inner city blues (make me wanna holler)

this one goes out to everyone occupying spaces and places and voicing their desire for a fair shot at life.

i had a dream about an exchange programme where little palestinian kiddos would go live with isreali families for the summer and israeli kiddos spent summer with palestinian families. within a few generations we'd start to see a peaceful shift between the two. idealistic utopian dream? perhaps.

what about the 1% and the 99% of the occupy movements? suit: take a single mother's spot for a couple of months... take on her jobs. take care of her kids, her sick mother and pay her bills. woman, put on a power tie, get used to that smartphone, and spend those big bucks responsibly. spend your evenings alone in an empty apartment or constantly entertaining clients and making sure your grass is as green as envy. let's see how you both feel in a month. i know, i know. far flung dream?

the reality is, to our fearful egos, poverty and joblessness are a hop and skip away from homelessness and homelessness is a stone's throw from death. there is no way we will give up what we got to see how other people feel. because we're afraid we'll die!

so what can we do? in any power struggle, you self-preserve when you stop feeding the machine. choose the mom and pop shops. stop buying oil one day each week. then two days, then three. how about giving up blackberries and iphones? home phones for a while? do we need so much electricity? and water? if the average african uses 10 litres of water a day, surely we north americans can do with less than 400. every day there are lineups at starbucks, at the apple store. shopping malls are full in the middle of the day. the supermarket even has self checkout. how about visiting a proper market vegetable stand? you know, the one with the owners working the cash?

sure we can cause an economic collapse. isn't that the goal?
it' about time, because this misery ain't new. right, marvin?

marvin gaye - inner city blues (makes me wanna holler):


maybe what we didn't do in the 70s was make our revolution a bit more fun. perhaps revolve with a little rump shake?

sly & robbie - inner city blues (makes me wanna holler):

and then:

• nostalgia 77 feat. alice russell - seven nation army (grant phabao mix)
• stevie wonder - free
• ted taylor - houston town
• finley quaye - even after all

the hop

niko schabel assembled a collective of berlin-based musicians, notably the unmistakeable and unforgettable bajka on vocals to put forth their first release, berlin serengeti. the work is fueled by 'jazzy, earth-shaking tropical dub and snake-charming soul, channeling mulatu and coltrane in a dub shack studio with a barrage of big horns blasting blacksploitation flavors with an eastern funk twist...'

try it out. climb into your ride and crank up 'the hop' as you fly on the street. as the sun goes down, snake charm your partner with the dub infused groove on the sweetly whispered 'el cielo', so warm and buttery...

radio citizen - the hop (featuring bajka):


radio citizen - cielo (featuring bajka):


related:

• nneka - africans
  
• bonobo - walk in the sky
  
• derek vincent smith / pretty lights - finally moving remix
  
• nostalgia 77 - seven nation army

get this at amazon

ego tripping

a very special post for a very special lady on a very special day.

a few years ago, i walked into the office of the only vision educator i could find in the city, looking for miracles. i can honestly say, that day, she put those miracles in motion.

honouring a great teacher of mine on her 65th birthday, i can't think of anything more fitting than this. also celebrating her birthday, nikki giovanni is an african american icon who has inspired millions through her words and her actions. happy birthday elizabeth and nikki. may you continue to touch millions with your smiles, your wisdom and your magic!

never forget...
"i am so perfect, so divine, so ethereal, so surreal
i cannot be comprehended except by my permission
i mean, i can fly
like a bird in the sky...."
nikki giovanni - ego tripping:


related:

• nneka - africans
  
• marie queenie lyons - see and don't see
  
• derek vincent smith / pretty lights - finally moving remix
  
• nina simone - sinnerman

get this at tru thoughts records

seven nation army

ahhh the city is getting ready for a whirlwind of activity as leaders from 8 and 20 of the earth's nations come together for the big talks.

yeah that's right - getting ready for the g8 and g20 in canada and right here in toronto. and i feel the way this track sounds.

counting down until it's happening
and when it's happening
we'll be counting down until it's over.

sometimes i feel like alice russell-
trapped in a grant phabao remix-
of nostalgia 77's cover-
of the white stripes' seven nation army.

and there you have it. superbly belted out by ms. russell. love how it maintains the rock and blues integrity of the white stripes' original, even with a roots reggae element and then adds a little russell to infuse it with just so much sweet soul!

nostalgia 77 feat alice russell - seven nation army [grant phabao mix]:


related:

• nneka - africans
  
• marie queenie lyons - see and don't see
  
• derek vincent smith / pretty lights - finally moving remix
  
• nina simone - sinnerman

get this at tru thoughts records

even after all

i finally finished masaru emoto's hidden messages in water. i think the guy's on to something.

emoto ran extensive research about the effects of words, music and environments on the quality of water. he found that water molecules emulate the beauty of positive words, melodic music and healthy environments by forming flawless crystals when frozen. you can only guess how water reacts to polluted environments, nasty messages and crap music!

so from emoto's findings and knowing that the adult human body is 75% water, we have pretty good reasons to be discerning about the quality of the music we listen to... even the voices we surround ourselves with!

and with that, i present to you... finley quaye.

finley quaye - even after all:


related:

• bonobo - walk in the sky
  
• nneka - beautiful
  
• stevie wonder - as/another star
  
• peter gabriel - with this love

get this at amazon

see and don't see

i'd recently spent several consecutive days studying with my reiki master. what seemed like magic was happening in real life.

one tough lesson was coming face to face with hard truth. tough.

and this woman knew how tough. marie "queenie" lyons - the lady who covered try me and fever knew that even fevers eventually break... as do hearts. it's all in that voice.

there are two things that make a voice penetrate our skin, tear through muscle, infiltrate our veins and reverberate deep inside our bones. one is sheer unadulterated joy. the other is soul-shattering pain. lyons sang both like a true blues-funk-soul-sister. she turned the pain of knowing even the darkest truths into something sublime.

my reiki master knows i try to move beyond highs and lows, but sometimes my bones ache for them. my veins need a hit. and that's when i listen to the lyons.

marie "queenie" lyons - see and don't see:


related to this:

• ted taylor - houston town
  
• nina simone - sinnerman
  
• derek vincent smith/etta james - finally moving

derek... thanks for taking me back with your track, my other love.

as... another star

one day that will stay with me forever is stevie wonder opening the 30th anniversary montreal jazz festival.

after settling into our hotel, my friends and i arrived at mainstage around 3pm to nab some prime concert real estate. it was soundcheck and could hardly believe our ears as we approached the scene. stevie was rehearsing 'overjoyed' and 'higher ground'. then he greeted us with a robotic distortion: 'mont-re-al, ca-na-da' - everyone went wild.

our cell phone were no use so it was good to see folks interacting with each other rather than their crackberries and iphones. we met some really fun and interesting people and i even ran into an old uni friend. people started packing in. it got very hot, to the point we started removing our layers of clothing. hours went by talking, drinking, some people were smoking, my charming friend ky giving out his self-styled wonderlove t-shirts as we all groved to the dj pumping soul and r&b classics. more familiar faces. we enjoyed the company, the heat, the groove. everyone got into it. it was a good day.

when the rains came a multicoloured patchwork of umbrellas went up and our little group started dancing and singing, echoes rippling through the crowds nearby as we attracted attention and bemused smiles, nods and more singers... stevie was running late but we were having fun, the massive crowd doing the wave and singing 'my cherie amour' la-la-laaa-la-la-la's. we weren't gonna let a little wetness stop us.

when stevie finally came on stage, the clouds held their breath. the rain trickled off and stopped. the umbrellas came down and stevie declared that tonight we would to ignore the rumours and scandalous money-making media hype and dedicate the evening to celebrating the life and music of michael jackson. amen to that. then the band broke into "i can't help it", co-written by stevie and quincy jones for mj's 'off the wall' record. the 100,000+ crowd went nuts.

in fact, throughout the set, the pa system played mj tunes between performance pieces. and the entire place - including stevie and band - would just dance to them. a true and proper way to celebrate mj's music... not cover it, not sing over top of it, but to listen, to feel and to enjoy it. simply magical. mj's spirit was there with us that night, enjoying the moment with us too.

one highlight was when stevie decided they would "do it right" and play some jazz at the jazz fest! which included some miles davis and john coltrane - all done with the confidence of a team of musicians so tight and so good, to not only play soul and funk - alongside stevie - one minute, but then cover jazz masters with him the next.

another highlight - aisha morris - stevie's lovely daughter and one of his four back-up singers, who covered nat king cole's 'gonna laugh you right out of my life'. it the first time i heard the song and she gave me shivers.

and throughout the 2 1/2 hour concert, stevie might have had the most fun of us all. he played the harmonica, piano, he sang and danced and talked to us. a gifted musician and vocalist and a true lover of life, he cracked some jokes, asking the francophones in the crowd "voulez-vous coucher avec moi?"... stumbling at the beginning of a song, admitting in his good-natured laugh that forgot the words, then inviting the audience to sing middle eastern sounding vocal scales to a new track he's laying down... tough! the crowd had fun with it. and we danced and danced and danced and he gave us what we wanted to hear... (almost)!

as the show came to a close, light showers rained down over the crowd. they felt so good. a montage of mj tunes played out as all the musicians, backup singers and stevie himself came to the front of the stage. and everyone danced.

and then stevie said something that will always stay with me. he said: "if you have a big heart, love somebody. and if you have a really big heart, love everybody".

and with that, 15 minutes of glorious fireworks lit up the sky.

so for you my dears, here he is, jazzing it up and performing "higher ground" at the sound check we happened upon earlier that day:


taken from the compilation at the close of the century, available at steviewonder.net.

related:
nina simone - sinnerman

farewell to the great gloved one

michael jackson - ben

mis treated
mis understood
mis represented

forever missed

ben was a song written about a pet rat from a 70s film... sung so beautifully, you'd never know.

farewell to you, michael.
thank you for leaving your musical legacy.

michael jackson - ben:


you can find this cd at amazon.

related to this:

• nina simone - sinnerman
  
• miriam makeba - malaika
  

sometimes i get a good feeling

derek vincent smith - finally moving

this colorado producer takes mood music to the next level. wanna throw your hands in the air? take a drive through the desert? tell someone how they make you feel? throw this on for size. smith has put his double length filling up the city skies up for download on his website. here he takes electonic music to the next level, sampling riffs, blips and vocals transcending vintage soul to current hip hop... part 1 is smith's self-styled "organic downtempo" autobiography. part 2, worthy of some major rump-shaking action, is what he plays at his live shows. don't take any of this lightly. smith is a mastermind of sound.

he ties up part 2 with a remix of finally moving, a track that he opens with the deep, velvety souldarling etta james introducing something's gotta hold on me... then comes an electrosonic ride complete with video game sounds, broken violin beats, thumping bass and vintage guitar riffs à la hendrix. the skies clear for a moment when etta returns rippling over a flourish of piano keys. just barely long enough to catch your breath before hopping back on the soundwave...

i get a good feeling... and i don't wanna get off.

pretty lights - finally moving (remixed):


related to this:

• up, bustle & out - all out king
  
• four tet - as serious as your life
  
• yonderboi - riders on the storm / pink solidism
  
• the blow - the love that i crave (strategy's strata club mix)
  

if you like what you hear, give a nod to smith... he's continously sharing his brilliance.

black and blue hued blues

ted taylor - houston town

oh the blues...

and in this case, the black-and-blue-hued blues.

super soul blues volume 1 on paula records: i introduced myself to this album ten years ago. i played it nonstop for weeks.

so much of it is memorable:
ike and tina turner burn down a whisky roadhouse together in 'shake a hand'...
cicero blake extols the virtues of philandering in 'dip my dipper'...
bobby rush fantasizes out loud in 'bowlegged woman, knock kneed man'...

but what got under my skin like a bittersweet, addictive drug was ted taylor's 'houston town'.

super soul blues indeed. all the conditions are right: it's raining, ted's 'broke, busted, belly-empty', pleading with god to get him out of houston town. and it only gets worse from there.

with an irrisistible blend of warm syruppy instrumentation, a few great backup singers and BAM! i wannna be right there in houston town where the drama unfolds.

but that was another time, another space. the closest i'll get for now is this. apologies - my copy at home is better quality - be prepared to hear a lot of snap, crackle, pop on this vinyl.

ted taylor - houston town:
the compilation might be hard to track down. try amazon.

nina's sinnerman

nina simone - sinnerman

there is nothing like truth.

some people live by it. others shout it from the rooftops.

schooling the ignorant masses who have erroneously bestowed on them their given "class", their "status", their "place" and their "lot", a few people had the guts to tell it like it is, in their own skin.

this was one such woman. even when she whispered, she belted out the truth. that yes, she had class. she had status. she had important places to go and she had a lot to teach the world. and no one's fear could keep her truth locked up. and the world is better for it.

like the woman behind it, this track is an epic. spanning styles and influences like classical piano, jazz infused bass, gospel wails, flamenco-echoed hand claps, funky blues guitar, and not to mention a be-bop inspired scat to top it all off... this is what music is made of. truth. this woman had something to say. and i'm glad she did, because i doubt anyone could sing the truth they way nina sang it.

nina simone - sinnerman:

14.0 little brother - atari 2600

asteroids, centipede, missile command, pac man, q-bert and let's not forget donkey kong and frogger. the sounds of rapt wonder and excitement from back in the day.

oh how my heart sank when that little pixelated frog flattened into an X simply trying to cross the street. the tone of his demise was terrible. SPLAT! then there was the noise made by the awful green coily monster when he'd appear and jump in mad chase from one cube to another on the psychedelic pyramid to annihilate poor lil q-bert.

those were the sounds of video games from my childhood - sounds that have been permanently pressed in the grooves of my memory...

a rap duo from north carolina called litle brother made this tribute to the atari 2600 console. funny though - the song has not even one video game sound in it. no. it's a soulful old school ballad - complete with string arrangements and swooning backing vocals. what nostalgia: "a-tar-i don't go!"

click the console and take a listen... and oh yeah. advisory: explicit lyrics!
little brother - atari 2600:


ok - and for those of you who are now itching to play. here you go:)

related to this...

• ahmad - back in the day

12.0 ahmad - back in the day

this one is dedicated to kwame, who put this in my head.
and to richard, who taught me about "earworms".

ahmad - back in the day:


this track requires an external player like winamp (download here) or real audio player (download here).

related to this...

• little brother

8.0 amy winehouse - moody's mood for love

so i'm skipping out and chilling at home on a chilly windy sunday afternoon... nothing like this jazzy quincy jones tune redone by amy winehouse with its rootsy percussion and capricious vocals to sound-track my comfy cozy wrapped up indoors fall afternoon of lounging about...

amy winehouse - moody's mood for love:

5.0 the visionnaires - runnin'

how true... you can't keep running away. although it's so tempting sometimes...

the visioneers - runnin':