Last year we had two compilations of classic Christmas soul (plus one featuring newer stuff); here is a third volume. It kicks off with a spoken intro by The Jackson 5 . Jermaine is crying – and the manner in which that is established always makes my smile – and he needs yuletide comforting. Wonderful stuff. Towards the middle we get socially conscious. Stevie Wonder , still just 17 years old, hopes for no hunger and no tears, but for peace and equality of man. Then the Harlem Children's Choir , who sound rather older [...]
We're probably the last people on the Internet to have anything to say about Drake 's now month-old (counting its initial full leak) Take Care , which really has less to do with any serious Drake-hate emanating from these parts of the Web as much as it does the exhaustion from even thinking about having to sit through an entire album revolving around whatever too much money/ too much fame/ too many women issues Drizzy is moping about now. Sure, the man is always good for a verse that's more clever than [...]
The first Christmas soul mix was very popular. Thank you to all the kind people who took the time to say nice things about it (and about my efforts here in general). Comments are always appreciated. As I pointed out in the blurb for the first mix, I held back a lot of great stuff for the follow-up. So this one might be even better than the first compilation. You be the judge of that. Be advised that in this batch are a couple of tracks that might not appeal to your mother: Rufus Thomas (Carla's [...]
"If I ever write anything, I'll write about what I know and it will be real." - Tony Joe White, from a recent interview. Tony Joe White - Music - Arts - History - Kris Kristofferson
No, folks, I have not given up on this blog. I sincerely apologize for not living up to this blog's name this year. You'd think at least one post a month would be easy enough. For various reasons that I won't bore you with, I just wasn't able to. My second job has taken up so much more time this year than it did last year. Which is a good thing...extra money is always good. It seems in today's economy you either are out of work or you are working more for the same [...]
Department of Musical Project Compost Pile(s) / part 2. Here are some floor sweepings from an experiment planned for several years: To create a bizarre and multi-artist inclusive METAVERSION/crashup of the song Boll Weevil Blues . Last year I finally did create a first attempt at melting down all of my ideas for this song into a piece, but I'm not terribly impressed with my first try (despite it's imminent release); so here are some of the raw components for you to play with to create your OWN sick remix of BOLL WEEVIL. The song has [...]
I haven't forgotten... Alabama - Neil Young Kicking off the list is a demanding job, but Alabama does us proud with lots of songs to choose between (go here for another two...or at least two different versions of the same song). Neil Young takes us in his very capable hands to start proceedings. Lynard Skynard and Sweet Home Alabama were never really seriously entertained. North to Alaska - Johnny Horton Alaska was another state that I tackled over at Star Maker Machine - so head... Please visit Ceci [...]
Continuing our summer celebration of Christmas! These are just some of my most favorites of my favorites so far this year. 7) Merrill Osmond-A Very Merry Christmas From the 1976 Osmond Christmas Album. The Osmonds have always brought great Christmas music to our ears, much like Lawrence Welk. I feel not much of it gets heard these days (like with Welk's Christmas music) because times have changed, people associate the name with something outdated, but man...this sounds as fresh and as invigorating to me as anything released recently. [...]
Alright, now that I've got all that Raconteurs business out of my system, here's a post that's long overdue. I first caught wind of UK hip hop artist DJ Format about 5 years ago when the music video for We Know Something You Don't Know made the internet rounds. Breakdancing mascots is all you need to know. It wasn't until a couple years later when I saw the music video for 3 Feet Deep and began to take notice. After some, uh, "scrounging" I listened to a few more DJ Format [...]
Brook Benton was a R&B, soul, gospel, and rock'n'roll (and disco) artist who wrote songs for Nat King Cole and others, and had a total of 49 Billboard chart hits, some of which you might have heard, like his most famous one, 'Rainy Night in Georgia' . What I'm posting is not one of those hits, nevertheless it's one of my favorites. It's a cover of a song you've heard a trillion times before, but maybe not this version. The lush production was a standard for him, and his rich voice, the tremolo strings, the groove, the [...]
you guys getting sick of christmas music yet?...well, here's our final mix of the season, featuring some pretty good tracks from leon russell, thad cockrell & roman candle, brook benton, t. rex & a killer version of "auld lang syne" from forgotten seattle funk band, black on white affair...i hope you've all enjoyed the abundance of leather canary xmas mixes over the past month, & if you haven't checked out the first six, there are links at the bottom of the post...i'm out of here until the new year, have a happy holiday & thanks for stopping by. [...]
I'm sure most of you have heard the news, godfather of producers, Ahmet Ertegun has passed away recently. He was one of the most influential producers & talent seekers in the music biz, and also a visionary and a benovelent figure who constantly helped young musicians and indie labels. Truly an inspirational figure and an American success story, just like his brother and partner in crime Nesuhi Ertegun . Also he's probably one of the most successful & influential Turks ever to mark his place in the international society and I thought a small tribute [...]
Paul Davis - A Little Bit of Soap (palmsout.blogspot.com) Chris Thile - Heart In A Cage (stereogum.com) Fat Joe - Make It Rain (Feat. Lil' Wayne) (still-listen.com) Yo La Tengo - Sometimes I Don't Get You (saidthegramophone.com) Brook Benton - Chains of Love (tuwa.blogspot.com) The Hollies - King Midas in Reverse (stylusmagazine.com) Django Reinhardt - Georgia On My Mind (stylusmagazine.com) TV
Brook Benton -- Chains of Love Brook Benton -- Got You on My Mind Brook Benton was a baritone known for his smooth R&B tracks, his sassy duets with Dinah Washington, and his melancholy song "Rainy Night in Georgia." His work on Singing the Blues is unlikely to impress listeners expecting a "pure" blues record--the guitar tends towards rhythmic accents, not minor keyed progressions and scorching solos; the vocals are more hot chocolate with marshmallows than unsweetened dark chocolate; the tracks [...]
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WFMU's Beware of the Blog
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Diplo - "Climax" (MP3 Stream)
