Category: Music

One of the coolest individuals this planet has ever known died today. In addition to his role as Chef on South Park and as composer of the theme to “Shaft,” Isaac Hayes was also a hit maker for Stax Records in Memphis, writing Sam and Dave’s two biggest hits, “Hold On, I’m Coming” and “Soul Man,” among many, many others. He was also one of the first soul musicians to approach the album as an art form rather than as a compilation of singles with “Hot Buttered Soul” and the double-album “Black Moses.” In addition to his film work in “I’m Gonna Get You Sucka” and “Hustle and Flow” (not to mention the MST3K-worthy “Truck Turner”) he had recently completed filming the movie “Soul Men” with Samuel L. Jackson and Bernie Mac.

He collapsed today in his home. He was 65 years old.

I got the chance to meet him last summer in L.A. at the Hollywood Bowl. I now seriously regret not taking advantage of a mutual friend’s access to hang out more with this legendary gentleman.

I’d also like to clear up something about his departure from South Park. Isaac had suffered a stroke at the time, and his management had requested he be released from his contract. It was not Isaac’s decision, it was theirs.

Go download “Walk on By” (the 12 minute version) and find out what a master composer, arranger, and vocalist Isaac Hayes was. There aren’t many people left in the world who can truly be considered “legendary.” Now there’s one less.

Music history often bears unlikely fruit from strange seeds. I was amazed to discover recently that some of my favorite modern music – the audio collages of DJ Shadow and others who make albums purely from other albums – are part of a line that can be traced back to the novelty albums of the 1950’s by Buchanan & Goodman[1].

This fact was pointed out to me by underground hip-hop legend Steinski, in his recent interview with The Onion’s AV Club. He says:

“…certainly we’re in a direct line from these guys, from [Bill] Buchanan and [Dickie] Goodman. That would be probably the most obviously direct thing.”

This tripped me out because Dickie Goodman’s records were some of my favorite things to listen to as a kid. He made these odd singles where he’d interview folks and everything they would say would be a cut from a song. He made these records from the 1950s all the way into the 1980s, with my favorite being “Mr. Jaws.”

Despite not having any conventionally released albums, Steinksi’s impact is widespread among DJs and turntablists. His mid-80’s mashups set the stage for producers like Prince Paul to take the art of sampling to a new level. It’s entirely likely that you haven’t heard this cut before, but you’ve heard what has come after it (warning, this thing was mixed loud and is a bit distorted, sadly):

That 1985 track launched dozens of hit records from De La Soul’s Three Feet High and Rising to “Pump Up the Volume” by MARRS to “Bust a Move” by Young MC to “Turn This Mutha Out” by MC Hammer. There’s even a line in there from Dickie Goodman, a nod to his 1956 “Flying Saucer” single.

And so, going into the 1990s and 2000s, guys like DJ Shadow take that same concept and run with it, giving us stuff like this:

1.) In fact, if you want to get deeply granular into the history of hip-hop music, it probably starts with the fast-talking DJ’s of early rock radio. They were the DJs and MCs of rap pre-history.

This song has given me a lot of strength these last few weeks. Whenever it comes on my iPod, I feel like I’m being filmed for a movie about my life. Or an episode of Dawson’s Creek.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdoI_ZHdRPA

Thanks, Amy.

I signed up to Imeem.com because I kept seeing tunes on Nikki’s blog and thought it might be handy for doing the same. I came across a great cover of a Simon and Garfunkel classic by David Mead. Check it out:

This song makes me feel so much better.

I was recently presented with a copy of The Best of Huey Lewis and the News. Before I go any further, I should say that my earliest musical influence, before I ever became a musician, was this group. I had all their tapes, and from about 5th to 8th grade they were a constant presence in my Walkman – as I walked home up Nicholson Avenue from Central Elementary, as I rode my bike or walked to the Quail Tree swimming pool, or just hanging out in my room at home. As I began playing guitar and buying CDs, though, I largely left them behind. My focus shifted to guitar wizardry and heavy rock. I never went back and bought their albums on CD, with the exception of 1991’s Hard at Play. I did write Huey Lewis a letter once, and he sent me an autographed picture.

Now I have the hits on CD, and a DVD of their best videos comes with the disc as well. Suddenly I am reminded how much their tunes are encoded in my musical DNA. They are the sound of summer for me. They were there at the swimming pool, on the TV in the snack bar, on the radio at the river, everywhere. Only now, as I’ve grown to become a musician who appreciates pure pop music composed with melodic elegance and recorded with a colorful balance of tones, do I realize that they were so much more than the 80’s cheese that so many people assumed them to be. Granted I may be painting with a rosy nostalgic brush here, but I really think this is a group whose music still stands the test of time. Here I am, 15 years later, listening to their tunes and marveling at the economy of language in the lyrics, the balance between jazzy tonalities in the sax lines and the post-punk guitar energy, and the not-too-glossy sparkle of the recordings. There are a lot of big acts from the 80’s whose songs I am no longer impressed with, who made crud that I feel like I could somewhat approximate on my own. By contrast, I find myself listening to the News and thinking, “how did they do that? I could never do that.” [1]

Their music is simple but not simplistic. Like another huge 80’s act from the Bay Area, Journey, the roots of the News lie in various jazz and funk bands. Critics love to dismiss jazzers who condescend to writing pop tunes[2], but there is an art to writing a succinct, economical pop tune. It comes naturally to some folks, as simple people can often write great simple songs, but I’m always more impressed by the artists who have everything at their disposal (canvas, palette, technique), and can still deliver something elegant and concise[3]. I just realized that this is particularly the case with yet another Bay Area band, a band who has gone on to become probably my favorite group of all time: Jellyfish.

It would seem I’ve come full circle, then, from one group who wrote sunny pop confections to another. Maybe I should move to the Bay Area….

1.) Other acts I’ve only recently come to appreciate in the same fashion: Tears for Fears, Hall and Oates and INXS.
2.) In fact, rock critics like to dismiss anyone who is musically smarter than they are, because the general profile of a rock writer is someone who couldn’t even succeed at making rock music, let alone jazz.
3.) As well as something grandiose and ambitious (Yes, Queen, Dream Theater).