I hate the term northern soul. It’s one of the few terms that has less to do with where the music originated and more to do with the audience it later garnered. It’s a strange anomaly. That being said, Smoove and John Turrell made names for themselves in that whole little scene and have transcended it with this new album. Jalapeno is always stronger than strong but this latest offering goes above and beyond. It’s a great, funky, soulful piece of music that, even with its fair share of covers and samples, doesn’t come off as too derivative or forced. Be sure to check out “The Difference” which takes the Second Crusade sax sample from Queen Latifah’s U.N.I.T.Y. and turns it into an updated doobie brothers song; and their driving, funked up cover of 80s acid madness “Don’t Go” by Yaz.
Back in the days before trademark infringement suits and internet record shops, labels used to use RIYL stickers on the jackets of their albums. RIYL stands for “Recommended if you like…” meaning that a person who liked a particular artist would likely enjoy the music of one such other artist. Come to think of it, Pandora runs almost entirely off an RIYL engine.
There’s a metric fuckton of good music coming out lately, and lots of it can be related to other artists. I figured I’d take a second and shed some light on the stuff i’m digging the most right now. I’ll be doing this all week.
Now I’ve made absolutely no secret of the fact that I am decidedly not a dubstep fan. I don’t get the appeal, but I know great music when I hear it. This is great music. All the artists I listed up top are wonderful, groundbreaking musicians, but they can get a little bit too “intelligent” from time to time, which makes the music a bit less palatable. The same could be said for boxcutter’s earlier work. This one is much more down to earth and is just a great, listenable album with a variety of different shapes, tempos and moods.
1. This is easily the best article I’ve read about the evolution of the music industry in all of 2009. Seriously, it hits so many good points that I have very little to add. If you have any interest in music and how to monetize it in the future, I recommend giving it a read.
2. Mexico looms. Less than a month away from my trip and I am busting ass to get in shape. To help me stay focused, I joined the April Body of Work Challenge over at Social Workout. Catch me blogging over there about how fat I am trying to not be. If you’re into it, join up and you may be able to win some prizes.
3.
The ridiculousness in that photo is unfathomable. Is it just me or does Berlusconi bear a striking resemblance to Dick Vitale?
