Wait, it’s Monday isn’t it? Dag, I’s still feelin’ lazy.

I’ll never get that cornmeal made.

Happy Summer Friday.

In the Summer…

In the City…

In the summer…

Stay cool and drink plenty of fluids.

This record always struck me as a kid. I don’t know, it had a pleasantly depressed vibe about it.

I mean you’re not going to put Charlie Parker in with the Rock n Roll, are you?

Rump-shakin’, mind-bending, smile why don’t ya?

Cool, ‘Cause I Don’t Get Upset

I Kick a Hole in the Speaker, Pull the Plug, Then I Jet

The Good Reverend…

Before the Grits…

First:

Flipped:

How to rock a party, an intro to blending by Z-Trip (from the mostly excellent documentary about the history of Hip Hop DJing, Scratch*):

And here, Z Trip just gets stoopit:

* My only reservation is that the movie didn’t cover the great Philly DJs; otherwise, it’s impressive.

Here’s my good pal Jared Boxx of Big City Records talking about why vinyl matters. Glad to see someone got around to doing a good interview with Jared:

Boundless Radio Presents: Big City Records – JBX from Kellen Dengler on Vimeo.

Harry James, you guys…

What else?

While we wait on more Cliff Lee news…

New York Movie, By Edward Hopper (1939)

And from Pops…

Wonderful version of a classic tune…

One of my favorites from Uncle Louis:

Since July 4th was Louis Armstrong’s birthday (and even if it wasn’t his official birthday, play along), let’s dedicate the rest of the week’s beats to him. Here’s one of Woody’s favorites:

I lived in Los Angeles for a little over four months when I was working for the Coen brothers on The Big Lebowski. An old college pal was good enough to let me crash on his couch in Santa Monica. We spent many weekends down at another college friend’s crib in Venice, hanging out on the balcony, checking out the scene on the boardwalk by the beach.

A record by a group named Sublime was on heavy-rotation at the time. It wasn’t the kind of record I usually go for, or even have the opportunity to hear for that matter, but there was something catchy about their pop, surfer sound, and it seemed entirely fitting to that time and place. So the record is forever linked to my memories of L.A. and the beach. I never did buy it–though later found out that my wife (who has some of the most finicky musical tastes of anyone I’ve ever met) loves it.

Here’s one of the tunes that brings me back to the beach with a smile:

R.I.P. Rammellzee

Time for some “happy rap.”

This song never fails to put a spring in my step, as it did this morning on my way to work. Who cares if Greg Nice doesn’t know what instrument Dizzy played.