This is what I imagine Tricky would sound like if he wanted to sing the blues. Dark, brooding, bleak vocals mixed with even moodier elements of dubstep. I’m not going to say this is what Tricky wished he sounded like, I hate it when people say shit like that, but I will say it would have been interesting to hear him like this.

Download:
Gil Scott-Heron – Me and the Devil

Music Fact #5: Ever since I got the Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star album (1998), Brown Skin Lady has been one of my top hip-hop songs of all time. I believe most of this track’s soul comes from the sample (Gil-Scott Heron & Brian Jackson). Brilliant track, by two of the most talented MCs ever. Just listen to it. (tracklist&info)

In early 2010 Gil Scott-Heron will release a brand new album entitled ‘I’m New Here’ on XL Recordings. For more info and to download the track ‘Where Did The Night Go’ for free go to http://imnewhere.net/

Originally broadcast on BBC2 on Monday 16th November 2009

Happy Thanksgiving!  I’m not really much of a football person, so after gorging ourselves, my mum, dad, wife and in-laws sit around listening to music and talking.  Whether or not you do the same thing on Thanksgiving, here are a few tunes good for a post-tryptophan soporific chat.

1.  Donny Hathaway and Roberta Flack – “You’ve Got A Friend”

Poor Carole King.  She writes terrific tunes, and then, inevitably, someone else comes along and sings the definitive version of them. Knowing her luck, next year, Beyonce will record “Really Rosie” and blow us all away.

2.  The Rance Allen Group – “Ain’t No Need Of Crying”

Rance was one of a handful of gospel artists signed to Stax/Volt.  This isn’t really a gospel song, just a hopeful tune.

3.  Bill Withers ft. Grover Washington- “Just The Two Of Us”

I think it says something about a song if Will Smith can ooze all over it, and it can remain intact.  Well done, Bill.  Well done, Grover.

4.  Gladys Knight and the Pips – “Storms of Troubled Times”

Gladys Knight is sorely underrated, and this proves it.  Yes, you can sell a billion copies of something and still be sorely underrated.

5.  The Staple Singers – “Who”

Okay, now this is a gospel soul song.

6.  Stevie Wonder – “I Love Every Little Thing About You”

I defy you to listen to this song and remain unhappy about much of anything.

7.  Gil-Scott Heron and Brian Jackson – “Song For Bobby Smith”

I really like the dumb little story Gil tells at the beginning of this.

8.  Vince Guaraldi – “Thanksgiving Theme”

You should watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving today.  If you forget, watch it tomorrow.

9.  John Cale – “Hallelujah”

I’m not trying to be contrary, this just happens to be my favorite version of this song.

10.  Midlake – “Van Occupanther”

Keep your eyes peeled for a new Midlake record next year!  In the meantime, imagine you live in a cabin somewhere and you don’t have to see another local car commercial for the rest of your life while you soak this one in.

11.  The National – “Gospel”

Hard to pick from The National’s most recent album.  I had to give it a rest so I could let other albums catch up with the play count on my iTunes.

12.  John Hiatt – “Have A Little Faith In Me”

Bill Withers survived Will Smith, but John Hiatt survived Mandy Moore AND Jewel covering this wonderful song.

Short and sweet this week!  Verbosity and volume return next week.  In the meantime, have a great holiday, whether you spend it with family or friends, or just alone at the Egg Rolls House in Inver Grove Heights.

To subscribe on iTunes, just click on RSS at the bottom of the page, and check out the link on the right side of the page.

Ok, so here is the final session of 2009….

As usual, there’s a good slab of fresh drum & bass, this month from artists such as Spectrasoul, Blu Mar Ten, Rockwell and more. Following on from last month, there’s a little bit of Bat For Lashes too.

Also, in keeping with the diverse nature of these mixes, I’ve included a bit of 70s Underground Disco from Two Man Sound, and a Fender Rhodes jazz-funk anthem courtesy of Gil Scott Heron. A special thanks must be given to DJ DMT for sourcing the Edú Lobo track for me. I’m very grateful, I love that song!

M83 – America
Craig Armstrong Feat. Antye Greie-Fuchs – Waltz
Bat For Lashes – Moon And Moon
Craig Armstrong – Amber
Two Man Sound – Que Tal America (Extended Mix)
Edú Lobo – Upa Neguinho
Rockwell – Underpass
Unquote & Mr Sizef – Hours Have No Reverse Motion
Spectrasoul – Suppression
Blu Mar Ten – Grey Area
Stray – Timbre
Spectrasoul – How Strange
Spectrasoul – Guardian
Heinrich Mueller – Drone FX
Instra:Mental – Leave It All Behind
Gil Scott Heron – Peace Go With You Brother

…as with all the other podcasts, there are a number of ways you can obtain this one. Firstly, via itunes. Alternatively, you can download the mix via Beatplexity, or MixCloud.

You will not be able to stay home, brother.
You will not be able to plug in, turn on and cop out.
You will not be able to lose yourself on skag
and Skip out for beer during commercials,
Because the revolution will not be televised.

The revolution will not be televised.
The revolution will not be brought to you by Xerox
In 4 parts without commercial interruptions.
The revolution will not show you pictures of Nixon
blowing a bugle and leading a charge by John
Mitchell, General Abrams and Spiro Agnew to eat
hog maws confiscated from a Harlem sanctuary.

The revolution will not be televised.
The revolution will not be brought to you by the
Schaefer Award Theatre and will not star Natalie
Woods and Steve McQueen or Bullwinkle and Julia.
The revolution will not give your mouth sex appeal.
The revolution will not get rid of the nubs.
The revolution will not make you look five pounds
thinner, because the revolution will not be televised, Brother.

There will be no pictures of you and Willie May
pushing that shopping cart down the block on the dead run,
or trying to slide that color television into a stolen ambulance.
NBC will not be able predict the winner at 8:32
or report from 29 districts.
The revolution will not be televised.

There will be no pictures of pigs shooting down
brothers in the instant replay.
There will be no pictures of pigs shooting down
brothers in the instant replay.
There will be no pictures of Whitney Young being
run out of Harlem on a rail with a brand new process.
There will be no slow motion or still life of Roy
Wilkens strolling through Watts in a Red, Black and
Green liberation jumpsuit that he had been saving
For just the proper occasion.

Green Acres, The Beverly Hillbillies, and Hooterville
Junction will no longer be so damned relevant, and
women will not care if Dick finally gets down with
Jane on Search for Tomorrow because Black people
will be in the street looking for a brighter day.
The revolution will not be televised.

There will be no highlights on the eleven o’clock
news and no pictures of hairy armed women
liberationists and Jackie Onassis blowing her nose.
The theme song will not be written by Jim Webb,
Francis Scott Key, nor sung by Glen Campbell, Tom
Jones, Johnny Cash, Englebert Humperdink, or the Rare Earth.
The revolution will not be televised.

The revolution will not be right back
after a message about a white tornado, white lightning, or white people.
You will not have to worry about a dove in your
bedroom, the tiger in your tank, or the giant in your toilet bowl.
The revolution will not go better with Coke.
The revolution will not fight the germs that may cause bad breath.
The revolution will put you in the driver’s seat.

The revolution will not be televised, will not be televised,
will not be televised, will not be televised.
The revolution will be no re-run brothers;
The revolution will be live.

Fragments #7

(Gil Scott Heron – Inner City Blues)

“Four vital functions as basic as the four elements: Sexuality, sociality, ideation and glory. Or: pleasure, speech, thought and prestige.
Being deprived of any of the four leads to stupor and death.”

Final piece of the Fragments selection..could have gone on for a while longer but new inspiration is knocking on themusicologist’s door so tomorrow I’m rolling out a new theme…just like to finish the ‘Fragments’ by paying a final tribute to Baudrillard for delivering such profound insights into the age of banality that we find ourselves inhabiting..for me the Cat penetrates some dark corners with illuminating observations.

What better way to wind up this session than with a combination of Marvin Gaye and Gil Scott Heron..I’ll say no more and just leave it up to the two of them to lay it on you.

Noen ganger stemmer alt. 

Det klaffer bare. Som hånd i hanske, fot i hose, snø på julaften. 

Torsdag var en sånn dag for meg. Eller, ikke egentlig. Dagen var bare helt ok, etter skolen var jeg ganske sliten, jeg ville bare hjem, spise middag, slappe av utover kvelden. 

Men. Jeg hadde en avtale.

Med den fineste, med Anne fra skolen, med puben Raindogs, og med en film om Gil Scott-Heron, en fyr jeg ikke visste hvem var, men som så kul ut på filmplakaten arrangørene hadde postet på facebook.

Så jeg dro, da. Til Raindogs, for første gang. Det blir i hvert fall ikke den siste. 

Hvorfor ikke, spør du. Jo, det skal jeg si deg. Nummer én: lokalet. Lite og intimt, men likevel romslig, ettersom ingen lukkede dører skilte inne fra ute. Mørkt, med lamper som så vidt lyser opp området rundt med lune stråler. Nummer to: interiøret. Utdaterte radioer og fjernsynsapparater kombinert med fargerik kunst. Bordplater som forestiller gamle klokker. Nummer tre: Billig øl, i hvert fall før ni. 

I tillegg til alle disse suverene faktorene, viser de dokumentarfilmer hver eneste torsdag. Er ikke det suverent, så vet ikke jeg. 

Denne torsdagen handlet det altså om poeten og musikeren Gill Scott-Heron, i form av filmen Black Wax. 

Og jeg forelsket meg. Selvfølgelig i håret hans, og i skjegget, men først og fremst i poesien, i musikken, i ordene hans.

Her er en smakebit, så kan du dømme selv. 

Symbols of democracy, pinned up against the coast Outhouse of bureaucracy, surrounded by a moat Citizens of poverty are barely out of sight Overlords escape in the evening with people of the night Morning brings the tourists, peering eyes and rubber necks To catch a glimpse of the cowboy making the world a nervous wreck It’s a mass of irony for all the world to see It’s the nation’s capital, it’s Washington D.C. It’s the nation’s capital It’s the nation’s capital It’s the nation’s capital, it’s Washington D.C. (mmmm-hmmm) 
May not have the glitter or the glamour of L.A. May not have the history or the intrigue of Pompeii But when it comes to making music, and sure enough making news People who just don’t make sense and people making do Seems a ball of contradictions, pulling different ways Between the folks who come and go, and one’s who’ve got to stay It’s a mass of irony for all the world to see It’s the nation’s capital, it’s Washington D.C. It’s the nation’s capital It’s the nation’s capital It’s the nation’s capital, it’s Washington D.C. Seems to me, it’s still in light time people knifed up on 14th street Makes me feel it’s always the right time for them people showing up and coming clean Did make the one seem kind of numb It’s the nation’s capital It’s the nation’s capital It’s the nation’s capital, it’s Washington D.C.(mmmm-hmmm)
Symbols of democracy, pinned up against the coast Outhouse of bureaucracy, surrounded by a moat Citizens of poverty are barely out of sight Overlords escape in the evening with people of the night Morning come and bring the tourists, craning rubber necks Catch a glimpse of the cowboy making the world a nervous wreck It’s a mass of irony for all the world to see It’s the nation’s capital, it’s Washington D.C. It’s the nation’s capital It’s the nation’s capital It’s the nation’s capital, it’s Washington D.C. It’s the nation’s capital Got you feeling capital Punishment is capital in Washington D.C.

———————————————–

Some days, everything seems just to be right, and thursday was such a day. Or, it wasn’t, really. The day on school was just alright, i was tired, wanted to go home, just eat, relax, sleep. 

But i had an appointment. With my boyfriend, with Anne from school, with the pub Raindogs and with a movie about Gil Scott-Heron.

So i went, and i fall in love.

With the place. With Scott-Heron. Of course with his hair, but also with his poetry, music and words. It just seemed right.

The xx played their first USA headlined gig.. at The Bowery Ballroom in New Your city. Many stars in the building including music Icon Gil Scott-Heron hung out to check the emerging band *cough (Label mates)

Enjoyed the show along with my buds @SolangeKnowles, @atrak .. and Dave from Chromeo

xx pics by miles dufrasne for www.underscore.es

Gil Scott-Heron always has something interesting to share and say. Here are some of his thoughts on Black History Month. Enjoy!!

Please feel free to contact us at info@blackcanadianman.com.

God bless, peace, be well and keep the faith,
Vibe and Vegas
info@blackcanadianman.com

This week felt very transitional. I find that a polite way of saying it sucked. But that’s not entirely fair. Some VERY EXCITING THINGS broke up the general dismay at grey weather, delicate mental state and bureaucratic frustration. 

1) The very lovely Alex Bean (she of 679, 50 Bones and Lost In Paris) asked me to make a Spotify playlist for the 679 blog. If it should take your fancy, you can listen to some of my favourite things/songs here. [If they were on Spotify, it would also have had Egyptian Hip Hop, Othello Woolf and The Units 'High Pressure Days' (Rory Phillips remix) on it.]

2) Cycling in late autumn is a good thing. It keeps you warm. You get ruddy red cheeks, thus projecting some semblance of health. And it don’t cost a thing. I realised all of this on the way to interview Friendly Fires for Dummy. We talked clubbing memories, dancing politics and being back in the studio. They were very lovely and a lot of fun. I’m a big fan of their debut album. Strobe makes my heart skip. 

3) I went to a listening of the new Gil Scott-Heron album ‘I’m New Here’ with Charlie from Dummy. It was at the XL offices in Notting Hill. Everyone crowded in to a cushion strewn room and…listened. It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Like we’d all climbed inside the film rolling inside Scott-Heron’s head. It’s incredibly personal and purposeful, it felt like last words in a way. ‘Me And The Devil’ and ‘New York Is Killing Me’ were my two standouts. But the whole album hangs together as one story, a whole – epic, moving and heavy with meaning. It’s out next year. I will definitely be buying it.

4) It rained a lot yesterday, didn’t it? In that rain, Alice, Alice, Charlotte and I made a dash from Wembley Central to that famous stadium. 20 minutes and fours pairs of very soggy feet later, we were in our seats and waiting impatiently for Fleetwood Mac to warm us up. Ah man, they were glorious. I’d been a little worried after mixed feedback. Maybe they’d upped the ante for this last night of the tour but very honestly, they were tremendous. Stevie Nicks is a goddess. And Lindsey Buckingham’s electric guitar playing short-circuited my brain. Loved the classics but it was actually the jamming that really awed me. I surprised myself by getting quite lost in it. Can’t say I’ll be rushing back to Wembley – not my kind of venue at all – but over the moon to have seen Nicks/Buckingham. Really special.

Gil Scott-Heron Live in New York, NY @ B.B. King Blues Club on Wednesday, November 4, 2009 @ 8 p.m.

Doors To Open @ 6 p.m.
Show To Start @ 8 p.m.

Tickets – Advance: $30 / Day of Show: $35

Buy Tickets

General Admission Seating (Arrive First & Be Seated First)

VIP Booth Reservations on the floor for Parties of 4 & 6 People
– For 4 -$50 per ticket – $200 Total
– For 6 – $50 per ticket – $300 Total

B.B. King Blues Club
237 W. 42nd St.
New York, NY 10036
1.212.997.4144

http://www.bbkingblues.com/

Today is Election Day here in the USA and I don’t know about everyone else, but I am sick of politics, politicians, and elections in general. I think it is time for a constitutional convention at the county level, the state level, and the national level. Common sense has apparently “left the building” and the change we are promised year after year is insufficient or in the wrong directions. It is unacceptable and I vote we tell them all that they are all fired and we start over!

Outlaw the political parties. Remove the power of corporations, lobbyists, and the American plutocracy, and give that power back to the people. It is all about “We the People” after all. Change the focus from getting rich to the pursuit of happiness and quality of life. Make sustainability a priority. We need big change but our leaders are too chicken-shit to do more than twist a couple knobs on a broken system. They are weak.

Time for big change. Real change. …Time for a revolution. Turn off your TV too because…

The revolution will not be televised.

Song Recommendations

If you like this song, I also suggest:

• Marvin Gaye
• Joeyess
• Bill Withers

I also suggest the music genre:

• Soul

Click here for more info on Gil Scott-Heron – Pieces of a Man – “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”.

The MP3 may be purchased here:

Gil Scott-Heron - Pieces of a Man

The Legendary Gil Scott-Heron, Brian Jackson & the Midnight Band released an incredible album in 1975 on Arista Records, entitled The First Minute of a New Day.

Offering

Ain’t No Such Thing As a Superman

Must Be Something

Pardon Our Analysis

Alluswe

The Liberation Song

Winter In America

PURCHASE ALBUM HERE

1 The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (3:06)
2 Save The Children (4:26)
3 Lady Day And John Coltrane (3:35)
4 Home Is Where The Hatred Is (3:20)
5 When You Are Who You Are (3:21)
6 I Think I’ll Call It Morning (3:30)
7 Pieces Of A Man (4:52)
8 A Sign Of The Ages (4:01)
9 Or Down You Fall (3:12)
10 The Needle’s Eye (4:49)
11 The Prisoner (9:25)

Link Fixed Sorry About That Enjoy!