Today marks exactly one year that Melting Pot has been up and running! I want to thank all of you who have been checking out the blog and especially for spreading the word (please keep doing so!). I think this coming year will be even better than the first, especially now that we’re over at KPFK. Expect more giveaways and performances to find their way here, in addition to the same mix of music.
One consequence of no longer being at KCRW is that I have to archive my radio programs directly on this blog which takes up significant space. This means that the majority of music will be up for only one month from the day it was posted. I may make exceptions for performances (once we start doing them!) and for special shows (the MJ Tribute will be here until the end of days…) but that’s the new policy now here at Melting Pot. So, if there’s music here that you dig and don’t have in your own collection, make sure you get it before it’s gone. In celebration of this 1st anniversary, at some point in between now and August 7th, I’ll be rolling out a mix of my favorite tracks from year one of “Dig Deep,” still in the concept phase right now, might focus just on breaks, might mix full versions, but I think this will be a yearly affair from here on out.
I’ll also be starting a new feature, Top 5’s, later next week. When KCRW started their “Five Things” blog stories, I found that there were a bunch of lists that were rolling around in my head, so “Top 5’s” will likely be a bi-weekly feature. Along with “Pound For Pound” and “What Does It All Mean?” I’m really hoping that as the years go passing by, “Top 5’s” will be another avenue for discussions about music, which is the only thing I wish we had a bit more of over here at Melting Pot. (Comment Please!!!)
Thank you all for checking out the blog and radio show…Onwards and Upwards!
It’s official! My new show on KPFK debuts this Sunday. “Melting Pot” will be on the air, every Sunday from 4-6pm, left coast time on KPFK 90.7 FM Los Angeles, 98.7 FM in Santa Barbara and worldwide at KPFK.org. I’ll be putting up the audio for shows on the blog here and keep them up for a month at a time, in case you miss a show. The music will be similar to what I did over at KCRW and KALX, diverse sounds from all over, from different eras and different genres with an emphasis on all things funky.
I’ve also set up a new facebook page for the show and this blog. Check it out and become a fan!
Pretty much since I started doing these webcasts of the Melting Pot Radio Hour I’d thought about doing a show like this, a show focused on the records that I can’t live without. When you’ve listened to thousands of records, from all over the world and different time periods, choosing the most essential music you’ve ever heard is a really difficult task. A lot of it, I’ve found, is very much related to where you are at a moment, in addition to how the music has affected you throughout your life. So, what I have for you here are my top 10 Desert Island discs, along with a couple honorable mentions. I hope you enjoy the show and I would love to hear your own Top 10 records that you can’t live without here in the comments section or over e-mail.
Book: The Complete Poetical Works and Letters of John Keats
Luxury item: King Size Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
Honorable Mentions:
The Monkees – Headquarters – Colgems (1967)
A Tribe Called Quest – People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm – Jive (1990)
Curtis Mayfield – Curtis – Curtom (1970)
The Velvet Underground – The Velvet Underground – MGM (1969)
Nick Drake – Bryter Layter – Island (1969)
John Coltrane – A Love Supreme – Impulse! (1965)
Top 10 Desert Island Discs:
10. Gal Costa – Gal Costa (Não Identificado) – Phillips (1969)
9. The Minutemen – Double Nickels on the Dime – SST (1984)
8. Michael Jackson – Off The Wall – Epic (1979)
7. Sly & the Family Stone – Stand! – Epic (1969)
6. Booker Little – Out Front – Candid (1961)
5. Irma Thomas – Down At Muscle Shoals – Chess/Charly (1988)
4. Charles Mingus – Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus – Impulse! (1963)
3. Jimi Hendrix Experience – Electric Ladyland – Reprise (1968)
2. Talk Talk – Spirit of Eden – EMI (1988)
1. Johnny Hartman – Songs From The Heart – Bethlehem (1955)
Sold three of the six records for a grand total of $150+ (minus Ebay fees), more than enough to keep Melting Pot in the black for another year (if only our state/federal budget could be balanced so easily…).
Thanks to the three winners of the records and to any and all of you who spread the word about the records up for auction. Sometime next year, after a suggestion, I’ll likely put together a fundraiser mix, but for now the best way to support this blog is to keep checking here and spread the word about Melting Pot!
Here’s the first official post for my new audioblog, Melting Pot. In the coming months and years you’ll find notes on a variety of sounds from funk and soul to latin and psych to punk and jazz and back again (select About Melting Pot in the list of categories for more details on the different features of this audioblog).
I thought I’d start the festivities off with a song, one of my favorites that share the title of this blog. The original is a classic B-boy cut by Booker T & the MGs from 1971, something that should be in every DJs collection. The version I’m posting here was done shortly after that by Jamaican Boris Gardiner on his record Is What’s Happening, which I got on a crunchy Jamaican vinyl reissue of the original album, bought at Amoeba Hollywood some time ago.
Here's the label to Boris Gardiner's Is What's Happening featuring "Melting Pot"
While this version retains much of the original’s funky feel, Gardiner does add some mean tambourine and fuzzy guitar into the rhythm, plus there’s a massive drum break towards the final third, something that always seems about to happen in the MG’s version, but never really materializes (at least not to my satisfaction, though I do love the original).
If you’re new to Gardiner’s music, there’s an excellent retrospective put out by Vampi Soul that you should definitely check out.
Originally from Atlanta, GA, Michael Barnes has worked as a DJ at non-commercial radio stations around the country since 1993, including his current station KPFK Los Angeles, 90.7FM. Barnes holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley and is presently a lecturer in Sociology at CSU-Long Beach. He currently resides in the Los Angeles area with his wife, Rosalba Gutierrez.
The metaphor of the Melting Pot is just a way to symbolize the variety of music that you’ll find on this audioblog. My tastes lean towards the funky, but you’ll find notes on a variety of genres from many different periods of time, from contemporary to classic and in between.
I generally add new content two or three times a week, sometimes more, sometimes less. The regular features of this audioblog are as follows:
Breakdown:
A rundown of my latest radio program, often including playlists and self-deprecating commentary.
Heavy Rotation:
A quick highlight of releases that I’m currently obsessively obsessed with.
Under Review:
More substantive reviews of new music and recent reissues.
Dig Deep:
20th century archeology from my record collection.
What Does It All Mean?:
Song analysis, just short of full-on deconstructionism, audience participation greatly appreciated.
Pound For Pound:
Here’s where classic artists or records go mano y mano and you decide who’s the champ.
I post between 1 & 3 songs from records, at 128kbs. My hope is that the music you find here inspires you to support these artists (especially if they are performing nearby to where you are), discover something you might not have heard about or perhaps to be reminded of some sounds you might have forgotten. If you’re an artist or label rep and you object to your music being placed on this blog, kindly (emphasis on kindly) request that I remove the music and I’ll leave the pretty words only.
Feel free to contact me about anything else at michael(at)meltingpotblog.com
Become a fan on Facebook or drop me a line with the icons below
