Folk music has never been my favorite genre. Don’t get me wrong, there are songs I truly adore, and I know it’s a musical shortcoming of mine, but for me, so many of what are considered “classics” could have served best as poems.
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“Apostrophe” is the second track from Superhuman Heart, the sophomore effort by Jed and Lucia. It was released in 2010 and is a mellow folkish number that goes well with a hot cup of spiced tea. 

After a couple of Doo Wop hits with The Sensations in the late 50’s and early 60’s, Yvonne Baker started a solo career and recorded several sides for the Cameo subsidiary Parkway Records.

“You Didn’t Say a Word” was released in 1967 and produced by Kae Williams (a former Philadelphia DJ and night club critic who was also managing The Silhouettes). It’s a driving, action packed number, with Billy Jackson’s orchestration taking great influence from Monty Norman’s James Bond theme song.
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Yvonne Baker never received much attention as a solo artist on this side of the Atlantic, but “You Didn’t Say a Word” has aged very well among collectors of Northern Soul music.  

“Those say sticks and stones will break your bones but the nine-millimeter, it will bore your dome.” Such are the opening lyrics to “Tried By 12”, a song that documents the harsh reality and choices that at-risk youth and young gang affiliated men continue to make. It also took the underground Hip Hop scene by storm in 1996.

East Flatbush Project is actually the moniker of Spencer Bellamy, a Brooklyn native and former DJ for Howie Tee. The project was created to feature local Brooklyn rappers, and “Tried By 12” was the first single to take off. It features rapper DeS and a prominent sample of a guzheng, from Odetta’s “Sakura” which was actually an adaptation of the traditional cradle song “Edo Lullaby.”
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“Tried By 12” is a notable track for fans of the genre, and not just for its hypnotic loops, but also its chilling chorus of “I’d rather be tried by 12 than carried by 6”, a sentiment and reality still troubling our city streets to this day.

I’ve listened to hundreds of new groups and songs this year and the one track that stood out the most, the one that I couldn’t get out of my head, is attached above.

J4 is a musical group based in Melbourne Australia, formed after three friends and their dog Banjo were locked down together in a house by COVID.

“Fast Lane” was originally released in June as a single. It’s a sinfully catchy, driving number about fleeing from the congestion of city life to the country, but never making it.

I expect great things in the future from J4 and don't sleep on them.

Happy New Year to everyone!