Today is Mary J. Blige’s birthday. Let’s celebrate!
I was already thinking just yesterday about posting this song, so now my hand has been forced by fate.
Like a dog tied to a rolling cart: “fate leads the willing, and drags the unwilling”. So let’s roll to the Car Wash together (you don't really have a choice).
Above is the original of “I’m Going Down”, covered to great effect (to say the least) by Queen Mary.
It is on the soundtrack to “Car Wash”, which is excellent, all the way through.
Not only does it have those mood-setting 2:00 long bits, for playing in the background of movie scenes, it has more standard songs with lyrics too. Pointer Sisters on “You Gotta to Believe” (“in something/ why don’t you believe in me?”)
The songs are all credited to Rose Royce and Norman Whitfield; ‘Rose Royce’ sounds like Rolls Royce, a funny little pun, which I just realized. “RR” is actually a group, not a stage name for a single person; this helps explain the wide variety of songs here, because it is not just a single writer plus one female singer, but a whole group plus the guy who wrote “Papa Was a Rolling Stone”.
--I just realized, there is way too much good stuff on this album, and way too many songs that I am thinking of to pair with each song... I gotta split this into more than one post!--
So just one little bit more, of related news…
I own the movie “The Wash”, starring Dr. Dre and Snoop Lion.
It even has Eminem in it, as a crazy person… really flexing his acting chops there…
I think I bought this when TLA closed up its Center City shop. Still haven’t watched it yet. I’m pretty sure it is a rubbish movie, but, some things, you just have to own.
"After Sex" is actually on the soundtrack of another movie I own/haven't seen yet... music on that film done by none other than Curtis Mayfield.
Here we go, here's a little uplift, to match our weather today:
Oooooh, if only "everyday" felt this good! Going to go eat goose with friends tonight (my idea), doing research on Stoic philosophy in combination with Foucault's use of their ethical care of the self, sat in a park where they were mulching Xmas trees, which smelled better than you could possibly imagine.
Well, I won't bore you with all the rest of my "day, people"-- for it is not your duty to mark down and be concerned with my joys and ills, nor mine to fret and tut-tut over yours. As Epictetus tells us:
But the judge condemns you on the charge of impiety. And did not the judges similarly condemn Socrates? Surely it is no concern of yours... Your father has a certain function, and if he does not perform it, he has destroyed the father in him, the man who loves his offspring, the man of gentleness within him. Do not seek to make him lose anything else on this account... Again, it is your function to defend yourself firmly, respectfully, without passion. Otherwise, you have destroyed within you the son, the respectful man, the man of honour. What then? Is the judge secure? No; but he too runs just as great a risk. Why, then, are you afraid of what decision he is going to render? What have you to do with another man's evil? (Discourses, Book III, xviii)
So, if I be condemned, I will not let that affect the respect which I hold for myself, nor will it affect my judgment on what a nice fucking day it is.
For a mix I'm putting together, inspired by The Cosby Show, called Hello Jello!
My lady friend Margeaux loves The Cosby Show, so I am making this mix for her. Still crafting it though: I will post songs that have the right sound here first, until I shove the full, fully finished mix on you.
And what is that "Right Sound?" It will be dentist-office funk: smooth (or even shmoove) jazzy things. Describable as slinky maybe. "Easy, not Cheesy." (that should be trademarked, yeah?) The songs are having fun, without being outright silly. Loose-limbed, they will make a nice background as we shift into early summer. Sade could go on there, although maybe she won't. Why?: because I want it to sound Cosby-era, so 70's and 80's gems.
( Although technically Sade's 1st US single came out at the end of 1984*, to me, Sade feels like 90's music. And although technically Cosby show started just a few months before that**, since I don't remember watching it much [although I did watch it plenty- when I watch it now, I can recall the plots as they are unfolding], it feels 70's-80's to me. )
* had to look it up ** also had to look that up, believe it
Enough about the mix; how about the song and band?
The Commodores do "Brick House": you know that song. It would totally play at a wonderful summer wedding reception:
The Commodores also had Lionel Richie in their band for a minute. Weirdly, after he left, they got more mellow. Once he was gone, they started to sound, well, like Lionel Richie. Before that, they were this hard-driving 'fonk' machine.
De La Soul sampled this song, on the Stakes Is High album. That is a feloniously undervalued record, like all of their records (except for 3 Feet High... And Rising: that gets about the right amount of praise).
( First De La album I ever bought- a little late to these fellows... 2000? also, I have it on vinyl, AND, after the above Commodores song, De La Soul came next on my iTunes random. F'serious! )
What I was initially leaning toward putting on Margeaux's mix was the Commodores song, "Girl, I Think the World About You" (obv), which I will:
1) maybe still put on the mix and 2) maybe put up on to Youtube, where it cannot yet be found. Can it really be all that tough to post to YouTube?
De La also sampled"Girl, I...", for "Hey Buddy;" so you can see where their heads are at, right? Tricky sampled The Commodores too!: info for the samples got drawn from this detailed site, Sample Spotters. 19 songs- nineteen- are listed for sampling (just the drums) from a single Commodores track. Wow.
Okay, funk a little of this through your speak's and 'phones.
This is one of the deftly selected tracks from the last mix (grab a fistful of music, including the song below, here). Now, these fellows may not appear so very cool, but I think they spent all their money recording all those instruments in the studio. And so they spent very little designing, shooting, and dressing for the record cover.
You know, it's expensive to record this many guys. A story made super short- the expense of putting full large bands in the studio (for disco, funk, etc) was an annoyance for bands and labels alike. So, when synthesizers made it possible to sub out a few guys, and lay down an additional sound without paying an additional dude- well, synths were understandably popular. And that is how house music is born (I told you this was the short version). Broke people (so more blacks and Latinos- less ABBA Northern European) could make disco without having to have/pay a full band (no drummer, no strings, no piano player, etc) because one person could use synths instead.
-But!- using different materials (the instruments), even if one were trying to exactly replicate an existing form (disco), will inevitably shift the form too. Disco -->(shifty synthy changey)--> House. (dropping eggs of knowledge in the discothèque)
Now, this song is not proto-house or anything; that is not what I'm trying to claim. But the "Wedded To The Discothèque" mix I made does eventually shift from disco to more recent house. So I thought I'd throw out a condensed version of how that happened historically. How it happens on the mix is different. Pretend you are at a wedding reception that you actually really really want to be at- I'm DJing (ahem!). After a while, though our parents have drifted away from the dancefloor, we are really just starting to get wound up. Gotta let it loose. So your (inimitable! inestimable! incorrigible!) DJ eases out of the Disco classics, and slips into our classics- Blur, Daft Punk, and a few dance gems that you will crown classics, once you have heard them. Check the Jesper Dahlback RMX of Fox 'n' Wolf, for instance. In fact, check out the whole track listing on the last post.
New mix, and it's essential that you download this before the 4th of July weekend is through.
"Wedded To The Discothèque"- the upbeat dancin'-pants summer mix Track Listing: --No Nos Pararan [Spanish-Language cover of "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now"] *** Charanga 76
Got To Give It Up (Pt 1) *** Marvin Gaye
--Funkin' Around *** Bloodstone
Tequila [cover of The Champs] *** Duane Eddy
--I Got a Woman [cover of Ray Charles, the same song Kanye West used for "Gold Digger"] *** Bobby Darin
Everybody's Trying to be my Baby *** Carl Perkins
--Sweet Caroline [cover of you-know-who, done pon Steel Drum style, seen?] *** Esso Steel Band
Hang On Sloopy *** The McCoys
--Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood [cover of The Animals- BUT!- a mad DISCO version!] Santa Esmeralda
Bad Girls *** Donna Summer
--Girls & Boys *** Blur The Girls *** Calvin Harris
--One More Time *** Daft Punk
In Yr Underwear (Jesper Dahlback Mix) *** Fox 'n' Wolf
--Your Bmore Singing Study Mix [an unlikely Balitmore Club edit of "Your Love" by the Outfield, as in "I just want to use your love, toniiiight"] *** Roctakon
You should use the joy of this mix to place a cherry on top of what ought to be an ice-cream-sundae of a weekend. This is basically a mix in the Shower-Jamz mold. Actually, there were a few more specific considerations at the origin of this mix. 1) My b-day 2) Girls (either as ‘what girls like’, or as girl-watching during the summer), and 3) Disco. I thought (correctly) that these three exciting elements would all call forth a very upbeat version of the summer mix. Now, the first summer mix was a perfect example of a particular side of summer- that wistful, utterly relaxed summer feeling.
But there is another side of summer… staying out all night, going to parties after you’ve gone to a BBQ after you've gone swimming, drinking “summer drinks” (rum and tequila, citrusy, light beer in 10 oz cans and 8 oz bottles- drinks you don’t normally drink, but which go down “champion style” in the summer), running in flip-flops (including these flip-flasks), and so forth. That is this mix. And you gon’ luv it. Ah, but I digress like a mamma-jamma. Girls, Birthdays, and Disco morphed together, constituting a new theme….
Wedding Madness! This is actually a mix-theme matheme I pondered before. What would be the formula necessary to craft make a mix with 1) all the fun of good wedding receptions; 2) While cutting the cheese out (sorry, no jokey-pants modern country songs, like “Save a Horse- Ride a Cowboy”; no thanks); very difficult, but oh-so-essential, to making disco excellent 3) And still maintaining the songs that “old people wanna dance to, too”. Which would be largely, not exclusively, the disco classics- “Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now”, Yeah!. And I stumbled upon the solution. Take two girls, add one cup (heh) of disco, and shake it all together, on MY BIRTHDAY! Do you now believe my frequent claim, that I am one divinely inspired, as was Socrates? Except his daimon only told him not to do certain things, whereas my daimon positively brings that hot fire in mix form. My guiding divine daimon likes to party down. So, yes, I am what Nietzsche called for, waited for, hoped for: that Musical Socrates. Pleased to meet me, aren’t you?
One more from the Summer mix... more mixes in the pipeline too. Going to make one about girls, one very disco-y, and one about my birthday.
The mix re: my birthday may involve songs about bikes, since I fell off my bike while riding to get my birthday presents. Falling = fighting the road and losing Damage = minimal cos I'm tuff (That is my arm- look at my Popeye-ass forearms. What can I say- I invented muscle!) Presents = DVD player and new CD/DVD burner for computer -- {both stopped working months ago- I was utterly without lazerz in my house : laserless} -- {but no longer: thanks Mom and Dad!}
Here is the original version of Bobby Fuller Four's "I Fought The Law". Well, theirs is the original; this is a sweeeeeeet live version. Except on old TV, so, probably not really even live. I dunno; old stuff is fun, but confusing, yeah? One of the Four is sitting on a (prison-style) bunk bed; there is a woman in a cell, but dancing; the warden eventually starts dancing; etc etcet etcetera...
Oh, and you probably want to see my wound again:
You know the expression "Zounds!" (it is used much like "Gadzooks!")? It's short for "God's Wounds"; lotsa expressions are just not-really swearing substitutions for for-real curses. I mean, even 'curse' is the word for bad words, because heathens used to invoke their gods in order to destroy their enemies. You used to curse when you wanted someone destroyed, essentially. When you wanted them smote with holy hellfire, justly turned to dust.
And that reminds me- a girl stepped out in front of me on this fateful bike ride (on purpose) (before I fell) and then when I said "YO!" (honestly said just that) because I nearly hit her (but didn't - I'm a real aware rider, okay? My control is super-right) she then replied, "You on a bike, Bitch!" (which can be interpreted in various ways) -- {as, 'you are a little bitch because you are on a bicycle- what are you, ten?'} -- {or as, 'I can step out in front of you, because, Rock Paper Scissors style, walker beats biker')
So I think she cursed me. I sure the hell cursed afterwards.
One for the Road (heh) : Live (really live) Clash version too:
Listen to a track from ze mix: "Spirit In The Sky", by Norm Greenbaum.
(if you want a higher quality sound, listen to the YouTuber below; below has weird, weird religious stuff in it though- creepy, but we want summery, not creepy. Above is literally a guy recording him playing it on his den's jukebox: it has a certain je ne sais quoi, oui?)
Summer Madness ~O~ Kool & the Gang chilled out, nice way to start the mix. Sampled by Fresh Prince and DJ Jazzy Jeff, for "Summertime"; Jazzy will be at the Roots Picnic...
Reunion ~O~ Bobbie Gentry Whoa now, an odd-ball, to get you intrigued about what your genius musical guide will pull next. A handclapped, bottle-smackin' little rhythm, a bit like 'Iko Iko'. First words, no joke: "Momma can I huh, Momma can I huh huh, can I Momma won't ya please let me Momma can I huh". About a family reunion: a little charmer, sweet funny little thing. Looks sumthin like this, but from deep down South
Summertime ~O~ Billy Stewart Cover of sorts of a song from Gershwin's "Porgy & Bess". Evidently, during that show, they sing at among other times, during a craps game. Upbeat, lots of little darting guitars. Horns, man, horns. Tongue rolls, like so: 'dddddddddah!'.
Spirit In The Sky ~O~ Norman Greenbaum aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh! If I were a DJ, like a pro who gets $, it would be an uncommon night out when I didn't play this. Right? My goodness, just listen to your ears! I'm killing you, just killing you, with this track right now. Big stomping drums. You could play this at 'A Flyers Hockey Game', and I bet they would win. A woman singing backup, in a falsetto. Can women even sing falsetto? This one can!
Party Lights ~O~ Claudine Clark Another Killer. Old rock/RnB. Girl is watching all her friends go to the party across the street, but Mom won't let her go! "There goes Jenny and Sue, and Bobby and Mary Lou, oh-oh-oh there goes my boyfriend too!" "Party lights, red and blue and green; everybody in the crowd is there, but you won't let me make the scene!" Real rapid fire snappy snare drums. Piano tinkling, and some peppy-ass horns make an appearance.
In the Summertime ~O~ Mungo Jerry A pic shall suffice:
If Not For You ~O~ Olivia Newton John A pic shall suffice:
Summer Breeze ~O~ Isley Brothers Told you about last time.
Two Tickets To Paradise ~O~ Eddie Money "Oh, what?!?! Hit me again with that Eddie Money, Son!" (That's you talking, after this song drops. You are driving, in a Camaro, f'real. Top off- on the car, you jokester... "I'm gonna take you on a trip so far from here, I've got two tickets in my pocket, now baby, we're gonna disappear. We've waited so long, waited so long.
I've got two tickets to paradise, Won't you pack your bags, we'll leave tonight, I've got two tickets to paradise [guitar solo- 32 bars]"
That's you singing it at karaoke, and really, it made our night.
I Fought The Law ~O~ Bobby Fuller Four A pretty jaunty guitar in this song; really jaunty when you consider that the first lines are about 'breaking rocks in the hot sun'. We'll just bracket the rocks, okay, and focus on the sun, you feel me? A million famous people covered this song for a reason; that is, a reason beyond its sassy 'F-the-P' attitude- it is a funtime summertime spectacular. I bet even cops like this song.
Summer ~O~ War Return to Mellow. Almost all of War's stuff is proper for a summer mix; guys rocked a Texan melting pot thing; soul, Texana, sunbaked, relaxed. More horns, lazzzzzyyyy ones. "Summer: my time of year". Well-said, War, well-said.
aaaaand here is the creepy-video-version of Norm Greenbaum's "Spirit in the Sky". I think someone kidnapped her daughter? And this someone may be the state of Missouri? And Jesus is angry about it? Or what?
Another selection offa that "Summer Showerz" mix. This one is the Isley Brothers, who I have been ultragillin' as of late. Charlie and I are a two-man fan-club.
Oh yes, now that you mention it, this is a cover of Seals and Croft's "summer breeze", but this version is much better. Better, I say, than that yacht-rot version. Who would you trust to tell you about summer, these guys
or these chumps
(that's called a 'rhetorical question', because I already know the answer. Since I know all answers, does that make all questions rhetorical, when posed by me? HA, tricked you: the above was also a rhetorical question BOOM)
The above is a representation of what this mix is like: all laid back 'vibez'. The Isely Brothers' song is a good li'l snapshot of the general feel of the mix as well. Just a reminder, here is the tracklisting for this really stellar, star-studded mix.
Summer Madness ~O~ Kool & the Gang Reunion ~O~ Bobbie Gentry Maggie May ~O~ Rod Stewart Summertime ~O~ Billy Stewart Spirit In The Sky ~O~ Norman Greenbaum Party Lights ~O~ Claudine Clark In the Summertime ~O~ Mungo Jerry If Not For You ~O~ Olivia Newton John Summer Breeze ~O~ Isley Brothers Two Tickets To Paradise ~O~ Eddie Money I Fought The Law ~O~ Bobby Fuller Four Summer ~O~ War
Now, I stand by my comments above (about the waybetterness of IBs over S&C), but I will let you in on a li'l secret that undermines that claim: Croft goes by the first name of DASH. Jus' sayin'. (although his real name is Darrell, so, you see, right???)
Another great song, just ripe for summering. Get ready, btw, for sum summer stooping. Unless I get some emergency transfusions of cash, this will be a very "can't afford to go out drinking" summer. So you'll have to join me at mine (...or yours...) for "free beer". I call beer bought from the distributors, "free beer". It's so cheap, relative to bars, that you practically make money drinking it!. That's right, my economic plan: "Drink yourself to prosperity; Spend yourself sober." (it's complicated) But where'd all the money go, oh, where? Well, recently, it went to late heating bills (boring), and mo' wax, aka more vinyl (exciting). Including this little gem....
Apache, by Sugar Hill Gang
Oh, this song. Oh, man oh me oh my. First, it uses a similar bong/drum break to The Incredible Bongo Band's Apache, which itself is sort of similar to The Shadows' Apache... Dude, you think my Summer Prosperity Plan is complex? Check out the involved history of this song. Interesting, but impossible to sum up. Really, you should always be going to that blog, Soul Sides, because it is just the jam. Old Soul, great rap, dropping knowledge without being boring or snooty or pedantic, and always giving you links to the cuts. It is as essential as this blog (well, more, actually, but still).
Right! Well, anyhow, in hip-hop and drum and bass (my deepest musical love- 'drum and bass' aka 'jungle' aka 'DnB'- which none of my friends ever like that much. No 'junglist crew' for me! Not enough of my friends are rude bwoys, turns out) many many songs have sampled drum breaks from various versions of Apache. Lots sampled the guitar line too. You'll see why- the bongos that this song opens with are solid all by themselves, let alone the other versions of that beat that are dropped throughout the track. Now, if you are one of these young pups, you will recognize the song not from (nearly infinite) DnB and H-H songs, but from Switch's track. This song was huge from a summer or two back. We still can hear it, on that rare occasion that we Make Time.
Here's the original Switch track... (you gotta wait til 2:02 for the guitar line to drop! It's a dance track after all). Called "A Bit Patchy", as in, APatchy=Apache.
Here is an M.I.A. remix of Switch, introduced by Diplo, who M.I.A. used to date, but doesn't now, and mixed into the end of Kitsune track..... I told you this sampling stuff gets complicated!
(jump to about 1:15 on this one if you want to hear "A Bit Patchy" coming in clearly)
Well, I've gone and done you another solid. Whipped up a precise blend of parts that together join up to make a Voltron-like colossus:
Summer 'Showerz': LoveLeigh Days
("showerz" refers the "singalong in the shower" nature of all the songs; "Leigh" refers to a friend who prompted me to finish this mix. THX!)
So, specifically summer, particularly shower jamz. Summer songs are feelgood, but perfect summer songs have to be melllllooooow too.
Not sure how feelgood mixes with ultramellow? Then listen to Kool & The Gang's "Summer Madness". You'll see.
Above is from the official Philadelphia Mural thingy, visible from the El tracks in West Philly. I see this on my way to work. More info, deets etc. (like how you could have gotten a tattoo designed by ESPO, the dude what did that mural).
Just like the summer. You are feeling nice in the summer, but you know, low-key like.
A perfect example of that perfect mellow feeling is perfectly evinced by the classically perfect first song, which is Youtubing above.
Summer Madness, by Kool & The Gang. This song was looped, 'slightly transformed' (like Voltron!), for Fresh Prince & DJ Jazzy Jeff's "Summertime".
So, now we've picked up on a recent theme, of great older songs outtfitted with a little rappin'-freshness. Oh yes, surely you recall my last post, on Biggie and his Other Brothers (The Isley Brothers), whom he sampled for "Big Poppa". I'll probably drop some more of those, about songs in different forms.
Note that The Isley Brothers are included on this mix too- a clear nod to Leigh, who praised them recently.
Summer Madness ~O~ Kool & the Gang
Reunion ~O~ Bobbie Gentry Maggie May ~O~ Rod Stewart
Summertime ~O~ Billy Stewart Spirit In The Sky ~O~ Norman Greenbaum
Party Lights ~O~ Claudine Clark In the Summertime ~O~ Mungo Jerry
If Not For You ~O~ Olivia Newton John Summer Breeze ~O~ Isley Brothers
Two Tickets To Paradise ~O~ Eddie Money I Fought The Law ~O~ Bobby Fuller Four
Summer ~O~ War
Please note that the symbol, lovingly crafted by myself, in betwixt track and band: looks like a sun, yeah?
ahahhahhahah I'm unstoppable hahahahahahahah
A stone-cold classic, just right for the summer/springtime madness, of which we are all now a part.
This song is such classic goodness, that Mary J. Blige, herself classic and classy and good, sampled it. Naughty By Nature nabbed a little "Sunshine" too. Tribe Called Quest sample another jam of his, on the famed "Bonita Applebaum".
Erykah Badu sampled another Ayers' track; even Junior Mafia gets props from Roy Himself for their sample of yet another song of his.
Speaking of samples, this song has the same general vibe as Kool and the Gang's "Summer Madness", sampled by DJ Jazzy Jeff for he and Will Smith's "Summertime". If you like that, I guarantee (money-back guarantee!) that you'll love this song too.
If you can't trust me, that this song is everything you need right now, then take the words of Erykah, Q-Tip, Diddy, and Treach. Treach married Pepa, of Salt'n'Pepa, btw, and then they got divorced. (in happier times:) It's sad, but you don't have to be all broken up. I have the solution to your sadness: Go plug a boombox in outside, after downloading Roy Ayers' "Everybody Loves the Sunshine", and everything will glow, positively G L O W , I say!
I pridefully present another installment of AMX Mixes ! This lil' monster goes by a number of names. Technically, the ZIP is called "Unsafe at Any Speed", but alternate names include
DeathProof (remember, the distant paternity of all AMX mixes is Tarantino movie soundtracks) Only the Good Die Young Attack of the Leader of the Pack Rebel Beat
Profoundly intrigued- that's what you are! Here is a youtuby from one of the tracks, the very movie, very driving around, very mod "Il Giardino Delle Delizie" by Ennio Morricone.
Hitherto, for these mixes, which come in at around 15 songs, I have described TheWholeThingAllAtOnce. Which many found, reasonably enough, to be a bit overwhelming. So I will now present a few songs, every now and again, and each one will come with a little posty-clicky for downloady, for the whole mix.
Here is the tracklisting, but in alphabetical order. Wanna know what order they really go in? Better download it then. AMX: Unsafe At Any Speed
(the symbol between title and artist?: it's a car, with skidmarks behind and headlights in front! Pretty good, what?!)
Attack of the Ghost Riders €< The Raveonettes
Boom Boom €< The Animals
Casseurs de Raison €< Pierre Rapsat
Down by the Riverside €< Bill Haley and His Comets
Down the Line €< Ricky Nelson
Guitar Freakout €< The Ventures
Hitchhike €< Martha & The Vandellas
Il Giardino Delle Delizie €< Ennio Morricone
Land of 1000 Dances €< Cannibal and the Headhunters
Let's Go €< The Routers
Love Is A Deserter €< The Kills
Lovers Who Wander €< Dion
Rebel Rouser €< Duane Eddy
State Trooper €< Bruce Springsteen
Teen Beat €< Sandy Nelson
Lots of rapid-fire snare drums. Provocative organ work. Teenage harmonies (teenagers like cars). You'll see: a perfect mix for driving and for being driven. AMX: Unsafe At Any Speed
Another Mix! This is 'Lost- Pirate Radio 2'! I posted another mix based upon the TV show a ways back (here). Since I have never seen the show, I had to do a lot of research. This 'research' consisted of thinking about sunny weather, daydreaming that I was a pirate, and swimming some. Arduous. Out of that came these two great mixes: highly appropriate for sitting around drinking margaritas, dancing in living rooms, wearing thongs/flip-flops.
You'll enjoy this, I promise. Download 'Lost- Pirate Radio 2' with just one lil' clicky.
And what do we have on such a mix? A song sung like a boy, like a girl, like a frog. We might hear this song sometime at Bouffant Bangout.
A song about being protected on the subway by the Guardian Angels. This is a finger-snappin', clap-happy disco tune. This group is a sort of vigilante city patrol, and they mocked it in Sunny.
More sunny day, happy time, mellow Calypso. Island music.
A song about being stranded in the Jungle, that, if it weren't potentially racist (cannibals in the jungle?!...), you also might hear at BB-out. Is it racist, or not? You'll have to listen to it and see!
One of those new-wave, dance-punk-before-the-fact, snotty girl song. It says: 'Can I have a taste of your ice cream? Can I interfere in your crisis?' 'No! Mind your own business!'
A sort of pseudo-cover of a Misfits song, but by Miss Kittin and the Hacker- you can dance to this one, despite the fact that it's lyrics are all like thus: "Mommy, Daddy, can I go out and kill tonight?".
Mind Your Own Business--- Delta 5 Rippin Kittin (Glove Radio Mix) ---Golden Boy With Miss Kittin Rock Lobster ---B-52s Ten Speed (Of God's Blood And Burial) ---Coheed & Cambria Standed in The Jungle --- the Cadets The Guardian Angel Is Watching Over Us--- Golden Flamingo Orchestra Featuring Margo Williams New Hollywood Babylon ---Don Cavalli Water--- The Esso Steel Band & Lloyd Simmons Anna ---Brute Force Steel Band Cool running ---Champaign Ain't got not home --- Clarence 'Frogman' Henry Sunny side of the street --- Big Shell Steel Band Camilla ---George Symonette
(I've tried an experiment: I'm writing two blogs simultaneously, so that you will have shorter posts, and more of them. We'll see if this works. They are opposed twins, so we'll call them Romulus and Remus. One was posted a few days back, this one today.)
The Above: another nearly randomly selected old CD, one of a growing number from Pennsylvania's own "Collectables Records", who reissue stuff only BenG has heard of. I'm going to mail away, at Box 35, Narberth PA, 19072, for the free catalog, and see if this label is still in business: I'll post the results. The copyright on the CD in front of me is from a decade ago, so we shall see.
Originally, the songs on this CD, "The Ad-Libs and Friends" were on the Red Bird and Blue Cat labels. I got this on a recent buying binge at AKA Music in Old City, next to the bookstore that throws out books every recycling day, around midnight. This practice of recycling their 'never gonna sells' is what produced the immensely popular "Philadelphia's Most Eligible Bachelorettes" magazine/pamphlet/catalog/ephemerus. Hard to select an appropriately summery song off this CD; not for lack, but rather because of a surplus, a surfeit, a surprising number of happy, clappy jems. I mean, how to choose between "Ooh Wee Oh Gee", "Gee Baby Gee", "Merry Christmas Baby", "The Boy from New York City", "Sugar Boy", and "Iko Iko"? With awesome music comes awesome responsibility, I've been known to say.
The initial attempt was to select the uppermost summerishly one, because part of how I am opposing Oregon and Pennsylvania here is that it so often rains in Oregon, and is sunny in Pennsylvania. ALWAYS. (This is not the very most interesting, or accurate, distinction: that's why I made other distinctions too.) Summery like flask-flip-flops:
But then I decided to give up on that task- so many so summery songs!- it would be like selecting my VERY BEST BLOG EVER, which, since all are
s o ! g o o d,
would be a task for a Deified Romulus. Instead, you get this minimal bidness, Beyonce-style riddim, lil' flex of a track. Dense chiming little percussion, an utterly purified bassline, no fluff there. This one gets honors for those reasons, and also because it musically has the most in common with the last post (though still not much), and is a bit of a surprise, innit? You know what the rest of the disc sounds like- doo wop. This is the oddball of the disc, and when in doubt, "Even or Odd?", we go with odd.
So maybe this battle should be about whether, now that I have more time for new-music magazines and more inclination to be on the internet (the internet was avoiding me before), would you care to have more "new now" bands like Salem, or stick to the "old odd" tracks like "Kicked Around"? This blog ain't a democracy- that leads to chaos, naturally and inevitably- but it is a bit of a Republic. (Remember your 'lessons' from last time about Machiavelli?) Which means that you, the plebs, the common unwashed uncouth unknown -but not unknowing- masses, do get some say. At the least I am curious what motivates and gratifies you, so that I can better control you. (halfsies kiddies)
THUS SPEAKS YOUR DICTATOR: I COMMAND YOU TO SPEAK in the comments.
[A] Mr. Lif is at Johnny Brenda's coming Monday (May 18th, my dad's birthday). That's him up der. A very Public Enemy-ish beat, which can only be understood as high praise. [B] The Roots, at their Roots' Picnic, are playing with Public Enemy, doing "Nation of Millions" all the way through. {also with TV on the Radio, The Black Keys, & Santigold} If you have $50, go; if not, see Lif with me. (He lives in Philly now.)
[C] Woody Allen is engaged in a legal spat with the founder of American Apparel. Dov Charney used Woody's image sans permission. I think Dov's billboard might have been saying that anti-Semites want to drag down any Jew who has sex? Maybe yes? Anyway, check the summary of AA's defense: 1)The Meteoric Rise of Dov Charney and His Company, American Apparel 2) The Media Vilifies Mr. Charney and Turns Against American Apparel 3) The Woody Allen/Annie Hall Epiphany 4) The Display of the Images [booty] 5) The Images as Mr. Charney's Artistic Expression, Social Commentary and Art Parody 6) Mr. Charney Consistently Champions the First Amendment's Freedom of Expression (full analysis by real lawyers here, NJK)
[D] Roxana Saberi was released from prison. She's an American reporter who was jailed for espionage, after a 15-minute trial, in Iran. Then she was let out. You already knew that, huh? Well, how about this: She used to be a "Miss North Dakota". She wears the charming white one-piece below, and says she would like to end both world hunger and politically motivated, judicially suspect jailings.
[E]Popped! musical goings-on is free and in my area June 20th. You can 'rent a tent' for $125.
[F]Steven Wright, who I web-blabbed about here, is playing the Keswick Theater. I don't really go see live comedy (do you?), but I though this presented me a golden opportunity to link to myself, which is done by any mature blog worth a hill of beans. He says things like this: One time a cop pulled me over for running a stop sign. He said, "Didn't you see the stop sign?" I said, "Yeah, but I don't believe everything I read."
{{ This song is just great. I'm thinking I'll play on my BBC Essential Mix, when I am finally a world-befamed DJ. }}
First, let's just state, forthrightly and with feeling, that I saw extra clowns. Not only are clowns notable as such, but the first one was outside of a bar, getting ready to do her thing. Of course, since she's a clown, she's got a bunch of kids around her, all ready for balloons and jokes and smiles and BEER i guess, because it is a bar after all. Also, clowns=fun and beer=fun, so Beery the Cheery Clown must be FUNfunFUN.
I also saw a few clownish things: Outside of Rob's comic shop, I saw a giant inflatable HULK ( ! Hulk Smash ! ), so I went in and said Hello to him.
I later saw a giant inflatable cross, with a nipple on it --IT'S ART : DON'T HAVE A COW MAN!!-- that was printed with the pattern of a Holstein cow.
I did a clownish thing: while walking out of Old City Coffee, I hooked the handle of my umbrella on the door. I then made a face, which included a smile (clowns smile or frown: always one-or-the-other). Amelia saw me and laughed, because that's what clowniness makes you do. Also, it wasn't raining that day, so it was like a prop, this umbrella, and clowns love props.
I also saw lots of poor driving, as if there were 8 clowns in the car: all harmless. Lots of turning left from the center lane: eh, who cares. My magnamanity regarding other people's various shortcomings is really touching, I think. It's the sort of thing you could totally praise me for, basically non-stop. And you can also praise me for the bounty of my blog, which is about to increase a fair bit. My time zone is now "summertime". So you will get a more-frequently logged blog. In fact, just in the last week or so, here are some topics, mixes, etc., that I have thought about generating.
Gary Numan: "Are Cars Electric?"
Putting pickles in salads : Good but intense (identical to me in this regard). Strictly, they were cornichons, 'cos I'm quality, but cornichons are just glorified, if glorious, pickles.
Maybe something about PJ Harvey, since she has a new album and will tour in Philly soon. June 7th (??...Tix as Birfday Gif...??)
A blog about blog-driven connections, including the world's oldest pharmancy, paintings and mom-as-muse(-maybe?). Oh, what's the connection? You Will Have To Tune In To See!!
Mixes: "You can't even DRIVE yet!" This would be drawn from CDs I've owned forever that are still classics -They can't just be old (I must have bought them long ago too), or obvious gems, like say Neil Young. They have to be something you might care, or need to, learn about. Aphex Twin-, Stone Roses-type things.
Underrated Albums or Bands; can we call this one "Slept On"? Elegant, innit?
More versions of "Shower Jamz!", which Kyle liked (Cf. Previous Post)
"Talky No Singy": songs where the singing is more talking than singing. No, not rap, ya goof. So far I'm considering Billy Bragg, this Pretenders song, Lou Rawls, maybe Sonic Youth (because they do this, but are they really that great?: jury's out man), Suicide, Jonathan Richaman's "Monlogue about Bermuda", which I talk about with regularity. Arab Strap too, natch. Suggestions welcome for any of these, by the by.
This mix was inspired by an arcane practice from my friend Kyle. He and his then-roommate used to sneak the favorite songs of the other guy onto the stereo when one was in the shower. A pleasant, if unexpected, way to start your day.
(Here's a song off of it, to sate your ears whilst you feast your eyes on this oh-so magical blog)
TRACKLISTING:
Wind-Up Doll *** Lee Perry and The Upsetters
I Can See Clearly*** Johnny Nash ("nothing but blue sky"!)
Move On Up *** Mark Eitzel (cover of Curtis Mayfield)
Last night on Earth*** Mekons- ("they can't hurt you now..."!)
The Way We Get By *** Spoon (piano!)
Oh, Pretty Woman *** Al Green (cover of Roy Orbison)
Alright *** Supergrass (keeping their teeth clean: super clean!)
Young Folks *** Peter Bjorn And John (Yeah!: Bein' Young!)
Lady Don't Tek No *** Latyrx (Booty Bassline! Sassy rappin'!)
Beng Beng Beng *** Femi Kuti (...heh heh...)
Oooh (Feat. Redman)*** De La Soul
Oh Yoko *** John Lennon (oh YO!)
Too Young *** Phoenix (Young again!)
To Be Young (is to be sad, is to be high) *** Ryan Adams (again: Young Again!)
Settin' the Woods on Fire *** Hank Williams ("you be daffy, and I'll be dilly; we'll order up two bowls of chili"!)
Bimbo *** Jimmy Dean
If we can land a man on the moon, surely I can win your heart *** Beulah
I made an iTunes playlist, driven by the same desire: to get the day off to a really nifty start. It works! If you don't believe me, listen to this mix every morning for about 3-6 days, and then leave comments and a 'before' and an 'after' picture, okay? Bet they look like this: before:
after:
I've had this playlist, growing and growing, for years: I pared it down to some essentials. Some of these are songs I know that Kyle would like or does actually like; some are my own favorites. That some of the songs are simply selfish makes me feel better, because I don't like making mixes for other people: other people are gross!
Lemme tell you though: just because I put some of mine own besties on here, does not preclude them from being thine own besties, too. For instance, if you do not know the Spoon song, you will love it (FACT). If Beulah songs don't make you happy and smile, you are dead inside (FACT). Phoenix is hit or miss, but this song?: hit (FACT). (They're mostly hit, by the by.) I mean, you've heard of these people: Ryan Adams Hank Williams Al Green Spoon De La Soul Yoko (haha JK it's John Lennon, ya dope). See, I don't even need to put spaces in there, because you know when the name starts/stops. There is nothing scary here, only 110% bestness and favoricity and gollytude. Download: Shower Jamz!.zip
Music; musing; must-haves.
The curatorial agenda. Sealing up a void whose vacuity was a source of distress to no one. The seed I am most likely to sow is a certain jargon. Built on tilt. The center of a new universe of counterfeit. Increasingly random and increasingly increasing.
THE SNAPBACK, ISSUE 1
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I created Soul Sides 20 years ago because I wanted an outlet to write about
my favorite records. The blog era feels bygone — and I clearly stopped
regularl...
Hotel Bar Sessions, Ep 31: Whose History?
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The HBS hosts sit down with Dr. Charles McKinney, Jr. to talk about whose
history is (and isn't) being taught.
Following on the heels of a recent and ...
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