346: “Loran’s Dance” by Idris Muhammad
February 8, 2016 Leave a comment
To be happy is to be able to become aware of oneself without fright.
-Walter Benjamin
To be happy is to be able to become aware of oneself without fright.
Song: Loran’s Dance
343: “Funkier Than A Mosquito’s Tweeter” by Nina Simone
January 17, 2016 Leave a comment
Love and hate have a magical transforming power. They are the great soul changers. We grow through their exercise into the likeness of what we contemplate.
-George William Russell
Song: Funkier Than A Mosquito’s Tweeter
Artist: Nina Simone
Album: It Is Finished
Label: Sony
328: “The Rich (And The Poor)” by Keith Jarrett
February 27, 2014 Leave a comment
from arttattler.com
What can YOU do with your body? Yeah, maybe you can jump. Maybe you can dance. Maybe you can do everything it takes to live a transcendental life in a material world.
But can you sneeze just by thinking about it? Probably not. You most likely have to tickle your nose or pluck a nose hair to elicit a sneeze from your body machine.
In a sneeze event, your body takes control and makes some serious, multiple-horsepower adjustments to your run-of-the-mill exhalation. It’s your body’s involuntary, evolutionary, survival reflexes that make your superhuman sneeze an everyday event… caused by a simple, tickling trigger. Which begs the questions:
What else could you achieve with this body you wear,
if you knew how to tickle out other “sneeze events” from it?
Could you lift a car?
Could you leap higher than holy globbit?
Could you make the world around you a better place with your attitude, your effort, and your smile?
Could you do what you couldn’t do before, because you didn’t have the strength?
I think you could. And I think we can.
We need to tickle our metaphorical nose hairs, and pluck a few if we’re desperate! Because there is secret power inside us all, inside our body machines and inside our mind machines. Our role model is as familiar as the noses on our faces and faster than a speeding locomotive, excluding the mag-lev ones.
What kind of sneezes are inside you, just waiting for the right tickle?
~~
Bullet: Here’s a classic Keith Jarrett track that I groove to while I center my Chi and eat Krystal burgers with mayonnaise fries. It’s called “The Rich (And The Poor)” and rigorous, independent lab tests concur this song encourages healthy digestion with clean, liberating movements.
Bullet: Here’s a list of the elements resulting in the eruptive exhalation called “Treasure Island“ (1974): Keith Jarrett played piano. Dewey Redman played tenor saxophone. Charlie Haden played bass. Paul Motian played drums & percussion. The surging plume is superhuman. Listen closely to hear Keith letting go of some woo’s during his piano solo between the 2 and 3 minute marks.
Bullet: Enjoy.
Song: The Rich (And The Poor)
Artist: Keith Jarrett
Album: Treasure Island
Label: GRP
Buy from: Amazon | iTunes
Listen: MOG | Rdio | Spotify | YouTube
298: “The Spark Of Life” by Todd Rundgren
September 17, 2012 Leave a comment
Todd Rundgren invented the aglet, so most people who have heard of Todd Rundgren know him as the founding father of the aglet industry.
But in fact, Todd Rundgren is a prolific songwriter, producer, artist, midwife, and bounty hunter. “Bang The Drum All Day” is the Rundgren track most likely to have earwormed you, but there is oh so much more to this shoelace maven.
The track I’ve handpicked for you is one any jamband would feel at home cracking off for its spinning sycophants. “The Spark Of Life” is indulgent, absurd, and beautiful. It’s a six-and-a-half-minute instrumental with wailing guitar and psychedelic intro, but it’s also laden with synths, 80’s-sounding electronic effects, and a drum machine trussing the architecture. Remember that this sound was created in 1974 on Todd.
Rundgren has always been diverse like the universe, and constantly pushing the edges of his music and art. He was one of the first artists aired on MTV, and one of the first musicians with a website (he still maintains his own site)… way before MySpace. This guy has done more with his time than stare at his shoelaces.
Find your inspiration, and enjoy.
Song: The Spark Of Life
Artist: Todd Rundgren
Album: Todd
Label: Rhino
Buy from: Amazon | iTunes
Listen: MOG | Spotify
Watch: YouTube
241: “Tell Me Something Good” by Rufus
December 9, 2011 Leave a comment
It’s Friday. Looks like a 7-beer sunset.
“Tell Me Something Good” was the funky plea from Rufus, led by none other than Chaka Khan.
It’s about time to ask Santa for something.
Enjoy.
Song: Tell Me Something Good
Artist: Rufus
Album: The Very Best of Rufus
Label: Geffen
Listen: MOG
Buy from: Amazon | iTunes
Watch: YouTube
173: “Funky Black Man” by Earnest Jackson, “Funky DJ” by Fried Chicken
March 29, 2011 Leave a comment
I first heard samples of both these songs before I heard the songs themselves (See live DJ Shadow / Cut Chemist collaboration, Brain Freeze (1999)). I state this as evidence that sampling a song is a great way of preserving it. See pasteurization, freehand sketches.
The original is “Funky Black Man” by Earnest Jackson (1974), and the “remake” is “Funky DJ” by Fried Chicken (1976). Here’s a blog post from a dude with more to say on the topic.
Trip out on these classics, venerating the nobility of the funky black man, as well as the social benefaction of the funky radio deejay.
Respect.
Enjoy.
Song: Funky Black Man
Artist: Earnest Jackson
Album: Funky Black Man: Vintage Soul Cuts
Label: Tuff City
Buy from: Amazon
Watch: YouTube
~
Song: Funky DJ
Artist: Fried Chicken
Watch: YouTube
118a: “Look A Py Py > Jungle Man” by The Meters
November 23, 2010 Leave a comment
Uncle Funk's Catalogue 