hype of the week: double-header, part one

This week's Hype comes in two parts:

First, in preparation for the OBRA State Championship short-track race n Saturday, here's another "back-to-the-source" clip, this one from the amazing Brecker Brothers and their album Heavy Metal Be-Bop, which I bought when it came out in 1978 and I was a freshman in high school. I'd already been bitten hard by the funk bug with forays into the catalogs of Tower of Power and ConFunkShun. The Brecker Brothers brought a breezy brand of funk to the scene that was heavily jazz- and fusion-influenced. This cut, which opened the album, quickly became one of my favorites because of its amazing off-beat punches and the first bass line I'd ever heard functioning as a hook. I played Heavy Metal Be-Bop so many times that I wore out the eight-track tape (!!) and had to save up for another one.

I couldn't find a live concert version of this chart, so I went for decent sound. Enjoy the clips of NYC and concerts stills, or just put on the headphones and turn the volume up.





Part two of the double-header Hype will air on Sunday.