a friendly reminder from joey about where not to be alone with the king of r&b in your house - or any house for that matter

there are no other words for this. except maybe,

Here we are, in this kitchen, kitchen
Sexin' each other from feet to head
Now, some folks may raise the question
"Why can't they just get a bed?"
Yeah, there ain't nothin' wrong
With us in the kitchen gettin' it on, no
Girl, it's like five hundred degrees and here we are
By the cabinet do's, by the stove
Hot buttered rolls on your tippy-toes

******************************

I'd also like to thank Sam for making the new banner at the top of this page. She's a real pro, and she does all sorts of designs. Which you can find at her lovely website.

******************************

AND WE'LL BE CUTTING UP TOMATOES
FRUITS AND VEGETABLES AND POTATOES

from the shelves: bob dorough

What good is it having all these old-fangled records if I can't share them? And what's more, I'd like to provide a bit of context about why I (and you should) care about these dusty artifacts. We'll start with Arkansas' own Bob Dorough:



That handsome young gentleman happened to be one of Miles Davis' favorite singers, recruited after the notoriously prickly trumpeter was impressed by his lyrical rendition of Charlie Parker's "Yardbird Suite." One result of their collaborations was a rare Miles Davis album track with vocals, "Nothing Like You," on the Sorcerer LP. Dorough later experienced some-what of a comeback and gained more mainstream fame as the singer responsible for "Conjunction Junction," "Three is a Magic Number," and a lot of other Schoolhouse Rock fare. I'll pause while you re-live your childhood.



This album, released in 1966, is (for me at least) his definitive release. It doesn't exactly resemble the Miles Davis' era or the Schoolhouse Rock period of Dorough's career - but it does seamlessly blend the talents that make his entire discography worth examining. Backed by the elegant trio of guitarist Al Shackman, bassist Ben Tucker and drummer Percy Brice, Dorough's sophisticated piano and idiosyncratic voice carry the record through jazz, folk and blues without dropping a beat.

Among my favorite tracks are the spectral "Lazy Afternoon," the traditional adaptation (but seemingly autobiographical) "Crawdad Song," and a much better-than-you'd-expect version "Don't Think Twice," by esteemed contemporary (perhaps you've heard of him?) Bob Dylan.

I picked up this album during my one and only visit to State College, Pennsylvania for a measly three bucks, intrigued by Miles' brief mention of him in his autobiography, and brought it back to Ann Arbor only to find out Bob Dorough was a life-long friend of my roommate Theo's family. Theo's father, jazzman Lee Katzman, is a book unto himself, so I can't begin to expound on him in a mere blog post, but his close relationship to Dorough is the crowning seal of approval for this chronically underrated singer.

Furthermore, When I listen to this, I think of young Theo sitting rapt on the couch as Bob tickled the ivories and sang "Baltimore Oriole" in their living room. I think of that, and I think of Theo singing "Baltimore Oriole" at his last concert as a U of M music student, and it's hard not to smile.

Download:
Bob Dorough Just About Everything 320 vinyl rip

radio love #2

Since the first radio love, where I expounded upon my love for "Break Up," I've gained an even greater appreciation for Guccie Mane. The 'So Icy Boy' stuff I can do without, and with a few rare exceptions rapping about substances usually = no substance. But there's something about Gucci Mane that's worth repeated listens. The "Gucci!'s," "BrRrRrR's" and the "'sgucci!'s," that he litters throughout his songs are no small part of the charm.

Ever since Young Jeezy and his "yeeeaaahhhs" and creepy laughing I think it's sort of a prerequisite for Southern rappers to figure out some way to punctuate their rhymes with a memorable catchphrase. Gucci manages to squeeze at least a dozen examples during the version of Mariah Carey's "Obsessed," where he's prominently featured.

It makes sense too, Mariah is one of the biggest solo artists out there, and even at this stage in her career, she has star-making capabilities. She's always had esoteric tastes in supporting men (remember the "Fantasy" remix with ODB?) and Gucci doesn't squander the oppurtunity presented. His low growl is all over the song, even when he's not rapping. Not un-coincidentally, radio stations have been playing this more than the original.

My feelings about the actual song? It's more fun with Gucci, and not as petty, but still a bit limp. If you don't know the background of the tune, learn something, but as an diss track, it's not as pointedly effective as Eminem's response. With the added humor, it comes closer, but Mariah has never been nearly as adept at self-deprecation as Shady. No matter how you want to analyze it's intentions, one listen to the anthemic chorus was enough to know it'd be a monster hit, and that it was. This song was a rocket, Gucci was the after-booster. For me, it was also a bit of a grower - sort of like Mariah herself (go back and watch some of her videos: they may all be the same song, but they're kind of good and she's kind of sexy). Besides, hearing Mariah Carey call someone else "crazy" is the perfect sort of reminder about how seriously you should be taking this stuff.

Mariah Carey feat. Gucci Mane - Obsessed (remix)

krakatoa

Right now, this blog is like a volcano ready to erupt. The magma (all my crap) has finally been unpacked, the result of a tectonic shift (hello cookie factory loft!) thats about to result in a stream of lava that will melt your hard drives and leave you all frozen in time as I simultaneously rain hot ash down upon you.

It's hard to predict exactly when the blast will occur, but I think you're all safe for the next couple days. I'll be busy with this:





and this:



I will be there Saturday, DJing with bands from noon until the after-after-after-after party on some rooftop backlit by the rising sun. Good times. Japanther! NinjaSonik! Me!

So again, HOODSTOCK
September 12th
2523 MLK JR
NOON to night (or the cops show up, 16 bands...)