Per aspera

Teresa Neilsen Hayden links today to a disco version of the song “Apache.” You may have seen it before. If not, you’re welcome.

In comments, someone put a link to a post on the music blog soul sides with a bunch of different versions of Apache, including one by the Incredible Bongo Band, whence comes a drum sample you’ve been hearing for years. I’d always assumed it was James Brown. I don’t know why.

It’s neat, by the way, to see that The Roots probably included that drum loop in “Thought @ Work” to echo Black Thought’s reference to the “Jump on it!” part of The Sugarhill Gang’s own version of “Apache.” Or maybe it was the other way around.

Also, to skew off in another direction completely, while I’m reminded of it by the inclusion of Nas’ “Made You Look” on the soul sides post: In “NY State of Mind,” Nas raps the following at the end of the first verse:

I never sleep, cause sleep is the cousin of death
Beyond the walls of intelligence, life is defined
I think of crime when I’m in a New York state of mind

Nas follows up a line about sleep with “beyond the walls of intelligence, life is defined.”

H.P. Lovecraft has a story named “Beyond the Walls of Sleep.”

Nas has read Lovecraft, I’m convinced. No one believes me, they call me mad, but I’ll show you. I’ll show you all.

UPDATE: Also from the comments to that post: