#5
Friday, and my drive gets longer and longer to work. It might be time to get a closer job. Any ideas? All for all....
Price: $100.00
pearsonphoto@gmail.com
#4
Finished a Polaroid Collage of Humphrey Bogart yesterday. A kind of tibute to the great actor. Its made up of 16 individual polaroids. How many Casablanca fans do we have out there? I never get tired of that movie. Usually the old movies don't hold my interest but this one does. If you want to read a great review click on the link. Anyway, I will post it once it gets scanned. I'm really glad its done. Its by far the biggest collage I have done....now just three more to finish before the next big show. Thats all to report folks.
Price: $100.00
pearsonphoto@gmail.com
A lot of times, Coach would find himself in hilarious situations all because of a few misunderstandings between the characters on the show. I remember one episode of Coach where Coach and his wife/girlfriend and someone else (Luther, Dauber, or maybe both, I don’t really remember) were out in some like condo or cabin in the woods or something and this place had a hot tub in the back yard and it was snowing or had recently snowed so it was hell of cold outside. Anyway, Coach was upset about something (probably related to football) and he was totally stressed and couldn’t relax, so Coach’s wife/girlfriend suggested he go get in the hot tub to relax. So Coach went out to the hot tub when it was freezing cold outside and got in and relaxed. Then, I think, everyone else had to leave for a couple hours (I forget why) and when the wife/girlfriend told Luther or Dauber to lock the door, he accidentally closed and locked the BACK door, not knowing that Coach was out there in the hot tub.
You can imagine the hilarity that ensued when they returned after several hours and found Coach still in the hot tub, where he had had to stay the whole time since he had been locked out. Man, Coach sure was mad.
I don’t remember what happened after that, but I’m pretty sure the problems were all resolved by the end of the episode.
#3
Botticelli..I used a lot of words and drawings of his....Went fishing yesterday. I needed a day off after a wedding I shot. You should be able to see the big ass bass I caught once they are posted @ FlaDuckDays. Oh just a shut out to my fans... Guys most of the work is for sell so, if you like something drop me a line.
Price: $100.00
pearsonphoto@gmail.com
Normally, when I've studied a topic for my class, I think about it, and let it go. But for some reason, my class on cosmopolitanism has stuck in my brain. Maybe that's because it was the last formal class I will ever have to attend (insert big smile here), or maybe because the subject matter was pretty compelling.The class is 'International Justice & Human Rights' and the topic up for discussion
Audio
TEAM SHADETEK feat 77KLASH & JAHDAN - Brooklyn Anthem (Sound-Ink)
OH NO, KRS-ONE and RICCI RUCKER - Boogie Down Ox (Operation Unknown)
ARTIST UNKNOWN - Chinese Popular Song (Machinefabriek)
MACHINEFABRIEK - Ryan (Machinefabriek)
MACHINEFABRIEK - Somerset (Lampse)
BURIAL - Distant Lights (Hyperdub)
ANDY STOTT - Choke (Modern Love)
BENGA - Dominion (Benga Beats)
STACS OF STAMINA - Roll (Wonder's Remix Instrumental)
SHORELINE - Shipwrecked (Yesternow)
RICKARD JÄVERLING - Heavenly Birds Pt 2 (Yesternow)
SIR RICHARD BISHOP - Space Prophet Dogon (No-Fi)
CORKER CONBOY - The Crossing (Blue Eyes Music)
FRANCOIS TETAZ - Abysmal Horizon (Rubber)
CLIFF MARTINEZ - Will She Come Back (Superb)
DELIA DERBYSHIRE - Way Out (Trunk)
BLACKDOWN - Lata (Keysound)
ATKI2 - Guilty Pleasures (DJ Pinch Remix) (Werk)
OMEN - Rebellion (Tectonic)
DOMINIC FRASCA - Lefty's Elegy (Cantaloupe)
RICHARD LEO JOHNSON - Love and Trouble (Cuneiform)
SHORELINE - A Second Thought (Yesternow)
THE GENTLEMEN LOSERS - Gold Dust Afternoon (Büro)
LARSEN - The Snow (Important)
PAAVOHARJU - Tartu Tähän Hetkeen (www.miasmah.com)
HUSH ARBORS - The Werewolf Om (Digitalis)
DIANE CLUCK - Save Me (Important)
DJ OLIVE - Sleep (Excerpt) - (Room40)
It's the weekend! More importantly, it's a weekend with no social engagements. Last week, UrbanCowboy and I had an almighty great argument about the fact that I didn't want his sibling and sibling's girlfriend to come over for Sunday lunch. As you'll remember, it was an island of idyllic rest in the midst of an astonishing amount of activity... we agreed to compromise and UrbanCowboy was
#2.
People all over the world join hands, come together now.....love train...sorry that just popped in my head. If your in Lakeland and you need something to do come to the 7th Platform Florida art show. Its a one of a kind fusion of Art, Music, Film, and Dance. The event starts @ 6:00pm tonight and I'm really happy to be apart of it! So bring the whole family out. Enjoy the weekend......
The Empty Book Series #1
Five books in the 1st series. I got sick of using the same books for a lot of my Polaroid Collages. I wanted to get rid of the books but not the covers. I decided to throw away the words and use the covers to display a few of my Polaroids. The book series is not framed, but I did attach some wood to the back of the books so they would hang on the wall. If my grandmother was still alive she would have a fit that I was ripping up her books. Thank you so much grandmother Zella for all the wonderful treasures you have left me. I miss you.
It's time to 'out' myself. Specifically, I'm going to burst out of the closet with perfectly coiffured hair, ultra-high heels, a magnificent dress and covered in bronzer, singing a Stevie Wonder song. At my entrance, Simon Cowell is so impressed that not only does he give me a standing ovation, but my singing moves him to make a declaration of undying love for Ryan Seacrest and they skip off into
·
The Box
I change the look of the blog over the weekend. Blogger wasn't letting me upload my images but it looks like they got it fix. Anyway, I hope you like the new look. One day this blog will be linked to my website, when that is....God only knows, I will let you know. Have a good week guys.
Today UrbanCowboy and I decided we would go and fly a kite. Given that it is the sunniest (but not warmest) day of the year so far, we should not sit on our ever-expanding backsides and watch DVDs or whinge about the computer's failure to make the coffee. We found the 'pocket kite' and pootled off to the lushest, greenest, area in North London that has hills. Sadly it also has a high proportion
Audio
Capleton - Time of Decision - Observer
I Roy - Step on the Dragon - Observer
Ranking Joe - Drifter inna a Warrior Style - Jah Warrior
Lutan Fyah - Crab in a Barrel - Jah Warrior
Errol Dunkley - Created by the Father - Impact
I Roy - By the Father - Caribbean Muzic
Junior Byles and Rupert Reid - Chant Down Babylon - Jah-Man
Blazing Fire - Blood Dunza - Jah-Man
Earl Zero - Righteous Works - Addis Ababa
Jah Wally Allstars - Mozambique - Addis Ababa
Willy Williams / Jackie Mittoo - Come Along (Riddim) - Stine-Jac
The Congos - Bring the Mackaback (Upsetter Mix) - Blood and Fire
Ras Ibuna - Diverse Doctrine - Pressure Sounds
skyjack Version - Pressure Sounds
Monsoon - Skream (Loefah Remix) - Ammunition
Burial - Distant Lights - Hyperdub
Superqueens - Not for all the e's in England -
0898Dave - Ballad of Henry - Heart and Soul
Envelopes - Free Jazz - Brille
Thee More Shallows - Monkey vs Shark - Monotreme
Subs - 8 O'clock - SubsBand
The Orlons - The Wah-watusi - Universal
The Dovells - You Can't sit down - Universal
Nugrape Twins - I got your ice cold nugrape - Revenant
Henry Spaulding - Cairo Blues - Revenant
Moondog - Rabbit Hop - Honest Jons
Little Axe - Rockin' Shoes - Real World
Happy St. Patty's day! I hope everyone has a safe night of partying. I know I will have a few green beers tonight. This Polaroid was taken durning my College days. I never used the image until now. Lots more to come. Be safe
Oh man! Remember that episode of Coach when they were playing in a bowl game called, I think, the Patriot Bowl or the Independence Bowl or something, and the quarterback for Coach’s team (Minnesota State) got injured or sick or couldn’t play for some reason? So then there was like this freshman with a lot of heart that Coach put in at quarterback who hadn’t played quarterback since high school.
Basically the whole episode was jokes about how cold it was wherever the game was supposed to be played, (maybe Philadelphia?). Then, at the end, they didn’t even do a football sequence; I think it was just words on the screen explaining the outcome of the game. Coach lost.
Nice work, Coach. Your team sucks in the snow.
So, for the last few days I've been pretty busy. It's all to do with missing a week of socialising due to travel, and foolishly telling everyone I know 'I'll see you in the week I get back'. Um, error, mistake, several double-bookings later, and some grovelling to friends who I've had to duck out on... JR was scheduled for dinner on Wendesday, and I managed to keep that appointment: we went
I did try the bidet again a few times. It is... odd. I guess if it weren't for the John Wayne TP (i.e. TP that doesn't take shit from any asshole), I'd never have to use it. But alas, now that I figured out how it works and how not to burn my butt, it's not so bad. But I'd rather go back to squeezing the Charmin.
If you do use a bidet, watch the pressure of the stream. Otherwise you might wind up with an enema instead of a gentle cleansing. Of course, that would probably lead to more usage of the bidet...
Enough scatalogical thoughts for one night...
Yay! I'm going home! It has been a long quarter of travel for me. I've been home only 3 weeks since 1/1/2006, so I am ecstatic to be headed home tomorrow night. Just one more day left in Sao Paolo.
A couple more thoughts on Sao Paolo:
Spanish is not as useful as I originally thought. The IT guy at the training center is Chilean, which explains his knowledge of Spanish. I feel like I stupid American now! One of my students is from Bolivia, so he and I have been conversing in Spanish, which has been fun for me and helped me to remember some of the language that I have forgotten over the years.
Brazilians love to use the thumbs-up for "OK". I see it all the time in class, on the street, everywhere. Again, being a stupid American I flashed my students the OK sign today (index finger and thumb making a circle with the rest of the fingers extended). I was laughed at. Why? That hand signal means "asshole". Oops. So we proceeded to have a hand signal discussion about the peace sign and if you turn it around it can mean either "V for victory!" in some places or "fuck you" in the UK and other British colonies (current and former). My, the things we learn by traveling.
Brazilians LOVE coffee. And its cheap! I have grown fond of the post-lunch espresso with my students. At less than a buck each, its a cheap way to spend some time relaxing with my class and learning about each other's culture. My students have been great, sharing with me thoughts on Brazilian politics, culture, language, etc. I'm glad that they have been so open to sharing with me about their culture, Sao Paolo would have been quite boring without their help!
Feijoada is a Brazilian specialty that is "all-you-can-eat" on Wednesday and Saturday. Basically, its a black bean stew with all kinds of meat and lots of side dishes. One of my students, Ricardo, took me to meet another student and his fiance for feijoada on Saturday. We ate like kings for about $25 each, including a few beers. I can get used to this!
Sao Paolo is not the scary, dangerous city most Americans think it is. Is it dangerous to walk around at night alone on dark streets? Hell yeah! But its also dangerous in New York City in the same situation! Keep your wits about you, don't flash a lot of cash or jewels and stick to well traveled areas when on foot and you'll be fine. I have not felt threatened here in any way, whatsoever. So all those people who told me I would be robbed and/or killed if I wore my wedding band and watch were just too paranoid. Go back to your boring suburban existence. The rest of us will have fun exploring the world without living in fear!
One last thought: ATMs. It is HARD to find an ATM that accepts my ATM card in Brazil. Brazilian ATMs use a PIN code plus some random digits from the CPF number (equivalent of a SSN number in the US) to validate each transaction. So you have to find a Banco do Brasil or HSBC ATM to use your card and retrieve cash. Thankfully it only took an hour of research on the net to figure that out!
It has been an interesting experience both personally and professionally here in Sao Paolo. I hope to someday come back here — as a tourist! — to see my new friends and experience more that Sao Paolo has to offer. With the exception of Brazilian beer!
There was this one episode of Coach where I think Coach and Luther and Dauber went to Las Vegas for some reason. I don’t remember why they went there, but it probably had something to do with football, maybe a game or a conference or something. Anyway, I think Coach also brought along his wife or girlfriend or fiancé (the one with the wavy hair) but she totally didn’t want him to gamble for some ambiguously feminine reason. This created some hilarity because Coach probably totally liked gambling and was trying to come up with screwball ways to gamble without getting caught by his wife/girlfriend.
Probably there was some part where Coach gave his money to Dauber and told him to put it on black and Coach thought it didn’t count as gambling because Dauber was actually the one doing it. After that, Dauber probably did something dumb and screwed up the gambling and Coach lost more money than he would have if he had just gambled himself. Then, Dauber probably delivered a good one-liner that demonstrated the fact that he is kind of dumb.
I think Luther did some sort of eccentric stuff like walked around in a funny suit and accidentally got involved with the mob.
So today my ridiculous water company, from whom I just received a bill for £181 (annual) last week, wishes to impose a hose-pipe and sprinkler ban. It is March.You can read a summary of the difficulties here. Apparently, the South East (and that includes London) hasn't been getting much rain. That, I can believe. It has been a noticeably drier winter, and the last few summers were very warm
A older lady came to my booth at the boca show and commented on this Polaroid. She said, "Wow I don't agree with this saying, when I go I'm going to a happy place." Its very interesting how people interrupt your work. This image had nothing to do with heaven or hell. But this lady couldn't get pass the darkness. To me this image is about the roll reversals our generation has taken on in the 21st century. Back then it was about family...now its about me...and what do I get. If we could only keep the top on the bottle. Aaaaaa...but would it be a happy place?
I should start by saying that it appears that the Elephants upstairs have moved out. There was the sound of the ceiling crashing to the floor yesterday (all day) and a moving van outside the flat. Plus, we eventually heard from the landlady (after contacting her directly ourselves through her father, whose phone number we found amidst some papers) and she is going to put carpet down and fix
Audio
Quazar - Funk n Roll - Arista
Ron Hall and the MotheRfunkers - love the way - Defected
The Antibalas - K-Leg - Purpose
Gilberto Gil - Bat Macumba - Soul Jazz
The Fly Guys - Fly Guy Rap - Soul Jazz
Dizzy Gillespie - Swing Low, Sweet Cadillac - Gerardo Frisina "Dizzy G-Call"- Universal - VERR014241
Windy City - Windy City (Theme) - Westside
The Persuaders - A Woman was made to be loved - Its Soul Time
The Isley Brothers - Just Came Here to Chill - Def Soul
The LabAddicts - Move All Night - LabAddicts
Vernon Burch - Do it to me - SRJ
The JU JU Orchestra - Funky Nassau - Nascente
RKW - why u? - Rainy City
iSoul8 - On My Heart - Still Music
Tortured Soul - Don't Hold Me Down -
Madeline Bell - Love is All - PYE rECORDS
Merc and Monk - Babyface - alavata
The Motherfunkers feauring Mark Evans- Don't Want you anymore - Soul Heaven Defected
Delegation - Hearthache No. 9 - Ariola
I'm really tired and not in the mood to post much tonight, but here's an updated map of my world travels. Weeee...
I haven't posted in a while, I needed a break from a lot of things after the Boca Show. Speaking of the Boca Show it did not go well. To much Craft and not enough art. Oh well, live in learn. Its good to be posting again. I hope you guys enjoy the new images! And I hope your days are filled with pure beauty.
Today is my first full day in Sao Paolo. I might enjoy it here if work wasn't taking up all my time. A few notes:
There is a drug store called "Farto". I thought it was humorous in a scatalogical manner.
The training center has a sign that says (I hope I get the words correct) "Centro de Testes". Heh.
I'd be totally screwed if I didn't speak Spanish in addition to English. Thankfully my Spanish is passable and I now know how to ask people if they speak Spanish or English in order to communicate more clearly.
I'm embarrassed to admit I ate lunch at McDonald's today. This one has a McCafe (coffee bar) where you can get an espresso and some pastries. The macaroons were VERY good. The espresso was VERY bad. They also have McInternet, an internet cafe. Weird.
Food is really cheap. I had room service tonight and a Caesar salad with chicken, gnocchi, bread and a capairinha cost ~$25 with tip. If you've ever had room service in an American hotel, you know this meal would cost at least double this amount.
Brazilians like their coffee and sweets. Everywhere you go there are coffee shops with pastries and sweets. I have had room service twice. Both times I have been questioned why I am not ordering desert. Not, "would you like dessert, sir?", but "You're not having dessert?! You need to have something sweet with your meal!". Is that the sign of an American in Brazil? Dinner without dessert?
Brazilian beer sucks. 'Nuff said.
Bidets. What is it with South America an bidets in my hotel room? Today was the day to try the bidet. So after pinching a loaf I figured it was time to determine how to use the bidet. I turned on the water and made sure it was warm, but not hot. I moved myself over the stream, squatted, turned up the pressure and...
HOLY SHIT, THAT'S HOT!
I think I burned my bunghole. Apparently what is merely warm to my hand is really scalding to my sensitive ass.
No more bidets for me.
I do not know how to spell the name of the tall guy with the blond hair and the really low voice. I think he was a former player for Coach and then became his assistant. This is an issue I touched on in the Golf post and I thought I should clear it up before I go any further with this blog. Coach and the others seem to be pronouncing his name: “dah-burr” but I’m not really sure how to spell that. Also, probably, this issue of how to spell his name probably wasn’t talked about a lot on the show.
Actually, there was probably like a running gag where UPS dudes would totally mispronounce his name when they were delivering him a football or some other type of thing. I bet it was all kinds of hilarious mispronunciations like “Rhubarb” or maybe “Doobie”. And I bet his real name was like, Clarence or something non-masculine that he was all ashamed of and that Coach made fun of him for because Coach thought it was a great joke to insult his friends’ masculinity. But not in a mean spirited, ignorant sort of way; more like a “that’s just how I was raised,” old-fashioned sort of way because he was a College football coach.
Anyway, I need to decide how to spell this name. I think I will go with “Dauber,” because “Dobber” seems a little philistine, and “Dawber” a little too affected.
So from now on, that tall guy that was Coach’s assistant, I will spell his name “Dauber”.
The title of this post refers to a playground insult I used to hear repeatedly in school, when young boys wanted to insult each other. 'Oh my god!' they would declare loudly, 'Don't be such a woman!'.And I'd be willing to bet that it persisted in secondary school (11+) but I didn't hear about it because (yay!) I went to an all-girls school. Nobody there would have thought that the term 'woman'
I spent the night in Buenos Aires yesterday. I was in the city for less than 24 hours for a short presentation to a multinational company where I got to practice a little Spanish (note: I need to learn business Spanish) and talk about security. A cool gig, if you ask me!
Some of the guys from the client took me out to dinner last night in the Receta neighborhood of B.A. Holy Jeebus! Those Argentinean women are style="font-weight:bold;">HOT! There was a lot of ogling going on from the five men all sitting in an outdoor restaurant watching the people stroll by. People in Argentina eat very late at night, we got to the restaurant at 9 P.M. and it was empty. By 10 P.M. it was filling up. By 11 P.M. it was totally full and people were dancing between the tables! Apparently this continues at most places until 1 A.M.!
Unfortunately for me, I had an early flight this morning, so my night was cut short. But not before stopping by Buller Brewing Company, a local brewpub. The beer was decent, nothing to get excited about and not a place I'd make a habit of going. Too many black lights and not enough beer choices. But certainly better than the local Quilmes, which wasn't much different than any other light mass produced lager beer from the USA.
In bed at midnight. Awake at 3:15 A.M. to go to the airport. The city was dead at this point. It was surreal driving through Buenos Aires and seeing ads for current American TV shows such as Grey's Anatomy! The airport was uneventful as was the 6:50 A.M. flight to Sao Paolo, Brazil. Now I'm checked into my hotel and working my tail off — nothing new there — and waiting on dinner to arrive in my room. I'll write more and post pictures once I have a chance to get out and explore the city...
No new posts for a while, but my excuse is a good one. My grandmother died on 24th Feb. She had a 'minor' heart attack on 22nd, but we all know that when you're 92, no heart attack is really 'minor'. Although the doctors all made it sound like she was going to be OK (even grandma uttered the immortal words 'I do wish all this fuss would stop: I'm not going to die.' from her hospital bed, through
Remember that one episode of Coach where Coach and his assistant Luther and the tall guy (Dobber? Dauber? I don't know how to spell it) played like the women's basketball team coaches in golf? And there was hell of pride on the line because Coach was basically a sexist character. And then I think Luther made some trick shot at the end, which was ironic because he had been hell of bad at golf for the whole episode.
Then, I think, Coach like totally screwed up his last putt and had to admit that the women beat him.
I think he learned humility or something.
He remained sexist however.
Audio
Unknown - unknown - chronic
Calenda - Forever - Tempa
Padded Cell - Konkorde Lafayette - DC Recordings
Monkeytribe - Global Jungle - Spinning Records
Greg Packer - Dancehall Theme - Tribe Records
Dilted Peoples - Firepower (The Tables Have to Run) feat. Capleton - Dilated
Wareika Hill Sounds - Joseph C (Coconut Head Version) - Uhuru
African Brothers/King Tubby - Original Dub - Nature Sounds
Love Grocer featuring Earl 16 - Surviving Dub - Universal Egg
Splitz Horns - Forward Ever - Scoops
U-Roy - Fisherman Style - Blood and Fire
Big Youth - Feed A Nation - Blood and Fire
Prince Jazzbo - Live Good Today - Blood and Fire
Good Shoes - We are Not the Same - Brille Records
Lupen Crook - Love 80 - Tap N Tin Records
65 Days of Static - Radio Protector - Monotreme Records
Little Axe - Victims - Real World Records
Diverse Doctrine - Pressure Sounds
FARI sYNDICATE - Free for All - Pressure Sounds
The Key - Overcome - Pressure Sounds
Larry Marshall - Let Make it up - Supreme Records
Hugh Griffiths - Dance Hall Session - Supreme Records
Jackie Mittoo - Freak Out - Heart Beat
Brentford Road All Stars - Throw me corn - Heartbeat
KG'S hALF ay Tree - Augustus Pablo and the Simplicity People - Trojan
Dennis Bovell - Picking up the pieces version - EMI
Hello, this is a blog about the television series Coach starring Craig T. Nelson. I wasn't ever a fan of the show, and I don't remember much about the episodes. However, that will not stop me from writing this blog.
What about that theme song? Remember that? Da da da DAAA DAAAA DAAAA DAAA DAAAAAA, da da da DAAA DAAA DAAA DAAA DAAA, etc.
Man the song may not have been good, but at least it was MEMORABLE.
I'm in Boston this week, living and working in Bunker Hill. It's fucking cold out there! I don't think it's broken 32 degrees F since I've been here and we're expecting 6" of snow tomorrow. Eek! I haven't seen that much snow since Baltimore in 1993!
I love this town. I just wish the weather didn't suck so much.
One observation: When a bar has a "Sam Adams seasonal" on tap, and you ask what it is, don't answer "Sam Adams Octoberfest". You're either 6 months too late or 6 months too early. Either way its not desirable!
BULLWACKIES ALL STARS
DUB UNLIMITED
WACKIES LP/CD
The Rhythm & Sound boys continue to delve deeper into the vaults of Lloyd Barnes’ Bullwackies productions and this one comes from 1976 on the Senrab label and with Prince Douglas and Jah Upton ruling the mixing desk dubbing tunes culled from seven and twelve inch singles out on City Line and Wackies as well as associated labels such as Versatile, and Munchie Jackson’s Earth imprint. Those expecting the swirling Upsetteresque mixes made newly popular by this reissue series may be initially disappointed as the dubs on the first six or seven tracks are more stately affairs in the earlier classical style of Tubby or maybe Errol Brown at Treasure Isle both of whom provided the core rhythms represented here. Things begin to get steamier with ‘Hurricane Not I’ a version of the LoveJoys ‘Disco Reggae’ that would not have been out of place on one of Scratch’s Disco Bum twelves and the cuckoo in the nest ‘Unlimited Dub’ which is actually a dubbed singjay version of the label’s coverage of the Ali vs. Frazier Thriller in Manila itself based on John Clarke’s ‘Pollution’.
BURNING SPEAR
OUR MUSIC
BURNING SPEAR CD
Well, it’s over twenty five years since I saw Spear part a hardcore roots reggae crowd like the Red Sea at Cleopatra’s in Huddersfield, just by approaching with dread countenance and passing through with people gazing on in awe. Things have moved on a lot since then, Spear has moved to Jamaica to Manhattan’s Upper East Side and instead of jogging on the beach keeps trim in the gym. Now as reggae’s elder statesman, in the absence of Jah Bob and Bunny Wailer’s wilful lack of engagement, Spear seems to be on his own version of a Never Ending Tour and as this column is written ‘Our Music’ is nominated for a Grammy. His lyrical concerns are no different from the time when he cut his first tunes for Clement Dodd or his breakthrough ‘Marcus Garvey’ set, but the stark and passionate chant of his familiar old time delivery has turned into more of an avuncular croon. But the rough always comes with the smooth, or in this case vice versa, as I recall watching ‘Neighbours’ one day sat with Bonjo from African Head Charge around the time of his ‘Songs of Praise’ album when he enthused about the show’s theme tune that he promptly made the mistake of covering to both the amusement and chagrin of friends and fans alike.
CLANCY ECCLES
FREEDOM – THE ANTHOLOGY
TROJAN 2CD
Although his name is not as well known generally, amongst reggae lovers the output and reputation of the late Clancy Eccles rivals those of his producer contemporaries Lee Perry, Duke Reid and Bunny Lee. Perhaps the fact that he was a highly politicised individual caused Eccles’ disillusionment with the music business and his departure from the scene in the mid-seventies but by that time he had made an indelible mark on reggae history with tunes such as Theo Beckford’s ‘Easy Snappin’’, Lord Creator’s ‘Kingston Town’ and many sides from the Ugly One King Stitt. This double CD set collects mainly the best of his recordings as a solo artist and but also selected productions on artist such as Joe Higgs, the Silvertones, Larry & Alvin and Third World. Devotees of the post Studio One Upsetter and pre Black Ark Scratch can’t afford to ignore this release, with fascinating notes from don of detail Dave Katz.
RAY KEITH
PRESENTS DUB DREAD
DREAD CD
Ten years ago Ray Keith was at the spearhead, along with Peshay and Goldie, of jungle’s reincarnation as the stand alone genre drum & bass; he never attracted the ‘intelligent’ tag of some of his contemporaries and his work retained a tougher edge than the norm. Creator of the Penny Black, UFO and DreadUK labels and coming in under the radar in the guise of London’s Most Wanted, Renegade and Dark Soldier amongst other noms des grooves Ray Keith is the owner of the fierce electrostep style that rolled across the tougher dancefloors. This mix CD puts together some of his own labels output together, artists Bladerunner and Serum and some remix skills applied elsewhere.
Based on a deep knowledge of a dub, reggae and dancehall heritage there’s x amount of lifted vocal acapellas and DJ chat strung through the mixes here peaking on the plundering of John Holt’s ‘Police in Helicopter’ for Congo Natty Records from 2004year, the break-laden ‘Wobbler’ from the hit and run Chronic imprint - anything on that label is worth snagging without objection – and Horace Andy’s disembodied vocal line and isolated horn section from a Tubby dub (“Guiding Star’ version?) on ‘Leave Dem Alone’.
KING JAMMY’S PRODUCTIONS
KING JAMMY’S AT CHANNEL 1 1977-1979
KINGSTON SOUNDS CD/LP
In 1978 on graduation from Tubby’s sonic academy Prince Jammy built his own studio at his house, just a stones throw from Dromilly Avenue, where also he started his own label using the name Jammy’s. Tubbys studios were mainly used for voicing and mixdown of finished tracks as well as dubbing, so it was natural for Jammy’s early production routines to utilise the facilities over at the pre-eminent studio - Channel 1 Studio. As a nurturer of young talent and aficionado of the sound system Jammy was well placed to cut tunes on some of the freshest young talent of the era and that’s what we have on this fine compilation, roots classics such as Anthony Johnson's version of the ‘No, No, No’ rhythm 'More Love in the City', the underrated King Everald's beautifully delivered 'Life can be Easy', the youthful Junior Reid's charmingly off-key 'No Darkness Tonight' could only be found in reggae and Early B’s ‘Learn Fi Drive’ – surely an album reissue is overdue from this great DJ. Also included are cuts from Dennis Brown, Sugar Minott, Wayne Smith and Half Pint.
KODE9 & SPACEAPE
9 SAMOURAI / BACKWARD
HYPERDUB 10”
Lifting an apocalyptic sample from a Lee Perry interview – ‘ … a stone will be thrown at the state and a stone will be thrown at the churches …’ – at a time when he could rap on in a sensible mode for minutes at a time (sourced from BBC’s On the Wire circa December 1984), this new offering from Kode9 matches the sentiment of the repeated lyric with a doomed-out slowed down Kremlin-style military brass band march sample. The effect is to leave with a distinct feeling of unease and a certainty that Lee Perry could never be as bonkers as the music press has been fond of portraying him over t he years. The flip has Kode9 joined by SpaceApe who moves up to one notch of funk on his delivery on his update of the Junior Murvin roots lyric and this time nearer to Mutabaruka both in sentiment and delivery of a hard time pressure theme of justified paranoia.
BARRINGTON LEVY
BARRINGTON LEVY IN DUB: THE LOST MIXES FROM KING TUBBY'S STUDIO
AURALUX LP/CD
Another album that received only a limited pre-release back in the early eighties, this one , a little like trying to attribute an old master to the school of whoever is accredited to Tubby’s studios due to the mixer’s use of EQ, high-pass filters and the structure of the dubbing itself, although teasingly authorship is not conclusive. It’s probably not Tubby himself, more likely Scientist or Jammy, the former being the likely culprit. Opening up with one of the most familiar tracks of the set ‘Shaolin Temple’, best known from the extended version DJ’d by Jah Thomas, the epochal ‘Shine Eye Girl’ – a revisit of the Heptone’s ‘Get in the Groove’ rhythm whilst Studio One rhythms are also done over with ‘Full Up’ versioned as ‘Reggae Music Dub’ with fluttering echoes of horns and ‘Real Rock’ comes as ‘Looking My Love Dub’ and ‘Skylarking’ prosaically as itself! Its great to hear the Roots Radics before they got deep down into that brutal hornless groove that was to become their trademark and which became the template for the new dancehall styles until the digital tsunami swept all before it, energetically muscular dubbing with still enough of a joyful swing in there as a trace back to the master, Tubby.
SKREAM
SKREAMISM VOLUME 1
TEMPA 2x12”
Following last year’s unleashing of the mighty ‘Midnight Request Line’ Skream and Tempa, the home of dubstep, announce the Skreamizm series, a sequence of doublepack vinyl sets designed to showcase the production work of the genre’s most promising young artist. Skream is based in Croydon, south of South London, like many of the other artists who grew up on the peripheries of garage and the edgier sound of the underground as played out on local pirate radio. The darker rolls of seemingly unachievable sub-bass sonics characterises his tunes now and if there’s any return to any previously recognisable music forms, its dub. ‘Smiley Face’ is surprisingly a little lighter than expectation moving into skank territory whilst ‘Lightening’ can’t resist another re-rinse of the ‘Amen’ break but ‘Rottan’ rescues his deserved reputation as sonic expeditionary as the track contracts a stomach wrenching bass with flutes with the mid-zones occupied by an unstoppable lurch of a riff
SOUND DIMENSION
JAMAICA SOUL SHAKE VOL 1
SOUL JAZZ RECORDS 2LP/CD
Sound Dimension were to early reggae what the Skatalites were to ska, its predominant rhythm engine, both were house bands at Studio One and the former included Skatalites alumni guitarist Ernest Ranglin and keyboardist Jackie Mittoo in addition to the creator of some of reggae’s greatest and most enduring basslines Leroy ‘Heptone’ Sibbles’ and on drums, later to star in the ‘Rockers’ movie, Leroy ‘Horsemouth’ Wallace. The name of the band comes from an echo-box machine that Clement Dodd purchased whilst on tour in England and applied on return to Jamaica to achieve the signature double-time echo of the band’s guitar sound. This compilation collates b side versions of some of Studio One’s greatest hits as well as hen’s teeth rare singles from JA only release. Originally credited to band member Im & David (Cedric Brooks and Dave Madden) ‘Heavy Beat’ starts the show, a version of Delroy Wilson’s ‘Conquer Me’ followed by the set’s funkiest piece the one-away ‘Federated Backdrop’. ‘Full Up’ is here plus ‘Upsetter’s Dream’ (Carlton & the Shoes’ ‘Love Me Forever’), ‘Solas’ (The Gladiators’ ‘Sonia) and the mysteriously titled ‘Doctor Sappa Too (Marcia Griffiths’ ‘My Ambition). All set up for the implied Volume 2 and a valuable addition to the series that brought Studio One in to the megastores.
TRANSDUB MASSIV
NEGRIL TO KINGSTON CITY
NOCTURNE CD
Looks like something might be up on the west coast at last, with Steve ‘Mystic Urchin’ (eh?) Wilson, DJ fflood and mtfloyd recording in Jamaica, mixing down in San Francisco and mastering in Berlin all while pulling in Dub Trio’s drummer Joe Tomino, dancehall Empress Ce’cile and the talents of the criminally underrated Meshell Ndegeocello on bass this looks like serious business. And so it turns out, although with an experimental production perhaps a little too dense for realistic dub pretensions and the mix from mtfloyd not entirely pulled out from an occasional downtempo mire. On the upside Meshell’s basslines are a flow of pure badness especially on the mistitled ‘Moonrise Dub’ with vocals from Farenheit where she drives the whole thing, and when Joe Tomino’s drums appear a whole track can take on a shinier snappy feel – too much to expect Meshell and Joe working together though, it doesn’t happen except on the throwaway opener. These boys aren’t bashful about using a full horn section either judging by the militant blasts that open and punctuate ‘Mi Nuh Was Dat’, vocal courtesy of Tami Chin. There’s even some a couple of drifts thrown in with Haruna Madono’s treated cello on the track ‘On White River’ and fflood’s ‘Under the Thatch’.