I haven’t made many personal playlists for people, but I’m moving in that direction with technologies making it much easier. Imagine if Spotify or some other music service made it so simple to compare your music taste with someone close to you and serve up suggestions, building something that constantly updates based on each of your moods, new music, new connections, and so much else.
Until then, here’s a static playlist I made for my pops for Father’s day. I actually don’t call him father or pops, so here’s to you dad: a mix of old soul to get familiar with again and new soul that’s already among the greats for me, and hopefully one day for you too. Thanks for introducing me to the music that inspired what I love today!
SG Lewis asked his Twitter followers what were their favourite sad soul songs. Similar to what I did with brokemogul’s “Best Music Documentaries,” I took over 100 responses and compiled it down to 77 songs.
What I love about this list is how deeply personal and eclectic it is. It comes from over 100 different people who have the same purpose in mind and some level of love for SG Lewis but are probably pretty different otherwise. I removed a few songs that didn’t fit and some late 80’s/early 90’s R&B, but I tried to keep too much of my bias out of it.
It was hard to define what’s sad and what’s soul music. Or what’s old for that matter. Some songs may sound happy – Sam Cooke’s “Good Times” is a good example – but can be used just as well for sad times. The Twitter responses pushed the boundaries of what soul music can be defined as, which I can appreciate to a certain point (it’s still a good song.)
My biggest conflict was not including Angie Stone’s “Wish I Didn’t Miss You” and it’s for the most childish reason. Seriously, wait for it. I swear there’s a random fart noise every measure or so. Or am I just making this shit up? First one starts 14 seconds in. It’s an otherwise genuinely beautiful song.
SG Lewis still has yet to post his own sad soul song. Maybe we can get 77 more in the next year with his choice included.
I’m not gonna make this a bigger deal than it is, we’re not here for the imagery, but Spook Black did a piss poor job on his visuals (mostly video). His voice, however, has something I’ve only heard from a few others in the last decade – the first I can remember from our very own The Weeknd back in 2010. Though The Weeknd went the elusive route in the beginning, something Spooky should have considered.
We did save him for our one-thousandth post, so hopefully that’ll show our appreciation for his potential.
[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/137277440" iframe="false" params="player_type=tiny&font=Arial&color=292929" height="18" /]
When I first caught glimpse of Mattafix a couple years back I wasn’t a Big Fan (haha, sorry, just watched this film). I wasn’t really into their style at the time, but thought they had some potential, so I threw ’em into my collection anyway. A couple months went by, and I decided to give ’em another try. At this point I started to realize their talent, eventually becoming obsessed, and playing the album over and over again. I tend to do this a lot with albums I get hooked on, and it really pisses off my roommates (Pyramids in Moscow – being another good example). After my initial obsession subsided, two tracks stood out from the rest (even though I do enjoy a couple others). The first song being Things Have Changed, which I featured a couple months back, and the other being, of course, Stranger Forever.
Stranger Forever doesn’t have as meaningful of lyrics as Things Have Changed, but it does have a quality of its own. The basic premise is about recognizing someone from the past, but not knowing exactly where from. We’ve all had this happen to us… right Well, this is what Preetesh Hirji (vocalist for Mattafix) is trying to get across, and I must say, he does it with grace. Though, the more I listen to his lyrics, it simply sounds like some guy creepin’ on a girl at a bar, but besides that, the song is elegantly done with Hirji’s delicate voice… that’s sometimes confused for a woman’s, but let’s put that aside as well :). So, pop this shizz in (push play), and tell me what you think (of his voice)…
[audio:StrangerForever.mp3|titles=Stranger Forever](Download Link in Full Article)
The second feature in the Know Good Classics series, Cruisin’, is a soft & soulful trip by Smokey Robinson. It features Robinson’s delicate sound, accompanied with some (uncredited) backup vocals which harmonize with Robinson wonderfully. The song rekindles my appreciation for The Miracles and R&B, in general. It’s a perfect song for a nice, comforting night with a loved one.
[audio:Cruisin.mp3|titles=Cruisin’](Download Link in Post)