Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives May 15, 2021 – Small Axe!

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Greetings,

You are the big tree, we are the small axe. Sharpened to cut you down — The Wailers

Last month I ‘n’ I drove my parents from Arizona back home to Fort Benton, Montana (see previous blog post.)

When you make that journey, it is wise to build in some weather time. Spring in Montana lasts about a week. I remember as a youth snow storms in August.

So once we got settled I had about three days with not much to do.

Spring in Montana: Memorial Day to June 1

I ‘n’ I had been carving out some time to watch a series on Amazon Prime called Small Axe.

This is an ambitious five movie anthology put together by UK producer/director Steve McQueen. (No relation to the American actor who died of cancer in the early 80’s.)

McQueen is most known for his movie adaptation of 12 Years a Slave. Born in London to West Indian immigrants, Small Axe chronicles the lives of the Caribbean immigrants into English inner cities and the trials and tribulations that they face.

The films are not connected like a television mini series but stand on their own. Here is my audio review clipped from this episode of Smile Jamaica:

<Smile Jamaica reviews Small Axe>

UK film director/producer Steve McQueen
  • Mangrove

The Mangrove was a West Indian hangout and restaurant set in Notting Hill London. A place where people could play dominos, eat Island food and build community liaisons against the unremitting hostility from local cops.

Those cops didn’t see The Mangrove as a commercial community center. Instead they assumed it was a den of iniquity: gambling, drug dealing and prostitution. The bobbies (London white cops) would periodically descend on the spot and demolish the interior, roust the patrons and harass the owner. A man named Frank Critchlow.

Finally with help from the local chapter of the Black Panthers and sympathetic liberal white barristers, the club sued and was able to exist as a social, commercial pillar of Notting Hill’s black community.

The unremitting racism was very reminiscent of last summer’s Black Lives Matters protests in the US with the amplifier of 60’s and 70’s British hostility directed at immigrants.

The music was terrific late era 60’s and early 70’s Reggae and Rock Steady.

  • Lovers Rock

This featured the Caribbean youth phenomenon of the shebeen in London. House parties where people would gather and listen to the UK variant of Reggae called Lovers Rock. Pay a little entry fee, have some West Indian food and alcohol. Inside would be a small Reggae sound system, complete with toaster MC.

Young women were a major commercial force in the local Reggae scene. They didn’t want to hear dread and Rasta, they wanted smooth love tunes sung by Reggae songbirds like Janet Kay, the family trio 15, 16, 17 and Brown Sugar. The guys didn’t mind because it was mostly slow dances where they could “rub up a dawta.”

The women wore their best finery. The men dressed up as dandies. Same era in America as Saturday Night Fever. People hooking up, breaking up and cooling out. Highlight was a  scene where the pretty song by  Janet Kay runs out of the groove and  the entire party breaks out the lyrics in acapella.

  • Red, White and Blue

Local youth breaks through the racism and lack of connections to receive a Ph. D. and work as a researcher. However, his community is being devastated because of the constant beat down of young black men by viciously racist and cruel white cops.

Therefore he decides to give up his scientific career to become one of the first black bobbies (cops) in England. The locals see him as a traitor while the white cops use passive aggression and provocation to undermine his policing to the point of not backing him up in a violent criminal confrontation.

Reminiscent of American baseball player Jackie Robinson. A proud and determined black man who broke the color barrier and was called every foul name in the book. He had the strength to let it roll off his back and not let his anger fight back physically or verbally.

You can sense the seething in the young cop about how many more times is he expected to turn the other cheek.

  • Alex Wheatle

Black foster kid from the countryside is dropped off in big city. Is initiated into petty crime and turns to Reggae music for salvation. His goal is to create his own sound system. Taking his weekly “winnings” to a local record shop to buy the latest Reggae singles and 12″ disco mix.

My Mom happened into the living room while there was all this great music bumping. On the wall was the usual offering of 70’s Reggae LPs imported from Jamaica.

She asked, “Do you have any of those records?” I paused the movie and counted. Yep. I had every record but one.

Wheatle eventually winds up in prison after the 1981 Brixton riots. His cellmate is a Rasta who introduces him to literature. Eventually Wheatle became a successful novelist in Britain.

  • Education

The consistent theme through Small Axe is the unrelenting beat down that working class blacks face, in this instance England. Racism, poverty, lack of job opportunities, disjointed families, educational discrimination. Murder and assassination: Birthday parties firebombed,

In this movie a young boy who might have a learning disability or maybe because his parents work night shifts and odd hours he never learned to read.

There was no interdiction at that time. So the youth was sent to a euphemistically titled School for the Educationally Subnormal. Black children with heavy West Indian accents were assumed to be, what would have been called then, retarded. So these kids were dumped into a nightmarish “education” environment with children who had serious developmentally disabled white kids.

Of course the kids were not retarded, and were bored silly. Left to their own devices with teachers who were either absent or wasted  time playing half assed folk songs on the guitar. To be cast into those “schools” meant that those kids had no chance to advance into the work force upon “graduation.” The poverty of racism and discrimination was  their fate.

The not so subtle educational segregation only served to perpetuate the lack of opportunity for West Indians and their children for a generational cycle of misery and despair that we unfortunately still deal with in America.

With 2020’s Summer of Rage after the George Floyd murder, this anthology was a perfect complement on the UK experience.

In sum: I definitely will want to watch Mangrove, Lovers Rock and Alex Wheatle at home on my Hi Fi. I think I blew out my Dad’s hearing aid battery. “Jesus Christ, do you have to listen to it so loud?”

Yes, Dad. I do!

bless, Bobbylon

Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives: May 15, 2021

Set 1:

  • Peter Broggs – Rastafari Liveth!; Rastafari Liveth! (RAS) ’82 DC vinyl
  • Black Uhuru feat. Sly & Robbie – Ion Storm; Dub Factor (Mango) ’83 US vinyl dub album of the hour
  • Alpha Blondy – Cocody Rock; Cocody Rock (Shanachie) ’84 Ivory Coast West Africa
  • Carlene Davis – Don’t You Stop the Music; 15 Classic (Sonic) early 80’s
  • The Ethiopians – Everything Crash; Original Hit Reggae Sound (Trojan) ’68 comp.
  • Daweh Congo – Ganja Baby; Ghetto Skyline (Goldheart) 2008 4:20 Cannabis Service Announcement
  • 4th Street Orchestra – Dubb; 10” (Rama) ’77 UK; Beatles “And I Love Her” dub

Set 2:

  • Afro Omega – Pick Up the Pieces; Pick Up the Pieces EP (Afro Omega) 2006 SLC w/ female vox
  • Tenor Saw – Ring the Alarm; Joey & Norman Jay MBE; Good Times 3 (React) ’85 UK deejay comp.
  • Stranger Cole & Ken Boothe – Artibella; Ska Bonanza (Heartbeat/Studio One) ’61 comp.
  • The Melodians – Sweet Sensation; Reggae Pulse 3 (RAS) ’68 comp.
  • Sel Wheeler – Out of Rome; 12” (City Line) ’77 Bronx dub
Salt Lake Roots Dawta

Set 3:

  • Ringo – Push Lady Push; Black & White Story (Black & White) ’81 Mother’s Day tune
  • Cedric ‘Im Brooks & the Light of Saba; Lambs Bread Collie; Light of Saba (Honest Jon’s) ’76 trombone herbtune
  • Gracy & the Herbman Band – Losing Your Mind; See Mi Yah (Funfundvierzig) ’91 Germ. w/ female vox
  • Papa Levi – Militancy; 12” (Jah) ’86 UK pic sleeve; speed rapper
Every day is Mother’s Day on Smile Jamaica

Set 4: Holdover Mother’s Day 7” Jamaican Jukebox 

  • Dennis Brown – Song My Mother Used to Sing; 7” (Aquarius) ’71 
  • Barry Brown – Thank You Mama; 7” (Observer) ‘83
  • The Chantells – Baby Mother; 7” (Communating) ‘74
  • Leroy Smart – Mother Liza; 7” (Fe Me Time) ‘75
  • Lone Ranger – Labour Ward; 7” (Busy) ‘82
  • Sheriff Lindo & the Hammer – Sky Dubbing; Ten Dubs That Shook the World (Creative Vibes) ’88 Australia dub album of the hour

Set 5: Vinyl is Vital Set

  • Trinity – I Love Mama; Bad Card (Joe Gibbs) dj to Dennis Brown “Oh Mother”
  • Kemi – Even Though You’re Gone; Lovers Delight (Ariwa) ’93 UK roots dawta; Jacksons cover
  • Chris Wayne – Plant Mi Plant; Progress (Heartbeat) ’88 Cambridge, MA herbtune
  • Dave Robinson – Alligator Tears; Family Album (Jah Life) ’80 NY
  • Lennox Miller & Jah Caller – Better Must Come + Jah Caller Speaks His Mind; Jack Ruby Hi-Fi (Clappers) ‘ Bronx

Set 6: Wailers Family Tree Set

  • Bob Marley & the Wailing Wailers – Bus Dem Shut; Wail ‘N Soul ‘M Singles (JAD) ’67: 
  • Peter Tosh – Four Hundred Years; Arise Blackman (Trojan) ’69 comp.
  • The I Three – Many Are Called; Roots Daughters (Shanachie) ’78 comp.: Rita, Judy, Marcia
  • Bunny Wailer – Roots, Radics, Rockers, Reggae; Roots, Radics, Rockers Reggae (Shanachie) ‘78
  • Solomonic Players – Roots Raddics – Dubd’sco vol. 1 (Solomonic) ‘78
  • Sly & the Revolutionaries – Burn Pipe Dub; Sensi Dub Vol. 1 (Original) dub album of the hour

Set 7: Smile Jamaica 31+ Years Set

  • Linton Kwesi Johnson – New Crass Massakah; Making History (Mango) ’84 UK dub poet
  • Charlie Chaplin – Boyie, Boyie; 12” (Winner) ’85 UK
  • Sophia George – Girlie, Girlie; 12” (Winner) ’85 UK answer to Charlie Chaplin
New Cross Massacre. Covered in Steve McQueen’s Small Axe film anthology

Set 8: Mutant Dub

  • Blackalicious feat. Nikki Giovanni – Ego Trip; Nia (Mo Wax) ’99 female dub poet
  • Rockers Hi-Fi/Groove Corporation – Push Push (Underwater World of Jah Cousteau Mix); King Size Dub vol. 7 (Echo Beach) 2001 Germ. comp.
  • Dry & Heavy – King Cobra; 10” EP (Green Tea) 2000 UK; Jah-pon dubbers
  • Bush Chemists – Marijuana Defender; Dub Fire Blazing (Dubhead) 2001 UK herbal dub
  • Seke Molenga, Kalo Kawongolo, Lee “Scratch” Perry – African Roots; From the Heart of the Congo (RUNNetherlands) ’79 Zairean duo at the Black Ark

Smile Jamaica Ark-ives: Robert’s Reggae Roadtrip in Rona-ville!

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“We will throw your sorry ass off this plane!”

Greetings,

<Robert’s Rona Roadtrip Diary; 2 min. 20 sec.>

Every time….

“You’re getting on a plane?

Yep.

“Wow. Seems risky.”

Ok, Karen. I ‘n’ I have no choice. I’m the eldest and tasked with the responsibility of helping my Mom with my Dad. (Temporarily dain bramaged from a build up of excess spinal fluid. Called NPH.)

Brain surgery to install a shunt drain of excess spinal fluid that flows down a tube and is absorbed harmlessly into the stomach lining.

Since the Rona Pandemic of 2020 I ‘n’ I have boarded/de-planed 10 different planes. At first they were mostly empty. Now they are packed to the rafters. Guess I’ll take my chances with a 99% recovery rate and hope for the best.

So far so good: Bobbylon 43 The Covid 0

Here’s a diary of my  trip.

  • Day 1: SLC to Denver to Phoenix

I ‘n’ I love the cattle car of Southwest Airlines. Pay 15 bucks extra for Early Bird boarding and aim for the back corner of the plane. Didn’t matter. Both legs of the journey were full. In the airport and on the plane I felt the flight staff were more strict on mask compliance than last year or during Xmas 2020. It seems like the more people are vaxxed the stricter they have become.

I wear my mask b/c it’s a bitch when you are scolded for pulling it down to take a sip of anything. It’s ridiculous anyway b/c they make you take down your mask at TSA checkpoint. So I pass on my gamboo to the security person and he/she gives me their cooties. Lovely.

  • Day 2: Cratedigging

Phoenix has great record shops. Several boutique vinyl mostly shops. Their local CD/Vinyl/DVD chain is called Zia and they are terrific. Didn’t find a whole lot this time, except at one store called In the Groove. Snagged about a dozen rare Greensleeves label 12″ vinyl records. Yes I!

Spent $200 filling in gaps for the Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives. Keep the vinyl shops alive before, during and after The Covid

The other thing? Mask optional. Where some stores had finally opened back up to actual “digging” as opposed to “curbside delivery”, the staff at In the Groove weren’t wearing a mask and there was no “No Mask, No Service” sign on the door

So neither did I’n’ I. I do the old hang off the ear just in case. It was strangely self conscious and exhilarating at the same time. Wow, how quickly we have been accustomed to breathing in our own carbon dioxide and huffing microscopic boogers that accumulate on those face diapers*

*My Pops: “Jesus Christ, would you quit calling masks a face diaper.” So good to have the old cantankerous dad back in the fold which we missed for almost two years!

Pops was days away from one of Cuomo’s Nursing Home/Covid Death Houses and battled back to flash the Hairy Eyeball directed at his ingrate first born!

Except stay six feet apart and keep wearing your face diaper

That was 2020 for I ‘n’ I. Keeping my Pops dodging the Covid. Thanks to Ishtar, the Granter of Wishes! Others weren’t as fortunate.

15,000+
  • Day 3: 420 on 4/20; 107 sec.

Arizona legalized the hippie lettuce in 2020. They didn’t waste any time converting medical only Weed Huts into rec stores. There is a terrific shop in Sun City West that helped my Pops with CBD cream for his neuropathy, 1:1 vape cartridges for my Mom – restless leg syndrome.

Got Mom a nice vape pen for Mother’s Day* since I ‘n’ I broke hers in Dec. (For some reason I am lethal on vape pens, either lose them somewhere or they quit charging.)

*I have always been a good son!

Hey Mom! Charging you an Uber fee for our Roadtrip thru Rona-ville!

I ‘n’ I figured April 20th is like Black Friday for potheads. So I called early. Found out they opened at 8am that sacred day. Sale of 40% off cartridges. Got there by 8:20AM.

Jumped in the long line assuming that was for recreational customers. Asked the guy in front of me. Nope, that was for Medical. Spun the wheel and won a $10 pre-roll. Nice.

Walked right up to rec line like a celebrity. Got in their system and went to the budtender. Nice young woman named, wait for it!…..Marley. (Last trip thru Vegas my budtender’s name was Kaya.) I ‘n’ I was so excited I violated the six foot rule. But at least I had my face diaper on.

The Natural Mystical way to beat back the Rona

Walked out with a little bit of everything. Indica (for sleep); Sativa (for cratedigging); Hybrid (for everyday life). The most unusual thing was that they took credit cards. I ‘n’ I have bought weed in Washington, Collie-rado, Nevada and now Phoenix. Everywhere else was cash for the kasheesh. How civilized. Just like going to Mall-Wart or Olive Garden.

Well fortified, let’s get on the road….

Doing it for the Vitamin C. Beat back The Vid
  • Day 4: Sun City West, AZ to Mesquite, NV (350 miles)

It’s a three day drive from Phoenix to Fort Benton, Montana (North Central part of the state.) 1296 miles

Early high-light (pun intended) was the Last Chance Rest Stop on an Indian reservation just before you cross from AZ to NV.

Alien gear, weed gear and Trump gear “Still My President”. It’s a little disturbing that I’m obsessed with two of the three. Bought some alien schwag, Area 51 T shirt and a bunch of fridge magnets.

Someone call a Karen. Al Leon is wearing his face diaper below his nose!

Pull in to the Virgin River Casino. Had a nice dinner. Near miss with Pops as he went ass over tea kettle. Dude still needs his cane. Two nice bikers helped my Mom and I get him back on his feet.

Pops safe in his room, Mom and I hit the machines. Video Poker for I ‘n’ I. Headed to the exact spot where I won $1000 last fall.

Royal Flush buys a lot of Vape cartridges and pens!

Nevada is a Karen state. Plexiglass is like gambling in a phone booth. I strategically aimed for an end machine close to the bar. Even then the cocktail server doesn’t venture often into the 25 cent video poker machines.

Of course you have to wear a face diaper. I ‘n’ I fire up my Sativa cart and do a little Dr. Ted recreation. (Vaping through a mask). Mmm. Strawberries.

Alas, lightning did not strike twice. The best I ‘n’ I could muster was 4 8’s (400 quarters.) But I got to play about 90 minutes and only dropped 60 bucks. I was crosseyed exhaling strawberry essence through my face diaper (sorry Pops!)

Someone call a Karen, Jed isn’t vaping THROUGH his mask
  • Day 5: Mesquite NV to Idaho Falls ID (550 miles)

Time to grind out the longest and dullest stretch of the 3 day journey. Since Utah and Idaho are 2/3 thirds of the Mormon Triangle States, there will be no vaping nor gambling.

There was ice cream. It was hilarious watching my parent’s little dog Bella go through a bowl of vanilla ice cream like she was going to the dog pound for the long sleep.

Santaquin, UT. Masks for the employees, didn’t see any on the customers.

Hit Idaho Falls, check into the hotel room (so tired I ‘n’ I forgot my face diaper but didn’t need it. Utah and Idaho are coming out of it and getting on with it.) Pizza Hut in the room and half a Law & Order re-run. One toke from Blueberry Indica and I was in dreamland.

  • Day 6: Idaho Falls ID to Fort Benton MT (401 miles)

It wouldn’t be Montana if you didn’t have to worry about snow in April. Montana’s spring lasts from Memorial Day to June 1st.

The Monida Pass between Idaho and Montana is the stuff of nightmares. BFD. We’re going. Praise Anu, a few snow flurries, some low level fog. I give it a B+ by the usual whiteout conditions I ‘n’ I have been used to. Home sweet home.

 

Fort Benton, MT – aka the Birthplace of Montana….and I ‘n’ I
  • Chillin’ in The Birthplace of Montana

Small Axe Mini-Series, Steve McQueen (Amazon Prime)

When you long haul it that early in the spring, you have to book a few extra days before I ‘n’ I would fly back to SLC. Not much to do, so I had some binge time. My parents have Amazon Prime. I carved out the time to watch a fantastic 5 movie series from UK director Steve McQueen.

Collectively it is called Small Axe.

From the Wailers song: You are the big tree, we are the small axe. Sharpened to cut you down.

Five individual films chronicling the West Indian/UK immigrant experience. Unremitting racism, immigrant mistrust, depression of the daily beat down for the color of your skin, lack of educational opportunity.

After the 2020 BLM protests you could truly see that endemic racism is a global phenomenon that didn’t start with an Orange dude still selling MAGA schwag.

Smile Jamaic’a movie review soon come!
  • Fort Benton down with the hemp

17 down, 33 to go. Montana legalized marijuana in Nov. 2020. They haven’t started recreational sales yet but it is legal to possess. Oct. 2021 retail starts….supposedly.

Fort Benton is a town of about 1500 people. Down from about 1800 when I grew up there. Too cold for industry, kids moving off the farm.

But there isn’t a house to be had because of a local hemp processing plant. Yes, hemp. Not cannabis, but I can imagine that will be on-deck now that legal marijuana will need suppliers. They are employing 35 employees in a huge plant on the hill close to my house. They would be the largest non-school/government employer in the entire county.

Indhemp  are making hemp powder for supplements, oil, seeds, CBD extraction and I understand they have expanded to process hemp fiber.

And I ‘n’ I can’t wait until recreational is legal so I can walk up to the old NAPA auto parts store downtown and buy some vape from the Fat Hippie.

Fort Benton’s local dispensary!

  • Rona in Fort Benton-a

So basically after a week of living out of a suitcase, the day after we get home, I wake up and am not feeling all that great. Achy, feverish, low appetite. Are you kidding me? Is it the Rona?

I’ve been talking shit for a year and now it caught me. On the road, 1300 miles of 99% time spent in a car with people/pets I have herd immunity with. In the house I grew up in?

Is the streak over? Bobbylon 43, The Covid 0. Bad news if the Rona scores at all!

I immediately took a vape hit…..waited…..yes, could it be? Strawberries! I ‘n’ I didn’t lose my sensi (pun) of taste! My Mom said to quit being a wuss and come up and empty the dishwasher.

I

I ‘n’ I didn’t get my jab yet because I knew I had this massive trip in front of me. And I have talked to a couple people who had side effects. One guy had a tingling rash up and down his arms. My sister thinks it caused her outbreak of shingles.

So, a day later a friend of Pops comes over for a beer. He was setting up for a gun show in Great Falls. His tongue felt weird. And then he  had trouble breathing. His tongue was swelling. He high tailed into Instacare. Epi pen. 24 hours in ICU.

He was totally gobsmacked, a week early he had a 24 hour bout of uncontrolled hiccups that was worse than ICU.

I asked him if he had been recently vaccinated? Yep, two plus weeks earlier. Moderna. I asked an innocent question. Could his back to back adverse health incidences –  uncontrolled hiccups, anaphylactic shock – be a consequence of his jab? Oh, no. Take off your tin foil hat and believe the narrative.

And that’s why I’m waiting for the Sputnik V.

bless, Bobbylon

 

Smile Jamaica Playlist: May 1, 2021

  • Jacob Miller – Each One Teach One; Classic Rockers vol. 2 (Rockers) ’89 UK vinyl comp.
  • Sir Coxsone Sound – Black Wars Dub; King of the Dub Rock Part 2 (Tribesman);  ’82 UK vinyl dub Album of the hour
  • The Pioneers – Long Shot; Give and Take (Trojan) ’68 – Kentucky Derby Set
  • The Pioneers – Longshot Kicked the Bucket; In the Beginning (Jet Star) ‘69
  • The Race Fans – Bookieman; 7” (Upset) ’68 JA
  • Dillinger – Race Day; CB 200 (Mango) ‘76
  • Sugar Minott – One Horse Race; 7” (Chris & Squidley)
  • The Special AKA – Skinhead Symphony (Longshot Kick the Bucket); Stereo-typical A’s, B’s and Rarities (EMI) ‘80
  • Mr. Bojangles – Selassie I Cup; 7” (Joe Gibbs Record Globe) ‘77***End of Set 1
  • Roots Gwaan – Good Trees; Exalt H.I.M. (Conscious Riddims) herbtune
  • Hollie Cook feat. Horseman – Cry; Hollie Cook (Mr. Bongo) 2011 UK dawta
  • The Ethiopians – Train to Skaville; Norman & Joey Jay: Good Times 3 (React) ’67 comp.
  • 4th Street Orchestra – Hawaii 5-0; 10” (Rama) ’77 UK TV theme***End of Set 2
  • Slim Smith – Rougher Yet; Full Up (Heartbeat/Studio One) ’67 comp. Best of Smile Jamaica 31+ Years Set
  • Samuel the First – Sounds of Babylon; Keep on Coming Through the Door (Trojan) ’70 comp.
  • Barry Brown – Sensimilla; Far East (Hitbound) ’81 herbtune
  • Hortense Ellis – Jah Mysterious Works; Holding Up Half the Sky (Shanachie) ’80 comp.***End of Set 3
  • The Beat aka The English Beat – Jackpot; I Just Can’t Stop It (Go Feet!) ’80 UK 2 Tone ska
  • Thievery Corporation feat. Perry Farrell – Revolution Solution; CD Single (ESL) DC dubbers
  • K – Right Direction; Nemozian Rasta (I Grade) 2001 female
  • The Congos – Music Maker; 12” (99) ’81 NY***End of Set 4
  • Winston Jarrett – Ishen Galore; Wise Man (Tamoki Wambesi) ’79 UK herbtune: Vinyl is Vital Set
  • Freddie McKay – Settle For Me; Alcatraz (Mr. Tipsy) ’85 JA
  • Devon Russell – People Get Ready; Roots Music (Studio One) ’82 JA
  • Kingpin – Hottest Shot; Lovers Delight (Ariwa) ’93 UK lovers rock
  • Norma King – Hot Child in the City; 12” (Zion Love) ’89 Can. Nick Gilder pop cover***End of Set 5
  • Robert Palmer – Love Can Run Faster; 7” (Island) ’77 Lee “Scratch” Perry prod’n; Rockers do Reggae Set
  • Graham Parker – Howlin’ Wind; Howlin’ Wind (Mercury) ’76
  • Sinead O’Connor – The Glory of Jah; Theology (Koch) 2007
  • The Long Beach Dub All-Stars – Astro-Dub; Sunny Hours EP (Dreamworks) 2001
  • Ja-Man All-Stars – Dub Zone; In the Dub Zone (Blood & Fire) ’77 Dub Album of the Hour***End of Set 6
  • Bob Marley & the Wailing Wailers – Thank You Lord; Wail ‘N Soul ‘M Singles (JAD) ’67: Wailers Family Tree
  • Peter Tosh – Crimson Pirate; Arise Blackman (Trojan) ’69 Jackpot 7” organ instrumental
  • Phyllis Dillon – Long Time No Nice Time; Trojan Bob Marley Tribute Box Set (Trojan) ’72 Wailers cover
  • Bunny Wailer – Rule Dancehall + version; Solomonic Singles vol. 2 (Solomonic) ‘87***End of Set 7
  • Dry & Heavy – Rumble Dub; 10” EP (Green Tea) 2000 UK – Jah-pon: Mutant Dub Set
  • Seeed – Million Dead Tongues; King Size Dub Chapter 6 (Echo Beach) 2000 Germ. comp
  • David Holmes – Slash the Seats; This Film’s Crap Let’s Slash the Seats (Go Disks!) ‘95
  • Ellen Allien feat. Miss Kitten  – Rippin Kitten (BPitch Control) 2004 comp.
  • Kid Loco – Here Copmes the Munchies; Kill Your Darlings (Bella Union) 2001 Fr.
  • Alpha & Omega feat. Lee “Scratch” Perry – Dub Fire;
  • Trample the Eagle and the Bear (Alpha & Omega) 2005 UK trance dubbers
  • Rara Avis – Guyatri Mantra; Essential Lounge: Bombay (UBL) 2005 Hindi dub

Smile Jamaica Digital Dubplate: 4 hr. 20 min. 0 sec. for 420

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Greetings,

I ‘n’ I think it was the late 90’s. I was in a long gone record shop in Salt Lake City cratedigging as usual. Ran into one of the fellow deejays at KRCL. He was one of the Drivetime programmers (he shall remain nameless). Drivetime: 3-6 PM. He started a little fun tradition he called 4:20* funk.

*4:20 – 420 – Smoker’s slang for getting together after school to burn some hippie lettuce.

Alas, he was told by the station manager to cut it out. As soon as he said that to me, a light bulb went off in my head. Smile Jamaica plays 4-7 PM.

Thus, sometime around 1998 the Cannabis Service Announcement was born.  KRCL plays public service announcements highlighting (no pun intended) a worthy non-profit. That’s what I ‘n’ I intended to do. I have at least a thousand cannabis songs in my Ark-Ives. All formats. All genres. Peter Tosh – Legalize It in the same way giving money to a food bank serves the same worthy cause.

First set, around 4:20 PM I will spin a tasty herbtune. A few years later that expanded into the full on 3 hour specials on the Saturday closest to April 20th.

The station manager at the time didn’t really like me and thus probably didn’t care for Reggae. And since staff weren’t in their offices on the weekend, I could skate.

I ‘n’ I always saw it as an exercise in free speech if nothing else. Isn’t that what I’m supposed to do? No one ever said anything. And soon that show became my most popular during any year.

Later, there was a student who worked in my department who confessed she figured out who I was when she heard my voice at a 420 pot party where they were playing Smile Jamaica.

There is hope for the youth….

Wheel it forward a few years. I ‘n’ I was transferred into Audio Production at the University of Utah where I toil. I was in charge of a professional audio studio. I literally taught myself the recording setup and digital sound editing through cannabis music, movies, comedy albums and special efx.

That’s when I started adding the movie trailer clips (Jackie Brown, Pulp Fiction), comedy bits (Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, Cheech and Chong), bongrips and vocal salutations to the Seven Leaf from countless Reggae, Rock and Dub albums.

  1. Rip tune to Itunes
  2. Upload song to Audacity sound editor
  3. clip 420 byte
  4. save as .mp3
  5. stitch between the songs

On this dubplate you can hear me play a 4:20 min. bongrip symphony. (Eat your heart out, Leonard Bernstein). I do a Marley-juana mix of selections from all of Bob’s herbal delights.

My Digital Dubplate renderings are when I ‘n’ I am either out of town or KRCL is in fund drive mode, which it will be Sat. April 18th.

  • 4 hours
  • 20 minutes
  • 00 seconds

Plus I am heading out of town driving my parents back to Fort Benton, Montana from Sun City West, AZ. Now both those states have legalized the collie herb! First night in Mesquite (legal).

Second day drive through the dry Mormon Triangle states of Utah and Idaho to get to the Big Sky High in Montana. (The third leg of the triangle, Wyoming has an adult use bill working its way through the legislature.)

Wyoming Lawmakers Approve Marijuana Legalization Bill Sponsored By Top GOP Leaders

  • White Mountain dispensary – Sun City; taking my Pops to get 10% off with his veterans card
  • Deep Roots Harvest – Mesquite NV. Last trip I ‘n’ I won $1000 playing video poker. Vaping in a pandemic pulling the handle in a plastic phone booth type arrangement. Can lightning strike twice?
  • Does Fort Benton (farming town of barely 1000 people) have a dispensary. Stay tuned and find out!
A thousand bucks buys a lot of Strawberry Cough and Sour Diesel (Mesquite, NV; Sept. 2020)

bless, Bobbylon

17 down, 33 to go!

Smile Jamaica 420: Digital Dubplate 2021 Playlist:

0-30 min.:

  • Jah Woosh – Marijuana World Tour; Marijuana World Tour (Original) ‘76
  • Sly & the Revolutionaries – Pass the Rizla (Trojan) ‘80
  • Eek a Mouse – Ganja Smuggling; Wa-Do-Dem (Greensleeves) ‘81
  • Inner Circle – Mary, Mary; Best of Inner Circle (Island) ’79 comp.
  • Mighty Diamonds – Sensemilla; Get Ready (Rohit) ‘88
  • Ras Prophet – Herbman Hustling; Feel the Fire  (Prophet) ’93 Sugar Minott cover
4 hours 20 minutes 00 seconds of Cannabliss

30-60 min.:

  • Sugar Minott – Dreadlocks Chalice; Ghetto Child (Heartbeat) ‘89
  • Human Rights – Who’s Got the Herb; I Luv (Railroad) ’91 throat of Bad Brains
  • UB40 – Mi Spliff; Credit to the Nation (bootleg)
  • Wayne Smith – Under Me Sleng Teng; Sleng Teng (Greensleeves) ’86 = smoking utensil
  • Charlie Chaplin – Bubbling Telephone (Chalice); Hi Grade Ganja Anthems 3 (Greensleeves) ’82 
  • Pupajim – International Farmer; Jahtarian Dubbers vol. 2 (Jahtari) 2010 mutant dub Peter Broggs cover

60-90 min.

  • Frankie Paul – Stick a Sensi; A We Rule (RAS) ’97 Sugar Minott cover
  • Corey Harris – Lamb’s Bread; Daily Bread (Rounder) 2005 blues artist covers Sylford Walker
  • Frankie Jones – Colly George; King Jammy: A Man and His Hits (RAS) early 80’s?
  • John Holt – Police in Helicopter; 12” (Holt) ’83 JA
  • Max (Romeo) & Niney – Aily & Ailaloo; Blood & Fire (Trojan) ’72 

90 min. – 2 hr.

  • Junior Reid – International Year of the Chalice; Visa (RAS) ‘93
  • Peter Tosh – Buk-in-Hamm Palace; Mystic Man (EMI America) ‘79
  • Black Uhuru vs. Black Sabbath – Guess Who’s Coming For Sweetleaf; 7” (bootleg)
  • Soom T – Smile Jamaica Weedstepper Mix; Glasgow Scotland female
  • Vivian Jones – Got a Light; 12” (Jah Shaka) ‘86
  • Johnny Clarke – Collie Dread; Don’t Stay Out Late (Rhino UK) ’78 

2 – 2 and 1/2 hrs.

  • Welton Irie – Telephone Chalice; One and One = Two (JA) early 80’s?
  • Pablo Paul – Don’t Dope; Timeless Roots Rockers (Ejaness) 2006
  • Gregory Isaacs – Mr. Cop; Extra Classic (Rohit) ‘78
  • Israel Vibration – Red Eyes; Forever (RAS) ‘90
  • King Kong – Legalize It; Rumble Jumble Life (Massive B) 2011
  • Ranking Joe – Solomon’s Weed; 3 the Roots Way (Jah Warrior) 2000 

2 and 1/2 – 3 hrs.

  • Michael Rose – Draw the Weed; Never Give It Up (Heartbeat) 2001
  • Prince Far I – Commandment of Drugs; Message From the King (Virgin Front Line) ‘78
  • Zion Tribe – Herbissimo; Tribe Noiz (Red Giant) ’92 SLC
  • The Selecter – My Collie (Not a Dog); Too Much Pressure (2 Tone) ’80 2 Tone ska w/ female vox
  • Audio Active – Free the Marijuana; Pro Cannabis 4 (Dope) ’94 comp. Jah-pon
  • Sonny Knight – But Officer!; But Officer! (Stateside) ‘57 

3 – 3 and 1/2 hrs.

  • Anthony Johnson – What Kind of Herb; Jah Thomas Presents the Highest Grade (“Ras” Sta) ’82 comp.
  • Barrington Levy – Sensimilla; Can’t Stop Us Now (Easy Star) ’82? Comp.
  • Mikey Dread – Pound a Weed; Life Is a Stage (Dread at the Controls) 2007
  • Aswad – Just a Little Herb; Rebel Souls (Mango) ‘84
  • Ben Harper – Burn One Down; Reggae Sampler (Virgin) ‘97
  • Chosen Few – Collie Stuff; Darker Than Blue (Blood & Fire) ‘75
  • The Toyes – Smoke Two Joints; The Toyes (CD Tunes) ‘96
  • Barry Brown – Pass Up the Chalice; Rich Man Poor Man (Moll-Selekta) 70’s?
  • Capital Letters – Smoking My Ganja; Headline News (Greensleeves) ’79 UK youth group
Smoking weed works better than a mask against The Covid

3 and1/2 – 4 hr.

  • John Clarke – Good Collie Weed; Visions of John Clarke (Wackies) ’79 to Only Sixteen riddim
  • Lovejoys- One Draw; Lovers Rock Reggae (Wackies) ’83 Rita Marley herb tune
  • Future Pigeon – Mummy Rock; Echodelic Sounds of Future Pigeon (Record Collect) 2005 LA
  • Glen Brown – Lambsbread – Way to Mt. Zion (ROIR) ‘79
  • Kiddus I – Green Fa Life; Green Fa Life (Makafresh) 2009

4 hr. – 4 hr. 20 min. 00 seconds

  • Heavy Manners – Taking the Queen to Tea; Heavier Than Now (NoVo) ’96 Chicago w/ female vox
  • The Pioneers – Feeling High; Greatest Hits (Trojan) ‘79
  • Sublime – Legalize It; Hempilation (Capricorn) ’95 Tosh cover
  • Bush Chemists – Light Up Your Spliff; Light Up Your Spliff (Conscious Sounds) ‘95

Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives: Mar. 20, 2021: Crappy Rona-Versary Year 1

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Crappy Ronaversary Year 1

Greetings,

WARNING: This blog post thinks outside the box and may challenge your ritual beliefs on the Corona Virus Epidemic of 2019-2025. I ‘n’I am obviously not a Doctor but I do have proof and science in my dissent. It is intended to be black humor/alternate perspective and not meant to convey any course of action or critical thinking whatsoever. For satire and entertainment purposes only! 

I ‘n’ I am not a Karen.

Early in the pandemic I was chauffeuring my Mom around the Sun City West (AZ) Mall-Wart. Picked up a random box of masks and this is what it says on the back:

1.5 billion of these coming soon to a landfill and/or ocean near you.

Told to trust the science. So I ‘n’ I did a little sleuthing. Not from CNN or PBS. Not from New York Times or Washington Post. As an Academic Librarian I have access to some of the greatest science and medical databases in the world.

Trust the science. Well, here’s an inconvenient truth. Would you trust the New England Journal of Medicine? Here is what they say about mask wearing:

We know that wearing a mask outside health care facilities offers little, if any, protection from infection. Public health authorities define a significant exposure to Covid-19 as face-to-face contact within 6 feet with a patient with symptomatic Covid-19 that is sustained for at least a few minutes (and some say more than 10 minutes or even 30 minutes). The chance of catching Covid-19 from a passing interaction in a public space is therefore minimal. In many cases, the desire for widespread masking is a reflexive reaction to anxiety over the pandemic.

Universal Masking in Hospitals  in the Covid-19 Era (May 21, 2020)

That’s peer review, baby! Count 8 medical/health degrees and an MBA in the authors’ combined credentials.

Viruses go 30 feet in a cough, sneeze or fart. 5 x the social distanced mandated 6 feet.

And how does the mask trap virons (singular of virus): it works as well as an aluminum fence stopping a mosquito .

But don’t listen to me. I ‘n’ I am just a guy who believes Extraterrestrials are ancient Sumerian skygods. But  will you trust Dr. Ted?:

I ‘n’ I replicated Dr. Ted’s at home with some Strawberry Cough.

Trust the science.

<Safety Mask parody by Media Bear; 31 sec.>

I ‘n’ I am not a maskhole. I wear my face diaper because it’s the law (still). Businesses (grocery stores, record shops, weed emporiums, university workplace) are still gonna insist. I hate it but I do it.

I really don’t care to start fights with friends and colleagues. I have already seen friendships and family relationships destroyed over Covid concern or insufficient concern. Even though I am breathing in my own CO2 (lovely!) and Anu only knows the crud and critters festering on the mask surface (yum!)

That’s not sushi but what lives on your mask

What in the Hell does any of this have to do with Reggae music?

Sometime last summer. Phone rings in the middle of Smile Jamaica (back live at KRCL starting in late may):

Rona Robert: KRCL

Caller: What’s the count?

I ‘n’ I: Huh?

Caller: The Covid Count: Bobbylon what? the Covid zero?

Bobbylon: Oh yeah, Bobbylon 12 the Covid Zero. But what happens when/if the Covid scores 1?

 

******

I ‘n’ I count the beginning of the pandemic during Salt Lake City’s 5.7 magnitude earthquake: March 18, 2020. By the end of that weekend everything was locked down. The last in-studio show from Smile Jamaica was a pandemic Reggae/dub showcase:

KRCL had us do “living room kinda cloudy shows” from mid March to til one deejay a day was granted the golden ticket to return, live, to your station that rules the nation; after Memorial Day.

That Saturday person was me. I think at the time I was the only one who even WANTED to come back. But I need the turntables to really do Smile Jamaica. After 3 decades of mixing vinyl and cds, (No digital for I ‘n’ I), not having easy turntable access was like deejaying with one hand tied behind my back. So I started doing a weekly count. This podcast episode marks the streak at Bobbylon 37, the Covid Zero.

And I ‘n’ I “celebrated” a full year of survival from a virus with a 99% recovery rate with this Reggae show entitled Crappy Ronaversary Year 1. (1 min. 53 sec.)

2020 Spring allergy season was a bitch!

I ‘n’ I handled that year under Lockdown (isn’t that what the warden does to unruly prisoners?) under the guise of calculated risk. Couldn’t even go into work until late August. Left the house on Saturdays (listening to my living room Smile Jamaica broadcasts driving my new Subaru up and down State Street in a mostly deserted roadway.) Sunday shopping for the usual: toilet paper, hand sanitizer, isopropyl alcohol for my smoking utensil.

I ‘n’ I scored a 24 pack of TP before I ever found isopropyl alcohol

Even did some judicious cratedigging. At the beginning I flipped thru the crates with my Green Bay Packers gloves behind my Bob Marley mask.

Rona survival kit

I ‘n’ I strategically picked my public encounters. In May, Sept. and Dec. I had no choice. I had to drive my parents from Arizona to Montana and back. And then Christmas in Albuquerque. Solo cratedig in Vegas for Thanksgiving. Curbside recording shopping sucks. I’m dying to go in (ha ha!).

My first plane trip in May, my friends just had this look of horror when I told them I had to fly. They were staggered.  I shrugged? Did I ‘n’ I tell you  I have no choice.

Come fly the friendly skies of Covid Airlines. We’ll getcha there! Relax, breathe deep and enjoy the flight!

“Luckily” everywhere was a ghost town. Which made it easy to justify “risk versus reward” when I ‘n’ I went cratedigging from South to North and back again. In late May I drove that gorgeous drive from Fort Benton, Montana (North Central) to the People’s Republic of Missoula (South West).  You all stay home while I “risk my life” finding new tunes for Smile Jamaica! If you die doing something you love is that sometimes how you meet your fate?

The perfect song for the roadtrip for these Covid times: Rolling Stones Living in a Ghost Town

<Rolling Stones: Cratedigging in a Ghost Town; 64 sec.>

Roundtrip 2600 miles dodging The Covid with my parents and their little dog Bella

I’m such a scofflaw I ‘n’ I won a $1000 bucks playing Video Poker in a Mesquite, NV casino literally days after they re-opened to hotel guests.

Royal Flush for I ‘n’ I. Pay the man $1000. Suck it, Rona!

Maybe one of the reasons I ‘n’ I didn’t cower in front of the God of Rona and instead flashed the hairy eyeball is because I ‘n’ I have a secret weapon…...WEEED!

That’s right. The Seven Leaf: CBD adds a hard candy coating on lung epithelial cells. (Mmmm. Candy…..) Rona is a spike protein: a round ball with barbs coming off in all directions. Its goal is  to attach itself and feed just like thistles in the brush cling and sting you. The CBD in aspirated cannabis sativa combats this. The little bastard can’t “probe you” (pun intended) with his poker

From the same place I ‘n’ I get my UFO stories: Sputnik News.

Cannabis inhibits Covid spread in human lungs

<Weed vs. The Covid; 2 min.>

Vaccine? No thanks. I’m set

A coping mechanism for me was pushing back against the doom and gloom of everything surrounding Covid. Every ad was buzz kill. Couldn’t watch a football game without wanting to slit your wrists. Stop telling me to be safe!

Even KRCL flogged it. “2020 was a rough year.” None of us needed reminding. How about forward ever backward never?

So in those early months and especially now, black humor/wise ass-i-tude was gonna be my counter. Stop waiting for the Rona to come down the chimney and stab you.

So it was Fiyah-bun’ the Covid on Smile Jamaica. A couple instances listeners didn’t appreciate my snark and fuckery. And the station manager, one of my best friends, said, “But people are dying.” People die of a lot of things. As Peter Tosh sang, “let the dead, bury the dead.” I’m gonna live!

If I ‘n’ I catch a whiff of the Covid in a Missoula record shop, at least I didn’t get it under the covers locked up like under house arrest.  Lockdowns everywhere and thousands still died. Give me sunshine, black wax and a little Purple Haze!

Selah!

Tell us Rona Robert. How did you survive to Bobbylon 37, The Covid 0? Vitamin D, Cannabliss Sativa/CBD and the black wax attack

So, enjoy this podcast. Keep it in the spirit intended as not disrespect or disregard, but counter-programming and snark. Minstrels went from town to town during the Black Death of the Middle Ages.

Enjoy two Rona Robert Mini Operas. Pete Townshend got nothing on I ‘n’ I

Reggae Rona 1: (72 sec.)

So you get the  Hong Kong/Wuhan flu. Which gives you The Fever. Gonna make your Stomach Sick so Get Out of My Way. Too late to coat your lungs from the Green Doctor, The Kannabis Kevorkian. So you died and went to Dreamland, the sublime Bunny Wailer vision of heaven.

Rona Robert Mini Opera 2; 93 sec.

You’re Lost in the Supermarket.  No TP. No wipes. No bong cleaner. Quarantine and everything is closed so that’s making you So Lonely. In spite of being cooped up, you’re not feeling well so you head for the Doctor Doctor.  How you are really Sick and Tired. Alas, you’ve got the Fever

So if the streak comes to an end, and all my scoffing catches up to me and I wind up in one of Cuomo’s nursing homes? Well, at least I went out with a bang!

<Let’s Go Out With a Bang! 22 sec.>

Words of Wisdom: Night Nurse

Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives March 20, 2021 Playlist:

Set 1:

  • Rayne Overall – Covid 19; .mp3
  • Jah Shaka – Preacher Dub; Brimstone & Fire (Jah Shaka) ’83 UK vinyl dub album of the hour
  • The Ethiopians – Hong Kong Flu; Original Hit Sounds (Trojan) ‘69
  • Junior Byles – The Fever; Beat Down Babylon (Trojan) ’72 Little Willie John cover
  • Twinkle Brothers – Stomach Sick; Me No You (Twinkle) ‘81
  • Ayo – Get Out of My Way; Gravity at Last (Wrasse) 2008 Nigerian-Germ. dawta
  • The Toyes – Green Doctor; Strange Animals (CD Tunes) ’99 4:20 Cannabis Service Announcement
  • Bob Marley & the Wailers feat. Bunny Wailer – Dreamland; Complete Upsetter Box Set (Trojan) ’71 (1) vox
  • The Upsetters – Dreamland (Version); Africa’s Blood (Trojan) ‘73

Hong Kong ’69; Wuhan 2020

Set 2:

  • The Clash – Lost in the Supermarket; London Calling (Epic) ‘79
  • DubXanne feat. Big Youth – So Lonely; Police in Dub (Echo Beach) 2008 female vox
  • Chalice – Doctor Doctor; Up Till Now (RAS) ‘87
  • Neville Grant – Sick and Tired; Give Me Power (Trojan) ’73 Fats Domino cover
  • Horace Andy – Fever; Mr. Bassie (Studio One) ’72 (1) vox
  • Dennis Alcapone – Fever Teaser; My Voice is Insured for Half a Million Dollars (Trojan)  ’72 (2) dj

Sick and tired of the effing Covid

Set 3:

  • Thievery Corporation – Sound the Alarm; Radio Retaliation (ESL) 2008 DC dubbers
  • Love Clinic – Love Clinic (Ariwa) 2005 UK Roots Dawtas
  • Junior Delgado – Live Like a Hermit; Brothers and Sisters (Blue Moon)  ’79
  • Half Pint – It’s Too Late; 20 Greatest Hits (Sonic) ‘86
  • Max Romeo & Lee “Scratch” Perry – Horror Zone + Dub; Horror Zone (Nu Roots) 2016

Love clinic or a Cuomo nursing home? The choice is yours!

Set 4:

  • Sylford Walker – Cleanliness Is Godliness; Lambsbread International (Blood & Fire) ‘79
  • Michigan & Smiley – Diseases; Dancehall (Soul Jazz) ‘84
  • Michael Rose – It’s the Fever; 7” (Record Factory) ‘95
  • The Specials – Ghost Town; 12” (2 Tone) ’81 UK picture sleeve

“all the clubs have been shut down.” 1981 UK. 2020-2021 World Wide

Set 5: Vinyl Is Vital

  • Ras Midas – Plague & Armagedeon; Rastman in Exile (Disc’ AZ International) ’80 Fr.
  • Susan Cadogan – Fever; Version Like Rain (Trojan) ’75 UK Little Willie John/Peggy Lee cover
  • The Police – Don’t Stand So Close to Me; Zenyatta Mondatta (A & M) ’80 US
  • U Brown – Please Mr. Doctor; 7” (Black & White) ‘78
  • Reggae George – We Will Survive; 12” (Jah Guidance) ’83 US
  • Blackbeard (Dennis Bovell) – Electrocharge; I Wah Dub (More Cut) ’80 dub album of the hour 

99.7% recover from The Covid

Set 6: Wailers Family Tree

  • Peter Tosh – Reggaemyelitis – Wanted Dread & Alive (Rolling Stone) ’81
  • Bob Marley & the Wailers – No Water; Soul Rebels (Trojan) ’70….can quench my thirst!
  • Bunny Wailer – Burial; Sings the Wailers (Mango) ’80 US vinyl
  • Peter Tosh – The Bush Doctor; 12” (Rolling Stone) ’78 US

Cure for glaucoma, asthma and The Covid!

Set 7:

  • The Rolling Stones – Living in a Ghost Town; .mp3
  • Wayne Marshall – Covid; .mp3
  • The Maytals – Fever; Sensational Ska Explosion (Jamaican Gold) ’75 Toots passed of Covid
  • Laurel Aitken – Witchdoctor from Amsterdam (Unicorn) ’90
  • Gregory Isaacs – Night Nurse + Dub;  Night Nurse (Deluxe) (Mango) ‘82

“Night Nurse. Only you alone can quench this dry, unproductive cough.”

Set 8:

  • The Clash – The Clampdown; London Calling (Epic) ‘79
  • Thievery Corporation – Culture of Fear; Culture of Fear (ESL)
  • David Lindley – Tu Ber Cu Lucas & the Sinus Blues; El Rayo-X (Asylum) ‘81
  • Aswad – Fever; Rise & Shine Again! (Mesa) ‘95
  • 8750 Band – Stayin’ Alive; Run 4 Cover
  • David Fly – Coronavirus 19; .mp3
  • Media Bear – Safety Mask; Youtube; parody of Men With Hats You Can Dance
  • Spiritual Rez – Let’s Go Out With a Bang; Apocalypse Whenever (Spiritual Rez) 2014

Resist the media fear mongers pushing hysteria

Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives Mar. 6, 2021 – Bunny Wailer Joins Jah’s Heavenly Choir

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Bunny Wailer, b. Apr. 10, 1947 joins Jah’s Heavenly Choir

Greetings,

Crap. I ‘n’ I was still processing the loss of Reggae stalwart U Roy. I was actually at work editing a sound file when all of a sudden my phone lit up. Twitter, Rolling Stone, friends: Bunny Wailer passes of complications from a stoke he had last summer. At 73, that is far too young. But now he adds the high harmony to Bob’s tenor and Peter’s baritone.

As it was and ever shall be. Selah!

Bob was the rock star. Peter the militant. And Bunny was rightfully the mystic man of the trio. He didn’t want to fit into the rock star mold that Island owner Chris Blackwell wanted for the group. So he pulled out and re-trenched as a Rasta philosopher and dancehall pioneer. His high harmonies on Hallelujah Time*, which I lead off with today, speak to his gospel prowess.

*Great name for a Reggae radio show/podcast!

<Hallelujah Time; 32 sec.>

Bunny, Bob, Peter – locks grow in their heart!

As befit their ghetto roots that led to so much great music, they were all inter-related.  Bunny’s father lived with Bob’s mother and had a dawta. Bob’s half sister. Peter had Andrew Tosh with Bunny’s sister. So even when the 3 went their separate ways, they were still and always a family.

<Why I call it Wailers Family Tree; 30 sec.>

Bunny’s father; Bob’s mother; sister Pearl

For I ‘n’ I, Bunny Wailer always means two things. The record I purchased before I was even into Reggae: Blackheart Man. Saw it front and center at the foundation Salt Lake City record shop Cosmic Aeroplane. Great Neville Garrick cover art. Gatefold sleeve, rare for a Reggae record. Of Bunny, spliff in his mouth, a lion protruding from his third eye while an extra terrestrial looking Haile Selassie sits upon his shoulder. That album helped light the fuse.

The Blackheart Man. Indeed!

<Blackheart Man, earliest addition to the Smile Jamaica Ark-Ive; 58 sec.>

The other sublime Bunny Wailer is his stepping out on lead with the 1971 recording of Dreamland. The lyrics are all about going to heaven. (The last song on this podcast edition.) Lee “Scratch” Perry brought out that terrific mysticism that is so authentic and powerful. When its my turn, I’ve asked it to be played at any gathering my would family have.

Thank you Neville Livingston for making us enriched with the power of your music and the beauty of your voice.

bless, Bobbylon

Bonus Story: How Thievery Corporation saved me in a blizzard going over Monida Pass, Holiday 2002

The worst stretch of I-15 from Fort Benton, Mt to SLC: the dreaded Monida Pass. Snow, wind, ice, bitter cold

Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives:  March 6, 2021  Playlist: 2 min. 35 sec.

Set 1:

  • Horace Andy – Oh Lord, Why Lord; Best of (Studio One) ’72 JA vinyl; Parliament/G. Clinton cover
  • Jah Shaka – Institution Dub; Dub Masters Vol. 1 (Mango) ’89 UK vinyl dub album of the hour
  • The Wailers – Hallelujah Time; Burnin’ (Island) ’73 UK vinyl: Bunny Wailer on vox. RIP
  • Bush Chemists – Time of Tribulation; Light Up Your Spliff (Conscious Sounds) ’96 UK Mutant Dub
  • Johnnie Moore & the Skatalites – South China Sea (Take 1); 10” EP (Top Deck) ’65 UK green vinyl trumpet ska
  • Cocoa Tea – There’s an Herb Tree in My Garden; Mr. Cocoa Tea (Blue Mountain) ’85 herbtune/Ben E. King Spanish Harlem
  • Universal Speakers – We Roots + Dub; We Roots (Catch Me Time) 2012 US roots dawta group

Cover of George Clinton’s pre-funk Parliament soul/gospel ballad. Beautiful!

Set 2:

  • Thievery Corporation feat. Emilia Torriani – Heaven Is In Your Eyes; Richest Man in Babylon (ESL) 2002 DC dubbers
  • Lee Perry & the Upsetters – Soul Man; Double Seven (Trojan) ’73 cover of Sam & Dave soul
  • Judy Mowatt – Black Woman; Women Hold Up Half the Sky (Shanachie) ’76 comp.
  • Welton Irie – Man Next Door; 12” (Joe Gibbs Record Globe) ’79 FL: dj to Paragons tune
  • Johnny Clarke – Every Knee Shall Bow; Dreader Dread (Blood & Fire) ’78 comp.

Trusted compan+ion through a blizzard over Monida Pass: Xmas 2002

Set 3: Best of Smile Jamaica 31+ Years

  • Bunny Wailer – Cease Fire; Roots Radics Rockers Reggae (Shanachie) ’83 herbtune
  • Dr. Alimantado – Oil Crisis; Born For a Purpose (Greensleeves) ‘73
  • Marcia Griffiths – Give and You Get; Steppin’ (Shanachie) ‘79
  • George Faith – Midnight Hour/Ya Ya; To Be a Lover (Mango) ’77 Lee “Scratch” Perry/Black Ark: Wilson Pickett/The Coasters cover
  • Dub Specialist – Starring Dub; Dub (Heartbeat/Studio One) 70’s dub album of the hour

Among the first 10 Reggae CDs added to the Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives; Oct. 1986, Salt Lake City

Set 4:

  •  
  • Michigan & Smiley – Diseases; Dancehall (Soul Jazz) ’84 comp.
  • Wailing Souls – Wild Wild Life; Cool Runnings Soundtrack (Chaos) ’93 Talking  Heads cover
  • Black Harmony – Our Feelings; 12” (Cool Rockers) ’81 UK female lovers Rock

March 20th Live on Smile Jamaica – Crappy Ronaversary Year 1 krcl.org 909FM. 4-7 PM

Set 5: Vinyl is Vital

  • U Roy – Control Tower; Rasta Ambassador (TR Groovemaster) ’77 JA 
  • Phyllis Barnes – Black Cinderella; Yabby You and King Tubby’s All-Stars (Yabby You) early 90’s JA
  • The Specials – Stereotypes; Top Chrysalis 2 (Chrysalis) ’80 Spanish comp
  • Bunny Wailer – Ballroom Floor; Live (Mango) 12/26/82 morn in JA US

Set 6: Wailers Family Tree

  • Bunny Wailer – This Train; Blackheart Man (Mango) ’76 US – Sister Rosetta Tharpe cover
  • Bunny Wailer – Galong So; Solomonic Singles vol. 2 (Solomonic) ‘81
  • Bob Marley & the Wailing Wailers – Nice Time; Wail ‘N Soul ‘M Singles (JAD) ‘67
  • Ranny Williams feat. Peter Tosh – Pepper Seed; Arise Blackman (Trojan) ’69 Unity label single. Peter on organ
  • King Tubby – Many Moods of the King Dub; I Am the King (Sprint) Dub Album of the Hour

Set 7: Rockers do Reggae

  • David Lindley – Tu-Ber-Cu-Lucas and the Sinus Blues; El Rayo-X (Asylum) ’81 Rockers do Reggae Set
  • The Members – Clean Men; 1980: The Choice is Yours (Virgin) ’80 UK pub rock
  • Robert Palmer – Hard Head; Some People Can Do What They Like (Island) ‘76
  • Grace Jones – Love You to Life + Dub; Hurricane (Wall of Sound) 2011

Set 8: Reggae Rona Mini Opera

  • David Fly – Coronavirus Covid-19; Digital File: Reggae Rona Mini Opera
  • The Ethiopians – Hong Kong Flu; Original Hit Sound (Trojan) ‘69
  • The Clash – Lost in the Supermarket; London Calling (Epic) ‘79
  • The Police – Don’t Stand So Close to Me; Zenatta Mondatta (A & M) ‘80
  • Junior Byles – Fever; Beat Down Babylon (Trojan) ’72 Lee “Scratch” Perry prod’n
  • Junior Delgado – Live Like a Hermit; Sisters and Brothers (Blue Moon) ‘79
  • Love Clinic – Love Clinic; Love Clinic (Ariwa) 2005 UK Roots Dawtas
  • The Wailers – Dreamland; Complete Upsetter Collection (Trojan) ’71 Bunny Wailer on vox

Love Clinic or one of Cuomo’s nursing homes? The choice is yours!

Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives: Jah-bruary 20, 2021 – NASA vs. The God of Covid

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NASA rover Perserverance lands on Mars to do battle with Nergal, the Sumerian God of Covid

Greetings,

Congratulations to NASA and the Jet Propulsion Lab. They landed their Perserverance rover on Mars and have been road  tripping across the red planet sending back data.

NASA rover successfully lands on Mars

From previous fly overs and images captured there are a lot of strange anthropomorphic sites on the surface of the planet.

Martian Stonehenge?

Martian bullfrog?

Martian fertility goddess?

The most famous image is at Cydonia: The Face on Mars.  In 1976, NASA’s Viking orbiter (couldn’t land a vehicle on the planet then) captured an image of a mesa with an obvious human face.

Cydonia – Rock face mesa (or temple?) on Mars. Not a trick of the light. Two eyes, bejeweled helmet, nose, two lips. Humanoid!

The unimaginative scoffers at NASA tried to write it off as a trick of the light and shadows. But another photo captured it with even more clarity.  Even after more pictures surfaced the agency still adheres to the notion Cydonia is an optical illusion.

Now is the time to put up or shut up. Send Perserverance to the base of the mesa shaped rock formation and let’s get a close up.

But that strategy is not without risk. Many of the Russian rovers who tried to map the surface were mysteriously fried and knocked out just to be a Martian junk yard.

Could it be the Martians don’t want to be found? Ancient Astronaut Theory says yes!

Marvin the Martian gives the hairy eyeball to NASA planetary exploration

<NASA on Mars! For how long? 45 sec.>

What do I think? Thanks for asking! Mars has always been associated as a war planet of hostile intent.

Mars gets its name from the Roman God of War. The reddish hue of the planet gives off a malevolent vibe down below on Earth. Hindus called the red planet Angakara after their God of War and the occult. Wikipedia mentions that In ancient China, the advent of Mars was taken as a portent for “bane, grief, war and murder”.

Angakara – Hindu God/ancient astronaut. Mars and the God of war

My hypothesis is this. Cydonia is a temple to the Sumerian God Nergal. Consulting multiple episodes of Ancient Aliens, reading the text  of my many Sumerian religion books (don’t call what came first mythology!), this is my analysis:

In the main 7 Ancient Astronaut pantheon of so-called Sumerian Gods, Nergal is the most malevolent. His planet is Mars.

Who is Nergal? The Greeks plagiarized him as Hades. God of the Underworld. Associated with fire, war, destruction, devastation, plagues, death. Pestilence. Consider him the God of Covid!

Nergal – Sumerian God of Death

<Nergal (Mars) – The God of Covid; 2 min 55 sec>

The Martians who worship him, do not want their temple at Cydonia defiled. They can see what happens when mankind discovers/invades. Ask the Mayans and Aztecs the tender kindness shown to them by Conquistadors four hundred years ago. They are  gonna protect what’s theirs. I don’t expect that cute little rover, Perserverance, to have a very long life.

Nergal on high alert since Trump created the Space Force

<Your Ace From Outer Space; 77 sec.>

China and Elon Musk are trying to get to Mars as well. I ‘n’ I play the song by Alpha Blondy “Interplanetary Revolution” on this Smile Jamaica Ark-Ive podcast. The Martians know we never come in peace and they will not allow Starbucks, McDonald’s or Amazon on the Red Planet. No strip mining for minerals for Iphones.

Heed my prophecy, this will lead to weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. And why does any of this matter? I ‘n’ I found a fresh stack of UFO tunes by Burning Spear, Alpha Blondy, Cornell Campbell and I ‘n’ I wanted to rinse them out on my typical UFOria sets on Smile Jamaica!

As I ‘n’ I always say: Look to the skies! Do not scoff!

Fly Me to the Moon? Mr. Spear needs to re-record as Fly Me to Mars

Reggae lost a giant this week. U Roy, age 78, joined Jah’s Heavenly Choir after a lifetime of diabetes. He wasn’t the first Jamaican to chant over Rock Steady riddims in the mid 60’s, but he was the most popular through his inventive lyrical style. He was the forefather to what came after: toasting (think Ranking Roger of the (English),  Beat), 70’s Reggae deejay chanters, dancehall ragga and especially hip hop and rap.

Many of the NYC hip hop originators like Kool Herc came from Jamaican emigrants who brought their record collections north from the Island. His records helped develop the most successful new music format since rock or soul. No U Roy, no Public Enemy, Jay Z or Snoop Dogg.

The last song on this Ark-ive podcast continues his origination: Your Ace From Space which led indirectly to Neil Armstrong skanking on the Moon a year later.

Now Bob Marley and Peter Tosh have someone to chant over their riddims in Jah’s abode.

bless, Bobbylon

<RIP U Roy – inventor of toasting, deejay, hip hop and rap; 56 sec.>

U Roy – “I originate while others imitate”. Indeed

Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives: Feb. 20, 2021

Set 1:

  • Sister Frica – One in the Spirit; Rockers All-Star Explosion (Alligator) ’78 Chicago vinyl; ’85 comp.
  • The Revolutionaries? – Ital Step; Vital Dub Strictly Rockers (Hitbound) ’76 Brooklyn vinyl dub album of the hour
  • U Roy – The Originator; Rock With I (RAS) ’78; RIP inventor of deejaying
  • Zema &  the Gladiators –  Trouble Never Set; Jubilee (Melchizedek) 2009 SoCal female artist
  • Jackie Opel & the Skatalites – Valley of Green (Take 2); 4 Track EP (Top Deck) ’65 UK green vinyl
  • Culture – International Herb; Livity (RAS) ’98 4:20 Cannabis Service Announcement

Set 2:

  • Rico Rodriguez – Rico’s Special (Reloaded); 10” (Above Rock) ’76 NY picture sleeve; trombone
  • Horace Andy – Better Collie; Prime of Horace Andy (Music Club) ’75 herbtune
  • Barry Brown – Stand Firm; Far East (Hitbound) ‘81
  • L.S. Diesel Meets Digidub – Skunk Funk (The Mix); King Size Dub Volume 1 (Echo Beach) ‘95

14 down, 36 to go. Lost South Dakota legal/medical weed

Set 3:

  • Rockers Hi Fi – Transmission Central; Thievery Corporation: DJ Kicks (!K7) ’99 dub comp
  • Big Youth – Get Up Stand Up; Trojan Tribute to Bob Marley Box Set (Trojan) ’76 Marley/Tosh cover
  • Roots Uprising – Master Blaster Jammin’; 12” (Top Ranking) ’81 Miami – Stevie Wonder cover/Marley Tribute
  • Sly Dunbar – Sesame Street Theme; Front Line Dub (Virgin Front Line) ’79 comp; Dub Album of the Hour

Stevie Wonder cover/Bob Marley tribute

Set 4: Jamaican Jukebox 7″

  • Susan Cadogan – Piece of My Heart; 7” (OB International) Janis Joplin/Erma Franklin cover ’80: 7” Jamaican Jukebox Set
  • Lui Lepkie – Tribute to Bob Marley; 7” (Joe Gibbs Ultra Sound) ‘81
  • Carlton Livingston – Cold Cold Winter; 7” (Grade One)
  • Benjamin Zephaniah – 13 Dead; Dub Ranting; 7” EP (Radical Wallpaper) ‘82 UK 8 track picture sleeve

8 track, 7″ 33 and 1/3 UK dub poetry

Set 5: Vinyl is Vital

  • Ken Boothe – This Love of Ours; Reggae For Lovers  (Generation) ’79 Missisauga, Ont. Canada
  • Prince Far I – The More We Are Together; Musical History (Trojan) ’83 UK herbtune
  • Gedeon Jerrubaal – Jedna Milosc, Jedna Nie Nawisc; Reggae From Around the world (RAS) ’88 DC; Polish Reggae mixed by Adrian Sherwood
  • Amjam – Every Little Thing; Live Off the Board (Celluloid) ’87 live at CBGB punk club
  • Baby Rose – Barb Wire; Can Jam  Reggae Rockers Disco Style (Rocktone) ’81 Toronto, CA; Nora Dean cover

Polish Reggae on Smile Jamaica!

Set 6: Wailers Family Tree

  • Bob Marley & the Wailing Wailers – Stir It Up; Wail ‘N Soul ‘M Singles (JAD) ’67
  • Peter Touch – Selassie Serenade; Arise Blackman (Trojan) ’69 B-side organ instrumental
  • Marcia Griffiths – Steppin’ Out of Babylon; Women in Reggae (Shanachie) ’79 comp.
  • Bunny Wailer – Rise & Shine ; Solomonic Singles vol. 2 (Solomonic) ‘81

Short lived Wailers boutique label: Wail ‘N Soul ‘M (1966-1968)

Set 7: Best of Smile Jamaica 31+ Years

  • U Roy – Music Addict; Music Addict (RAS) ’87 RIP:
  • Aisha – Tribulation; High Priestess (Ariwa) ‘88
  • Black Uhuru – Sinsemilla; Tear It Up! Live (Mango) ’82 live in London
  • Dr. Alimantado – Sons of Thunder; Born For a Purpose (Greensleeves) ‘73
  • 4th Street Orchestra – Ah Who Seh? Ah Who She? Go Deh! (Rama) ’76 Dennis Bovell dub album of the hour

RIP at age 78. Inventor of toasting, deejay talkover, hip hop, rap

Set 8: UFO-ria. NASA on Mars

  • Burning Spear – Fly Me to the Moon; Mistress Music (Slash) ’88
  • Alpha Blondy – Interplanetary Revolution; Cocody Rock!!! (Shanachie) ‘84
  • Cornell Campbell – Stars; The Minstrel (Westside) ‘75
  • Laurel Aitken – Apollo 12; The Pama Years (Grover) ‘69
  • Bam Bam – Star Wars + Dub; Power of  a Woman (Bam Bam International) ’87 LA Vinyl/Roots Dawta
  • U Roy – Your Ace From Space; Version Galore (Treasure Isle) ‘68

U Roy – Your Ace from Space joins Jah’s Heavenly Choir

Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives: Jah-bruary 13, 2021 – Lovers rock Reggae

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Greetings,

<Smile Jamaica Lovers Rock Showcase; 80 sec.>

For three plus decades if you have listened to Smile Jamaica, you know that with the Ark-ives I ‘n’ I have given regular showcases for 420, Jah-loween, Mutant Dub, UFOria, Bobfest, Roots Dawtas, etc.

But not a full show of the Reggae genre called Lovers Rock. This format is very popular in places like the United Kingdom and the Pacific Islands. For me, it’s a little too smooth when I’m going more for grit. Many a Reggae love song won’t make the playlist if I ‘n’ I hear strings overdubbed on the track.

The day before Valentine’s Day was all Lovers Rock Smile Jamaica.

I ‘n’ I subscribe mostly to Big Youth’s “No more songs about girls”. But there are many people in JA UK and worldwide who favor more of the John Holt’s, Beres Hammond’s and Eddie Lovette’s than the Spear’s, Tosh’s and Prince Fari’s.

Me being a Reggae curmudgeon, I  ‘n’ I can and will chant down Babylon all the live long day. But in places like mid 70’s UK, in the dancehalls and shebeens around London, if you wanted the dawtas to come down and rub a dub, you better juggle-in some sweet ladies and smooth operators to the mix.

The gals dress up nice, want to go out and have a dread buy her a drink, take her on the dancefloor for a little rub a dub session and see ya later! And they weren’t gonna leave their seat for heavy militant Rasta protest.

Doing the Rub a Dub

Women artists and groups like Brown Sugar, 15 16 17 (2 sisters and a cousin), all the great Mad Professor dawtas like Aisha, Kofi and Sandra Cross ruled the airwaves with smoother Reggae focusing mostly on themes of love and love lost.

Aisha – Smile Jamaica’s favorite Roots Dawta

So maybe there is a way, I ‘n’ I can split the difference. Can I keep to the rootsy Reggae riddim accompaniment while blending in a focus of all romance and not have it sound wimpy or soggy?

Started with Gregory Isaac singing about the Night Nurse “only you alone can quench this here dry unproductive cough, cough, cough”. Dubbled up the Roots Dawta quotient,  hit the Lovers Rock stalwarts like Barrington Levy, Cornell Campbell and George Faith. End it with a half hour of Mutant Lovers.

Mutant Dub

Listen for yourself. Would this Ark-ive edition get the lovelies on the dancefloor or is it still the Roots head fraternity in the corner burning spliff and plotting revolution?

bless, Bobbylon

Smile Jamaica Lovers Rock Special Playlist: Feb. 13, 2021 

Set 1:

  • Ronnie Davis – All I Have Is Love; Crucial (Big Mac Soul Power) Can. Vinyl; Gregory Isaacs cover
  • Jah Shaka – Deliverance – Commandments of Dub Chapter 6 (Jah Shaka) ’87 UK vinyl dub album of the hour
  • Gregory Isaacs – Night Nurse; Night Nurse (Mango) ‘82
  • 15 16 17 – Someone Special; Magic Touch (DEB) ‘79
  • Toots & the Maytals – My Name Is So Strong; Pass the Pipe (Mango) ‘79
  • Cornell Campbell – Girl of My Dreams; Natty Dread in a Greenwich Farm (Striker Lee) ‘75
  • The Silvertones – Take a Little Love; Rare Reggae Grooves From Studio One (Heartbeat/Studio One) ‘79

“Night Nurse, only you alone can quench this dry, unproductive cough, cough cough…..”

Set 2:

  • June Lodge – Kiss and Say Goodbye; Someone Loves You Honey (Joe Gibbs) ’80 Manhattans cover
  • Culture – Roots Girl; Roots & Culture (Jah Life) ‘82
  • Junior Delgado – Love Tickles Like Magic; Treasure Found (Incredible Music) ‘75
  • Brown Sugar – I’m in Love With a Dreadlocks; I’m in Love With a Dreadlocks (Soul Jazz) ’79 UK female lovers rock trio
  • George Faith w/ Dillinger – To Be a Lover; To Be a Lover (Mango) ’77 Lee “Scratch” Perry/Black Ark prod’n

Set 3:

  • Pat Rhoden – Boogie On Reggae Woman: Just My Imagination vol. 3 (Trojan) ’75 Stevie Wonder cover
  • Akabu – My Love; Warrior Queen (ON U Sound) ’95 UK female group
  • Aswad – Hooked on You; To the Top (Simba) ‘86
  • Leroy Smart – This Love; King Tubbys at the Controls vol. 2 (Original) late 70’s
  • Blackbeard – Electrocharge;  I Wah Dub (EMI) Dub ’80 Album of the Hour

Set 4:

  • Afro Omega – All My Love; Pick Up the Pieces EP (Afro Omega) 2006 SLC w/ female vox
  • Joe Higgs – My Baby Still Loves Me; Life of Contradiction (Esoldun) ‘75
  • Empress Rasheda – True Love; Hail H.I.M. (Roots) ‘95
  • Barrington Levy – Loving You; Time Capsule (RAS) ‘82***End of Set 4

Set 5: Vinyl is Vital Lovers Set

  • The Heptones – Soul Sister; Legends From Studio One (Trenchtown) ’72 Allen Toussaint cover: 
  • Barry Brown – True Love Is the Answer; Step It Up Youthman (Jackpot) ’79 UK
  • Jah Woosh – Falling in Love; Dreadlocks Affair (Trojan) ’75 UK dj to Midnight Train to Georgia
  • Honey Boy – Will You Be My Girl; In Dreamland (Taretone) ’81 UK
  • Sheila Hylton – Breakfast in Bed; 12” (Ballistic) ’79 UK Dusty Springfield cover

Set 6: Wailers Family Tree Lovers Rock

  • Bob Marley & the Wailers – Turn Your Lights Down Low; Exodus (Tuff Gong) ’78 Peter Tosh feat. Gwen Guthrie – Nothing But Love; Wanted Dread & Alive (EMI America) ’81 US vinyl
  • Marcia Griffiths – The Way I Feel About You; Steppin’ (Shanachie) ‘79
  • Bunny Wailer – Love Fire; Solomonic Singles vol. 2 (Solomonic) ‘78

Set 7:

  • Linton Kwesi Johnson – Lorraine; Bass Culture (Mango) ‘80
  • Aisha – Love Is So Simple; High Priestess (Ariwa) ‘88
  • Susan Cadogan – Say a Little Prayer; Songs of Aretha (Ariwa) 2019 Aretha Franklin covers

Set 8: Lovers Rock Mutant Dub Set

  • Singers & Players – Thing Called Love; Revenge of the Underdog (ON U Sound) ’82 
  • New Age Steppers – My Love; 7” (Statik) ’81 UK picture sleeve
  • Bim Sherman – You Are the One; ON U Sound Reggae Archives vol. 2 (ON U Sound) BB Seaton cover
  • Claude Fontaine – Love Street; Claude Fontaine (Innovative Leisure) 2019 Fr. dawta
  • Dry & Heaven – Love Explosion; Full Contact (BSI) 2000 Jah-pon w/ female vox
  • UB40 – Love Is All Is Alright; UB44 (Virgin)

Roots Dawta: Claude Fontaine – French Mutant Lovers Rock

Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives: Jah-bruary 6, 2021 – Happy 76th Bob Marley!

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Greetings,

<28 days of Bob Marley T Shirts; 1 min. 44 sec.>

  • Bob baseball cap? Check!
  • Bob hoodie? Check!
  • Bob necklace? Check!
  • Bob ID card? Check!
  • Bob mask/face diaper? Check!
  • Bob lighters, stash tin and grinder? Check, check, check!

Wore a Bob watch for 20 years til the face faded out. Johnny Law got my Bob pipe and I ‘n’ I have never come across a Bob bong.

“Hello Bong Hut. Do you ship to zip code 84112?” CLICK. “Hello? Hello?”

Now let’s celebrate Bob Marley’s 76th birthday on Smile Jamaica on his actual birth date: Feb. 6, 2021 – Feb. 1945….carry the one, by I ‘n’ I liberal arts math: 76 years!

Last year when Rona was raging the most, since I ‘n I couldn’t go into work, I cleaned out my closets and pulled together a closet full of Bob Marley T-shirts. Feb. 1 to Feb. 28th.

It’s not Bob Marley birth day it’s Bob Marley birth month! Gwan see if I ‘n’ I have 28 T shirts. I’ll probably go up until Apr. 20th flying Bob’s visage on  my person. (Never go on the Zoom camera at work. Hate Zoom. Hate. Hate. Hate it.)

Choice for Feb. 6, 2021 – livicated to the African Herbsman easy skanking his way through a crocus bag of Kaya

<Happy 76th Birthday Tribute to Bob Marley; 2 min. 29 sec.>

The Digital Millennium Copywrong Act makes this showcase mostly cover tunes. But I ‘n’ I do get to play 4 Bob tunes and stay legal. Back in the good old days I might have done Bob from Catch a Fire to Uprising or Bob A-Z (Ambush to Zimbabwe), but the love is  there from Bob’s family and contemporaries and I ‘n’ I (the Royal Rasta we)

A couple stories from three decades of Bob’s life and works. I ‘n’ I been tracking the Wailers from before their main Island albums (Catch a Fire ’73 to Uprising ’80)

The group was tired of being ripped off. Selling 80,000 copies of a hit ska single and collecting all of $25 dollars. Latest Smile Jamaica chronological album is a collection of when the group started their own label in true independent spirit: Wail ‘N Soul ‘M. It lasted a couple years yet the vicious Jamaican record industry wouldn’t let them into the record shops, radio payola and pressing plant. It lasted two years, but had some great post ska pre-rocksteady gems and a brilliant logo. And I ‘n’ I will hear more in the months to come. Rare and fresh roots!

<Wail ‘N Soul ‘M label; 84 sec.>

Wailing Wailers: Wail ‘N Soul ‘M logo

<Bob Marley the perfectionist aka The Skipper; 49 sec.>

Another quick story: When Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer went solo, Bob became the captain. And much like James Brown, he would fine band members if they missed a note or were late for sound check. Even the I Three (Rita, Marcia, Judy) would pay up if they missed a dance step. They all called him The Skipper.

The Skipper runs a tight ship

<Marley musical tributes; 32 sec.>

Most people didn’t know Bob was terminally ill. He was on a highly (ha ha)  successful tour backing Uprising. Disco mixes of “Could You Be Loved” and “Comin’ in From the Cold” were finally being played in the black dance clubs. His show was a rock experience like any stadium white act. He had crossed over.

Then he collapsed while running in New York Central Park. But May 11,. he went up to Jah’s Heavenly Choir. A whole heap of Reggae stalwarts wrote up lyrics, went into the studio and record fitting tributes which are showcased on this podcast of Smile Jamaica.

<Bob as Prophet Joseph; 18 sec.>

What greater tribute to Bob’s life could there be when Judy Mowatt composed Joseph comparing Bob to the Biblical Prophet Joseph. Leading the people out of Babylon back to Zion. Tremendous ballad.

Judy Mowatt

<Redemption Song the fitting end; 1 min. 34 sec.>

The fitting end was the last song on the last album Bob recorded while alive: “RedemptionSong” from Uprising. Two of my 4 Bob selections are the 12″ band mix, uptempo but the ballad version is sublime.

Bob and his acoustic guitar singing about:

Old pirates yes them rob I, take I to the merchant ship, minutes after they took I from the bottomless pit. But my hand was made strong, by the hand of the Almighty.

We forward in this generation triumphantly.

*****

As poignant an ending as John Lennon’s “Starting Over”. Had he lived and grew his audience through 80’s and MTV, touring, success in the black market, his world wide following for revolutionaries everywhere he would have been right up there with the Michael Jackson’s, Prince’s, Madonna’s and Springsteen’s.

Selah!

bless, Bobbylon

The Skipper leads the band of Jah’s Heavenly Choir

Smile Jamaica Ark-ives: Feb. 6, 2021 – Bob Marley Birthday Tribute

Set 1:

  • Bob Marley & the Wailers – Smile Jamaica; Pressure Drop (Island) ’77 UK Lee “Scratch” Perry mix 
  • Chalawa – Natural Mystic; Exodus Dub (Weston) Canadian dub album of the hour
  • Cedella Marley Booker – He’s a Rastaman; Awake Zion (Rykodisc) ’84 Bob’s Mom
  • Ijahman Levi – Bob & Friends Over There; Inside Out (Jahmani) ‘87
  • Ranking Joe – Tribute to Bob Marley; Rebel DJ (Jam Rock) ’81 Miami vinyl
  • Winston Reedy & Tim Hain – Reggae Man; 12” (Priority) ’85 UK

Bob’s Mom

Set 2:

  • Ky-Mani Marley – Dear Dad; CD Single (Gee Street) ’99 child 10 of 11
  • Session feat. Azeem – Tribute to Bob Marley; Tribute to Marley (M. Al’s) ’81 Oakland, CA vinyl.
  • The Abyssinians – Jah Marley; Last Days (Tabou1) ‘97
  • Sue Chaloner – Missin’ Mr. Marley; 12” (CNR) ’81 Can.

Child 10 of 11

Set 3: 7” Jamaican Jukebox Set

  • Faith D’Aguilar – Reggae Pioneers; 7” (Gorgon) 
  • Lone Ranger – Tribute to Marley; 7” (Studio One)
  • Prince Ital Joe – I Miss Bob Marley; 7” (Royal Safari Music) Hollywood CA
  • Errol Scorcher – Sounds of Hon. Marley; 7” (Dance Hall)

Set 4:

  • Bobby & Carol Kalphat – Memories of Bob; 7″ (Hit Vibes)
  • Alpha Blondy – Mystic Night Move; Masada (World Enterprise) ’92 Ivory Coast
  • Macka B – Bob; Everybody Loves Bob Marley (Neos) 2006 comp.
  • Shaka Man – If It Wasn’t For the Rastaman (Tribute to Bob); 2030 A.D. (Majicaa) 80’s LA vinyl
  • Jah Thomas – Tribute to the Reggae King; 12″ (Midnight Rock) ’81 JA
  • Moods Unlimited Orchestra – Could You Be Loved; Get Up Stand Up (Image) ’95 mellow instrumentals

Set 5: Vinyl is Vital

  • Culture – Psalms of Bob Marley; Good Things (RAS) ’89 DC
  • Papa Finnigan & Junior Ranking – Tribute to Bob Marley; Two the Hard Way (Heartbeat) ’82 DC Cambridge, MA
  • Sister Carol – Dedicated to Bob Marley; Black Cinderella (Jah Life) ’84 Brooklyn
  • Horace Andy – Bob Lives On; Exclusively (Solid Groove) ’81 UK
  • Jah Batta – Great Superstar; 12″ (Top Ranking) ’81 Miami; dj to Horace Andy

Set 6:

  • Bob Marley & the Wailing Wailers – Freedom Time; Wail ‘N Soul ‘M Singles (JAD) ’66
  • Mikey Dread – In Memory (Jacob, Marcus, Marley); S.W.A.L.K. (Heartbeat) ’82
  • Bankie Banx- Remember Bob; Soothe Your Soul (Redemption)
  • Stevie Wonder – Master Blaster (Jammin’) – Hotter Than July (Motwn) ’80
  • Stevie Wonder – Master Blaster (Dub); 7″ (Tamla) ’80 US

Set 7:

  • Judy Mowatt – Joseph; Black Woman (Shanachie) ’76 Bob as Biblical prophet
  • Toots & the Maytals – Marley’s Gone (HIs Songs Live On); Live at Reggae Sunsplash (Genes) ’82 Montego Bay JA
  • Winston Groovy – Night Shift; 12″ (Sound City) ’84 UK

Set 8:

  • Randeesh – Bob Marley Is a  River of Love; Courage
  • I-Three – He’s a Legend; Beginning (EMI America) ’86
  • Everton Blender – Bob; Piece of the Blender (Heartbeat)  ’96
  • Bob Marley & the Wailers – Redemption Song; 12″ (Tuff Gong) ’80 JA band version
  • Bob Marley & the Wailers – Redemption Song; Uprising (Tuff Gong) ’80

Podcasting at the Marriot Library

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Podcasting: Ipod + broadcasting

Podcasting at the Marriott Library – Robert J. Nelson

Contact: robert.nelson@utah.edu

  • Head, Media Studios – Marriott Library, University of Utah
  • Audio Projects Librarian
  • Host, Reggae Radio show Smile Jamaica: KRCL 90.9FM; 1989-Present
  • Host, Radio Interview program Radioactive: KRCL 90.9FM 2003-2012

  • Podcasting – definition and personal experience
  • Podcasting is digital storytelling
  • Podcasting demographics
  • Podcasting: best tips & bad habits
  • Podcasting in the Audio Studio/Marriott Library/home
  • Covid-19 Audio Studio/podcasting impacts
  • Questions?

WHAT IS PODCASTING?

A mash-up of the IPod, Apple’s pre-Smartphone digital music player + “casting” as in radio /television broadcasting

Oxford English Dictionary definition:

A digital audio file made available on the Internet for downloading to a computer or mobile device, typically available as a series, new installments of which can be received by subscribers automatically. 

Smile Jamaica’s experience in pre-podcasting/digital archives

  • Circa 2001: upload .mp3s of individual Smile Jamaica shows to KRCL webpage for stream or download
  • Promote through personal email list and Usenet discussion group: Rec.Music.Reggae: link to Smile Jamaica page
  • Hosted until the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) enforcement required KRCL to shut down streams over copyright infringement.  Circa 2005.

The DMCA criminalizes the act of circumventing an access control, whether or not there is actual infringement of copyright itself. In addition, the DMCA heightens the penalties for copyright infringement on the Internet(3)

Author’s personal collection

Digital  Radio Archive/Podcast insights

Smile Jamaica Archives: 40 years of record collecting (author’s personal collection)

Goal: How to get listeners world wide to consume Smile Jamaica if they don’t live in Northern Utah to hear the show live on terrestrial radio?

Issues are the exact same for modern podcasters:

  1. On-Demand media democratization – podcasts are usually free
  2. Digital media utility – listeners can listen on their time, not my time
  3. Market to target audience – why Smile Jamaica? A music archive for Reggae music collectors/obsessives. All vinyl or cd. No digital
  4. Storytelling imperative – no stories on Itunes Music, Pandora, Prime

Podcasting Demographics

Monthly Online Audio Listening by Age:

Age Range 2018 2019 2020
12 to 34 85% 87% 86%
35 to 54 69% 70% 76%
55 up 33% 40% 42%
  • Course assignments
  • Professional development
  • Anecdotal research
  • Life long learning
  • Personal enrichment and narratives

Podcast assignment

  • 5-8 minute length
  • Topic: intersection of human and natural systems related to the concept of sustainability. Must incorporate equity.

Podcast workflow:

  1. Writing assignment for an auditory outcome – write the narrative for the body of the podcast first:
    • Consider your audience (script written with audience in mind) – where do they live? interests? hobbies? cultural/political identification?
    • Make it conversational
    • Avoid jargon or inside jokes which shut-out the listener
    • Present any data/survey results in context. Overwhelming your listeners with a lot of figures can be hard to follow.
    • Don’t assume listeners are as well versed in the topic as you are
    • Brevity is essential. Make every sentence/concept impactful – think in terms of a lawyer giving opening arguments in a trial
    • Vocalizing a narrative script avoids annoying place holders like “ands” “umms”, “y’knows”
    • Credits and acknowledgements at the end.

2. Format of any interview results

    • Write out your questions
    • Ask open ended questions that begin with: Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? – These responses can not be answered “yes” or “no”.
    • Avoid asking questions that begin with “Did” or “Do”? 
      • They reflect a bias and it stops the conversation
      • If you do ask “Did” or “Do” ask your guest to elaborate why “yes” or “no”

3. Read your narrative aloud several times

  • Make it personable and conversational
  • Don’t drone or mumble
  • Speak with authority and confidence

4. Record your narrative

Marriott Library resources:

  • Audio Studio – schedule a time with Robert to record (on campus Tuesdays and Thursdays)
  • Podcast Kits – check out from the Knowledge Commons Desk on Level 2 of the Marriott Library
  • Podcast Booth (in development) – A podcast recording booth on Level 2 Protospace. Hoping to come online in March

Home:

  • Smartphone recorder/digital recorder
  • Record in a space away from windows, air returns, barking dogs, crying babies, television, etc.
  • Hang a heavy blanket over windows.
  • Consider upgrading your microphone to record digitally to a laptop

Blue Snowball. USB condenser mic. Check out from Knowledge Commons in the Marriott or $50 for your own

5. Edit your Audio

  • I teach Audacity. It’s easy to record and edit. Garage Band is another free and easy option.
  • Import your audio and edit a final mix. 
    • If you don’t know how to edit sound, I can assist
    • YouTube tutorials are also very easy to learn sound
  • Make sure your Audio is in the sweet spot of sound.
    • YouTube video audio: Average on a sound meter should read between -12db and -9b
    • Peaks should be no higher than -1db. If you get a red clip mark on the audio, it is too loud and should be de-amplified to the ideal
    • Record 20 seconds of room tone (silence) and then use the noise reduction filter  under Effects to improve recording.
    • On Audacity your wave amplification of sound should be “colored” between -5db and +5db

6. Record your introduction after you have finished your podcast edit:

  • It should be no longer. than 30 seconds
  • It should capture the objective of the assignment:
    • A statement of your research question
    • How your results relate to sustainability
    • How your ‘cast incorporates equity
    • Your methodology
    • A brief statement of your research findings
  • Place edited intro audio before the narrative on your final podcast edit

Podcasting in a Pandemic:

  • Unmediated access suspended
  • Media Studios, (usually Robert), acts as sound engineer to ensure social distancing, PPE
  • 1 mic recording, no mask, using a disposable microphone cover

 

Smile Jamaica Jah-nuary 23, 2021: Oumuamua and UFO-ria!

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Intergalactic artificial space visitor: Ouomuamua – Hawaiian for “probe”

Greetings,

I was reading RT earlier in the month and they are a good source of Extra Terrestrial runnings.

<Oumuamua and the Ancient Astronaut redemption>

They had an article regarding first proof of intergalactic visitation from outside our  Milky Way galaxy

Harvard astronomer says alien technology visited in 2017, may have been distant civilization’s trash

Now this isn’t coming from I ‘n’ I, your pothead Ancient Astronaut Theorist/Anunnaki enthusiast. It’s not coming from big haired Swiss Greek dude Giorgio.

You not down with Ancient Aliens on History Channel? Feel free to scoff. This is coming from Harvard University. Not some egghead in the Astronomy Department trying to make tenure.

This came from the Head of the Dept. himself, Prof. Avi Loeb.

The story is this:

Hawaii has the Haleakala Observatory. In early 2017, astronomers monitoring the feed saw a long cylindrical object pass by. The first time something crossed into our galaxy from beyond.

They named it Oumuamua which is Hawaiian for “scout”. I ‘n’ I watched enough John Wayne movies to know scouts were the ones who went out and reported on enemy movements.

Let’s call Oumuamua for what it really is: a probe. An advance craft seeking info throughout the skies and reporting back. Just like we have been doing since Carl Sagan was sending space probes, The Voyager 1977, into the outer reaches of our galaxy.

Carl Sagan believer in extraterrestrials until “they” threatened to take away his Cosmos TV show

But in alien pop culture, probe means this:

Everyone tends to think Flying Saucer, but just as prevalent are UFO’s shaped like cigars. Oumuamua is aerodynamic for long haul space probing…err, scouting.

In Prof. Loeb’s forthcoming book,  Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth, he describes why it’s not a comet or natural phenomenon:

“What would happen if a caveman saw a cellphone? He’s seen rocks all his life, and he would have thought it was just a shiny rock,”

Prof. Loeb’s observations:

  1. Oumuamua is a rare shape and was mistaken for a comet. The shape acts as a sun-sail which projects itself via sunlight energy.
  2. Unusual brightness for a celestial entity. 10x more than the usual asteroid or comet
  3. In addition to its blinding brightness, that brightness fluctuates unnaturally or predictably.
  4. Varying speeds and odd trajectory which suggests its own sort of post-gravitational acceleration when it should be decelerating as it moves away from our sun
  5. It could be a piece of space junk discarded by aliens like we have littered our galaxy with terrestrial made space material.

From the RT article: “The only way to look for [alien civilizations] is to look for their trash, like investigative journalists who look through celebrities’ trash,” Loeb said.

Terrestrial space junk littering the skies

 

Of course Prof. Loeb’s colleagues are giving the hairy eyeball to Oumuamua’s artificial bonafides and say it’s just a far travelling comet. One which does not have any water vapor tail.

And the scoffing begins with the same dismissive attitude as how humans built massive structures like the Great Pyramids, Puma Punku and Baalbek using stone and bone tools when massive cranes and 21st century technology could not rebuild those ancient wonders today.

Aliens took their tools with them when they left. Obviously.

More from RT:

Loeb has a simple response to those who deny potential new breakthroughs for fear of upending established conventions. “Reality is the one thing that never goes away, even if you ignore it,” he says.

I ‘n’ I don’t have a Ph.D. in Astronomy but that statement fits my personal philosophy of “your perception is not my reality!”

Prof. Avi Loeb, head of Harvard Astronomy Dept. Soon come on Ancient Aliens

And why does any of this matter? I ‘n’ I was in the mood to play some UFO Reggae

bless, Bobbylon

Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives: Jan. 23, 2021

Set 1:

  • Tapper Zukie – Jah Jah Is I Guiding Star; Dread Locks Rasta (Attack) ’76 JA vinyl
  • King Tubby – King Tubby’s Shock Attack; King Tubby’s Boom Shot  vol. 4 (Yabby You) ‘80’s JA vinyl dub album of the hour
  • Zema – Keep Justice; Stranger in the Gates (Melchizedek) ’97 So Cal roots dawta
  • Bedouin Soundclash feat. Vernon Buckley – Jealousy Get Free; Street Gospels (Sideonedummy) 2007 Canadian group feat. Maytones singer
  • Prince Jazzbo – Dreadlock Corner; Ital Corner (Clocktower) ’76 Lee “Scratch” Perry/Black Ark prod’n
  • The Deacons – Hungry Man; 10” EP (Top Deck) ’65 green vinyl ska
  • Daweh Congo – Proverbs + Dub; Guidance/Guidance Dub (Charm) 2000 4:20 Cannabis Service Announcement

Set 2:

  • Peter Broggs – International Farmer; Rejoice (RAS) ’97 herbtune
  • Ayo – Only You; Ayo (Interscope) 2008 Nigerian-German dawta
  • Aggrolites – Countryman Fiddle; Unleashed Live vol. 1 (Brixton) 2011 So Cal ska/regge
  • Lloyd Hemmings & Ranking Joe – Garrison; Return of the Rub-a-Dub- Style (Echodelic) 2011
  • Silver Fox – Jamaica Nice; 10” (Jah Life) ’80 Brooklyn

Set 3:  Best of Smile Jamaica 31+ Years

  • Wailing Souls – Bredda Gravalicious; Very Best of (Greensleeves) ’77 comp.: 
  • Black Slate – Legalize Collie Herb; Amigo (Ensign) ’80 UK herbtune
  • Ika Black – Special Love; Special love (Keyman) ’90 UK female lovers rock
  • Burning Spear – Travelling/Walking; Spear Burning (Pressure Sounds) ‘75
  • Dub Syndicate/Centry – 2001 Struggle (Remix); 10” (ON U Sound) ’96 UK

Set 4:

  • Dennis Alcapone – The Sky’s  the Limit (Flying Machine); Guns Don’t Argue (Trojan) ’72 UFOria
  • Afro Omega – Love Is What I Need; Live at the Lazy Moon (bootleg)
  • Thievery Corporation – Amerimacka; Babylon Central Soundtrack (ESL)
  • Dry & Heavy – Private Plan Dub; 10”  EP (Green Tea) 2000 Jah-pon

Set 5: Vinyl is Vital Set

  • Tony Bell & Kutchie – Free ‘dem; Mercy (Blue Moon) ’89 Chicago: 
  • Doreen Schaeffer – This Love; Pirates Choice (Studio One) ’80 JA
  • Trinity Meets the Mighty Diamonds – Wait in Vain; Trinity Meets the Mighty Diamonds (Relic World) ’89 JA
  • Horace Andy – Cry Fe Me; Fresh (Island in the Sun) ’87 US
  • Barry Brown – Please Mr. Officer; Barry Brown (Thompson Sound) ’79 JA herbtune
  • Bullwackie’s All Stars – Black Heart Dub (Senrab) ’76 dub album of the hour

Set 6:  7” Jamaican Jukebox

  • Rob Smarley (aka The Gladiators) – Holiday Ride; 7” (Portland) ’78: 
  • Nedley Denton – I am a Lion; 7” (Breathern (sic) of Art Soundtrack)
  • Lasana Bandele’ – Col’ War; 7” (Storitela) picture sleeve
  • Dawn & Christine – Panadol; 7” (M & M) herbtune
  • The Lions – New Girl; 7” (Lions Bread) 2010 So Cal instrumental

Albert Griffiths of The Gladiators – New member of Jah’s Heavenly Choir

Set 7: Wailers Family Tree

  • Peter Tosh – You Can’t Fool Me Again; Can’t Blame the Youth (JAD) ’69
  • Bob Marley & the Wailers – African Herbsman (New Mix); Best of Bob Marley & the Wailers (Deluxe Edition)  (Studio One) ’70 herbtune
  • Dennis Brown – Armagideon; 7” (Emmanuel) ’84 Bunny Wailer cover
  • Bunny Wailer – Solidarity; Solomonic Singles vol. 2 (Solomonic) ’77 dub to Armagideon

Set 8: UFO-ria Set

  • Kofi – Reggae Starship; Black Coffee (Ariwa) ’90 UK dawta: 
  • Lee “Scratch” Perry – Angel Gabriel and the Space Boots; Lord God Muzick (Heartbeat) ‘90
  • Derrick Morgan – Do the Moon Hop; Do the Moonwalk (Trojan)
  • U Roy – Your Ace From Space; Version Galore (Treasure Isle) ’68 JA vinyl
  • Unity – Stargazing; Heat Your Body Up (Virgin) ’83 UK vinyl
  • Sister Carol – Lost inna Space; Jah Disciple (RAS) ’89 DC vinyl
  • Sly & Robbie – Space Invaders; Syncopation (Joe Gibbs) ’82 Miami vinyl
  • Tena Stelin – UFO + Unidentified Flying Dub; Lion Symbol (Jah Warrior) ‘99

Smile Jamaica is hosted by Robert Nelson on 90.9 FM KRCL in Salt Lake City, Utah (Saturdays, 4-7 p.m. MT). Ark-ives available weekly here at the Smile Jamaica blog.