"I'm Listening to Your Favorite Records" Bridging the gap between the Hammond B-3 rave-ups of Booker T & The MG's (think "Green Onions") and the freewheeling kaleidoscopic collage of The Go! Team, Snake & Jet's Amazing Bullit Band are set to get the party started all over the globe. Their latest record, the psychotropic X-Ray Spirit, is a frantic mess of lo-fi drums, distorted vocal samples and sexed-up wah funk that could be the soundtrack to a menacing cinematic drug montage, like the cemetery scene in Easy Rider. If you haven't jumped on the band wagon, do it now, because all this whacked out alien shit is sure to make the kids start doing drugs and breaking stuff, and making music again. After all, isn't that the order in which these things are supposed to happen?
"Soulsville USA" The other night I was lucky enough to catch "Great Performances: Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story" for the second time. Not gonna lie, this is what music geeks dream about; an archivists view of the legendary rhtyhm and blues label that was home to Booker T & the MG's, Otis Redding, Carla Thomas, the Markays, the Bar-Kays, Mel & Tim, Sam & Dave & ISAAC HAYES! The documentary reports the history of the Memphis Soul factory and is a triumphant tale of men and women, black and white, working together to create something bigger than themselves, in a period of time when they couldn't even eat together at the same downtown diner. It seems like no big deal, but in the early 60's in Memphis, a town where racial hostility was, pardon my french, fucking karazee, the fact that the Stax studio and office was a sanctuary where creative people of any race or sex could unite and create music from the soul is a testament to the heart (and soul) of the human condition.
While the label is known by most as the home of Otis Redding, it also released breakthrough records like "Green Onions" (I guarantee you know this song even if you don't think you do) by Booker T & The MG's and the fiery inspiration of the Staples Singers "Respect Yourself."
Last night I flipped on the television just as Otis' segment at Monterey Pop was airing. Bone chilling. I've been lucky enough to own this on vinyl for years, inherited from my pops (Jimi Hendrix performance is the B-side!) and the electric versions of "Try a Little Tenderness" and "I've Been Loving You" are the undoubted pinnacle of a brilliant, but short career. I swear if you listen hard enough you can almost hear Otis' heart bursting from the seams.
Below are two of the most heart-wrenching songs of all time, as well as the trailer for the "Respect Yourself: The STAX Records Story." Pretty Pretty Please do yourself a favor and pick up this documentary and look for more STAX related posts in the coming weeks.
all songs are posted because we love them and think they make the world a better place. they are for sampling purposes only (duh). if you like what you hear, buy the record or see the concert!!! if you own the copyright to anything that appears on this site, contact us.
