Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
A bit of a breakup mood with the new funk & soul out this week, so we added some old school heartbreakers to make a full first hour on our Sampled portion, then it's Dan Lloyd with our AMPED feature to get you over it with the new rock out this week.
"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.
Jan 27, 2022
The Drop with Danno
Lyn Collins – Think (About It)
Kelly Finnigan – Since I Don’t Have You Anymore
Tyrone Davis – Can I Change My Mind
Bobby Oroza – Your Love Is Too Cold
Teddy Grossman – Giving Up
Ferris & Sylvester – Golden
Durand Jones & The Indications – Giving Up
Lee Fields – Ordinary Lives
Mamas Gun – Looking for Moses
Ben L’Oncle Soul – Stay
OV Wright – Let’s Straighten It Out
The Funkees – Baby I Need You
KOKOROKO – Carry Me Home
I.
It is 20 hours past midnight after another clear and cold but very bright January day here in Gwangju, and as the sun has set it’s time to break out one of our favorite regular features of the week with our Sampled and AMPED funk punk soul rock bidness. And tonight’s cleared by infinity for entry as January 27, 2022. This is Danno doing my thing from the mic located in studio 2 GFN HQ right in the heart of downtown Gwangju, how do you do? Since it’s Thursday night, that means it’s time to get funky first and then rock out later with Dan Lloyd, but there wasn’t a lot new going on in the funk world this week, and most of it was wintertime breakup tunes, so for the first hour, we went with precisely that. It’s time to breakup tonight and let the heartache flow with some old school cuts and a few rather new joints sprinkled in there as well, and Dan Lloyd will join us for our hour 2 AMPED feature as well. So, with the theme in mind let’s get to the fracas that caused the romantic bust-up with Lyn Collins and Think (About It), and we’ll discuss further side opposite the indignant feelings. THIS is The Drop.
Lyn Collins – Think (About It)
Back on The Drop, all ready to break up and call it quits here on our Sampled funk & soul first hour Thursday nights. For those just now getting with it, we’re gonna rock some old & new break up cuts tonight, and as we usually do to start we went with the old school stuff. That was Lyn Collins and Think About It, one of the most sampled cuts of all time, and as you might have known or guessed, that was a hefty helping of James Brown and his famous JB’s in the background doing their thing with that iconic break.
This was the title track to Lyn Collins’ 1972 album, released on James Brown’s People Records imprint. The song (which was also written by the godfather)is very popular for its raw drumbeat dressed with tambourine and multiple background vocals, which suggest the song was recorded altogether in one take, with Jabo Starks playing drums.
Along with "Funky Drummer" and "Funky President", "Think (About It)" is one of the most frequently sampled James Brown productions, having been used on tracks by thousands of hip hop and dance music artists. The song additionally appears on the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas soundtrack on the Master Sounds 98.3 station. It is also used in two stage themes of the 1997 video game Street Fighter III: New Generation.
#9870, @gfnthedrop, pod.
So now that James Brown & Lyn Collins have helped us with the split, let’s go to the aftermath. Up next we got Kelly Finnigan, Tyrone Davis, and Bobby Oroza to help us drown our sorrows a bit and indeed think, and THIS is The Drop on your Sampled funk & soul Thursday night.
______
The Drop is back for the final verbosities of the first quarter tonight. Danno here, making sure the sound is just so, and the theme tonight is heartache and breakups for our Sampled funk & soul first hour. Dan Lloyd joins us once again for our AMPED rock feature later on. For right now though, we’re going through the motions in the bust-up aftermath for the last block, so let’s get to the recap…
Kelly Finnigan – Since I Don’t Have You Anymore (…from his solo debut album, released in 2019 called The Tales People Tell, this one fans might have found surprising due to Mr Finnigan’s falsetto vocal delivery, which is not his usual style. That being said, great tune, and we’re total suckers for male falsetto vocals, it must be noted.)
Tyrone Davis – Can I Change My Mind (…while many may not remember, Davis was a tremendously successful artist for over two decades, having three #1 hits on the billboard charts, including this one from 1968. Born Tyrone Fettson in Mississippi, he was signed by record producer Carl Davis in 1968 to a new label, Dakar Records, that he was starting as part of a distribution deal with Atlantic, and suggested that Tyrone change his name, which he did by borrowing Carl's last name.)
Bobby Oroza – Your Love Is Too Cold (…another 2019 album right here, this one from the artist’s debut called This Love. After release, the Finnish crooner and Big Crown Records released a great vintage video set in a dingy bar that just captures this song & the heartbreak to perfection.)
Okay so, we got a couple more songs of heartache to bump before we hit the jump, and up next are a couple of more recent tunes, the lead off being a cut called Giving Up by Teddy Grossman, and we’ll put the finishing touch on the first fourth tonight with Ferris & Sylvester on another recent single called Golden. THIS is The Drop on your all broken up Sampled funk & soul Thursday night.
Teddy Grossman – Giving Up
Ferris & Sylvester – Golden
II
The Drop is back with the verbals between the breaks and break ups as we begin part 2’s high def audio slow motion movement. Danno here, doing what I do without the heartache & breakup stuff usually between 8 & 10 on GFN, and we’re getting AMPED with Dan Lloyd once again later on. As to what we just rocked and in case you’re just joining us on the air, going through some breakup joints for our first hour funk & soul foray tonight, so let’s recap what we started with…
Durand Jones & The Indications – Giving Up (…just a silky to the touch cut that just renders the heart to shards right here, which was from the band’s debut self-titled LP. Interestingly, since they were still students in Indiana, they didn’t exactly have a lot of money to put this together, so it was all done for $450 and a case of Buds for the producer.)
Lee Fields – Ordinary Lives (…this one just dropped last Friday from the oh so stylish septuagenarian based in NYC. Interestingly, this tune marks the artist’s return to Daptone Records, and a new LP is on the way from Fields later this year, with Ordinary Lives being the first single.)
#9870, @gfnthedrop, pod.
So, moving ever forward we’ll start getting back together here on our Sampled breakup first hour. Up next we have another new one from Mamas Gun to be followed by Ben L’Oncle Soul and a classic from OV Wright, all of which we’ll discuss but not yell about side opposite the proposed reunion. This is The Drop on your Sampled funk & soul Thursday.
___
The Drop returns for the final microphone yuck saliva of the first half this evening. Danno here, studio 2, GFN HQ and going through a little breakup and heartache with maybe a little getting back together to end the hour here for our Sampled funk & soul Thursday night. That was…
Mamas Gun – Looking for Moses (…the UK-based band quite popular here in Korea are out with a new 7” single. With release, the band announced the upcoming release of their first album since 2018 called Cure The Jones, which drops on April 1 and is available for pre-order now.)
Ben L’Oncle Soul – Stay (…the French singer-songwriter is out with his latest as of last week, although nothing larger announced with this single. True name Benjamin Duterde, his last LP came out in 2020, so wondering if this is the start of something larger although still unannounced. Kinda feels that way.)
OV Wright – Let’s Straighten It Out (…ah, the classic pleading reuniting song, originally released in 1978 as part of The Bottom Line LP. Unquestionably his biggest hit, it was actually originally written by blues singer Latimore, and interestingly was covered twice that same year by Wright and Gwen McCrae.)
So, let’s reunite here, but we’ll let Africa do the talking to finish the first half, cuz it’s been a ride. Up next is The Funkees with Baby I Need You, and then we’ll finish more contemporary with KOKOROKO and Carry Me Home to do precisely that for all of us. THIS is The Drop and that’s a wrap on the first half.
The Funkees – Baby I Need You
KOKOROKO – Carry Me Home
III & IV AMPED
Eels – The Magic
Yard Act – Dead Horse
Ghost – Call Me Little Sunshine
Guerilla Toss – Cannibal Capital
Franz Ferdinand – Curious
Foo Fighters – Fraggle Rock Rock
Jethro Tull – The Zealot Gene
Stereophonics – Forever
Hot Water Music – Collect Your Things and Run
Pinegrove – Respirate
Meat Loaf – Paradise By the Dashboard Light
Eels – The Magic
14th album Extreme Witchcraft is out this week. This song, like all the singles, is a decent tune but certainly not up there with career highlights like those found on Daisies of the Galaxy, Souljacker or Electro-Shock Blues. The early reviews are reflecting that sentiment too; the AV Club says “It’s possible that we’ll look back at records like this—inconsistent, punchy, full of frustration and distortion pedals—as a product of the pandemic. Extreme Witchcraft certainly sounds like the product of someone—akin to nearly all of us—suffering from cabin fever.”
Yard Act – Dead Horse
Currently at an impressive 85 on Metacritic and receiving rave reviews across the board, it’s comforting to know that I’m not mistaken in my praise for this band. It’s a terrific listen, and hugely impressive for a debut album. James Smith maintains the same spoken word vocal stylings throughout but the variety of musical influences on the record keeps it interesting and fresh throughout its 37 minute runtime.
Ghost – Call Me Little Sunshine
Ghost have just announced their fifth album, Impera. The record bears 12 new songs, including the previously released single "Hunter's Moon" and the latest offering, "Call Me Little Sunshine," for which the ghastly group conjured up another captivating animated music video.
The announcement comes nearly two years after the band unveiled its latest frontman, Papa Emeritus IV, at a festival show in Mexico in March of 2020. It was the final concert in support of 2018's Prequelle and firmly set in motion the next chapter of Ghost's dark legacy, which we now know will continue through Impera.
"Call Me Little Sunshine" counters the bombast of "Hunter's Moon" with a reliable mid-paced hook riff that opens the track and carries forward through the verse and even the chorus. If there's one thing Ghost mastermind Tobias Forge has exhibited over the years, it's how to maximize a simple and wickedly effective motif, and he does exactly that on this second Impera single.
Guerilla Toss – Cannibal Capital
Guerilla Toss' graduation from Boston basement noise group to seminal Brooklyn skronk band to upstate psych-pop progenitors is yesterday's news. Today, they've opened a new chapter, signing to Sub Pop and announcing Famously Alive, their first full-length since 2018's Twisted Crystal, coming March 25. They've also shared the record's lead single, "Cannibal Capital," which comes with a video directed by Lisa Schatz.
The new album was written and recorded in the Catskills, where frontwoman/songwriter Kassie Carlson, guitarist Arian Shafiee, and multi-instrumentalist Peter Negroponte isolated themselves from society during the early days of the pandemic. Its title comes from a poem by Jonny Tatelman, a close friend of the band who supported Carlson during her recovery from opiate addiction.
"The pandemic was hard, but it helped me get comfortable inside my own body," Carlson writes, discussing her creative process for the new record. "My peace of mind came out of being thrust into the deepest shit. This album is all about being happy, being alive, strength. It’s meant to inspire people."
The start of "Cannibal Capital" calls back to the fuzzy, chaotic realm GT's early work occupied, but the song soon snaps into the precise, triumphant grooves that have peppered their past two records. Its video treatment is unsurprisingly surreal, featuring a powdered wig, animal masks, and an abundance of colorful lights.
Franz Ferdinand – Curious
Before Franz Ferdinand share their greatest hits compilation, Hits to the Head, this March, they have one more song to throw into the mix. Today, the Scottish rock veterans have shared a fresh recording called “Curious” along with an accompanying music video.
Embellished with a shimmering, dance-pop flair, “Curious” details the anxieties of entering a new relationship. “Will you want me when you’ve got me?” frontman Alex Kapranos begs in the chorus.
“I had this idea for the lyric — kind of the reverse of one of those life-flashing-before-your mind as you die in a film scene, where the entire course of a relationship flashes before you the instant you fall in love with someone,” Kapranos explained in a press release.
Foo Fighters – Fraggle Rock Rock
Dance your cares away because Foo Fighters have released their new Fraggle Rock-inspired single, the appropriately titled “Fraggle Rock Rock.” It appears on the soundtrack to Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock, which premiered on Apple TV+ .
Dave Grohl and co. are clearly having the time of their lives on the irresistibly catchy tune, wailing, “‘Cause everybody here gotta shout till we all break out/ Rock, rock, Fraggle Rock/ We’re gonna rock our way to freedom/ Gonna run right back and see ’em/ Gonna flip, flop, skippity hop/ Back to Fraggle Rock,” over scorching guitars on the deliriously fun chorus.
Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock features the classic characters Red Fraggle, Gogo Fraggle, Mokey Fraggle, Wembley Fraggle, Boober Fraggle, and Uncle Traveling Matt. All 13 episodes of the reboot of the original Jim Henson-produced kids’ series are now available to stream.
In addition to Foo Fighters, the soundtrack includes musical contributions from Patti LaBelle (“Shine on Us Now [Moon Come Soon]”), Cynthia Erivo (“Chase the Wind”), Daveed Diggs (“Go With the Flow”), Ed Helms (“Dream a Dream and See”), and Kenan Thompson (“Ball of Fire”).
Jethro Tull – The Zealot Gene
Title track from Tull’s 22nd studio album, out this week. It’s the first JT album of original material since 1999, and from the couple of tracks released so far, it sound like the classic formula of traditional folk meets hard rock, and of course, plenty of flute solos. I’ve never been a huge fan, but I do appreciate the band’s originality and longevity, and it’s still hilarious to me that they beat Metallica to the first metal Grammy.
Stereophonics – Forever
Another single from upcoming album Oochya!, out in March. This is the weakest song from the set so far, a by-the-numbers Snow Patrol-esque Radio 2 ballad. Honestly, Kelly Jones sounds like he’s about to fall asleep on this track. Disappointing.
Hot Water Music – Collect Your Things and Run
HOT WATER MUSIC have released a new music video for the track Collect Your Things And Run. The song is taken from the punk band’s upcoming new album, Feel The Void, which is scheduled to be released in March this year.
The new music video was created with the help of Andrew Canon at Santa Cruz Skateboards. Canon, Joe Perrin, and Eric Palozzolo (also of Santa Cruz) enlisted pro skaters such as Steve “Salba” Alba, Emmanuel Guzman, Jereme Knibbs and Kevin Braun to lend footage to the entertaining clip alongside the members of the band themselves skating, singing and having fun in their respective locales.
“The end result is cooler than anything we could have hoped for, and we all felt like kids again making and watching the video,” says bassist Jason Black about the new music video. Co-vocalist/guitarist Chris Wollard adds about the new song, “in some ways it is about standing up for who you are, but it’s also about discovering who you really are. It’s about learning to live in the moment and not letting circumstances bring you down. Find yourself and accept yourself. It’s OK to be a work in progress.”
Pinegrove – Respirate
Pinegrove have shared their crushing new single ‘Respirate’, which is taken from their forthcoming album ‘11:11‘.
The ballad follows recent single ‘Alaska‘ and previous track ‘Orange‘.
“With ‘Respirate,’ I was thinking about the opportunity we had in the chaos COVID brought to redesign society so that it works well for more people, but that instead what’s unfolding is a doubling down on the same bent and venal structures that have resulted in so much inequity in the first place,” vocalist and songwriter Evan Stephens Hall said in a statement.
“So, how can we compassionately respond to such cold and blatant greed? How can we make sure to look out for one another in the absence of meaningful leadership and materially significant policy? We’ve been stranded but we will look out for each other – what choice do we have? The song is a reminder that we’re in this together.”
Meat Loaf – Paradise By the Dashboard Light
The US singer and actor Meat Loaf has died aged 74, his agent has confirmed. Born Marvin Lee Aday and later legally known as Michael, the musician died on Thursday with his wife, Deborah Gillespie, by his side. No cause of death was shared but unconfirmed reports suggested he had died of Covid-19.
“We know how much he meant to so many of you and we truly appreciate all of the love and support as we move through this time of grief in losing such an inspiring artist and beautiful man,” his family said in a statement. “From his heart to your souls … don’t ever stop rocking!”
Written and composed by Jim Steinman, Meat Loaf’s 1977 debut album Bat Out of Hell remains one of the biggest-selling albums in history. Steinman and Meat Loaf’s 1993 album Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell produced the global hit single I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That). It was his only UK No 1 single, spending seven weeks at the top. He completed the Bat Out of Hell trilogy with The Monster Is Loose in 2006. The three albums have sold more than 65m copies worldwide.