Hey, so don't that make you feel a whole lot better? Huh? I say, don't that make you feel a whole lot better? What you say? Well, I'm just askin' "Dance This Mess Around" by The B-52s Cousin Shane recently posted a great article that was a guide to getting into The B-52s. While neither of us needed a guide because we've loved them since forever, it was still a really fun read. It took me way back to the first time Shane and I were introduced to them. They appeared on "Saturday Night Live" and we were immediately hooked! They did two songs, "Dance This Mess Around" and "Rock Lobster" (unfortunately, those videos are hard to find, so you get a later performance of the former song), and we'd never seen anything like it. It was crazy, it was fun, and it was danceable. We've seen them live several times and they are always a blast! It made me think about how much fun it is to discover new music. Not just something new but something that blows you away. You fall in love immediately. For many years, SNL was the vanguard in that respect. It's also where we discovered Devo. SNL isn't quite as good as they used to be in that regard, but they got back to it when they had Greta Van Fleet on a few weeks ago. I was blown away. More often than not, I get new music from sites like Noisetrade or Bandcamp. Shane and Matt and I recommend new music to each other a lot, and we go out to hear local bands as often as possible. A local place, Ignition Garage, was hosting a Nashville band a while back and Shane thought they sounded fun. We were blown away by *repeat repeat and go see them now every chance we get. I will never tire of that feeling of hearing something that immediately grabs you and makes you go, "Wow! I love this!" I get that feeling with books and movies and other things, too, but nothing is quite as powerful as hearing new music (or even new-to-you music) and feeling blown away. I get frustrated and even angry at people who say that "nothing out there is any good these days." Well, why don't you just shuffle off to the home, Grandpa, because some of us are still getting blown away by new music! That attitude is lazy. You aren't going to hear anything good on commercial radio, okay? Do a little work and seek out new stuff. It ain't gonna fall in your lap! Even at my age, I love hearing something new and exciting. Happy hunting, enjoy the journey, and as the Talosians on "Star Trek" say, "May you find your way as pleasant."
Hey, pals! It’s been a while, but I’ve been busy with stuff like going on vacation, getting ready for a party, and just generally trying to take care of business in a world that seems to have gone quite mad.
But I’m still here and most importantly, I am still rocking out.
This is not in chronological order because I’m saving the best for last.
This past Wednesday, we went up to Chicago to see The Psychedelic Furs at Thalia Hall. I’ve been a Furs fan since the early ‘80s, and like many of the ‘80s bands, I took a hiatus over the years but revisited them recently and loved them all over again. When I saw that they were playing in Chicago, I knew that I had to see them live. I’m happy to report that they absolutely blew me away. Ken wasn’t a long-time fan like I am, but he was blown away, too. He agreed that we’ll go see them whenever we get a chance!
Richard and Tim Butler
They sounded incredible—one of the tightest bands I’ve ever heard live. They looked fantastic, with the Butler brothers, lead singer Richard and bassist Tim, wearing these super cool military-style frock coats. They looked just as cool as they did back in the day! And Richard Butler...good lort. I’ve always loved his voice and it was as powerful as ever. He has that deep-edged baritone with a slight raspiness to it, but still smooth as silk. And what a frontman! As soon as he stepped onto the stage, he owned it. There wasn’t a lot of banter with the audience beyond “Hello, Chicago!” but his presence said everything that needed to be said.
The best part, and something that I always notice whenever I see a band, is that they all seemed to be having a good time, especially Richard. The camaraderie and affection seemed genuine to me, as did Richard Butler’s smile. He has that elusive quality of stage presence and talent and he worked us all for everything he could. I was mesmerized!
Absolutely in my top ten concerts (I should probably try to make that list again soon) and I look forward to seeing them again!
Speaking of stage presence, I’ll go back a few days and talk about our fourth house show with Bob Walkenhorst, the Kansas City musician and artist. He is the frontman for The Rainmakers but also travels to do house shows. We have enjoyed these shows so much that this was the fourth in a row and this one was so amazing that the bar is set really high to top it!
Bob Walkenhorst (Photo by Jenn Riches)
We have a crew who usually attends these shows and they were in full force on Saturday. It was a full house. I told Bob the next day that I’m not sure if it was just the atmosphere in the country, or what, but it was like we were all primed for something special. Planets aligned or some shit like that. I don’t know, but everything converged to result in one of the most amazing evenings I’ve ever experienced.
Bob sang his heart out (including a couple of my requests), he told stories about the songs, he talked about my experience seeing The Rainmakers way back in the late ‘80s, he welcomed us all and made us a part of his world as much as we made him a part of ours. As he wrote in the song quoted at the beginning of this entry, it was a special brew. It was certainly an intoxicating one. I wrote him a letter a couple of days later and said that it was that amazing dynamic between a performer and an audience where we feed off of each other. It’s nothing less than synergy! The very day that letter went out, I got an email from him in which he said that it was one of the best nights he’s ever had playing and that he was in heaven. I believe him because after four years, I know that Bob is not a bullshitter (and I have a pretty good BS detector, anyway). He said it wasn’t just him, it was US, and the “common desire to FEEL something.”
That is it exactly. That connection is amazing and it is one that I treasure. I feel music so deeply and it means so much to me. What a wonderful thing to enjoy a performer like Bob who connects on the same level and is able to bring us all to the Promised Land. (I’d dare to say that based on Richard Butler’s performance and demeanor, he feels that same connection with his audience.)
We also had a little dance party after Bob’s performance and let’s just say that booties were shaken and selves were gotten down! (A lampshade may or may not have been worn. I can neither confirm nor deny that. But it wasn’t me!)
In the space of a few short days, I got to enjoy two utterly amazing performances from two amazing artists, Bob Walkenhorst and the Furs, and it renewed whatever passes for my soul. This is why live music is so important and absolutely vital for me. I am often moved by recordings that I listen to, but nothing—NOTHING—beats seeing a band or performer live. Other planes and other dimensions are reached. Hearts are touched, minds are sometimes changed, and as Bob said, we “FEEL something.”
Support musicians, especially your local musicians, by going to see them live! And as I always say, be sure to show the band some love. Chances are good that you’ll get some back and everyone benefits from that.
As some of you may know, I am fairly plugged into all things Duran Duran.
What? Stop laughing!
Okay, yes. I’ll cop to being a wee bit obsessed. I’m always on the lookout for fun stuff. A recent favorite was a couple of John Taylor luggage tags from Etsy. I also have a couple of colored vinyl discs on the way. Who doesn’t love colored vinyl??
I came across this cool compilation CD and thought it looked fun. Boy, is it ever! A little background. Duran Duran got their start at a club called the Rum Runner in Birmingham, England (their hometown). They would practice and play gigs there, but they also did odd jobs around the joint. John worked the door, Andy worked as a cook, and Roger worked as a busboy of sorts, collecting the bottles and glasses from patrons’ tables. Nick? He worked as a DJ.
In 2006, Nick and John curated this CD and chose the songs for it. In the liner notes, Nick writes that 1978-80 was a fascinating time in the music scene. Punk was on its way out, but at the Rum Runner, punk, glam, and electronica flourished in a strange and glorious mix. Nick played all these songs and more. Check out this playlist!
Being Boiled (Fast Version) - Human League
Computer Game (Theme From The Invader)/Firecracker - Yellow Magic Orchestra
Always Crashing in the Same Car - David Bowie
Sister Europe (Album Version) - Psychedelic Furs
Changeling - Simple Minds
Only After Dark - Mick Ronson
Underpass - John Foxx
Warm Leatherette - The Normal
‘In’ Crowd - Bryan Ferry
The True Wheel - Brian Eno
Are ‘Friends’ Electric? - The Tubeway Army
The Robots (Single Edit) - Kraftwerk
I Feel Love - Donna Summer
I Am The Fly - Wire
Shot By Both Sides - Magazine
Private Life - Grace Jones
The Passenger - Iggy Pop
Slow Motion - Ultravox
This is an absolutely amazing collection. I knew most of the songs, of course, but a few were unfamiliar to me. (If you’re unfamiliar with some of them, I encourage you to look them up.) What is cool to me is that it is a set that perfectly flows together and captures a mood. It made me want to put on some leopard print stuff and transport back in time to hang out at the Rum Runner! It’s hard to convey that feeling of being out in a club in the ‘70s or ‘80s and the odd amalgam of music styles. Nick and John’s song choices are perfect. Whether it’s the electronica of Human League and Kraftwerk, the glam of Bowie and Bryan Ferry, the strangely compelling creepiness of “Warm Leatherette,” the punk of Wire and Magazine, or the straight-up disco of “I Feel Love,” it all works. I would have danced all night to this stuff.
I’ve always prided myself on being able to put together good party soundtracks. (Pro tip: if you want to get people to dance, put some Prince in the mix!) But I bow before the mastery of Nick Rhodes and John Taylor in curating Only After Dark. It also illustrates their influences and how they developed their sound. Put all these songs in the cocktail shaker, shake it up, and pour out Duran Duran (on the rocks, please).
Nick and John, if you ever want to DJ my party, you’re hired!
Here. Enjoy some “Warm Leatherette.” Join the car crash set.
I’m taking a break from thinking too hard about politics today so I’ll do an album review.
For a while now, my playlist has been old Duran Duran, middle Duran Duran, John Taylor of Duran Duran, and new Duran Duran. I hear other songs on satellite radio and places like that, but when I take the time to listen to a whole album, it’s been the Birmingham lads.
I changed that this week because I got the new release from Portland’s Dandy Warhols, Distortland. It’s a...well, it’s a dandy!
I can’t remember how I came across the Dandys several years ago. Maybe I heard “Bohemian Like You,” or maybe I just saw their name and thought it was clever and cool. The first album I got into was the one with that song, 13 Tales From Urban Bohemia, and I played it a lot. Of course, then I had to get all their previous albums. You know how that goes.
So although I didn’t discover them when they first started, I’ve liked them for a while now. They are on my short list of bands I want to see live.
The new album has that unmistakable Dandys sound, with Courtney Taylor-Taylor’s breathy baritone and Zia McCabe’s sweet harmonizing and keyboards. Peter Holmström adds crunchy guitar and Brent DeBoer adds the backbeat on drums. This is classic Dandys, atmospheric and almost kind of droning, but in the best possible way. Many of the songs totally rock, with catchy hooks and singable choruses, but there is also a calmness and a meditative quality that makes you just want to kick back with the headphones on and zone out. (If you are so inclined, a little herb would make this an enjoyable listening experience indeed. Hey, they are from Portland, Oregon, after all!)
As for CTT and Zia’s harmonies, it struck me as I was listening to this maybe the third or fourth time that they remind me so much of one of my ‘80s favorites, X! Their voices together remind me a lot of John Doe and Exene Cervenka. No wonder I like them so much! (Check out some great John and Exene harmonies on “Blue Spark.”)
My favorites on the album are “Semper Fidelis,” which has a driving, crunchy guitar; “Pope Reverend Jim” with its fun chorus (“Everybody loves Pope Reverend Jim!”) and a bit of a '50s style to it; “STYGGO,” which has a bunch of nice, singable “do do do’s”; and “You Are Killing Me,” which is just a great pop song with an infectious chorus and the aforementioned pretty harmonies of CTT and Zia.
If I have any complaint about the album it’s that it isn’t longer! I would have enjoyed three or four more songs on it and I’m sure I would love them as much as I love the songs actually on the album. But hey, I’m really happy that one of my favorites is still making great music and still touring! I highly recommend this and I think you’ll enjoy it if you give it a listen.
Here is the video for “You Are Killing Me,” which has an interesting twist at the end. In watching it again, I picked up on a few photos that I didn’t think much about when I first watched it. But with the name at the end, it all made sense. It is an interesting connection to the Dandy Warhols.
For the past year or so, I’ve been listening to Duran Duran pretty much exclusively. I occasionally make exceptions, like playing John Taylor’s three solo albums! (I’m exaggerating, but not much. DD/JT is on heavy rotation in my head, and I keep finding new things to love.)
These albums weren’t easy to come by. I think the second two were only released in Japan, so I had to order them from there. (Thank you, third party Amazon sellers!) This was his third solo album, released in 2001, and it has become my favorite. It has been interesting to see his evolution as a solo artist on these albums.
1995’s “Feelings Are Good And Other Lies” shows his punk roots—Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols even played guitar on that one. It’s very raw, in the DIY punk style, and he sounds like a man with many demons. I don’t know exactly what year he went to rehab, but it was probably around this time.
His second album, eponymously titled and released in 1999, seems much calmer and more introspective. Maybe I’m just putting my own notions onto it, but he seems more at peace.
In “Techno For Two,” he seems to have found a nice balance between all of these elements, including his love for a killer bass groove. It is not a techno album, but there are definitely some danceable tracks on this one. As part of Duran Duran’s rhythm section, his bass sets the tone for so many of their songs. It is fascinating to me to see not just his evolution as a solo artist (he doesn’t have the vocal chops of Simon Le Bon, but you can clearly hear his improvement as a vocalist over the three albums, and there are moments where he sounds very much like David Bowie) but to also recognize the part he plays in the band. I never paid that much attention to the bass in various songs but JT has changed that for me. Listening to his solo albums made me realize exactly what he brings to the band and how they all work together to make such fantastic music.
The other thing that strikes me about his album is how personal it is. A casual listener probably wouldn’t pick up on it, but knowing some of his story and reading his autobiography makes me think that certain songs are about certain people, and his lyrics seem to touch on many things in his personal life. Whether it’s about finding a lasting love with his wife Gela or his struggles with addiction, he truly seems to write songs from his heart. (Is the song “Mansman” about Simon? “You’re the king of the band.” Hmm, maybe!) Again, because I’ve never read anything about what inspired him to write these songs, this is only speculation on my part. But “You’re gonna fuck your life away” in the song “Mister J” certainly sounds autobiographical, as does “He was a child of the eighties...he flew too close to the sun” in the song “Nagel Baby.” (JT’s full name is Nigel John Taylor.)
I think this is a really solid album with plenty of well-crafted pop songs and some tasty bass grooves. It has given me a deeper appreciation of his talent and of what he brings to the band. Here are a few of my favorite tracks. Sadly, I couldn’t find “Mister J” anywhere, and it is one of my favorites on the album!
Turn it up!
The opening track is “Love Is Bondage.” I love how it builds slowly with the keyboards and a quiet riff, then kicks in with the riff louder and some great guitar.
“Tight” is another favorite. This one has a definite techno vibe and it’s got sexyfuntimes written all over it.
“The Other Side of the Sun” has one of those killer bass grooves that he does so well. Play that fuckin’ bass, John!
“Gabe” is a little more mellow, just a real pleasant vibe to it. It also has one of the most infectious choruses I’ve ever heard. I could sing “Gabe you’ll see a side of me” all damn day. I love when everything but the drums stop and we get to hear all the harmonies in the chorus.
It’s a single song edition of the Music Moment! “The Man Who Stole A Leopard” is a song by Duran Duran, from their 2011 album “All You Need Is Now.” When I got this album and was looking at the track listing, I was intrigued by the title. “Hmm,” I wondered. “What is this about?” Well, it’s about exactly what it says it’s about. A New Jersey man comes across a leopard in the wild, and does some shifty and illegal maneuvering to get the big cat back to the United States, then keeps her in a cage in his apartment. Although the story is apparently fictional, I recall various news stories over the years about people keeping wild animals in small apartments. I wonder if such stories inspired the guys in the band to write this song?
I’m not sure what it is about this song, but it absolutely slays me. It is ethereal and somewhat eerie, and Simon’s vocals are just perfect. The music itself is atmospheric and builds slowly. As you’ll hear at the end of the video, there is a spoken portion, a fake newscast. One of the lines is, “Police are saying that the captive was simply besotted with the creature, and barely left her side.” There is something about this that makes me think of the human desire to possess and control. Rather than admiring this beautiful animal in the wild and keeping the image in his mind of her roaming free, the man in the song must capture her and put her in a cage, far removed from her natural habitat. This is obviously unhealthy for both man and beast. What is this strange desire of so many to tame and defang and sterilize—even to kill—what should be wild and free and natural? There was a story recently about a young teenager in Michigan who shot a rare albino deer, and a picture of him with the dead animal made the rounds on the Internet. Who could shoot such a creature? Why not let it live? I’ll never understand this desire to kill or capture, and the metaphor can be stretched to how we deal with people in our lives. Do we accept people for who and what they are, or are we motivated by the need to control and make others into what WE want them to be? Forcing others to conform to our notions of what they should be is every bit as dangerous as keeping a leopard caged in your apartment. Those who are caged and controlled inevitably rebel. We all need a little coaching as to how to deal with situations and how to be more polished in social settings, but trying to change another’s fundamental nature and personality is a futile endeavor. I can’t listen to this song without weeping. I feel sad for the leopard snatched from her natural habitat and forced to live in a cage in a small apartment in the city. I feel sad for the man who had to possess her at any cost and who felt that she was his only friend. Yes, I know it’s only a song, but that doesn’t mean that it has no power. Listen to the song, and if you don’t understand why it makes me feel the way it does, then we obviously need to talk about your attitude and how we can change it. [wink] Embedding is disabled for the band performing this song live, but it really is a wonderful version (seeing them is almost as much fun as listening to them), so watch The Man Who Stole A Leopard via that link.
Imagine, if you will… You’ve admired a musician for decades. Three decades, in fact. You first saw their band on MTV, and then you saw them live, back in 1987. You have almost all of their albums, you know the words to many of their songs well enough that you can sing along. As you are recommending the band to a friend (who is also a musician), you decide to visit the band’s website again, just to see what they’ve been up to. As you look through the pictures, the tour dates, the updates...you see a spot to contact the band. Because you’ve loved them for years, and because your Official Fan Motto™ is “show the band some love,” you send a message saying that their music has meant a lot to you over the years and you tell them how much you’ve appreciated them and loved them all this time. Then imagine that you get an email back from the FREAKIN’ LEAD SINGER of this band that you’ve loved for decades, and he thanks you for your email and for your kind words about his band and their songs...and he happens to mention that he does house concerts on weekends, and to let him know if you’re interested. Thus was born one of the greatest nights of my life. The band is the Rainmakers (I’ve written about them before) and the lead singer is Bob Walkenhorst. We started an email correspondence, and I scared him at first. I mean, I was writing to Bob Walkenhorst! And he was responding! Tell me everything! What about this song? What about that song? What does this lyric mean? I assured him that I would calm down, and I was true to my word. It took me a bit, but I did calm down. Bob is also an artist, and we bought a gorgeous painting from him, one that I get to look at every day. I mentioned the house concert to Ken, thinking that he’d say, “Nah, we’ve got enough other things going on...we really shouldn’t spend the money on that.” He totally surprised me by saying, “That sounds pretty cool!” But we knew that our house wasn’t big enough to host 20-30 people in one room to hear Bob play, and that’s where Shane and Matt came in. They were on board immediately, and we started to plan this shindig. We initially planned it for late May, but because the Rainmakers were leaving for a tour in Norway soon after that, Bob really needed to be home the weekend of our scheduled show. It was obvious that he felt really bad about having to reschedule, but it all worked out okay! The big show was on Saturday, September 20th, and we had a nice turnout of about 20 people. I wish we could have invited more, but space was limited. Bob got there about an hour and a half before we asked people to start arriving, so he had plenty of time to get his stuff set up and we were able to get to know each other and do all the fan stuff like get things signed. I’m often very nervous and shy when meeting a new person, especially if that someone happens to be one of my favorite musicians! However, I didn’t feel that way at all. He put me immediately at ease, and was wonderfully friendly and kind. Of course, we’d been corresponding a bit for several months, so I had a pretty good idea that he was going to be a nice, fun, and funny person...I just didn’t realize how nice and fun and funny! He had said he’d bring me a t-shirt, but ended up bringing me three, and I got one signed. Awesome! Bob brought along two of his friends from the Chicago area, Joe (an author) and George (an engineer and Notre Dame graduate). Joe brought some of his books, so we got a few of those, too...a couple of them signed. I was in fangirl heaven. They were both a lot of fun, and I enjoyed meeting them and getting to know them a little bit. I hope I run into them again one day! People started arriving right on time, and we had an hour to talk and have some food before Bob played. I tried to invite people who I thought would appreciate this kind of show, and I think I nailed the mix. Everyone from a friend from high school, to a friend from college, to a friend from the lab (and a guitarist in a local band...another friend who came is the bass player for the band), to a recent friend we met online, to my sister Diana. I don’t know if the party planets were aligned just right, or what, but it was a perfect mix of people who love good music and love a good time. Everyone was talking and laughing and primed to hear some music. Then Bob played, and it was great. The End. HA! No, there is much more to the story. Bob didn’t just play. He told background stories about these songs I’ve loved for years. He talked and laughed with us and just generally charmed the pants off of everyone (not literally, of course...it wasn’t that kind of party!). He blew everyone away by how good he was. You know, I remember him always having a great stage presence, but to experience it up close and personal was a whole other story. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that he had us in the palm of his hand. His voice was strong and clear, and it’s amazing how much sound he can get out of one acoustic guitar. He took a half an hour break, giving everyone a chance to talk and laugh and eat and drink some more. He played a second 50-minute set, and then he was done. I could have listened to him play two more hours. I could have listened to him play all night. I was mesmerized. Then it was time for more talking, laughing, eating, and drinking. It really was a wonderful mix of people, and we had such a great time together. My sister told me that she’s never heard such a “buzz” among a party crowd. I couldn’t have asked for a better evening, and I think everyone felt the same way. We wound down around midnight, and Bob headed off to the guest room for some snooze time. (Shane and Matt were thrilled to have him spend the night there!) Everyone said their goodbyes, then it was just me, Ken, Shane, and Matt. We cleaned up a little bit, just what we had to, and talked about how it had turned out perfectly and how happy we were that it worked out that we could do this. (See all the photos here.) The seven of us met for breakfast the next morning before the guys headed out and we got to chat a little bit more. Everyone agreed that it had been a great party and a fun show. Shane told me later that either Joe or George asked him, “So what did you think?” Shane thought for a moment and said, “You know, I’d have to say this was one of the highlights of my life.” I completely agree, and feel the same way. It’s something that we’ll be talking about for a long time to come. I can’t begin to convey how special it was for me, and what a pleasure it was to meet Bob. He is a genuinely nice guy who is an incredibly talented songwriter and performer. What a wonderful evening. I was a little blue as we parted ways. After he got back home on Monday, I emailed him to tell him how much everyone loved it and that I was getting some wonderful feedback from people. I said he’d made several new fans that evening, and that made me very happy. I’ve known how good he and the band is for years, so what a pleasure for me to share that with others who didn’t know! I got an amazing email back from him in which he said many nice things that absolutely stunned me, but the upshot was that everything was perfect for him, and that the evening would stay with him as one of the best nights he’s ever had playing. Wow! He thanked me for giving him a night that makes him know that what he’s spent his life doing has all been worth it, and said that “music is still magic” when you can share it with people like us and all the others who are brought together by it. Music IS magic, Bob, and I think we were all touched by your magic on Saturday night. I know I was. I think that feeling is conveyed quite well by this song, one that he played for us that night. I don’t know if I have one single “greatest night,” but I can say that Saturday night is right up there. (And thanks to Eddie for posting this video!) “Thanks for being here with me On the greatest night of my life.”
Today I finished up this week’s lectures in History of Rock, and the week ended on a GREAT note, with a discussion of the one and only James Brown! I won’t pretend to be any sort of expert on JB. I didn’t grow up listening to him, other than the usual hits, and only got turned on to him in the ‘90s, when a boyfriend introduced me to him. The boyfriend turned out to be a real dick, but my love for JB stuck with me, and that was one good thing that came out of that relationship. Hmph. Anyway, I really enjoyed that particular lecture in the course, and it really put JB’s place in music history into perspective for me. This was a time when the Brits were invading the American music charts; American pop was trying to promote its own versions of teen idol groups; Stax was releasing what some see as more “authentic” black soul music, but still using studio musicians; and Motown was trying to have black artists cross over to the white pop charts—and having great success with it, but seen by some as “selling out” the authenticity of black music. (I’M not saying that, so don’t come after me on it. That is a criticism that has been levied at Motown and Berry Gordy, Jr. Personally, I don’t think it’s accurate. It was just a more polished version of this music, and it was some great stuff.) James Brown comes along and kind of sets all this stuff on its head. A total showman, probably the best frontman EVER—discuss amongst yourselves—and this is from me, a huge fan of Mick Jagger, the current best frontman, in my opinion! An American artist, James is seen as not “selling out” in any way, shape, or form, not changing his Southern soul sound or his black identity in order to cross over to the pop charts...but having HUGE success there, anyway. The professor speculates that this could have been because he was essentially non-threatening. His songs, at least early on, weren’t overtly sexual. The lyrics weren’t, anyway. In fact, the lyrics of a lot of his early songs didn’t really say a whole lot. The focus here was not on the songs or the lyrics, but on the grooooove, man. In fact, that should be capitalized. The Groove. James and his band made the whole thing about laying down the beat and gettin’ your funk on. The prof said that even some of James’s vocals became a part of a meshing of sounds...a sound that resulted in this glorious mix that makes you want to shake your moneymaker. I can personally testify (Testify, sister!) that when out and about, and a band plays some James Brown, and The Groove grabs you...well, you just gotta go with it and work it on out. I find The Groove almost hypnotic, and it just kind of takes you over. It’s a powerful thing. It transcends race and time. Can I hit it and quit it? Take it to the bridge!
Cousin Shane recently posted a great article that was a guide to getting into The B-52s. While neither of us needed a guide because we've loved them since forever, it was still a really fun read. 
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