The first thing you should know about Graydon James & the Young Novelists is that they’re Canadian. You should know this because despite America’s constant rebuff of Canada as a pointless wasteland of politeness and boredom, Canada has a pretty amazing habit of turning out talented musicians...

The 1st chapter of an ongoing series, “The Decoders: Volume 1″ is the 1st EP of a series that will explore classic ’60s/’70s soul music reinterpreted in a roots reggae, hip hop, latin or some (hopefully) refreshing production that may give these favorite songs of mine a new life.

It’s November 17 and this may or may not be the last mashup before Thanksgiving. It really depends on how early in the week I start drinking. So the point is: this is gonna be a double-stuffed turkey of a time.

Do you know what happened on November 3, 1978? You don’t? Well, it was a pretty seminal moment. On that day, the world was introduced to a young Gary Coleman, a plucky Todd Bridges, a sober Dana Plato, and old man Bain. The world was given so many precious pop culture gifts. From “What you talkin’ ‘bout Willis?” to the Bicycle Man child molester.