I like that they don't use fancy computerization to change or enhance the sound, just basic acoustics and recording devices. John Mellencamp's new album was recorded the same way. He recorded in different locations while on tour, including an old black church in Savannah, GA. The raw and real acoustics of such sessions is infinitely more appealing to me than the edit-heavy stuff we often get nowadays. Another reason I've been jonesing for old school music is that it features more instruments. I'm really sad at how so few black artists play instruments nowadays. We're the people who created the ancestor of the banjo, the ones who made the guitar so special with blues, R&B, and rock-and-roll. Our tearing up the keys and horns in ragtime and jazz set the standards for American music. Nowadays it's rare as heck to hear a black singer who plays guitar, who also gets radio airplay. Tracy Chapman is a goddess of the guitar and good song writing, but when's the last time you heard her on the radio? When's the last time you really heard a true band with guitars and pianos instead of drum machines and computerized music? When's the last time you heard a real orchestra a la Earth Wind and Fire get wide play on urban radio? You get a few here and there like Alicia Keyes (who I'm liking less and less as the years go by), but not as many as in the old days. Few of our most popular artists play instruments, and even when they though, I'm stunned at how out of favor the guitar seems to be in R&B and hip hop nowadays.
----- Original Message ----- From: "Mr. Worf" <hellomahog...@gmail.com> To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, September 3, 2010 6:19:51 PM Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Waayyy OT: Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings There's an article in EQ magazine on how they recorded the album a few months back. On Fri, Sep 3, 2010 at 9:22 AM, Keith Johnson < keithbjohn...@comcast.net > wrote: I'm always searching for "real" music that's outside of the standard hip-hip/finger poppin'/dance heavy stuff played on commercial radio (how many times in one day can one stomach Beyonce Knowles, Lady Gaga, or Bieber???) A while back I heard an interview on "Fresh Air" with a group called Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings. This group is amazing, with a sound that hails back to the days of good old soul and funk. Jones has that rich, raspy voice that lends itself to heartfelt, even painful renditions, and her band sounds like something straight out of Stax records. They use old-fashioned methods to record: real tapes, hand editing, actual acoustics caused by the recording room instead of computer manipulations. Very, very good stuff. Albums are on iTunes: I bought two straightaway after listening to the NPR interview. Go to their web site to be treated to a listen to some of their latest songs, which start playing automatically. The first song up is "I Learned the Hard Way", which has a real old feel to it. Other recent songs you have to seek out are "Humble Me" and the awesome "100 Days, 100 Nights", which sounds as if it came straight off an actual record from the 60s. Two links below. The first is to their website, where you can hear some of their songs. The second is to a great NPR SXSW showcase in Austin where Jones' group was the headliner. There you can hear the entire gig they performed, which is close to an a hour long. Highly recommended!! http://www.sharonjonesandthedapkings.com/ http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124091931
