Welcome to Episode #25 of the 90s State of Mind podcast - a collaborative project between 4ever in Electric Dreams and Blue-in-Green:RADIO. This podcast series sees Imran (London, UK) and Rhonda (California, USA) delve into some of their favourite releases from the 90s and for this episode, the pair celebrate the timeless and pioneering music of D'Angelo.

Michael Eugene Archer - better known as D'Angelo - sadly passed away 14th October 2025.  Following the success of albums 'Brown Sugar' (1995), 'Voodoo' (2000) and 'Black Messiah' (2014), D'Angelo went on to achieve widespread acclaim and be heralded as ushering in the introduction of neo-soul, opening the door to artists including Erykah Badu, Bilal and Jill Scott.  As a Grammy-winning artist, Billboard named him one of the greatest R&B artists, while Rolling Stone magazine ranked him as one of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time. In 2025, D'Angelo was inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame.

Imran & Rhonda delve deep into D'Angelo's music, exploring each of his three album releases, numerous collaborations and b-sides, plus they regard his efforts within the wider context of contemporary soul.

Blue-in-Green:RADIO is a London-based online internet radio station which celebrates 21st century soul, jazz, funk, Latin & hip-hop music.

www.blueingreenradio.com
TuneIn: bit.ly/2LBK0BD

Welcome to Episode #13 of the 4ever in Electric Dreams & CONFESSIONS OF A CURLY MIND co-production - Supple & Lean | A Geekcast.

Presented by Imran Mirza from London, UK, and Vahé Vishapakagh Koshayan from Melbourne, Australia, for this episode we dive into two cult classics: Jim Jarmusch’s Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999) and Keanu Reeves’ directorial debut Man of Tai Chi (2013).  Ghost Dog blends hip-hop, samurai philosophy and mafia codes in a meditative hitman tale starring Forest Whitaker while Man of Tai Chi brings Keanu to the director's chair — and into the villain role — in a slick martial arts flick about fighting, morality and spiritual discipline in modern-day China.

We unpack the East-meets-West aesthetics, the existential questions and discuss why both films punch way above their weight in the action genre.

The show today features original music from Supple & Lean featuring Balogneous Monk with 'Run N' Cut Ya!'.

​Welcome to Episode #24 of the 90s State of Mind podcast - a collaborative project between 4ever in Electric Dreams and Blue-in-Green:RADIO. This podcast series sees Imran (London, UK) and Rhonda (California, USA) delve into some of their favourite releases from the 90s and for this episode, the pair celebrate the 1991 album from iconic soul singer Luther Vandross, 'Power of Love'.

'Power of Love' is the seventh studio album by Vandross, released by Epic on April 26, 1991, following the critical and commercial success of his sixth album 'Any Love' (1988). 'Power of Love' received critical acclaim from most critics, earning Vandross a number of awards and accolades including two American Music Awards and two Grammy Awards. It reached number seven on the US Billboard 200 album chart, while topping the Top R&B Albums chart for five nonconsecutive weeks. On the latter chart, it was Vandross's last number one for twelve years until Dance with My Father was released. The album was later certified double platinum by the RIAA.

Imran & Rhonda delve deep into the 90s gem exploring Vandross as an iconic presence for more than two decades, the making of 'Power of Love' along with the collaborators, singles and remixes.

www.blueingreenradio.com

Blue-in-Green:RADIO is a London-based online internet radio station which celebrates 21st century soul, jazz, funk, Latin & hip-hop music.

​Welcome to Episode #12 of the 4ever in Electric Dreams & CONFESSIONS OF A CURLY MIND co-production - Supple & Lean | A Geekcast.

Presented by Imran Mirza from London, UK, and Vahé Vishapakagh Koshayan from Melbourne, Australia, for this episode we descend into the shadowy realms of 'Dark City' and 'The Thirteenth Floor' — two cult gems of late-90s sci-fi that challenge our perception of reality itself. From simulated worlds to manipulated memories, we explore how these films construct elaborate deceptions around identity, freedom and the fragile boundaries between the real and the artificial. Join us as we unravel the layers of illusion and ask: if everything we know can be faked… what makes us real?

The show today features original music from Supple & Lean featuring The Strangeress with 'NPC Blues'.

Welcome to Episode #23 of the 90s State of Mind podcast - a collaborative project between 4ever in Electric Dreams and Blue-in-Green:RADIO. This podcast series sees Imran (London, UK) and Rhonda (California, USA) delve into some of their favourite releases from the 90s and for this episode, the pair celebrate the 1998 album from the neo-soul pioneer, D'Angelo's 'Live at the Jazz Cafe'.

Recorded in 1995 following the release of D'Angelo's debut full-length 'Brown Sugar', 'Live at the Jazz Cafe' is a live album by neo-soul luminary released on June 30, 1998, on EMI Records. It was later released in Japan on December 7, 1999, with a bonus track. The live recordings are taken from D'Angelo's appearance at the Jazz Café in London, England, on September 14, 1995. The album was subsequently re-issued in 2014 with a recording of the complete show, including previously unreleased tracks.

Imran & Rhonda delve deep into 90s classic looking at the musicians involved, discussing the various iterations of the album along with the overall mystique of D'Angelo: three studio albums over a period of thirty years is a mind-blowing statistic but again a testament to his music that fans still eagerly await a new release.

​Blue-in-Green:RADIO is a London-based online internet radio station which celebrates 21st century soul, jazz, funk, Latin & hip-hop music.

www.blueingreenradio.com

​Episode #72 of the Close Encounters of the Nerd Kind podcast sees Tee-J, Imran and Dan have a sit-down to discuss two of the WWE's most revered periods - the Attitude Era of the mid-late-90s and the current HHH/Netflix Era which continues to garner rave reviews as it pushed the WWE onto increasingly new heights in the post-Vince McMahon years.  The trio discuss a variety of matters from looking at the respective stars of each era, the representation of women in each, the tag divisions... and they even delve into the oh-so-important theme songs indicative of the time.

​Welcome to Episode #22 of the 90s State of Mind podcast - a collaborative project between 4ever in Electric Dreams and Blue-in-Green:RADIO. This podcast series typically sees Imran (London, UK) and Rhonda (California, USA) delve into some of their favourite releases from the 90s and for this episode but this episode sees the duo take the conversation in a slightly different direction than usual.

Today's episode finds Imran and Rhonda discussing Kate Nash's comments at the end of last year stating "The Music Industry Is Corrupt And Fails Artists Completely" - Nash made further headlines by admitting to raising money for her tour by providing "personal" pictures via her OnlyFans page.  While the news proved shocking to many, it also opened up conversation about the industry today so we discuss what the industry's responsibilities actually are to its artists and we also ask, with the burgeoning threat of AI, are big budget record labels and streaming services the real enemy anymore?

​Welcome to Episode #21 of the 90s State of Mind podcast - a collaborative project between 4ever in Electric Dreams and Blue-in-Green:RADIO. This podcast series typically sees Imran (London, UK) and Rhonda (California, USA) delve into some of their favourite releases from the 90s and for this episode but this episode sees the duo take the conversation in a slightly different direction than usual.

In a follow-up to episode #19 of our podcast series which delved into the monumental rivalry of hip-hop heavyweights Drake and Kendrick Lamar, Rhonda and Imran reconnect to discuss the events of early 2025 which saw Kendrick collect FIVE Grammy awards for 'Not Like Us' and then - a mere week later - perform what has since been dubbed the most watched Superbowl Halftime performance ever.  A celebrated performance which saw Kendrick litter his thirteen minutes with subtle, and not so subtle, Drake attacks throughout, we ask is there more to come from this rivalry, and examine what Drake would do next.

​Welcome to Episode #11 of the 4ever in Electric Dreams & CONFESSIONS OF A CURLY MIND co-production - Supple & Lean | A Geekcast.

Presented by Imran Mirza from London, UK, and Vahé Vishapakagh Koshayan from Melbourne, Australia, for this episode the duo delve into all things related to 'The Crow'.

With origins from James O'Barr's 1989 comic book series 'The Crow', the impassioned piece of work spawned its first on-screen iteration with the Alex Proyas-helmed movie in 1994.  Starring the dearly departed Brandon Lee in a career-defining performance, the film went on to achieve cult status and has been revered since its release now 31 years ago.  

Following the 1994 original, subsequent entries within the franchise were marked by 'The Crow: City of Angels' (1996), 'The Crow: Salvation' (2000) and 'The Crow: Wicked Prayer' (2005) with neither generating favourable reviews or the money required to really justify the iteration that would follow.  'The Crow: Stairway to Heaven' - the 1998 TV series - perhaps generated the most favourable reviews but didn't get the chance to continue their story with the planned second season which never came to fruition; yet more Crows followed with a mix of the stories recounting the forlorn tragedy of the ill-fated lovers Eric Draven and Shelly Webster amongst others who were wronged by the harsh cruelty of an unjust life. 

The 30 year milestone has been marked by the release of the latest iteration of the vengeful vigilante, this time with Rupert Sanders in the director's chair leading a cast of Bill Skarsgård, FKA Twigs and Danny Huston. 

With Vahé and Imran both long-time fans of the 1994 original, the time seemed right to have a lengthy chat about their affections for Proyas' masterpiece, delve into the comics for the first time and revisit the sequels and reboots in an incredibly expansive conversation into James O'Barr's incredible world.

The show today features original music from Supple & Lean featuring Shelly Draven with 'Your Dark Path'.

​2024 marked the 30-year anniversary of the masterpiece that is 'The Crow', originally released in 1994.  Directed by the visionary Alex Proyas and featuring a career defining performance from the dearly departed Brandon Lee, 'The Crow' has established itself as a timeless piece of work and an exquisite adaptation of James O'Barr's 1989 graphic novel origin.

The 30 year milestone has been marked by the release of the latest iteration of the vengeful vigilante, this time with Rupert Sanders at the helm leading a cast of Bill Skarsgård, FKA Twigs and Danny Huston.  It would be fair to cite the film as a critical and commercial failure seemingly putting a halt to any suggestion of a sequel that may or may not have been in the works.

But what makes 'The Crow' a franchise studios keep returning to?

Following the 1994 original, subsequent entries within the franchise were marked by 'The Crow: City of Angels' (1996), 'The Crow: Salvation' (2000) and 'The Crow: Wicked Prayer' (2005) with neither generating favourable reviews or the money required to really justify the iteration that would follow.  'The Crow: Stairway to Heaven' - the 1998 TV series - perhaps generated the most favourable reviews but didn't get the chance to continue their story with the planned second season which never came to fruition; yet more Crows followed with a mix of the stories recounting the forlorn tragedy of the ill-fated lovers Eric Draven and Shelly Webster amongst others who were wronged by the harsh cruelty of an unjust life.

It would be fair to cite The Crow as having fallen into a very specific template which sees the resurrected recount their respective tragedy, usually one associated with the crime-riddled inner city they resided in, adapt to their new persona and purpose and subsequently wreak vengeance on the criminal element one sinner at a time.

It's proved to be a template that binds each iteration of the character into a rhythm and routine that it should actually be free from.  The Crow's lore is established at the outset determining that there were numerous resurrected people prior to Eric and there would likely be numerous after which should afford the franchise the freedom to steer each story in a variety of different places and times - a remote French village in the 1930s should be as apt a setting as London in the 2930s.

​Despite the unbridled scope actually attached to the notion of each story, The Crow finds itself bound by those same freedoms placing each of our heroes in a long, black coat, white make-up and dark lipstick, navigating their way through a grimey inner city set against a heavy rock aesthetic.  The 2024 version of 'The Crow' may not have connected with audiences as studios would have hoped to but at the very least, they should be applauded for the creative steps taken to steer the story in a new direction.

Having said that, despite the new setting, background story, love attached to the original film, we are still inexplicably introduced to another version of Eric Draven and Shelly Webster despite them being completely different people - the reintroduction of the beloved couple may have served as the initial misstep in the reimagining of the story.

One of the most obvious changes to the aforementioned template is that we don't open the film with the resurrection of Eric Draven, which tends to happen within the first few minutes of the film.  In this version, we actually see the relationship of Eric and Shelly play out from the point of initially meeting all the way to their fabled end without the need to recount their story through flashbacks. 

We also see Skarsgård's Eric have his mission laid out to him by his guide, Kronos, with an almost trepidatious Eric somewhat hesitant about indulging in an epic killing spree.

Past iterations of The Crow have denied us the chance to *meet* our protagonist prior to his adoption of The Crow mantle with us only seeing glimpses of their past through flashbacks so it actually makes for an intriguing creative trope to be able to meet a shy, withdrawn and timid version of Eric prior to the transformation that awaits him.  

As I say, the film may have missed the mark in many areas but it still warrants points for finally generating an adaptation that embraces the freedoms it has had all along.  As an example, if we regard the lore around Batman - we have a young boy named Bruce Wayne whose parents are murdered on the streets of Gotham in front of him, he is then raised by his butler and finds a way to channel his rage via a commitment to the betterment of the city through life as a vigilante.  These are all rules that any Batman story has to be rooted in as a basis for any subsequent story it wishes to tell.  

On the other hand, the mysterious crow bringing the protagonist back from the dead is nearly the only rule the story has had to adhere to: the face paint, the clothing, the aforementioned template were only ever attributed to Eric Draven's story yet found itself the format for every iteration going forward.  As a devout fan of the 1994 version of 'The Crow', I doubt we'll ever see anything better but I also don't doubt that there's a sensational reimagining of the story that's waiting to be made.  It just needs to fall to the right storyteller.