Chart Position: 22

• Written by Clifton Davis
• Originally recorded by Jackson Five (1971)
• Produced by Isaac Hayes
• Recorded in Memphis TN
• Also recorded by Ray Conniff (1971), Impact of Brass (1971), Gloria Gaynor (1974), Johnny Mathis (1971), Herbie Mann (1971), Andy Williams (1971), Peter Nero (1972), James Brown (1972), Communards (1987), Gunther Neefs (1996), Livingston Tylor (1997), Sheena Easton (2000), Vanessa Williams (2005), Lee Ritenour & Dave Grusin (2003), Bob Baldwin (2000), Marcia Hines (2006), Temptations (2006) and Gerald Albright (2008)

It’s just another day in our hall-decked-but-still-essentially-random universe, wherein I pull out my whole laptop Christmas library, throw it in the air, and see what comes down first. Look out below.

“A Warm Little Home on a Hill”/Stevie Wonder. A charming holiday scene in waltz time. Like many of the original Christmas songs concocted by Motown songwriters, it flirts with terminal sappiness, but there’s something about Wonder’s delivery that keeps it from the edge of the ledge.

“The Mistletoe and Me”/Isaac Hayes. From a Stax compilation dated 1982, which features two versions of the great “Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin’,” by Mack Rice and Albert King, plus the Staple Singers’ “Who Took the Merry out of Christmas?,” all three of which have more going on than this holiday bedroom ballad.

“Kitty Cats Christmas”/Leon Redbone. Before the world was baffled by Bob Dylan’s Christmas album, I was baffled by Leon Redbone’s. (It occurs to me, however, that bafflement is part of the reaction Redbone means to provoke. Dylan, too.) Christmas Island was released in 1987 and reissued in 2003 with “Kitty Cats Christmas” as a bonus track. Despite the presence of a children’s chorus, it’s not awful.

“The Christmas Song”/Vince Guaraldi Trio. If this song is heard anywhere in A Charlie Brown Christmas, I’ve missed it the first 44 times I’ve watched the show, but I promise to pay extra-close attention the 45th time, which may be as soon as tonight.

“My Christmas Card to You”/Partridge Family. I must have known about the album A Partridge Family Christmas Card at its release in 1971, given that I was a fan of all things Partridge that year, yet I have no recollection of it. I would almost certainly have bought it if my brother didn’t, but he didn’t, and I didn’t. I recall being surprised to learn of it, which wasn’t until I saw it in a used bin at some point during the 1980s. (Did I buy it then? Hell and yes.) Partridge Family records were always heaped with sugar, but their Christmas album is especially sugary. If you’ve got a high tolerance for that sort of thing, “My Christmas Card to You” probably won’t hurt you.

“Swingin’ Silent Night”/Asleep at the Wheel. Lots of artists become paralyzed in the face of certain Christmas songs—afraid to mess with them and therefore, incapable of bringing anything new to them. The thing about “Silent Night” is that it’s both simple enough and beautiful enough to withstand new approaches, like the Western swing take of Asleep at the Wheel, recorded in 1997.

“Christmas Blues”/Canned Heat. Cut as a single sometime in the late 60s, “Christmas Blues” has appeared as a bonus track on a couple of different Canned Heat re-releases, and it’s been anthologized quite a bit. What hasn’t been anthologized quite so much is “Christmas Boogie,” which features a guest appearance by Alvin and the Chipmunks. I shit you not.

“O Holy Night”/Green Pajamas. The Green Pajamas are the living embodiment of indie: 20-some albums in 25 years and never a major-label deal. They cut their gorgeous version of “O Holy Night” in 2006, and it’s become a Christmas essential around my house.

“Christmas Time”/Jimmy McCracklin. Like Charles Brown, Jimmy McCracklin left the South (St. Louis, actually) for California after World War II and found his place in the blues scene out there. The only release date I can find for “Christmas Time” is 1961, but it sounds older than that.

“Little Drummer Boy”/Duke Pearson. From Merry Ole Soul, another of the classic Blue Note albums produced and engineered by Rudy Van Gelder, whose studio was actually in his house. The album is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, and it would be a fine candidate for Blue Note’s ongoing series of remastered reissues. It’s a keeper.

“Swingin’ Silent Night”/Asleep at the Wheel (buy it here)
“O Holy Night”/Green Pajamas (I don’t know if you can get this or not; the band’s website is here)

Species Name:  Crazyasshiticus Richbastardius

I cannot for the life of me, figure out why it’s taken me this long to thin these crazies from the herd, but better now than never.  Seriously speaking though, these guys are completely fucking bonkers right?  I mean, I’m not one to be a proponent of organized religion, and think it’s all kind of horseshit to a certain extent, even though I do identify as Jewish.  But Scientologists think they have been reincarnated from past lives lived on other planets in the universe.  I mean these guys make Gary Busey look like the poster boy for sanity.

In my opinion, Scientology is nothing more than a wealthy, elitist cult created by L. Ron Hubbard who laughed all the way to the bank…and his death.  I mean they have a process of cleansing your soul called “auditing.”  Shit man, if I wanted to audit, I would’ve gotten a job working for the I.R.S.  No wait, scratch that, I would’ve killed myself.  I’m kind of curious how they manage to rope these wealthy celebrities into becoming members of the Church.  I would if they stage phony press junkets, and then use the old hypnotic spiral to brainwash them while L. Ron’s voice speaks softly into their ears, making them feel at ease.

However they swindle these morons with more money than they obviously know what to do with, they do, and these “thetans” wind up pouring millions of dollars into this “religion” and worshipping some galactic being known as Xenu.  Xenu?  That sounds like some villain from an episode of “Buck Rogers” or “Flash Gordon.”  Before I dive into how wonderful the world would be without these nutbags, I have to share a little tidbit of the story of Xenu.  Apparently 75 million years ago, Xenu brought billions of people to Earth in a spacecraft, stacked them around volcanoes, and then detonated hydrogen bombs in the volcanoes, sending clusters of “thetans” to stick to the bodies of the living.  Whaaaaaaaaaaa?

In a world where Xenu’s spaceship would’ve crashed into Mt. Everest negating the ridiculousness that is Scientology forever:

• Tom Cruise would still be crazy, just maybe not quite as crazy.
• Jenna Elfman would’ve stayed the no talent ass clown that she is and I wouldn’t have had to get that lobotomy to remove the memory of “Dharma and Greg” and “Accidentally on Purpose” from my brain.

• Kirstie Allie would’ve spent more time on the treadmill and less time praying to Xenu while eating boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts.
• Sonny Bono might not have hit that tree.  Damn you Scientology for taking away one of the greatest entertainers of the last century! (Did my sarcasm get conveyed there?)

• Jeff Conaway?  How can that guy be a Scientologist?  He pops pain killers like Tic Tac’s.  He was on “Celebrity Rehab” for Xenu’s sake!  Doesn’t exactly seem like it goes along with the pure living lifestyle purported by Scientology.

• John Travolta would’ve never signed on to do Old Dogs.
• Edgar Winter would’ve been more than a one hit wonder, although “Frankenstein” is a bad ass song.

• Jason Lee would’ve never signed on to do Underdog or Alvin and the Chipmunks, and the forthcoming sequel you pathetic sack of shit.
• Juliette Lewis wouldn’t give off the impression that she could snap and kill someone at any given moment.

• We all would’ve been spared from whatever the hell Battlefield Earth was.  “You know what would be rad?  John Travolta in dreadlocks and green alien eyes!”  Dipshits.

I wish I could give these people the benefit of the doubt but I can’t, they’re idiots.  How about instead of standing around some volcanoes…you guys just jump inside.  Thanks.

But one has to have dreams right?

New York reminds me of Christmas anyway, possibly through seeing When Harry Met Sally a dozen too many times, so it feels right to eulogise this love letter right now. But is it a no-holds-barred tribute? Alicia Keys’ commanding, spine-tingling holler sounds like a throaty homage, but The Hov swings between wallowing in the neighbourhood and caution-poem acknowledgement of those who have fallen by the wayside. It adds bite – “Mommy took a bus trip/Now she got her bust out” – and intrigue – “Good girls gone bad/The city’s filled with them” – to a big, ballsy anthem.

As I cue ‘Empire…’ up, Junior asks, “Will it make my shoulders go funky?” Built around samples from The Moments and Isaac Hayes, I should say so. She bounds about, dangerously overexcited, and seems to know every word of Keys’ contribution – until she starts singing her Nativity song over the top, sampling anew. Anyway, this one couldn’t fail to move her; it’s a tune as massive as Alicia’s champion asset.

Don’t bite the apple, Eve:

August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008

Bio ….   Music …   Film …   TV …   Books …   Photos …   Charity

Here are some earl 70’s Live performance clips for you all…Enjoy

Shaft –

Never Can Say Goodbye –

I Stand Accused –

I am cleaning house, listening to one of the best (no, correction, THE best) funk / soul singer of his generation.  R.I.P.

The look of love is in your eyes
The look your heart can’t disguise
The look of love is saying so much more
Than words could ever say, yeah

A look my heart has heard
My, my takes my breath away
I can hardly wait to hold you
Feel my arms around you
How long I’ve waited
Waited just to love you
Now that I have found you

The look of love
Oh, it’s on your face
Oh, mama that look time can’t erase
Be mine tonight

And let this be
The start of so many
Groovy nights like this, yeah
Let’s take a lover’s vow
And seal this thing with a kiss

I can hardly wait to hold you
Feel my arms around you
How long I have waited
Waited just to love you

Now that I have found you
Don’t ever go
Oh no

I can hardly wait to hold you
Feel my arms around you
How long I have waited
Waited just to love you

Now that I have found you
Don’t go
Don’t go
Don’t go
The look of love
Don’t go
I love you
Oh, baby
The look of love
Don’t go
Don’t go
Don’t go
Don’t go
Aaah

The storm is starting.

For now, the snow is light, dusting our yard and our streets. We’re expected to get at least a foot of snow by the time the storm ends tomorrow night.

So, we’d better put three under the tree before the snow gets too deep.

“Winter Snow,” Isaac Hayes, 1970, from “Christmas in Soulsville,” 2007. On which Mr. Hayes is bummed out, having encountered a former lover with “lips so warm and a heart as cold as a winter snow.” It’s the B side to “The Mistletoe and Me,” his Christmas single from that year. The CD is a fine compilation of Stax Christmas tunes from the ’60s and ’70s.

“Winter (Basse Dance),” Blackmore’s Night, from “Winter Carols,” 2006. On which Ritchie Blackmore, the former Deep Purple and Rainbow guitarist, proves he’s indeed a Renaissance man. This is a graceful, elegant instrumental. It’s a bit like the John Fahey tunes sampled in Vol. 37.

“In Like A Lion (Always Winter),” Relient K, from “Let It Snow, Baby … Let It Reindeer,” 2007. On which you think the kids might be learning a few things from Jackson Browne. It’s not really a Christmas or holiday tune, and certainly not Relient K’s familiar pop-punk, but rather a laid-back, reverent reflection on winter and hope.

We’ll save “Winter Wonderland” for another day. It’s rarely a wonderland when you have to shovel it just so you can get into the driveway when you come home from work late at night.

by Brendyn Schneider

Last year, I called my dad and asked him what he wanted for Christmas. It was usually an easy call. He’d say, “Nothin.’ Don’t get me anything.” Then we’d talk about something else. Last year was different.

“Purple shorts.”

“Purple shorts?”

“Yeah. Extra Large.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“No. I can’t find ‘em anywhere down here.”

“Dad, if you can’t find them in Sarasota, what makes you think I’m gonna be able to find them in Boston…in December?”

“Oh c’mon,” he said. “You live in a major metropolitan city. You can’t tell me nobody up there has purple shorts.”

“Well, maybe in the summer but–”

“Send me down a can of beans too. I hear they’re good up there. That’s what you people eat up there, right?”

“…Beans and purple shorts.”

“Yeah, extra large.”

He did have a point. Boston’s a big city and though I’d never seen anyone walking around the Bay State wearing a really big pair of purple shorts, there had to be some kind of demand for them, right?

Filene’s, nothing.

Macy’s, nothing.

City Sports – the girl behind the counter who looked like a chewed on Alicia Keys just laughed at me.

“What?”

“Oh, nuthin’. I don’t think we have those here.”

She was right. City Sports was too pedestrian for a serious pair of shorts. My father didn’t want some paper-thin crap. He wanted the unparalleled. I had to get serious.

That meant Ramone’s Inc.

Ramone’s has since closed but in its day, it was the epicenter for hip hop gear in downtown Boston. I stood across the street, watching the customers. They weren’t messing around. Everyone looked like Dolemite, even the girls. I was a skinny white man with glasses on. I took a big breath and scampered across the street. Everything I did felt like a scamper.

Isaac Hayes oozed around the racks inside.
Filene’s had ceiling speakers. Macy’s had ceiling speakers. Ramone had Bose woofers and tweeters with chrome rims.

A giant man and his tree-like friend stood cool beside the register. I approached them, feeling like a fabric softener commercial.
HIYA FELLAS!

“‘S’cuse me,” I said.

“Whassup?”

“Yeah, umm, do you guys carry shorts?”

The oak tree laughed but the giant kept his cool.

“It’s winter time, B.”

“No, I know,” I replied. “It’s my dad. He lives in Florida and he wants purple shorts.”

The blood crept around my neck and I felt like that near-sighted kid from Revenge of the Nerds.

“You can try over on discount but I don’t think we got anything like that right now.”

I walked back to the discount rack, hearing them snicker. Giant posters of Biggie and Tupac glared at me. I wanted to kill my father. What the hell was I doing in Ramone’s looking for purple shorts? This was karma for all the times I sent people Mahogany cards during the holidays as a goof. Now, I was the goof, the Great White Goof shopping for his retired father in Ramone’s Inc.

I sighed and looked through the rack. There were gold shorts in L, about thirty Knicks shorts in XL but nothing in purple, not even jogging pants I could cut in half.

My first and only visit to Ramone’s had come to an end.

“No luck,” I said, passing them at the register. “Thanks anyway. Merry Christmas.”

“Merry you.”

My brother Ed swears by Marshalls. I’ve seen him do it too. Some of the coolest clothes ever thread together have been in his back seat while signaling out of a Marshalls parking lot. I have no idea how he does it. To date, the only time I have ever bought anything in Marshalls was last year. Purple shorts XL, discount rack. Ramone, respect.

They were marked down a dozen times. When I took them to the register, I half-expected the cashier to pay me. Maybe balloons would fall from the ceiling and sirens would go off since the shorts – velour, no less – were finally leaving the store.

“Boy,” the cashier said. “We’ve had these for a while. My Goodness.”

“It was the last one over there too.”

“Well, they’ll look very nice on you.”

“Thanks,” I smiled. “I love purple hats!”

She wanted to tell me but decided to keep it to herself. It was a gift, really. When you’re in customer service, the only thing you have that successfully combats the monotony of it all are the crazies that come in from the cold. It passes the time. I could hear her on her smoke break later on: “During the holidays, you get all kinds.”

A few weeks back, I called my dad and asked what he wanted for Christmas this year.

“C’mon Dad. Another pair?”

“Hey,” he said. “This is Florida. You can’t just have one pair of shorts down here.”

Unbelievable.

“And don’t forget the beans this year.”

I thought of the cashier at Marshalls. You do get all kinds…and sometimes they’re members of your own family.

***
More stories by Brendyn Schneider can be found at www.brendynschneider.com

© 2009, Brendyn Schneider, reprinted by Dadity.com with permission. Use or reprint not authorized without permission of the author.

Two discs feature the artists’ greatest love songs, just in time for Christmas, New Year’s Eve, and Valentine’s Day

Concord Music Group’s For Lovers series will continue on December 22, 2009 with CDs from both Ray Charles and Isaac Hayes, featuring each artist’s greatest love songs.

Previously, Concord has issued For Lovers albums by Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Tony Bennett, Stan Getz, Chet Baker, Bill Evans, Sarah Vaughan, Dave Brubeck, Rosemary Clooney, Wes Montgomery and Mel Tormé on such labels as Concord, Concord Jazz, Prestige and Riverside.

Ray Charles’ Sings for Lovers on Concord Records leads with “I Can’t Stop Loving You,” originally from Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, which spent five weeks at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100, album chart, plus the R&B and adult contemporary charts. It is joined by George Gershwin’s “How Long Has This Been Going On?,” “You Are My Sunshine,” “Til There Was You,” “Baby It’s Cold Outside,” “You Don’t Know Me,” “Love Is Here to Stay,” “How Deep Is the Ocean,” “Here We Go Again,” “Stella By Starlight,” “Gee, Baby Ain’t I Good to You,” “Ruby,” “Come Live with Me,” “Something,” “A Song for You” and “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye.”

Isaac Hayes’ Sings for Lovers on Stax Records features two duets with long-time songwriting partner David Porter (“Baby I’m-A Want You” and “Ain’t That Loving You [For More Reasons Than One],” from Hayes’ 1972 Wonderful album) along with “The Look of Love,” “Wonderful,” [They Long to Be] Close to You,” “Someone Made You For Me,” “Joy [Part 1],” “Make a Little Love to Me,” “I Can Turn Around,” “We’ve Got a Whole Lot of Love” and “Let’s Don’t Ever Blow Our Thing.”

Reissues of albums by both Isaac Hayes (Hot Buttered Soul, Black Moses and Shaft) and Ray Charles (Modern Sounds in Country and Western, Genius Hits the Road, A Message from the People and Genius: The Ultimate Collection) have received a new round of critical acclaim in the past year.

The two For Lovers volumes list are specially priced at $11.98 each.

DJ Enuff gave his theory on one of the biggest (boring) hip hop collaboration.
He explains how, back in ‘98, Isaac Hayes asked his opinion about whether he should allow Jay to sample “The Theme From Shaft”.

You can Check Enuff’s Fun Fact video by clicking on Isaac

Spotted at rapradar.com
DJ Enuff explains how Isaac Hayes asked him if he should allow Jay-Z to sample one of his tracks.

MILES DAVIS

Género: Jazz

(Alton, EEUU, 1926 – Santa Mónica, EEUU, 1991)

Es una de las figuras más importantes e influyentes en la historia del Jazz. Se podría decir además que lo ha revolucionado, ya que cada avance producido en este género es obra de Davis.

De joven probó en diferentes grupos de R&B locales hasta que consiguió formar un noneto con una peculiar selección de instrumentos de viento que firmó por la afamada Capitol Records. En febrero de 1957, Capitol editó 12 temas en un LP llamado Birth of the Cool. Así nació el cool jazz, el estilo que mejor se adapta a su manera de tocar la trompeta, con ese característico sonido producido por el uso de la sordina de acero Harmon, que le proporcionaba un toque más suave, personal y melódico. Davis participa con igual fuerza del bebop y del cool, como del hardbop y de la vanguardia jazzística. A finales de los 50 introdujo el jazz modal, basado en las escalas y, finalmente, en 1969, ofreció la primera fusión válida de jazz y rock, iniciando así el género conocido como Fusión. Se mantuvo en la escena durante más de 50 años, pero la falta de ideas y su conocida afición por las drogas lo apartaron durante un largo periodo de tiempo. Los ritmos funk y el inicio prematuro del acid jazz marcan sus últimos trabajos, pesé a que siempre será recordado por crear escuela en el jazz contemporáneo.

RAY CHARLES

Géneros: Jazz, Soul, Gospel, Blues

(Georgia, EEUU, 1930 – Beverlly Hills, 2004)

Ray Charles perdió la vista durante su infancia por un glaucoma, que su  familia no tuvo medios para curarle. En su internamiento en la Escuela Estatal de Florida para Sordos y Ciegos, estudió composición y aprendió a dominar el piano, el saxo y el clarinete. No había muchas oportunidades para los niños negros ciegos en la época, pero Ray era brillante y quería llegar alto.  En 1945 dejó la escuela para dedicarse profesionalmente a la música. Tras pasar muchos años tocando en clubs de música para negros sintió que tenía que dar un paso más. Decidió establecerse con un grupo independiente y logró triunfar, pero con la llegada del rock and roll y el descenso de la música racial en las listas de éxitos, Ray Charles se dio a las drogas y su adicción acabo con el mismo y con su grupo. Con el comienzo de la lucha por los derechos civiles de la población negra, Ray Charles dejó de lado su pasado, tomó conciencia y encontró una nueva inspiración con el gospel. Fue muy criticado por cantar temas populares con ritmo gospel pero lo cierto es que gustó, y mucho. Era la revolución que buscaba, Ray Charles encontró la formula que convertiría el rythm and blues en soul.

JAMES BROWN

Géneros: soul, funk

(Carolina del Sur, EEUU, 1933-  Atlanta, EEUU 2006)

Empezó su carrera musical al salir de prisión en 1952 cuando conoció a Bobby Byrd. En 1953 ingresó en el grupo de gospel ‘Starlighters’. Con él en el grupo fueron cambiando del estilo Gospel al rythm and blues y el nombre del grupo pasó a ser el de ‘Famous Flames’.y, tras cosechar numerosos éxitos a nivel nacional, lanzó su carrera en solitario y En 1958 se lanza el primer número uno de James Brown, ‘Try me’.

En 1962, el disco “Live at Apollo” vendió 1 millón de copias: un éxito sin precedentes para un LP de música negra. Su legado continuó hasta el día de su muerte, cosechando numerosos éxitos que irían definiendo el funk como tal. Conocido por su desgarrada voz y sus frenéticos movimientos de cadera, el “hermano numero uno del soul”, ha recibido numerosos apodos a lo largo de su carrera: “padre del soul”, Mister Dinamita”, “el trabajador más importante de la industria musical”, entre otros definen su trayectoria a la perfección. Lo que se llamó soul en los sesenta, funk en los setenta y rap en los ochenta, viene directo del estilo musical de James Brown.

ISAAC HAYES

Géneros: Soul, funk, R&B, Disco.

(Tennessee, EEUU, 1942 — Memphis EEUU, 2008)

No sólo es un artista imprescindible para entender la historia de la música negra sino  que además se adelantó a la música disco y fue de los primeros en adentrarse en el rap. Durante finales de los 60 y principios de los 70 fue uno de los principales artistas de Stax Records, convirtiéndose en el estandarte del sonido del sello. Tenía olfato para los sonidos diferentes y se ganó una reputación dentro de la compañía, por lo que pudo impulsar su técnica en solitario y publicó con inesperado éxito Hot Buttered Soul. A él se le debe parte del avance de los sonidos negros hacia el funk, con arreglos menos sentimentales y más bailables y sensuales. Pero el reconocimiento del público llegaría en 1971 al ganar el Oscar y dos Grammy por su canción Shaft para la película homónima. En 1972 ganaría otro Grammy por su álbum Black Moses, en cuya portada aparecía como el mesías negro. No lo era, pero a día de hoy muchos raperos estadounidenses reconocen su legado. Al fin y al cabo, su música tuvo algo que ver para la consagración del soul, el funk y lo que llegará después.

MICHAEL JACKSON

Géneros: Pop, Soul.

(Gary, EEUU, 1958 – Los Ángeles, EEUU, 2009)

Comenzó su andanza de la mano de sus hermanos mayores formando The Jackson Five, con la discográfica Motown. En 1971 comenzó su carrera en solitario con el álbum “Got to be there”. Aunque no fue hasta 1975, tras su intervención en la película “El mago de Oz”, donde conocería a Quincy Jones, el que sería su productor musical en los años siguientes, y el que le ayudaría a cosechar tantos éxitos. En 1979 sale al mercado  “Off the wall”, disco que le dio la nada despreciable cantidad de 20 millones de copias vendidas. Pero su coronación como “Rey del Pop” fue el álbum “Thriller” del cual vendió 110 millones de copias en todo el mundo, siendo el álbum más vendido de la historia de la música.

En los años siguientes siguió sacando discos y el cantante decidió retirarse del mundo del espectáculo con la gira “This is it”, que se vió truncada a finales de Junio debido a la trágica muerte del cantante.  Y a pesar de su turbulenta vida llena de polémicas, Michael Jackson será recordado por su habilidad para la música, el baile y la creación de espectáculo. En definitiva, ya podemos considerar a Jackson una leyenda.

Jody Watley’s new album The Makeover is an outstanding set featuring her unique interpretations of some classic and soon-to-be-classic songs, but we wanted to know … what are her favourite makeovers? 

Says Jody:  A makeover completely transforms a song making it unexpected and new again. Here are some of my favourites:

1. Luther Vandross “A House Is Not A Home” (Hall of Fame)

2. Marvin Gaye “Star Spangled Banner”

3. Grace Jones “La Vie En Rose’

4. Maxwell “This Woman’s Work” 

5. Isaac Hayes ‘By The Time I Get To Phoenix”

6. Nuyorican Soul “I Am The Black Gold of The Sun” (i’d never known of the rotary connection original)

7. Adele “Make You Feel My Love” (didn’t know it was a Dylan song until she did it)

8. Brand New Heavies With 4Hero “I Don’t Know Why I Love You”

9. Whitney Houston “I Will Always Love You”

10. D’Angelo “Feel Like Making Love”

Great list, Jody

Video-wise,  Jody  continues to fire on all cylinders! Check out a further clip from the album, this time for the killer cut A Beautiful Life :

The Makover is out now.

1. Ghetto – Hathaway, Donny
2. Inner City Blues – Washington, Grover Jr.
3. Woman Of The Ghetto – Shaw, Marlena
4. Pusherman – Mayfield, Curtis
5. Home Is Where The Hatred Is – Phillips, ‘Little’ Esther
6. Stone To The Bone – Brown, James
7. Expansions – Smith, Lonnie Liston
8. Also Sprach Zarathustra – Deodato
9. Stratus – Cobham, Billy
10. Shaft – Hayes, Isaac
11. He’s A Superstar – Ayers, Roy
12. Superfly – Mayfield, Curtis
13. Summer In The City – Jones, Quincy
14. For What It’s Worth – Mendes, Sergio
15. Steppin’ Stones – Harris, Johnny
16. Nubian Lady – Lateef, Yusef
17. I’d Rather Be With You – Collins, Bootsy
18. Straussmania – Salinas, Daniel
19. Children Of The Ghetto – Pine, Courtney
20. Other Side Of Town – Joseph, Julian
21. By All Means – Mouzon, Alphonse
22. Look Of Love – Hayes, Isaac
23. If You Want Me To Stay – Stone, Sly
24. Why Can’t We Live Together – Thomas, Timmy

I promise….this is the first and last time i’ll put you through this…….

But it’s my first blog and i thought you should know a little about me, how i got started, blah blah blah.

I was born into a household where music wasn’t really prevalent. My dad was stuck in the talk radio world and my mom was an oldies/beatles lover.  Every once in a while my dad would treat me to some classic rock legends like Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Iron Butterfly, Janis Joplin…….you get the point.  Anything rap or hip hop was strictly forbidden in my household. I was in 5th grade when i got my first Beastie Boys cassette tape (yeah thats right). I got it at an air show parking lot. I snuck that shit into my house, headed straight for the bathroom with my lil’ boom box, plugged in my headphones, sat on the toilet, and listened. I loved that shit. The coolest kid on the playground had Paul Revere memorized……From that  came Run DMC, and Eazy-Duz-It soon followed……

I had a lot of school changes as a kid and I was always trying to fit in. I adopted the whole Metal thing for a while.  My introduction to this was Appetite For Destruction, the And Justice for All, Season’s in the Abyss, Lucifuge, Dead Embryonic Cells etc….. I had a few bands in highschool playing speed metal and Slow Core but we were all too fucked up to do anything with it.  Somehow in the midst of all that thrash shit i was introduced to funk music. I liked the change and the “lightness” of all that stuff. I was listening to all of the obvious shit, Parliament, AWB, The Gap Band, Roy Ayers, Isaac Hayes, Kool and the Gang….. College came and I was introduced to Drum and Bass music; the old school raga style shit. I loved it. Shortly after I was introduced to House music. I failed out of college and moved to Venice Beach.  I started getting into the club scene and rave scene.  I felt at the time like I had finally found people and sounds I could relate to.  I started going to these afterhours parties at this kids loft in Downtown LA and he had turntables set up. Every night he would play for us and every mix he would wreck.  I asked him if i could try figuring that i couldn’t be worse than him. He showed me what the pitch control does, the crossfader and the volume faders and let me go.  That night i matched my first beat……it was one of those things that just came to me.  Do to circumstances of life (hahahahha), I found myself living in my friend’s garage for a while.  The good part is he had turntables and a shit load of records. I spent months just practicing hardly sleeping obsessed with mixing……that was the beginning

I was a vinyl dj only from 97′ til 2005.  FUCK CDJ’s and IPODS!!!!! In 2005 I was introduced to Serato and that changed my life.  It broadened my library, furthered my mixing skills and creativity. In addition, it has allowed me the opportunity to travel the world playing music without all the heavy lifting.

I am grateful for the career that I have been able to create and the for the people who have helped me get to where I am today…….

Ok……..thats enough backround.

I hope you enjoy the music and mixes I post here in the future!

“Call me Snake.”

When the President of the United States is stranded in what is now a prisoned New York City, there is no one better to turn to than Snake Plissken. Snake, being sent to prison for life, has a chance for freedom if he agrees to rescue the President. Air Force One has gone down over Manhattan Island, which is now one big prison. The rest of the film are Snake Plissken’s adventures tracking down and rescuing the President.

Kurt Russell (Tombstone, Death Proof, Miracle) does a wonderful job playing Snake. An anti-hero much in the same realm as the Clint Eastwood’s “man with no name” character in the spaghetti westerns. In fact the director turns to spaghetti western film star, Lee Van Cleef (The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, High Noon) as Snake’s nemesis who acts as a “warden” for the prison. The film also stars Earnest Borgnine (Best actor Marty), Harry Dean Stanton (Alien), Donald Pleasence (Halloween), and the Chef from South Park…Isaac Hayes.

I can see where Escape from New York may not be for everyone, as it is fairly low-budget, but for me John Carpenter (Halloween, The Fog, The Thing) makes it all work. It is a very entertaining film and has some comedic moments for relief. I would say give this one a chance if you haven’t, it is not that long and is a lot of fun.

Blaxploitation foi um movimento cinematográfico estadunidense que surgiu no início da década de 1970 e tinha como protagonistas atrizes e atores negros.

Os filmes  eram destinados especialmente para o público negro.

Grandes filmes foram feitos nesse período e, provavelmente, o de maior sucesso comercial tenha sido “Shaft”, de 1972.

O oscar de melhor canção – “Theme from Shaft” -  foi para o cantor e arranjador Isaac Hayes. Sua performance na cerimônia do Oscar, pilotando um piano flutuante e vestindo uma espécie de camiseta feita de correntes, causou tanto impacto quanto a música. A faixa-título é um dos mais memoráveis temas compostos para o cinema.

Em homenagem à semana da consciência negra, selecionei alguns trailers de filmes Blaxploitation.

(trailer de “Sparkle”)

(trailer de “Shaft”)

(trailer de “Truck Turner”)

(trailer de “Three Tough Guys”)

(trailer de “Superfly”)

(trailer de “Sheba Baby”)

(trailer de “Hell up In Harlem”)

(trailer de “Black Caesar”)

(trailer de “Willie Dynamite”)

(trailer de “Cleopatra Jones”)

Fontes:

(Blaxploitation: o som dos filmes “black” dos anos 1970) http://www.scoretrack.net/blax.html

(Site dedicado ao gênero cinematográfico)     http://www.blaxploitation.com/

Fonte: “lasicilia.it“

Giuseppe Attardi
Quanto è lunga la strada che da Catania porta ai vertici delle classifiche di mezzo mondo? Lunga, lunghissima. Lo sa bene Mario Ranno, in arte Biondi, in omaggio al nome d’arte del padre Stefano, anche lui cantante. «Mi ha trasmesso la passione per il blues e il soul degli anni Sessanta – ricorda – Vinse il festival della canzone siciliana, un suo pezzo è diventato la canzone ufficiale di Catania. Anche mia nonna cantava, alla Eiar. Mi imboccava con pappe e canzoni anni Cinquanta: Benny Goodman, Fred Buscaglione». Poi la gavetta nei pianobar, come apripista al “Tout Va” di Taormina per Fred Bongusto o Ray Charles: «E’ stata una grande fatica fisica, ogni sera scaricavamo gli strumenti e l’amplificazione, facevamo tutto dall’inizio alla fine. E ancora oggi, ai miei concerti, mi presento molto prima di tutti, seguo il montaggio, attacco le spie… Al “Tout Va” ho imparato il reale valore delle cose, anche quelle considerate marginali. Quell’esperienza mi ha insegnato tanto: avevo 17 anni, l’età in cui assorbi tutto come una spugna».

Mario Biondi ascoltava Al Jarreau, Isaac Hayes, Lou Rawls, Bill Withers, Michael McDonald, e modellava una voce alla Barry White, già da allora, molto prima che un dj della Bbc trasmettesse This is what you are trasformandolo in un tormentone jazz e che il cd Handful of soul e il successivo Live raccogliessero tre dischi di platino con oltre 300.000 copie vendute in tutto il mondo. Adesso, a cinque anni dall’esordio discografico, torna con un nuovo album, If, e 15 brani, 11 inediti e 4 cover, che partono da una già considerevole base di partenza di 70.000 copie vendute in prevendita, equivalente a un primo disco di platino. «Che è importante per uno che non è diventato miliardario come Michael Bublè, ma che rischia di rimetterci tutto», tiene a sottolineare. Già, perché la voce nera di Sicilia ha voluto salvaguardare la sua indipendenza, non ha ceduto al richiamo delle Major ed ha accettato l’invito di Renato Zero di far parte della nuova etichetta “Tattica”. «Dopo il successo, c’era la fila di produttori, arrangiatori, manager alla mia porta. Mi cassiarai – ride – Entrai in confusione. Renato Zero mi ha convinto a contare solo sul mio istinto. Così ho chiamato i musicisti con cui volevo suonare, da Jacqués Morelenbaum al violoncello a Michael Baker, batterista di Whitney Houston, e poi Sonny Thompson, bassista di Prince, e Giovanni Baglioni. Ho scelto io gli arrangiatori, le canzoni, tutto».
Il risultato è davvero eccellente: una festa di suoni, mood, swing, dinamica, fiati, orchestrazioni. Un respiro sonoro internazionale, che spazia dal nu-soul al jazz, dalle ballads al r’n'b, dal funk a Bacharach (autore di Something that was beautiful) ai ritmi sudamericani, fino ai richiami africani e a una versione scanzonata ed esotica di E se domani di Carlo Alberto Rossi, tradotta in I know it’s over: «Prima di registrarla – racconta – ho ascoltato tutte le versioni esistenti di questa canzone, ed erano tutte lente, strappalacrime, io ho voluto mettere un po’ di allegria con un po’ di Caraibi e di rock-steady, come fece il musicista hawaiano Israel Kamakawiwo con Over the rainbow».
In inglese tutte le canzoni, fatta eccezione per la conclusiva Bon de doer, in portoghese. Eppure Biondi non disdegna l’italiano, come accaduto nei duetti con Amalia Grè, Ornella Vanoni e Zero (sarà, invece, in inglese il cammeo registrato per il nuovo disco di Claudio Baglioni). «No, nessun tipo di preclusione, sono orgoglioso di essere italiano – precisa – Non ho alcuna remora a cantare in italiano, ma questo disco è la continuazione del discorso cominciato con Handful of Soul». In inglese sarà anche il cammeo registrato per il nuovo disco di Claudio Baglioni, mentre all’orizzonte si profila un duetto con Chaka Khan «che per me è un mito». Nel cassetto, però, l’artista conserva anche tanti brani in italiano «e non è detto che prima o poi non li tiri fuori, magari per darli a qualche giovane promessa del nostro Paese».
Biondi non nasconde l’obiettivo di mirare al mercato internazionale, dove è ormai molto popolare: «In Giappone, a parte il fatto d’incontrare catanesi di Tokio, è stato sorprendente sentire il pubblico fare il verso “sha-la-la-la” a This is what you are. In America sono molto incuriositi da un bianco italiano che fa musica nera. Anche in Europa le risposte sono ottime: in Francia la gente mi fermava, stupita per questo genere poco italiano, e mi diceva: “Ma come, non eravate il Paese della Pausini e di Ramazzotti? Adesso vi siete messi a fare i raffinati?”».
Una soddisfazione per Mario Biondi, 38 anni, sei figli, autodidatta. Come l’e-mail che gli arriva mentre parliamo al telefono. Il mittente è Bacharach, ha appena ascoltato il disco: «Mi dice che non vede l’ora di farlo conoscere ad alcuni suoi amici importanti, perché ci fa una “bella comparsa”», traduce in siciliano Mario Biondi. If esce domani in Italia, tour tra marzo e aprile.

Since I’m a bit under the weather, it’s always nice to get quality stuff in the inbox.

Here’s the second mix from the Sunshine State’s honorable DJ/ turntablist Matt Cali and the Empire State’s musical mastermind/graphic designer Russel Fong, aptly dubbed Sample Junkies due to its nostalgic feel. It’s invigorating, really.

Sample Junkies is a three-part compilation of classic hip-hop samples and breaks mixed fluidly by Cali. Fong has chosen the music of Isaac Hayes, Otis Redding, Gladys Knight & the Pips, The Dells, David Porter, The Charmels, Michel Gonet, Menahan Street Band, The Jackson 5, Ramp, Ramon Morris, Esther Bryde, 9th Creations, Monk Higgins, Sting, Smilin Billy Suite, Screamin Jay Hawkins, Aretha Franklin, Jack Mayborn,Roy Ayers plus plenty more to serve as the soundtrack to your trip back in time.

I’ve praised the effort of this dope duo before, so expect this mix to impress once again. No track list necessary. True sample heads, this is what you’re fiendin’ for.

Shout to the good homie Matt himself for hooking this up. Spin this tonight and reminisce, Enjoy!

Download: Russell Fong & DJ Matt Cali – Sample Junkies

…to paraphrase Prince. A little baby brother to this blog, It Might Also Go A Little Something Like That, has been born over at tumblr, where I will be posting a track-a-day until something explodes. Already we’re two days in and you can enjoy Isaac Hayes covering The Blue Nile and Donald Byrd gloriously at the logical end of his jazz-funk tether. The hook? Each day’s track will be tangentially connected to the day before until I paint myself into a musicological corner. It’s also an indulgent way of sorting my online stuff for the short term future. Music will live there, longer and sadly more infrequent posts here, and short bursts of tosh will thrive on twitter.

In the meantime, you can enjoy a slew of mixes on this blog, and flick through the mine of downloadable mp3s already hosted here. I plan to be back with a needlessly comprehensive series of posts about Guess Who and a best of 2009 music retrospective before the decade’s out. So see you then. Right? Right.