January 2009
36 posts
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You all can't ball, you all can't ball...
We are approaching Andrew Sullivan levels of blogging here. If any one other than us was reading this, I’d be concerned. But every call sets my mind wondering and I just can’t help myself.
The ‘86 Bears may have completed their quest for Super Bowl rings, but along the way the also brought rap into Mid-Western homes. A huge step in setting up hip-hop as the dominate pop music...
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In which we witness the other side of Filibuster...
Kanye West & Common - Southside Superbowl.
As quick follow-up to Filibuster Rhymes’s post I’ll just have to go with the natural progression of the team song. That’s when rappers decide to increase their hometown swag and donate an anthem for the team. It usually a remix of song that is either currently out or forthcomming.
In this case we have “SouthSide...
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I'm Not Here to Feathers Ruffle
Gentlemen:
Much as your posting pace frightens and intimidates me, I am determined to get in an edgewise word. With that, I am steering the conversation to more pressing matters of sport.
As you know, this Sunday brings the 43rd running of the Super Bowl, and the reason why this is noteworthy is because of this video. Though it was hardly the first of its kind when it came out (a diligent search...
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RP - Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley
Listen, in this order:
Shoes/Julia/Sally.
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RP - Sailin' Shoes
Listen
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Robert Palmer.
I like a good portion of my soul blue-eyed, so when the best practitioners of that run actually get to check that box on their license renewal forms, the dovetail tends to warm the heart.
Robert Palmer is mainly known as the smallish guy in the black suit who mimed in front of a whole batch of models while providing the soundtrack to an early scene that Patrick Bateman/Christian Bale (same guy)...
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The Honeydrippers- “Impeach the...
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"I don't want to see you as Village Manager,...
If I was Mike Madigan, I’m pretty sure this would be a part of my “Rod Blagojevich banned from Illinois Politics for life speech”. Now I haven’t been to DC where people were wearing starter jackets the first time (as an aside Mennonites might be the best people to wait in line with at the FBI museum), and I haven’t been to Springfield since my timing belt shredded...
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In which the decent of spheres is observed by a...
With all this amateur Youtubery and the mention of the Zeus family my worlds collide. Therefore let us step into my family to see what has become of our musical talents, and if they have been documented within the public sphere.
My father aka Trill Cosby, while never swearing to play any instruments, has been known to sing R&B tunes in the car when not listening to only the smoothest of Jazz....
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The McLovins
I promise that I didn’t find this through a Phish fan site. It’d probably be called a “Pfan site,” and that’s enough to make me want to stab someone. But I do want to pass this along:
I wouldn’t listen to the entire song, it’s for the die-hards, like me. I’ve been a die-hard for about 22 minutes.
You do need to watch the beginning for the...
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Two Princes: Auditory Lessons from a Starcraft Van
Pilot Light / Zippo / Duality / Causality / Libra / Libro / Labels on a Tangerine / Street Grids / Abraxas…
Papa Zeus will never be accused of being a music lover, yet by a confluence of his cheapness, Michigan-ness, and inability to stay awake while driving, Papa Zeus put a big stamp on the musical portion of my brain.
Early Zeus family trips involved piling into the Starcraft and driving...
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Be Here- Raphael Saadiq ft. D’angelo
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Twin Emperors flying too close to the sun: The...
Is it better to be a pilot light constantly on but with barely enough juice to light a cigarette; or a Zippo which gives out a resilient flame at first but eventually runs out of fluid and is merely a tease, making you all like, “[flick] oh [flick] OH! [flick flick] Light yes light[flick flick flick] no light no light damn hand me that book of matches.” This essentially describes my...
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In which 1993-1995 define an era of unmitigated...
Jodeci - Feenin’
As R&B has developed in my short life time I am forced to consider what has happened to the modern black male quartet. Who would honestly have thought that Jagged Edge would be the last group standing (barely, with their last LP only selling about 150k)? I remember a time when 112, H-Town, All-4-One, Dru Hill, Blackstreet, Soul for Real, Boyz II Men and the rest...
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In which two of the greatest stars of the late...
Eddie Murphy - Whatzupwitu Ft. Michael Jackson
Man aint got the power To kill nothing but himself Man is a creation Man is nothing else
Zen Master Murphy’s koans are some of deepest knowledge nuggets ever unfurled to your inner mind’s eye.
-Swagneto aka The Count of Money Get Doe
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Something So Splended?
I promised myself I would wait a few posts before pulling the Sinatra card, but technical circumstances beyond my control—curse the Tumblr and its aversion for mp4s!—have forced me to call on the Chairman’s help early. That’s not to say he would’ve been totally absent from this post had the binary gods complied. The version of the song that I had hoped to post is the...
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Randy Crawford - Last Night at Danceland
That’s right. One word.
Not “Dance Land.” Danceland. Home of the Serpentine Squeal, and several well drink specials.
When it gets to the point of James Brown writing songs about a member of the Warren Commission, the vacuous and the finger-snappin’ must return to the top of the page. It’s science.
And as a throwback to that fateful Saturday in 2001 to Tuesday, let’s throwback to a time where...
Randy Crawford - Last Night at Danceland
James Brown - Funky President
James the Prophet
At the risk of getting carried away with our political theme, I’m putting up “Funky President” from the Godfather of Soul.
It would seem that this song was the result of a Lost-like time loop that allowed for James Brown to visit 2009 and bring a message of hope to everyone suffering through the ’70s. It’s actually a song written about Gerald Ford. That might be...
Swag Like Malcom, Flow Like King
As a corollary to the anarchic Tahir, I submit the empowered Young Jeezy, whose president is black. Like all brothas, the Snowman is truly feelin himself in light of recent historical events. And rightfully so. Jeezy deserves some serious props from hopping aboard the Obama bandwagon (the Bamwagon?) at a time when his peers—most notably, his former label head—were still smarting from...
Tahir v. All American Holidays (except MLK)
After your PE holiday posting I couldn’t resist. This song is a Chinese Whispers favorite and this might be the best day to post it. Will tomorrow’s historic event make this song irrelevant? Answer: doesn’t matter because Tahir kills on this track and that will be the case no matter who is in the White House.
Not only does Tahir manage to destroy every major American holiday...
No flies on Stevie
I love how Stevie doesn’t try to slum through this. The tongue isn’t firmly placed in his cheek, there’s reverence here, and it doesn’t feel like a stylistic exercise.
But what I truly dig, above all, is how dated this thing is. He doesn’t try to ape some sort of classic country sound. What he goes for was what was current and hep in Nashville at the time. Disco hi-hat, slap bass, double-tracked...
Derrick Harriott- “Eighteen with a...
Eighteen with a Bullet
Looky at Patti Labelle and her high horse every time she has a recorded live performance she does one of these speeches (re: “On my own” thanks KMOJ).
In either case of her speech is the very beginning when she describes not having any hands, “because you sure wouldn’t be able to do no hand jive.” On first listen it sure doesn’t sound like hand jive, I’m...
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LaBelle - Moonshadow
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Chinese Whispers (First Call)
This is the first post for Chinese Whispers. The premise of this blog is simple enough to anyone who wasn’t home schooled. The four of us, with possible guest starts, will be playing the telephone game with songs. One person posts a track and the next person post a song that they feel is some how connected to the previous song and (hopefully) so on and so and and so on…
Why Chinese Whispers?...
