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

February 12, 2021 Robert Nelson Leave a comment

Greetings,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

<Wail ‘N Soul ‘M label; 84 sec.>

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

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

<Marley musical tributes; 32 sec.>

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

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

<Bob as Prophet Joseph; 18 sec.>

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

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

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

Bob and his acoustic guitar singing about:

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

We forward in this generation triumphantly.

*****

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

Selah!

bless, Bobbylon

The Skipper leads the band of Jah’s Heavenly Choir

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

Set 1:

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

Set 2:

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

Set 3: 7” Jamaican Jukebox Set

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

Set 4:

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

Set 5: Vinyl is Vital

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

Set 6:

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

Set 7:

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

Set 8:

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

Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives: Jah-tober 19, 2019 – Hole in the Pumpkin!

October 25, 2019 Robert Nelson Leave a comment

High Fructose, the true horror of Halloween

Greetings,

I ‘n’ I have been hosting Smile Jamaica for 30 years now. October 1989. Don’t remember the first Halloween Reggae show I did, but it would have been early 90’s.

So a quarter century of the exploration of Jamaican, mostly, superstitions about witches, vampires, ghosts/duppies, Obeah Black Magic, The Mummy, Dracula, Frankenstein and the rest!

About 10 years ago I was transitioned into head of the Audio Studio at the Marriott Library: Fall 2009. The early days of digital content. So I had started to notice many soundbytes in a horror vein from my Reggae CD collection.

I started ripping those clips from CDs, pull them into ProTools digital editor. “Snip, snip”. Export as .mp3. Same with a multitude of Halloween sound effects disks.

And there you go! Just like Dr. Frankenstein cutting up sound for your ghoulish pleasure!

Oct. 26th Smile Jamaica will be 3 hours of Boneyard Skanking. But play this podcast to keep the kids off your porch while you hand out your high fructose delights.

curse, Bobbylon

Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives: Jah-tober 19, 2019 Annotated Playlist; 91 sec.

Set 1:

Don Carlos & Gold – Harvest Time; Raving Tonight (RAS) ’83 DC vinyl
The Aggrovators – Strictly Rockers in the Dreadland (Justice) ’76 JA dub album of the week
Victor Essiet & the Mandators – Mi Friends (Duppy Conqueror); One Love One World (Mystic) 2006 Nigerian singers cover Bob Marley Halloween tune
Hortence Ellis – Words; Queen of Reggae (JA) ’82 soul cover?
Delroy Wilson – Better Must Come; Norman Jay MBE Presents Ska and Boogie (Sunday Best) ’71
The Itals – Herbs Pirate; Calling Rastafari (Nighthawk) ’82 comp: 4:20 Service Announcement
Mike Brooks – Devil’s Conspiracyj 10″ (Sip a Cup) Mid 2000’s UK militant steppers

Set 2:

George Faith – All the Love I’ve Got; To Be a Lover (Mango) ’77 Lee “Scratch” Perry/Black Ark prod’n
Milton Henry – Them a Devil; Who Do You Think I Am? (Wackies) ’85
Zema – Somebody Wrong; Look at the Heart (Melchizedek) ’99 Culver City, CA female
Dennis Bovell – Pow Wow; All Over the World (EMI) 2006 UK dubber on 70’s I Roy riddim
Moses – When the Vampire Comes to Your Neighbourhood; 12″ (Wackies) ’82 Bronx, NY

Set 3:

Dillinger – I Thirst; Cocaine (Charly) ’79 Barnabas Collins vampire: Best of Smile Jamaica 30 Years – Halloween
Don Carlos – Night Rider (In Danger); Deeply Concerned (RAS) ’87 ghostbuster
Willi Williams – Dungeon; Messenger Man (Blood & Fire) ’80
Wailing Souls – Face the Devil + Dub; Wailing (Jah Guidance) ’81

Set 4:

Sheryl Lee Ralph, Sharon and Cedella Marley – (I’m) Hurting Inside; Mighty Quinn soundtrack (A & M) ’89 Bob Marley cover
Thievery Corporation feat. Ras Pidow – The Outernationalist; Babylon Rewound (ESL) 2004 DC dubers rmx Rasta elder
Scientist – Blood on His Lips; Rids the World of the Evil Curse of the Vampire (Greensleeves) ’81 Halloween dub
General Saint & Clint Eastwood – Talk About Run; 12′ (Greensleeves) ’81 UK
Sly & Robbie – Stepping Out a Space; Dub Revolutionaries (Ariwa) 2003 Dub Album of the Week

Set 5: Jah-loween Vinyl

Lone Ranger – Annie Palmer; Barnabas in Collins Wood (Wave) ’79 JA – Jamaican witch

<Annie Palmer; 39 sec.>

Crucial Bee – Mark of the Beast; Just a Sting (All-Star) US Virgin Island
Dennis Brown – Spellbound; Spellbound (Joe Gibbs) ’80 Miami, FL
Chalice – Back Weh Evil Forces; Stand Up (CSA) ’85 UK
Amp-Ech – Living Dead + Dub; Against Injustice (Amp-Ech) ’87 JA

Set 6: Wailers Family Tree

Bob Marley & the Wailers – Maga Dog; Marley, Tosh, Livingston & Associates (Studio One) ’66 Tosh vox

<Maga dog = mangy dog; 66 sec.>

Peter Tosh – Mystic Man; Live at the Ritz (bootleg) 9/29/81 in NYC
Bunny Wailer – Running Away; Hall of Fame (RAS) 50 Bob Marley songs for his 50th birthday
Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers – 666; Hey World! (EMI America) ’86
Jah Shaka Meets Aswad – Addis Ababa; In Addis Ababa Studio (Jah Shaka) ’84 UK dub album of the hour

Set 7: 7″ Jamaican Jukebox Halloween

Twinkle Brothers – Devil Worshippers; 7″ (Twinkle) ’99 – 7″ Jamaican Jukebox Jah-loween Set
Chezidek – Vampire; 7″ (Massive B) ’96
Levi Williams – Duppy Jamboree + Dub; 7″ (Mighty Cloud + Student) ’74

Set 8: Mutant Dub Halloween

Balkan Beat Box – What a Night; Give (National Geographic) 2012 Israeli about a ghost:

<Who is Jimmy Savile?>

Ghetto Priest – Dungeon; Vulture Culture (ON U Sound) 2003 UK: Singers & Players cover
Hollie Cook – Desdemona; Twice (Mr. Bongo) 2014 UK dawta about a ghost encounter in the park
Lee “Scratch” Perry – Grim Reaper; On the Wire (Trojan) 200 UK
Finley Quaye – Mash Up Lucifer/Stone the Devil; CD EP (Epic) ’97
Dubchek – Duppy Train; Down Memory Gap Lane (Unitone World) 2001

Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives: Jah-ly 21, 2018 (Podcast & Playlist): Happy Birthday Haile Selassie!

July 27, 2018 Robert Nelson Leave a comment

<Happy Birthday to the World’s First Hippie – Haile Selassie I> 68 sec.

Greetings,

Ras Tafari Makonnen: The Head Creator
Haile Selassie I: Power of the Trinity

<Power of Jah Trinity; 27 sec.>

Negusa Negast: King of Kings; 30 sec.

Lord of Lords, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah. Elect of God, Ever Living God, Earth’s Rightful Ruler

<Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah; 13 sec.>

Without this little short man (Selassie was 5 foot 2) Reggae consists of love songs, novelty records and pop and soul covers. This is the heart of Smile Jamaica.

Rastafari gospel love songs to His Imperial Majesty from the Rastas. In Jamaican, when Nationalist hero Marcus Garvey was recruiting blacks to return to Africa, he prophesized: “Look to the east where a black king will be crowned. That will be the signal to load up the Black Star Liner (as opposed to the Titanic passenger liner White Star Line) to go back to Africa

<Garvey’s prophecy; 63 sec.>

Marcus Garvey: Look to the East, where a king will be crowned leading all blacks back to Africa

From that moment the movement grew from the impoverished in Jamaica who wanted a black Jesus not a colonial white Jesus. Selassie was the reincarnation of Jahova (Jah).

He ruled in Ethiopia until the communists in the hinterlands took advantage of corrupt Selassie courtiers who refused to acknowledge famine in the provinces. Selassie was deposed and most likely murdered in the basement of his Imperial Palace in 1974.

<Selassie’s downfall; 30 sec.>

I call myself a Rasta enthusiast or empathizer and even a Sumerian Fundamentalist like myself, is powerfully moved by such beautiful musical devotion that we will hear on this Ark-Ive Podcast.

Haile Selassie – July 23, 1892.

bless, Bobbylon

Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives: July 21, 2018: Happy Birthday His Imperial Majesty; 95 sec.

Smile Jamaica: 30 Years of Rastafari Gospel love songs

Set 1:

Naturalites – Picture on the Wall; Rub a Dubble vol. 1 (CSA) ’86 UK – 3 hours for Haile Selassie – July 23, 1892
Roots Radics/Bunny Wailer – Roots Raddics; Dub D’sco vol. 1 (Solomonic) ’77 JA vinyl Dub Album of the Hour
Ras Michael & the Sons of Negus – Ethiopian National Anthem; Movements (Dynamic) ’78 JA vinyl; nyahbinghi style drumming

<National Anthem of Ethiopia; 23 sec.>

Black Uhuru – I Love King Selassie; Tear It Up” Live (Mango) ’83
Chalawa – Jah Collie Weed; Capture Land (Green Weenie) ’78 Can. vinyl 4:20 Cannabis Service Announcement
African Princess – Jah Children Cry; 12″ (Jah Shaka) ’85 UK vinyl comp

Set 2:

Keith Hudson – I Broke the Comb; Rasta Communication (Greensleeves) ’78

<The Old Testament Nazirite Vow and Dreadlocks; 84 sec.>

Sister Carol – Jah Is Mine; Black Cinderella (Jah Life) ’84 on McCartney/Jackson Girl is Mine
Peter “Roots” Lewis – Jah Is My Salvation; Wicked Roots (Reggae Retro) 2000
Hugh Mundell – That Little Short Man; 12″ (Rockers International) ’78; Selassie was 5 foot 2

Set 3:

Jacob Miller – False Rasta; Don’t Give Up Your Culture (Moll-Selekta) ’77

<Beware the Follow Fashion Dread; 47 sec.>

Judy Mowatt – Many Are Called; Black Woman (Shanachie) ’76
Aswad – He Gave the Sun to Shine; New Chapter (CBS) ’81 UK
Ranking Trevor – Give Thanks and Praise Unto Jah; 12″ (Greensleeves) ’78 UK to Heart & Soul
Augustus Pablo – Chant to Selassie I; East of the River Nile (Shanachie) ’78 Dub Album of the Hour

Set 4:

Cedric Myton & the Congos – Where He Leads; Face the Music (VP) ’81
Burning Spear – Jah Is My Driver; Farover (Heartbeat) ’83
Daweh Congo – Jah Is My Shepherd; Human Rights & Justice (Roots & Culture) 2000
Hortense Ellis – Jah Mysterious Works; Women in Reggae (Shanachie) ’75 extended

Set 5: Vinyl Is Vital

Leroy Smart – Jah Jah Forgive Them; Live Up Roots Children (Striker Lee) ’85 UK
Clint Eastwood – Whip Them Jah Jah; Step It in a Zion (Third World) ’78 UK
Michigan & Smily – Jah Ruled Over I; Step By Step (Hitbound) ’82 Brooklyn
Jah Malla – Jah Love; Jah Malla (Modern) ’81 US – children of Reggae players in JA

<Jah Malla: songs of Reggae players: Val Douglas, Roland Alphanso, Ernest Ranglin, Sylvan Morris; 30 sec.>

Zema – Selassie; Zema (Melchizedek) ’86 So Cal female singer

Set 6: Wailers Family Tree

Peter Tosh – Iziabeher (Let Jah Be Praised); Legalize It (Columbia) ’76
Bunny Wailer – Rasta Dread (Natty Dread); Hall of Fame (RAS) ’95 50 tunes for Bob’s 50th Birthday
Rita Marley – Good Morning Jah; Who Feels It Knows It (Shanachie) ’80

<Rita encounters Haile Selassie; 81 sec.>

Bob Marley & the Wailers – Conquering Lion; One Love Peace Concert: Kingston, JA 4/22/78
Dub Specialist – Fire Coal Version; Version Dread (Studio One/Heartbeat) ’75 17 Dub Shots From Studio One

Set 7:

Cymande – Rastafarian Folk Song; Cymande (Sequel) ’74 UK – World’s first hippie
Aisha – One God, One Aim, One Destiny; True Roots (Ariwa) ’95
Winston Jarrett – Selassie Is the Chapel; By the Rivers of Babylo (Shanachie) ’95 comp: cover of the Orioles Crying in the Chapel
Bob Marley & the Wailers – Selassie Is the Chapel; Rebel Box Set (JAD) ’66

Set 8:

Alpha & Omega – Who Is the Ruler; Watch and Pray (A & O) ’89 UK vinyl trance dub
Doctor Alimantado – Chant to Jah; Born For a Purpose (Greensleeves) ’75
Johnny Osbourne – Jah Promise; Truths & Rights (Studio One/Heartbeat) ’80
Misty in Roots – How Long Jah; Live at the Euro Countervision (Kaz) ’79
Bim Sherman – Lamb of Judah; Bim Sherman Meets U Black and Horace Andy in a Rub a Dub Style (Original) ’79
Wailing Souls – Jah Gives Us Life; Very Best of (Greensleeves) ’78

The first song I played after being off air for six weeks with a blood infection/Sepsis that landed me in Intensive Care

Words of Wisdom:

Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives (Stream + Tracklist) July 1, 2017: 29th Anniversary of Reggae Radio!

July 7, 2017 Robert Nelson Leave a comment

Greetings,

Fall of 1986. Moved from Bozeman, Montana to SLC for University. Met a guy in the dorms from Baltimore with a kick ass stereo. CDs were new. I was looking for a new music form (mid 80’s synthesizers weren’t cutting it for I ‘n’ I). Dabbled in blues and world looking for a sound.

Neal my music pal, played for me a tough looking Reggae group called Black Uhuru. Anthem was the name of the album. On his massive stereo in the cinder block dorm rooms it was like an epiphany.

That’s the sound I am looking for! Went out and bought the LP the next day. (Couldn’t find the CD locally.) That lit the fuse to 29 years of Reggae Radio. 66 sec.

Wasn’t Bob, Peter, Jimmy or UB40. It was Michael Rose, Puma Jones and Duckie Simpson

Wheel it forward to Spring of 1988. The local community radio station ran ads looking for late night volunteers. My roommate and I were in the Pie Pizzeria near the U of U campus. We had both been doing little shows running in the Student Union on something called K-UTE. My show was called Positive Vibration (after the Bob song.)

Roomie wanted to do 80’s indie. KRCL had plenty of that. But accepted me for late Sunday/early Monday – 3 o’Clock Roadblock (Also Bobness.) Six weeks of training before I debuted July 2, 1988. 84 sec.

Once I got the show, it gave me a reason to begin expanding the Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives. Jah forbid, I play the same album two weeks in a row. So I would take my student loan check, thanks Ronald Reagan, bank it in a savings account. And then once or twice a year, drive or fly to the Bay Area and scour the plentiful record stores.

The secret? CDs are half as wide as an LP. So you could fit twice as many, at nearly double the cost, in each rack.

As consumers started selling vinyl for seed cash for CDs, I swooped in and vacuumed up all the great Reggae for dirty cheap. I would get UK albums that sell for $100 on Ebay in 2017 for around $4. I rarely paid more than $10 for an album.

That’s how you get to this three decades later….

The permanent home of the Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives: June 2017

<Smile Jamaica’s Cratedig itinerary: Reno, Sacramento, San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, San Jose, El Cerrito, Mill Valley; 26 sec.>

Drive across the Golden Gate Bridge to Mill Valley. Village Music was worth the trip. No longer in business

So on July 1, 2017 – I celebrate 29 years of juggling black wax!

bless, robt

Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives: Annotated Playlist July 1, 2017 – 29th Anniversary All Vinyl Showcase; 85 sec.

Set 1:

Zap Pow – This Is Reggae Music; Reggae Rules! (Rhino) ’80 US
Alien Dread – Firstlight; Cosmic Dub Clash (Log On) 2009 UK Dub Album of the Hour
The Meditations – There Must Be a First Time; Message From the Meditations (United Artists) ’76 US – Lee Perry prod’n
ILive – Natty Dread on the Mountain Top; Jah Guide (Out of Many, One) ’90 San Fran female singer
Crutches & D. Brown – Wackie Fence Skank; Java Java Dub (Impact!) ’72 UK studio labrish
Desi Roots – Weedfields; Weedfields (Hawkeye) ’80 UK 4:20 Cannabis Service Announcement

<Burning the weed fields killed the Jamaican middle class; 25 sec.>

Kojak & Liza – Black Skin; Showcase (Nigger Kojak) ’80 JA

Ronald Wilson Reagan: Funded the Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives – GOOD; Insisted Jamaica burn its weed fields – BAD

Set 2:

Soul Syndicate – King’s Highway; High Times All Star Explosion (Alligator) ’85 Chicago blues label
I Roy – Commandment II; Ten Commandments (Virgin) ’80 UK yellow, picture sleeve – to Bob Marley’s Heathen
Sister Carol – Spidla-Ding; Black Cinderella (Jah Life) ’84 Brooklyn singjay
Freddie McGregor – Strange Things; Freddie McGregor (High Times) ’82 John Holt cover
Azeem & Session – Sing a Song; Dreadfly (Joe Gibbs) ’82 Miami

Set 3:

Bob Marley & the Wailers – Redemption Song; Uprising; Island Vinyl Box Set (Island) 3484 of 10,000 = 9 albums

<Amoeba Records: Berkeley, CA; 90 sec.>

Sly Dunbar feat. Althia & Donna – Dance and Shake Your Tambourine; Simply Sly Man (Virgin) ’78 UK
Chalice – Ital Love; Crossfire (CTS) ‘86 JA
The Melodians – Get Up and Dance; Irie Feeling (RAS) ’83 DC – reunion
In Crowd – Riding High; Roots, Rock, Reggae (Creole) ’78 Fr.
Bullwackie’s All Stars – Recording Connection; Black World Dub (Wackies) ’79 Dub Album of the Hour

Took me 15 years to acquire this vinyl box set. Worth the wait!

Set 4:

Inner Circle – 80,000 Careless Ethiopians; Reggae Thing (Capitol) ’76

<Ethiopian Communists overthrow Haile Selassie; 29 sec.>

Dillinger – Three Piece Suit and Thing; King Pharaoh (Blue Moon) ’84 Fr.
Eek a Mouse – Do You Remember; Skidip (Greensleeves) ’81 UK
Elaine Taylor – Have a Good Time; Age of Reggae (Twinkle) ’84 UK

Set 5:

Black Uhuru – Solidarity; 12″ EP (4th & Broadway) ’83 US – Little Steven cover

<Anthem remixes>

Horace Ferguson – Tranquilizer; Sensi Addict (Prince Jazzbo Music) ’87 JA
Purpleman – The King on His Way; Laserbeam (World Enterprize) ’83 Brooklyn
The Mellows + Gladstone Star Band; Pray to Jah + Give Thanks and Pray; Rite Sound Reggae Story (Jah Live) Fr.

Jamaican mix of the album that made I ‘n’ I a Reggae Fanatic

Set 6:

Lone Ranger – UFO; Barnabas in Collins Wood (GG) ’79 JA

<Roswell 70th Anniversary of the UFO crash>

Icarus – Talking Words; State of Mind (Russian Roulette) ’82 UK
Three Dimension – Undertaker; Roadblock (Nubian) ’89 UK
Nicodemus – Boneman Connection; Sleeping Bag’s Reggae Dancehall Classics (Sleeping Bag) ’80
Delixx – Coming in from the Cold Dub; Uprising Dub (Micron) ’80 Dub Album of the Hour: trumpet for Bob’s vox

July 8: 4-7 PM 3 hours of UFOria on Smile Jamaica

Set 7:

Azanyah – Praise; “The One” (Path of Light) ’87 Atlanta jazz/nyah hybrid
Winston Reedy – Message to Father; Dim the Light (Inner Light) ’83 UK
Sandra Cross – Children of the Night; Lovers Delight (Ariwa) 52nd Street soul cover

Set 8:

Dub Syndicate – Walking Jerusalem; Echomania (ON U Sound) ’93 UK
The Paragons – Man Next Door; Sly & Robbie: Raiders of the Lost Dub (Mango) ’81 dub set
New Age Steppers feat. Bim Sherman – Misplaced Love; Foundation Steppers (ON U Sound) ’83 UK
Clint Eastwood – It Wasn’t Rasta; Love & Happiness (Burning Sounds) ’79 UK
Time Unlmited – African Woman; Devil’s Angel (Live Wire) ’84 JA
Exuma – Roller Reggae; Universal (Cat Island) ’82 Bahamian singer

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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