I definitely spend more time in terms of creating mixes that explore the vast contributions that women, particularly Black women, have made to popular music. Every once in a while tho, I feel a bit guilty for ignoring the legacy of the legions of handsome men that worked tirelessly in the studio and stage crafting…
Tag: The Temptations
Up Against The Wall Of Sound: 35 Imitations That Stroked Or Deflated Phil Spector’s Ego
I actually think The Wall of Sound as created by Phil Spector is one of the most overrated music trends of the 1960’s. Not only did it borrow heavily from trends already happening in the sophistication blend of 1960’s “Rock & Roll” and popular music, it relied very heavily on the aesthetics of the musicians, arrangers…
Love-o-matic: Your Mid Century Auditory Personal Lubricant For Horizontal Dancing
Spring in the air, filled with love, there’s magic everywhere. Okay, we’re not all young and in love as Van McCoy wrote, but we all like to be amorous, and there’s no season like the blossoms of Spring, and Venus in Taurus season to get us to want to make like the birds and bees…
Strings And Things Pt.1: 36 Orchestral Soul Gems
I’ve been told by fellow DJs on the soul scene, quite derisively sometimes, that the soul music that I spin is too *sweet.* Not Funky, nitty or gritty, I tend towards pretty melodies, and… frankly, string sections. Violins? Cellos? Upright Bass? Why?!?! As I try to lean back into live DJing in a new town,…
Languishing On An LP: 33 Revolutions Not Found In Your Platter Pack
Vinyl DJs swear by the portability of the 45 rpm single. In a platter pack or any sundry 45 carrier, you’ve got up to 100 tunes, since most of those boxes can accommodate 50 of those little plastic discs. Most of my fellow DJs decry LPs, especially Soul LPs of the 1960’s as full of…
With This Song, I Be Wed: 30 Songs On The Pains and Pleasure of The Wedding Day
Marriage is a particularly curious item in American society. The combinations of romanticism, pragmatism and patriarchy inform an ever shifting social condition. As long as there’s been the concept of a popular song, anyone that got a chance to record more than 10 songs somehow deals with the concept in some circular way. As we…
Sylvia’s Work: Sister Soul Songwriter Standing In The Shadows of Motown 1964-1975
The music industry isn’t a kind place to women. Even now, there’s more hurdles that keep women mostly out of control of their artistic output rather than giving them the full creative reign of their male counterparts. The situation is more heightened for Women of Color, especially Black women. Often, and yet still, you are…
Live! Live! Live! Soul From The Stage To Your Stereo 1963-71
We’re decidedly blessed with continuous access to acres of studio recordings of our favorite soul artists. There’s the hits we know, and then even there’s alternate takes. Nevermind the LPs they released, the B-sides that end up being true gems, or the unreleased material that sees light of day more than a half century later….
Keeper of The Flame: Your Sagittarius Season Playlist to be Thankful For
Here we are, just past the 15th degree of Saturn in Sagittarius and 0-1 Sagittarius Season. Are you gathering your thoughts and wisdom to collect at the end of the year? What are you thankful for? Maybe what you’ve got, what you’ve learned, what you’ve lost. The Final Fire Sign that keeps us warm as…
Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Your Scorpio 2016 Mix
We part the veils and slink towards closing out this year, my dears. It’s the bewitching season of Scorpio. Though I gave you a ghoul-ful Halloween playlist, I couldn’t let the sign of the emotional depths not have its own time in the waning Fall sunlight. Excavation, surgery and examination of what’s to be kept,…
DJ Larsupreme 