Wednesday, October 30, 2002
updated 12:50pm
last night, I downloaded some fela, along with some miles, trane, and ornette. [side note I came up with in the shower this a.m.: the mt. rushmore of funk is james brown, george clinton, fela kuti, and prince. any questions? I didn't think so.] which got me thinking about a new series of mixes I keep bandying about, to be titled "post-millenial soul." this'd be a companion to a series of mixtapes I made on the cusp of the millenium (2000, whatever), "pre-millenial soul" (begun 11/04/99, completed 03/01/2000). it's one of my favorite mix projects, covering the diaspora of soul in all its guises. and this is the big tent version, y'all understand? let me break down for you again...
pre-millenial soul.
side a
1. roots featuring jazzy jeff, "the next movement" - hip-hop ne plus ultra.
2. prince, "I could never take the place of your man" - tight as hell, and then he loosens it up with that guitar solo near the end.
3. guy, "teddy's jam 2" - machine-funk back before the neptunes and timbaland. teddy drew the blueprint.
4. daft punk, "around the world (mellow mix)" - a french-puerto rican disco-funk soundclash, all smoothed out.
5. roxy music, "more than this" - go, whiteboy, go, whiteboy, go. as quiet storm as anything by luther v.
6. mary j. blige, "my life" - the template for female balladry in the '90s.
7. d'angelo, "devil's pie" - nice 'n nasty.
8. eurythmics, "for the love of big brother" - they have placed a chill in your heart.
9. 2pac, "so many tears" - when thugs cry.
side b
1. lauryn hill & bob marley, "turn your lights down low" - watering the family tree.
2. neneh cherry, "buddy x" - one of the most supple talents of the '90s, so underappreciated.
3. new radicals, "someday we'll know" - a sad, slow ballad pumped full of blue-eyed soul.
4. notorious b.i.g., "everyday struggle" - biggie's best lyrics ever, paired with a '70s (jazz fusion?) sample that sounds like it's even better since it's (maybe) played at the wrong speed.
5. michael jackson, "off the wall" - remember when?
6. roy ayers, "everybody loves the sunshine (live)" - xylophones are soulful, too.
7. lisa stansfield, "all woman" - pain with the necessary final uplift.
8. q-tip, "vivrant thing" - funky see, funky do.
9. barry white, "come on" - baby-makin' music.
10. scritti politti, "absolute (version)" - white art-schoolers get reggaefied and croon away.
what I like most about this series is precisely its "big tent" approach, much like tim's recent mix which he blogged on skykicking. soul really is everything from barry white to new radicals (sometimes) to 2pac. soul has nothing to do with skin color; it's about what you're conveying in your music. bumping mary j. up against bryan f., I think, recontextualizes and enhances them both. I wasn't going for a specific flow here, just to show and exult in the beauty of soul in all its forms. how'd I do?
will post the other volumes in the series (five in all) over the course of the day.
last night, I downloaded some fela, along with some miles, trane, and ornette. [side note I came up with in the shower this a.m.: the mt. rushmore of funk is james brown, george clinton, fela kuti, and prince. any questions? I didn't think so.] which got me thinking about a new series of mixes I keep bandying about, to be titled "post-millenial soul." this'd be a companion to a series of mixtapes I made on the cusp of the millenium (2000, whatever), "pre-millenial soul" (begun 11/04/99, completed 03/01/2000). it's one of my favorite mix projects, covering the diaspora of soul in all its guises. and this is the big tent version, y'all understand? let me break down for you again...
pre-millenial soul.
side a
1. roots featuring jazzy jeff, "the next movement" - hip-hop ne plus ultra.
2. prince, "I could never take the place of your man" - tight as hell, and then he loosens it up with that guitar solo near the end.
3. guy, "teddy's jam 2" - machine-funk back before the neptunes and timbaland. teddy drew the blueprint.
4. daft punk, "around the world (mellow mix)" - a french-puerto rican disco-funk soundclash, all smoothed out.
5. roxy music, "more than this" - go, whiteboy, go, whiteboy, go. as quiet storm as anything by luther v.
6. mary j. blige, "my life" - the template for female balladry in the '90s.
7. d'angelo, "devil's pie" - nice 'n nasty.
8. eurythmics, "for the love of big brother" - they have placed a chill in your heart.
9. 2pac, "so many tears" - when thugs cry.
side b
1. lauryn hill & bob marley, "turn your lights down low" - watering the family tree.
2. neneh cherry, "buddy x" - one of the most supple talents of the '90s, so underappreciated.
3. new radicals, "someday we'll know" - a sad, slow ballad pumped full of blue-eyed soul.
4. notorious b.i.g., "everyday struggle" - biggie's best lyrics ever, paired with a '70s (jazz fusion?) sample that sounds like it's even better since it's (maybe) played at the wrong speed.
5. michael jackson, "off the wall" - remember when?
6. roy ayers, "everybody loves the sunshine (live)" - xylophones are soulful, too.
7. lisa stansfield, "all woman" - pain with the necessary final uplift.
8. q-tip, "vivrant thing" - funky see, funky do.
9. barry white, "come on" - baby-makin' music.
10. scritti politti, "absolute (version)" - white art-schoolers get reggaefied and croon away.
what I like most about this series is precisely its "big tent" approach, much like tim's recent mix which he blogged on skykicking. soul really is everything from barry white to new radicals (sometimes) to 2pac. soul has nothing to do with skin color; it's about what you're conveying in your music. bumping mary j. up against bryan f., I think, recontextualizes and enhances them both. I wasn't going for a specific flow here, just to show and exult in the beauty of soul in all its forms. how'd I do?
will post the other volumes in the series (five in all) over the course of the day.
# posted by Thomas : 6:54 AM
