New Orleans Funeral/Parade Music

The Young Tuxedo Brass Band - Jazz Begins: Sounds of New Orleans / Funeral and Parade Music is one of the coolest LP's I've ever heard. This is a goood record I DON'T HAVE, but my good friend Mark does. Or, I should say, he will as soon as I give it back to him. I heard 5 minutes of it and had to borrow it. This is funeral/parade music from New Orleans recorded around 1958 for Atlantic Records. New Orleans' funeral music and ceremony swings so wonderfully from mournful and down to joyous and hopeful...there's just nothing like it. When I die I want a New Orleans funeral so bad. This music is sparse, street parade music consisting of horns and drums. The clarinet, the trombone, the sousaphone (!), and the snare drum are instruments that simply tear my soul apart when I listen to this record. The musicians were incredible, and info about this band is easy to find. I can't say much else about this besides to say that this is a must-have. Honestly, this is music that will transport you somewhere. Download:

http://www.mediafire.com/?2ittk4glghe

Best Power Pop song ever?

The Flamin' Groovies - "Shake Some Action" b/w "Teenage Confidential" is, in my opinion, pretty much the greatest Power Pop 45 ever released. Now, I have the original British pressing 7" single. I'm not exactly sure, but I think it's a bit different from the version on the LP? I don't own the original LP, but the version of the song you can usually download online (and the version that's been on various comps) is different. This one seems a bit slower and more deliberate, less frantic. In any case, I've put this song on more mixes than I can count (definitely on every mix I've ever made for any girl, ever....which is a lot), and it's always a crowd-pleaser. I like this single version a lot. The b-side, Teenage Confidential is a slower, more obviously 60's-style ballad-type tune that pales in comparison to the A-side, but on any other 45 would be a very solid track. Plenty of info about the Groovies' history is available online (and is a rather interesting read). Crucial band, crucial tune. Definitely get this below:

http://www.mediafire.com/?tylwwuwzitk

Cooooool Rub-a-Dub Reggae

Scion Sashay Success - "If A Minstrel" b/w "Version" is among my favorite mid-80's rub-a-dub reggae records. Now, let it be known, this is actually one side of a 12" single I have by Scion Success. The other side is not as sweet a song, but I'll up it soon anyway. This side of the record is just, in my mind, about the best early-mid 80's NYC Reggae production on the awesome Jah Life label. I was hipped to Scion Success by a fellow selector from another sound system who happened to stop by my old reggae night in New Brunswick. He told me to snatch up anything I could by this NY-based singer. The next day I found this 12" for 2 bucks, took it home and dropped a needle on it, and was knocked out. Success' voice is syrupy-sweet, and the melody is just perfect for the riddim-all over it like a satin blanket. This guy was doing the Bitty McLean thing lyrically and melodically way before Bitty McLean was around. He is probably most well-known for the sound-clash mainstay "Dun Dead Already", which every soundsystem must have to even enter a clash. But this is a fantastic lovers' style tune that I can listen to over and over and not get tired of. One of my all-time favorites. Dig it:

http://www.mediafire.com/?n1k4njqmzbn