Went to a Go-Go recently in DC at Takoma Station. Had the pleasure of hearing one of my favorite bands, Suttle Thoughts. Pardon the grainy image, but the iPhone video is not well suited to dark clubs. Got good audio though.
In typical Go-Go fashion, Suttle took a currently popular song, and "enhanced" it. This time was noteworthy to me because Jay-Z lost a civil suit for jacking a Rare Essence's song, Overnight Scenario, and taking creative liberty to make it one of his Hip Hop bangers.
Hip Hop and Go-Go have always had a tenuous relationship. Both are inner city musical styles born in the 70's in major American cities. While Hip-Hop has blown up and gone mainstream, Go-Go has stayed near its home base of DC. Go-Go aficionados will reference Amerie, Wale, UCB, EU, Salt N' Pepa, Jill Scott, and other popular songs that featured Go-Go extensively and went mainstream. While all of this is true, my point is that Go-Go is still largely unknown outside of the DMV. And Chuck Brown's Bustin' Loose was probably the pinnacle that Go-Go would bust loose onto the charts or popular radio.
I still hold out hopes that Go-Go will continue to endure and thrive. It is true musicianship with live intruments. The "pocket" cranks like nothing else in any genre of music. I tell all my friends around the world, there is truly nothing like the sway and swell of a crowd full of dance endorphins at a live Go-Go. Truly special.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Suttle Thoughts Cranks a Capitol State of Mind
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