u/stellarhymns

So as of late, this is actually been a dilemma for me because in early March I made a transition to vegetarianism, largely motivated by fitness goals, but the secondary and most strongest support actually came from reading On Abstinence by Porphyry, who’s primary argument as to why animal consumption is unlawful was that animals contain logos, and to eat a creature that contains logos is to violate divine order.

Now, I wasn’t set in stone about his interpretation, but it resonated enough with me to at least draw the conclusion that when it comes to appetite and our human need to fuel our bodies with sustenance, animal consumption ranks as the lowest level of virtue, because the consumption of dead flesh, souped up with spices and herbs signify submission to the fullest satisfaction of our desires, particularly the tormentor of lust.

But then, I was rereading the Stobaean Hermetica, in book 4, which states that non-human animals do not truly contain logos, and that which is mistaken for it is in actuality, instinct, and memory, which are natural animal impulses.

Since processing that, it’s put me in this place where I’m like, well, I can eat meat if I want to, and I really don’t like that place because I’ve been eating really clean, feeling light and strong without animal consumption, and the previous module I was operating under provided a more ontologically rooted restriction that compelled discipline for me that the are awareness of non-human animals not containing logos does not. Full transparency, I wrote this after I was contemplating ordering five guys for the first time in four months 😳for now I’m going to continue exercising continence!

So basically, what I gather is that, eating animals is not an inherently irreverent or disruptive to divine order, but, because of the intensity of desire it signifies, it does represent momentary submission to the tormentor of lust, which it would seem that in pursuit of the highest virtue within us, we should thrive to spiritually grow out of.

What do you all think?

She only had one album in 1994, and out of the 11 tracks (excluding the filler intermissions) I think several of those records could’ve made her a force in the genre of R&B had she been properly pushed, namely, Follow My Heart, Together Forever, True 2 Me & Take It Slow. I don’t particularly think that she sounds like anybody else from the time, and her vocal skills are clearly off the charts.

I think she definitely could’ve competed with Brandy, Monica, 702, and Immature.

Have you heard of her? What do y’all feel about her music?

This is my first year gardening without the assistance of my ex wife, and I admittedly have struggled to maintain consistency in tending to the current crops I planted this spring (tomato, beets, squash). I mean, as it is, I didn’t even use new soil, and have not been regularly watering them, but somehow, corn and amaranth that I planted last year has begun to grow?

Honestly, this has sparked a new level of motivation for me to really take gardening seriously on my own, because theoretically, I understand just how important this practice is, but like many others I have disassociated from confronting my reliance on convenience that humanity as a whole has come to.

Can someone explain why crops I planted a year ago are suddenly growing, but the ones that I planted this year, have not?

Also, are there any books or information channels that anybody would suggest to provide comprehensive gardening knowledge?

Thank you!

I’ve been thinking about it, and I think the answer is yes.

In simple when you go through their history, their first record “Shout!” was Rock&Roll. Then their second hit “Twist & Shout” was Rock&Roll. Then their third and first major pop hit “It’s your Thing” was a funk/Rock&Roll.

Then in the 70s when Ernie joined the group, the Rock&Roll element become significantly more potent. It should be clear that Ernie Isley is one of the greatest electric guitarists of all time as it is, but also, a couple of the groups biggest hits in the 70s were covers of soft rock records such as “Summer Breeze” and “Hello It’s Me”. I think the awareness of them being a rock band often escapes our attention due to the fact that Ronald has such a deep vocal repertoire (doesn’t seem like there was a technique he could not perform), ultimately rooted in gospel vocal tradition, and then, with the addition of Chris Jasper (along with Ernie’s songwriting), with his classical music education, brought the smooth R&B & Quiet Storm sound via arrangements and songwriting that they are most recognized for (Footsteps in the Dark, At Your Best, Voyage to Atlantis, Lets Fall in Love, Choosey Lover, Between The Sheets).

I recently made a post positing the Isley Brothers as the greatest group of all time, not only due to the excellent timeless records they created, which forever changed the music landscape, but most importantly because they were able to sustain their presence across eight decades, seamlessly slipping in and out of genres in a way that you would never imagine that they were experimenting…

But here I just wanna point out that I believe that another layer of their greatness and uniqueness is that they were a rock ‘n’ roll band, who evolved with the times, and performed R&B records. Just to put something in perspective, legendary groups, like the O’Jays, The Delfonics, Jackson 5 and even EWF dominated the 70s, but none of them ever really tried to do rock ‘n’ roll, and it might not have worked had they did (takes nothing away from them of course).

Anyways, mine were heard, what are y’all thoughts?

Joe has an amazing 1993 Debut Album that no one talks about 😳

I didn’t discover this album until late and when I did, I was both confused and amazed…

For one, Ytf, despite being 33, had I never heard any of these records, either on the radio, from someone’s car, or even in the house? I like everyone else thought that his recording career began in 1996 with \*All The Things\* as featured on the Don’t be a Menace Soundtrack, but one day when I was listening to his later music, I decided to research his origins, only to find out that in August of 1993, he quietly dropped his debut album \*Everything\* on the Polygram recording label.

Listening to the album, which features heavy production and songwriting output of Joe himself, along with legend Dave Hall, besides \*Baby Don’t Stop\*, \*Do Me\* and the album titled track, the remaining 9 out of 12 records are amazing songs, and imo, the best display of his vocal abilities he’s ever recorded. By comparison, it’s a way better album than that of his comptempories H-Town’s same year debut \*Fever for da Flavor\* which was undeniably carried by their classic hit \*Knoccin da Boots\*. Of worthy note also, the album dropped before both Kellz and Aaron Halls debut solo records of the same year.

To my point though, I never hear any of Joes debut album tracks in any r&b playlists from the era, which honestly leads me to believe that the album was significantly under promoted, more than it being the case that people didn’t like it because how? You would think that with his late 90s and onward success people would reach back into his catalog and put a spotlight on his debut, but nah, not even from him. I can only wonder as to why. I asked my mom why she never played his early music and she said she didn’t even know it existed. It goes to show that back then if you didn’t get your music properly promoted, it would be as if it never existed, being that there was no Internet to search up underground music.

Have any of you heard this Joes debut album?

If so, do you think it’s some of Joe’s best yet underrated work?

Would you add any of the records to your 90s playlist?

As the title requests, I like some feedback on my falsetto.

Song: Friend of Mine, Kelly Price Ft. Ronald Isley & R. Kelly

Is the Isley Brothers the greatest group of all time?

To me, the answer is the undoubtably yes.

Who else in music history has had such a long-standing career, with hit records, whether pop smashes, or permanently resonated cultural main stays in every decade since the 1950s?

Perhaps most impressive about them is their genre bending, how each time they shifted with the evolution of sound, they adapted effortlessly and never sounded out of their element (well maybe alittle bit during their early to mid 80s disco efforts).

Many don’t know that the breakout success of the Beatles in 1964 was on the basis of their covering the Isley Brothers 1962 hit version of Bert Russel’s “Twist and Shout”, and also, their cover of the brothers 1959 classic hit “Shout” the same year.

Let’s look at their across the decades and the genres they spanned:

1959: Shout, Rock and Roll, Doo-Wop

1962: Twist and Shout, Rock and Roll, R&B

1969: It’s your thang, P-Funk, R&B

70s: Summer Breeze, Got Work To Do, Footsteps in the Dark, Voyage to Atlantis, For The Love of You, At Your Best, Make Me Say it Again, That Lady, Groove With You, Fight The Power (spanning R&B, Soul, Rock ‘n’ Roll, and Funk)

1980: Don’t Say Goodnight, Soul

1983: Choosey Lover & Between The Sheets, Quiet Storm

Then group experienced a drought for some years due to the departure of Chris Jasper, who was a significant writing contributor to the group, with primary responsibility for many of their hits from the 70s up until the point of departure in 1984. The late 80s saw the Ronald for the first time in his career doing some non-group specific collaborative work with Angela Winbush, which brought about the Quiet Storm and R&B classics Lay Your Troubles Down and Hello Beloved.

Then… here comes 1995, and the infamous you know who not merely revived the Isley Brothers, but successfully incorporated them into the mid 90s R&B sonic landscape, making the Brother’s iconic in the hip-hop R&B fused era with major hit (reached #4 on the pop charts) record “Down Low”.

Then in 98, again with the pen and production of Kellz, Ronald collaborated with Kelly Price on Friend Of Mind, which became a major success (#15 on the pop charts). Mind you, Ronald Isley is 57 years old at this time. Another doing it like this this long into their career.

Now we get into the 2000s, and again, with the elite pen and production of that guy, we get the eternally iconic and legendary 2001 record “Contagious”. I don’t need to speak on how significant this record is we all know it!

With all that being said, who else besides this group, has been able to sustain a multi genre and multigenerational career with hits in six decades?

And if no one else has, can we conclude that they are the goat?

Any feedback is welcome.

No auto pitch correct. Just slight cathedral effect (echo/reverb).