OCTOBER SONGS

October Song

The time is right. It's October, and here's everyone's favorite funky sexy retro soul alcohol-and-substance-abusing diva, Amy Winehouse, singing October Song. We love you Amy, so kick that shit and live.

Maybe the girl can't help it. We can't help posting another Amy Winehouse clip, one of her best songs, performed live in Scotland:


Back to Black

THE HISTORY OF SOUL MUSIC

...
Do you like good music?
That sweet soul music?
Just as long as it's swingin'
Oh yeah, oh yeah...
- Arthur Conley, Jr.

THE BIRTH OF SOUL, PART ONE

The first part of a very good series about the history of Soul Music.

THE BIRTH OF SOUL, PART TWO

The History of Soul continues...

JAMES BROWN DANCE LESSONS

It's Saturday night, and you can't dance. Your moves are tired. You need a crash course in COOL. Unless you want to stand on the sidelines and watch life pass you by, you need to get busy. "Acting" cool doesn't work, and saying you don't dance only convinces people you're an uptight wuss and no fun at all, but dragging out those ancient ballroom moves from your wedding (the disco thing, with that unconvincing lip-bite) is a big mistake that will send folks screaming for the exits. Sure, you can stay at home and mope, but that's a lousy option.

Fortunately, you're in luck. At great expense, we've brought James Brown back to give you a dance lesson. You'll never be as cool as Soul Brother Number One, but having James Brown as your personal trainer can only help your odds. Don't thank me, thank JB. Now get busy!

I DIED A HUNDRED TIMES

British soul singer Amy Winehouse is big trouble. You know it, and I know it. The US government agrees, and denied the singer a visa to enter the country and attend the Grammys, where she's been nominated for six awards, including Album of the Year. It's well known that she's struggling with rehab (insert obvious comments here) but we think the girl deserves a break.
The Department of Homeland Security (perhaps fearing bad publicity) finally issued a waiver to the "dangerous" soul singer, but Amy has decided to stay home. The latest in a long line of self-destructive, addicted, soulful singers, she will perform via satellite.

Yup, there are more important things in the world (insert your list here) but we had to run this clip of Amy performing "Back to Black" at the 2007 Glastonbury Music Festival. Wicked cool.

HOT-BUTTERED SOUL

Flight of the Conchords follows a two-man neo-folk band from New Zealand living in the New York trying to make it big in music. They're desperate and talented, and they travel in and out of musical numbers, spoofs, and derivative masterpieces such as this sexy nugget of hot-buttered soul, "Business Time." We wish them the best.

TOUGH STAX SOUL

Be cool and there is no cooler than Stax Records from deep, down in chicken-fried Memphis, recording home of so many greats, Rufus and Carla, Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, Albert King, the Staple Singers. You can have your Graceland across town, but make sure to visit Stax, nicknamed Soulsville, USA. If you're lucky you'll get to hear the hardcore house band, Booker T and the MGs.
You can't go wrong with Booker T's heavy Hammond B-3 organ layed thick over kick-ass rhythm section Donald "Duck" Dunn on bass and Al Jackson Jr on drums, with lead guitar from the great Steve Cropper, who co-wrote "Dock of the Bay" with Otis Redding. Rare for creating such a groove, and rare for being racially mixed in the Deep South in these Jim Crow days. In the early days, it was shades and razor sharp sharkskin suits, and later on there were beards and long hair and a tough psychedelic sound that never deteriorated into endless hippy noodling.
The film clips are a little rough, but imagine it's a hot southern night and you're sipping whiskey on the rocks and maybe smoking gage out behind the club and these cats are on the bandstand and there is no tomorrow. Cool? These guys wrote the book. Enjoy the early, essential instrumental hit "Green Onions" above, and this later clip of a swampy "Time is Tight" led off by weird beard Steve Cropper. Either way, catch a riff to Soulsville.