It took me a little while to jump on the Phoenix bandwagon, but it’s hard not to like this band, great melodies, fun punchy electro rhythms, English lyrics for all the Yankees to sing, but with slightly French phrasing, so it still cooler than any “regular” American could sing. In fact their sound can be so enticing, that you might not pay attention to the lyrics. Case in point, is “Countdown.” The first 4 or 5 times I listened to this song, I was pretty convinced that it was all about sweet remembrance of youth, perhaps youthful discretions or other reckless behavior that just seems right when you’re young and oh so wrong once you turn 30. (more…)

Portland Cello Project feat. Thao – Beat (Health, Life and Fire)

New release from venerable indie label Kill Rock Stars matches this rather lovely group of cellists with two very fine indie-folksters, Thao and Justin Power.  Here’s their reworking of Thao’s “Beat (Health Life & Fire),” one of my favorite songs of 2008.

24-Carat Black – I’ll Never Let You Go

For the second time in as many years, a musical dream of mine has come true. In 2008, I learned that there were instrumental versions of the records that David Axelrod recorded with the Electric Prunes.  I was nothing short of amazed. This collection of recordings from the legendary 24-Carat Black tops that find significantly.

Some 35 years after it was recorded, the Numero Group has dug up the long lost recordings for the second album by 24-Carat Black. The 6 songs on this collection aptly titled Gone: The Promises of Yesterday are very much in the spirit of the debut, sonically, but not thematically. While some of the members in the group had changed, the core returns, Dale Warren, Princess Hearn and a seriously funky drummer Tyrone Steels. Based on the songs on this collection, it appears that band-leader Dale Warren was interested in presenting another concept record, but instead of one focused on the urban condition, he was broadening his scope to focus on love. (more…)

The Good Foot goes down every 2nd and 4th Friday at Temporary Spaces in East Hollywood. We play soul, funk & rare grooves. End to end burners all night long, keeping it hot, funky & sweaty…from 10pm – 2am, No cover, 21+.  Just FYI, Temp. Spaces doesn’t have a ton of street parking surrounding it, but there is a little valet across the street. Expect it to be packed inside by Midnight…

UPCOMING GUEST DJS FOR THE GOOD FOOT:

August 14th: Jeremy Sole (Afro-Funke/Musaics/KCRW)!!!

August 28th: O-dub (Soul-sides/Boogaloo[la]) & Rani D (Soul In The Park)!!!

Oumou Sangare – Wele Wele Wintou

This record has actually been out for a fairly long time, but I only recently discovered it after hearing in on Tom Schnabel’s show at KCRW. Great contemporary sounds out of Mali from perhaps the reigning queen of African music. Rhythm king Tony Allen is a guest on one track and sounds like he could be on this one too, a bit of modern Afro-beat that is a lyrical critique against child marriage pratices.

Our first post in this new feature is a sweet bit of indie-rock from Atlanta, GA (my hometown) based group Deerhunter.  This song, “Agoraphobia,” was featured on their 2008 album Microcastle, one of the best releases from last year.  “Agoraphobia” is defined as an abnormal fear of open or public spaces.  On the face of it, much of that comes across in the lyrics to the song, where it seems the subject wants to be locked away, perhaps in an asylum, isolated from the world.

However, when I listen to this song, especially the way Bradford Cox sings the beautiful use of alliteration in the opening, I’m strangely reminded not of a person who is scared of being in public and wants to be alone, but instead someone who is madly, blindly, obsessively in love (more…)

I am very pleased to announce that I’ll be starting up a new weekly at a legendary spot in downtown Los Angeles, beginning Sunday August 2nd. The night is called “Gris Gris,” and it will go down every Sunday night from 10pm-2am at La Cita, located at 336 S. Hill St.

This night will feature a variety of styles, Soul, Funk, Latin Bugalú, Salsa Dura, Yé-yé, Mod, Beat, Psych, Proto-Punk, Tropicália, Ska, Rock Steady, Reggae, and other Rare Grooves to recharge your mojo and start the week off right. We’ll primarily focus on original sounds from the 1960s & early 1970s, but also include contemporary artists that channel the spirits of the past.