It's getting to be that time of year. The time for egg nog (preferrably spiked), candy cane colored underwear, and Christmas CDs. I know what you're saying, "It's WAY too early to be listening to Christmas music." Well I say, "Stop bah-humbuging the seasonal grooves and start ordering them now so you'll have them in time to spin for your Black Friday suicide shopping mission."
Now that we've gotten that out of the way, it's time for the first Christmas CD review of the year here at MISB. I'll straight out admit that I get into the X-mas jams, so long as it isn't the same tired tunes over and over again. My love of the holiday music goes deep; as a kid I can remember listening to the Beach Boys' Christmas album every year (on vinyl never the less). While today's review doesn't come from them, it does come from an artists who's been around almost as long and who I have almost as old a connection with: Neil Diamond. It's titled A Cherry Cherry Christmas (a play on a very merry Christmas perhaps?), but isn't Diamond's first foray into the field. He's released two previous albums, aptly titled The Christmas Album and The Christmas Album, Volume 2, some of whose songs appear in this latest release.
Of this new collections fourteen tracks, four are pulled from his first Christmas album, five from the second, and five are new songs for this album, including the title track and a cover version of Adam Sandler's Chanukah Song. While a few of the recycled songs feel very much so, there are few many that hold their enjoyability here, fifteen plus years later. The title track, on other hand, is pure and timeless Diamond. Those fans out there who've enjoyed his stripped down sound under the guidance of Rick Rubin might be disappointed here. This is your parents' classic Diamond. Come into it with that in mind, and you might just enjoy it regardless.
Since I wrote about Fela Kuti yesterday, it seems only appropriate to take today to talk about the fourth volume in Strut Records’ Inspiration Information series. As is typical in the series, the album pairs up two artists unlikely to share a studio otherwise, typically and older artists with a more contemporary one. In this case, it’s eccentric SwedishFinnish electronic instrumentalist Jimi Tenor with Tony Allen, the former drummer and impromptu director for Kuti’s band Africa 70. Although I’ve really enjoyed every volume thus far in the series, this one has really caught hold of my ears.
That the resulting product seems more Allenish is not surprising if you’re not familiar with Tenor and his previous work. His last few outings, while still retaining his electronic elements, display a shift towards Afro-beat. That being said, pairing him with Allen seems less drastic then one might assume otherwise. Allen, of course, was partially responsible for the genesis of Afro-beat along with Kuti, so the sound here has his stamp all over it. Mix the new and the old, and you’ve got the fourth volume for the Inspiration Information series.
Although heavily indebted to Afro-beat, by no means does this album stop there. Tenor brings some of his personal touch to bear as well, and the resulting nine tracks mix the Afro-beat base with elements of jazz (check out the killer flute solo brought forth in The Darker Side of Night), reggae (hear Selfish Gene below for a wonderful example), funk (take your pick – the whole darn thing is funky), afro-lounge-exotica (it’s the best term I can use to describe Cella’s Walk), and even early proto-rap a la The Last Poets and Gil Scott-Heron (listen to Path To Wisdom, one of the album’s most unique tracks, to experience this).
At only ten tracks, the album really flies by, although each track does have its own particular character. One wouldn’t expect less from Allen, but it’s no doubt a refreshing introduction to Tenor for many listeners. Check out Selfish Gene below, then the album, and finally check out some of Tenor’s solo work.
Here’s some very wonderful news that I’m personally very excited about: Knitting Factory Records will be reissuing ALL of Fela Kuti’s albums over the next year and half. That’s right, forty-five releases, not only on CD, but also on vinyl. How insane is that? Kuti on vinyl…does it get any better? I’ve now got my wish list for my birthday and Christmas for the next two years written up and ready to be fulfilled.
Fela Kuti. Even if you’ve never heard his music (which is doubtful), it’s nearly impossible that you haven’t come across his name. He is one of the great musical visionaries of the 20th century, a world musical icon that really hasn’t got his complete due here in the States. Part musician, part political radical, part social activist, part sheer entertainer, Kuti was a force unto himself ultimately laid low not by the government that he railed against but by an invisible disease that to this day lays waste to Africa: AIDS. Although I hadn't even realized it before this instant, it's appropriate that I'm writing about Kuti after posting on Funk Aid for Africa the other day, a charity album raising money in support of children affected by AIDS
To kick off their Kuti extravaganza, Knitting Factory is starting with The Best of the Black President, a two disc collection including some of his best/most well known work. It's also available in a deluxe version including a DVD featuring segments from Music Is The Weapon, the Berlin Jazz Festival, Teacher Don't Teach Me Nonesense, and interviews with Bill T. Jones and Carlos Moore. For those of you not familiar with his work, this is a great place to start, as most of his albums typically only handful of long, developed tracks.
Coincidentally, also opening this month is Fela!, the Broadway musical based on his life. I'm planning on heading down to NYC next month to check it out. Any readers out there interested in a Broadway field trip?
Last week I wrote about the charity album Playing For Change. Hopefully you checked it out, and possibly even bought a copy of your own by now. Although only ten tracks, it's a powerful collection of music that deserves your attention and coin. Today I've got another charity project that is equally as deserving: Funk Aid For Africa. Here's what is given in the liner notes for the album:
"Funk Aid For Africa is the first in a series of compilations created to raise funds for African children affected by AIDS, by harnessing the positive power of music. Proceeds from the sale of this compilation are going toward the construction of a 'green' playground for the children of Youth With A Vision (YWAV), a South African organization that runs AIDS prevention programs in Dennilton, South Africa. The playground is part of NextAid's and YWAV's premier project, a 25 structure children's village and multi-purpose center that will be a home for 50 children orphaned by AIDS, an after-school center for hundreds of children living off site, and an economic hub for the surrounding community."
If the charity wasn't good enough reason to buy this album, check out the line-up
1. Ocote Soul Sounds – ‘Contra El Sol’ / ESL Records 2. The Lions – ‘Jungle Struttin’ / Ubiquity Records 3. The Pimps of Joytime – ‘San Francisco Bound’ (Remix by DJ OBaH) / Wonderwheel Recordings 4. DJ Kiva – ‘A Walk In Broken Shade’ Feat. Afra Behn 5. Dario Boente & Huge In Japan – ‘Pasado Pisado’ 6. Amayo’s Fu-Arkist-Ra – ‘Fist Of Flowers’ 7. Ticklah – ‘Mi Sonsito’ Feat. Mayra Vega / Easy Star Records 8. Tm Juke And The Jack Baker Trio – ‘Party Favours’ Feat. Gecko Turner / Tru Thoughts Recordings 9. Nappy G – ‘Habanaha’ 10. Ursula Rucker – ‘Electric Santeria’ (Remix By King Britt) / Five Six Media 11. Kokolo Afrobeat Orchestra – ‘Sabroso’ (Remix By Sabo & Zeb) 12. The Pleasuremaker Band – ‘What We Came’ 13. 7 Miles Per Hour Band – ‘Latin Freak’ / Kay-Dee Records 14. Happy Mayfield – ‘Jesse James’ 15. Chico Mann – ‘Ease On Out’ 16. J Boogie’s Dubtronic Science – ‘Together’ Feat. Jennifer Johns / Om Records 17. Sbirrofunk – ‘Nostalgicdreamsong’ 18. Daisuke Naito – ‘Leopard’ 19. Meta & The Cornerstones – ‘Hasta La Vista’ / 54 Soundz Llc 20. El Pueblo – ‘Ina Funky Dub’
While many of these names might be familiar to you, I assure you that there's not a lemon in the bunch here. It's also expertly mixed by DJ Obah (website) into a non-stop afro-latin-funk-soul-reggae fest. Take a few bites of it below, then donate a few of your dollars in the right direction.
it starts with a crack in a heart that was made of stone i thought it was dead had been sleeping so all alone now what a mistake i've made drifted off so far from you and from how it began
and love i want to give myself away and love i want to receive you back in the same way i make no sense on my own but we're made for each other
So I'm sure I've shared this before, but I'm not a TV watcher. I can curl up on the couch and watch a movie every once and a while, but watching a weekly show just isn't my bag. I think that might change though. I've been listening to the soundtrack for the TV show Glee nearly non-stop for the last couple of weeks. Here's the show's description: "GLEE, the genre-defying new musical comedy series, follows an optimistic teacher who - against all odds and a malicious cheerleading coach - attempts to save McKinley High's Glee Club from obscurity while helping a group of aspiring underdogs realize their true star potential."
I had caught bits and pieces of the show here and there, and while entertained, wasn't hooked. Listening to this soundtrack though makes me want to go back and watch the entire season. They take some contemporary songs, well know to all, and very handily make them fresh, new, and their own. Everything from classic rock ballads (Journey's Don't Stop Believin') to Motown (the Supreme's You Keep Me Hangin' On) to hip hop (Kanye West's Gold Digger) to Karaoke classics (Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline) to 80's pop-punk (Billy Idol's Dancing With Myself) to_______ (you name it). No matter the song, no matter the genre, the Glee cast makes it catchy as all get out.
So yeah, this coming Wednesday you'll find me sitting on the couch (which is quite the rarity) catching the newest episode of Glee. In the meantime, I'm going to keep spinning this soundtrack.
I've been sitting on this one way to long. Listening to Amy Serrata's debut self-titled album is really quite refreshing. I keep coming back to it over the last few months, and every time, it's just as fresh. On it, Serrata pulls in influences from other female songstresses as diverse as Jill Scott and Ella Fitzgerald. Especially in the first half of the album, the Ella comparison really jumps out at me. She has the emotive, jazzy bubbleyness which made Ella so irresistible. Her voice carries a crisp, clear and bright delight to it that is just contagious.
What makes it even more impressive is that this is her debut album, and she's come out swinging for the fence. As mentioned above, the first few tracks evoke Ella's jazz, albeit with an updated electronic beat running the show. This modern feeling accelerates as you get deeper into the album, creating a electronic, poppy jazz feeling that slowly shifts into more of an R&B vibe (the track Lets is where it becomes obvious) with some slight hip hop undercurrents. By the time she's done, Serrate proves she's got spunk and soul. There's also a little Latin flair thrown in near the end of the album on Yes To Life.
Try out two of the album's tracks below. The first, Rooted, has got a strong R&B beat to it, almost something that you could bounce to. The other one here, Love Another, takes that same vibe even farther with some hip hop sampling action upping the action. Both reside more on the modern end of the release, coming at the tail end of the thirteen tracks on the album.
“Music is the universal language of mankind” -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
"As a human race we come together for birth, we come together for death. What brings us together in between is up to us. Stop and listen to the universal language of music and bring that positive energy with you everywhere you go"
-Mark Johnson, director of the Playing for Change project
I don't think I need to explain the quotes above. It's part of why I write this blog. It's part of why you come here to find new music. Music is everywhere, in every form. It speaks to the very young, it speaks to the very old. Man. Woman. When NASA launched the Voyager spacecraft in 1977, they included a golden record which included songs from around the world and which was inscribed with "To the makers of music — all worlds, all times."
The Playing For Change Foundation believes that, too. In their own words, they are "dedicated to connecting the world through music by providing resources (including, but not limited to facilities, supplies, and educational programs) to musicians and their communities around the world." In an effort to bring that message to people everywhere, they have recorded a ten track CD of music played by musicians from around the globe. They sing songs of weight. Songs of power. Songs of import. Stand By Me, One Love, Biko, Talkin' Bout A Revolution, the hopeful A Change Is Gonna Come, and others. And they play with passion, a passion that is true to their mission. Many of the songs here you've heard before, but never quite like this. They convey that belief in music in genuine terms.
Accompanying the music CD is a DVD with the full length documentary Peace Through Music. Here's how they describe it:
"A co-production of Timeless Media and Engine 7 Films, Playing For Change: Peace Through Music, is a story of hope, struggle, perseverance and joy. The version included here contains an additional 26 minutes of never-before-seen narration and performance, with scenes filmed in Nepal , India , New Mexico and Barcelona . The filmmakers traveled the globe with a single minded passion: to connect the world through music. Their ambitious journey took them through a myriad of cultures and visually stunning locations including post-apartheid South Africa , the ancient sites and conflicted regions of the Middle East, the remote beauty of the Himalayas and beyond. Using innovative mobile technology, the Playing For Change crew filmed and recorded more than 100 musicians, largely outdoors, in parks, plazas and promenades, in doorways, on cobblestone streets and amid hilly pueblos. The film, broadcast nationally on PBS this summer, spawned the intensely emotional video clip “Stand By Me,” featuring 37 musicians from around the world including now famous Grandpa Elliott, Roger Ridley and Clarence Bekker. It has been viewed by more than 30 million people to date on sites like YouTube and Vimeo sparking the global Playing For Change movement, one of 2009’s most unlikely and inspiring cultural phenomena."
The film opens with the song that started the project (and which you can hear below), Stand By Me. Mark Johnson explains how he heard a street entertainer, Roger Ridley, singing the song while walking down a street in Santa Monica, CA and how it gave birth to this project. Eventually, over 35 musicians from all over the world would contribute to this one song (although they never met in person), providing a model that would be followed in many of the songs on the album, and serving as a concrete example of the universal reach of music. Over the course of the album, you'll hear musicians from Nepal, Zimbabwe, India, Italy, Argentina, Congo, Cuba, South Africa, Ireland, Palestine, Isreal, Ghana, New Orleans, and many other places.
I'm not exagerating when I say that within the first five minutes of the film I had butterflies in my stomach from its power. Although the music on the CD was incredible, the film really brought home the fact that this is something bigger than just instruments and the notes they make. Something bigger than human voices and vocals. When you buy this album (don't consider it an if), make sure to watch the movie at least once. You won't regret it.
Hopefully I don't need to tell you what a worthy cause this album supports or why you should order this now. Music is something that all should have access to, regardless of class or color. Buy this album. Heck, buy a bunch and give them away as Christmas presents and you'll do double duty - sharing great music and spreading awareness. Buy the deluxe version of this powerful release and you'll also get a 24 page booklet which shares pictures of the artists as well as the background information for each song.
For more information on this amazing organization, visit the Playing For Change website, where you can read about the projects they are supporting. Or, catch the Playing For Change band on tour to experience the power of their music in person (dates below).
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Upcoming Tour Dates
11/06/09 Minneapolis , MN O’Shaughnessy 11/07/09 Kansas City , MO Uptown Theatre 11/08/09 Denver , CO Paramount Theatre 11/09/09 Santa Fe , NM Lensic Performing Arts Center 11/12/09 Mesa, AZ Mesa Arts Center 11/13/09 Los Angeles, CA Club Nokia 11/14/09 Anaheim , CA The Grove of Anaheim 11/15/09 San Francisco , CA Palace of Fine Arts 11/17/09 Portland , OR Aladdin Theatre 11/18/09 Seattle , WA Moore Theatre 11/19/09 Vancouver , British Columbia Commodore Ballroom
So as all good things must come to end, so does the Dillanthology series that Rapster Records has been releasing this year. The third volume, Dilla's Productions, hit shelves at the end of last month. Want to know more about it? Start by reading about the first volume (which highlighted Dilla's production work) and the second volume (which focused on his remix work), and then prepare yourself for the closing chapter, which brings together tracks off his solo albums and the Jaylib album with Madlib, including some guest spots from Guilty Simpson, Black Thought (The Roots), Phat Kat, Common, and D’Angelo.
What else is there to say that I haven't already sprouted out with? He was a genius whose time came prematurely. Who knows what he would have laid down if he was still with us today. Thankfully, we're left with some most deaf material that will probably never go out of style (and hopefully never be forgotten). If you haven't picked up all the volumes, word on the street is that Rapster will be releasing them as a collection - not sure if it will have extra goodies in it or not, so keep your eyes open for it coming down the pipeline.
In the meantime, check out Anti-American Graffiti, a nice slice featuring some samples of famed DJ Wolfman Jack. Keep Dee Jay's memory alive and pick up these comps for your own collection.
This song / video from French artist Sliimy is just quirky as all get out (and reminds me quite a bit of the old Peter Gabriel video for Sledgehammer). In high pop song fashion,I have no idea what he's singing about and why, but it's enjoyable never the less. It comes from his album Paint Your Face, which at the moment is only available physically as an import, but is available digitally now for a reasonable price. OR, leave a comment (or email me) with your name and email address and you'll be in the running for one of two T-shirts featuring him AND a free download code for the entire album. I'll pick the winners next Wednesdayish and notify them via email.
So I was listening to From New York City to Addis Ababa: The Best of Mulatu Astatke, the compilation just released by Strut Records, when I got to Lanchi Biye and realized the tune has been boosted by Somalian rapper K'naan on his latest effort, Troubadour (which I wrote about earlier this year), for the song America. Now I don't have a physical copy of it, so I couldn't tell you if he cited his source (anyone out there help me on this?), but it should be pretty telling of Astatke's musical genius that he's getting picked up on by a Somalian rapper from the 21st century. Makes you think maybe you should check him out, eh?
I wrote about Astatke earlier this year, when he paired up with the UK collective The Heliocentrics for volume 3 of Strut's Inspiration Information series (read about it here, and listen to one of its tracks below). Even diluted, you could get a sense of his Ethiopian mystique and magic. Probably as a result of that volume's success and the interest it generated, Strut has put together a compilation of his original work in the 60's and 70's. Knowing first hand how hard it is to locate much of that material (I went a-searching after being introduced to him), this comp is incredibly welcome in its breadth. Alongside the 21 tracks are in-depth liner notes detailing the storied career of Astatke and the birth of Ethio-jazz, an eclectic mix of his native music with latin, carribean, highlife, and countless other flavors.
Although the name Vince Guaraldi might not mean anything to you, I can almost guarantee that you've heard his work. His piano is the magic behind the music of Peanuts, that timelessly classic cartoon featuring Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, and the gang. All together, Guaraldi produced the music for 15 network Peanuts cartoon specials, and in doing so, assured his place in pop culture. Most probably don't realize though that his Peanuts work is but a small slice of his creative output, output that first began way back in the 1950's when Guaraldi was working behind countless other jazz musicians.
After nearly a decade of putting in his time though, Guaraldi finely starting tasting success for himself. This success eventually landed him the gig of scoring the Peanuts' specials and going down in the history books. For those of you who'd like to dig deeper into his material though, Fantasy Records released a two disc compilation of his work last month which is the perfect method of doing so. Of course there are some selections from Peanuts (including the appropriately seasonal Great Pumpkin Waltz below), but there are also songs from his many other albums. Accompanying the CDs are liner notes which do a pretty good job of outlining his career, as short as it was (he died at only 47 in 1976). Listen to the following two tracks from Dr. Funk (as he was known), and then look into The Definitive Vince Guaraldi.
It's getting to be that time of year. The time for egg nog (preferrably spiked), candy cane colored underwear, and Christmas CDs. I know what you're saying, "It's WAY too early to be listening to Christmas music." Well I say, "Stop bah-humbuging the seasonal grooves and start ordering them now so you'll have them in time to spin for your Black Friday suicide shopping mission."
