Shuggie Otis - Aut Uh Mi Hed

Last year, one of my favorite groups, Cinematic Orchestra made a contribution to the LateNightTales compilation series. I suggest you take a listen, because it's loaded with great music - some I knew before, some first revealed to me through this record.

Here's a track featured on the disc, a Shuggie Otis classic.

Bo Diddley - Bad Trip

"You ain't got to be on dope to be on a bad trip."

Bo's 1972 release "Where It All Began" has got to be one of my favorite records in my vinyl assortment, so don't be surprised if I feature a track from it again. It's loaded with so much good dirty funk and psychedelic soul. Bo could not only rock out on the guitar like a beast, he's got a voice as strong as steel. Basically, he's a bad-ass motherfucker whom I would have loved to meet while he still actively rocked this earth.



And check out that bad-ass cover featuring the Chicago skyline!

Link Wray - Jack the Ripper

A 1961 classic from the master of mid-century rock and roll and surf.

Brassroots - Good Life

Long ago, I picked up a vinyl copy of Inner City's "Big Fun" record at Gramaphone for $4.99. This 1989 dance classic blended the best of Chicago and Detroit house of its time and has become one of my favorite house albums of the era.

Fast forward to 2010, and their most popular jam "Good Life" was covered by London's "Brassroots," an eight-piece horn and percussion ensemble comprised of Israelis, the English, French, Grecians, and Americans. Their Good Life EP is a cover compilation with songs by Radiohead, The White Stripes, and of Course, Inner City.

Kano "I'm Ready"

The day I was asked to contribute to the Sound Birdz blog I got an interesting phone call from my dad. (I will be mentioning him a lot here because he is my biggest musical influence.) So apparently, each one of us daughters has a song that he recorded (on a cassette tape) the day that we were born. On this particular day he asked me to help him figure out the name of my song. Most of the call was spent listening to him fast forward and rewind the tape to find the song in question. But it was well worth it and I find it most appropriate for my first post.

My dad waited about 27 years to find out the name of this song and All I did was play the song into an iPhone App for a couple of seconds and voila-"I'm Ready" by Kano! The song that started Italo-Disco and helped pave the way for hip-hop. It's been sampled heavily with it's most notable use being Tag Team's "Whoomp! (There It Is)".

Enjoy!