A Musical Offering

Eddie Holman : Four Walls
taken from the album "I Love You" on ABC (1969)

Sonya Spence : Peace & Unity
taken from the album "In The Dark" on High Note (197?)

Dennis Brown : The Promise Land
taken from the album "Revolution" on Yvonne's Special (1985)

Stella Chiweshe : Live on "Passport"
recorded during a guest spot on my radio show back in 2003

It's another mixed bag, but not at all random. This week I got some love from blog bredren, so I felt obliged (especially because I'm so new to the blogosphere) to do what little I can to return the favor. Each one of these songs goes out to a particular person that has been feeding my incessant music habit for the past several months. They all have dope websites that do what I want to be doing, and they all (as far as I can tell) have a whole hellovalot going on beyond what you see on your screen. So check out the tunes here, and then go hit up each one of the sites that have been giving me inspiration. It's like a dialogue see...

First off, a straight soul gem for my man O-dub at Soul-Sides. Word up. Crooner Eddie Holman has mainly been remembered for one hit song back in 1970, and from the looks of it, he's still playing that same tune. This is not that tune, but it is a heart-breakingly beautiful plea, full of remorse and longing, and some serious vocal range. I gotta give credit to my little bro too; he dug this record first, and put it on a mixtape that he made directly after breaking up. Let's not talk about that too much. You can always dance to funk. If you go out to a club, you're guaranteed to hear the hypest, most blatantly movement-inducing music around. But I fondly remember the days of elementary school dances, when the only time you got to get up close with a girl was during the SLOW songs. Even the overweight scary 10-o'clock-shadow dude that DJ-ed your high school prom played the slow tunes, but you won't hear 'em when you go out nowadays. At least I don't. My sole request to O-dub and everyone else who downloads Four Walls: DANCE TO THIS SONG.

Sonya Spence is completely off my radar. I don't know who she is or what her story is. That's why I'm throwing this out there to my man Christopher Porter who hosts The Suburbs Are Killing Us. I feel like there's a pretty good chance that he knows more than me about Sonya. Regardless of my ignorance, I do love this utopian tune. For not having much of a reputation, she definitely got the right backing band- Sly Dunbar, Ansel Collins, Tommy McCook, Vin Gordon and the I-Threes as back up singers! I dug it at the legendary two-dollar vinyl graveyard in Greenpoint, BK. Thus the crackle and pop. Honestly, I find MP3s with the rice crispy sound quite poetic (no pomo!). If anyone else knows something about Sonya, please share.

For the dusty-fingered cats at Ear Fuzz, I'm just playing off your last post. But it's all good stuff. You haven't actually given me any love yet, but I'm preempting it. I like your tunes. That Aswad dub version is siiick. Here's the classic vocal version blessed by Dennis Brown, who doesn't need much of an introduction.

And last but certainly not least for today, some quality African music; the likes of which you can regularly find at one of my favorite spots online: Benn loxo du taccu. After hip hop and funk, listening to African music opened my ears monumentally- and continues to do so. I happen to share Matt's weakness for the Mbira. I'm actually a novice player. VERY novice (meaning I took four lessons). Two years ago I had the extreme pleasure of having contemporary Mbira innovator Stella Chiweshe on my radio show. She is otherworldly. Don't know how else to say it. She's constantly interacting with spirits while simultaneously walking on the same plane as you and I. I had known about the Hwa hwa drinking that takes place during Mbira ceremonies, but Stella was regularly sniffing white powder from a small wooden container during her visit to the studio. I might have questioned it if her music didn't make me feel like I was sharing some of the intoxication.

Keep up the good work folks. PEACE.