Sunday, May 18, 2008

I heard it on the radio!

Hi, I'm Morgan, I live in Portland, Oregon and I'll be guest blogging for a bit while the Ambassador finishes off his epic roadtrip/move back to the left (right) coast. Thanks Allen! Now growing up in Portland has its advantages and its disadvantages but local (mainstream) radio is sadly not one of them. Even the most casual music fan would know pretty much every song on our classic rock stations. Our lone hip hop station was recently forced to change locations on the dial and nearly shut down, its spot taken up by an all sports format. The only bright spots are the university station KPSU and the community station KBOO. Have you ever had the experience of thinking you had discovered some amazing jam only to have your significant other tell you that they loved the song as a kid? In the vacuum of Portland radio this happened to me kind of a lot. First Choice is one of those bands that never gets any play in the pacific northwest and its a shame because they are one of the best outfits on disco - backed by the Norman Harris, Ron Baker and Earl Young trifecta that was the core of philly house band MFSB and featuring many of the finest arrangers and musician in the business. If you don't live in portland you probably hear "Doctor Love" and "Armed and Extremely Dangerous" often enough so here are a couple of slightly lesser known album cuts:

First Choice - I've Got a Feeling This and the next two cuts are off the album "So Let Us Entertain You"

First Choice - I'll Stay Right Here So good.

First Choice - Maybe Yes, Maybe No Another personal favorite.

First Choice - Let No Man Put Asunder (Danny Krivit medley of Walter Gibbons, Shep Pettibone, and Frankie Knuckles remixes) The Man, Mr K puts his touch on this chronically remixed song. This is the version I usually listen to.

3 comments:

the amBASSador said...

Welcome Morgan! Thanks for guest-blogging while I get ready for and make my move out west. Really digging these First Choice tracks, such sweet philly disco! I particularly like the first one. Keep 'em coming! - allen

J.K. said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
J.K. said...

Morgan,
Don't take this as being smart ass, cause I swear I don't mean it that way... but your complaints about Portland radio are akin to complaining about how "McDonald's food is unhealthy here in Portland." Thing is, the McDonald's food is unhealthy everywhere. I use this analogy because basically Clear Channel and a couple smaller companies own the lion's share of corporate stations, so your plight is the plight of most of the country. I guess I was compelled to say something because Portland is one of the 3-4 coolest music towns in the country, so it was tough to hear any complaining about it. Anyway, this is my first visit to the blog. I enjoy it so far!