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Tonight we note a remarkable achievement by Femi Kuti, then it's mostly old joints to accompany us on our Sampled funk & soul first hour, but then Dan Lloyd does have a good smattering of new rock & news for our 2nd hour as well.
"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.
Dec 2, 2021
The Drop with Danno
Femi Kuti – If Them Want To Hear
PAINT – Tah Fardah
Dr. Lonnie Smith feat Iggy Pop – Move Your Hand
Mike Nyoni & Born Free – Come Back To Me
Billy Brooks – Forty Days
Junior Murvin – Police & Thieves
Junior Murvin – Cool Out Son
Marvin Gaye – Sad Tomorrows (Salaam Remi remix)
The Undisputed Truth – Take A Vacation from Life (And Visit Your Dreams)
Abdullah Ibrahim – In-Tempo
Trevor Lawrence Jr feat Terrace Martin – Good Trouble
I.
It is 20 hours past midnight on a lovely clear day after our first bit of snow for this year, and with it being the fourth chapter in this week’s book of pain & misery, it is time to let it out with our Sampled & AMPED funk punk soul rock shout along, with this evening being noted by the gods as December 2, 2021. This is Danno coming at you but not for you from studio 2 GFN HQ located in downtown Gwangju, how do you do? As is the steez every Thursday it is our Sampled sesh for our first hour, going through all our funk & soul favorites and we’re mainly keeping it old school even with the new stuff if that makes any sense, which as Common once stated on his album cover one day it will, hopefully sooner than that in our case. Dan Lloyd returns once again triumphant and threatening as ever for our AMPED 2nd hour tonight, with new a pretty solid smattering of new tunes to check out along with some new documentary biz to discuss as well. Thus, there’s a lot to do tonight, but all of the aforementioned comes later, as right now we need to put on the glasses and bump some history, with an absolutely incredible feat accomplished yesterday in history that broke a Guinness World Record, and we’ll talk about Fela’s scion after he’s done letting the prison crowd hear it. THIS is The Drop.
Femi Kuti – If Them Want To Hear
The Drop has turned on the mic and the red light is on, our Sampled funk & soul Thursday night is in full effect, ladies & gentlemen. Danno here doing what I do always excited to get to it on Thursday nights with Dan Lloyd joining us after the funky stuff for our AMPED 2nd hour rock showcase later on. Thanks for getting with the program tonight, you are a pillar of high taste & quality scholarship.
Now, we just started with a tune by the eldest son of Fela Kuti doing a live gig on his Africa Shrine LP from 2004. Not sure as to the background of this, as Femi started a venue in Lagos dedicated to his father called The New Afrika Shrine, but the cover of the album is the artist surrounded by men in orange prison garb.
Whatever the case, the scion of Afrobeat and four time Grammy nominee really shines on this record, but it’s not this performance that is the focus of our TIGHT (or) feature for tonight. It was yesterday in 1997 that saxophonist and country club jazz man Kenny G set a Guinness World Record by playing one note on his sax continuously for 45 minutes and change. This incredible feat was accomplished by using what is called a circular breathing technique, but the seemingly unbreakable record was not to stand, as Femi Kuti then broke it 20 years later by doing the same for over 51 minutes.
Anyway, amazing artist on so many levels, it’s great to see Fela’s eldest still doing his thing and paying tribute to his late father.
#9870 (50/100)…SM…podcast.
Now, we’re gonna keep it a bit more experimental & go all over the map in our first proper block this evening. Up next we have a group called PAINT, then we’ll follow that with something more recent from Dr. Lonnie Smith and finish in a recently rediscovered bit of Zambia with Mike Nyoni, and we’ll talk about all of this after we leave Africa but then, like everything else, return. THIS is The Drop on your Sampled funk & soul Thursday.
____
The Drop is back this evening after our first radiological wormhole for tonight’s more soul than a sock with a hole first hour that we call Sampled. Danno here watching the smoke go into the sky from studio 2, GFN HQ, downtown Gwangju. Thanks go out to you as always for vibin’ with us tonight, you are sheer class. We have Gwangju’s man on the drums Dan Lloyd showing up shortly for our AMPED weekly rock wrestling match after 9pm, or in the 2nd hour at whatever time you’re streaming this. So, let’s get to the liner notes for those first three joints...
PAINT – Tah Fardah (…a little psyche to start the block from Allah-Las guitarist & songwriter Pedrum Siadatian. He released his debut solo album in 2018 which was self-titled, and this appeared on his 2020 LP called Spiritual Vegas.)
Dr. Lonnie Smith feat Iggy Pop – Move Your Hand (…interesting collab that I kind of slept on when released September 8 this year. This tune is the lead single to the National Endowment for the Arts Master Lonnie Smith’s new Blue Note solo album Breathe, which drops tomorrow so keep an eye out for that.)
Mike Nyoni & Born Free – Come Back To Me (…a trip back to 1970’s Zambia during the so-called early independence Zamrock Era right here. This song was featured on a compilation of Nyoni & the band’s three LP’s from the 1970’s called My Own Thing, which dropped in 2018 and shows just a singular artist in the very prime of his talent making revolutionary funk & rock for its time.)
Now heading towards the end of part 1, we’ve got a sampler’s classic that anybody who’s a tribe head will recognize right away. This is Billy Brooks to close things here in the first quarter, and this one’s called Fourty Days, released in 1974. This is The Drop on your Sampled funk & soul Thursday night.
Billy Brooks – Forty Days
II.
Back on The Drop as we have begun the slow burn 2nd for tonight’s orchestral movement via radio. What’s going on Drop Gangsters (KOR)? Danno here tempering the flame a bit to start things in half hour #2, and Dan Lloyd will have the floor after halftime with our weekly AMPED rock feature. For right now, we just started it up with a tribute to the late great Junior Murvin, that was...
Junior Murvin – Police & Thieves (….)
Junior Murvin – Cool Out Son (…two of Junior Soul’s most popular and memorable joints right there, both produced by Lee Scratch Perry. Murvin passed away 8 years ago today, leaving a legacy that crossed boundaries into rock & funk far beyond the island of Jamaica. One example of this would be The Clash remaking Police & Thieves, which became a world-wide hit. Rest in power to Junior Murvin, a man inspired by Curtis Mayfield when he was young and had a falsetto to match the gentle giant himself, which is no small talent.)
So, let’s continue tonight with a couple bits of classic soul, one a new remix by Salaam Remi of Marvin Gaye, and then we’ll rock something by The Undisputed Truth to facilitate the dreams and stardust. THIS is The Drop on your Sampled funk & soul Thursday night.
____
Back on The Drop as we continue through the cosmos tonight and stretch towards the end of the first hour. Danno here, doing the funk & soul thang that we call Sampled which happens every Thursday, and Gwangju’s man on the drums Dan Lloyd will be in studio tonight for our AMPED 2nd hour highlighting some of the best new rock out this week along with other new features you might find interesting as well. As to what cargo we just unleashed into space, that was...
Marvin Gaye – Sad Tomorrows (Salaam Remi remix) (…clearly the esteemed legacy of Marvin Gaye is in good hands with Salaam Remi. With trust from Motown and UMe, the super-producer has retooled music from Gaye’s illustrious career for a new EP, titled the Save The World Remix Suite. Of course, Remi also was entrusted with touching up the Prince of Soul’s so-called “lost album” You’re The Man, which was finally given a full release in 2019.)
The Undisputed Truth – Take A Vacation from Life (And Visit Your Dreams) (…I cannot agree more with this sentiment, as I always tell people who ask sleep is my favorite sport & method of travel. This tune dropped in 1976 on the famed quartet’s Method To The Madness LP.)
So, let’s get to some jazz to close shop on the first half this evening, both joints being very new & fresh. Up next we have South African legend Abullah Ibrahim and a tune called In-Tempo. This appeared on the Solotude LP which was released last Friday, and is just a pensive beauty all the way through. Then to finish we have Trevor Lawrence, Jr & Terrace Martin teaming up on Good Trouble, which is a tribute to the late Civil Rights activist and long-time fighter in Congress, John Lewis who passed away last year. THIS is The Drop on your Sampled & AMPED Thursday and we are at halftime.
Abdullah Ibrahim – In-Tempo
Trevor Lawrence, Jr feat Terrace Martin – Good Trouble
III & IV AMPED
Eels – The Magic
Frank Turner – Miranda
Wet Leg – Oh No
Kurstin / Grohl – Stay (Lisa Loeb)
The Beatles – Get Back
Miles Kane – Nothing’s Ever Gonna Be Good Enough ft. Corinne Bailey-Rae
Planes Mistaken for Stars – The Past Two
Green Day – Hitchin’ a Ride
Jim Lindberg – You’re Not Alone
J Robbins – Uncle John
The Wonder Years – Threadbare
Eels – The Magic
EELS are back with another song from their upcoming Extreme Witchcraft which was produced by John Parish. "The Magic" falls somewhere between garage rock and electro, with a little orchestral mellotron thrown in for good measure. Extreme Witchcraft is out January 28 via PIAS/E Works Records.
Frank Turner – Miranda
Frank Turner has shared a new track called ‘Miranda’ through which he examines his relationship with his trans parent. Following on from previous singles ‘Haven’t Been Doing So Well’, ‘Non Serviam’ and ‘The Gathering’, the singer-songwriter’s personal latest cut will appear on his forthcoming solo album ‘FTHC’, which arrives on February 11.
“My father is called Miranda these days/ She’s a proud transgender woman and my resentment has started to fade/ ‘Cause it was never about who she was, just the way that he behaved,” Turner sings in the first verse.
“Miranda’s just actually quite a nice person, but my dad was a shitty person, a bitter and angry and resentful person who had a gigantic temper problem,” the musician explained in a statement. “If you just continue with resentment endlessly for somebody, it’s not having any kind of meaningful effect. The only person it’s affecting is you and it’s a waste of energy.” He continued: “Miranda’s not a completely new person, but she’s certainly a new version of a person – and a much better version.
Turner also opened up about the song’s subject matter during a recent interview. Speaking of his past struggles with Miranda, he said: “It was never violent, but it was everything up to that, and it was extremely fucking unpleasant.”
The singer went on to explain that the pair had since “found our even keel”, adding: “She’s really fun, really chatty and she cares. [She’s] interested in who I am and what I do, which my dad never was at all. It’s always going to be a work in progress, but we’re doing all right.”
Wet Leg – Oh No
British indie rockers Wet Leg have announced their self-titled debut album. Wet Leg arrives April 8th, 2022, and as a preview, the duo have shared two new songs, “Too Late Now,” and “Oh No.”
The project of Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers, Wet Leg originally began as a humorous outlet for frustration. “Wet Leg was originally just supposed to be funny,” Teasedale said. “As a woman, there’s so much put on you, in that your only value is how pretty or cool you look. But we want to be goofy and a little bit rude. We want to write songs that people can dance to. And we want to people to have a good time, even if that might not possible all of the time.”
In a statement, Teasedale said that “Too Late Now,” is “about sleepwalking into adulthood. I never imagined that my adult life would look the way it does and I guess this song reflects on some of the pressures and pulls of life. Sometimes I get really inside my head and everything can feel very overwhelming. I think this song is about accepting that life can feel a bit shit from time to time. Maybe don’t indulge that thought too much though. Just take some time for yourself. Take a breath. Have a bath. It might make you feel a bit better.”
Kurstin / Grohl – Stay (Lisa Loeb)
For the second year running, Dave Grohl is celebrating Hanukkah by teaming up with producer Greg Kurstin to cover songs made famous by Jewish artists. To kick off the song series, Grohl and Kurstin are tackling Lisa Loeb’s hit “Stay (I Missed You).”
The song’s corresponding video alternates between scenes of Grohl, wearing a dress, gently singing the opening of each verse, and Grohl, with his faced pressed up against the camera, screaming the rest of the song’s lyrics. Watch it below.
The inaugural edition of Grohl and Kurstin’s Hanukkah Sessions saw them cover songs by Beastie Boys (“Sabotage”), Drake (“Hotline Bling”), Mountain (“Mississippi Queen”), Peaches (“Fuck the Pain Away”), Bob Dylan (“Rainy Day Women #12 & 35”), Elastica (“Connection”), The Knack (“Frustrated”), and The Velvet Underground (“Rock and Roll”).
The Beatles – Get Back
I’ve only watched Episode one of Get Back so far, but what an incredible piece of work it is.
Production of The Beatles: Get Back employed film restoration techniques developed for Jackson's They Shall Not Grow Old.[7] Sixty hours of film footage and over 150 hours of audio stemming from the original Let It Be film project were made available to Jackson's team.[8] In reference to the long-reported acrimony surrounding the original Get Back project, Jackson wrote in a press statement that he was "relieved to discover the reality is very different to the myth ... Sure, there's moments of drama – but none of the discord this project has long been associated with."[9]
Jackson spent around four years editing the series.[10] It was created with cooperation from Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and the widows of John Lennon (Yoko Ono) and George Harrison (Olivia Harrison),[9] as well as music supervisor Giles Martin (son of George Martin and a regular producer of Beatles projects since 2006).[11] In a news release, McCartney said: "I am really happy that Peter has delved into our archives to make a film that shows the truth about the Beatles recording together", while Starr echoed: "There was hours and hours of us just laughing and playing music, not at all like the Let It Be film that came out [in 1970]. There was a lot of joy and I think Peter will show that."[12]
Miles Kane – Nothing’s Ever Gonna Be Good Enough ft. Corinne Bailey-Rae
Miles Kane has shared a new single called ‘Nothing’s Ever Gonna Be Good Enough’ featuring Corinne Bailey Rae . The collaborative track is the fourth taste of Kane’s upcoming album ‘Change The Show’, which is due for release on January 21 via BMG. It follows ‘See Ya When I See Ya’, ‘Caroline’ and ‘Don’t Let It Get You Down’.
“I love the back and forth between us,” Kane explained of his latest song in a statement. “I wanted an Ike and Tina vibe, not a gratuitous guest. Unfortunately, we had to record it remotely, but we’ll perform it on stage together I’m sure.”
Bailey Rae added ”I love this song and can’t get it out of my head. So pleased to be on it with my dear friend Miles.” ‘Nothing’s Ever Gonna Be Good Enough’ comes with a nostalgic, seaside-set official video.
Planes Mistaken for Stars – The Past Two
Gared O'Donnell, lead vocalist, guitarist and founding member of Planes Mistaken For Stars, has passed away. He died Wednesday (Nov. 24) at the age of 44 after a battle with esophageal cancer.
The band shared a statement on Instagram, writing, in part, “It is impossible to express the depth of sorrow in which we must announce that Gared O’Donnell, our brother, our leader, our captain, who has done more to cultivate love and light in this world than any of us can understand, has moved on from his physical form here with us and crossed the rainbow bridge into the eternal ether. In his final days/hours, he was surrounded by the love of his family, his friends, his bandmates, and many others from afar.”
O'Donnell co-founded Planes Mistaken For Stars in 1997 in Peoria, Illinois, with guitarist Mat Bellinger, drummer Mike Ricketts and bassist Aaron Wise. They released a self-titled EP and then relocated to Denver, Colorado. They followed the EP with their debut album Fuck With Fire via No Idea Records in 2001, Up in Them Guts in 2004, and Mercy in 2006.
The band then disbanded until 2010 when they began touring occasionally. The band's fourth album, Prey, came out in 2016. It was their last with O'Donnell.
O'Donnell announced in August 2020 that he had been diagnosed with Stage 3 esophageal cancer. In their statement, the band mentioned O'Donnell was working on new music and that they hope to be able to share it in the future.
Green Day – Hitchin’ a Ride
Green Day have shared a 1998 live recording of them performing ‘Hitchin’ A Ride’ for the BBC. The pop punk legends said they were releasing the recording to celebrate Thanksgiving, writing: ”Bringing you out of the food coma” on Twitter.
‘Hitchin’ A Ride’ is one of dozens of tracks performed by the band for BBC Maida Vale sessions in 1994, 1996, 1998 and 2001. The album, titled ‘The BBC Sessions’, is released on December 10. Other performances from their 1998 session include the songs ‘Nice Guys Finish Last’ ‘Prosthetic Head’ and ‘Redundant’, all from the band’s 1997 album ‘Nimrod’.
Jim Lindberg – You’re Not Alone
For years, Jim Lindberg has been the powerful voice with an often poignant viewpoint while fronting Pennywise. While the band's music has often been more forceful, he's stripping things back a bit while keeping that same passion on his solo acoustic debut album Songs From the Elkhorn Trail, giving fans another taste of new music with the uplifting song "You're Not Alone."
J Robbins – Uncle John
Jawbox frontman J. Robbins is releasing a split 7" with Her Head's On Fire (another band fronted by Sid Jagger aka Joseph Grillo of Garrison, Gay For Johnny Depp, etc and also featuring members of Small Brown Bike and Saves The Day) on December 17 via New Granada (pre-order). The artwork (pictured above) was designed by Gameface frontman Jeff Caudill.
J's contribution is "Uncle John," and like most of the songs on J's 2019 solo debut, it's a post-hardcore ripper that you could picture Jawbox writing in the '90s.
"'Uncle John' is one of my favorite people in the world, an octogenarian former neighbor of mine who has become a good friend," J tells us. "Beneath his thin facade of normality hides a metaphysician and intellectual prankster with a wicked sense of humor. I only recently found out that in his younger days, he was a military high-speed ballistics photographer, contracted by the Warren Commission to take pictures of bullets as they pierced decapitated human heads, to help prove that Lee Harvey Oswald could have been Kennedy's lone assassin. There's going to be a whole other song about that. This song is just a tribute to a weird and wonderful individual whose friendship I greatly cherish."
The Wonder Years – Threadbare
With the festive season on the way, Philly pop-punk legends The Wonder Years are getting in the spirit with a beautiful new Christmas song, Threadbare. The track arrives over a decade since their last original Christmas number, 2008's Christmas At 22, with the band writing: "For the first time in 13 years, we’ve written a new Christmas song. It’s called Threadbare."
The Wonder Years haven't released a new album since 2018's Sister Cities. Singer Dan Campbell: "For me, and I’m sure for many of you, the last 18 months have been the hardest I can remember, mentally and emotionally," the singer explained. "A lot of it felt like one long, grey spiral and I stayed afloat, in part, by writing these songs for and about other people. It gave me purpose and structure and connection when I badly needed it."