"The Devil Gives Me Everything Except What I Need" --- Willy West & The High Society Brothers (zShare) "The Devil Gives Me Everything Except What I Need" --- Willy West & The High Society Brothers (UserShare) Since I haven't done an update in quite some time, I wanted to kick off today's post with something that would shake your bones and rattle your teeth...perhaps even remind you why you still stop by on occasion despite your host's inexcusable negligence and inhospitality. Some of the more industrious soul brothers have beaten me [...]
Soul children! Damn~ how we feelin' out there? Many of you wrote to me this summer to inquire as to my well-being, and as always, I sincerely appreciate the show of love and support! Once again, however, I find myself in the unfortunate position of having to dispel an abundance of mythology and urban legends surrounding my sudden disappearance. To set the record straight, I haven't choked to death on a spam sandwich...my rising fame isn't attributable to membership in the Illuminati...I wasn't killed by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a ploy to distract attention from [...]
"My Love Is Showing" --- Bettye LaVette (LimeLinx) "My Love Is Showing" --- Bettye LaVette (YSI) Over the course of the past five years, it's been unimaginably uplifting to behold the wonder of Bettye LaVette as her gracious persistence in the music industry has finally begun to show its worth. With a few highly acclaimed studio releases under her belt, as well as a string of powerhouse live performances, the Great Lady of Soul is poised to show the world what she's made of now that she [...]
Awww hell... I know . Only a few entries deep, and I've already gone back to relying on my mega-posting superpowers to capture your attention for the next 4 1/2 hours. I still plan to make a swift return to brevity and am working through the challenges of economizing my expression, but I took an unplanned hiatus that I thought worthy of a herculean virtual comeback. I apologize for the weight...and the wait...but I'm hoping you'll pass through more than once if necessary to cop grooves, gain knowledge, and shake your head in dismay at my [...]
Peace soul babies~ comment allez-vous? There's nothing I dislike more as a writer than attempting to eulogize a musician I admire who's passed into the great beyond. It's difficult enough to generate the proper flow when reminiscing about a session player that no one's ever heard of, but when iconic artists take their last breath, the odds of uttering anything unique or original are savagely diminished. Such was the case when Guru transitioned into the fourth dimension early [...]
What up, soul kids?! It's a scorcher on the block where my shell-toe Adidas hit the street~ all the freaks and geeks who've been hiding in their houses these past few months are live and in full effect this afternoon. The sun is casting its glorious, cosmic rays onto the golden grill of Buck-Toothed Bobby; Jack-Ass Jimmy is holdin' down the corner where he religiously shakes down the locals for spare change; and Loretta the Loudmouth is hollerin' some unintelligible nonsense as she throws all her dude's shit onto the lawn in a fit of not-so-temporary insanity. [...]
As someone who drank the Kool-Aid in '97 and has been flyin' high on an insane sugar rush ever since, I consider myself the last space case you should trust to present an objective overview of Erykah Badu 's latest LP, New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh) . After formulating my own admittedly biased opinions as to the merits and flaws of the material, I decided to balance out my viewpoint by checking into some other writers' critiques on the album. Although I typically avoid reading music reviews to maintain some semblance of [...]
How we feelin' out there, brothers and sisters? I sincerely hope that life on the big blue marble is tranquil, composed, and free of unnecessary strife. As for myself, my spirits have ascended into the exosphere (I submit to being a nerd, but c'mon...that's 5th grade science, sun). I'm mainly hyped because today's post is one of transformation, marking the next phase in Souled On 's ongoing evolutionary process... I've been planning to do some rebuilding around this curiosity shop for quite some time, but fucking Woodrow Wilson spoke to me several [...]
What's good, soul children? If you're not hyped already, all you have to do is tune into the frequency we're transmitting and prepare for flight. For today... Live from Souled On California... I proudly present the majestic sounds of the almighty KinG . Hold on a minute, though~ before I send this out into the funky universe, I got a story to tell... Biggie -style... A few light years ago, this virtual stranger named KinG (aka Sherwin Keith Rice ) asked me for some feedback on a beat tape he'd [...]
How we feelin' out there, soul babies? Sincerest wishes that all the good people in the funky universe are fat, happy and healthy on this fine February afternoon... As for myself, I have to admit that I went through a brief phase when I didn't feel particularly inspired to write, but I'm back into my groove now~ and as I'm testifyin' in the title of today's post, I've finally got that feeling again... Scrambling to make up for lost time, I quickly dug up another collection of soulful covers and ill remixes for [...]
*Artwork by Rodrigo Izolag What's really good, soul babies? Peace and infinite blessings to all the good people in the place to be... 'Tis the season when most of you are tryin' to ho ho ho and pull your merry shit together, so it's probably not the best time to trouble you with an abundance of scholarly discourse... Recently, I've been contemplating whether or not all the writing I've done has ultimately been to my detriment anyway. I mean, let's be real~ the [...]
What's good, soul babies? I hope you're ready for me...cuz I. am. back. I've been wanting to do a Souled On Samples post for quite a while now, but it's always somewhat of a painstaking process for me. I give mad props to the dudes who put together entire sample sets 3 weeks before a hip hop album officially drops, but for better or worse, that's really not my style. I started this series years ago in the hopes of illustrating how much the hip hop generation owes to its musical predecessors and vice [...]
Wassup, soul kids? How we feeling out there? I know that I've probably been left for dead, or maybe plastered on the side of the milk carton you use to float your Cinnamon Toast Crunch, but there's no need to call Nancy Grace just yet. Despite all reports to the contrary, yours truly is alive and back to raise some long-awaited hell. It's cold and rainy today, which reminds me that before long, I'll be spending the majority of my time in hibernation. That likely means trouble for all of you, [...]
* Smoke Whisper by David Choe What's good, family? Hope that all the people who make my world go 'round have been fat and happy since last we met... All apologies (word to the homie Kurt Cobain )~ I haven't had much time or inclination to kick around verbs and nouns these past few weeks. Even so, I thought it necessary to spread some love by way of these infectious grooves~ several joints you might hear rattling the windows at the ill-reputed house of Scholar . [...]
"Rebel To The Grain" --- Blue Sky Black Death (LimeLinx) "Rebel To The Grain" --- Blue Sky Black Death (YSI) *This track features original source material previously sampled on classic joints by the almighty Wu-Tang Clan . "The Way We Were/Try To Remember" by Gladys Knight & The Pips , Wendy Rene 's "After Laughter (Comes Tears)", and "Is It Because I'm Black?" by Syl Johnson are a few examples of what's in the mix. * Blue Sky Black Death , a Cali-based production duo consisting [...]
Heeeeeyyyy soul kids~ how ya feelin' out there? Been a long time I shouldn't have left you without a dope beat to step to... However, let's not waste time dwelling on my lackadaisical fuckery... Instead, please allow me to serve you with another outstanding volume of covers, remixes, mashes, and interpolations. As usual, I chose an eclectic variety of selections, so I have faith that most of you will discover something that causes a little commotion in your soul. I decided to split this [...]
"A Song For You" --- Merry Clayton (LimeLinx) "A Song For You" --- Merry Clayton (YSI) ~Appears on the Merry Clayton LP (Ode 1971) Although "A Song For You" was written and originally recorded by singer/songwriter/musician Leon Russell , most soul fans tend to enthusiastically agree that the definitive version was rendered by none other than the late, great Donny Hathaway . While the lyrics themselves are undoubtedly imbued with a degree of poignancy, it was Hathaway 's deeply affecting take on the song that arguably blessed [...]
How ya feelin' out there, soul children? Hopefully things are starting to heat up in your part of the world, and there's nothing more potent than some scorching hot music to fan the flames. Whatever it is that may be ailing you, don't let it keep you down~ just sweat it out, kids. Like my grandmama used to always say, sometimes you gotta blaze up if you wanna stay lifted. Be easy, fam...Scholar "Funky Hi-Life" --- CK [...]
What's happenin', soul children? I hope that the moon and stars are perfectly aligned in your universes, and all kinds of other ecstatically happy shit... I'm actually feeling pretty euphoric myself today (and that's with no drugs involved, son), because I've been looking forward to doing this exclusive with Batsauce and Lady Daisey for quite a while now. I first became aware of their brilliant funkitude when cousin Travis emphatically urged me to give The Smile Rays a spin. Very few people understand the complexities of [...]
What's crackin', soul kids? I was inspired to deliver an especially fat post today, if for no other reason than to dispel the myth that I kevorked the On Second Thought/Cover Your Ass chronicles. I may be incorrigible...and lazy...but did you really think I'd be insensitive enough to hijack a series rivaled only by Souled On Samples in terms of overall popularity and...ummm...sex appeal??? Anyway, I genuinely hope that you will....uhhhh...shake your booty down to these fine selections, but...you know...I'm kinda relieved at the same time that I don't have to watch. Forever spinnin' [...]
Souled On (Music, Art, Politics, and Life)
On The Cover Of A Magazine
Miike Snow – Paddling Out (Jacques Lu Cont Remix)
Kylie Minogue receives threats on Twitter, alerts police!
The Shins Visit KEXP
