• Funk,  Soul

    A Closer Look at Nino

    Having had time to sit back and take in Nino Moschella’s LP, The Fix, I can report back to you that yes – we have a funky white boy on our hands (takes one to know one). Yes, the man…

  • Funk,  R&B,  Soul

    Being James Brown, by Jonathan Lethem

    If you haven’t had a good fix of James Brown lately, or if you’re not that familiar with his stuff other than what you’ve heard in hip hop samples, allow me to steer you toward a great piece in Rolling…

  • Funk,  Prince,  Soul

    Prince after hours at the Fillmore

    One of the coolest parts about being a Prince fan is, if you’re lucky, catching one of his patented ‘aftershows’. I’ve only seen a couple in my day, one at the Utopia nighclub in Las Vegas (’97 I think), and…

  • BritPop,  Soul

    Style Council, part two

    What kind of a person would I be if I didn’t follow up with the rest of the Style Council show? A wretched one, that’s what. So here’s part two of the Style Council’s 1984 Milan show. The first half…

  • BritPop,  Soul

    An Evening with The Style Council

    It’s obvious I’ve been on sort of a live music kick lately, so why not some more? I first heard about The Style Council the way a lot of people discover music: an older sibling. My brother Steve was a…

  • R&B,  Soul

    Easter Sunday Soul

    As I wait for my wife to have our second little girl (any day now), I throw on some classics from back in the day to help me cope with the anxiety and impatience……. Prince: Soft & Wet [live, March…

  • Soul

    Stoned with Lewis Taylor

    You wanna hear some funky, contemporary British soul? I just found out about Lewis Taylor. He’s a multi-instrumental artist born and raised in Barnet, North London. He’s been making music for a good while (since the 80’s), including some years…

  • Funk,  Prince,  Soul

    this is not music

    One day Prince will compile and release all of the great 12″ extended remixes of his glory days. By request, here’s another: the extended “Alphabet St. (this is not music, this is a trip)”. Excuse the background vinyl noise. Prince:…

  • Funk,  Soul

    Sly as a Loon

    For some reason, I sat through the entire broadcast of the Grammies last week. Of course it was great to see the Boss perform “Devils & Dust” and sit in on the Wilson Pickett tribute (singing “In the Midnight Hour”…

  • Funk,  Prince,  Soul

    Irresistible Prince

    To round off my Prince posts before tonight’s SNL appearance, I want to drop another few your way, and also steer you toward the brand new video from his March 21 release ‘3121’. It’s called “Black Sweat”, and it’s vintage…