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Brandon Ousley

@brandonousley • 6,136 subscribers

Music enthusiast. Writer. Creator. Student. Bylines (so far): @discogs, @bandcamp, and others. Inquiries/contact: [email protected]

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David Ruffin envisioned The Temptations' iconic four-headed microphone stand. The stand was beneficial for the members to sing while performing their intricate choreography freely around it. It's unclear if Ruffin ever got it patented.

David Ruffin envisioned The Temptations' iconic four-headed microphone stand. The stand was beneficial for the members to sing while performing their intricate choreography freely around it. It's unclear if Ruffin ever got it patented.

141,184 次观看 • 1 年前

Àngela Winbush wasn't fooling anyone, but both are '80s R&B classics.

Àngela Winbush wasn't fooling anyone, but both are '80s R&B classics.

112,063 次观看 • 1 年前

What other program would've ever let Stevie Wonder—one of the most prominent musicians of the time—improvise a Black as hell song off the dome on daytime national TV? This was just as the crossover success of "Superstition" and its parent album, Talking Book was taking off, too.

What other program would've ever let Stevie Wonder—one of the most prominent musicians of the time—improvise a Black as hell song off the dome on daytime national TV? This was just as the crossover success of "Superstition" and its parent album, Talking Book was taking off, too.

98,228 次观看 • 2 年前

RIP Cat Glover.

RIP Cat Glover.

60,129 次观看 • 2 年前

There are many great Aretha Franklin performances, but the one that lives rent-free is her covering "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)" during a 1965 taping of the Shindig! TV show. From Aretha belting a gospel-fueled E5 note to girl group The Blossoms cheering her on (notice Darlene Love's reaction), there are many layers to this early performance.

There are many great Aretha Franklin performances, but the one that lives rent-free is her covering "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)" during a 1965 taping of the Shindig! TV show. From Aretha belting a gospel-fueled E5 note to girl group The Blossoms cheering her on (notice Darlene Love's reaction), there are many layers to this early performance.

34,176 次观看 • 1 年前

Album of the day. What I admired most about Prince's later work was his ability to churn out contemporary music that didn't stray too far from his retro Minneapolis funk roots. While he was miles away from his creative peak by this point, he still made worthy music that more or less showcased his incredible pop craftsmanship. This is greatly evident on solid late-career gems, such as his 31st (yes, he was that prolific) studio album, 2006's 3121, which was released 20 years ago today. Similar to its successful predecessor, 2004's Musicology, 3121 was consciously helmed as a radio-friendly, mainstream release meant to revisit facets of his past glories while whetting the appetites of the large pop following he won over again. Only this one went a few steps ahead of Musicology, thanks to the Purple One stretching out and toying with Latin-tinged numbers ("Te Amo Corazón," "The Dance," "Get on the Boat"), mininalist, futuristic funk ("Black Sweat," "Love"), optimistic love songs ("Beautiful, Loved, and Blessed"), guitar-laden rockers ("Fury"), and bedroom burners ("Satisfied," "Incense and Candles"). It's the kind of album a veteran makes when they have nothing left to prove. And thanks to Prince, it never fails to be an engaging portrait of a master at the top of his game, making well-crafted music in the fourth decade of his storied career and having fun doing it.

Album of the day. What I admired most about Prince's later work was his ability to churn out contemporary music that didn't stray too far from his retro Minneapolis funk roots. While he was miles away from his creative peak by this point, he still made worthy music that more or less showcased his incredible pop craftsmanship. This is greatly evident on solid late-career gems, such as his 31st (yes, he was that prolific) studio album, 2006's 3121, which was released 20 years ago today. Similar to its successful predecessor, 2004's Musicology, 3121 was consciously helmed as a radio-friendly, mainstream release meant to revisit facets of his past glories while whetting the appetites of the large pop following he won over again. Only this one went a few steps ahead of Musicology, thanks to the Purple One stretching out and toying with Latin-tinged numbers ("Te Amo Corazón," "The Dance," "Get on the Boat"), mininalist, futuristic funk ("Black Sweat," "Love"), optimistic love songs ("Beautiful, Loved, and Blessed"), guitar-laden rockers ("Fury"), and bedroom burners ("Satisfied," "Incense and Candles"). It's the kind of album a veteran makes when they have nothing left to prove. And thanks to Prince, it never fails to be an engaging portrait of a master at the top of his game, making well-crafted music in the fourth decade of his storied career and having fun doing it.

11,191 次观看 • 5 个月前

Album of the day. It's hard to believe Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite is now 30. Concept albums seemed passé in modern R&B/soul until 23-year-old New York-born, creamy falsetto-voiced Maxwell arrived. Taking cues from Marvin Gaye's mid-'70s work like 1976’s I Want You and 1978’s Here, My Dear as well as Prince's '80s-peak classics, Maxwell drawed his sound on warm, analog '70s soul and funk with the help of Sade alum, Stuart Matthewman, beloved session guitarist Wah Wah Watson, and smooth soul maestro, Leon Ware. The result was an undeniable masterpiece of '90s soul, a romantic song cycle that traced the monogamous relationship between a young Black couple, from them first hooking up to making love, then breaking up to matrimony. Starting off with the slap bass-imbued funk instrumental “The Urban Suite” all the way to the slow-build seduction of “The Suite Theme,” this is first-rate sophisticated modern soul that’s dancefloor friendly as much as it’s bedroom-centric. Classics like the Leon Ware-assisted “Sumthin' Sumthin’” and the loose nu-disco funk jam, “Dancewitme” conjures the scene of Maxwell and his love eyeing each other in a club as they start to dance before heading back to his pad for some conversation and love-making on steamy seducers like “Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder)” and “...Til the Cops Come Knockin’,” the former of which is steeped in the tradition of Marvin Gaye and continued by Prince of melding eroticism with divinity. In fact, it always tripped me out how this album dropped on Marvin Gaye's birthday. Coincidence, eh?

Album of the day. It's hard to believe Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite is now 30. Concept albums seemed passé in modern R&B/soul until 23-year-old New York-born, creamy falsetto-voiced Maxwell arrived. Taking cues from Marvin Gaye's mid-'70s work like 1976’s I Want You and 1978’s Here, My Dear as well as Prince's '80s-peak classics, Maxwell drawed his sound on warm, analog '70s soul and funk with the help of Sade alum, Stuart Matthewman, beloved session guitarist Wah Wah Watson, and smooth soul maestro, Leon Ware. The result was an undeniable masterpiece of '90s soul, a romantic song cycle that traced the monogamous relationship between a young Black couple, from them first hooking up to making love, then breaking up to matrimony. Starting off with the slap bass-imbued funk instrumental “The Urban Suite” all the way to the slow-build seduction of “The Suite Theme,” this is first-rate sophisticated modern soul that’s dancefloor friendly as much as it’s bedroom-centric. Classics like the Leon Ware-assisted “Sumthin' Sumthin’” and the loose nu-disco funk jam, “Dancewitme” conjures the scene of Maxwell and his love eyeing each other in a club as they start to dance before heading back to his pad for some conversation and love-making on steamy seducers like “Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder)” and “...Til the Cops Come Knockin’,” the former of which is steeped in the tradition of Marvin Gaye and continued by Prince of melding eroticism with divinity. In fact, it always tripped me out how this album dropped on Marvin Gaye's birthday. Coincidence, eh?

10,632 次观看 • 5 个月前

Only Stevie Wonder would debut his backing band with a promised album on one of the biggest nights of music only to hold back and shelve the album.

Only Stevie Wonder would debut his backing band with a promised album on one of the biggest nights of music only to hold back and shelve the album.

20,983 次观看 • 1 年前

Very much unheard of for its time. Songs in the Key of Life was so huge that Motown came up with a novel idea to promote it by outfitting a bus in Sydney, Australia with a sound system and played the album in its entirety to the delight (and sometimes annoyance) of passengers. It was called the Wonderbus.

Very much unheard of for its time. Songs in the Key of Life was so huge that Motown came up with a novel idea to promote it by outfitting a bus in Sydney, Australia with a sound system and played the album in its entirety to the delight (and sometimes annoyance) of passengers. It was called the Wonderbus.

18,596 次观看 • 2 年前

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