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Al Green |
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Monty Alexander |
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Jurassic 5 |
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Al Green’s “Love And Happiness” is one of those tunes that’s loved by all. Enjoy the original, and consider adding a couple of clever reinterpretations to your MP3 collection.
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Stevie Wonder |
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TLC |
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Scala & Kolacny Brothers |
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This time on Musical Cousins: three totally different songs with three totally different takes on the word “creep.”
First up, Stevie Wonder’s haunting “Creepin’,” featuring backup vocals from Minnie Riperton. In this song, creep refers to the stealth way a lover invades the dream world. The melody is typical Stevie perfection, but the moody, off-kilter synth floating underneath hints at something less rosy.
In TLC’s 1994 single, “Creep,” the Atlanta trio and producer Dallas Austin made a buoyant R&B/pop classic dedicated to cheating on the one you love.
The last take on the word “creep” comes from an early Radiohead composition where the creep in question is the song’s self-hating narrator. I prefer Scala & Kolacny Brothers’s cover, used to great effect in the trailer for The Social Network. Dozens of post-pubescent Belgian girls singing in unison truly is creepy.
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Workinonit
Two Can Win
Don’t Cry Album: Donuts (2006) |
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J Dilla’s Donuts isn’t for everyone. It has zero commercial aspirations, and would fairly be categorized as an experimental art project. But for those of us who like to deconstruct how producers dig for and manipulate samples, Donuts abounds with creativity and originality.
Donuts is sui generis: impossible to imagine anyone else creating it, and with no apparent influences. Sure, many others have started with the same set of tools — a diverse stack of vintage vinyl (most of it rare 45s), an MPC drum machine, a turntable, and a Mac — but no one synthesized these elements quite like Dilla.
Most of the time, sample-based productions extract a few seconds of a track, loop it, and layer a beat on top of it. But Dilla can chop up a track into precise chunks, then reform it into its hipper cousin.
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Kool G. Rap & D.J. Polo |
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Ray Bryant |
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I had a thing at work recently where I was overdramatically quoting (sotto voce) that psycho De Niro speech from The Untouchables:
That same day, my iPod shuffle randomly selected a remix of Kool G. Rap & D.J. Polo’s 5-star classic “On The Run,” which samples that very same quote. Funny how the universe works sometimes.
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Common (w/Kanye West & John Mayer) |
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Linda Lewis |
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Common has had quite the inconsistent career. But when Kanye West came knocking, Common stepped up his game, resulting in the pretty darn awesome LP Be. I fear Be may end up being the apex of Common’s recording career, but I’m still rooting for one of Chi-town’s finest.
Though Be has a number of enjoyable tracks, I’ve been surprised by how much its third single, "Go" has stuck with me. I think it’s the contrast between the mellow beat and the risqué lyrics that keeps it in rotation.
Kanye makes an able hype man and as for John Mayer, I think his contribution is limited to the echoed "Go" that is looped every two bars or so. (And he gets a songwriting credit?)
I hadn’t heard the Linda Lewis track Kanye sampled in "Go." To be honest, I hadn’t heard of Linda Lewis. But "Old Smokey" is a sweet, feel-good song that is ideally suited to a Sunday morning. Whatever led Kanye to isolate the short electric keyboard breakdown that appears towards the end of the song is a mystery to me, but I’m indebted to Yeezy for leading me to this rare groover.
