1961 The Simms Twins, Soothe Me. Bo Diddley, Pills. Bo Diddley and Sam Cooke moonlighted as record producers: Diddley cut his own records at home, while Cooke ran his own independent label, SAR, with such assured taste that SAR could have become a rival to Stax/Volt had Cooke not died in 1964. SAR, founded in 1959 with Cooke's friend J.W. Alexander, recorded gospel (Cooke's old group, the
HELP John Lennon The Complete Home Recordings [Unreleased] HELP ME Ray Sharpe w/the King Curtis Orchestra feat. Jimi Hendrix Atco : 1966 Available on: Blues & Soul Power Atlantic : 2003 [Buy It] HELP THE BEAR Ted Taylor Atco : 1966 Available on: Blues & Soul Power Atlantic : 2003 [Buy It] WATCH THE DOG Sandy Gaye Moonshot : c.1969 [Out of [...]
Question: Who is this quote describing?: "He doesn't want to be our congressman anymore. It's clear he's left the building. The guy's got Hollywood fever, and that would be fine if he was using his national stature to actually get things done." That is a quote from Cleveland City Councilman Joe Cimperman, describing Dennis Kuchinich who is having some trouble holding on to his seat in Congress. Cimperman is running against everyone's favorite peacenik in the Democratic primary...and he is actually doing pretty well. The Flaming Lips [...]
Some great William F. Buckley books and a musical counterargument: Miles Gone By: A Literary Autobiography Yeah Yeah Yeahs -- Miles Away [from the original Yeah Yeah Yeah's EP. ] Cancel Your Goddamn Subscription: Notes & Asides from the National Review Beck -- Canceled Check [from the Mutations album.] God and Man at Yale Sam & Dave -- Soul Man [from the Stax 50th Anniversary Celebration .] [...]

We'd never tested the Mayer Unit more than when we asked it for the top five songs of 1966. It was a truly ridiculous year for music, with Pet Sounds , Blonde On Blonde and Revolver released, Motown and Stax in full effect, Neil Diamond constantly delivering infectious melodies, Tim Buckley getting going, and Otis Redding taking full advantage of the second last year of his life. 1. MP3: The Beatles - "Got To Get You Into My Life" (from Revolver , 1966). 2. [...]

During the early to mid-1980's, my mom worked in the speaker assembly plant for H.H. Scott, one the of pioneering manufacturers of stereo components (long since absorbed into the Emerson brand). I'm sure I still have one of the company's promo t-shirts, emblazoned with the very classy tagline "SCOTT PUTS OUT" (front) "HIGH FIDELITY COMPONENTS" (back)" in a storage crate up in the attic somewhere. One of the perks that came with the job was access to deep discounted audio gear, stuff that had either been discontinued, used as demo models, or experienced some minor cosmetic wear, and [...]

Stax Marquee You can't take two proverbial steps around the blog-o-sphere without running into a Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings song. And to be truthful, I've got nothing bad to say about that. Their music doesn't just sound retro - I'm convinced that somehow Sharon is channeling genuine soul music from the 60's that was mistakenly unreleased by Stax Records and is manifesting itself through her. I'm sure of it. That being said, if you've been groovin' to Sharon, [...]
Happy Thanksgiving. Download: "Carvin' The Bird" mp3 by Charlie Parker Septet, 1947. available on The Legendary Dial Masters Vol. 1-2 "Bird's Nest" mp3 by Charlie Parker Quartet, 1947. available on The Legendary Dial Masters Vol. 1-2 [...]

On the second day, he died and was risen from the dead. And then on the eighth day, he disappeared, with the frat boy and the bird. Like some f*d up holy trinity (yes, my altar boy is showing.) The lines and circle stick men are propogating, while the crazy characters surrounding to Shaun find themselves confronting their worst fears. Shaun being gone is already Cissy's worst fear. Mitch, Tina, Freddy, Barry, the Doctor and Bill all get in touch on their fears. Those closest to John (Kai and Butchie) see it in a [...]

My second scheduled vacation for 2007 has begun with the roar of a cantankerous lawn mower and the rumbling of thunderstorms headed this way. As the morning's yardwork has left me feeling completely thrashed and the potential for nasty motherboard-frying surges is limiting the time spent on the computer today, I figured I'd use this opportunity to give my answers to the "Name five to ten songs that have impacted your life" meme AC tagged me with. This was harder to compile than expected, as "significant" is a much different creature than "favorite." Most [...]
Prenez deux gamins qui n'ont pas peur de vociférer un bon coup, quitte à mettre du postillon un peu partout autour d'eux. Prenez un producteur capable de réduire un morceau de Sam & Dave à sa plus simple expression, tout en puissance brute, rien pour le décorum. Touillez. Et vous obtenez certes un des anthems les plus connus du hip-hop made overseas, mais aussi un pur moment de rock'n'roll. C'est un cri, pas un chant. C'est de l'énergie pure, un truc qui renverse des barrières et se propage sur (...)
School - Nirvana School Spirit - Kanye Teach Me Tonight - Joe Williams Teach (How I Love My Teacher) - Louis Jordan Hot For Teacher - Van Halen Verb, That's What's Happening - Zachary Saunders Stay In School - [...]
The music world has lost a true pioneer. Phil Walden passed away on Sunday after a long battle with cancer. You may not recognize his name, but you do know the names of the artists that he helped build careers in the music business. Otis Redding...Al Green...Percy Sledge...Sam and Dave. And that's just the tip of the ice cube in your iced tea! Phil Walden founded Capricorn Records in 1969 in Macon, Georgia. That music label helped define a generation of southern rock bands like the [...]