Aloe Blacc – Good Things

(Stones Throw Records, 2010)

http://www.aloeblacc.com

Reviewed by SoDak

A couple years ago, Sudhir Venkatesh, a sociologist, wrote an op-ed piece for the New York Times. In this essay, he reflected on how angry, yet passive, the U.S. public was. He indicated that people should be pissed off, given the jobless rate, foreclosures, a class war waged from above, increasing inequality, and the general decline in public services. In the past, people would meet in the streets. They would join with other folks, share experiences, make plans, and organize. They became invested in each other’s lives, in the future of the world. Rebellion and direct action served as a means to create social disruption, demanding attention to social ills. It made the ruling class uncomfortable. Today, he suggested, we are even more alienated, isolated, and distrustful of others. Instead of meeting in the streets and sharing in the struggle, we scurry home to be entertained and distracted. We make our links and “voice” our discontentment via blogs (including this one) and network sites, pretending that we are connected. All the while, we become comfortable in this passivity, too tired to participate, to march, and to protest. Venkatesh argued that we must reclaim the streets, our connection to each other, and the future. If we do not do this, we surrender an important realm in which to facilitate social change.

Lately, I have been listening to Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On (1971), thinking about how this record resonated with the times. The record is filled with songs about war, poverty, humanity, ecology, and hope. Every time I put this record on, I am captivated by sound, the lyrics, and emotional weight that it contains. It makes me think, it stirs a desire to connect with friends, and sometimes it brings tears to my eyes. It is a potent record. In many ways, I think this a situation where the voice of the people in the streets influenced the music, which also served as a popular expression that moved others. Of course, I am not saying that all music should do this, but it can be powerful when this is the case.

With Marvin Gaye on my mind, I went to the record store, looking for something new, although I was not sure what it is that I wanted. One of the good folks who works there told me that I should check out the new Aloe Blacc record. I had never heard of this artist, so I sat down at the listening station. A bass note and pounding keys kick off the opening track, “I Need a Dollar.” For a contemporary R&B record, it had a sound that beckoned back to classic records. Then the voice came, “I need a dollar dollar, a dollar is what I need, hey hey. Well I need a dollar dollar, a dollar is what I need, hey hey. And I said I need dollar dollar, a dollar is what I need.” I was captivated by the sound and emotion. I pushed stop and decided that I would give this record more attention at home. The beat driving this song is infectious. Even though I only listened to a little bit of the song in the store, the rhythm was bouncing around in my head while driving. The chorus about needing a dollar was simple, but the “dollar” signifies so much, as far as just getting by, paying the bills, or getting a drink.

This record is worth it just for this song. It addresses the desperate times that so many folks confront—being laid off from a job, attempting to get by from day to day, seeking some solace in booze, and trying to establish a meaningful connection with other people. “If I share with you my story would you share your dollar with me?” Here we are asked if we are willing to listen to another person who is struggling, if we can recognize the common plight. Aloe Blacc continues: “Bad times are comin and I reap what I don’t sow, hey hey. Well let me tell you somthin, all that glitters ain’t gold, hey hey. It’s been a long old trouble, long old troublesome road, and I’m looking for somebody to come and help me carry this load...Cause everything around me is falling down, and all I want is for someone to help me.” The song attempts to break through the endless diatribes of pundits on television who attack and blame the most vulnerable. “I had a job but the boss man let me go. He said, ‘I’m sorry but I won’t be needing your help no more.’ I said, ‘Please mister boss man I need this job more than you know.’ But he gave me my last paycheck and he sent me on out the door…What in the world am I gonna to do tomorrow.” We might even ask: What in the world are we going to do?

Good Things is a decent record with several catchy songs. “I Need a Dollar” is easily the standout track and sets a high bar for the songs that follow. Some of the songs blend 1960s and ‘70s R&B with more contemporary sounds from the genre, however, the uneven nature of this record becomes more evident as it progresses. Several of the songs seem thin, as far as the production and sound, relying too much on the keyboard. I think it would have helped if the artist and producers had fully embraced the classic R&B sound that is scattered throughout the record. “Miss Fortune” incorporates a reggae beat, but it is not really an interesting song. “Take Me Back” is a horrible song—best to skip this one. I was surprised to hear a cover of Velvet Underground’s “Femme Fatale” on the record. It is OK. Other songs speak of the importance of family and loved ones in helping us get by from day-to-day. I like the song “Life So Hard” mostly for its lyrical content, as it speaks to how money is the key to everything in the United States. Aloe Blacc paints a picture of the class system as banks are bailed out, while families are in the streets without anything to eat. The rich are housed and clothed, while poor children are in the cold without shoes. Overall, the songs both ground us in our immediate social relations and force us to relate to the larger reality of social crisis.

There are moments on Good Things that make me think of classic songs by Marvin Gaye, or even Gil Scott-Heron. Aloe Blacc has a strong voice. It is refreshing to hear a record with some decent political songs that give voice to the struggles of working folks. “I Need a Dollar” encourages us to share stories. It attempts to break us from isolation, forcing us to consider the conditions that other folks confront. Perhaps, in the process, we will feel some union with others and, in time, we will take to the streets demanding and forcing change.