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
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
African Head Charge – Throw It Away; Great Vintage vol. 2 (ON U Sound) ’89 UK
Before Smile Jamaica 1989, there was 3 O’Clock Roadblock. July 1988-August 1989
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.
Smile Jamaica 