About three weeks ago, I took a drive down to DC to spend some time with someone I’d been secretly idolizing for about three years now: Mingering Mike. I’ve already talked about this a bit on here already, so I won’t bore you with repetition. Suffice it to say, Mike was a warm, wonderful [...]

It gives me incredible pleasure to announce one of our eMusic Selects artists for June: the incomparable imaginary soul superstar, Mingering Mike.

Thanks yet again goes to the Fader blog for uncovering this treasure: Kutiman, an Israeli R&B producer, and a singer named Karolina busting out this absolutely sick soul jam, “Music Is Ruling My World.” Best of all? It’s on eMusic. Download the album here, or the single with several remixes here. Iz hot!

Today’s Review of the Day and Daily Download feature a record that, had I heard it in time, would have easily placed in my top 5 of 2007. As it is, I’ve been listening to it at least twice daily, and every time I find something new to love. The record is Born & Raised [...]

 
Today’s featured dozen on Texas music heroes reminds me to spread the gospel on one of my favorite eMusic discoveries, Bobby Patterson. Soul Is My Music, his 2xCD best of collection on Sundazed might have been my most-played album of last year and getting to see the man strut his stuff (wearing one of [...]

There was a doddering old hippie — serious Cheech & Chong material — at Mavis Staples’ wonderful show in a Manhattan park close by the Hudson River the other night. His greying ponytail drooping out from under a handkerchief whose chief purpose seemed to be for keeping his addled brains in place, he arrhythmically [...]

A great day for new additions to eMusic, including Blonde Redhead, Oh No, Jens Lekman and other assorted goodies.

Just got an email announcing what will almost certainly be (outside of Hell’s Kitchen!) the best thing on television all week:
Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story
PBS / Great Performances
Wednesday Aug. 1
9PM Eastern and Pacific/ 8PM Central
Directed by Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville
More here.

I love to watch Soul Boys dance: whether it’s that tidy little shoulder-drop, ankle-twist manoeuvre all mods seem to pick up with their first pair of decent trousers or the full-on, talcum-powder-on-the-floor acrobatics of a true Northern Soulie. So I’ve been enjoying the BBC’s truly wonderful Soul Britannia documentary.

The new M.I.A. record, Kala (out in the US Aug. 21, Aug. 20 in the UK), is
a) absolutely ridiculous
b) some crazy-ass back-to-the-future-music time-warp kinda deal
c) a country mile better than the already-great Arular
d) the smartest/sickest/slickest pastiche/homage/collage/mélange of pop music I have ever heard

The principle that guides my daily trawl through New Arrivals is a combination of name recognition and cover art intrigue. It was the latter that lead me to download Watts Happening, an odd record by an unknown named Don Adams.

Quite a few notable records today, including one song in particular you need to download.

Ghostface photo = a blog traffic increase of 274%!
Not as deep as yesterday’s batch, but you need at least an extra day to get through that anyway. Still, some great stuff, including classic singer-songwriters and a surprising mainstream hip-hop haul.

Mark March 12 in your calendar, folks, because it’s one of the best days for new additions to the site we’ve had in recent memory.

Today marks the 10th Anniversary of the death of The Notorious B.I.G. Ironically enough an older artist appeared on eMusic today called Biggy Smallz. To avoid any confusion, I felt it was important to mention this artist as he was the ‘original’ and the main reason why the Biggie Smalls we all know and love [...]

Roughly a year after the untimely death of one of Hip-Hop’s most acclaimed producers, eMusic teams up with Stones Throw Records for an exclusive peak at the forthcoming J Dilla album “Ruff Draft”. Anyone in the NYC area should come and join in a celebration of this man’s music. For those who don’t know check [...]

Indeed, it is finally Arcade Fire Day, but the long tail is big effect, with new albums from Amon Tobin, Barenaked Ladies, RJD2 and many others.

My current site of stokage is this place that hosts an archive of old radio shows from NYC’s legendary WBLS.  The Friday Night Rap Attack was a part of my teenage years and was the source of discovery for tons of old school hip hop.

An acoustic blues master pays tribute to the most important country artist of all time and a handful of other notables.

Around 1972, I was into martial arts and Charles Bobbit was one of my instructors. He became James Brown’s bodyguard and then James Brown’s personal manager. I’m from Harlem, but I was doing photography in Brooklyn and [Bobbit] ran into me on Broadway one day and he said, “What are you doin’?” I said, “Well, [...]