The Temptations

Last Night: Al Green at Sleep Train Pavilion

Sunday Night: Boyz II Men at Mezzanine

Last Night: Boyz II Men Mezzanine January 18, 2009 Better than: All the Philly steaks you can eat It had been announced that, for this performance, the multiplatinum R&B superstars Boyz II Men would be performing tunes from their 2007 cover album Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville U.S.A., but I ha ... More >>

Slap Shots

Last Night: Boyz II Men Mezzanine January 18, 2009 Better than: All the Philly steaks you can eat It had been announced that, for this performance, the multiplatinum R&B superstars Boyz II Men would be performing tunes from their 2007 cover album Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville U.S.A., but I ha ... More >>

Funk, Revisited

Luv 'n' Haight's 50th release adds to local music lore

P Is for Paradox

The P-Funk gang celebrates its golden anniversary -- with its many, many, many white fans

Singing Praises

Are you there, God?

Doctor's Appointment

Commemorate a Seussian century

A Fan's Notes

If you've ever wondered what it means to obsess about music, you must visit Jonathan Lethem's Fortress of Solitude

Boogie for a New Millennium

Zakiya Hooker preserves the legacy of her father, blues legend John Lee Hooker, plans her own musical career -- and tries to keep tradition from suffocating both

Mickey and the Soul Generation

Iron Leg: The Complete Mickey and the Soul Generation

House of Tudor

Horror heaven, soulful documentaries, and organ-drenched boogie

Preaching to the Unconverted

Martin Luther wants to save your soul -- music, that is

Jon Dee Graham

Hooray for the Moon (New West)

He'll Be There

Willie Hutch wrote one of the greatest songs ever, but he ain't done yet

Night Crawler

Willie Hutch wrote one of the greatest songs ever, but he ain't done yet

The Rhythm Method

Andre Williams is still doing down and dirty

Being Country

Guitarist Bill Frisell and jazz's move away from the city

The House of Tudor

Guitarist Bill Frisell and jazz's move away from the city

Recordings

Guitarist Bill Frisell and jazz's move away from the city

Race to Fame

W. Kamau Bell has built a career on examining the messy intersections of race and class in a supposedly postracial world.

Raphael Saadiq

W. Kamau Bell has built a career on examining the messy intersections of race and class in a supposedly postracial world.

What To Do? Wednesday's Pick: Raphael Saadiq

​Raphael Saadiq @ The FoxOakland native Raphael Saadiq first came to national prominence with his '80s R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné! He found subsequent success as a Grammy-winning solo artist and producer of R&B hits, including D'Angelo's flesh-baring "(Untitled) How Does It Feel." Though ... More >>

Smooth and Smokey

​Raphael Saadiq @ The FoxOakland native Raphael Saadiq first came to national prominence with his '80s R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné! He found subsequent success as a Grammy-winning solo artist and producer of R&B hits, including D'Angelo's flesh-baring "(Untitled) How Does It Feel." Though ... More >>

The Top Five Covers of Outside Lands 2010

Christopher VictorioAl Green's soul medley on Sunday had us wearing a stupid grin.​Of all the things we'll remember about this year's Outside Lands festival -- the sun breaking through the fog during Al Green's set, the gaudy costumes of Empire of the Sun, and the incessant oonce oonce from the He ... More >>

Exploring the Jewish influence on black American music

Christopher VictorioAl Green's soul medley on Sunday had us wearing a stupid grin.​Of all the things we'll remember about this year's Outside Lands festival -- the sun breaking through the fog during Al Green's set, the gaudy costumes of Empire of the Sun, and the incessant oonce oonce from the He ... More >>

Which Bar Has North Beach's Best Jukebox?

The juke at Tosca​The heyday of authentic jukeboxes is long over. With many bars installing those nasty touchscreen digital Internet boxes, the old school record-flipping kind of jukebox is a dying breed. And this is in the town that originated the concept of jukeboxes back in 1889. So what denote ... More >>

Don't Be Fooled By Oakland's Alan Young -- Here's a Guide to the Motown Stars He Impersonates

Bittersweet indeed.​As you may have heard, there's been a rash of misdemeanorly winings and dinings going on about town lately -- well, for the last couple of decades -- at the hands of one Alan Young, an Oakland sanitation worker with a knack for passing himself off as various Motown luminaries ... More >>

The Top 50 Songs To Get High To

We'd bet Barry O. bumped some of these back in the day...​ As you might imagine, combing back numbers of my Listen to This While High column and my own vast library for a reasonable stab at the Fifty Stoniest Songs Ever is a labor and hashish intensive experience. Preliminary fossickings unear ... More >>

The Selecter DJ Kirk on the Sweater-Funk Parties and What's Missing in Current R&B

​Soul and funk guru The Selecter DJ Kirk has been dubbed the unofficial mayor of San Francisco by friends and peers. Born and raised in S.F., he is recognized for his all-embracing knowledge of soul music through the decades, his extensive record collection, and for producing events like Soul ... More >>