Toni, Toni, Toni!!!

I must admit, at first I wasn't feeling Toni Braxton's latest CD, "Pulse," but I was sold on "Make My Heart" from day one. And Bille Woodruff, you are the boy! That video is hot!!! It's nice to see some real choreography and video direction for a change. And Toni. Girl! You're sexy as ever in that black catsuit! (Meow!)

There is something amazing about the "Pulse" CD. In comparison to most music being produced today, this CD contains REAL SONGS WITH REAL LYRICS!!! This is truly a grown folks' CD. And a word of advice to any man (or woman) out there who wants to know how to truly love a woman, I say, LISTEN TO THE LYRICS ON THIS ALBUM AND YOU'LL LEARN!!! (And listen to Chante Moore's "Love the Woman" as back-up and you'll be a pro!)

Now the highlights on this CD are: "Make My Heart" (can you say, repeat?), "Why Won't You Love Me?," "Hero," "Wardrobe," "Hands Tied," and "Pulse," but hey, just play it all the way through, let Toni serenade you, and you'll be fine.

And damn you, iTunes for all of those hot exclusive tracks! "The Wave" is a killer, but you can't buy it separately, and I had to have a physical copy of the album so if anyone out there has that track, can you send it to me, please?

In the meantime, check out my favorite video of the moment. Ooh, Toni! Show these young girls what looking good looks like when you age like fine wine! YOU make my heart go bump, bump!

And thank you for bringing the short hair back! The shaved sides are divine!

Toni's "Make My Heart" Video

Auto-Tuned Out

Okay, back in the day when Roger Troutman and Zapp made classics like "More Bounce to the Ounce" and "Computer Love," Roger had a tube hanging out his mouth called a vocoder that gave his group a distinctive sound. Today, it's called "auto-tune," and frankly, I'm auto-tuned out.

It was cute for a minute with T-Pain, and worked on the a, a, a, a, a, alcohol jam with Jamie Foxx, but now it seems like EVERYBODY wants to be auto-tuned and do corny pop music and to me, it's starting to sound played out. I mean, Tyrese, what's up with you? Now YOU'VE gone pop and got auto-tuned when you have a soulful voice and can actually sing? Mary J., you don't need to be auto-tuned either. Give us another one of those "you're wrong!" songs and belt it from your diaphragm like you know how!

And music industry, stop having everybody do the same thing! Let the real singers sing. Let those who can't, dance. And can we please let auto-tune be a thing of the past?

Just a thought. If anyone agrees or disagrees, please let me know.