"There's soo much gr8 music out there. Here's some we've found. Spread the word about music you can find here." Matthew King Kaufman, Fun Fun Fun Recordings
You can play these mp3s in the nifty Yahoo Media Player by clicking on the little play buttons that look like this:
The Uptones – Skanking Fool
Or you can download the song for free for reals by clicking on the little orange down arrows next to the record cover images that look like this:
The Uptones
“Skanking Fool” (mp3)
from “Skankin’ Foolz Unite!”
(Fun Fun Fun Recordings)
All free and perfectly legal. Sucks, doesn’t it?
Bart Davenport – Chimes
The new crown prince of soft rock, Bart Davenport got his start in a more hard rockin’ capacity as the front man for East Bay Mod RnB heros the Loved Ones. This track from his 2002 solo debut on the marvelous Antenna Farm Records, is a meandering daydream of sweet romance. Much as I hope to hear the man hit the Jagger/Colin Blunstone style that he did years ago, I gotta love that he’s true to his own vision, and he does this stuff so very well. The dry acoustic drums and nicely recorded real instruments he favors are a stark and welcome contrast to the hyper-digital compressed poo that is the norm these days. And his singing is simply beautiful. From 2002, recently re-released digitally, here’s some “Chimes” of love from a cat who means it.
Bart Davenport
“Chimes” (mp3)
from “Bart Davenport”
(Antenna Farm Records)
Floating somewhere in the orbits of Godspeed You Black Emperor and Sigur Ros, San Francisco artist Charles Atlas (we wonder if that is his real name or if he named himself after the classic muscle man with the comic book ads?) makes music as obtuse yet lyrical as this sentence. Very pretty, soothing guitar based ambient type stuff. And just what I needed today.
Charles Atlas
“Photosphere” (mp3)
from “To the Dust: From Man You Came and to Man You Shall Return”
(Howells Transmitter)
The Phenomenal Handclap Band – 15 to 20 (Den Haas remix)
Brooklyn’s The Phenomenal Handclap Band are often thrown into the ‘new disco’ camp but their sound soars too high to deserve any one genre classification. The motley DJs-turned-producers make dance friendly grooves that reflects the diversity of their record crates. Add that to all the remix love the band has been receiving, and what we have is a group that will easily rock a music festival stage during the day, then rock the music fest’ after party at night.
The Phenomenal Handclap Band “15 to 20″ (mp3)
from “15 to 20 / You’ll Disappear Remixes”
(Friendly Fire Recordings)
Want More From This Album?
If anyone was wondering if Maceo Parker’s funk output died with disco I present to you, “Elephant’s Foot.” Mr. Parker has been steadily recording and touring since the time that he left James Brown’s band in 1975. Maceo shows that he’s still one of the hippest players in the music game and still has the funk flowing through his veins.
Parker, Maceo “Elephant’s Foot” (mp3)
from “Funk Overload”
(What Are Records) Need more!
Andre Nickatina – Welcome 2 Da Candy Store
Better known for his early 90s oldies like, “Smoke Dope N Rap” or “Killa Whale”, Andre Nickatina’s entire discography shows much diversity and musical exploration with his the layered beats or his unpredictable and often delicate rhyme delivery. Download this less famous cut from The Bay’s best. Yes, The Bay is the BEST.
Andre Nickatina “Welcome 2 Da Candy Store” (mp3)
from “Green Eyes Dose Vol. 1″
(Million Dollar Dream) Need more!
Here’s an anthemic rocker from the out of control and marvelous Parkas. These guys rocked live, made some great music and called it quits. Their posthumous record, You Should have Killed Us When You Had The Chance is great. I love the lyrics to this song and the hooks would be at home on a Replacements, Clash or Springsteen record. I generally dislike like the over-flogged term “brutally honest,” but this is some brutally honest work. Bad ass rock with real guts and heart.
Parkas
“The Gang’s All Gone” (mp3)
from “You Should Have Killed Us When You Had the Chance”
(Saved by Radio)
Claude VonStroke – The Greasy Beat (feat. Bootsy Collins)
The San Francisco house music scene is still alive and well, and with artist like Claude VonStroke feeding the 4×4 landscape, some may even say it’s thriving. Signed to the Dirtybird label, who are known mainly for throwing renegade parties in Golden Gate park where hundreds of spaced-dancers utilize their 5th pocket, Claude’s dance floor centric tracks are quickly becoming the labels most important product. “The Greasy Beat [feat. Bootsy Collins] (Natural Funk Mix)” takes house back to its pre-disco roots and is spiked with heavy modern tech-house grooves.
Claude VonStroke
“The Greasy Beat [feat. Bootsy Collins]“ (mp3)
from “Bird Brain (Itunes Exclusive Version)”
(dirtybird)
