Gregory Porter – Liquid Spirit
Whew! I’m not sure how I slept on Gregory Porter, but I’m thankful I caught up, more or less in time for his debut Blue Note release (third full-length overall since 2011), Liquid Spirit. Dude sounds like the love child of Ray Charles and Les McCann as you’ll hear on the title cut. Don’t make my mistake…don’t sleep on Mr. Porter!
I wish I could say that this was a successful fundraising show, but it wasn’t, we didn’t come close to our goals and only had 1 call in the entire second hour, which was truly a shame because it had been dedicated to Sly & the Family Stone. At some point in the near future I’m going to turn to the listeners of Melting Pot and KPFK to find out how we can better serve you and get your support. I know we raise funds a lot on KPFK, but after three years I keep expecting that “this drive” things will be different. We’ll be back on the air with new music and hopefully some guests in a couple weeks, but until we’re able to do our part fully, looks like we’ll be sitting out these fundraisers. To those of you who do support the show and KPFK, a hundred thousand thank yous…to the rest of you, I do thank you for listening.
Melting Pot on KPFK #143: First Hour
Melting Pot on KPFK #143: Second Hour
Jerry Butler feat. Brenda Lee Eager – Ain’t Understanding Mellow
Jerry Butler – Walk Easy My Son
Jerry Butler – The Girl In His Mind
Been meaning to post this up too for quite some time, not just while I’ve been on a bit of hiatus lately, but way way before. I’d mentioned this album back in 2009 when I posted the Lost Generation’s “Sly, Slick & Wicked” 45, and how I’d been surprised the first time I’d heard that record, because I recognized the background music from a song on this album from former Impressions singer Jerry Butler. I’m not sure why they decided to bring that rhythm back, but I’m glad they did. “Ain’t Understanding Mellow” has the arrangement, but it’s clear that the same players from this album have re-recorded the track, which gives it a heavier feeling. I’ve had this in my collection ever since I took on most of the records from our family collection and it’s likely been around in our family since before I got here. It wasn’t until a little while ago that I realized what a sad and depressing record this is. I’d originally thought “Mellow” was two people being thankful for their love, instead it’s actually one of the oddest break-up songs that I’ve ever heard, the sonic equivalent of “I think we both know this isn’t gonna work out, let’s just be friends.” When I was getting ready to post this one here, I noticed how many of the other songs also carry strangely depressing, though poignant messages, “Walk Easy My Son,” is essentially a version of “The Talk” where the father is warning his son about all the dangers of the world, “The Girl In His Mind” should be romantic, but it’s a song where two people are dreaming of each other, but don’t know each other, live in two different cities and don’t get together at the end of the song, so we’re left with the girl still just being in the dude’s mind. Despite the sentiments in the lyrics, its really the production for the album that keeps bringing me back, you’d think Dale Warren and Popcorn Wylie were behind this one just because of the spacing and the darker tones that are brought out, but no, it mostly the usual Chicago suspects involved with Butler. Solid sounds and a worthy addition to any Chicago soul aficionado’s collection.
Cheers,
Michael
tUnE-yArDs, ?uestlove, Angelique Kidjo, & Akua Naru – Lady
Been meaning to post this for some time (grading kicked my ass all up and down the street the last couple of weeks. This is now the 2nd collection from the Red Hot organization, which does very fine work around the world on AIDS awareness, to feature the music of Nigerian legend Fela Kuti. In my opinion this one is a consistent improvement over the previous version which had more star power, but less quality. Here we find Baloji, M1 from Dead Prez, LA’s very own KING, master drummer Tony Allen, Sahr Ngaujah (who played Fela in the broadway musical), Kronos Quartet and members of My Morning Jacket, TV on The Radio and the Alabama Shakes paying tribute to the originator of Afrobeat. For me, the most interesting track is this version of “Lady,” the original of which had a killer rhythm but VERY troublesome lyrics denigrating African women who take on “western” aspects of femininity. With Angelique Kidjo and Akua Naru primarily on the vocals (along with Merrill from tUnE-yArDs) the lyrics become more playful and a song that could be described as “anti-feminist” becomes a feminist anthem. Highly recommended.
Literally just found out that I have a few more tickets that I can giveaway for Steve Earle’s performance tomorrow night at the Ford Theatre. Steve Earle is a living legend, a true national treasure in my opinion and someone who I sincerely hope I’ll get to bring into studio sometime in the future. If you’d to see him and his band the Dukes, e-mail me by 12noon Thursday at michael[at]meltingpotblog.com!!!
Here’s a fantastic video for the song “Invisible” from his latest release The Low Highway:
Here Mr. Earle performs the song “This City” which was written for New Orleans and featured in the series Treme:
It was our great pleasure to bring Robin Hannibal in for an interview this past Sunday on Melting Pot. We’d been in contact most of the summer with the hope of bringing in Quadron to perform, but things never quite panned out. Given the year that Robin has had, with highly acclaimed records from both Quadron and his other “main” project Rhye, it made good sense to just have Robin in to discuss both of these bands as well as his own side project Bobby. The interview with Robin and Coco in 2010 stands as one of my favorites that we’ve done, and I think this one is a nice sequel that definitely doesn’t disappoint. We spent essentially the entire show focusing on the music that Robin has created with Quadron, Rhye, Bobby, Owusu & Hannibal and Denmark’s Boom Clap Bachelors, spanning the last 7+ years. As you’ll hear, we cover a lot of territory with these multiple projects, get more insight into Robin’s creative process and approach to orchestrating the sound of his groups. We spent so much time talking that we didn’t have time for a guest DJ set that we’d originally planned on. But hopefully we’ll be able to bring him back sometime in the near future. Until then, enjoy the interview!
Robin Hannibal Interview on KPFK’s Melting Pot: 10-06-2013
Music played during the Interview:
Rhye – The Fall – Woman (Innovative Leisure)
Quadron – Neverland – Avalanche (Vested In Culture)
Bobby – Tame The Shrew – Single (Quieres Chicle)
Rhye – Last Dance – Woman (Innovative Leisure)
Really wasn’t completely sure this one was going to work out until pretty close to Sunday, but we were very happy to welcome back Robin Hannibal our studios. Essentially the entire show was given over to our interview with Robin, including a lot of music from his various projects. Next week we’re back in fundraising mode, so it was nice to leave you guys with a really fantastic interview just to highlight what makes KPFK and Melting Pot so special. Enjoy!
Melting Pot on KPFK #142: First Hour
Melting Pot on KPFK #142: Second Hour
Playlist: 10-06-2013
{opening theme} Booker T & the MGs – Melting Pot – Melting Pot (Stax)
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Quadron – Simili Life – Recorded Live At KPFK (KPFK Archives)
Bobby aka Robin Hannibal – Sneak Preview – Bobby EP (Plug Research)
Owusu & Hannibal – Blue Jay – Living With… (ubiquity)
Boom Clap Bachelors – Andres Haender – EP (Plug Research)
Rhye – Major Minor Love – Woman (Innovative Leisure)
Quadron – Befriend – Avalanche (Vested In Culture)
Rhye – Open – Woman (Innovative Leisure)
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Robin Hannibal Interview – Recorded Live At KPFK
Rhye – The Fall – Woman (Innovative Leisure)
Quadron – Neverland – Avalanche (Vested In Culture)
Bobby – Tame The Shrew – Single (Quieres Chicle)
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Rhye – Last Dance – Woman (Innovative Leisure)
George Jones – Sometimes You Just Can’t Win
George Jones – It’s A Sin
George Jones – Lonesome Old Town
Since that Valerie June show, I’ve been on a bit of a classic country kick. By the time he released this album George Jones was already a major star and had a bit of a reputation for trouble. With that classic crew cut, that hard stare, the amazingly flamboyant Nudie Suit that all the top country singers wore and those boots, lord those boots…quite a sight to behold. Jones doesn’t disappoint on record, even if he was already earning his nickname of “No Show Jones” by 1965. There’s something about the way that man sang, such perfect phrasing for a country singer. The fascinating thing about these classic country albums is how diverse the sounds truly are, far beyond the joke from the Blues Brothers of their being only two types of music, Country & Western, there are hints of Rockabilly, Blues and a bit more to be found from Mr. Jones and his band. Well worth a listen or just a quick gander to marvel at that style.
Cheers,
Michael
Frootful feat. Mazan Bedwei – The Road
Because of the fact that there is no working library at KPFK, I tend to figure out everything I’m going to play for my show, vinyl, CD, mp3’s, etc., and burn all of the music for the 2 hours onto a couple of CD-Rs. As I’m driving around Los Angeles I’ll often listen to songs from previous shows, and for quite some time my player has been stuck on this track from UK soulsters Frootful. So much of the appeal of the song for me occurs in the opening couple of seconds. By choosing to have Mazen Bedwei’s smoother than smooth vocals begin the song accapella, it gives the song an attention grabbing quality that as soon as the groove hits you’re fully hooked. I really don’t feel nearly as strongly about the rest of the material on the LP, but I will say this, in addition to having one of my favorite songs of the year, Heavyweight will likely be the runaway winner on the cutest record cover of the year.
This past Sunday I celebrated 20 years since I started as a DJ in Radio. I’ve never been a person who is particularly concerned about tooting their own horn and so putting a show together like this was really difficult. When I do anniversary shows for Melting Pot on KPFK, all of the focus is on the best music we recorded live in the past year. My personal style as a DJ is to not spend much time talking, especially not about myself, and keep the focus on the music. To do a show like this there was no way to escape having to talk about things that I’ve done but for me I wanted to focus less on accomplishments and instead focus on indelible memories. After working at 5 different stations, it was real hard cramming twenty years of memories into less than 2 hours. I tried to do justice to all the amazing people who I’ve worked with and tried to give a sense of what it’s been like to have the profound privilege to share music on the public’s airwaves (every station I’ve worked for has been non-commercial and either a college or community run station).
20 years seems like a long time when you call it “20 years,” but this time has really flown by. When I started I was 18 and really thought I knew something about music. 20 years later I feel like there’s still so much I don’t know and that might be part of the reason why I enjoy being on the air so much. Being a DJ, playing music, talking about it and interacting with listeners is such a fantastic experience. To have done it at 5 different and all extraordinary stations has been amazing. Since this is the thing that I’ve done longer than anything else in my life (I mention in the show how I now have students who weren’t even born when I started in radio which is crazy to me), it’s also one of few things I still do that my Mother, who passed away in 1995, was able to experience and be apart of. When I first started at Album 88, she would record my shows, even though they were from 3-6AM in the morning. Listening to some of those cassettes, and other shows over the years I’m amazed at the changes to my style, but also how similar everything has remained no matter where I am. Even now, when I get really excited about particular artists and songs, I sound exactly like I did almost twenty years ago. It’s highly likely that one of the reasons that I’ll continue to be a DJ for as long as I can convince someone to give me a show, is that the sense of discovery and the thrill of sharing music that you love is one of the best feelings I’ve ever had in my life. It’s been an honor to have been a DJ this long, I have no idea how long I’ll keep doing it, or where it will take me from here, but it’s truly been an honor.
There was no way in a two hour show that I could personal thank all the incredibly talented people who have influenced me as a DJ, so I’ll take that time to do now…WRAS Album 88: Randall Moore, Daryl Felker, Talib Shabazz, Chris Simony, Alan Moore, Christy Montero, Brian Montero, Chris Hall, Maddi Saluzzi, Dusty Fohs, Todd Phillips, Shachar Oren, Yancy Yohannon, The Cat, Tomomi , Will Griggs, Cecily Walker, Anni & Allison, Chris K, Lara Kiang, James Diggs, Eve, Paul Bush, Sonya Bowman, Jez De Wolfe, Mallory Sodano, Michael Overstreet, Bobby Carter, Kathryn Keith, Kerry Mumpower, Jeff Walker and Thomas Jackson Watts Jr. WORT: Norm Stockwell, Bill Malone, Elizabeth DiNovella, Gary Alderman, Jane Reynolds, Alex Wilding-White and, Sybil Augustine aka Rev. Velveteen KALX: Matthew Africa, Oliver Wang, Jesse Luscious, Last Will, Anthony Bonet, Kitty English, Sergio, Roscoe 2000, Tigerlily, Suzanne La, Ryan aka Roger Mas, JJ, Heather, 45 RPM, Mo Herms, Dan Strachota, Ian Hetzner, Mike Burma, Disco Shawn, Cool Chris, Joe Six Pack, Sean Boogie and Rickey Vincent KCRW: Anne Litt, , Eric J. Lawrence, Jason Kramer, Kajon Cermac, Ruth Seymour, Nic Harcourt, Ariana Morgenstern, Aaron Byrd, Mario Cotto, Liza Richardson, Garth Trinidad, Raul Campos, Jason Bentley, Dan Wilcox, Rachel Reynolds, Gemma Dempsey, Whitney Alderson, Nicole Cifani, Anil Dewan, Nassir Nassirzadeh, Laura Shumate, Sarah Spitz, Mathieu Schreyer, Jeremy Sole, Chuck P, Marion Hodges, Chris Douridas, Tom Schnabel, Gary Calamar, Thomas Golubic, Jennifer Ferro, JC Swiatek and Anthony Valadez KPFK: Maggie Lepique, Mark Maxwell, Stan Misraje, Chuck Foster, Shayna Dread, Carlos Nino, Alan Minsky, Roz, Alan and Kat Larman, Ali Lexa, Rita Neyer, Terry Guy, Zuberi Fields, Jessica Woods, Derek Rath, Sergio Mielniczenko, Betto Arcos, Nnamdi, Abraham Beltran, Sean Osborn, Santana Westbrook, Steve Martin and Morgan Rhodes. Thank you (and anyone else who I might have shamefully forgotten) all for what you’ve given me. It’s been a pleasure…Onwards and Upwards.
Melting Pot on KPFK #141: First Hour
Melting Pot on KPFK #141: Second Hour
Playlist: 09-29-2013
{opening theme} Booker T & the MGS – Melting Pot – 7” (Stax)
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G. Love – Music Is Love – Radio Oddyssey Vol. 1 (Ichiban)
Butterfield Blues Band – Mine To Love – In My Own Dream (Elektra)
Talk Talk – Ascension Day – Laughing Stock (Verve)
Behead The Propeht No Lord Shall Live – In The Garden – I Am That Great And Fiery Force (K Recs)
Public Enemy – Bring The Noise (G-Wiz Edit) – Recorded Live At WRAS (Personal Collection)
Fela Kuti – No Agreement – No Agreement (Celluloid)
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Jeff Buckley – Mojo Pin – Grace (Columbia)
Smoke – Pretend – 7” (Colossal)
Max Roach – Interview – Recorded May 24 1997 (Personal Collection)
Max Roach – The Drum Also Waltzes – Drums Unlimited (Atlantic)
Rahsaan Roland Kirk – Spirits Up Above – Volunteered Slavery (Atlantic)
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Billy Harper – Soulfully I Love You – Capra Black (Strata East)
Kenny Baker – Mississippi Waltz – Plays Bill Monroe (County)
Kenny Baker – Wheel Hoss – Plays Bill Monroe (County)
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US 69 – I’m On My Way – Yesterday’s Folks (Buddah)
Gal Costa – De Um Role – A Todo Vapor (Philips)
Rodger Collins – Foxy Girls In Oakland – 7” (Galaxy)
Curtis Mayfield – Move On Up (Coda) – Curtis (Curtom)
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Jose James – Nola – The Dreamer (Brownswood)
Norman Lear – Interview – KCRW’s Guest DJ Project (KCRW.COM)
Catpower – Silver Stallion – Recorded Live On KCRW 2-29-2008 (KCRW.COM)
Francoiz Breut – Les Jeunes Pousses – A L’aveuglette (T-Rec)
Boris Gardiner – Melting Pot – Is What’s Happening (Dynamic)
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Matthew Sweet – Time Capsule – Recorded Live At KPFK (KPFK Archives)
Boogaloo Assassins – Magic Rose – Recorded Live At KPFK (KPFK Archives)
The Sandwitches – My Heart Does Swell – Recorded Live At KPFK (KPFK Archives)
King – In The Meantime – Recorded Live At KPFK (KPFK Archives)
Quadron – Baby Be Mine – Recorded Live At KPFK (KPFK Archives)
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{closing theme} Dungen – C. Visar Vagen – Tio Batar
Ernie Hines – Our Generation
Ernie Hines – A Better World
Ernie Hines – Electrified Love
With my 20th anniversary in radio coinciding with the first government shutdown in 17 years, the 1990s have definitely been on my mind of late. “Our Generation” is an interesting song, one that seems a little ironic, given what the “generation” of the time period where the song was released is doing, especially in politics, but as an overall sentiment, much of the song still rings true in the present time. When I first owned this record, I didn’t feel too bad about parting ways with it, because I felt it was a “one-tracker.” Coming across it a second time, I’m not too sure that my opinion has really changed, partially because “Our Generation” is such an amazingly fantastic piece of work. I do dig on “Electrified Love” and also like the socially conscious aspects of tracks like “A Better World,” so it’s highly likely this copy will stick around for a while. One thing I did not notice the first time around, but it explains quite a lot about why I dig the sound of “Our Generation” so much, is that Dale Warren, the mastermind behind one of my all-time favorite groups, 24-Carat Black, and New Orleans legend Wardell Quezergue both played a part in the production of this album. Another thing that I couldn’t have possibly appreciated when I had it the first time around was that song essentially ends up by calling out two of the places I’ve called home in succession, Atlanta and Los Angeles (before inexplicably closing with Omaha, Nebraska?!?!?!! Do we really need to straighten out Omaha???).
And just for those of you who didn’t know or just want to remember once again, here’s the classic “Straighten It Out” from Pete Rock and CL Smooth, using Ernie Hines’ “Our Generation”:
Cheers,
Michael
Poets Of Rhythm – Serengeti Stroke
In a year where there have been a wealth of fantastic “retro” soul releases, it’s hard to believe that there used to be a time when “new” soul music didn’t quite sound so good. The Poets Of Rhythm came up at a period of time before the analog purists of Desco, Soul Fire, Daptone and related labels started to churn out music that could be legitimately mistaken for recordings made during the heydays of soul in the 1960s and 1970s. Daptone has done them a real solid in this anthology collecting work from the 1990s until the band effectively disbanded in 2003. “Serengeti Stroke” is just one of the gems put out by the Poets of Rhythm and collected herein.
Despite being born in the Summer, I’m a big fan of Autumn, especially in California. A major part of it is simply that it stops being so damn hot my records melt to being cool and comfortable. Sunday was the first day of Autumn and here in LA it was just about a perfect day. As has become our tradition, I began the show off with Lee Hazlewood’s “My Autumn’s Done Come,” a personal favorite and something that perfectly encapsulates the season and the feeling of being in the Autumn of your life (I’m not quite there yet, but as I get ready to celebrate 20 years since I started in radio and as a DJ, I FEEL like I am!). Alpha’s sample of Hazlewood, “Somewhere Not Here” follows that track and things take off from there with new tunes from the Julie Ruin, Valerie June, Fat Night, Jessy Lanza, King Khan, Superhuman Happiness featuring Sahr Ngaujah and classics from Sly & the Family Stone, Erasmo Carlos, Tammy Wynette and more. The second hour features a whole set featuring artists from the upcoming Way Over Yonder Fest (expect a giveaway here for it next week) and the show features a few tickets that I likely would be giving away in coming weeks, but there’s some special programming planned for the next two shows, in a couple of weeks (fingers crossed) we’ll have an interview and Guest DJ session with Robin Hannibal and next week I’ll be celebrating 20 years in radio and as a DJ, though to be quite honest I still haven’t figured out how I’ll be doing that. Tune in next Sunday and we’ll find out together. Until then, enjoy the show.
Melting Pot on KPFK #140: First Hour
Melting Pot on KPFK #140: Second Hour
Playlist: 09-22-2013
{opening theme} Booker T & the MGs – Melting Pot – 7” (Stax)
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Lee Hazlewood – My Autumn’s Done Come – The Very Special World Of Lee Hazlewood (MGM)
Alpha – Somewhere Not Here – Come From Heaven (Melankolic)
Erasmo Carlos – Minha Gente – Sonhos E Memorias 1942-1972 (Polydor)
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Mazzy Star – I’ve Gotta Stop – Seasons Of Your Day (Rhymes Of An Hour)
Kenny Baker – Lonesome Moonlight Waltz – Plays Bill Monroe (County)
Cass McCombs – Name Written In Water – Big Wheel (Domino)
King Khan & the Shrines – Darkness – Idle No More (Merge)
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The Julie Ruin – Ha Ha Ha – Run Fast (Dischord)
The Crystal Stilts – Star Crawl – Nature Noir (Sacred Bones)
Haitus Kaiyote – Mobius Streak – Tawk Tomahawk (Flying Buddha)
Jessy Lanza – Kathy Lee – Pull My Hair Back (Hyperdub)
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Superhuman Happiness feat. Sahr Ngaujah, Abena Koomson + Rubblebucket – International Thief Thief (ITT) – Red, Hot & Fela (Knitting Factory)
National Wake – Mercenaries – Walk In Africa 1979-1981 (Light In The Attic)
Tammy Wynette – Your Good Girl’s Gonna Go Bad – Your Good Girl’s Gonna Go Bad (Epic)
Fat Night – Tight Knot – Fat Night (Self-Released)
Master Plan Inc. – Try It, You’ll Like It – Master Plan Inc. (Jazzman)
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Neko Case – City Swans – The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You (Anti)
Calexico – Two Silver Trees – Carried To Dust (Quarterstick)
Thao & the Get Down Stay Down – Geography – We Brave Bee Stings And All (Kill Rock Stars)
Conor Oberst – Get-Well-Cards – Conor Oberst (Merge)
Justin Townes Earle – Look The Other Way – Nothing’s Gonna Change The Way You Feel About Me Now (Bloodshot)
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Valerie June – Working Woman Blues – Pushin’ Against A Stone (Concord)
Nina Simone – See Line Woman – Best Of Nina Simone (Philips)
The Poets Of Rhythm – The Donkey – Anthology 1992-2003 (Daptone)
Sly & the Family Stone – Thank You For Talking To Me Africa – There’s A Riot Going On (Gold Reissue) (Get On Down)
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{closting theme} Dungen – C. Visar Vagen – Tio Batar (Kemado)