singsweetbird mixtape no.2

Originally uploaded by third uncle.

LISTEN/singsweetbird
mix2

sunra dialogue...
can.iwantmore
atmosfear.dancingin
outerspace
ebotaylorjr&wutawazuri.
mondosoulfunky
discotheque.discospecial
ryuichisakamoto.lagos
bis.lovewilltearusapart
danielwang.berlinsunrise
annie.chewinggum
(headmanvocalremix)
outhud.itsforyou
agreenman.sundaylove
ofkind
neworder.thevillage(edit)
gracejones.privatelife
rollingstones.feelonbaby(instrumental)
monade.lacarlottedel'humanite

*i like comments. tell me if you like!

dirt and blood

color
Originally uploaded by third uncle.

antibalas
from the album
talkatif
LISTEN/hypocrite

i've been meaning to go see antibalas for the longest time now and their month long thursday nite residency at tonic meant that i had eight chances (two sets per nite)to get my lazy bones in order and hop on the F train to the LES. so, after another smashing episode of the OC i put on some comfortable shoes, grabbed a couple beers for the train ride and headed on over to manhattan for the ten o'clock show. the group was thirteen members strong, all squished together on the tiny tonic stage. they had no trouble swaying the crowd from the get-go with their irresistable beat and rolling funk. it was good to see people dancing, i really wanted to join in but was a few drinks short of courage. the set ended with members of tv on the radio joining the orchestra for afro-beat renditions of a couple of their songs (count 'em, 16 people now on the tiny tonic stage!). really just a perfect way to end the show, everybody on that stage and so many on the floor moving and sweating, smiles stretched wide across the face.

i'm only joking. seriously.

fred tomaselli
Originally uploaded by third uncle.

black mountain
from the album
s/t
LISTEN/druganaut

bro, what's the date. ohhh, no way!
when i lived in santa cruz (NoCal) i sometimes would take the bus up to the UCSC campus making sure i would reach the top of the hill by 4 o'clock. i would do this only when low on cash and, um, goods. with my ears to guide me i would use the twenty minutes to find a proper drum circle where the twirley college hippies would be congregating cross-legged in the meadow,and passing the peace pipe with no discretion. nice company really, always offering a hit and able to pound out a hypnotic groove once the smoke had settled. what a strange town to live in for those few years. things never really changed, day to day, month to month, year to year. all the same. like the clock stopped ticking at some point in '68 and the place hasn't heard a tock since.

a song for saturday III

sylvester
Originally uploaded by third uncle.

sylvester
from the album
stars
LISTEN/ineedsomebody tolovetonight

sylvester is considered a disco legend whose popularity sparked with the dancefloor hit "you make me feel(mighty real)". he started performing in san francisco in an all-male transvestite vocal group called the cockettes. great name. he played in a couple bands, like the sly stone influenced happy-hippy-funk group "the hot band", before settling into his solo sylvester persona. he had a string of charted hits during the late 70's disco boom and was celebrated for his flamboyant energy, sophisticated charm, and most importantly amongst the gay community for his openly acknowledged homosexuality, a boldness rare for performers during the era. this track comes a couple years after his peaked popularity and favors the emerging cool of electro over the waning thump of disco. a hot track, no doubt.

dude, did you hear that?

mush
Originally uploaded by third uncle.

hawkwind
from the album
doremi fasol latido
LISTEN/space is deep

future pilot a.k.a. vs the pastels
from the
series 500 12"
LISTEN/hurricane fighter plane

dmbq
from some album?
LISTEN/go go evil

file under "stoner rock"? well, that could work although i think these tunes could handle a little heavier. file under "face melt"? yeah, that's better. hawkwind are often heralded as the fathers of space rock. this makes sense considering a good amount of their songs are about leaving this earth, and traveling through the outer depths in their "great space mother". it's a more deserved take on the genre tag considering most groups deemed space rock these days don't even sing about outerspace let alone greet their fans as "star warriors". this album features "lemmy the lurch", better known for his next band motorhead and mik "the dwarf leader" who is credited with playing "generators and hot electronics". the future pilot a.k.a. vs pastels track is a cover of a song off of the red crayola masterpiece "parable of arable land". this version is delight full of throbbing bass, echoed vocals, and the sounds of revved up jet engines. dmbq are a japanese band who've been around since the mid 90's that i know little about and had heard only recently. but hearing this track has convinced me to buy all nine of their previous albums.

talk to me baby

Elmore James
Originally uploaded by third uncle.

elmore james
from the compilation
guitars in orbit
LISTEN/talktomebaby

seeing m.ward last monday at southpaw has further convinced me that he is today's bruce springsteen. i really think so and i know i'm not the only one. well, there are differences.he plays much shorter sets than the boss and may not be as at hand with his showmanship, although he does earn points for knowing to get real close to the front row during solos, and for trying to charm a girl from the crowd onto the stage during his soft rock, "to all the girls i've loved before", serenade "fuel for fire". my favorite part of the show came when he and the band took up to covering elmore james, adding a sweet guy/gal call and response part while shouting "talk to me baby", the declarative title. you can probably find this song on a dozen of james' compilations, all most likely bearing the title "elmore james:king of the slide guitar" or "the slide guitar king" or "the guitar slide king", something like that. any recording is bound to be good because james never recorded a dud. every performance i've ever heard has been astounding. he always sounds like he's giving it everything he's got, totally raw and rollicking. i read somewhere that he had a background in electronics fixing radios and would use those skills to modify guitar amps to go much louder and just sound really fierce, especially so for the time. a professed influence on luminaries like chuck berry, hound dog taylor, brian jones, jimi hendrix and so many others,elmore james is the delta blues and a forefather of rock n' roll.

kumuamkia mzulu

Originally uploaded by third uncle.

a.k. salim
from the album
afro-soul/drum orgy
LISTEN/salutetoazulu

another beautiful spring day in new york. the dread chill of the winter season is finally behind and the pay off begins. spent the day in prospect park, like so many others, coasting around on my yellow schwinn. happened upon the drummers grove and stopped off to take in the rhythm and dance. the drummers sounded awesome, there were probably thirty of them accompanied by a few flute players and a couple fine gentleman sax players. my first thought was how bad i wanted to sit in, (quietly)joining the drum. my second thought was of this record here, above and to your right. A.K. Salim's Afro-Soul/Drum Orgy. gosh, if the title isn't enough...

a song for saturday II

Originally uploaded by third uncle.

roxy music
from the album siren
LISTEN/bothendsburning

now my course is plain as day
running bold across to play
both ends burning with a strange desire
that feeds the fire in my soul tonight
i will dance the night away
living only for today
both ends burning while you're counting sheep
hell - who can sleep in this heat this night?
tell me will I ever learn?
it's too late, the rush is on
both ends burning and I can't control
the fires raging in my soul tonight

*thanks to stephen for bringing this song to mind

the BIG 8

happy 8th elie!
Originally uploaded by third uncle.

i'd like to wish elie a happy eighth birthday. elie is the best. an amazing young lady who is just so much fun to be around. i wish i were in long beach to party with her. well, uncle sends his love and warmest birthday wishes...

xoxo
LISTEN/sugarcubes_birthday

a song for saturday I

Originally uploaded by third uncle.

the go! team
from the album thunder,lightning,strike
LISTEN/huddleformation

i've decided to put a song up for this day we have here. this today. saturday. a song that should make you happy all of the day. something to wake up to, while pouring yourself a bowl of cereal. getting ready for that first free day in five. and perhaps later in the nite, something to put on after dinner to work off those extra calories. and at the midnite hour, something to bop your head around to, white lightning in hand.