There is a temptation to talk about this national day of mourning, and then there is the temptation to completely ignore it, and just post more porno pics, or pornographic self-pics. I even began a what-should-Reagan-have-said speech in my mind, but nothing is quite coming together. I think I'll just post these two tunes from the RED HOT + RIOT Fela tribute album that was released in late 2002. Both tunes are fantastic, but each has a very different feel -

• By Your Side - a reworking of a Sade song, caught me quite by surprise, as I'm not a fan of her work. But it's uplifting and nourishing and the same time.
• Trouble Sleep is the amazing last track from the album, from Baaba Maal + Taj Mahal.

The power of both tunes together is that somehow, for me anyway, even when I can't understand the specific words, is that the vocals somehow speak to universals - mourning, friendship, love, loss, despair, hope.