If you know us, you know we're massive stans for the genius Sly Stone. To cover a Sly Stone song is task only properly acquitted of by only the most soulful, powerful, emotive of artists. It's a very high bar to reach for, indeed. Here, Millennial Territory Orchestra links up with Antony Hegarty (a soul brother you may have heard of) to tackle "Family Affair" and puts down maybe the best Family Stone cover (one of the best 70's soul covers, period) that we've ever heard. It's really that good. The pace is a slow walk, the sauntering swaying horns [...]
And might I mean that quite literally. Not 'probably functional', it's still all very much up in the air, but it's plausible I might be back in something resembling the land of the living. I think the work which had to be done pretty much immediately has had the effect of jump-starting a spluttering brain. The Josh T. Pearson Toad Session is finished and ready to publish next weekend (assuming he's happy with it), and Ian and I have been plotting this year's Song, by Toad Records er, strategy, if you can call it that (just listen to [...]
This what your redneck neighbor's back yard will look like on Thanksgiving Editor's Note: In the interest of preserving the environment this holiday season, we are recycling some old blog posts. Don't worry - most of the links work. Are you gonna deep fry a turkey this Thanksgiving? Put the fire department on speed dial - especially if you're gonna be hoisting a few. Actually I do have some experience with this, and I will attest that the first and most important step in deep frying [...]
Scene: It is mid-afternoon. Penfold is sitting in his office. He is listening to music. His friend enters the room. (Conversation intended to be read quickly) "Hey Penfold." "What's going on my friend?" "Nothing much. Same old, same old if you know what I mean. Say…what is that?" "What is what?" "That thing." "What thing?" "That thing," says my friend as he points his finger. "The stereo?" "No, not the stereo. What is that thing that you are listening to?" "Oh, that thing." "Yes, that thing. Is it new?" "Yes [...]
Filed under: News Getty Images Legendary '70s funk maven Sly Stone has checked into rehab, according to Perez Hilton . This comes after a long period of sliding down the proverbial slippery slope, which was jam packed with drugs. "[Sly] wants to get clean, and stay sober," a source close to the soul-funk superstar says. "Sly has fallen on very hard times in the past few years. Sly will be in rehab for [...]
Filed under: News , Holy Hell Splash As Spinner recently reported , Sly Stone , one of music's most famous recluses and perennially plagued drug users, is living in a camper van in Los Angeles, eating meals given to him by a retired couple whose house he lives outside. It's quite the change from four years ago, when he was living in a large Napa Valley compound. In a recent interview with Splash , Stone [...]
![Judith Hill Hand Picked [Interview]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/3742455_lg.jpg)
"It's such a small world: you're always a gig or a person away from something really cool," Judith Hill tells me, as she prepares to leave for South Africa the next day for a tour with Avon Cosmetics . That is a minor understatement, if I ever heard one. The "gig" this powerhouse vocalist is referring to happened to be the female lead in Michael Jackson 's back up for his This Is It tour. While any number of contemporary artists would be quick to include MJ in their list of influences, [...]
Just any old player, you know he needs a rating, and Sly and the Family Stone's 1971 landmark is rated the 51st Greatest Album of All Time by Acclaimed Music. Counterbalance has a listen. Klinger: Where would pop music be without drugs? Ever since Louis Armstrong and his jazz ilk started "Kickin' the Gong Around" sometime during the Hoover Administration, Schedule 1s have been a part of the culture and mythology of popular music. And so many albums are inextricably tied to the pharmaceuticals that fueled them, including many that we've covered in the past year. Rubber Soul's hazy [...]
Like millions of us here in the States, I was watching the Saints/Packers season opener this past week. There was a lot of hullabaloo and fireworks and shiny objects. And I couldn't help but think that Maroon 5 is Collective Soul for this era. (which isn't exactly a bad thing) Then, Kid Rock appeared and I decided to surf and find something interesting to kill some time until - you know - the actual game. I hit on Batman Begins , got sucked into it, and missed [...]
We take a look at several up-and-coming acts from this year's Outside Lands that may have been overshadowed by headliners like Arcade Fire and Phish. Their reputations for infectious and enthusiastic live performances is what earned them their time on stage, and also the reason for their surges in exposure after the festival ended less than two weeks ago. Look inside for audio clips.
You have to love the spirit of legendary psychedelic funk pioneer frontman Sly Stone as most recently celebrated in I'm Back! Family & Friends (Cleopatra). It's a jam session with musicians from far-flung ends of the genre spectrum who also claim status as fans of Sly and The Family Stone coming to together to funk. This soul cauldron bubbles up with guitarist Jeff Beck coming in on "I Want To Take You Higher." I always find it interesting to see the names of musical guests and contributors I'm familiar with somewhere I don't expect; I literally thought while listening, "Hey, I didn't know [...]
Few people have changed the face of music as much as Sylvester Stewart, better known as Sly Stone. From the late 1960s on, the development and advent of styles such as funk, hip-hop, and rap owe a huge debt to his talent and vision. Herbie Hancock, Stevie Wonder, Prince...the list of artists who cite Stone as an influence is large and impressive. Sly and the Family Stone also happens to be one of my favorite bands, which is the most important thing. Right? Outside his amazing musical career, Sly Stone has seen some troubled times. The band [...]
The Washington Post recently published an opinion piece arguing that the Kennedy Center should honor Sly & The Family Stone: There's no band more deserving. Sly and the Family Stone's multi-race, mixed-gender lineup epitomized the social idealism of 1960s America, and the group's protest songs melted genres with a funky, euphoric electricity that has never been matched. via Kennedy Center should honor Sly and Family Stone, Led Zeppelin, Joni Mitchell - The Washington Post . Of course I agree, and I was particularly pleased to see the emphasis on Sly's [...]
So, here's a new series of podcasts that I've been thinking about doing. It's not the countdown. It's something else. Something...different. I hope you enjoy it The microphone quality is also different from normal, but thats what you get from setting up and recording on the fly! Off The Charts #1 (As always, let me know if that link isn't working...) ***Featuring*** Beck Breakbot Freestylers The Japanese War Effort Kings of Leon Matt Nathanson Passion Pit Peter, Bjorn, and John Sly & the Family Stone Sugar Ray [...]
Filed under: News , New Music , New Releases Charley Gallay, Getty Images 'I'm Back!' -- Fans have been waiting nearly 30 years for soul sensation Sly Stone to make such a proclamation and it finally happened today (July 4), with news of a comeback album of sorts: 'I'm Back! Family & Friends,' due out August 16. Though Cleopatra Records signed the musical icon several years ago, nothing has come of [...]
Summer, Summer, Summer...it turns me upside down. Well, not really. I live in the Northeast, as I've said in the past, because I'm not that big on the heat. A lot of folks love the summer weather. Heck, half of them don't even need air conditioning. That's definitely not me. I don't mind a good dip in the ocean, but I'm not going to work that hard to make that happen anymore. Something about all these extra pounds I figure. My friends go to Cape [...]
Throughout his almost 50-year career, funk pioneer Sly Stone has overcome plenty: rock stardom, drug addiction, legal battles, racial tensions, band turmoil, and the 19702s, just to name a few. After taking a three decade hiatus - his last album being 19822s solo effort, Ain't But The One Way - Stone, along with his backing band The Family Stone , returns with the aptly titled, I'm Back! Family & Friend s, on August 16th (via Cleopatra Records). The long awaited follow-up includes three previously unreleased songs and reworkings of past hits, many featuring some of [...]
When a be-wigged Cee Lo Green and his team of The Voice hopefuls — Curtis Grimes, Vicci Martinez, Nakia and Tori and Taylor Thompson — took to the stage to rock out a rambunctious version of Sly & The Family Stone's 1968 smash "Everyday People," NBC lucked out with one of the most joyous moments on television since, well, a be-feathered Cee Lo Green banged away on the ivories while Gwyneth Paltrow rolled around like a minx at the Grammys. Watch below! Last night kicked [...]
Filed under: News , Holy Hell , I Fought the Law Charley Gallay, Getty Images Sylvester Stewart, otherwise known as Sly Stone , the expressive frontman of '70s funk band Sly and the Family Stone was arrested last year for cocaine possession and is slated for a court appearance Friday, June 10, reports TMZ . On April 1, 2010, Stone was pulled over and his car [...]
This summer playlist is somewhat of a time warp but not the kind you would think because more than half this music I consider perfect for summer because of it's tone or theme. The lyrics or title might mention the sun or burn the sort of imagery that you'd want in the perfect beach movie soundtrack. It's Summertime MP3 by The Flaming Lips from Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots This song always creeps into almost every playlist but still qualifies since it's movie like. Booty City MP3 by [...]
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