Hello there all, as we make our descent into the holiday season I want to share with you one of the best soul funk albums of 1969. Stand! by Sly and the Family Stone was the band’s fourth album and with it redefined the psychedelic element of jammy-dropping funk. Sly and the Family Stone was assembled in San Francisco in 1966 after Sly and the Stoners merged with Freddy (Sly Stone’s brother) and the Stone Souls. Incorporating Stone family members and friends of the family the funkadelic collaboration was the first American group to have both integrated gender and race….Hooray!
Vallejo Native Sly Stone
Although the group lasted until 1975 when egos and drug abuse were introduced, they revolutionized soul and after this transitional album to funk they transcended the genre of funk as well opening the door for groups like Parliament Funkadelic the Mothership Connection (I want to get funked up). Sly Stone was easily one of the most powerful songwriters, most prominent record producers, and one of the freshest funkiest musicians the world has ever seen. Because this album is 8 songs long I’ve taken the liberty in adding in a few of my other favorite sly songs.
Bam, hope you all had great halloweens. As we have pretty much made the official transition to autumn (it was cold in los angeles for a couple of days) I will pass on some music that was passed on to me. I love the feeling when someone makes you a mix that opens up a whole new list of groups for you to jam to. One of my best buds Zach Huber lent me this mix I’m about to share with you and I played it over and over and over again. The mix includes folk/indie artists like Sufjan Stevens, Ray Lamontagne, the Dodos, and the National. (dodos and the national were at outside lands at golden gate park in san francisco last summer, more stories to come from there) Oh its so good…
Huber thanks for letting me use this, I love you. Enjoy your lives….
Wow. Hey like…. whats up everyone? chillin. ok cool. SO I have been away for quite a while. Europe then on a farm then back down to los angeles where my laptop has been broken for the last few weeks. BUT REGARDLESS I AM HERE NOW. Lets not waste any time and we’ll get right into it. George Ivan Morrison, more commonly known as Van Morrison,brings to the table some of the most rousing, edifying sounds you will ever taste. Hailing from Belfast Northern Ireland (I was there this summer, unbelievable) Morrison brought the celtic music that he grew up on blended it with American Soul and R&B. The music was so successful that a new genre was created —> Celtic Soul. Mixing the smooth sounds of soul and the hearty rhythms of Ireland, who woulda thunk it….
Van Morrison is on his like 40th album or something (they’re not all good) but this is the album that got Van the Man on the scene. Moondance released in 1970 was Morrison’s third album contrasted from his first two sorrowful albums (although I still dig ‘em) bringing an optimistic and sanguine kind of sound. The album is considered one of the greatest all-time and tickles (yeah tickles) me every time I put it on. For those of you marin-ites out there Van Morrison still resides in his hilltop hut in good ol’ Fairfax California hanging out at The Sleeping Lady getting tipsy with D.G. Smith and co. I love Marin.
HELLO!!! Sorry to all who have been a little frustrated with the lack of posts and busted links over the last couple of months but every post has had their makeovers if you will and are back to normal. I was on a miraculous journey in France, Ireland, and Italy. I recommend that everyone goes on a long journey of their own someday. But until that day lets get right back into the swing of things and introduce you to one of the most talented reggae artists and biggest movers in the Rastafari movement Peter Tosh. Tosh was originally a member of the Wailers along with Bunny Wailer and Bob Marley, but Tosh along with the aforementioned members split from the group in 1974 to pursue their own successful solo careers. Tosh during his solo career also became a huge advocate of Rastafarianism after converting when he saw Jah himself (Ethiopian leader Haile Selassie I)in his own eyes during his visit to Kingston Jamaica.
Peter Tosh
Tosh after winning a grammy in the same year died in 1987. Tosh was shot twice in the head after telling three Trenchtown gunmen (that he knew as friends at one point) that he had no money on him. The songs you will find here are mostly from Tosh’s second solo album “Legalize It” released in 1976 as well as a few others. Good to be back.
HELLO! So sorry to everyone I have been traveling around europe and have sort of neglected the site. But never fear I have prepared some music for ya….
Introducing one of my favorites, and so happens to be the general public’s favorite, groups of all time. Atmosphere, a two-man hip hop group formed in 1993 that epitomizes what I love about hip hop. Sean Daley aka DJ Slug provides the lyrical half of the group with words so strong that they strike new definitions of depth for everyone who listens. And of course the other 50% goes to the miraculous producer Anthony Davis aka Ant who provides beats so fresh you can put them in a fruit salad. Long live freedom of speech. Enjoy your lives everyone….
Ray Charles Robinson. Nothing that I can write about him will really paint the picture of how amazing he truly is. One of the most talented musicians to ever show his face to the world. There, I said it. I was lucky enough to see him live in a relatively small venue before his death in 2004. I was too young (only 14) to really understand what exactly I was watching. I knew him and knew that I liked him but it was a few years after that I began to understood his complexity and skill.
Ray Charles Robinson
Ray, born in Alabama in 1930, began to lose his sight by the age of five years old. He attended St. Augestine’s School for the deaf and blind and it was there that he really learned how to play music. He continued a carreer in music and broke onto the scene in 1953 with his national hit “I Got a Woman.” Once he was at the top in 1953 he stayed there for a very very very long time. Producing hit after hit like “Hit the Road Jack” “What’d I Say Parts I and II” and “Lets go Get Stoned” Charles lit up American soul music. Something interesting, Ray had twelve kids with nine different women. BUT the important thing here is that Ray brought a new kind of talent and sound to the music scene and revolutionized the way we all get down.
My brothers and sisters, life is too short for stress. So relax yo brain with some of this great great great music. Introducing K’naan hailing from the war ridden African country of Somalia. This is one of the best “how they got there” stories around.
K’naan real name Kanaan Warsame
K’naan growing up was in one of the worst areas during the Somali civil war which started in 1991, the neighborhood was referred to as the River of Blood civilians were dying left and right. K’naan’s father had left to drive taxi cabs in NY city and was wiring the money back to the family in Somalia. As the civil war worsened K’naan’s mother applied for a visa for their family, their visa was approved on the last day the US Embassy was in existance and K’naan and his family left the country on the last commercial flight leaving the country.
He arrived in Compton and then with his family reunited moved to a Somali sector of canada in Toronto. Speaking absolutely no english K’naan learned how to rap by listening to artists like mos def and nas copying their lyrical style and phonetic beats. A few years later he dropped out of his high school in Toronto to travel and rap at open mic events. After returning to Toronto he managed to secure a gig speaking in front of the United Nations Commissioner for refugees in which he rapped about the UN failing to recognize the war in Somalia. His performance was seen by Senegalese Singer Youssou D’Nour who invited him to partake in his new album and travel on his world tour. K’naan obliged and on tour a small Canadian producer was blown away by the rhymes of K’naan and agreed to help the young artist produce his first album Dusty Foot Philosopher in 2005. The album somehow caught fire and K’naan, a Somali refugee who came to North America without knowing any English, worked his way to the top and released his second world recognized album earlier this year. CRAZY…. its amazing how talent finds its way to be recognized.
This is the first album from K’naan, Dusty Foot Philosopher. Some of the tracks are just simply jaw dropping. Enjoy your lives……
Holy jesus mother mary and joseph car jacking hill billy tommy lee jones britches this is awesome. I’M BACK EVERYONE. I was a little stressed out the last couple of weeks and been planning my trip to Europe but now I am in the present and ready to share some of the grooviest and life changing beats of the new era. Introducing Thievery Corporation, OH MY OH MY, credit for this magnificent find goes to one of my best buds in the world Aran Caulfield. He told me to just go on a hike and listen to these guys, well I did and now I am changed. I won’t tell you to go on a hike in Santa Cruz with a bunch of herb but I will ask you to download this album and enjoy the beauty that is their album, Cosmic Game. The album, released in 2005 is a another gem by the amazing dj duo of Rob Garza and Eric Hilton. Strangely enough the two dj’s and the group itself started in Washington DC (Everyone for some reason is impressed with anything and everything that started in DC)
The group is electronically based with hints of reggae on the side, as you can imagine this is another reason for why I’m down like a clown. Anyway, Mo Fiya Mo Love Mo Friendship. Enjoy your lives….
Oh the memories….I remember way back in middle school Jed Demoss got me into this album when it first came out…good times. Halfway Tree, the second album from the great Damian Marley was released strangely enough on September 11, 2001. So as you can imagine album sales didn’t really pick up until a few months down the road from the initial release. Halfway Tree refers to the roundabout in Kingston Jamaica that bridged two sides of the neighborhood; his mother lived on the wealthy side while his father, Bob Marley, in the ghettos of the town. The album won the grammy in 2002 for best reggae album. With multiple guest appearances from Bounty Killer, brother Stephen Marley, Capleton, Bunny Wailer, and Eve this album is super fresh. Go nuts and enjoy your lives……
For those of you that liked, loved, or even got kinky with the first beirut post than I have a pleasant surprise for you. Earlier this year Beirut released their newest album March of the Zapotec/Realpeople Holland. I got the album when it first came out and I was iffy on the new sound that beirut was putting out…. however after listening to it a few times I now hold it in extremely high standing. HOORAY!! Realpeople refers to the former pseudonym of great Zach Condon in his electronic days before he established Beirut. The album is a delight and I certainly enjoy it thoroughly. Enjoy your lives….
Here is the recently released music video of La Llorana. Directed by Owen Cook the music video is directly related to popular spanish story of La Llorana.
Hello everyone, today is April 20, 2009 and it is time to celebrate the holiday. One of my favorite ganja reggae albums of all time is Hillside Airstrip by Ten Foot Ganja Plant & John Brown’s Body. Ten Foot Ganja Plant, a spinoff group from John Brown’s Body, has been around for a few years now however they are extremely mysterious people and are rarely seen anywhere…kinda strange. This album being released in 2000, the sound is amazing. SO blaze one up if thats your thing and kick back with Hillside Airstrip…..ohhh that sounds amazing. Enjoy your lives…..
Until I was in fourth grade I used to listen to leftover cassette tapes that my parents had from the 80’s in my Playskool cassette player. The tapes that I had were Chicago Transit Authority (which i previously put on here) and a bunch of elton john tapes. I remember his greatest hits tape where a young and thin elton john stood with cricket bat in hand, an all white jump suit, pink shoes, and a red hat while he grinned towards the camera with his classic glasses (wow I’m old). But I digress….. The following album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy is an album that I acquired from my friend Darrin in high school. I thought that I’d heard all good elton john songs until this 1975 album. For me it reincarnated my love for the longtime British pop singer. Give it a try, you just might let this flamboyant, old brit crawl back into your life.
By the way I saw that some of my friends (girls) hung out and got drunk with Andy Milonakis. Little did they probably know that even though he is half their height and baby faced he is thirty three years old. Hmmmm. Enjoy your lives….
If you like olds school hip hop you automatically love A Tribe Called Quest, those are just the rules. Thats how it goes. This album I’m about to let you in on is one of the jazziest instrumental hip hop albums ever. Low End Theory….
Low End Theory
Using samples from a wide variety of sources this album’s release in 1991 opened up the door for other alternative hip hop groups to contribute to a now established genre. Guest artists on the album include Busta Rhyme’s group….Leaders of the New School. Ironically when the album was brought to the studio heads they hated it and labeled it as a future commercial failure, oh how they were wrong….see for yourself.
LOOK OUT. This album is ridiculously tight. MMMM I love listening the music I’m writing about. Here we go… Jurassic 5, most of you have heard of who they are. BUT FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT…..here is a phenomenal album Power In Numbers. Soooo good. A Los Angeles alternative hip hop group Jurassic Five is the product of two different groups merging together, Rebels of Rhythm and Unity Committee. The group is extremely original and also extremely honest with their lyrics, makes for a funky good time. Look for more to come from this group.
Hello everyone, I am sorry I have been away for so long. Its been a busy last couple of weeks for me. Anyway I will start off this little mini drought strong with some of the best hip hop and electronic music I have. Introducing RJD2, real name Ramble John (RJ) Krohn. Starting his career as a dj in the mid 1990s RJD2 bounced around producing tracks for various hip hop artists until a El-P’s record label picked him up in 2001. In 2002 he released his first solo album which is a large focus in this mix, Deadringer. I have included some of his other works in the mix to go along with the album.
RJD2 plans to release another solo album this year. Enjoy your lives….
I’ve been completely taken up by finals and march madness here lately. But now its spring break and I’m stuck in la with plenty of time to spare. Picking what post will go up next has been extremely difficult….but I finally decided on something that everyone will enjoy, Ben Harper. Ben Harper is an absolute delight. Ben Harper an American folk rock, alternative, acoustic, or whatever you wanna call him released Fight For Your Mind in 1995. The ablum was his second and also Harper’s last solo album before adding the “Innocent Criminals” to his group.
Introducing Aesop Rock. Real name Ian Matthias Bavitz, Aesop Rock is reminiscent of Del the Funkee Homosapien with his detailed lyrics. He came on to the scene shortly after the millennium and is one of the premier underground hip hop artists of the decade. This is his most recent album None Shall Pass released in 2007….. it is a delight. The album is consistently bumping and has cameos from innovators such as El-p and is produced by Blockhead and Aesop himself. For those Bay Area Folks, Aesop Rock currently resides in San Francisco and does shows there on a frequent basis.
Go nuts for this fatty album. Enjoy your lives….(How alive?)
Hello everyone, this is the first jazz post that I am gonna bring to the blog. But this is one of my favorites, “Duke Ellington Meets Count Basie”. William “Count” Basie and Edward “Duke” Ellington were two of the most influential jazz musicians ever and their orchestras combined in the early 1960s to make this freakin amazing jazz album. However Ellington always preferred to refer to his music not as jazz but “American Music.” So soak in this uptempo change of pace of “American Music” from music de melbo.
Hello everyone, I know that I have put a lot of mixes up on this site, but I want to reassure you that I am also a lover of a “good fucking album.” Which is why I have decided to wind back the clock a bit and introduce many of you to Carlos Santana. This is Carlos Santana at his best, the actual group called Santana of the 60’s and 70’s. Abraxas, released in 1970, was the group’s second album and is said to be one of the greatest compilations of rock….ever. The latin rhythms and ginormous guitar solos from Carlos make for a funky good time.
Just a small note, it was my birthday last saturday. I went to tahoe….it was amazing. Anyway…enjoy your lives.
It’s an emergency, this blog has been without reggae for MUCH too long. Attached is one of the great all around roots reggae albums. TWO SEVEN’S CLASH by CULTURE. Released in 1977, this is a great all around album that you can jam to at any occasion. “Two seven’s clash” refers to the date July 7, 1977 when the sevens met.
The album explains that lead singer Joseph Hill “had a vision, while riding a bus, of 1977 as a year of judgment — when two sevens clash — when past injustices would be avenged. Lyrics and melodies came into his head as he rode and thus was born the song “Two Sevens Clash” which became a massive hit in reggae circles both in Jamaica and abroad. The prophecies noted by the lyrics so profoundly captured the imagination of the people that on July 7, 1977 – the day when sevens fully clashed (seventh day, seventh month, seventy-seventh year) a hush descended on Kingston; many people did not go outdoors, shops closed, an air of foreboding and expectation filled the city.”
Holy fuck this ablum is sick. Ratatat, an electronic taste of amazing with Mike Stroud and Evan Mast from Brooklyn, took their talents to the world of rap and remixed the living bejesus out of these tracks. The album: Ratatat Remixes Vol. 2. (Volume 1 wasn’t that sick). With remixes of Biggie, Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Young Buck this album will make a party no matter what. I will attach the remix album and also a few of ratatat’s original stuff, which is also delightful. Enjoy your lives….oh and go see coraline, that shit’s unreal.
A couple years ago there was a movie released by the name of “Once”. A love story that takes place in the city of Dublin, “Once” was shot for only 160 grand. I don’t really want to talk about the plot because I strongly suggest you go see the movie on your own. But here is the soundtrack that the two Irish actors in the movie previously recorded. These are all original songs, that I find to be amazing. Enjoy your lives.
To give credit where credit is due my buddies like Taylor P, Firpo, and Baby Beutts really got me into this group. Arcade Fire is an Indie Rock Band based out of Canada. Similar to Beirut, Arcade Fire is known for their use of extremely large instruments. Their two albums Funeral (2005) and Neon Bible (2007) were unbelievably huge hits. I unfortunately got into this band a split second too late. The band is currently taking a break I guess, and I missed their last live concert tour which happened about three months before I got into the band…..whoops.
For all of those people who read these, this site is for getting free music. It’s extremely fucking chill just click on the link and you have arcade fire. cool? I have been getting a lot of questions in that regard…..anyway enjoy your lives.
I was one of those kids in middle school who thought hip hop music was the dumbest thing since mike tyson. LED ZEPPELIN FOR EVER!!! However my closed minded approach to hip hop changed, my freshman year of high school I was introduced to some of the old school hip hop groups like Hieroglyphics, Tribe Called Quest, People Under the Stairs and the Fugees. And I eventually broadened my horizon to even the hip hop artists of today (although some of them are pitiful). I heard Hyphy music my freshman year and I laughed out loud and said “that’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard in my life.” But I digress…..
Here is some true old school hip hop and then some of the newer school but with an accent of the good ol’ days. Enjoy your lives.
When people ask me who I think of as the greatest reggae artist of all time, its an extremely tough question to answer. I never give a direct answer, instead I say this: “Bob Marley is the most timeless reggae artist of all time, no one had a bigger effect on their genre than Marley did for reggae music.”
Associated with groups such as the Skatalites, The Wailers, and the Upsetters; Bob Marley made music that preached for freedom. His calls for freedom were not only heard but revered by numerous peoples all over the world. In 1978 he was awarded the peace medal of the third world from the United Nations. Marley was a huge advocate of Rastafarianism and yes….smoking da ganja.
Bob Marley in 1977 acquired a form of malignant melanoma on his big toe while playing soccer (as legend tells us.) Marley refused amputation because of the rastafarian belief that the body is whole at all times. Marley’s Rasta beliefs also restricted him away from any surgical procedures. In turn he acquired several forms of cancer in the brain and lungs. While flying back to Jamaica in 1981 Marley, already terminally ill, had to make an emergency landing in Miami. It was there in Miami, Florida in 1981 that Bob Marley passed away at the age of 31. Today the father of reggae would have turned 64.
Well since I haven’t posted in a while I thought I’d do a double or nothing post. But for those of you who are reggae haters (first of all go ahead and spit on yourselves) but here is a something else you can chew on. The band….Beirut. I feel like everyone i went to high school with knows beirut but for those who didn’t this music is the shit. Initially a one man band with Zach Condon, Beirut is a mixture of european, folk, and pop music now with ten members. In other words I really have a hard time explaining them. I had the privilege of seeing them live almost a year ago in San Francisco and it was one of the greatest concerts I have ever seen. There were like four encores, and each of them respectively blew my mind. Anyway here’s a little taste.
Hello again. I’m fucking hungry right now but i’d rather share this album with you. Introducing the dub side of the moon, I was told about this album a few years ago and one of my friends recently gave it to me again. Once i was reminded of its greatness i had to share it. This album “Dub Side of the Moon” by the Easy All Stars is essentially a reggae tribute to the Pink Floyd album “Dark Side of the Moon.” So yes, you can still watch it with the wizard of oz and trip the fuck out if you would like. Enjoy your lives.
My english teacher in 7th grade once said that, i don’t recall the circumstances. Anyway lets introduce the band….CHICAGO. Hot damn. The group formed in 1967 in Illinois and as far as I’m concerned made only two or three amazing albums, the rest of them I would feel comfortable to vomit on. The band was surrounded by talented musicians, the most talented being lead guitarist Terry Kath. Kath and Hendrix collaborated often during the early 1960s and also happened to be very good friends (meaning they did hella drugs.) Anywho the band was one of the first rock and roll groups to really use the horns and use ‘em well. Their build up and jaw dropping solos style made their first two albums great, but Kath died of an accidental self inflicted gunshot wound (he was drunk) and then Chicago went pop and sucked. But hey here are in my opinion the best songs from the first two albums. Go nuts.
Hello Friends and Family Members….i love reggae. Here is some more old school stuff from the vault de melbo. I threw in some ska, some mod, some upsetter, and a little bit of everything else. Get your reggae thirst quenched with some irie sounds from the homeland.
I bring a lot of genres to the table. But one of my favorites is old school motown/r&b. I grew up with this stuff, sitting on the carpet in the living room as a little kid doing absolutely nothing, just listening to flows. The flows of Sly and the Family Stone, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Ray Charles, and much much more. So here is a little taste of my childhood I guess you could say. Bring on the love.
God Damn. I think this is the best music there is, I just cried listening to this on my room mate’s super nice headphones. Wow.
Also….I could talk for hours about the huge significance that these songs but I’ll only say a few words. Motown records and other record labels that came out of the 60’s somewhat fueled an aspect of the crazy era that was the 1960s. I mean to sing about some happy stuff when there might not have been the happiest of stuff going is a task. Some artists however couldn’t take the corruption and racism that was the society in which they were living in, Sly (it is said was pressured by Black Panthers) fired his white manager and failed to show up for countless concerts, recording dates, and interviews. In 1971 Sly released a new album called “There’s a Riot Going On” which was although brilliant a complete assault on America and its values. The album even mocked the hippies of San Francisco (whom before the album worshipped Sly.) The temptations ditched their nice tuxedos and began to sport more ghetto chic. James Brown and George Clinton of Parliament also are some of the artists who attacked some American values. Anyway……sorry for ranting. Enjoy.
The Flying Club Cup
The Gang
Chicago in 1971 (when they were the cat’s meow)
Chicago in 1980 (When they started to suck)
