CHOCOLATE GENIUS / “Ain’t That Peculiar”
Kalamu and I spend a lot of time trying to find music. Sometimes though, the music finds us. Case in point: the other night, I was watching American Splendor. (Decent movie by the way, if you, like me, happen to enjoy sarcastic, cynical and self-referential semi-dark comedies.) The movie is based on the exploits of Harvey Pekar, a lifelong city government file clerk who enjoyed (or should I say, ‘had’) a brief side-career as an author of adult comics. The movie depicts Pekar as a shuffling, mumbling near waste of an individual, but both in the movie and (apparently) in real life, Pekar had excellent taste in music. American Splendor is one of those films that attempts to immerse the viewer in the world of its protagonist. In other words, because Pekar is a compulsive, scattered music lover, the movie is obsessively thorough, follows several main threads at once and, most germane to our discussion, is filled with wonderful music. From beginning to end, semi-obscure jazz and blues tunes play in the background. I say ‘semi’-obscure because I recognize the names of most of the artists, but very few of the songs. In any event, the movie ended, the credits started to roll and I got up from the sofa. Right then, an arresting voice started to sing a song I thought I recognized. I sat back down. As the song continued, I realized the voice belonged to Marc Anthony Thompson AKA Chocolate Genius, a cat we've discussed previously here at BoL. But what was the song? The lyrics were familiar, but it sounded like Thompson might’ve been putting his own nasty little spin on them. “You do me wrong and I’m crazy about you?” “Each hurt makes my love stronger than before?” I didn’t figure out what song it was until Thompson made it to the chorus. It was Marvin Gaye’s “Ain’t That Peculiar.” How is it that I didn’t recognize one of my all-time favorite singer’s best-known songs? Give the track a spin and you’ll hear why.
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6 Responses to “CHOCOLATE GENIUS / “Ain’t That Peculiar””
February 13th, 2007 at 1:54 am
Chocolate, Gonzo, and NYCD
chocolategenius
A few nudges in various directions tonight…
Tonight, I was flipping the channels and thankfully came across the latest ‘American Experience’ on PBS, focusing in on New Orleans. One of the folks offering their in…
February 13th, 2007 at 1:57 am
Great post. I loved Marc on Bruce Springsteen’s latest Seeger Sessions tour. Great tune posted. And Kalamu, I just saw you earlier tonight on American Experience. Well done!
February 15th, 2007 at 11:44 am
Thanks for Nina and Dianne Reeves. All were new to me. I especially enjoyed the Marvin Gaye selections. I had to remind myself that I was working while listening. It was on his music that I learned to dance.
I, too, saw you on American Experience–great comments! Great program! I knew that you would be there. Keep on, keeping on.
February 16th, 2007 at 1:38 am
“Ain’t That Peculiar” is an extraordinary piece of song writing–quite complex in its construction. Six lines and then a four-line chorus (on which Marvin improvises and extends), with the last three lines (expressing the “peculiar -ality”) almost like the third line of the classic blues lyric. I’m quite bowled over by it.
And then there is Marvin’s vocal (without backup and instruments) what an extraordinary contrast. The man could sing. I could listen to his singing without backup and instruments, all night long. The man could sing. What a voice, what timing–he could swing a tune!
March 31st, 2007 at 8:12 pm
Where can I find Ain’t that peculiar by Chocolate Genius? I was struck by it at the end of the American Splendor movie and have to have it. It doesn’t seem to be an any of their CDs. I don’t know Chocolate Genuis at all but if his stuff is like this song I’l be loving it all.
Mtume says:
It’s not on any of the Chocolate Genius albums but it is on the American Splendor soundtrack. The rest of the soundtrack is mostly classic, swinging jazz. (If you saw the movie, you heard all of the songs from the soundtrack.)
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