Al Green “You Got The Love I Need” (Demo)

It was a cool, grey evening at work on 21st and Park in Manhattan. I was working for a music video and commercial production house and it was a pretty slow day. About an hour or two before I was to leave work for the night, I got an IM from ?uestlove.

“I’m in the studio with Al Green tonight!”

A few moments later, an invitation had been received, and I convinced my boss to let me out of work early.

“There are going to be execs from Blue Note records there. Maybe I can land us a deal doing a behind the scenes DVD for this project!”

It wasn’t a lie. I intended on bringing it up to the execs that were going to be there. But by the time I got there, I’d forgotten all about it. I was about to watch Al Green live in the studio!!!!!

I exited the 8th street stop on the Q train and ran the entire way to Electric Lady. After getting buzzed in, I flew up the steps and slid into the control room trying to go unnoticed. ?uesto’s then-girlfriend saw me and waved me over to where she was sitting. The four-piece band, The Randy Watson Experience, was in between songs. ?uestlove sat isolated in a drum room. James Poyser sat comfortably at the same organ Stevie Wonder used on the Music of My Mind album. Adam Blackstone stood across from James with his bass slung over his neck. The late Chalmers “Spanky” Alford sat in a chair near the door leading from the studio to the control room.

I looked around for the Reverend Al Green, but I couldn’t see him. I could hear him talking through the monitors though. I stood up to look over the mixing board and through the window. He was standing in the vocal booth. I think he may have been jotting down some lyric ideas or something.

At this stage in the project, Al’s new album was going to be a duets album, and ?uestlove was just going to produce a song or two. Fortunately, ?uesto had something else in mind.

For the next 3-4 hours, I watched and listened as 8 demos were recorded, mostly with Al freestyling lyrics off of the top of his head. 7 of the songs made it to the album in finished form, including “You Got The Love I Need.”

So yeah, the above link is exactly what was recorded that night… Compare it to the released version.

Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention “Dupree’s Paradise”

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Was all Swedish television like this in 1973?

LTJ Bukem “Horizons”

I think I first heard this song 2 years after it came out. I was in my dorm room listening to internet radio and this song came up on one of the Drum & Bass stations.

This was during that period before Napster caught on, and most file trading was still done via IRC, so it wasn’t particularly easy for me to track down this song on CD. Even though I lived in a college town, it was still in the middle of west bumblefuck, indiana. I think it took another 2 years before I finally found the album. By this point, the song was already 4 years old, but still hadn’t lost any impact. I still felt like the title of a Spiritualized album. Listening to it nearly 10 years after I first heard it, nothing’s changed.

How exactly did this song change my life? Dunno if it can be put in to words, but I felt something new and different. I ain’t been the same since.

i first answered this tired old meme on myspace back in ‘06.

why not give it another go?

IF YOUR LIFE WAS A MOVIE, WHAT WOULD THE SOUNDTRACK BE?
So, here’s how it works:
1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that’s playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don’t lie and try to pretend your cool…

Opening Credits:
Prince “Old Friends 4 Sale”
That’s kinda awesome…

Waking Up:
Black Star “K.O.S. (Determination)”
This works on multiple levels…

First Day At School:
Janet Jackson “Feedback”
Huh????? Kindergarten wasn’t like this….

Falling In Love:
Al Green “I Wish You Were Here”
Yeah, I say that a lot, and 9 times out of 10, I actually mean it.

Fight Song:
Fred Wesley & The J.B.’s “Use Me”
The last time I did this, Parliament’s “Flashlight” came on. I’m involved in some pretty funky fights.

Breaking Up:
Pete Rock “Da Two” (feat. CL Smooth)
Previously, it was Heavy D & The Boyz’ “Blue Funk” which was equally nonsensical, but the rules must be followed…

Prom:
Platinum Pied Pipers “Act Like You Know” (feat. Jay Dee)
LOL. Yeah this doesn’t fit at all…

Life:
J-Live “Like This Anna”
This one fits, but as an instrumental only. It’s breezy, swings… feels good. Like life should.

Mental Breakdown:
Brand Nubian “Love Me or Leave Me Alone”
Yeah, that could definitely lead to a mental breakdown. Nahmean, nahmsayin?

Driving:
Digital Underground “Oregano Flow” (Instrumental Mix)
Circa ‘96 this woulda been sooooooooooo appropriate! I played the hell out of this album back then, and I had just gotten my license too???? Best use of a Loose Ends sample EVAR!

Flashback:
The Notorious B.I.G. “Respect”
Interesting… When this song came on, I immediately had a flashback to riding on the school bus listening to this album on my headphones

Getting Back Together:
The System “You Are In My System” (Extended Mix)
I like this one. Ever had someone you just couldn’t get out of your system?

Wedding:
Mint Condition “My High”
Funky wedding…. with steel drums too. Errm… okay.

Birth of Child:
Miles Davis “Ah-Leu-Cha” (Alternate Take)
I’ll take this one… cuz I will make sure my children are well versed in Miles and ‘Trane.

Final Battle:
Men At Work “Land Down Under”
LMMFAO!

Death Scene:
Sa-Ra “Glorious”
Wow, this one could be taken in so many different ways. Either way, sounds like I’m going out in a blaze of glory!

Funeral Song:
Janet Jackson “I Get Lonely” (TNT Remix)
Does get kinda lonely 6 feet deep, i guess… but why the Blackstreet remix???

End Credits:
The Cyrkle “Cloudy”
“Cloudy… the sky is grey and white and cloudy… Sometimes I think it’s hanging down on me.”

I’m MAD late, but DJ Stylus tagged me…

“List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they’re not any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now, shaping your spring or summer. Post these instructions in your blog along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they’re listening to.”

1. Solange “Cosmic Journey” (feat. Bilal)
* The O.G. version where she pulls a Ghostface over Zero 7’s “Polaris.” There’s two other versions in existence, one is a weird euro-pop/hi-nrg crapfest, the other is a remix done by Bilal himself. “Polaris” by itself was one of the highlights from Zero 7’s debut LP, and Solange and Bilal did it justice!

2. Dam-Funk “Galactic Fun”
* B-Side Wins Again! Unless you’re part of Metro Area, there’s no reason to try and do an 80s throwback record after this dude drops his full length. Seriously. Haven’t been this hyped about anything on Stones Throw since Madvillain and Jaylib.

3. Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express “Beginning Again”
* First heard this on Madlib’s Mind Fusion 2 mix. This song makes me wanna go on a cross country road trip

4. Lloyd “Lose Control” (feat. Nelly)
* First album wasn’t even on my radar. Second album got my attention thanks to “You” and the unofficial 1 O.A.K. remix of “Get It Shawty.” But this cut right here? I sent it to DeePhunk of Treesforbreakfast.com and he pretty much echoed my own sentiments that if Michael Jackson hadn’t gone off the deep end and put this track out, he’d be back on top.

5. Jesse Boykins III “Tabloids” (Machinedrum Remix)
* The original is dope by itself. It’s got a real smooth and sexy Vikter Duplaix-esque feel to it, but this remix takes it to a whole other level. Glitchy in all the right places, yet still smooth and sexy enough that you can put it on your seduction playlist.

6. Raphael Saadiq “Sure Hope You Mean It”
* I got my grubby paws on an advance of Ray Ray’s new album The Way I See It awhile back, and the album opener had me from the very first note. Classic late 50’s/early 60’s doo-wop feel. Sounds like it was recorded 50-some-odd years ago. It’s also worth noting that when I was preparing to type this, I accidentally wrote “Sam Cooke” instead of “Raphael Saadiq.”

7. Deee-Lite “Electric Shock”
* Classic early 90’s NYC house track right here. Makes me wanna go to the Palladium…. or to a Michael Alig party.

Damn, already?

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Leschea “Fulton Street”

I was reading a post on Okayplayer.com about Masta Ace Incorporated and remembered this song from a member of the crew. Leschea’s album dropped on Warner Bros, i think, and featured a modest (and that’s being generous) hit with the tune linked above.

It’s a personal favorite, and always makes me think of summertime.

And if you’re in NYC it’s definitely feeling like summer right now. I’m wearing shorts at work. And if you know me personally, you should know that I rarely wear shorts outside the house, let alone at WORK.