Strings & Things (Something Else! on Www.WtnrRadio.Com 08/06/09)

Stream or Download Hopefully the weather hasn\’t been getting you down lately, whether hot & humid or gray & rainy… This week\’s show is a bit of a \”mood piece.\” Not moody in that \”brooding\” sort of way, more pensive and maybe a bit nostalgic. I found a poem by Nikki Giovanni called \”When Gamble & Huff Ruled\” from a collection called In Philadelphia (Gamble & Huff\’s hometown) that put me in a 70s soul/disco mood. The funny thing is that the first few tunes aren\’t Philly tunes at all, although there is definitely some influence from the style of Gamble & Huff\’s Philadelphia International Records, they are West Coast joints: Jay Dee\’s \”Strange Funky Games and Things\” and The Love Unlimited Orchestra\’s \”Midnight Groove,\” both produced by Barry White (born in Galveston, TX raised in South Central LA.) From that I segue into a hiphop track courtesy of one of my favorite UK MCs, Ty. It\’s not Ty\’s track, just something he blessed fans with to keep us happy till his next production drops. \”Rhymes Equal Actual Life\” by MCM feat C-LONE is a non-poser number. While I have heard some inspired music done by people whose lives were very different than their microphone persona, I have to say I prefer to hear about what\’s really going on in their lives. NYC\’s Nickodemus & Zeb put their spin on Omar Faruk Tekbilek\’s \”Whirling\” from the collection Rare Elements Vol. 2 as featured last show. An acid-jazz classic \”Make Way for the Originals\” by Izit (later re-formed into d&b act London Elektricity) from Fat City\’s Mystic Brew For-Play brings us back to terra-firma and sets us up for some soulful house from Tortured Soul as remixed by Dimitri from Paris \”Another Lover (Dimitri From Paris 80s Throwback Remix.)\” This is followed by two more house tracks from my London trip: Hipnotic\’s (aka Ben Mitchell) cover of the John Coltrane classic \”Naima (Ian O\’Brien Mix)\” and (Ben) Mitchell & (Russ) Dewbury\’s \”Rapping With The Gods (Eric Kupper Dubsax Club Mix)\” which I extend and use as a bed for the Nikki Giovanni poem mentioned at the beginning of the post \”When Gamble & Huff Ruled.\” Kind of completing a circle, no? Tonight I\’m going to play at one of the local discos and they are celebrating their 40th anniversary this whole month, the manager asked me to play a bit more \”throwback style\” (my words, not her\’s.) This is how I\’m feeling about that: