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A tribute to the late, great Jimmy Ruffin on this date of his passing in 2006, then we got the usual funk, punk, soul, rock for the full two hours, with Dan Lloyd bringing the rock stars and smashed guitars in hour two with our AMPED feature.
"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 17, 2022
The Drop with Danno
Jimmy Ruffin – What Becomes of the Broken Hearted
Lee Fields – I Should Have Let You Be
Bobby Oroza with Cold Diamond & Mink – The Otherside (inst)
Lady Blackbird – Feel It Comin’ (single vers)
Vendredi sur Mer – Tout m’ennuie
Channel Tres – 6am
SAULT – God’s Will
Juan Gabriel & George Benson – Luna Tres Luna
The Teskey Brothers – This Will Be Our Year
LM.ORG feat Alice Russell – Playground Games
Robert Glasper feat Hindi Zahra – Fever
Kamen Ross – Yellow Rose (Live at Rocky Mountain National Park)
I.
It is 20 hours past midnight with a pristine warm fall day behind us and it is time once again to let out the stank and break stuff with rocks tonight, put into the spacetime ledger as November 17, 2022. Danno here ready unsteady go from GFN HQ in downtown Gwangju, how do you do? As always on Thursday nights, right now marks when we get stank with our Sampled funk & soul Thursday night, and lots of good stuff in the pocket to throw into the air joyously, with some Bobby Oroza instrumental stuff along with new joints from Vendredi sur Mer, George Benson, and The Teskey Brothers to glitter around. Naturally, Dan Lloyd joins us after we’re done with the funky stuff for our AMEPD feature in hour 2, and lots going on there as well, both good and bad according to our rock maestro but as always we let you be the judge of that. Duly noted, for right now we mark the passing of Jimmy Ruffin on this date 8 years ago, and we’ll talk this forgotten hero of soul after we ponder the final destination of those whose hearts can no longer go on. THIS is The Drop.
Jimmy Ruffin – What Becomes of the Broken Hearted
Our Sampled funk & soul Thursday night is on the air proper for tonight’s first hour, and another classic to open the gig for tonight. Danno here, letting the scent waft via the magic of radio, and tonight we begin the show marking 8 years since the transformation of Jimmy Ruffin, and that was his biggest hit in What Becomes of the Broken Hearted to open.
Now, when we’re talking the elder brother of the more famous David Ruffin, it must be noted that Jimmy is like Motown before Motown was Motown. Along with that joint from 1966, Jimmy had a string of hit singles starting in the early 1960’s. However, nothing can compare to that joint, which made him a bonafide superstar and had several big hits after that, even teaming up with brother David after he left The Temptations and went solo.
Unfortunately, we mark Jimmy Ruffin’s passing on this date in 2014, may he rest in power. An underappreciated legend of the game.
Just a quick reminder…#9870 (50/100)…stream
So we’ll keep it new but vintage classic in the mold for you brokenhearted kids out there tonight, and up next is Lee Fields then we got some instrumental biz from Bobby Oroza finishing with a really impressive tune from Lady Blackbird, all of which we’ll talk about after they fly into the sky. THIS is The Drop on your Sampled funk & soul Thursday.
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Back on The Drop with our Sampled funk & soul session after our first fresh cuts taste test. Danno here solo on the soul tip first half, but Dan Lloyd will of course once again be spreading the good word of rock in hour 2 for our weekly AMPED feature. To the recap of that first shiny airborne triangle, that was…
Lee Fields – I Should Have Let You Be (… another feature of the most stylish man of any age and his latest album Sentimental Fool, which dropped in full via Daptone Records a couple of weeks ago. Do check that album front to back if you dug that.)
Bobby Oroza with Cold Diamond & Mink – The Otherside (inst) (…Big Crown just dropped the instrumental version of Oroza’s latest LP, Get On The Otherside last Friday. Of course, for anyone who knows, the instrumentals are of course put together by Cold Diamond and Mink, who are like Bobby based in Helsinki, Finland.)
Lady Blackbird – Feel It Comin’ (single vers) (…this featured on a deluxe edition of Lady Blackbird’s debut album Black Acid Soul, which dropped on October 28. As to the song, the artist says, “It’s a rags to righteous story of how in this life before we can fly, we all must learn to crawl. It’s also a story of how world views have changed and continue to change towards sexuality and gender identity. In the midst of a movement working towards acceptance and inclusivity for everyone, I hope this song will dance you through the psychedelic night!”)
Quick …#9870, social media.
Alright, so we gotta get to the buzzer this evening but we’re gonna turn up the bpm’s a good bit before that all happens. Up next is Vendredi sur Mer with a tune called Tout m’ennuie, or Everything Bores Me, although the song certainly doesn’t, off the very strong Metamorphose or Metamorphosis, which dropped earlier this year. Finally, the foul mouthed king of deep house Channel Tres is back with another mega joint called 6am and that’s gonna end it for part 1. THIS is The Drop on your Sampled funk & soul Thursday night.
Vendredi sur Mer – Tout m’ennuie
Channel Tres – 6am
II.
Back at it for our fresh sautee here in part 2 of the show. Danno here, whaddaaaaap? Glad to have all of you with us tonight whether now or later. It’s Thursday and that can only mean we’re doing the Sampled funk & soul thing right now, with Dan Lloyd bringing the heavy rocks for hour 2 and our AMPED boilermaker. As far as what just soothed the jagged air, that was...
SAULT – God’s Will (…the band that just can do no wrong and everybody loves but still remains somewhat of a mystery off the AIR EP from earlier this year. Of course, as mentioned the band released 5 albums (yes, you heard that right, FIVE) over the start of the month, but not accessible now, so ask a friend.)
Juan Gabriel & George Benson – Luna Tras Luna (…this tune is off of legendary vocalist Juan Gabriel’s 31st and very final studio album Los Duo, vol 3, featuring duos with his absolute heroes. This one of course features the legendary man of scat guitar George Benson doing his thing bilingually and very well it must be noted.)
So moving along tonight we have a pair of very long players starting with Robert Glasper off the deluxe version of the Black Radio originator, then we have something from LM.ORG featuring the lovely Alice Russell to keep us extended company as well, and we’ll talk about all of this after the important sounds are done dancing in the atmosphere. THIS is The Drop on your Sampled funk & soul Thursday night.
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Moving to the soothing end of our Sampled funk & soul first hour right now. Danno here, doing the usual unusual as Dan Lloyd cracks his knucks outside in the control room for our upcoming AMPED feature. As to what just went up in the space elevator, let’s break it down but not off.
LM.ORG feat Alice Russell – Playground Games (…this is a new version of the original, put out by TM Juke back in 2010. This is a non-profit organization that started back in the same year, eventually growing into a full-fledged tastemaker’s label 2 years later, publishing work from hundreds of artists.)
Robert Glasper feat Hindi Zahra – Fever (…and speaking of 2012, the originator of Glasper’s Black Radio series is out with a deluxe edition of the original, with this newer version of the original also featuring on the updated LP. Go check in full if you dug that.)
So, that’s juuuuust about gonna do it before we head to the jump but not before we hear a rousing new live version of Kamen Ross’ Yellow Rose. This featured on their debut solo album from last year I Dreamt We Fell In Love, and this updated version (which has an amazing backstory, by the way) was performed live in Rocky Mountain National Park, released late last week. Kamen Ross, we still love you dearly. This is The Drop, and that is the first hour complete.
Kamen Ross – Yellow Rose (Live at Rocky Mountain National Park)
III & IV AMPED
Fake Names – Delete Myself
Smashing Pumpkins – Beyond the Vale
Shame – Fingers of Steel
Sharon van Etten – When I Die
R. Ring – Still Life
Manchester Orchestra – No Rule
Big Thief – Masterpiece
Turnstile – Blackout
Idles – Car Crash
The Bad Ends – Thanksgiving 1915
Death Valley Girls – What Are The Odds?
Walking After U – Jekyll & Hyde
Fake Names – Delete Myself
Punk supergroup Fake Names have announced their sophomore album, Expendables. In advance of its March 3rd release, the band has unveiled the single “Delete Myself” and has announced a spring 2023 US tour.
The band features guitarist-vocalist Brian Baker (Bad Religion, Minor Threat), singer Dennis Lyxzén (Refused), guitarist-vocalist Michael Hampton (S.O.A., Embrace), bassist Johnny Temple (Girls Against Boys, Soulside), and its newest member, drummer Brendan Canty (Fugazi).
Expendables follows Fake Names’ excellent self-titled debut album, which arrived in May 2020. The band didn’t have a permanent drummer at the time of that LP’s release, but Matt Schulz (Holy Fuck) played drums on that album. Now, they’ve got Canty of Fugazi on board, adding to the legendary makeup of the group.
“In general, Dennis writes about revolution, and Michael and I write pop songs,” Baker says of the band’s songwriting approach. “I’m amazed at how it works, but somehow it strikes the right balance of salty and sweet.”
Smashing Pumpkins – Beyond the Vale
The Smashing Pumpkins will never, ever tire of making grand statements. A couple of months ago, the band announced plans for their new 33-song opus ATUM: A Rock Opera In Three Acts. ATUM is the band’s sequel to their previous epics, 1995’s Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness and 2000’s Machina/The Machines Of God.
The full three-act opera is scheduled for release next April, but since the album exists in three acts, the Smashing Pumpkins are releasing it one piece at a time. They’d already shared the first single “Beguiled,” but now the entire first act of the opera is out on streaming services. “Beguiled,” it’s worth noting, is not in that first act. Instead, the Pumpkins have just released 11 songs — 40 minutes of new music, which would be a full album’s worth for most bands.
Shame – Fingers of Steel
Shame are back at it again: The UK rockers are set to share their next album Food for Worms on February 24th via Dead Oceans, and they’re celebrating the announcement today with its lead single “Fingers of Steel.” Additionally, the group have mapped out their largest headlining tour to date for 2023, trekking across Europe and North America.
In a press release, frontman Charlie Steen describes Food for Worms as “the Lamborghini of Shame records.” We can neither confirm nor deny that analogy, but it’s true that the record marks a big step up in maturity for the London post-punks, who usher in a more polished sound here without compensating their edge. They cite influence from Lou Reed, as well as the ’90s indie rock group Blumfeld (Germany’s answer to Pavement or Pixies) during the writing process. Pre-orders for the record are ongoing.
You can hear those cues in “Fingers of Steel,” which goes bigger and aims higher than just about any song Shame have put out to date. It also bears a bit of an anthemic quality, which is fitting to the song’s lyrical themes of finding motivation in dark times: “You know you’re wasting away/ There’s a sun outside but you don’t see it,” Steen sings.
Sharon van Etten – When I Die
The deluxe edition of Sharon Van Etten’s latest album We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong is out today via Jagjaguwar. It features the previously released one-offs “Porta,” “Used To It,” and “Never Gonna Change.” In conjunction with the deluxe’s release, Etten is sharing “When I Die,” a swirling, echoing blast of sound that finds Etten in reverie and making resolutions: “Yeah, I want to remember/ And I want to do so much more.”
R. Ring – Still Life
R. Ring, the project of The Breeders' Kelley Deal and Ampline's Mike Montgomery, have announced a new album, their first since 2017. War Poems, We Rested comes out on January 23 via Don Giovanni Records. Additional contributions, including drums and arrangements, came from Laura King of Bat Fangs, as well as Lori Goldston on cello and Joe Suer on vibraphone.
The band have shared "Still Life," which opens the album. It's a brief but vivid rock song bolstered by strong drums and vocals. Kelley Deal comments on the lyrics:
It’s possible, sometimes, through substance abuse or self delusion, to exist in a realm of altered reality, where you imagine your life to be a delicious bowl of fresh fruit. When you finally wipe the haze off the mirror, you see through more sobered eyes that the fruit is rotting and the bowl is full of worms.
Manchester Orchestra – No Rule
Manchester Orchestra have returned with a new song called “No Rule.”
“No Rule” begins with a delicate finger-picked guitar line, but in true Manchester Orchestra fashion, the song builds to a loud, anthemic climax over five minutes. Guitarists Andy Hull and Robert McDowell originally wrote the track for Manchester Orchestra’s 2021 album The Million Masks of God, but they weren’t completely happy with the song until recently. “We are very proud to release our new song ‘No Rule’ into the world,” Hull said in a statement. “Written and worked on during the Million Masks sessions, this brave soul took a little longer to cook than the rest. We hope you enjoy. All Love. M.O.”
Big Thief – Masterpiece
Turnstile – Blackout
Idles – Car Crash
The nominations for the 2023 Grammy Awards have arrived. The ceremony returns to Los Angeles for 2023, happening on February 5 at Crypto.com Arena (aka Staples Center).
Wet Leg, one of this year's Best New Artist nominees, are also up for Best Alternative Music Performance for "Chaise Lounge," Best Alternative Music Album and Best Engineered Album Non-Classical for Wet Leg, and Best Remixed Recording for "Too Late Now" (Soulwax Remix).
Other Best Alternative Music Performance Nominees include Arctic Monkeys, Big Thief, Florence + The Machine, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs featuring Perfume Genius. For Best Alternative Music Album, other nominees are Big Thief, Björk, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Arcade Fire.
Turnstile are nominated for Best Rock Performance for "Holiday," and Best Metal Performance and Best Rock Song for "Blackout."
Also nominated in the Rock Performance category are Beck, The Black Keys, Brandi Carlile, Bryan Adams, IDLES, and Ozzy Osbourne featuring Jeff Beck. For Best Rock Song, Turnstile are up against Brandi Carlile, Ozzy Osbourne ft. Jeff Beck. Red Hot Chili Peppers, and The War on Drugs. The Black Keys, Elvis Costello & The Imposters, IDLES, Machine Gun Kelly, Ozzy Osbourne, and Spoon are up for Best Rock Album.
Other nominees for Best Metal Performance are Ghost, Megadeth, Muse, and Ozzy Osbourne featuring Tommy Iommi.
The Bad Ends – Thanksgiving 1915
Last month, Athens supergroup the Bad Ends announced their debut album, The Power And The Glory, which is out at the top of the year. The band features Mike Mantione, Dave Domizi, Geoff Melkonian, Christian Lopez, and former R.E.M. drummer Bill Berry. We’ve already heard lead single “All Your Friends Are Dying,” and today they’re back with another one, “Thanksgiving 1915,” which comes with a video directed by Marc Pilvinsky.
“This should qualify for ‘The Most Un-Rock and Roll Video Ever,'” Mantione noted. “Dads working at the restaurant. Kind of like The Bear meets the Muppet Movie. It’s shot at Geoff’s restaurant called Breadwinner Cafe in Dunwoody, GA. Dave Domizi and my daughters are best friends and are in the flash mob scene. That’s Bill’s actual chef’s hat and coat he wore to a practice one night!”
Death Valley Girls – What Are The Odds?
Death Valley Girls have announced new album Islands in the Sky, which will be out February 24 via Suicide Squeeze.
The title of the album came to bandleader Bonnie Bloomgarden while she was bedridden from a mysterious illness that lasted five months. “When I was sick I had to sleep most of the day," Bonnie says. "I kept waking up every few hours with an intense message to take care of the island, feed the island…I have no idea why, but making music for the island kept coming up...I started to wonder if it would be possible to write a record with messages of love to my future self. This was really the first time that I consciously thought about my own suffering and what future me might need to hear to heal. I struggled so much in my life with mental health, abuse, PTSD, and feeling like I didn’t belong anywhere. And I don’t want anyone—including my future self—to suffer ever again. I realized that if we are all part of one cosmic consciousness, as we [Death Valley Girls] believe, then Islands in the Sky could serve not only as a message of love and acceptance to myself, but also from every self to every self, because we are all one!”
The first single from the album is the very catchy "What Are the Odds," powered by an infectious gang-vocal chorus. Says Bonnie: "When we wrote 'I’m a Man Too' we were trying to revisit No Doubt’s 'I’m Just a Girl' but through a new lens. 'What Are the Odds' is in the same way an investigation /revisitation of Madonna’s 'Material Girl' but with a DVG spin. We love to think about consciousness, and existence, and we very much believe in some type of reincarnation, but also that this experience isn’t linear, there isn’t a past and future, there’s something else going on! What is it? Is it a simulation, are we simulated girls??!"
Walking After U – Jekyll & Hyde
Walking After U are an all-female rock band from Seoul formed in 2014. Named after a song by the Foo Fighters, the band’s music is an energetic take on alternative rock. They’ve released 3 mini albums and 2 Eps so far. I don’t know what the difference between an EP and a mini album, by the way. This song comes from their most recent release, 2021’s Are We Ready? Besides regular appearances on mainstream Korean music TV, the band seems to be constantly on tour and regularly plays in Gwangju/Jeonnam. Their live show is infinitely better than their recorded output, so I definitely recommend seeing them live to get the definitive WAU experience.