If you don’t know who Da Lench Mob is, you need to do your homework. That first album was amazing… BUCK THE DEVIL
Fuck it, watch these too (and tell uncle sam that I’m looking for him):
May 312011
May 262011
Wu Tang Nintendo Commercial (Banned) 1993
I don’t know anything about this so I don’t know if it was really banned or what….but here it is.
Aug 192010
The Ruffin Brothers – I Am My Brothes Keeper (OG Ad for the single “Stand By Me”)
The Ruffin Brothers – I Am My Brothes Keeper (Color cover)
Damn, is David’s head really that much smaller than Jimmy’s head?
Anyway, I just listened to this entire record and it was soulful for sure…just wasn’t the most amazing LP I’ve ever heard. I could def chop some of it up into some hot tracks, which I may do, but as far as listening to it again…it’s gonna get buried in my itunes so it’ll resurface here and there. I think my favorite joint on here is definitely “Your Love Was Worth Waiting For” as I like the song and these brothers were doing their thing.
If you want to grab the album, download it here.
Btw, I’m a huge fan of David Ruffin….his life, his music, The Temptations, and his legacy as one of the best voices of all time. RIP Mr. Ruffin.
The Ruffin Brothers – Didn’t I Blow Your Mind (This Time):
The Ruffin Brothers – He Aint Heavy, He’s My Brother:
The Ruffin Brothers – Your Love Was Worth Waiting For:
Aug 062010
The record business has changed dramatically in the past 30 years, but putting yourself out there to get noticed is still the same. In some ways it’s different (ads in trade mags, standing outside of labels, calling in favors, cold calling, breaking the bank on unsolicited demos, etc) and in some ways it’s the same (eating dicks / sucking up, playing shows to build a following, and having talent (which is somewhat questionable in most cases these days)).
So what we have here is an old school ad for a group of three people trying to get noticed. They have a nice rudimentary graphic that meets up with their logo on some old school clashing of five different fonts. Obviously, this is before photoshop so someone put in work cutting film and lining up this ad in a very sloppy way on a light table. I only know this because I learned it back in high school in South Bend….why they taught us this in the age of computers is a mystery to me.
The only reason I’m really posting this is because of Vernon. This is pure speculation, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Vernon is smashing Vicki Rae something terrible. He has that old school “Mike, I’m all up in this biatch so back the hell up” smile with an accompanying arm clamp on what he’s claiming as his in the demo picture. Mike prob had the money to pay for the ad and “demos” plus the songwriting skills and talent. I put demos in quotes because who knows if it was a physical 8 track tape or vinyl record…or maybe they really just waited around by the phone and tried to sing live to anyone who called?
It appears that the telephone number is from Santa Ynez California…which appears to be desolate land somewhere up the Cali coast. I bet that was a real hotbed for disco shit back in the day.
So…I wonder if they ever made it? I wonder if Vernon will answer if you call the number?
I wonder if Vicki Rae went solo and finally made a record under the name Vicki Rae Von and this is it (below)? The song was produced by Tom Brasfield and he appears to be a disco producer who ended up writing a big hit for Ronnie Milsap. Oh shit, now I’m really tripping cause I use to bang that hit Ronnie Milsap song on my am radio back in the day.
Fuck. Now I’ve gotta get off into some Ronnie Milsap shit. Why did I just find out that he’s blind? I thought he was rocking shades all those years to be cool. Here’s the kicker: I thought Roy Orbison was blind because he rocked shades his entire career and then he turned out to not be blind at all. Wtf?! My blindar is way off.
Ronnie Milsap – (There’s No) Gettin’ Over Me
But now that I’ve lost all control of this post…look at these cats from the Fukuoka American Music Association trying to put it down on the same song:
Aug 062010
Dope and tripped out packaging…very reminiscent Jimi Hendrix’s, non nude, Electric Ladyland cover, eh? Don’t believe me, take a look for yourself (below). Old school style biting.
Regardless of the blatant bite, which still happens all the time and is actually something I enjoy when its done well or in tribute, the songs on the album speak for themselves. I wish Ghostface was here inside of this post to pop out and say “Niggas bit off Nas Shit!!!!”..
Btw, Tina is the original Beyonce….She would’ve gotten the business so bad and still looks amazing to this day (for her age).
Ike & Tina Turner – Let Me Touch Your Mind
Aug 062010
This some some serious ad copy: “Six hours of contemporary history edited to the essence of human entertainment”.
The Wattstax lineup was stellar and I wish I could go back in time to be there. Who can forget Rufus Thomas’s loud suit, Isaac Hayes rockin a chain shirt, and the Bar Kays putting in work on “Son of Shaft”. I haven’t watched or listened to Wattstax in a long time, but I’m definitely due for a refresher viewing…even if it’s just to see the mega infield dancing that resembles the world’s biggest Soul Train line. It’s not the absolute greatest shit of all time, but def worth your time if you’re not in the know. Also, If you listen close to the record, you’re going to hear a few famous vocal samples.
For those of you on phones and garbage monitors, the album lineup is: Issac Hayes, The Staple Singers, Rufus Thomas, Albert King, Eddie Floyd, The Bar-Kays, Carla Thomas, & The Soul Children
Richard Pryor narrated trailer:
Aug 052010
Where to begin? I guess I’ll start with this: I’ve had this ad in my “to post” folder for awhile, but I never actually researched Mrs. Miller until a few minutes ago. Matter of fact, I only created this particular blog the other day so we’re just now getting into the groove over here. It seems that I’m a little late to the starting line on this artist as a quick search reveals a bunch of blogs and sites that have covered this already. I could very well be the only one with the OG ad though, but whatevers holmes. Without reading any of them, I’m just going to dive in on my own with limited info and tell you about Mrs. Miller.
Starting with the ad…She looks like she should be on a pasta jar, right? Granted, I’ve shuffled through tens of thousands of old LPs looking for samples and this cover is only modestly jacked up compared to some of the stuff I’ve seen. In total stream of consciousness writing, this just reminded me of the time Silva and I stopped by an “album cover” art gallery show after skating one day…shit was sweet. Back to Mrs. Miller, why is she holding the mic out like an emcee? She’s holding that shit like she’s stroking something or like she’s about to get it in in the booth…or both (insert Eric Burdon “Spill The Wine” story here).
The song selection on this Greatest Hits album looks excellent with a variety of pop hits. This has to be good right? You be the judge:
Mrs. Miller – Downtown
Mrs. Miller – Strangers in the Night
Mrs. Miller – The Girl From Ipanema
Ok. What the flying fuck was Capitol thinking? This has to be a joke right? Good God.
Having spent some time in the tower myself here and there, let me sidetrack this again with another story: I have a video somewhere of me showing my homey how to get past Capitol security, hit the elevator, stairs, and boom…the roof. So just know that footage exists of Dj Marvski jumping over the ledge on the roof of the Capitol building and dancing around because he was so excited to be up there. One more step and it would’ve been a done deal for the legend.
Anyway, this chick, Mrs. Miller, isn’t so good. I can just see some 60s version of a Ron Lafitte, still dressed the same, signing her like she was going to be the next big thing. Maybe a current “A&R” will venture out to Claremont now and find a school teacher to sign just to spice up the industry a little, eh? That would be a true Hell Yeah!!!
Seriously, it seems like she eventually caught on to the fact that the world was laughing at her and it can be summed up in this sentence from her Wikipedia page:
“She apparently was unaware at first that her musical ability was being ridiculed, but eventually realized it and decided to go along with the joke. She attributed her break with Capitol to her wanting to sing correctly and record ballads, while Capitol wanted to continue the “so bad it’s good” style.”
Aug 042010
Get it Otis! One of the best live performers of ALL TIME!! R.I.P.
It’s dope that Steve Cropper got his producer credit right there in the ad. I wonder what year “producer” credits actually started playing a role in pop music advertising?
Aug 032010
James Brown & Beer = Two of my favorite things in my life and world.
This might be one of the dopest ads of all time as it combines live action concert shots, JB hippin’ you to some game on how to stay on top, pushing some brew on you, and it has a big ass frosty mug filled to the top with beer at the bottom.
RIP JB…I, and millions like me, will never forget you. Good God!!
Aug 022010
Stevie Wonder is one of my favorite artists of all time. I’ve seen Stevie at least 6 or 7 times and he just keeps getting better and better. He will definitely be a reoccurring theme in my posts. I’ve got some Stevie stories…but I’ll save them for future posts. For now, I’ll just appreciate this beautiful ad.
Btw, Tammi was looking good in that little bubble. It’s interesting to note the Motown slogan at the bottom, “The Sound of Young America”. They sure were.