My Library Visit: Rap & R&B, Snoop Dogg & Solomon Burke

Its funny how a visit to a library will remind me to listen to a record I meant to listen to two years ago but never did.Usually my library visits are pretty uneventful, but this time around when I walked into the mezzanine upon arrival there were library cops everywhere staring everyone down. A little later I went to the literature section to peruse the new releases and overheard a conversation between a librarian and a cop about all the commotion, apparently a library patron refused to get off a library computer after his alotted time on it was up, and he made quite a 'to-do' about it! Threatening people and everything! Scary!Another time I went to the library on one of my regular visits and I noticed lots of limos parked in front, and then saw the parking lot entrance I usually go into was blocked off. I was directed to an alternate (and less convenient to me) entrance on the other side of the building and when I finally got inside the building there were more people there than I've ever seen before, walking around and talking too loud. After I got my cds and was walking back outside through the mezzanine there I saw, surrounded by a small crowd of people and several cops, none other than Snoop Dogg! A living musical legend not ten feet away from me! I continued on outside and had just opened the door to the parking lot stairwell when I heard some voices and looked behind me and there was Snoop, accompanied by a few people and what looked like a bodyguard, walking quickly towards me. I stepped out of the way so they could pass me (they were moving pretty fast) and watched them descend the stairs into the mysterious florescent-lit underground pathway that carries the stars to destiny. Anyways, back to the original purpose of this post. First of all, I've streamlined my choosing of music at the library. Instead of just wandering around the different sections looking for cds that catch my eye, I've decided to start choosing from a different section everytime I visit. My last visit was from the rap section. I didn't find anything particularly religious or spiritual there, except for MC Solaar's 'Prose Combat' which I actually owned about 10 years ago but has since disappeared from my collection. The next section over was R&B (my library has a three-cd limit for checking out cds), and two particular cds presented themselves to me, Sammy Davis, Jr.'s disc 3 from the box set 'Yes I Can!' which I'm working on completing, and Solomon Burke's 2005 'Make Do With What You Got'. I saw Solomon Burke promoting this cd around the time it came out on one of the late-night TV talk shows and I was impressed with his sincere religious views and words of wisdom. Starting out as a preacher, Burke has been a superstar of the blues, soul, and country genres for decades, although he's never abandoned his religious roots. The songs on this cd range from electric guitar-powered rock 'n blues to scorching soul ballads with female backing vocals and beautiful guitar solos, all with poignant, meaningful, and spiritual messages. My favorite track is 'Wealth Won't Save Your Soul'. Amen.Next visit: New Age music!Most libraries have great cd collections representing music from all over the world, available for perusal (for free) to anybody who has a library card.For more information on how I listen to my iTunes, please see my "previous post":http://mog.com/Josh_Haden/blog_post/13790.