“Sounds influenced by George Benson” was my commentary after hearing Jazz-Funk guitarist Vladimir Cetkar for the first time more than a dozen years ago. Cetkar has excellent taste in influences, by the way. His high-energy Post-Disco “Ocean of Love” track from the 2007 OM Vibes, Vol. 1 compilation remains a pleaser, and I’ve kept an […]
Read More Scene & Heard: “A New Day” by Vladimir CetkarAn ode to crypto — and other modern-day shibboleth Richard E’s “To the Moon” is a tripped-out, timely metaphor of building a digital stairway to success riches — built on Atridean cobblestones, while escorted through the star lanes by at least five decades of savory musical flavors. Richard also mentions on his Bandcamp page that […]
Read More Aural Dive: “To the Moon” by Richard E (EP)As the Palestinian death toll in Gaza from Israeli military strikes rises to more than 10,000, according to the Palestinian Gaza health ministry — with an estimated 4,000 of the dead being children — there’s a question to be asked among Israeli and US government officials that I doubt will yield any straightforward answers. How […]
Read More The One Question No One wants To Ask (Or Answer) About the Current Gaza WarI’m listening to fresh-from-the-factory Soul Jazz that hits from another decade and planet, and a Fania release from even further back … Nicholas PaytonDrip2023Paytone Records Payton pulled off transtemporal travel when his album took it back to ‘79 — peace be unto O.D.B. I plead to the headz: let’s not re-ignite debates about Jazz purity, […]
Read More An Album (Or Two) In My Head 0068The show started streaming on Hulu last night. Those with eyes have witnessed this real-life story before: people guilty of working while Black in White spaces while the latter thinks it’s trying sooo hard to decriminalize the former’s daily identity that the outcome can be outrageously funny. And simply outrageous. You can replace “Black” with […]
Read More “The Other Black Girl” Floored Folks in Book Form, and It’s Now a TV SeriesLast week, I digested my weekly two-hour assortment of new tracks to possibly like. I always listen to all of them at least once, except I stumbled upon Al Green’s “Perfect Day”. And when I say stumbled, you can probably interpret it more like “I goofily tripped”. I was like, “Is that Al Green?” It’s […]
Read More Aural Dive: “Perfect Day” by Al GreenYou’re looking at three albums this week, instead of two. The Leyla McCalla and Matthew Shipp albums were obvious choices for me, but Hannah Jadagu has kept me curious about what’s next for her … Breaking the Thermometer Leyla McCalla2022Anti Records I’m drawn to the deep-dish Americana Folk, enriched by three distinct ingredients that redefine the […]
Read More An Album (Or Two) In My Head 0067Saoul’s Popsicle may be one of the most sobering groovalicious parties in your ear this summer — a satisfying album in the face of “cookie-cutter” celeb culture and politico worship that have packaged themselves to become a new phallic north star for unicultural market appeal. Had enough of unhealthy celeb admiration, and public debates about […]
Read More Album in the Crosshairs: Saoul — Popsicle | 2023 | Phreakyamind IncSome of you have been waiting for this: a modern Punk band that doesn’t sound like a 90s Pop doppelganger. Welcome to Jenny Hates Techno. I really appreciate the pairing of band members John M. Ellison on guitar and “Boo” Dixon on bass. They probably listened to the same bands you and I did growing […]
Read More Scene & Heard: Jenny Hates TechnoWe should call out attacks on the press in all towns, large and small … I rarely read a local news headline from the Midwest that says, “Kansas Newspaper Owner Died in the Line of Duty After Police Raid”. So, yeah. I started digging. The decedent is 98-year-old Joan Meyer, co-owner of the Marion County […]
Read More Marion, Kansas Police Raids Town Newspaper, 98-Year-Old Owner Dies