Elion Paz - Dust and Grooves [a better blog about records]

Elion Paz has created something really special with his new Dust and Grooves blog. As one might imagine the blog is devoted to the fine passion of discovering new music, specifically records. What set's Paz' blog apart from the pack is his attention to detail.

He focuses on everything that *I* as a serious music lover cares about. From the excellent black and white photography, to the in depth questions, to actual sound clips of the records discussed, the interviews unfold organically. Check out his first few interviews including a notable one with Cosmo Baker. It feels like your sitting down with a friend to chop it up about your favorite records. Dust and Grooves raises the bar on what a blog is capable of doing and inspires us to do better.

On a semi -related note, Borders Windward Mall is finally carrying copies of Wax Poetics. I've been asking them about it for over a year now, and I finally saw issues 32/33 in the flesh as I was perusing the shelves. Nice!

Dust and Grooves

v-day lovesong challange [songs: #9]

Forget, for a moment, her stint with the Psychic Network in the eighties. Dionne Warwick delivers one of the most infectious songs I've heard in a long time. I can't stop listening to it. Over and over again. The soaring lament of her vocals, the wonderful arrangement by Holland and Dozier, it's simply perfection. Not exactly a saccharine sweet love song appropriate for Valentine's Day, but a song about love nevertheless.

Completely besides the point, but Dilla flips Dionne's song on his track Stop!

1-"Kiss of My Life" - Sade
2-"Rockin' You Eternally" - Leon Ware
3-"I Believe When I Fall In Love" - Stevie Wonder
4-"Inside My Love" - Minnie Riperton
5-"Meaning of Love" - Karin Krog
6-"Isley Brothers" - For the Love of You
7-"Love Song" - Lani Hall
8-"I Love You For All Seasons"-East of the Underground
9-"Your Gonna Need Me"-Dionne Warwick.

Don't forget to check out the other lists here.

Harputs Adidas Rap (San Francisco in the 80's related)

This shit is classic! Check out this Harput's commercial featuring a clever rap and some very stiff models. For those that don't know Harput's is the shop in the Bay for Adidas shoes and gear. They've been around forever, and the funny thing is that their phone number is still the same.

Thanks to Alex for the link!

Remember Dapper Dan?

Now for a commercial break between all these Love Song posts.

We found this gem randomly looking for info on Dapper Dan. Dapper Dan was the New York fashion designer responsible for creating custom clothing (think, LV and gucci suits) for hip-hop greats like Eric B and Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie, Salt and Peppa and many more. In fact, he created the suits sported on the "Paid in Full" album cover.



Here's a little video and history of Dapper Dan caught on Youtube. His son is also trying to promote his new rap album which I've never heard. The old pictures are worth pressing play. Check it.

v-day lovesong challange [songs: #8]

Remember when I posted about the East of the Underground album here? Well "I Love You For All Seasons" is my favorite track from the record and a perfect tune for this 14th of February.

Happy Valentines day everyone! We hope that your spending it with your loved one. Though this day is a good reminder, I'm of the opinion that fancy flowers and dinners are just icing on the cake. Let's treat each other with love 365 days a year. We spent the early morning looking through records in a drafty garage then making breakfast together. It was simple and grand.

*Oh and I think we're going to continue catching up to the rest of the countdown.**

1-"Kiss of My Life" - Sade
2-"Rockin' You Eternally" - Leon Ware
3-"I Believe When I Fall In Love" - Stevie Wonder
4-"Inside My Love" - Minnie Riperton
5-"Meaning of Love" - Karin Krog
6-"Isley Brothers" - For the Love of You
7-"Love Song" - Lani Hall
8-"I Love You For All Seasons"-East of the Underground

Don't forget to check out the other lists here.

v-day lovesong challange [songs: #7]

Little known dollar bin miracle from Lani Hall's "Sundown Lady" album. Hall was the main vocalist for Sergio Mendes and the Brasil 66 and probably most famously known for her cover of the Look of Love. She later went to on to record her own solo albums and marry A & M owner Herb Alpert. A great deal of her work is too mellow for me, but "Love Song" strikes a fantastic balance.

Lyrics

1-"Kiss of My Life" - Sade
2-"Rockin' You Eternally" - Leon Ware
3-"I Believe When I Fall In Love" - Stevie Wonder
4-"Inside My Love" - Minnie Riperton
5-"Meaning of Love" - Karin Krog
6-"Isley Brothers" - For the Love of You
7-"Love Song" - Lani Hall

Don't forget to check out the other lists here.

v-day lovesong challange [songs: #6]

Fender rhodes perfection. Smoother than a gentle breeze, Flowin’ through my mind with ease.

1-"Kiss of My Life" - Sade
2-"Rockin' You Eternally" - Leon Ware
3-"I Believe When I Fall In Love" - Stevie Wonder
4-"Inside My Love" - Minnie Riperton
5-"Meaning of Love" - Karin Krog
6-"Isley Brothers" - For the Love of You

Don't forget to check out the other lists here.

v-day lovesong challange [songs: #5]

Norwegian jazz vocalist contributes #5 on our countdown. The soft and lovely vocals wash perfectly over the vaguely latin rhythms and Steve Swallow's mighty electric bass. "Meaning of Love" appears on Krog's 1974 album "We Could Be Flying" which was a landmark departure from her more standard jazz work.

1-"Kiss of My Life" - Sade
2-"Rockin' You Eternally" - Leon Ware
3-"I Believe When I Fall In Love" - Stevie Wonder
4-"Inside My Love" - Minnie Riperton
5-"Meaning of Love" - Karin Krog

Don't forget to check out the other lists here.

v-day lovesong challange [songs: #4]

Minnie Riperton's beautiful rendition of "Inside My Love" showcases her insane upper register vocal abilities as well as her more subtle phrasing. The song is perhaps best known for it's not so covertly sensual lyrics. Inside My Love" is a shining example of Leon Ware's penchant for double entendre.





"Here he talks about his original meaning for the song "Inside My Love" and of his 'religiously nasty' sensuality."

Minnie Riperton was also the voice of Rotary Connection and "Inside My Love" was notably sampled on A Triple Called Quest's "Lyrics To Go" and on Tupac's "Me Against The World."

1-"Kiss of My Life" - Sade
2-"Rockin' You Eternally" - Leon Ware
3-"I Believe When I Fall In Love" - Stevie Wonder
4-"Inside My Love" - Minnie Riperton

Don't forget to check out the other lists here.

v-day lovesong challange [songs: #3]

Even though I still have strange Pavlovian associations with this song and that scene in John Cusack's High Fidelity, I won't let that stop me from putting it on the list.

Stevie Wonder is the master of crafting songs that are both incredibly sad and uplifting at the same time. Ever read the lyrics to Lately before? The original and the Jodeci version are stunning. In fact, it would have made the list but fell just short of the original rules of the challenge.

But I digress! Back to "I Believe When I Fall In Love":

Shattered dreams, worthless years,
Here am I encased inside a hollow shell,
Life began, then was done,
Now I stare into a cold and empty well

The many sounds that meet our ears
the sights our eyes behold,
Will open up our merging hearts,
And feed our empty souls

I believe when I fall in love with you it will be forever,
I believe when I fall in love this time it will be forever

1-"Kiss of My Life" - Sade
2-"Rockin' You Eternally" - Leon Ware
3-"I Believe When I Fall In Love" - Stevie Wonder

Don't forget to check out the other lists here.

Lazer Sword | XLR8R [video]

Lazer Sword is one of the few groups from this burgeoning genre I can continually listen to. Check out their new interview with XLR8R TV.

"San Francisco-based duo Lazer Sword might be known for marrying hip-hop, electro, dubstep, and even new age music together in their much blogged-about tracks, but even united visionaries have creative spats. Since these two channel beats from the future, it only makes sense that they settle differences in a way that future generations will likely see as the key to conflict-resolution: laser tag."

Permalink: http://xlr8r.com/tv/92

Desperate Man Blues [video]

Desperate Man Blues is a movie about a guy who has been collecting 78 rpm records since the 40's. Except he's not your *normal* neurotic shifty eyed collector. Far from it. Watch the whole movie streaming at Pitchfork, sans extras (for a limited time). Or buy the DVD for the additional footage.

Such a great movie. I watched this when it first came out on dvd. Joe Brussard is my hero! He's like a little kid when he listens to music, tapping his feet and dancing around, a huge smile across his face. Joe Bussard is the personification of what music provides us at it's best. He represents the undefinable joy that can bring us back in time, make us hit pause and rewind, or simply sit in awe, drinking it all in.

"In this film director Edward Gillen tells the story of renowned 78 collector Joe Bussard. His library of 25,000+ rare sides-- blues, gospel, folk, and more-- forms an essential archive of American music from the 1920s and 30s."

http://pitchfork.tv/week/desperate-man-blues

v-day lovesong challange [songs: #2]

Since I am so far behind I will be back dating my entries. Leon Ware is the oft overlooked singer song writer, responsible for producing Marvin Gaye's album "I Want You," along with a slew of other exquisite downtempo productions. *Rockin You Eternally was recently reworked by Dwele, Jazzanova, and Ware here. But nothing compares to the original. Once you hear those opening bars, your hooked!



1-"Kiss of My Life" - Sade
2-"Rockin' You Eternally" - Leon Ware

Link to the other participants here

v-day lovesong challange [songs: #1]

Time to play catch up.

We've decided to take part in Lofa's Valentine "Love Songs" challenge. Basically a bunch of us will be posting V-Day love songs from different genres for your listening pleasure. The countdown was supposed to start on Feb 1 and tick down to the big day.

I know Kavet has the rap love songs on lock, not sure what Lofa, Nicole, Mr. J of Atypicalliving.com, or Shaun Castro have in the works? Visit Lofa's blog to links to everyone else. I'm thinking of going with a mix of old and new, some hard to find, and other jams common to middle school dances.

And now without further adu!

Sade's Kiss of Life is love song perfection. "When I was led to you, I knew you were the one for me, I swear the whole world could feel my heartbeat, When I lay eyes on you, You wrapped me up in, The colour of love,You gave me the kiss of life, Kiss of life."





1-"Kiss of My Life" - Sade