“The Day of the Triffids” is a classic 1960s era sci/fi horror film. The movie begins with a bang, followed by mass blindness and a invasion of the mighty, vegetable-like Triffids. In between, there are a variety of characters that exemplify different degrees of the human condition, some worth dying or saving.
Cameroon’s Manu Dibango’s “Soul Makossa” has plenty of rhythm, vibrating sound and lyrics that no one seems to understand. I was once told that the lyrics were filthy, which might this song even cooler.
Nobody could dance like James Brown, a consummate entertainer, but my father could come close. He would shuffle across the carpet in his blue velvet house slippers while clapping his hands, every so often inserting a few twirls.
During the 70s, funk’s signature became the hard driving, from-the-gut bass. From Graham Central Station to the Brothers Johnson, hard driving bass lines were as important to funk/soul as guitar riffs were to rock bands.
The late Curtis Mayfield had possessed such an incredible depth of uncompromising musical talent which should have earned him far more recognition than he ever received.
I dub today Funky/Soul Friday.
(Ness Aquino and I at the bar in the Mabuhay Gardens. I was too young to drink.)
My father had watched “Amapola,” the weekend Filipino variety show on channel 18 hosted by Ness Aquino and Amapola, a local celebrity that wore a beautiful Fiipino dress and sang for her TV audience. The show was always simple, with Ness and Amapola sitting on high backed rattan chairs as they spoke in Taglish.
Flamenco is not content to be confied to the cultural halls of beautiful Spain. Like the conquistadors, flamenco has spread to all corners of this earth.
Sometimes you get a volvo, sometimes you get this… Happy weekend!