We Got time to waste some time...

So I am sitting on my back deck as I type this. It was a helluva slow work day today the Thursday before the July 4th weekend. On my way home I make a quick stop at my favorite wine store in the city Just Grapes. I grabbed a few Zin's (red that is), Syrah's, and a few Cali Sparklers for the weekend. After all, there are no 3 better wines to have on hand for summer time and when doing some BBQ.

I take Pascal for a walk and open one of these wines (the Syrah). Rad stops by with a friend and we have a "smoke" to kick the weekend off. Next up.... of course TUNES....

So if you are a regular reader on this site you may have seen a mention of a band called Harlem Shakes. We saw them open for Passion Pit a few weeks ago at the Empty Bottle. So why am I just writing about them now? Well, I have only had the album a few weeks and been busy so lay off. Over the past few weeks I have had at least 3 friends comment on this band. So... I figured it was time to spread the word. After all, this site is Bands We Like.

The record is called Technicolor Health. The band hails from Brooklyn. Their songs are smart, fun, and totally addictive. The cheerful kind of album to throw on while hanging out with friends this summer while sipping your favorite libation. My favorite track of theirs being a song called TFO with an echoing chorus of " Reel In... Your feelins...We got time to waste some time. We got time to waste some time now...

Check em out peeps. Happy and Safe 4th to all of you.

KMan

Soul

Soul huh?

So you're looking to expand your music interests and aren't quite ready to delve into hip-hop and don't know commercial r&b music quite yet (we'll cover hip-hop at a later time). Let me
suggest you wade into the pool of soul music for starters. In order to do so we need to differentiate a little. When I refer to soul music here I am not referring to funk or disco. I am not referring to modern day r&b either although this would be a more modern version of soul music.

But in order to decipher all of the modern day garbage produced under the guise of r&b you need to start with an understanding of what truly good soul is and is not. For this I have compiled a list of some of the essentials to start you off with. By no means is this a complete list but it is a very good start into the world of soul music and eventually into an appreciation for the good modern day r&b music.
Here goes....

• Stevie Wonder
• Al Green
• Marvin Gaye
• Bill Withers
• Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
• James Brown
• Barry White
• Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes
• Teddy Pendergrass
• Luther Vandross
• Sam Cooke
• Lionel Richie

If you can give yourself some honest time to devote to the list above it will change the way you view music. You will demand better from today's r&b musicians. Music meant someting other than a paycheck to every one of the above mentioned artists. They would have made soul music for free and without recognition because each of them had a story to tell.There are a few today that, at times, remind me of the soul music found in listening to Stevie and Marvin. Here's a few of them....

• R.Kelly
• Raheem Devaughn
• Musiq Soulchild
• Anthony David
• John Legend
• Maxwell
• Anthony Hamilton
• Babyface
• Jaheim
• Brian McKnight

There's a time and place for soul and r&b music and I hope you start to develop a collection to reference when that time and place comes.

- Josher

Jacko...

It's a day after the news....Michael Jackson is dead. Some of you may not know how to feel about that. Some of you are mourning today. Some of you are not but should be. And if you're one of those haters talking shit today you're an idiot.

Michael Jackson is one of the greatest musicians we've ever had on this planet. Hands down. End of story. And that is without debate. And if you're thinking there's room for debate than you just don't know the facts and should probably do yourself a favor and stop talking. Permanently. Jacko has been inducted to the Rock And Roll Fame....TWICE! He has 13, yes, 13 Grammy awards. Jacko had 13 number 1 singles. He also has the best-selling album of ALL TIME, Thriller, and another four that are among the best selling... Off The Wall, Bad, Dangerous, and HIStory. The reason you can't think of any other band or artist with those accolades is because there aren't any!

Jacko is to pop what The Beatles are to rock n' roll. I don't know how else to put it. The man was a genius and a superstar. And not just here in America but in every single country on this planet! He was a superstar before he turned 12! Their first four major label singles to come from the Jackson 5 were #1 hits!

Jacko's influence on our society as a whole is almost impossible to determine because it's so vast. Besides being the King Of Pop, Michael Jackson's music videos are the stuff of legend. His influence on hip-hop and R&B alone is unfathomable and no one questions their influence on the society we live in today. Who amongst us hasn't tied one on at a wedding party and attempted a moonwalk or two?! Or broken out the robot after a few too many cocktails?! Or worn a BeDazzled white glove on our hand to impress the ladies?! Ok, maybe the last one was his alone but you get where I'm going. The influence this man had on the music industry, culture, and society as a whole will last for generations upon generations. Your grandchildren will know who Jacko was. Their grandchildren will know of him.

His contributions to music will endure forever. I am not one of those scrambling to download some Jacko today... he's always been in my collection of music and always will be. As a matter of fact, the Jacko mix I've had assembled on my Ipod for years now will be playing on an endless loop in my cafe today in memory of the King. Thank you Michael.

- Josher (Don't Stop 'Till You Get Enough!)

Dear And The Headlights

I couldn't be more happy that someone is paying attention! Check out this write-up on one of my favorite bands taken from the Phoenix News. Well done Martin Cizmar!

Great live band and really decent guys to boot. Snag both of their albums (Drunk Like Bible Times and Small Steps, Heavy Hooves) and catch them live whenever possible!

- Josher

Down The Front

Whoa!

-Josher

Bob Marley

Reggae? Since no one has taken a stab at anything reggae yet I'm going to put myself out on a limb here and do so. And I know I'm probably going to catch some heat for this one too but here goes anyways ya damn hippies.

Bob Marley IS reggae. End of story. Plain and simple. Cut and dry. Maybe, but severely unlikely, there will be another at some point in the future that claims the genre known as reggae like Marley did but until that time do not bother with anything but Mr.Marley. Trust me.

When I first started listening to Marley I was young and in high school and more than likely came upon his music the very way you did as well...the ganja. Since then, my love of Bob Marley has led me to explore other supposedly great reggae masters and I have done so to the best of my ability and with an open mind (see: ganja).

I have spent plenty of time trying to absorb Peter Tosh. And Burning Spear. A little Jimmy Cliff. I've even attempted the new school versions like Buju Banton and Ziggy. And they're quite simply not even in the same league. Marley is a professional and they're playing little league. Maybe some could make the minors but that's about it. Marley defined a genre all by himself by writing songs that meant something. Not just to the descendents of slaves on the island of
Jamaica but to myriads of white Brits and Americans as well! And those same songs, written and sung decades ago, echo still today. They're timeless. And one helluva way to spend a sunny afternoon!

He introduced us all to the Rastafari movement and created an entire sub-culture of weed smokers that weren't even necessarily hippies. And he always put together "experiences" live. Not just a concert or a show but something that those that have ever seen him live not only remember but cherish. And he did it in places like Germany! A weed-smoking black man from Jamaica getting thousands of post-Hitler whities screaming for more in places like Dortmund.

Marley is a true legend. And more than likely why his greatest hits album "The Best Of Bob Marley And The Wailers" is appropriately titled Legend. If you're at all interested in reggae (and you should be) it should start and end with Bob Marley.

-Josher

Good Books

I would just like to send a quick a shout-out and farewell to a wonderful band that I'm going to miss dearly. It's been announced via their Facebook group that the band Good Books is no longer and will be performing their last show at Glastonbury (UK) this Saturday the 27th.

Their album "Control" was a gem of a find for me and I immediately fell in love with them and featured them on many of my monthly indie playlists. The song "Leni" still gets me to this day. Fucking brilliant.

We wish you well boys and hope that some day you reconsider and pull off another album together!

-Josher

My House in Montmartre...

When I was younger I went on a trip to Europe. We flew from New York to Rome, drove all over Italy, then took the train north from Milan through Switzerland into France. We spent the last leg of our trip in Paris. I loved it and still think about everything I experienced while I was there. One thing I didn't get a chance to experience was the music scene, although I did catch a night at the Folies Bergere. That counts, right?

When it comes to music, I'm open minded. Among other things, I appreciate good house music. Lately, I've been focusing on a really interesting wave of French house that was at it's peak in the early 2000's but continues to influence a lot of artists today. Over the last year or so, I've found myself listening to more and more of it.

Traditional house music was based in Chicago in the very late 70's and early 80's then moved to New York, Detroit and then on to the UK. In the mid to late 90's the French started to create their own sound. It's distinctively old school in the sense that it draws from the disco style beats of its Chicago club roots. Starting with Daft Punk and Cassius and later influencing countless other artists like Air and Phoenix, French house has a smooth dance feel that's really easy to listen to.

One album I'm giving a lot of air time to lately is called My House in Montmartre. Originally released in March of 2002, it gives you a really go idea of the sound and style I've been referring to. I've been enjoying this album for a while now and I think you should give it a try and let me know what you think. If you like good beats and house influenced dance music, I think you're gonna dig it.

-ESL

Where to get music

Where do I find my music?

Everyone always asks where I come across all of my music. Each of us have our own little secrets about how we get new music inlcuding tv, radio, friends, internet etc. Here are a few of my favs...

• International Music Feed
• La Blogotheque
• Subterranean
• Metacritic
• CMJ
• OhMyRockness
• Sirius XM U
• Daytrotter

Those are a few really good places to start. I also have a ton of different torrents I use, along with music I pull from the places above, which is how I compile the monthly playlists (which is always a work in progress!). I hope this helps.

-Josher

Movies

Which movies come to mind when you think of stand-out soundtracks? Here's a few that jump to the front of my psyche...

• Rushmore
• Trainspotting
• Pulp Fiction
• O Brother, Where Art Thou?
• Singles
• A Clockwork Orange
• Shine
• Jackie Brown
• Good Will Hunting
• Above The Rim
• Almost Famous
• Dazed And Confused
• Reservoir Dogs
• High Fidelity
• Once
• 8 Mile
• Grosse Pointe Blank
• Stand By Me
• Garden State
• Purple Rain
• Saturday Night Fever
• Juno

Are there any you think should have made this list but didn't?

-Josher