I finally made a playlist with The Low End Theory and Midnight Marauders on it so they play through back to back. I can put this on and drive, cook, putz around with my dogs, etc. and I don’t think it gets better than that. The samples. The sounds. The lyrics (oh, Phife. Really? Sighs. … Continue reading Sunday Music: ATCQ
Tag: soul
Sunday Music: Walk On
I’m on a Neil Young kick lately (this happens from time to time, probably a product of listening to tapes of him as a kid and thinking “I like this, but I don’t really get this,” and now I finally feel like I get it). “Walk On” was one of the first songs I really … Continue reading Sunday Music: Walk On
Sunday Music: Rip It Up
It’s the roots of rock and roll. At some point I ended up with a CD copy of Little Georgia Peach. It’s all on there. All the history, the swagger, the magnetism. It’s the sound of teenage rebellion, exploration. It’s the sound of freedom, even if it’s freedom in a constrained world. Well, it's Saturday … Continue reading Sunday Music: Rip It Up
Sunday Music: “I Want You” by Marian Hill
I have an incomplete playlist from last year and it has “I Want You” by Marian Hill on it. I love the synthy faux horn noises. I love how the staccato parts of the beat wrap around the punctuated stutters in the vocal line. And, I love how they bleed back and forth between totally … Continue reading Sunday Music: “I Want You” by Marian Hill
How A Lost Wallet Led To A Hit Song
The story behind the hit song “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” is better than the song itself. That’s not intended to be a hot take, but it is intended to remind us to look for silver linings, because when the world starts throwing funny twists and turns under our feet, following the path of our own … Continue reading How A Lost Wallet Led To A Hit Song
Sunday Music: Remembering Betty Davis
Talk about a short career with a massive impact. Betty Davis recorded 4 albums in about as many years. She played with the best musicians of the time. She married Miles Davis. She wrote. She produced. She killed. And then, she retired. She packed her bags, moved to Pittsburgh, and a few weeks ago she … Continue reading Sunday Music: Remembering Betty Davis
Sunday Music: There’ll Be Days Like This
There. Will. Be. Days. Like. This. Whether your mama told you or not. Whatever it’s like. Tell ‘em about it Van Morrison. When it's not always raining there'll be days like thisWhen there's no one complaining there'll be days like thisWhen everything falls into place like the flick of a switchWell my mama told me … Continue reading Sunday Music: There’ll Be Days Like This
Podcast Of The Week: Raphael Saadiq, Renaissance Music Man
Hey! On Saturday’s I highlight a podcast about being a creative professional. Sometimes it’s direct, sometimes it’s indirect, but it’s always entertaining and educational. This week’s Podcast of the Week is… Musician/producer extraordinaire - Raphael Saadiq on the Questlove Supreme Podcast. Raphael Saadiq started off as a kid trying to break into the local Oakland … Continue reading Podcast Of The Week: Raphael Saadiq, Renaissance Music Man
Sunday Music: POW – Battlefunk!
Raphael Saadiq said that as a bass-playing kid growing up in Oakland, any band you’d want to play with was going to put you to the test with a specific song. You had to be ready for it because it was going to be sink or swim. What do you play, bass? Yeah? Ok. Let’s … Continue reading Sunday Music: POW – Battlefunk!
Sunday Music: I’ll Fly Away
Some songs just wreck you in all of the good ways. It's a song about struggle and release. It's a song about tension and peace. It's a song about freedom. The words go, Some glad morning when this life is overI'll fly awayTo a home on God's celestial shoreI'll fly away I'll fly away, oh, … Continue reading Sunday Music: I’ll Fly Away