Ronnie Laws, “Pressure Sensitive.”

“My problem lies in reconciling my gross habits with my net income.”
- Errol Flynn

Ronnie (L) and me, with the things that bring us joy, respectively.

Name: Ronnie Laws, Pressure Sensitive (Blue Note, 1975).


Is this title acceptable? Yes, because it can be construed in sort of a sexy way. We’re all animals, really, guided by our emotional tides, sensitive to pressure. My absolute favorite is the physical kind of pressure, though.


Produced by: Wayne Henderson, who also produced a little Roy Ayers (!) and a little Willie Bobo (!!).


Global events at the time of its release: THIS HAPPENED and nothing's more important. It turns out that NYC, as Horace Swaby discovered in 1975, is way wayyy east of the river Nile.

Gingham lapels!

Entered my life: Don’t know exactly; can’t remember. Recently enough for me to buy it specifically because it has the Black Moon break on it, so…it had to have been in the last few years. I am a poor historian. Luckily, my enthusiasm for breaks and overall sunny demeanor make up for that. Amoeba; $5.99 (!).


Difficulty of finding, vinyl-wise (1-10 scale): 7.2. DUDE IT’S GOT THE BLACK MOON BREAK ON IT. AND I FOUND IT. Amoeba tried to throw me off by selling it for less than 10 bucks, but it is quite a treasure.


Breaks contained:




Lots, but “Tidal Wave" with its excellent '90s rap credentials*, is the biggie.

*Black Moon, “Who Got Da Props.”
Organized Konfusion, “Stress.”
Quasimoto, “Return of the Loop Digga.”

“Tell Me Something Good” was used in “Shake Your Rump,” though.



Reason for this post on today of all days: I miss Black Moon in general, and Evil Dee in particular-?
(there’s no reason, I suppose)



Facts of nerdy interest that excite me and might show up on Jeopardy! someday:

- Mr. Laws was once a member of Earth Wind & Fire and handled woodwind duties on the most bangingest track on Last Days and Times, “Power.” I'm always saying this about every song, but this thing is a timeless walking-down-the-street-in-a-sundress fucking jam. I wish other people’s brains were flooded with this music like mine is; then maybe people would understand when I open my mouth.




- He wrote and co-produced “Very Special” by his sister Debra Laws, which is always on Art LaBoe. It's been used by Big Daddy Kane and some others--including Master P & Nas, together, on the same song, in “Where Do We Go from Here,” an awful thing from '99 that I could not believe actually happened when I heard about it. Anybody’ll do a song with anybody, whody.

Fully clothed. This one goes out to my mom, who likes me in this kind of attire and warns me I'm “attracting them for the wrong reasons” in my usual little pieces of swimming attire. BUT MOM, I say. Ain't no right or wrong, 'long as they're attracted.

Sartorial accompaniment: Inappropriately short shorts, fancy-lady white oxford shirt, and lace-up boots that were an unholy amount of money but they’ll last for years and years. My aesthetic is “Stripper librarian goes horseback riding.” My aesthetic is also Whatever Kool Keith Wants Me to Wear, I Wear (“Open your eyes, now you realize/Now put on thigh highs/
Tie your boots up tight/Very tight with all your might”).



Suitable activities while listening:

- visit Massan’s place.

If these 3 lived on my block I’d go over with a fake-impossible-to-open jar of spaghetti sauce 3-4 nights a week and ask for help.

- Familiarize yourself with Scott Fujita: Saint, gentleman, linebacker, incredible human.


- Drink in (heh) the visual beauty of this, which somehow perfectly describes the appeal of water during hot discomfort. (The Big Picture)




Best YouTube comment:

I’m including a trio today, because all together they constitute an adorable conversation between 2 nerds with whom I should be hanging out.

BrokenExitProduct: “(‘Tidal Wave’) was sampled In ‘Crooklyn Dodgers’.”

dubbsway4life counters (correctly) with, “Actually, ‘Crooklyn Dodgers’ sampled Black Moon's ‘Who Got The Props.’ Black Moon sampled ‘Tidal Wave.’ I think they were the first to sample it.”

Bluefoxking @dubbsway4life: “LOL, Sample chain.” Aww. Call me, gentlemen!



Other notable things about today:

- That “Tangerine” remix, YES (other than Rawss' part, of course). Big Boi loves his stripper army and his friends do too. She don’t even walk; she wobble past, Fabolous says. Yes, darling. YES. When I was 19, rap songs had to be about Steve Biko or the socioeconomic factors at play regarding the sales of illegal narcotics by young men in big cities in order to convince me to buy the album. Now all I like are Nitti beats and Toomp beats and lyrics about licking and grabbing ass. I’m devolving, making sure only my most base and primal needs are met. I’d say “I hope it’s a phase,” except I’m a lot more fun to be around now than when I was 19. I hope it’s not a phase.

- “My wife with the hair of a wood fire/With the thoughts of heat lightning/With the waist of an hourglass/With the waist of an otter in the teeth of a tiger.” This could be a terrific Big Boi lyric, but it's Andre Breton. You're mixing up your female-body-loving wordsmiths. Big Boi is the one who said “You killing them of course/With the features of an angel and the bottom of a horse.”

-Today in LA driving/radio-listening adventures: Wiz isn't allowed to say “lesbian.” It's given that weird radio-friendly slurred (played backwards) effect, just like the word “fuck” or “gun” would be. Lesbianism is bad, per Clear Channel, but Kings of Leon can say “head while I’m driving,” and Lloyd can discuss his future rough takeover of that girl’s special place (“beat it I bet she’d let me”). That's some stupid arbitrariness, whody.

- Joell and his annoying nasally voice. Hmm. I usually like him, but in this new “Oh” song he says “I get at Twitter; I’m street to the 9th power.” Nope. No. I challenge that statement. The simple goodness of “I’ma come see you, and punch you in your face,” though: oh! Oh yes, that's what I need. More scrap raps & fewer computer raps, please. (And regarding life in general: more good posse cuts and pillow fights, please.)

- When is Yelawolf going to take a shower and wear a shirt that has sleeves. Thank you.

- Breton also said, “Words make love with one another,” and I can't think of a better way to end this post.





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