TOO DAMN HOT

It's fucking hot. Breaking records hot. I was trying to think of a song to match the mood. Thinking about all sorts of hot weather songs, and dismissing them for one reason or another. "Hot, Hot, Hot" by Buster Poindexter? Hell no. Solo David Johansen is bad enough, let alone some alter ego shtick. Third World's "96 Degrees In the Shade"? Not really getting there. They had the unfortunate experience of having been on too many Island Records compilations with much heavier reggae acts. Hendrix's "Long Hot Summer Night"? Getting closer. Oh yeah, Sly and the Family Stone's "Hot Fun In the Summertime", that'll work. Not a song about excessive heat, but a song about, golly gee, fun in the summertime. I can get behind that. When I listen to it, for whatever reason, I'm transported back to my Mom's front lawn, hanging with friends trying to figure out what to do with the hours left of daylight after dinner. Pick some fruit and throw it at passing cars? Go skateboarding? It's still years away from beer and girls. No school for months. Not a damn care in the world. It doesn't matter what we do. We have tomorrow.

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Listen:
Sly and the Family Stone - Hot Fun In the Summertime mp3 at So Well Remembered
Jimi Hendrix Experience - Long Hot Summer Night mp3 at ATumblr
Third World - 96 Degrees In the Shade mp3 at Internet Archive

WHAT THE HELL IS A FAMILY STONE ANYWAY?

"I Want to Take You Higher" led to a Sly Stone detour that has no interest in sitting at a keyboard. So, real quick like:  These songs have all sorts of weird things going on in them once you start picking them apart. Fuzz bass. Funky beats. Organ, Horns. Guitar. A lot. In fact, you could make a night of it. I am.

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Listen:
Sly and the Family Stone - I Want to Take You Higher mp3 at Internet Archive
Sly and the Family Stone - Loose Booty mp3 at The Adios Lounge
Sly and the Family Stone - Family Affair mp3 at Portals

DANCE TO THE (VERSION)

Here's an oddball. A version of Sly and the Family Stone's "Dance to the Music" in French, by the French Fries. The French Fries actually were Sly and the Family Stone, releasing a version for the French market and taking the opportunity to totally fuck with the song. The rhythm is about all that stays the same, the rest is just a full freakout. Even if you've heard the original to the point of exhaustion, you'll want to check this version. Guitar way up front, crazy fuzz on that, weird keyboards comin' and going, hardly any vocals. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall  and hear how this sucker happened. What kills me is that, even though this is not at all reggae, the thought process behind it is the same as dub versions in reggae. That's right Chief, it's the old "let's just fuck with this" trick.

The hosting blog, Moistworks has another French Fries cut that isn't quite as listenable, but just as unexpected.

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Listen:
The French Fries - Danse a la Musique at Moistworks
The French Fries - Small Fries at Moistworks Go there to get it.

YOU CAN DO THIS SLY

Been on a Sly thing the past few days. Took a deep breath, because I'd read blurbs on him being down and out, homeless, and kind of out there. Though it's partially true, reading the details did not, as I had selfishly worried it would, change what I thought of his music. It still sounds funky and fresh. He, though, hasn't fared that well. Drugs and alcohol have put him in a hole. Though he says he lives out of a camper van by choice, he performs and speaks like someone in need of an intervention, vigilant counseling, life coach, something. It seems the spark's still there, but it'll be one long big ass road to haul.

Sidenote: If any one knows anything at all about Waheymi, who do the cover of Sly's "Underdog" below, pipe in. I looked all over and couldn't find a bio.

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Listen:
Sly and the Family Stone - Underdog mp3 at All Up In Your Earhole
Waheymi - Underdog mp3 at All Up In Your Earhole
Sly and the Family Stone - Loose Booty mp3 at The Adios Lounge
Sly and the Family Stone - Family Affair mp3 at Portals
Video:
Sly Stone: Portrait of a Legend - documentary (Part 1) at YouTube
Sly Stone: Portrait of a Legend - documentary (Part 2) at YouTube
Visit:
Sly Stone homeless? Or choosing a camper-van over a house? at L.A.Times