soul
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Soundtrack to the Shaft Movie of Your Dreams
Aquarium Drunkard recently released its second mix in collaboration with Peer Schouten, a Copenhagen-based DJ and record collector. Titled Shaft’s Old Man: An Imaginary Soul Jazz Soundtrack, the mixtape is divided into an intro and six acts, delineating the major…
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D’Angelo Talks Activism and Music with Bobby Seale
The artist invited a New York Times reporter to come along as he met one of his heroes: activist and former Black Panther Bobby Seale. Seale and D’Angelo talked extending the Black Lives Matter movement beyond the immediate moment, not…
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Song of the Day: “God Only Knows”
Marvin Gaye was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame posthumously in 1987. Its biography of him names a little-known doo-wop song called “God Only Knows” as “critical to his musical awakening.” The Capris, though they had a string of…
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Song of the Day: “Soul Deep”
Soul staple Clarence Carter is most famous for his 1968 ballad, “Slip Away,” in which he urges his love to keep their relationship quiet. However, his baritone is anything but quiet on his powerful cover of “Soul Deep,” a song originally…
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Ben E. King’s Legacy Remembered
Tributes to the soul singer have been flooding the Internet since his passing on Thursday, April 30. Many are beautiful, but possibly the most heart achingly gorgeous comes from almost two weeks prior to his death, when David Letterman asked Tracy…
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Song of the Day: “Try Me”
The resilient R&B singer Esther Mae Jones adopted the stage name of Little Esther Philips at the age of 14, allegedly taking it from a gas station sign in Los Angeles. She had a rough-and-tumble career, a tumultuous relationship with the…
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Song of the Day: “Mickey Mouse Boarding House”
Mardi Gras may have been last week, but the good times keep on rolling. New Orleans-based soul artist Walter “Wolfman” Washington knows a thing or two about good times—in his good-humored single “Mickey Mouse Boarding House,” the silky R&B crooner complains…
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Song of the Day: “Never Over You”
Critics have described indie singer-songwriter Natalie Prass variously as “stunning,” “sublime,” “charmingly delicate,” and also, bizarrely, as a Disney princess. The Nashville-based former Berklee College of Music student offers up a heady melange of influences on her acclaimed new eponymous album.…
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Song of the Day: “The Prayer”
Black Messiah is an apt title for the long-awaited follow-up to contemporary soul master D’Angelo’s 2000 record, Voodoo. Fourteen years allows for plenty of anticipation. At times, the news from industry insiders made it seem like Black Messiah would never…
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Song of the Day: “Colours”
Producer/songwriter duos depend on so many factors for their success, so when a great one comes along, we seize it and refuse to let go. Grab hold of “Colours,” by the San Francisco-based electronic music group Colour Theory. “You make…
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Song of the Day: “Merry Christmas Baby”
Merry Christmas baby You sure do treat me nice Soul icon Otis Redding’s short career was remarkably prolific. The highlights from his electrifying catalog are varied and buoyant, even in an area of pop music that has traditionally suffered from…
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Song of the Day: Supernatural
It is not a simple task to gain favor with an artist as widely revered as Prince, but the L.A.-based neo-soul trio King managed to do just that, simply through the power of their music. Anita Bias joined forces with…