Tag Archives: Bunny Wailer

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

February 26, 2021 Robert Nelson Leave a comment

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.

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 (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

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

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

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
4^th 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

February 19, 2021 Robert Nelson Leave a comment

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.

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.

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

January 29, 2021 Robert Nelson Leave a comment

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:

Oumuamua is a rare shape and was mistaken for a comet. The shape acts as a sun-sail which projects itself via sunlight energy.
Unusual brightness for a celestial entity. 10x more than the usual asteroid or comet
In addition to its blinding brightness, that brightness fluctuates unnaturally or predictably.
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
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.

Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives Jah-vember 7, 2020 – 15 down, 35 to go!

November 13, 2020 Robert Nelson Leave a comment

Greetings,

<Cannabis 2020 – 15 down, 35 to go! 68 sec.>

Orange Daddy vs. Qtip? Didn’t care. Cannabis, legalization to rule the nation? That I n’ I care about.

In the Congressional and Presidential, the negativity is so disgusting, I ‘n’ I fall back on the Rasta notion of isms and schisms. Demopublicans vs. Republicrats. Fiyah bu’n!

I’m on the Wailers Party! (400 Years lyrics)

<Peter Tosh – 400 Years of the same philosophy>

We sick an’ tired of-a your ism-skism game
Dyin’ ‘n’ goin’ to heaven in-a Jesus’ name, lord.

On election night, I ‘n’ I was sitting on the couch watching an X-Files rerun and dialing up my dispensary route for my Vegas vacation next week. (Cratedigging in a pandemic? Better than staying home waiting for The Covid to tag me in Utah. Rona Rage, let’s get on the road!)

Two fingers of Jim Beam, strawberry cough and my Ipad. Ding! Since I was scoping out Weedmaps, I got notifications.

Ding! New Jersey puff puff passes adult use Cannabis (12 down, 38 to go)
Ding! Mississippi puff puff passes medical marijuana (36 states including DC)
Ding! South Dakota puff puff passes medical and recreational marijuana (13 down, 37 to go)
Ding! Montana, my birthplace, puff puff passes recreational marijuana (14 down, 36 to go)
Ding! Arizona (where my Snowbird parents live half the year) puff puff passes marijuana (15 down, 35 to go)

My parents – Trump voters who also voted for the hippie lettuce.

Add DC legal and 16 of 51. Almost 1/3 of the nation states/entities. The 100 year American war against nature is crumbling! Like I ‘n’ crumble Sour Diesel inna mi Bob Marley grinder!

List of states medical and legal Seven Leaf

When you look at the map, the West is mostly covered. Even in the Mormon Triangle states of Utah, Wyoming and Idaho, Utah has medical. 4 dispensaries according to Weedmaps!

For I ‘n’ I, it is 1300 miles from Fort Benton Montana (home) to Sun City West, AZ (parents winter home). Except for that stretch through Idaho and Utah, I’m not a criminal.

Selah!

Bobbylon

Don’t get complacent, tokers. Joe Biden is the ultimate drug warrior. Not a fan of the Seven Leaf. Neither is his VP. Be vigilant!

Set 1: Legalize Herb Set

The Heptones – Mr. President; Party Time (Mango) ’76 US vinyl; Lee “Scratch” Perry/Black Ark prod’n
Jah Lloyd – Herbs of Dub (Teem) ’74 UK blue vinyl dub album of the hour
Johnny Clarke – Legalize It; Authorized Rockers (Virgin Front Line) Peter Tosh cover: 15 down, 35 to go election weed set!
Black Slate – Legalise Collie Herb; Amigo (Ensign) ’80 UK
King Kong – Legalize It; Rumble Jumble Life (Massive B) 2005
Kid Loco – Here Comes the Munchies; Kill Your Darling (Division 1) 2001 Fr. Dubber
Gracy & the Herbman Band – Forward Up; See Mi Yah (Funfundvierzig) ’91 Germany dawta on the vox

Set 2:

Aswad – Caution; Roots Revival (Ark 21) ’99 Marley cover
Cornell Campbell – Just My Imagination; Sings Hits From Studio One & More (Rhino UK) ’80 Smokey Robinson cover
Culture – Down in Jamaica; Live in Africa (RAS) Dec. 2000 in South Africa
Buume – Seriously; 10” (ZTP) 2006 UK militant steppers

Set 3:

Sister Carol – Wild Thing; Something Wild Soundtrack (MCA) ’86 cover of the Troggs
Mighty Diamonds – I Need a Roof; I Need a Roof (Hitbound) ‘76
Prince Far I – Rain a Fall; Under Heavy Manners (Joe Gibbs) ‘76
Ranking Dillinger – African World Wide; None Stop Disco Style (Clocktower) ‘78

Set 4:

Fun Boy Three – Farmyard Connection; Waiting (Chrysalis) ’85 herbtune: farmers Peter & Bob
Bob Andy & Marcia Griffiths – Still the Most; Sweet Memories (Nectar) ’76 married at the time
Mikey Dread – Barcoding; Life Is a Stage (Dread at the Controls) 2007
Dubble – South Side Dub; 10” (Dub Tunnel) 2012 UK militant steppers cover

Farmyard Connection: Two farmers named Peter & Bob

Set 5: Vinyl is Vital

Myrna Hague – Melody Life; Melody Life (Studio One) 70’s JA Marcia Griffiths cover
Horace Andy – Jah Rainbow; Natty Dread a Weh She Want (New Star) ’78 JA
Inner Circle – I’m a Rastaman; Ready for the World (Capitol) ’77 US Marley cover
The Police – Don’t Stand So Close to Me; Zenyatta Mondatta (A & M) ‘81
Keith Hudson – Leggo Dub; Brand (Pressure Sounds) ’77 Dub Album of the Hour

Set 6: Rockers do Reggae

Bobby & the Midnites – Book of Rules; Bobby & the Midnites (Arista) ’81 Heptones cover:
Eric Clapton – Swing Low Sweet Chariot; There’s One in Ebvery Crowd (Polydor) ‘75
Bad Brains – Jah Love; Into the Future (Megaforce) 2012
Pretenders – Waste Not Want Not; Pretenders II (Sire) ‘81

Set 7: Wailers Family Tree

Peter Tosh – 400 Years; The Toughest (Heartbeat) ’70
Bob Marley & the Wailers – Mellow Mood; Best of (Studio One) ‘67
Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers – 666; Hey World! (EMI America) ‘86
Bunny Wailer – Dreamland; Solomonic Singles vol. 1 (Solomonic) ‘76

Set 8: Mutant Dub

Cooly G feat. Dubzee Up North – Blue Stems; Presents Dub Organizer Part 1 (Dub Organizer) 2012 UK female dubstepper
2 Bad Card – Sergio Mendes (Part 1); Hustling Ability (ON U Sound) ‘95
Aldubb – Big Time; Let There Be Dub (One Drop) 2010 Germany
X-O-Dus – English Black Boys; 12” (Factory) ’80 UK
Fela & Afrika 70 – Zombie; Zombie (Knitting Factory) ’77 Nigerian jazz/Halloween

Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives: Jah-gust 22, 2020 – “Just in Case” Vinyl!

August 28, 2020 Robert Nelson Leave a comment

“Nancy sit upon the lap of Mr. T but she nah waan check for the good sensi!”

Greetings,

I ‘n’ I went back to work last week. Hadn’t been in since the Earthquake in Mid March and then everything got shut down.

There was hardly anyone there, but I had to make sure everything was working for a new semester of Covidized media.

I manage the Audio and Video Studios for the Marriott Library at the University of Utah campus. Audio Studio is used heavily for podcast creation.

New rules: 1 person can use a microphone, with a “condom”. 2 people have to record with their masks on. I ‘n’ I got the hairy eyeball from users on that suggestion. Not my rules, but I’m the Sheriff and have to enforce them.

So I ‘n’ I get home, without incident, and just sort of randomly cough. Immediately I thought. Oh no! Is the streak over?

Then I saw this:

I ‘n’ I said to my boss: I’m taking the first of classes as vacation. Let those Covid infested University students come on campus get their books, student loans, course registration, etc.

Spewing The Covid everywhere. Let it settle and then I’ll come back.

I’m not afraid of The Covid, but I ‘n’ I would just assume minimize risk where possible. I ‘n’ I have two nephews, one already picked up a case – no symptoms, no fear – so I know the mindset of the youth.

None of them are going to classmate’s funerals, so they feel immortal. Yet, there is the Reggae Saying that I ‘n’ I know and live by:

<New broom sweeps clean, Old broom knows the corners>

My main reason is that as long as I ‘n’ I stay Covid free, I get to juggle the black wax at KRCL. They are Karen’s. I’m not. Right now, I’m the only Saturday person live at KRCL and intend to keep it that way .

Deejaying from home, without access to vinyl, offends my motto: No digital for I ‘n’ I.

<The joy of live KRCL; 36 seconds>

So just in case, they stash I ‘n’ I in a nursing home next week, I decided for one more vinyl showcase for the masses on Smile Jamaica.

<Bobbylon 11, The Covid 0; 1 min.>

So enjoy this Smile Jamaica Ark-Ive podcast and hear some stories while I’ n’ I go to the kitchen to dip my spliff in a jug of HCQ.

bless, Bobbylon

Story 1: the Tragic murder of youthman Hugh Mundell

Story 2: 80’s Live Reggae at the Triad Center, Salt Lake City; 45 sec.

KRCL Reggae shows in the late 80’s. Shutdown after a murder at a Zapp and Roger concert.

Story 3: Ganja trimmers from Ganjarado listen online to Smile Jamaica; 1 min. 22 sec.

Story 4: Bunny Wailer’s return to live performing; 56 sec.

Story 5: KUSF – From best college radio station to classical music; 54 sec.

Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives: Jah-gust 22, 2020 Annotated Playlist; 66 sec.:

Set 1:

Ras Michael & the Sons of Negus – Build Up Your House; Revelation (Trojan) ’82 UK nyahbinghi
The Disciples – The Ghost; Garvey’s Ghost (Mango) ’76 Burning Spear dub album of the hour
Big Youth – Cool Breeze; Everyday Skank (Trojan) ’72 UK dj to Stop That Train
U Roy – Rocking Vibration; Love Is Not a Gamble (TR International) ’80 JA dj to Gladiators
Ashanti Roy & Sister Bunny Brissett – Look Before You Leap; Berlin Wall (High Times) ’92 JA
Brown Eagle and Spear – Draw the Challice; Brown Eagle and Spear (New Name) ’88 JA 4:20 Cannabis Service Announcement
Hugh Mundell – False Rumour; 12″ (Rockers International) ’78 JA

Set 2:

Yellowman – Throw Mi Corn; Under Me Fat Thing (Arrival) ’82 JA dj to Larry Marshall
Myrna Hague – Melody Life; Melody Life (Studio One) JA Marcia Griffiths cover
Horace Andy – Jah Rainbow; Natty Dread a Weh She Want (New Star) ’78 JA
Voice of Progress – Lost in Space; Mini Bus Driver (Negus Roots) ’82 JA
Tapper Zukie – Raggy Joey Boy; 10″ (Mobiliser) ’82 UK picture sleeve

Set 3: 7″ Jamaican Jukebox Set

The Gayletts – Son of a Preacher Man; 7″ (Steady) ’70 Dusty Springfield cover;
Jah Stitch – Collie Burn; 7″ (Soul Power) ’76 dj to Johnny Clarke/Tosh – Legalize It
Ashley Bennett – Leggo the Wrong; 7″ (Observer)
Junior Mervin – Defuse the Bomb; 7″ (Mervin)
The Revolutionaries – IRA; 7″ (Disco Mix) ’78 dub
Israel Vibration – Worry Dub; Israel Dub (Greensleeves) ’78 Dub Album of the Hour

Set 4:

Carribbean All Stars – Reggae Down; Live and Direct (Raw Live) ’86 Oakland
Zap Pow – Sweet Lovin’ Love; Love Hits (LMS) ’74 JA
Lone Ranger – Legalise the Collie Herb; Hi Yo Silver, Away! (Greensleeves) ’82 UK herbtune
Boney L & Vibronics – Babylon Children; 10″ (Jah Tubbys) 2006 UK militant steppers dawta

Set 5:

Freddie McGregor – Natural Collie; FM (High Times) 4:20 Cannabis Service Announcement
Jennifer Lara – A Change Is Gonna Come; Studio One Presents (Studio One) ’81 JA – Sam Cooke cover
Jimmy Cliff – Rub a Dub Partner; Special (CBS) ’82 US
Ken Boothe – Jah Is My Nuclear Bomb; 12″ (Black Solidarity) ’85 JA
Jah Shaka – Giver of Life; 12″ (Jah Shaka) ’87 UK

Set 6: Politrix Set

Papa Kojie & Blue Riddim – Nancy Reagan Re-Election Remix; 12″ (ORA International) ’85 LA picture sleeve:
The Heptones – Mr. President; Party Time (Mango) ’76 Lee “Scratch” Perry/Black Ark
The Wild Bunch – Mr. President Man; The Wild Bunch (Ariwa) ’84 UK – two dawtas, 1 dread
Roy C & the Honeydrippers – Impeach the President; 12″ (Tuff City) ’73 honey colored vinyl
Creation Rebel/New Age Steppers – Chemical Specialist; Threat to Creation (Cherry Red/ON U Sound) ’81 Dub Album of the Hour

Set 7: Wailers Family Tree

Bob Marley & the Wailers – Exodus; Lion’s Domain (bootleg) ’78 UK
Marcia Griffiths – Life Is Like a Garden; Rock My Soul (56 Hope Road) ’84 JA
Bunny Wailer – Ballroom Floor; Live (Solomonic) Dec. 26, 1982 Kingston, JA
Peter Tosh – Where You Gonna Run; 12″ (EMI America) ’83 US

Set 8:

Frank Caroll – Pimper’s Paradise; Making Life Easy (Little Train) ’87 Fort Lauderdale, FL; Bob Marley cover
Johnny Clarke – Reggae Music; Give Thanks (Ariwa) ’85 UK
Prince Far I – Natty Champion; Jamaican Heroes (Trojan) ’80 UK
Pablo & Fay – Bedroom Mazurka; 10″ (Trojan) ’73 rude to Keith & Tex “Tonght”

Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives Jah-gust 1, 2020: 32 Years of Dead Media!

August 7, 2020 Robert Nelson Leave a comment

Greetings,

Pity the Compact Disk. Gone the way of the 8-Track cartridge and cassette tape. Relegated to the dustbin of dead media formats: VHS tapes and soon come, DVDs.

Digital on your phone. Fetishization of vinyl, the hipster medium. (I ‘n’ I never lost faith in vinyl, even when people told me that CDs were what’s happening.)

The shiny aluminum coaster thingees suffered the ignominious fate of being outsold by the black wax in 2019:

Vinyl Is Poised to Outsell CDs For the First Time Since 1986

<The CD is a relic; 17 sec.>

Bobbylon’s cratedigging autobiography:

CD player for Christmas 1985: Fisher brand. Only showed track number. Low frills deck from Montgomery Ward. Bozeman Montana record shops. Summer vacation to Edmonton, CA Summer ’86

Very first CD in what was to become the Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives. Didn’t get the CD player til Xmas, 2 months later.

Moved to Salt Lake City, Utah Fall 1986 – Started adding CDs: Reggae, Blues, World, College Rock: from about a dozen great SLC record shops. (All but one out of business in 2020.)

Built my Reggae CD collection here. Smokey quit stocking Reggae b./c his shop was continually broken into to steal Reggae CDs…..gave I ‘n’ I the hairy eyeball afterward

Reggae fanatic; Oct. 1986-. I ‘n’ I had a pretty decent CD collection considering I had just moved from the rural Montana mountains. Dorms, Univ. of Utah. Met a Jewish upperclassman from Baltimore named Neil Cooperman. His CD collection was incredible. This was at a time when major stars like Beatles, Stones, Marley had very little available on CD.

Neil and I would trade out disks like baseball cards. The U of U dorms were concrete bunkers. Neil had a top rank stereo, as did I. One day we were listening in his room. He chose the disk that changed my life.

Black Uhuru – Anthem; 1 min. 20 sec.

1983 – Prince influence duly captured. From left to right: the Riddim Twins (Sly & Robbie)/ Puma Jones (dawta), Michael Rose (front man)

By then I ‘n’I had a nice little Reggae CD stash: Legalize It, No Nuclear War, Marley’s Uprising. Cliff, Toots, UB40 imports. Some grey market roots collections from Germany and Japan.

Neil started up Anthem on his NakamIchi with the Bose 301’s. When Anthem was recorded, 1983, Sly & Robbie were at the synth best. Worked with stalwarts like Bob Dylan, Grace Jones, Joan Armatrading. They added electronic drum and base to Reggae riddims.

80’s were all about synth drums. Everyone from the Stones to Springsteen were overdosing on amplified drum sound. When the lead off selection, What Is Life, built to the vox I ‘n’ I was staggered. This is what I have been looking for!

Music you felt, through the bass throb, as well as heard.

Michael Rose had an Afro-Arab vocal style that was aggressive, female harmonies from Puma Jones added to the militance. Sly & Robbie brought Jamaica to NY discos.

Militant roots: Michael Rose lead vox; Puma Jones & Duckie Simpson harmonies

Ka-boom! All my other genres receded to the background and I focused on building 80/20 into Reggae.

I ‘n’ I had the desire to binge as more Reggae cds hit the market, but disks were expensive. As much as $18.99 in ‘1987 dollars. (Probably 35 bucks today).

Meet the funder of the Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives: Ronald Wilson Reagan

Ronald (6)
Wilson (6)
Reagan (6)….as the Rastas would say. (35 sec.)

Back in the mid 80’s Pell Grants and Student Loans. Loans you had to pay back, grants were free and clear. I ‘n’ I would bank one of those checks and every summer from about 1987-1993. A couple New Year’s Eves. Time to feed the Reggae habit.

<Cratedigging with student loan cash>; 1 min. 27 sec.

I’m sure Pres. Reagan would give the screwface to my misuse of funds but in the end, I paid him back. I ‘n’ I like to joke: It took me 15 years to pay off my Reggae collection.

When I ‘n’ I had an aunt in SF and then Hayward, across the bay I would couch surf for two weeks:

Heading west on I-80: Sacramento, Reno,

San Fran, San Mateo, Mill Valley (across the Golden Gate), Oakland, Berkeley, El Cerrito, Hayward (East Bay).

When I didn’t have a relative to freeload, I would stay at the Travelodge: Columbus and Bay, near the Wharf. Literally across the street from Tower Records.

I ‘n’ I would scour the city or the hinterlands during the day, grab some dinner and then spend the evenings til closing in Tower Records (deceased 2006)

I ‘n’ I nearly cried when Tower Records went out of business mid 2000’s. 500 stores since 2008 Recession. How many more Covid?

The justification of any addict: How do I rationalize my consumption? In 1988 I ‘n’ I went from Reggae fan to the airwaves. With a radio show, I ‘n’ I can’t play the same thing twice. (Like a fashionista who wouldn’t be caught dead wearing the same outfit twice.)

Needed the Reggae Roadtrips for the masses on the radio. When I ‘n’ I started 3 0’Clock Roadblock – It was 3-6 AM Sunday Nights/Mondays.

Probably spent more dollars than ever had listeners: cab drivers, 7-11 workers and insomniacs.

But when I ‘n’ I hit “prime time” – Saturday afternoons: Smile Jamaica. Rationalization became justification.

Was it worth it? 32 years of Reggae CDs. 32 Years of Reggae Vinyl.

bless, Bobbylon

IIRC, the first Reggae CD addition to the Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives: Sept. 1986

Smile Jamaica Annotated Playlist: August 1, 2020 – 32 Years of Reggae Radio (CDs) 1 min. 27 sec.

Set 1:

Black Uhuru – Solidarity; Anthem (Island) ’84 rmx of Little Steven
Blackbeard – Jazzz; I Wah Dub (More Cut) ’80 UK vinyl dub album of the hour
Keith Hudson – I Shall Be Released; Flesh of My Skin, Blood of My Blood (Atra) ’74 Bob Dylan cover
Aswad – Ire Woman; Aswad (Mango) ’76
Third World – Dreamland; 96 Degrees in the Shade (Mango) ’76 Bunny Wailer/Wailers cover
Rita Marley – One Draw; Who Feels It Knows It (Shanachie) ’80 4:20 Cannabis Service Announcement
Gregory Isaacs – Motherless Children; Sly & Robbie Present (RAS) ’80

Set 2:

Dr. Alimantado – I am the Greatest Says Muhammad Ali; Best Dressed Chicken in Town (Greensleeves) ’73 instrumental
Althea & Donna – If You Don’t Love Jah; Uptown Top Ranking (Virgin Front Line) ’78 female dj duo
Ijahman Levi – Zion Train; Haile I Hymn (Mango) ’78
Michael Prophet – Love & Unity 12″ mix; Serious Reasoning (Mango) ’80

Set 3:

Inner Circle – We a Rockers; Rockers (Mango) ’79 soundtrack
Horace Andy – Tonight (Dub); Bim Sherman Meets U Black & Horace Andy in a Rub-a-Dub Style (Original) ’79
Cassandra – Thank You; Babylon Soundtrack (EMI) ’80 UK female lovers rock
UB40 – Burden of Shame 12″; Sounding Off (Sound) ’80 comp.
King Tubby – The Dub Master Dub vinyl of the hour

Sam Goody’s – Crossroads Mall, SLC, Fall 1986

Set 4:

Johnny Osbourne – Jah Promise; Truths & Rights (Heartbeat/Studio One) ’80
Sisters Jam – People of the World; Rockers International (Greensleeves) ’81 A. Pablo prod’n
Lee “Scratch” Perry – Dreadlock; Black Ark in Dub (Esoldun) ’77 Lee “Scratch” Perry/Black Ark prod’n
Mikey Dread – Jah Jah Love in the Morning; World War III (Dread at the Controls) ’81

Set 5:

Dhaima – Ina Jah Children; Uptown Top Ranking (Perfect Object) ’77
Pablo Moses – Dubbing Is a Must; A Song (Mango) ’80
Toots & the Maytals – Beautiful Woman; Knock Out! (Mango) ’81
Prince Fari I – Survival; Umhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation) (Tamoki Wambesi) ’83

Sad irony: Prince Far I killed during the making of his last album. Survival is the Game

Set 6: Lee “Scratch” Perry/Black Ark Set

<Reggae History Lesson: Black Ark Studio; 90 sec.>

The Congos – Children Crying; Heart of the Congos (Blood & Fire) ’77 –
Native – Rockstone ’77
Max Romeo – Uptown Babies Don’t Cry; War in a Babylon (Mango) ’76
Jolly Brothers – Conscious Man; Conscious Man (Seven Leaf) ’77
Elektro Robotik Dub Orkestra – Kentucky Was a Chicken (Ariwa) ’84 UK vinyl dub album of the hour

Lee “Scratch” Perry @ the controls of his mythic Black Ark studio, 1974-1979

Set 7: Wailers Family Tree Set

Bunny Wailer – Dreamland; Blackheart Man (Mango) ’76
Peter Tosh – Legalize It; Legalize It (Columbia) ’76
Judy Mowatt – Screwface; Love is Overdue (Shanachie) ’87 Bob Marley cover

<Screwaface – the look you get if you don’t wear your mask at the grocery store; 13 sec.>

Bob Marley & the Wailers – Comin’ in From the Cold 12″; Uprising (Tuff Gong) ’80

Set 8: Mutant Dub

Jah Woosh – Woodpecker Sound; ON U Sound Celebration (Trance) ’88
Alpha & Omega – Ancient African Dub 12″ Mix; Sound System Dub (ROIR) ’95
London Underground – Watch Your Step; Compilation 80-84 (ON U Sound) ’89
Tena Stelin – Political Confusion; Wicked Intention (Mr. Modo) ’89
Singers & Players – Resolution Pt. 2 and v. 2; Revenge of the Underdog (ON U Sound) ’82

Covid Humor:

Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives: June 27, 2020 – 32 Yrs of Reggae Radio: Vinyl Celebration!

July 3, 2020 Robert Nelson Leave a comment

<32 years of Reggae Radio; 2 min. 22 sec.>

Pres. 40 – The founder of the Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives

As the Rastas would say when I ‘n’ I was a youth learning Reggae music circa Fall ’86:

Ronald (6)
Wilson (6)
Reagan (6)

Maybe so, but I owe it all to the man…..I’ll explain below

Always been a huge music fan and collector since growing up in Fort Benton Montana (mid 70’s-mid 80’s). When I came to the University of Utah in Fall of ’86, I brought with me a couple crates of indispensable vinyl and a couple boxes of these shiny aluminum coated novelties called the Compact Disk.

I n’ I first record. Woolworth’s Sept. 1977. Mom paid

Back in 1986, when the compact disk market was so new, there wasn’t a lot of contemporary titles available yet. You had to seek them out. In the dorms,I met a Jewish kid from Baltimore, MD named Neil Cooperman. Physics Major. (Me? Middle East Studies).

He and I were loaning out our rare finds like trading baseball cards. Think of the mid 80’s. Too much MTV synthesizer. All the rock acts from the 70’s: Rolling Stones, Dylan, The Who, etc. were issuing pretty crappy records. Even my favorite punkers like The Ramones and The Clash had fallen on hard times.

Like most college kids, I was into college rock: My Big Three: The Replacements, Husker Du, The Minutemen. When D. Boon of the Minutemen died in a car crash, that was the musical low point in my musical consumption for traditional rock.

D. Boon. The Bob Marley of 80’s College Rock

I ‘n’ I was finally living in a city with a plethora of record stores. (90% gone now in Salt Lake City). With all that choice in an emerging CD market, where was I gonna go musically as I built my collection?

Bought some Blues (Robert Cray, Stevie Ray, Muddy Waters Hard Again). Bought some World (King Sunny Ade, Rai Arabic pop, South African jive). Bought some Reggae (Jimmy Cliff, Toots, Steel Pulse)*. Nice

*In 1986, there was almost no Marley or Tosh on CD

No Island label CDs in ’86. Grey market, middling, low budget offerings only

And then the epiphany moment. Neil played for me a disk by a group named Black Uhuru. (Uhuru – Swahili for freedom).

<Black Uhuru – Anthem. The disk that lit the fuse; 87 sec.>

Yeah, the cover is pure 80’s but Michael Rose in full dreads flashing the hairy eyeball, Puma Jones looking fetching in her 80’s fashion clash.

And the Riddim Twins in the back, Sly & Robbie controlling the scene.

1983 sound of them working with Bob Dylan and Grace Jones. They were the drum and bass standouts in an synthesized sound that was 80’s rock. (Mostly bad, but Sly Dunbar (drums) & Robbie Shakespeare (bassie) were the best of the bombast.

The dorms at the U of U were concrete bunkers. You probably had bigger closets in your home. Within 30 seconds of the lead off track, What Is Life?, that synth bass and vocoder vox ricocheted and throbbed throughout the room. I ‘n’ I didn’t burn the hippie lettuce then, (Eff you Ronnie Raygun!), but that CD lit the fuse.

That was what I came to Utah to find. A new sound. Reggae music.

Enter Ronald Reagan. I’n’ I said I lived at my Grandmother’s house to qualify for student loans and grants. My first two years of U of U (even with out of state tuition the first year) was paid for in Pell Grants and loans. The grants paid for room, board and tuition. The loans went for my Reggae collection.

Used vinyl was cheap. People were selling vinyl to buy CDs which were rare and ridiculously expensive. I hoovered up both formats.

Most likely my very first Reggae CD purchase. Smokey’s Records Salt Lake City

My last year at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana, I discovered their college radio station, KGLT. Very similar to KRCL. Free form format, mix of college rock and community shows like bluegrass, folk, Sunday gospel. Loved it much more than the noise of commercial radio.

I ‘n’ I assumed that the Univ. of Utah radio station, KUER, would be the same. WTF is NPR? Why is a college station playing classical music?

One of the student leaders recognized this and tried to re-boot a failed college managed “radio” station that would be broadcast from the Student Union to patrons in the cafe and study tables.

It was (and is) called K-UTE. I jumped at the chance to spin disks. I did a volunteer Reggae show called Positive Vibrations (after the Bob tune.) Spring of 1987. Pure amateur setup, but fun none the less.

A year later my friend and I were in the Pie Pizzeria and heard them call out for volunteers on the community radio station, KRCL. It was not college managed. I had been listening to them, when someone told me about Smile Jamaica.

They were looking for a late night show featuring a mix of Reggae with World and Ska. I ‘n’ I submitted a proposal and was trained Spring of 1988. First show as the last Sunday Night/Monday Morning in June. 3-6 AM.

I ‘n’ I called it 3 o’clock Roadblock – from Marley’s Rebel Music. Now I had an outlet for my Reggae collection. Even if the only listeners were cab drivers, 7-11 workers and insomniacs.

<Before Smile Jamaica; 2 min. 6 sec.>

Learned the ropes. Made all my mistakes, Tried to find an on-air announcing sound that wasn’t horribly monotonous and filled with ands and ums. Great year of apprenticeship before I ‘n’ I moved over to Smile Jamaica, October 1989.

That’s a story for another day.

From June 25, 1988 to June 27, 2020: by my Liberal Arts math that is 32 years. We celebrate that with the first vinyl additions to the Ark-Ives on this SJ podcast.

Thanks for listening for 1 week or nearly 1/3 of a century!

Bless, Bobbylon

Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives: June 27, 2020 = 32 Years of Reggae Radio

Jimmy Riley – Summertime; 12″ (DEB) ’76 UK Porgy & Bess cover- 32 years of Reggae Radio (Vinyl Show)

Sly & Robbie – Uhuru in Dub (CSA) ’82 Dub Album of the Hour

Bob Marley & the Wailers – Rebel Music (3 o’clock Roadblock); Natty Dread (Island) ’74 UK

<Cratedig re-collection: Bob Marley Vinyl Box Set>

Sister Candy – Laserbeam; Laserbeam (Enterprise) ’83 Brooklyn

Jah Lloyd – Dispencer; Black Moses (Virgin Front Line) ’79 UK 4:20 Cannabis Service Announcement

Don Carlos – Mr. Sun; 12″ (Jah Guidance) ’82 JA***End of Set 1

Black Unuru – Antjem; Anthem (Island) ‘84 US Rmx

Bob Andy – Check It Out: Retrospective (I-Anna) ‘86 UK

Barbara Paige – Babylon Must Fall; Hear Me Now (Epiphany) ‘82 US

Prince Alla – Sun Is Shining; 12” ( Freedom Sounds ) ‘78 JA***End of Set 2

Culture – Lion Rock; Peel Sessions EP (Strange Fruit) Dec. 11, ‘82 UK John Peel Sessioms

The Selecter – Celebrate the Bullet; Celebrate the Bullet (Chrysalis) ’82 UK 2 Tone Ska w/ Pauline Black vox

Dread Beat and Blood – Rainbow Warrior; Tribute to a Friend (Jayrem) ‘85 NZ Maori group

Eddy a Grant – Walking on Sunshime ; 12” (Ice) ‘79 UK

Mystic Youth feat. I Skeeda and Irie Ites – Save the Roaches: Best Wishes (Sunspot) ’82 SF: school group herbtune w/ female vo

Eek a Mousse – Hitler; Mouse and the Man (Greensleeves) ‘82 UK

Jimmy Becker & the Chariot Riders – Sunshine Kerry; 12″ JA (Crystal)***End of Set 4

Winston Fergus – Hail Rastaman; I Shall Sing (John Dread) ‘85 UK

Sophia George – Girlie, Girlie; Fresh (Winner) ‘85 UK

Gladiators – Small Axe, Symbol of Reality (Nighthawk) ‘82 St. Louis Wailers cover

Michael Administators – Summer Breeze; 12” (Cha Cha) UK Seals and a Croft cover blue vinyl***End of Set 5

Peter Tosh – Comin’ in Hot; Captured Live (EMI America) ‘82 LA

Joe Higgs – Tere’s a Reward; Life of Contradiction (Grounation) ’75 JA

Jean Binta Breeze – Dubwise + Confusion (Warner); Tracks (LKJ) ‘90 UK female dub poet

Pat Kelly – Sunshine; 12” (KG Imperial) ’80 JA John Denver cover***End of Set 6

Bunny Wailer – Ballroom Floor; Rock ‘N Groove (Solomonic) ‘81

Gregory Isaacs – Happiness Come; In Person (Trojan) ‘74 UK

Bam Bam – Star Wars; Power of a Woman (Bam Bam Internatioanal ‘87 LA female***End of Set 7

Aura Lewis Meets Lee “Scratch” Perry – Young Gifted and Broke; Full Experience (Blue Moon) ’76 Aretha Franklin update; female vox

Ras Michael & the Sons of Negus – Mr. Brown; Rastafari (Top Ranking) ’75 JA

Ethiopian People; Rastafari (Trojan) ’82 UK

A.S. Brown – Sun Shines For are; 12” (Level Vibes) ’84 UK

Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives: May 9, 2020 – Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon!

May 15, 2020 Robert Nelson Leave a comment

Navy captures UFO. Admits it as “Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon”

Greetings,

I ‘n’ I told you so!

<Pentagon admits UFO’s are real>

Those bastards thought they could slip something as earthshaking as the reality of extra terrestrial visitation buried under the maelstrom of the Covid doom porn.

But I’m into those scamps! A lot of scoffers owe I ‘n’ I an apology. I will be making the rounds as soon as the lock down is lifted!

The Department of Defense released three unclassified videos showing the U.S. Navy’s encounters with “unidentified aerial phenomena” in an attempt to “clear up any misconceptions” regarding whether the videos – which have been circulating for years – are real.

From their bulletin:

“The U.S. Navy previously acknowledged that these videos circulating in the public domain were indeed Navy videos. After a thorough review, the department has determined that the authorized release of these unclassified videos does not reveal any sensitive capabilities or systems, and does not impinge on any subsequent investigations of military air space incursions by unidentified aerial phenomena,” DOD said in a statement.

The TV program Unidentified, featuring UFO investigator Tom DeLonge of Blink 182, showed these videos. The Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon clips shocked the Naval pilots. They moved at speeds that would tear up any human pilot. The quote: It would turn them into tapioca pudding!

Those bastards have been bullshitting us since Roswell,1947. And this is what they deserve when the Aliens make their presence known.

bless, Bobbylon

Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives: May 9, 2020

Set 1: Best of Smile Jamaica

Black Uhuru – What Is Life; Anthem (Island) ’83
Mighty Diamonds – You Are Just a Song; Ice on Fire (Virgin Front Line) ’76 – Best of 30+ Years Set
UB40 – Sing Our Own Song; Rat in the Kitchen (Virgin) ’86
Judy Mowatt – Sing Our Own Song; Love Is Overdue (Shanachie) ’87
Benjamin Zephaniah – Get High; Rasta (Workers Playtime) ’83 UK dub poet

Set 2: Roots Dawtas

Marcia Griffiths – Lonesome Feeling; Naturally (Shanachie) ’79
Althea & Donna – If You Don’t Love Jah; Uptown Top Ranking (Virgin Front Line) ’78
Della Grant – Know Rastafari; Rootically Yours (Twinkle) ’94
Empress Rasheda – Babylon System; Hail HIM (Roots) ’95
Hollie Cook – Luna Addiction; Vessel of Love (Merge) 2018
Likkle Mai – My Old Flame; Roots Candy (Beat) 2006 Jah-pon
Queen Majeeda – Earth Rightful Ruler; Conscious (Heartbeat) ’93 dub poetess

Set 3: Mutant Dub

Dub Syndicate – The Corporation; Stoned Immaculate (ON U Sound) ’91 UK
Dub Pistols – Bad Cad; Worshipping the Dollar (Sunday Best) 2012 UK
kode9 & the Space Ape – Addiction; Memories of the Future (Hyperdub) 2006 UK
Noiseshaper – Bushmaster; Rough Out There (Echo Beach) 2005 Jah-stria
Thievery Corporation – .38 .45; Dub Selector 2 (Quango) 2002 DC dubbers
Dry & Heavy – Radical Star; One Punch (Green Tea) ’99 Jah-pon w/ female vox

Set 4: Bob Marley Covers

Cedella Marley Booker – Put It On; Awake Zion (Rykodisc) ’84
Big Youth – Get Up Stand Up; Reggae Phenomenon (Trojan) ’78
Daddy Freddy Meets the Rootsman – The Heathen; Old School New School (BSI) 2000 UK
Dillinger – Check Sister Jane (Waiting in Vain); King Pharoah (Blue Moon) ’84
Fred Locks – Let Him Go; Culturally (Tan Yah) ’95
Junior Delgado – Caution; Treasure Found (Incredible Music) ’77
Joe Strummer – Redemption Song; CD Single (Hellcat) 2003

Set 5: Wailers Family Tree

The Melody Makers – Sugar Pie; Live at Reggae Sunsplash ’81 (Elektra)
Rita Marley – Good Girls Culture; Natty Roots Divas (Tuff Gong)
Bunny Wailer – Rockers; Rockers Soundtrack (Mango) ’79
Peter Tosh – Sinner Man; The Toughest (Heartbeat/Studio One) ’66 original gospel update
Peter Tosh – Downpressor Man; The Toughest Heartbeat/Studio One) ’71 Sinnerman cover Lee Perry prod’n
Bob Marley & the Wailers – Coming in From the Cold 12″; Songs of Freedom (Tuff Gong) ’80

Set 6: UFOria

The Toyes – Waiting For the Aliens; Strange Animals (CD Tunes) ’99 UFO-ria Set
Nicky Thomas – Doing the Moonwalk; Doing the Moonwalk (Trojan) ’71
Lee “Scratch” Perry – African Hitchhiker; From the Secret Laboratory (Mango) ’90 alien from outerspace
Anubian Lights – In Flight/Out Flight; Naz Bar (Crippled Dick Hot Wax!) 2001 UK w/ female vox
Anjali – Space Lust in the Space Dust; Anjali (Wiija) 2000 UK Hindi mutant dubstress
Audio Active – Return of the Space Ape; Apollo Choco (ON U Sound) ’97 Jah-pon about the first two monkeys in space

Smile Jamaica Living Room Ark-Ives: Jah-pril 18, 2020 – Qanneh Bossom (The Aromatic Reed)

April 24, 2020 Robert Nelson Leave a comment

Greetings from Quarantine,

Raise your hand if this Covid Clampdown has you One Toke Over the Line? From Lawrence Welk – covering Brewer & Shipley:

(The guy with the accordion announcing the two tokers sounds like he just took a hit off the spliff!)

Lawrence Welk thought that was a gospel song! “Modern spiritual”

Like Jesus did. The necessary ingredient for His miracles was cannabis oil:

Jesus consumed cannabis

Smile Jamaica locked out of your station that rules the nation, KRCL, till at least the end of May. So I ‘n’ I have the entirety of the Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives to peruse for the infamous, notorious, humorous, outrageous, quasi legalish 420 Cannabis Service Show.

I ‘n’ I would say 25 of the 30 or so Jah-prils of being your host, has been devoted to the Seven Leaf

I’n’ I was chatting up a friend recently: “Wouldn’t it be great if the purgative lung properties of inhaling cannabis could mitigate against the severity of the Covid?”

What if doctors were able to tell their patients. “You have tested positive for the Covid. My suggestion is to start smoking marijuana immediately!”

I mean, really. You want to go on a ventilator or smoke two joints? Lot cheaper and the mortality rate of those on ventilators is about 90%. I ‘n’ I guess we’re stuck with bleach enemas and injecting Lysol.

So all the Doom Porn I’m forced to read as opposed to news, tells us we are heading into an economic Depression. You want a leg up on revenue? Do what Lebanon did.

Lebanon – First Arab Nation to Legalize Cannabis

From the Bekaa Valley, recently liberated from ISIL tyranny. Home of the legendary Lebanese Blonde hash

They became the first Middle East nation to legalize cannabis. From the Aramaic – qanneh (reed) bossom (aromatic) – so the aromatic reed = ganja stalk

So don’t call it marijuana – that is a made up name by the 30’s anti-drug thugs in the US government: Maria + Juan = Marijuana. To stigmatize the drug with Mexican laborers so they could be easily deported during the depression.

Quick history of Cannabis:

The Scythians (an Iranian people) – were the first to throw Cannabis seeds on the hot plate to inhale the vapors.

From 5th Century BC historian, Herodotus:

The Scythians said, take some of this hemp-seed [presumably, flowers], and, creeping under the felt coverings, throw it upon the red-hot stones; immediately it smokes, and gives out such a vapour as no Grecian vapour-bath can exceed; the Scyths, delighted, shout for joy.” Yes I!

They puff puff passed it to the Medes (forefathers of today’s Kurds)
The Medes spread it to the expansive Assyrian-Akkadian-Babylonian empires.
Trade with Egypt allowed for the plant to go West through the Maghreb (Arab North Africa) and north through the Mediterranean
2020 – Lebanese blonde

So, while you are forced indoors – whether sick or healthy, enjoy this cannabliss podcast: 35 Reggae songs plus special efx, movie dialog and other seven leaf snippets.

Stay safe!

Bless, Bobbylon

Smile Jamaica Playlist: Apr. 18, 2020 – 420 Special

Set 1:

The Toyes – Green Doctor; Strange Animals (CD Tunes) ’96 LA
Eek a Mouse – Sensee Party; Skidip! (Greensleeves) ’82
John Clarke – Good Collie Weed; Visions of John Clarke (Wackies) ’79 to Only Sixteen riddim
Junior Byles – Cally Weed; Rasta No Pickpocket (Nighthawk) ’86
Gracy & the Herbman Band – Follow Up; See Mi Yah (Funfundvierzig) ’91 Germ. female

Set 2:

Black Uhuru – Sinsemilla; Sinsemilla (Mango) ’80 without seeds
Angie Angel – Sativa Info; All I Have Is Love (Easy Star) 2001
Lone Ranger – Collie Dub; Rosemarie (Techniques) ’81
Jah Woosh – Chalice Blaze; Chalice Blaze (Original) ’78
Mikey Dread – Pound a Weed; Life Is a Stage (Dread at the Controls) 2007
Capital Letters – Smoking My Ganja 12″; Headline News (Greensleeves) ’79 UK

Set 3:

Prince Alla – Sensimilla; More Love (Jah Warrior) 2002
Sammy Dread – Wrap Up a Draw; Wrap up a Draw (Seven Leaves)
The Pioneers – Feeling High; 20 Greatest Hits (Trojan) ’79
UB40 – Mi Spliff; Baggariddim (DEP) ’85
Carlton Livingston – Chalice in Mind; Crucial Reggae (Mango) ’82
Ganja Woman – Light Up Your Spliff; Pro Cannabis 4 (EFA) 2002

Set 4:: Queen Elizabeth weed set

Heavy Manners – Taking the Queen to Tea; Heavier Than Now (NoVo) ’96 Chicago w/ female vox
U Roy – Chalice in the Palice; Dread in a Babylon (Virgin Front Line) ’75
Bush Chemists – Light Up Your Spliff; Light Up Your Spliff (Conscious Sounds) ’96 UK mutant dubbers
Dillinger – Buckingham Palace; CB 200 (Mango) ’76
Peter Tosh – Buk-in-Hamm Palace; Mystic Man (EMI America) ’79

Set 5: Wailers Family Tree Herb Set

Bob Marley & the Wailers – Marley-juana Mix; Smile Jamaica Dubplate
Bunny Wailer – Cease Fire; Roots, Radics, Rockers, Reggae (Shanachie) ’83
Peter Tosh – Don’t Want to Get Busted; Talking Revolution (Pressure Sounds) ’76 KZEL Eugene, OR radio acoustic
Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers- African Herbsman; Joy and Blues (Virgin) ’93
Rita Marley – One Draw; 12″ (Shanachie) ’83

Set 6:

Johnny Osbourne – Mushroom; Fally Lover (Greensleeves) don’t pee in my garden, or mushroom will grow
The Selecter – My Collie (Not a Dog); Too Much Pressure (2 Tone) UK ska w/ female vox
Jacob Miller – Healing of the Nation; Wanted (Top Ranking) ’78
Benjamin Zephaniah – Get High; Rasta (Workers Playtime) ’83 UK dub poet
Mighty Diamonds – Pass the Kouchie; Big Blunts (Tommy Boy) ’81
The Toyes – Smoke Two Joints; The Toyes (CD Tunes) ’96

Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives: March 21, 2020 – Putting the Panic in Pandemic!

March 27, 2020 Robert Nelson Leave a comment

Greetings,

Banished to your living room. No work, no school, no shopping, no travel, no toilet paper. In Chicago even going for a walk outside can get you arrested.

A whole lotta down time while we all wait for the virus to come get us!

I ‘n’ I was telling Tristin Tabish, KRCL station manager, that a “shelter in place” situation would be ideal for radio listeners. Already we are seeing Netflix and Prime streaming explode.

For. I ‘n’ I, home is a work space. In the Secret Dubratory of the Smile Jamaica Ark-ives, when called upon to generate digital content while KRCL is on lockdown, I just do what I always do, cut and mix sound

Routine is how people can handle the doom porn the media has generated during this crisis. Whenever friends or family start to hyperventilate, I ‘n’ I remind them:

By my Liberal Arts science background, it is not a pandemic until newborns and third graders start dropping like flies.

But what about the boredom? Many diehard KRCL listeners have a weekend pattern of turning on classic rock for breakfast and listen all the way through to Roots Reggae for dinner. Repeat a similar pattern on Sunday.

If you are shut in and forced inside, KRCL ought to have a captured audience of weekday listening akin to weekend “radio companionship.”

Then I get a call from Program Director, Ebay Jamil Hamilton. KRCL is locking down its studio and offices. Mayday! He asked if I would curate a three hour Smile Jamaica from home.

I gladly complied. I’m stir crazy as everyone else.

Everybody is frazzled. Instead of repeating the same old reminders: “social distance, wash your hands, don’t eat bat soup, etc.”, Smile Jamaica listeners have a tether to normality as part of their weekend routine. How about three hours of distraction on a beautiful first Saturday of Spring?

Except…

So those listeners wanting to chill with “One Love” or “Irie Up Yourself” or “Burn One Down” you are in for a rude shock. I ‘n I introduced the show with “Smile Jamaica puts the panic in pandemic!”

<Pandemic show intro; 2 min.>

First five Reggae jams:

Twinkle Brothers – Stomach Sick; Me No You (Twinkle) ’81
The Police – Don’t Stand So Close to Me; Zenyatta Mondatta (A & M) ’81
Tenor Saw – Fever; Fever (Blue Mountain) ’85
The Clash – Lost in the Supermarket; London Calling (Epic) ’79
Michigan & Smiley – Diseases; Dancehall (Soul Jazz) ’81

In the same way Pete Townshend wrote Tommy. Or Frank Zappa’s Joe’s Garage rock opera, I ‘n’ I was crafting a narrative through a digital medium.

I was driving around a deserted Salt Lake City looking for toilet paper and blasting Smile Jamaica, as a listener, from my car hi fi. When I got home a friend texted me: “After ten fever songs followed by Burial , I thought I had the virus.”

Just like Ira Glass. Digital storytelling in a quarantine. Nearly everyone who hit me up on social media wanted to know the same thing: “What was that song you played at the end of Smile Jamaica?”

Spiritual Rez – Let’s Go Out With a Bang

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LUUq_xk4ZE

Be well. Don’t hoard. Try to ration your panic like you are with using toilet paper

bless, Bobbylon

Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives: March 21, 2020 – Homegrown Pandemic Edition

Set 1:

Twinkle Brothers – Stomach Sick; Me No You (Twinkle) ’81
The Police – Don’t Stand So Close to Me; Zenyatta Mondatta (A & M) ’81
Tenor Saw – Fever; Fever (Blue Mountain) ’85
The Clash – Lost in the Supermarket; London Calling (Epic) ’79
Michigan & Smiley – Diseases; Dancehall (Soul Jazz) ’81
Neville Grant – Sick and Tired; Give Me Power (Trojan) ’73 Fats Domino cover
The Toyes – Green Doctor; Strange Animals (CD Tunes) ’99 4:20 Cannabis Service Announcement
Half Pint – It’s Too Late; Greetings (Power House) ’86

Set 2:

Horace Andy – Fever; Studio One Classics (Studio One) ’73
The Clash – Clampdown; London Calling (Epic) ’79
David Lindley – Tu-ber-cu-lucas and the Sinus Flu; El Rayo-X (Elektra) ’81
The Pioneers – Reggae Fever; Best of (Trojan) ’77
The Ethiopians – Hong Kong Flu; Original Hot Sounds (Trojan) ’69
The Dynamics – Fever; Version Excursions (Groove Attack) 2007 dubby version of Little Willie John/Peggy Lee
Max Romeo – Horror Zone; Horror Zone (Nu Roots) 20016
Junior Byles – Fever; Curly Locks (Heartbeat) ’74 Little Willie John/Peggy Lee cover
Twinkle Brothers – Constipated People; Me No You (Twinkle) ’81

Set 3:

Gregory Isaacs – Night Nurse; Night Nurse (Mango) ’82
Thievery Corporation – Culture of Fear; Culture of Fear (ESL) 2011
Thievery Corporation – Sound the Alarm; Radio Retaliation (ESL) 2014
Yerba Buena – Fever; Island Life (Razor & Tie) 2005 African
Dennis Alcapone – Fever Teaser; My Voice Is Insured For Half a Million Dollars (Trojan) ’72 dj to Horace Andy Fever
Hepcat – Earthquake and Fire; Out of Nowhere (Moon) ’93 LA ska group
Laurel Aitken – Witchdoctor From Amsterdam; It’s Too Late (Unicorn) ’90
Bob Marley & the Wailers – No Water (Can Quench My Thirst) ’70

Set 4:

The Maytals – Fever; Sensational Ska Explosion (Jamaican Gold) ’65
Lady Ann – Doctor, Doctor; Bad Gyal Inna Dance (Jump Up) 2008
Jingo – Fever; Afro Rock (Evolver) African
Peter Tosh – Bush Doctor 12″; Bush Doctor (Rolling Stones) ’78 herbtune
The Rolling Stones – Dear Doctor; Beggars Banquet (abkco) ’68
Peter Tosh – Reggae Myelitis; Wanted Dread and Alive (Rolling Stones) ’81

Set 5:

Dr. Alimantado – Still Alive; Born For a Purpose (Greensleeves) ’76
Susan Cadogan – Fever; Susan Cadogan (Trojan) ’76 cover to Little Willie John/Peggy Lee
Tenor Saw – Ring the Alarm; 200% Dynamite (Soul Jazz)
I Roy – Hospital Trolley; Don’t Check Me With No Lightweight Stuff (Blood & Fire) ’73
Laurel Aitken – It’s Too Late; It’s Too Late (Unicorn) ’71
Barry Brown – Burial; Rich Man Poor Man (Moll-Selekta) Peter Tosh cover
Bob Marley & the Wailers – Redemption Song; Uprising (Tuff Gong) ’80
Third World – Dreamland; 96 Degrees in the Shade (Mango) ’76 Bunny Wailer cover

Set 6:

Fela & Afrika 70 – Zombie; Zombie (Polydor) ’76 African
8750 Band – Stayin’ Alive; Run For Cover (Tommy Chong) Telluride reggae cover of Bee Gees
Spiritual Rez – Let’s Go Out With a Bang; Apocalypse Whenever (Spiritual Rez) 2014

Words of Wisdom:

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.

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