First re-cap after the election. I have been voting since 1984 and I can’t imagine two worse choices for President than what we got this go round: A greedy, law flaunting incompetent who helped ruin the other states in the Middle East George W didn’t destroy versus a human Cheeto reality host. Ick.
The only good that came out of this election was this Nation dubbled the number of States that can re-assert mankind’s 8000 year connection to Jah’s wisdom weed. Three other states (including my homeland – Montana) approved Medical Marijuana.
Medical MJ: Jah-rkansas, Jah-rida, Jah-tana, North Jah-kota
Jah-chigan’s legalization bid was yanked by an activist judge.
20% of this Nation now have benefitted from cannabis now.
In 2013 – 2 down, 48 to go!
In 2015 – 4 down, 46 to go!
In 2017 – 8 down, 42 to go!
In 2019 – ???
Maybe Obama will use an Executive Order and just legalize it everywhere. Finally some “Hope” for “Change” as he is packing up and moving out of the White House.
bless, robt
<8 down, 42 to go! 67 sec.>
Come on Prez? You smoked it. Your dawta got busted smoking. Since Hillary went down in flames, here is your last chance for a legacy! LEGALIZE IT EVERYWHERE
A+ record from the Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives. Happy Father’s Day!
Greetings,
<Happy Father’s Day; 37 sec.>
Happy Father’s Day to my Pops, Bob and all Father’s including the Heavenly Father – HIM.
In March I helped my folks become Snowbirds on a grueling drive from Salt Lake City to Phoenix. I drove because my Pops has some back issues from a lifetime of selling insurance on the road and golfing.
The whole way he was trying to shake the bee stings out of his fingers. Sure enough. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
So I joked on air while my Pops heals he has to drink Busch Lite with his left hand for a while.
So I start off this Ark-Ive of Smile Jamaica with a killer jam by Charlie Ace Father and Dreadlocks. The story of a Parson’s son who leaves for college in a Three Piece Suit and returns home a Rastaman in humble dungarees and sandals. When his Mom nearly drops down dead, Charlie sings out, “the power of Jah is moving on!”
Father and Dread Locks – Charlie Ace (lyrics transcribed by Robert Nelson)
Hail Daddy-man!
Wha’ppen when him come for the Holidays
Yes-I! Whap’n rate up a draw of herb fi I place y’know!
Son – who dat? No Parson’s son turn Rastaman!
Yes-I! Man sight the fullness y’know?
Parson send him one son fi (to) college for the study of religious knowledge
Some day the boy decides to come home for Holiday
But when he enter him home something strange happen
He wasn’t wearing slicker suit
He wasn’t wearing big heel boots
He was wearing dungarees and sandals
And when he moved his tam from his head
Parson frightened til him was drop down dead
When him natty dreadlocks drop to the ground
So, his Dad looked at him and said:
My son, my son what comes over you? What happened?
You pass your GCE and sit upon University. What happened?
I work morning, noon and night to get you there. What happened?
He said, Daddy you don’t understand like I do
But Jah has called upon I
I have sight of the Promised Land
Daddy, I know the way you feel but one day you will understand
My son, what is the plan for the future?
He said: Daddy, I plan to use my education to defend human rights, equality and justice throughout the Universe
This time the Mother is in the kitchen cooking the best dressed chicken
So she run when she realize her one son was home to greet her one son
When she sight Natty Dreadlocks she nearly drop down dead
She said: My son, my son. What are we going to tell the people of the neighborhood?
He said: Mom, tell them that the power of Jah is moving on-ya!
bless, robt
Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives: Annotated Playlist – June 18, 2016; 36. sec.
Set 1:
Heptones – Cool Rasta; Trojan Story (Trojan) ’77 3LP UK box set vinyl
Natural Roots – Concrete Tower Dub; Natural Roots (Only Roots) ’84 Fr. vinyl: Dub Album of the Hour
Charlie Ace & Scorcher – Father and Dread Locks; Studio One DJ’s 2 (Soul Jazz) Happy Father’s Day
<Story of a parson’s son who returns a Rasta; 25 sec.>
Sound Dimension – Version; 7” (Studio One) Dub to above. Throw Mi Corn riddim
Aisha – Gunman; True Roots (Ariwa) ’94 Mad Professor prod’n
Toots & the Maytals – Take Me Home Country Roads; Trojan Story (Trojan) ’74 John Denver cover
Alpha & Omega feat. Gregory Isaacs – Bush Ganja; Legend of A & O (Dopic) 2006 best of UK trance dub; 4:20 Cannabis Service Announcement
Horace Andy – Satisfy Me; 10” (Channel One) ’83 UK
Augustus Pablo – Full Up; 12” (Rockers International) melodica update of Studio One riddim
Aswad – “black” in the languages of Amharic and Arabic
Set 3: Wailers Family Tree
Ziggy Marley – Start It Up; Ziggy Marley (Tuff Gong) New
Bob Marley & the Wailers – Concrete; Rastaman Vibration (Deluxe Edition) (Tuff Gong) ’75: dub to Jah Live
<Concrete = Jah Live Dub; 24 sec.>
Bunny Wailer – Want to Go Home; Retrospective (Shanachie) ’88 best
Peter Tosh – Testify; No Nuclear War (EMI America) ‘87
<Murdered 9/11 1987. Bad omen for 14 years later; 46 sec.>
Revolutionaries – Dub Over Dub (Heartbeat/High Note) Dub Album of the Hour
Cut down just as I got into Reggae hardcore! Livicate never deadicate
Set 4: Best of Smile Jamaica – 26+ Years
Rita Marley – Harambe; Harambe (Shanachie) ’82 harambe – “pull together” in Swahili; 16 sec.
Ini Kamoze – Wings With Me; Mini LP (Taxi) ‘84
Gregory Isaacs – Special to Me; Private Beach Party (Greensleeves) ‘85
UB40 – Rat in Mi Kitchen; Rat in the Kitchen (A & M) ‘86
Harambe – Kenya slogan for “Pull together”. Get rid of the British colonizers
Set 5: Vinyl is Vital
Well Pleased and Satisfied – Love Train; Burning Sampler (Burning Sounds) ’79 UK red vinyl
Cassandra – Thank You For The Many Things You’ve Done; Babylon Soundtrack (Takoma) ’80 UK
Tony Tuff – Born in the Ghetto; Presenting Mr. Tuff (Black Roots) ’81 JA
Tony Bell & Kutchie – Thief Can’t Prosper; Mercy (Indigo Music) ’89 UK
Daddy Freddy Meets the Rootsman – Back Pon Dem Case; Old School New School (BSI) 2000 Portland Ore.
Red Vinyl from the Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives
Set 6: Rockers do Reggae
Sade – By Your Side (Reggae Mix); CD Single (Sony) 2000 Sly & Robbie prod’n
Jackson Browne – Everywhere I Go; I’m Alive (Elektra) ‘93
The Clash – White Man in Hammersmith Palais; From Here to Eternity (Epic) punkers out of sorts at Jamaican concert in London : Live Best Of (Baltimore, MD)
<Punkers love Jamaican Reggae; 43 sec.>
Ruts DC Meet the Mad Professor –Rhythm Collisoion; Rhythm Collision Dub (ROIR) ’80 UK punkers do dub
zsf
Set 7:
Mo’Kalamity & the Wizards – Vision; African Reggae (Putomayo) 2006 Cape Verdean group w/ female vox
Audio Active feat. Bim Sherman – Free the Marijuana; Happy Shopper in Europe EP (Beat) ’95 Jah-pon mutant dub herbtune
Eric Rebel Lion Buddles – Rebel Lion.; Roots of Black People (Progressive Internaitonal)
Set 8: Mutant Dub
Legend of A & O (Dopic Sounds) 2006 UK ttrance dub w/ female vox: Mutant Dub Set
Steffe – Heart of Fire; More Bass Than Space (Dubmission) 2000 UK
Lee “Scratch” Perry vs. the Moody Boyz feat. Roots Manuva – International Broadcaster; King Size Dub: ON U Sound 30 Year Anniversary (Echo Beach) 2011
So I’m embarking on a home remodel so I can make some sensi out ofmy Vinyl Room.
Gonna make a Library at the Ark-Ives located in a secret location in SLC.
So that means I have to pack up about 5000 Lps and 12″ style. Bought the deep plastic Tupperware bins for the job.
So as I harvest black wax from sagging pressboard shelves into these stackable bins, I stripped out the crème de la crème for airing on this Ark-Ive Edition.
Enjoy the black wax attack. Ultra rare and heavy roots:
Time to upgrade from the old pressboard shelves into something better
bless, robt
Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives: May 14, 2016 – playlist, Reggae History Lessons, Photos, Captions
❤ 3 hours of Vinyl; 30 sec.>
Sets devoted to:
Roots Dawtas
Seven Leaf
Mutant Dub
Set 1: All Vinyl LP’s
Johnny Clarke – Jah Jah See Them Come; Authorized Version (Virgin Front Line) ’76 UK, Culture cover
Fe Me Time All-Stars; Dub I (Pressure Sounds) ’72 Dub Album of the Hour; Jimmy Radway prod’n
Mikey Dread – Everybody Needs a Proper Education; Dread at the Controls (Trojan) ’79 UK
Dennis Brown – Together Brothers; Joseph’s Coat of Many Colours (Laser) ’80 UK
Jimmy Cliff – Goodbye Yesterday; Pop Gold (Island) ’77 Austrian best of
<Jimmy Cliff – Rock Hall of Fame selection; 37 sec.>
The Itals – Herbs Pirate; Brutal Out Deh (Nighthawk) ’81 4:20 Cannabis Service Announcement
Lion Zion – Gas Guzzler; Reggae From America (House of Natty) ’76 Oakland; Lee Perry mix
Jimmy Cliff – Rock and Roll Hall of Famer
Set 2
Krieger-Densmore Reggae Bonanza – Kinky Reggae; 12” (Rhino) ’83 LA
Cornel Campbell – Yes I Will; Yes I Will (Micron) ’79 Canada
Phillip Fraser – The Joy It Brings; Big Showdown (Black Solidarity) ’85 JA
Jah Ruby – Black Invader; Dread Affair (Afrik) ’77 JA
Utah ski tradition: Be coming down the mountain in time for 4:20 Cannabis Service Announcement on Smile Jamaica
Greetings,
Now what? Settling in after the Holidays? A week before school. Cold, wet and gray. Skiers love to get above SLC’s haze and shred some powder.
I am horrible at skiing. But I know many locals love to spend a day on the hill and chillax on their way back to the Valley in time for 4:20 on Smile Jamaica.
New year, more Roots. Same as it ever was for 26+ Years from Smile Jamaica. Forward til Spring!; 34 sec.
bless, robt
Rasta variant of the Snowplow method: the Skank-plow
Set 1:
Heptones – Can’t Hide From Jah; Good Life (Greensleeves) ‘79 UK vinyl
Sly & Robbie feat. Bob Dylan – I For an Eye; Doctor Dread: Theremin in Dub (Tsosume) 2013 Czech; Dub Album of the Hour: I & I w/ theremin
<Theremin instrument inna dubwize; 24 sec.>
Peter Tosh – Don’t Look Back; Complete Captured Live (EMI America) Aug. 23, 1983: Greek Theatre, Los Angeles
Dillinger – Jah Love; Cocaine (Charly) ’83 over Linval Thompson’s “Twelve Tribes of Israel”
Frankie Paul – Pass the Tu-Sheng-Peng; Pass the Tu-Sheng-Peng (Greensleeves) ’84 4:20 Cannabis Service
African Pearl – Zion Bound; 10” (Ariwa) 2005 UK female
Inventor of the self-named Theremin. Go on the Google. Amazing story
Set 2:
The Wailers – Kinky Reggae; Talkin’ Blues (Tuff Gong) live on KSAN Radio – SF: Oct. 1973
<Wailers Live on radio station KSAN; 46 sec.>
Hollie Cook – Postman; Twice (Mr. Bongo) 2014 dawta of Sex Pistol Paul Cook
See-I – Dinner of Herb; Dinner of Herb EP (Exile) 2003 mutant dub herbtune
Dan I – Like a Seed; 10” (Moa Anbassa) 2008 It. Dub
Hosted the Wailers in studio, Oct., 1973
Set 3: Best of Smile Jamaica – 26 Years; 15 sec.
Linton Kwesi Johnson – Fite Dem Back; Forces of Victory (Mango) ’79 UK dub poet
Another tradition bites the dust on Smile Jamaica via the heinous Digital Millennium Copywrong Act.
Let us count the ways the DMCA has screwed me on Smile Jamaica
No bootlegs (I have dozens of killer Reggae bootlegs and rarities)
No more 3 hour artist shows (No Bob Marley A to Z like I have done). Can’t play more than four songs by an artist in a 3 hour bloc
No Album Side. Back in the day I used to play a whole side of a rare, non-CD disk to go beyond the one shot. Can’t play more than 2 songs in a row off an album
No more Dub Album of the Week. The latest outrage. For 27 years I have always talked over a singular dub release to keep a consistent flow bubbling so the music never stops. But Mixcloud keeps flagging the shows for DMCA violations. Their algo’s pick up the signature of the CD even tho I have “wrecked the mix” by talking over it. Nope.
<DMCA follies (1): No more Dub Album of the Week; 15 sec.>
<DMCA follies (2): No more than 4 songs per album; 30 sec.>
Fiya bun the asinine DMCA!
So I decided to just punt away from CD’s …
<…No aluminum for I ‘n’ I>
and drop down some Black Wax. All 12″ singles. Long dubble length, combination style all the while.
3 Hours of Disco Mix; 19 sec.
Plus bass-delic echo
The role that the 12″ played in Jamaica was strictly for the dance. Dreads and pretty girls would head for the club. The clubs wanted the deejays to stretch out the songs so that a guy could rub a dub with his best gal and work up a thirst.
From there the 12″ spread into the New York and Miami discos catering to the gay, Latin and urban black markets. Reggae always ahead of its time!
DISCO – Never a four letter word on Smile Jamaica
<Reggae History Lesson: The 12″ Single started in Jamaica; 37 sec.>
So enjoy these two dozen A+ riddim explosions!
<A+ for sure!; 9 sec.>
bless, robt
Fred Flintstone loves the drum and the bass to make Wilma wind up her waist!
Celebrating 27 Years of Reggae Radio! Give thanks!
Greetings,
Spring 1988. Salt Lake City/University of Utah Campus. Reagan’s last year in the White House; 21 sec.
Ronald Wilson Reagan – 666. Did fund the Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives via Student Loans and Pell Grants. Give thanx! Ronnie Raygun. Believed in UFO’s too
Celebrating 27 years of Reggae Radio. My roommate and I were in The Pie (University of Utah campus) listening to Community Station KRCL. They were looking for early morning hosts. Him and I went to the new volunteer meeting. He wanted to do College Rock. They had enough of that. I was interested in doing Reggae.
I had been a volunteer at the Univ. of Utah’s K-UTE “radio” station that only broadcast in the Student Union. Called my show Positive Vibrations after the Marley tune. But that wasn’t real radio. But gave me the idea Terrestrial Radio was something I wanted to do.
If I could commit to 3-6 AM, I could do a Reggae Show. Late Spring of ’88 radio training. 4th of July weekend: The debut of 3 O’Clock Road Block: Graveyard Roots Reggae Ska and African music. During the coldest winter in Decades. Praise Jah for AAA!
<1988 Alaska Clipper Winter; 34 sec.>
I was cratedigging in Montana during the actual 27 year date and the July 11 show was to commemorate that legacy. 43 sec.
Tunis, Montana – Suburb of Fort BentonPaid my dues early Mornings: 3 O’Clock Roadblock: Monday 3-6AM. KRCL 90.9FM July 1988-Aug. 1989
<Montana Roadtrip – Climate Report; 47 sec.>
bless, robt
Founded 1846. The Birthplace of I ‘n’ I: The Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives
SMILE JAMAICA ARK-IVES: JULY 11, 2015 PLAYLIST:
27 Year Anniversary: Best of the 70’s: Polyester nah jester! 15 sec.
The 70’s – Roots Reggae highpoint showcased on Smile Jamaica for two and a half decades plus
Set 1:
Naturalites – Picture on the Wall; Rub-a-Dubble Reggae vol. 1 (CSA) ’83 UK
Scientist – King of Dub (Kingdom) ’81 Dub Album of the Week
<First Dub Album added to the Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives: May 1987; 12 sec.>
Bob Marley & the Wailers – Jah Live; Countryman Soundtrack (Mango) ’76; you cyaan kill God!
<Jah Live – Bob’s comments on Selassie’s overthrow, 1974; 54 sec.>
The Dergue: Ethiopian Communists overthrow His Imperial Majesty, 1974.
Burning Spear – Door Peep Shall Not Enter; Presenting Burning Spear (Studio One) ‘70
Is Reggae music gospel music? Yes and no. What attracted me to Reggae back in the mid 80s was certainly the Rastafari themed music from stalwarts (pronounced stal-a-watt in Jamaica) like Marley, Tosh and Spear.
Of course there is plenty of non-religious Reggae: love songs, pop and soul covers.
I doubt Reggae would have had such cultural saturation in the West on the backs of novelty hits like “Fattie Boom Boom” and “Israelites” or AM covers with a shuffle beat. Something about Reggae’s heavenly message attracted interested Westerners looking for something exotic and non-mainstream.
In the 70s lots of people in the West opted out of Christianity, (especially Catholicism and Judaism), and went for something new. Some went to cults. Others went for Reggae: Movement of Jah People while also protesting against the “system.” Or the corrupt and greedy “shit-stem” as Peter Tosh called it. Socialism with a small “s”.
Tired of doing the Judeo-Christian bit? Choose: Jim Jones or Haile Selassie
You don’t have to be a Rasta to sing or enjoy Reggae. But the conventional wisdom is that Reggae is identified as a counter cultural exploration of worship of His Imperial Majesty as a Black Jesus. West Africans ripped from the continent, put down in Jamaica in bondage and expected to worship their master’s white god.
Rebelling against that physical and mental slavery, while still preserving Christian traditions, led to Rastafari in Jamaica: Look to a black king crowned in East Africa. The return of Jesus who will lead blacks out of “Babylon” (The West, Jamaica, UK, America, etc.) to “Zion” (Africa or better still Ethiopia.)
I’m not a Rasta. My roots are in Northern Europe and Iran. I consider myself a Rastafari empathizer. Someone who understands and appreciates the religion as a devoted observer. Not a devotee.
The Smile Jamaica formula: 50% Rasta music; 20% Mutant Dub; 20% Seven Leaf; 9% UFOs; 1% Lovers Rock
I grew up a twice a year Methodist: Christmas Eve and Easter. The only time the Nelson family really went to weekly Sunday service was the two years my Dad was on the City Council in Fort Benton Montana.
Not that I haven’t been trying to be a “missionary” for the secular consumption of Reggae music. I celebrate Jah for the inspiration in thousands of Reggae tunes that fill my soul with joy. But I am careful not to endorse HIM out of respect for true believers. I don’t want to be a part of what Jacob Miller complained about: Too much commercialization of Rastafari!
Yours truly, Bobbylon, is a Rasta empthazier. I ‘n’ I look to the heavens for Ancient Aliens. Not Skygods
The reason I bring this up: I had an interview with Jamaican Reggae singer Etana. So I do what I normally do before a phone interview: go on Wikipedia and read up on the artist’s entry.
Her album I Rise starts off with a gospel cover of a brilliant Bob Marley cover tune: Selassie is the Chapel. Itself an update of an old American gospel tune. Covered by Elvis.
Etana’s entry mentioned her recording genres thusly: Reggae, Gospel.
Reggae Singer Etana. Gave me the Hairy Eyeball for calling her a Reggae AND Gospel singer. Mea culpa!
While introducing her to the radio listeners, I casually mentioned Etana was a Reggae and Gospel artist coming to town. She interrupted me and corrected me. She was most certainly NOT a Gospel singer. Her music was not geared to religiosity.
No worries. I did political interviews for 9 years. You don’t have to agree with me to have a conversation.
But when you lead off your album with a Rasta cover of a full on gospel song you can see where I might have been mistaken!; 21 sec.
By the way, I am not religious either. What earthlings worshipped as Skygods were Ancient Aliens colonizing Earth to mine gold to take back to their homeworld, Nibiru, beyond our galaxy.
Set your I watch alarm to 2900AD. That’s when the Anunnaki return to Earth.
Skygods came from here. The 12th Planet. Do not scoff!
In fact Etana the Reggae Singer, meet Etana the Sumerian King
Etana was an ancient Sumerian king of the city of Kish. According to the Sumerian King List, he reigned after the deluge. The list also calls Etana “the shepherd, who ascended to heaven and consolidated all the foreign countries”, and states that he ruled 1560 years.
Ascended to Heaven in a Chariot of the Gods (Erich Von Daniken)
Read this book. It makes sensi to me!
Here is what I have for you during the next 3 hours of Roots Reggae, Dubwize and Gospel; 18 sec.
Annotated Playlist (photos, captions, Reggae History Lessons, soundbytes)
Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives: May 30, 3015:
Set 1:
Wayne Jarrett – Saturday Night Jamboree; 12” (Dub Irator) ‘80
Bullwackies All Stars – Recording Connection; Black World (Wackies) ’79 Dub Album of the Week
Happy Mother’s Day. Love my Yimma: Jeannette in Fort Benton, Montana
<Roadmap for the May 9 Ark-Ive; 49 sec.>
Greetings,
Happy Mother’s Day! Gonna start the Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives May 9, 2015 with a great Mother’s Day tune.
Tammy Wynette did the Country original. Sonya Spence the Reggae version. Every Mother’s Day Saturday, I will play this tune. It brings this blackheart nearly to tears thinking about the love for my own Yimma – (Mother in Assyrian), Jeannette living in Fort Benton, Montana.
Tammy Wynette – No Charge
<Sonya Spence’s Reggae version of “No Charge”; 54 sec.>
My little girl came up to me in the kitchen this evenin’ While I was fixing supper And she handed me a piece of paper she’d been writin’ on And after wipin’ my hands on my apron I read it, and this is what it said
For mowin’ the yard, five dollars For makin’ my own bed this week, one dollar Goin’ to the store, fifty cents Playin’ with little sister while you went to the store, twenty-five cents
Takin’ out the trash, one dollar Gettin’ a good report card, five dollars And for rakin’ the yard, two dollars Total owed, fourteen dollars and seventy-five cents
Well, I looked at her standin’ there expectantly And a thousand memories flashed through my mind And so I picked up the pen, and turnin’ the paper over This is what I wrote
For the nine months I’ve carried you growin’ inside me, no charge For the nights I’ve sat up with you, doctored you, prayed for you, no charge For the ties, folding clothes and for wipin’ your nose, there’s no charge When you add it all up, the full cost of my love is, no charge
Well, when she finished readin’ she had great big old tears in her eyes And she looked up at me and said, “Mommy, I sure do love you” Then she took the pen and in great big letters she wrote, ‘Paid in full’ When you add it all up, the cost of real love is, no charge
Killer song. Brings tears to your eyes
Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives May 9, 2015: Annotated Playlist (Reggae History Lessons, soundbytes, photos, captions)
Joe Ariwa & the Trixsters – Hard Battle Dub; Dubstep Dub (Ariwa) 2011 UK
Alpha & Omega feat. Jonah Dan – City of Dub (Alpha & Omega) 2006 UK trance dub
African Head Charge – Throw It Away; Off the Beaten Track (ON U Sound) ‘86
Jonkanoo – the folk music of Jamaica
<Call Your Mom!>
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.
Smile Jamaica 