Santogold and the Beastie Boys: "Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win"

Editor's note: For some undisclosed reason, Blogger had some major issues behind the scenes and some posts from earlier this week were removed or lost. So, I'm re-posting this bit today...

Just have to call to attention my current obsession with the incredibly hypnotic new Santogold/Beastie Boys reggae collaboration "Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win"--off their Hot Sauce Committee Part Two. (They really should consider releasing this as a vinyl single--it more than deserves the high profile treatment.) Gotta love the Lee "Scratch" Perry-referencing dubby sax blast that heralds the start of the track (the Beasties are big Perry fans----I have an old copy of their "Grand Royal Magazine" that contains an extensive article covering Perry's extraordinary career and rating many of the releases from his mega-deep back catalogue). And Santogold (AKA Santi White) has one hell of a sultry alto voice that's perfectly designed for reggae and blows me away.

"Don't Play No Game..." also has one of the best rhymes for our times: "You work hard to climb the list/20 years of schooling and they put you on the day shift."

Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win (featuring Santigold) by Beastie Boys

Here's hoping that the Beasties and Santogold team up for more version excursions...would it be too much to ask for an album's worth?

+ + + +

Not sure how many ska fans out there are aware of Santogold's amazing work with producer Diplo on Top Ranking Santo Gold a Diplo Dub, which came out a few years ago. But this crazy mash-up mix tape of sorts has a lot to like on it (ska, skinhead reggae, roots reggae, and dancehall, amongst other genres), including a stunning cover of The Clash's "Guns of Brixton" (retitled here as "Guns of Brooklyn").

Duff Review: The Bishops EP

Self-released
2011

It doesn't get much more heartland USA than Omaha, Nebraska (at least in the mind of this big city, East Coaster)--but even there, Jamaican ska is alive and thriving in The Bishops. With their Skatalites-influenced trad ska sound and evocative original songs, The Bishops fall within The Scofflaws, Skavoovie and the Epitones, and Easy Big Fella spectrum of ska music.

The Bishops' self-titled, six-track EP kicks off with the stately and fantastically named instrumental "Louis Farrakhan," followed by the sweet "Front Porch"--which transports the listener to a simpler, "Andy Griffith" era (you can picture the lemonade glasses in their hands as they sit on the porch swing, dad surreptitiously keeping an eye on things from inside), as the singer courts his girl, boldly declaring, "I wanna be your man."

You can hear the something like heartache in the horns as the band looks in the rear view mirror on "Goodbye Bourbon Street." But they're not swearing off booze, as The Bishops celebrate their preferred drink of choice in "Black and Tan": "We've got a favorite concoction/that leads to intoxication..." (and I love how the slightly slurred horn lines suggest the gradual dulling of the senses with every gulp). "Gilbert Gottfried" suits its namesake well, incorporating occasionally dissonant notes in tribute to the grating former Aflac spokesman. The Bishops top off things with "Mr. Egotistical"--a Roddy Radiation-like rockabilly guitar-driven instrumental that one could imagine being written by one of the bands in the 2 Tone fold.

All and all, this is a terrific debut from a band to keep on your radar.

The Duff Guide to Ska Grade: B+

New King Hammond Video: "Where Have All the Rude Boys Gone?"

King Hammond is previewing another superb track from his forthcoming Showbiz album. The video for the great 80s-inspired "Where Have All the Rude Boys Gone?" is below. Gotta love how the "Stay rude, stay rebel" refrain echoes the sentiments of a great track of the same name from early 90s German ska band No Sports!



+ + + +

Buster may be asking this question himself. These are photos from last Friday night's Bad Manners show in Buffalo sent in by John from Hoi Polloi Skazine, who drove from Rochester to see Fatty. (Buster looks great and trim in his leopard-print suit!) According to John, despite the poor turnout, Bad Manners put on a great show.

Can't speak for the rest of the country, but surely the Bad Manners NYC date on June 4 at Webster Hall will be better attended (already know a bunch of people who are going, including yours truly...).

NYC Ska Gig Alert: The Rudie Crew and Excuse Me Tonite!

Saturday, May 7, 2011

The Rudie Crew - 11:00 pm
Excuse Me - right afterwards

Crash Mansion
199 Bowery (between Rivington and Delancey)
Manhattan, NY

$10 cover

J, M, Z train to Bowery, or 6 train to Spring Street

The Forthrights Donate Items to Mitch Dubey Benefit Auction

To help raise donations for the family of Mitch Dubey--a slain friend and fellow musician who was in The Flaming Tsunamis--The Forthrights have donated a special Camp Birdman package (all 3 colors of this 7" EP plus one test pressing--only four were ever made--AND a Forthrights t-shirt, poster, and stickers) that is being auctioned on eBay (to bid, go here). Right now, there are about five days left in the auction, with 20 bids so far.

Dubey was shot and killed in an apparent home invasion robbery in March. To find out more about this beloved musician and the senseless event that ended his life, go here.

2011 London International Ska Festival: A Yank's Perspective

While I was bummed that I wasn't able to attend the 2011 London International Ska Festival (for a whole host of reasons), I am really happy to be able to include this review from an American ska fan who made the journey. NYC ska fan Andrew Rundle, a regular Duff Guide to Ska reader, was kind enough to write up his impressions of the festival and share them via this blog.

All in all, the London International Ska Festival was a huge success--hats off to the organizers. For me the high point was The Trojans’ performance during which they brought out Rico to lead the band for about two-thirds of their set (see them all in action above), and had Lynval [Golding of The Specials] out singing and dancing for part of the set. Another personal high point was seeing Bim Skala Bim performing again; the last time was as one of the opening acts for The Bosstones’ Hometown Throwdown. The announcement that Bim was going to be on the bill basically sealed the deal that I was going to fly to London for the festival. For the audience in general, I think Dave Wakeling’s version of The English Beat was the most eagerly anticipated act--in the pubs around the venue the buzz was all about Dave. He performed a killer set, much better than recent outings in New York City, and stuck to The English Beat material rather than doing The English Beat/General Public mash-up I have seen several times in the US. He also had Rhoda Dakar and Jennie Bellestar as backup singers and my only critique of the set would be that they were under-utilized. It was also a thrill to see Ken Boothe, whom--up until the Festival was announced--I had given up hopes on seeing; great voice, great performance.

Probably the weakest act at the festival was Dave and Ansel Collins backed by The Caroloregians. It took them several songs to get in sync, with all Caroloregian eyes focused on Ansel, who sort of conducted the band. There also seemed to be some tension as to when Dave was actually going to take the stage--"Monkey Man" came and went before the vocalist actually appeared. It didn’t help that they were preceded by The Hotknives and The Loafers, who had both reformed for the show and turned in excellent sets to large fan bases. In many ways Friday night peaked with The Loafers. James Hunter on Thursday gave a strong performance, but his soul sound seemed like an odd choice for the festival. One hiccup was a misprint in the show schedule, which, combined with my decision to see the Chelsea game, caused me to miss The Amphetameanies.

The Clapham Grand is an old theater/dance hall with great sound and sight lines--and handy proximity to several pubs, a Cornish pastie store, and a kebab shop claiming to have “probably the best kebabs in London.” The crowd was there to dance and enjoy the music; there was one minor scuffle on the dance floor that was quickly shut down by the staff. A large portion of the audience had clearly been fans of skinhead reggae and 2 Tone back in the day when they were teens. Usually in NYC, I am one of the older people in the crowd, but at the Clapham Grand I was on the younger side of the age spectrum. It was cool to meet fans from across the world and hear about various ska scenes--people were there from Japan, the US, Australia, and South America. Also on Thursday night, Buster Bloodvessel was in the audience enjoying the music and dispensing hugs to fans.

I hope the festival proved to be as big a success for the organizers as it was for the audience. I would love to see this become a continuing festival.

Thanks, again, to Andrew for the LISF report!

Duff Review: Maroon Town Urban Myths

Rockers Revolt
2011
CD

If they haven't ever been on your radar, you should know that Maroon Town's genesis was in the late 80s UK ska scene that spawned the likes of The Trojans, Potato 5, and The Loafers--and rejuvenated the careers of Bad Manners and Laurel Aitken. What made Maroon Town unique was their mix of vintage ska, reggae, hip hop and soul (with socially conscious lyrics often from the perspective of the common person), as exemplified on 80s/90s hits like the cover of Prince Buster's "City Riot," "Pound to the Dollar," "Prince of Peace," and "Average Man" (several of which were produced by The Specials' John Bradbury). While Maroon Town (the core of which is Deuan German and Rajan Datar) has been active on and off over the past 20 years--often collaborating with a rotating cast of musicians from all over the globe--Urban Myths is their first album since 1997's Don Drummond. And even though about half of the songs on this album are new versions of old songs or have previously appeared on other Maroon Town records, this is still a powerful and compelling return to action.

On Urban Myths, Maroon Town successfully ventures into such non-ska genres as salsa ("Latin Moshpit"), jazz (a groovy reading of Herbie Hancock's perennial "Watermelon Man," which appeared on New Dimensions), and soul ("Innocent Mind" and "Clarendon Calling," with the fantastic Jenny Stanford on vocals; both of these songs appeared in different versions on Don Drummond)--but it's the ska and reggae tracks that play to the band's greatest strengths and catch them at their most appealing.

"Ya Ya (Lemme Tell Dem)," with its immensely catchy sing-along chorus, is a hard-driving, raucous ska cut about hitting the town (MC Sirreal toasts, "I got up in the morning and went to the bar/When I came out all I saw was the stars"), acting up, coming on to, and mouthing off to anyone within striking distance. While there's gonna be hell to pay--not to mention one hell of a hangover--the sound and heat generated makes it all worth it. It's then quite a contrast from the yobbish chorus of the ugly 24-hour bender to the lush and polished ska-pop of "Lion" (which even includes the sounds of plucking violin strings), though its sheen can't mask the something's-gotta-give desperation (and, ultimately, the hope) in its lyrics. Andrew Tumi sings, "I'm tired of feeling gray/How I pray it'll go away/Saving happiness for rainy days/One life and the price you'll pay/Can't keep it up this way/My deep heart's in a shallow grave/Once it's full, it's all you got/Cause something's not right and I gotta move on...I want to run like a lion in the sun..."

You'll long for a lyrics sheet when you hear "Wreckless"--the pace of the rapping by The Wreckless Crew is so freakin' frenetic and urgent that you can barely make out every other word (it still sounds great, though). "Bella Cosa" ("beautiful thing") is Latin-tinged roots reggae with excellent LKJ-like toasting by Rubi Dan; the encouraging chorus urges us to hang on and "realize, realize/hope is just a shot away." "Bullit," perhaps inspired by the Steve McQueen film of the same name (which is actually spelled "Bullitt") is an crisp Skatalites-flavored instrumental (though it's considerably less revved up than that film's car chase through the streets of San Francisco).

The seductive "Are You Ready" (which also appeared on the Don Drummond album) wants to lure the listener on a mystical musical journey. The superb Mikey Roots toasts: "All generation love the musical spring/The African man a instruct you again/In a traditional style for real a god send/Vibes to conquer duppy vibes to make us boom beng/Rootical flavor well and nice and ting/Crowd a people just a bubble crowd a people just a sing/No say them love the old school feeling/Cause the people bawl yes every time a sing a sing/Are you ready?/Tell me are you ready?/Are you ready?/Then follow me now!" After hearing this, there won't be any question in your mind about what you're gonna do.

Die hard Maroon Towners may be a bit put off that there's only an EP's worth of new material on Urban Myths after so long a wait, but the new stuff is stellar--and the album serves as a terrific primer on the band for newcomers.



Duff Guide to Ska Grade: A-

New Selecter (Pauline & Gaps) Singles, Video, and Album!

The Pauline Black and Gaps Hendrickson version of The Selecter is back in full effect and sounding mighty, mighty sweet! Their brand new anti-fascist single "Big in the Body - Small in the Mind" (a preview video is below) will be released on May 30, 2011, followed by the wonderfully titled "Back To Black" track on July 30. For vinyl freaks like me, there will be a limited edition 7" double-A sided vinyl single issued with both tracks that will be available beginning July 23, 2011.

All of this, of course, is leading up to a new 10-track Selecter album titled Made In Britain, which "explores the multicultural landscape of today's Britain and beyond." Made in Britain will hit the shops on September 1, 2011 via download and limited edition 12" vinyl. We can't wait to hear it (and we're hoping that a US tour--or at least a NYC gig--is in the works)!

(Also of interest to Selecter fans may be The Duff Guide to Ska reappraisal of The Selecter's under-appreciated/misunderstood Celebrate the Bullet...)

Where the Fatty Meets the Road: Bad Manners May Tour of the USA!

(Click on the image to enlarge it.)

Version Excursion with Joe Strummer

I've been very busy with work lately--and on the ska front seem to be wrestling with a bit of writer's block (the process of reviewing Maroon Town's Urban Myths has been agonizingly slow).

So, we're going to take a break from ska reviews/news to look at some videos I came across earlier today when on a break. "White Man in Hammersmith Palais" is probably one of my favorite Clash tunes (by the Only Band That Matters), partially because it helped serve as sort of a gateway drug to ska and reggae (and I've been hooked ever since...insert groan at the second cliched druggie reference)--and in how it recounts Joe Strummer's real-life experience of going to a reggae showcase (featuring Dillinger, Leroy Smart, and Delroy Wilson) with Don Letts and being kind of an outsider--one of the few white people there--but not be bothered about it. He was there for the music. Nothing else mattered.

In different stages of my life, I've been able to relate to this pursuing of one's love of music despite being different from the larger fan base (in high school, I went to several hip hop and reggae shows where I was one of the few white faces; in college and soon after, I went to ska gigs where mine was one of the few non-shaved heads; now, I'm one of a handful of hopefully-not-creepy-middle-aged guys still going to ska shows with fellow fans young enough for me to have fathered). What am I doing in these sometimes uncomfortable situations? Just like Mr. Mellor, I'm only lookin' for fun.

+ + + +

Below are two different versions of "White Man" separated by almost 20 years. I never caught Joe when he played with the Mescaleros (not sure why...some of those years were rough, wilderness ones for me...and the Mescaleros material never really connected, probably because I simply wanted more Clash than he could give). I really regret that I never got around to it.

The '99 version of "White Man in Hammersmith Palais" with the Mescaleros may lack the fantastic piss 'n' vinegar fury of The Clash's searing 1980 performance, but it's allowed to shine as the incredible reggae cut that it is--and always has been--at heart. (Ignore the lame-ish dancing of the weird German alt/vaguely hippy-ish crowd.)

Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros at the Bizarre Festival - Cologne, Germany - 1999



The Clash at the Capitol Theater - Passaic, New Jersey - March 1980



+ + + +

I've never seen this mind-blowing live video of their cover of Willie William's "Armagideon Time" (which segues into the dub "Justice Tonight"). Not many punk or new wave bands could ever hope to play reggae this well--and Topper Headon's drumming is nothing short of extraordinary. This gives me freakin' chills, it's so perfect.

The Clash, "Armagideon Time" at the Hammersmith Odeon - London, UK - 1979



Even though the end is clearly in sight, the band soldiered on at the US Festival (where they scuffled with Van Halen) in 1983...this version pales compared to the Hammersmith Odeon performance almost four years earlier--but it's still greater than most bands could ever hope to be. (No slight to Pete Howard, but you really can see how Topper's ejection from The Clash hurt them.)

The Clash, "Armagideon Time" - US Festival - San Bernardino, CA - 1983