Male soul singers came in basically two stripes in the ’80s. Either you were a high-pitched bundle of energy like Michael Jackson, or you were a neo-Mathis style crooner, like Luther Vandross or Freddie Jackson. Some guys, like Prince and El DeBarge, split the difference. However, one archetype that faded from view pretty quickly in the decade was the old-school soul shouter. Think Otis Redding or Wilson Pickett or, for a more recent example, Teddy Pendergrass. Remember the part in Eddie Murphy’s “Delirious” where he quoted TP’s “Only You” and said that Teddy would “scare the (women) into liking him”?

Well, if you are going to call any singer from the Eighties a worthy successor to TP (whose sex symbol status was compromised by a 1982 car crash that left him paralyzed,) then it would probably be Alexander O’Neal. Born in Mississippi, Alexander moved to Minneapolis and very quickly enmeshed himself into the local music scene, eventually becoming the lead singer of an outfit called Flyte Tyme. That band eventually morphed into The Time, and they parlayed their association with Prince into a series of successful singles and albums. However, O’Neal was bounced from the band before recording their first album. Various reasons for Alex getting the boot have been floated, ranging from O’Neal requesting too much money to Alexander being “too black” for Prince’s liking. Either way, while his old band (with drummer Morris Day now installed as lead singer) toured the country, Alexander stayed in Minneapolis. However, when Time members Jimmy “Jam” Harris and Terry Lewis were fired from the band (and wound up becoming hit producers,) they came calling, and Alexander found himself signed to Tabu Records, who released his self-titled debut album in 1985.

A funk jam called “Innocent” was the first single, but the album’s best known track is probably the tender ballad “If You Were Here Tonight.” The song hit the Top 20 on Billboard’s R&B chart and the resulting video showed off Alexander’s acting skills. Or maybe not.

I could go on and on about Alexander’s ridiculously emotive facial expressions in this clip, but it’s best that you watch for yourself. Extra points if you can make it through his pained writhing on the bed with a straight face. He’s trying to sell it hard, though. You’ve gotta give him credit for that.

This might have marked both the peak and the nadir of Alexander’s video career, but musically, he was far from done. 1987′s Hearsay went platinum, and songs like “Fake” and “Criticize” (both of which found Alexander sweating like Whitney Houston during one of her crack-era live performances) became dance floor classics. However, a growing drug problem would soon prove to be his undoing. It was three years before he made another album, 1990′s All True Man, and by his fourth album, Love Makes No Sense, Jam & Lewis were pretty much out of the picture, and the magic was gone.

Alexander continues to record and release music, and his next project is rumored to be a duets album with long-time singing partner Cherrelle. He recently showed up on an episode of TVOne’s “Unsung” (the #1 television series at Jheri Curl Fridays HQ), and tours the world, where he retains a healthy following, especially in the U.K., where it has been scientifically proven that over 60% of the ’80s worst videos originated. Let’s hope Alex didn’t have aspirations for an acting career…

Each edition of SMD features Sort-Of Soundtrack, an optional metal song that plays in a new window. Click HERE for some raw-dog heaviness.

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Is your workplace committed to making the same mistakes? What makes a good boss? Tell us in the comments section! Feel free to use a fake name.

The American adaptation of The Office is, in its own way, the most consistently interesting show on stateside television. It’s a network microcosm show, one that reflects the nature and fate of the network that carries it. The Sopranos was that show for HBO, from the way it served as the flagship of a new era of bold, original programming, to the way it exhibited sometimes too much ambition for its own good, to the way its controversial ending signaled a period of instability and bad decisions for the network. The Office, too, shows us what’s happening at NBC. It led the charge in the heady, late-period days of the network’s Thursday night comedy domination, only to echo NBC’s steady decline in overall quality and viewership despite ever-rarer moments of brilliance (Kings, anyone?). I may be getting ahead of myself here, but I can’t help but see a little kismet in the fact that The Office just trotted out its first promising plotline in ages in the very same week NBC crawled out of the ratings sewer it has called home for years now. Between The Voice and Smash (the latter of which actually has a lot going for it), NBC pulled off one of its best weeks in recent memory, hinting at a potential revival if it can continue to do right by its creative resources.

And then we get “Special Project”, the first episode of The Office that has had any punch at all since the drawn-out departure of Steve Carell. The episode has Sabre corporate calling down on Dwight from on high to assemble a team and come to Florida for three weeks to develop and establish a brick-and-mortar store. Through a fairly amusing process of elimination, he ends up with Jim, Stanley, Erin, Ryan and new girl Cathy. Now, the show is going to spend a few episodes lingering in Tallahassee to see what happens with a change of scenery and essentially a change of premise, only checking in on the Scranton folks from time to time as a through-line.

I’m cautiously optimistic about this development and not just in theory. The “Florida Cast” is a mix of reliable leads and fun, if under-serviced, supporting players. There’s a combination of comedy and drama in the offing, especially with Erin’s new quest for self-determination, and The Office has always been at its best when the laughs are seasoned with pathos. If this experiment is a success, that’d be just grand. If it falls flat, that’s worth exploring, too. Either way, I’m going to do a write-up for each week of the expedition to talk about whether The Office (and potentially NBC with it) is emerging from its rut or if the whole thing is just an extended field trip episode. I hope you’ll be watching and reading along with me, as well as adding your own thoughts to the discussion.

Two members of the band-bassist Marley D. Williams and drummer Wesley Finley-took a break from a national headlining tour to dish about their Desert Island Discs, a diverse array of music that goes from gangsta rap to Canadian indie rock.

Marley D Williams:

Bob Marley and The Wailers Legend
If I was stuck on a deserted island with a dope sound system, I would be just fine if I had these five albums.

Legend by Bob Marley and The Wailers is a must. This album is packed with his top hits and besides being island music, it is life music. His message and sound is universal and positive. I grew up on Bob Marley and my mom even named me after him. I owe so much to what he has done with his music and could listen to him anytime.

Dr. Dre Chronic 2001
Next up is Chronic 2001 by Dr. Dre. This album you can play the whole way through at a party and people can’t help but dance and put a few drinks back. Dr. Dre is my favorite producer of all time and his formula to separating the highs, mids and lows is uncanny. His beats and hooks are catchy yet still hard. It takes a lot of talent to do this and because of it, you are left bobbing your head every time.

Sublime Sublime
Sublime’s self-titled album is one of those albums that only comes out rarely. It is a complete mixture of so many genres. I would say it is the 7 iron of golf when it comes to music and you could arguably say that all 5 of the albums on my list are mixed into it. From the first track to the last track you are enjoying it’s diversity and originality. So many great memories while listening to this album.

Red Hot Chili Peppers Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Blood Sugar Sex Magik by the Red Hot Chili Peppers is one of the first albums that I listened to over and over again. I appreciate how funky it is while still incorporating rock. So many great songs on this album!

A Tribe Called Quest Midnight Marauders
Midnight Marauders by A Tribe Called Quest serves as my Hip Hop side of the bunch. This album is full of catchy punch lines and awesome old school horn samples. Q Tip and Phife Dawg bounce of each other greatly with their poetic rhymes and shine with their original voices and style.

Wesley Finley:

Dredg El Cielo
My favorite album of all time. An opus from beginning to end, the album is conceptually based on sleep paralysis and dreams. Surrealism is subsequently tied into the dream imagery, and a nod to Dali can be seen in the first track’s title – “Brushstroke: dcbtfoabaaposba”, which is an acronym for Dali’s famous painting “Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate One Second Before Awakening”. I always feel like I’ve gone on a long journey after listening to it, which is what conceptual albums are meant to express.

Face it. You’re addicted to love if you’re still dedicated to dating Grade A assholes. No matter how many times you tell yourself you’re done with these toxic tangles, you land in that lame lover’s arms again. And again. Philandering pheromones are to blame for those nights you need a little loving without logic. Rock ‘em like a hurricane and blow outta there like a Category 5.

["I Only Want You" Eagles of Death Metal, Peace Love Death Metal, AntAcidAudio, 2004]

Song for the Soundtrack of Your No Date Tonight

So far there are no reported cases of telepathic dating, yet somehow it’s surprising to be dateless without ever making an effort to snag a sweetie. Time to use the tools that technology gave you. Transport that lust through a landline. You’ll be livin’ large in your Living Room if you do.

["Living Room" Tegan and Sara, If It Was You, Vapor Records, 2002]

(The video portion of this post might be NSFW.)

There have been many pieces written in the past couple of days about how important Don Cornelius was to popular culture. The entertainment mogul, who died on Wednesday, is best known as the creator of the long-running dance/variety show “Soul Train.” From 1971 to 2006, the show (and it’s various offshoots) offered the best of R&B, jazz, gospel and hip-hop, and it’s importance can’t be understated.

Cornelius was also a talent scout. Along with the late Dick Griffey, he founded Soul Train Records (later SOLAR Records,) the label that gave us The Whispers and Shalamar (and later The Deele, the band that spawned entertainment moguls L.A. Reid and Babyface.) Cornelius and Griffey’s partnership eventually dissolved, but Don went on to discover an R&B singer named O’Bryan. While his name is likely unfamiliar to the average pop music fan, O’Bryan released four albums on Capitol Records during the Eighties, and scored a handful of R&B chart hits, including two top fives: 1982′s “The Gigolo”, and the track we’re spotlighting here, 1984′s #1 smash “Lovelite.”

“Lovelite” is a sprightly little funk number that was a perfect fit on the radio next to songs like “Breakin…There’s No Stoppin’ Us” and “When Doves Cry.” I’ll be honest with you-I’d never seen the video until I got ready to put together this post. Holy moly-there’s so much to snark on in this clip I don’t know where to begin!! The video continues in the great ’80s tradition of featuring a full band when there’s only a bank of synthesizers actually being played on the song. There is more jheri curl juice used in this video than in my previous thirty entries in this series combined (not to mention a really bizarre blond highlight job by one of the “instrumentalists”,) and the whole thing is camp city.

Two things stand out majorly here. I kept looking at O’Bryan’s choice of jacket and thinking “Michael Jackson.” At first, I thought it was just the vague military design of the jacket and then I realized something.

OK-so they’re not exactly the same. Still…interesting.

The second thing I noticed was…there’s nudity in this video! Since MTV wasn’t playing that many black artists, I don’t think that was a concern, but I’m pretty sure BET (to say nothing of network TV) wouldn’t have gone near this clip with as many boob shots as it has (there’s also a shot of a guy’s bare ass–equal rights.) After doing a little research (i.e. scouring through a couple of comments on YouTube) it was mentioned that this particular version of the video was meant for the Playboy Channel. Who knew they even played videos?

At any rate, “Lovelite” was O’Bryan’s biggest hit, but not necessarily his best known song. His song “Soul Train’s A-Comin’,” written in tribute to the man who mentored him, went on to be used as “Soul Train”‘s theme through the late Eighties and into the early Nineties. O’Bryan still records and performs-his most recent album was released about five years ago. As one of the most direct beneficiaries of Cornelius, I’m sure he feels Don’s loss keenly. It’s hard for some younger folks to imagine a world where black music wasn’t given an equal playing field-especially in light of the influence R&B and hip-hop have over the musical landscape today. Don Cornelius is as responsible for bringing on this change as anyone, and he will be missed.

Each edition of SMD features Sort-Of Soundtrack, an optional metal song that plays in a new window. Click HERE fo ugly, heavy, subversive music.

Click the pic to enlarge.

How does your boss do sandbag other people’s ideas? Tell us in the comments section!

The Pimps of Joytime lit up Divisadero Street in San Francisco this past weekend, playing back-to-back sold-out shows at the pristine sounding Independent and giving all the patrons in attendance serious cause to dance. The Pimps of Joytime were joined by local stalwart Eric McFadden, who lent his much acclaimed guitar prowess to the group throughout the night. McFadden has sat in with everyone from George Clinton to Eric Burdon and the Animals, and though the Pimps are led by multi-instrumentalist Brian J, McFadden’s presence was certainly a driving force to their live set, his contribution rounding out the band’s signature funk with a darker rock edge.

On Saturday night, the Brooklyn based ensemble opened with “San Francisco Bound”, an appropriate (and auspicious) track that paved the way for a long set of rock infused funk and soul music. And all throughout, the people could not stop dancing. It’s rather rare to see a live band incite a packed room to move tirelessly to the music all night, but the Pimps brought a level of energy to the venue that was palpable and the crowd fed off it, resulting in the sort of giddy excitement that one can only find on a Saturday night at a sold-out club with a really engaged audience and spirited live band.

Perhaps it was the addition of McFadden, with whom the band does not regularly play, but they were a little loose around the edges, a little less than tight and spot-on, but that imperfection did not detract at all from the infectious vibe of the show. Even if you aren’t a fan of all funk music (I, for one, get bored by the groups that rely too heavily on horns), the Pimps’ musical concoction serves as a testament to the vital musical movement of New Orleans, but theirs is also flavored by Latin, Afrobeat, salsa, and pop and redressed with an urban sophistication. The Brooklyn soul scene is a dynamo in the music world these days, with the Daptone label and artists like Sharon Jones and the Budos Band lighting up stages worldwide, and New York’s Pimps of Joytime are a reminder of how commanding music can be when it’s driven by the right blend of old school soul and led with an animated new vision. Even through the boozy haze that saturated the audience all night (as evidenced by the heavily frequented bar), the Pimps of Joytime’s charismatic live show was immensely memorable to the San Franciscans in attendance that night, and I’ll speak for all of us when I say our collective breath is bated until they come back and bring us more.

And it is only fitting that I now tip my hat to Soul Train impresario Don Cornelius, to whom the world sadly bid adieu this morning. Without him and the legacy he paved, the sounds of soul and funk would be much quieter, and much less colorful too.

Each edition of SMD features Sort-Of Soundtrack, an optional metal song that plays in a new window. Click HERE for a flashback jammy that’ll  make your explode, for realz.

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Do you get frustrated when exotic fictional plots don’t seem — IYHO — plausible? Tell us in the comments section!

Song for the Soundtrack of Your Date Tonight
Hey, here’s something we don’t talk about every day – both women AND men are guilty of pre-date giddiness. Let’s face it. Sometimes the best part of a big date is the anticipation. You may not know where it’s going, but you sure know how you’d like the night to end. Greg Laswell picked this week’s song just for this occasion. He calls this one a “pre-game (before the big date)” song. Rock along.

["Bohemian Like You" The Dandy Warhols, Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia, Capitol Records, 2000]

Song for the Soundtrack of Your No Date Tonight
As you sit with your heartbreak and your pint of Ben & Jerry’s tonight, remember you’re not alone. As you mine for each chocolate-covered-caramel-crusted pretzel, find comfort in a song and a belief that although love has kicked your ass, the only way to get back into the game is to stand back up. And if you get knocked down, get back up again. Love is a battlefield.

["Comes and Goes (In Waves)" Greg Laswell, Three Flights from Alto Nido, Vanguard Records, 2008]