I always loved the Quincy Jones-composed theme song to 70s sitcom Sanford and Son, but up until a few minutes ago I'd never heard the entire piece: three minutes and six seconds of delightfully infectious, playfully bright instrumental pop-funk. It's called
The Streetbeater, and its creative and ever-changing arrangement includes snippets of the rarely heard bass harmonica. The piece is just a hella lotta fun.
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posted by flapjax at midnite
on May 6, 2011 -
70 comments
If you were to ask me "What is the most
artistic drum solo you've ever heard?", I'd say "You mean the one with the most exquisite sense of dynamics? One that doesn't bludgeon you over the head, but instead pulls you in with its subtlety and restraint? Where masterful technique is purely at the service of
musicality? That best conveys a musical vision and a deep understanding of the interrelationships of percussive timbre and tone that make up that remarkable instrument we call the drum set?" You'd say "Yeah." I'd say
this.
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posted by flapjax at midnite
on Sep 24, 2010 -
49 comments
Harmonic Visualization Bob Jones is finally making more musics. Here are some of his latest work. Make sure to look at the Harmonic Visualization before (and durning) listening to the piece. It really allows for a richer experience.
posted by Olive Oil
on Dec 9, 2009 -
9 comments
Asra Q. Nomani writes in The Wall Street Journal on Sherry Jones's new historical novel, "
The Jewel of Medina" about Aisha, the young wife of the prophet Muhammad. Random House has pulled the book for fears of a political and extremist nature.
In a statement, Random House said: "We stand firmly by our responsibility to support our authors and the free discussion of ideas, even those that may be construed as offensive by some. However, a publisher must weigh that responsibility against others that it also bears, and in this instance we decided, after much deliberation, to postpone publication for the safety of the author, employees of Random House Inc, booksellers and anyone else who would be involved in distribution and sale of the book."
Over at the
Guardian, you can read more about the controversy.
posted by Fizz
on Aug 12, 2008 -
140 comments
One fine old day in old LA, in the year of nineteen and sixty, one Frederick Usher met
Eddie "One String" Jones, heard him lay down some deep blues on his
diddley bow, and was so taken with Jones'
monochord masterpieces that he ran home, grabbed his tape recorder and recorded Jones in the alley. One other recording session ensued soon thereafter, which was
released as an LP in 1964. By that time, however, the mysterious Eddie Jones (if that was even his real name) was long gone, and was never heard from again.
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posted by flapjax at midnite
on May 24, 2008 -
22 comments
If you've seen
clips of Bo Diddley performances from the early 60s, you'll surely have noticed the presence of one or more female guitarists on stage, churning out that chunky six-string rhythm alongside the esteemed Mr. Diddley. Might've been
Lady Bo that you've seen or heard, or it might've been
The Duchess. Either way, hats off to some fine guitarists: women who filled a job category generally reserved (especially at that time) for the menfolk.
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posted by flapjax at midnite
on Mar 4, 2008 -
13 comments
Sex and the College Girl, by Norah Johnson A view from an educated woman in the 1950s: "Two criticisms rise above the rest: people in college are promiscuous, for one thing, and, for another, they are getting married and having children too early. These are interesting observations because they contradict each other."
posted by shivohum
on Nov 20, 2007 -
24 comments
Beatrice Coron is a paper cutting artist, who has a wonderful collection of paper cutting links, including images of
her own work, the extraordinary cut paper art of
Hina Aoyama,
Kako Ueda,
Masaaki Tatsumi,
Virginia Rose Kane,
Drew King,
Rick Jones,
Andrea Dezsö,
Bette Burgoyne,
Justine Smith and papercutting art from
around the world.
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posted by nickyskye
on Sep 30, 2007 -
12 comments
