White people… BEHOLD THE POWER OF GO-GO!!!!
Word to Go-Go Granny in the orange.
Maybe we really can bridge the divide. Anyone willing to recruit The Good JYB to go out on the campaign trail?
Wow… as if Ruff It Off wasn’t enough. They took Tiddy Balls to New England.
EACH AND EVERY SUNDAY AT THE IBEX!!
DOWNLOAD:
http://www.mediafire.com/?zz6eitaqe9t
LINK UP (and laugh really hard):
http://coolceebrown.blogspot.com
Last year I was given the task and the honor of contributing to SoulBounce.com’s Top 100 Soul/R&B Countdown.
It was a pretty fun exercise, because rather than try to be some definitive encyclopedic assessment of the history of soul music, it’s only a few peoples’ favorite songs, ranked in order of commonality between the lists. A few people with really good taste and a personal investment in the music, of course.
We were instructed to not take into account historical impact, popularity or sales and just submit our favorite joints. The way the final list played out was pretty intriguing, which was the whole point. There were surprises and even better, a bunch of “I can’t believe I forgot about that” moments.
Now that the ride has come to an end, I figured I’d share my submission, if only to coax everyone else into sharing theirs. I definitely had a structure to my approach. My first rule was only one pick per artist, otherwise my whole list would have been Stevie, Donny and EW&F. And that would have crowded out so many phenomenal tunes that aren’t well-known enough to be in the pantheon of the greatness.
The other point of my list was that well, they should be. Despite the failings of the industry and the coonery that dominates the mainstream, black music is doing quite well. Timeless material is still being created and new styles and concepts are being pushed while building upon the traditions of the past. Ultimately I was pleased with the balance between decades, and the fact that my oldest and newest picks reflect the best elements of what I love about black music.
My definition of “soul” also encompassed some extended family tree members like electronica/dance music, afrobeat and go-go. But that just shows how vibrant the family is. There are even white folks in it. *LOL*
So if the mixes aren’t enough, here’s some more insight into what makes me tick musically. These songs will always inspire me, make me go off on the dancefloor, factor heavily into how I rock a set or simply hold some sort of personal significance.
(links to SB provided where applicable and other treats per my whim)
Hold It Down - 4Hero
Tired Little One - Bah Samba
Playing Your Game, Baby - Barry White
Pillory-like - Beady Belle
What You Won’t Do For Love - Bobby Caldwell (#35)
I Know You, I Live You - Chaka Khan
It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing) - Chuck Brown
We’re A Winner (from “Curtis/Live!” album) - Curtis Mayfield
Spanish Joint - D’Angelo
See You In My Dreams - Deborah Bond
Masterplan - Donnie
The Ghetto (from “Live” album) - Donny Hathaway
Hard Times - Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band
Can’t Hide Love - Earth, Wind & Fire
Change For Me - Eric Roberson
Wonderful - Erik Rico
Water No Get Enemy - Fela Kuti
Lo Mein - Georgia Anne Muldrow
Groove Me - Guy (#25)
The Star of the Story - Heatwave
Guess Who’s Back In Town - Heaven & Earth
Give It Up or Turnit A Loose - James Brown
Where Do We Go From Here - Jamiroquai
Slowly Surely - Jill Scott
Dealt A Bad Hand - Kaidi Tatham & Dego
Cerca de Mi - Louie Vega & Elements of Life
Superstar - Luther Vandross (#53)
After The Dance - Marvin Gaye
Beautiful Ones - Mary J. Blige
I Can’t Help It - Michael Jackson (#67)
Inside My Love - Minnie Riperton (#14)
Umi Says - Mos Def
I Am The Black Gold of the Sun - Nuyorican Soul
Fallin’ - Omar
Fever - Platinum Pied Pipers
How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore - Prince
Body Moves - Rare Essence
Running Away - Roy Ayers
Love Is Stronger Than Pride - Sade (#70)
Days Like This (Spinna & Ticklah Club Mix) - Shaun Escoffery
Back To Life - Soul II Soul (#16)
Optimistic - Sounds of Blackness
Falling into (Swell Session’s Boy Wonder mix) - Stateless
Do I Do - Stevie Wonder
Show You The Way to Go - The Jacksons
This Journey In - The Rebirth
Don’t Disturb This Groove - The System
I Might Do Something Wrong - Tortured Soul
Spread My Wings - Troop (#43)
Let’s Get Small - Trouble Funk
and as a bonus, here are the next 10 that battled valiantly for a spot in my top 50 but couldn’t break through: (I ALMOST have some regrets on a couple of these not making it)
Journey To The Light - Brainstorm
Alright - Janet Jackson
Sweet Love - Anita Baker (#91)
Never Stop - Brand New Heavies
One Nation Under A Groove - Funkadelic
A Million Babies - Owusu & Hannibal
Can You Stand The Rain - New Edition (#28)
All That I Am - Bilal
Loving You, Holding You - Don Blackman
Penitentiary Philosophy - Erykah Badu
‘Nuff respect to hometown fam getting some much deserved shine.
Nice little clip here on the science of the beat machine. Thanks Al Gore!
I came late to the MPC party. I was an Ensoniq man for years, and I still put stock in the filters and fx on the ASR-X, if not the critically flawed sequencer. I’m rocking a little 500 now. It’s the younger brother to the rest of the crew, whose leadership is slowly being taken over by Reason.
That clip was damn near a commercial for Akai. Too bad they laid a rotten egg recently.
But let’s not dwell on the negative. I’d rather close it out with some more Damu flavor.
Damu The Fudgemunk - Soul Brother Number 3 - Damu’s 3 a.m. Freestyle from j. nota on Vimeo.
RIGHT NOW.
It’ll only cost you a couple bucks, and it’s so sincerely and urgently not a game.
Pirahnahead… yo… SON!
Homie’s been on my radar ever since I heard that Diviniti joint and he makes quite a statement each time he drops something new.
I didn’t know he sang though. I just thought he was a wiz on the keys, the axe and behind the boards. The Take 6 vocal layering… sounding like Setembro up in this jont. MADNESS!!
Divine dropped this at Daylight last night and my brain short circuited. I caught an acute facial cramp at the 1:34 mark.
Lawd.
Pirahnahead, you are officially a bad ass muhflucker. I will have to slap you when I see you next. I should have slapped you preemptively the last time I saw you.
BTW, about my recent absence, I did cop goodies in Brazil. I’ve just got to get over this re-entry hump before I can share. For now, just make sure you BUY THIS DAMN SONG.
The beat your feet movement came a whole generation after my days of doing the happy feet (when I wasn’t b-boying), which was a generation before the hee-haw but I can definitely say that the laws of evolution are in effect in this lineage because the youth took it to another level.
I’m way too old to catch the young’uns beating their feet at the go-go but I was pretty proud to see them beating up the Apollo stage recently.
A while back I spoke on a panel when Farafina Kan brought the Krump Kings to DC. I was honored to be invited and I left inspired.
African drums and krumping… pretty breathtaking visually and mentally.
They also pitted the krumpers in a friendly battle against some beat your feet kids. While the dance styles may be a bit too different for the match up to work, the energy and positivity exchanged between two groups of kids from opposite sides of the country with similar stories was a treat to witness.
Gotta connect with some kids in Bahia for sure. Definitely won’t have any trouble finding drums or dancers!
In my preparations so far, I’ve only begun to scratch the surface of the rich musical heritage of Bahia, but I’ve already got a prize to track down when I get off the plane. I was clicking about on this very informative site and caught a clip of a vocal trio that hit me with the same feeling I had when I was 13 and heard Take 6 for the first time. And after years of their records being incredibly rare, there are reissues floating around now.
The group’s namesake is a a bird native to the region and still being a pan-africanist at heart, I can’t help but draw a comparison to another legendary singing group named after an iconic bird.
I have a feeling I’m going to be connecting dots like this the whole time I’m down there.
The last surviving Tincoã Mateus Aleliua is still active and still infuses his work with the candomblé influence that he brought to the group. Please don’t leave this site without listening to Os Tincoãs sang the heaven out of “Lamento às Águas” in the player below.
[courtesy of www.bahia-online.net]
I get chills thinking about what Dilla could have done with that.
And to close, a Mateus Aleliua cameo with Margareth Menezes for a live medley of “Cordeiro de Nanã” and “Atabaque Chora”.
Black sho’ ’nuff don’t crack. Lawd.
In 10 days I’ll be in Salvador, which is pretty much the blackest place on the planet outside of the motherland. Obviously, I’m very excited about this. I’ve been slacking on my Portuguese podcast crash course but I’ve been diligently assembling my digging target list and live music itinerary. Big ups to the homie Neal for the helpful tips.
Your boy’s got a gig too. More on that later.
To start the countdown to my departure, I’ve enlisted the legendary Bernard Purdie to translate my current mindstate.
After funneling huge chunks of my income to Dusty Groove for years, I finally had a chance to visit them in person. I’ve been to bigger spots and have had transcendent digging experiences elsewhere but I’ve not had a more significant, extended relationship with any shop outside of DC than Dusty Groove. They put an enormous amount of care into their stock and that discerning hand is prominently reflected in my collection. For this trip, I had to really blind myself to the beckoning shelves of enticing re-issues and left field jazz and soul bits from around the world. I could order all that stuff online from them like I usually do. If I was going to be there in person I had to focus on things that I’d miss if I weren’t putting my fingers through the bins. And I also had to grab a few instant gratification joints that I might not see again for a while.
IG Culture presents Zen Badizm (CD) [Another one that I had to find out about from Jahsonic.]
Beady Belle - Belvedere (CD) [This group CAN DO NO WRONG with me. I've been a stan since 2001 and they're completely incapable of making anything that isn't stunning. What I love about them is that every album is a unique experience that touches different styles from the others. You really never know what you're going to hear every time they drop a new record. Most of my favorite artists share this same characteristic. So many fans want their favorite groups to re-hash the stuff they love best. I prefer a gift-wrapped surprise package.]
D’Angelo - Live At the Jazz Cafe, London (CD) [More Japanese import action.]
Zo! & Tigallo - Love the 80’s EP (CD) [Y'all know what it is. And these joints are selling out everywhere too.]
Carmen McRae - You’re Lookin’ At Me: A Collection of Nat King Cole Songs (LP) [Sometimes they just jump out at you from the dollar bin.]
De La Soul - Buddy & Ghetto Thang (12″) [Don't see that picture cover too often. Might just frame this one for wall display]
Def Jef - Droppin’ Rhymes On Drums (12″) [Etta James + dancers in bleached denim + fast rap = mandatory vid embed]
K9 Posse - Ain’t Nothin’ To It (12″) [YESSS!!! I was on a hot streak. Word to Vernon.]
Phase N’ Rhythm - Swollen Pockets/Hook-N-Sling (12″) [I knew I could finish my odyssey at this point. I'd been looking for this for a long time. Wasn't cheap either, but worth it. It's out of print and I caught a promo. R.I.P. Paul C.!]
