Music has the power to stop you in your tracks. Regardless of where you are, or what mood you’re in, hearing the right track can be like receiving an uppercut. I’ll keep this brief, but wanted to share a track with you that properly knocked me sideways. It doesn’t have to be the first time […]
Category: recommendations
I live in the US. I’m from the UK. I think that this gives me a bit of perspective when commenting on the attitude towards music in the two countries. A bit of perspective; that’s all. So here goes: I’m going out on a limb. Paul Weller should be bigger out here in the US. […]
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Folk: don’t write it off
I have a confession to make: I like folk music. Stop, come back. Let me explain… A couple of things this week have prompted me to share this insight. First of all, interspersed in the World Cup coverage on ESPN in the US is a new advert for AT&T. I was shocked when I heard […]
I’m not sure that I’ve ever felt so passionate about a radio station. This is a big statement from someone who used to run one (albeit a student station). The news of the potential (likely, even) closure of BBC 6 Music came as a shock to me when it first broke in March this year. […]
Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip. If you haven’t heard of them, do yourself a favour: check them out immediately. Representing the acceptable face of UK hip-hop, this is an act with more depth, creativity and intelligence than the vast majority of artists out there. They have the balls to sample Radiohead – and get […]
This past volume of freethinking, volume 3, I dropped in a little nugget I have had in my bag since the early 90’s, Fela Kuti and Roy Ayers “2000 Blacks Got To Be Free”. This collaboration between Africa’s King of the Afrobeat and the Soul/Funk/Jazz stylings of vibraphonist Roy Ayers has always been a favorite […]
Gil Scott-Heron. I feel almost ashamed that it’s taken me until now to write about him. His is a singular talent. He is almost the dictionary definition of a freethinker. Let me start with his latest album. A liner note asks that you listen to the album ‘for the first time under optimum conditions’. I […]
The King Blues. Heard of them? No, I hadn’t either until a few weeks ago. So much music, so little time… I was recently put onto The King Blues by a mate of mine who was visiting from the UK (cheers, Mark). One listen to ‘What If Punk Never Happened’, and I was taken. The […]
The freethinking ethos was loud and clear during volume 3. Genuinely, I don’t know where else you would hear Run DMC, Heaven 17, Sade, Dizzy Gillespie, Friendly Fires and Delphic all in one night. Throw in a Nat Cole tune to close the evening, and I think you’ve got something special. Nat Cole’s ‘Sweet Lorraine’ […]
You’ve probably missed this. My guess is that the music press is barely going to take notice. The NME won’t be screaming a headline, celebrating the tenth studio album of one of the most outstanding contributors to British music over the last 30 years. It’ll go without note – just as the majority of their […]
It’s no secret that my moving from the suburbs in NJ to the Eastern Shore of Virgina during my 8th and 9th grade years at school shaped my music taste, as well as opened me up to everything Funky. From Funk to Soul to Reggae to early Hip Hop, the record store off of Market […]
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Civic pride
Manchester. I’m not from there, but I still feel a tremendous sense of pride towards the city. Yes, it’s a great place to live, it’s got more decent pubs than an alcoholic could get around in a week, and it’s cheap. But it’s the music that counts. Last night I DJ’d at an event in […]