I wish so desperately that this was bigger, because I am digging your jumpsuit (and accompanying camel toe), JB.
There It Is, James Brown, 1972
For my commute to work every morning, I strive for music that is uptempo and as funky as can be. My favorite album for the past few weeks has been James Brown's There It Is, with the title track serving as my main inspiration. Its by far one of the most exciting ways to commence an album. My ringtone is currently 3:43-4:00 of this song, but it doesn't have quite the same effect without all the build-up leading to it, for you need to hear as the band ascends and ultimately climaxes in a frenzy of grooves. The band just gels so perfectly, with the rhythm and horns married so brilliantly. For the record, not wiggling a bit to this number while waiting for the tube is a task indeed.
I was going to go for a photo of a younger, more suave Johnny Otis, but this remarkable combination of leisure suit, beard and dated sunglasses suits the mood. Thanks to the watermark we also know this originates from Wolfgang's Vault, because who doesn't want a Johnny Otis lobby card?!
Country Girl, Johnny Otis, 1969
This lost funk gem is another current favorite. Otis and his teenage guitar prodigy of a son, Shuggie, come together for thick and raunchy funk at its greatest. With just enough soul and blues integrated into the groove and the obligatory sexual innuendos, I'm desperately in need of more songs of this variety. Funk, humor, grit... Much coveted.
David Ruffin (or as I will so adoringly call him, 'homie with the glasses') was obviously the most swaggering of all the Temptations.
Get Ready, The Temptations, 1966
Equipped with soul, funk, and palatial harmonies, the Temps are my kind of group. Their brilliance comes as a surprise to no one. Still, the revved up nature of Get Ready instantly sets a pace once it begins. The shuffling rhythm combined with their radiant vocals manages to showcase their best assets in under three minutes. Its also the last song Smokey Robinson ever penned for the Temps. Though I enjoy the Norman Whitfield compositions of post '66, its a damn shame Smokey didn't come back for more.
Completely out of date and irrelevant? Yes. Greased up and topless, therefore utterly worth posting? Also yes. Makes me cringe a little, I hope to make others equally uncomfortable.
Early Sunday Morning, Isaac Hayes, 1971
Isaac Hayes, or as my brother fondly recalls him, Chef from South Park's magnum opus, Shaft, a gritty soundtrack of the blaxploitation (let us quickly be awed that spell check does indeed identify that as a real word!) variety. The album is heralded as Hayes' crowning glory, despite his laborious years as the premier songwriter (along with David Porter) at Stax. My chosen number off Shaft came to me rather randomly. With my iTunes on shuffle, as I applied my make-up in the hazy pre-work morning hours, out comes Early Sunday Morning. Its lush, cinematic and moody tone instantly turned the flick of my mascara wand into a subtly magical moment. iTunes so cleverly followed this up with Sally's Tomato, off Henry Mancini's Breakfast at Tiffany's score. Another stroke of soft lensed cinematography brilliance.
Let us please note, in nearly every Al Green photo, he has his eyebrow cocked with the ultimate come hither stare. In every photo! I'm beginning to think that's how his face is. Still, I went for the most suggestive.
L-O-V-E, Al Green, 1975
Al Green, you foxy, foxy fool. Al Green's body of work is something I only occasionally dip my toes into - one of those acts where you have to dalliance moderately, as to not too swiftly soak up the splendor. An Al Green craving came upon me the other day and this track immediately appeased it. It just has that infectious, explosive energy that I love, especially when the back-up singers chime in on the chorus. Al Green boasts soul and passion in spades and churns it out with effortless cool. This is the type of song they tag at the end of romantic comedies, as the screen fades out on the happy couple conclusively in love. But! There's a reason for that. Its elated charm would have the desired effect of you bouncing out the cinema, feeling gleefully (read: nonsensically) optimistic yourself!
There's also a few things I'm rapidly becoming well-versed in (Whoa, discovering the Black Keys and New Order simultaneously via working on their interviews for Mojo) that will call for writing once it feels more lived in. I can also say the new albums by Cults, Beastie Boys and My Morning Jacket are respectively incredible.
Oh and a perhaps regrettable post-script... I did a Q&A quite some time ago and have since (especially since being in London) received quite a few more, ranging from "What are you doing, and how?" to "What's your guilty pleasure?" and "What shade is your lipstick?"I try to respond to them all as they come, but as there are a handful that are endlessly repeated, perhaps another Q&A post is necessary? So send more my way, if that's of any interest, and we'll see what rallies together... michelleyoshinoberry@gmail.com
