They don't make'em like they used to.

My uncle put me on to a site that will take you back to the days of creative funky electronic devices. Before people were caught up with the ipod and PSP, there were some amazing portables. Very much so larger then life and stylish means to listen and carry your tunes back in the day.

Pocket Calculator

Kiss My Converse... or er uh Pumas. Man kiss my sneakers fool!

My sunday afternoon song for you today is off the soundtrack of that eighties favorite, 'The Last Dragon'. Say what you will but I know you liked it. You really liked it. Front if you will. But you will download this tune.

Willie Hutch "The Glow"

Wheaton College

Took a trip upstate with the brothers from 3rd Party friday afternoon to participate in a spring arts festival at Wheaton College in the town of Norton, Mass. Big shout to 'Daine' the curator of the event and for those Say Word Entertainment fellows for including me in the festivities.

The kids at Wheaton rock!

More Ringtones guys! This time Polyphonic...

K-os : Joyful Rebellion

"Emcee Murdah"

I friend of mine thought that I'd enjoy this album so he put me on to this record. Let me put you on to it as well. K-OS has a sick video where every verse is a different scene from random album jackets he picks up while at a record shop. I'll see if I can locate it.

Talking to another partner of mine that put me on to an emcee that I'd heard of in the past but never gave a listen to. Some may know him from a battle with Super Natural. Check out Juice.

"Sincerely"

But of course you can find this man on Myspace. Hey if you hit'em up about his tunes, tell'em that Conscious put you on.

Jask Clothing

Jask Clothing Buy a shirt...

Donny Hathaway...

I did a search and found a bio I felt suitable for you guys to read, along with your song for today.

Donny Hathaway & Roberta Flack " The Closer I Get To You"

Though his recording career was quite brief, Donny Hathaway has continued to be one of the most influential soul artists of the last quarter century. The longevity of and increase in his popularity is due in large part to the rare combination of gifts he possessed. He was a talented songwriter with the ability to write songs that provided, in a secular format, the depth of the most heartfelt Gospel music; and he was a remarkable song stylist who defined (or redefined) nearly every song he touched in his brief career. His death by an apparent suicide was news in 1979, but it has loomed ever larger since then, and one wonders whether his already strong influence on R&B would have been truly singular if he had lived through the entirety of his creative cycle.

Raised in St. Louis and reared in the church, Hathaway was a child prodigy, singing and playing piano at a very young age. He later attended Howard University, where he met his future singing partner, Roberta Flack. After leaving school, he developed into a sought-after keyboardist and songwriter, ultimately working at Curtis Mayfield’s Curtom Records. He signed a recording contract with Atlantic Records and released his debut, Everything Is Everything, in 1970. It was the world’s first exposure to the plaintive, emotional, velvety singing style that would make Hathaway one of the most revered soul singers ever. His version of Nina Simone’s “To Be Young, Gifted and Black” on that disc is chilling. And his diverse and unique arrangements, combined with his strong writing and excellent outside song selections, made for a fine debut.

Hathaway followed Everything the next year with an eponymous album of cover songs that highlighted his uncanny song selection skills and his formidable ability as an musical interpreter. While not as essential as his debut, it includes very nice covers of Leon Russell’s “A Song For You” and Van McCoy’s “Giving Up.”

In 1972, Hathaway teamed with Roberta Flack for an album of duets that would be the most popular album either would record, and the first major crossover work of his career. It was another wonderful combination of new compositions and definitive covers, and the blending of the two voices was magical. Their version of James Taylor’s “You’ve Got A Friend” was a smash, only to be surpassed by the follow-up, the stylish “Where Is The Love,” one of the year’s biggest soul songs. The album’s clear highlight, however, was Hathaway’s solo cover of the standard, “For All We Know,” maybe the most beautiful ballad he ever recorded and certainly the most memorable version of that great song.

Later that year, Hathaway released an excellent live album. Also around this time, he and his wife Eulaulah had their first daughter, Lalah, who would ultimately be one of the great female Soul/Jazz singers of the 90s and 00s.

By 1973, Hathaway was battling depression, but he nonetheless released the powerful “Extensions of a Man,” an appropriately titled album that showed Hathaway extending himself in many directions, most well beyond the pop/soul format that many of the listeners of his duets with Flack expected. It included many fine cuts, none better than his seminal piece, “Someday We’ll All Be Free,” an expressive, hopeful ballad that has become one of the most important Soul songs of all time. It was covered by Alicia Keys in the famous 9/11 concert special.

Unfortunately, Hathaway would never record another full album. He reunited with Flack in 1977 to record the great Mtume/Lucas composition, “The Closer I Get To You” (most recently covered by Luther Vandross and Beyonce), which became another chart topper for the duo. They had begun working on another album of duets at the time of Hathaway’s death. Roberta Flack released the two finished cuts as part of her 1980 album Roberta Flack featuring Donnie Hathaway.

For an artist who only recorded three solo studio albums, Hathaway left an incredible mark on soul music. Young soul artists from India.Arie to Frank McComb to Alicia Keys to Kenny Lattimore consistently list Hathaway as among their principal musical influences, and his imprint on their music is clear. He was a perceptive and powerful songwriter and clearly one of the greatest Soul voices ever. Any one of his albums is worth obtaining. For newer fans, his posthumous compilation release, A Donny Hathaway Collection, is a wonderful overview of his best music.

Bio Source

Neo Retro Spectro Grafiks Vol.1 It's back! But er uh it never left..

Download full album zip

My Ringtones Are Available Now ! Zingy.com

Zingy.com

Cheetah Juice... Bilal... Fishscale & Rapper Dolls...

So every week, I figure what I'll do for now on when I'm actually home to record and make a call in to Adam Bernard's show (The Adam Bernard Experience on WVOF 88.5 FM Friday nights 7-9pm), is post the our conversations. Seems that in the midst of seemingly nonsensical exchanges we actually manage to hit on a few interesting topics. I IM'ed Adam a minute ago and suggested that ever week I call in and we'll talk for at minimum 60 seconds and drop info on folks. Who knows where it'll go. Just stay tuned in to the blog or better yet tune in to the weekly show.




April 7th 2006

"adam-b-experience[conscious-call-in]cheetah-juice-bilal-fishscale-n-rapper-dolls"
play HiFi (mp3) download (5.9 MB)

March 31st 2006

"[Wack-Rappers-Convo]-WVOF88.5-FM-Adam-Bernard-PT-Hallow-DJ-Halo-Conscious"
play HiFi (mp3) download (7.09 MB)

Did you ever play this game ?

http://www.ataritimes.com/2600/reviews/koolaidman.html

Where's DJ Clue these days?

Man say what you will about the dude in the later portion of his career, but a handful of clue mixtapes (real cassette tapes) got me through train rides from the Bronx to mid town many ah day while I was in highschool. I was looking around for something else to hit you guys with today for I retire to get some sleep or perhaps some more real work done. I found a Raekwon & Ghostface track off a 2001 Clue release. It is in no way anything similar to what I would've heard on a vintage clue tape but it's friggin Rae & Ghost.

"2001 Cream Team"

Lee Ritenour - Stolen Moments

Lee Ritenour has long been the perfect studio musician, one who can melt into the background without making any impact. While he possesses impressive technique, Ritenour has mostly played instrumental pop throughout his career, sometimes with a Brazilian flavor. His few jazz efforts have found him essentially imitating Wes Montgomery, but despite that he has been consistently popular since the mid-'70s. After touring with Sergio Mendes' Brasil '77 in 1973, Ritenour became a very busy studio guitarist in Los Angeles, taking time off for occasional tours with his groups and in the mid-'90s with Bob James in Fourplay. Healso recorded many albums as a leader including Portraits (1987), Wes Bound (1992), Larry & Lee with Larry Carlton (1994), This is Love (1997) and Overtime (2005).

Bio by Scott Yanow

"Lee Ritenour - Stolen Moments"

DJ Spooky -------> I got singles....

I had the pleasure of meeting Dj Spooky a few years back after a show of his at The Museum Of Television & Radio. Spooky basically remixed D.W. Griffith's 1915 "Birth of a Nation". He created a musical score with turntable and various pieces of equipment to accompany this silent film. Spooky is a cool kat to converse with. Very forward thinking and open. It is apparent that his thoughts are progressive and he is always thinking of new ways to use sound and create sound beyond the normal realm.

Download the Rebirth of a Nation musical score composed by DJ Spooky
(zipped pdf archive, 3MB)

Now, let's take a journey into sound. The sound of 1998. During this year DJ Spooky released an LP entitled, 'Riddim Warfare'. Very Electronic... I just found the single for this project that has 4 different mixes of 'Object Unknown', along with 2 instrumentals. The song features, Kool Keith and Sir Menelik. Last time I checked they had 'beef'. or at least Kool Keith wasn't too thrilled with the thought of a Sir Menelik character. Anyway, I zipped up the singles for you to check out. You should really try and seek out the album. It also features a track with Organized Konfusion. If I stumble upon my original copy I will post it.

Eugene McDaniels & Organized Konfusion = My next posting...

What, did you expect me to say, something profound? Aww man forgid about it.

Sorry I left you, without music to step to. I intend on being much more on point from this point on. No, seriously I am.

Today I went through my collection briefly and decided to put you on to Eugene Booker McDaniels. If you're familar with the man and his music you'd already know that more then a hand full of hiphop artist have sampled him in the past. I searched the Allmusic site to get you guys a bio but I was honestly not satisfied with what I found. So I did a lil bit more searching and here's what I found on an oldies site.

Eugene Booker McDaniels, 12 February 1935, Kansas City, Kansas, USA. McDaniels began singing in church as a tiny child and by the age of 11 was a member of a gospel quartet. This was in Omaha, Nebraska, where he was raised and also studied at the Omaha Conservatory of Music. The quartet tried out in New York City where McDaniels was recognized as the pre-eminent singer in the group. In 1954, he relocated to Los Angeles where he swiftly built a reputation singing in jazz clubs. He performed with many noted artists, among them Les McCann, Cannonball Adderley, John Coltrane and Miles Davis. Signed by Liberty Records, he had a US Top 5 hit in 1961 with "A Hundred Pounds Of Clay" which was followed by another Top 5 single "Tower Of Strength", and "Chip Chip", "Point Of No Return", and "Spanish Lace", all of which made the charts in the USA. He toured Australia with Dizzy Gillespie and Sarah Vaughan but was becoming dissatisfied with the direction his career was being aimed by his recording company. When his contract ended he went back to New York where he worked with yet more important jazz musicians, such as Herbie Hancock. In 1967, McDaniels went to Europe, remaining there for two years during which time he honed his talents as a songwriter.

Back in America, he signed with Atlantic Records as both singer and songwriter. His song, "Compared To What?" was recorded by McCann and also by Roberta Flack, for whom he then wrote "Reverend Lee" and the immensely successful "Feel Like Makin' Love" which reached number 1 on the Billboard, Cash Box and Record World charts in 1974. He also wrote "Before You Accuse Me', recorded by Creedence Clearwater Revival and covered by Eric Clapton. Between 1974 and 1979 McDaniels was also active as a record producer working with many leading pop artists including Nancy Wilson and Gladys Knight. Another move, this time to Seattle, brought him into contact with Carolyn E. Thompson but it took a few more years before their musical relationship blossomed. Back once again in New York he worked with Michel Legrand on film scores and also wrote songs which have been sung by artists such as Flack, Wilson, Patti Austin and Diane Schuur. It was in 1996 that McDaniels and Thompson formed their own company, Numoon Disc Company, and he entered yet another rewarding and musically fulfilling stage of his packed career. As a singer, McDaniels" strong and commanding voice brought a sense of controlled power to his performances. Despite his considerable success in this area, however, it might well be his later achievements as a songwriter and record producer that will prove to be the most lasting testimony to his stature in the world of popular music.

"headless heros of the apocalypse"

So anyway, as I was saying earlier in the post, a good amount of artists have sampled the album above in particluar. One group to do it was Oragnized Konfusion on 'The Extinction Agenda' which in my opinion is a hiphop classic. I've purchased that tape at least 3 or 4 times. If you claim to know your hiphop and have never heard or heard of that album, well you might need to get up to speed. I'm not posting that album so sorry if you thought that was gonna happen. I'm going to focus on another one of the group's releases,'The Equinox'. In the past I've read over a few reviews of this record that weren't very enthusiastic. But I really don't care. I've always liked the album and hope you enjoy the tracks I'm posting from it. So much that you go and cop a copy.

"Invetro"
"Confrontations"