The Blog

While my mom and sister were in town, we saw Fela the Musical on Broadway. While I haven’t seen more than four plays on Broadway, this was by far the best production I’ve seen. The energy level was sky high.

Take a look at the show’s opening number:

In the video below, my favorite number from the show:

Michael’s best material was produced in his youth: from the Jackson 5 era to right around the time the Thriller album peaked. And if I’ve being completely honest with myself, and not too many Michael fans are, Mr. Jackson was all down hill after Man In The Mirror and Earth Song. (Send all hate mail to comments section.) What came before his decline, however, is more than enough to tide me over. RIP, Mike.

I Wanna Be Where You Are is my favorite Jackson 5 song.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

I Can’t Help It, from the “Off The Wall” album … Michael’s best by far, in my humble opinion.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

What can I say about Stevie Wonder that hasn’t already been said. Not much, really. He’s one of the greatest. I can’t imagine what I’d really know about music without having ever heard Knocks Me Off My Feet, As or Don’t You Worry About A Thing. And I can go to my grave knowing I’d seen him perform live, right in front of my eyes, even if for a brief moment. (Last year. Fred Hammond concert in L.A.)

Here’s one of my many favorites, Ordinary Pain.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Funk music is often imitated these days. But no one left it waft like Sly and the Family Stone. Their music was in heavy rotation during our family road trips growing up. I have too many favorites to name. The track I’m posting is reminder to me and those of my generation struggling to find their place in a hostile job market. The chips are stacked against us…but we can make it, if we try.

Here’s You Can Make It If You Try.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

I have an interesting history with Ray Charles, in that I was afraid of him as a toddler. Knowing I was terrified of Mr. Charles, my biological father, before he and my mother divorced, used to chase me around the kitchen wearing dark shades. What made me afraid of him? I couldn’t begin to tell you. I eventually came around to liking Ray, right around the time I became terrified of Freddy Krueger.

The track I’ve posted is one of my favorites. Imagine sitting in a black Protestant church. The organist begins playing the overture that signals it’s time for offering. The congregation stands up in the pews, awaiting the instructions of the church ushers. The choir members stand and begin to sway rhythmically, readying themselves to sing. That’s what this record sounds like to me…

…except it’s titled Let’s Go Get Stoned. Listen for yourself.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

I’m not going to pontificate on James Brown’s greatness. There’s not another performer like him on earth. Looking for a song to get you pumped up? Need a workout song? Need a jolt of “revolutionary” in your spirit? This ought to do the trick.

Here’s Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved Part 2 from his live recording “Revolution of the Mind.”

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

If Marvin Gaye were alive today, I’m sure he’d be humming chords of Mercy Mercy Me:

Oh, mercy mercy me
Oh, things ain’t what they used to be
No, no
Oil wasted on the oceans and upon our seas
Fish full of mercury

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is arguably the most tragic thing that can happen to an ecosystem. I’ve posted this Gaye classic (pun not intended) in tribute to the people whose way of life has been altered by British Petroleum’s idiocy.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Friends of a friend of mine released their collaborative project last week. Soundmen and graphic designers Flwrpt and Algorythm pay hommage to Brooklyn’s BedStuy community with The Stuyvesants. It’s a collection of solid instrumentals fusing together hip hop, soul, funk and other genres seamlessly. Click on the album to visit their site and download the album.

Here’s a sample from the project, titled 20 Jefferson Ave Theme.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

I’ve made it a project to learn the music of artists who came and were gone long before my time on earth. I’m discovering Ella Fitzgerald. Thought I’d post a favorite of mine. (I’ve got so much more of her music to go through yet. I get exhausted just thinking about it.)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Up next, Sam Cooke.