Kyle | Those Who Dig

Darondo – Didnt I

August 10, 2011

Darondo – Didn't I

I've always wanted to be one of those bearded guys that wear fedoras and have encyclopedic knowledge of soul and funk. You know, the guys that can name everyone who recorded for Stax in 1962 and have a room devoted to the thousands of long-lost soul LPs they've found after spending countless hours in dank record stores searching through those dusty stacks that pile up underneath the nicely organized vinyl.

That's what I want to be when I grow up. Fuck astronauts. Reality is, though, that I'm a long, long way from being that guy and as much as I love the soul, funk, and Motown genres, I've never been good at finding lost gems unless someone gives them to me.

Today is different. I discovered Darondo all by my myself (well after Gilles Peterson discovered him a few years ago). His story is the stuff of legend: allegedly a San Francisco pimp who recorded 3 singles and played 4 shows (including one with James Brown) in the 1970's before becoming an artifact collector, local cable star, and physical therapist. No man with that great of a story can make anything but great music. And he does. Groove this one.

News

Velvet Underground Month at Those Who Dig

August 10, 2011

| Kyle

Hello readers. I hope you're ready for something new that happens to be old because we're about to try something a little different. Starting tomorrow, we will begin about a month of content devoted to the Velvet Underground. Read on for more details.

Label Year

Chilly Gonzales – The Unspeakable Chilly Gonzales

August 9, 2011

| Kyle

This installment of Label Year marks the first artist to have a second release in 2011. We are privileged with the chance to hear some more compelling music from Chilly Gonzales. His latest is called The Unspeakable Chilly Gonzales. Billed as "the first-ever all orchestral rap album," this is truly a unique listening experience not to be missed.

Videos

Grand Rapids performs American Pie

August 8, 2011

| Kyle

I have recently come across (or stumbled upon, as it were) this amazing video of 5,000+ citizens of Grand Rapids, Michigan performing a version of Don McLean's "American Pie." I dig it and think you really should check it out.

News

R.I.P. Marshall Grant

August 8, 2011

| Kyle

Some sad musical news today in a day filled with madness around the globe. Marshall Grant, bassist and the last surviving member of Johnny Cash's Tennessee Two passed away in Arkansas at the age of 83. As giant Cash fans, especially of his Sun Records days, we hope Cash and the boys are now jamming together again.

(Cheers to The Daily Swarm)

Weekly Roundup

Weekly Roundup: Jul 31 – Aug 6, 2011

August 7, 2011

| Kyle

Has it really been 6 weeks since the last Weekly Roundup?! ACK! Let's get right into the music then, shall we?

Videos

Keith Jarrett: Somewhere Over the Rainbow

August 5, 2011

| Kyle

What can I say, deep down I'm really just a sap. Keith Jarrett always brings it out of me and his sparse and emotionally open arranagment of Somewhere Over the Rainbow will get me every time. The video is a performance from Tokyo in 1984. If once just insn't enough, the mp3 is his encore improvisation of the tune from his 1995 La Scala concert. You dig?

Keith Jarrett: Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Videos

Chris Thile and Michael Daves at the Newport Folk Festival

August 3, 2011

| Kyle

The Newport Folk Festival is an annual pilgrimage for lovers of this music. It is a magical weekend on the water were audiences are privy to legends like Pete Seeger and new generation masters like Chris Thile and Michael Daves. I lament that I am not there to partake this year, but NPR and the tech savvy crowd aren't leaving much to the imagination. This impromptu video of an impromptu performance is a choice example of the organic happenings that can happen there. The duo was joined by the Seeger Clogging Allstars in this performance of the Rocky Road Blues. Fun is the key word – fun for the musicians and fun for the crowd. It also doesn't hurt that the world's preeminent bluegrass mandolin player is there to throw down and make it look easy.

Sometimes You Need Time Apart…

August 2, 2011

| Kyle

A few days ago the musician/blogger Tiana Feng (Ride the Tempo) posted a musing on her personal blog (Teepoo's Scribbles) entitled, Sometimes You Need Time Apart From Something to Miss It. The basic gist of this piece was that she is a piano player who had taken a hiatus from the instrument and was now looking to dive back into things by learning some new repertoire. This is a simple enough concept and an experience every musician has felt at some point in their own lives.

Tiana's post, and our subsequent conversation about it, is the inspiration behind today's intsallment of the TWD series, Episodes in Virtuosity. For me, writting about classical music in this series has served as one of the catalysts I need as a classical guitarist to keep my own practice motivation up. Today's selected pieces are:

Pierre-Laurent Aimard: Allegro con Spirito – Musica Ricercata by Gyorgy Ligeti

Gerald Garcia: Alfonsina y el Mar by Ariel Rameriez

Le Grande Terrie – II Eclosion by Olivier Bensa

Videos

Mayer Hawthorne – A Long Time

August 2, 2011

| Kyle

Mayer Hawthorne's released a video for his single "A Long Time". The video is spliced together footage, YouTube style of a 1970's Detroit dance show. Mayer himself doesn't grace the screen, but his smooth jam syncs up great to the ridiculous (and ridiculously dressed) hip shakers.

(Via P4K)