Happy “Holidaze” (including the best of the AntiDivas on 45)

Hello, kiddies.

First off, I hope everyone had a good thanksgiving, with no lumps (proverbial or otherwise) in the gravy. I’ve had my ups and downs, and I am still quite salty about the midterm election fiasco, but overall, things for me are a lot better than what other brothers and sisters across the country are experiencing at the moment. For that, I am certainly most thankful.

That doesn’t changer the fact that money is too tight to mention…

Oh well, quit your bitchin’, Chef!

With that said, let’s press on. Time ain’t on my side, as the passing of another birthday signals the beginning of the “Holidaze”. I only want one thing for xmas this year… okay, two. First, I want the new-age civil war between red and blue, and all of its throwback ideology to come to an end once and for all. The country can no longer take the abuse. Second, I hope to be able to keep this train going long enough to see the turn of the unheard of fifth year of Fufu Stew! I won’t jinx it, but I am so close to a personal goal that I can’t stand it anymore. Just a few more weeks…

In any event, since I don’t get many opportunities to get anything new out, I go for the ever popular comfort food. To refresh your memory, I whipped up this little ditty, complete with tunes new and old. Just a few 45s to tide me over, that’s all. Why not. Besides, it’s been a while since I visited the AntiDivas.

As always, check it out here…

01 I Stand Accused-The Glories (Date)
02 Chained-The Sister and Brothers (Calla)
03 Surrender-Diana Ross (Motown)
04 Ain’t No Sunshine-The Sweet Happenings (Tee)
05 Here I Go Again-The Raeletts (Tangrine)
06 Got Myself A Good Man-Gladys Knight & The Pips (Soul)
07 Big Boss Man-Erma Franklin (Shout)
08 Unhooked Generation-Freda Payne (Invictus)
09 My Heart Is Closed For The Season-Bettye Swann (Capitol)
10 Funky Music Sho’ Nuff Turns Me On-Yvonne Fair (Motown)
11 Shoo Be Doop (And Cop Him)-Betty Davis (Just Sunshine)
12 Crumbs Off The Table-The Glass House (Invictus)
13 When Will It End-The Honey Cone (Hot Wax)
14 Breakaway-Millie Jackson (Spring)
15 Rip Off-Laura Lee (Hot Wax)
16 You’re The Fool-Three Degrees (Roulette)
17 Love Can Turn To Hate-Honey & The Bees (Josie)
18 Stop Sneaking Around-Brenda & The Tabulations (Top And Bottom)
19 Sally Go Round The Roses-The Jaynetts (Tuff)
20 My Love’s A Monster-Clea Bradford (Cadet)
21 I’ve Been Loving You Too Long-Cindy Scott (Veep)
22 I Can’t Stop Loving My Baby-Linda Jones (Loma)
23 Loving You And Being Loved By You-Gloria Taylor (Silver Fox)
24 Thankful For What I Got-Barbara Lewis (Atlantic)
25 Contact High-Tina Turner (Liberty)
26 Spinning Wheel-Peggy Lee (Capitol)
27 Sweet Inspiration-The Sweet Inspirations (Atlantic)
28 Silent Spring-Carmen McRae (Atlantic)

I’ve got big things in store. Just a few weeks more. Until then, I’ll see ya. Have fun(k) and as always, please be safe.

Peace and blessings.

Stand Up! (including another soapbox moment)

Disclaimer:

The views expressed in this post do not represent those of anyone but me. I am safe in the knowledge that most of you will probably agree with what I have to say to varying degrees, so I am not particularly worried. However, I must make sure that everyone knows that I am speaking on my own behalf… and my wife too. She shares the same sentiment and was instrumental in raising my awareness level of the fact that America has not been altogether right since its inception, I mean invasion.

Hello, kiddies.

This post is a direct result of the events that have been taking place during the knock-down drag-out fight known as the midterm elections. There’s also a bit of irony that another round of midterm exams. Here in the states, we have been bombarded with an excessive amount of attack ads from both sides of the political fence. If you have been following the news lately, you are probably well aware of the ridiculous commentary provided by the new axis of evil… y’all should know of who I speak. Let’s see. Delaware… Arizona… Nevada… New York… Alaska… Kentucky… Ohio… shall I go on? All I know is that the future of this country is in doubt. I believe that if the states that I mention see a worst case scenario, then we are in huge trouble. I don’t know about you, but I really don’t want to live in the current American climate, and I sure as hell won’t pledge allegiance to its ideology. Last time I checked, we as a people were endowed certain unalienable rights, and from what I can see, those rights are slowly being taken away from us.

Remember: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

pure and simple…

All we can do to make our voice heard is to vote. My wife and I have already done so, thanks to the early voting option. In Maryland there is a growing consensus that says early voting is the way to go, so I urge each and every one of you who feels as though their rights are in jeopardy to vote too. With only one week left before the midterm elections come to a close, it is absolutely vital that we all do our part. Of course, I offered a bit of motivation in the form of a full collection of soapbox moments taken from the usual resources. While some of the commentary contained within these tunes may seem dated, it certainly has enough relevance to today’s situation. The idea is to not let these evil people take a hold of our government so that we can restore the peaceful and serene atmosphere that was here when the original citizens of this place were here back in the day. Regardless of where you may live in the world, the sentiment should still speak volumes. The mighty Barack Obama proclaimed that it was time for a change, and I am in full agreement. And it has absolutely nothing to do with my party affiliation either, it’s just plain common sense. Now more than ever, that is the key. Failure is not an option. I am not going to say “yes we can”. I have to say YES WE MUST!

as always, you can listen on-demand at mixcloud.

01 Who’s Gonna Take The Weight Part 1-Kool & The Gang (De-Lite)
02 Underground-Curtis Mayfield (Curtom)
03 Who You Gonna Blame-Fontella Bass (Paula)
04 Time For A Change-The Eight Minutes (Jay Pee)
05 New Vibrations-Voices Of East Harlem (Just Sunshine)
06 What The World Needs Now Is Love-Vicky Anderson (King)
07 Love Attack-The Persuaders (Atco)
08 Freedom-Isley Brothers (T Neck)
09 Stoned Love-The Supremes (Motown)
10 We’re Rolling On Pt. 1-The Impressions (ABC)
11 World War Three-Barbara Mason (Buddah)
12 Stop The War Now-Edwin Starr (Gordy)
13 You Can Have Watergate, But Give Me Some Bucks And I’ll Be Straight-The JB’s (People)
14 It’s A Groovy World-The Unifics (Kapp)
15 Give A Damn Pt. 1-Benny Gordon (Estill)
16 The Seed-Rare Earth (Rare Earth)
17 Save The Country-Fifth Dimension (Bell)
18 Turn On Tune In Drop Out-The Brothers Three (T Neck)
19 People Are Changing-Timmy Thomas (Glades)
20 I Am Somebody Pt. 2-Johnnie Taylor (Stax)
21 Freedom Blues-Little Richard (Reprise)
22 We The People Pt. 1-Soul Searchers (Sussex)
23 Everybody Walking Together-Prophecy (All Platinum)
24 Pass It On Pts. 1&2-Pieces Of Peace (Twinight/Numero)
25 An Open Letter To The President-Roy C (Alaga)
26 Mighty Mighty Children Pt. 1-Baby Huey & The Babysitters (Curtom)
27 Our Future?-Black Ivory (Today)
28 We’ve Got To Make A Change-Mickey & The Soul Generation (Funk 45 reissue)
29 What If We All Stopped Paying Taxes-Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings (Daptone)
30 Give Me Liberty Or  Give Me Death-The Salem Travelers (Checker)
31 Vote-Madhouse (Today)
32 Right On Right On-E. Rodney Jones (Westbound)

A big round of thanks to Heavy Weight Crates and the fearless leader Lafayette…

To all of you, thanks for your time. Have fun(k), please be safe, and to all my American brothers and sisters, please go out and vote.

Peace and blessings.

Thee Bucket List… another Fufu Funk Fix

Hello, kiddies.

I was supposed to enjoy three weeks of respite from another term, but other things commanded my attention, so much so that I didn’t even get to play serious records… in my mind, that is an absolute travesty. I did however make huge progress in organising the hundreds of LP’s that currently live on my bedroom floor; now I just need to get them filed away… good luck with that endeavour, especially since the next term has already begun. Since I didn’t get to post during my respite, I am just going to share what I’ve been grooving to on my iPod. Since my truck is a little ill right now, I’ve been loading many different things. It makes walking and catching the bus just a little easier to bear, y’know?

Let’s talk about bucket lists for a second. Why? well, although I am healthy as a horse, I did have a small dizzy spell about five weeks ago whilst in the kitchen making dinner. It turned out to be kinda scary, but after all the hoopla, I am fine. I went through a battery of tests and such over the past two weeks which prove that fact beyond the shadow of a doubt.

Anywho, this mix contains just a few tunes that I wish I had in my crates on 45… for now they remain on a bucket list which I hope to check off before I depart this life. Seeing as though I am economically challenged, otherwise known as more broke than the ten commandments, that is going to be a bit difficult. I can only hope to find them in the field someday at a reasonable price, but in the meantime, I’m gonna have to settle for them in this format. I gotta give thanks to those who were gracious enough to share them with me (and the world for that matter) so that I could put this mix together. The list is too long to mention here, so I should just direct you to the blogroll. I swear I’ll update it soon.

Listen on demand here…

01 Shelley’s Rubber Band-Curley Moore & The Kool Ones (House Of The Fox)

02 New New Type Thing Pt. 1-Osaka Monourail (RD)

03 Do Your Stuff-Count Sidney & His Jukes (Goldband)

04 Sleep Walk Pt. 1-Joe And Everyday People (Brooks)

05 Can I Feel It-Al Trahan (Spindletop)

06 Super Party Pts. 1&2-Soul Hustlers (Linco)

07 Stanky (Get Funky)-Billy Davis (Cobblestone)

08 Soul Know How To Make Music-Freddie Terrell (Shout)

09 Ooh Ooh The Dragon-Marvin Homes & The Uptights (UNI)

10 In Born Soul-Freddie Wilson (BGP reissue)

11 Done Got Good To Me Pt. 1-Bobby Rush (Sedgerick)

12 Who Got The Number-Pigmeat Markham (Chess)

13 Funk I Tus-Warm Excursion (USA)

14 Creative Musicians-The Lyman Woodward Organisation (Wax Poetics reissue)

15 Ashley’s Roachclip-The Soul Searchers (Sussex)

16 Tanga Boo Gonk-The Nite-Liters (RCA)

17 Soul Traveling-Gary Byrd (RCA)

18 Soul City-Jazzie Cazzie & The Eight Souls (Knap Town)

19 Funky Black Man-Earnest Jackson (Stone)

19 Hippy Skippy Moon Strut-The Moon People (Roulette)

20 Sunshine Of Your Love-Spanky Wilson (Mother’s)

21 The Hen Pt. 2-Louis Chachere (Paula)

22 Downtown Soulville-Chuck Edwards (Punch)

23 Horse With a Freeze Pt. 2 Roy Ward (Seven B)

24 Half-Way Loving-Buddy Conner (Early Bird)

25 Silly Savage The Golden Toadstools (Minaret)

26 Just a Groove In G-Wilbur Bascomb And The Zodiact (Carnival)

There are two more entries immediately following this last little comment: I want to thank all of the fine folks that follow my exploits over at Mixcloud. DJ Bluewater just hopped on board recently, so cool! Please check out the list here, and visit their respective sites. Some fine, fine work going on. Having been a part of the Mixcloud fam for a few months now, I have to say they helped me to raise my game as best as I can. I no longer limit myself to the blue plate specials of old. Now I can almost fulfill my life-long dream of hosting a “radio” show. It may not be the caliber of a good listener-supported FM station, but I really do appreciate the support of all of you who listen to what I’ve been putting out there. With that said, please read on to the next entry. See you there.

Straight Outta Grand Blvd. West

Hello, kiddies.

The missus and I got to go to Detroit a few weeks ago… and you just know we went to the Motown Museum! It was an excellent experience to say the very least. I made sure that I was there for the first tour at ten in the morning… okay, we got there at 9:30, so who’s counting. It was a very small group tour, less than ten of us, and one cat all the way from the UK. The tour was amazing; it told a very interesting story of how Berry Gordy went from being a contractor’s apprentice to owning virtually every property on the block. I really wish I could share some photos of the inside with you, but as you may have guessed, there is a strict policy against taking pix. I shoulda brought my iPod in and used the video capture feature, but the last thing I needed was to get kicked out. After all, this is one of the many items that I can now check off the bucket list.

All the artifacts we got to see… nice clean OG copies of the rarest 45’s, on the walls and littered around the various rooms we got to walk through. You know I wanted to steal ’em, or at least try to strike a deal to buy em for dirt cheap… yeah, right! We stood under the world famous echo chamber; the one that produced those really warm finger snaps and handclaps. Trust me, they sounded exactly the same now as they do on the 45s, but more on that in a second. Down in Studio A (which incidentally was an actual garage), we got to see Earl Van Dyke’s original B3, James Jamerson’s amp and Jack Ashford’s vibraphone, among other things that were used to create those timeless hits we have all come to love. It was quite cold though, but the fact that I was there kept me warm. I could ramble on and on about the experience, but me telling you is nothing. You really should spend the nominal service charge of ten bucks and take the tour yourself. I promise you, you won’t regret it.

With all that in mind, I took it upon myself to round up a few of my all time favourite Motown goodies for shits and giggles when we got home. Yeah, we’ve all heard ’em before, but it’s just one of the few things that I got to do doing during my respite. I did a rather lengthy mix for the ol’ iPod, so it’s only natural that I share it with you kids. For the occasion, I just spun a bunch of 45’s… fifty sides total… all killer, no filler and absolutely no reissues! Enjoy.

The image was taken at the corner of West Grand Blvd and Holden and shows just a few of the properties that Gordy owned back in the day. In total, he owned eight homes within that one block. Four on this side of the street and four on the other… something like that.

This one is exclusively available on my Mixcloud page… you can listen on demand and get the complete playlist here.

Please read on to the next entry for a whole lot more, because I have been really negligent in posting. I’m making up for lost time now…

Smokin’ and Compin’ again…

Hello again, kiddies.

Although it’s been a miserable eight weeks away, I was so glad to finally get back into the little room (ahhhh-choo!). God is it dusty in here… and with thousands of records in a disarray, it’s easy to lose motivation. I persevered though, and after a week, I was able to get all the 33’s organised. And since they were all in alphabetical order, it was real easy to dig up this little playlist. I sprinkeld a few 45’s in among the 33’s to create yet another mammoth mix, once again inspired by my pal HeavySoulBrutha, and my hero in the way of the intense Hammond B3 workouts that you’ll soon hear. Some people say they like funk in their jazz, then again some say they like jazz in their funk. Well, I am here to put that debate to rest. No stone left unturned here, I don’t think. Enjoy.

Listen on demand here…

01 Countdown-Dave “Baby” Cortez (Roulette)

02 Do What You Like-James Brown (Smash)

03 Sweet Lover-Lou Rawls & Les McCann Ltd. (Capitol)

04 Butter For Yo Popcorn-Brother Jack McDuff (Blue Note)

05 Cold Duck Time (45 rpm mix)-Les McCann & Eddie Harris (Atlantic)

06 Blues In F-Spencer Davis Group (United Artists)

07 Soul Man-Herbie Mann (Embryo)

08 Cafe Regios-Isaac Hayes (Enterprise)

09 Q-Brothers Johnson (A&M)

10 Oblighetto (45 rpm mix)-Brother Jack McDuff (Blue Note)

11 Cheeba-Lyman Woodward Organisation (Wax Poetics reissue)

12 Listen Here-Soulful Strings (Cadet)

13 Sucker-The JB’s (People)

14 Cat In A Tree Pt. 1-Jimmy Smith (Verve)

15 Knucklehead-Grover Washington (Kudu)

16 Spaced Out-Blackbyrds (Fantasy)

17 Baby I Love You-Reuben Wilson (Blue Note)

18 Patty Cake (or Valdez In The Country)-King Curtis & The Kingpins (Atco)

19 Walking In Space-Quincy Jones (A&M)

20 Cebu-Commodores (Motown)

21 Spinning Wheel Pt. 1-James Brown (King)

22 The Healing Song-Hugh Masakela (UNI)

23 Dimension 5ive-Fifth Dimension (Bell)

24 Cry Baby Cry-Ramsey Lewis (Cadet)

25 Good Night-Ramsey Lewis (Cadet)

Hopefully this will keep you all well fed for a while. I’m going to try and get back in here real soon as I have something really heavy to lay on you. Until the next time, have fun(k) and as always, please be safe.

Peace and blesings.

Flyers WIN (including The Easy Chair Sessions)!!!

As of this moment, the Flyers are going to the Stanley Cup Finals!!! After almost getting shut out in the semifinals, it has been a pretty intense few weeks. Leslie is a die-hard fan, and I am one by default… as you may have guessed, I am firmly planted in my easy chair once again watching the Broad Street Bullies do it to the Canadiens (apologies go out to my friends who may be from Montreal)…

As I await my new processor to arrive in the mail (I kinda destroyed my other one), I am sadly forced to relinquish both of my desktops for a while… but it’s okay because at least I can still get it done from the easy chair– at least half done anyway.

Here’s another batch of 45’s to celebrate the big victory… almost all instrumentals this time.

01 Rockin’ In The Same Old Boat-E.J.’s LTD (Back Beat)
02 Funky Jive-Soul Crusaders Orchestra (More Soul)
03 Slip The Drummer One-Lunar Funk (Bell)
04 Hunk Of Funk-Brother Jack McDuff (Blue Note)
05 Bo Did It-The Hidden Cost (Marmaduke)
06 Tails Out-Willie Mitchell (Hi)
07 The Champ-The Mohawks (Cotillion)
08 12345678-Kool And The Gang (De-Lite)
09 Lowdown Popcorn-James Brown (King)
10 Booty Butt-Ray Charles Orchestra (Tangerine)
11 Filet De Soul-The Flaming Ember (Hot Wax)
12 The Worm-Jimmy McGriff (Solid State)
13 Hung Up-The Martinis (Bar)
14 King Of The Horse-The Delights Orchestra (Atco)
15 O Wow-Panic Buttons (Gamble)
16 Latin Strut-Joe Bataan (Mericana)
17 Cubano Chant-El Chicano (Kapp)
18 Memphis At Sunrise-The Bar Kays (Volt)
19 Memory Band-Rotary Connection (Cadet Concept)
20 Drums A Go Go-THe Hollywood Persuaders (Original Sound)
21 Ain’t No Justice-Shorty Long (Soul)
22 Hot Pants Road-The JB’s (People)
23 Amen Brother-The Winstons (Metromedia)
24 Jamo’s Soul-Jamo Thomas (Thomas)
25-Soul Kiss Pt. 2-Dizzy Gillespie (Perception)

Please download and enjoy The Easy Chair Sessions, 116 MB, with lotsa label scans included… or listen to the stream on-demand here.

Well, it’s off to Chicago for at least seven games against an apparently good team. GO FLYERS!

I assure you this week will be nothing short of fast paced for me. The pace will be well worth it though, as I am all set to enjoy four days off this weekend. Food, 45’s and plenty of botanical refreshment. Yeah, it’s well deserved.

I’ll be back in about three weeks, hopefully with some more new scores. For those doing the memorial day thing, just be sure to do it good. Me personally, I’m going to get away. I cannot wait to get back to the shore. Until the next time, have fun(k), and as always, please be safe.

Peace and blessings.

yum…

Hello, kiddies.

And so here we are again… Let’s cut to the chase, shall we?

I did a good thing last weekend. I bought new shoes for my babies. It’s amazing what a fresh needle does for a record. It’s like night and day, and I’ll never play my records with anything but Stanton cartridges and needles (there, free advertising. What’s wrong with that)… so what better way to break ‘em in than by playing some 45’s. Well, I have been listening to this batch I made about a week ago non-stop, and all I can say is yum… It’s all about the flow here. I really hope you like it.

and just a few scans, too… you can click on them to blow ’em up if you like 🙂

01 46 Drums And 1 Guitar-Little Carl Carlton (Calla)

02 Do The Train-Willis Wooten Ork (Virtue)

03 There It Is Pt. 2-James Brown (King)

04 The Stretch Pt. 1-Detroit Sex Machines (Soul Track Reissue)

05 It’s Your Thing-Dennis Coffey And Lyman Woodward Trio (Maverick)

06 Fun & Funk Pt. III-The Fantastic Epics (Tories)

07 Whole Lotta Love-King Curtis & The Kingpins (Atco)

08 Inner City Blues-Grover Washington (Kudu)

09 I Need Help (I Can’t Do It Alone) Pt. 1-Bobby Byrd (King)

10 Get It-Sam And Dave-(Atlantic)

11 Funky Rubber Band (Instrumental)-Popcorn Wylie (Soul)

12 40 Acres And A Mule-Sound Experience (Philly Soulville)

13 How Funky Do You Do Pt. 1-Hot Line (Red Coach)

14 Heavy Steppin’-Lou Toby And His Heavies (Peach-Mint)

15 Funkier Than A Mosquita’s Tweeter-Ike & Tina Turner (Liberty)

16 Right On Jody-Bobby Patterson (Paula)

17 Trackin’ Down Jody Pt. 1 (Bonus Track)-Darker Shades, Ltd (ACR)

18 Pick And Shovel-The Touch (Lecasver)

19 Let’s Get It Together-The Fantastic Johnny C (Kama Sutra)

20 Soul Train-Little Royal (Trius)

21 Since The Days Of Pigtails (And Fairy Tales)-Chairmen Of The Board (Invictus)

22 Heavy Hips-The Flamingos (Ronze)

23 The Funky Bird-Rufus Thomas (Stax)

24 Put Your Mind In The Pocket-Midnight Movers, Unltd. (Renee)

25 Cause That’s The Way I Know-The People’s Choice (Phil LA Of Soul)

26 Let’s Go Get Stoned-The Coasters (Atco)

Much respect to the fine folks at neapolitan funk for the bonus track…

Please download and enjoy yum…, 101 MB, or you can get the on-demand stream from Mixcloud right here…

Well, the books await, but I had to fall in. Hope you don’t mind 🙂 Anywho, be sure to have lots of fun(k) and as always, please be safe.

Peace and blessings.

Moving day (including Fufu Funk Fix No. 10)…

Hello, kiddies.

I know y’all didn’t miss me… 😛 Just kidding. I’ve been away far too long.

I hope that 2010 has gotten off to a good start for all of you. I wish I could say the same for myself, but I remain optimistic… I don’t have a choice.

What about that snowstorm the other day… and that is only the half. As I type this, we’re getting blanketed again with another potential two feet. This is definite record breaking stuff. Not since 1883 has Baltimore seen snow like this. Lots of digging, but certainly not the kind I like. At least there’s plenty of other rations available, so I can rest easy and put up a much needed post. I ain’t even gonna lie, I haven’t seen the inside of a mom and pop shop in ages. No need to explain why. In the interim, I can say that this post is being brought to you from the comfort of my easy chair… literally! The missus shocked me for xmas with one of those little nifty netbooks. As luck would have it, the poor thing has more wires hanging out of it, and I’ve gotten awful lazy.

With all that said, here is the tenth funk fix. It just worked out that way.

01 In The Summertime (because I am fiending)-The Peddlers
02 Got To Do It Right (because I just have to)-Mike James Kirkland
03 Deal With It (ditto)-Jimmy Lane & The Incredibles
04 Get Out Of My Life, Woman-Grasella Oliphant
05 Just Plain Funk (self explanatory)-James Polk
06 Droppin’ (instrumental)-Funkshone
07 Ruthie’s Theme (for JB, a co worker)-Dickie Goodman
08 Tiki Tofu-Calypso King & The Soul Investigators
09 It’s Down To It-The Ice Man’s Band
10 Broasted Or Fried-King Hector & The Soul Dynamites
11 Hippy Skippy Moon Strut-The Mighty Show Stoppers
12 Can Mind-James Brown Featuring The Grodeck Whipperjenny
13 Season Of The Witch-Lou Rawls
14 Mama Get Yourself Together-Baby Huey
15 Black Belt Jones-Dennis Coffey
16 Slow Motion-Afrique
17 Down Home Girl-The Coasters
18 Give Me Mercy (from all this snow)-Ruff Francis
19 Soul Food (aka Black Jack)-Frankie Seay
20 Waiting For The Juice-The Unstoppable S. Robinson & His Marvelaires
21 Mighty Mighty-Jesse Anderson
22 Funky So And So Pt. 2-Sugarman Three

Please download and enjoy Fufu Funk Fix No. 10, 96 MB.

**NEW LINKS**   here or here **NEW LINKS**

and now for the closing commentary.

I purposely let the third anniversary of this insignificant little corner of the blogisphere slip by, mostly because of a lack of time, but also as a result of those dreaded real life issues which drain my motivation. I had to come to the realisation that after a somewhat successful run, I finally got the nerve to pack up and relocate to a new home. It’s been a long time coming to say the least, but I have broken ground on the all new Fufu Stew in an attempt to make the place look much neater. The next time we meet, which I hope will be soon, I will cut the ribbon and be open for business. If you want a sneak peek, go to http://chef2010.baywords.com and have a look round. The process is going well; I’ve got a little extra time on my hands, y’know? Now if this is your first time here, then please take advantage while you can for it may not be here long, and I can’t guarantee that all the old posts will make the trek from here to the new spot. I’ll leave everything intact for as long as I can though.

Back to shoveling snow… and another round of midterms. Until the next time we meet (and I hope it’s soon), have fun(k) and as always, please be safe.

Peace and blessings.

I put the “grinch” gear away (including AntiDivas No. 11 and much more)

Hello, kiddies.

Here’s this year’s tree, lovingly trimmed by me and my beloved Leslie. Not a bad job, huh? We’re still trying to keep the tinsel out of our cats’ reach though…

Well, here we are at the end of another year here in the Fufu Stew kitchen. If I told you it was an easy year, with exhausting studies and other assorted mayhem at every turn, I would certainly be telling a lie. All things considered, I’ve truly been blessed. Now that I can breathe for a couple of weeks, I’m gonna crack open a beer and

I’ll keep the introduction short and sweet, but I do want to give a huge ear splitting shoutout to Ava and all the readers of jemsite.com for recommending that this little ol’ blog on its list of recommended sites. I placed the medal over in the sidebar for all to see and click if you so desire. Thanks to all of you for your support the past few months. My “acceptance speech” is forthcoming…

Now, to the crux of the post…

I told some of my friends that I was going to be putting together a brand new AntiDivas collection to close out the year. For those of you who have been collecting them, you know how special they are to me. Well, without further ado, here is the eleventh installment.

01 Baby, Do That Thing-Honey & The Bees

02 Soul Sister Annie-Melanie

03 It Ain’t What You Do It’s How You Do It-Laura Lee

04 Light My Fire-Spanky Wilson

05 You Ole Boo Boo You-Ruby Andrews

06 On A Back Street-Carolyn Franklin

07 Take Me in Your Arms (And Love Me)-Lulu

08 For What It’s Worth-Miriam Makeba

09 Take Him (You Can Have My Man)-Jean Knight

11 Gotta Find A Brand New Lover Pt. 1-The Sweet Inspirations

12 Gotta Find A Brand New Lover Pt. 2-The Sweet Inspirations

13 I Walk On Guilded Splinters-Cher

14 You Stay On My Mind-Lena Mone’

15 Trouble-Foxy

16 Silly Silly Fool-Dusty Springfield

17 I Don’t Want No Mama’s Boy-Erma Franklin

18 Honey Coated Loving-Betty And Angel

19 What Do You See In Her-Inell Young

20 Danger! (Playboy at Work)-Mary Davis

21 I’ve Got The Next Dance-Denice Williams

22 Ooh Yeah-Betty Davis

23 There’s Music In The Air-Letta Mbulu

24 My Way-Aretha Franklin

25 I Am Woman-Betty Wright

Please download and enjoy AntiDivas No. 11, 92 MB.

Big thanks to Super Soul Sisters and What… Cat 8 Your Tongue for the noble assist. Much respect to both of you. Please visit and support these fine sites if such is your bag.

Now if 45s are still your bag (and I am equally as sorry that I’ve been lacking in the 45 rpm exercises), here’s a special Christmas treat from the Four Brothers Beats team. I’ve been waiting for this day for months. Finally, the transcontinental clocks are all synchronised. I joined forces with our resident DJ and brother in arms, the mighty LP2, who most of you should remember as being not only one of the finalists from the Damn! contest (more on that later), but also the winner of last year’s 4BB logo contest. Together we came up with a nice little 45 rpm exercise where I supplied the vinyl, and the good brother put his magic touch upon it. This is the first of what I hope will be many collaborations.

Please download and enjoy 4BB Breaks Vol. 1by dropping in at the 4BB compound.

But before you do that, I’d like to say that the Damn! Contest was a smash success. It was a knock down drag out remix fest. Big congratulations to Gorque the undisputed winner… For his hard work, he got a real nice prize package… I myself am deeply jealous. The runner up didn’t do too bad either. Great work was done by all the contestants. As an extra special treat, I am pleased to be able to bring you the official Damn! remix EP. The tracklisting is as follows:

01-Headstone (Original Mix)

02-Get Your Grown Man On (Original Mix)

03-Headstone (Gorque’s Champion Remix)

04-Headstone (LP2 Remix)

05-Get Your Grown Man On (Gorque Remix)

06-Get Your Grown Man On (C.H. Remix)

07-Get Your Grown Man On (Saft Sthlm Remix)

08-Get Your Grown Man On (Mofo Trio Remix)

If you haven’t already picked this one up from 4BB, then please download and enjoy the Damn! Remix EP, courtesy of the good folks at Pope/Universal, and of course, Damn! Much respect. The original versions of “Get Your Grown Man On” and “Headstone” are available on the latest Damn! CD, “Let’s Zoom In”. Be sure to snag a copy from Dusty Groove America.

Well, I’m outta here. I’ve got some gifts to open and some food to eat, not to mention, some music to play. I’m going to try with all my might to return on New Years’ Day to kick off another year of mouth-watering freeform goodness. I want to thank those of you who continue to be in my corner as I press on. I know I don’t have the greatest blog out there, but I try my best to do what I love, and that alone is reason enough to soldier on. I hope that you all have a wonderful holiday season, and remember, whatever you do, be sure to do it good. Until next year, have fun(k) and as always, please be safe.

Peace and blessings.

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.