Can't let go -- but really want to

I’m in a bit of a quandary right now.
I still own cassette tapes.
I know I’m not the only one, but among my friends, I think I just might be.
What 8-tracks were to my parent’s generation, cassette tapes are to mine – classics. It took me a long while to switch to CDs. I told myself CDs weren’t as good as cassettes and I would never change over.
Obviously I got over that thinking. Sidebar, I was the same way with VHS tapes and DVDs. I didn’t make that switch until my sister bought me a DVD player for Christmas one year. Even then, it took a minute before I realized just how much better quality a DVD was.
I’m still trying to figure out why I’m holding on to these tapes, especially since I don’t have anything to play them on. A few months ago I replaced the cassette radio in my car with a CD/MP3 player, so there went my only avenue for playing a tape.
What am I to do with these cassettes?
There’s a record store where I live called Rasputin Music. They buy used CDs and DVDs. Their used section is outstanding and you generally can find that CD you’ve long forgotten about. You know the one you remember one day while you’re driving down the highway, listening to the radio and Troop’s All I Do Is Think of you comes on?
I had that happen to me with Intro – their first album. I have it on tape, but luckily Rasputin had it on CD.
They used to buy back tapes, but the last time I was in there, there wasn’t a cassette tape in sight. I wonder what they did with them. Hum, maybe they sent them to cassette tape heaven where they are now conversing with 8-track and reel-to-reel, reminiscing about the good ol’ days.
Anyone have any really good ideas on how I can dispose of such classics as Johnny Gill’s self-titled album, New Edition’s Under the Blue Moon, Kriss Krosses’ Da Bomb or Ex-Girlfriend’s X Marks the Spot? Wait, what in the heck did Ex-Girlfriend sing???
I can’t bring myself to throw these in the trash. I’m trying to be an environmentally conscious person, but really, what else can I do with them?

Hatin’ on J-i-l-l S-c-o-t-t

I am a huge fan of Jill Scott. Actually, I don’t think the word “huge” really captures how much I love Jill. Ever since the release of her classic Who Is Jill Scott: Words and Sounds, Volume I, I’ve been hooked.
I’ll admit, it took awhile before I was aware of who Jill Scott was. At the time I was heavily into Erykah Badu and wasn’t interested in anyone else.
Luckily, I opened my ears and embraced the music of a singer who can really “sang.” I probably listen to her at least once a day.
Her latest project, The Real Thing was the best album of 2007. From previous albums, you could tell Jill has a sensual side, but this album leaves no doubt about it. Just listen real closely to "Crown Royal," "Come See Me," "Epiphany" and "All I."
I’ve seen Miss Scott perform live on many occasions and each performance is better than the last. She’s on my list of top five best concerts of all time. When you go to a Jill Scott show, you get more than a performance – you walk out holding your head a little higher and your walk is a bit lighter.
After seeing her in 2001, a few girlfriends and I headed to a “special” store and bought some unmentionables because of the things Jill talked about. TMI, I know, but that’s how Jill makes you feel once you see her live.
In 2004, some friends and I went to see Jill on what was dubbed The Buzz Tour. Held at a standing-room only venue, she performed songs from her yet to be released album Beautifully Human: Words and Sounds Volume II.
The performance lasted a little more than an hour – leaving the entire audience wanting more. Hence, the reason it was called The Buzz Tour.
Afterwards, my friends and I hung around. Why, I have no idea because we usually beat the crowd out, but we stayed long enough to strike up a conversation with her band members (they were really cool).
Eventually, Jill came from backstage. She greeted us and we told her how much we liked her show and couldn’t wait for the album. She said there was room for improvement (we didn’t feel the same, but she would know better than we would).
She took a photo with us and that was that.
Fast forward to 2007, and one of these friends (she will remain nameless), has decided she doesn’t like Jill anymore because she wasn’t “nice” to us the night we met her. Confused, I called the other person who was there and asked if she remembered the event the same way I did. She did and said, “I don’t know what she’s talking about, but Jill was very kind and gracious.”
A few weeks ago, I was talking to the now non-Jill Scott fan about the BET Awards (read my previous blog). We were discussing performances and my friend stated that Jill’s performance wasn’t all that great. She continued on about what Jill was wearing (not flattering, she says). I thought the opposite and told her so.
Her reply? “You would think that because you like her.”
I shot back, “And you would think that because you don’t.”
A couple of days later, I was listening to Hate On Me, and it clicked – Jill wrote that song for people like my friend. “Hate on me/Hater/Now or later/cause I’m gonna do me/You’ll be mad baby.”
I’m not saying my friend was mad – she was expressing her opinion. But she definitely is a Jill Scott hater.
It’s cool though, because in my eyes, Jill will always be one of the best singers/poets/performers of my day, and the haters can “go head and hate!”

Upcoming concerts alert!

Aug. 16 at the Sleep Train Pavilion at Concord: JVC Jazz Festival starring George Benson, Boney James, Ramsey Lewis and Norman Brown’s Summer Storm (featuring Chante Moore, Paul Taylor & Alex Bugnon

Aug. 16 at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View: Rock the Bells Tour starring A Tribe Called Quest, Nas, Mos Def, The Pharcyde, Rakim, Method Man & Redman, Raekwon & Ghostface, Dead Prez and more.

Ticketmaster and those *^$#? fees!

As you can tell from the header, I’m a little peeved at Ticketmaster. I write this as I’m looking at my most recent purchase from their Web site.
Can someone please explain to me why the fees are so outrageous when you want to buy a concert ticket???
I know everyone charges fees, but my current beef is with Ticketmaster.
I recently purchased tickets to Musiq and Ledisi at the Warfield in San Francisco on Sept. 18. I had no choice but to buy them online.
I’m the queen of not paying services fees. I avoid them at all costs. I make every effort to go to the venue and buy the tickets in person.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to do that this time. The Warfield is only open 1½ hours before show time, and I’m also the queen of getting the best seats possible (after sitting in the front row dead center at a concert last year, I’m hooked. See photo at right).
Waiting until the day of the show to buy my tickets is never an option.
The original price of the ticket was $37.50. But wait, there’s that “convenience charge” of $9.60. Oh, hold up, one more fee – an order processing fee of $2.55. My ticket went from $37.50 to $49.65 just like that. Times that by two and it’s $99.30. Almost $100 for two tickets that originally cost $75.
It just burns me up inside that I paid damn near $25 extra for some concert tickets!!! I really would like to know how they determine how much “extra” they are going to charge per ticket and why they continue to get away with gouging people’s wallet.
Ticketmaster is making a killing because they basically have a monopoly on the market. Everyone knows that when it comes to buying a ticket for anything – be it a concert, football game, symphony or ballet – the first place you check is Ticketmaster.
If they had more competition, the charges they saddle us with would have to come down.
Until then, every time I need to buy a ticket, I’ll try my best to find a way around using Ticketmaster.