As usual, here’s the recap post of all of this year’s songs. See past posts for the documentation. Liberace with George Liberace & His Orchestra – ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas — BUY Henry Rollins – Twas the Night Before Christmas — BUY Shallow – Santa Claus, You Broke My Heart — BUY Ray & [...]
Funky mash-ups for your Christmas turkey
Okay, kids. ‘Tis the day before Christmas and we’ve had fun, right? Okay, I didn’t blog anywhere as near as I intended to this year. I never wrote that analysis of Synecdoche, New York (loved it) and I never wrote that comparison of rock songs that ape Broadway versus Broadway showtunes that ape rock. But [...]
Thoughts on James Brown #3
From Nelson George’s The Death of Rhythm & Blues: During the 1960s James Brown singlehandedly demonstrated the possibilities for artistic and economic freedom that black music could provide if one constantly struggled against its limitations. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis on April 4, 1968. Brown was booked for that night at [...]
Thoughts on James Brown #2
From Miles: The Autobiography, by Miles Davis with Quincy Troupe: As soon as I got back to New York, I took the group back into the studio in December 1967, along with Gil Evans — who arranged some things — and added a young guitarist named Joe Beck. I was already moving toward a guitar [...]
Thoughts on James Brown #1
From Jeff Chang’s Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: In gay and Black clubs at the time [of the early Seventies], DJs were pushing the emerging four-on-the-floor disco beat. But the Plaza Tunnel DJs had a rawer sound. [DJ] John Brown “was the first to play records like ‘Give It Up or Turn it Loose’ by James [...]
Doing it to death
I was talking to my friend Chris this morning. She pointed out that James Brown’s body lay in state at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, in a gold coffin, while President Gerald Ford’s body will lie in the Capitol. She said, “Ford wishes he had it so good.” What is there to say about James [...]
Givin’ Up Food For Funk
I will be posting MP3s on a regular basis, because what’s the point of having thousands of records unless you can share them with the world? Our initial posting actually turned out to be an easy choice. About 15 years ago, I had a job as a wedding DJ. I always started and ended with [...]