September 2010
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August 2010
31 posts
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Watch#647: al green - tired of being alone (1971, soul train)
what’s out today? let me tell you: three dvds with five hours of soul train, one of the great institutions in american pop culture, hosted by don cornelius, the best-named man in show business. and as if that weren’t enough, there’s over three hours that time-life home entertainment is promising to be “fabulous bonus...
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Watch#640: the jesus and mary chain - just like honey (1985)
a slow-mo, long-haired, sweet-toothed summertime classic for those who enjoy wearing black turtlenecks while toeing that fine line between fuzzy and scuzzy.
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Watch#639: celia cruz & the fania all-stars - guantanamera rehearsal (zaire, 1974)
james brown struggles and sweats, then celia cruz struts and sways. her effortlessness is something from a greek myth. it is inhuman.
and when an audience is actually in front of her, brains will whirl into the cosmos.
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Watch#638: james brown - try me (1974, zaire)
the song is a wedding cake, the album cover is a silver platter, and james brown’s acappella astrological breakdown at the end of his performance in zaire ‘74 is icing: “baby!” he says. “yeah,” grunt the backup singers. “can i call her? baby! woman! gemini! scorpio! pisces! libra! virgo! cancer! aries!...
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July 2010
41 posts
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Watch#632: das racist - rainbow in the dark (2010)
first of all, this video is murder. second, the beat is delicious. thirdly, the cave-aged gruyère reference? fourth, and most importance by far, das racist has the couplet of the year so far: “catch me at the crib getting light to jeff mangum/ it’s fun to do bad things like rhyme about handguns.”
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Watch#631: neg ki pa ka fè la fèt - kimmannye (1990)
i definitely think that the next big thing is an obscure creole hybrid of dancehall reggae and hiphop made on the island of martinique, where the basslines are from the apocalypse and the lyrics sound like the barren and violent hours directly afterwards. frankly though i am not sure about this band’s name: it seems to also be spelled as...
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Watch#630: the clash - bankrobber (1980)
great moments in unexpected expressions of joy from members of the clash:
0:37 - mikey dread, producer and reggae legend, smiling with his tambourine
1:20 - joe strummer, frontman, twirls his bandana around
2:03 - mick jones, guitarist, grins punk rock’s rarest and most likeable grins
2:26 - mikey dread, at the controls, stands up and wobbles his...
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Watch#628: the left banke - walk away renée (1966)
it’s only the second most heavenly song that the left banke’s pianist, michael brown, wrote about the bassist’s girlfriend (no. 1 is here), but walk away renée gets bonus points for the black-and-white video, and because brown plays the harpsichord on the recording, and most importantly of all because he couldn’t play properly...
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