Cool Runnings

Music in its various genres has been fairly well covered on celluloid over the years, whether through soundtracks or the subject focus of the film itself. One genre, however, which has not really been wildly well represented is reggae. Now there may be various reasons for this, not least of all the sometime ramshackle nature of the West Indian, and particularly Jamaican record industry. There are, however, two movies which shine out from the golden age of reggae in the seventies, and which are more than just great musical movies, but are simply great movies. The one most people will be familiar with is Perry Henzell's "The Harder They Come" (1973) with Jimmy Cliff's title song and lead role and its gritty urban subject matter. However an equally gripping, if slightly lighter, movie is 1977's "Rockers", directed by the amazingly monikered Theodorous Bafaloukos. The plot follows Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace in a modern-day Robin Hood (or Hoodlum!) type of role, trying to outdo the Uptown Top Rankings of the island's music industry and get a fair deal and some money for his fellow musicians. So it is a comment of sorts on capitalism, but not too serious in its intentions and the plot is engrossing and the soundtrack is phenomenal. Burning Spear, King Tubby, U-Roy, The Heptones and Peter Tosh, many of whom are captured at their own creative peaks. The scene where Horsemouth and his crew all step in their own unique style to Tosh's "Stepping Razors" is enough reason to seek out this gem. It is just one of the best movies ever and a real insight into the culture and society that produced some of the greatest music ever. Oh, and the DJ booth takeover is just priceless.

I'm Superfly T.N.T, I'm the guns of Navarone!!

I know that elsewhere on this blog my man White Socks has already espoused the virtues of Mr Tarantino's musical choices. Truly ridiculous the consistency with which he picks'em. However, I am going even more tangential with this blog. Is it even music related at all, I ask myself. Hmm well let's see. What I wanted to comment on was just how great the script is for Samuel L Jackson's character, Jules. Obvious I hear you cry, but have you re-watched the movie recently? I caught it by
accident on a late night re-run and was just captivated by Jules's dialogue. Seriously, there are just no wasted words when it comes to his patter. Now, clearly one of the things that made the movie, and Tarantino himself, so revered is the dialogue. It is inspired and entered the vernacular and pop cultural fabric almost immediately, along with the film's styling, ad campaign, in fact virtually everything about it. Revolutionary to the extent of us maybe being flippant about its touches of genius. But just go back and listen to Jules to remind yourself how many classic lines he throws out. Example at the end of the film when Vincent and Jules are discussing the day's events over breakfast:

VINCENT: Want a sausage?
JULES: Naw, I don't eat pork.
VINCENT: Are you Jewish?
JULES: I ain't Jewish man, I just don't dig on swine.
VINCENT: Why not?
JULES: They're filthy animals. I don't eat filthy animals.
VINCENT: Sausages taste good. Pork chops taste good.
JULES: A sewer rat may taste like pumpkin pie. I'll never know 'cause even if it did, I wouldn't eat the filthy motherfucker. Pigs sleep and root in shit. That's a filthy animal. I don't wanna eat nothin' that ain't got enough sense to disregard its own faeces.

Then I thought, is there a musical link, and it struck me clear as day. Fatlip on Bizarre Ride. Again, hardly a wasted word, phrase or verse. Genius also, in it's own way.

Crazy In Love

Thank you Zaid ... Thank you ... And thank you Oliver for putting this out there so that I could listen to it ... For all those of you who thought the banger of the summer was a done deal and Christina was already wearing the crown ... Damn that performance on the MTV Video Music Awards was hot ... Well ... You might have to guess again because Beyonce is back with another one that might have just pipped Little Miss Aguilera to the post ... At the moment the jury is still out but we definitely could have another Crazy In Love on our hands as Deja Vu is absolutely massive and definitely Beyonce's biggest tune since then ... Ok ... Jay may be a little off and I thought he had retired anyway but Beyonce destroys it over a killer hook that is probably another Richard Harrison production although don't hold me to that ... This is sure to be huge in the clubs and on the radio and no doubt Beyonce, Tina and Matthew will be lining their pockets with a little more coin when the album drops later this year ...

Is my mind playing tricks, like Scarface and Bushwick?

I had an interesting thought the other day, bear with me while I explain the back story. I was in New York a few weeks ago and picked up some 3 for $20 home made mix CDs in Coney Island, two hip-hop and one rare groove disco classics. All three have provided great trips down various memory lanes, tunes you used to love and haven't heard for a while, tunes you always wanted to have but never found, tunes you have lost. Anyway, it was on one of these little journeys that I rediscovered just how amazing the Geto Boys' "Mind Playing Tricks On Me" is. I remember originally discovering this tune when drawn to the unforgettable front cover of the album from whence this came, "We Can't Be Stopped". The cover shows the group with dwarf rapper Bushwick Bill on a hospital trolley with his right eye shot out, a real picture taken after he tried to get his girlfriend to blow his brains out so his mother could collect life insurance! Honestly the story itself is unbelievable and maybe one day we'll return to it in full. But to get back to the tune, it is a phenomenal tale of paranoia on the streets of Houston, violence and social issues and drugs all play a part in one of the hardest tunes ever. But so funky, sampling Isaac Haye's "Hung Up On My Baby" for the hook, the same hook featured by Biggie on "One More Chance". And then I thought, how much of a precursor to Biggie's lyrical style this tune is. Listen and then imagine Biggie rapping it, see how close it is to some of his finer, darker moments. So that's my thought. How amazing Biggie would be rapping the full Geto Boys tune "Mind Playing Tricks On Me". Maybe I should get out more.

Doin' Our Own Dang

Since the birth of hip hop there have probably been more posse cuts released than there are footballers in Brazil ... As is the way with everything, for every gem there are always millions of howlers but, for me, one of the greatest examples of these has to be Doin' Our Dang by the Jungle Brothers featuring De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest and London's finest Monie Love ... I totally understand that this may not be everyone's first choice and other tracks like The Symphony or Day One may be more obvious selections but, if you go and dig out Done By The Forces Of Nature and put this track on, I am pretty sure that within the first twelve bars you will be smiling and agreeing with me ... Without wishing to get overly intellectual (!!!) this tune really sums up everything that was positive about hip hop at the time ... Over a classic break you have the major players in the Native Tongues camp all together rhyming, partying and having fun ... They aren't trying to out rap each other, there isn't too much bragging and boasting going on and there are good vibes all round ... "A whole bunch of love, peace signs and fun ... So let's do what's got to be done ..." Cheesy ... Perhaps ... Gangster ... Certainly not ... But there's no disputing that this is simply great music and that's what hip hop is all about ...

GE-OLOGY

友人となって6年が経つが、未だに彼がいったい何者であるかを一言で形容できない。ヒップホップ好きにはプロデューサー／アートワーク・デザイナーとしてよく知られているところだと思う。実はプロデューサーである以前に、20年ものキャリアを持つクラブDJであり、場をロックする能力に非常に長けたDJである。知り合った頃はとあるブランドの服飾デザインもしていたし、最近ではBarnstormersの一員として集団ペイントも行っている。ニューヨークにコンシャスな空気が渦巻いた90年代より、様々なうねりを経験しながらそうやってGE-OLOGYは生きてきた。
　スペイシーなビートからジャジーなトラック、粗いファンクまで、彼の作る音楽もこれまた決まったスタイルがない。ただいつも、彼ならではのグルーヴは漂っていて、音に彼の人柄が確実に出ている。
　現在は、ニューヨークの学校にて、絵をともに描くことによって少年少女の心のケアを目的とする、献身的な活動も行っているという。気さくで、感謝を忘れず、情熱と愛と自分のために生きる男。決して焦らない彼らしく、作品を発表するペースもとてもじれったい。ヨー、Gee、僕は君のアルバムがリリースされるのをずっと待っているんだ。
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Chronic Break

How many hip hop albums are littered with skits between every track ... And how many of these skits are beyond annoying ... I'm sure all of you, much like myself, have spent many an evening getting out of your chair, walking across the room and taking the needle off the record to jump another pointless skit and then yelling out expletives as you finding yourself doing the same thing only a few minutes later ... I'm sure all of you have questioned the purpose of breaking up the music in this way ... And I'm sure all of you would be much happier if all of our favorite albums didn't have any skits on them ... I for one definitely would be but, as with all things, every now and then there is an exception to the rule and for me the exception when it comes to skits is the Chronic Break before Doggy Doggy World on Snoop Dogg's Doggy Style ... This has to be one of the most offensive albeit hilarious interludes ever recorded on wax and without it the album wouldn't be the same ... Reading it doesn't really do it justice but all the same I am going to write it out below and hopefully everyone reading this post will smile when they recall Snoop's ridiculous commentary and the classic background laughter ... Here goes ...

"Can we get a motherf*ckin' moment of silence for this small chronic break ... A-hah, n*ggaz be brown-nosing these ho*s and sh*t ... Takin' b*tches out to eat, and spendin money on these ho*s ... KnowhatI'msayin ... I treat a b*tch like 7-Up ... I never have I never will ... I tell a b*tch like this ... B*tch, you without me is like Harold Melvin without the Bluenotes ... You'll never go platinum ... Hey Daz, give me a light n*gga ..."

Scenario?!?!

There are a number of debates to be had when discussing just how incredible A Tribe Called Quest are. But let's leave the debate about the best album for now, and even eschew the joys of argument over the biggest track. Hell, we could even argue about which MC had the greatest skills if we wanted. But no, we are going to go into even deeper waters here. So just whose is the best verse on "Scenario"? If you need this as an excuse to listen to the hugeness of this track once more then go right ahead. It is just one of the stand-out hip-hop tracks of all times. And of course, the winning verse has got to be Busta's, right. It's a prime example of his innovative flow and lyrical wizardry at a still early stage of his career, and really just blows the track apart, which is no mean feat given the strength of the preceding raps. Particularly Dinco D (where do these people end up after their flame has burned momentarily?). Rippin up the sound just like a ray-dee-yo, observe the rhyme and check out the scenario!!

Christina

I know I am a little late with this one but if you haven't heard it yet you need to check out the new Christina Aguilera track Ain't No Other Man from her forthcoming Back To Basics album ... I only discovered this joint this morning after a quick peep at Oliver Wang's magnificent Soul Sides blog - www.soul-sides.com - and it is without a doubt going to be absolutely massive this Summer ... This track picks up where Beyonce and Amerie left off and is quite simply an absolute banger ... Christina just murders it on the vocals and the production by none other than the one and only DJ Premier himself doing a damn good Rich Harrison impression is totally next level ... Just check out the crackle he uses in the background ... It is totally ridiculous and hearing this earlier today has made me even more excited about my New York trip next week as I can't wait to hear it in the clubs on a half decent sound system ...

Whistling Dixie

Early summer is one of my favourite times of the year as the long evenings force back, albeit for a short while, the incessant chill of the British weather. Those first days of proper sunshine make the harshness of winter momentarily fade into memory and the mind starts to wander to barbecues and lazy weekends. It is always the time, also, that I start to reach for tunes, catalogued in the mind as summer jams. There are numerous examples of course, but one I reached for the other day just reminded me how fitting a tune can sometimes be to the mood you are in. Is there ever a bad time for Otis' "(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay"? What got me this time, wait for it, was the whistling. I mean...whistling!?! Whose idea was that? Think about it, how perfectly fitted is the whistling to this tune. Now try to think of other examples where whistling in a song has actually sounded good (don't start telling me that the whistled verse from "Walk Like an Egyptian" is classic!). As we know this song was recorded a couple of days before Redding's tragic death in an air crash on 10 December 1967, just as he was on the verge of becoming a major star. Otis originally whistled the section at the end of a long recording day because he had yet to write a final verse, and it was left in by the song's co-composer and Booker T guitarist Steve Cropper, who also added the seaside noises to the backing track in his tender and affectionate post-production following Otis' death. So not only is the whistling an example of genius musical improvisation, but also one of Otis Redding's last recorded sounds. Genius! Now try to imagine the song without the whistling .... Doesn't work, right!?