Headphones On

I lied earlier today when I said that Ash's "Girl From Mars" was the song of the day. I'm so sorry, It wasn't intentional. See no matter how many BritPop favorites or new musical discoveries I listen to lately (hello Field Music), I have a current music addiction I'm hiding from the world. I think it's time to come clean.

There's a big black soul singer stuck in my soul.

I know, not quite what one would expect from a quiet white indie girl, but I'm throwing it out there. There's someone hiding inside who is totally grooving to the sounds of the Memphis Horns, the 60's soul beat and the loud and proud singing of the 60's girl groups. To call this current "thing" I'm in a kick would be to discredit it. Every time I try to listen to new music or get into progressive I get sucked right back into the land of vinyl. Dusty Springfield, The Supremes, Mitch Ryder, The Bobcats, Booker T & The MGs, The Flirtations, Wilson Pickett, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles... it all sounds like a miracle to me. This ain't no kick, this ain't no passing fad, it's full on musical joy.

A few weeks ago I had planned on DJing a rooftop party in my fair city but due to circumstances beyond my control we had to nix my DJ set and take it inside to a standard issue Chicago bar. I'm not sure why I have this need to clear a potential dancefloor with the sounds of Esther Williams or Gwen McCrae. I just know this urge, this unquenchable hunger is burning a hole inside me. There's no place to go in this city to dance, listen or even drink to the sounds I want to hear. I'm a little white girl, I'm not supposed to want to cut a rug to King Floyd or Woody Herman. I can't get enough Northern Soul.

So I'm throwing you all a party... granted a short and solitary party but a celebration none the less...

Gwen McCrae - Move Me Baby
With every "Baby Baby... Oh Feel Good"... my body moves uncontrollably. My knees buckle, my mouth sings along, my toe taps and my shoulders sway. Oh we're gettin goin now...

St. Louis Union - East Side Story
They may have been from Manchester but their horns and inspiration were pure Memphis (no, not St. Louis). There's some yearning in the grovelly warbling of Tony Cassidy I readily understand.

Esther Williams - Last Night Changed It All (I Really Had A Ball)
This isn't the Esther Williams of the bathing beauty pictures. If that isn't painfully obvious within the first 30 seconds, rewind.

The Whispers - Needle In A Haystack
You might be familiar with the original version of this classic by The Velvelettes but this 1970 b-side from The Whispers brings it to a new level with their doo-wop like vocals.

The Supremes - It's Time To Break Down
5 Minutes and 15 Seconds of 70's soul glory. From the opening celebratory horn, whisper of "Do you love me?" and whimper of guitar they've got me hooked. This might be (and I actually do make declarations like this with slight trepidation) the best song of all time. It builds with the layers of hand claps, strings and ever powerful vocals until three minutes and 50 odd seconds in they've found got it... the world's most perfect guitar lick. The kind of sound that shows how and why it became a guitar "lick" and not a guitar "bite".

The Flirtations - Nothing But A Heartache
Piano and horns kicking it up yet another notch I didn't know I could climb. Dropping back a decade into the heart of 60's soul, singing and then screaming their hearts out, the Flirtations win me, even if they didn't win "him".

This is why this party's gonna be short: When building from "It's Time To Break Down" and into "Nothing But A Heartache"... there's nowhere left to go. It leaves me utterly exhausted and spent. I can't DJ this for you (whomever you are) in person, but I urge you... go ahead and download the songs above, throw on some headphones and go at it. You never know... maybe there's a classic soul fan hiding in you too.