A special shout out goes to creative cupcake wonder that is known as Kelly. She loves to create some delicious baked goods and I’m planning on kidnapping her for an Oscar party next year. But that’s another story. She gets a shout out for her taste in music and indirectly introducing me to an artist named Mayer Hawthorne. I viewed a music video she posted earlier this week on Facebook, and I rarely ever look at the videos people post unless curiosity strikes.
Well, Indoobians, curiosity struck. The title of this song is called “I Wish It Would Rain.”
Naturally, being an old school, Motown, classic soul and R&B fan, I assumed this would be a cover of The Temptations hit. Oh, how mistaken I was. Pleasantly mistaken, I might add. Not only is this an original song, but it’s done in a style that I think anyone that calls them self a fan of that 60’s Detroit sound would appreciate. It only got better as I looked into this guy’s catalogue (I only checked out a couple more song that lead me to the conclusion that I must own this guy’s album ASAP).
But before I go on to talk about his other songs, I just love the simplicity of this video. Then I saw this one. (Truth be told, it was in reverse order. I saw “Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out” first.)
Again, I’m loving the video. It does make me think of Kanye in image alone from his 808s and Heartbreak album. But unlike that album, I love Mayer’s voice.
However the song as of today (within the past three days actually) that has received the most repeat plays on my iPod is “Your Easy Lovin’ Ain’t Pleasin’ Nothin’.” I blame the beat. Definitely a groove I’m feeling and love. I’m just so glad there are other artists out there that can get this music right and bringing it into our era. Kudos regularly goes to Raphael Saadiq, Joss Stone, Maxwell and Leela James for keeping that old soul still feeling fresh and new. It’s great I can add Mayer Hawthorne to this list. Anyway, enjoy the live version of the song getting the most heavy rotation as the week closes out. Click on the picture to buy the album from Amazon. It’s a good price, so support this artist today! I dare you to not sing and clap along!
the indoob! network 
[…] Mayer Hawthorne – A Strange Arrangement A very pleasant and welcoming surprise to my ears and my soul. The only bad thing about this album, some how I associate it with rain. Not necessarily because of one of the songs dealing with rain, but the first night I listened to it, it was raining all night long and all day the next day. But it kept me in such a happy mood that I wanted to listen to it when it was sunny… and the sun didn’t come back out for another week or so. Sometime later, I felt like hearing him again, and it was raining… so I decided to wait. It was strange indeed, and now whenever it rains, I think about this album. I’ve since listened to it on sunny days, so all is well. And I’m eagerly awaiting a next album. I don’t keep tabs on this guy like I should, but I can guarantee his next album will also be on Heavy Rotation. […]