Happy Winter (including a special holiday triple threat)

Hello, kiddies.

Welcome once again to Winter (at least here on the right coast)… We’ll see how it goes. With all new heating appliances recently installed, it should actually be quite efficient where the pocketbook is concerned… and as I have said so many times before, winter also means another hella hectic holidaze (dusting off the Grinch gear)…

I intend to make the best of it, including another birthday celebration in a little over a week.

Now this is gonna be another one of those huge posts, complete with not one but THREE new offerings to get you through just like I promised. I’m sorry I didn’t get the chance to do a Thanksgiving special this time (what is that thing they call “real life issues” anyway), but consider this a special holiday triple threat nonetheless. Come hungry and read on…

First up is another super-sized helping from my friend Tony C. I really can’t call him a guest this time though, because as the long-standing tradition in my family’s respective households goes, once you’ve visited us more than three times, you’ve become a member of the family with most of the perks that go with it. Help yourself as it were. Drop in anytime and all that. Tony did indeed drop by.

Hello, Firstly many thanks to Vincent for allowing me back into the new and improved Soul Kitchen. This latest mix is one that I thought about in the Summer when the 40th Anniversary of the Apollo Moon landings were being acknowledged and it has taken me until now to get it sorted. ‘Real life issues’ as they say in (the blogisphere)… and you ain’t never lied, Tony… we’re all feeling that. Anyway here is “Space: The Vinyl Frontier!!”, an eclectic mix of Cosmic tunes and Voices. Enjoy!!

Cheers Tony C.

Please download and enjoy Space: The Vinyl Frontier!!, 94 MB. As always, it’s a pleasure to have you drop by with the heat, Tony. Much respect.

That’s the first one…

The next one is a little something I finished yesterday, not necessarily on the fly. As you all should know, this month marked the fifth anniversary of everybody’s favourite Soul museum, the legendary Funky 16 Corners… Well, I’d say about four years ago was the first time I ever visited when volume twelve of the radio podcast series first dropped. Check out the archive if you need a refresher. It was then that I was forever hooked… on the blog… and on the mighty Hammond. With that said, here’s my tribute to both… Yep, that’s right, another collection of mega-groovy organ-type workouts that have in some cases, been in the pantry for many, many years.

01 Also Sprach Zarathustra-Rhoda Scott

02 Tomorrow Is The First Day Of The Rest Of My Life (from Salvation) (excerpt)-The Free Design

03 Turtle Walk-Lou Donaldson

04 Comin’ Home Baby-El Chicano

05 Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf-The Graham Bond Organisation

06 Good Groove-Booker T & The MG’s

07 Organ Blower-Keith Mansfield/Alan Hawkshaw

08 Don’t Touch My Popcorn-Diplomats Of Solid Sound

09 The Commerce Thang-Chamber Of Commerce

10 Sock It To Me-The Deacons

11 Pygmy-The Delegates

12 Soul Circle-Spot & The Blotters

13 Tippi Toes-The Meters

14 I Know Who You Been Socking It To-Dave Cortez

15 Kiko-Jimmy McGriff

16 This Little Girl Of Mine-The Peddlers

17 Spill The Wine-Jimmy Smith

18 Sahara ‘72-The Bobby Hughes Experience

19 There You Go-Fania All Stars

20 The Greasy Spoon-Hank Marr

21 Chalito Pt. 1-The Three J’s

22 Hot Funky And Sweaty-The Soul Lifters

23 Soul Zone ‘65-Googie Rene

Please also download More Organic Fufu, 95 MB.

I ain’t done yet…

Here’s one that was really, really done on-the fly about two weeks ago. This time, the premise was a rather fast-paced collection of hodgepodge. It really feels good when I slap this one in the truck and put the pedal to the floor (at least when the authorities ain’t lookin’)… If you’ve got a need for speed and a lead foot like I do, then I think you’ll dig this thing that I call

01 Move Move Move-Alan Parker-Alan Hawkshaw

02 What Would It Be Like Pt. 2-Freddie Wilson

03 My Mind set Me Free Pts. 1&2-The Houseguests

04 Heavy Heavy Heavy-Geraldo Pino

05 You Got It All-City Council, LTD

06 Don’t Let Go-The Graham Bond Organisation

07 The Love Bounce-Johnny Cool

08 Let’s Do That Thing-Flip Flop Stevens

09 Soul Poppin’-Johnny Jones & The King Casuals

10 Tighten Up Tighter-Roosevelt Matthews

11 Solid Funk-Flame & The Sons Of Darkness

12 Blow Your Top-The Soul Destroyers

13 Speedway-Nick Ingman

14 There Was-The Naturall Band

15 Take Five-Kashmere Stage Band

16 Hardheaded Woman-US Warren

17 Banana Fana-The Jaguars

18 Nothin’ But A Party Pt. 2-The Blenders

19 The Mystery Track???

20 Jenkins Got A Funky Thing-The Cal Jenkins Revue

21 Shake What Your Momma Gave You-Allison & Calvin Turner

22 Hugh’s Hefner-Diplomats Of Solid Sound

23 Boogaloo Investigator-The Exotics

24 Too Many Fish In The Sea-Earl Van Dyke

25 Noise With The Boys-Al White & The Highlighters

Please download and enjoy Speed Freaks too, 94 MB.

Whew! That was a mouthful to say the least. Now my truck is satisfied, and I hope that you are too. I’m gonna commence to prepare to get ready for Thanksgiving and the rest of the holidaze now. I did give Sandy Claw my wish list though, not that it’s any surprise what I asked for I’ve got another three weeks to get through in this term, and then I can start thinking about the third anniversary of my little corner of the bolgisphere. For those of you with Thanksgiving plans, be sure to eat a lot first of all… Have a great day, and whatever you do, do it good. And even if Thanksgiving isn’t in your scheme of things to do this Thursday… as long as you have health, happiness and friends to share a good day, then my wishes for you all have come true. Last thought:

“Smoke steams from under the lid that’s on the pot,
ain’t never had a lot but thankful for the little that I got…”

– Cee-Lo Green, 1994

Have a good week full of fun(k), and as always, please be safe.

Peace and blessings.

P.S. To everyone who lent a hand this time, I give a BIG round of thanks and much respect. Any thoughts, kids??? I’d love to hear from you. Thank you so much for your continued patronage.

Here’s your Damn! update (and other news)…

Hello, kiddies…

For those of you keeping score, the 4BB/Damn! remix contest is in full effect. We received over 20 quality entries from some Damn! fine remixers which are up and available to stream over at 4BB Weekly. I’m keeping my vote a secret for now, but you can certainly drop by, check ‘em out and cast a vote for your favourite

Big thanks once again to Pope Records/Universal Music, Music Super Circus, and of course, to Damn! for allowing us the privilege to bring this contest to the masses. These cats deserve to be heard, in fact, you can now pick up their latest offering. “Let’s Zoom In” at the mighty Dusty Groove America! In addition, the exclusive Headstone EP is still available too… grab yours before it’s too late

In other news, I am feverishly working on several things right now whilst still trying to maintain a perfect average this term… Look for at least three new joints to drop here real soon, including a new one from my friend Tony C, and a tribute to my esteemed colleague and hero, none other that the mighty Larry Grogan who as most of you should know by now recently celebrated FIVE YEARS of consistent blogging perfection! A true feat indeed, which only a few can say they’ve reached. Big congratulations to you, keep up the tremendous work!

Oh yeah, I also bought some more new 45’s…

Until the next time we meet, have fun(k), and as always, please be safe.

Peace and blessings.

Come and get it… Fufu Stew No. 13

Hello, kiddies.

How’s about the new header image… Now I am learning how to create fractals, so you’ll be seeing a whole lot more.

I cooked up another plate of guitar laden goodies on the fly for the fine folks at jemsite.com tonight. I am thinking that this will probably be a regular thing, as my pal Ava tells me that they seem to dig my last couple of visits there. It feels good to be wanted… I’m only kidding, I enjoy the opportunity to fix up a new mix when I have the chance. Sadly I don’t have nearly as many chances as I used to, so I am glad for the time I do get to spend. With that said, let’s get to eatin’. Here’s my latest freeform exercise, chock full of more new discoveries and a few old friends…

01 Introspeak/Yadig? (excerpt)-James Gang
02 All Blues-The Soulful Strings
03 Psychodale-Alan Moorehouse
04 You Got Me Mama-Hayes Ware
05 Jumpin’ Jimmy-Jimmy Reed
06 Hard Time-The Tremeloes
07 Fleetwood Mac-Fleetwood Mac
08 Who’s Gonna Buy-The Lemon Drops
09 Time For A Change-Mel Brown
10 Little Mama-Luis Gasca
11 1 – 2 – 5-The Haunted
12 Drugs-The Gift
13 Crawl Y’all-Black Smoke
14 Action Painting-The Ricketts
15 Rock Me Baby-Apple
16 Black Gold-Philip Upchurch
17 The Stars That Play With Laughing Sam’s Dice-Jimi Hendrix
18 Get Off Your Ass And Jam-Funkadelic
19 I Said, She Said, Ah Cid-The Animated Egg
20 Guitar Blues Odyssey: From Roots To Fruits-Quincy Jones
21 Slo Fuse-Johnny Otis

Please download and enjoy Fufu Stew No. 13, 93 MB

As always, if you’d rather have a single file in this case, then please visit jemsite.com…

Thanks and praises to Fix It In The Mix, Fuzzy Wasabi, The North East Beast and Small Town Pleasures for their benevolence… much respect.

and now for the closing commentary…

I’m not altogether sure, but I’ll try and make a new Thanksgiving Day post this year. As amazing as it seems, folks are still gorging on the one from 2007. I’ll leave it up for one last season so if you didn’t already get your fill, don’t sleep!

As time draws closer to another round of midterms, it’ll be a tough go, but I’ll do my best. With that said, time to crack the books open some more… Until the next time, happy hallowe’en, have fun(k) and as always, please be safe.

Peace and blessings.

To have and have not part three (including a new Funk Fix)…

I screwed up the order in which all these posts were supposed to read… There are three new ones to see so please read on.

Hello, kiddies.

The respite quickly came to a close because I did not get anything done. The respite quickly came to a close because most of it was spent at work, to earn money that I’ll never see. The respite quickly came to a close… and now I am back to the ol’ grind of burying my nose in books.

In spite of my procrastination, I did get to do some type of sorting out the pantry if you want to call it that. With botanical refreshment at my beckoned call, I sampled a variety of things that have been on ice for months, or just recently picked up at the farmers’ market. When I sat down to feast, Needless to say, my head was nodding throughout. I believe that an enjoyable experience such as this should be served up and dished out for your aural consumption. Thank you to everyone who helped to fuel this experience, through your various means and methods. I will only take the credit for the order in which I present these amazing tidbits to you, and for the feeling I received from it. Without further ado, the time has come for a little bit of Smokin’ and Compin’. Light up!

01 Now is the Time-Darrow Fletcher
02 Get-to Funk-Duralcha
03 Solid Funk-Sugarman Three
04 Soul Strokes-Sidney Pinchback
05 Love In Them There Hills-The Vibrations
06 Clockwise Revolution-Sunrise Movement
07 Closed Mind- Different Bags
08 The Push And Pull- Sons Of Slum
09 Music Man Pt. 2-Pleasure Web
10 Tuane-Hammer
11 Flim Flam (Instrumental)-Lee Fields
12 Jam For Jack-Maxayn
13 Gimme Shelter-Maxayn
14 Valdez In The Country-The Soulful Strings
15 Acid-Ray Barretto
16 Chilli Fried-Deep Street Soul
17 Cheeba Cheeba-The Mighty Tomcats
18 J.R-New World
19 Moonshine Heather Takin’ Care Of Business-Parliament
20 Big Black Funky Slave-Eddie Simpson
21 Chitlin’ Strut-Backyard Heavies
22 The Whole Thang-Big Barney
23 Compin’ & Smokin’-Calypso King and The Soul Investigators

Please download and enjoy Smokin’ and Compin’, 92 MB.

I dug out enough to make more, so If you’re game keep reading. Until the next time we meet, have fun(k), and as always, please be safe.

Peace and blessings.

please visit and support 4BB Weekly… and don’t forget Fufu Stew Too…

Those were the days (including Misspent Childhood)

Hello, kiddies.
As I remain under the grip of severe procrastination, I eventually spent the three weeks of respite not doing much of anything. I had a bit of a mishap during a dig for some more of my dusty 8ties records the other day which further put a kink in my plan (can you say “Murphy’s Law” boys and girls???). I sat and watched four shelves full of vinyl alomst come crashing to the ground. Luckily, I was there to prevent certain catastrophe. If I wanted to dig through stacks now, I wouldn’t know where to begin anyway. At least I was able to whip together something nice. You’re welcome to take a chance…

This is something that may or may not happen only once here in the kitchen. It’s been a while, but I will quickly bring you up to speed… when we last left off, I was a tween-ager, I had discovered the fine art crate digging, and had gotten punished by my mom for a pretty serious act. In any event, my soul records were taken away from me, leaving me forced to get my music fix from television, usually in the form of American Bandstand or of course, Soul Train. Then, a miracle happened. It was on the 1st August 1981… everybody remembers by now, I’m sure. Well, I remember when MTV was doing test airings a few days before the rocket launched for the first time. I can remember being discouraged by the lack of Soul videos, but I was equally astonished to discover what I considered to be the alternative… New Wave. This is just a small sample of a few of my all time favourite hits and misses, cherished memories and sad regrets of that period in time known as the 8ties. If you were a fan of this stuff at all back in the day, then chances are you have most of these joints somewhere deep in your crates. Enjoy or not, here are more visions of my misspent childhood.

01 I Could Be Happy-Altered Images
02 Theme For Great Cities-Simple Minds
03 Love Is A Stranger-Eurythmics
04 Our Lips Are Sealed-Fun Boy Three
05 Instinction-Spandau Ballet
06 Change-Tears For Fears
07 Late Bar-Duran Duran
08 (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction-Devo
09 Life Begins At The Hop-XTC
10 Do You Wanna Hold Me-Bow Wow Wow
11 The Army Now-Art Of Noise
12 Military Rap-Deborah Harry
13 The Metro-Berlin
14 Halfway Through The Week-Martha & The Muffins
15 Mental Hopscotch-Missing Persons
16 Get Up And Go-The Go Gos
17 Town Called Malice-The Jam
18 What Difference Does It Make-The Smiths
19 Black And White (Dekadance Mix)-INXS
20 Lucky Number-Lene Lovich
21 Just Got Lucky-JoBoxers
22 Guilty (Long Version)-Classix Nouveaux

Please download and enjoy Dateline Part Four, 97 MB.

If you really like this one, then head over to Fufu Stew Too for a bonus mix.

Please read on to the next post, as I have some exciting news to lay on your ears… My esteemed colleague Lafayette turned me on to a Damn! fine band from his neck of the woods. If you like the Neo-Funk sound, then Damn! you’ve gotta head over to Four Brothers Beats! You won’t be disappointed…

See ya on the next entry

…and now, these messages

Hello, kiddies.

Please indulge me for a few paragraphs or so, because I want to send out a few shouts, praises and plugs. I can assure you, if you read this far, then you will want to continue on and pick up on the following links. I managed to forge a few more alliances, catch up with a few friends and discover some really exciting new spots while in the midst of procrastinating. Therefore, it is my duty as a card carrying member of this ever increasing universe to share what I learned with you.

Before I go another further, I’m pleased to announce that 4BB Weekly has begun another contest…

That’s right kiddies, the 4BB remix competition 2009 is under way! If you’re a beat junkie, and have the moxie to get your skills heard on a fairly large scale, then head on over and get the full skinny. While there, be sure to pick up the exclusive Headstone EP, graciously provided by our good friends Damn!,  Pope Records and Universal Music.  Big thanks to all the sponsors, and importantly, thanks to the fearless leader for bringing it all together. Nothin’ but love!

Now for the plugs…

First, let’s travel to Scotland, home of the mighty Starla Records, and also home to a new dwelling called The North East Beast. It seems as though this spot just appeared out of nowhere one day (well at least to me), but I am thrilled that I found this place. There are lots of great 45’s from the funkiest to the freakiest, served up by the host, Joe Whimster. Diggers the world over will agree that this cat has some exquisite taste, and in some cases, good luck. I am more thrilled to say that Joe has graciously agreed to “come on in my kitchen” real soon and bless us with a helping of 45 rpm goodness. There’s more to come on that note later, but I must forge ahead…

Next up is a fantastic spot to check out oodles of Garage 45’s. Dan’s Garage of Obscure Sixties Gems contains hours upon hours of curios. I must tell you, this man has lots of boxes, and his benevolence is beyond compare. He just blessed us with a fresh crop over the weekend, so please, don’t sleep…

Last night, I was digging this amazing gem of a mix. There’s four more just like it right here at Peter Beaver’s Revolution in the Headphones. I urge you not to sleep on this one either, kids.

Next, a big shoutout to Sir Psych, and an even bigger thanks for creating the incredible Sir Psych Presents. Remember, “Psychedelic Shack, that’s where it’s at”…

Let’s see, ah yes… a special public thank you to the fine folks at Phrock Blog for “helping a brother out”…

The Soul Garage… fantastic! When times are hard (and believe me, around here they really are), it’s nice to find a little comfort in nodding the head to some silly-rare 45 rpm heat. Thank you so much, gents.

Back to jolly ol’ England, where my good friend Mr. Double Down continues to celebrate The Hook And Sling’s second anniversary with even more special guest mixes from my hero, and a white hot offering of funk from Russia’s Anatoly Ice! This is the kind of stuff that ol’ Palin SHOULD be looking across the water for (I ain’t even going to go into politics here, except to say congratulations to President Obama for winning the Nobel peace Prize)… FUNKIFY YOUR LIFE!!!

My God, there’s so many more… thank you all for helping to make the world a better place. We are well on our way.

I hope that this will tide you over until I can get my shit together. Yes, how many times am I going to say that??? Real life will one day stop kicking me in the ass but until then, all I can do is forge ahead. Thank you for your time, and don’t forget to visit and support all those wonderful sites, ‘k? Another term starts today, but the efforts to make time for all my endeavours are ongoing, so I hope to bring you something new and completely different in the not too distant future. Have fun(k), and as always, please be safe.

Peace and blessings.

Happy Fall (including Head Food)…

Phase three begins now. Expect most of the major changes to take effect real soon… I hope.

Hello, kiddies.

I’d like to start the week off by wishing The Hook And Sling a happy second anniversary! I dropped yet another batch of 45s on ‘em, so if you need a good soul fix, don’t hesitate… If it’s a good dose of Psych you’re craving, read on… hehehe

Well, after another eleven weeks of painstaking studying, I can rest easy. The term paper did end up being a labour of love as I got an A PLUS!!! So for the next couple of weeks, there will be lots of rest, relaxation and RECORDS… oh yeah, and another golden opportunity to spend a little quality time with all of you.

The missus and I enjoyed another four days in Delaware during the Labour Day weekend, visiting with the in-laws. Before you say anything, it really was a nice time… relaxing and productive in the same breath. This next batch of stuff will prove just that.

As you now know, we have a couple of rituals that we go through when visiting Delaware, most notably, taking in a few hours traipsing around in Rehoboth. Thrasher’s french fries, happy hour at Catcher’s, and a stop to the hippie spots. Since I made a couple more mixes for the good folks at Sunshine Octopus and Superkind, I figured it’s only right to pass ‘em along to y’all. I haven’t gotten the psych bug out of my system yet, so here’s another Psychedelic Psupper. Once again, the learned “travel agents” have provided me with lots of “tickets”. You’ll see what I mean almost immediately. Remember, Grace Slick once told us to never forget those famous words that the doormouse uttered. With that said, here’s another plate full of

The premise, as always, is simple.

01 My Friend Jack (Jack knows)-The Smoke¹

02 Mr. Pharmacist-The Other Half

03 Vacuum Cleaner-Tintern Abbey

04 A Question Of Temperature-The Balloon Farm

05 Optical Sound-The Human Expression

06 Psyche Suki-Electronic Sounds

07 Woodstock-Turquoise

08 Hot Smoke And Sassafrass-The Bubble Puppy

09 Travel Agent Man-Sound Apparatus

10 Are You Experienced (Another Experience)-The Jimi Hendrix Experience²

11 Funky Trip-Johnny Walker

12 G.E.A.B.-Pussy

13 Slightly Delic-The House of Nimrod

14 Trip #76-The Deep

15 Moon Beams-The Magical Mixture

16 Marmalade Hair-Wimple Winch

17 Looking Glass Alice-The Bunch

18 Jefferson Airplane-Ford Theatre

19 You Can All Join In-The Orange Machine

20 Tripping Into Sunshine-T.I.M.E

21 Yes, I’m Experienced-Eric Burdon & The Animals

22 Your Head Is Reeling-Ultimate Spinach

23 Sunshine Day-Jethro Toe

24 The Room Revolves Around Me-The Oscar Bicycle

25 Trip With Me-Tides In

26 My Friend Jack (Now everybody does)-The Smoke³

Please download and enjoy Head Food, 97 MB.

Before I rush off, I guess I better get a little shameless self promotion in. Don’t forget to visit my other blog. There I have put a very special Fufu Funk Fix, and restored all the old links. Head on over and take a chance… let me know what you think.

Also, don’t forget to check out The Hook And Sling!

Have a good week, have fun(k), and as always, please be safe.

Peace and blessings.

1. This is the alternate mix, which I consider to be the beginning of the trip…

2. Listen to the guitar breakdown very carefully…

3. This is the official mix… did you all pass? I hope you’ll want more.

Getting ready for phase two (including Breakfast In Bed – Reupped)

Hello, kiddies.

It’s nice to know that you all like the new look, judging from the comments on the last post. Frankly, I don’t like it all that much, but just the same, this will probably be the way things will look from now on. Oh, except the header… watch the colours change depending on my mood each time I drop in.

I have lotsa news (and mixes) to lay on you. Before  I begin, let me state for the record that I didn’t forget about the recent milestones that have taken place over the last week or so.

First and foremost, I will shed a tear for the mighty Les Paul…

I also want to send a shoutout to the good folks who run mine and Leslie’s favourite spots in Rehoboth, Superkind and Sunshine Octopus. Whenever you’re in town, be sure to look ‘em up for all your hippie type needs… There’s a special mix up over at Fufu Stew Too related to such things. Check it out! Don’t worry, I have a reminder at the end of this post so please read on.

Segue into… Next, what about Woodstock… Some 40 years later, but it kinda feels like yesterday. I did fail to do some type of tribute for the occasion, I know. Damn near everybody else did, so I figured what could I really do that hasn’t already been done. Well, in looking at the statistics, I noticed a lot of you were directed to a post I did last summer. Then I notice that I killed the link. Dumb move! Let me rectify that now.

Breakfast In Bed… what service! (originally posted 12 July 2007)

01 Introspeak by Wavy Gravy. Remember, there really is a little bit of soulful heaven in this disaster area of day to day living as you are about to see.
Okay, here it comes… MESS CALL!
02 Wack Wack-Young Holt Trio (Brunswick).
03 Ain’t That Peculiar-Ramsey Lewis (Cadet).
04 He’s Got Your Love-Isley Brothers (T Neck).
05 Hey Mama-Willie West (Deesu)
06 Baby Do The Philly Dog-Olympics (Mirwood)
07 Eye To Eye-Titus Turner (Okeh)
08 Got To Find A Way-Harold Burrage (M-pac!)
09 I’ve Been Loving You Too Long-Cindy Scott (Veep)
10 Everybody Walking Together-Prophecy (All Platinum).
11 It’s A Groovy World-The Unifics (Kapp).
12 Keep On Keeping On-Vibrations (Okeh).
13 I Had A Dream-The Pips (Everlast).
14 Switch It On-Cliff Nobles & Co. (Phil L.A. Of Soul)
15 Mama Told Me Not To Come-Wilson Pickett (Atlantic)
16 Come To Me-Barbara Mason (Arctic)
17 Tip On In Pt. 1-Slim Harpo (Excello)
18 Polk Salad Annie-Tony Joe White (Monument).
19 That Driving Beat-Willie Mitchell (Hi).
20 If You Gotta Make A Fool Of Somebody-James Ray (Caprice).
21 Don’t You Miss Me A Little Bit Baby-Jimmy Ruffin (Soul).
22 Masquerade-Don Varner (South Camp).
23 Lonely In A Crowd-The Superlatives (Westbound).
24 What’s The Use Of Me Trying-Tan Geers (Okeh).
25 Every Beat Of My Heart-The Du-ettes (Mar-V-Lus)
26 In The Pocket-Darrell Banks (Revilot)
27 Something You Got-Alvin Robinson (Tiger).
28 Nothing But Soul-Jr. Walker & The All Stars (Soul).

Please download and enjoy Breakfast In Bed, 67 MB. Again, thanks Rob for letting me have at that box. Nothin’ but love my friend.

and now for the closing commentary…

Notice that there’s lotsa *NEW* icons are now over in the even longer blogroll? I’ve been lacking in the maintenance of it, but that will also be rectified real soon. I’m still getting regular visits from the “health department”, so I have to pick and choose my spots. The floors have to be “white glove clean”, and my equipment must be in good working order before I feel comfortable enough to proceed, so thanks to all of you who continue to be so patient while I get my shit together. The target date for completion of the deconstruction will hopefully be sometime before October. That is indeed tentative, but I will still be cooking away from time to time. I just added two classic mixes over on the Second Helpings page.

In addition, I am still in the middle of a very personal research paper this term. A huge project to say the very least, but if I get an A on it, I will consider it a labour of love.

Don’t forget that on the 27^th, I will be making a rare live appearance at the Windup Space. If you’re close to Baltimore, please drop by and say hello. Besides, you can’t beat the cover charge… This post here has all the particulars. I’m gathering up my hottest of white hot 45s for this special occasion, so I can assure you that it will be a stone gass, kiddies!

For now, it’s back to the books. Until the next time we meet, have fun(k) and as always, please be safe.

Peace and blessings.

Don’t forget to check out my newest over at Fufu Stew Too. Click on the image below…

Records are like chocolate part eleven

Hello, kiddies.

I told you I’d be back… At this point, I have completed the first phase of the deconstruction process. I can only suspect that the links I spoke of last time will be gone by month’s end. Never fret though, because if you click here, you’ll see that I am laying the groundwork for phase two.

I have to give a shoutout to DJ Fleg and DJ Exclaime who have restored my faith in the Baltimore club scene at long last… I’ve been away for far too long. Coming up on Thursday the 27th, these two gentlemen will be hosting the third installment of Four Hours Of Funk at the Windup Space, located just seconds from Penn Station so if you wanna come out, chill and hear some great funky vinyl goodness, please stop on by… besides, it’s FREE! And along as no chaos takes place in my life between now and then, yours truly will indeed be in attendance! To hear a sample of what you might hear at the night, please download and enjoy this mix, graciously supplied by Fleg. Simply click on the handbill below, and you’re all set. Thanks for the choons, my friend…
Now because the last couple weeks have been rather hectic (and the next two or three will be more of the same… even more midterms), I decided to take a much needed breather. With all elements in place, I proceeded to dig for new 45s. I’m so sorry I missed the Guru though, but I did walk away with a few absolute winners… With the little bit of time that I have to spare, I came correct with a brand new all 45 rpm grab bag, presented on the fly. I’m trying at any rate, I really am. All the choons this time around were acquired over the last couple of months from the usual dusty bins… Since I am heading over to my mom’s today to grab a quick plate of dinner and run, I will appropriately call this one “Care Package”. I hope you dig it, kids.

01 Ride Sally Ride-Al Green (Hi)

02 Sneakin’ In the Back Door-Tom Scott And The L.A. Express (Ode)
03 Cartoon People-Freddie And Henchie (DJM)
04 Jump Back-Rufus Thomas (Stax)

05 The Cracker Jack-Mickey And His Mice (Marti)
06 The Cat Walk-The Village Choir (Abbott)

07 Soul Sister-Allen Toussaint (Reprise)
08 I’ll Bet You-Funkadelic (Westbound)

09 I Take Care Of Homework-Syl Johnson (Twinight)
10 My Babe-Willie Mitchell (Hi)

11 Take Me-Betty Everett (UNI)
12 The Over Time Man-Don Covay (Mercury)
13 We The People Pt. 2-The Soul Searchers (Sussex)
14 I Wash My Hands Of the Whole Damn Deal Pt. 2-The New Birth (RCA)

15 Go Ahead And Burn-Bobby Moore’e Rhythm Aces Featuring Chico (Checker)
16 The Title Escapes Me-Toussaint McCall (Ronn)
17 Tightrope-Inex & Charlie Foxx (Dynamo)

18 Judge Baby, I’m Back-Cliff Nobles & Co. (Phil LA Of Soul)
19 Sophisticated Sissy-Rufus Thomas (Stax)

20 Your Love Is Indescribably Delicious-Willis Wooten (Virtue)

21 Theme From The Baden Persuader-The DT-6 (Starla)*
22 Little Suzie-Ray Bryant (Cadet)

23 Mickey Mouse Club Theme-Jimmy Smith (Verve)

Please download and enjoy Care Package, a zip file, 59 MB

From now on, the mixes will only be available as zip files… it has to be this way.

I hope the next time we meet here will be sooner than the last, and remember to come out to the Windup Space on the 27th… a splendid time is guaranteed for all, to quote a familiar phrase. Until then, have fun(k), and as always, please be safe.

Peace and blessings.

*This track was originally shared by DJ Prestige (thanks for the tip). I am so glad to own a copy of the 45 for myself because sadly it went out of print just as fast as it was released, and they say they ain’t pressing anymore. Hopefully, it will be available as a digital download in the near future. You can pick up the first DT-6 single right now at the usual spots such as iTunes and the like, so please support the good folks at Starla Records… and also check out their blog for more info on new releases and some quality mixes from resident DJs Mark Robb and Craig Loosejoints.

The deconstruction begins now…

Hello, kiddies.

Due to circumstances beyond my control, the mandatory deconstruction I have been trying to avoid for the past year will begin now as the image above suggests. In approximately four weeks, the links for most of the old recipes (including the guest posts) will no longer be accessible. I regret having to handle it this way (and trust that I tried to hold out as best I could), but repeated “health department” issues have forced my hand. Because of limited time (as my studies must still take priority here), it will be a while before I can restore them… so if anyone is in need of one or two, just leave a comment and I will try to sort things out for you quickly. Otherwise, as the old saying goes, “one monkey don’t stop no show”. As long as you all can pardon the dust, I will still continue to bring you new posts, albeit sporadic at best. I will try to make this process as painless as possible, not only for all of you, but for myself as well.

To all of my faithful patrons who have stuck by me for the past two and a half years, I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your continued support… Until the next time we meet, have fun(k), and as always, please be safe.

Peace and blessings.