Well, I think I made it pretty clear how I love playing 45s, so here is round 2 of the mixes I made. Enjoy!… Read more...
Mixtape Monday: 45-7 Vol 2
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Category Archives: 45s
The Glory of Love
Happy Valentine’s Day! I think Otis is the greatest American male vocalist of all time, so here’s one of his best songs. It’s not a love song about a person, it’s a love song about love.
I got two copies of this one, that’s how good it is!
What’s in a name?
Turntables. Record players. Decks. Wheels of steel. Tables. They get called just about everything except for their original name: phonograph. And they almost didn’t even get called that! Check out the list of names Thomas Edison & the crew thought of before deciding on “phonograph.”… Read more...
Mixtape Monday: 45-7: A Tribute to 45s
This January, I tried something new. Although I love the creativity possible thanks to Serato and digital DJing, I find that it also erodes some basic DJ skills and makes me (and others) a bit lazy. In order to challenge myself and get back to my roots, I decided to only DJ with real vinyl for all of January. … Read more...
Scratching Cassettes
I hear cassettes are coming back in style, at least in a retro way… although I told a friend I was coming out with a new mix and was going to put it out on cassette, and he said he didn’t know if he’d even be able to play it. Well, either way, He couldn’t play it like this guy—in fact, I can’t even play records like this!… Read more...
Today’s Stack
This is the pile of 45′s I came across at a random sale the other day. Great pile of Southern Soul, although some are scratchy as hell. Looks like I have some enjoyable listening to catch up on!
So far, lots of Joe Tex, including these two, and quite a bit of Johnny Taylor. Good stuff, that’s for sure. My next step is to clean and listen to them all, put them in sleeves (they didn’t come with… Read more...
45 Friday: Tramp!
My babies: three copies of Tramp by Otis & Carla
When I first realized that music expressed my world way better than words, I was listening to recordings on the Stax/Volt label. Otis Redding is my favorite artist, and this particular song is so iconic—I think it expresses the Stax sound: the raw funk, the big personalities, the great voices, the Southern common sense. I loved it from my first listen, and you did too. Here’s one of the best 45s I have on that label, and the songs that it inspired. And if you like the Stax label, we may have some real treats here for you soon!… Read more...
Victory is mine
I work at an Oakland Public School. I am rewarded daily knowing that I have the best students in the world, and that students who graduate from my school shape the world (I’m looking at you, Huey, Ron, Frank, Kev, etc). My job, unfortunately is not usually rewarding materially. Until last week.
I was brainstorming how to make this year extra special and I realized it… I needed a record player for my office. But not just any record player… I needed a classic… the kind I remembered from my OUSD youth. I knew they were out
new edit: KUFF!
Well, it’s true, sometime a man fi get kuff. Sometimes I have even been that man. This tune by Shelly Thunder has been a favorite of mine since middle school… love the riddim, the lyrics, and really love the fact that it’s a female vocalist saying some (semi) empowering things!
It’s a little tricky to mix, though, so here’s an edit I made with an intro and extended outro. Soundcloud to listen or hulkshare to download.
Digital Roots!
Wow, ok, so I realize that there are a lot of my mixes that I do not have linked to this blog! That doesn’t make much sense, so I’m trying to rectify that right this very now.
Here is a digital roots CD that I released in the Winter of 2008, full of the biggest roots tunes at the time. This CD has been very popular, especially in my travels in Latin America (it’s a weird feeling to see someone selling bootleg copies of your CD… especially when you give it away for free!). 56 great tunes, all of which definitely withstand the test of time (or at least the… Read more...
