This is probably one of the most unusual and creative dub records you're ever likely to hear. Imagine typical bottom-heavy, bass-filled Jamaican dub reggae -- complete with horns, percussion, the whole nine yards -- mixed with traditional Native American vocal music (don't ask how it works, just believe that somehow it does). Now add spoken word samples from Native American, black, Russian, women's lib, and other sociopolitical leaders discussing the effects of colonial imperialism and totalitarian governments on the common man (and, of course, woman), and what you get is this radically inventive album. [more inside]
posted by filthy light thief
on Dec 29, 2012 -
29 comments
"The early death of I-Roy and dozens of other great reggae personalities is first and foremost – directly as well as indirectly – a legacy of the colonial power structures which still dominate the third world and cripple its inhabitants...We who survive due to the same structures must honour those who did not – and incidentally also whose who are still out there – by listening carefully to their music."
An entreaty from a Norwegian gal on a an
epic journey learn about early reggae music.
posted by Jibuzaemon
on Jun 26, 2012 -
5 comments
In the wake of their grunge-y breakout hit
"Creep" and the success of sophomore record
The Bends, Thom Yorke and the rest of
Radiohead were under pressure to deliver once more.
So they shut themselves away inside the echoing halls of
a secluded 16th century manor and got to work.
What emerged from that crumbling Elizabethan castle fifteen years ago today was a shockingly ambitious masterpiece of progressive rock, a visionary concept album that explored
the "fridge buzz" of modernity -- alienation, social disconnection, existential dread,
the impersonal hum of technology -- through a mosaic of
challenging,
innovative,
eerily beautiful music unlike anything else at the time.
Tentatively called
Ones and Zeroes, then
Your Home May Be at Risk If You Do Not Keep Up Payments, the band finally settled on
OK Computer, an appropriately enigmatic title for this
acclaimed harbinger of millennial angst. For more, you can watch the retrospective
OK Computer: A Classic Album Under Review for a track-by-track rundown, or the unsettling documentary
Meeting People is Easy for a look at how the album's whirlwind tour nearly gave Yorke
a nervous breakdown. Or look inside for more details and cool interpretations of all the tracks -- including
an upcoming MeFi Music Challenge! [more inside]
posted by Rhaomi
on Jun 16, 2012 -
66 comments
OkayAfrica keeps up to date with pop culture and news from across the continent. Africa In Your Earbuds gives DJs and musicians from across the diaspora the chance to curate a playlist or mixtape of their favorite African and African diaspora music. Chief Boima of
Dutty Artz starts off
Africa In Your Earbuds.
[more inside]
posted by ChuraChura
on May 1, 2012 -
8 comments
Speaking of Dub (the real kind), just over one year ago the music world lost one of its
pioneers in the realm of dub and roots. Vivian "
Yabby You" Jackson produced some of the most hard driving reggae ever released. RIP.
[more inside]
posted by Jibuzaemon
on Jan 21, 2012 -
9 comments
Roy Shirley has died.
Who's
Roy Shirley, you ask? He was one of Jamaica's best-kept musical secrets. When Jamaica's summer of 1967 proved too hot to dance to frenetic ska sounds, Shirley came to the rescue with what's widely acknowledged as the first "rocksteady" hit, the Joe Gibbs-produced
Hold Them. Despite scant commercial success, he played at the Apollo Theatre and Madison Square Garden in the early 70s, as well as baptizing the legendary King Tubby's studio with his brilliant boxing tribute,
Joe Razor. In 1973, Shirley moved to the UK and deeper obscurity, but there's a happy ending. A Trojan Records double CD of his classic work was released a couple of years ago, and a bunch of reggae fanatics arranged for him to play the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival early this summer. Shirley's health was poor, but he put on a fine show and
won over a host of new fans. (Scroll down a bit to see his final performance.) Recently, a clip of Shirley at his
musical peak started making the rounds. (Scroll to 1:14 to see part of his oddly James Brown-inspired live performances.)
Shirley's vocals, lyrics and overall sensibility may be an acquired taste. It's a shame the world mostly missed him in his time. His odd humor, crazy talent and good-nature made him unique.
posted by Dee Xtrovert
on Aug 10, 2008 -
17 comments
Each of the following
MySpace Music pages features bios and/or photos and/or videos and/or miscellaneous related materials and/or up to six songs by each of the following old school Jamaican
Reggae and/or
dub artists:
Alton Ellis,
Toots and the Maytals,
Jimmy Cliff,
The Wailing Wailers,
Big Youth,
Dennis Brown,
Mikey Dread,
The Meditations,
Leroy Brown,
Mad Professor,
Augustus Pablo,
Ras Michael and the Sons of Negus,
King Tubby,
The Abyssinians,
Everton Blender,
Bunny Wailer,
Prince Alla,
Israel Vibration,
Peter Tosh,
Gregory Isaacs,
Shinehead,
Jah Ruby,
Carlton Livingston,
King Jammy,
Duckie Simpson,
I Threes,
Judy Mowatt,
Sly and Robbie,
Barrington Levi,
Yellowman,
Delroy Williams,
Wailing Souls,
Earl "Chinna" Smith,
Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace,
Burning Spear,
Max Romeo,
Black Uhuru,
Leroy Sibbles,
Ijahman Levi and
Earl Cunningham.
[more inside]
posted by flapjax at midnite
on Mar 7, 2008 -
25 comments
Where did Lily Allen get her music from? Her own head? Her producer's heads? Her co-writers' heads? No. Lily 'borrowed' liberally from old reggae and ska tracks and even soft porn soundtracks. The
music like dirt blog (a find in itself) outlines every sample and influence in
'Alright, Still', and the result is much more interesting than the album itself. Music like dirt provides some brilliant links to classic reggae, ska, calypso, jazz.....
[more inside]
posted by Summer
on Feb 17, 2008 -
36 comments
Jamaican Label Art. J.L.A. is a website for those people who are obsessed with Caribbean music and the artwork and design of the labels on the vinyl reproductions of that music. It doesn't matter if those labels are on recordings of Jamaican music released in the U.S.A., or indeed Trini Calypso released in the U.K. It's all the same to us!
posted by soundofsuburbia
on Feb 8, 2007 -
5 comments
WaxDJ.com - an excellent source for free downloads and streams of original electronic music mixes of all sorts, from seasoned pros to beginning bedroom amatuers, all told numbering in the hundreds or thousands. My current brand new favorite is the very diverse and well-versed Detriot/Chicago techno stylings of DJ
Rubsilent. Recomended mix: Future Funk 23:
(Direct MP3 link) (Streaming mp3 link) But don't let me divert you - search for your favorite local DJ or browse for new ones.
posted by loquacious
on Oct 11, 2006 -
19 comments
Reggae and ska legend Desmond Dekker
died today in London. In 1968, Dekker's song "Israelites", recorded with his band The Aces, became the first international hit by a Jamaican artist. According to his
official site, the sixty-four-year old Dekker was still touring and booked to perform well into fall 2006.
posted by bcveen
on May 25, 2006 -
82 comments
Easy Star Records, which previously released the underground hit reggae album
The Dub Side of the Moon, is nearing completion on a followup,
Radiodread, "a reggae re-vision of Radiohead’s OK Computer."
Listen to four tracks from Dub Side online (via flash). Don't miss the gurgling bong sound effects on "Money". Artists on Radiodread include
Toots Hibbert,
Citizen Cope,
Sugar Minott,
Junior Jazz,
Tamar-Kali,
Horace Andy,
Morgan Heritage,
Frankie Paul and
Kirsty Rock.
posted by fochsenhirt
on Mar 28, 2006 -
15 comments
Galang-alang-alang-a. (insane, 18MB QuickTime music video) [MusicFilter] Cranking out music somewhere between hip-hop, electronica, Nintendo cartridges, and reggae, 27-year-old Maya Arulpragasam is getting a lot of attention for the results of tinkering with
one box.
M.I.A. (her stage name) dresses in garish flourescents like it's 1983, dances like no one's watching, and is making waves all around the critic-o-sphere.
[RS|NYT|Eye|pm|pfm|New Yorker|CBC] Want a sample?
The video for "Galang" takes her grattifi-esque art, animates it, and mashes it all together with her, um, unusual style of dance, for a music+video experience that is hard to forget. Is M.I.A. redefining the world of 21st century global pop... or is it just crap?
(via WG)
posted by blacklite
on Mar 12, 2005 -
118 comments
Bob Marley goes home? Looks like Bob Marley will get what he wished for
here and return to Africa. Well, his bones will anyway. I always thought exhumed was an interesting word, see also disinter.
posted by fixedgear
on Jan 12, 2005 -
23 comments
Marley's 'Legend' turns twenty:
"Legend'' is unique because it's become more than just music. It's an idea, a lifestyle, a web of cultural touchstones spun in a delicate vortex. In the realm of musical-taste-as-statement-of-personal-identity, "Legend'' says: I generally care about world events. I favor cotton clothing. I think stress is bad. I want to stop injustice. I'm all for love. I wouldn't say no to the herb, if you get my drift.
posted by moonbird
on May 11, 2004 -
28 comments
Bob Marley Chronology His final words to son Ziggy, "Money can't buy life."
Has any other artist left as big a footprint? What impact has his music had on your life?
posted by keithl
on Sep 5, 2001 -
21 comments
