Now & Then (Something Else! on Wtnr Radio.com 7/22/10)

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Something Else! Intro leads off this week\’s show as always. The mix of classic and new music has a name at the top that should be slightly familiar to regular listeners of the show, Bob James. Mr. James is a bit of a legend to \”crate digging\” folk like myself, especially fans of sample-based music and the sources it draws from. \”Blue Lick\” is a popular track with hiphop producers, listen all the way thru and you should hear at least 3 familiar samples… On the new end of things, Plug Research dropped 3 new tracks on me and this is one of them, the abstract, yet quite listenable \”Never Freeze\” by Quadron. Another classic artist is vocalist Randy Crawford, most known for singing on The Crusaders\’ \”Street Life.\” This time, Ms. Crawford is doing a downtempo take on George Benson\’s hit \”Give Me The Night\” and the \”Chill Night Mix\” gives it a slight Massive Attack feel. Natural Self\’s \”Midnight Sun\” comes courtesy of Tru-Thoughts and this week I feature Los Angeles DJ Jeremy Sole\’s \”Sans Drums Mix\” which also features trumpeter Todd Simon, who\’s played with Breakestra, Connie & the Keystones and Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra. Keeping LA in the mix, producer Exile\’s track \”It\’s Coming\” gets remixed by Rhettmatic of the World Famous Beat Junkies. Next, rare-groove classic by Leon Ware, \”Why I Came To California.\” Switching coasts for a moment, De La Soul, New Yorkers from Long Island, bring us \”Thru Ya City\” feat. DV Alias Khrist, a nice mix of soul & hiphop. The next song should sound quite familiar as The Valentine Brothers\’ \”Money\’s Too Tight To Mention\” provided the blueprint for the later smash hit by Simply Red. Another new one from
Vikter Duplaix, \”Electric Love (Vikter\’s House Rmx.)\” There are other mixes that will get love on later shows… We close out with three more classics from three different eras. Studio 2 got a lot of play from me during my UK garage days because of \”Travelling Man (Banana Republic Shift Control Dub.)\” You all know how I\’m a sucker for soulful jazzy dance music… I played a private party last weekend and one of the songs that was requested by the hosts was Inner City\’s \”Good Life\” — one of the foundational Detroit techno hits! I\’ve always preferred the Steve \”Silk\” Hurley Remix, although the others from the same time are great as well. A name that\’s been in my ears since I was a small child is Quincy Jones. I\’m a big fan and for longer than I\’ve been alive he\’s been making great music, going back playing trumpet and arranging with Lionel Hampton back in the 50s! \”Walkin\’\” is Quincy\’s take on a song made known by another famous trumpeter, Miles Davis. While mellow, there is still hints of the avant-garde in this version, echoing the envelope pushing that his fellow trumpeter Miles was exploring more fully at the time this was released, 1970–almost 20 years after Miles Davis had recorded the same song.