Beat Authority playlist: 11/20/09

Sing me back home.

The Cape, in technocolor

One of the greatest things about Youtube is us young-uns who idolize James Brown but never got to see him at his peak get a glimpse. I've listened to versions of Please Please Please dozens of times, hearing the band vamp and vamp and vamp, while the crowd goes wild - obviously, the Hardest Working Man in Show Business is giving them what they want. But what? A dance? Kisses to the ladies? Shaking hands?

No! It's the legendary Cape routine. James is so profoundly moved and exhausted by his pleas that he collapses on the stage. One of the background singers comes to his aid, holding him up with a hand on his elbow. Then another man emerges from backstage with The Cape, draping it around James as if he would freeze to death from his exhausted state.

James lightly pulsates as he's led off-stage, presumably to rest. The pulsating acquires a beat, then a groove.

James can't take it anymore. Despite his weariness, he must return to the mic to continues pleading. He sheds the Cape dramatically, and well, you know the rest of the story...

(Make sure you watch this at least for a couple minutes when the color changes... Hat tip to Radio Bob)

World Series time lapse

No beat here, but just a really cool, fast take on a piece of sports history. A time lapse of the 6th (and last) game of the 2009 World Series at Yankee Stadium. Like Koyaniskatsi, but less angst-inducing. Unless, of course, you hate the Yankees.

World Series Time-Lapse by Robert Caplin from Robert Caplin on Vimeo.

It must be a dream

A few years ago, Rodrigo and Gabriela were Mexican death metal musicians/fans who decided to move to Dublin, Ireland and try their luck. They mixed their love of headbangin' with their meticulous, classically trained guitar technique, and - bam - an international sensation was born.

It's a great story, made even better by the fact that last month they were joined onstage by one of their heros, Robert Trujillo of Metallica:

Free mp3s: the best of "latin alternative"

If you like the new sound of latin music, Nacional Records is for you. They've signed the greatest of the genre: Manu Chao (the granddaddy), Los Fabulosos Cadillacs (more granddaddies), Aterciopelados, Nortec Collective, DJ Bitman, Bomba Estereo, you name it.

So when Nacional offers 21 free downloads from their catalog, you have to take advantage. Here's the link. Thanks to Josh Norek and everyone at Nacional for the generosity!

Better Git Hit in Your Haitian Soul

It's a sunny Monday in the North Country. The New York Jazz Ska Ensemble hits it on the noggin with this version of the Mingus classic.

Beat Authority playlist: 11/13/09

Tu me hiciste brujeria.

Let them sing it for you

In the ongoing "better life through Internet" vs. "the Internet kills our social lives" debate, a clear victory for the Internet here:

This website will turn any sentence you write into a song, sung by samples of old songs. So when I did "North Country Public Radio's the Beat Authority", I heard "North" as in Johnny Horton's "North to Alaska", and Buggles singing "radio" as in "Video killed the radio star".

Could time wasting be any better?

1000 Islander breaks into Canadian song quest

Singer and violinist Eliza Moore is well known around the St. Lawrence River Valley for her work in bluegrass band, Althea Jean, her solo work, and her square dance playing on Grindstone Island.

Eliza lives in Montreal part-time now. She submitted one of her songs to a project the CBC is working on, the Great Canadian Song Quest. It's been posted to the top of their website! The song is called "Verdun" (named after the neighbor where she lives), it's a got soaring vocals and a sweet beat, and you can hear it here. Go Eliza!

Free mp3s: Philip Glass

You could say Philip Glass brought the groove to classical music. Maybe it's a stretch to call it a groove, but the repetitive structures - which many call the backbone of "minimalism" - that are the bread and butter of Philip Glass' music do hint at the pulse in all of us that makes the groove so irresistible.

I never had any Philip Glass in my music collection, until today. Amazon is offering a free 21-track download of a Glass sampler. Can't argue with that.

Glass first made his way into my consciousness via the art house smash, Koyaanisqatsi:

Beat Authority playlist: 11/6/09

New York v. Philadelphia: the Empire State of Mind edition