listen.

it is good friday after all....

hey listeners.

I had a bigger post in the works, but I figured as it is good friday we may as well enjoy some Mahalia Jackson.   Now, I say it time and time again every time i post gospel: i am not trying to spread some religious doctrine, i am not part of any organized religion, BUT as a musical genre it is pretty amazing when done right.

And you know who does it right? The Queen of Gospel -- widely regarded as the best singer in the history of the genre -- Mahalia Jackson.

Supposedly, and by supposedly I mean: according to wikipedia, she was constantly asked to record secular music throughout her life but refused.  While I feel like I should respect an artist standing up for themselves I kinda wish Mahalia had recorded a standard or two: Anything Goes, It's Too Darn Hot, Little GIrl Blue.... the list goes on...

I digress. This woman has soul. Lots of it. And she lets it out on that stage. Enjoy her live recordings - the two I have are: In Concert Easter Sunday 1967 and Live At Newport 1958

From the Easter Sunday Concert:

Come on Children, Let's Sing - Mahalia Jackson

Elijah Rock - Mahalia Jackson

There is Balm in Gilead - Mahalia Jackson
(isn't this one just so beautiful?)

I'm On My Way - Mahalia Jackson

Didn't It Rain - Mahalia Jackson
(this is my favorite song of hers)

It Don't Cost Very Much - Mahalia Jackson

Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho - Mahalia Jackson
("You make me feel like a star!" Well, Mahalia, you break my heart.)

okay... that's all.  ENJOY!

g

i'll take you there

this past tuesday ben took me and his good friend (who has since become a good friend of mine as well), amanda duarte to see mavis staples at BAM on january 22nd.  it was our christmas gift from him, and what a good gift it was.
mavis (we're on a first name basis) was a keynote at BAM's 22nd Annual Brooklyn Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. And then on the 22nd she performed at the opera house with her band.

and it was amazing. (not too long, but it didn't really matter)  i am not sure if i have smiled so much or clapped harder at a concert in a long time. 
the quote BAM kept throwing around from the Boston Globe was:
"Mavis Staples doesn't so much sing a song as baptize it in truth."

i mean, if that was ever said about me, i would throw it around every day of my life.  (i can aslo say that i have to agree with that statement very much so.)

her set list was pretty rad - she sang a lot of civil rights songs - a lot from her family's group THE STAPLE SINGERS.  as her dad said about Dr. King: if he can preach it - we can sing it.

i wish i had the technology to record the concert so i could share some of the versions, but i'll share the early versions i have.  just picture her voice older, smokier - having lived a little more life.

i'll take you there, the staple singers
i love this song.  long before i understood who the staple singers were. i have memories of all the cooks in the kitchen of my parents restaurant dancing around to this.

the weight, the staples singers
same as above.

heavy makes you happy, the staple singers
not the same as above. but you gotta love a song where she screams "schom-on y'all" [or however you would spell that]. and i just love a good sha-na-boom-boom, don't you?

here are some mavis staples songs i love:

until i met you, mavis staples
this song could be in a musical.  maybe it was? maybe it will be.  maybe i'll sing it.

son of a preacher man, mavis staples
i'm not hating on dusty - but this is the best version of this song. period.

if there's one thing the concert made me think it's that i want to hear mavis sing every day. i need to. the other thing it made me think about was that i really want to be a soul singer. so i guess i should start working on that dream while i'm still spry enough to shake it.

alrighty. enjoy.

Sigur Rós - Hvarf/Heim

talk about a post i have been meaning to do for a couple of months!
the new sigur ros came out around NOV 6, 2007 (or maybe ON that date? i'm not sure, nor do you care)

so here's the deal - stop me if you've heard this (and by stop me i mean skim this paragraph) it's a two disc album (and in case you fancy buying from a record store: it's got very aesthetically pleasing packaging.)   Hvarf, the first disc consists of sigur ros revisiting songs from their "cannon." the second disc, heim, is live recordings from their free icelandic tour -- it had stops like this:

where you saw them do this:

and this:

these images are from Heima, their new film (and companion to this album), which is out now.  for a while you could write to their myspace page and set up a screening of the film.  wouldn't that be awesome?
anyway - this album is AMAZING. i must admit that Heim is definitely my favorite (but PLEASE don't tell Hvarf.)

so, i am going to share a few tracks. and then you should go buy the album.  you won't regret it.

from heim:

Samskeyti

it's like an amazing wave. i want a symphony to explode with music at the end -- like in the end of rhapsody in blue.

Agaetis Byrjun

so acoustic - so beautiful.

from hvarf:

von

it's an opera.

so now that you've sampled the music, you may be thinking: "okay, i want to buy this - but how shall i best enjoy this music?" well, look no further! here are several ways i think you can best enjoy said music:

• in a beautiful, damp-green icelandic field wearing a really pretty wool sweater with ruddy cheeks.
• riding your bicycle on the west side highway bike path  (wearing a helmet and not playing it too loud, of course)
• stoned in a dance/movement studio
• walking to work in the morning
• underscoring in a movie that has a scene were the fabric of the universe rips open leading to a parallel world.

enjoy.

sing it, sister

i think we've got a good thing going here with all this old-school gospel, so I'm sticking with it.  because it's so good. and then maybe we can let that take us toward some soul/gospel from the 60s. who's with me??

first, a few tracks from Harry Smith's 1952 Anthology of American Folk Music, which is this incredible collection of almost 100 songs from the '20s and '30s: gospel, roots, bluegrass, etc.  it's completely out of control, and deserves way more than the cursory mention i'm giving it here. it's a masterpiece.  expect more later.  and here's a totally adorable picture of harry:

so to start, this recording of Rev. Sister Mary Nelson totally blows my mind. Listen to her voice!  no seriously, listen to it. please. this was recorded in chicago in 1927. Mary was a Pentecostal preacher in Tennessee.  she's really not fucking around:

the gambler the drunkard, the liar, and the adulterous too
well all these false pretenders, and all them hypocrites too
better get ready for judgement, better get ready for judgement morning
better get ready for judgement, my god is coming down

and i love her backup singers.

Rev. Sister Mary Nelson, Judgement

according to the notes accompanying the anthology, Texan Blind Willie Johnson (1900-1949) was blinded at age seven when lye was thrown in his face.  intense.  and then in 1949 his house caught fire, which he survived, but he got wet, developed pneumonia, and then died when the hospital wouldn't take him in because he was black.  good lord.

this call-and-response was recorded in 1930 with his wife Angeline on backup. his pipes are just about as gravelly as Sister Mary Nelson's.  amazing.  and I love the contrast with Angeline's sweet voice.

Blind Willie Johnson, John the Revelator

one last one from the Anthology: this one recorded in Chicago in 1928, "vocal quartet with guitars, tambourine, and clapping".  so good, with such a great build!

The Elders McIntorsh and Edwards' Sanctified Sisters, Since I Laid My Burden Down

next stop: MAHALIA JACKSON. pretty much universally regarded as the greatest gospel singer ever. i love this picture.

both of these songs are amazing. what a voice. i particularly love her "when the saints," recorded in 1958. not sure when "walk in jerusalem" is from.

Mahalia Jackson, When the Saints Go Marching In
Mahalia Jackson, Walk In Jerusalem

we'll end with a couple tracks from volume 2 of the Soul Gospel series that came out recently.

here's Martha Bass singing on the joys of being born again. Martha's daughter Fontella is also totally amazing, and did that hit "Rescue Me".

Martha Bass, Since I Been Born Again

and finally, from 1978 (you can totally hear the disco influence), the New York Community Choir. more call-and-response.  and love those tight harmonies on the verses!

NYCC, I'll Keep a Light in My Window

doesn't that one just make you want to put a candle in your window, and then bust a move?

god, there's so much more, but I think we'll have to leave it at that for today. enjoy.

>ben