unfair deaths 2016: Sharon Jones

Before the year is over, I want to give a shout out to Sharon Jones. She meant a lot to me. I meant to post a tribute shortly after her death, but oh, that fucking election and trying to fight the DAPL going through and a new chemo regimen for me—it was all too much. I know tributes are needed though because every time someone lists the celebrity deaths of 2016 I generally have to look pretty hard to find Sharon Jones. Well fuck that.

I loved Sharon Jones’ music the first time I heard her on the radio. WHAT? I could hardly believe my ears–was this a song from the golden age of funk and soul that I’d missed? (and my mind’s ear always rings with the call letters and jingle from Detroit’s AM radio station: CKLW, The Motor City)

Her voice, her words, her power. She was funk, soul, political; old school.

When I found out she had cancer, I was concerned, angry, and sad. My cancer, her cancer, though different, put us into a club we never asked to be in, but I watched; I watched and waited. She performed like a BOSS without hair, in heels, in sequins, in fringed dresses, sweating and twisting and leading her own band, singing songs of the oppressed and of Black women’s struggles in the US. I know how awful chemo is but she was able to summon something from deep inside to continue to share and preach and tell a truth in a proud line of Black American soul artists. 

Her version of “This Land is Your Land” is best version of Woody’s song, hands down, I’ve ever heard (any time she sings it, it’s the best version). Back in the earlier days of my blog, I could link to a song from youtube, but this feature, no doubt due to copyright issues, has been taken away. So you do it. Go to youtube and look up Sharon Jones singing Woody Guthrie’s hymn to America.

We need her now, we need her fire and passion and intelligence and rhythm. Another great one gone. DO NOT FORGET her message, the heritage she calls on. This is political. Dang we need her. And for fuck’s sake stop omitting black women from the pantheon. Erasure is unacceptable.

Ciao, babies. Still a few more days of this year left. Let’s hope for a little peace before we say goodbye.

 

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do da walk (doo doo wop)

On Friday nights, our local commercial FM radio station has Funky Fridays and last night, unusually for me, I had to do grocery shopping and errands in between having dropped my kids at the high school for a play. So I was in the car with the funk for a while.

I “danced” my ass of while I sat in the driver’s seat. At least for 6 minutes.

This one goes out to all of you hard-lovin’ GOPs. Fuck you.

If you can sit down for this one, you got no soul (Cheney-like). Remember the Dems get the FUNK VOTE and THE FUNK VOTE IS THE VOTE THAT COUNTS. 

There is another video on youtube, still the studio version, with a bit better quality to the sound, but the visuals are all Bush and Cheney and Blair and photos of the horrors of war. All of the Dems who’ve bombed people to hell have been left out. So I didn’t use that one. It was disturbing and a bit too lopsided for my taste.

DON’T FORGET TO VOTE AND DON’T BELIEVE THE HYPE

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Music Monday–twinkly’s funk meltdown

HULA HOOP UPDATE: after only 2 minutes on the back porch, I figured out how to hula hoop! Whew am glad I am not as much of a bonehead as I thought. I can walk with it a few steps, turn around a bit, got the rocking problem covered. However, I bought a big, huge, heavy hula hoop but I’m ready to move up to a smaller, more lightweight one. Must I wait for a summer festival?

Funky Meltdown Dance mix (still feeling inspired since seeing the No Nos 2 weeks ago)

Wild Cherry

Earth, Wind, and Fire

KC and the Sunshine Band–it was hard to choose which video to post, they all have their strengths (and weaknesses), but I settled for the one which featured the most hairy, bare-to-the-waist chests

P Funk

The Commodores

And this old gem, which in my memory was a little more up-tempo. Still good dance music even if her voice drags a bit

Apollo Smile

 

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Music Monday–Raphael Saadiq, again

This one’s a keeper, but like the last Raphael Saadiq song I posted, it doesn’t last long enough. Just another minute or so would have been nice.

There’s a really fun live version, but I won’t share it here. You can find it on youtube.

Happy Monday and all that

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Music Monday–Use Me

You could listen to the studio version of this song, the one that comes on the radio occasionally, but here I share the video I love. The cool shades, the Afros, the slow build, Bill Withers’ sweaty face.

It’s Black History Month and while I’ve always thought it great bullshit that African-Americans and Women get only one month (I mean, down with the patriarchy and all), maybe it’s a start, right?

Here in the Pioneer Valley, on our local PC, mostly rock-based radio station, 93.9, WRSI, The River, they’ve got a really cool music historian from one of the 5 Colleges who comments all month on the history of Black music (he does this during Women’s History Month, too). I was inspired my him somewhat for this post, but hey, I’ve had “Use Me” in the queue for a long time. It’s such a hot song, slow, consistent, unchanging beat..and those lyrics. Smokin’.

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Music Monday–remember songs so sexy they should be banned?

Here and here are the previous entries.

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Music Monday–a pause about Occupy Amherst and on to The Heavy

I went out to Occupy Amherst yesterday afternoon with Hubby. Yes, you can laugh at our little town. But I was heartened at what is the beginning of a movement that I believe will grow in strength and voice week by week, as it already has. You say you want a revolution? Well, you know, we all want to change the world. So let’s up and do it.

Now that we got that out of the way, on to a song that should get the juices flowing. I first heard this when I saw “The Fighter” and soon forgot it. I take it as a song of power and since I’m thinking a lot about the people’s collective power, let’s have at it. The video is silly, but I like it.

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Music Monday–Raphael Saadiq

Each Monday, for a while at least, I will post something music-related. Here’s my first Music Monday post, in the form of a video. I can’t get enough of this song and my only complaint it that it doesn’t last long enough.

Because this video is somehow controlled by vevo, you have to click through to youtube and you get an ad at the beginning to boot. I don’t know a way around it. However, all of the live versions that I found on youtube were equally mind-blowing, so check them out. This band is TIGHT!

Put your high-heeled sneakers on and remember that the only one who looks foolish in front of a computer playing Raphael Saadiq is the one who’s sitting down.

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