Waiting on the mailman (including Fufu Pop Rox)

Hello, kiddies.

I’ve been gone a while, yes, but I have been busy planning the next move. Real life sucks, sure, but I now make it a point to take some time out for playing records whenever possible. As a result, the “kitchen” is in desperate need of a detail cleaning, but I don’t expect that to happen any time soon. That is what happens when one starts pulling out records that haven’t seen the light of a turntable in years. I blame that on the many and varied record appreciation groups I belong to on the ol’ Facebook machine.

Let’s see if I can’t get back into good graces with all of you as I present this live to drive session that I did on mixlr back in November. As always, you can listen at your leisure with the player thingie below…

Ooh Yeah-Betty Davis (Just Sunshine)
Pulse-Ten Wheel Drive (Polydor)
I’ll Bet You-Jackson Five (Motown)
South California Purples-Chicago Transit Authority (Columbia)
Prehistoric Boogie-Redbone (Epic)
River Boulevard-Pointer Sisters (Blue Thumb)
I Just Want To Make Love To You-Cold Blood (San Francisco)
Soul Soul Soul-Wild Magnolias (Polydor)
Sunrise Dance With The Devil-Hot Tuna (Grunt)
My Women-Pacific Gas & Electric (Columbia)
King Solomon’s Marbles-Grateful Dead (Grateful Dead)
Black Hearted Woman-Allman Brothers Band (Capricorn)
Joe Tex-Buddy Miles (Mercury)
Standing On The Verge Of Getting It On-Funakdelic (Westbound)
Peace Pipe-B.T. Express (Roadshow)
Funky L.A.-Paul Humphrey & His Cool Aid Chemists (Lizard)
Feelin’ Alright-Rare Earth (Rare Earth)
Baby I Love You-Cold Blood (Reprise)
Hey Bulldog-Bill Deal & The Rhondels (Heritage)
Stoned Woman-Ten Years After (Deram)
Treat Her Like A Lady-Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose (bonus 45 track) (United Artists)
Place In The Country-Fanny (Reprise)
Naturally-Sweetwater (Reprise)
Fan The Fire-Earth Wind & Fire (Warner Bros.)

The closing commentary this time around is pretty critical as it explains where I hope to go from here. I have always professed to be an armchair DJ, but with a newly acquired microphone, the possibilities are getting more and more exciting. All I need now is a proper pop filter. Remember, you can now follow me on mixlr by logging on to http://mixlr.com/vincent-soulchef/. I have to settle a few monetary issues there, but I do sporadic live sessions from time to time on random Sundays. If you do the Facebook thing, then please like my page right here for up-to-the-minute details. I hope to see you all sooner than later, but until then have fun(k), and please be safe.

Peace and blessings.

One more go at it (including Records Are Like Chocolate… The REVENGE!)

It’s been a long time coming, but it feels good to finally say…

Hello, kiddies.

The time has come once again to come out of hiding so to speak… now I can’t call it a comeback; to do so would be doing everyone a disservice. Additionally, I can’t say that it is another anniversary celebration, especially since I let that day pass without so mch as a whisper. Just like 2012, way too much has happened. Some good things, but mostly bad. I won’t elaborate though, for one can only beat the proverbial dead horse so much. We have certainly heard that phrase time and time again, I know I’ve said it more than enough times.

Just a bit of brief house cleaning (also referred to as my excuse for the lengthy hiatus): The computer equipment was out of commission for several months due to an unforeseen virus, and since I really do not want to invest in a new computer, I went through more trouble than necessary to get the proper restoration tools in order to get back up to 51 per cent speed. In the process of performing the restoration, I screwed up royally, resulting in the loss of over 200 gigabytes worth of prime 45 rips. That was a very distressing setback to say the least, but it only gives me more incentive to redo them so they sound even better. I started doing that several months back, but more on that in a future post, and yes, there will be a future post. I’m not quite sure when at this point, but it’s gonna happen.

Another one of the reasons for my apprehension about a full on return is I am on the hunt for another means to store the old recipes if they are still relevant at this point… I’m sure I have gotten a couple of visits from the health department regarding that matter, which should come as no surprise these days. While I’m thinking about it, I’ve gotta give huge jeers to a particular online payment service site for no longer accepting remittance for said storage means. These things, combined with the knowledge taken away from another break neck term of intense studying, and I have been given a little bit more incentive to finally ponder the future of this little piece of cyber-style real estate… as long as I can afford the luxury that is, and that hurdle seems to rise higher and higher with each passing second just like the national debt numbers. It should also come as no secret that the past year has not treated many folks well. It wouldn’t be sporting to revisit all the mayhem and the damage that it caused for way too many of us, but I want you all to know that you’ve been in my thoughts all along. One day we’ll get through the madness and come out on top. I’m praying the day will come sooner than later… think 2014, kids.

The one saving grace was that I managed to save the last mix I created just before the hiatus began. In it are some newly acquired nuggets from all the usual digging spots. Here’s my opportunity to give a shoutout to Gary and all the other fine vendors who successfully helped lighten my wallet at the fire hall as well. I don’t get to go digging as much as I’d like these days due to a pure lack of time and resources, so every chance that I get to bring new stuff home is definitely regarded as a treat. In addition, having moved to the city has been a blessing and a simultaneous curse. It’s certainly more difficult to get back to the old neighbourhood; what was once a five minute drive is now at best a half an hour! In any event, here’s the lion’s share of the relevant scores, with just the right amount of old friends that I always like to hear once in a while. It was just enough to make me smile each time I play it. I hope you enjoy it…

01 Rock Rock Rock-The Dixiebelles (Sound Stage 7)
02 Little Old Man-Bill Cosby (Warner)
03 Magic Key-Rare Earth (Rare Earth)
04 Desperate young Man-The Originals (Soul)
05 Use Me-Esther Philips (Kudu)
06 Hope We Have-The Artistics (Brunswick)
07 Let Me Help You-Al Green (Bell)
08 Instant Death-Eddie Harris (Atlantic)
09 Running For Jesus-Ernest Franklin (Checker)
10 Cool Broadway-The Fantastic Johnny C (Phil LA Of Soul)
11 Go Home And Do It-Joe Tex (Dial)
12 Love Vibrations-David T Walker (Zea)
13 Satisfy Me Woman-El Chicano (Kapp)
14 Casanova-Ruby Andrews (Zodiac)
15 You Shouldn’t Have Set My Soul On Fire-Inez Foxx (Dynamo)
16 No Sugar Tonight-The Shirells (RCA)
17 Do Right Baby-Mel & Tim (Bamboo)
18 There’ll Be Some Changes-Maskman & The Agents (Dynamo)
19 I Been Hoodoo’d-Dr. John (Atco)
20 I Need Someone-Linda Perry & Soul Express (Mainstream)
21 Do Whatever Sets You Free-Ramsey Lewis (Cadet)
22 If You Can Want-Smokey Robinson & The Miracles (Tamla)
23 Tramp-Otis & Carla (Stax)
24 I Remember You-The Ponderosa Twins + 1 (Astroscope)
25 Yes We Can Can Pt. 1-Lee Dorsey (Polydor)
26 Why Can’t We Live Together-Timmy Thomas (Glades)

Now before I deal with the closing commentary, I do want to acknowledge the fact that there are many among us who were in one way or another affected by the events that took place a few weeks ago; I will not go into details, but you all know how I feel. For the families, I am saying countless prayers and will continue to make my voice heard at the voting booth… each and every chance I get! End quote!

Okay, to bring this little mini-reunion of sorts full circle, I have one last thing to say: fufu stew dot com (or a reasonable substitute at any rate), is closer to reality than ever before. It all depends on how well I progress over the next five weeks. I do know that the old posts have to go! Detail cleaning is going on as I type this. All of the 2007 posts have been set to private, so that I can assess whether they are worthy enough to leave intact and edit them accordingly at some point. I think the hopeful reward will definitely be worth the amount of inevitable risk involved. Please continue to watch this space. I am so thrilled that you all still find it somewhat cool to drop by for a plate after all these years. I hope to be able to continue keeping you well fed for a long time to come. Until the next time, have fun(k), and as always, please be safe.

Peace and blessings.

Head in the clouds part one (including Records are like chocolate…? The Birthday Edition)

Hello, kiddies.

Just when I thought I’d find a great moment to do all the things that I wanted to do back before spring break, setbacks and lack of motivation rear their ugly head yet again. I may admit to the setbacks, but I will never admit defeat. With all that said, it’s time to get back up to speed here. I’ve got my seafood fix to a certain degree, the Flyers are in the playoffs and socking it to the Penguins, and there’s a few fleeting moments in between to keep the “stew” pot full (that little greeting was for Bill)…

Here is the first of four exercises that I did over the holidaze. All of the tracks except four were scored during a surprise downtown dig. I hadn’t been down to Fells Point in at least two years, so with an unexpected windfall of resources at hand (otherwise known as an early birthday present), I was able to return to my favourite spots, fill some more holes and discover some more real gems. I got so lucky. I finally got a chance to put it here for your enjoyment, either at your leisure, on demand with the little player thingie, or here…

Imagery provided by chocmocakes http://www.flickr.com/photos/chocolatemoosecakes/ Thank you.

01 Get On Down-Eddie Harris (Atlantic)
02 The Chicken-James Brown (King)
03 Buzzsaw-The Turtles (White Whale)
04 Love The Life You Live Pt. 1-Kool & The Gang (De Lite)
05 Broad Street-The Electric Indian (United Artists)
06 There’s A DJ In Your Town-Samson & Delilah (Black Prince)
07 (Do It) The Funky Dance-Dave Cortez & We The People (Sound Pak)
08 Humpin’ Thumpin’ and Bumpin’-Andre Williams (Checker)
09 My Thing Is Your Thing-Bobby Patterson (Jetstar)
10 Gotta Get Over The Hump-Simtec & Wylie (Mister Chand)
11 Do The Funky Chicken-Rufus Thomas (Stax)
12 The Goat-Freddie & The Kinfolk (Dade)
13 Give The Drummer Some More-Little Hooks with Ray Nato and the Kings (Enjay)
14 Mama Come Quick and Bring Your Lickin’ Stick-George Torrence & The Naturals (Shout)
15 City Dump-Dyke & The Blazers (Original Sound)
16 Things Got To Get Better-Marva Whitney (King)
17 Sweet Meat-The Zip Codes (Better)
18 As Long As I Got You-Laura Lee (Chess)
19 Party Hardy People-Act 1 (Spring)
20 The Funky Mule-Buddy Miles (Mercury)
21 The Emperor Pt. 1-Donald Byrd (Blue Note)
22 Thanks I Needed That-The Glass House (Invictus)
23 The Bottle-Brother To Brother (Turbo)
24 No More Water In The Well-Odell Brown & The Organizers (Cadet)

not much in the way of closing commentary this time around, except to say that I hope to have the rest of the holidaze exercises up soon as well as a couple of new joints. It’s all in an effort to restore some sort of relevance ti this piece of cyber real estate for a while. Just watch and see. Until then, have fun(k) and as always, please be safe.

Peace and blessings.

It’s a Mondo Mondo Mondo Mondo World…

Hello, kiddies.

Another day in the life is coming to a close. It was a very productive couple of weeks to say the least, so let’s get the ball rolling.

Here’s where the overhaul finally begins. The page images will change radically, as well as the font. It should be a lot easier to digest when I get done. Additionally, the blogroll will go through a major change too. Each and every blog that is still active will get a visit from me in the next few days, just to say hi and thank you for all of your support over the years. I know I’ve lost touch with a lot of you, due largely to real life issues… believe me, I can dig it. It’s like I said back in November, the world as we know it, is in serious trouble on so many levels. In one way or another, we are all feeling the pinch. Besides the usual blessings that I certainly count each and every day, I am thankful for the role that my mixtape craft has played in my recent existence. It keeps me sane. The finished products usually always make me happy when I blast them on my iPod or in my wife’s grocery getter. (shrug)… why not share them, y’know? It’s only that simple. I’m equally thankful for all of the support of all of you who saw fit to visit and enjoy the small contributions. So to make a long story just a little longer, the future of Fufu Stew will unfold before your very eyes sooner than later. Moving on…

I caught up with my long-time colleague Mr. Mondo and the mighty Mr. Grogan last week. Both have invited me back to their respective spots to lay some 45’s down. Of course I can’t ever pass up an opportunity to make a mixtape or five…

For now, you can head over to Planet Mondo and dig on this batch of heavy fuzz and buzz.

He also turned me on to a sneak peek at the latest marvel from the Bongolian which should be available in the all the right places by the time you get this far in the post. I was given the go ahead to share just a bit of it, which you can check out in the form of a mini sampler which you can enjoy right here

Big cheers and mad love for the folks at Blow Up Records first, last and always for the opportunity.

…and since it’s a mondo mondo mondo mondo world, I will start the overhaul of this little ol’ slice of blog by restoring the exchange we did wayyyyy back in 2008. You can dig on those at my Mixcloud pages. Again, click the appropriate image if you wish…

Aside from the lack of visual changes, that should be a good start… more to come sooner than you think. I will change the imagery later on this week, so until then, have fun(k) and as always, please be safe.

Peace and blessings.

Even More Warmed Over Leftovers…

Hello, kiddies.

I finally got the chance to put up this jam packed post.  Get comfortable and be sure to look at the extra links…

I am really enjoying the respite and everything it has to offer. I even got the gumption to bring Fufu Stew Too back from the dead with two new posts. Check ‘em out by clicking on the images if you like.

Now, as the times we live in continue to deteriorate (thanks a lot to those who already know who they are and what they’re doing wrong), I believe the only thing that really keeps me together anymore, my wife, family and friends notwithstanding, is music. News depresses me these days. Really, why can’t people just get along… I am trying to slowly ration the new scores, especially since I can’t afford another huge digging trip for a while. In doing so, I came up with this. Some old friends make their scheduled reappearance in this assortment of 45 rpm happiness. For the sake of relevance, I will say that it’s how the music feels at the time it’s felt, meaning that since I need music fed into my ears almost intravenously, oh well, you know! 8KC, one of my Mixcloud colleagues summed it up very nicely by saying this: “So many get caught up in the image of the music that they lose touch with the true source of the music, the Soul. It’s not about how expensive your 45’s records are but how you play them. You play from the Soul!” The quote was lifted from this post here. Truer words have never been spoken. As always, I do indeed put my soul into each mix that I make, and the tunes just have to flow together which may explain why each one feels the way it does at the time it’s felt. In any event, enjoy another heaping helping.

01 Hoochie Coochie Man-Skip Easterling (Instant)
02 Buster Browne-Willie Mitchell (Hi)
03 Boogaloo Tramp-A.C. Reed (Nike)
04 Here Come Da Judge-The Buena Vistas (Marquee)
05 Jerk It-The Gypsies (Old Town)
06 Hide Nor Hair-Earl Grant (Decca)
07 The Flea-The Five Du Tones (One Der Ful)
08 Misery-The Dynamics (Big Top)
09 Love Is Alright-Cliff Nobles & Co. (Phil LA Of Soul)
10 The Gallop-The Chevelles (Flaming Arrow)
11 On The Dock Of The Bay-The Da Kars (Josie)
12 Desiree-The Charts (Wand)
13 Hallways Of My Mind-The Dells (Cadet)
14 If This Is Love-The Percisions (Drew)
15 I Can Feel The Ice Melting-The Parliaments (Revilot)
16 I Got Lucky-The Ideals (St. Lawrence)
17 I Call It Love-The Manhattans (Carnival)
18 Soul Time-Jackie Wilson (Brunswick)
19 Lost In The Mood Of Changes-James Brown (Smash)
20 Do Do Do Bah Ah-Bert Keyes (Clock)
21 Dancin’ Master-The Bandwagon (Epic)
22 If You Love Her-Bobby Taylor & The Vancouvers (Gordy)
23 Decator Street-Patti Labelle & The Blue Bells (Newtown)
24 Them Terrible Boots-The Orlons (Cameo)
25 Treat Her Right-Roy Head (Back Beat)

Speaking of which, I recently discovered it has been a year since I joined mixcloud. Time continues to fly, huh? I wanted to share some of the exclusive type stuff that I’ve been putting up over there, but since the embed feature is on the apparent fritz, I’ll have to do so in another way. Just the same, I can’t recommend it enough. Mixcloud is a beautiful place. I hope they never go away!

Well we’ve come to the end of another episode. Everything I did I really enjoyed immensely, and I plan to continue in that enjoyment for as long as the free time holds up. So far so good. Well,’til next time, have fun(k) and as always, please be safe.

Peace and blessings.

Happy Spring (Incuding Back To Basics…)

Hello, kiddies.

I’ll keep this short and sweet since respite time is at an all time premium. Three months to get a lot of pent up frustration out of my system, and I plan to use each and every day of it doing exactly what needs to be done. Gee, I wouldn’t know it was really spring by looking out of my front door. I just have to shrug my shoulders and move on I suppose. I played some nice 45’s last week; there’s a good start… nothing fancy,  just the basics, but they all sounded good. Enjoy.

As always, now that I’ve finally figured out how, you can listen on-demand with the player thingie below. Imagine that 🙂

01 Can’t Be Still-Booker T & The MGs (Stax)
02 The New Breed-Jimmy Holiday (Diplomacy)
03 Boomerang-Tom & Jerrio (ABC)
04 Saturday Night Fish Fry-The Coasters (Atco)
05 Happy Feet-Robert Parker (NOLA)
06 You Ain’t Ready-Lou Courtney (Riverside)
07 Day Tripper-The Vontastics (St. Lawrence)
08 I’m A Man-Spencer Davis Group (United Artists)
09 Switch It On-Cliff Nobles & Co (Phil LA Of Soul)
10 Music Talk-Stevie Wonder (Tamla)
11 Grits N Cornbread-The Soul Runners (Mo Soul)
12 You Ain’t Too Cool-Cash McCall (Thomas)
13 Too Many Fish In The Sea-Jack McDuff (Prestige)
14 Much Too Much-James Crawford (Mercury)
15 Baby Don’t You Cry-Ray Charles (ABC)
16 Kansas City Woman-Bennie Gordon & The Soul Brothers (Enrica)
17 Ain’t It The Truth Now-Eddie Bo (Ric)
18 Popcorn Charlie-Chrles Spurling (King)
19 Modern Jive-Pretty Purdie (Date)
20 Elanor Rigby-Aretha Franklin (Atlantic)
21 Ode To Billie Joe-Mel Brown (Impulse)
22 I Take Care Of Homework-Syl Johnson (Twinight)
23 Devil Woman-Clarence Carter (Atlantic)
24 Are In Laws Really Outlaws?-Sir Douglas Quintet + 2 = Honkey Blues (Smash)
25 Knucklehead-The Bar-Kays (Volt)
26 The Barracuda-Leonard King & The Soul Messengers (Inferno)
27 Shing A Ling Baby-Willie Bobo (Verve)
28 Down Here On The Ground-Lou Rawls (Capitol)

Since time waits for no one, I’m off to enjoy what I hope will be a very therapeutic yet very fruitful respite. Until the next time, you know… 🙂

Peace and blessings.

Come and get it… Fufu Stew No. 14 at long last!

Hello, Kiddies.

Yes, I’ve been away for a little bit, not that it matters much. Oh well, no harm, no foul. I deal with shit the best way I know how.

I am tinkering with background imagery as you can see. It’ll probably change a few more times so that the text in the sidebar can be read a little easier. I just wish I could get those pretty Mixcloud embed thingies to work. Speaking of which, I have to send a special shoutout to the Mixcloud family for their kindness over the past few weeks, and for keeping my inspiration level high. I did put up a couple of exclusive pieces over there in the past couple of weeks. I’ll do that from time to time so please drop by my Mixcloud page from time to time and the fine folks I follow as well. There’s some top notch people over there doing some great things which for me has been rather theraputic. I need that right about now, which brings me to this latest crop of old faves… I told y’all I was going to return to the freeform exercises that I used to do. Well here’s one, purposely made from crusty old 33’s. Pops, clicks and other anomalies are intentional. With a hard crunchy texture and heavy flavour kinda like rock candy, it only made sense to call it

It’s been an awful long time since I whipped up some Fufu Stew like I used to make when I first started this little ol’ blog over four years ago. I always went for specific ingredients which most of you may or may not pick up on right away, but it felt so good to do it again… and it’s awful funky too. Enjoy.

As always, you know where it is…

01 Big John Is My Name-Rare Earth (Rare Earth)
02 Born To Move-Creedence Clearwater Revival (Fantasy)
03 American Woman-The Guess Who (RCA)
04 Every Hungry Woman-Allman Brothers Band (Capricorn)
05 Cross Eyed Mary-Jethro Tull (Reprise)
06 Must Be Love-The James Gang (Atco)
07 Mr. Big-Free (A&M)
08 Sunrise Dance With The Devil-Hot Tuna (Grunt)
09 With The Power-Jimi Hendrix (Reprise)
10 Politician-The Cream (Polydor)
11 Let It Ride-Bachman Turner Overdrive (Mercury)
12 Crazy Horses-The Osmonds (MGM)
13 I’m A Man-Chicago Transit Authority (Columbia)
14 Get Off Your Ass And Jam-Funkadelic (Westbound)
15 You Got Me Hummin’-Cold Blood (San Francisco)
16 Rock My Plimsoul-Jeff Beck (Epic)
17 Feelin’ Alright-Grand Funk Railroad (Capitol)

Until the next digging spree commences, it’ll be slim pickins around here, but I know how to make lemonade with life’s lemons… I’ve had lots of practice. When the feeling hits (or when I make a new mixtape for my personal enjoyment), I’ll certainly be back to share it with you… Until then, have fun(k) and as always, please be safe.

Peace and blessings.

Looking out for number 1-1-11 (including Seven Inch Jones)…

Hello, kiddies.

Here it is, the first day of the new year… What an eventful year 2010 was, huh? Some really good events, and more bad ones than any of us should care to count, but all in all it was another year that fell by the wayside… but not without some significant changes. Just wait and see. In the meantime, how’s about some more 45’s.

I’m in the midst of finally trying to once again make sense of the clusterfudge of vinyl that has accumulated over the past several years. During the holiday respite, needless to say, I have been on a vinyl bender. As is usually the case, I sift through the piles, then I put some choons together in this way, but never get any closer to getting the disorganised piles in order, or start adding more substantial amounts of new scores to it at any rate. I’m so jonesing for some more 45’s… go figure, right? Oh well, at least the mix sounded good on my iPod this morning. I hope you think so too. Pure fun from start to finish. Enjoy.

as always, you can listen on-demand.

01 I Thank You-Sam And Dave (Stax)
02 Soul Dance Number Three-Wilson Pickett (Atlantic)
03 Stereo Freeze-The Stereos (Cadet)
04 Do Your Thing-The Delights Orchestra (Atco)
05 Cool Broadway-The Fantastic Johnny C (Phil LA Of Soul)
06 Ham Hocks Espanol-Jimmy Castor (Smash)
07 Bear Mash-Ramsey Lewis (Cadet)
08 I’ve Got Just The Thing-Lou Courtney (Riverside)
09 The Charge-Alvin Cash (Mar V Lus)
10 Chain Gang-Jackie Wilson & Count Basie (Brunswick)
11 I Like What You Give-Nolan Parker (Lizard)
12 Super Duper Love Pt. 1-Sugar Billy (Fast Track)
13 Money (That’s What I Want)-Don Covay (Mercury)
14 Funky Feet-Johnny Robinson (Epic)
15 Let Me Do My Thing-The People’s Choice (Phil LA Of Soul)
16 The Oogum Boogum Song-Freddie Robinson (World Pacific)
17 Here Comes The Meter Man-The Meters (Josie)
18 Heads Or Tails-Booker T & The MG’s (Stax)
19 Don’t Do That-The Bar Kays (Volt)
20 One For Bess-Gene Dozier & The Brotherhood (Minit)
21 Cool Jerk ’68-The Capitols (Karen)
22 Dig Yourself-Les Cooper (Everlast)
23 Stop Talking To Your Child (Mother In Law)-James Duncan (King)
24 Shakey Jakes-The Strange Bros. Show (Sire)
25 The Duck-Jackie Lee (Mirwood)
26 Spooky-The Fame Gang (Atlantic)
27 Abraham Martin and John-Smokey Robinson & The Miracles (Tamla)

Okay, here’s my New Year’s resolution… to make 2011 better than 2010… and yes, that means trying hard to find more records. I must. It will only serve to benefit us all. I want to also raise the bar a bit more around here in a number of different ways… I really enjoyed the time I’ve spent with the Mixcloud fam over the past few months, and have taken home some timely inspiration in the process. I definitely plan to incorporate that inspiration into future posts, and yes, I plan to bring back the freeform aesthetic as well. Just a few of the things to look out for as the fifth year of this little ol’ blog gets under way. I’ll have to see how that all shakes out too, hopefully in my favour. To everyone the world over, I send good new year vibes, and wishes for a 2011 that brings you peace, health, happiness and most of all, FUNK! Til the next time,

Peace and blessings.

The AntiDivas must step aside (including You Better Watch The Man)…

Hello again, kiddies.

I bring you Xmas greetings, and that batch of 45’s I promised… I’m sure your festivities were done good… my festivities are rather subdued this year, the missus and I are just chillin’. It’s good to have a respite after all the Xmas hype, but that goes without saying. I’m just glad that it’s finally here. And as far as the New Year goes, well let’s just say that the fufu will continue to be served. More on that later.

You know, all I really want for Xmas (or any day for that matter) is the chance to play some records. I got my wish to a small degree, remember, the holidaze are always busy for some reason or other… I finished another term with glowing grades though, most important, I got a good score in my HTML course. Those results will bear fruit sooner than even I could imagine. Let’s just see how well I use the free time I’m gonna have next week to make those results happen. I’d love to show off my prowess in time for the dawn of the fifth year of this here blog, again, it all depends how real life factors in. Enough with the digression already, Chef, give the kids what they came here for!

For years I’ve wanted to do the male counterpart to the fabled AntiDivas saga. I think I have a good one here after taking it round the block a couple three times, I’m not sure if I like the title though. No tricks, not even a game plan… Just a handful of some sweet soul 45s joined together with no rhyme or reason. Here you go…

as always, listen on-demand.

01 Try My Love Again-Bobby Moore & The Rhythm Aces (Cadet)
02 Uhhh-Dyke & The Blazers (Original Sound)
03 Women Of The World-Lavell Hardy (Rojac)
04 Down Is Up, Up Is Down-The Delfonics (Philly Groove)
05 Keep On Keepin’ On-The Vibrations (Okeh)
06 I’ll Be Good To You-Al Greene (Hot Line Journal)
07 I’d Rather Fight Than Switch-100 Proof Aged In Soul (Hot Wax)
08 Super Fine-The Soul Generation (Ebony Sound)
09 You’ll Soon Be Gone-The Precisions (Drew)
10 Operation Heartache-Lee Dorsey (Amy)
11 That’s If You Want Me To-The Persians (ABC)
12 Be’s That A Way Sometimes-The Scientists Of Soul (Kashe)
13 I Don’t Know How To Say I Love You-The Superlatives (Westbound)
14 Whatcha Gonna Wear Tomorrow-The Detroit Emeralds (Westbound)
15 Needle In A Haystack-The Whispers (Soul Clock)
16 Rose Marie-The Dynamic Tints (Twinight)
17 It Takes Two-The Four Sonics (Sport)
18 Move With The Groove-Bull & The Matadors (Toddlin’ Town)
19 Back Up-The Manhattans (Deluxe)
20 Wild Little Tiger-The Isley Brothers (Atlantic)
21 Night Owl-Howard Tate (Verve)
22 Hello Mama-Willie West (Deesu)
23 Take Me-Bobby Womack (Minit)
24 Let Us Be-King Floyd (Chimneyville)
25 Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out-The Hesitations (Kapp)
26 Down In The Valley-Solomon Burke (Atlantic)
27 Get Your Lie Straight-Bill Coday (Crajon)
28 Aunt Dora’s Love Soul Shack-Arthur Conley (Atlantic)
29 Hey Gyp-The Soul Survivors (Crimson)
30 I Know She’s Mine-The Dynamites (Pay)
31 A Dance A Kiss And A Song-Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band (Warner)
32 Missing You-O.V.Wright (Back Beat)

As we draw closer to another year that James isn’t here, I’ve been playing a few more JB 45’s than normal as one would readily guess. I know posting an all JB mix can be a little sketchy because it’s been done to death to quote a phrase. I’ll give it the old college try. Who knows, it may turn out good… In any event, I’m gonna do my best to prioritise my time for the next week and a half before the new term begins which, if I do it right, will see the next phase of this blog’s overhaul. Remember, if you find a dead link and want it re-upped, let me know because more than likely those old posts (and poorly maintained subpages) will disappear when the overhaul is done. Until the next time, have fun(k), and as always, please be safe, especially during the holidaze. Don’t forget to do whatever you do good though 🙂

Peace and blessings.

A repost for the holidaze…

Hello, kiddies.

Where to begin… the holidaze! UGH!!! Oh well, it’ll be all good on Xmas day.

In any event, it bears repeating that through all of my adversity, I am still very thankful. I can never forget that. I am especailly thankful for the apparent success of this here blog. Four complete years… wow! Of course I was skeptical; I just knew that it would be considered an afterthought, but a few hundred thousand hits later, I was proven wrong. To each and every one of you who has ever viewed this page, downloaded a mix, left a comment, gave me a link, or in some cases, struck up a friendship through the power of music, I thank you. I thank you. I thank you.

Well, for the purpose of not spoiling your joy on this most auspicious occasion, which is actually shaping up to be okay. here’s a repost of my Xmas mix from 2008, in case you didn’t get it before or if you want to share it on the fly. Enjoy.

as always, listen on-demand here…
01 Sleigh Ride-Rick Holmstrom
02 Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer-The Temptations
03 Jingle Bells-Booker T. & The MGs
04 Santa Claus-Sonny Boy Williamson
05 My Favourite Things-The Supremes
06 The Little Drummer Boy-Salsoul Orchestra
07 Soulful Christmas-James Brown
08 Silent Night-Rotary Connection
09 Back Door Santa-Rufus Thomas
10 Christmas Present Blues-Jimmy Reed
11 Go Power At Christmas Time-James Brown
12 White Christmas-Otis Redding
13 Sam’s Christmas Blues-Anson Funderburgh & The Rocket
14 Peace At Least-Rotary Connection
15 God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen-Sweetwater
16 Who Took The Merry Out Of Christmas-Staple Singers
17  Santa Claus Go Straight To The Ghetto-James Brown
18 Lonesome Christmas (Part 1)-Lowell Fulsom
19 Stone Soul Christmas-Binky Griptite & the Dee-Kay’s
20 Santa’s Got Bag Of Soul-Soul Saints Orchestra
21 Merry Christmas Baby-James Brown
22 This Christmas-Donny Hathaway

there’s another batch of 45’s soon to come and a special comment, probably tomorrow. This time of year is always so busy… , so please stay tuned. Whatever you do this holiday, as always, be sure to do it good.

Peace and blessings.