Hey I'm Xenia Rubinos, I'm at Amoeba and this is What's in My Bag.
This is an Abbey Lincoln record.
It says it's songs by Abbey Lincoln, but it's actually songs written by other people
so that's an interesting thing.
But I love Abbey Lincoln, I grew up listening to her.
I don't know this record, actually, so I'm excited to check it out.
It has Max Roach on drums, a super hero of mine.
Paul Chambers on bass, who's incredible as well.
Sonny Rollins on sax.
It has 'Don't Explain' which is one of like the first jazz songs I ever learned how to sing
but I've never heard Abbey sing it before, so I'm excited.
I also got Mary Lou Williams 'Solo Recital'
I have never heard this record either, so I'm really excited to check this out.
Mary Lou really inspired me a lot in the making of my new record 'Black Terry Cat'
and she's kind of not as well known as she should be
she's just such an excellent pianist and y'know, aside from from being a great pianist
also composed some really cool choral suites
so I'm excited to see what this is about, of her on solo piano
it should be cool, so that's Mary Lou.
Hiatus Coyote. I love this band so much.
They're from Australia. Everyone in the band is great.
Really great players. I got to see them live, that was a really memorable show.
I was really sick. I was so sick I hadn't gone out of the house for 3 days.
I was like, there's no way I'm missing this show
I knocked back three hot toddies at that show.
and boy... by the time Hiatus Coyote came out I was fully restored
and that night I was healed. It was a combo
hot toddy and Hiatus Coyote.
and on my birthday this summer, I saw Napalm perform solo, just singing an playing guitar
It was amazing.
She sang a lot of covers, some of the Hiatus Coyote songs but solo
and her guitar playing is also crazy.
you're like, how are you playing and singing that at the same time?
Anyway, super fan girl.
Love this record. So excited to get that.
Yeah, Chaka Khan, I mean, classics.
I don't know this album but this person thought it was sweet.
In '81. March 5th '81, they were feeling like it was sweet
and I'm pretty sure it's going to be sweet too.
I also really love this cover art
so, Chaka here and then baby girl. That's super dope.
I'm excited about this. Chaka Khan is an OG.
And then Kool and the Gang. I wanted to get a Kool and the Gang record.
I don't know this album, but I'm really excited.
I do know the song 'Raw Hamburger' that's on there. That's a good jam.
I love the way that they lay down the funk. Can't do wrong with Kool and the Gang.
Classic Donna Summer.
The first track on my record that just came out
was totally inspired by this song, 'Love to Love You.'
I just like how unhinged she is, and unapologetically sexy
and powerful and ethereal, and also this track is just so far out
with Giorgio Moroder kind of producing this super long dance symphony, if you will
and I've never...
I'd never heard anything quite like that.
Oh, ok so Lakmé, this opera by Delibes.
Super beautiful duet on this.
As soon as you press play, there's a little prelude and then there's this duet that you've definitely heard.
Beautiful opera, beautiful melodies. I love this one. Classic.
And I got also the Pixies 'Surfer Rosa.'
Classic. This album was a big turning point for me.
I grew up listening to the radio and Mariah Carey and Busta Rhymes
and then I got turned on to jazz and I was kind of coming more from that palette
and then I discovered the Pixies.
I didn't know you could do that with songs y'know, I just didn't know that stuff like this existed.
I also like some of the Spanish singing on this album.
Oh and there's a really cool song called 'Tony's Theme' that I love
it's like, this is a song about...oh man, what was it
This is a song about a superhero named Tony, it's called Tony's Theme.
I love that song. I mean, I'm sure I'm not telling you something you don't know, but
yeah, I just love how eclectic the songs are on this album
and how joyful and just raging they are at the same time.
I love the vocals on this, y'know, and storytelling I just think
this'll never go out of style. It's like a forever record.
My queen Erykah Badu.
I had to get this. I've never heard this on vinyl.
So many great songs on this album. I love the production on it, I love the sounds
I feel like I was blasting this record non-stop on repeat when I went on tour as a support act
and I learned a lot about touring but I was surrounded by dudes all the time for 6 months
and I didn't even realize how deep that was getting to me
until I started autographing people's records and drawing vaginas on them
I was drawing hairy vaginas on everybody's albums
and I'm like, what is that? And I was like, man, I just think I need to see another woman or something.
To get me through that I was listening to Erykah everyday
so she was like my godmother/sister girl who was my best friend
during those months, I listened to her all the time.
Her records I keep coming back to, again and again.
This one I have no idea. This is Denise Williams.
I just look at that cover art. She's coming out the wall, with her flower prints.
I don't know what's going to happen with it
but I like coming into record shops and just trying stuff out
so I'm excited to hear what she's up to.
This is Willie Colon. He's a legendary composer.
They used to call him El Malo, the bad guy
and he had this whole mystique around him and his band, and how they were gangsters
so all of his covers are him killing somebody under a bridge or
this one's called 'The Hustler' so y'know, they're up to no good, they're gambing
and his band is legendary
just the way he wrote for horns, all his horn backgrounds are super juicy
and danceable. And a lot of times he had Hector Lavoe singing all these songs
It's just joy, everytme I hear his records.
They're from that era of just dancing to a big band kind of vibe
You can never go wrong with Willie Colon. I got two.
This one, also, I mean look at the many styles of Willie Colon on this one.
The opening track on Side A 'Ah-Ah/O-No' that's a jam
put that on and try not to dance. See if you can not move to that.
Oh, I got a book. James Baldwin 'The Fire Next Time.'
Heard a lot about it. Probably read excerpts of it
but I have never read the full letters. There are two letters
about his experience, his early life in Harlem.
so I'm excited to read that, that James Baldwin.
People are not, for example, terribly anxious to be equal
but they love the idea of being superior
and this human truth has an especially grinding force here
where identity is almost impossible to achieve
and people are perpetually attempting to find their feet on the shifting sands of status.
The last thing that I have is 'Carmen' by Bizet with Leontyne Price
who I actually haven't heard her sing Carmen before, so I'm excited about this
I just got to see Carmen live in Naples, Italy
in one of the oldest theaters... actually the oldest continuously running opera theater in the world.
And I got a tour of it right before the opera
and every box has mirrors, these little rearview mirrors so that he could look
and see what everyone was up to in every box.
So I thought that was a pretty gangster move of the king in Naples.
He wasn't messing around, y'know, Carmen's a classic
but it was really cool to be in that theatre and hear
the opera and imagine what the vibe could've been back in the day so
yeah, Leontyne Price is a queen. Can't wait to hear this.
I got this t-shirt, J Dilla Donuts.
I mean, this album is like an encyclopedia of music
and I love going in and trying to find out where his samples came from.
It could be any time of day, I could be in any mood, and I would dig listening to 'Donuts.'
And that's it, that's what I got.
Thank you so much.
Thank you, this was fun.