Word up...

Ok, I have ALWAYS been a sucker for the song, WORD UP, by Cameo. It came out in 1986 and it knocked me out:  I had just started my first solo pastorate in Cleveland and I remember hearing it on a juke box in a pizza joint after a wedding rehearsal.  OMG what a total wild ride: these guys are a little George Clinton and Funkadelic with a healthy dose of the Bar Kays and Marvin Gaye for good measure.

There have been a few covers - GUN and KORN - but both strike me as lame. Total possers who know a great groove thing but just can't pull it off.  And then out of nowhere, on CSI, comes the most awesome remake EVER by Willis. O Lord, it was a religious experience for me hearing your reworking of the Cameo song - and after a few days of searching the internet I found her EP - and I still play it over and over.
We're going to try to work it up for our Thanksgiving Eve show:  Di and I will do my tender cover of Lou Reed's "Sweet Jane" earlier in the show (with a few words of gratitude to St. Lou) and then we'll pull out the stops towards the end with WORD UP.  For some reason this year's show feels sacred and healing in a way that is unique.

I have really been knocked on my ass by both Lou Reed's death and that of my friend Michael Daniels. So for me these two songs fit together in some way that feels like an homage to all that is salty and sacred in rock and roll - and life - mixed with an awareness that even the toughest SOB has a vein of vulnerability and grace running through us whether we own it or not. We're headed to grandson land with our kids tomorrow to mark wee Louie's 5 week anniversary.  WORD UP!