2010 International Reggae Conference in Mona, Jamaica.

In a few days, I'll be flying out to Jamaica to present some of my research at the International Reggae Conference. (More info here.) Much of my scholarly work focuses on the phenomenology of dub, so I'm very excited to (finally!) see the island and hang out with my academic peers. The conference is not exclusively academic, however - it also features live reggae performances and a dancehall fashion show. Check it out even if you aren't in JA - you'll be able to watch online. Speakers this year include David Katz (author of People Funny Boy: The Genius of Lee "Scratch" Perry), Olivia "Babsy" Grange (Jamaican Minister of Culture, Youth, and Sports) and Edward Seaga (former Jamaican Prime Minister). Should be awesome.

In honor of the IRC, I thought I'd share some of my favorite dubs. Enjoy:

"Rainy Night Dub" - Lee "Scratch" Perry

"Dub the Right Way" - King Tubby & Soul Syndicate

"Angolian Chant" - Joe Gibbs & the Professionals

"I'm All Right" - Keith Hudson

"Red Shift" - Scientist

Various Things, Vol. 2.

I have a folder on my computer entitled "For Go-Fi." This is where I stick all of the music for half-formed posts, tossed-off ideas, and various other unsuccessful ventures. So, in an attempt to clean house after 2009 and offer some excellent (if disparate) tunes, I present to you the contents of that folder.

First up is a quasi-cover of the Electric Prunes' "I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night" from Mozambique. This track is featured on the first volume of No Smoke's Cazumbi compilation of African garage rock. Check it out:

"Suspensa A Un Filo" - Conjunto de Oliveira Muge

Believe it or not, I was a huge theatre geek in high school. I've been wanting to do a post of Jesus Christ Superstar covers for a while, but frankly - I couldn't find many of quality. So here are the best of the bunch. Sam Taylor slows down Judas' opening solo into a funky soul number, while Roy Ayers strips Mary Magdalene's trademark torch song into the sort of intimate, sensual jazz he's known for:

"Heaven On Their Minds" - Sam Taylor (from Good God! A Gospel Funk Hymnal)

"I Don't Know How to Love Him" - Roy Ayers (from He's Coming)

And finally, here is a nice blue-eyed soul platter from the Joe Meek-produced Honeycombs. This track is mostly notable for being remarkably un-Meeklike. It's quite straitforward, actually, with a soulful instrumental break featuring a jazzy sax solo and an echoed guitar. Enjoy:

"I Can Tell (Something's Up)" - the Honeycombs

Move over, Bing.

Here's the obligatory Go-Fi holiday post:

"Groovy Christmas" - the Tropics

Despite the lyrics, I'm fairly certain these guys didn't have a clue about running in the snow. They were from Florida. I lived in Florida for 26 years and saw snow flurries twice.

"Merry Christmas" - Frank Cosmos

This is one of the few Jamaican ska tracks to feature an electric piano. It fits perfectly, though. Love the harmonica solo too.

Speaking of Jamaican Christmas tracks, I love this one:

"I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" - Johnny Clarke

And yes, there is a "Santa Claus Dub" out there somewhere.

I'll leave you with a slightly less joyful take on the season:

"In the Hot Sun of a Christmas Day" - Caetano Veloso

If you're in dire need of more holiday goodness, check out Funky16Corners. They've been posting some fantastic stuff. Also, peep my buddy Gavin's holiday mix over at Unfashionably Late.

It's that time of year.

We apologize for the lack of substantive posts, but we're both swamped with finals this week. So in honor of the mad end-of-the-semester rush, here's an appropriately melodramatic song with "school" in the title:

"The School Bus" - Lalo Schifrin

I'm currently finishing up my final paper, so hopefully Go-Fi will resume regular posting shortly.

Syntho-birds!

Some of you may remember this post from waaaaay back in the history of Go-Fi. While watching MST3K a few nights ago, I noticed some familiar music in the background of this scene from the truly awful "Pod People" -



(It begins at 2:56.)

Yep, that's Georges Rodi's "Morning Song" being ripped by Joel and the Bots. Awesome.

Dillon in Dub.

Phyllis Dillon, although a truly sublime artist in her own right, isn't exactly known as a popular source for versioning. That's part of the reason why I was so blown away when I finally heard Treasure Dub, Volumes 1 and 2. These two albums--which are currently out of print--contain dubs of classic Treasure Isle material from John Holt, Dobby Dobson, the Techniques, and others. Versions of Dillon's work show up on both volumes in characteristically spacy fashion. Dillon's voice--always the focus of her Jamaican hits--appears only sporadically here. Perhaps that's what makes these dubs so striking. We normally take her for granted as a cooing, simmering songstress. The echo bath demonstrates just how powerful (and mesmerizing) her voice is - it's an essential rhythmic element, not just a tool for melody.

I've included both the originals and the dubs in this post. Enjoy:

"Don't Touch Me Tomato" - Phyllis Dillon
"Touch A Dub" - Duke Reid

"The Love That a Woman Should Give to a Man" - Phyllis Dillon
"Love Chant" - Duke Reid

"Midnight Confessions" - Phyllis Dillon
"Midnight Dub" - Duke Reid

Note: These releases are typically credited to Jamaican music impresario (and Treasure Isle boss) Duke Reid, but I'm guessing that he wasn't the one at the mixing board. Anybody know who actually remixed the Treasure Isle stuff?

A Tuneful Turkey Day.

Well, Thanksgiving is nearly here and you know what that means: lots of food. In the spirit of the season, we here at Go-Fi thought we'd share a number of tasty musical morsels with you.

We all begin Turkey Day hungry (gotta save room, after all), so an empty stomach seemed like an obvious place to start:

"Hungry Belly Dub" - King Tubby

Next up is Grandma's mouth-watering dumplin(g)s, served in a bouncy ska dish:

"Dumplins (1960 Version)" - Byron Lee & the Dragonaires

We'll fill our plate with a number of side dishes, including the ubiquitous cranberry sauce - made even sweeter by Shirley Scott's smooth organ:

"Soul Sauce" - Shirley Scott

Don't forget to add some string beans! (They're good for you.) John Patton makes them more palatable if you happen to be a picky eater:

"String Bean" - John Patton

And now the main course - succulent roast duck prepared by Uncle Lee! He's a bit crazy, but a damn good cook:

"Roast Duck" - Lee "Scratch" Perry

And what would a Thanksgiving meal be without dessert? It's always important to end on a sweet note:

"Sugar, Sugar (Featuring Junior Byles)" - Big Youth

Enjoy! Happy Thanksgiving!

Josie vs. Jackson

There have been quite a few twee funk compilations released lately and most of them contain a fair share of glorious Jackson 5 rip-offs. The artists included are kids, of course, so these comps tend to miss out on some of the J5 facsimiles created by adults.

One group that straddles the kiddie/adult line is Josie and the Pussycats. (No, seriously.) In 1970, "they" released a full-length album of excellent pop-soul directed at the animated series' pre-teen audience. The "group" was fronted by the very adult Patrice Holloway, sister of steamy soul chanteuse Brenda Holloway. The album contains a faithful cover of "I'll Be There," but the influence of the J5 is felt throughout. "You've Come A Long Way Baby" obviously uses "The Love You Save" as a blueprint, while "Stop, Look and Listen" is based around the the main riff of "ABC." Far from being mere copies, though, these tracks are fantastic in their own right. Indeed, the Josie and Pussycats record is without a doubt one of the most enjoyable releases of the bubblegum era. The pre-fab genre was big on singles, of course, but bubblegum albums were often cluttered with filler. In contrast, the Pussycats' album is lean--a mere 10 tracks--but all are quite good. Track it down if you can. In the meantime, enjoy these:

"You've Come A Long Way Baby" - Josie & the Pussycats

"Stop, Look and Listen" - Josie & the Pussycats