When first reported in July of 2010, imaginations began to stir: what brilliance would spring forth from the collaboration of Questlove, Salaam Remi and Amy Winehouse? I’d say this is a pretty good window into where it was headed, and the world would surely be a lesser place without this music in it.

Thanks to Questlove & Salaam Remi for giving us a chance to ponder what the world has lost in the smoky, illustrious and ethereal voice of Ms. Winehouse & time to admire the beauty that the three of you captured before anyone knew it was too late.

The complete collection of unreleased songs from Amy Winehouse, Lioness: Hidden Treasures will be out on 6 December in the U.S.. (via Swift.FM / Questlove)

Amy Winehouse – Halftime

London’s Leftside Wobble have put a stellar new spin on the classic acapella from Soul II Soul’s seminal “Back To Life” with the new song “Still Goin’ On”. Big upping the massive with this one? SEEN.

Leftside Wobble – Still Goin’ On by Leftside Wobble

When What’s Going On was released in 1971, things were sort of like they are now — America was mired in war, the economy was in turmoil, and popular music reflected two very conflicting pictures of our culture.

I think because of its gut-wrenching honesty and depth, Marvin Gaye made an album which, talked about time and again, survives all measure of cliche and hyperbole by music writers grasping at its meanings. It’s been revered and covered by a variety of artists in a number of different ways in the last 40 years. While there seems to me no question the timelessness of the album from which this song comes, I always feels like this song (which appears second on the album) is treated like an afterthought to the title track on the album. Though short and to the point, the song “What’s Happening Brother” by itself could just as easily have been written as an observatory tone poem about the times we’re living through right now.

And so, I throw it back to you for this Thursday Throwback. A big thanks to Fleet Foxes for reminding me (via Twitter) about the brilliant string arrangements on this album from the late David Van DePitte. “Are things really getting better like the newspapers say?”

Marvin Gaye – What’s Happening Brother

It seems like Memphis was overdue for a song that lets you know where we all come from (there just aren’t any, are there?), and it appears that “Representing Memphis” may well be the one. Well, okay, I kid — there are almost 1000 songs that mention the city of ‘Memphis’, validating the cultural impact and significance that the bluff city holds in the history of recorded music.

In that tradition, a new simmering soul stirrer giving props to the city that I call home appears on the new album from Memphis music legend Booker T. Jones, The Road From Memphis, which will be released on 10 May 2011 from Anti- Records.

With an all-star supporting cast, the album (produced by Booker T., Questlove and Rob Schnapf & recorded by Gabriel Roth from Daptone) features Booker T. being backed by the Legendary Roots Crew with special guest vocals from Yim Yames of My Morning Jacket, Lou Reed, and this song which features both Matt Berninger of The National and Sharon Jones.

Can you sing this one with me, Memphis? And hey — in case you’re not familiar with Harlem House (referred to in the song), they were restaurants that served the African-American community, intended to give service to those who were denied service at lunch counters in Memphis during segregation. A staple of African-American communities from one end of Memphis to the other, Memphis was once home to nine Harlem House Restaurants.

Booker T. Jones – Representing Memphis (feat. Matt Berninger and Sharon Jones) by antirecords

[ Pre-Order The Road From Memphis (VINYL) from Amazon here. ]

::: CHECK OUT ::: the video for Booker T.’s cover of “Everything is Everything” by Lauryn Hill.

Brand new video from Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, y’all.

My money makin’ Mexicano brother Prince Klassen, the cultural ambassador of all that is cultural, has decided to head to Japan for the summer to celebrate his 14th year of deejaying. Before he busted his move, however, he hit up my inbox with this simple re-edit of Cee-Lo Green’s latest single, “Georgia”. Dig it and hey — if you’re in Japan, I hope you run into Cristobal. Super-kakkoii.

Cee Lo Green – Georgia (Prince Klassen Intro Outro Edit) by loudersoft

[PURCHASE: Georgia - Single - Cee Lo Green]

The Legendary Roots Crew are called that for a reason. You know, these cats didn’t really have to prove it to anyone, but they did: they’re much bigger than hip-hop. The Roots have always been the unique light that shone from within hip-hop, the ones whose solidarity as a musical unit profoundly demonstrates that hip-hop holds a much greater power than its humble beginnings of MC’s and a DJ. The Roots as a band, intentionally or unintentionally, represent the struggle of real musicians & artists to stick together through whatever may come, seeming to remain friends and collaborators against all odds. People who know and love their music revere them with great reason; with their new album,How I Got Over, they have created one of 2010′s best albums and one which (I think) we will talk about for a long time.

What I love now (and always have) about The Roots is that at their core, they purport themselves as they actually are, as the most sincere and serious of music fans. Creating and playing isn’t just a job (though they understand the necessity of treating it as a job) — they are decidedly inclusive of the influence of artists and musicians whom they recognize as real and never shy away from it. They are consummate performers and creators, their image and music stressing the group’s unwritten formula of brotherhood as a blueprint to young people who might seek to have a life and career in music. At the same time, The Roots crew don’t hold themselves above their fan base. They embrace their fan base, treating them as part and parcel, wanting to give back constantly and, with this album, even asked fans to submit questions for the band to answer as part of the liner notes.

The code of the streets speak through their words and motions; an unraveled a heritage of musical pride and intense anger juxtaposed with fearless reverence can be heard in every track on How I Got Over. These tracks come across to me as a very personal expression about growing up feeling trapped within the ghettos of the mind, the daily collective and individual search within ourselves to unleash even the simple desire to want to do what is necessary to attain a better life. Black Thought’s verses and flows are as sharp and solid as they’ve ever been, underscored by equally on point guest verses from STS, Phonte, Dice Raw, Peedi Peedi, and Truck North on various tracks. ?uestlove’s scholarly and unflappable percussion adds symmetry and power to the poetry, highlighting the bleak backdrops with hopeful reverie. The song “The Fire”, a collabo with John Legend, is seamlessly executed, strengthening the album’s core dynamics, rounding out a resonating message of hope. The vocal contributions of Yim Yames on “Dear God” are plaintive bottled soul, and as with most of the collabos on this album, the track leaves it’s mark on listeners, begging the questions people often consider to themselves but fear to vocalize. There’s clearly a lot of mutual respect in the artistry between collaborators that is laced throughout this record, as if they all sensed how the importance of their contributions to the tracks they worked on. It doesn’t feel like anyone held back.

At the same time, How I Got Over seems to me a musical thank you note penned to (among others) Curtis Mayfield, Norman Whitfield and Roy Ayers. The time signatures and sounds are all there, demonstrating both gratitude and a directional move within the framework these men invented.

Through repeated listenings, I now firmly believe How I Got Over is an album by which the quality of other albums should be judged and which (much like albums made by the artists who influenced it) we will be listening to ten, twenty, forty years from now, calling it an important document of the times in which we lived and what was possible when collaborations between hip-hop artists and indie artists shaped constructive explorations in music.

The Roots – Right On (feat. Joanna Newsom & STS) by loudersoft

[PURCHASE:How I Got Over - The Roots from iTunes]

Two of my favorite talents in the extensive world of music remain the illustrious DJ Day and Kansas City’s #1 soul brother, soul singer and virtuoso Miles Bonny. DJ Day, whom I have written extensive praises of, wrote on his own blog, Like A Throttle, about how he came to generate this genuinely soul-stirring rendition of “Still Ray” by Raphael Saadiq.

I came home and listened to it, figured out the piano part and played everything else from there. Once I was finished I called my man Miles Bonny to lay down vocals and trumpet like only he can and here it is, free for you.

Word is this may yet still come out on vinyl, but it’s way too good to let collect dust. Enjoy this track and let it fill you with the essence. Keep up with DJ Day over at Like A Throttle.

DJ Day & Miles Bonny – “Still Ray”

Through time and circumstance, a lot of what record fans consider to be “classic” falls by the wayside. Such is the fate of the critically-acclaimed and oft-sampled solo album by soul master, funk pioneer and session mastermind Don Blackman. This 1982 record is still available as an import for a whopping $39.99 in the U.S. However, it’s worth every cent of that and more. Flawless keyboard arrangements and vocals, tight funky-basslines, synth and Moog progressions that are unlike anything you’re likely to hear anywhere else, the album transcends its out-of-print status on repeated listenings.

Funk fans, take note of this one.

Don Blackman – Heart’s Desire

Don Blackman

I suddenly felt small.

So deadlines for the “best of 2007″ rolled around, and I was in a tailspin, dogged by the massive amount of music I had encountered. I kept reflecting on these words of Billy Corgan that I’d read years ago. Billy had once quipped to, I think, Rolling Stone, that, “Not every year can be a great, or even good, year in music.” This thought just stirred in my head and fed into some neurosis. The thought actually fucked with me; maybe 2007 wasn’t that great? Or was it? So I slacked until it was way too late to really do it with any fervor.

Newsflash: Shit aint happening like that this year. I’m past all that, and this year’s going to be different.

I don’t know if my opinion is necessarily better or worse than anyone else’s when it comes to music. I’m a long-time deep music fan who combs the trenches for something new and different, someone who’s been doing that for years. I have an opinion about music which is informed by all that, but I don’t pretend to know what is or isn’t “good” or “the best”. If you love hip-hop, you’re going to think a different album is the #1 album of the year than I am (even though I love hip-hop). If you love indie rock, same thing.

If I sat down and tried to pinpoint the one unifying factor in the music that I listen to and enjoy, it would have to be “music with a soul”. It doesn’t have to preach an ideology or start a movement, it doesn’t have to be anthemic or angelic. It simply has to get me to stop what I’m doing and go, “What in the hell is this?” When I become awestruck, the music will stay with me.

This list represents the songs released in 2008 (to the best of my knowledge) which caught me in my tracks, got me to stand up and take notice, gave me a reason to write and feel good at the end of the day that I was telling everyone a new secret or spreading the good news. I hope you’ll enjoy these as much as I have enjoyed hearing them.

1 – Voxpop – “The Boomerang Generation” (unsigned)

When this London four-piece popped this song into my inbox, I had no idea what I was getting. They sent a sweet and humble letter along with it asking me to please share with my readers. The song is dynamic in a string of ways: it’s a pop song, it’s a protest song, and it’s filled with the kind of energy I love to hear. Far and away, this is my favorite song of 2008. Let’s hope that 2009 will bring us a Voxpop album to hear & enjoy.

2 – Lil’ Wayne (produced by Bangladesh) – “A Milli”

The song is inescapable. You couldn’t get away from it most of this entire year & it took some folks a minute to get with the program. But love or hate Lil’ Wayne, this song was a cornerstone of 2008 stereos, parties, clubs, remixes, and just about everything else. Respect.

3 – MGMT – “Time to Pretend”

I am extremely proud of MGMT and happy for them — what started as an experiment in their dorm room at Wesleyan has blossomed into an anthemic world-wide phenomenon. This song was on the tips of every tongue that knew its words and could relate. This song is great because, plainly, it paints a portrait of a certain truth (to which you’re either hip or you’re not). The song’s intent, along the group themselves, seem to lack the pretension that the press wants to heap on them. I, for one, can’t wait to hear what their work with The Chemical Brothers is going to sound like.

4 – Santogold – “L.E.S. Artistes”

Santi White is an operator of the highest order: she’s the real deal, wearing every helmet she comes across with dignity and sheer style. Performer, songwriter, executive — she can do it all and do it all well. In the song “L.E.S. Artistes”, Santogold has both capitalized on and captured a portrait of a time in music and arts that has seemed fairly desperate. If ever an anthemic line was needed by those on their way to whatever success, “I can say I hope it will be worth what I give up” should be the mantra to which they adhere.

5 – Estelle (feat. kanYe West) – “American Boy”

It took me a long time to get into this record, but once it stuck with me I was sold. The maturity of Estelle’s progress as a performer and singer is impressive, her vocal prowess unmistakable. The marriage of her style with kanYe’s flows make the song as world-class as it purports to be.

6 – Lord T & Eloise (feat. 8 Ball) – “Back From the Business Trip”

If you’re from down in my neck of the woods, you know that Lord T & Eloise were everywhere this year, selling out (and overselling) venues everywhere. Word of mouth has been kind to them with good reason. Not just because I told you so (and I did tell you so), but because they gave 300% to every packed out venue they set foot in and ripped every microphone they touched. “The Industry” still haven’t figured out how to classify LT&E, but they need to stop thinking about it and just blast their jams. Aristocrunk is on the move.

7 – Aimee Mann – “Looking for Nothing”

As Aimee Mann carries on her journey as a songwriter and performer, she continues to craft elegant pop song structures around stories that evoke the wistfulness of a by-gone era with distinction. Fully modern in their presentation and execution, her 2008 release was a peerless collection of satisfying, soul-wrenching odes, perfecting a sound she has long been masterful in shaping and humbled by creating. “Looking for Nothing” represents her finest material, and one of the most perfectly-penned songs of the year.

8 – Meg Hutchinson – “Home”

From time to time, it seems to me that the least liked (or known) songs are often the most loved. Folk singer-songwriter Meg Hutchinson has, perhaps, suffered from a curse of virtual anonymity this year, but by no fault of her music. Some songs cannot be reviewed effectively; they can only take on meaning to the listener through time and circumstance. It is my great hope that others will come to find the deep-ceded affection that I have found for this song, an ode to appreciation for the things we all take for granted far too often.

9 – Erykah Badu – “Honey”

Erykah Badu….man man man. A soul diva and performer of the highest order, she just continues to release albums (and songs) that turn my knobs, nahh mean? Seems like on every record she releases, it’s the “bonus track” that really contains an actual bonus to it. New Amerykah Part One (4th World War) will likely be in my year’s best, and this song represents to the fullest what Ms. Badu is laying down.

10 – Portishead – “We Carry On”

I didn’t know what I was going to do when I heard a new Portishead album was on the way. With so much time gone between records, I couldn’t have imagined them being in bed with their old sound. I remember my shock as darker and moodier sounds came from my stereo; it was everything that I could have hoped for. This song was my #1 favorite from Third, an album I continue to love and be fascinated by.

The Rest Of The Best (Click Individual Songs in the Playlist to Play, or play for continuous stream in order)

11 Bon Iver – Skinny Love
12 TV on the Radio – Halfway Home
13 Raphael Saadiq – Love That Girl
14 Blitzen Trapper – Sleepytime In The Western World
15 Grace Jones – Williams Blood
16 Teenagers – Starlett Johannson
17 Al Green – You’ve Got The Love I Need (feat. Anthony Hamilton)
18 Adele – Chasing Pavements
19 Q-Tip – Manwomanboogie (feat. Amanda Diva)
20 Oasis – The Turning
21 Treasure Fingers – Cross The Dancefloor
22 Kutiman – Music Is Ruling My World
23 Smoking Popes – If You Don’t Care
24 Chad VanGaalen – Bare Feet on Wet Griptape
25 Benji Hughes – So Well
26 Friendly Fires – Paris
27 Brazilian Girls – Good Time
28 John Elliott – The Ballad of Wallace Green and his Dog
29 Bob Dylan – Dreamin’ of You
30 Department of Eagles – No One Does It Like You
31 Ssion – Street Jizz
32 The Roots – 75 Bars (Black’s Reconstruction)
33 Charles Hamilton – Brooklyn Girls
34 Sigur Ros – Gobbledygook
35 Jamie Lidell – Another Day
36 Gossip – Listen Up (Punks Jump Up Remix)
37 Of Montreal – Gallery Piece
38 Fujiya & Miyagi – Knickerbocker
39 Anthem In – Down
40 Blood Red Shoes – You Bring Me Down
41 Graham Weber – Italian Lullaby
42 Oh Snap!! – Bill Cosby Sweater (Hostage Remix)
43 Beck – Chemtrails
44 Thunderheist – Jerk It
45 T.I. – Swagga Like Us (feat. kanYe West, Jay-Z & Lil’ Wayne)
46 Coldplay – Death and all His Friends
47 Ivan Colon – Gabriel
48 Cut Copy – Far Away
49 Monsters are Waiting – Don’t Lie
50 Beach House – Gila

Among the ranks of America’s greatest soul songwriters and composers, few stand taller than Norman Whitfield, who died at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles after a lengthy illness. His contributions to American soul music count among the most prized and revered. His studio experimentations with sound shaped a blueprint for the significant, powerful changes in the Motown sound and the sound of northern soul that took place in the 1970′s.

Whitfield shared both the producer helm and co-songwriting duties on a number of Motown staples with Barrett Strong, producing a string of classics for The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Edwin Starr, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Rare Earth and The Undisputed Truth. As a composer, he is most well known for the soundtrack to the 1970′s film Car Wash, a soundtrack whose relevance to R&B, soul music, funk and disco surpassed the impact of the film itself. The soundtrack would win a Grammy in 1977 for Album of Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special.

Whitfield had been suffering from diabetes. No funeral arrangements have been made at this time.

Rare Earth – Hum Along and Dance