Dear Kellz,
I"m writing you back.
I realize we got off to a rocky start almost twenty years ago when I refused to stop calling you a cheeseball. I've since realized that calling you out for being a goof is no more productive than complaining about the summer heat in Kansas City.
Even so, I'm compelled to whine about Write Me Back. How could you have released the album in its current form? You're backed by what sounds like chintzy karaoke tracks. Had you featured a live band like the Roots, Orgone or the in-house group at Daptone, Write Me Back would have been the album of the year. The songs are amazing. (Weird, but amazing.) And the MJ thing happening with your voice has never sounded more spectacular.
Yet until you pull it together, I'll continue to roll my eyes every time I hear someone refer to you as the King of R&B. Oh, how you disappoint me! Cheeseball.
Your unforgiving fan,
B
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Farewell, Andy Griffith. Thanks again for introducing the world to the Dillards.
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Yomo Toro has died. Here's There Stands the Glass' 2009 appreciation of Toro.
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Perusing old Yomo Toro recordings led me to Jose Miguel Class. Man, it really doesn't get any better than that.
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Godemis is looking good.
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I remain very pleased with my work at Plastic Sax.
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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here. And on Monday you'll find me at Warped Tour.
(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)
