Blood Harmony Volume 18: Spring Mix
Happy Spring everyone! May your life be filled with asparagus and strawberries for the next few weeks!
For those folks who are not on Spotify, I’ve added a Youtube version of the mix. Substack won’t embed the Youtube link for some reason so you can just click on the word.
Fire and Brimstone by Link Wray, Link Wray, 1971, Universal Records.
I first heard this song on a compilation called Country Funk Vol. 1: 1969-1975 put out in 2012 by Light in the Attic Records. It’s SO GOOD. Link Wray was a Native American guitar player who started releasing rock and country records in the 1950s and continued on through the 1990s. He influenced all sorts of rock luminaries inlcuding Dylan and Led Zepplin.
It’s Been a Change by The Staple Singers, Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) Soundtrack, 2022, Sony Music.
Summer of Soul is a wonderful documentary and you should stop reading this right now and go watch it if you haven’t seen it already. I love this track with it’s kind of shaggy combination of “Pops” Staples funky blues guitar and the Staples sisters’ voices.
Where Were You by Lady Wray, Piece of Me, 2021, Big Crown Records.
Lady Wray, the current stage name for Nicole Wray, has been making hip hop and R&B since the late 90s when she started recording with Missy Elliott. In her current incarnation, the music is very groovy and soulful.
I Meant Every Word by The Burnett Singers, Teen Age Widow, 2017, Numero Group.
From the Numero Group write up: In 1972, Detroit’s Burnett Sisters were singing mostly standards and pop songs locally, when their distant relative Wardell Montgomery invited the four siblings to help him bring to life selections from Teen Age Widow—his self-published poetry chapbook—at the R.A.P.A. community theater. That’s all we know! I first heard this on a Radiooooo all Numero Group playlist.
Grow by Facesoul, Grow-A Colors Encore, 2021, ColorsxStudio.
Facesoul is a London-based Somali artists making very beautiful and captivating music.
Ebb Tide by Houston & Dorsey, You’re Not From Around Here Soundtrack, Numero Group, 2017.
Another keeper from the Numero Group playlist! From the album write-up: The previously unissued soundtrack to the 1964 noir, You’re Not From Around Here, discovered after 55 years in the Louis Wayne Moody archive. A hobo’s bindle full of twangy tremolo, reverb-drenched revenge, and existential echo. Songs of alienation, paranoia, dark alleys, betrayal, prison, prostitution, trains, gun play, feminine betrayal, and the dusty, lonely road of self discovery. A black and white affair trapped under the weight of a post-war technicolor allure, You’re Not From Around Here lives in a universe of moral ambiguity.
Love and Hate in a Different Time by Gabriels, Love and Hate in a Different Time, 2021, Atlas Artists.
It’s Gabriels from LA. Here’s what they have to say for themselves: Jacob Lusk (an acclaimed gospel singer/choir director and contestant on Season 10 of American Idol), Ryan Hope (established film director), and Ari Balouzian (a classically trained musician and soundtrack artist) are the trio that fate brought together who now make up Gabriels.
End of the Road by Noga Erez, KIDS, 2021, City Slang.
Noga is an Israeli artist and KIDS is very cool. She also recently covered “Industry Baby” by Lil Nas X and it’s pretty rad.
Boss by Little Simz, GREY Area, 2019, Age 101 Music.
Little Simz, born Simbiatu "Simbi" Abisola Abiola Ajikawo, is a British artist whose album from last year Sometimes I Might Be an Introvert is fantastic. This is from an earlier album and it’s also great.
Quivering in Time by Eris Drew, Quivering in Time, 2021, Self-Released.
From her bio “The Self Proclaimed High Priestess of the Motherbeat, Eris Drew is a spiritually-minded DJ, producer and transgender advocate from Chicago.” I wanted to take us out on a blissful note.
Other Things:
+ My favorite podcast You Must Remember This is back with a series called “Erotic 80s” about, well, how sexy movies were in the 1980s! Of course, this being YMRT, it’s really about history, censorship, capitalism, misogyny, queer representation and movies. I’ve been watching the main film discussed in each episode as it goes along. First it was “10” (very funny for all of its issues!), American Gigolo (excellent) and Body Heat (a very 80s film noir). Recommend!
+ Mother’s Day is next weekend. Mother’s Day is weird but also it’s sort of nice to celebrate it? I don’t know. But if you’re looking for a gift for your mom or a mom in your life, I have a few thoughts:
Book: I’ll Show Myself Out by Jessi Klein. Guffaw, guffaw, weep, guffaw, being a mom is hard.
Perfume: Sure, it’s a risk! But not really in this case because this is a subtle and universally beloved scent that comes in a lovely box. I’ve given it to three friends so far and they’ve all loved it.
Donation: I donate to this group every year.
If no one’s told you that you’re beautiful today, I’m typing that to you right now!