|
|
The Parliaments: Good Old Music
From 7″ (Revilot, 1968)
The Magic Tones: Good Old Music
From 7″ (Westbound, 1969)
Funkadelic: Good Old Music
From S/T (Westbound, 1970
I was so enamored with the Magic Tones 7″ I wrote about the other month that I went to go look for other material by this Detroit band and then came upon their version of Funkadelic’s “Good Ole Music.” George Clinton must have straight up loved this song since he basically recorded it three different times. The first came on the pre-P-Funk Parliaments and [...]
Continue reading GOOD OLD MUSIC: SO NICE, THEY FLIPPED IT TWICE
Patti Drew: Tell Him
From Tell Him (Capitol, 1967)
Fever
From I’ve Been Here All the Time (Capitol, 1969)
Hundreds And Thousands Of Guys
From Wild Is Love (Capitol, 1970)
All songs also available on Working On a Groovy Thing.
Ok, time to take a break from Gur-eulogies. I could have sworn I had posted about Patti Drew at some point but it was really in passing. Drew’s not exactly obscure but I wouldn’t go as far to call her a household name either. One of the many hopefuls to emerge [...]
Continue reading PATTI DREW: STOP AND LISTEN
I spent all of Tuesday in a tizzy, trying to research and write that obituary for Guru (not to mention juggling that with teaching two classes). I’m especially grateful to all the folks who gave me testimonials, including Joe Schloss, Jeff Mao, Bob James, Jeru, Kurupt (even though I received it too late to get it into print) and especially Harry Elam Jr. who was extremely gracious to speak to me on such a difficult day for the family.
I’ve been running on adrenaline this whole week since, besides the LA Times, obit, I also [...]
Continue reading GURU: IN MEMORY OF
I wrote a cover story on Gang Starr for URB in 2003, in anticipation for The Ownerz, the group’s first album in five years. I flew out to NYC and interviewed the two men, separately, in Studio B of D&D Studios. People had asked if I wouldn’t mind printing some of it so I went back to my transcripts; unfortunately, much of what I had actually transcribed was specific to the album or my piece. There were long parts of our conversation I taped but didn’t transcribe because I assumed it wasn’t immediately relevant to the story. [...]
Continue reading INTERVIEWING GURU IN 2003
RIP G.U.R.U., gone but never to be forgotten.
I’ll try to get up an appreciation later but in the meanwhile, check out Matthew Africa’s excellent Gang Starr mix from March.
Update: Here’s my LA Times obit. I took no pleasure in writing it.
New York City: Hang Your Head In Shame
Set the Record Straight
From I’m Doin’ Fine Now (Chelsea, 1973)
Strutt: Said You Didn’t Love Him
From Time Moves On (Brunswick, 1976)
Facts of Life: Love Is the Final Truth
What Would Your Mama Say
From Sometimes (RCA, 1978). Also on Just the Facts.
Sorry for the quick hit and run but I’m writing this from an airport and need to keep things short n’ sweet. I’ve been meaning to write about this trio of artists for a [...]
Continue reading BATTING CLEAN-UP
 
My last post, about selling off my rarest record, got me thinking about collector culture and in particular, the idea of holy grails vs. white whales.
The two are related – but not identical concepts. The Holy Grail is best known and understood: it’s like a mythical record everyone wants and searches for, but the odds of finding are next to nil. Without a doubt, in the circles I run with, the holiest of Holy Grails is the supposed 12″ version of Bob James’ “Mardi Gras” without the bells. It seems almost certain [...]
Continue reading : PT. 1
Fania is about putting out a reissue of one of the Joe Cuba Sextet’s most successful and important albums, We Must Be Doing Something Right with liner notes written by yours truly. We have a few copies to give away, just enter in below.
CONTEST OVER, thanks everyone!
|
gigs No gigs currently scheduled. I am available for private parties such as weddings, et. al. |
chatter