Blerd: How was your thanksgiving?
Gonzo: Delicious, and yours?
B: More or less the same…I do feel kind of piggish.
Maybe i should take a long walk later today or something! (ed. note: I wound up doing exactly that.)
G: Can’t hurt! I should do the same.
B: Please…you’re in much better shape than i…a couple of healthy meals wouldn’t kill you!
Healthy meaning large quantities. As opposed to healthy as in, like, healthy.
G: Well, there’s plenty of that this time of year
B: So, it’s my turn this time around, innit?
G: Yes sir, it is!
B: Well, i have some yacht rock goodness for you today.
G: Ooh!
B: Courtesy of my man…the hardest working beard in show business…
G: Fire it up!
B: This isnt the studio version…but screw it.
G: Smooooooth.
B: Damn…30 seconds in and i think i like this live version better than the studio version.
G: It is pretty hot.
B: Sax-y!!
G: Mike Mac is killing it!
B: Yeah man, i need to see him live next time he rolls through town. I missed him with Steely Dan, and I think Boz Scaggs too. Hell was I thinking?
G: Seriously, man! What would Koko say?
B: Wait-who the hell is Koko?
G: Wait, you’ve seen the Yacht Rock series, right?
B: Parts of it! I dont remember a Koko though…
G: Ah. Koko was the guy that died and was in essence, the spirit of smooth.
B: Ahhhhh. Well, then thankfully Koko is no longer around and I will not feel (as) shamed for missing McD/Boz/Steely Dan.
So apparently, even though McDonald wrote the song, the Doobies didn’t make the first version.
G: Oh? News to me!
G: Oh wow.
B: I stand corrected! The Doobies released it first, but it wasn’t a single. Carly’s version was.
G: The cover convo is always so educational.
B: It’s edutainment! Like KRS ONE says.
G: I actually like her version, though the chorus is a little too sing song-y.
B: It fits her voice, though. The original Doobies version apes Carly’s…or well vice versa.
Less funk and more smooth.
G: Agreed.
I never considered Carly as a yacht rocker, but she really pulls it off here
B: She was pretty adaptable. She could do the singer songwriter thing, the yacht rock thing. Did you ever hear the song she did with Chic?
G: Whoa, I don’t think so.
G: Wow.
B: Oh my. This video is AWESOME.
G: I would never be able to guess what decade this is from.
B: I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that you’re being sarcastic?
G: Me? nawwwwwwww 😉
B: That video is all kinds of fantastic, but back to the conversation at hand.
It seems as though “You Belong To Me” has become a favorite of R&B divas.
Which makes sense, seeing as Carly and Michael are two very well known R&B divas.
So…feast your ears on this.
G: Oh yeah.
Anita Baker and Mike Mac have similar vocal ranges
B: I can’t believe they’ve never done a duet. Although, if they are, indeed, the same person…
G: This is definitely her style.
B: Yeah, she slowed it down a bit. Has a jazzy vibe to it, and she kills the ad-libs.
G: Is Anita doing anything these days?
B: She was on the BET Awards earlier this year with MJB. Still sounds good…i think she’s pretty active on twitter, too.
…and now for something completely different…sort of…
G: Aw man. I knew this couldn’t be that easy.
B: HAHAH!!! Believe it or not, it isn’t that bad.
G: You’re right. This is actually decent. The flamenco guitar is a nice touch
To go with J-Lo’s nice tush.
B: In the end, it’s all about the ass.
Play on words!
OK-so believe it or not, I got one more for ya.
Taking things full circle…
G: YES! The vocoder on this!
B: Believe it or not, that’s the part i don’t like!…well, i won’t say I don’t like it, but i’m like “why?”
G: The vocoder has a special place in my heart. What album is this?
B: It’s on her last studio album [amazon-product text=”Funk This” tracking_id=”popblerdcom-20″ type=”text”]B000TP5ST4[/amazon-product]. That album is AMAZEBALLS!
G: Well, that track at least gives me a good indication.
Wait, Jam and Lewis produced, and she covers “Sign ‘O’ the Times?”
B: Yezzir.
As well as “Castles made of Sand” by Hendrix. Plus a Joni Mitchell song.
So, there ya go…five songs to choose from.
G: I’ll say, they’re all pretty decent.
OK, here we go:
1. Doobies
2. Chaka
3. Carly
4. Anita ?
5. J-Lo?
J-Lo and Anita are pretty close.
B: Hmmm…interesting. That Doobies live version is smoking. I would probably put that ahead of the studio version. Either or, they’re first.
Then Anita, Carly, J. Lo and Chaka. But they’re all pretty damn good.
G: Chaka last? Chaka mad!
B: I have to qualify that. I like ALL of these! Actually, let me re-rank: Anita, J. Lo, Chaka and Carly.
Do we need to start a Drunk Chaka twitter feed? Like Drunk Hulk?
G: Yes! CHAKA SAY GROOVE!
B: I’m grooving Chaka, I’m grooving!!
You know-we could probably do 6 months worth of these just about Chaka Khan.
G: So true. She’s had quite a career.
B: So does that wrap us up this time around?
G: I guess so.
Michael McDonald for the win!
B: As it should always be!
G: He’s kind of the man.
B: He is…amazing that his voice has held up that well after 25 years too!
G: I know! Still smooooooth.
B: All right. Till next time: Blerd, Gonzo and McDonald OUT!!
(CHAKA MAD!!!)