What Are You Listening To 2018

[Len Cnut]

i love this song so much

[janrichmond]

 

[Jabberwocky]

A Tribe Called Quest - Can I Kick It?

 

[username]

Last night I went to a Bombino concert. He's a guitarist from Niger who sings in Tamasheq (that's a language). Didn't really know him, but I decided to check it out after a tip I got from a friend. 

And it was bloody brilliant. The music is a strange mixture between blues (some call it Desert-blues), rock, african rhythms and reggea. And the guy himself is great on guitar! I mean, seriously, DAMN! 

I suppose for most people the vocals might be offputting, but on this awesome musical backdrop they didn't bother me at all. I also liked how prominent the base and rhythm were in songs that guitar-wise were pretty zeppelin'esque. An example of what he does: 

 

 

 

His albums: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jabberwocky]

Poppy - X

(sounds like a Babymetal rip off song but it's alright)

 

[Gordon Comstock]

 

[Silverburst80]

 

[soon]

On October 24, 2018 at 9:59 AM, Len Cnut said:

Its a lot trickier than it looks y'know.  Even on the guitar.  People think the skank is to do with like, muting only but its more to do with like, upstrokes, its a simple form but its like...backwards.

Oh, for sure it is. I got a bit of handle on the guitar - I also love those muted single note lines on the guitar. If you can believe it, I played bass in a bad that had a few reggae numbers. Not everyone in the band was white, but its must have been my whitest moments ever, lol.

 

On October 24, 2018 at 9:59 AM, Len Cnut said:

And it gets REALLY interesting when you get into like, dub reggae which was a thing they had in Jamaica where in Jamaica they had like Sound System battles, like who had the loudest baddest sound system, each DJ would have their own and their developed a form called dub reggae where they would take popular songs and strip them of their vocals so you've got just drum and bass.  Its highly experimental music, they'd fuck around with like echo and all this shit to make this trippy groovy sort of music.  Then a thing called 'toasting' became popular where a given DJ would like, 'toast' himself or his sound system and how bad they are/were etc, they'd just lazily rhyme words, taking the idea from 50s DJs on American radio that would do little lead ins like 'for racks and stacks of the best on wax tune into WKFL radio!'.  Anyway toasting became a massive thing, some of the greatest artists of reggae and people like U Roy, here's an example of a dub tune with toasting on it, less extreme experimental dub, more poppy:

I never knew that. What a cool culture! Imagine lugging all that gear around and how packed the clubs must get with gear? And again with the interpreting US stuff and making something new. Id heard toasting before but never knew what it was. Once was at a club and I was distracted by how distorted and echoing the guys voice was and that I couldn't really understand him, but everyone else seemed totally dialled in. To toast ones sound system, now that is a beautiful thing.

 

On October 24, 2018 at 9:59 AM, Len Cnut said:

The tune its being done to is Soul Rebel by Bob Marley, which I'm sure you recognise.  Anyway, in 1973 a jamaican called DJ Kool Herc takes the sound system idea and transplants it to NYC block parties, instead taking two popular records, stripping the vocals and mixing them together, which an MC rhyming over it instead of the DJ and hence you have hip hop.  

Very cool track, thanks for sharing it! I did know the marley track, but might not have picked up right away because my ears were overloaded for a minute. But once you get in the groove it feels natural. I asked myself who would think to blend to separate songs and then I figured someone with 2 turntables. Hit struck me how human creativity is a reflection of the environment, including the tech and instruments available. So, then Dub Reggae births hip hop. Cant stop this culture!

On October 24, 2018 at 9:59 AM, Len Cnut said:

Amazing when you think about it, this tiny little island that only gained independence from colonial rule in the early 60s and from then on their fingerprint is all over popular culture.  Even a lot of modern dance music, House, Techno etc all take serious cues from reggae, for example Jungle and Hardcore and just speeded up versions of dub reggae, or even if you look at dubstep and a lot of other stuff, I could go on about it all day really.  Its influence on punk is immeasurable, dub reggae is basically what punk clubs played in the early days thanks to Don Letts being as how there was no punk music to play and reggae had a similar anti-establishment stance, stemming from rastas who were like, social outcasts in Jamaica. 

Its amazing to see their culture flourish so quickly and have an almost unheard of influence all around the world. A powerful reminder of how terrible colonial times were, where all this power, beauty and culture was repressed. But then the people just got on with it. 

And style comes to mind too. The Adidas shoes and track suits we saw Bob Marley in having reappeared with Run DMC and later in Nu Metal. Or lion of judah imagery in stoner culture.

I imagine at some point the spiritual aspects of Reggae was confronted by the atheist currents in punk?

On October 24, 2018 at 9:59 AM, Len Cnut said:

See people think of Jamaica and think 'ah, rastas everywhere' but until very recently you could not be a rasta and be accepted in mainstream Jamaican society and there are still those who take a dim view to their super spiritual weed smoking old testament view of the world.  The whole thing comes from the old testament really, everything in Rastafarianism draws from the old testament and reggae music is VERY religious, especially the stuff of the 70s and even later, very strict biblical values.  Even the weed smoking the believe is something ordained by the bible, a reference to Moses burning incense when praying, they believe that to be allegorical to weed smoking, that it gets you in a pure spiritual statement of mind, rastafari even refer to weed as 'ishence' or incense.  Its basically an affro-ccentric view of the old testament.  some of the more extreme aspects of it, like the rampant homophobia, also takes it cue from the bible. 

Never new about the incense thing. Thats quite the reading. 

Messianic Judaism really, isnt it? What we call the old testament is their scripture in the present. The briefly reference Revelation to reinforce Selassie's returning Christ role, which Revelation itself is layers of allusions to the OT Prophets. Like Tosh's song Prophet, he asks "do you remember Moses? Him not dead" and then Elijah (because they are supposed to greet the messiah when he comes). Then he references Jeremiah who is a messianic archetype. Selassie of course was the leader of Ethiopia so I brought all this up with my Eritrean friends yesterday. Eritrea separated from Ethiopia in the late 90's. My friends are Orthodox Christians, now Coptic following break with Ethiopian Church. The expressions on their faces were priceless; "Selassie is the second coming" they couldnt say it with out cracking up, lol. Many of them fought in the civil war. Then they got very concerned that I thought weed was a sacrament   So now they are concerned that I am drifting into intolerant views by way of weed and I was just like "dude, you fought in a war against your neighbours. Tone it down a bit" 

I think that now there are various sects of Rastas and that some are moderate and liberal. But thats more outside Jamaica.

On October 24, 2018 at 9:59 AM, Len Cnut said:

Anyway here's some purist badman dub if you're interested:

I've been loving this play list. Listening a bunch of repeats. 

 

[Len Cnut]

Quote

I never knew that. What a cool culture! Imagine lugging all that gear around and how packed the clubs must get with gear? And again with the interpreting US stuff and making something new. Id heard toasting before but never knew what it was. Once was at a club and I was distracted by how distorted and echoing the guys voice was and that I couldn't really understand him, but everyone else seemed totally dialled in. To toast ones sound system, now that is a beautiful thing.

It wasn't really done in clubs as much as just done outdoors in the tenements, though I imagine the same logistical issues arise lugging those big bastards around.  There's a famous story from John Lydons excursion to Jamaica of him smoking with U Roy, who was famous for the chalice, his own particularly fucked up bong pipe type thing and John outsmoking Don Letts.

The sound systems were a great way of sounding out how popular shit that you've just recently recorded is too, you're kinda presenting it to the audience and you immediately get to know (Jamaicans can be a very demonstrative peoples ) whether its hot or not.

Quote

I imagine at some point the spiritual aspects of Reggae was confronted by the atheist currents in punk?

Oddly it never came about.  I don't think anyone cared, it was more the rebel spirit of the movie that got to em, reggae and reggae influenced stuff has always been sort of the sound of the street of urban England from the 60s onwards, it was what was bubbling under the surface whilst the pop music of the day enjoyed success.  And punk was supposed to be of the street so the two kinda...met and mixed. 

Quote

I've been loving this play list. Listening a bunch of repeats. 

Its pretty fuckin' mental isn't it?  It makes sense also of the more spacious stuff that came out of punk after the initial burst of thrashey guitarey stuff.  Groups like PiL and Magazine etc.  Oh oh, this album you've gotta check out, its pretty much a punk album but you can kinda see the fingerprint of reggae all over it.  Aside from being like, by itself, one of the greatest albums I've ever heard:

 

[Len Cnut]

 

[Jabberwocky]

The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown - Fire

 

[DieselDaisy]

''If he dies, he dies''. 

[janrichmond]

 

[soon]

On October 26, 2018 at 7:41 AM, Len Cnut said:

There's a famous story from John Lydons excursion to Jamaica of him smoking with U Roy, who was famous for the chalice, his own particularly fucked up bong pipe type thing and John outsmoking Don Letts.

That picture is epic! So clearly a historical moment, you could almost tell even with out context. I love the idea of someone having a trademark bong, lol.

On October 26, 2018 at 7:41 AM, Len Cnut said:

Oddly it never came about.  I don't think anyone cared, it was more the rebel spirit of the movie that got to em, reggae and reggae influenced stuff has always been sort of the sound of the street of urban England from the 60s onwards, it was what was bubbling under the surface whilst the pop music of the day enjoyed success.  And punk was supposed to be of the street so the two kinda...met and mixed. 

Thats beautiful. Simple enough to conceive of but it sure doesn't seem to happen much. Seems like a sense of tribe and place? Like the older English generation was about "England for English" and this generation was more of the view that anyone in England was "Us." And to me it looks like early English punk was about breaking down the establishment and that people in that mode might also be drawn to a less industrialized music like reggae? The two sounds make a perfect sound track for anarcho-primivitism. And as problematic as white iterations of primitivism can be, its so awesome to see that the real bonds among all the youth superseded any possible ideological short comings. When you think about all the music styles that come and go, punk and reggae endure. Coming from a very pure place of unity no doubt helps in longevity.

On October 26, 2018 at 7:41 AM, Len Cnut said:

Its pretty fuckin' mental isn't it?  It makes sense also of the more spacious stuff that came out of punk after the initial burst of thrashey guitarey stuff.  Groups like PiL and Magazine etc.  Oh oh, this album you've gotta check out, its pretty much a punk album but you can kinda see the fingerprint of reggae all over it.  Aside from being like, by itself, one of the greatest albums I've ever heard:

Ah, that make perfect sense about the spacious tones in the later punk sound. Spot on. Yeah, this stuff is bonkers. Im just taking it in and its like its new every time.

This Slits album is so cool! I could se this getting many more plays in my lifetime! The track playing now "spread your wings" lyric in it, has like Musical Theatre stuff going even. Theres so much happening but presented in a laid back way. I love when players really get music theory but manage to let the music come in a more spirited and chill manner when it comes time to play. And its their debut?!?! Fucking impressive. Same year as London Calling but Id swear this influenced Lost in the Super Market. Also John Cale was on Island at this same time and theres some cross pollination perhaps there too - especially sonically? Some psychedelic tones too? Like English whimsy Syd Barret stuff. But all so uniquely their own thing. Sometimes it sounds like a soundtrack for children at play, to my ears. Like they are playing dolls but its Insurrection Barbie, plotting the over throw of the patriarchy, lol.

I know you hate Floyd, but the early Syd Barret stuff is basically its own band. This track has some of the English whimsy that I am enjoying in the Slits album. It gets darker and more trippy in the middle, but it seems to be one of many layers of composition the Slits explore? If the Floyd hate is too strong you should just hit up your strawberry goodness and enjoy this:

Like the Slits, it comes across as childhood as primitivism, and primitivism as resistance. The concept of adolescence had only just emerged in the 1950s and theyd seen the power of youth as a political class in the 60's, but those youths were claiming adulthood and authority to take charge of existing institutions. This child like sway seems so perfect to emerge as a part of punk, in rejecting the establishment. Its like DADA reggae and DADA femininity. Love it, appreciate you turning me on to this master piece!

Edited October 28, 2018 by soon

[ChineseDemocracy2004]

Happy Hour by Weezer.

[DieselDaisy]

 

[janrichmond]

 

[Jabberwocky]

The Lady Of Rage - Afro Puffs

 

[Gordon Comstock]

 

[janrichmond]

 

[Jabberwocky]

Death Grips - Hustle Bones

 

[Dean]

 

[Sosso]

 

 

[ChineseDemocracy2004]

Because Of You by Skunk Anansie.

[janrichmond]