This is probably my favourite youtube video yet…

That’s it!

50 seconds of the instrumental from Crime Mob’s riotmongering “Knuck If You Buck”.

A dude rapping a few cusses about a “rake-lookin-ass-nigga”.

Still images of the lookin az things, that appear in time with the rapping.

There’s a follow up by another dude. It’s a little weak but it does introduce the concept of somebody looking like a flock, something I had never before considered.

Timing. It’s all about timing.
I have no idea whether these two videos are part of a greater “lookin az ning” scene or whether they are the only examples. I can only hope more lookin az videos appear on youtube.

In fact have the instrumental so you can make your own…

Crime Mob – Knuck If You Buck (Instrumental) 2004

Barbara Mason – Yes, I’m Ready 1965

A beautiful record this.
Written and recorded by an eighteen year old Barbara Mason in 1965, “Yes, I’m Ready” hit number five on the US pop chart. It’s a perfect teen record. It’s achingly, painfully sincere.

Mason has had a long career since this first single though it’s probably still her best known song. If you buy a greatest hits or get it on a compilation it tends to be a later, smoother rerecording which to my ears has little of the original’s appeal.

Check out the great be-penguined Artic label! I guess nobody told them penguins only live in the southern-hemisphere…

Alan Moorhouse and his Bond Street Brigade – Funky Fever 1972

African-American college kids don’t have a patent on funky marching bands of course. Here’s a UK charity shop favourite from the man who wrote “Boom Bang-A-Bang”. This tune fortunately has a lot more boom and a lot more bang than Lulu’s Eurovision song contest winner.

The Bethune-Cookman College Marching Wildcats – Percussion Feature 2000
The NC A&T Blue & Gold Marching Machine – Janet Medley
The Norfolk State University Marching Spartan Legion – Spirit Mix

Finding downloadable MP3s of HBCU marching bands is hard work. I’ve done a fair bit of trawling round all the individual university websites and turned some up that way. Many colleges have streaming music on thier site. If you like the music and want to hear more I’d suggest using this department of education list of black colleges and work from there. If you find anything good be sure to tell me.

Above are three of the best recordings I’ve found. The Bethune-Cookman one is just great drumming. The Janet medley is a low quality recording but the brass arrangements on it are superb and the Spartan Legion track is pure Hiphop played by a hundred people. Very vital.

If everything goes according to plan this post should go live at about the same time my plane takes off from Heathrow, flying me to San Francisco for a week. Unfortunately there aren’t any marching bands playing in the Bay area that week.
I’ll have to go to Atlanta for my next holiday.

There’ll be more posts throughout the week thanks to the marvels of wordpress and scheduling, all while I’ll be busy living the high life. In the land of the two dollar pound the British man is king!

I almost always have an obsession. It could be a single song, like TV On The Radio’s “Staring At The Sun”. It could be the new Pokemon game (in fact I’m sure it will be next week). It could be a particular comic artist. It could be a disco producer. People who know me will tell you this. I become obsessed with something and after a few weeks it cools and it becomes just another part of my larger taste, part of my general interests.

My current obsession is with Marching Bands. (more…)