Precious Bryant- The Truth

Artist: Precious Bryant
Track: The Truth
Album: The Truth
Year: 2005

Where'd I find it? 
Season 2 Friday Night Lights .. Scene where Smash finds out his scholarship was revoked

How does it sound?
Bluesy, Gentle, Mellow

Sounds similar to? 
Dusty Springfield, Nina Simone

Genre(s): 
Acoustic Blues, Soul, Southern Blues

Happy listening :)
MF

Funkadelic- Biological Speculation

Found this song last week while watching the film Afternoon Delight produced by Jill Solloway (creator of Amazon's Transparent). Have been listening to it on repeat ever since. Every time I hear it I can't help but start moving :)

Funkadelic is most widely recognized for their collaborations with George Clinton and  their sister band Parliament due to a wider commercial success. Their music incorporates 70's disco with a smooth and funky soul flavor.

Sounds similar to: Parliament, Sly & The Family Stone

Happy listening :)
MF

Original Of the Week

Otis Redding vs. Aretha Franklin




I'm not sure that I will ever be able to wrap my head around this one. It sort of makes me questions everything in life I ever thought I knew to be true.

Otis Redding originally recorded "Respect"
Aretha Franklin covered it.

Mind.
Blown.

While I love Otis and have the highest possible magnitude of respect for him as a musician, Aretha owns this song. She brought it to life in a way that no other singer ever could have. You will notice this version lacks the R_E_S_P_E_C_T which was an addition by Franklin. Its interesting that a song that is a seemingly powerful feminist landmark was actually written by a man.

Otis recorded "Respect" in 1965 and Aretha Franklin popularized it in 1967. 

Happy listening :)
MF

Ruth Brown- I Don't Know

Ruth Brown better known during the 50's as "Miss Rhythm" was an acoustic blues/soul singer during the golden years of jazz. Her music is a delicate blend of R&B, pop and jazz. Although during the 60's and 70's she fell out of the music scene and the public eye to take care of her children she experienced a an enormous revival in the early 80s. The sound of Ruth's voice with the gentle melodic tune is tender and mysterious.

Similar to : Billie Holiday, Nina Simone

Happy listening :)
MF

Caribou- Leave House

Dan Snaith, better known as Caribou played in a couple of bands before he landed on his solo act in 2007. This track is from Caribou's 2010 Album titled Swim. Critics have created genres like "folktronica" and "neo-psychadelica" to describe his sound and I think they pretty much nailed that on the head. Although his production and recording are done solo he often has a couple instrumentalists join him on stage for live performances.

Happy listening :)
MF

Re-Work of the Week:

"Lovely Day" by Alt-J (2014)
ORIGINAL: "Lovely Day" by Bill Withers (1977)



Here is "Lovely Day" a bonus track of Alt-J's latest album 'This is All Yours'. The vibe of the track is completely different than the upbeat, sunshiney R&B original which was released by Bill Withers in 1977. This version adds a melancholy twist to a track with the word "lovely" in the title. The slowed down tempo mixed with Joe Newman's beautifully haunting voice gives this cover by Alt-J a contemporary and dark ambience.

Happy listening :)
MF

Galactic- Quiet Please

Since this blog is new, before I talk about this specific track I'd like to give the band Galactic a proper introduction (because if you don't know you should). Galactic is the perfect portrayal of the liveliness and unique sound that is New Orleans funk music. Their music fuses rock, funk, hip hop with authentic mardi gras Indian mantras and makes everyone listening want to get up and dance.  Whether your music taste is limited to radio pop & EDM music, or you are a music snob like myself, you will enjoy and appreciate what these guys are bringing to the table. At each of their live performances, they showcase  multiple up and coming less popular NOLA musicians who are always exploding with talent.

Now this track, ooooooo this track. This acoustic unconventional melody soothes the soul and excites the mind. It's interesting, beautiful, and its warm.  The track is long, and the melody bounces around as the song progresses. "Quiet Please"was recorded on one of their earlier albums Vintage Reserve in 2003. On their most recent album Carinvale Electros (2012) they basically repurposed the melody but made it 10x more discordant for the track "Ash Wednesday Sunrise" .

Happy listening :)
MF