients

For the liquid marinade
splash olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
½ (75cl) bottle red wine
100ml/3½fl oz balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp butter
3 tbsp honey
1 tbsp molasses
3 tbsp maple syrup
For the dry marinade
small handful rosemary, chopped
small handful thyme, chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
splash olive oil
For the lamb
1 x 2kg/4lb 6oz leg of lamb
1-2 sprigs rosemary (optional)
1-2 sprigs thyme (optional)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the gravy
splash olive oil
½ onion, finely chopped
all the lamb marinade and pan juices
½ (75cl) bottle red wine
lamb stock, if needed
knob butter (if necessary)
1 tsp flour (if necessary)

Method

1. For the liquid marinade, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over a low heat. Add the red onion and garlic and cook until softened.
2. Add the remaining liquid marinade ingredients and simmer until the mixture takes on a slightly syrupy consistency. Leave to one side.
3. For the dry marinade, crush the rosemary, thyme and garlic in a pestle and mortar, along with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add a splash of olive oil.
4. Run the lamb under cold water and pat dry with kitchen paper. Place the lamb on a baking tray.
5. Using a sharp knife, make incisions in the lamb, deep enough to pierce the fat, but without cutting through the flesh.
6. Push pinches of the dry marinade down into the incisions in the lamb, reserving a small amount. You can use the handle of a teaspoon to push the marinade into the lamb, or alternatively use your fingers.
7. Pour over the liquid marinade, taking care to cover all the lamb. Sprinkle over the remaining dry marinade. Cover the lamb with cling film and set aside.
8. If you like, you can drop in a sprig or two of rosemary or thyme to the marinade surrounding the lamb. Leave the lamb overnight (or about two hours if you don't have time).
9. When you are ready to cook the lamb, preheat the oven to 220C/400F/Gas 7. Spoon the marinade surrounding the lamb out of the tray and into a bowl. Sprinkle the lamb with more sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
10. Place the lamb in the preheated oven and roast for 20 minutes.
11. After 20 minutes, reduce the temperature to 180C/350F/Gas 4. At 30-40 minute intervals, remove the tray from the oven and baste the lamb with the marinade liquid in the tray and any reserved liquid from the bowl.
12. After two hours coking time, remove the lamb from the oven and let it rest in a warm place for at least ten minutes before carving.
13. For the gravy, heat the olive oil in a pan and add the onion. Cook until the onion is softened, but not coloured. Add what is left from the lamb marinade in the bowl, any juices that have collected in the tray and the wine. If you feel there is not enough liquid, add some lamb stock.
14. Boil the gravy vigorously for a few minutes and then turn down and simmer until you are ready to serve - the liquid should reduce and thicken. If the gravy appears too thin, make a paste in a small bowl by mixing together a small amount of butter and flour with your fingers. Whisk the paste into the simmering gravy to thicken the gravy.
15. Serve the lamb in slices with the gravy poured over.



Callaloo-inspired greens
Ingredients

5 handfuls spring greens or fresh callallo or spinach
dash olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 bunch spring onions, chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
100ml/3½fl oz chicken stock (vegetarians can substitute with vegetable stock)
salt and freshly ground black pepper (or substitute the salt with soy sauce or tamari)

Method

1. Wash the greens under a cold tap. Drain them well, then chop roughly and set aside.
2. Pour the olive oil into a heavy-based pan, add the crushed garlic and the spring onions. Cook for a few minutes until softened but not coloured, then add the chopped greens, a handful at a time.
3. If the pan starts to overflow, leave the greens for 1-2 minutes to cook down, then add the remainder.
4. After a few minutes of cooking, gradually add the vinegar and stock - don't add so much stock that the greens become soaked. Add salt (or soy sauce or tamari) and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
5. When the greens are tender and shiny, remove from the heat and transfer to a serving dish. Serve hot.



Roasted vegetable stack on griddled halloumi cheese with minted grapefruit dressing
Ingredients

1 each red, green, and yellow sweet peppers, quartered, seeds removed
1 medium aubergine, sliced in half lengthways
1 medium courgette, sliced in half lengthways
olive oil
1 x 250g/9oz block halloumi cheese
courgette flowers, for garnish (if available)
4 mint sprigs, to garnish
For the dressing
1 x 200ml/7fl oz pot low-fat crème fraîche
½ handful fresh mint, finely chopped
½ ruby grapefruit, juice and flesh
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
2. Place the prepared peppers, aubergine and courgette on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and roast for about half an hour, until the vegetables are tender and slightly crusty on the outside. Place the vegetables to one side.
3. Cut the halloumi lengthways into eight slices. Brush a griddle pan with oil and place over a medium heat. Place the halloumi on the griddle pan and cook until golden-brown on both sides.
4. Place a slice of halloumi on each of four plates and stack alternate slices of the vegetables on top. Finish with another slice of the cheese on top.
5. For the dressing, place the crème fraîche, mint, grapefruit juice and grapefruit flesh in a bowl. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
6. Serve the dressing alongside the vegetable stack garnished with courgette flowers (if using) and mint sprigs.

Hibiscus sorbet cocktail*
Ingredients
1 x 75g/2½oz sorrel
Honey, to taste
Maple syrup, to taste (alternatively replace the honey and maple syrup with sugar to taste)
Large handful ice
4 shots vodka
1 punnet frozen raspberries
1 punnet frozen tropical fruit
1 bottle rosé champagne or cava
1 bunch fresh mint
Dash lime juice
A few mint leaves
Angostura Bitters

Method
1. Boil a medium-sized kettle of water.
2. Place the sorrel in a large pan and pour in most of the kettle of boiled water.
3. Let the water cool, strain the flowers and discard them. Sweeten with honey and maple syrup to taste (or, if you prefer, just use sugar to taste).
4. Fill a blender with the ice, vodka, raspberries and tropical fruit and about 300ml/½ pint of the brewed hibiscus-flavoured water, then blend. (You can add a tablespoon of honey, syrup or sugar to the remaining brewed hibiscus and keep it in the refrigerator for a refreshing drink.) At this point it should have a slushy consistency.
5. To serve, pour the blended mix into a Martini glass until half-full, then top up with champagne (or cava). Add a dash of lime and garnish with a sprig of mint. Serve with a small spoon if desired or drink it like a frozen Margarita.


*For some reason, the link on BBC isn't working, but I found the recipe here.

Music Therapy with Miss Moon

This week's Music Therapy goes out to Keith Elam, aka Guru.

The internet is currently buzzing with the news of his death. Until this is confirmed, I will continue to pray for him and his family. I will also be rocking the best of GangStarr, starting with their collaboration with Neneh Cherry, "Sassy"

UPDATE 3/2/2010 - From mtv.com

Gang Starr MC Guru underwent successful surgery on Monday, according to DJ Premier. Premier, Guru's partner in the long-running hip-hop outfit, tweeted the news Tuesday morning (March 2), writing, ("good news: Guru surgery was successful, keep sending him love." Premier did not specify what the surgery was for or what the MC's current condition was, and spokespeople for Guru could not be reached at press time for further information on the rapper's medical condition.

Guru suffered what has been described as a massive heart attack over the weekend, and according to reports was in a coma as of Monday. Premier began offering updates on the surgery late Monday night, writing, "Guru still in surgery, keep on praying people, he will make it."

An unnamed source told AllHipHop.com that the rapper was doing "fine" and is expected to make a full recovery. "Guru is alive and recovering from his surgery. Doctors are expecting a full recovery luckily."

Music Therapy with Miss Moon

This song has been on my mind for the past few hours, so I figured that although its not the perfect "Music Therapy" song... But it's still dope as hell - because Neneh was telling a certain somebody (Not saying any names... but his name rhymes with Smenny Smavitz! lol) about himself and how he wasn't doing right! Gotta love sisterhood like that!



Neneh Cherry "Buddy X"

Music Therapy with Miss Moon

This song is really speaking to me right now. Shoot, EVERYBODY knows a Trouble Man! (Even if it's negative thoughts in your own head) I've been humming this track in all day... hoping that those "Can't, Won't, Don't" thoughts would vamoose!

And Speaking of Neneh Cherry....

... did y'all know she had an AMAZING cooking show on BBC with bestie Andi Oliver called "Neneh & Andi Dish It Up"?

I am a foodie. I love to cook, and I cannot wait to have my own place so I can entertain and have people over to sample my recipes.



This is my favorite episode of the show. I am going to make those ketchy-cola lamb ribs, man!!!

A Little [NENEH CHERRY] for a Saturday Night

Neneh Cherry is one artist that (if I could get away with it) I would remake her entire catalog of songs.. they're that dope!

It bugs me that when people talk about female rappers, her name never comes up. She's no Latifah, but she did have spitting skills and her own creative spin.