Sound Out Loud: July 2010

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Summer of Soul: Socialist Healthcare Jammin'

So here it is. Finally. The moment that I've deluded myself into thinking you've all been waiting for, my official Summer of Soul mix, coyly declaring this third funky summer as the summer of "Socialist Healthcare Jammin'". The title implicates some of the political aspects of the mix, but more so I think it really just captures the feeling of this past year-- the fear, the tragedies, the neuroses, and the challenges that beg for some uplifting jams as well as compassion. Much of it gleaned from the Blog-o-Sphere, Summer of Soul may be steeped in nostalgia (for summers past and such) but this and the S.O.S. Electric Boogaloo mix are both a product of the present. Present tastes in soul music are themselves current interpretations of the past, and in their collection and presentation I have always tried to capture the feeling of the year for me as well as the world at large. This mix is dedicated to all the wonderful friends in New York I have had in the past four years, and will be leaving shortly. A reminder of the time we shared, and the strange history that has framed that time. That being said I will leave you with a poem by Wallace Stevens.... cause I've been jamming on that of late too.

Jasmine's Beautiful Thoughts Underneath The Willow -Wallace Stevens

My titillations have no foot-notes

And their memorials are the phrases

Of idiosyncratic music.

The love that will not be transported

In an old, frizzled, flambeaud manner,

But muses on its eccentricity,

Is like a vivid apprehension

Of bliss beyond the mutes of plaster,

Or paper souvenirs of rapture,

Of bliss submerged beneath appearance,

In an interior ocean's rocking

Of long, capricious fugues and chorals

FOR THE GOODS, CLICK HERE!!!

01-Intimate Friends 5:48 Eddie Kendricks

02-Earthquake Shake 3:04 Undisputed Truth Comic Truth

03-Back in the U.S.S.R. 2:56 Ramsey Lewis Mojo Club - Dancefloor Jazz Vol 08

04-Could it be I'm Falling in Love 4:10 The Spinners Smash Hits

05-Good Old Music 3:17 The Parliaments

06-California Soul 3:01 Marlena Shaw The Spice of Life

07-beggin' (pilooski edit) 5:34 Franki Valli and the Four Seasons

08-Plenty Action 2:52 SOFT TOUCH Bay Area Funk

09-Lady Day and John Coltrane 3:31 Gil Scott Heron Mastercuts Bar Social: The Early Hours 10-Tightrope (Feat. Big Boi) 4:23 Janelle Monáe The ArchAndroid

11-Who is He? (And What is He to You) 3:10 Bill Withers

12-Mercy Mercy Me 3:16 Marvin Gaye What's Going On

13-I'm Controlled by Your Love 3:07 Helene Smith Eccentric Soul: The Deep City Label 14-Call Me 3:05 Al Green Call Me

15-That's the Way it is 2:26 Eddie Bo Eddie Bo's Funky Funky New Orleans

16-Donde 3:27 Bronx River Parkway An Introduction to Truth & Soul Records

17-Up Against Tha Wall (Getaway Car Mix) 4:34 Group Home Livin' Proof

18-What You Won't Do For Love 3:25 Bobby Caldwell

19-Come in Out of the Rain 2:45 Parliament Osmium

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Summer of Soul: Some Like it Hot, Others think it's too Hot.

I think its too damn hot...

Reflection Eternal: Black Gold

This is the first video off of the new Reflection Eternal album Revolutions Per Minute. This is Talib Kweli and DJ Hi-Teks first venture since their eminent 2000 album Train of Thought. This video is a timely release done by director Sam Ellison. I really like the way it is done, mixing stock footage with images of everyday people draped in oil. I think the message the video has is especially important now with the current BP fiasco. The visuals only serve to bring the post home. I love the shots of the shots of the smoking drum, a speaker spewing oil, Mobutu, the stock exchange; just great. Black Gold is one of my favorite off of the album and I am really happy to see the video done so well. Great job Sam!

p.s. If you pause it at 4:17 at just the right moment you get a surprise on the right side of the screen ;-)...