Janelle Monae has been busy since the release of
The Chase EP, the first of four "suites" that make up her genre-bending epic set in the distant future. She's been
"discovered" by Diddy, continued to find
inspiration in
unexpected places, founded an
artists' collective in her adopted hometown of Atlanta, and found time to
speak to Vogue about her singular sense of style. Somewhere in there, she's also recorded the next two parts of the Metropolis Suite, titled
The Archandroid (which is out today), put out a
teaser for the album, and also the video for the first single, Tightrope. [more inside]
posted by heeeraldo
on May 18, 2010 -
24 comments
Dennis Coffey was one of the most prolific Detroit session and solo guitarists. His revamped site features a couple phenomenal podcasts of his music and interviews.
posted by klangklangston
on Mar 25, 2010 -
8 comments
YouTube user BeyondBodyAndSoul Collectors of rare funk & soul records on the internet are a dime a dozen, few have come close to the generosity and beat-digging wizardry of YouTube user & Philly resident BeyondBodyAndSoul. Enjoy!
1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6
posted by inquilab
on Sep 5, 2009 -
16 comments
Soul Train (
wiki) has a youtube channel. Lots of great performances here, but in particular I recommend
The O'Jays,
Sly and The Family Stone,
Stevie Wonder,
The Stairsteps, and the
Jackson 5. What really makes it worth watching though are the clips of the Soul Train Line dancing to hits of the day, artists like
The O'Jay,
Curtis Mayfield,
War, and
The JB's.
posted by phrontist
on Aug 31, 2009 -
25 comments
Soul! New York City PBS affiliate WNET have digitized 9 episodes of
Soul!, a early 1970's live music program, providing a groovy video interface with chapters to break down each hour long episode.
[more inside]
posted by myopicman
on Apr 23, 2009 -
20 comments
Kutiman, the masterful Israeli funk musician and producer, outdoes himself by creating
Thru-You: Multiple YouTube clips (mostly instructional and performance videos) edited into slick mega-mashups. They're not just patchwork assemblages, they're sample-based original creations that coud hold their own on anyone's album... Plus they're 100% audiovisual! It's a work of next-level genius.
(
sorry for the hyperbole, but my mind has just been blown)
More Kutiman
here. Music video
here. And for you Pitchfork aficionados,
here.
posted by Silky Slim
on Mar 4, 2009 -
171 comments
29 year old
Hiromi Uehara first mesmerized the jazz community with her 2003 Telarc debut, Another Mind. 4 albums later she continues to astonish and inspire. On February 3rd, she released the album
Duet, a collaboration with Chick Corea, having first played with Corea at age 17. A graduate of the
Berklee School of Music, Hiromi
tours relentlessly with her crack band. I defy your jaw not to drop at their performances
here,
here, and
here.
[more inside]
posted by Roach
on Feb 24, 2009 -
85 comments
Ain't It Funky is a BBC-produced documentary from 2005 with lots of great performance footage and interviews, as well as period footage from the civil rights era for some historical perspective. James Brown, Sly and the Family Stone, Stevie Wonder, George Clinton and many of their key sidemen are featured. Highly recommended.
part 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7 and
8. These same YT clips can also be found all together, embedded at
Funk Deli.
NOTE: Unfortunately, the audio and video are slightly out of sync on part 1. Parts 2 through 8 lock up just fine, though.
posted by flapjax at midnite
on Nov 10, 2008 -
18 comments
Regarding the 'Creole Beethoven'
Wardell Quezergue, composer, arranger, big band leader, master of Second Line funk, who brought us Earl King's
Trick Bag, the Dixie Cups'
Iko Iko and
Chapel of Love, King FLoyd's
Groove Me, Baby, Jean Knight's
Mr. Big Stuff to name but a few--not to mention
A Creole Mass--and who, later in life, survived
Katrina, to become, among other things of late, according to Home of the Groove's
Quezergue Onstage and Behind The Scenes, a street performer in the French Quarter. His is a name that ought not be forgotten.
[more inside]
posted by y2karl
on Feb 23, 2008 -
5 comments
Think
the Osmond Brothers didn't rock?
Think again.
"In spite of their squeaky clean image, the Osmonds had a soulful, sometimes raucous sound which was a precursor of the power pop of later years." Color my preconceived notions shattered.
posted by KevinSkomsvold
on Nov 12, 2007 -
89 comments
When
Conrad O. Johnson heard
Otis Redding in concert in the year 1967, he was inspired to bring the kind of explosive energy he felt from that performance to the high school band he was charged with leading. He wanted to lead not only the best high school stage band in Texas, but the best high school stage band in the world. And with the
Kashmere Stage Band, it's arguable that that's
exactly what he did. Check out the Texas Thunder Soul.
posted by flapjax at midnite
on Sep 29, 2007 -
19 comments
The author of the excellent (and
previously mentioned) 60s/70s soul music blog Funky 16 Corners has put together an awesome compilation album
available for free download, called Rubber Souled, featuring soul covers of Beatles classics; the results are intriguing, from Stevie Wonder's funked out version of We Can Work It Out to a nightmare inducing Bill Cosby cover of Sgt Peppers.
posted by jonson
on Jul 25, 2007 -
31 comments
WaxDJ.com - an excellent source for free downloads and streams of original electronic music mixes of all sorts, from seasoned pros to beginning bedroom amatuers, all told numbering in the hundreds or thousands. My current brand new favorite is the very diverse and well-versed Detriot/Chicago techno stylings of DJ
Rubsilent. Recomended mix: Future Funk 23:
(Direct MP3 link) (Streaming mp3 link) But don't let me divert you - search for your favorite local DJ or browse for new ones.
posted by loquacious
on Oct 11, 2006 -
19 comments
WeFunkRadio.com has 390 full shows available for download featuring the funk, underground hip-hop, and rare grooves that are so hard to find. BitTorrents are available for the
two most
recent shows and there's always the
audio stream and
podcasts coming at you fresh from Montréal's
CKUT radio.
posted by furtive
on Sep 16, 2005 -
16 comments
R.I.P. Lyn Collins [NYT, reg. req.] Backing singer for James Brown, whose revue she joined in 1971 (she was also the sister of his band members Bootsy and Catfish Collins), her first hit was the monster Think (About It) in 1972, one of the most sampled records in hip hop, maybe most famously in Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock's It Takes Two. (Extensive, but by no means full, list of Collins samplers
here.) Audio sample (mp3) of You Can't Love Me If You Don't respect Me
here. Brief obit and full mp3 of a great live version of Do Your Thing
here.
posted by Len
on Mar 17, 2005 -
9 comments
Yay, after the flash fest that was
Royksopp's 'Remind Me', here's anoter retro-pixel music
video (and a damn catchy choon), from
Junior Senior and it can be distributed freely too.
"A Tummy Touch-esque slab of nu-disco breaks. The single The Avalanches forgot to make, slick discoid beats, wonderful smile-inducing vocal & beats to make you throw down the funk." according to
breaksworld.com
posted by MintSauce
on Feb 27, 2003 -
7 comments
