Paul-s

This week (Boxing Day) we have a beautiful set from Mr Shiver, a record collecting veteran and Dj. www.lookatyoursoul.org Keep on supporting and listening and sharing and contribute a set if you can. Have a good Christmas amongst all this mayhem. Best P & K Shiver post.mp4

This week we have the incomparable Henning Borm with a set that speaks to many things soulful. Listen and share if you can. We are grateful for the continued interest and support and if you want to contribute a set, please check out th guidelines on the site. www.lookatyoursoul.org Henning Post.mp4

A real treat this week from Greg Belson whose set is so deep I needed a shovel to dig myself out! Beautiful rare gospel tunes that reach into the soul. It’s truly fantastic and inspiring the way vinyl collectors are responding to the call out. So much 'Soul with a Message' that is new to my ears, and that’s what I love. Please listen, share, and contact us if you want to contribute a set. Details are on the site. www.lookatyoursoul.org GB.mp4

Up now! A beautiful, soulful set for days like these.......Enjoy and share if you can please.

Girdwood.mp4 Next up we have Dave Girdwood with a fantastic set! Check it out from this Saturday December 5th. www.lookatyoursoul.org

Thanks for the support

https://www.lookatyoursoul.org/thelisteningbooth/david-ripolles This week we have Dave Rippoles with an incredible set! Dave r with sound.MP4 You can also check other great sets by: https://www.lookatyoursoul.org/thelisteningbooth/roual-galloway https://www.lookatyoursoul.org/thelisteningbooth/alfredo-maddaloni https://www.lookatyoursoul.org/thelisteningbooth/miss-goldie https://www.lookatyoursoul.org/thelisteningbooth/tommy-sovic We add one set each week! If you want to keep up then please join our mailing list. If you would like to contribute a set then please visit the site and see what it is we do........ Best Paul

This week we have a set from Dave Rippoles. I get excited every week to share these amazing sets and this incredible music. Dave’s contribution builds beautifully on that with some amazing tunes We have had such great support so far on this #listeningproject and I give massive thanks to all those who are responding to the call out so eloquently and soulfully. www.lookatyoursoul.org Best Dave r with sound.MP4 Paul-S

NEXT UP on Saturday 21st is a superb set by Roual Galloway (Cordial Records). In the coming weeks we have some brilliant sets coming to the site, so stay tuned, and thanks for the support! Please contact me if you want to contribute a set that responds to the call out. joined_video_a8156308c62f40a58247c3ee69a0c2ea.MP4

The project has had great support, and that's very humbling and very much appreciated. I am hearing a lot of tunes I do not know and that sound fantastic. Soul with a message. Thanks to all. www.lookatyoursoul.org joined_video_482c88140fbe46bba4feca26ce9e8d1c.MP4

https://www.lookatyoursoul.org/thelisteningbooth/sam-goldie NEW SET by Miss Goldie is now up.

LAYS_SamGoldieGraphic -InstaStories.mp4

Found this old Soul Source post from 2008: World has still changed very little.......nice to have a site that now shares this music.... https://www.lookatyoursoul.org/ Paul-s Members 3,284 posts Posted December 5, 2008 "Not sure if thats a good term for it but hey, it does it for me. I seem to have loads of records that have lyrics that talk about the social/political environment of the late 60's/70's. Listening to them now, it makes me realise how little the world has really progressed! For example: ANTONIO CASTRO - Welfare LEROY CLOFER - Mr Big Man GHETTO KITTY - Stand Up And Be Counted FOUR MONITORS - Dark Side Of The Ghetto JOHNNY KING & FATBACK - Peace, Love, Not War WALLY COCO - Message To Society FRANKIE STATON - Speckled Rainbow Love BETHEA THE MASKMAN - Ghetto Love SOUL INJECTIONS - Stay Of The Moon ESSENCE - Black Reflections I would be really interested in other examples from the collectors out there? And what name do you give to this genre of music..?"

Thanks. Some great stuff to come too. Sam Goldie is up next with another interesting and varied set. Thats how we want to progress the site if we can. Thanks for the support!

Thanks Andy.

It's taken a while to get there, but we are pleased to share this resource and hope you can take time to listen, share and get involved: Look At Your Soul invites collectors to dig out records by African American artists, recorded during 1960s and 1970s, that tell the story of Black social, cultural and political struggle through the music. First up, with a superb mix, is Tommy Sovik from Norway, and in coming weeks and months we will be uploading more sets including Sam Goldie (Australia), Alfredo Maddaloni (Italy) and more..... https://www.lookatyoursoul.org Best Paul & Kristen

Very rare Gospel/Soul LP for sale. Superb, production and very soulful. THE HOPE FAMILY SINGERS - What Does Jesus Mean To Me on Champ God Will Never Change & We Come To Praise The Lord (on side A) are incredible uptempo, almost cross-over, low-fi gospel soul with intricate backing and superb vocals. This LP is mega-rare.... vg+ £150 +pp SOLD Check out tracks 5 & 14 on the mix. https://www.mixcloud.com/paulsadot/soul-has-no-color/ The Fabulous Tapps - Core City Communion - Too many great tracks to mention and for the dance floor too! Read the back cover notes! Very Rare Lp VG++ £100 + PP

Thanks for the thoughtful reply. I absolutely didn't take the review to heart though, but found pleasure in responding to such a slack attempt at using 'Soul Up North' as platform for personal attacks. Jealousy, as Tim clearly demonstrates in the article, often materialises in babbling rhetorical nonsense. If I get a critique, which the chapter aims to do (to start a dialogue) I always listen and learn, if it is informed and articulated well. There is a massive difference between criticism and critique. The book is actually a mixture of academic and non-academic writing and was intended as just that. It does what it says on the tin so to speak. Northern Soul, whether scene goers like it or not, is now studied worldwide in the fields of sociology, criminology, psychology, dance, culture etc. It has significance in those fields and it's good to represent a scene 'insiders' academically informed perspective rather than be be commented upon by academics on the 'outside' off the scene all the time....this is obviously only my opinion. The self-funded PhD was extremely hard and demanded a lot of sacrifice and going without. You are warned that it is a long, solitary and often isolating experience and it is. Of course, it is also an exciting, challenging, positive and life changing experience too.. if its done for the right reasons. Good luck to your son and I hope he manages to find a way to do it.

A response to Tim Brown’s review of my Northern Soul Scene Book Chapter in ‘Soul Up North’. I wasn’t, at first, going to bother engaging with this piece and, in fact, it is quite hard to do so with such a poorly considered and badly articulated review: I can’t seriously call it a review as its more of a bitter diatribe against me. Before I start, perhaps I should mention that I was once banned from Beatin’ Rhythm, Manchester, following a physical outburst of jealous rage aimed me at an all-nighter by its owner over a presumed liaison. It was witnessed by many, so not a libellous comment. The banning was so puerile that even the shop staff ignored it. Perhaps that sheds some light on the bitter focus of the review and that’s why I think it is important to be honest about these events and why I'm writing this. I get the impression Brown hasn’t actually read the book or indeed the Chapter I contributed. The art of critique calls for a real engagement with the material and it’s obvious Tim didn’t have the time. Mr Brown likes to try to give an impression of knowledge and understanding, but it’s clearly evident in what is missing, and what is pure conjecture in the review, that he lacks serious depth of thought, critique and analysis. Let’s take a look: · The book in hardback is expensive and I do not own a copy (I can’t afford it). At the same time as it was published, a paperback was made available at £25. I was paid for researching and writing this in the form of 1 free paperback copy: No Ker-ching! as Brown conjectures. It took a year to write, so see how £25 spreads out in that scenario Mr Brown. Do your research rather than presume. · Brown seems to think that the world of academic writing profits the writers. WRONG AGAIN. It is, in fact, an exploitative industry that relies on the writers (if they work in a university or want to) having to contribute to the REF system. They write for free and receive little to no royalties unless they are amongst the top few. It relies on the idea that it is supposed to be good for the writers’ exposure, ratings and academic future. I don't want to work at a university so have no interest in that. I just wanted to write the Chapter to start a discussion, not at Browns level of course, but amongst the many academics who are writing from without the scene rather than within. Critique and criticism are two very different things and Brown fails on the first challenge. It is easy to criticise, but critique demands research and knowledge and at least the ability to articulate a counter narrative. · Academics earn nothing like the amount Brown quotes (which is an Associate Professor rate) and they are dependent on the subject. So, if you’re in Finance and Banking, yes, it’s possible, but in the humanities no way. Do your research Mr Brown. · Before writing the Chapter I held my B.A. and M.A and was by no means 'new to academic writing' as Tim presumes. Again, his lack of knowledge of the subject he is critiquing is sadly evident and some might say, bitter in tone. · If he had read the Chapter, he would understand that it does “challenge the methodologies by which the papers are presented” (note that he uses this phrase in a non-sensical way, but I cannot be bothered pointing out why). Here, Tim tries to sound informed whilst not providing any examples or expanding on what he means, indicating that he has no idea of ‘methodology’ or indeed, what already exists in the field. To help him out, here’s a little pointer. In my Chapter, the ‘methodology’ is one of practice- based research and this alone is new in this subject area. This is clearly outlined at the start on page 293 in the third paragraph of the Chapter. The chapters argument is also presented at the end of the Chapter in the form of a playlist that, I argue, demonstrates how the music and dancing have evolved in a nuanced symbiotic ways over the decades (many of which I didn’t see Tim in, or dancing in, in fact I have never seen him dancing): this is also a new component to the methodological approach. · Mr Brown calls me a ‘self-appointed dance aficionado’ which again, sounds a bit bitter. I guess he is a self-appointed record aficionado, book reviewer and 70's hairdresser if we choose to misuse the word in that way. At no point in the book do I say I am an aficionado, and I actually state clearly that this is written from my own experience, part autobiographical, academic-ethnographic and academic auto-ethnographic. I also state how the review of all existing literature on the subject was a part of the writing process and what the methodology is. · I self-funded my PhD and it was very very difficult to do so, a real struggle. Is Brown privately educated, middle class? He comes across as such and seems to resent a working-class man choosing to educate himself at this level. By the way Mr Brown, you can now call me Dr Sadot x. · As to his persistence with the 'Ker-ching' that he presumes arises from these books, I have received his record lists and recognise much Ker-chinging in them. · Browns so-called area of expertise is Zoo’s. But he even gets that wrong in the review. Academics discovered Zoo’s as sociological subject matter in the 1920’s and 1930’s, not 20 years ago as Tim states. · Keep an eye out for Browns own pretentious use of language in the review preceding the one of the book. Quote: ‘I’ve missed some John Betjeman-styled prose or A.A. Gill-type acerbic insight, but, somehow, I doubt it” · My chapter actually argues for the existence of a domain that Brown clearly sits within, the ‘historico-pastiche’, a re-imagining of what actually happened. Many of the records we broke at Soul or Nothing, DDA and beyond were, and are, a mystery to Mr Brown he had/has no idea about them because he was not out and about listening and dancing. He chooses to sit in the re-imagined past, literally sit, as he rarely dances. How on earth ‘Soul Up North’ decided that Brown should review a book Chapter about dancing is beyond me. It’s as relevant as Russ Winstanley judging a dance competition. Is Brown one of the editors? On a final note, Brown says "the world needs paid for analyses of Hip-hop and Morris Dancing" then goes on to make more puerile conjectures, crap jokes and condemnations regarding such work. Well, in fact, Hip-hop is a multi billion dollar industry that influences many things and it is worthy of much study and it has been written about greatly at a high academic level for a very long time. As a form it contains rich socio-political history, cultural significance and much much more. How arrogant to make such ridiculous and, once again, ill-informed statement. Mr Brown may enjoy my forthcoming Chapter: Sadot, P., (2021) 'Negotiating the Metaspace: hip hop dance artists in the space of UK dance/theatre' in Fogarty, M. Kai Johnson, I (eds), Oxford Book of Hip Hop Dance Studies, London: Routledge, (forthcoming) I'm not defending academia and think it is elitist and self-perpetuating, that's why I don't work for money in a University and won't. What I am defending is the right to answer idiotic book reviews that draw on jealousy and inarticulacy as a means of address. Howard, please feel free to publish this in the next edition.. Love and Soul Paul-S (Dr Paul Sadot).

I'm sure some 'Northern Soul industry' style promoters will be looking at growing the 'Soul in the Sun', 'A Holiday Full of Soul', 'Soul in a Sangria Glass', 'Beach Full of Soul', 'Sandcastle in the Sand' type scenarios....looking to countries where COVID eases of in terms of mobility and rules.

Look forward to it!

Sounds great. Im in...

I can only speak for myself. But, 1976, I was there. As a 15 year old lad I just wanted to dance too. But, when I danced, even then, to Coit and Ghetto Kitty and Valentino's I did actually care about the lyrics, I heard them. However, because of my crap education then, I had no idea of what they actually related to politically/historically, but I 'felt it' and knew it meant something. As I grew and read and experienced life etc, it became clearer over time. The scene stayed underground way past Wigan too and way after many Wigan-Centric soulies left. Thats when a lot of great music surfaced and listening habits evolved. For me, as I have got older I started to listen even closer. I didn't stop, I carried on listening and dancing, I still do. When I DJ'd DDA and Soul or Nothing I found that I was naturally drawn to 'Soul With A Message' (Tommy Sovik term). Me and Karl Heard used to call it 'Ghetto Soul.' I have to be 'here', in this moment in time, or whatever moment in time, and the way I listen to music relates to the historical and political environment I live in. It's not nostalgic. For me, and I can only speak to that, the music is powerful in that way. I have no idea what 'pure music, pure soul is', but I do know it's a very tenuous statement and feels like another claim to authenticity, and that is always tenuous. I don't doubt it was for you: and that is all you can claim. It would also seem to infer that everything else was/is 'not'. I heard loads of shite music back then and could write lists of it for days. The Look At Your Soul site isn't an accusation that you don't/didn't listen. It's an invite to listen now, not in a retrospective sense of when you were in your teens or in 1976, there is no demand from it to make excuses as to why you/we didn't listen 'then'. Point is, we can listen now. Totally agree. This is a nice track too....

Thanks. It's aiming to become an evolving listening project based around soul vinyl. There is a lot of explicit history, politics told through much of the music we, as collectors, dancers, DJ's, soulies, love and listen too. Got some great sets to kick it off with, with a lot of tunes many wouldn't have heard. I hope it creates a platform for people to listen, engage, share and enjoy.