Yesterday I missed my 6:30 bus to Wall St, so I had to take the 6:40 bus
to the Port Authority bus terminal on 42nd st. While the bus is on the
New Jersey Turnpike., I usually listen to a tape & drift off to sleep or
listen to the music while I am working on the laptop. As soon as I get
within range of NYC, I flip the tape off & switch to my favorite radio
station WWRL 1600 AM 100% "Pure Soul".
Today I forgot to turn the radio off as I entered the subway station as
I got off the bus. While in the subway you can't pick up any radio
stations, but I hardly noticed amid the hustle & bustle of the rush hour
The train ride itself is a short 10 min ride from Times Square to the
World Trade Center on the A train. As I left the Chambers st. station
and the radio began to make sounds. It got louder & louder as I walked
up the stairs to the street level & all of the sudden I heard....
..."LONG HAIR HIPPIES AND THE AFRO BLACKS SHOULD ALL GET TOGETHER AND
CROSS THE TRACKS......" A BIG PARTAAAYYYYY ::::::::::WHEW:::::::::::ON
THE GOOD FOOT !!!
I dunno if those are even the correct words. You see even though I have
heard this song 1,000 times the person who is the lead singer is into
such a FUNKY afro-polyrythmic "trance"...."testifyin"..., that to this
day I don't even think that he even knows what the phuck he is singing..
..:)
Upon hearing these sounds I began to smile and I could feel myself
standing a little taller and bouncing as I stepped through the canyons
that are the very definition of capitalist Amerikkka.
I was "sho nuff" bouncing and gliding as the brotha on the radio said
"You are in the middle of a DOUBLE PLAY from the GODFATHER OF SOUL..."
& then I heard the singers voice once again...
"....There was a Time........"
.....& I continued to "bop" my way down the streets of lower Manhattan
towards my destination. The building I work in is unable to pick up AM
radio stations. Just as I entered the building's double glass door
entrance, directly across the street from a building that is such an
international symbol of capitalist oppression, that Arab terrorists seek
to blow it up on almost a monthly basis, I heard the singer scream into
my ears:
"I MAY NOT DO THE DANCE AS WELL AS YOU.....BUT YOU CAN BET YOU HAVEN'T
SEEN NUTHIN YET......
..............UNTIL YOU SEE ME DO.....................
...............................THE JAMES BROWN....HEEYYYYYYYYYY"
And with that the radio station cut off & the music ended as I entered
the building I work in, a massive glass and marble structure that is
easily the most opulent & decadent office building I have ever seen.
Suddenly I felt like a "Stranger in a Strange Land"
-- Bob Davis FUNK: http://pages.prodigy.com/funk/ SOUL: http://pages.prodigy.net/earthjuice/Jump: Urban Music Group