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

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.

Awesomelution.

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to this:



to this:

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

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.