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We open marking Motown legend Johnny Griffith's passing 20 years prior, then get into the new funk & soul out for this week's Sampled joint, and of course wrapping with Gwangju's rock maestro Dan Lloyd and our AMPED rock showdown.
"The Drop with Danno" on GFN 광주영어방송 98.7FM in Gwangju & 93.7FM in Yeosu, Korea. An eclectic radio curation of all things musical spanning the spectrum every week. Broadcasting 8-10pm KST nightly.
Nov 10, 2022
The Drop with Danno
Marvin Gaye – I Heard It Through The Grapevine
The Winston Brothers – Free Ride
The Allergies – Sometimes I Wonder
Turtlenecks feat Miss Rachelle Jeanty – Break Free
Object Heavy – For The Better
Adi Oasis – Get it Got it
The Harlem Gospel Travelers – Do You Know The Man
Avantdale Bowling Club – Rent 2 High
The Green with Allen Stone – Coming Home (remix)
Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad – Jax Is Busy
Ghost Funk Orchestra – Prism
Fela Kuti – Ariya
I.
It is 20 hours past midnight with another glorious peak fall day in the rear view mirror, and we are ready for the funk punk soul rock as Thursday night beckons, dashed onto the cosmic parchment as November 10, 2022. Danno here never at the ready, but as ready steady as I can be for our Sampled funk & soul Thursday starting right about meow. Lots of great new stuff to check out in our first hour with new cuts from The Winston Brothers, Object Heavy, Allen Stone, and Adrian Younge amongst other worthies. As per usual, Dan Lloyd, Gwangju’s official god of rock and/or roll joins us later on for our AMPED feature to shut the door on this show with emphasis. However, for right now, we pay tribute to one of Motown’s greatest session players on the keys, and we open with The Prince of Soul and his most famous joint in tribute to Johnny Griffith. THIS is The Drop.
Marvin Gaye – I Heard It Through The Grapevine
Our Sampled funk & soul Thursday night is on the air proper for tonight’s first hour, and of course the soul rock in our equation is up later as Dan Lloyd joins us once again for our AMPED rock weekly. We opened with a mega classic in the soul rubric right there, that was the song that introduced Marvin Gaye to the world in a big way, I Heard It Through The Grapevine, released in 1968.
Interestingly, this was the third version to be released, with Gladys Knight & The Pips also making it a smash hit in 67, while The Miracles were the first to record it but the 2nd to release it.
What’s important though is today marks the 20th anniversary of the passing of Johnny Griffith, who was the keyboard player for Motown’s in-house studio band The Funk Brothers. Griffith, who provided the keys on that tune & so many others passed away on this date in 2002 of a heart attack aged 66.
That one though might be his most famous contribution, regularly ranking very high on some of the best singles of all time, and deservedly so. Griffith’s contribution there cannot be underestimated, adding that oh so sly but crucial touch to the sound.
Johnny Griffith, rest in power.
Just a quick reminder…#9870 (50/100)…stream
So up next we’re going to begin the process with the new & recent stuff just out, and we’ll start with The Winston Brothers, then head over to the UK with The Allergies, and finish with the Turtlenecks. Of course, we’ll talk the tunes after they have done their thing in the air, but for now the play button we hit. THIS is The Drop on your Sampled funk & soul Thursday.
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Back on The Drop with our Sampled funk & soul session getting going in a proper way. Danno here rolling solo with the soul, but Dan Lloyd will of course once again be teachin’ and preachin’ on the rock front for our AMPED feature in hour 2. As to what just happened, let’s explain ourselves a bit…
The Winston Brothers – Free Ride (… this is from a record coming out on Colemine next Friday called Drift, which promises to be a very tight bit of action. The band itself is out of Germany and have previously worked on tunes for Bacao Rhythm and Steel Band as well, do check that boom bap if you like it like that next Friday.)
The Allergies – Sometimes I Wonder (…the making funky music is a must duo out of Bristol in the UK is out with this latest single as of last Friday. If you need some jump up funk for your party, this crew is always a good move.)
Turtlenecks feat Miss Rachelle Jeanty – Break Free (…back down to the German-speaking realms with this tune, the band being out of Austria. This is no doubt our surprise tune of the week, as it is both groovy and cerebral at the same time, no easy feat to pull off.)
Quick …#9870, social media.
Alright, so we gotta get to the buzzer this evening but have a lot more to do starting with Object Heavy and their latest called For The Better. This would be I believe the 2nd single from their upcoming studio album produced by Kelly Finnigan, and we’ll have them rock a playlist with us on an upcoming Friday before the LP drops. To close accounts for the first quarter, Adi Oasis will be our final feature on a tune called Get it Got it. For those that don’t know, this is a new branding for the French-Caribbean artist based in NYC fka Adeline, and do check out last year’s self-titled EP if you’d like to check out more. THIS is The Drop on your Sampled funk & soul Thursday night.
Object Heavy – For The Better
Adi Oasis – Get it Got it
II.
Continuing the radio grind we are into part 2 on our Sampled funk & soul first hour tonight, Danno here doing like we usually do and tempering the flame a good bit to begin the 2nd stanza. Dan Lloyd of course joins us at the top of the hour to explore all the rocks on our AMPED weekly. As to what we just cold opened with, that was...
The Harlem Gospel Travelers – Do You Know The Man (…for those not in the know, this is the latest single from the band lead by Eli Paperboy Reed, and you simply need to know. Since the release of 2019’s He’s On Time the band just followed up with their sophomore LP Look Up, which dropped earlier this year. Do check for more, it’ll be well worth your time if not so initiated.)
Avantdale Bowling Club – Rent 2 High* (…down to NZ with this one and Wellington specifically. Seems like everyone in any advanced economy is going through this malaise if renting, as landlords are just extortionate nowadays. This tune appeared on the band’s TREES LP, which dropped September 30.)
So moving along tonight we have another triangle to draw in the sky up next starting with The Green & Allen Stone on a collab remix, then we have the Jazz Is Dead boys scoring a series and Ghost Funk Orchestra adding the final relief and big sighs to complete the triad. THIS is The Drop on your Sampled funk & soul Thursday.
__________
The Drop moves along as the clock goes tick tick tick here on the air. Danno here, keeping the funk & soul going until 9, and then Dan Lloyd throws rocks to end the show with our AMPED showcase. To recap what we just did to your auditory senses, that was…
The Green with Allen Stone – Coming Home (remix) (…interesting collab here with one of our favorite artists adding an amazing sensibility to a tune released on The Green’s 2021 album Brand New Eyes. For those not familiar, the band is out of Hawai’i, a veteran outfit that’s been doing their thing since 2009.)
Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad – Jax Is Busy (…the gents from Jazz Is Dead have released a new project, this being the score to Reasonable Doubt, a TV series from the US. The series centers around Jax Stewart, known to be the most brilliant and fearless defense attorney in Los Angeles who bucks the justice system at every chance she gets. Go get em, Jax.)
Ghost Funk Orchestra – Prism (…had to bump this one from the latest album A New Kind of Love, which Seth Applebaum & company dropped on October 28. Big up to Seth for once again coming on the show, this time for the full two hours, you can find that episode on our stream feed and socials.)
So, we have basically wrapped this thing prior to Dan Lloyd coming in, but we do have some real estate so who better to cover it than Fela Kuti? This final joint is called Ariya, released on Roforofo Fight in 1972, and that’ll take us way beyond the radio limits for the stream where we don’t spill a single audio drop. This is Danno, and we’ll catch you on the flip.
Fela Kuti & Afrika 70 – Ariya
III & IV AMPED
Gina Birch – Wish I Was You
Weird Al Yankovic – Now You Know
NOFX – Punk Rock Cliché
Creeper – Ghost Brigade
Low – Just Make It Stop
Everclear – Year of the Tiger
Narrow Head – Moments of Clarity
David Knudson – No Ways No Means (ft. Tim Kasher)
Squeeze – Food For Thought
dEUS – Must Have Been New
ABTB – Bully
Gina Birch – Wish I Was You
Last year, Gina Birch — the bassist for the much-loved post-punk band the Raincoats — released her first-ever solo single, “Feminist Song.” Now Birch is announcing her debut solo album, I Play My Bass Loud, which will be out on Third Man Records in February.
“The album distills my years of musical, political, and artistic life with these genre-breaking songs,” Birch noted in a statement. “It’s a personal diary using sounds and lyrics, full of fun, rage, and storytelling.”
Today, she’s sharing new single “Wish I Was You,” which was co-written and co-produced by Youth and features guitar from Thurston Moore.
Weird Al Yankovic – Now You Know
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story arrives on the Roku Channel on Friday, and Weird Al has shared a brand-new song for the occasion. Part of the movie’s full soundtrack, “Now You Know” plays over the movie’s end credits and is about as meta as you’d expect. “No fabrications/ No exaggerations/ It’s the gospel truth!” Al declares over a thundering backing track, complete with piano, horns, and backing singers.
Starring Daniel Radcliffe in the titular role, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is a mostly-kinda-true parody-biopic about the beloved comedy-rock icon. It was written by Al Yankovic and Eric Appel and also stars Evan Rachel Wood as Madonna and Rainn Wilson as Dr. Demento. Al’s castmates agree he should win an Oscar for the song (if a Roku Original song is eligible).
NOFX – Punk Rock Cliché
Ahead of the December release of their new record Double Album, NOFX have shared a brand-new single, Punk Rock Cliché.
The second single from the LP following Darby Crashing Your Party, Fat Mike has revealed an interesting back story about the band’s latest track: he originally wrote it several years ago along with Matt Skiba, and it was going to be on blink-182’s California album, when Matt was the pop-punk trio’s frontman.
“They recorded the album, they recorded the song for the album, and their label said, ‘This is your first single,’” Fat Mike tells Spin. “Matt called me and said, ‘Dude, you won’t believe this, but your song Punk Rock Cliché is going to be our first single.’ It was a big deal because it was their first single in years. Then he called me up six weeks later and said, ‘I don’t know how to tell you this, but I told the band you wrote the song and they dropped it off the album completely.’ I was really bummed because I thought it was going to be my first radio hit. I didn’t really understand at the time, but I thought about it, and I figured, ‘Well, they just kicked Tom out of the band, so if anyone got word that I wrote it…’ To be clear, I didn’t care. I was going to ghostwrite it. But I could see how someone saying, ‘Oh, you had to get Fat Mike to write a song for you’ would be something they didn’t want to come out.”
With the song in limbo, Fat Mike recorded it with NOFX “a year or two later”. “Their version is way better than the NOFX version,” he says. “I tried really hard, but Travis just killed it. He’s such a monster on drums. Skiba was singing it. Seriously, I really wanted to kick their ass on it, but I think their version is better. It’s too bad because I really thought it would be a really cool split with them, but the world only gets to hear the NOFX version of Punk Rock Cliché for now.”
Creeper – Ghost Brigade
Creeper have shared a new single.
The song – Ghost Brigade – is their first with new label Spinefarm Records (Bullet For My Valentine, While She Sleeps), and therefore the start of a brand-new chapter for the band. Obviously, though, they still sound just as brilliant as ever…
In other Creeper news, the band will play next year’s Slam Dunk Festival, which is headlined by Enter Shikari and The Offspring. And who knows what other fun stuff might be happening in their world between now and then?!
Low – Just Make It Stop
Low drummer/vocalist Mimi Parker passed away on Saturday (November 5th) following a battle with ovarian cancer.
In a statement posted to social media on Sunday, Parker’s husband and musical collaborator, Alan Sparhawk, announced his wife’s passing.
“Friends, it’s hard to put the universe into language and into a short message, but… She passed away last night, surrounded by family and love, including yours,” Sparhawk wrote. “Keep her name close and sacred. Share this moment with someone who needs you. Love is indeed the most important thing.”
In January 2022, Parker revealed in an interview on the SHEROE podcast that she had been diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer in December 2020. Between January 2021 and August 2021 — leading right up to the band’s most recent album HEY WHAT — she underwent intensive chemotherapy and surgery. Over the summer, Low canceled a tour scheduled in Europe after “recent developments and changes in treatment” prevented Parker’s ability to travel.
Sparhawk and Parker first met when Sparhawk moved to Minnesota at nine years old. In their early 20s they married and moved to Duluth, where they formed Low. The duo emerged as pioneers of the slowcore genre with their distinct style of music that paired haunted harmonies with lush but minimal arrangements. Over the course of 27 years, they released 13 studio albums, the final seven of which were distributed by Sub Pop.
Everclear – Year of the Tiger
It’s been about seven years since ’90s alt-rock staples Everclear released a new album — 2015’s Black Is The New Black. They’re currently on the road celebrating 30 years as a band, and Everclear recently released a remastered reissue of their 1993 debut album, World Of Noise. Now, as they prepare to tour the UK with Soul Asylum, Everclear are back with a new single, “Year Of The Tiger.”
“After all of the events of the last almost three years with Covid, worldwide shutdowns, the political debacle of 2020…emanating from in and outside of MAGA world, I felt I needed to write a song that not just explained my anger and frustration, but a song that served as a mission statement,” shares frontman Art Alexakis. “I feel like the tiger should be the new symbol of the new Democratic party. We will not back down, we will not forget, we hit back, we challenge lies, and we refuse to be intimidated by ignorance or loud voices. To quote the song’s lyrics, ‘Here we are in the Year of the Tiger, we are where we are because of all the big lies.’ Tigers are everywhere.”
Narrow Head – Moments of Clarity
Houston's Narrow Head have announced a new album and released its title track. Moments of Clarity comes out February 20 via Run For Cover (pre-order). The song is heavy and acidified, but maintains a level of poppy buoyancy--singer and guitarist Jacob Duarte's voice cuts through the sludgier instrumental, shaping a cool, '90s-emo inspired jam. Watch the music video for "Moments of Clarity" below.
The name Moments of Clarity came to Jacob just before Narrow Head released their 2020 album 12th House Rock. “The phrase created a space for me to reflect upon my own life,” he says, “since our last record I’ve had plenty of moments of realization like that… when you experience friends dying, you’re forced to see life a little differently.” The new album was recorded, mixed, and produced by Sonny DiPerri (Nine Inch Nails, Protomartyr, My Bloody Valentine). Plus, since Narrow Head's previous album and tour, they've brought on Kora Puckett as a permanent member.
David Knudson – No Ways No Means (ft. Tim Kasher)
Earlier this year, David Knudson — the guitarist for Minus The Bear and the recently reunited Botch — released his debut solo album, The Only Thing You Have To Change Is Everything. Today, he’s announcing a companion EP called Undo / Redo, which features a some new and some reimagined tracks. Today, he’s sharing a song with Tim Kasher called “No Ways No Means.”
“Tim’s voice, lyrics and delivery are so unmistakable—funny, powerful & sly—he can tackle a serious subject but wink and have a laugh at the absurdity of it,” Knudson said, continuing:
This collaboration was so natural and seamless—almost two decades in the making. We’ve been friends since 2003 when Cursive took out Minus the Bear and having all the shared experience and familiarity with each other’s work made it so simple and wonderful. Tim has such a unique and powerful range with his voice—I was so happy he wanted to tackle this super aggressive song because when he goes for it with his voice you can feel that intensity and there is no one better.
“Upon first hearing Dave’s song, I found it very forward, direct, a nearly antagonistic guitar riff,” Kasher added. “And those drums, so gnarly. I thought I’d complement it with something playfully antagonistic as well…”
Squeeze – Food For Thought
UK new wave greats Squeeze haven’t released an album since 2017’s The Knowledge, but they’re back today with a new protest song. “Food For Thought” is the title track and the only new song on Squeeze’s new EP, which is raising money for a worthy cause and which serves as the band’s first new track in five years.
The UK economy is not doing so well lately, and a lot of people are suffering as a result. Today, Squeeze released their new Food For Thought EP to raise money for independent UK food banks. On the band’s website, co-leader Glenn Tilbrook says, “It’s terrible and wrong that so many people have no choice other than the help that food banks provide to feed their family. That there are so many people who have to choose between food and heating is a disgrace.” Right now, the band is getting ready to head out on a UK tour that’s supporting the Trussel Trust, an anti-poverty nonprofit.
The Food For Thought EP includes new recordings of the older Squeeze songs “The Very First Dance” and “Electric Trains,” as well as three live tracks recorded with the Liverpool Philharmonic. It opens with “Food For Thought,” a bright and zippy song written by Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook. The song sounds happy, but the lyrics are all straight-up, unmistakable attacks on the British elite. This is, after all, the band that lyrically attacked Prime Minister David Cameron right to Cameron’s face in 2016.
dEUS – Must Have Been New
Belgian alt-rock vets dEUS have announced How to Replace It, their first album in 11 years, which will be released February 17 via [PIAS] Recordings. The first single from the album is the gospel-inflected "Must Have Been New" which finds their widescreen brand of rock still intact.
“I was playing the piano and I asked our drummer Steph to give me a waltz rhythm,” says co-founder Klaas Janzoons of the song's origins. “I instantly came up with the verse and chorus chords, Tom [Barman] added a middle eight and we had the core of the song. But in typical dEUS fashion, it took a whole lot of time and energy to get to the final result.”
ABTB – Bully
ABTB (Attraction Between Two Bodies) is a Korean rock band who have just released their third album iii. Having parted ways with founding vocalist Park Geun-Hong earlier this year, the new record features a slew of guest vocalists (though none on this track). Musically the band are drenched in nostalgia, be it for the classic rock of the 80’s, proto-punk, glam rock and other genres of years gone by. This song sounds like a strange hybrid of Limp Bizkit and Metallica, with rapped verses and record scratches coupled with muscular riffing. They’re an interesting band to listen to, and undeniably fantastic musicians, but they’re so far from the cutting edge they’d struggle to cut melted butter.