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

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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:

  1. Twinkle Brothers – Stomach Sick­­; Me No You (Twinkle) ’81
  2. The Police – Don’t Stand So Close to Me; Zenyatta Mondatta (A & M) ’81
  3. Tenor Saw – Fever; Fever (Blue Mountain) ’85
  4. The Clash – Lost in the Supermarket; London Calling (Epic) ’79
  5. 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 Ark-Ives: March 14, 2020 – Reggae Virus Mini Opera!

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Greetings,

Wed. AM about 7 o’clock. On the computer seeing how my best gal did in the Tuesday primaries the night before. (Tulsi who?)

Cup of coffee and a green rip. Breakfast of champions. All of a sudden. I hear something rumble. WTF? Did some Corona Virus infectee just slam my house with their car? If so why I am feeling my floor ripple?

Nah, Earthquake. Watch everything shake, rattle and roll. By the time I stabilized my television set, the rumbling stopped. Casualty: one bookcase in my hallway and a Bob Marley picture askew.

5.7 Magna Utah Earthquake. Shouldn’t have cancelled church over Corona Virus

My first thought? “Wow this place is a mausoleum!” Got the notice from our Dean that the Marriott Library was closing down completely. Went up to a ghostly campus at the U of U to pick up a few things and make sure all the posters and such didn’t crash off my office walls post Magna 5.7 Earthquake.

On the way home, stop at Smith’s grocery. Praise Anu! Toilet paper. Every mope in the store had one roll in their basket.

Lots of items still out of stock. Cold cuts, cheese, bread. Melotonin section wiped out. No isopropyl alcohol. A lot of people out there needing to clean their bongs? Purell and Lysol a distant memory.

Get home to a call from Ebay Hamilton, KRCL’s program director. No station that rules the nation. Could I curate a 3 hour Smile Jamaica episode for upload? Station on lockdown.

“Working” from home, no deejaying, no record shopping (Record Store Day postponed til June. Summer is the low period for cratedigging). Liquor store closed!  No Saturday breakfast with my friends at Left Fork Grill.

THIS VIRUS IS PISSING ME OFF

Everyone is moping around like it is  the end of the world. I understand why the need for social distance, etc. But I don’t have to like it.

So here is how I intend to fight back

  1. Not much of a beer drinker anymore, but I’m going to buy a sixer of Corona beer
  2. Watching Andromeda Strain from 1971

3. Friday 4:20 or as I call it “worship”, will continue with my mates six feet away from each other

4. Gonna cratedig on Saturday just to get out of the house and see who is open

5. Listen to Smile Jamaica, as a listener. 3 hour show called: Putting the Panic in Pandemic 2020. From Stomach Sick to Burial

<Smile Jamaica: March 21, 2020 Putting the Panic in Pandemic; 2 min>

Enjoy this teaser from this week’s podcast:

<Smile Jamaica Reggae Virus Mini Opera; 90 sec.>

  1. Ethiopians get the Hong Kong Flu
  2. Susan Cadogan exhibits The Fever
  3. Jah Lloyd says, no vaccine it will leave an infection. Gonna smoke the main jax – the collie weed
  4. That unfortunately “ital” choice leads to the Twinkle Brothers Stomach sick
  5. Alas, Peter Tosh’s Burial

Eat your heart out Frank Zappa and Pete Townshend. Now I ‘n’ I gonna give you 3 hours tomorrow. Gallows humor staves off the doom and gloom

bless, Bobbylon

Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives March 14, 2020 Annotated Playlist; 1 min. 44 sec.

Beautiful but deadly

Set 1:

  • Ricky Grant & Augustus Pablo – I Love Jah Rastafari + dub; I Love Jah Rastafari (Message) ’78 JA vinyl
  • Sir Coxson Sound – King of Dubb Rock; King of Dubb Rock (Safari) ’75 UK vinyl dub album of the hour
  • African Brothers – Mystery of Nature;  Want Some Freedom (Easy Star) ’70’s era
  • Abassi All-Stars feat. Sis Sanae – Free Jah Dub; Dub Showcase (Universal Egg) 2007 UK militant
  • Dennis Bovell – Bettah; Brain Damage (Virgin Front Line) ’81 herbtune
  • John Clarke – Good Collie Weed; Visions of John Clarke (Wackies) ’79 4:20 Cannabis Service Announcement; over Only Sixteen riddim
  • Dub Syndicate – Can’t Take It Easy; 10″ (ON U Sound) ’93 UK mutant dub Gregory Isaacs cover; picture sleeve

Set 2:

  • Black Roots – Opportunity; In Session (Makasound) ’83 UK roots group
  • Mad Professor – Chillout Zone; Black Liberation Dub vol. 5: Afro-Centric Dub (Ariwa) ’99
  • Aisha – Prophecy; High Priestess (Ariwa) ’88 female cover of Faybian Miranda roots
  • Dubble – Southside Dub; 10″ (Dub Tunnel) 2012 UK militant steppers instrumental

Set 3:

  • Michigan & Smiley – Diseases; Dancehall (Soul Jazz) ’81
  • Mighty Diamonds – I Shall Be Releassed; Blowin’ in the Wind (RAS) 2002 Bob Dylan cover
  • The Selecter – On My Radio ’91; CD Single (Chrysalis) ’91 rmx/2 Tone ska w/ female vox
  • Daweh Congo – Jah Disciple; 10″ (Sip a Cup) 2005 UK militant steppers

 

Set 4: Jamaican Jukebox 7″ 45’s Roots Sisters

  • Sister Afreka – Rasta Light Is a Sunshine; 7″ (Jah Life)
  • Sister Carol – Get It Straight Africans’ 7″ (Jah Life Time) ’89
  • Sister Rasheda – Give Me More Jah Love; 7″
  • Sista Ruby – Woman D.J.; 7″ (Freedom Sound International) ’80
  • Sister Verna – No Broke No Fight; 7″ (N***** Kojak) ’80
  • Bob Andy – Hung Up Dub; Sweet Memories (Nectar) ’76 dub album of the hour

Set 5: Vinyl is Vital

  • Super Chick – Roach Killer; Sleeping Bag’s Dancehall Classics (Priority) ’87 US
  • Al Campbell – Give the People; Rainy Days (Burning Sounds)
  • Clint Eastwood – Blues Night; Sex Education (Greensleeves) ’80 US
  • Blues Busters – I Shot the Sheriff; Phillip & Lloyd (Scepter) ’75 US Wailers cover
  • Bim Sherman & Akabu – Stop That Train; 12″ (ON U Sound) ’86 UK Keith & Tex cover

Set 6: Wailers Family Tree

Peter Touch & the Wailers – Toughest; The Toughest (Heartbeat/Studio One) ’67 

<Song bio – The Toughest>

  • Bunny Wailer – Bide Up; Jamaican Singles vol. 1 (Solomonic) ’72
  • Judy Mowatt – Concrete Jungle; Black Woman (Shanachie) ’76 Wailers cover
  • Bob Marley & the Wailers – Lyrical Satirical I; Fy-ah Fy-ah (JAD) ’68 instrumental
  • The Revolutionaries – Sensi Dub vol. 1 (Original) ’70’s era dub album of the hour

Set 7: Reggae Virus Mini Opera

  • The Ethiopians – Hong Kong Flu; Original Hit Sounds (Trojan) ’69 
  • Susan Cadogan – Fever; Susan Cadogan (Trojan) ’76 Little Willie John/Peggy Lee cover
  • Jah Lloyd – Dispencer; Black Moses (Virgin Front Line) no injection, leaves an infection
  • Twinkle Brothers – Stomach Sick; Me No You (Twinkle) ’81
  • Peter Tosh – Burial; Remedies For Babylon (bootleg)

 

Set 8: Mutant Dub

  • Thievery Corporation – Culture of Fear; Live at the London Roundhouse (ESL) 2017 
  • Alpha & Omega – Who Am I to Judge; Trample the Eagle and the Dragon and the Bear (Alpha & Omega) 2005 best of UK trance dub w/ female vox
  • Singers & Players feat. Prince Far I – Virgin; King Size Dub ON U Sound (Echo Beach) re: Richard Branson of Virgin Records
  • Dubblestandart – 51 Dub; Immigration Dub (Collision) 2007 Jah-stria
  • Sip a Cup All-Stars – Watch and Peep; 10″ (Sip a Cup) 2005
  • Natacha Atlas – I Put on a Spell On You; Best of (Mantra) 2005 Screamin’ Jay Hawkins Middle Eastern cover

Words of Wisdom:

Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives: Jah-burary 22, 2020 – Reggae Apocrypha!

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June 13, 1980 – Dortmund (West) Germany

Greetings,

I ‘n’ I know Black History Month (February) as Bob Marley Month (Bob-ruary). Born Feb. 6, 1945 he would have been 75 had he not died of melanoma on May 11, 1981 (36 years old.)

In the Rasta community, they avoid death. So part of that Ras’pect is to say “livicate” not deadicate.

As a major Reggae collector I ‘n’ I had picked up some Marley reissues in the past year.

  • Boston, ’78

Plus, a CD/DVD combo that was published on the West German rock television show Rockpalast. (See image at top.)

If you were a youth in the 70’s as I was, weekend night time rock and roll TV programs, like Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert and Midnight Special with Wolfman Jack fed viewers music television fix before the advent of MTV.

The Uprising disk/DVD = Rockpalast performance was recorded in Dortmund (West) Germany on June 13, 1980.

It was haunting. Bob was at his high point. I ‘n’ I always tell people you can gauge Bob’s age by the length of his dreads. The short and wiry, athletic Bob roamed the stage like a lion. Dreads flashing. Moving about the other group members. Full of energy and passion.

Bob’s nickname was Skipper. He was an exacting band leader who would even fine his wife Rita, among other band members, if they made a mistake. This was the video performance of a man and group leading Reggae into the mainstream.

The 80’s would have seen him at the top of the pop music pinnacle alongside stalwarts like Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson, U2 and Madonna.

Alas, it wasn’t to be. Almost 3 months later Bob collapsed running  in New York’s Central Park. He performed one more show in Pittsburgh, PA (Sept. 23, 1980). And made his Exodus to Jah’s Heavenly Choir less than 8 months later.

As someone with a Ph.D. in Bobology, I was stunned. On stage in front of thousands, this was not the look of a many being ravaged by cancer.

<Bob’s Rockpalast performance; 72 sec.> 

Bob’s passing shocked the Reggae world as well. In Jamaica, and elsewhere over the decades since May ’81, I ‘n’ I have  culled nearly 50 Bob Tributes.

One thing about music when it hits you, you feel no pain. Artists exacted their grief in an expression of platonic love. Every Bobruary, I’n’ I rinse out those songs throughout the 4 weeks of Smile Jamaica editions.

<Marley Tribute phenomena; 40 sec.>

***

For the past several months I ‘n’ I have been tracking through the Wailers’ early pre-Island label catalog. We are on the 1970 recordings for Chinese Jamaican restauranteur, Leslie Kong

The Wailers had huge ska success with Coxsone Dodd’s Studio One label. But they would sell 80,000 copies of a  record and be compensated $25.

Studio One owner made thousands on sales. The Wailers made $25 on 80k sold

 

So the group quit Studio One and created their own label: Tuff Gong. However, the Jamaican music business was cut throat. DIY groups like the Wailers couldn’t get their songs into the shops or on the radio as independents. So the label folded.

Thus they turned to one of Dodd’s competitors, Leslie Kong. Beverley’s, his label, was a successful Rock Steady label selling thousands of records in the UK, especially.

Record producer is the guy that funds the sessions.

  • Recording in a music studio; pay for time
  • Paying the musicians
  • Paying the sound engineer
  • Paying to mix the tape recording
  • Paying to press the records
  • Paying to distribute the records to shops domestically and internationally
  • Payola to get the song on the radio.

The Wailers recorded about 10 songs. What to call it. Since Kong knew the group was hot, but records by the Wailers were hard to find, he wanted to call it Best of Bob Marley and the Wailers.

The group were hostile to that notion and felt they were being ripped off again. These weren’t their best songs. “Best” signifies the group was at its end, not a re-boot. The album is not exactly filler, and there are some great performances. But Best was a misnomer…at best.

The group wanted the album to be called Caution. This is where the Reggae apocrypha sneaks in. The Wailers were sighting up Rasta. With all that mystical and magical revelation, they warned Kong this offense would not go unpunished….Caution indeed.

Here is how Bunny Wailer described what happened in the liner notes of the Bunny album I have introduced on this podcast edition of Smile Jamaica. As part of I ‘n’ I Wailers Family Tree selections.

<The mysterious death of Leslie Kong; 2 min. 48 sec.>

As Bunny noted, Kong wanted to exploit the group’s sales potential: notoriety + scarcity = $$$.  Call it Best Of and watch the records fly off the shelves.

He wasn’t interested in “art” but commerce. The Wailers took their craft seriously. Here was another rip off.  Call it black magic obeah, divine justice or just the eerie circumstance of timing.

On the very day the records were to be sent to the shops, Kong died of a brain aneurysm.  He was 38 years old. Caution indeed!

Caution – the road is wet. Black soul is black as jet. Caution the road is hot. You can do better than that

How about one more story:

Haile Selassie visited Jamaica in 1966. For Peter Tosh it was a foundation moment in the development of Rastafari worship.

<Rasta Shook Them Up: Peter Touch & the Wailers>

bless, Bobbylon

Haile Selassie

Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives: Jah-bruary 22, 2020 Annotated Playlist

Set 1:

  • Jah Woosh – Love Jah and Live; D.J. Legend (Original) ’70’s UK vinyl
  • Scientist & Forces of Music – Marcus Mosiah Garvey; International Heroes  of Dub (Tamoki Wambesi) early 80’s UK vinyl dub album of the hour
  • Horace Andy – Get Up; Living in the Flood (Melankolik) ’99 hidden track
  • Johnny Clarke – Hypocrites; Be Thankful (Foundation Music) 70’s Bunny Lee prod’n
  • Akabu – Blackbird; Warrior Queen (ON U Sound) ’89 UK roots dawta group
  • Prince Far I – Lambs Bread Collie; Ten Commandments (Rhino) ’79? 4:20 Cannabis Service Announcement
  • I Roy – Rootsman; 10″ (Observer Gold) ’76 UK

 

Set 2:

  • Bob Andy & Marcia Griffiths – Lean on Me; Sweet Memories (Nectar) ’76 married duo cover Bill Withers
  • Taxi Gang – Twilight Zone; Many Moods of Sly, Robbie & the Taxi Gang (Sonic) ’86 TV theme instrumental
  • Thievery Corporation feat. Black Uhuru – Boof ‘n’ Baff ‘n’ Biff; Abductions and Reconstructions (ES)
  • Ganja Tree – Hard Road to Travel; 10″ (I-Grow) 2006 Fr. militant steppers

Set 3: Best of Smile Jamaica 30+ Years

  • King Stitt – Fire Corner; Keep on Coming in the Dance (Trojan) ’69 comp.

<How King Stitch becomes King Stitt>

  • Zap Pow – Roots Man Reggae; Zap Pow (VP) ’78
  • Gregory Isaacs – Happiness Come; Love Is Overdue (Heartbeat) ’74
  • Judy Mowatt – Sisters Chant; Black Woman (Shanachie) ’76
  • Jah Power Band – No Formula Dub; Sensi Dub vol. 7 (Original) ’95 dub album of the hour

Set 4:

  • Bunny Wailer – Tread Along; Jamaican Singles vol. 1 (Solomonic) ’69
  • Triston Palmer & Jah Thomas – Give Me a Chance + Please Mr. Officer; In Disco Style Entertainment (Munich) ’80; Jah Thomas herbtune
  • Bedouin Soundclash feat. Vernon Buckley – Higher Ground; Street Gospels (Sideonedummy) 2008 vox from The Maytones
  • Abassi All-Stars feat. Minoo – December; No Answer 10″ EP (Deep Root) 2008 UK militant steppers feat. female vox

Set 5: Vinyl Is Vital

  • Ranking Joe – Tribute to Bob Marley; Rebel DJ (Jam Rock) ’81 Miami vinyl
  • The Blackstones – Soul Shakedown Party; Insight (Burning Sounds) ’81 UK red vinyl Bob Marley cover
  • Sophia George – Tenement Yard; Fresh (Winner) ’85 UK
  • Lee Milo – Hell is On Fire; Positive Movements (Rooney) ’89 Miami
  • Ini Kamoze – I Want it Ital; Here Comes the Hotstepper (Columbia) ’84 US comp.

 

Set 6:

  • Bob Marley & the Wailers – Back Out; Best of Bob Marley & the Wailers (Beverley’s) ’70 JA vinyl
  • Chalice – Master Blaster Jammin; Best of Bob Marley Stevie Wonder Bob Marley Tribute
  • Aisha – Tribulation; High Priestess (Ariwa) ’88
  • Sane Inmates – Masquerade Dance; 10″ (Ariwa) 2006 UK
  • Burning Babylon – Roots Fi Kool; Knives to the Trebel (Mars) 2004 Dub Album of the hour
This erroneously titled LP got the producer, Leslie Kong

Set 7:

  • The Wailers feat. Peter Touch – Rasta Shook Them Up; The Toughest (Heartbeat/Studio One) ’66 about Selassie’s visit to Jamaica
  • Bobby & Carol Kalphat – Memories of Bob; 7″ (Hit Vibes) ’81?
  • Faith D’Aguilar – Reggae Pioneers; 7″ (Gorgon) ’83
  • Lone Ranger – Tribute to Bob Marley; 7″ (Studio One) ’81
  • Jennifer Lara – Natural Misty; 7″ (Studio One) ’81 Bob Marley’s Natural Mystic

Set 8; Mutant Dub

  • Dub Syndicate feat. Big Youth – Wake Up; Fear of a Green Planet (Shanachie) ’98 Mutant Dub Set
  • Aldubb feat. Longfingah – Straight From the Heart; Welcome to Bassland (One Drop) 2012 Germ.
  • African  Heard Charge feat. Prof. Stretch – Brother of Reality; Drums of Defiance (ON U Sound) ’98 UFOria
  • Kid Loco – Three Foot High Reefer; Kill Your Darlings (Division One) 2001 Fr. herbtune
  • 2 Badcard – Noise Polluters; Chainstore Massacre (ON U Sound) 2003 comp.
  • Alpha & Omega feat. Nishka – Stepping Up + The Firmament; Dub Plate Selection vol. 2 (A & O) 2001 UK trance dub w/ female vox

Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives: Jah-bruary 15, 2020 – Aliens Don’t Stream!

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They are here and they are coming!

Greetings,

Sometimes I get asked: “What’s with all the UFO tunes on Smile  Jamaica. It’s even been mentioned in KRCL staff meetings: “Does he really belief that stuff?”

I do. My code of life is – Your perception is not my reality.

From my Sumerian Fundamentalist heritage through Ancient Aliens, Reggae is right in the middle.

Spaceship Egyptian glyph

Those who don’t like it, can scoff on over to another radio station. Because I ‘n’ I am vindicated in my belief.

Radio SOS signals from the next galaxy. Radio. Just like Carl Sagan reached out in 1977, the Aliens heard his message and are calling back.

A literal gold record

The Voyager mission when the 2 7’s clashed (1977) was meant to reach out to any sentient beings in the vastness of space. The gold record, which included Sumerian greetings: “May all be well” along side Chuck Berry’s Johnny B. Goode.

Well, it appears they got our gift. And here they come…..

Deep space radio signals on 16.5 day repetitive cycle

<Radio signals from outerspace; 33 sec.>

“Mysterious radio signals from space have been known to repeat, but for the first time, researchers have noticed a pattern in a series of bursts coming from a single source half a billion light-years from Earth”

Not random. But on a cycle. Like we would do: Are You There?…(repeat). Now they are doing the same to us: We got your message (repeat). If you have ever seen the Jodie Foster movie, Contact, that is the plot.

The Bulgarian libertarians at Zerohedge muse:

So could it be aliens seeking to establish contact via hidden messages meant to be deciphered from rational patterns?

Naw. This is what I think happened. They got our package from the Voyager. But those fools at NASA didn’t include a record player. Plus zero gravity in space makes it impossible to “drop the needle pon the record.”

I ‘n ‘I think it is fascinating that the contact is by a “dead medium” of radio. In 10 years, on Earth, 70% of all media will be streamed. Not broadcast (radio, satellite radio, television).

Aliens, embrace my philosophy: No digital for I ‘n’ I.

So just like Pres. 45 listens to the Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives while watching CNN with the sound muted, maybe someway, somehow,  some miracle, the Aliens found a fellow traveller, via I ‘n’ I Mixcloud archive, and appreciate the outer space inna terrestrial rub a dub.

Black wax. Shiny aluminum disks. No 1’s and 0’s. Why not?

Remember: Your perception is not  my reality.

Smile Jamaica’s Three reasons why Aliens made radio contact; 1 min. 44

  1. They need our gravity to play records

2. Qanon told I ‘n’ I that the radio signal on repeat isn’t an SOS but was deciphered as “Play more Bob Marley”

3. No oxygen in space to spark a doobie

bless, Bobbylon

Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives: Jah-bruary 15, 2020 Annotated Playlist; 61 sec.

Set1:

  • Dillinger – Rockers; Tribal War (New Cross) ’86 UK vinyl
  • Roots Radics – Roy Cousins Presents Kings and Queens of Dub (Tamoki Wambesi) 80’s UK vinyl dub album of the hour
  • Lorna Asher – It Comes From Afar; Straight to Your Heart (Twinkle) ’99
  • Bunny Lye Lye – Keep on Dancing; Protect Me Lord (Twin Bros) 80’s
  • Dubblestandart feat. Devon D – We All Have to Get High; Immigration Dub (Collision) 2007 Jah-stria: 4:20 Cannabis Service Announcement
  • Junior Dan – Give Thanks No Skanks + Yanks & Ises; 10″ (Hi Try) ’76 JA

Set 2:

  • Hollie Cook – Vessel of Love; Vessel of Love (Merge) 2018 UK dawta of Sex Pistol Paul Cook
  • Sly Dunbar – Mr. Music; Sly, Wicked & Slick (Virgin) ’79 dub to Brothers Johnson “Strawberry Letter No. 23”
  • Asherman Meets Dub Street Rockers – Jah Seed + Seed Grow;  Zion Ready (Jump Up) 2002 vox + dj
  • Max Romeo & Dennis Brown – African + I Am the Conqueror; 10″ (Observer Gold) ’75

Set 3: Smile Jamaica’s 30+ Years of Bob Tributes

  • Cedella Marley Booker – Mother Don’t Cry; Awake Zion (Rykodisc) ’84 Bob’s Mom 
  • Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers – Lyin’ in Bed; Best of (EMI America) ’88
  • Lui Lepki – Tribute to Bob Marley; Latenight Movie (Joe Gibbs) ’81
  • Prince Far I & the Suns of Arqa – ’83 Struggle; Musical Revue (ROIR) 12/7/82 in Manchster UK
  • Aba-Shanti-I & the Shanti-Ites – Tower of Babel; Jericho Walls Verse III (Falasha) ’99 UK Mut tant dub album of the hour

Set 4:

  • Sister Carol – Man to Man; Lyrically Potent (Heartbeat) ’96 Marley cover
  • Horace Andy – Bob Marley (His Songs Live On); Exclusively (Solid Groove) ’81 UK vinyl
  • Ringo – Great Superstar; 12″ (Top Ranking) ’81 FL dj to Horace Andy

Set 5: Vinyl Tributes to Bob Marley Set

  • Yellowman – In Memory; Rides Again (RAS) ’88 DC –
  • Session feat. Azeem – Tribute to Marley; Tribute to Bob Marley (M. Al’s) ’81 Oakland
  • Roots Uprising – Master Blaster; Beautiful Music (Top Ranking) ’81 Opa Locka, FL
  • Psalm of Bob Marley + Dub – Culture; Good Things (RAS) ’89 DC

Set 6:

  • Bob Marley & the Wailers – Cheer Up; Best of Bob Marley & the Wailers (Beverley’s) ’70 JA vinyl

<Cheer Up; 97 sec.>

  • Carlene Davis – Harder They Come; 15 Classic Hits (Sonic) ’80 Jimmy Cliff cover
  • Cocoa Tea – The Weed; The Herbalist (Xterminator) ’98 herbtune
  • Doctor Alimantado – Nat King Cole/Bob Marley; 12″ (ISDA) ’80 UK
  • Bunny Wailer – Dub D’sco vol. 2 (Solomonic) Dub Album of the Hour

Set 7:

  • The Wailers feat. Peter Tosh – Sinner Man; The Toughest (Heartbeat/Studio One) ’66 gospel cover

<Sinner Man; 42 sec.>

  • Afro Omega – All My Love; Pick Up the Pieces (Afro Omega) 2006 SLC w/ female vox
  • R. Zee Jackson – Come Now Father; 10″ (Sip a Cup) 2006 UK militant steppers

Set 8: UFOria

  • Devin the Dude – Zeldar; Just Tryin’ to Live (Rap a Lot) 2002 herbtune
  • Nicky Thomas – Doing the Moonwalk; Love of the Common People (Trojan) ’70
  • U Roy – Your Ace From Space; Version Galore (Virgin) ’68
  • UFO feat. Dee Dee Bridgewater – Flying Saucer; Saint Germain des Pres Cafe’ IV (Wagram) 2004 female vox
  • Thievery Corporation – Stargazing; Culture of Fear (ESL) 2012
  • Tena Stelin – UFO; Lion Symbol (Jah Warrior) ’99

Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives: Jah-bruary 8, 2020 – From One Bob to Another!

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Happy 75th birthday Robert Nesta Marley

Greetings,

Livicated, never dedicated to the life and legacy of Bob Marley. Born Feb. 6, 1945; 2020 would have been 75 years

<Livicated nah “dead” icated”; 61 sec.>

Let’s hear some Bob stories from Smile Jamaica’s 20+ years of Marley celebrations.

<Smile Jamaica’s Bob Marley 75 Tribute Show; 62 sec.>

First, watch this amazing clip of Redemption Song put together by the Marley Family

Bob and crew had really crossed over with Uprising. College kids and whites in America always loved Reggae, but blacks in America were rather cool to the music. It’s militancy and Old Testament songbook was out of step with 70’s secular disco and soul stylings.

But a disco mix of Comin’ in From the Cold was starting to be played at the end of the 70’s disco supremacy and even black radio was playing the album in limited rotation.

The year 1980 was gonna be the year the Wailers punched through. Blacks and whites at their North American concerts bringing the masses together in love and unity which would have probably lead to Ronald Reagan’s defeat in November that year and who knows what life would have been like had that scenario come to pass

He would have been on the pantheon of 80’s music titans like Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson, Madonna and Prince. Of that, I am certain.

Alas, it wasn’t to be. Bob collapsed jogging in Central Park….livicated nah dead-icate and come May, 1981 dozens of Bob’s contemporaries crashed the studios to pay homage.

<Bob Marley tribute songs; 27 sec.>

After Bob Marley was nearly assassinated by the CIA (According to Alex Jones and yours truly) at the….wait for it…..Smile Jamaica Concert, Dec. ’76. Bob made his “Exodus” to England.

While recording that landmark album, he was exposed to the punk rock movement happening. Rastas were outcasts in Jamaica. So were the punks in England.

<Bob loved punk rock; 36 sec.>

New wave, new rave
New wave, new wave, new rave
Let me tell you, we’re going to a party
And I hope you are hardy
So please don’t be naughty
For it’s a punky reggae party
New wave, new rave
New wave, new rave
Tell you what, take a joyful sound
To make the world go ’round
Come with your heart and soul
Come-a, come-a and rock your boat
‘Cause it’s a punky reggae party
And it’s tonight
It’s a punky reggae party
And it’s alright
Oh-oh-oh?
Rejected by society (do re mi fa)
Treated with impunity (so la te do)
Protected by their dignity (do re mi fa)
I face reality (so la te do)
New wave, new rave
New wave, new wave, new rave
Wailers be there
The Dammed, The Jam, The Clash
Maytals will be there
Doctor Feelgood too, ooh
No boring old farts, no boring old farts,…
Yet, Judy Mowatt, one of the songbirds in the I-Three, Bob’s female backing trio, thought Bob was more like the Biblical Prophet, Joseph. Leading his people out of bondage, not in Egypt, but Babylon. Heading to Zion in Africa.
<Bob Marley = Joseph; 34 sec.>
Last story was about the prodigious father Bob was. Eleven kids (two adopted from Rita) by seven different women. I give the scorecard:
<Bob’s brood; 46 sec.>
And let’s end with this couplet from Punky Reggae Party. Pure brilliance!
Rejected by society 
Treated with impunity 
Protected by their dignity 
I face reality
If mankind gets 500 more years, they will still mention the 3 B’s. Not Beethoven, Bach and Brahms. It will be Bob Dylan, The Beatles and Bob Marley!
Selah!
bless, Bobbylon

Set 1:

  • Cedella Marley Booker – He’s a Rastaman; Awake Zion (Rykodisc) ’84: Bob’s Mom: 3 hours of Bob Marley 75th Birthday Celebration
  • Chalawa – Natural Mystic Dub; Exodus Dub (Weston’s) ’78 Canadian dub of Bob Marley
  • Bob Marley & the Wailers – Smile Jamaica; Kaya (Deluxe) ’77 Lee “Scratch” Perry show theme!
  • Macka B – Bob; Hold Onto Your Culture (Ariwa) ’96
  • Culture – Double Tribute to the O.M.; Lion Rock (Heartbeat) ’82 – Order of Merit (Jamaica’s highest civilian honor)
  • Bob Marley & the Wailers – Easy Skanking; Boston ’78 (Tuff Gong) 6/8/78 live at the Boston Music Hall: 4:20 Cannabis Service Announcement
  • Jah Thomas – Tribute to the Reggae King; 12″ (Midnight Rock) ’81 JA

  • Set 2:
  • Alpha Blondy – Mystic Night Move; Masada (World Enterprise) ’92 Ivory Coast
  • Ijahman Levi – Bob and Friends Over There; Inside Out (Jahmani) ’89
  • Brigadier Jerry – Tribute to Marley; On the Road (RAS) ’90
  • Sue Chaloner – Missin’ Mr. Marley; 12″ (CNR) ’84 Neth.

Set 3: Best of 30+ Years of Bob Marley Tributes

  • Mikey Dread – In Memory (Jacob, Marcus, Marley); S.W.A.L.K. (Heartbeat) ’82 Best of Smile Jamaica 30+ Years Set
  • Sister Carol – Dedicated to Bob Marley; Black Cinderella (Jah Life/Heartbeat) ’84
  • Bunny Wailer – Stay With the Reggae; Marketplace (Shanachie) ’85
  • Prince Far I – Tribute to Bob Marley; Voice of Thunder (Trojan) ’83
  • Barrett Brothers – Bradsta Dub; Macka Dub (Clocktower) ’80 Familyman & Carly of the Wailers. Dub album of  the hour

Set 4: 7″ Jamaican Jukebox Bob Marley Tributes

  • The I Three – He’s  a Legend; 7″ (Tuff Gong) ’86 7″ 
  • Prince Ital Joe – I Miss Mr. Marley; 7″ (Royal Safari Music)
  • Errol Scorcher – Sounds of Hon. Marley; 7″ (Dance Hall) ’82
  • Toots & the Maytals – Marley’s Gone (His Songs Live On); 7″ (Louv) 8/4/82 live at Reggae Sunsplash

Set 5: Vinyl Tributes to Bob Marley

  • Bankie Banx – Remember Bob; Soothe Your Soul (Redemption) ’82 Antigua
  • Papa Finnigan & Junior Ranking – Tribute to Bob Marley; Two the Hard Way (Heartbeat) ’83 Cambridge, MA
  • Shaka Man – If It Wasn’t For the Rastaman (Tribute to Bob); 2030 A.D. (Majicaa) 80’s Los Angeles
  • Carlton Livingston – Tribute to Bobby; Soweto (El Bebo International) ’81 DC

Set 6:

  • Judy Mowatt – Joseph; Black Woman (Shanachie) ’76 – Bob as biblical prophet
  • Ky-Mani Marley; Dear Dad; CD Single (Gee Street) ’98 Bob’s son
  • Abyssinians – Jah Marley; Last Days (Tabou1) ’99
  • Stevie Wonder – Master Blaster (Jammin’); Hotter Than July + dub 7″ (Tamla) ’81
Stevie Wonder in dub!

Set 7:

  • Randeesh – Bob Marley is a River of Love; Courage (Mountain Lion) 2004 Canada
  • Isaac Haile Selassie – Dear Bob; CD Single (Resin Music) ’99
  • Bob Marley & the Wailers – Punky Reggae Party; CD Single (Tuff Gong) ’77 Lee “Scratch” Perry mix

Set 8:

  • Bob Marley & the Wailers – Iron, Lion, Zion; CD Single (Tuff Gong) ’92
  • Everton Blender – Bob; Piece of the Blender (Heartbeat) ’96
  • Alpha & Omega – Freedom Fighters; Sound System Anthology (ROIR) ’95
  • Winston Groovy – Nightshift; 12″ (Sound City) ’85 Commodores cover

Words of Wisdom:

Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives: Jah-nuary 18, 2020 – Green Bay Killing!

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Greetings,

Well that was ugly.

I ‘n’ I have 4 major (media) obsessions

  1. Reggae music
  2. Ancient Aliens/Sumerian Religion
  3. San Francisco Giants baseball
  4. Green Bay Packers football
.

<Putting the green in Green Bay> 63 sec.

I ‘n’ I was in Vegas when the Niners thumped the Packers during Thanksgiving. That heinous loss was a wake up call to the team and I ‘n’ I hoped for a better result after the Packers rolled up everyone else and beat the quality Seahawks, at home, in the playoffs.

Many Smile Jamaica listeners rung me up on the show last week to wish me well. Feeling good Saturday night….

Last Sunday,  the Niners literally ran over the Pack. Aaron Rodgers looked old and now I ‘n’ I get to count down the days until baseball season in April.

Grumble, grumble, grumble. First world problems.

(BTW – the song Green Bay Killing refers to a police massacre of Rastas in Jamaica. So my apologies for making light of a sports beat down)

bless, Bobbylon

Praise Jah I won’t have to watch anymore of those stupid State Farm ads on the teevee

Set 1:

  • Clint Eastwood – Greetings to All; Death in the Arena (Channel One) ’78 JA vinyl
  • Wackie’s Rhythm Force – Act V (Wackies) ’85 Bronx vinyl dub album of the hour
  • Zion Initiation – Jah Light; Take Us Home (Cultures of Soul) ’79-88 Boston roots reggae
  • The Tennors – Ride Your Donkey; Broken Flowers soundtrack (Decca) ’68 rock steady
  • Niney the Observer – Freaks; Freaks (Heartbeat) ’92
  • Don Carlos & Gold – Harvest Time; Raving Tonight (RAS) ’83 4:20 Cannabis Service Announcement
  • Jah Thomas – Please Mr. Officer; In Disco Style (Munich) ’80 bonus herbs
  • Cha Cha & Ranking Joe – One Day You’ll Know; 10″ (Above Rock) 2010 UK female Chinese singer

Set 2:

  • Zara McFarlane – Fussin’ & Fightin’ – Arise (Brownswood) 2017 UK dawta
  • Bunny Wailer – Lively Up Yourself; Hall of Fame (RAS) ’95 50 Bob Marley songs for his 50th birthday
  • The Melodians – Jah Reggae; Irie Feeling (RAS) ’83
  • The Heptones  & Joe White – Give Me the Right + President Rock; 10″ (Success) ’73 UK

Set 3: Best of Smile Jamaica 30+ Years

  • Aswad – Concrete Slaveship; Aswad (Mango) ’76 
  • Althea & Donna – Sorry; Uptown Top Ranking (Virgin Front Line) ’78 female dj duo
  • Sylford Walker & Welton Irie – Lambsbread + Lambsbread International; Lambsbread International (Blood & Fire) ’79
  • Tappa Zukie & the Musical Intibidators – Sidewalk Dub; Escape From Hell (Kingston Sounds) ’78 Dub Album of the Hour

Set 4:

  • Casselberry DuPree – Comin’ In From the Cold; City Down (Icebergg) ’86 Jah-waukee vinyl female cover of Bob Marley
  • Mykal Rose – I Put a Spell On You; Red Gold Green & Blue (Trojan) 2019 Screaming Jay Hawkins’ cover
  • Sane Inmates – Masquerade Dance; 10″ (Ariwa) 2005 UK instrumental

Set 5: Vinyl is Vital

  • Bob Marley & the Wailers feat. Peter Tosh – Go Tell It On the Mountain; Best of Bob Marley& the Wailers (Beverley’s) ’70 JA

<Go Tell It On the Mountain; 1 min. 25>

  • Basement 5 – Immigration; 1965-1980 (Island) ’80 UK post punk dub: became Big Audio Dynamite
  • Charlie Chaplin – Naw Lef Me Chalwa; Red Pond (Tamoki Wambesi) ’82 UK herbtune
  • Bim Sherman & Yabby Youth – Happiness; Hits From The House of Shaka (Jah Shaka) ’85 UK
Group went on to Big Audio Dynamite

Set 6:

  • Peter Touch & the Wailers – Amen; The Toughest (Heartbeat/Studio One) ’65 gospel cover

<Amen; 68 sec.>

  • Nora Dean – Barbwire; Love Is All I Bring (Trojan) ’68 woman’s comp
  • Junior Thomas & the Volcanos – Bumps in the Night; Beware (Truth & Soul) 2015
  • Mungo’s Hi-Fi & Brother Culture – ing; 10″ (Scotch Bonnet) 2007 UK

Set 7: Martin Luther King, Jr.

  • Max Romeo – Martin Luther King; Reconstruction (Mango) ’77 US vinyl: MLK set
  • Fred Locks – Black Leaders; Culturally (Tan-Yah) ’96
  • Zema & Martin Luther King Jr. – Free at Last + Dub; Black Sheep
  • King Tubby – Natty Dub; Roots of Dub (Moll-Selekta) ’75 Dub Album of the Hour

Set 8: Mutant Dub

  • Lee “Scratch” Perry – Spacecraft; Heavy Rain (ON U Sound) 2019 UFOria
  • Thievery Corporation – Cosmic Game; Cosmic Game (ESL) 2005 DC
  • DJ Rupture feat. Lily – Lonesome Side; Special Gunpower (Tigerbeat6) 2004
  • Dubmatix – Deep Dark Dub (TVS Rmx); King Size Dub Chapter 15 (Collision) 2011
  • Leftfield feat. Roots Manuva – Dusted; Rhythm & Stealth (Hard Hands) ’99
  • Zion Train feat. Professor Skank – Life That I Choose; Live as One Remixed (Universal Egg) 2009
  • Jah Mason – Ganja For Life; 10″ (Calabash)  2010 UK herbtune

Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives: Jah-nuary 11, 2020 – World War 3.0/Reggae Prophecy

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Greetings,

The last time I ‘n’ I felt the need to lay down a Reggae set about World War III was Summer 2014.

Civil War in Ukraine. Russians in the East, Ukrainians in the West went at it and in the middle of the conflict a Dutch airliner was shot down.

Sabres were rattled. Much hostile rhetoric. NATO vs. Putin. WTF?

Bunny Wailer: Ceasefire and light the chalice

So I do what I’n’ I always do. Go into the Smile Jamaica Ark-ives and hunt down the appropriate peace treaty tunes mixed with cautionary anti-war roots.

I ‘n’ I political philosophy can summed up in three planks

  1. Everything turned to shit when people quit praising the original Holy Trinity: Anu, Enki and Ishtar
  2. Extra terrestrials are here to try and stop us from destroying the planet they need for their gold stocks
  3. “Clowns to the Left of Me, Jokers to the Right….here I ‘n’ I am stuck in the middle with you.”
My vote for 2020

The World War III set 2014 was offered, Putin heard it on my Mixcloud stream and he backed off.

And while things aren’t perfect in Ukraine, the galaxy, not just Earth, was spared Chernobyl 2,000,000.0.

Putin’s a dubber. Goes by the name DJ Lemonhead

Bad Vlad always favorites Smile Jamaica streams on Mixcloud

***

Wheel it forward to 2020. Pres. 45. The Orange Messiah. Swamp is draining like my dad’s cerebral spinal fluid shunt. Barely, but supposedly dripping.

Just came off the road from seeing my Pop’s and family in Albuquerque then Phoenix. Intense week of caregiving (my Pop’s has NPH which makes him: wacky, wobbly and wet).

Got in one day of cratedigging in Phoenix. Love their vinyl shops much better in 60 degree weather than 110.

Among the Reggae gems you hear I ‘n’ I rinse out on this podcast, I found some grooving word LPs.

  1. Fly back to SLC Jan. 1
  2. Put together weekly Mixcloud podcast Jan. 2
  3. Rise and Shine 7am to post podcast Jan. 3
  4. See on Twitter that the Iranian General had been assassinated by the “Swamp Drainer.” Fuck it. I ‘n’ I am going back to bed
I fought the swamp and the swamp won

<Bobbylon’s World War 3.0  Set; 1 min. 47 sec.>

***

No one wants to see their ancestral home destroyed. As you may or may not know: My Mom’s family emigrated/escaped  from Iran around World War I.

I ‘n’ I identify as an Assyrian American/Sumerian Fundamentalist.

Bobbylon’s Sky God – Anu. I ‘n’ I put the “old” in old school

My graduation gift for 1983 was promised a trip to Iran. Alas, the Islamic Revolution in ’79 scuttled that. Lebanon, Gaza, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iraq 2.0, ISIS/ISIL, Libya, Somalia, Syria. Looks like Iran got next, alas!

So back into the  Ark-Ives. Pull another set of World War 3.0 Reggae/Punk/Ska

  1. The Clash – Rock the Casbah – topical in that the Ayatollahs had banned popular music in Iran
  2. Ruffy & Tuffy – If the Third World War Is a Must. Roots twins prophecy: there are no winners when Russia ‘n’ America “come fi buss.”
  3. The Special AKA – War Crimes. 2 Tone ska regarding massacres in Beirut Lebanon compared to the death camp of Belsen. “The numbers are different but the crime is still the same.”
  4. Mikey Dread – World War 3.0 is only minutes away!

Rumor has it Pres. 45 likes to listen to the Smile Jamaica Ark-Ive Podcasts while watching CNN with the TV muted.

Big Macs, cheeseburgers and Smile Jamaica. Let us hope he hears I ‘n I Prophecy and heeds the call…NO WAR IN IRAN

My wish is that if you are reading this, you listen to the anti-War set and pray to the sky god(s) of your choosing that there be NO WAR IN IRAN

bless, Bobbylon

Smile Jamaica Annotated Playlist: Jah-nuary 11, 2020; 90 sec.

Set 1:

  • Pancho Alphanso – Watch This Sound; Watch This Sound (Shanachie) ’82 Ho Ho Kus, NJ vinyl
  • Tad’s Logic Dub Band – Science; Chapter 1 Dub Mix (Tad’s) ’84 UK vinyl dub album of the hour; Thomas Dolby’s “She Blinded Me With Science”
  • The Gladiators – Bless Our Soul; Send I a Lion (Nighthawk) ’84 comp
  • Ayo – Who; Ticket to the World (Motown) 2013 Nigerian dawta
  • Daweh Congo – Herb Tree; Human Rights & Justice (Roots & Culture) 2000 4:20 Cannabis Service Announcement
  • Spliffy Dan – Dreadlocks Preaching Love; 10″ (Rockers) ’80 UK A. Pablo prod’n

Set 2:

  • The Upsetters – Dyon-Anaswa; Return of the Super Ape (Trojan) ’78 Lee “Scratch” Perry/Black Ark era
  • Bunny Wailer – One Love; Hall of Fame (RAS) ’95: 50 Bob Marley songs for 50th birthday
  • Susan Cadogan – Say a Little Prayer; Songs of Aretha (Ariwa) 2019 Aretha Franklin cover
  • Dizzy & Soul Syndicate + Philip Frazer – Lonely Reggae + Only Jah Knows; 10″ (Impact!) UK cover of Herb Alpert trumpet “Lonely Bull

Set 3: Best of Smile Jamaica 30+ Years 

  • The Abyssinians – Poor Jason Whyte; Satta Massa Gana (Heartbeat) ’76
  • Rita Marley – My Kind of War; Harambe (Shanachie) ’82
  • Niney the Observer – Blood & Fire; Freaks (Heartbeat) ’92 update of his classic herbtune
  • Capital Letters – Smoking My Ganja 12″; Headline News (Greensleeves) ’79 UK herbtune

Set 4:

  • Jimmy Cliff – Roots Radical; Rhythm Come Forward vol. 3 (Columbia) ’82 comp.
  • Alton & Hortense Ellis – Why Did You Leave Me to Cry; Cry Tough (Heartbeat/Treasure Isle) rocksteady brother and sister
  • Thievery Corporation feat. David Byrne – The Heart’s a Lonely Hunter (ESL) 2005 UFOria
  • Singers & Players feat. Congo Ashanti Roy – Breaking Down the Pressure; 10″ (ON U Sound) ’83 UK picture sleeve
  • Maya Dread; Yard Man Style  – Kaya Dub (Kaya) ’75 Dub Album of the Hour

Set 5: Vinyl is Vital

  • Bob Marley & the Wailers – Soul Captives; Best of Bob Marley & the Wailers (Beverley’s) ’70 JA

<Soul Captives; 90 sec.>

  • The Heavenly Twins – Hide Me, Rock of Ages; I Am On the Battlefield of the Lord (Social Music) ’67  UK Jamaican gospel w/ male and female vox
  • Messenjah – Rock You High; Rock You High (WEA) ’82 US
  • Joe Higgs – So It Goes; High Times All-Star Exposion (Alligator) ’85 Chicago
  • Zara McFarlane & Dennis Bovell – East of the River Nile; 12″ (Brownswood) 2019 UK dawta

Set 6:

  • Peter Touch & the Wailers – Maga Dog; The Toughest (Heartbeat/Studio One) ’64

<Peter Touch’s Maga Dog; 1 min.>

  • The Ethiopians – Let It Be; Slave Call (Heartbeat) ’75 Beatles cover
  • Sister Carol – Natty Dread Congo; Lyrically Potent (Heartbeat) ’96 Bob Marley cover
  • Undivided Roots – England Cold; 10″ (Well Crucial) ’82 UK picture sleeve

Set 7: World War III

  • The Clash – Rock the Casbah; 12″ (Epic) ’82 US picture sleeve: World War III Set
  • Ruffy & Tuffy – If the Third World War Is a Must; Climax (Black Star) ’88 Finland vinyl
  • The Special AKA – War Crimes; 10″ (2 Tone) ’82 2 Tone ska picture sleeve
  • Mikey Dread – World War III; Beyond World War III (Dread at the Controls) ’81
Recorded after massacres in Beirut, Lebanon 1982

Set 8: Mutant Dub

  • Claude Fontaine – Hot Tears; Claude Fontaine (Innovative Leisure) 2019 Fr. dubstress
  • Mad Professor feat. Love Clinic – Studio 54 Dub; Afrocentric 5: Black Liberation Dub Chapter 5 (Ariwa) ’98 Blondie’s Rapture feat. female vox
  • Andrea – Come Back; CD Single (vx) 2005 Canadian
  • Sevendub  feat. Angelique – Fire (Soul Fire mix); Dub Club Edition (Collision) 2006 Germ. w/ female vox
  • Lee “Scratch”Perry – Heaven & Hell; 10” (ON U Sound) 2019 UK picture sleeve
Claude Fontaine – French dubstress