B

Greetings,

Smile Jamaica’s Chart Progress on Mixcloud: (May 24, 2014 Ark-Ive)

• #5 on Vinyl
• #15 on Reggae
• #17 on Dub

Here is where you can go to help me push the latest podcast edition, May 31st into the charts. Give thanx!

Smile Jamaica Ark-Ive Podcasts

This is the first Saturday of the month. For about the first decade of my 25 years hosting Smile Jamaica, I used to do a special feature every first Saturday musical episode: The Reggae Album Side of the Month.

My Reggae mentor, John “Rutabaga” Reese – who was hosting Smile Jamaica when I moved to town – started the Vinyl showcase. It was mainly so he could step out for a cigarette and get caught up on the monkey-butlering we deejays have to do at KRCL

In tribute to my spar Rutabaga, I continued the Album Side of the Month. Smile Jamaica is mostly a Jamaican Jukebox of singles, (i.e. a single selection off an album or 7,10, or 12″ piece of vinyl singles). I wanted to play an obscure and top rank Reggae album from Side A or B: Tracks 1-4 or 1-5, usually. A roots Reggae album not re-issued on CD. Gems from my 30 year collecting Ark-Ive. Vinyl is Vital, of course. Sink into the riddim. Relax, stay awhile. Jus’ cool, dreadie.

Then a piece of bullshit legislation came into law that made my Album Side of the Month illegal. The DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act). No more than 3 songs in a row off an album. I couldn’t do a whole 3 hours of one artist, like Bob Marley, anymore. No bootlegs. A bunch of other twaddle that did absolutely nothing to stem the tide of illegal downloads.

Clinton signed this in 1998 and it will be the reason I don’t vote for his wife in 2016. I wrote to Utah Senator Orrin Hatch to try and stop this bill from becoming law.

I basically told our Senator for Life my tale of woe, “Hey Dread, I’m a radio deejay in Salt Lake City, Utah. The state you supposedly represent. My show is called Smile Jamaica. I have this tradition of focusing on one album by an artist to hear what Reggae sounds like on a long player piece of wax. Rather than my usual habit of  juggling individual songs, featuring different artists, on a variety of formats. A little context. Part of my tradition of Reggae History Lessons. I’m trying to educate while I entertain. I’m showing off the fruits of my Ark-Ives. I have zero interest in aiding and abetting song  theft. I want people to buy this music. Begging you a ten cent, Senata Haatch!”

“I volunteer my time on a non-commercial radio station. I am committed to public service in the community.I don’t get paid. Don’t want to get paid. How about a non-profit exception for what I do?”

I basically got the International Symbol of Ill Will

<Orrin Hatch 1; Smile Jamaica 0; 40 sec.>

So that brings me back to Johnny Cash. In the immortal words of Bob Marley, “When one door closes, another will open.” Somewhere in the last decade I have started a different, legal, tradition for the first Saturday edition of the month on Smile Jamaica.

Rockers do Reggae

Last month I gave you Billy Idol’s maiden voyage on Smile Jamaica. This week I have: Johnny Cash (debut), Taj Mahal (perennial) Wayne McGhie: Canadian-Jamaican soul/reggae hybrid and Yoko Ono (debut).

Smile Jamaica Ark-Ive: June 7, 2014 sets:

• Rockers do Reggae (above)
• Bonus Rockers: Version galore on Bob Dylan’s Man in Me: Matumbi vs The Clash; Morcheeba (mutant dub with female box) and I will end the show with Lords of Acid: mutant dub herb tune (debut). Yes, hard techno comes to Smile Jamaica in the same show as Johnny Cash. Selah!
• Dub Album of the Week: More rock/dub crossover: The Mad Professor Meets Ruts DC: Rhythm Collision Dub (ROIR). Punkdub
• Wailers Family Tree: Bob Marley’s last live show in Pittsburgh, Jah-sylvania: Sept. 23, 1980; Peter Tosh rarities & obscurities from Equal Rights ’77; Bunny Wailer – Rootsman Skanking ’86
• Vinyl is Vital: (midway). All female artists laying down the crispy black wax attack.
• Mutant Dub: (last half hour): Even more Rockers: downtro-dubby cover of Bob Dylan’s “Lay Lady Lay”.

Good luck to Collie-fornya Chrome. It is going for the triple crown today at the Belmont Stakes. If he wins, I am going to play a Jamaican horse race tune with Dreadlocks versus The Pope around 5:00 PM

 

 

 

 

 

 

Smile Jamaica live every Saturday 4-7 PM Mtn. Time:

• 90.9FM in Utah
• Stream:  Tune In Radio
• Ark-Ive. Here on Smile Jamaica blog; without commercial interruptions
• Twitter: SmileJ_KRCL for when it is live

Current chart status for May 31, 2014 Smile Jamaica Ark-Ive (3 days):

• Vinyl: 11
• Dub: 41
• Reggae: 59

Give a listen, spread the word, move Smile Jamaica up the charts!

bless, robt