^^THIS IS A BIG DEAL
― runaway (Matt P), Wednesday, 14 September 2011 20:43 (twelve years ago) link
lol at bored horn section
― you will always be wrong (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 14 September 2011 20:46 (twelve years ago) link
Abercrombie and Fitch | Hot Boy Shower Kiss | Give it up or turn it loose | James Brown
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brdFtc4V4LI
― Kevin John Bozelka, Wednesday, 28 March 2012 22:06 (twelve years ago) link
hmm. anyone read the new bio? http://soul-sides.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/802775.jpgwords like "definitive" being thrown around. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/08/books/the-one-james-brown-biography-by-r-j-smith.html?_r=1
― tylerw, Wednesday, 28 March 2012 22:08 (twelve years ago) link
Just became aware of it this morning and downloaded the beginning, seems pretty good so far. That and the Wrecking Crew book.
― Singularities Going Steady (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 29 March 2012 01:07 (twelve years ago) link
Think I went to a party or two at RJ's place back in the late eighties, when he lived in Cobble Hill.
Here is Matos's review http://www.avclub.com/articles/rj-smith-the-one-the-life-and-music-of-james-brown,71231/
― Singularities Going Steady (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 29 March 2012 01:52 (twelve years ago) link
Read a few chapters last night and this morning. Lots of great detail, about how he met Bobby Byrd, about what he learned from Little Richard and his band, about Syd Nathan and King Records.
Oh yeah, read the Jonathan Franzen piece the day before that, which was amazing
― MIke Love Battery (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 6 April 2012 15:43 (twelve years ago) link
OK, this is really great. Don't know what I'm going to do when it's over, read the recent Little Willie John bio I guess
― MIke Love Battery (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 7 April 2012 03:46 (twelve years ago) link
Just got this, can't wait to dig into it.
― Dancing with Mr. T (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Saturday, 7 April 2012 04:46 (twelve years ago) link
Didn't RJ Smith do a presentation at EMP on this book? Did anyone see it? I used to love most of his writing in the Village Voice way back when
― curmudgeon, Saturday, 7 April 2012 15:42 (twelve years ago) link
Maybe we can dig through the EMPthread to see if it's mentioned
― MIke Love Battery (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 7 April 2012 15:50 (twelve years ago) link
Just got up to the "Rumble in the Jungle"
― MIke Love Battery (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 8 April 2012 01:12 (twelve years ago) link
In addition to its other virtues, this is a good book to read around the holidays, since if you have any control freaks in your life it will give you new insight
― MIke Love Battery (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 8 April 2012 18:41 (twelve years ago) link
Finished this. On to the Little Willie John book. Just reading the list of people interviewed is making hairs stand up on back of neck.
― zing left unguarded, the j/k palace in flames (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 11 April 2012 02:35 (twelve years ago) link
got this from the library -- great so far!
― tylerw, Wednesday, 11 April 2012 02:47 (twelve years ago) link
Probably going to be nitpickers who will say he didn't mention so and so or that Franzen Lethem was more concise, but as far as trying to tell the whole story in a reasonable number of pages and hitting all the right notes it is kind of a model
― zing left unguarded, the j/k palace in flames (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 11 April 2012 03:05 (twelve years ago) link
I'm halfway through it on the Kindle. My favorite part so far is when James Brown is trying to lecture/scold Bootsy Collins, but Bootsy is just rolling on the floor giggling because he's out of his mind on acid. I wonder if he was thinking to himself, "I'm getting too old for this shit"!
Catfish and Bootsy weren't bothered about Brown's fines, and they'd scamper off before he could make them rehearse during time between gigs. It's a testament to their talent that Brown didn't fire them immediately!
― Fastnbulbous, Wednesday, 11 April 2012 21:49 (twelve years ago) link
I had always heard that that was the incident that got Bootsy fired, but apparently that is not the case.
― zing left unguarded, the j/k palace in flames (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 11 April 2012 21:51 (twelve years ago) link
I thought it was the "walking offstage in the middle of a show because he thought his bass guitar had turned into a snake" that got him fired
― Jilly Boel and the Eltones (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 11 April 2012 21:52 (twelve years ago) link
eager to read this, obvy
Yeah, exactly. That is what led to the reprimand But he didn't get fired, at the end JB finally said "Get this fool out of here" and that was that.
― zing left unguarded, the j/k palace in flames (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 11 April 2012 22:01 (twelve years ago) link
One of the points he makes is that Bootsy and Catfish were given a longer leash partly, I think, because they were young and didn't have any families to support and so didn't care as much.
― zing left unguarded, the j/k palace in flames (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 11 April 2012 22:03 (twelve years ago) link
Yep. But Bootsy was not fired for a while after the incident. It was something like the band giving him an ultimatum and everyone getting fired. I just read it yesterday and am already hazy. On the train I was reading about his actively campaigning for Nixon. So crazy, but the book gives greater insight into his thinking at the time than some of his closest colleagues at the time were privy to. A great read.
― Fastnbulbous, Thursday, 12 April 2012 05:22 (twelve years ago) link
Bootsy and the Cincinnati crew lasted almost exactly a year. They finally quit when they were supposed to play the Copa in New York, either because they didn't like that the gig and therefore the pay was cut in half or because Bootsy didn't want to wear a tie.
One great story is that young Bootsy had been playing a cheap green guitar strung as a bass but right before the first tour JB told him "Son, I love what you're doing with that bass but- You can't come in here with that" and bought him a new instrument.
― zing left unguarded, the j/k palace in flames (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 12 April 2012 09:50 (twelve years ago) link
The Night James Brown Played The Opry.
― 5-Hour Enmity (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Tuesday, 13 November 2012 19:14 (eleven years ago) link
haha! was hoping there would be a video.
― tylerw, Tuesday, 13 November 2012 20:18 (eleven years ago) link
Me too! Or at least audio. Would love to hear Wagoner's band tackle "Brand New Bag."
― 5-Hour Enmity (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Tuesday, 13 November 2012 20:21 (eleven years ago) link
i kind of love james' forays into the country music songbook -- his "your cheating heart" is killer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPspFzyb_dE
― tylerw, Tuesday, 13 November 2012 20:23 (eleven years ago) link
http://moviepilot.com/stories/1097384-james-brown-the-godfather-of-soul-gets-his-own-biopic?stamp=39036&subscribe_to=697742&utm_campaign=james-brown-the-godfather-of-soul-gets-his-own-biopic&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=fb-stream-post
― Old Boy In Network (Michael B), Sunday, 1 September 2013 19:18 (ten years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vptGSENcXeI
― 'arry Goldman (Hurting 2), Wednesday, 25 June 2014 14:24 (nine years ago) link
I'm not wowed by this trailer. I don't feel like he captures James Brown's forceful personality.
― 'arry Goldman (Hurting 2), Wednesday, 25 June 2014 14:25 (nine years ago) link
It looks like a typical, by-the-numbers biopic, but I'm a total sucker for that kind of thing, and I can't wait to see it.
I don't think the trailer gives enough of a sense of how much Boseman inhabits James (or doesn't); he seems ok based on the clips, but not overwhelming.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Wednesday, 25 June 2014 14:34 (nine years ago) link
I'm really tired of that hazy look that always gets used for films about Respectable Black Folk In The 40s/50s
― 'arry Goldman (Hurting 2), Wednesday, 25 June 2014 15:58 (nine years ago) link
One thing I think they missed by using Boseman is that James Brown is grizzled and a little bit ugly. He's way too pretty and clean looking.
― 'arry Goldman (Hurting 2), Wednesday, 25 June 2014 16:00 (nine years ago) link
biopics are uniformly horrible
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 25 June 2014 16:02 (nine years ago) link
I heard this recently. First few seconds is basically drum'n'bass. Damn, the drummers he had.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6l5_FxjlaQ
― What is wrong with songs? Absolutely nothing. Songs are great. (DL), Wednesday, 25 June 2014 16:10 (nine years ago) link
only thing missing from that biopic trailer is the memory of a dead brother haunting him from the past
― marcos, Wednesday, 25 June 2014 18:10 (nine years ago) link
I would be okay if every copy of every musical biopic ever was erased and replaced with Walk Hard
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 25 June 2014 18:11 (nine years ago) link
is that Craig Robinson as St. Clair lol
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 25 June 2014 18:13 (nine years ago) link
He's Maceo!
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Wednesday, 25 June 2014 18:16 (nine years ago) link
I'm really tired of that hazy look that always gets used for films about Respectable Black Folk In The 40s/50s― 'arry Goldman (Hurting 2), Wednesday, June 25, 2014 11:58 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― 'arry Goldman (Hurting 2), Wednesday, June 25, 2014 11:58 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
yea seems hollywood refuses to make films w/ primarily african-american casts that are both 1) in a contemporary setting and 2) marketed not just to black folk
― marcos, Wednesday, 25 June 2014 18:20 (nine years ago) link
haha sorry I couldn't tell what era that particular bit was supposed to be from
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 25 June 2014 18:25 (nine years ago) link
I've never understood why "I've Got Money" never makes into the "James Brown invents funk" mythos
― The Reverend, Thursday, 26 June 2014 09:38 (nine years ago) link
That track might be the single rawest thing he did. Not just the supercharged drums, but those ugly blues chords just hanging there.
― The Reverend, Thursday, 26 June 2014 09:39 (nine years ago) link
It is noted as such in "The One" iirc
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 26 June 2014 15:53 (nine years ago) link
everyone should read The One, it is a great bio.
― tylerw, Thursday, 26 June 2014 15:55 (nine years ago) link
^ this.
Love the part where he's on a plane making a shaky emergency landing. An associate next to him is shaking, sweating, praying, crying, and James says to them, "Hey, don't worry; as long as I'm on this plane, it can't crash."
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Thursday, 26 June 2014 16:01 (nine years ago) link
everything post-80s is such a major bummer
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 26 June 2014 16:07 (nine years ago) link
James Brown in Frankie Avalaon movie Ski Partyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_xBT_xavzM
― curmudgeon, Sunday, 27 July 2014 14:19 (nine years ago) link
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/27/movies/james-brown-is-celebrated-in-get-on-up.html?hpw&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpHedThumbWell&module=well-region®ion=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well
Nelson George re new James Brown movie, upcoming James Brown doc, and James himself
― curmudgeon, Sunday, 27 July 2014 14:21 (nine years ago) link
Great song . Need to read up on drummer Clayton Fillyau
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 29 November 2022 20:27 (one year ago) link
I hear an HBO doc is in the making
hope it features lots of live footage, this is blowing my mind:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRubq5D-3kMThe Payback - James Brown - Live - Zaire 1974
― corrs unplugged, Saturday, 14 January 2023 12:32 (one year ago) link
An A & E doc debuts tonight Monday with 2 episodes and 2 more episodes on Tuesday. Nelson George wrote about it on his Substack, and I saw the below also
https://www.wjbf.com/news/an-ae-documentary-on-james-brown-tells-of-a-black-man-and-musician-in-america/
― curmudgeon, Monday, 19 February 2024 18:34 (three months ago) link
Episodes 1 & 2 were interesting. They addressed Brown’s issues as well as his musical genius. Alan Leeds, various professors, musicians, Brown’s children all interviewed.
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 20 February 2024 17:01 (three months ago) link
I would very much like to see this, although it looks like it will be tricky without a cable/tv provider
― Jordan s/t (Jordan), Tuesday, 20 February 2024 17:17 (three months ago) link
Some friends of mine made the same complaint. Crazy me is throwing away money at my cable provider so I am lucky enough to be able to watch it .
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 20 February 2024 23:01 (three months ago) link
The first episode is streaming on the A&E website; maybe they'll put the second one up soon.
― Tahuti Watches L&O:SVU Reruns Without His Ape (unperson), Tuesday, 20 February 2024 23:16 (three months ago) link
That’s good. I have watched first 2 , and dvr’d 3rd and 4.th
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 21 February 2024 23:12 (three months ago) link
https://www.aetv.com/shows/james-brown-say-it-loud
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 22 February 2024 17:05 (three months ago) link
I watched first ep last night on my phone through cable provider. Hopefully will watch rest soon. Ads are slightly annoying though.
― The Ginger Bakersfield Sound (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 22 February 2024 18:03 (three months ago) link
Yeah they said they're only unlocking ep1, I'll check it out though. Tbh I'm only really interested in watching through the '70s peak.
― Jordan s/t (Jordan), Thursday, 22 February 2024 18:05 (three months ago) link
Some of the live music clips feel a bit short.
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 22 February 2024 18:19 (three months ago) link
I'm sure it will just frustrate me that the full footage presumably exists but is not available :(
― Jordan s/t (Jordan), Thursday, 22 February 2024 18:23 (three months ago) link
And I am a fan of LL Cool J, and I get having he and Chuck D represent for rap, but sometimes he just offers enthusiasm in his interview clips in this more than knowledge. Sometimes this works as a counterpoint to more staid professors who are interviewed, but sometimes it does not.
I wonder if Brown's family who are involved in the making of this, didn't like RJ Smith's book. He is not in the portions of doc I have watched. Alan Leeds and an older white reporter from Georgia whose name I don't recall are interviewed in this a fair amount. Mick Jagger a bit . Christian Mcbride seems to be the current jazz rep in this.
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 22 February 2024 19:15 (three months ago) link
Questlove is in it too
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 22 February 2024 19:16 (three months ago) link
Isn't Questlove one of the producers? I thought I remember him mentioning on his podcast that he & Black Thought were some of the main movers behind this.
Christian McBride makes sense as he's Questlove's school days buddy and a certified JB obsessive.
― Jordan s/t (Jordan), Thursday, 22 February 2024 19:28 (three months ago) link
Executive Producers Mick Jagger and Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson iirc.
― The Ginger Bakersfield Sound (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 22 February 2024 19:40 (three months ago) link
McBride was actually in Brown's band at one point (or at least backed him at a single concert; I forget the story).
― Tahuti Watches L&O:SVU Reruns Without His Ape (unperson), Thursday, 22 February 2024 19:43 (three months ago) link
I think it was one concert, he tells the story of being in Brown's orbit here (1:11):
https://app.podscribe.ai/episode/83381179
― Jordan s/t (Jordan), Thursday, 22 February 2024 19:49 (three months ago) link
Just because I recently re-discovered it and can't see it in the thread...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQ4ztL7dBKE
(James Brown, Live in Rome March 1971)
― I would prefer not to. (Chinaski), Saturday, 1 June 2024 12:28 (one week ago) link
always fascinating
― corrs unplugged, Monday, 3 June 2024 12:25 (one week ago) link
I thought I had watched all the '71 Euro tour footage out there but don't remember seeing this before. It purports to be the actual Love Power Peace show, but it's not. Still incredible of course, it's cool to see how different the shows were.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FkVyVByk8w
― Jordan s/t (Jordan), Monday, 3 June 2024 15:07 (one week ago) link
This one too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIvrfWGGSwU
Seeing the Live in Rome reference has me thinking about the James Brown with Pavarotti collaboration in Rome excerpt that is in that recent James Brown doc
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 4 June 2024 21:14 (six days ago) link