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Posts published in “Playlists”

Playlists celebrating musical artists, genres and themes curated by GBN’s editors and contributors

MUSIC MONDAY: “Silly Games” – The Best of Lovers Rock Playlist (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Silly Games” – The Best of Lovers Rock Playlist (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on August 9, 2021

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Twitter: @marlonw IG: stlmarlonwest Spotify: marlonwest)

This week’s offering is more than a little inspired by the 2020 film Lovers Rock.

Writer-director Steve McQueen’s loving portrait of a house party was one of the best films of last year. I’ve included a few tracks from the soundtrack by Gregory Isaacs, Janet Kay and others.

Though this collection takes us back the last days of the rocksteady era and early days of reggae, it features artists like Ken Boothe, Johnny Nash and John Holt and Hortense Ellis.

They enjoyed international hits with versions of well-known love songs and originals that would go on to be clone classics of the genre.

Happy Monday, and enjoy this reggae mushy stuff.

As always, stay safe, sane, and kind.

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)
MUSIC MONDAY: “Sir Duke” – A Duke Ellington Playlist (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Sir Duke” – A Duke Ellington Playlist (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on August 2, 2021

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Twitter: @marlonw IG: stlmarlonwest Spotify: marlonwest)

It’s Music Monday again! This week’s playlist features the 50-year career of one artist. No covers or tributes, just Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington.

He was a giant of 20th century music. He was arguably the most significant band leader in American music from 1923 until his death a half century later.

From the Cotton Club to Europe, Asia, and Africa, he featured artists like saxophonist Johnny Hodges and his 30-year collaborator, composer-arranger-pianist Billy Strayhorn, and lead the best-known orchestral unit in the history of jazz.

Though Ellington himself embraced the phrase “beyond category,: here’s nearly 6 hours of the music by one the greatest of all time. Enjoy!

And as always, stay safe, sane, and kind.

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)
MUSIC MONDAY: A “Rumba Around the World” Collection (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: A “Rumba Around the World” Collection (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on July 26, 2021

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Twitter: @marlonw IG: stlmarlonwest Spotify: marlonwest)

Happy Music Monday, y’all.

The term “rumba” refers to a variety of unrelated music styles. Originally, “rumba” was used as a synonym for “party” in Cuba, and by the late 19th century it was used to denote the complex of secular music styles known as Cuban rumba.

It has since been used in different countries to refer to styles of music and dance around the globe, most of which are only tangentially related to the original Cuban rumba.

This playlist gathers music from Cuba, The Americas, and Africa. This is another one that comes with a “Rump Shaker Warning.”

Please enjoy!

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)
MUSIC MONDAY: “African Unity” – A Collection of Reggae From Around the World (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “African Unity” – A Collection of Reggae From Around the World (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on July 19, 2021

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Twitter: @marlonw IG: stlmarlonwest Spotify: marlonwest)

Happy Monday, you all! This week’s playlist celebrates reggae music from around the world.

Reggae originated in Jamaica in the 1960s. It is deeply linked to Rastafari, Afrocentric thought, and promoting Pan Africanism. It is the nation’s most impactful export.

Over the decades, reggae has traveled with Jamaican immigrants, and its message and popularity has spread cross the globe.

Today there are reggae performers from every corner of the planet. In the United States, Latin America, Europe, the UK, Asia, and Africa you will find reggae artists thriving.

Here’s a collection of established artists like Linton Kwesi Johnson, Steel Pulse, the late Lucky Dube, and Alpha Blondy. Also included are emerging artists like Awa Fall, Los Cafres, and Matthew McAnuff.

Hope you enjoy this collection of classics and new music. And as always, stay safe sane, and kind.

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)
MUSIC MONDAY: “Excursions” – A Jazz Rap Collection (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Excursions” – A Jazz Rap Collection (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on July 12, 2021

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Twitter: @marlonw IG: stlmarlonwest Spotify: marlonwest)

The connection between jazz and rap goes back to the glory days of Louis Jordan. In the 1970s, The Last Poets and Gil Scott-Heron brought their spoken word to straight ahead jazz music.

Though the sub genre of Jazz Rap really started In 1988 with the release of Gang Starr’s debut single “Manifest” sampling Dizzy Gillespie‘s “Night in Tunisia” from 1952, AllMusic.com describes the genre as “an attempt to fuse African-American music of the past with a newly dominant form of the present, paying tribute to and reinvigorating the former while expanding the horizons of the latter.”

The main groups involved in the formation of the style include A Tribe Called Quest, Digable Planets, De La Soul, Gang Starr, The Roots, Jungle Brothers, and Dream Warriors.

This collection features classics of the genre as well as recent releases from this year. I do hope you all enjoy.

Stay safe, sane and kind, you all.

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)
MUSIC MONDAY: “Hot Fun” – A Collection of Cookout Music (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Hot Fun” – A Collection of Cookout Music (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on July 5, 2021

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Twitter: @marlonw IG: stlmarlonwest Spotify: marlonwest)

Happy Monday, the 5th. I hope many of you have the day off.

So many of the playlists I’ve created for GOOD BLACK NEWS have been to celebrate a particular artist, region, or genre. There have been more than a few to honor the fight for freedom and civil rights.

This collection is hopefully just pure joy.

This playlist is for firing up the grill in the backyard or park. It’s for listening to while eating your auntie’s potato salad and deviled eggs. It’s to enjoy while pulling the foil off that peach cobbler. It’s for when your jam comes on from back in the day, and you show them youngsters you still got dance moves.

Play it while driving with your peeps with all the windows down. Savor it while you’re eating carnitas on a warm tortilla with a cold drink, or crispy chicken and a side of collards. It’s for kickin’ it too while those old heads form a “Soul Train” line in the grass.

Dig it while you are feeling sand and surf between your toes, while sipping grape Kool Aid, while eating a Dreamsicle, and while hugging friends and family.

Enjoy that summer, y’all.

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)
MUSIC MONDAY: “Freedom Street” – Songs of Liberty Playlist(LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Freedom Street” – Songs of Liberty Playlist(LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on June 28, 2021

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Twitter: @marlonw IG: stlmarlonwest Spotify: marlonwest)

On this Monday nestled between Juneteenth and Independence Day, Lori Lakin Hutcherson and I thought it prudent to offer this collection of music celebrating freedom and liberty.

Many of these tracks even have the word freedom in their title. Others have just long been associated with the fight for Civil Rights and reform for years.

There are tracks here long-considered, classics, and other new songs on the subject. Clocking in at under 6 hours, this one is a comparatively short collection for me.

Hope you dig this collection of Freedom songs. And if there are any overt omissions, hit me in the comments, y’all.

Have a great week, and stay safe, sane, and kind.

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)
MUSIC MONDAY: “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” – A Love Songs Collection (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” – A Love Songs Collection (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on June 21, 2021

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Twitter: @marlonw IG: stlmarlonwest Spotify: marlonwest)

Happy Monday, you all.

Juneteenth, Father’s Day, and a trip to St. Louis for the first time in 15 months put this brotha in a mood for mushy stuff.

In this, more than a year of making playlists for GBN, I haven’t done a collection of love songs. Haven’t even done one for Valentine’s Day. Well, here’s an eclectic dose of lovey dove songs:

Some are overtly romantic, others about longing, and still some about loss. Jazz, R&B, Reggae, Rock ‘n Roll, and other genres are presented here.

Hope you enjoy these hours of love songs. Have a great week.

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)
GBN Wishes You and Yours a Happy Father’s Day (LISTEN)

GBN Wishes You and Yours a Happy Father’s Day (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on June 20, 2021

We’ve been wanting to post to acknowledge all the fathers, uncles, stepfathers and loved ones who have been parenting, raising and advising the next generations, but our site has been having serious server issues since dawn.

So even though we are nearing dusk, and we posted what we could on our social media, we’re taking advantage of this moment of connectivity to say “Happy Father’s Day” on our main page and offer a playlist dedicated to the dads called “Color Him Father” – A Father’s Day Collection:

This 20-songs compilation offers praise, introspection, dreams, admonition and advice from myriad genres and perspectives – from The Winstons‘ appreciation of a stepfather on “Color Him Father,” to Will Smith‘s heartfelt expression of how it feels to become a dad on “Just The Two Of Us,” to Beyoncé’s appreciation of different aspects of her father on “Daddy” and “Daddy Lessons.”

Also included are Prince‘s declaration of love for his father amid complexities on “Purple Rain” and Kirk Whalum‘s soulful, jazz cover of “Because You Loved Me” which Diane Warren wrote about her relationship with her father, DMX and Usher‘s heartbreaking plea “Letter To My Son (Call Your Father)”, and classics like “Daddy’s Home” – the popular cover by Jermaine Jackson as well as the original version by Shep and The Limelites.

We hope it’s been a great day for all those in the dad role today, and hope you enjoy the above, knowing you are seen, honored and loved through thick and thin.

MUSIC MONDAY: “She Shreds” – a Black Women Guitarists and Bassists Playlist (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “She Shreds” – a Black Women Guitarists and Bassists Playlist (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on June 14, 2021

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Twitter: @marlonw IG: stlmarlonwest Spotify: marlonwest)

Happy Monday, you all!

Here is a collection of Black women guitarists and bassists. While woman singers and songwriters often are spotlighted, we want to celebrate women’s fiery musicianship with this playlist.

We are showcasing the legends—many of whom have unfortunately been overlooked, dismissed, or forgotten—who should be recognized as pillars of music history.

This playlist was inspired by SheShreds.com. They are all about steps “taken towards exposing the truth.” It’s for all of us who can’t count the names of Black women guitarists on one hand.

It’s for the young Black girls aspiring to be musicians but seldom see a history that represents them. It’s to learn about our past and evolve into our future—and without Black history, we cannot accurately do so.”

So here’s a playlist to sistas who’s names you’ve heard countless times, such as Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Elizabeth Cotten, Me’Shell Ndegeocello, Odetta and Barbara Lynn, though there are others who took some digging to find. Please enjoy! There are plenty of treasures to get got.

And as we re-emerge, stay safe, sane, and kind.

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)