Melvin Bliss's "Synthetic Substitution" is my favorite break of all time.
I love drum breaks and could go on for days about the greatest ones, but "Substitution" stands out. Those drums sound so immense, hit so hard and are so funky-- there's just nothing close.
On this week's 2 Busy Saying Yeah show, I mix and talk about 47 of my favorite songs that sample "Substitution", plus play the song itself.
1. Ultramagnetic MCs: Ego Tripping 2. Xperado: Watch Your Step feat. O.C. 3. Divine Force: Holy War 4. Ghostface Killah: Mighty Healthy 5. N.W.A.: Real Zaggin Don’t Die 6. Too Poetic: God Made Me Funky 7. Onyx: Throw Ya Gunz 8. Pharcyde: Ya Mama 9. Pete Rock & CL Smooth: For Pete’s Sake 10. Public Enemy: Don’t Believe the Hype 11. Willie D: Put the Fuckin’ Gun Away 12. MC Jr. Cas: Walk On the Wild Side [Club mix] 13. Almighty RSO: One in the Chamba feat. M.O.P. 14. Group Home: So Called Friends 15. T-Wiz: Good Thing Goin’ 16. Knowledge: Put On Your X 17. Def Jef: Black to the Future RMX 18. Top Choice Clique: Peace of Mind 19. Biz Markie: Cool V’s Tribute to Scratching 20. Supreme Nyborn: Versatile Extension 21. Ultramagnetic MCs: Pluckin’ Cards 22. Freddie Foxxx: Crazy Like a Foxxx 23. Percee P & Ekim: Now They Wanna See Me 24. Robbie B & DJ Jazz: Comin’ Correct 25. AMG: Trunk of Funk 26. Zhigge: Toss It Up 27. Public Enemy: Brothers Gonna Work It Out RMX 28. Public Enemy: Brothers Gonna Work It Out 29. Von Love: This Is How It Should Be Done 30. Choice M.C.: This Is the B-Side feat. Chill Phill & MC Sergio 31. Ol Dirty Bastard: Cuttin’ Headz feat. the RZA 32. Wu-Tang Clan: Clan In Da Front 33. Naughty by Nature: Yoke the Joker 34. Ghostface Killah: The Champ 35. Funk Lab All-Stars: La Da Da 36. Digital Underground: Tie the Knot 37. Too $hort: Hoes 38. EPMD: Mr. Bozack 39. De La Soul: Stone Age 40. Coolio: I Remember feat. J-Ro & Billy Boy 41. Method Man: All I Need 42. Scarface: Murder by Reason of Insanity 43. Eazy E: Eazy Street 44. Gang Starr: Code of the Streets 45. New Style: Drop the Bomb 46. C.E.B.: Get the Point 47. Brotha Lynch Hung: 24 Deep 48. Melvin Bliss: Synthetic Substitution
I'm currently working on turning this sprawling podcast into a streamlined, hard-hitting mixtape. When I get around to that, I'll share what I know about "Synthetic Substitution" itself and about Melvin McClellan, p/k/a Melvin Bliss.
I love the feel of this song and wish I knew a lot more disco in this vein-- warm, melodic, totally spaced out. Harry Ray and Al Goodman, both of the Moments and later Ray, Goodman & Brown, are all over the credits and I'm guessing the backing track is from Wood, Brass & Steel.
Since I see Jimmy Mayes's name in the credits on the (nice) ballad on the flip side, I'm pretty sure Mill Street Depo is the same group who cut this rare slice of Chicago funk a few years earlier:
Jimmy Mayes & the Mill Street Depot" "Monkey Shine" (De Caballero, 19??)
I like just about any riff on "Monkey Time". This one is definitely the rawest I've heard. According to his not-logged-into-in-the-last-2-years Myspace page, Jimmy Mayes is performing.
The homeboys Trackademicks & Tap.10 just dropped the third volume of their [Re]Mixtape series, which features Tap mixing a lot of Trackademicks's recent remixes, both official and unofficial.
Trackademicks is one of my favorite current Bay producers and though I haven't had time to check out the whole release yet, it features a bunch of things that have been out for a while that I like. You can grab the latest [Re]Mixtape free here.
Here's one of my favorites from the previous volume:
Ready for the World: "Oh Sheila" (Trackademicks RMX) (2006)
Speaking of Trackademicks, Teedra Moses's recent street album, Royal Patience, features three collaborations with him and is also worth your time. Her Complex Simplicity, from 2005, was to me one of the best R&B albums of the last decade and her new music is strong, too. You can download the whole album free from her site.
The horn part from this has been stuck in my head since I heard it sampled in the trailer for Kick-Ass:
Trifle: "One Way Glass" (Dawn, 1970)
The album this is from, First Meeting, is a great record. Like their more heavily sweated label-mates Demon Fuzz, Trifle are kinda hard to pin down: sort of jazzy, sort of psych-y, sort of funky-- basically, prog but not annoying. There's a Japanese reissue of First Meeting that's pricey but worth it.
2 Busy Saying Yeah - Why you gotta keep bringing up old hits?
In this episode I play and talk about some of my favorite songs that got reissued in 2009. The bulk of it is soul and funk, although there's also disco, psych, gospel, rap and weird foreign hybrids of many of the aforementioned styles.
Most of the selections are from releases that are legitimately licensed and carefully assembled, with proper mastering, handsome packaging and thoughtful annotations. I have a lot of respect for those who take the time and effort to do it right. I hope you support them so that they can continue the work that they do.
1. Man: “And In the Beginning” Revelation 2. Little Francisco Greaves: “Moving-Grooving” V/A - Panamá! 3: Calypso Panameño, Guajira Jazz & Cúmbia Típica on the Isthmus 1960-75 3. The Blue Rhythm Combo: “Take the Funky Feeling” V/A - Tropical Funk Experience 4. Kukumbas: “Respect” V/A - Psych Funk 101 5. Chocolate Snow: “Inflation” V/A - Eccentric Soul: Smart's Palace 6. Lyman Woodard Organization: “On Your Mind” Saturday Night Special 7. Nite-Liters: “Valdez In the Country” A-Nal-Y-Sis 8. Demon Fuzz: “Disillusioned” Afreaka! 9. The Pretty Things: “You Might Even Say” Philippe Debarge 10. P.E. Hewitt Jazz Ensemble: “Bada Que Bash” V/A - Spiritual Jazz - Esoteric, Modal + Deep Jazz From the Underground 1968-77 11. Lizzy Mercier Descloux: “Hard-Boiled Babe” V/A - Ze 30 - Ze Records Story 1979-2009 12. Gichy Dan's Beachwood No. 9: “On a Day Like Today” (Todd Terje's Friendly Children Edit) V/A - ZEVolution: ZE Records Re-Edited 13. Chemise: “She Can't Love You” V/A - DJ Spinna Presents the Boogie Back: Post Disco Club Jams 14. Cubie Burke: “Down For Double” [JM After-Session M&M Mix] V/A - John Morales - The M&M Mixes 15. Herman's Rocket: “Hanged in the Universe” V/A - Jean-Pierre Massiera - Psychoses Discoïd (1976-1981) 16. Chorus Reverendus: “Dans Son Euphorie” V/A - Wizzz! Psychorama Français 1966-70 17. Apostles of Music: “Wade In the Water” V/A - Local Customs: Downriver Revival 18. The Metros: “Since I Found My Baby” Sweetest One 19. Willie Hutch: “A Love That's Worth Havin'” Soul Portrait 20. Ronnie McNeir: “In Summertime” Ronnie McNeir 21. Andrew Brown: “You Made Me Suffer” V/A - Light: On the South Side 22. Sugar Pie DeSanto: “Use What You Got” V/A - Go Go Power • The Complete Chess Singles 1961-1966 23. The Daughters of Eve: “Help Me Boy” V/A - 2131 South Michigan Avenue: 60s Garage & Psychedelia From U.S.A. & Destination Records 24. Brigitte Fontaine: “Il Pleut“ V/A - Dirty French Psychedelics 25. 24-Carat Black: “I Want to Make Up” Gone: The Promises of Yesterday 26. Sensational Saints: “How Great Thou Art” V/A - Forge Your Own Chains 27. Amazing Farmer Singers of Chicago: “I Got a Telephone In My Bosom” V/A - Fire In My Bones: Raw Rare + Otherworldly African-American Gospel (1944-2007) 28. The Relatives: “Don't Let Me Fall” Don't Let Me Fall 29. John Heartsman & Circles: “Up From Down” Music of My Heart 30. Azambuja & CIA: “Tema De Azambuja” V/A - Black Rio 2: Original Samba Soul 1968-1981 31. Tafo: “Karye Pyar” feat. Nahid Akhtar V/A - The Sound of Wonder! 32. The Animated Egg: “Sock It My Way” Guitar Freakout 33. Natural Elements: “Tri-Boro” 1999 34. Sport "G" & Mastermind: “Live” V/A - Random Rap 35. Orchestre Poly-Rythmo De Cotonou: “Koutoulié” The Vodoun Effect - Funk & Sato From Benin's Obscure Labels 1972-1975
I don't generally spend much time listening to other DJs' mixes or radio shows because they cut into the time I have to seek out new music. When I make exceptions, they're for stuff friends have done or mixes which I think can turn me on to something I want to know.
Chairman Mao's monthly radio shows for Spine Magazine, the Spine Blowing Decisions series, are both. In case his reputation doesn't precede him, Mao is a longtime NYC DJ and rap writer whose knowledge is as deep as his taste is good. His shows focus on obscure soul, funk and disco and usually have a theme or style (e.g., disco raps, Halloween music, tortured ballads). They always include at least a handful of things I wish I knew or had forgotten about and am delighted to be reminded of. His dry, occasional voiceovers are a nice touch, too.
This week I finally got around to listening to Mao's December show and it really knocked me out. The episode centers on late 70s/early 80s sounds: disco, modern soul, boogie, funk and the selections are uniformly great. There were songs I hadn't heard in too long, songs I'd never heard before but instantly wanted to hear again and even some songs I'd been saving to build mixes of my own around (damn you, Mao!). It's the best collection of soul sounds I've listened to in a long time.
There's no track listing per se, but Mao scatters some clues throughout the mix and also his blog features scans of some of the songs he included, like the following:
(One track that's not pictured is the Gospel Soul Revivals' awesome Slave knockoff, "If Jesus Came Today". The track is featured on the Numero Group's new and wonderful Good God! Born Again Funk, which came out Tuesday and which I can't recommend highly enough.)
But uh, back to the lecture at hand. Spine Magazine doesn't host older shows and the episode of Spine Blowing Decisions is no longer available from Spine's site, so with Mao's permission, I've uploaded the show:
Billy Jones was an American singer who lived and recorded in the Netherlands, first as a member of Oscar Harris & the Twinkle Stars and later solo. I pulled out his Birds of the Sea album intending to rip one track and ended up getting sucked into the whole thing-- it's really good front to back. There's some more info about Jones and other artists from the Netherlands's surprisingly fertile soul scene here.
I just got around to listening all the way through the homie DJ B.Cause's tribute to Roger Troutman, Playin' Kinda Ruff: The Troutman Legacy and it's a really enjoyable listen.
Although I know and love most of Roger and Zapp's hits, for whatever reason I never listened to much beyond the first 2-3 LPs. Josh's mix draws together all of the much-played, much-sampled classics, some of the rap songs that stem from them and a whole lot of other stuff you probably haven't heard, from pre-fame recordings with the Human Body to oddball collaborations from the 90s. Josh is an incredibly skilled DJ and knows his way around a multi-track, so he's able to make all kinds of transitions that I would never attempt sound smooth and natural.
Speaking of Roger, a recent Soulstrut post reminded me of this, which is one of my favorite performances by him:
Vontel: "4 My Homiez" feat. Roger Troutman (Fo' Life, 1998)
Vontel's an Arizona rapper. The album this is drawn from was partly produced by Battlecat, but this track was produced by Dre LeSean and Robert "The Professor" Anderson. Troutman's ad-libs are gorgeous.
The Real Sound of Chicago is a 2-CD collection of disco and boogie tracks compiled by the two guys who run Chicago's Peabody's Records, which I'm told is a great store. Their selections are all really obscure and rare; several are great to boot. The comp is a little frustrating because the liner notes are uninformative and (as is too often the case with BBE releases) completely illegible, but it's worth copping if only for Martin L. Dumas, Jr.'s insanely great "Sun Goddess" rip-off.
Kinda in the same vein but not remotely as rare as anything on The Real Sound of Chicago, I thought I might as well throw this up:
Heaven & Earth were also from Chicago, although I think this may have been cut in Philly because it features PIR ace Dexter Wansel.
I don't generally mess around with a song this great, but I've edited this track ever so slightly. It's a small thing, but the original version comes in with a fill that confuses the shit out of me every time I try to play the song. I snipped it off. This is still a little tricky because it comes in on the 3 but to me it's way more comprehensible.
Willie Mitchell passed away earlier this month. He produced some of the greatest soul music ever made, so this week's show collects 45 of my favorites, including some big hits from Al Green and Ann Peebles, as well as great music from a handful of lesser-knowns.
It's tough to talk about Mitchell without talking about Al Green, the artist Mitchell worked the most with and had his greatest success with. Green's gift is so overwhelming and his vocal identity is so established that it's easy to overlook Mitchell's role in shaping it. But to hear Green's work prior to recording with Mitchell, or even to hear their early recordings before Mitchell crafted Green's signature style, and to compare it with his mature style is to understand exactly how important a producer can be.
Mitchell plucked Green from relative obscurity, brought him to Memphis and recorded him for almost two years before they hit upon Green's sound. Early singles, like "Back Up Train", "Gotta Find a New World" or "All Because", show Green to be a better than average soul singer—strong, gritty, agile—but offer no clue as to how sinuous or graceful Green's vocals could be. It took two albums and a dartboard approach to find out what worked and apparently even Hi Records didn't recognize it at first; Green's breakthrough, "Tired of Being Alone", wasn't the first single from Green's second album with Mitchell, Al Green Gets Next to You, it was the fourth.
Once Mitchell hit upon a formula for Green, he worked subtle variations on a style that paired lush strings and jazzy chords with a restrained, lightly earthy backbeat. It was a perfect setting for Green’s music and their run of albums from I'm Still in Love With You to Livin' for You is almost flawless.
Mitchell’s touch was also evident in a host of other records he cut at Hi Records’ Memphis studio, both for Hi mainstays like O.V. Wright and Ann Peebles and for out-of-towners like the Detroit Emeralds and Denise LaSalle. Mitchell was not just a producer, he was an engineer, too, and the sound he coaxed from the room and from Hi’s band is instantly identifiable. Signature elements stamp all of these productions, like the wheeze of Charlie Hodges’s organ, the full, slightly tame sound of the Memphis Horns and especially the bone-dry snap of a snare drum, whether played by Al Jackson, Jr. or Howard Grimes.
The other acts Mitchell produced may have been less successful than Al Green, but many made remarkable music. When their songs were up to snuff, O.V. Wright, Syl Johnson and Ann Peebles all regularly made music that was nearly on Green’s level. Soul journeymen like the Masqueraders and George Jackson cut some of their best material with Mitchell, too.
I’ve tried to capture some of the breadth of Mitchell’s work in my mix. It’s not really his greatest hits (that would have required too much Al Green) or a selection of songs that have been popularized by sampling (though many were) and Mitchell’s work as a trumpeter and bandleader gets really short shrift (truth be told, I really dislike the music he made under his own name). I chose my favorites and tried to shape them into a mix that would function as an introduction or a celebration of his incredible body of productions. Enjoy.
1. Al Green: Love & Happiness 2. Al Green: Love Ritual (Remix) 3. Ann Peebles: Somebody's On Your Case 4. O.V. Wright: Ace of Spades 5. Syl Johnson: The Love You Left Behind 6. Ann Peebles: It's Your Thing 7. O.V. Wright: A Nickel & a Nail 8. Willie Mitchell: Groovin' 9. Al Green: So You're Leaving 10. Al Green: Tired of Being Alone 11. Al Green: Let's Stay Together 12. Ann Peebles: I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down 13. Al Green: Call Me 14. Al Green: Your Love Is the Morning Sun 15. George Jackson: Aretha, Sing One For Me 16. Jean Plum: Here I Go Again 17. Syl Johnson: Anyway the Wind Blows 18. Ann Peebles: I Can't Stand the Rain 19. The Detroit Emeralds: Baby Let Me Take You In My Arms 20. Al Green: I'm a Ram 21. O.V. Wright: Are You Going Where I'm Coming From 22. Ann Peebles: Run, Run, Run 23. O.V. Wright: I'd Rather Be Blind, Cripple & Crazy 24. Ann Peebles: Trouble, Heartaches & Sadness 25. Al Green: I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry 26. Al Green: I'm Glad You're Mine 27. Al Green: What a Wonderful Thing Love Is 28. O.V. Wright: Let's Straighten It Out 29. The Masqueraders: Let the Love Bells Ring 30. Al Green: La La For You 31. Syl Johnson: Steppin' Out 32. Syl Johnson: I Hate I Walked Away 33. Syl Johnson: Could It Be I'm Falling In Love 34. Al Green: I Wish You Were Here 35. Al Green: Simply Beautiful 36. Erma Coffee: You Made Me What I Am 37. George Jackson: Let Them Know You Care 38. Al Green: Something 39. Al Green: Strong As Death (Sweet As Love) 40. Syl Johnson: Wind Blow Her Back My Way 41. Betty Everett: Just a Matter of Time 42. Teacher's Edition: Sleepy People 43. Al Green: Jesus Is Waiting 44. Syl Johnson: It Ain't Easy 45. Ann Peebles: I Still Love You
If there's interest, I might break the mix into individual tracks and upload them as a .zip, but it's kinda a lot of work, so we'll see.
Statistical shits and giggles:
Number of songs by Al Green: 17 Number of songs by Syl Johnson: 7 Number of songs by Ann Peebles: 6 Number of songs by O.V. Wright: 5 Number of songs by George Jackson: 2 Number of songs by none of the above: 8
I spent part of the morning checking out Starlito a/k/a All Star's latest free album, the really enjoyable I Still Love You: Live from the Back of the Class. (Download here.)
I like Starlito's sleepy flow, he's a good lyricist and he chooses beats well. It's just good rap music.
The album was assembled by Atlanta's DJ Burn One, who runs the excellent BLVD ST blog, which rides about as hard as anybody for country rap tunes. Burn One has put together a number of great unmixed artist mixtapes this year, like KD's Soul Inn and G-Mane's Sunday on Da Porch and Smoke Some Kill.
He has also has made some of my favorite beats this year under his production alias, Mick Vegas, producing for rappers like G-Side, KD, Pill and P.Dukes. A lot of his productions are sample-based and sound pretty simple, but he chooses great loops and hooks them up well-- they frequently send me running over to my record room to track down a song I haven't listened to in way too long.
Case in point, this one from G-Mane's recent Sunday on Da Porch, which was entirely produced by Mick Vegas:
I recognized the Hi Records snare sound but couldn't remember who the artist was, which gave me a great excuse to revisit some records from Ann Peebles, O.V. Wright, etc. until I heard what I was looking for:
BTW, I'm super-juiced for the Numero Group's forthcoming 4-CD/6-LP anthology of Syl Johnson's 1959-1972 output. Apparently they've got 20 unreleased songs and I trust the booklet, packaging, etc. will be up to their usual, stellar standards.
(Still available for free download here and here!)
Anyhow, Aye Jay is a pretty well-connected guy and he started offering Cohen's watercolors to various art world friends for further embellishment--art stars like Shepard Fairey, Barry McGee, Frank Kozik, Matt Loomis, David Choe and lots more took Cohen's pictures and dressed them up with further layers of words, images, character, colors, etc.
A lot of the resulting pictures are pretty great but my favorite part is usually Cohen's interpretations of what the new pictures represent in the blurbs that accompany some of them. While these comments could easily succumb to cuteness or preciousness, many are perceptive and I find them endearing because they remind me a little bit of what it was like to be a kid and to constantly try and make sense of the world from whatever fragments of information drifted down to me.
To choose one more or less at random (i.e., I was able to scan this one in full without messing up the binding):
I take it that Cohen's orginal drawing is the colorful part; the remainder of the picture was contributed by Brent Rollins, who designed Ego Trip and too many great album covers to mention. Cohen's blurb beneath reads: "'Big up Cohen.' What does that mean? Respect? Respect Cohen? Hmmm... this one makes me think it is raining crayons. An umbrella is needed. Yeah, an umbrella. Just a regular umbrella is all that is needed. I am the person holding the umbrella-- I did not get damaged. I am the only one who has not gotten damaged yet." I hope he never does.
So, uh, not really the same thing, but sort of the same thing, The Rest Is Up to You got me thinking about songs where one artist has taken another person's music unaltered and just layered something new on top. These were the three that came to me off the bat:
Ice-T: "Soul On Ice" (Sire, 1988)
"Hustler's Convention" + "Harlem Buck Street Dance" = the best.
Ghostface Killah: "Holla" (Def Jam, 2004)
Ghostface Killah: "Big Girl" (Def Jam, 2006)
When I first heard that Ghost was releasing an R&B album, Wizard of Poetry, I was halfway hoping it would be along the lines of these.
I've been meaning to put in a plug for a pair of free mixes my homeboy Phill Most a/k/a Phill Most Chill a/k/a the Soulman recently put out and, this, the shortest day of the year, feels like a good time for this wintry pair.
Phill's nice with the mic, the pen, the marker, beat machines and other stuff, but he's deservedly best known for his World of Beats tape series, which was among the first to mix rare beats and breaks. Throughout the 90s, Phill regularly dropped tapes featuring obscure original tracks sampled for recent rap hits alongside unknown gems. For many people, Phill's tapes were not just an introduction to the music their favorite songs were based on, they were a gateway to record digging.
Now, having said all that, I actually was never a huge fan of his World of Beats tapes. As much as I love a lot of the music he put on them and as much respect as I have for Phill as a digger and listener, I often found them a little choppy for my taste. Like the rap songs that popularized many of the records he mixed, Phill's tapes tended to focus on little four- or 8- or 16-bar sections-- drum breaks, basslines, loops-- and however hot these pieces were, I usually felt like they didn't stick with me the way songs do.
His two new tapes are a real departure in that respect. Each is a roughly hour-long collection of songs that are minimally mixed and flow naturally.
The first mix is devoted to psych, and it's largely made up of quiet, folk-ish tunes. Many are acoustic, many are female-fronted and quite a few are gorgeous. It's a great nighttime listen and it had me revisiting a few recent reissues that are in a similar style: Dirty French Psychedelics, Fuzzy Felt Folk and Folk Is Not a Four Letter Word and Folk Is Not a Four Letter Word 2. If you enjoy Phill's mix, all are really worth buying.
The second mix is closer to traditional Soulman territory-- it's mainly made up of soul songs, although there's some jazz and a few other things in the mix, too. It's a little bit groovier than Beautiful but overall the tone is similar-- much of it is slow, pretty and reflective.
In this season of long, cold nights, various versions of "I'll Keep My Light in My Window" have been spending a lot of time on my turntable.
"I'll Keep My Light in My Window" was co-written and first performed by Leonard Caston, who had been a member of the 60s-era Chicago soul group the Radiants before joining Motown. There, he had his greatest success working with Eddie Kendricks; Caston co-produced Kendricks's biggest hit, "Keep On Truckin'" and co-wrote and co-produced the untoppable "Girl You Need a Change of Mind", among other things. Caston and his wife, Carolyn Majors, cut one LP, a self-titled flop that included their recording of "I'll Keep My Light in My Window".
The song was co-written by Terri McFaddin, who had collaborated with Caston on some songs for Kendricks and later went on to co-write Patrice Rushen's "Forget Me Nots".
I don't know how the song became a staple; as far as I can tell, no version of the song ever charted. Nonetheless, it's been recorded many, many times, both by gospel artists (e.g., the Mighty Clouds of Joy, Shirley Caesar, etc.) and secular ones (Diana Ross, Eruption, etc.). Here are five of my favorite versions.
This was the first version I heard, thanks to Chi Ali. I love the guitar part. This version was arranged by Tony Silvester from the Main Ingredient and the ubiquitous Bert "Super Charts" DeCoteaux.
The New York Community Choir was a group that included Phyllis Joubert and Benny Diggs; both made a bunch of great music that bridges the gap between the church and the disco. There are three versions of this recording: a truncated album version, a punched-up disco 12" version and this one, which is my favorite.
This was from of those eras where the Temptations were lacking not just in fashion sense but also in star power-- they had no Eddie Kendricks, no David Ruffin, no Dennis Edwards, not even a Damon Harris. Even so, their vocal and the arrangement are great.
This week's 2 Busy Saying Yeah is a mix of 38 Christmas songs, mostly rap, but with some soul, too.
As a genre, Christmas releases tend toward the superficial, the exploitative, the quick cash-in, but they can be pretty entertaining. This week I play a lot of seasonal-themed crap and also some of my favorite Christmas songs.
The rap portion of the show (roughly the first 70 minutes) features a lot of stuff I enjoy because it is so clearly throwaway product-- strip-club songs dressed up with tinsel (the Ying Yang Twins x2!), Xmas trees flocked with filth (Jiggie Gee), perfunctory remakes (Jim Jones, H-Town) and stuff that's only connected to the holiday in the most arbitrary way (the Jacka & Husalah). In many of the songs, the disconnect is gleeful.
The latter half of the show features some more traditional holiday music. There are plenty more throwaways, many of which nonetheless hit a nerve, like the Miracles' gorgeous take on "Merry Gentlemen", Sun Ra's goofy doowop or James Brown's "Let's Unite the World at Christmas", a song that never fails to put me in a more benevolent mood.
1. Run DMC: Christmas In Hollis 2. Jim Jones: Ballin' On Xmas 3. Ying Yang Twins: Deck Da Club 4. Hard Call Xmas: My Christmas Bells 5. B-Boy All Stars: B-Boy Christmas Shout Outs 6. Dana Dane: Dana Dane Is Coming to Town 7. C-Murder & Master P: Christmas In Da Ghetto 8. Kam: Holiday Madness 9. Poison Clan: Christmas Spliff 10. The Treacherous Three: Xmas Rap feat. Doug E. Fresh 11. Kurtis Blow: Christmas Rappin' 12. Super Jay: Santa's Rap Party 13. Jiggie Gee: Christmas Fuckin' Day 14. Juice Crew All Stars: Cold Chillin' Christmas feat. Big Daddy Kane, Roxanne Shante, MC Shan & Fly Ty 15. Sweet Tee: Let the Jingle Bells Rock 16. K-Nock: Where Dey At Yo! feat. 24-K 17. Snoop Dogg: How We Kick It On Christmas feat. Kokane 18. The Cold Crew: Rappin' Christmas 19. Audio Two: Christmas Rhymin’ 20. Outkast: Player's Ball 21. Trick Daddy: Ain't No Santa 22. Ghostface Killah: Ghostface X-mas 23. Ying Yang Twins: Carol of Da Bellz 24. Snoop Doggy Dogg: Santa Claus Goes Straight to the Ghetto feat. Bad A$$, Daz, Nate Dogg & Tray Dee 25. The Jacka & Husalah: Halloween Christmas Gremlins 26. The Jackson 5: Christmas Won't Be the Same 27. Marvin Gaye: Purple Snowflakes 28. James Brown: I'm Your Christmas Friend, Don't Be Hungry 29. James Brown: Hey America 30. James Brown: Christmas Is Love 31. Chocolate Snow: Let Me Be Your Christmas Toy 32. The Emotions: What Do the Lonely Do at Christmas? 33. Lou Rawls: Christmas Will Really Be Christmas 34. Stevie Wonder: What Christmas Means to Me 35. Sun Ra: It's Christmas Time 36. James Brown: Let's Unite the World at Christmas 37. Smokey Robinson & the Miracles: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen 38. H-Town: Knockin’ Boots For Christmas
The Relatives were a Dallas, TX group that recorded some of the roughest and rawest soul music you'll ever hear.
They were led by a preacher, Reverend Gean West, and while many of their songs deal with religious themes, I can see them appealing to even those who don't appreciate religious music. Partly it's the fact that the lyrics are more concerned with suffering and personal desperation than praise or the after-life, but also the music, from heavy ballads to psychedelic funk, is just so forceful. A new reissue collecting all three of their 45s and a handful of unreleased 1971-1975 songs is available on vinyl and mp3 from the Heavy Light Records website, which has soundclips. I was sold after hearing "Don't Let Me Fall" but just about all of the others are great, too.
Here's a video clip of the Relatives performing a song that might be my least favorite track from the release but which is still pretty good:
Yesterday I saw a lot of Twitter buzz about Domu, the English producer & DJ, quitting the game via a post at his blog. I've never followed electronic dance music closely, so I only know bits and pieces of Domu's tangled discography (dozens under his own name plus plenty more under inevitable electronic aliases-- Umod, Bakura, etc. etc.). Still, I like much of what I've heard (e.g., "Worldwide", which I put in a 2BSY mix a few weeks back) and found his goodbye message moving.
I also found myself identifying with a lot of what he said. I became a DJ because I love sharing music with other people. I feel incredibly privileged to be able to make a living doing that. But I also experience a zillion frustrations and frequently think about hanging it up. The bottom line is I used to enjoy DJing a lot more when it felt like a release; often these days it feels like a job.
The frustrations and anxieties Domu describes aren't uncommon; still, I've never heard a DJ articulate them quite so starkly:
It’s over. I can’t go into the personal reasons, but of course will leave you some explanation as to how I got here. It feels a bit like walking away from a life of crime or the Mafia. I am Carlito, I have finally made the break from the old dangerous way of making a living. I just hope Benny from the Bronx doesn’t shoot me as I am boarding the last train out of here. The point is that I am no longer Domu. He is a character, always has been, and as of Friday 13th November 2009, he no longer exists. Neither does Umod, Sonar Circle, Bakura, Yotoko, Rima, Zoltar, Blue Monkeys, Realside or any of the other names I put out music under. I am cancelling all my gigs and not taking any more. My hotmail is closed, my Twitter is closed and my Facebook is closed. If any of you want to talk to me and know me well enough to have my mobile number then that is still the same, and please feel free to call any time. My other email address I mail from occasionally is still open to tie up any loose ends.
I had started to change, for the worse I am now sure. My confusion was growing, my insecurity and bitterness getting out of hand, a lack of creative direction and focus were leading me somewhere very dark. I have felt so depressed by all of this. Believe me I have searched my soul long and hard this year to find the reasons again why I do this, but I can’t locate them. Too much of ‘me’ is mixed up into all of this, and no one should ever give so much of himself or herself to a job. I once believed in all of it, that I made and played music for a certain type of person, for people who didn’t want to adhere to the ‘normal’ way of life, the free thinker, the independent or open minded type who was bored of the genres, the staples, the blueprints or the formulae. The underground. But I just don’t truly believe I am needed in this battle anymore. It has been passed down to another generation, who are doing it their way, and I have no desire to try and edge in and start proclaiming to be fighting a fight that is no longer mine. I am a 31-year-old man. I can’t claim to be holding a torch up to something that meant so much to me at 15. At 21, maybe. But now, after ten years going full time, I think I have said all I had to say. My creative light has dimmed. Maybe because I started so early, who can tell? But I feel satisfied that this is it.
I have had an amazing time. I’ve travelled the world, drank and partied and made a decent living out of entertaining people throughout all of my 20’s. I met some incredible people in cities I never dreamed I would visit, shared my thoughts and collected wisdom from a huge range of deeply profound and lovely people. But I have also met some real arseholes, and I could feel I was becoming one. Playing records I wasn’t sure I liked to people who had no idea who I was. I had gone cold, cold to the music, to the reactions and to the point of it all. I was changing what I thought I liked, so that I would be liked. I am not a chameleon. I am not Madonna, I can’t stay abreast of the current styles and keep changing with it just to stay in fashion or retain some kind of credible status or career. I have had my moment. If you know me well, you would have sensed a change in me over the last two years. I have always suffered with problems of confidence, but I know that’s not why I am throwing in the towel. I feel like I have to change so much of what I think is ‘me’ to carry on. What I believe in, how to talk to people, how to behave. I just don’t think I can be so arrogant and harsh to stand out anymore. There is so much noise out there that people have to shout louder and louder to be heard. And for what? I am beating myself up over something I no longer believe in for an income that is stressfully patchy and more often than not, very low.
I used to say I owed it to ‘the fight’ to keep going. My belief in that has waned over the last few years too. Yes we needed Coltrane to go against the grain, to sacrifice his well-being and life to create beautiful art. We needed all of them, creative and unique beings burning brightly in our souls, our influences and idols that created the music and the movements that can provide us with sanity, sanctuary and meaning through our confusing lives. But music has lost some of it’s meaning to me as a medium. It’s everywhere; everyone is making it, playing it, giving it away, and trying to make a living. So many people have a voice in it now it is hard to pick out what is cutting edge from what I actually truly feel. I have gotten numb to my life’s biggest passion, and I need to leave it for a while to see if I can ever get it back to how it was.
Some have attributed meaning and understanding to my some of my work. I know it is special to some people, and my message was understood by a few, which I am very grateful to have come to know over the years. I was lucky enough to catch a ride in it for a while, was recognised by some very special and talented people and I earned the respect of my peers and achieved a hell of a lot in a short space of time. There have been huge highs whilst playing music to all sorts of crowds, creating an atmosphere and being in control. I have felt the joy and adrenaline rush of the success, alongside the emptiness and despair of the empty club or the unresponsive floor. Now I recognise I have done all that, I need to put it all behind me and move on, and the only way to do that is to disappear. It has to end sometime, and as I keep saying, everything is finite. I don’t want to lose everything else in my life for this. I just don’t believe in it enough to make that sacrifice. The kids are fighting the battle now. I hope I influenced some of them, I know I have, and that gives me a sense of ease doing this. I haven’t wasted 10 years, I know I have bought joy and hope to many of the disenfranchised, the open-minded, the musical outsider or the devoted dancer. There are people creating things and using technology in a way that I am having to try and catch up to, but I no longer feel the desire to. They are doing it better than I ever could now. It’s their time, and mine has passed. You can either think I am being incredibly brave by admitting it or incredibly weak and stupid for stopping. But it’s just how I feel. I was going wrong in many aspects of my life, and I need to start making a change. I have no idea how long this piece will stay up, but this site won’t be here forever. Please feel free to copy and paste and pass on to preserve it, to let others know why I left, assuming anyone cares.
I have tears in my eyes now. I have so many people to thank for all the personal and professional support they have given me over the years, but I shall do that personally in time. But I want to thank everyone who has bought a song, paid an entrance fee, had a dance or just come up and spoke to me about life, music, the world or whatever. You have given me a dream-like blessed existence for many years. If I have inspired anyone, then I am a happy man. You all have certainly inspired me, and I want to use those years of travelling and sharing to good effect, not this anger and confusion I feel towards it all now. I need to find meaning to the next phase of my life. So I bid you all farewell. I am just too sensitive to keep up the façade of something that doesn’t feel right. I knew it would come someday, maybe some of you that knew me saw it too. I have so much love and respect for my peers and teachers that are carrying on with the struggle, and want the next generation to achieve the best they can for themselves and their art. I am just not a lifer. I’ve traded up, and I’m out.
I’ll leave you all with this. Life isn’t the X-Factor. No one has a God given right to his or her dream or ambitions coming true. I have worked hard and had some great luck. I followed some opportunities, squandered others. I have no regrets, other than not stopping when I knew I should have done this time last year. The only thing you have to guide you through your life is your instinct. Sometimes the right decision isn’t the easiest, but between your conscience and your intuition you will find the answer. Please listen to it. It’s you.
I'm in NYC, about 3,000 miles from my records and scanner, so here's a song without a picture. I recently went back to the Funk Inc. record this is from, Superfunk, and thought it sounded great.
Today's one of those perfect Bay Area fall days, so bright, warm and clear it almost makes up for the fact that we don't get real summers. This sounds right:
Just in time for Halloween, the homeboy DJ Day and Exile got busy with "Thriller" last night at the Root Down in LA:
Their live routines are incredible.
Here's another from a few months back in which they go in on D-Train's "You're the One for Me":
Incidentally, Exile's most recent album, Radio, is very good. The concept is wild-- he made an entire album out of sounds sampled from the radio (voices, static, buzz, tones, instruments, etc.)-- and the execution is even better. I prefer it to a lot of the other more-hyped dublab stuff from L.A.
He also produced the entirety of Fashawn's Boy Meets World, which I bought the other day but haven't got around to digesting yet. Fashawn's free Alchemist-produced mixtape was pretty enjoyable (Leon Ware! Jackson Sisters! Sammy Nestico! etc.!).
This is one of those LPs that has kicked around my house for 10+ years that I never particularly liked but held onto for some reason. I knew it was sought-after but its value never really made sense to me. Somehow it suddenly sounds great today.
A few months ago I saw this amazing trailer over at Soulsides:
I pre-ordered with the quickness and today the mailman brought me this:
Numero Group is easily one of the best labels reissuing music-- their care in every element of their releases, from research, to licensing, to packaging is astounding-- but Light: On the South Side is a first for them, a book of photographs with a companion album. The book contains a series of black and white pictures taken by Michael L. Abramson in the nightclubs on the South side of Chicago between 1975 and 1977. The photos are amazing and evocative, capturing all the beauty and ugliness, excitement and boredom, exultation and desperation of too many nights out.
The companion album (plus bonus 45 with the first 1000 orders) is a perfect complement, collecting 18 slices of funky blues. As much great soul, funk and jazz as Chicago produced in the 60s and 70s, it was at heart a blues town and had you been hanging out at Perv's House, Pepper's Hideout, The High Chaparral, The Patio Lounge, or The Showcase Lounge while Abramson was snapping photos, odds are this is the sound you would have heard. The Numero Group's selections are predictably great. Sound clips and ordering details are here.
Here's a track that wouldn't have been out of place:
Singing Sam & the Sparks: "Daybreak" (Honey, 197?)
I don't have much info on this one aside from the fact that Singing Sam was Sam Chatman, who according to Robert Pruter and them, was a veteran of the Chicago scene.
Oh, and, this has nothing to do with the Numero Group comp but to this day I can't see the words "south side" without hearing this in my head.
I'd been on a little bit of a Tommy Stewart jag lately-- I put two of his productions on my recent Soulful Disco mix-- so when I saw that there was a new compilation of his productions, I had to cop it:
Tommy Stewart is an Atlanta musician, producer and arranger. He cut one album under his own name, 1976's Bump and Hustle Music, as well as a couple LPs that were largely his work, like the Spirit of Atlanta's 1973 The Burning of Atlanta and 1979's Musica Negra. He also cut an album by The Counts' frontman Mose Davis and one-off singles by a range of relatively anonymous acts: Cream de Coco, Mad Dog Fire Department, 3rd World Band, the Final Approach, etc.
I love Stewart's productions for the way they meld soul and jazz harmonies with the light rhythmic pulse of disco, yet remain funky. Make Happy Music collects three songs from Bump and Hustle Music, one from The Burning of Atlanta and one from Musica Negra, plus nine other Stewart-produced tracks. The sound quality is good and it looks as though the compilers properly licensed the music. At the very least, they went to the trouble of tracking down Stewart and business partner Marlin McNichols to interview them for some fairly informative liner notes.
Here are a couple of Stewart tracks that aren't featured on Make Happy Music:
My man DJ Anonymous from Helsinki passed through town last week and I persuaded him to drop a live set for 2 Busy Saying Yeah. I hadn't planned on making another soul mix so soon after the Soulful Disco one, but his set inspired me to dig out some more mellow soul gems.
Several of Anonymous's selections have previously been featured on his excellent blog, DJ's Delight, which features a ton of great dance music of every stripe and is among the blogs that inspired me to do it. If it's not in your bookmarks already, jump on it.
New Yorkers can catch Anonymous tonight with the #1 homie DJ Eleven at Fam at Von Kellar or on Saturday with Chairman Mao at Grand Groove at APT. I had the pleasure of rocking with him, B.Cause and Vinnie Esparza last Friday and can tell you he really puts it down.
1. The Commodores: Oh Yeah 2. Brenda Lee Eager: When I'm With You 3. Pure Gold: I Miss You 4. The Bar-Kays: Feels Like I'm Falling in Love 5. Sylvia: Sweet Stuff 6. Harry Ray: The Next Time I See Your Face 7. Wyndchymes: Unconditional Love 8. Arawak: Acaddi A Bali 9. Isaac Hayes: Vykki 10. Dave Grusin: Either Or 11. James Ingram: Ooo 12. Ronnie McNeir: Sexy Mama 13. Tony Silvester: Verry White 14. Benny Golson: I'm Always Dancing to the Music 15. Quincy Jones: 100 Ways 16. Heatwave: Mind Blowing Decisions 17. Jimmy Sabater: Mind Blowing Decisions 18. The Gimmicks: You Can't Hide Love 19. Leroy Hutson: Never Know What You Can Do (Give It a Try) 20. Eddie Fisher: It's That Music 21. The Inner Drive: Party Man 22. Wee: Find Me, Love Me 23. Deliverance: Loving You 24. Jorge Dalto: I've Got You On My Mind 25. Vytas Brenner: Avila 26. Twilight: You Know It's Me 27. Leo's Sunshipp: Madame Butterfly INST 28. West Wing: I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby 29. Mighty Ryeders: Lovely 30. Willie Tee: Get Up 31. The 3 Pieces: Backed Up Against the Wall 32. Sunni Nash: The 3rd Movement 33. Trilogy: (K.C.) In the Ghetto 34. Side Effect: Private World 35. Willie Hutch: Love Me Back 36. Brenton Wood: All That Jazz 37. The McCrarys: On the Other Side 38. Barry White: You're the One I Need 39. Joe Thomas: Mr. Mumbles 40. Frank Walton: Safari 41. Sylvia Striplin: You Can't Turn Me Away 42. Funk Factory: Rien Ne Va Plus 43. The Nights: Hangin' Tough
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