Luv and Haight: Connecting D'Angelo and Sly

Smack in the middle of Michael Brown and Eric Gardner, D'Angelo drops his first disc in 14 years, a funky opus full of songs connecting the political to the personal.  Its texture is dark, even if it's punctuated by pop hooks.  The bass is mad -- propulsive, danceable and erotic.  It calls to mind the underworldly feel of his own Voodoo and the sweep of Prince's Sign of the Times.  But on repeated listens, I sensed another touchstone.  Hmmm, haven't we been here before? 

And then it hit me: There's a Riot Going On.  No, not the one on the streets of Ferguson -- the 1971 masterpiece by Sly and the Family Stone that marked the end of Stone's greatness.   Just like Riot, Black Messiah is about the impossibility and the necessity of living life in a disrupted world.  "I can't go on; I must go on." But even as history gets made, life keeps happening, love keeps surprising, babies keep arriving. 

Both of these albums are extraordinary documents of their time, from artists who stretch the limits of their genres, informed by anger, optimism and, yes, drugs.  They share a sly humor, too (sorry), winking at how fucked up things can be and how little notice gets taken. They start with dissonance, daring you to come along on this ride. Then they reward with the simplest musical pleasures. 

Listen to D'Angelo's "The Door" alongside Stone's "Family Affair":

Make no mistake, Black Messiah is as fresh and real as anything that's come my way lately.  And the best thing on it, is this promise of enduring love -- "Betray My Heart":

 Makes sense that Black Messiah would put love above everything else, right? 

Best Tracks of 2014

Ten reasons to turn it up even louder.  Each one is a gem.


Courtney Barnett, Avant Gardener - Is she on acid or Ritalin?

Lake Street Drive, You Go Down Smooth - Big horns, big hook, big-voiced woman. Heaven.

 

Ray LaMontagne, Airwaves - The trippiest song of 2014 gave me an urge to tie-dye something.

Damon Albarn, Lonely Press Play - The guy from Blur and Gorillas gets all existential on us.

Temples, Shelter Song - Was there a track on Rubber Soul that I missed?

 

Mark Ronson, Uptown Funk - "Don't believe me, just watch."

Usher, Good Kisser - Soooooo smooth.

Jaime XX, All Under One Roof Raving - ...if the rave in question were in Trinidad. Headphones, please.



 

Jenny Lewis, She's Not Me - A little bit Petty, a little bit chamber pop. All Jenny.

 

Curtis Harding, Heaven's On the Other Side - This is what Mayer Hawthorne really wants to sound like.

Honorable mentions:
Chet Faker, Talk Is Cheap
Prince, This Could Be Us
SBTRKT, New Dorp, New York
Mary J. Blige, Therapy
Pablo Nutini, Let Me Down Easy
The War On Drugs, Red Eyes