Serious Dancehall Reggae

Buju Banton - People Kill People is a devastating dancehall tune by one of my favorite dancehall DJ's, the infamous Buju Banton. Yes, his biggest hit in his younger days was the ultimate example of Jamaicans expressing their hatred for homosexuals, and he caught a LOT of flack for it. Yes, he is also in jail for trying to deal a whole lot of cocaine. But when he is on top of his game chatting lyrics, the dude is unbeatable.

This is just one track, as the b-side was something random that barely played on my 1200, so I didn't bother recording it. This 45 isn't in the best shape, and is basically a bootleg I got in a record store in Philly I used to buy dancehall from. The song is basically a badman tune about not being afraid of some dude that talked shit about Buju. The vocal from this tune has been re-mixed and put on various riddims, which you'll find on youtube if you search this song title. I saw nothing about this vocal on the Sleng Teng riddim, and that's what you have here! Buju's ferocious vocals on a sped-up Sleng Teng riddim. I will admit that everytime I spin for a crowd with Jamaicans in it, as soon as I drop this tune they tear the place DOWN, and generally make me pull up and re-start the track a number of times. It's my go-to dancehall ace-in-the-hole track that I only bring to gigs I know will have a Jamaican contingent. If we were in 1960's Jamaica and I had a tune this hot, I'd need to hire gunment to protect it so no one could steal it from me. In 2010 America/Internet, I'll let you all have it without the use of machetes and guns!

http://www.mediafire.com/?fzjdimyde13

Cosmic American Music

Daaron Lee - Who's Making Love b/w Long Black Train is one of the coolest, most random 45's I've ever happened upon. It's on the Hip label, which I'd never seen or heard of before. I'd also never heard of "Daaron Lee" before. I bought it because by the printing on the label and feel of the vinyl it appeared to be somehow related to Atlantic/Stax of the late 60's, and of course I could see that it contained a cover of Johnny Taylor's huge Stax hit "Who's Makin' Love", and a Lee Hazelwood song on the other side. I figured it'd be a dollar well-spent at my favorite Princeton record store.

I put it on my turntable, and low and behold, it's a country version of the Homer Banks-penned Stax hit, and the expected sorta funky soul Hazelwood-penned tune to boot. SCORE. It's that late 60's "Cosmic American Music" sound Gram Parsons was aiming for with International Submarine Band (produced by Lee Hazelwood) and Flying Burrito Brothers, which I have a MAJOR thing for. I couldn't find ANY information on anyone named Daaron Lee or a Hip record label, but then seeing it was produced by Billy Lee Riley, I looked further and found out Daaron Lee was a name Billy Lee Riley recorded under for about 5 minutes in 1968. Riley was one of the absolute heros of Sun Records, who really kinda got screwed out of blowing up like Jerry Lee Lewis or Elvis Presley by a shrewd Sam Phillips who wanted to use Riley's skills and backing band in the studio to blow up other artists' careers.

So anyway, this is a funky country-soul crossbreed from the late 60's. NO-BRAINER, awesome music, and apparently rare. I know I haven't posted on here in a while, so I figured I'd come with some extra-good stuff for you. Download and enjoy!

http://www.mediafire.com/?q4ivkzjzyjj

Very Blue-Eyed Soul

Bob Brady and the Con Chords - "More, More, More of Your Love" b/w "It's a Better World" on the Chariot label is a great Northern Soul-style 45 from 1967 or so. Upon first listen, you'll think to yourself, "Is this Smokey Robinson under a fake name, or something?" And you won't be entirely wrong. It's a Smokey Robinson song that the Miracles did record, but wasn't a hit single. I actually feel Bob Brady and his Con Chords (a locally-popular white band from Baltimore), did a heck of a job with this throwaway tune. The band is tight, the chops are right on, and Brady's falsetto is right on the money! Great soulful rendition of a solid tune. "It's a Better World" is a surprisingly quality b-side, more mid-tempo or even on the slower side, but still has a good dancable beat and melody, if more or less forgettable lyrics. I love spinning this tune to a crowd of folks in the middle of a few uptempo Northern numbers. It's a mover.

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

Revolution Summer in the Winter!

Moss Icon - Mahpiua Luta 7" was an awesome find at a very popular record store in Princeton, NJ. Track list is 2 songs, "Ghost Dance" and "Last Ditch". I don't know how someone could have gotten rid of this, but the copy of this 7" I got (for cheap) has a hand-written and signed note from Tonie Joy (guitar, later of Born Against) to the person who bought it, thanking them and asking them to keep an eye out for shows being put on and asking to have Moss Icon on them. Like, this was how punk bands connected with fans and played shows and toured before our beloved internet. It's a beautiful thing, and make owning this record even cooler than the music on it, to me.

Moss Icon were sort of late-comers to the DC area's "Revolution Summer" time period of "emotive hardcore", or early "emo", "emocore" or whatever you wanna label it. They were along the lines of Embrace, Rites of Spring, and those bands affiliated with that label in the mid-late 80's. They came from Annapolis, MD, and were very into the socially conscious vibe, especially Native American issues, as the cover of this 7" shows. This 7" is basically the sound they were known for, sort of meandering vocals and melodies and varying intensity and volume of the music, even within one song. It's good stuff, worth a listen and trying to find a copy for yourself! Download below:

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

Old Dancehall, Horace Andy Style

Horace Andy - "Come Inna This" is Horace Andy in his signature "Sleepy" mode, singing perfectly behind the beat on a sort of slow early digital dancehall riddim. I got this 12" single for a couple of bucks, and the flip side is really nothing special (it's not Horace Andy or a dub version of the riddim or anything). So all I have for you in this post is this one song. It's Horace Andy singing about reggae music and how awesome it is, using the vocal melody from Mongo Jerry's "In The Summertime" over the fantastic early digital riddim (can anyone tell me the name of it?). Horace Andy is one of the most beloved reggae singers of all time, and I already posted a great dub record of his on here, so here's a rar single of his that I like more than most of his popular singles from this time period. I've never seen this track on any of the comps or "best of" records of his material. I ripped it for my own listening pleasure, and now you benefit from it too! Download below:



http://www.mediafire.com/?20z4zzymyoi

Elvis Costello Bootlegs Cont'd

Side "D" of the 2-disc set entitled, "50,000,000 Fans Can't Be Wrong." I know, I'm taking my sweet-ass time getting all 4 sides up. Side "C" has a few bad skips, so that one is really lagging. This side is all live recordings, apparently from Cleveland in December of 1977, a fine year. You have some songs from My Aim is True and This Year's Model here, played at blistering speeds. The version of Lipstick Vogue on this recording just burns up your stereo, it's hot. Enjoy!

http://www.mediafire.com/?zktz5zmleen

Boston New Wave-Punk

Slow Children - "Pseudo Girl" b/w "Going to Germany" & "Oriental Bondage" is indeed a rare find. This 7" is from the Boston area, dated 1981 on the Varulven label. What do I know about this band? Absolutely nothing. Tried to do a little online sleuthing, and only found this 7" listed on a page that has a really extensive, thorough listing of every punk-related record that came out in the Boston area in the late 70's-80's. Found no information to go with it. Any you might have is welcome. I got this little record (kinda scratched and a slight warp) for next to nothing, so I'm not complaining. One little skip at the beginning of the second song, doesn't ruin it for me.



What's it actually sound like? It's weird, kinda artsy New-Wave/Garage/Punk/...? Sounds in the vein of early XTC, Gang of Four, Ian Dury....somewhere between them, maybe, haha. They desperately wanted to be from Great Britain. Honestly, the sound is fairly convincing and it's really not a bad little 7". This one will be a regular spin for me at certain gigs, and will be on mixes for driving long distances.



Download it from the link and give it a listen for yourself. Couldn't find anywhere to download or buy it, so good luck!



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