The incredible, brazen Betty Davis, onetime wife of Miles Davis, made four amazing and funky as hell records spanning the 70s that were instant favorites here at Amoeba when they were reissued by the fine folks at Light in the Attic Records over the past few years. Upon their original release, her albums failed to gain recognition or sales, and Betty retreated into her own life in Pittsburgh.

Thanks to a heads up from the label, you can now check out this rare interview with the "They Say I'm Different" singer right here about her own career, her influence on Miles and her relationship with him. Though her ex husband was undeniably a huge talent in his own right, Betty is also truly one of a kind, and an underrated gem of an artist.

Listen here:

"He Was a Big Freak" from They Say I'm Different



"They Say I'm Different" from the album of the same name

At this past weekend's WFMU Record Fair in Manhattan I ran into Josh Wright, who along with Matt Sullivan co-owns the amazing Light In The Attic Records (LITA). The music fanatical duo had trekked out from their Seattle base to set up a table to sell some of the latest releases from LITA's impressive catalog (lots of lovely vinyl) and also to give away cool freebie sample CDs.

Scroll down to see the Amoeblog interview with Josh in which he talks about some of the new and upcoming releases from the unique label known for its lovingly compiled catalog of reissues of forgotten music by such greats as Rodriguez, funk goddess Betty Davis (above), and pop-psych outfit The Free Design. LITA were featured on the Amoeblog back in May of this year when they undertook their West Coast Road Trip that included stops at Amoeba. The label also releases new music from contemporary acts, including an EP and LP from the Seattle/Tacoma pop/rock/rap outfit The Saturday Knights', Mingle, that featured the great opening track and single "45" (see video below). Another contemporary act on LITA is Austin, Texas psychedelic rock group The Black Angels.

As Josh mentioned in the Amoeblog video interview below, some of the exciting new releases include the aforementioned Betty Davis and the Black Angels, seventies reggae artist Noel Ellis, keyboard/xylophone artist Emil Viklicky, 60's/70's Czech female vocalist Marta Kubisova, and the various artists release Reggae to Toronto: Soul Funk & Reggae: 1967 - 1974. 

3. Federico Aubele- Amatoria (Argentina)
4. V/A- Love Is Love (Africa)
5. Serge Gainsbourg- Historie De Melody Nelson (France)

The self-proclaimed Kings of Bachata ran away with the top spot on Amoeba Hollywood's World Music top five. Aventura sold enough to get on Amoeba Hollywood's overall top ten (a rare feat for our little section of the store), along with new releases from Mos Def, Grizzly Bear, Sonic Youth and J Dilla. Aventura, along with Wisin & Yandel, is the soundtrack to many lovesick teenage Urban Latinos in matching Kobe Bryant jerseys. It's the kind of sickly sweet stuff that you dedicate to your girl or guy if you love them or if they broke your heart.

Although this was an conscious attempt to make a mainstream album, Los Amigos Invisibles' latest, Commercial, stays the course that the band has been on for fifteen years. Remember what was often said about The Grateful Dead? “It's not that they're the best at what they do, it's that they're the only ones who do what they do?" That's certainly the case with Los Amigos Invisible. If you love their unique take on Latin Disco with loungy undertones, Commercial won't disappoint.

Federico Aubele’s electronic dub meets Tango and acoustic music has many fans, including Argentineans, KCRW heads and people who love Thievery Corporation. Maybe they are all one in the same? Nevertheless, they go gaga for this guy. It’s perfect background music for a café or perhaps that mood music for driving or for that soundtrack for the mini-movie inside your head. There are also remixes on vinyl of some of these tracks as well as some from his previous release, Panamericana, which bump a little more than the CD versions.

On Memorial Day --this Monday, May 25th, sometime between 1 and 2 in the afternoon, four guys from Light In The Attic Records (LITA) up in Seattle are expected to roll through the doors of Amoeba Music on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood.

The four may look tired and understandably so, as it will be Day 8 of their unique road trip that will take them from Seattle to San Diego and back. But expect the LITA four and the Amoeba folks who greet them all to be smiling widely once they peep the cool music these guys are coming armed with -- all from LITA's deep catalog: stacks of wax, rarities, and lots of goodies from the indie label known for its roster of reissue projects and its distribution catalog, with artists including Serge Gainsbourg and The Monks.

On Monday last, May 18th, they crammed thousands upon thousands of pieces of music into their van and since then have driven all the way down from Seattle, through Tacoma and Olympia, then through Oregon and into California, stopping all along the way at a total of 50 indie record stores to personally deliver the goodies. This 50 store/10 day/3000 mile music road trip will take them as far south as San Diego. Then it's back north and inland to Sacramento, their last stop before heading home to Seattle by Friday, May 29th. For those of you with calanders asking, doesn't that then make it an 11 or 12 day trip? Well, technically it is still 10 days, since the record store part of the operation runs from May 18th to the 28th.