I need to go for a jog or something, I fear my ass, my actual ass has shrunk. Not good. Too much sitting in this comfy chair dicking around on the Internet during my medical leave has destroyed what was once there. But it's hard not, with so much crap to fill my time on my computer I can keep myself busy all day long, and not to mention the fact that GTA IV came out and has kidnapped me and made me it's dirty sex slave. It's so good and most of the hype for it is quite proper.
The sheer amount of details poured into the city is amazing, I can spend most of my time in that game walking around listening to people talk. The writing is outstanding, and the voice acting is superb (I think San Andreas might have been better though). One of the biggest complaints I hear from other people is the radio stations. You spend alot of time driving around doing quests for people and due to the huge size of the city and it's islands, sometimes it takes 5 or 6 minutes of gaming time to drive to one area to the other. This may sound boring but the driving is fun, and the city so lush that you really don't mind speeding through it and the radio stations help alot. GTA has been renowned for it's music selection and I really think that in some ways this iteration's selection is better. It's deeper, more specific and really utilizes a bunch of genres that have never ever been given the type of exposure to a demographic that they will get being on the soundtrack to a GTA game.
What really amazed me was the International Funk station, I didn't recognize Femi Kuti's voice immediately but I did notice his father's song being played, and two of them at that (another win in their favor was using Gil Scott Heron's Home is Where the Hatred Is, great great surprise)! Olufela Olufemi Anikulapo Kuti is a well known Afrobeat artist and son of the African President, Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ronsome-Kuti aka Fela Anikulapo Kuti, or Fela Kuti.
For me Fela is a endearing, strong, willful, prideful, and solemn artist. His steamy quarter of an hour long songs were a breath of fresh air for me when I discovered him. I was led to him in late high school, in search of a X-Clan sample and through learning from older more wiser, and far more funkier than I at the time, DJ's at my local record store (RIP). His sound is loud, dirty and incredibly identifiable. I can spot this shit playing out of a car 3 city blocks away. Afrobeat, is heavily doused in classic Funk basics, but also is clearly and blaringly, African. From percussion, to choppy keys and his army of wives (I think he had like, 40 at the most they were dubbed the Kalakuta Republic a commune of his wives, band mates, and political supporters, this of course also led to his passing, having 40 wives during the late 70's to his death in 1997 in Africa, he passed from HIV) as his background singers and dancers, it screams at you African and sounds so incredibly different from American funk (especially during the 70's and 80's).
James Brown proudly takes pride in his biography in telling of how he met Fela on a trip to Lagos and changed the man forever, turning him from his educated roots of free form jazz to liberating and powerful African Funk. It's a little more complex than that, as is most of James' stories. Fela, while touring with his band through the US during '69, was profoundly effected by the black power movement. He had a personal friend whom was an associate of the Black Panther Party, and he took their attitude and message back to Nigeria to form the Nigeria 70, his commune, and to forge his political message. Fela, musically and politically was as influential and powerful as Bob Marley or James Brown. I really think that because he's Nigerian and a cage rattler you don't hear much from him. Some 12 year old nowadays would know Bob over Fela, my children I promise you will be well versed in each and able to talk about them while kung fu'ing the shit out of the kids who couldn't pronounce Fela Anikulapo Kuti after three tries. He was incredibly outspoken about African political and social issues, and he wished his message to reach all of Africa, to approach all as brothers. If you think his English is shitty, it's not, he made a conscious effort to sing in pidgin English as to reach as many people as he could. And his voice, man, it sounds so powerful to me and really attracted me even as a 17 year old. It sounds painful, yet hopeful and accusatory. He's angry but he also wants desperately to bridge a gap.
Some of these tracks are ridiculously long, another reason I love his and Tony Allen's stuff, some lasting up to 40 min live and in the studio up to 25 or 30 minutes. Water Get No Enemy is one of his most famous and one of my favorites. It is delightfully tongue in cheek, using Water as a euphemism for the "The People." Zombie is a call to arms, mounting a wall of horns and clearly stating Fela's opinion of African Armed Services. Sorrow Tears and Blood is the other song to grace GTA. This was also one of the first Fela songs I had ever heard, it was the sample I had originally looked from X-Clan (who are also woefully unknown). Sorrow comes off very somber and painful, a comment on Police brutality, it is more mature and structured than his earlier monster tracks. It has a delightful buildup and Fela's composition and rough (his style is very rough but emotional enough that you don't really care) solo take it to more Jazzy (Coltrane-ish, may I presume?) places than usual. Red Hot+Riot is an outstanding album of Fela covers and songs inspired by Fela. Suffering and Shmiling is another call to arms, although it's taken up by Dead Prez and Talib Kweli, who are more than happy to march for the cause.
Water Get No Enemy
Zombie
Sorrow Tears & Blood
Suffering and Shmiling
On a personal note, Fela is inspirational and spreads a beautiful yet militant and sad message. And like I said before his sound is infectious and incredibly unique. Upon first hearing it it was really like something had hit me. It has so many feelings similar to a chunky a dn long JB song but is also not as delicate or gentle in a sense. Anyways, both Zombie, Water, and Sorrow are a bit common place songs, but he has a massive catalog and I would encourage anyone to explore it and fall in love with the man and his sound.
Also, I was reading a thread on the Hollerboards about underrated Outkast songs, and cuts off of Love Below that really don't get their due. Most of Andre's half was excellent and overlooked, but She Lives in my Lap and Dracula's Wedding are my personal favorites. She Lives in My Lap especially, it is a most definite spiritual successor to Prince's She's Always in My Hair. And knowing that and listening to both makes me fucking giddy and love both even more.
She Lives in My Lap
She's Always in My Hair (extended)
I heard Prince killed people at Coachella, literally bodies in the audience, apparently the kids had no clue most came to see bands wearing tapered jeans and bracelets made from bike chains. They did not know this little pixie of a sexually amorphous man was going to show up and utterly blow their fucking minds.
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