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  • Jheri Curl June: Paul Laurence’s “Racism!!!”

    While Jheri Curl Music tends to be about the lighter side of life (dancin’, lovin’, partyin’, and rollerskatin’), there are times when social justice issues need to be addressed on the dance floor. Paul Laurence’s “Racism!!!” does just that with a simple chorus that could easily be used as a protest march chant: “Racism SUCKS, it’s time that we all give it up / Racism SUCKS, if you can’t give love then SHUT UP!” Now is probably a good time to point out that Paul Laurence is not to be confused with the early 20th century poet and novelist Paul Laurence Dunbar. But, while the lyrics to “Racism!!!” aren’t necessarily a literary masterpiece, they certainly get the point across. Racism sucks and racists should shut up. It’s really that simple.

    Unfortunately, over 30 years after “Racism!!!” was released, we are currently living in a hellscape where the President of the United States openly emboldens white supremacists and the destructiveness of white supremacy is becoming increasingly more evident; incidences of hate crimes surge, the rich get richer, the poor get drastically poorer, and our planet becomes uninhabitable. It’s time that we all give it up indeed.

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  • Jheri Curl June: The Gap Band’s “Disrespect”

    Last Thursday, June 7, would have been Prince’s 60th birthday had he: a) not passed away in April 2016, and b) believed in concepts as prosaic as “birthdays” and “years.” Last week also happened to mark the underwhelming conclusion of the beef between rappers Pusha T and Drake, which just a few short weeks ago felt like the only thing anyone on the Internet was talking about. So, I thought, why not make today’s Jheri Curl June post a diss track about Prince?

    Released on Gap Band VI (actually, confusingly, the eighth album by Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Gap Band) in December 1984, there’s nothing about “Disrespect” that directly implicates Prince–except, of course, for the sound, which pairs Minneapolis-style sustained synth chords and a “Controversy”-esque bassline with call and response right out of the P-Funk playbook. The lyrics, by Gap Band frontman Charlie Wilson, are aggrieved but non-specific, excoriating some unfortunate “sucka” who “had the chance” but “disrespected” him.

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  • Jheri Curl June: Fatback Band’s “Double Love Affair”

    Long before SZA’s ode to sharing a man, Fatback Band had “Double Love Affair,” a playful, jaunty tune about two-timing from the point of view of a man who “has so much love inside” that he “has to spread it out.” It might be the most lighthearted, infectious song about blatant infidelity ever recorded.

    Musically, the Prince influence is undeniable. Or more appropriately, it’s as much a ripoff of Ebonee Webb’s “Something About You” as “Something About You” was a ripoff of Prince’s “Head.” The whole song is sung in falsetto with Prince-like yelps, and toward the end of the track there’s even some heavy breathing. That’s right, folks, five years into Jheri Curl June and we’re just beginning to understand the self-referential quality of Jheri Curl Music.

    Like Monday’s JCJ inductees, Mandrill, Fatback Band had been around for a full decade before 1983’s Is This the Future? While certainly not their strongest output, it’s an album that speaks to Fatback Band’s ability to successfully adapt to the New Wave sounds of the ’80s.

    And that’s Jheri Curl June Week 1 in the can! Click through below for the latest updates on our Spotify and YouTube playlists. See you again on Monday!

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  • Jheri Curl June: West Phillips’ “(I’m Just a) Sucker for a Pretty Face”

    I’ve been sitting on this song for at least two Jheri Curl Junes now, but I always held it back because I didn’t know what to say about West Phillips. The only information and the sole photo I could find of him are both above, stolen from his Discogs artist page; and when I Google Image Search “West Phillips,” I just get a bunch of photos of buff hunks in bikinis by a photographer with the same name (you’re welcome, by the way). Earlier this spring, however, I heard “Sucker for a Pretty Face” on Andrew Joseph’s and Laura Caringell’s Paid Time Off radio show and was reminded of what a monster fucking jam it is. What else do we need to say, really?

    In case that’s not enough, here’s some info on West Phillips, all paraphrased from the aforementioned Discogs bio. He was born Everton West Phillips in Antiqua and later relocated to Chicago, where he began his music career working with songwriter Jerry Butler on songs for R&B artists like Sam & Dave and Percy Sledge. He then graduated to work as a musician for Butler’s label Fountain Records, playing on sessions with groups like Omni. Also, at some point circa 1984, he had a wicked jheri curl (see above).

    But even if Phillips hadn’t sported a curl, the spirit of JC was clearly with him when he recorded “Sucker for a Pretty Face,” his 1983 debut single and a masterclass in airtight electro-funk groove construction. The thumping “Another One Bites the Dust” bassline, the exquisitely whining synthesizer, the synthetic drum-machine claps and surgical rhythm guitar–all with Phillips’ incessant, pitch-shifting, lightly Caribbean-accented vocals layered on top, complete with a rap featuring the line, “let me get to munchin’ on your lollipop.” What else is there to know? West Phillips is a sucker looking for some sugar; and in the end, aren’t we all?

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  • Jheri Curl June: Imagination’s “Just an Illusion”

    As we mentioned in our Jheri Curl June 2K18 podcast, one of our favorite activities here in the Dystopian Dance Party universe is digging in the crates for Jheri Curl Music; and the British JCM group Imagination is my favorite discovery since the Deele.

    © R&B Records

    I picked up their first album, 1981’s Body Talk, solely because of the album cover, which features the trio posed around a white piano, wearing garters and gladiator sandals, in a room shrouded in dry ice smoke.

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  • Jheri Curl June: Aurra’s “Make Up Your Mind”

    Dayton, Ohio’s Aurra began life as an offshoot of Jheri Curl June Class of 2015 and 2017 members Slave, led by multi-instrumentalist Steve Washington with guitarist and singer Curt Jones, singer Starleana Young, and arranger/multi-instrumentalist Charles Carter all in tow. By their third album, 1982’s A Little Love, Carter had departed (replaced by a whole mess of synthesizers) and the group’s focus had shifted firmly to Jones and Young, with Washington taking more of a behind-the-scenes production role. They had also become what the kids today would call “Jheri Curl af.”

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  • Jheri Curl June: Mandrill’s “Get It While It’s Hot”

    We begin our fifth year of Jheri Curl June with Mandrill: a group from Brooklyn, New York that had existed for over a decade before embracing the slick, seductive sound of Jheri Curl Music. Like Jheri Curl June veterans Kool & The Gang, Mandrill began as a large funk outfit with latin and jazz influences. By 1981’s Energize, however, they had discarded the jam-heavy grooves for the tight, synthetic sound of Jheri Curl funk. It would also be their last album recorded before they disbanded in 1982.

    “Get It While it’s Hot” is an example of how early Jheri Curl Music often offered up exceptions to the rules; in this case, Mandrill maintained their live horn section instead of using a synthesizer to provide “synthetic” horns. Yet most of the characteristics are here, including a low melodic bass line and soaring synths. It’s early JCM for sure, but Jheri nonetheless. (more…)

  • Podcast: Jheri Curl June 2K18

    This year marks our fifth annual Jheri Curl June, and we’re going to make it a thing or die trying. Join us as we define the Jheri Curl Music genre and share our picks for the most essential tracks; then, starting Monday, we’ll formally kick off the month-long celebration of wet, silky ’80s R&B. Oh, and listen all the way to the end, because we also announce the winners of our two free copies of Dystopian Dance Party Issue 1!

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  • The Prince Issue Podcast with Guest Erika Peterson

    As you may have heard, we recently launched a physical magazine, the first issue of which is dedicated to eclectic art and writing inspired by the music of Prince. So, to celebrate a successful launch–and to get us back in podcasting mode after an unplanned six-month leave of absence–we invited Erika Peterson, a friend and contributor to the magazine, to talk about her work and the most funny/surreal moments of Celebration 2018 at Paisley Park. We also talk about Dystopian Dance Party’s ongoing beef with Questlove, and do our best to try and beat him at his own game of guessing Prince songs from their opening seconds. It doesn’t go well.

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  • Podcast: Mr. Heat Blister

    This episode, we’re catching up on a few things we didn’t talk about last time, including Callie’s attendance at the Detroit Women’s Convention in October, plus some more recent events, like when she achieved our shared dream of meeting Jon Mikl Thor. We also share some thoughts on activism, Jay-Z, mosh pit etiquette, a smattering of recent films, and our favorite holiday viewing material (spoiler alert: it’s The Year Without a Santa Claus).

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