It kills me. Every time I go into a store that sells recorded music, the first place I go is to the Soul/R&B/Urban/whatever they’re calling it now section. Now, I know – I know I’m going to be disappointed. But something in me keeps dragging me back to look anyway. It’s kind of like when you go in a store, and you’re looking for one specific item that you’re pretty sure they’re not gonna have, but to delay the inevitable, rather than asking a clerk who would most likely go ahead and tell you they don’t have it, you go and search high and low through the shelves, clinging to false hope.
But I digress.
Times are changing – of that we can all be sure, because it’s thrust into our faces every time we go online. In an increasingly web- and download-driven world, music store shelves continue to shrink, as does the selection they offer. Have a taste for the obscure? You’re not gonna find it at any of the big chains these days. Have a jones for Jazz? Thankfully, there’s still enough of a fan base for it that at least some stores still have a decent range. Either that, or they feel some sense of responsibility to still present this music that has so shaped our nation, as if the Ghosts of Jazz Past are guilt-tripping them into it. Whatever the reason, I, for one, am thankful.
But what about Soul, Funk, and R&B records? Has the rich history of Black music in this country become so marginalized that the most these stores can offer us is a bunch of lame “20th Century Masters” or 2nd-rate Greatest Hits compilations? I like to think that this music, which I love more than any other, is enjoyed by at least as many people as Rock music is. Probably not as much as straight-up Pop music, since that’s engineered specifically for the masses. But why is it that I can go to Borders and get pretty much any Rock record I’m looking for, even slightly obscure stuff (and let me clarify – by “record” I mean “CD”…I have to get my Vinyl elsewhere, unfortunately, but it’s still all “records” to me), but when I’m looking for Donny Hathaway’s Extension of a Man or the remastered Marvin Gaye Here, My Dear I never find those. Marvin Gaye! Is that too much to ask? It’s not like I’m trying to find forgotten oldies here. I’m looking for a record by an artist ranked #6 on Rolling Stone‘s Greatest Singers Of All Time. Not exactly Shooby Taylor, The Human Horn.
Those are just some examples, but time after time, no matter what I’m looking for, I always end up just ordering it from Amazon. Thank God for Amazon.
Yes, I’m one of those strange cats that still likes to buy hard copies of albums. Whenever I can at least.
I was lucky to have grown up in a time when Tower Records was like an excursion, and stores like JCPenney, Sears, and Woolworth’s had record sections that were my hideouts when my mom browsed through the fabric section. I remember going to DJ’s Sound City as a kid, hearing Van Halen blaring out of the speakers, seeing Kiss’ solo albums on the wall, but being thrilled at seeing a 4LP Keith Jarrett box set or trippy Miles Davis album covers. Genres were divided, but it was all accessible.
I remember a local record store called Licorice Donut, which was downtown and I liked it because it was the only store that had a healthy section of soul and R&B. I believe I may have bought the 45 of Atlantic Starr’s “Freak-A-Ristic” there.
I think what gets to me is the fact that soul/R&B has become a “specialty music”. On a music board I roam, I have asked about the lack of emphasis on soul reissues. I mean, you’ll have the usual names on Legacy and Deluxe Edition, and I’m thankful someone pushes these projects. Then I’ll go to Dusty Groove and look at all of the incredible reissues coming out of the UK, Germany, and Japan, or browse through CD Universe and see what lurks deep in their pages.
One answer on why there is a lack of emphasis on soul reissues was explained this way, and I’m not joking here: “black people don’t care about reissues. They want what’s modern and now, not what happened 30 or 40 years ago, yet alone 5″.
The thing is, if a Japanese division of a label can release countless obscure jazz, rock, and country albums, why can’t the American division do the same in the home country of the artists?
I have suggested countless ideas to labels for reissue or compilations, and I still remember one label saying to me “we do not accept outside A&R”. Sure, but if I was an executive producer or project coordinator at a label, I would be going through the vaults with many ideas I want to turn into reality. I await.
Hitting the nail right on the head Moot. Soon the CD will go the way of the vinyl, 8 track, cassette..etc. What would we do without Amazon?
A couple of things… Most of the music I really enjoy falls into the “obscure” camp so I feel your pain… and no, of all people “Marvin Gaye” is certainly not one you’d expect to be hard to find, however the stores tend to carry what the people buy… The sad truth is that I can’t help but notice that among my African American friends they will give lip service to the classic funk, soul and R&B music, but it shows up less in their CD libraries than you’d hope. Also every Jazz concert I go to … mostly white people showing up. Whatever the social influences or reasons for this it’s just a sad reality to face. .. and don’t get me started on most pitch corrected, air-brushed, devoid of humanity, current acts calling themselves R&B… I think 50′s through 70′s R&B, Soul and Funk is among the greatest recordings known to man…. and yet I feel helpless watching the tide of mediocrity sweep away everything good in current forms of that music… same with rock, actually. Actually it’s not all bad, for example there’s a relatively recent white British guy named Lewis Taylor that released some tasty classic retro soul mixed with modern sounds that I’d recommend (Though he has one album called “The Lost Album” which, while still great, owes more to Todd Rundgren and Brian Wilson than soul…)
…and last but not least I watched your improv video with the synthesizers.com modular and was totally blown away… yuo shred! Not just keyboard skills but working your way around the modular and re-dialing everything on the fly… VERY impressed. (One of my other obscure tastes is for 70′s German Electronic music like Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze etc.)
Anyway, keep up the great work!
So, so, so, VERY TRUE! It’s very sad that music turned the ugly corner after the late 70′s early 80′s. I think by 1987 music was pretty much taking the new shape it purports today. Bad style.
However…there IS still hope for another singer/songwriter with true blue eyed soul without the cotton candy pop overtones.
You know, a guy like Mike Rodgers who you all probably know has the goods…and the originals. I’ve always wanted to release a record with a great producer that knows how to get the classic sounds while making them sound fresh & while opening up NEW musical directions.
I had always hoped I’d be one of the guys influencing music on a large scale, but today I know why that wasn’t supposed to happen…I found my place in SWFL after living and playing in LA thru 2000-2003. My place is here with my Taylor 812 around my neck singing with my two sons, Koda (4) and Sauter (1)…finding the greatest job in beig a father is what my hero John Lennon did in the mid-late 70′s…I always wondered WHY he did that, and now I know why.
Trust me…music will get better again, it actually IS better TODAY than it was in the late 90′s early 2000′s when I was playing 5 nights a week @ Paddy Murphys (1998-1999) and when I lived in LA from 2000-2003. Those days had the worst “bubble gum” POP ever with Backstreet, N’STINK, and the rest of Orlando subing for NY, Nashville, and LA as the music
Mecca of the lower 48.
No matter what…I’ve learned from the years of gigging (I’m now a Realtor/Mortgage Broker working at a law firm as a consultant) that when I gig I play 50% covers and minimum 50% originals!!!
Bubblegum Pop A-Hole Bands and producers finally pissed me off so bad that I decided to go original…ME, the original cover guy making a living off of strumming DMB tunes on 5th got so sick of bubblegum that I bought a Mac and Logic Express.
Hopefully I’ll finish this record sooner than later….BTW, Moot…would you want to produce a track or two of BA10 ( which is 10yrs of my music spanning from 1999-2009ish)?
I’ll pay….
I’d be honored.
Contact me at 239.601.8445
PS…ask Mike Blasucci about me. We jammed in 2003 when I returned from out west. We did Bistro 821…Mike is GREAT.
Thanks for the music.
Looking to get more.
Well, I can tell you for sure it’s easier to pick up a copy of Metallica than it is to find a Memphis May Fire copy or Asking Alexandria. I’m telling you, all there is anymore is this hippidy hop stuff. Whatever that is. Even music like Metalcore and Deathcore is hard to come by, even if it is pretty popular and new. Anyways, I’m about to hit an all-nighter so I’m off to bed. \m/ Keep rockin, Moot.