One of David Bowie’s phases was a soul phase, inspired by Philadelphia soul music. America is the home of soul music, of course, so this song makes perfect sense. In typical self-aware fashion, Bowie described the sound of the album (of the same name, 1975), as “plastic soul”. In fairness, that is slightly harsh on…
17/03/2019: “Bella Donna” by Doe Maar
Doe Maar are a Dutch pop band, who draw their musical influences from Ska and Punk. They were actually one of the most successful Dutch…
16/03/2019: “Asa-Sa” by Fred Fisher
Sometimes it seems like Nigeria has produced an extraordinarily high proportion of excellent musicians and groovy sounds. This is more 70s brilliance, this time from…
15/03/2019: “The Jitterbug Waltz” by Chet Atkins
Chet Atkins is surely one of the best guitarists of all time. Not just for his technical ability, but for his ability to turn the…
14/03/2019: “Sippin’ On Some Syrup” by Three 6 Mafia featuring UGK and Project Pat
I would say that it’s a wonder that most Southern rappers didn’t die from the amount of weird drug concoctions they took, but unfortunately a…
13/03/2019: “I Wanna Be Sedated” by Ramones
“I Wanna Be Sedated” is a song about being bored on tour. The Ramones were in London at Christmas and had nothing to do, so…
12/03/2019: “Romance” by Hiroshi Suzuki
This song is so lovely it almost defies description. The best metaphor I could use is the classic “distilled sunshine” imagery. It’s like a slow…
11/03/2019: “Soul Freedom” by Ray Fernandez
Miami has a large Cuban community due to its proximity to the island. This means, naturally, that it has a large Latin funk and boogaloo…
10/03/2019: “Rumble” by Link Wray & His Ray Men
Music gets banned for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes, the lyrics are too obscene. The song might be too subversive on a political level. But…
09/03/2019: “Youth Dem Cold” by Richie Spice
Richie Spice is one of my favourite modern reggae singers. A lot of his songs utilise riddims with huge basslines, and crisp modern production. However,…