"fined his band members for missed notes or imperfect shoeshines"

What a man, what a man, what a fucking crazy man. James Brown was one of the most important figures, icons, legends (all those words. he deserves 'em all.) in pop music. Of course, that spills over into hip hop, funk, soul, r & b, et al. And he was muthafuNkin' craz-zay and crazyTOUGH.

Great obit by Jon Pareles says it all (just about).

Last night I mistakenly (let's face it, drunkenly) set my radio alarm to 89.9 instead of 89.3 and I righteously woke up to "Say It Loud — I’m Black and I’m Proud."

What an awesome way for a white girl to get roused outta bed.

Thanks for *EVERYTHING*, Mr. Brown. You put the drama, the sweat, the funk and the stamina in pop music and you will never be forgotten.