Culture Club - "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" (1982)
Apparently Boy George started on stage as Lieutenant Lush, an occasional guest vocalist for Bow Wow Wow, who was booed off stage until he was dropped and started his own band.
So I am really just listening to this song for the first time. Of course I was aware of it culturally, and have heard it thousands of times at school dances, in The Wedding Singer, and played every time someone on VH-1 says 80s. But I've never bothered listening to it before. It's a very quiet song, a very sad song, a touching mournful song; sitting on the back of a Reggae dance beat to make it all go down easier.
There is very little solo keyboard in the song, but it's there, floating along in the background, holding down the chords. The bass is too busy showing off to hold the song together, and I really like the kinda flashy bass work. There is a sound of a Glockenspiel throughout the song, but I'm pretty sure that's a synth sound. The strings sounds at the beginning for sure are artificially created. I really like the church choir sound of the beginning. The subtle soaring sound of the backing vocalists really hits at the right moments during the song, but in particular make the opening a memorable almost confessional moment. As much as I like the vocals and the bass, it's the beat that makes this song danceable, and stand out from any number of New Wave love songs. The Brits really love their reggae, which I did not really know before reading 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die. It really influenced British New Wave and the British Punk Scene. This songs rhythm is pure laid back reggae and that beat made it possible to move your butt while listening to an androgynous man sing about love in a manner that made people confused. It was really the beat that made Americans OK with such an odd and different band I'm sure.
Showing posts with label Reggae. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reggae. Show all posts
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Monday, June 25, 2012
"Cokane in My Brain"
Dillinger - "Cokane in My Brain" (1976)
I don't know who Jim is. The producer's name was Joseph, but he apparently went by Jo Jo. I can only hope that somewhere, Jim has learned how to spell New York.
I gotta be honest, I think this might be one of those songs that became popular because it mentioned drugs a lot, and so in the time, it sounded cool. Much like Afroman's "Because I Got High" it doesn't really hold up years later. The music is The People's Choice's "Do It Any Way You Wanna" but played by in house Jamaican studio musicians. The don't play it the same, but it's the same tune nevertheless. They've got some good funk going on, but the original is funkier.
There's really only two lyrics worth talking about. The first is the answer to the question that Dillinger asks over and over again. "/A knife, a fork, a bottle, and a cork/ That's the way we spell New York" (Bullock). The line is a sort of Cockney rhyming slang that dates back until at least the 1910s. A article in the Syracuse Herald from 1915 mentions the phrase in relation to an address on a letter. Other artists, including Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Information Society have used the phrase in songs. The other lyric is the common complaint of people who throw house parties. "/No matter where I treat my guest/ They always like my kitchen best/" of course Dillinger follows it up with a reason. "/ Because I've got a whole lot of Cocaine.../".
I don't know who Jim is. The producer's name was Joseph, but he apparently went by Jo Jo. I can only hope that somewhere, Jim has learned how to spell New York.
I gotta be honest, I think this might be one of those songs that became popular because it mentioned drugs a lot, and so in the time, it sounded cool. Much like Afroman's "Because I Got High" it doesn't really hold up years later. The music is The People's Choice's "Do It Any Way You Wanna" but played by in house Jamaican studio musicians. The don't play it the same, but it's the same tune nevertheless. They've got some good funk going on, but the original is funkier.
There's really only two lyrics worth talking about. The first is the answer to the question that Dillinger asks over and over again. "/A knife, a fork, a bottle, and a cork/ That's the way we spell New York" (Bullock). The line is a sort of Cockney rhyming slang that dates back until at least the 1910s. A article in the Syracuse Herald from 1915 mentions the phrase in relation to an address on a letter. Other artists, including Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Information Society have used the phrase in songs. The other lyric is the common complaint of people who throw house parties. "/No matter where I treat my guest/ They always like my kitchen best/" of course Dillinger follows it up with a reason. "/ Because I've got a whole lot of Cocaine.../".
Monday, April 16, 2012
"Welcome to Jamrock"
Damian Marley - "Welcome to Jamrock" (2005)
Youngest son of Bob Marley.
The song is only half the length of the video, but this is the best audio I could find.
Damian Marley was two when his father died. He was raised in Jamaica and began performing by age thirteen. His name helped get him early recording time and top producers, but his continued success and multiple Grammy awards are due to his hard work and talent. This song won a Grammy, and so did the album it opened. These were the second and third Grammy awards that Damian had won. He beat Gorillaz and Mos Def among others that year.
This song was produced by Damian's half brother Stephen Marley. He dug back to the early 80s to find a track to sample so that Damian could rap over it. That bold reuse of an almost complete song with new lyrical content is a hallmark of Dancehall, Reggae's often violent half brother. Artist Ini Kamoze had a huge international hit with "Here Comes the Hotstepper" in 1994. Ten years prior to that hit he released a single called "World-A-Music" with powerhouse rhythm section/producers Sly and Robbie providing the hot hook. If you listen, you can tell that Stephen Marley really did just take the rhythm of the later song in whole, and then grabbed a scene stealing line from the second verse and turned it into the final line of the chorus.
Lyrically the song is unlike most Jamaican music that makes it off island. Damian points out all that is wrong with his poor country; the violence, the corruption and the gangs and police fighting in the streets. It was this look behind the curtain that got the global music scene so interested in the song. One of the things that confused that same group of people was hearing a "Marley" rap rather than sing.
Youngest son of Bob Marley.
The song is only half the length of the video, but this is the best audio I could find.
Damian Marley was two when his father died. He was raised in Jamaica and began performing by age thirteen. His name helped get him early recording time and top producers, but his continued success and multiple Grammy awards are due to his hard work and talent. This song won a Grammy, and so did the album it opened. These were the second and third Grammy awards that Damian had won. He beat Gorillaz and Mos Def among others that year.
This song was produced by Damian's half brother Stephen Marley. He dug back to the early 80s to find a track to sample so that Damian could rap over it. That bold reuse of an almost complete song with new lyrical content is a hallmark of Dancehall, Reggae's often violent half brother. Artist Ini Kamoze had a huge international hit with "Here Comes the Hotstepper" in 1994. Ten years prior to that hit he released a single called "World-A-Music" with powerhouse rhythm section/producers Sly and Robbie providing the hot hook. If you listen, you can tell that Stephen Marley really did just take the rhythm of the later song in whole, and then grabbed a scene stealing line from the second verse and turned it into the final line of the chorus.
Lyrically the song is unlike most Jamaican music that makes it off island. Damian points out all that is wrong with his poor country; the violence, the corruption and the gangs and police fighting in the streets. It was this look behind the curtain that got the global music scene so interested in the song. One of the things that confused that same group of people was hearing a "Marley" rap rather than sing.
Friday, March 23, 2012
"Born for a Purpose"
Dr. Alimantado & The Rebels - "Born for a Purpose"
"/Like the doctor who was born for a purpose/Rudie can't fail/" (Strummer/Jones)
Written, performed and produced by Jamaican Rastafarian Alimantado after he survived a hit and run accident with a bus. The stories go that he heard the song in his head while recuperating at home and had to crawl across the floor to get to a pen and pad to write it down. The band were a mishmash of several local bands who all donated their time so that the single could be released as a fundraiser. Released in the U.K., and a underground hit, it found a hold in the punk scene primarily due to one single radio program. Tommy Vance was a DJ on the first non BC radio station in England. Before he went back to the BBC in 1978 to host Friday Rock Show and champion heavy metal and hard rock for years, he would occasionally host celebrities on his program on Capitol Radio in London. On July 16th 1977 his guest was Johnny Rotten, weeks after the release of the Sex Pistols "God Save the Queen". In that radio appearance, Rotten revealed a deep appreciation for many styles of music, including glam (David Bowie - "Rebel Rebel") art rock (Lou Reed - "Men of Good Fortune") experimental (Captain Beefheart - "The Blimp") and funky soul (Bobby Byrd - Back From the Dead). But a lot of what he talked about and played was Reggae. When Vance cued up Born for a Purpose, Rotten jumps in and tells a story that when he had gotten beaten up really bad earlier, he played this song and it got him through it. The album was released by fledgling Reggae label Greensleeves Records which now has the largest catalogue of Reggae music in the world. One of the founders has stated that Rotten mentioning the song on the program was responsible for most of the 50,000 units sold, and ultimately for keeping the label afloat. It was this big success in the U.K Punk music scene that led to The Clash mentioning Alimantado on their 1979 album London Calling on the track "Rudie Can't Fail"
The song itself is infectious. The groove will get into your bones and you will move. That echo effect on the horns that almost make them sound out of tune with each other is great. It sort of reminds me of Mariachi music. Echo effects in general on this track, on the organ, the horns, the bass, the vocals and anything else are what puts this into the genre of Dub, a sub genre of Reggae that typically strips the vocals out of popular songs and then has the bass and drums get reprocessed and turned into a dance hit in a different way than the original. In this case, Alimantado, who worked quite a bit with Reggae and Dub super-producer Lee "Scratch" Perry didn't strip out his own vocals, but he did put a number of dub tricks into the track.
Happy Birthday to me!
"/Like the doctor who was born for a purpose/Rudie can't fail/" (Strummer/Jones)
Written, performed and produced by Jamaican Rastafarian Alimantado after he survived a hit and run accident with a bus. The stories go that he heard the song in his head while recuperating at home and had to crawl across the floor to get to a pen and pad to write it down. The band were a mishmash of several local bands who all donated their time so that the single could be released as a fundraiser. Released in the U.K., and a underground hit, it found a hold in the punk scene primarily due to one single radio program. Tommy Vance was a DJ on the first non BC radio station in England. Before he went back to the BBC in 1978 to host Friday Rock Show and champion heavy metal and hard rock for years, he would occasionally host celebrities on his program on Capitol Radio in London. On July 16th 1977 his guest was Johnny Rotten, weeks after the release of the Sex Pistols "God Save the Queen". In that radio appearance, Rotten revealed a deep appreciation for many styles of music, including glam (David Bowie - "Rebel Rebel") art rock (Lou Reed - "Men of Good Fortune") experimental (Captain Beefheart - "The Blimp") and funky soul (Bobby Byrd - Back From the Dead). But a lot of what he talked about and played was Reggae. When Vance cued up Born for a Purpose, Rotten jumps in and tells a story that when he had gotten beaten up really bad earlier, he played this song and it got him through it. The album was released by fledgling Reggae label Greensleeves Records which now has the largest catalogue of Reggae music in the world. One of the founders has stated that Rotten mentioning the song on the program was responsible for most of the 50,000 units sold, and ultimately for keeping the label afloat. It was this big success in the U.K Punk music scene that led to The Clash mentioning Alimantado on their 1979 album London Calling on the track "Rudie Can't Fail"
The song itself is infectious. The groove will get into your bones and you will move. That echo effect on the horns that almost make them sound out of tune with each other is great. It sort of reminds me of Mariachi music. Echo effects in general on this track, on the organ, the horns, the bass, the vocals and anything else are what puts this into the genre of Dub, a sub genre of Reggae that typically strips the vocals out of popular songs and then has the bass and drums get reprocessed and turned into a dance hit in a different way than the original. In this case, Alimantado, who worked quite a bit with Reggae and Dub super-producer Lee "Scratch" Perry didn't strip out his own vocals, but he did put a number of dub tricks into the track.
Happy Birthday to me!
Sunday, February 19, 2012
"Police and Thieves"
Junior Murvin - "Police and Thieves" (1976)
I can't tell you if he sang every song in falsetto, but every song I found on the Internet he sure does.
Written in response to Jamaican martial law, Singer Junior Murvin went to burgeoning legendary producer Lee "Scratch" Perry's Black Ark Studio with an idea that he wanted to record a kind of protest song. Recorded that day, and out on the streets in less than a week, the song became a hit. Dub versions and other covers followed quickly, but this original cut actually made it across the Atlantic to England. It became a huge hit when riots broke out during the Notthing Hill Carnival, a Caribbean themed weekend long festival in London. Less than a year later, The Clash covered the song; something that apparently didn't really sit well with Murvin.
Perry's studio was known for being the best in Jamaica, capable of effects that other studio's wouldn't get right for years. The underwater feel of this song is accomplished with reverb and was something that Perry was experimenting with and would use on a number of tracks during 1976. Two other things to point out on this track. One, the bass drops out completely on this track way more than any other reggae song I've ever heard; sometimes for almost three beats. Two, the percussion is cymbal driven, with accents thrown in on the snare drum, as apposed to what we are used to in Rock with cymbals being the accents. That cymbal driven rhythm is heard in disco and other dance styles, but to hear it slowed down here is a very different feeling, I think it goes well with the underwater guitar to make the whole song sound somehow slower than intended.
I can't tell you if he sang every song in falsetto, but every song I found on the Internet he sure does.
Written in response to Jamaican martial law, Singer Junior Murvin went to burgeoning legendary producer Lee "Scratch" Perry's Black Ark Studio with an idea that he wanted to record a kind of protest song. Recorded that day, and out on the streets in less than a week, the song became a hit. Dub versions and other covers followed quickly, but this original cut actually made it across the Atlantic to England. It became a huge hit when riots broke out during the Notthing Hill Carnival, a Caribbean themed weekend long festival in London. Less than a year later, The Clash covered the song; something that apparently didn't really sit well with Murvin.
Perry's studio was known for being the best in Jamaica, capable of effects that other studio's wouldn't get right for years. The underwater feel of this song is accomplished with reverb and was something that Perry was experimenting with and would use on a number of tracks during 1976. Two other things to point out on this track. One, the bass drops out completely on this track way more than any other reggae song I've ever heard; sometimes for almost three beats. Two, the percussion is cymbal driven, with accents thrown in on the snare drum, as apposed to what we are used to in Rock with cymbals being the accents. That cymbal driven rhythm is heard in disco and other dance styles, but to hear it slowed down here is a very different feeling, I think it goes well with the underwater guitar to make the whole song sound somehow slower than intended.
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