I heard “If Today Was Your Last Day” yesterday for the first time on MIX 107.3 FM here in Washington, WRQX, and my first response was, “you had got to be bloody kidding me!”  The entire song is an string of stitched together sad and tired insipid platitudes.  OK, Nickelback, you have finally proven that you can string anything together under a guitar-imbued power ballad and it can become a top hit!  I will try to highlight each cliché as it comes with a link to the source and you will see that this is not only unoriginal, insipid, but also plagerized from every cheesey saying under the sun in the theme of, “today is a good day to die.” Egad and sigh!

If Today Was Your Last Day

My best friend gave me the best advice
He said each day’s a gift and not a given right
Leave no stone unturned, leave your fears behind
And try to take the path less traveled by
That first step you take is the longest stride

If today was your last day
And tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?
Would you live each moment like your last?
Leave old pictures in the past
Donate every dime you have?
If today was your last day

Against the grain should be a way of life
What’s worth the prize is always worth the fight
Every second counts ’cause there’s no second try
So live like you’ll never live it twice
Don’t take the free ride in your own life

If today was your last day
And tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?
Would you live each moment like your last?
Leave old pictures in the past
Donate every dime you have?
Would you call old friends you never see?
Reminisce old memories
Would you forgive your enemies?
Would you find that one you’re dreamin’ of?
Swear up and down to God above
That you finally fall in love
If today was your last day

If today was your last day
Would you make your mark by mending a broken heart?
You know it’s never too late to shoot for the stars
Regardless of who you are
So do whatever it takes
‘Cause you can’t rewind a moment in this life
Let nothin’ stand in your way
Cause the hands of time are never on your side

If today was your last day
And tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?

Would you live each moment like your last?
Leave old pictures in the past
Donate every dime you have?
Would you call old friends you never see?
Reminisce old memories
Would you forgive your enemies?
Would you find that one you’re dreamin’ of?
Swear up and down to God above
That you finally fall in love
If today was your last day

Kris Meister and I are always up at the most obscene times of the day and night — he’s the only man on the planet who works longer hours than I. Well, this morning he introduced me to DaveBGimp. Funny stuff, especially his rant on how Morrissey doesn’t deserve to draw breath, I Want To Make Morrissey Cry For Real.

Well, I was a super-huge fan of The Smiths when I was an art fuck and new wave kid back in Honolulu in the 80s. Worse, I continued to listen to Morrissey after the Smiths came apart when I transitioned to college and even during my year abroad to the UK, when I was pretty excited about collecting the CDs I couldn’t get in the US.

You think this all isn’t bad? Well, I dare you to watch this YouTube video all the way through. I couldn’t, and I really loved the song when it came out.

I don’t know if anyone even thinks I listen to music but I do listen to bluegrass and have been listening to Stained Glass Bluegrass with Red Shipley for years. Three weeks ago, Red Shipley retired from hosting his Sunday morning radio show that featured religious and spiritual bluegrass, country, western, and folk music. Amazing stuff. Recently, almost immediately after Mr. Shipley retired, WAMU had a format revolution (lots of blood was spilled) and now, at the age of 70 and with advanced cancer, Red Shipley has passed away. God bless, Red, and I know your maker is quite pleased with you, that’s for sure!

Red Shipley, Stained Glass Bluegrass Host, Dies

Red Shipley, for half a century the voice of gospel bluegrass in the music’s home region, died last night of cancer in Charlottesville. Shipley’s legendary Stained Glass Bluegrass program on WAMU in Washington ran from 1982 until last month, when the station removed all of its bluegrass programming.

For half a century, Shipley was a staple on the radio dial and in the hearts of bluegrass fans throughout the Mid-Atlantic states. After graduating from Orange County High School in 1956, Shipley began emceeing at WJMA (named for President James Madison, born in Orange), and from 1966 to 1972, he emceed the 6-10 a.m. show on WKCW in Fauquier County, as The Post’s Eugene Scheel wrote a few years ago:

Shipley emceed the National Championship Country Music Contest, held each August from 1960 to 1979 on the shores of Lake Whippoorwill, east of Warrenton. “We often emceed, a little money on the side,” Reeder explained. The Warrenton-Fauquier Junior Chamber of Commerce sponsored the event, renting the two-acre pond and its grounds. The winners of the contest included Roy Clark, Patsy Cline, Jimmy Dean and Dean’s future wife, Donna Meade.

“Radio lost one of its own legends last night,” said Caryn Mathes, WAMU’s general manager. “I’m deeply saddened by the news of Red’s passing, but grateful that he was able to spend 25 years on the air with us at WAMU, and heartened that he was able to continue doing what he loved for so long.”

Here’s a Bob Levey column from Feb. 17, 1977 about Red Shipley:

Six in the morning, straight up, Jim Fitzgerald starts reciting the news. His wife is asleep on the hallway couch, her coat over her. And Red Shipley, Washington’s king of country music? He’s deep into his second cup of coffee, and he looks like he’s good for two more.

His eyes are like missile silos – deep, dull and hollow. He was so sleepy when he got going this morning that he forgot the jacket to his gray leisure suit. And he’s been looking for that new Mel Tillis record for five minutes; damned if he can find it.

“When you get up at 4:30 in the morning,” says Red Shipley, who has been doing it most of his life, “you’re a little out of the mainstream of society.” Or, more frequently, just plain out of it.

But you know what they say about shows having to go on. The clock in the Alexandria studios of WPIK and WXRA-FM has crept up to 6:04:30. Fitz is winding up the sports scores. One last belt of coffee, and Red Shipley is in the studio in time to hear Fitz’s magic handoff: “And now, the best in country continues with Reeeeeeed Shipley!”

In the next three hours, 55 minutes and 30 seconds, Red Shipley will play 47 songs, give away prizes o two commuters, make three hurried trips to the men’s room, deal with five telephoned song requests, smoke 18 cigarettes and find 30 different ways to say it’ll be fair and warmer.

After 16 1/2 years as the Washington area’s most familiar 6:10 a.m. country music disc jockey, Shipley’s baritone is still believable when it says, “Rise, shine, feelin’ fine.” Besides, says Shipley, “It beats the hell out of working for a living.”

By his definition, Robert Grant Shipley never has. He is one of those people who knew what he wanted to do when he was 10, started doing it when he was 16 and is still merrily doing it at 39.

“Every once in a while, I see myself sitting next to Barbara Walters,” Shipley said. “But, hey, I could have been a farmer, too.”

He once was one. As a boy, Shipley “milked five cows by hand every morning” on the family spread in Orange, Va. But by the time he was through high school, he had broken in as a country jock on the local 250-watt AM station. “Everybody in town knew me,” Shipley says.

From Orange, Shipley moved on to Manassas, Warrenton and, nearly five years ago, Alexandria. He has been the morning man at each stop. When the arrived at WPIK-WXRA, “we were the 36th most popular station in the Washington market, and there were 33 stations.” Now, thanks at least partly to Shipley, the two stations are a solid sixth.

Shipley’s studio has country written all over it, at least if you buy the cliches.

On the rear wall hang the following: Photos of four young country lovelies, a National Rifle Association poster, another of pro football quarterback Terry Bradshaw and a calendar showing a fisherman landing a big one. On the desk lamp hang two miniature American flags.

For Shipley, this isn’t sham. He is country and a half, and proud of it, brother. He still lives there (Warrenton), and he admits he even listens to country music at home.

If you don’t, or haven’t lately, you’ve missed some changes.

Country has long ago outdistanced its standby subjects: heartbreak, truck driving and Jesus. It now deals in such topics as sex, race, alcoholism and politics, usually without fumbling.

Lyrics continue to be appallingly illiterate at times. “Yesterday has ran into tomorrow,” insists one song. “Can’t get no help from nobody,” laments another.

But the music itself has progressed surprisingly far. In the old days, it weren’t country if it didn’t have no geetar. Now, violins, trombones and other creatures from other planets have they threaten to stay.

Shipley believes the changes have attracted many who formerly listened to nothing but rock.

“As they get a little older, most rock doesn’t have much relationship to their lives,” Shipley said. “They just don’t relate to getting stoned any more.”

With that, Shipley breaks off the discussion for at least the dozenth time. The little white light on his console is blinking. Tha means the phone is “ringing.” Almost certainly a fan who wants to hear a certain song.

It goes like this, at machine-gun pace:

“Hello, there, darlin’ . . . feelin’ good . . . If I was feelin’ any better I couldn’t stand it, darlin’ . . . Yeah, oh, yeah, I’m glad to do it . . . fine, fine . . . sure do . . . Yes, Ma’am . . . Yes, indeed . . . OK . . . I’ll be looking for it . . . OK, dear.”

Throughout the 20 seconds this takes, Shipley has one eye on the record that is playing. He is preparing the next with his non-phone hand. His other eye is on a rack of tape cassettes – his ads.

Suddenly, desperation crosses Shipley’s face. The record is ending.

“Gotta run, dear,” he barks. Down goes the phone. Up go three switches. “Awwwwright, that was ‘Angel With a Broken Wing,’” says Red Shipley, right in timpo. If you were trundling along the Beltway, it would have sounded smooth as silk.

Shipley has only two trademarks, besides his still-red hair. His last words before each song starts are “Hit it, darlin’.” And his last words of each broadcast are “thanks to you, and ah-toodle-dee-doo.”

“They listen for the music,” Shipley explains. “They don’t need my dulcet tones, particularly.”

Such an approach is appreciated. “He’s the best to work with,” says Jim Fitzgerald, the morning news and traffic man. “He’s forgotten more about country and bluegrass than most people will ever know.”

But the hours, ooooo, the hours.

“I don’t have a regular time when I go to sleep,” Shipley admits. Five hours of sack a night is often more than average, he says. And Shipley’s day is far from over after ah-toodle-dee-doo. He is operations manager for WPIK-WXRA as well.

Still, “I hope this is the last job I ever have,” said Shipley, as he “cued” the last record of another show. “I’m just happy with the ‘Red’ and the ‘Hit it, darlin’.”

WAMU 88.5’s Red Shipley to Retire on 25th Anniversary

Legendary WAMU 88.5 host Red Shipley will retire as he celebrates his 25th anniversary as host of Stained Glass Bluegrass. Shipley’s final episode will air from 6-10 a.m., Sunday, Sept. 16. Bob Webster, who currently works on the program with Shipley, will take over hosting duties as the program moves to WAMU’s Bluegrass Country in HD at 88.5-2 and online at bluegrasscountry.org, where it has been airing since 2001.

“I want to retire while I’m at the top of my game,” Shipley said. “It’s been a great 25 years.”

Shipley’s career has spanned more than 50 years, with the constant being the songs that serve as the foundation for his bluegrass gospel programs. He began his career at WJMA-AM in Orange, Va., on Memorial Day, 1956. In his time at WPIK-AM/WXRA-FM in Alexandria, Va., he began a program called Inside Bluegrass, and met Jerry Gray, who was instrumental in bringing him to WAMU 88.5. Red filled in for Jerry and other bluegrass hosts, and in August 1982, took his place in the host’s chair on Stained Glass Bluegrass, where he’s remained since.

After his retirement from the trade show industry in late 1995, Shipley returned to Orange, Va., to be closer to his family. This move brought about a unique partnership between WAMU 88.5 and commercial station WJMA-FM in Orange that has allowed Red to continue to serve his regular listeners and has added even more loyal Stained Glass Bluegrass fans in central Virginia. In September 2006, the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) named Red its Broadcaster of the Year.

“For 25 years, Red Shipley has brought his unique, folksy style to Stained Glass Bluegrass,” said Caryn G. Mathes, General Manager for WAMU 88.5. “His connection with our listeners and his love of the music has made Sunday mornings ‘destination radio’ for so many, and he’ll be greatly missed. I wish him a wonderful, well-earned retirement.”

In honor of the loyal following Red has garnered in 25 years as host of Stained Glass Bluegrass, WAMU 88.5 has set up a phone number for listeners to leave messages for him. Fans can call 202-885-8827 to leave a message telling Red what the show has meant to them.

American University’s radio station since 1961, WAMU 88.5 is the leading public radio station for NPR news and information in the greater Washington, D.C., area with more than 650,000 listeners in the region. WAMU 88.5 is “your NPR news station in the nation’s capital.”

My buddy David is going to journal the experience of ripping over a 1000 of the CDs that journal his life in music, and he’ll talk about technique, gear, solutions, and memories, “Along the way, I’m going to keep a running tally of the discs I import, and occasionally wax philosophical on a particularly meaningful import.” He is just setting up now. read more or digg story

“Hey There Delilah” is such an insipid song that when I saw it being played by Plain White T’s on The Tonight Show, I had fantasies of John Belushi‘s John ‘Bluto’ Blutarsky rushing out, grabbing Tom Higgenson‘s acoustic guitar as he winced and whined and breaking it against the stage and set. What a wuss. I hope he was being ironic or cutting the requisite “prom song.”

Regina Spektor entry on Wikipedia

Regina Spektor (born February 18, 1980) is a Soviet-born American singer-songwriter and pianist. Her music is associated with the anti-folk scene centered on New York City’s East Village.

Early life
Spektor was born in Moscow, Russia, Soviet Union to a musical family. Her father, a photographer, was also an amateur violinist, and her mother was a music professor in a Russian conservatoire; she now teaches at a public elementary school in Mount Vernon, New York.

Spektor studied classical piano from the age of six, and was also exposed to the music of rock and roll bands such as The Beatles, Queen, and The Moody Blues by her father, who obtained such recordings in Eastern Europe and traded cassettes with friends in the Soviet Union. The family left the Soviet Union in 1989, when Regina was nine, during the period of Perestroika when Jewish citizens were permitted to emigrate. The seriousness of her piano studies led her parents to consider not leaving Russia, but they finally decided to emigrate, for religious and political reasons.

Travelling first to Austria and then Italy, the family settled in the Bronx, New York, and eventually moved to Fair Lawn, New Jersey, where she finished the last three years of her high school career. Spektor has stated that she was originally interested only in classical music, but later became interested in hip hop, rock, and punk.

Beginnings as a songwriter
In New York, Spektor gained a firm grounding in classical music from her piano teacher, Sonia Vargas, a professor at the Manhattan School of Music. Spektor studied with Vargas—whom Spektor’s father had met through violinist Samuel Marder, Vargas’s husband—until she was 17.

Although she had always made up songs around the house, Spektor first became interested in songwriting during a visit to Israel with the Nesiya Institute in her teenage years. Attracting attention from the other children on the trip for the songs she made up while hiking, she realized she had an aptitude for songwriting. Following this trip, she was first exposed to the work of Joni Mitchell, Ani DiFranco, and other singer-songwriters, which gave her the idea that she could create her own songs. She began writing her first a cappella songs around age 16, and wrote her first songs for voice and piano when she was nearly 18.

Spektor completed the four-year studio composition program of the Conservatory of Music at Purchase College in Purchase, New York within three years, graduating with honors in 2001. She worked briefly at a butterfly farm in Luck, Wisconsin. She gradually achieved recognition through performances in the anti-folk scene in downtown New York City, most importantly at the East Village’s Sidewalk Cafe. During this period, she sold her self-produced CDs 11:11 (2001) and Songs (2002) at such performances.

Style
Spektor’s songs rely on a mixture of styles and techniques, often starting with a piano riff but ending with moans, nonsense words, warblings, and other noises. Spektor has said that she has created 700 songs, but that she rarely writes any of them down. Spektor’s songs are not usually autobiographical, but rather are based on scenarios and characters drawn from her imagination. Her songs show influences from folk, Jewish, Russian, hip hop, jazz, and classical music. Spektor has said that she works hard to ensure that each of her songs has its own musical style, rather than trying to develop a distinctive style for her music as a whole.

Spektor possesses a broad vocal range and uses the full extent of it. She also explores a variety of different and somewhat unorthodox vocal techniques, such as verses composed entirely of buzzing noises made with the lips, beatbox-style flourishes in the middle of ballads, or the use of a drum stick to tap rhythms on the body of the piano or chair. Part of her style also results from the exaggeration of certain aspects of vocalization, most notably the glottal stop, which is prominent the single “Fidelity”. She also uses a strong New York accent on some words, which she has said is due to her love of New York and its culture.

Her lyrics are equally eclectic, often taking the form of abstract narratives or first-person character studies, similar to short stories or vignettes put to song. Spektor usually sings in English, though she sometimes includes a few words or verses of Latin, Russian, French, and other languages in her songs. Spektor’s music is further set apart from mainstream folk music by its frequent literary references, such as to F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway in “Poor Little Rich Boy”, The Little Prince in “Baobabs”, Virginia Woolf and Margaret Atwood in “Paris”, Ezra Pound and William Shakespeare in “Pound of Flesh”, Boris Pasternak in “Après Moi”, and Oedipus the King in “Oedipus”. Recurring themes and topics in Spektor’s lyrics include love, death, religion (particularly Biblical and Christian references), city life (particularly New York references), and certain key phrases have been known to recur in different songs by Spektor, such as references to gravediggers, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and the name “Mary Ann.”

In Spektor’s early albums, many of her tracks had a very dry vocal production, with very little reverb or delay added. However, Spektor’s more recent albums, particularly Begin to Hope, have put more emphasis into song production and have relied more on traditional pop and rock instruments.

Performances
Since roughly January 2005, Spektor has performed on a bright red Baldwin baby grand piano. She opened for The Strokes in 2003, on her first North American tour. Subsequently, she appeared on Late Night with Conan O’Brien twice, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno twice, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and Last Call with Carson Daly twice. She has toured the United States and Europe. Although she generally only performs original material, she performed her first covers in 2005, of songs by Leonard Cohen and Madonna for the 2nd Annual Jewish Music & Heritage Festival at the 92nd Street Y in New York City.

While with The Strokes on their 2003–2004 Room on Fire tour, Spektor performed “Modern Girls & Old Fashion Men” alongside the band.

In 2006, Spektor embarked on a successful headlining tour of the United States and Europe, selling out numerous clubs and theaters.

Media coverage
Beginning in 2005, Spektor’s music has been used in various television programs and commercials. In late 2005 “Us” (from Soviet Kitsch) was used in a commercial as part of the What Do You Want To Watch? series for the United Kingdom’s Sky Television. The advert features a clip from a documentary on skateboarder Danny Way. In the summer of 2006, a clip from “Us” was used for the teaser website for Microsoft’s Zune project at ComingZune.com, as well as for a promotional campaign for MtvU. “Somedays” was used in a 2005 episode of CSI: NY and “Samson” was used in a 2006 episode of the same series. “On the Radio” was used in an episode of ABC’s popular Grey’s Anatomy. “Field Below” was used in a 2006 episode titled “The Last Word” of CBS’s Criminal Minds. “Fidelity” was also used in a recent episode of “Grey’s Anatomy” titled “Sometimes a Fantasy”, in an episode of Veronica Mars titled “Friday Night Sleights”, and in an episode of “Brothers & Sisters” titled “Sexual Politics”. “Better” is currently being used in a commercial for XM Satellite Radio. Spektor also sang the title song “Little Boxes” of Showtime’s television series Weeds in the 2006 episode “Mile Deep and a Foot Wide” and her “Ghost of Corporate Future” was used both at the beginning and end of the episode.

Regina Spektor gained much media attention in 2006 when her video for “Fidelity” was viewed over 200,000 times in two days on the YouTube website. On SIRIUS Radio’s Left of Center channel, her single “Fidelity” was voted by listeners as the #1 song of 2006.

In Australia particularly, Spektor’s music has rapidly gained popularity in mainstream culture primarily due to Begin To Hope being played on the nation-wide radio station Triple J, where it eventually became a feature album. Prior to Begin To Hope, Regina Spektor had only a small following in Australia in comparison to the US and Europe.

Discography
Most of Spektor’s early albums have been released exclusively in the United States. Her compilation, Mary Ann Meets the Gravediggers and Other Short Stories, has been released worldwide.

Albums
2001 – 11:11 (Regina Spektor)
2002 – Songs (Regina Spektor)
2004 – Soviet Kitsch (Sire/London/Rhino)
2005 – Mary Ann Meets the Gravediggers and Other Short Stories (Transgressive)
2006 – Begin to Hope (Sire) US sales 160,720

Singles and EPs
2003 – Reptilia b/w Modern Girls & Old Fashion Men by The Strokes (Rough Trade)
2004 – Your Honor / The Flowers (Shoplifter)
2005 – Live at Bull Moose EP (Sire)
2005 – Carbon Monoxide (Transgressive)
2006 – Us (Transgressive)
2006 – On the Radio (Sire) UK #60
2006 – Fidelity (Sire) US #84*

Compilations
2006 – Mary Ann Meets the Gravediggers and Other Short Stories (Transgressive)

REGINA SPEKTOR
Begin To Hope (SIRE)

A mere five years ago, Regina Spektor was hypnotizing small crowds at hole-in-the-wall venues on New York ‘s Lower East Side . After playing hundreds of shows in and around NYC, Spektor became the talk of the burgeoning music scene. Though she was selling many copies of CDs she had recorded and produced with friends ( 11:11 and Songs), it was her next album, “Soviet Kitsch,??? that would become her calling card. Originally released as a CDR and handed out at shows, Spektor signed with Sire Records who re-released “Soviet Kitsch??? in 2003. While touring nationally and abroad in support of “Soviet Kitsch,??? Spektor began as an opening act but by year’s end was the main attraction. Going from 200-capacity venues to selling out 1,300 capacity-venues like New York ‘s Irving Plaza and London ‘s Shephard Bush Empire, this Russian-born chanteuse’s songs have gone from being burned in her bedroom to receiving a worldwide fanfare. Though in love with playing shows to her rapidly growing audience, Spektor had written hundreds of songs since “Soviet Kitsch??? and was eager to get back into the studio.

Abandoning her usual method of production and opting for a new experience, Spektor holed herself up at New York Noise Studios in NYC’s Meatpacking District with seasoned producer David Kahne (Paul McCartney). Spending two months during the summer of 2005 working on her fourth release (this new album is also considered her major label debut), Spektor had the opportunity to experiment “until a little Frankenstein was born.” Taking two months to record was a huge amount of time by Spektor’s standards, since she had recorded her “Songs??? record in 1 day and “Soviet Kitsch??? in 10. “To work like this had been a dream of mine, but I thought it would be years before it happened. I definitely tried to put every aspect of myself into it. We played with wires and sounds, set the lab on fire a bunch of times, laughed and started again.???

“Before I even started I knew I was going to experiment with things I’ve only thought about, like beats and drums,” explains Spektor, a multi-instrumentalist. “I really wanted to play with electronic instruments and bigger arrangements. Still, on this record, there are some songs where it’s really sparse. You don’t want to arrange just for the sake of arranging. I had to be careful so the music wouldn’t be more fun to make than to listen to.”

Judging from the final product, we’d say mission accomplished. On “Begin To Hope??? Spektor took the lyrical vignettes and sparse instrumentation she crafted for “Soviet Kitsch??? and pushed herself more in every direction—both lyrically and musically. From the staccato strings plucking the opening chords to the album’s first song, “Fidelity,??? to the blues-infused homage to Billie Holiday “Lady,??? Spektor isn’t able to pinpoint the exact inspiration behind her musical musings.

“You don’t ever know the true lineage of your songs,??? reveals Spektor. “Maybe I’m becoming less of a narrator and more of a character these days. I was always used to observing and writing third-person narrative stories about things I was seeing. Then, as time went on, I started placing myself in these scenes, more like an actor.???

“I don’t fully understand the fascination of people wanting to know the ‘real’ you after listening to your songs” says Spektor, who is still extremely careful when it comes to sharing her personal life with the public. “I understand the fascination of people to want to know you,??? admits Spektor but “ People always want to know which part of the song really happened, they want to know some sort of a “Truth.” For some reason they can see the same actor acting in 17 different movies, using 17 different hair colors, using fake props, changing their voice, changing their accent, being evil or being the victim, and they are okay with that. They understand that it’s just a movie, they understand that it’s an art. But with music they forget. Music, somehow, is life.”

Always willing to damn convention for the sake of creativity, Spektor is one of those rare talents who manage to outrun the trends and force the rest of the world to keep up. “The more I experience in this world, the more questions I seem to have about where this life is leading,??? reveals Spektor . Begin To Hope might still mark the beginning of her career, but Regina Spektor has been carving out her place in music history since she sang her first note.

Come see In Modern Times, featuring Alec Gross, at the Modern Times Coffeehouse in Politics & Prose Bookstore at 5015 Conn Ave NW on Saturday, January 6th at 8PM.

“In Modern Times is one of the most promising new showcases of DC song-smithing talent to arise in the past year. Held monthly at the Modern Times Coffeehouse in Politics & Prose Bookstore (5015 Conn Ave NW), In Modern Times is committed to featuring the absolute best of DC’s singer-songwriters as they should be heard: in an intimate cafe environment without the distractions of noisy bar patrons. And it’s a good thing too, as In Modern Times has proven that microphones, cables, and amplifiers are unnecessary given the appropriate setting. Enjoy an evening of music composed only of wood, steel and voices, witnessed by an audience that rewards its entertainers with an unusual but deserved degree of rapt attention.

This Saturday (January 6) promises to live up to In Modern Times’ promise to feature the best artists with performances by Steven Capozzola, Jesse Elliott, Alec Gross, Alan Holmes, Michael Jantz, and Ian Walters. The show begins promptly at 8PM and Modern Times Coffeehouse features an assortment of caffeinated concoctions and delicious delicacies.”

James Brown, the Godfather of Soul, “died today at Emory Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta, where he been admitted on Saturday for pneumonia, news services said.” Via the New York Times. Also, via The Washington Post, ABC News, BBC News, Forbes, Reuters UK, Boston Herald, Chicago Tribune, & The Irish Times.

From Wikipedia:

James Joseph Brown, Jr. (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006), most commonly known as James Brown (also known as The Godfather of Soul), was an entertainer recognized as one of the most influential figures in 20th-century popular music.

As a prolific singer, songwriter, bandleader and record producer, Brown was a seminal force in the evolution of gospel and rhythm and blues into soul and funk. He left his mark on numerous other musical genres, including rock, jazz, reggae, disco, dance and electronic music, afrobeat, and hip-hop music.

Brown began his professional music career in 1953 and skyrocketed to fame in the late 1950s and early 1960s on the strength of his thrilling live performances and a string of smash hits. In spite of various personal problems and setbacks, he continued to score hits in every decade through the 1980s. In the 1960s and 1970s Brown was a presence in American political affairs, noted especially for his activism on behalf of African Americans and the poor (as well as his outspoken support for Richard Nixon).

Brown was recognized by a plethora of (mostly self-bestowed) titles, including Soul Brother Number One, Mr. Dynamite, the Hardest-Working Man in Show Business, Minister of The New New Super Heavy Funk, Mr. Please Please Please, The Boss, and the best-known, the Godfather of Soul. He was renowned for his shouting vocals, feverish dancing and unique rhythmic style.

Background information
Birth name James Joseph Brown, Jr.
Born May 3, 1933
Augusta, Georgia, USA
Died December 25, 2006
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Genre(s) R&B/soul/funk
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, dancer, bandleader, record producer
Instrument(s) Singing, organ/piano/keyboard, drums & guitar
Years active 1956 – 2006
Label(s) King/Polydor Records
Associated acts The Famous Flames, The JBs

Biography

Early life

Brown was born in the small town of Barnwell in Great Depression-era South Carolina as James Joseph Brown, Jr; as an adult, Brown would legally change his name to remove the “Jr.” designation.[1] Brown’s family eventually moved to nearby Augusta, Georgia. During his childhood, Brown helped support his family by picking cotton in the nearby fields and shining shoes downtown. In his spare time, Brown variously spent time either practicing his skills in Augusta-area halls, or committing petty crimes. At the age of sixteen, he was convicted of armed robbery and sent to a juvenile detention center upstate in Toccoa from 1948.

While in prison, Brown later made the acquaintance of Bobby Byrd, whose family helped Brown secure an early release after serving only three years of his sentence, under the condition that he not return to Augusta or Richmond County and that he would try to get a job. After brief stints as a boxer and baseball pitcher (a career move ended by leg injury) Brown turned his energy toward music.

The beginnings of the Famous Flames

Brown and Bobby Byrd’s sister Sarah performed in a gospel group called “The Gospel Starlighters” from 1955. Eventually, Brown joined Bobby Byrd’s group the Avons, and Byrd turned the group’s sound towards secular rhythm and blues. Now called The Famous Flames, Brown and Byrd’s band toured the Southern “chitlin’ circuit”, and eventually signed a deal with the Cincinnati, Ohio-based King Records, presided over by Syd Nathan.

The group’s first recording and single, credited to “James Brown with the Famous Flames”, was “Please, Please, Please” (1956). It was a #5 R&B hit and a million-selling single. However, their subsequent records failed to live up to the success of “Please, Please, Please”. After nine failed singles, King was ready to drop Brown and the Flames until the success of their 1958 single “Try Me.” While not a big hit, it went to number forty-eight on the Billboard Hot 100, which was enough to keep the group working Southern one-night stands.[2] Nearly all of the group’s releases were written or co-written by Brown, who assumed primary control of the band from Byrd and eventually began billing himself as a solo act with The Famous Flames as his backup.

These early recordings, also including “I’ll Go Crazy” (1959) and “Bewildered” (1960), were fairly straightforward gospel-inspired R&B compositions, heavily inspired by the work of contemporary musicians such as Little Richard and Ray Charles. Yet the songs were already marked by a rhythmic acuity and vocal attack that would later become even more pronounced, contributing to the developing style that would eventually be called “funk”. Brown, in fact, called Little Richard his idol, and credited Little Richard’s saxophone-studded mid-1950′s road band The Upsetters as the first to put the funk in the rock and roll beat. [3]

Brown’s arrangements and instrumentation, initially standardized, began to give way to more improvisational and rhythm-heavy tracks such as 1961′s #5 R&B hit “Night Train”, arguably the first single to showcase the beginnings of what today is considered the “James Brown sound”. Except for declamatory ad-libs by Brown, “Night Train” is completely instrumental, featuring prominent horn charts and a fast, highly accented rhythm track.
The landmark Live at the Apollo LP from 1962.
The landmark Live at the Apollo LP from 1962.

“Papa gets a brand new bag”

While Brown’s early singles were major hits in the southern United States and regularly became R&B Top Ten hits, he and the Flames were not nationally successful until his self-financed live show was captured on the LP Live at the Apollo in 1962, released without the consent of his label King Records.

Brown followed this success with a string of singles that, along with the work of Allen Toussaint in New Orleans, essentially defined funk music. 1964′s “Out of Sight” was, even more than “Night Train” had been, a harbinger of the new James Brown sound. Its arrangement was raw and unornamented, the horns and the drums took center stage in the mix, and Brown’s vocals had taken on an even more intensely rhythmic feel. However, Brown violated his contract with King again by recording “Out of Sight” for Smash Records; the ensuing legal battle resulted in a one year ban on the release of his vocal recordings.[4]

The mid-1960s was the period of Brown’s greatest popular success. Two of his signature tunes, “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” and “I Got You (I Feel Good),” both from 1965, were Brown’s first Top 10 pop hits as well as major #1 R&B hits, remaining the top-selling single in black venues for over a month apiece. His national profile was further boosted that year by appearances in the films Ski Party and the concert film The T.A.M.I. Show, in which he upstaged The Rolling Stones. In his concert repertoire and on record, Brown mingled his innovative rhythmic essays with ballads such as “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” (1965), and even Broadway show tunes.

Brown continued to develop the new funk idiom. “Cold Sweat” (1967), a song with almost no chord changes, was considered a departure even compared to Brown’s other recent innovations. Critics have since come to see it as a high-water mark in the dance music of the 1960s; it is sometimes called the first “true” funk recording.

Brown would often make creative adjustments to his songs for greater appeal. He sped up the released version of “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” to make it even more intense and commercial. He also began spinning off new compositions from the grooves of earlier ones by continual revision of their arrangements. For example, the hit “There Was a Time” emerged out of the chord progression and rhythm arrangements of the 1967 song “Let Yourself Go.”[5]

The late 1960s: “Ain’t It Funky Now”

Brown employed musicians and arrangers who had come up through the jazz tradition. He was noted for his ability as a bandleader and songwriter to blend the simplicity and drive of R&B with the rhythmic complexity and precision of jazz. Trumpeter Lewis Hamlin and saxophonist/keyboardist Alfred “Pee Wee” Ellis (the successor to previous bandleader Nat Jones) led the band; guitarist Jimmy Nolen provided percussive, deceptively simple riffs for each song; Maceo Parker’s prominent saxophone solos provided a focal point for many performances. Other members of Brown’s band included stalwart singer and sideman Bobby Byrd; drummers John “Jabo” Starks, Clyde Stubblefield, and Melvin Parker (Maceo’s brother); saxophonist St. Clair Pinckney; trombonist Fred Wesley; guitarist Alphonso “Country” Kellum; and bassist Bernard Odum.

As the 1960s came to a close, Brown refined his funk style even further with “I Got the Feelin’” and “Licking Stick-Licking Stick” (both recorded in 1968), and “Funky Drummer” (recorded in 1969). By this time Brown’s “singing” increasingly took the form of a kind of rhythmic declamation that only intermittently featured traces of pitch or melody. His vocals, not quite sung but not quite spoken, would be a major influence on the technique of rapping, which would come to maturity along with hip hop music in the coming decades. Supporting his vocals were instrumental arrangements that featured a more refined and developed version of Brown’s mid-1960s style. The horn section, guitars, bass, and drums all meshed together in strong rhythms based around various repeating riffs, usually with at least one musical “break”.

Brown’s recordings influenced musicians across the industry, most notably Sly and his Family Stone, Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, Booker T. & the M.G.’s, and soul shouters like Edwin Starr , Temptations David Ruffin and Dennis Edwards, and a then-prepubescent Michael Jackson, who took Brown’s shouts and dancing into the pop mainstream as the lead singer of Motown’s The Jackson 5. Those same tracks would later be resurrected by countless hip-hop musicians from the 1970s on; in fact, James Brown remains the world’s most sampled recording artist, and “Funky Drummer” is itself the most sampled individual piece of music.[citation needed]

The content of Brown’s songs was now developing along with their delivery. Socio-political commentary on the black person’s position in society and lyrics praising motivation and ambition filled songs like “Say It Loud – I’m Black and I’m Proud” (1968) and “I Don’t Want Nobody to Give Me Nothing (Open Up the Door I’ll Get It Myself)” (1970). However, while this change gained him an even greater position in the black community, it lost him much of his white audience who could no longer relate to his lyrics.

The 1970s: The JB’s

By 1970, most of the members of James Brown’s classic 1960s band had quit his act for other opportunities. He and Bobby Byrd employed a new band that included future funk greats such as bassist Bootsy Collins, Collins’ guitarist brother Phelps “Catfish” Collins, and trombonist/musical director Fred Wesley. This new backing band was dubbed “The JB’s”, and made their debut on Brown’s 1970 single “(Get Up I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine”. Although it would go through several lineup changes (the first in 1971), The JB’s remain Brown’s most familiar backing band.

As Brown’s musical empire grew (he bought radio stations in the late 1960s, including Augusta’s WRDW, where he had shined shoes as a boy), his desire for financial and artistic independence grew as well. In 1971, he began recording for Polydor Records; among his first Polydor releases was the #1 R&B hit “Hot Pants (She Got To Use What She Got To Get What She Wants)”. Many of his sidemen and supporting players, such as Fred Wesley & the JB’s, Bobby Byrd, Lyn Collins, Myra Barnes, and Hank Ballard, released records on Brown’s subsidiary label, People, which was created as part of Brown’s Polydor contract. These recordings are as much a part of Brown’s legacy as those released under his own name, and most are noted examples of what might be termed James Brown’s “house” style. The early 1970s marked the first real awareness, outside the African-American community, of Brown’s achievements. Miles Davis and other jazz musicians began to cite Brown as a major influence on their styles, and Brown provided the score for the 1973 blaxploitation film Black Caesar.

In 1974 Brown performed in Zaire as part of the build up to the The Rumble in the Jungle fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman.

His 1970s Polydor recordings were a summation of all the innovation of the last twenty years, and while some critics maintain that he declined artistically during this period, compositions like “The Payback” (1973); “Papa Don’t Take No Mess” and “Stoned to the Bone” (1974); “Funky President (People It’s Bad)” (1975); and “Get Up Offa That Thing” (1976) are still considered among his best.

Into the late-1970s and 1980s

By the mid-1970s, Brown’s star-status was on the wane, and key musicians such as Bootsy Collins had begun to depart to form their own groups. The disco movement, which Brown anticipated, and some say originated, found relatively little room for Brown; his 1976 albums Get Up Offa That Thing and Bodyheat were his first flirtations with “disco-fied” rhythms incorporated into his funky repertoire. While 1977′s Mutha’s Nature and 1978′s Jam 1980′s generated no charted hits, 1979′s The Original Disco Man LP is a notable late addition to his oeuvre. It contained the song “It’s Too Funky in Here,” which was his last top R&B hit of the decade.

Brown experienced something of a resurgence in the 1980s, effectively crossing over to a broader, more mainstream audience. He made cameo appearances in the feature films The Blues Brothers, Doctor Detroit, and Rocky IV, as well as being a guest star in the Miami Vice episode “Missing Hours” in 1988. He also released Gravity, a modestly popular crossover album, and the hit 1985 single “Living in America”. Acknowledging his influence on modern hip-hop and R&B music, Brown collaborated with hip-hop artist Afrika Bambaataa on the single “Unity”, and worked with the group Full Force on a #5 R&B hit single, 1988′s “Static,” from the hip-hop influenced album I’m Real. The drum break to his 1969 song “Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose” became so popular at hip hop dance parties (especially for breakdance) in the late 1970s and early 1980s that hip hop founding father Kurtis Blow calls the song “the national anthem of hip hop.”[1]

Later years and death

In spite of his return to the limelight, by the late 1980s, Brown met with a series of legal and financial setbacks. In 1988, he was arrested following a high-speed car chase down Interstate 20 in Augusta. He was imprisoned for threatening pedestrians with firearms and abuse of PCP, as well as for the repercussions of his flight. Although he was sentenced to six years in prison, he was eventually released in 1991 after having only served three. A new album called Love Overdue was released that same year, with the new single “Move On”.

During the 1990s and 2000s, Brown was repeatedly arrested for drug possession and domestic abuse. However, he continued to perform regularly and even record, and made appearances in television shows and films such as Blues Brothers 2000. The 1991 four-CD box set Star Time spanned his four-decade career. Nearly all his earlier LPs were re-released on CD, often with additional tracks and commentary by experts on Brown’s music. In 1993, James Brown released a new album called Universal James, which spawned the singles “Can’t Get Any Harder”, “How Long” and “Georgia-Lina”. In 1995, the live album Live At The Apollo 1995 was released, featuring a new track recorded in the studio called “Respect Me”. It was released as a single that same year. A megamix called “Hooked on Brown” was released as a single in 1996. And in 1998, James Brown released a new studio album, I’m Back, featuring the single “Funk On Ah Roll”.

In 2002, James Brown released the album The Next Step, which features the single “Killing is Out, School is In.” Brown appeared at Edinburgh 50,000 – The Final Push, the final Live 8 concert, on July 6, 2005, where he did a duet with British pop star Will Young on “Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag.” He also did a duet with another British pop star, Joss Stone, a week earlier on the UK chat show Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. Before his death, he was scheduled to perform a duet with singer Annie Lennox on the song “Vengeance” on her new album Venus, scheduled for release in early 2007.

In 2006, Brown continued his “Seven Decades Of Funk World Tour”, to be his last, performing all over the world. His latest shows were still greeted with positive reviews. His last Irish performance was at the Oxegen festival in Punchestown in 2006.

On November 14, 2006, Brown was inducted to the UK Music Hall of Fame. He was one of several inductees that performed at the ceremony.

Brown was admitted to the Emory Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia on December 24, 2006 after a dentist visit where he was found to have severe pneumonia.[6] Brown died the next day on December 25, 2006, around 1:45 a.m. of heart failure.(06:45 UTC) at the age of 73. [7]

Personal life and dedications to Brown

Brown had been married four times. He and his last wife Tommie Raye Hynie were married in 2002, but the marriage was annulled. They remarried in 2004 and had one child together. Brown also had two children by his first wife, Velma Warren, and three more by his second, Deidre Jenkins. Adrienne Rodriegues, Brown’s third wife, had him arrested four times on charges of assault.

James Brown lived in a riverfront home in Beech Island, South Carolina, directly across the Savannah River from Augusta. On November 11, 1993, Augusta mayor Charles DeVaney held a ceremony during which Augusta’s 9th Street was renamed “James Brown Boulevard” in the entertainer’s honor. On May 6, 2005, as a seventy-second birthday present for James Brown, the city of Augusta unveiled a seven-foot bronze statue of Brown. The statue was to have been dedicated a year earlier, but the ceremony was put on hold because of a domestic abuse charge Brown was facing at the time. He later forfeited bond on the domestic abuse charge.

On August 22, 2006, the Augusta-Richmond County Coliseum Authority voted to rename the city civic center the James Brown Arena.

Trivia

* Brown was a recipient of Kennedy Center Honors for 2003, and a scheduled 2004 unveiling of a statue of Brown in Augusta was delayed because of James Brown’s ongoing legal problems.

* Brown’s eyebrows were tattoos.

* In December 2004 Brown was diagnosed with prostate cancer, which was successfully treated with surgery.

* Brown collaborated in the production of Soul Survivor — The James Brown Story with English director Jeremy Marre.

* Brown held the record for the artist who has charted the most singles on the Billboard Hot 100 without ever hitting number one on that chart.

* At around the time of his legal troubles in the late 1980s, there happened to be a Supreme Court vacancy. Late-night talk-show host Arsenio Hall proposed nominating Brown, because “He’s black, he’s liberal… and he’s familiar with the court system!”

* A mistaken news broadcast reported him as dead in 1992. A sample of that broadcast became the basis of a techno hit for L.A. Style called “James Brown Is Dead”. (There were two songs quickly made in response: “James Brown Is Still Alive” by Holy Noise, and “Who the F*** Is James Brown?” by Traumatic Stress.)

* James Brown Jr. was featured as a recurring character on Mad TV, played by Aries Spears. The portrayal was an humorously exaggerated parody of Brown’s energetic performing style.

* Brown was the subject of the Tom Tom Club’s 1982 hit song, “Genius of Love.”

* Brown’s 1976 single “Hot” (I Need To Be Loved, Loved, Loved, Loved)” (R&B #31) was a cover of David Bowie’s “Fame”, not the other way around. The funky riff was provided to co-writers Lennon/Bowie by guitarist Carlos Alomar.

* “Funky President” and “The Payback” were included in the videogame Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, playing on fictional radio station Master Sounds 98.3.

* “The Payback” was prominently played in the film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

* Brown’s works have been sampled by a number of the most popular rap artists of the 80′s, 90′s and 00′s.

* In the 1993 movie Mrs. Doubtfire, Daniel Hillard, played by Robin Williams, is joking around in a movie studio with some toy dinosaurs, not realizing that he is being watched by the studio executive, who is impressed with his humor and ingenuity. One of the jokes he makes is with a brontosaurus, saying “Let’s welcome Mr. James Browntasaurus,” and continuing on to sing a parody of I Got You (I Feel Good), called “I Eat Wood.” Because of this scene, Hillard is offered a position and the studio executive sets up a meeting with him to discuss it.

* He appeared at the World Championship Wrestling pay-per-view event SuperBrawl X in 2000, dancing alongside wrestler Ernest “The Cat” Miller.

Discography

For a full listing of albums and singles, see James Brown discography.

Top ten singles

These singles reached the top ten on either the Billboard Hot 100 or the Billboard Top R&B Singles charts.

* 1956: “Please, Please, Please” (R&B #5)
* 1959: “Try Me” (R&B #1, U.S. #48)
* 1960: “Think” (R&B #7, U.S. #33)
* 1961: “Baby, You’re Right” (R&B #2, U.S. #49)
* 1961: “Bewildered” (R&B #8, U.S. #40)
* 1961: “I Don’t Mind” (R&B #4, U.S. #47)
* 1962: “Lost Someone” (R&B #2, U.S. #48)
* 1962: “Night Train” (R&B #5, U.S. #35)
* 1963: “Prisoner of Love” (R&B #6, U.S. #18)
* 1965: “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” – Part I (R&B #1, U.S. #8)
* 1965: “I Got You (I Feel Good)” (R&B #1, U.S. #3)
* 1966: “Ain’t That a Groove” Pts. 1 & 2 (R&B #6, U.S. #42)
* 1966: “Don’t Be A Drop-Out” (R&B #4, U.S. #50)
* 1966: “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” (R&B #1, U.S. #8)
* 1966: “Sweet Little Baby Boy” – Part 1 (U.S. #8)
* 1967: “Cold Sweat” – Part 1 (R&B #1, U.S. #7)
* 1967: “Let Yourself Go” (R&B #5, U.S. #46)
* 1968: “I Can’t Stand Myself (When You Touch Me)” (R&B #4, U.S. #28)
* 1968: “I Got The Feelin’” (R&B #1, U.S. #6)
* 1968: “Licking Stick – Licking Stick” – Part 1 (R&B #2, U.S. #14)
* 1968: “Say it Loud – I’m Black and I’m Proud” – Part 1 (R&B #1, U.S. #10)
* 1968: “There Was A Time” (R&B #3, U.S. #36)
* 1969: “Ain’t It Funky Now” (R&B #3, U.S. #24)
* 1969: “Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose” (R&B #1, U.S. #15)
* 1969: “I Don’t Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing (Open Up The Door, I’ll Get It Myself)” (R&B #3, U.S. #20)
* 1969: “Let A Man Come In And Do The Popcorn” – Part One (R&B #2, U.S. #21)
* 1969: “Mother Popcorn (You Got To Have A Mother For Me)” Part 1(R&B #1, U.S. #11)
* 1970: “Get Up (I Feel Like Being Like A) Sex Machine” (Part 1)” (R&B #2, U.S. #15)
* 1970: “Santa Claus Is Definitely Here To Stay” (U.S. #7)
* 1970: “Super Bad” – Part 1 & Part 2 (R&B #1, U.S. #13)
* 1971: “Escape-ism” – Part 1 (R&B #6, U.S. #35)
* 1971: “Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved” – Pt. 1 (R&B #4, U.S. #34)
* 1971: “Hot Pants (She Got To Use What She Got To Get What She Wants)” – Part 1 (R&B #1, U.S. #15)
* 1971: “I’m A Greedy Man” – Part I (R&B #7, U.S. #35)
* 1971: “Make It Funky” – Part 1 (R&B #1, U.S. #22)
* 1971: “Soul Power” – Pt. 1 (R&B #3, U.S. #29)
* 1972: “Get On The Good Foot” – Part 1 (R&B #1, U.S. #18)
* 1972: “King Heroin” (R&B #6, U.S. #40)
* 1972: “Talking Loud And Saying Nothing” – Part I (R&B #1, U.S. #27)
* 1973: “Down And Out In New York City” (R&B #13, U.S. #50)
* 1973: “I Got A Bag Of My Own” (R&B #3)
* 1973: “Sexy, Sexy, Sexy” (R&B #6, U.S. #50)
* 1974: “Funky President” (People It’s Bad)” (R&B #4, U.S. #44)
* 1974: “My Thang” (R&B #1, U.S. #29)
* 1974: “Papa Don’t Take No Mess” – Part I (R&B #1, U.S. #31)
* 1974: “Stoned To The Bone” – Part 1 (R&B #4, U.S. #58)
* 1974: “The Payback” – Part I (R&B #1, U.S. #26)
* 1976: “Get Up Offa That Thing” (R&B #4, U.S. #45)
* 1985: “Living in America (R&B #10, U.S. #4)
* 1987: “How Do You Stop” (R&B #10)
* 1988: “I’m Real” (R&B #2)
* 1988: “Static, Pts. 1 & 2″ (with Full Force) (R&B #5)

Best albums

The question of which were the most critical albums of Mr. Brown’s career is debatable. Until the early 1970s, he was famous mostly for his roadshow and singles rather than his albums (his live LPs being a major exception). Many of his early albums include tracks that were recorded in the studio and later overdubbed with the sounds of a live audience in an attempt to recreate the explosive excitement of the original Live at the Apollo. Four James Brown albums, all but one of them compilations, appear on Rolling Stone’s 2003 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time:

* Live at the Apollo (1963)
* In the Jungle Groove (1986)
* Star Time (1991)
* 20 All-Time Greatest Hits! (1991)

The following albums, originally released as double LP records, feature extensive playing by the legendary JB’s. They have been a prolific source of samples for later musical artists:

* The Payback (1973)
* Get on the Good Foot (1972)
* Hell (1974)

The Live at the Apollo Vol. 2 double LP album, released in 1968, was notably influential on then-contemporary musicians. It remains an example of Mr. Brown’s highly energetic live performances and audience interaction, as well as documenting the metamorphosis of his music from R&B and soul styles into hard funk.

Chronological collections

In addition to the career-spanning Star Time, Polydor released a series of CD collections devoted to specific periods in Brown’s long career, similar to Columbia Records’ Miles Davis boxed sets.

* Roots of a Revolution (2 CD; covers 1956-1964)
* Foundations of Funk: A Brand New Bag, 1964-1969 (2 CD)
* Funk Power 1970: A Brand New Thang (1 CD)
* Make It Funky – The Big Payback: 1971-1975 (2 CD)
* Dead on the Heavy Funk, 1975-1983(2 CD)

Two other collections anthologize Brown’s instrumental recordings with his 60s band and the JBs:

* Soul Pride: The Instrumentals (1960-69) (2 CD)
* Funky Good Time: The Anthology (2 CD; covers 1970-1976)

I am a super recent convert to the Church of Chapman and his Managing the Gray podcast. If you are a musician, promote a musician, or just love one, you need to listen to CC Chapman’s Managing the Gray podcast, “New Marketing for Musicians.” Hell, why don’t you just subscribe to the podcast on iTunes right now?

Just saw A Tribute to James Taylor on PBS.

I love James Taylor as much as the next guy but good Lord! James Taylor may be the whitest man in history. Stiffer than titanium, that boy.

Singin’ in the Rain is the funniest movie of all time. It really is. And while Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor, and Debbie Reynolds are above reproach, Jean Hagen is the real comedic genius as Lina Lamont.

Singin’ in the Rain is funnier, in fact, than Young Frankenstein.

My mum loves Hollywood musicals and so do I. If you have never seen Singing in the Rain then you haven’t lived. You may never have seen such masculine role models in the form of singers and dancers, called “song and dance men” back in the day. Such a gorgeous film. So fun and playful.

Don’t you hate it when a song gets in your head and you can’t shake it? How Bizarre by OMC.

This song was popular when I spent the summer in Utrecht, the Netherlands. I remember watching it on Dutch television. Ha!

How Bizarre by OMC

Brother Pele’s in the back, sweet Zina’s in the front
Cruisin’ down the freeway in the hot, hot sun
Suddenly red-blue lights flash us from behind
Loud voice booming, “Please step out onto the line”
Pele preaches words of comfort, Zina just hides her eyes
Policeman taps his shades, “Is that a Chevy ’69?”

How bizarre
How bizarre, how bizarre

Destination unknown, as we pull in for some gas
Freshly pasted poster reveals a smile from the past
Elephants and acrobats, lions snakes monkey
Pele speaks “righteous,” Sister Zina says “funky”

How bizarre
How bizarre, how bizarre

Ooh, baby (Ooh, baby)
It’s making me crazy (It’s making me crazy)
Everytime I look around
Everytime I look around (Everytime I look around)
Everytime I look around
It’s in my face

Ring master steps out and says “the elephants left town”
People jump and jive, but the clowns have stuck around
TV news and camera, there’s choppers in the sky
Marines, police, reporters ask where, for and why
Pele yells, “We’re outta here,” Zina says, “Right on”
We’re making moves and starting grooves before they knew we were gone
Jumped into the Chevy and headed for big lights
Wanna know the rest? Hey, buy the rights…

How bizarre
How bizarre, how bizarre

Ooh, baby (Ooh, baby)
It’s making me crazy (It’s making me crazy)
Everytime I look around
Everytime I look around (Everytime I look around)
Everytime I look around
It’s in my face

Via Jayar at Welcome to the Internets. To think, Metal Skool was the featured band at the NMS 5-year anniversary. Rock on!