THE EIGHTIES DIDN'T ENTIRELY SUCK.

What, what? Once a year whether you like it or not. Here are two traditional "I can't think of anything else to post" selections, this time with a difference. Two weeks ago, the old school r&b station was advertising an upcoming one hit wonders weekend. In the ad they plated a snippet of J.J. Fad's "Supersonic". The damn song has been stuck in my head ever since. After you regulars who have seen it posted several times over the years finish with your eye rolling, I suggest you turn it up and lead with your ass. ESG is down there too because "Erase You" always comes to mind after hearing "Supersonic". Don't ask why, it will just confuse things. If you need help identifying which group is in which photo, read the hats.

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Listen:
JJ Fad - Supersonic mp3 at Tumblr The good stuff starts at :25
ESG - Erase You mp3 at Tumblr

SLY AND WHO?

If you were going to press me, I don't know if I could properly tell you why I like ESG. Quite honestly, part of the reason is that if you described them on paper, I'd probably not have the slightest interest. Wait. Nevermind. That's how I first heard of them, on paper, pre-pixel paper, an issue of New York Rocker to be exact, way back in the day. I bought their first EP on the strength of a review and didn't exactly go apeshit over it, but over the years I've returned to it, and subsequent ESG records, over and over again because when you want to hear something like ESG, you're not going to find it anywhere else. I wish I could remember what the review said because if I did, I could paraphrase it, but instead all I can come up with is that "nothing sounds like ESG". Pfft.

The best description might be stripped down funk, in the way Sly and Robbie playing together without any additional instruments is stripped down reggae. I saw that once, at a Black Uhuru show, everyone left the stage one by one until it was just the two of them. People were still dancing. Then Sly Dunbar left and it was just Robbie Shakespeare. Musically naked. Bass bones. And people were still dancing. I can see where this is going.

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Listen:
ESG - Erase You mp3 at Atumblr (?)
ESG - Moody mp3 at Ozgood
ESG - Earn It (live) mp3 at Beware of the Blog
ESG - Dance mp3 at Self Titled
ESG - You're No Good mp3 at Nevver Go there to get it

THE FORTY YEAR IDEA

Holy shit, ESG is playing a fortieth anniversary show in NY. Forty years! Now I know that their first records were decades ago, but I've always thought of them as eternally twenty something. The ladies are likely in their sixties now. But you know what? If I was in NY I'd be going. Hell yeah. They own their thing. The stripped down sound.  I was always wondering how they decided to go that route, because their sound really was unique at the time. Today I found out what their intent was. In the blurb about the fortieth anniversary show that was in The New Yorker, the quote from singer Renee Scroggins from a 2013 interview. "When James Brown took it to the bridge, he cut all the horns. It was just that giant bass and the drums, and letting it rip for that instant. So I said 'Man, if you could just take a song and make it just the bridge, wouldn't that be hot!'" Fucking brilliant. That explains everything.

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Listen:
ESG - Moody mp3 at Ozgood
ESG - UFO (streaming) at YouTube
ESG - Dance to the Beat of My Moody mp3 at Different Kitchen
ESG - Insane (bass mix) mp3 at Pod Pod Pod (?)
ESG - Erase You (streaming) at YouTube This one is the shit.

J.J. WHAT?

When I go from the Equals to J.J. Fad in a matter of minutes, it's time to give in to distractions. So here's just the first couple legs of my fucking around tonight. It began with a funky live cut from 1968, by the Equals. It may be a full five piece, but all you really hear are the guitar, bass, and drums with the vocals. There's organ in there somewhere, but it's barely audible. Regardless, this isn't anything like "Baby Come Back" or "Police on My Back". This song, as its title suggests, is funky like a train. Funky as it is, and being an extended jam (sixteen minutes plus), you might hear James Brown, or Fela, something like that. But the sparse instrumentation, the guitar, the bareness of the beats, it kind of reminded me of no wave stuff, then it hit me, ESG. Not in structure or sound, just the feel, the naked sound of the rhythm. After a brief stop at ESG's "Moody" it was off to look for their "Erase You", It's been posted here before, but the link went dead. (Unfortunately, no mp3 just streaming, but if you've not heard it, you out to give it a listen.) After that I was off to J.J. Fad's "Supersonic", because I always follow ESG with J.J. Fad. Don't ask me why. I don't know, I just do. I just fucking love "Supersonic", just as much as "Erase You", but the two back to back is a dyn-o-mite pairing. That's where I get off.

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Listen:
The Equals - Funky Like a Train mp3 at Art Decade
ESG - Moody mp3 at Loft and Lost
ESG - Erase You (streaming) at YouTube
JJ Fad - Supersonic mp3 at ATumblr The good stuff starts at :25

WINNER OF TONIGHTS ROUND

Poor Throbbing Gristle. Ever time I get close to revisiting their stuff, something distracts me and they get put off, again and again. This time it was a Throbbing Gristle vs ESG mash up or something like that. It made me want to hear ESG by themselves, "Erase You" to be exact. I love that song. See you later Throbbing Gristle. Catch you on the flip flop.

Just for the heck of it, JJ Fad's "Supersonic" is down there. I love that song too. Big time. Listen to the whole thing, it builds.

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Listen:
ESG - Erase You mp3 at ATumblr
JJ Fad - Supersonic mp3 at ATumblr The good stuff starts at :25
ESG - Moody mp3 at Loft and Lost
Throbbing Gristle United vs ESG Moody (streaming) at Avant-Avant

IT'S THE BARE BONES BEAT

These two back to back do it for me. I listened to the Roy Ward cut about five times, until it started sounding like Velvet Underground doing James Brown, then went right to ESG. It felt good. Both feature minimal backing, repetitive rhythms, and just enough funk. Dig 'em.

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Listen:
Roy Ward - Horse With a Freeze mp3 at Soul Garage
ESG - Erase You mp3 at ATumblr (?)

HER FAULT. (HEY, LOOK! IT'S ESG!)

I don't rightly know what to make of half of this shit. The lady that started it all tonight is Jeanette (above), a Belgian/Spanish singer, and her "Porgue Te Vas". I don't care about the backstory. I'm diggin' on the horns and the pace. Lanquid, somber, funky or stony, groove, beat, or whatever you want to call it, the pace makes the song. Survey says: Budos ye-ye.

The hosting post mentions a later cover by "the US/Mexican indie group Los Super Elegantes". Never heard of them. They might be uncool to like. I don't care. I'm a wild man. What the hell, I went browsing. Stop. An ESG cover. Okay, stopping there. I don't want to go any further. I'd really rather just listen to ESG. Wow, that Los Super Elegantes phase of mine went quick.

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Visit:
Jeanette - Porqe Te Vas mp3 at Club Cortez
Los Super Elegates - Por Que Te Vas mp3 at ATumblr (?)
Los Super Elegantes - Dance mp3 at Matula (?)
ESG - Dance mp3 at Self Titled
ESG - Erase You mp3 at ATumblr (?) Because the link on the old ESG post is dead and you need it.

I THROW MY HANDS UP. I DON'T CARE.

I'm not going to try to convince you rap and hip hop haters to loosen the hell up. We just listen to music differently. No big thing, your loss, and all of that. But one or two of you might dig these jams. It's some early rap, with an ESG chaser, because that's what I've been listening to for the past couple hours. Some of these you may have heard, but I bet it's been sometime since you really listened to them. Start with Kraftwerk fan Africa Bambaataa and the Soul Sonic Force, followed by the polished and repetitive, but still infectious, beat of Gramdmaster Flash and the Furious Five's "The Message". Next up is JJ Fad, genderless sass, with a beat. The sparseness of that one made me think of ESG, who really aren't rap, or no wave, or post punk, all of which they're sometimes lumped with, They're a whole different ball game. No one sounds like ESG.

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Listen:
Afrika Bambaataa and the Soul Sonic Force - Looking For the Perfect Beat mp3 at Plugged Not Thugged
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five - The Message mp3 at ATumbr
JJ Fad - Supersonic mp3 at ATumblr The good stuff starts at :25
ESG - Erase You mp3 at DJ or No DJ
ESG - Moody mp3 at Loft and Lost
ESG- It's Alright mp3 at DJ or No DJ

ERASE YOU

ESG could never happen again. There are just too many bands trying to be weird, and they are way too public. Too many outlets for weird bands to trust them, that they really are weird. They're too self-conscious. ESG were weird back when it meant something. Percussion, bass, and vocals, In the start, that was it (they later added guitar). But in the midst of post punk, early hip hop, and primitive synth stuff, things were already getting stripped down. They remind me of a Black Uhuru show I saw, years ago. The whole band left the stage, one by one, until it was just Sly and Robbie. I was amazed at how the crowd continued to dance and sway. Anyway, ESG get under something. I hadn't heard "Moody" in a long time, and I still remembered it, before I recently heard it again (tonight).

Total credit, for making me even think about the song again, goes to Versions Galore, who just posted five covers of the song, including one by ten year old twins from Ghana, the Green Door Kids. The five covers vary wildly, but all work on some level. I just posted one below, but they're all worth a listen, if ESG's original gets under your something. Definitely check "Erase You," the third ESG cut below. It is so rad. Seriously, you don't want it to end.

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Listen:
ESG - Moody mp3 at Loft and Lost
ESG- It's Alright mp3 at DJ or No DJ
ESG - Erase You mp3 at DJ or No DJ
Bomb the Bass - Moody mp3 at Versions Galore
Five covers of Moody at Versions Galore
Video:
ESG - Moody (live, from some movie, 1989) at YouTube
Visit:
ESG at Wikipedia