April 2023 Overview
Writer's Check-in
Hello everyone! I hope you all are doing well. I know I am especially happy to be done with the semester. Not that I didn't have a lot of fun these last 4 months (this has probably been my favorite semester of college thus far!), but I am pretty damn tired and needed a break from the regular college schedule. This break will be pretty relaxed overall for me, so hopefully I can get some rest and some music writing done. The only problem is I have almost exclusively been listening to Motown and Atlantic R&B singles. I guess it's because soul/R&B is strongly associated with the spring and summer for me since those are the most uplifting seasons of the year, and what better music is there for stirring the soul and getting you moving? I certainly can't think of much else.
So, I plan to do at least two major things before August is through: first, I would ideally like to get at least 2 long-form pieces done to be published in Fall, just to have some material ready so I don't enter dire straits in the semester in terms of generating content. Second, I would like to begin a very big project: make definitive retrospectives of Atlantic, Motown, and Stax/Volt. All three have put together boxsets compilations of their best material, but I would like to go through and actually review it all along with making my own amendments to what I would add to each. This will obviously be a huge project, but I think it could seriously help get people into a lot of classic soul, a tradition of music I believe must always be remembered for the health of all consumers of Western popular music.
Anyways, that's all for now. I hope you guys are having a nice summer, and I hope to see you guys on a semi-regular basis from now on!
Music Stats for the Month
Total Listening Time: 107 hours, more than last month but still way less than normal. Probably gonna change over the next four months though!
Top Artist: Blind Willie McTell. We (rightfully) crown Blind Blake as "King of the Ragtime Guitar," but it's about time we crown good ole Samuel "King of Piedmont Blues."
Top Song: "You Got To Walk That Lonesome Valley" - Mississippi John Hurt. Luckily the audio from this recorded performance is available on Apple Music (not on Spotify though, I'm afraid), but you can always watch this wonderful performance here. There is a meditative, spiritual quality to some of his pre-war artists that makes you feel that god really flows through their bodies when they play.
Video of the Month
Son House - Death Letter Blues/John The Revelator (1969)
There are no words that can adequately describe the emotional effect of watching this master of Delta blues play and perform. Son House is absolutely crushing in audio effect alone, the combination of the fire-and-brimstone-preaching vocal approach with his brutal, stinging picking style is utterly devastating. Yet, to watch him wring the maximum expressivity out of his guitar and make those facial expressions as he sings these songs is one of the most intense video-watching experiences you'll have. The stories he tells before are gripping and add quite a bit of substance to what is about to be played, and both songs, among the greatest songs in his repertoire, are incredible here. It is vital to listen to Son House to understand the essence of this school of blues playing, and this recording will force you to feel that spirit on a whole new level. I know when I first watched it, I was mesmerized the whole way through.
Reviews
No new reviews this month, but some soul/R&B reviews will be coming! Stay tuned!
Articles
This is the real big news: I managed to finally get out two pieces this month! A third one is done (just a republish of my old article on Sam Cooke's Soul Stirrers period), but it is still in the works of getting edited. I am quite proud of both of these, so I hope you enjoy them!
Monthly Playlist
Here is the link to this month's playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3A2ehU82l01NRiiD3cn68J?si=da4ca87d019843f5
Honestly, this might have been one of my favorite monthly playlists I've made. Maybe it's because I find the songs in it uplifting and soulful, maybe it's because of the high proportion of upbeat soul anthems, or maybe it's because it's got a little bit of everything I like in soul/blues music in general. I don't really know, but I had a blast putting this together over the month, so I hope you all enjoy it!
The only substitution I got to address is that the original playlist had "You Got To Walk That Lonesome Valley" by Mississippi John Hurt, but the recording is not available on Spotify. Instead, I replaced it with another song of his, "I'm Satisfied", a beautiful and underrated little tune that definitely deserves more love. There can never be enough Mississippi John Hurt in your life, so be sure to check out "You Got To Walk That Lonesome Valley" whether or not you have Apple Music!
Here is the tracklist:
- "Dancing In The Street" - Martha Reeves & The Vandellas
- "Juke" - Little Walter
- "It Takes Time" (1969) - Otis Rush, which you can read my detailed thoughts about him here.
- "Mother's Last Word To Her Son" - Washington Phillips
- "Space Guitar" - Young John Watson
- "Hey Little Girl" - Professor Longhair
- "Proud Mary" - Creedence Clearwater Revival
- "Kill It Kid" - Blind Willie McTell
- "Samson and Delilah" - Reverend Gary Davis
- "You Got To Walk That Lonesome Valley" or "I'm Satisfied" - Mississippi John Hurt
- "Shouldn't I Know" - The Cardinals
- "Hey Hey" - Big Bill Broonzy
- "Ain't No Love In The Heart of the City" - Bobby Bland
- "Milk Cow Blues" - Sleepy John Estes
- "Nowhere To Run" - Martha Reeves & The Vandellas
- "Quicksand" - Martha Reeves & The Vandellas
- "Flip Flop and Fly" - Big Joe Turner
- "Gimme a Pigfoot" - Bessie Smith
- "Get Ready" - The Temptations
- "Two Lovers" - Mary Wells
- "Young Blood" - The Coasters
- "I Fought The Law" - The Clash
- "Ruby Baby" - The Drifters
- "You Really Got A Hold On Me" - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
- "What Am I Living For?" - Chuck Willis
- "Last Night" - The Mar-Keys
- "See Saw" - Don Covay
- "I Feel So Good" - Big Bill Broonzy
- "Just One Look" - Doris Troy
- "Land Of 1000 Dances" - Wilson Pickett
OK, that's all for now. Thank you to everyone for reading my lengthy love letters to the music I love. Here's to a nice May and beyond!
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