The Playlist Of The Week

Turn on your iPod, press "Shuffle Songs" and see what happens...

"I Want You Back", Jackson 5

This is a classic. I love the introduction and the song basically, although, I must admit, I've never really liked Mickael Jackson... I know he's talented, he did some great stuff (especially his Off The Wall) but I've always hated his beats, repetitive and shadeless. It feels like the song is lifeless, empty. For me, he is responsible of the crappy things we can listen to today, highly inspired by the schema he created for his songs: the same beat from the begining up till the end, crappy background instruments to support the voice and very poor lyrics... He had something else of course, something the others don't have and that's why it kind of worked for him (musically of course, since regarding the sales of his records, he could scare everyone...) but it doesn't for the others...

"Blues For Barclay", Django Reinhardt, Pêche à la Mouche


Django is the best guitarist of all time. He invented it and nobody ever reach the same level of virtuosity. Plus you have to know the guy left the use of two of his left hand's fingers meaning he was the greatest guitarist of all time and could not use half of his hand! As a Gypsy, Django was living in a trailer, in North of France when one night, it took fire with him inside causing him the burning of his hand. The guy was initially playing the banjo and learned to play the guitar because it was easier for him after the accident... He was one of these men that can do anything, one of the few men that conquered the world and made everyone agree on his genious...

"Love That Girl", Raphael Saadiq, The Way I See It


Raphael Saadiq started as a producer and decided one day to make his own record. A good one with that with a lot of guests (Joss Stone, Stevie Wonder...). However, if I like the effort, I have to admit I don't like this new trend of doing new records with old stuff. That's basically what Saadiq did here: he wrote some oldies and recorded them with a good old sound and it's great but it's also showing the huge lack of creativity and imagination of our generation. It shows that we haven't done anything better than what's been done in the 60s-70s... and I believe it is sad for one and also not very true... you just have to know where to look...

"Someday We'll All Be Free", Donnie Hathaway

This is only chance! This is a very good example to support what I was saying about Saadiq! The very same kind of thing has already been done before, and it sounded better... I love Donnie Hathaway. I don't know much of him but the few songs I know are great and his voice is unbelievable. This is some good old sound and it doesn't sound made up since it actually was the sound of that time.

"See The Sky About To Rain", Neil Young, On The Beach


This record is brilliant. One of my favourite Neil Young records. Although this song is not so good according to me... A bit too kitschy. That's the thing about Neil Young: there are some stuff I really dig, I really love but some other I really don't and sometime on the very same record! But it's still good to listen though. "Walk On", here is a song I love!