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This is swiped from Adam Mansbach's (author of Go The Fuck To Sleep and a bunch of other books). Facebook page. What kind of trifling is this Spotify up to?
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You know how sometimes Spotify will publish a playlist by Hillary Clinton, are you're like "Wow, that's stupid"?
A couple of weeks they asked me to put one together, "as the author of GO THE FUCK TO SLEEP." Those who know me know that it takes very little prodding to get me to put together a playlist. So I did. Here's how the Spotify guy responded to my publisher:
"...So we were thinking the playlist would be more funny and irreverent, like the book. So songs like Enter Sandman by Metallica or No Sleep Till Brooklyn by the Beastie Boys. We think people will be looking to see a list from Adam that moms can get a kick out of."
To which I responded:
"I've been deejaying for 25 years and I'm serious about music - and this is not just insulting to me, but insulting to what they're supposed to be about, as a service built on letting people both access and learn about new music. If they can't approve of a playlist that actually does those things, I don't know what to tell them, except that they've wasted a lot of my time."
For those who want to see what a playlist unacceptable to Spotify looks like, here you go:
Pharoah Sanders, “Hum Allah Hum Allah Hum Allah”
The term “spiritual jazz” is not one I love (as opposed to what, secular jazz?), but very few songs embody it like this soaring, searching piece, also known as “Prince of Peace.” I’ve lost track of the number of music-aficionado friends who have at some point told me that this is the song they turn to in hard times.
Joe Henderson feat. Alice Coltrane, “Earth”
I’m a sucker for extended early-70s jazz workouts featuring breakbeat drums and dope basslines, especially when they’re upwards of ten minutes long and break down to voices, chimes and harp in the middle before kicking back into headnod mode. Hypnotic in its funkiness, this joint can lull you to sleep or wake you the fuck up.
Sister Nancy, “Bam Bam”
Simply one of the world’s perfect songs. Sister Nancy is a singular vocalist, a deejay whose nimble phrasing and rich, melodic tone brought shades of Ella Fitzgerald to Jamaica’s early-’80s-rub-a-dub scene. I used to sing this to my daughter as a lullaby, and we’ve danced to it since she was an infant.
24 Karat Black, “Ghetto: Misfortune’s Wealth”
Ethereal, smoky, shuffling funk with a message. After Eric B. & Rakim used it for their masterpiece “The Ghetto,” a generation of hip hop fans fell in love with this rare gem.
A Tribe Called Quest, “Electric Relaxation”
This quintessential cut from ATCQ’s classic third album is pure sonic seduction. Butter rhymes and crispy drums, on a track made all the more poignant by the recent, untimely passing of Phife, an MC who made it look so easy that many never appreciated just how good he was.
Last Poets, “Tribute to Obabi”
The Last Poets are known as spoken word pioneers and forefathers of political hip hop, but this track is the only (almost) instrumental in their catalogue. Saxophones, female voices, electric bass and African percussion span continents and conjure powerful spirits.
Captain Sinbad, “Man Live It”
An underrated deejay with style for days, Sinbad rocks conscious lyrics over a classic Roots Radics riddim. When I sold Go the Fuck to Sleep to Akashic Books, I tried to convince publisher and fellow reggae lover Johnny Temple to give me his copy of this rare LP as part of my advance. He wisely refused.
Gil Scott-Heron “Winter in America”
The most salient political musician America has ever produced, Gil Scott-Heron was out in front on every major issue of his time, from apartheid to environmentalism, substance abuse to American imperialism — always with soul and wit, never bombast. The depth of his catalogue has been obscured by the fame of 1971’s “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” a satirical slice of spoken-word poetry and one of hip hop’s foundational texts. But Scott-Heron was also a great singer and songwriter in the blues tradition, as he proves here. When I was 17, I went to one of his shows and handed him some of my poems afterward. He barely broke his stride to take them, but at one in the morning, my phone rang and Gil spent the next two hours breaking down political history and telling me what books I needed to read, as I jotted frantic notes. It took me a while to figure out that the person he referred to as “Skippy” was Jimmy Carter, but after that, everything made a lot of sense.
Your Old Droog, “Loosey in the Store with Pennies”
Currently the greatest lyricist in hip hop (yes, you read that right), Droog is a master of wordplay and witticism, a young MC who has assiduously studied the entire history of the form and consistently releases songs packed with gorgeous extended metaphors and deeply clever punchlines, over dusted beats by some of today’s best underground producers.
Showbiz & AG, “Next Level (Nyte Time mix)”
Perfectly in the pocket, from AG’s lowkey, no-frills rhymes to DJ Premier’s slinky, thumping beat. A perfect evocation of classic late night/early morning New York hip hop. You could play the instrumental on loop for hours, and nobody would be mad.
The Romanceers, “Walking in the Rain with the One I Love”
Someday I’m going to make a mixtape of nothing but rain-related soul, and this will be the lead song. Gorgeous harmonies, laid over a hard kick and a snapping snare. What else do you need?
Impressions, “Finally Got Myself Together”
You can’t go wrong with the Curtis Mayfield-led version of the Impressions, stretching out here on a soulful early seventies excursion that will stay in your head until you give in and spin it again.
Bobbi Humphrey, “Harlem River Drive”
An iconic burner so versatile it feels like a mug of hot chocolate on a cold day, but will also set off your barbecue when the weather turns warm. From the rumble of that first bass note, you know you’re in good hands.
Eddie Kendricks, ‘Just Memories”
Soaring vocals and angelic arrangements make this a standout cut on Kendricks’ greatest album. Do yourself a favor and listen to the whole record, front to back.
Delfonics, “La La Means I Love You”
The Delfonics did (and do) soul ballads as well as they’ve ever been done. A beautiful song that lilts its way into your heart, soothing and calming and making everything all right.
Jack McDuff, “Electric Surfboard”
Another song I fell for via hip hop, after another great ‘90s group sampled it and laid a perfect vocal hook over the infectious melody of the tune. McDuff, one of the most tasteful organ players of the “soul jazz” era, has a catalogue full of groovers like this.
Isley Brothers, “Ohio”
Do you realize the Isleys have had hit records in SEVEN DIFFERENT DECADES? That the Beatles started out by covering them? Here, they cover Neil Young’s protest anthem about the Kent State Massacre with so much raw emotion that, as Jay Z would say, they make the song cry.
Barrington Levy, “Don’t Give Up”
One of the most recognizable and unique voices in reggae, Levy gets loose here with a tribute to the strugglers and sufferers – again, over a typically rugged and tight Roots Radics riddim. The greatest studio band in history? The Radics have to be in that conversation.
Cymande, “Promised Heights”
A 10-piece, early-’70s outfit made up of Londoners from the West Indies, Cymande is one of those bands whose sound comes together so perfectly it makes you wonder why you’ve never heard anything quite like it. While Kool & the Gang was seasoning their simmering funk with deep jazz inflections, Cymande was across the Atlantic, stirring reggae, calypso, Rastafarian philosophy and African rhythms into their similarly subtle and sophisticated music
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