"When I Die Make Sure You Bury Me With..."

Actually, I prefer Firing Squad or First Family 4 Life - the latter of which once got ego trip's L.A. posse through a cross-country drive years before Red Bull was a popular drink (as it now is). Maybe I would've felt differently had this B-side been included - one of the first (and best) M.O.P.-Preemo collabs; so good it spawned two sequels:

M.O.P. "Downtown Swinga"

(BTW, I realize the OG rhyme is "bury me with a cassette of Paid in Full." But I don't possess a cassette of Paid in Full, and if I'd quoted that then there'd be a blank space at the top of this post instead of a nifty photo of '90s rap tapes. So there.)

What Do I Wish For

It's always around this time during the last dayz of the calendar that us music writers get a chance to show the world what arbiters of great taste we are and compile our year-end Top 10 lists for the Village Voice's Pazz & Jop poll. It's very nice of the Voice to continue to accept my submissions. I'd figured that the rest of the ego trip People and myself were officially excommunicated from the process a few years back after we pooled our voting points - uh, I mean coincidentally allotted the maximum points on each of our ballots - to ensure that ego trip's The Big Playback (still the best hip-hop compilation of all-time despite Robert Christgau deeming it merely **-worthy) would receive its deserved spot in that year's top 100 albums. (Boy, was the Dean mad about that one!)

I'm not gonna waste your time going over what I picked and why. (You can supposedly see everyone's individual ballots on-line now - so much for voter privacy rights; I thought this was America, people.) But I will waste your time with a few random thoughts on the conspicuous absence of this year's critical darling retro-soul project, Raphael Saadiq's The Way I See It, from my picks. I know a lot of music writer folks are fond of it. Initially I too was on the bandwagon. On paper anyways it's right in my wheelhouse: proto-neo-soul-artist-whose-stuff-I-always-dug executes spot-on Motown-type tribute record. When an unsolicited commercial copy CD arrived in the mail from the label (a feat in itself) I listened to it. I enjoyed it. I listened to and enjoyed it enough to believe that I really liked it. Enough that I should cop the wax (because if you really like a record and you're me you need to own it on wax).

Unfortunately, I learned that the album was only pressed on single vinyl, thus the sound was apparently thinner than the defense's arguments in either O.J. trial. (Geez, it's a wonder any of us vinyl-worshippers figured out Step in the Arena or Fear of a Black Planet were great albums BITD given how lousy they sounded on the those single vinyl pressings.) Fortunately, someone involved in Raphael Saadiq's project was thinking about those of us who care about such things. As it turned out the album was also available as a limited edition box set of 45s. Now we were talking: additional sonic punch, a collectibility factor - pretty much an automatic purchase for me. I promptly ordered one from everyone's favorite on-line outlet for hyperbolic descriptive language, dustygroove.com, and thought to myself, wow, isn't it swell when things go the way you wished they would?

A week or so later when it arrived in the mail, however, I got the immediate sense that something was off. The 45s all had these cheesy picture sleeves that kept reminding me of this. There was the fact that the songs didn't follow the running order of the album but were paired with one another as A and B-sides sort of arbitrarily. There was the unfortunate inclusion of that song with the horrific guest verse from Jay-Z (features from whom I now look forward to about as much as trips to the dentist). Most importantly there was the material itself, which - now subject to more scrutiny as individual songs - just wasn't really doing it for me anymore. In his attempt to capture vintage Motown I was beginning to believe dude did it in a way that maybe he wasn't bargaining for. You know how those pre-What's Going On albums were basically two great singles and a bunch of decent but dispensable filler? Suddenly for me the album sounded sort of like one of those, but without the great singles. 

In all fairness I know this wasn't how the record was meant to be experienced. So maybe the fact that none of the songs stand out to me when I listen to them as 7s means that this is a case of the sum being greater than the individual parts. Maybe it's still a good album. But honestly I haven't felt compelled to listen to it in any format since that 45s box set showed up on my doorstep over a month ago. 

Damn you, vinyl. You've got me so wrapped around your finger I don't even know what to think sometimes.

Happy Holidays!

Lenox Avenue "Little Drummer Boy"

Misery Loves Company

"Spine Blowing Decisions" Volume 6 is now up on the Spine homepage and available for listening via stream or DL. By this point in the month you've undoubtedly heard enough cheery-ass Xmas sh*t to last your whole life, and that's all well and good. But what's more compassionate and in the spirit of giving than providing those folks more miserable than yourself something they truly want - a chance to wallow in self-pity, no questions asked? With that in mind this month's show is dedicated to everyone out there prone to melancholy during the holiday season - lots of moody sweet soul and beat ballads (and not a mention of Hayzeus' born-day among 'em), including this:

A friend of mine once said he'd want this song played at his funeral. He seems much happier these days. But perhaps you're not. Enjoy!

Early to Rise

Okay, I think I'm well on my way to becoming the Tony Kornheiser of hip-hop (i.e. the old guy who can't stay up late for anything). The other night I bailed (sort of) early on the Knitting Factory show due to fatigue, thus missing seeing the God Rakim Allah take it to the stage. (Parenthood will do that to ya.) 

While I was still in the building, however, one of the pleasant, if briefer, surprises of the evening (the others being Homeboy Sandman's acapella "Big Band Theory," Brand Nubian's unannounced set, and the Legion bringing out Dres for an impromptu "Jingle Jangle") was Psycho Les spontaneously dropping his verse from "Are You Ready" over the Bill Doggett OG during his 10 allotted minutes of DJ time. I don't know - I thought it was pretty cool even though there's no discernible audience reaction in this video (starts 1:35 in). Kids - feh.

Shootin' the Gift

Fresh for '08 - official BBP/Strong City Records coffee mugs (available for order, along with other cool stuff, here - at least if you can read Japanese.) Comes in "his" and "hers" designs. Makes a great stocking stuffer for the aging b-boy/b-girl in your life. 

Voltage

Ongoing weather patterns in the Tri-State area got me to thinking about this:

J.J. Barnes "Snow Flakes"

Which, naturally, isn't really about precipitation. I'll always associate this tune with my friend, Bumpshop co-resident, and all-around Detroit soul authority Mr. Fine Wine, whose made it a staple of his early doors sets for years. Barnes recorded for Ric-Tic, Groovesville, Revilot and other Motor City labels in the '60s and was even signed to Motown as an artist - though Berry Gordy & co. never released anything on him. (As a songwriter he penned this break-laden gem - for the Marvelettes.) His lone Volt single represents a time when the "Memphis Sound" had begun to fortify itself with established talent from other parts of the map. In this case Detroit - from which the Stax axis would also pluck Darrell Banks and producer Don Davis (The Dramatics).

And in this case...

Margie Joseph "One More Chance"

... New Orleans. Joseph's man (and manager), NOLA DJ/Minit Records big-wig Larry McKinley enjoys production credit both here and on the stupendously somber B-Side, "Never Can You Be." But the biggest behind-the-scenes shine goes to Wilson Turbington (b/k/a Willie Tee)'s arranging and songwriting skills. From the moment those swooning horns hit out the gate you know you're in for something special. Joseph's vocal is strong enough to reach all the notes, fragile enough to make you believe there's some real pain behind the words. Such is the power of this tune that I once used it to resuscitate the homie JBX out of an intoxicated comatose state one Friday night at the Lucky Cat. I felt like Robert Duvall in The Apostle, yo.

Lil' Fame

So my man Peter Agoston - who's put out cool stuff like this and this - asked me to briefly spin at the Rakim show at the Knitting Factory this Friday. I've never been asked to play a "mini DJ set" (and Lord SHR is hosting the event), so how could I refuse? (Maybe Peter should start a club night called "White Castle" and make this the official music format.) Apparently, everyone whose name you see on the flyer in the lower left-hand corner literally gets 15-minutes of fame on the wheels. I'm not quick-mix proficient enough to drop 50 breaks in 15-minutes or anything, so I was thinking of just letting this rock end to end and calling it a contribution. But that's too cynical a move for even me to make, and I don't want to be a party-pooper on the night of the Knitting Factory's final hip-hop show ever. (Plus, Keith Murray and Just-Ice are on the bill; based strictly on past histories I'd say maybe it's not the best idea to antagonize either of those gentlemen.) 

If you're at the show check for a Chairman: I'll be the one with more than one but less than 50 records with me. One of them might be this - an old Red Alert favorite and still one of the most ridiculous song titles in rap history. (The beat is sampled from "Rocket in the Pocket," but you probably could have guessed that.)

Sugar Bear "Ready to Penetrate"

Flavors of the Month

Vickie Baines "Sweeter Than Sweet Things" 

2nite

Tonight we welcome Troy Hurt and Marty Violence of the Scorpio Brothers. Chroniclers and proponents of all things funky from the state of Virginia, the Scorpios run a great blog site, and a Richmond-based monthly that's 10-years runnin' and still going strong. Local Rotten Apple worms undoubtedly also know Marty via his other gigs as bassist for this outfit and buyer at Academy Records in the East Village. It's their first time at Bumpshop and we're excited to have 'em. VA in the building!

Hawthorne Bingo

I had every intention of catching boogie connoisseur Dam-Funk's set at Love last night for my once-in-a-blue-moon non-APT excursion into NYC clubland. But damn if Dam didn't get going till way past my bedtime. (I stayed just long enough to hear him drop this over the spot's impeccably boomin' system before indulging in a Recession Special at Gray's Papaya and hightailing it through the raindrops home.)

What I did catch (after hearing James Pants and this gentleman's nephew expertly set it off) was Mayer Hawthorne on the mix. I know little of Mr. Hawthorne save for this justifiably ballyhooed tune. (Which, incidentally, I'm still hoping will arrive in the mail any day now from Stones Throw HQ; if I'd known the guy who made it was going hand-to-hand with 'em at the gig I'd have bought one, but a tall Australian made off with the last copy). I know he's from Detroit. I didn't know he DJ-ed (though nowadays everyone DJs). 

Guess what? He kilt it. Motown classics and cult classics, D-town soul obscurities, Manship Rarest of the Rares, some deep disco-boogie - all played party-rockin' style. Sure, Serato affords you the ability to do all sorts of ish you wouldn't dare try (or, if you're of the soul purist's mind, couldn't even imagine) in a pre-"microwave" world (like seamlessly doubling up on $$$$ OGs of this), but that's also sort of the point, right? It allows you to reinvent the rules specific to the situation. I mean, when it comes to soul 45s I'm usually a fan of just letting them play out sans the bells and whistles. Nonetheless there's a time and a place for everything and last night was the right time for how "Haircut" (as Mr. Funk called him) was putting it down. 

I was pretty pleased when he played this one - a Travis Biggs production which seems to enjoy universal love from Northern, modern, even deep funk crowds. Irrepressibly happy-go-lucky sounding despite the woe-is-me lyrics.

The Pages "Heartaches & Pain"

Man-Machine

Look, I don't know about the rest of youse, but right now this is the only dude from Chicago that's not a singer that I wanna hear "singing" through machines and whatnot.

Herbie Hancock "I Thought It Was You"

Parking Lot Pimpin'

He got so much soul, he don't need no Autotune.

Simply Beautiful

I used to think Johnson, Hawkins, Tatum & Durr's "You Can't Blame Me" (now more widely known thanks to this) was the greatest recording in the history of either greatness and/or recordings. And that still might be the case. But right about now this is making my already aching frame (in recent days a victim of the cold... and the old) even more weak in the knees. 

The Ordells "Sippin' a Cup of Coffee"

Next School

Hadn't heard this in a minute and felt compelled to digitize it. (Thanks to Monk for puttin' it in the mix last week.) But this right 'chea is a prime example of how sampling multiple "grails" (Stone Alliance, 24 Carat Black, even a dash of this just for good measure) could add up to something of quality (never a sure thing) in the right hands (i.e. Paul Mitchell's hands). I was also struck by how not unconventional Busta's flow now sounds when I remember distinctly thinking how off-the-wall it seemed back when the record dropped. Though I was never dude's biggest fan I gotta give it up to him - he's always been able to flow extremely well to music. Something an entire generation of NY rappers (epitomized by this fella) seems unable or unwilling to do. Something rappers from other regions never stopped doing. That's why NY fell the f*ck off.

Leaders of the New School "What's Next (Large Professor Remix)"

RIP

Sad news out of the BX today with word that Party Arty (a/k/a P. 80, a/k/a Mr. Mudd) of D.I.T.C. and Ghetto Dwellaz fame has passed away. Though he recorded pretty extensively with those crews I'll probably best remember him as captured on celluloid. Specifically, his appearance (as part of an ensemble cast that includes fellow GD-ers AG and D-Flow, Lord Finesse, Percee P, Edan and Dave Tompkins) in the homie Zunbug (of BBP)'s brilliant short film, SBX! Holding Down the Tradition. If you've never seen it I highly recommend it - a cinematic love letter to the Bronx in the form of a deliberately deadpan hip-hop musical (and I don't mean music video, I mean musical - sorta like this but with rap... okay, maybe not). But imagine a Jim Jarmusch-style production run amok in Patterson Projects and you get the idea. 

While this scene gets most of the attention from those in the know, the day-in-the-life stuff featuring Arty and co. possesses its own uniquely dry charm and humor. The big fella even makes a nice contribution to the soundtrack with the slacker anthem "Everyday" - a track that's a lot mellower than his trademark rah-rah steez. Condolences to the entire D.I.T.C./GD family.

Juice on the Loose

Go out and buy this record. Actually, you can't physically go out and buy it. But you can order it by contacting my peeps at DWG, here. Be forewarned, it's a little more of an investment than, say, picking up the new Kanye at the local Targé. $80 a pop ain't nuthin' to snore at in these recession riddled times, even with worldwide shipping included. But - and, as this sage wielder of wisdom once proclaimed, there's always a big but - there's only 350 being pressed. Thus, for anyone who values vintage hip-hop gusto in all its undiluted glory this is a no-brainer - previously unreleased G Rap, Kane, Craig G and Tragedy all produced by Marley Marl circa '86-'88. All top quality. (Dare I say it - magnum opuses, even!)

For the skeptical, snippets are available here. As of this afternoon, mines is reserved and paid for. And if all goes according to plan it should arrive at Mao Manor across 135th St. some time around December 25th. Ooh, what a life!