When discussing the great hip-hop producers of all time, certain names come up repeatedly; Dr. Dre, DJ Premier, Pete Rock. All are deserving of the respect sent their way. There are others, though, who are just as talented and influential, but don’t get as many props. One of those producers is Muggs, best known as… Read More “How I Could Just Kill A Man” by Cypress Hill (1991)
Don Henley and co. don’t allow their music on YouTube, first of all, so the video I post will be of Rene & Angela’s “yacht soul” cover of “Hotel California”, which I discovered last year on the Beyond Yacht Rock podcast and I enjoy very much. Besides, you’ve most likely heard the O.G. “Hotel California”… Read More “Hotel California” by Eagles (1976)
Here are two songs that split the difference between rock and disco. The Stones’ “Hot Stuff” is a showcase for some smoking guitar by Keith Richards. I must admit I haven’t paid much attention to Keef as a guitarist, but he is smoking here. There’s also some fantastic interplay between the rhythm section of Bill… Read More “Hot Stuff” by The Rolling Stones (1976)/”Hot Stuff” by Donna Summer (1979)
Believe it or not, I did not listen to very much classic rock radio growing up. My folks pretty much kept the dial on R&B radio (with occasional excursions into reggae and adult contemporary/easy listening) and, left to my own devices, I did the same with a heavy concentration of whatever was on the Top… Read More “Hey Joe” by The Jimi Hendrix Experience (1966)/”Hey Jude” by The Beatles (1968)
Disco gets derided sometimes for the simplicity of its most visible songs and artists. As I said in my last post, sometimes simple is good. Throw what’s essentially a nursery rhyme on top of a stone groove, and the result can be glorious. Another case in point; “Get Down Tonight” by K.C. & The Sunshine… Read More “Get Down Tonight” by K.C. & The Sunshine Band (1975)
Stop me if I’ve told this story before… During the three years I lived with my mom and stepdad in Michigan, I was not allowed to buy music or even go into record stores. I was already exhibiting characteristics of being a music nerd, and the fact that I couldn’t do this thing that brought… Read More “Get Back” by The Beatles with Billy Preston (1969)
I’m not sure how many multi-artist soundtracks have more than one song rated five stars by me. Just writing these entries is an undertaking; I wouldn’t want to spread these even further out by crunching numbers in the interest of presenting fun yet inconsequential facts. At any rate, there will be a second Flashdance song… Read More “Flashdance…What A Feeling” by Irene Cara (1983)
Here’s a song I don’t have a lot to say about. It’s very pretty. Roberta Flack doesn’t get a lot of credit as a great interpreter of lyrics. Mainly because there’s still a little thing in my head that says “she writes all her own songs”, yet the three songs I most associate with her… Read More “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” by Roberta Flack (1972)
There are some people you just can’t picture in a sexual sense. Roberta Flack is one of those people. Her music, to me, has always felt chaste. When I discovered Flack’s music, she was already in middle age, so the image I’ve painted of her in my head has always been matronly. She’s only a… Read More “Feel Like Makin’ Love” by Roberta Flack (1974)
Back to back George, huh? Guess what? There’s a lot of subtext going on in the lyrics here too. George wants his lover to think of him as a protective figure, like a parent would be. “I will be the one who loves you till the end of time” he vows. That makes his whispery… Read More “Father Figure” by George Michael (1987)
Five Star Jamz 