Scream and shout! Continue reading
music leonard washington would like
8 posts
Face it, we could all use the work out. Continue reading
Yeah, it’s gonna be like that. Stay strong, kids. Continue reading
Well hello there my friends. Are we drunk yet? Hopefully by now I am somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean on my way to Paris. Since I am going to France, I am going to serve you up some French Hip Hop courtesy of MC Solaar. French rap is usually pretty awful, but MC Solaar delivers sensitive lyrics over smart beats and he is great at creating a driving groove. Here’s a little sample to get the music started tonight. Continue reading
Wake up, Wake Up, WAKE UP! Happy Monday Crasstalk. We have another exciting week planned for you and we are hope you are ready to go. Let’s get this moving.
Have a great day.
Hello Crasstalk, hope you are ready for an exciting week. Here’s a little groove to get you up and moving.
Now you’re ready to go. Have a great day.
Ok so we’re stretching the definition of “new” to basically be anything made in the past five years. Here are a bunch of retro-ish songs I like. That’s all. Enjoy.
“Baby” by Phenomenal Handclap Band
Someone listened to a lot of: Donny Hathaway
“Your Magic is Working” by Of Montreal
Someone listened to a lot of: Donovan
“Mark of the Unnamed” by Budos Band
Someone listened to a lot of: Fela Kuti
“Do It” by Daddy’s Favorite
Someone listened to a lot of: Booker T & The MGs
“Attack of the 60 Foot Lesbian Octopus” by Does It Offend You, Yeah
Someone listened to a lot of: The Clash
“Bang Pop” by Free Energy
Someone listened to a lot of: Edgar Winter Group
“The Merkin Jerk” by Javelin
Someone listened to a lot of: Traffic
“I Been Born Again” by Phenomenal Handclap Band
Someone listened to a lot of: Eric Burdon and The Animals
“Who Fingered Rock ‘n Roll” by Cornershop
Someone listened to a lot of: Bachman Turner Overdrive
“Tomato in the Rain” by Kaiser Chiefs
Someone listened to a lot of: Cream
“Mushrooms and Roses” by Janelle Monae
Someone listened to a lot of: White Album-era Beatles
“Fool For You” by Cee-lo Green
Someone listened to a lot of: The Isley Brothers
If you’re like me, there are just some days when you have to throw up your hands and shout, “THAT’S IT, AMERICA. I AM FUCKING DONE WITH YOU.” It’s a tempting emotion.
Here’s my solution: In times like this, I like to remember some of the mind-explodingly awesome shit that America produces. I defy anyone to ride around the streets of any American city in an old Cadillac while blasting these tunes and not feel pretty goddamn good about the U.S.A. Look, I love other countries. I love the French. They make delicious foods with goose livers, and they gave us Zinedine Zidane. But there’s just something special about the soul, funk and R&B music that came out of Memphis, Detroit, Philadelphia, St. Louis and other depressing/awesome places in the 60s and 70s.
Here are some vintage tunes from my secret stash. I tried to pick stuff that’s a bit more obscure, since by now everyone has heard the Isley Brothers and Earth, Wind and Fire. Take a listen.
And OLDY with that great Memphis beat. Every band ever should be forced at gunpoint to have a brass section. Also, the “horse” dance looks a lot like some of the Soul Train Line dances you saw in the 70s. Ahead of their time!
This song appeared in a slightly different version (without the handclaps, I think) on Herbie’s 1976 album “Secrets,” which is fucking amazing by the way. This song spends what feels like half an hour building upward in intensity before breaking into a disco-y, robotic space music with a talk box. Herbie is my hero.
“Don’t Take My Kindness for Weakness” by The Soul Children. The singing on this cut is just so great and full of soul. I love soul songs that come with that edge.
Fuck the cowbell. Hammond organ. Needs more Hammond B3 organ. Also, this song has one of those 70s bass lines that sounds like it wants to stab a baby dolphin in the eye.
“A Possibility Back Home” by Wanda Robinson. Another vicious cut with some nice jazz flute and great Afro-centric poetry spoken over top. You can tell Erykah Badu was down for this joint.
Albert King is really known for being a blues virtuoso but he made a great foray into funk. Also, the relationship between a blues musician and his instrument is fascinating so I love this stomping little love song for his guitar.
Baby Huey, a singer from St. Louis, died after releasing only one album but it was a really great album that is well-remembered by the old school cats. I don’t know what it is about this jam, but his voice just cuts through me like a knife.
The Dramatics were a huge name in the 60s and 70s but for some reason they haven’t stayed on the radar like some other bands have (Earth, Wind and Fire; Kool and the Gang, etc.). This song was used at the very beginning of “Wattstax,” the great concert film.
Some young hippity-hopper named Doctor Dre (or something) sampled this jam from Leon Haywood. When the tempo picks up at the 1:00 mark, and then mellows out again 30 seconds later, you know you’re in for a ride. If Beethoven lived in Memphis in 1972, this is probably the music he would make.