Comments on: The Happiest Halloween

By: Wendy

Wendy — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 13:36:45 +0000

Nerd Girl, I’m telling you Laura better stay sharp!

By: Dj

Dj — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 23:42:57 +0000

Ben Harper, where do I begin….High tide or low tide is an awesome song. I will be singing and performing his ‘Forever’ song in two weeks at my friends weddings. If you haven’t heard ‘Forever’ you haven’t heard the best of Ben Harper. Jack Johnson is remarkable also, as you all may already know Ben discovered him. I would love to see them in concert. Speaking of concerts, Alice Smith was at World Cafe Live here in Philly on Halloween night! She is sooo pretty!

By: Nerd Girl

Nerd Girl — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 15:16:24 +0000

Bella – Ben was a genuinely nice guy in high school – I think he graduated 2 years ahead of me. I had a crush on him then and it seems to have lasted for 20+ years! He’s got 2 younger brothers and they’re both talented artists (visual) as well. Just a great family all around. LOL at Wendy “. . .should things not work out with Laura Dern.”

By: Wendy

Wendy — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 12:02:13 +0000

Ben Harper is so cool, I was lucky enough to catch him at the Brixton Academy in London. I was a couple rows from the front. His voice is stunning at the best of times, but when he told the band to cut the music so he could sing ‘I’ll Rise’ accapella, it was too beautiful for words. Thanks for posting the video. I’m just waiting in the wings should things not work out with Laura Dern!!

By: Zoe

Zoe — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 11:48:13 +0000

thanks for another great post. i was first introduced to ben harper’s music when i was studying abroad in france almost ten years ago. he was a superstar there and he was selling out stadiums all over the country!! apart from me in the audience, all the black folk were up on stage! i have found the same to be more or less true at the many roots concerts i’ve been to. ?uestlove mentioned in “dave chappelle’s block party” that all of the artists featured in that documentary shared the experience of coming from a different cultural background than their fan base. i thought it was a funny thing to say (given i think of myself as firmly part of that fanbase) until seeing the audience make-up for myself. and artists like the roots, erykah, jill et al. more readily fit into genres we define as hip hop or r&b. it seems even more difficult for artists such as ben harper, alice smith (the list is very long) to be played on black radio stations or to have substantial black audiences at their live gigs.

By: argo2d

argo2d — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 06:24:41 +0000

made my day!! truly awesome voices

By: sbgatewood

sbgatewood — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 19:38:47 +0000

Thank you for sharing, the song lifted my spirits today. Since the kids in my neighborhood were out trick or treating, a group of teenagers decided to spray paint all of the cars on my block.

By: Ami Jane

Ami Jane — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 18:11:23 +0000

I know you are gonna laugh, but i’m still trying to figure out which one Ben Harper is! Sounds good though. I’m guessing the lead guitarist is the dude:)
Thanks for sharing!

By: afrobella

afrobella — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 16:09:50 +0000

I do, nearandfar. I was being facetious. I don’t think it should be that way, you know? I see Ben Harper in an almost a Marleyesque, Stevie Wonderish light, almost – his music has deep messages, and he doesn’t stick to a genre, he’s out of the box. And because of that, I couldn’t even tell you a Miami radio station that would play his music. It’s also something I’ve noticed when I’ve seen artists like Robert Randolph and the Family Band, and Sharon Jones.

By: nearandfar

nearandfar — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 15:06:11 +0000

bella,
Come now, you know why that is.