I try to jack off, he ask me who is you playin' wit? But I know he love you, he told me you was his favorite.

Peep my Q&A with John Legend in Boston's Weekly Dig:


[defend yourself]
JOHN LEGEND
By Isabelle Davis

He used to be a session musician for Lauryn Hill, Alicia Keys and Kanye West. Now, he's like Liberace, only much more attractive and talented, with ladies simply losing their shit at his concerts. The man is currently on the first leg of a huge North American tour to promote Evolver, his first full-length studio album in two years.

WHAT'S IT LIKE TOURING WITH RAPHAEL SAADIQ? MUST BE A LOT OF LADIES IN THE CROWD.

[laughs] Well, it woulda been that way anyway, but we have a lot of couples more than anything. A lot of couples come to the shows.

AL GREEN SAID THAT YOU WERE ONE OF HIS TOP CHOICES AS A COLLABORATOR. HOW DOES THAT MAKE YOU FEEL?

Well, I'm glad to know that, I never heard that before, I'm very glad to know that!

I LOVE THAT YOU GOT ANDRE 3000 ON A TRACK. IT'S A SPECIAL TREAT.

He's focused on a lot of different things, I think—his acting career and all that. But you know, he loved the song and he wanted to do it. He just got inspired and tried it when he heard the song and the beat. And felt like it was just something he wanted to be a part of.

IS THERE ANYBODY THAT YOU ARE DYING TO WORK WITH?

There's so many great artists out there and I've already worked with a vast majority of them. I haven't worked with Beyoncé; I haven't worked with Amy Winehouse yet; Feist maybe would be cool, too.

I SAW YOU A FEW YEARS AGO AND THERE WERE LOTS OF GIRLS GOING CRAZY; SCREAMING, CRYING AND FREAKING OUT. HAS ANYBODY THROWN PANTIES ONSTAGE OR ANYTHING?

[laughs] I don't think people do that panties thing anymore. You would think they would do it at my show if they still did it. I don't think it's the normal thing to do anymore.

[John Legend with Raphael Saadiq. Tue 12.2.08. Orpheum Theatre, One Hamilton Pl., Boston. 617.482.0650. 7:30pm/all ages/$46-$70.50. ticketmaster.com]

defend yourself: John Legend [Weekly Dig]

Simply Beautiful.

So this was originally published in Boston's Weekly Dig, my former stomping grounds, yesterday. But I wanted to wait until the extended interview was up and running online to post it on Two Day Old Shit. So here it is. Ladies and gentlemen, the most important professional moment of my life, the greatest opportunity I have ever been handed by any editor (thanks again, David Day) and the most personally satisfying and meaningful interview I have ever conducted. The legendary Reverend Al Green.

[defend yourself]
AL GREEN

By Isabelle Davis

Extended Interview: Web Exclusive

The greatest Southern soul singer of all time. The man responsible for many conceptions. The 62-year-old reverend with a flawless falsetto. The crusader of love and happiness. The legendary Al Green.


HI, HOW ARE YOU?

I don't know.

YOU DON'T KNOW?

No.

NO? WHERE ARE YOU RIGHT NOW?

Trying to get reregulated back to American time.

WHERE WERE YOU JUST AT?

Stockholm.

HOW WAS IT OVER THERE?

Sold out.

GOOD, GOOD! I'M GLAD. I JUST HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS.

OK. Number one.

I SAW YOU AT THE NEWPORT JAZZ FESTIVAL IN 2007.

Good!

AND I SAW YOU THIS PAST SUMMER IN CHICAGO, I WENT WITH MY MOM.

Did you like it?

I'M ACTUALLY IN CHICAGO RIGHT NOW.

No, I mean did we do a good show?

EACH TIME I SAW YOU, IT WAS LIKE LISTENING TO ONE OF YOUR RECORDS. IT WAS JUST IMPECCABLE.

It was like this trance thing they was talking about overseas, "He goes into some type of trance or something performing these songs." But I mean, I don't mean to, but the songs themselves have a transcendental type of motion, of movement to them or something.

THEY DO, AND I WAS GOING TO TELL YOU, YOUR VOICE HAS NOT CHANGED A BIT. HOW DO YOU KEEP IT IN SUCH IMMACULATE CONDITION?

Well, those are nice words you're using now Ms. Davis, but I don't know, I don't do anything. I didn't give it to me, so I don't really know how to keep it. All these songs I didn't give it to me either, so I kinda, like, don't know. I know they were talking about me walking, prancing, back and forth, backstage, walking from end to end of the dressing room before you go on, I just get, it's not upset, I'm just nervous. I have a lot of emotion, I guess, pent up on the inside and I'm trying to just, while they're getting prepped, you know, ready to call you on, I'm trying to, I'm just a total wreck. And I'm trying to—and then when I get out there, then, slowly it goes away.

STILL, AFTER ALL THESE YEARS, YOU GET STAGE FRIGHT?

Ohhh! See! I shoulda thought of that. See, stage fright, that's what it's called.

THERE YOU GO!

I mean, I guess I still've got it, because it just amazes me. I don't know, I don't call it that. I'm just nervous before, well, you know.

I WANT TO TALK A LITTLE ABOUT LAY IT DOWN. BEAUTIFUL ALBUM. AND I WANTED TO ASK YOU, I READ THAT WHEN YOU GUYS WERE GETTING READY TO MAKE THE ALBUM, YOU AND THE FELLOW PRODUCERS WANTED TO KEEP THE CAMEO LIST RELATIVELY SHORT. I HEARD YOU GUYS WERE GETTING, OBVIOUSLY, CALLS, YOU KNOW, OFF THE HOOK, PEOPLE WANTING TO CONTRIBUTE AND BE INVOLVED. HOW DID YOU GUYS CHOOSE CORINNE BAILEY RAE, JOHN LEGEND, ANTHONY HAMILTON? HOW DID YOU GUYS WEED OUT EVERYBODY THAT WANTED TO BE INVOLVED?

That's amazing because, we kinda like, didn't plan it. We planned to do a duet album. That was a plan. But who, was to do, who was Al gonna do the duets with? That we didn't plan. And the people that we had wrote down in the car on the way to the studio was either, well, one was Justin Timberlake—he was in Australia so he couldn't do it—there was other folks that we had—they were on tour in Canada or someplace so they couldn't do it. And the very people that we didn't think could do it, like John, just so happened to be in New York and heard about the album and came over to hear one of the tracks, John Legend, and he liked "Stay with Me (By the Sea)". And there you go, it's weird stuff, I mean, it's just kinda weird, we didn't plan it, Anthony Hamilton came to the studio, brought his wife, he heard the song "Lay It Down," he said, "Hey, man, lemme put some background vocals on it," and we already, me and Corinne, had already put background vocals on it, so we told him, "Go on and put 'em on there" and he put it on there and we used it, it turned out to be the background vocals for the song. I don't know. It's me and Anthony singing. I don't really know how this stuff came to be, but it's very miraculous how it did come out, you know, because we're all kinda amazed that it came out as well as it did. Free-for-fall, like free-for-fall, not planned it.

HOW DID WORKING WITH ?UESTLOVE AND JAMES POYSER DIFFER FROM WORKING WITH WILLIE MITCHELL? WHAT WAS ONE OF THE MAIN DIFFERENCES?

I don't know what the differences is because if you see the video on the quick clip—

YEAH, I'VE SEEN IT.

It's just, like, everybody's gathered around, Al's sittin' on the floor, with 10,000 papers scattered around everywhere, and everybody, the bass player you know, Adam Blackstone, all these people are gathered around, the organ player, all these people are gathered around him in the center of the floor, we were writing these songs.

IT WAS MORE OF A COMMUNAL EFFORT.

Yeah, it's like on an inspiration. You just do something on inspiration. I'm not planning it. [It's not like], "These eight songs we done had in the trunk for 50 years." I mean these songs we just wrote in February.

I KNOW, I MEAN, THE ALBUM SOUNDS VERY, VERY ORGANIC.

Yeah.

DID YOU GUYS HAVE SOME EDITING PROCESSES? YOU KNOW, MAYBE DO A SONG AND GO BACK AND BE LIKE, OK THIS WORKS, I STILL FEEL GOOD ABOUT IT. DID YOU HAVE A WAY TO KIND OF TRIM IT DOWN TO THE 11 CUTS THAT WOUND UP ON THE ALBUM?

No, I was on tour when they were doing that part [laughs], but I'm telling you the whole thing, I mean it's weird—when they did the mixing, I wasn't even up in New York, I was on tour, and you know, all the musicians were calling me telling how it was turning out and it was like, "Oh, OK fantastic, can you send me a cut of it?" They would send me maybe a cut. But I wasn't really there to tell them to take this out, put this in, trim this down. I wasn't there to do that, no.

WOULD YOU WORK WITH THEM AGAIN? WOULD YOU WORK WITH ?UESTLOVE?

Oh, I'd love to.

I WANTED TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT SECULAR AND RELIGIOUS LOVE, BECAUSE A LOT OF SOUL MUSIC IS MARRIED TO GOSPEL, AND MANY OF YOUR SONGS, YOUR OLDER SONGS AND ON THIS ALBUM, COULD BE TALKING ABOUT A LOVE FOR A HIGHER POWER, OR A PERSON. THESE RELIGIOUS CONNOTATIONS, ARE THEY A CONSCIOUS EFFORT WHEN YOU'RE SINGING? OR IS IT MORE AN OPEN-ENDED THING, LIKE YOU CAN TAKE WHAT YOU WANT FROM IT AS A LISTENER?

Oh, it's uh, it's uh, you can't just go into a studio that's costing you four or five thousand dollars a day, and you got all these musicians that you gotta pay, studio session costs, and you don't know what you wanna say [laughs]. No, you know what you wanna say and we wrote this, but the design is like, "Take me to the river, wash me down, cleanse my soul, and put my feet on the ground."

IT'S NOT ONLY FOR A PERSON, BUT IT COULD BE A LOVE FOR ANYBODY, A HIGHER POWER.

Right, it could. How could anybody say, for instance, if you use it metaphorically, "Take me to the river, wash me down," cleanse me, and then they said "cleanse my soul." Well how is a person gonna cleanse your soul and put my feet on the ground? That's like I'm talking to somebody that's gonna be higher than somebody who just simply says, "I love you and I'll see you after dinner." Of course the songs have a meaning. "Lay it down" means, a secular connotation, it means, you know, like what Al says on the stage, he say "lay it down," he say "lay your love down," it's intertwined like that because he has a design he wants to follow and he has a desire to follow a certain design and he's leaving himself space and room.

I KNOW YOUR DAUGHTER SINGS BACKUP. WHAT'S THAT LIKE, TOURING WITH HER? IS THAT FUN?

Yeah, I would like to hang her. [laughs] No, she's a sweetheart and she's got a beautiful voice and the girls, Valisa too, is a friend of hers, and they just do a great job and I'm real proud of them.

IS SHE JUST LIKE, "OH WHATEVER, YOU'RE JUST MY DAD, WHATEVER."

Yeah, I mean, that's Dad, and on the road I just, I kinda let her and Valisa handle a lot of things I don't have to do on the road. Because this is my daughter, and this is Valisa, and Valisa is a member of the church also, and my daughter is a member of the church also, and I'm the pastor of the church also, and therefore we on the road also, singing "Love and Happiness" also. So it's kinda like a trip, it's far out; I mean people are out here. I mean I don't know if He's trying to draw people to a certain idea. I'm trying to draw people to a certain lifestyle. A better lifestyle.

A LIFESTYLE OF LOVE AND POSITIVITY.

Guns and drugs and this and that and violence and shooting and killing and cutting—I'm trying to draw people to a "Love and Happiness," yeah, you know, right, right.

WHAT'S YOUR LIFE LIKE BEING A REVEREND IN MEMPHIS WHEN YOU'RE NOT TOURING? DO PEOPLE STILL COME UP TO YOU ALL THE TIME, STARSTRUCK?

Well, I live in Memphis. So living in Memphis, people give you your space. But [laughs] they'll follow you to a restaurant. They love you and [are like], "I don't wanna impose, but could you sign the back of my T-shirt?" And I'm like, "You got the T-shirt on!" And the lady says, "I don't care! Al, just sign it!" And I just laugh and hug her and sign it for her because I know it ain't about nothin' man, it ain't about no big thing, man. I mean, I been living here 26 years so I mean, everybody know me and they know me, but still, [they're like], "I don't want him to think I'm just starstruck, but still, I'm drawn to him and I love his music and I love the songs that he's made and he's still making." And it's kinda like that, yeah.

I KNOW YOU GET THIS ALL THE TIME, BUT YOUR MUSIC TRULY CHANGED MY LIFE, AND I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK WITH YOU.

Thank you, Ms. Davis, it was a pleasure talking to you.

[Al Green. Fri 11.21.08. Showcase Live, 23 Patriot Place, Foxborough. 781.461.1600. 8pm/all ages/$80-$175. ticketmaster.com]

defend yourself: Al Green [Weekly Dig]

Girl, lemme talk to you for a minute...

So my iPod was on shuffle as I walked home tonight, and one of my all time favorite songs popped up: Alicia Keys' "You Don't Know My Name." Produced by Kanye, the song features gorgeous background vocals from a then relatively unknown John Legend, a baller Main Ingredient sample and best of all, a fabulously executed spoken monologue mid song. Now, for those of you who don't listen to old school soul and R&B, perhaps you aren't familiar with the origin of the random spoken breakdown. A staple in '70s and '80s slow jams, the spoken breakdown is a rare and hilarious musical nuance that when done properly, really takes a song from good to great in no time. When done wrong, it is painful and awkward. And it's become nearly extinct. And I am not talking about intros or outros on songs, because trust me, those are in no danger of going the way of the polar bear (too soon, my b). I'm talking straight up "baby, let me explain" speeches and "come over and let me rub you down" pleas. You know what I mean: Jodeci, Teddy Pendergrass, Bobby Womack, Boyz II Men, Barry White...the soliliquies that made you stop singing along and just go, "hmm mmm, I know that's right." Or laugh, really, really hard.

In spirit of a lost art form, I have compiled a list of my favorite, desert island top five monologues. Feel free to comment and add your own. I hope to everything sacred I am not the only person under the age of thirty who holds these special addresses close to my heart.

5. Boyz II Men "End of the Road." Michael McCary, the Philly group's bass harmony (or the dude with the cane) was ALWAYS on the monologue tip. He couldn't dance because of his scoliosis, and his voice was so Barry White deep, that he was the natural candidate for the vocal breakdown. But even as a 3rd grader I was like, this motherfucker has NO self respect. I mean, come ON dude. You have a cane and a bad ass voice. You should not be using your spotlight moment to say things like this:

"Girl, I'm here for you. All those times at night when you just hurt me and just ran out with that other fellow, baby, I knew about it, I just didn't care. You just don't understand how much I love you do you? I'm here for you. I'm not out to go out and cheat all night just like you did baby, but that's alright. I love you anyway and I'm still gonna be here for you, till my dying day. Baby, right now I'm just in so much pain baby, because you just won't come back to me will you? Just come back to me."

GET A GRIP man. You get the doormat prize and come in at number 5.

Boyz II Men |MTV Music

4. Lenny Williams "'Cause I Love You" Alright, not only is this one of the better sample sources that Kanye sped up, but it has one of the greatest breakdowns. Lenny cries throughout the whole damn song, and it culminates in this:

"You know, one time things got so bad until I had to go to one of my friends and talk to him. And I told him, I said, “You know, I’m having problems with the woman that I love. It seems that I call her on the phone and I just can’t get her to answer.
And then I went to her house and I saw a car parked in the driveway
I knocked on the door, but still my knocks went unanswered.
And then I went home and I watched television until television went off.
And then I played my records until I just didn’t want to hear them anymore.
And finally I went to bed, but I found myself waking up a few hours later.
And the tears were running down my face." And my friend told me, he said, “Lenny,
You just oughta forget about her." But I told my friend, I said, “You know, maybe you’ve never been in love like I’ve been in love. And maybe you’ve never felt the things that I’ve felt." But this is what I told my friend, I said, “You know, sometimes you get lonely. You get lonely, you get lonely."

I didn't even know television went off.

3. Alicia Keys "You Don't Know My Name" Well, this is the song that sparked this post and one of my all time favorite R&B tunes. Kanye West didn't become famous for nothing and the lush production coupled with John Legend's beautiful cascading harmonies and Alicia's coquettish charm make this a killer "unrequited crush from a far" jam. And when Keys says "Wait, my cell phone breakin' up" I lose it. Oh, and Mos Def is a BABE in this video.

"Well, I'm gonna just have to go ahead and call this boy.
Hello? Can I speak to -- to Michael? Oh hey, how you doin'?
Uh, I feel kinda silly doin' this, but um, this is the waitress from the coffee house on 39th and Lennox. You know, the one with the braids?
Yeah, well I see you on Wednesdays all the time
You come in every Wednesday on your lunch break, I think
And you always order the special, with the hot chocolate.
And my manager be tripping and stuff, talking 'bout we gotta use water
But I always use some milk and cream for you, 'cause I think you're kinda sweet.
Anyway, you always got on some fly blue suit 'n your cuff links are shining all bright
So, whatchu do? Oh, word? Yeah, that's interesting. Look man, I mean I don't wanna waste your time but, I know girls don't usually do this, but I was wondering if maybe we could get together, outside the restaurant one day? You know, 'cause I do look a lot different outside my work clothes. I mean, we could just go across the street to the park right here- Wait, hold up, my cell phone breakin' up, hold up. Can you hear me now? Yeah. So, what day did you say? Oh yeah, Thursday's perfect, man."

Alicia Keys |MTV Music

2. Prince "Insatiable" I couldn't leave this one out, despite the fact that Prince kind of talks his way through out the whole song. He gets really nasty and makes me feel uncomfortable towards the end and this is basically sonic sex. But really I just wanna know who "Martha" is and why he chose that name, because it's about as sexy as "Mildred."

"OK, so all U do is push the little red button
And I belong 2 U in your little video box
Nah, don't look at the clock, yeah
It's 2:45, we got all night
First, U gotta tell me what U want me 2 do...
Do U really want all my clothes off? (Yes)
What are U gonna do 2 prove it? (Ooh)
Aren't U afraid we're gonna be found out? (No)
Well, let's get on with the show...
Doesn't my body look good in the shadows?
Ooh, baby knows what 2 do
Have U done this before? (I don't know)
U say U want my hips up in the air (Yeah)?
Oh no, I don't care...
I know I could be nasty with U."

The video is edited so his royal nastiness can't truly be conveyed.

Prince |MTV Music

1. Teddy Pendergrass "Come and Go With Me" And here it is. This gets the number one spot for two reasons. First of all, it's the flip side: this time it's the object of the song, the lady he sets his sights on, giving us a piece of her mind. They go back and forth, but obviously she goes home with him, but only because he agrees to buy her drink and drive her home after. My kind of girl. And secondly, Teddy Pendergrass was one of the originators of the slow jam spoken word. He has to be on my list. So here's to you Teddy P. The clip is a live one.

"Come on over to my place
(No, not tonight, no)
You see it’s not far from here
(I believe you)

Would you just take a minute and think about it?
(Oh, man)
Would you just think about it, think about it? Yeah...
(I’m thinkin’ about it but I really have to say no)

Come on and go with me
Come on over to my place
(No, I know)
You’re sittin’ here, you’ve been sittin’ here for quite a long time
(Yeah, I’m slightly bored, I hate bein’ bored)

See, I’ve been watchin’ you
(I’ve been doin’ the same thing)
I’ve had my eyes on you
(I’ve been checkin’ you out all night long)
You look so nice and you look so sweet
(Oh, thank you)

Come on and go with me
(That was sweet)
You look like you oughta be with me
Come on, over to my place
(Yeah, but what are you gonna with me? That’s the problem)

Seems that you feel the same way I do
(I think it would pretty interesting)
It seems that you need some company, too
(Oh, boy)
Yeah

Come on and go with me
(You said your car is right outside, right in front)
Come on, over to my place
(And you’re gonna bring me home after)
But would it be all right with you?

Come on and go with me
If we left here and we went somewhere else, baby
(Come on over to my place)
Somewhere where it’s nice and quiet, nice and quiet
(That’s nice, yeah, that sounds a little better than this place)
Where we could sit down by a cozy lit fire
We could sip a little wine, work things out
(Oh, yeah)

Come on and go with me, work things out
(Well, I cannot stay long)
Come on over to my place
(We got an hour, no more than that)
Lady, you won’t be under any kinda pressure
(Please, I cannot stand pressure)

I wouldn’t do that, baby? No
(Okay, well, would you get my coat?)
See, I wouldn’t do that, baby
See, I just wanna sit down
And get to know you a little better
(Okay, just for a little while)

I swear you look so good to me
(Are you gonna pay for my drink?)
Come on over to my place
You look so good to me."

I'm Still In Love With You.

While it's too early to actually start believing that D'Angelo's new album is dropping this fall (readthisexcellentSpinpieceRIGHTNOW), it is definitely not too early to deem certain artists' efforts as the Best of 2008...so far. And unless you don't have a heart or working hammers, anvils and stirrups, then you know that the Rev. Al Green's Lay It Down is quite possibly the greatest "classic" soul album to emerge since well, the initial Soulquarian movement that spawned Voodoo. And that isn't surprising, considering ?uestlove was at the producer helm for both.

At least three years in the making, Green's "real" comeback hadn't really been executed to perfection until this Ahmir Thompson and James Poyser dream project came to fruition at Electric Lady: Dap-King horns, Anthony Hamilton, Corinne Bailey Rae, John Legend (even his black Liberace schtick can't taint his contribution on the lovely and twinkling duet "Stay With Me (By the Sea)"), Jaguar Wright and of course, the late and great Chalmers "Spanky" Alford flesh out what already was a promising and titillating concept: take the Rick Rubin/Jack White M.O. (retooling an icon's sound ever so slightly with the benefit of younger producers/younger working musicians aesthetics, while expanding on what made said icon so great in the first place, also known as not fucking with an already good thing and trying to make a legend play catch up with the Top 40 club) and apply it to the last working living soul legend. It had been ?uest's dream to do so (and he has previously turned down Stevie Wonder, citing too much pressure and personal anxiety over that hypothetical project) and he knew he could do it. It was just a matter of making Blue Note realize that they had dropped the ball, and kindly asking Willie Mitchell to stand back and let the youngsters take the reins.

The resulting sessions unfolded the same way the famed Voodoo recording sessions did: no pressure, a slow layering process, and a heavy editing hand. If a song worked, they came back to it a few months later just to make sure it still smacked of epicness. Jam sessions, writing while rehearsing, and of course, simplicity paved the way for the album I personally have been waiting for since I was a little kid. I grew up on Al and the other soul and R&B greats, but I grew up on what my mother and her generation experienced first hand. I could and did listen to Let's Stay Together a million times, but even as a child couldn't help but think, if he's still alive, why isn't he making music like this anymore? And despite his gospel era, the truth was, he wasn't making music like he did at Hi Records thirty years ago. He could, but he wasn't. And part of that is the unfortunate fate many of our Hall of Famers face: act like you're still 20 years-old to appeal to the 20 year-old set, or else you are a relic, or at best, starring in an awkward Victoria's Secret commercial.

Lay It Down combines the lush strings of Green's Memphis days with the sharp and full horns of his '70s reign (courtesy of the Dap-Kings), and lucky for us and Green, his voice has not changed one octave since he first started. Every single moan, squeal and emotive vocal arpeggio is there, matched by the basic organ styling of Poyser, crisp and simple drums of Thompson and the lilting and gorgeous guitar riffs of Alford. This record is Green's first Top 10 album since 1973. It is the most organic and natural sounding execution he has attempted since his beautiful and raw "farewell" to the secular world, 1977's The Belle Album. It is without any doubt, any hype, any bullshit, an immediate classic.