Toon of the Week: RIP Paul Reubens
“Growing up” and “acting like an adult” are totally overrated concepts. I know what you are, but what am I? NEVER STOP BEING SILLY! Long live Paul Reubens!
Tune of the Week: GZA & Method Man
Taken from his classic album “Liquid Swords” GZA’s “Shadowboxin’” highlights the casual excellence of early Wu Tang Clan. The bars from GZA and Method Man flow effortlessly and the beat by the RZA is perfect loop made of only a couple of samples. Pledge allegiance to the Hip Hop!
Tune of the Week: Elvis Costello
At the of the 80s Elvis Costello’s long standing contract with Columbia records expired and he signed on with Warner Brothers. In return, Warner Bros. gave him a recording budget of what Costello later referred to as similar to “a small independent movie”. He took advanage of the financial opportunity to record with a number of different musicians in various locales, including Los Angeles, London, Dublin and New Orleans. While in the latter he linked up with songwriter and pianist extraordinaire Allen Toussaint as well as the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. The result of all the travelling and collaborating resulted in one of Elvis’ most adventurous albums, “Spike” and this tune of one its best.
Tune of the Week: Rogê
Rogê is a 21st century sambador from Rio de Janiero, Brazil. Having cut his musical teeth in the samba clubs in the Lapa neighborhood in Rio, Rogê has moved to Los Angeles where he has linked up with members of The Budos Band. These Budos folks have come up through the Daptone system of old time music emulation and evolution and give Rogê’s tunes the necessary antique vibe they deserve. Muito bem!
Tune of the Week: The Fall
While The Fall’s Mark E. Smith’s main legacy is certainly his distinct vocal cadence, his obtuse lyric writing is a close second. Sometimes the words to songs would sound like gibberish or the result of some sort of Burroughs-esque cut-up technique. In this case the inspiration seems to have come from a fairly ordinary conversation and then extended to a four and half minute song through extensive repetition. It just goes to show that becoming legendary is not necessarily strictly born out of having extraordinary ideas. Sometimes it’s just as valid to focus on the mundane and that you really can make a song about anything.
Tune of the Week: Pet Shop Boys
We’re going to close out Pride Month with synthpop heroes The Pet Shop Boys and their 1986 hit “What Have I Done To Deserve This”, which also helped revitalize the career of the 60’s pop star Dusty Springfield. The Boys are exceedingly good at delivering emotional songs in an deadpan, unemotional way and this is of the best examples of their style. In hindsight, this approach perfectly fits the “me generation” 80s image of self-centeredness and detachment from humanity for the sake of a stylish image. However, this stone- faced approach along with the emotional content of the lyrics create a depth to the music that is unique and refreshing amongst artists who wear their hearts on their sleeves as well as reflecting the emotional depravation in a consumerist world.
Tune of the Week: Rappin' Black with Digable Planets
Happy Juneteenth! Let’s celebrate Blackness with a funky jam from ever rappin’ black combo of Digable Planets!
Tune of the Week: RIP Jeff Beck
Back in January of this year certified Rock Guitar God Jeff Beck died. Here is he beating up a malfunctioning amp and destroying his guitar, inciting a mini-riot, while his band The Yardbirds (featuring a young Jimmy Page) play their tune “Stroll On” in Michelangelo Antonioni’s classic film “Blow Up”. Rock Out In Peace!
Tune of the Week: Marshall Allen Turns 99!
Sun Ra Arkestra multi-instrumentalist and band leader Marshall Allen turned 99 this week- while on tour! Instead of whatever I can come up with to say about his illustrious life and career, let’s hear from the man himself:
Tune of the Week: The Glove
During a difficult period of Cure history Robert Smith disbanded the group and became a member of Siouxsie and The Banshees. A few months after joining, drummer Steve Severin and Smith sequestered themselves in a recording studio for twelve weeks in an attempt to fulfill a recording contract obligation of Severin’s. A weeks long party ensued, with only five days of actual writing and recording occurring. The viewing of copious amounts of horror movies added to the surreal feel of the proceedings. The name of the project, The Glove, is a reference to a character in The Beatles’ film “Yellow Submarine”. The psychedelic influence that fueled these songs would continue into the “Hyaena” sessions for Siouxsie as well as for The Cure with their next album, “The Top”. To avoid contractual obligations of his own, Smith sings this song from lyrics that are uncommonly not his own. Despite all it had going against it, The Glove project proves an unshakeable need to create by those involved.
Tune of the Week: Os Mutantes
Os Mutantes were a psychedelic rock band from São Paulo, Brazil. They were sonic innovators of the Tropicália and post-Tropicália movements. They worked intimately with the the movement’s founders, Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil. Recorded in late 1967/early 1968, this tune reflects the profound influence The Beatles work had on the musicians of Brazil at the time. RIP singer/songwriter/guitarist Rita Lee, who died May 8th of this year.
Tune of the Week: Pinback
Pinback is a San Diego, CA based pop/rock band. They took their name from John Carpenter and Dan O’Bannon’s student-film-turned-first-feature “Dark Star”, a low budget satire of sci-fi films. Their reverance comes through loud and clear in this clip, complete this household items subbing for spaceships and planets.
Tune of the Week: RIP Ahmad Jamal
This last week the jazz world as well as the city of Pittsburgh lost another legend. Ahmad Jamal is not the most nor least celebrated jazz pianist. Miles Davis claims him as influence and his work has been sampled more than a little bit. Rest in Peace!
Tune of the Week: RIP Jah Shaka
On April 12, 2023 Jah Shaka the Zulu Warrior passed away. Born in Jamaica, Shaka was a youth of the Windrush Generation that moved to South East London looking for more opportunity. Shaka‘s sound system became a communal and spiritual focal point for many expats from the West Indies in south London, immortalized on celluiloid in the 1980 film “Babylon”. Jah Shaka focused on playing roots music, both new and old. Having never strayed from this path he was often seen as “militant”. Not only did his sound keep expats in tune with music coming from their homeland, but he also helped the burgeoning local scene. Just about every dub producer from London in the last forty years owes a debt of gratitude to the great Jah Shaka, a true champion for their style of music. Long live the Zulu Warrior!
Tune of the Week: Luke Schneider
Luke Schneider is a new age/ambient artist based out of Nashville, TN. His mode of expression is playing the pedal steel guitar through a couple of arrays of pedal boards outfitted with various effects and loopers. With this setup Luke is able to create textures and tones that more resemble those of synthesizers than that of guitars. Add to that the inherent slurs and slides of the instrument and what you get is an otherworldly soundscape that Luke is able to create within. Click play and chill out!
Tune(s) of the Week: Rave-era Videos
The late 80s and early 90s saw a rise in electronic music thanks to the increasing popularity of the rave scene in the UK. Alongside increased popularity of the music came the pressure to promote it as other popular music was at the time, with music videos. A big problem with this is that computers, drum machines and synthesizers do not make for compelling visuals. This led to some curious and often unfortunate decisions by video producers and bands.
808 State struck the big time first by breaking into the UK top ten in 1989. Their video solution in 1990 for “Cubik” was to pantomime as if they created the tune with traditional instruments and having exactly one friend come in the dance along.
The Prodigy was very much the poster-child act for the rise of the rave scene in mainstream England. Their 1991 single, “Everybody in the Place”, reached number 2 in the UK charts. The solution to capturing dance music in a video was to focus on the dancing, which makes a fair amount of sense. However, the fact that they felt the need to candy color every shot in post-production emphasizes the inherent boring nature of such an undertaking.
GTO didn’t fair much better with the same tactic. In fact, the severely limited cast in this video seems downright depressing and serves as a kind of emphasis of how small a scene dance music really was back in the early 90s.
The following year hardcore legends Acen are still putting the emphasis on a couple of dancers, but mix up the footage with a strange combination of archival footage and claymation. This one definitely hits closer to the tone of the tune but is still no closer to a definite answer as how to capture the spirit of music made on computers for people dancing in the dark.
Tune of the Week: Louis Cole
Louis Cole is Los Angeles based singer-songwriter who catapulted to popularity through a Youtube video for his song “Bank Account”. Cole a classically trained multi-instrumentalist, but prefers to work outside professional studios and often writes humorous songs. He has claimed he only trying to write his own favorite songs. If you think he is stylistically similar to Thundercat you are not completely off-base, as they are close friends and collaborators. He’s given a private performance for Quincy Jones and co-writen a song with Seal. Above is a funky song about ditching perfectionism and the video is a thrill-ride of unexpected turns.
Tune(s) of the Week: De La Soul's Skits-as-Songs
Alongside producer Prince Paul, De La Soul infused their first three albums with a lot of silliness. Their first album, “3 Feet High and Rising”, was glued together with skits involving a made-up TV game show. Their second full-length, “De La Soul is Dead”, told the tale of the album as heard by bullies who stole it off a younger kid who found it in the trash. The third album by the trio, “Buhloone Mind State”, did away with any linearity and took on a more surreal feel with the skits. Among all these albums are tracks that aren’t quite skits nor songs. This is where Prince Paul’s and De La’s creativity really shines:
This non-song from their first album sparked the first high-profile sampling lawsuit, which in turn changed the course of HipHop production for several years.
Incidentally, At the gig that landed them their recording contract with Warner Bros, The Flaming Lips played this interlude on loop for about an hour while constantly filling the venue with fog before taking the stage.
The bitterness and humor that permeates “De La Soul is Dead” comes to a ridiculous apex with this non-skit/non-song telling the tale of how a near-do-well spends his day.
The surreal vibes of “Buhloone Mind State” really takes a left turn when they put some Japanese MCs on a track. This is surely the first time Japanese raps were put on a mainstream release.
In all of examples De La and Prince Paul prove that sometimes the only way up is out!
Tune of the Week: RIP Terry Hall
The Specials were indeed that. Leaders of the 2 Tone and second wave ska movements, they were a multiracial, anti-racist band that found success in conservative times. Lead singer Terry Hall went on the form the bands Colourbox and Fun Boy Three. Having lifelong trauma from having been kidnapped by a paedophile ring at age 12, Hall died of pancreatic cancer last month at age 63. In addition to his ska hits, Hall also helped the new wave band The Go-Go’s hit the big time by co-penning their breakout single, “Our Lips Are Sealed” with guitarist Jane Weidlin. RIP to an original rude boy!
Tune of the Week: RIP Plug 2
On February 12, 2023 David Jude Jolicoeur, aka Trugoy The Dove aka Plug 2 aka Dave, passed away at age 54. De La Soul is a constant reminder that HipHop can be more than tough guy attitude and fancy cars and jewelry. They blazed a path in the mainstream for people to be themselves and express who they are, not what other expect them to be. They have had more than their fair share of business ups and downs. Their back catalog is set to finally be widely available after years of disputes. Subsequently, YouTube doesn’t garner much, but here’s a great clip of one of their late-era classics featuring another of HipHop’s outward thinkers and gone-too-sooners: MF Doom. Rest in peace Plug 2!