Blood Harmony Vol. 39: Fall Mix
Hello Blood Harmonists!
It’s fall! I’ve already eaten both Trader Joe’s pumpkin tortilla chips (yum!) and their pumpkin brioche (unnecessary). Let’s listen to some music.
And for my Youtube folks, here you are.
Quadris de Ouro by Pale Jay, Low End Love Songs, Karma Chief Records, 2024.
From an article by Emily May in COLORSxSTUDIO, “Pale Jay is an enigmatic soul singer and music producer. While his true identity remains unknown, since the release of his 2021 debut EP ‘The Celestial Suite’, he’s become renowned for his impeccable falsetto and dusty, soulful compositions.” From the artist himself, “The name references the fact that, as a white soul musician, I am building on the rich, predominantly African American lineage of musicians who came before me. By calling myself Pale, I acknowledge the structural privileges that come with my skin tone. ‘Jay’ refers to my real name.” FYI “quadris de ouro” means “golden hips” in Portuguese.
Kori by Mohamed Tangoudja, Mohamed Tangoudja 2007, Camara Production, 2007.
Mr. Tangoudja has basically no internet presence. But I believe he is from the Gambia and I know he rocks.
Disco Dancer by Kiki Gyan, 24 Hours in a Disco 1978-82, Soundway Records, 2012.
Kiki Gyan was a keyboard prodigy from Ghana. Per his Wikipedia: “By the age of 18, Gyan had made more than a million dollars, had hung out with Elton John and Mick Jagger, played for Britain's Queen and cruised on champagne-drenched luxury ocean-liners to island-hop in the Caribbean.” This song is from his solo debut. Sadly, he died of AIDS and drug-related illness in 2004.
I Feel It Coming by The Weeknd and Daft Punk, Starboy, Republic Records, 2016.
Look, I understand that this song is an extended bop about female pleasure. And that’s why it’s on here!
AMAMA by Crumb, AMAMA, Crumb Records, 2024.
Crumb is a Brooklyn band that originated at Tufts University. Palindrome lovers, unite!
Take Me To Beijing by Chinese American Bear, Take Me to Beijing, Moshi Moshi Records, 2024.
From this Seattle band’s bio “Experimental indie Chinese pop/rock duo who like fart jokes.” This song reminds me of Lost In Translation even though I’m aware that movie is set in Tokyo.
Wavelength by Queen Rodeo, Single, Blank Media Records, 2024.
Indie rock from Portland, OR.
Czarchimedes’ Death Ray by Czarface, Czartificial Intelligence, Silver Age, 2023.
Czarface is an American hip hop supergroup formed in 2013 by underground hip hop duo 7L & Esoteric and Wu-Tang Clan member Inspectah Deck.
Tell Her by Fred Williams and the Jewel Band, Single, Numero Group, 2022.
As always, thank you to the Numero Group for keeping so much of this incredible soul music alive. Fred Williams and the Jewel Band are featured on the Numero Group release Smart’s Palace. “Smart’s Palace was anything but royal. Beyond the bloodlines of the Smart Brothers and their jester brother Leroy, the only kings and queens to be discovered there were JB and Aretha playing on the Wurlitzer. But between 1963 and 1975, the club held court for the entire Wichita, Kansas, soul scene.”
Man of Constant Sorrow by Pan Ron, Cambodian Soul Sounds, Vol. 1, Cambodian Soul Sounds, 2014.
From her Wikipedia: “Pen Ran, also commonly known as Pan Ron in some Romanized sources intended for English-speaking audiences, was a Cambodian singer and songwriter who was at the height of her popularity in the 1960s and early 1970s. Known particularly for her western rock and soul influences, flirtatious dancing, and risque lyrics, Pen Ran has been described by the New York Times as a "worldly, wise-cracking foil" to the more restrained Cambodian pop singers of her era. She disappeared during the Khmer Rouge genocide and her fate is unknown.
Other Things:
Watching
The Carolina Theater has a Studio Ghibli festival going on this fall and so far I’ve seen Castle in the Sky by legendary director Hayao Miyazaki and The Tale of The Princess Kaguya by another legendary Japanese director, Isao Takahata. Castle was funnier and more kinetic but Princess Kaguya was extraordinarily beautiful and meditative. Recommend both! At home, I watched Monsieur Spade on Netflix. Clive Owen plays the detective from The Maltese Falcon about a decade after that story ends. He’s now living in France, dealing with some personal issues and has quite a mystery to solve. Really enjoyed it. I also watched Rebuild the Galaxy on Disney which is a Lego Star Wars four episode show. It is so funny and charming and full of deep cut Star Wars references. Now I’m fully immersed in Industry thanks to the guys on The Watch. If you like high class soap operas set in London’s financial sector and featuring a bunch of very attractive people abusing substances and having sexual encounters every which way and every which where, this is the show for you!
Podcasts
I really enjoyed The Hollywood Hack three episode pod from The Ringer about the Sony hack in 2014. It fleshed out a lot of details for me about the hack and its long-term ramifications on Hollywood. The Ringer also has a really good pod about social media stardom called This Blew Up which is essentially a story about the evils of Hollywood updated for our modern times.1 Worth a listen! Over at the NYT, The Wirecutter now has a podcast and I loved the episode about how best to do laundry (cold wash! Tide Oxi! 2 tablespoons max of detergent!). And finally, this Culture Study pod about Ben Affleck2 featuring the lovely Jennifer Romolini made me laugh and laugh. Check out her book Ambition Monster! It’s great!3
Books
For fiction, I recommend North Woods which according to my note to myself has “a slow start but ends up being a very interesting sort of magical realism book about all of the people who have ever lived on a specific piece of land in rural Massachusetts”. For non-fiction, I loved I’m Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself.
Mending
While on vacation with my family, I mended my sibling’s shorts with this little person.
Cartoons
I’ve been working on a cartoon character. She’s a middle-aged PI who prefers chatting to going out and solving mysteries.
Foraging
On a walk to forage for some pawpaws with a new friend who actually knows how to forage safely4, we found these beautiful coral mushrooms.
If you enjoy this mix, please check out my playlist The B-sides in which I put all the songs I like but can’t fit into these mixes:
Tale as old as time….
I also watched The Greatest Love Story Never Told and WOWOWOWOW.
I don’t but I’m eager to learn!