Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Warp!



Be sure to check out my brother Aaron's new podcast with fellow Go-Fi buddy James:

I Said, Yeah!

It's the only podcast on the web (so far) that calls me an asshole. Seriously though, they discuss and play some great stuff, including an insanely flanged track from the Poppy Family.

And speaking of flange, this song has it in spades. If I compiled a list of the most warped dubs ever, I'm pretty sure this would be near the top:

"Financial Business" - the Mighty Two

Friday, April 23, 2010

Naming Names, Part 1: Females



One of the grand traditions of pop songcraft is the "direct address" lyric: songs dramatically emoted to a specific person, whose name is typically found in the title of the piece. Although the following selections are from a wide variety of genres, they share an overwhelming sense of affective urgency. Love songs on the verge of obsession, they plead with the addressee (us, by means of interpellation) to come around to the speaker's point of view. Enjoy:

"Sadie" - the Fun & Games

A surprisingly minor-keyed, slightly creepy track from the folks who brought you "Elephant Candy" and "The Grooviest Girl in the World."

"Jennifer" - Junior Soul

Jennifer, darling Jennifer/Please don't leave. Beautifully plaintive reggae from the future Junior Murvin.

"Cathy, Come Home" - the Twilights

An everything-but-the-kitchen-sink production from the year of same, 1967.

"Alison, Please" - Geno Washington & the Ram Jam Band

Geno's recorded output is uneven, to say the least, but this lovely piece of bubblegum-soul deserved a greater hearing back in 1971.

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Stay tuned for our next installment.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Jingle Jangle.



I've been sifting through the early Upsetters catalog lately (thanks to You and Me on a Jamboree) and I came across an interesting cut on the Many Moods of the Upsetters album. "Soul Stew" is a nice instrumental piece--somewhat uncharacteristically driven by a lead guitar--but it uses the exact same backing track as one of my favorite Lee Perry productions, "Check Him Out" by the Bleechers.

"Check Him Out" is quite literally an advertisement for Perry's Upsetter record shop in Kingston. As you'll hear, the tune conveniently includes directions and the shop's street address. Perry obviously designed the cut for radio play, so he pared its more functional aspects with a sprightly reggae riddim. The shop's gone, unfortunately, but luckily we've still got the song. Take a listen:

"Check Him Out" - the Bleechers

"Soul Stew" - the Upsetters