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Aug 17, 14 •
38856 Views •
Featured, Reggae •
iyswim •
Comments Off on Mighty Organ – Top Ten Reggae Organ Classics
In 1968, when the rest of the world were feeling the summer of love, Kingston Jamaica was bubblin’ hot. The choppy organ sound that had long been a bit-player in the ska and rock steady scenes had taken a new turn to emerge as a central anchor for
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Aug 13, 14 •
8727 Views •
Americana, Featured, The Rhythm The Rebel •
iyswim •
Comments Off on Where Did Our Love Go?
As a child I was spoilt rotten by beautiful women. It’s true. The glamourpusses on TV – Shirley Bassey, Diana Ross, Martha Reeves – were just like my mum and her fabulous sisters, still teenage or thereabouts. All makeup and powder and
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Aug 10, 14 •
10217 Views •
Featured, Reggae •
iyswim •
Comments Off on Crown Prince Dennis Brown
Around 79-80 all the biggest reggae sounds came on big thick disco 45s. 12″ sized vinyl on the first flight from Jamaica that tended to featured a hit song (not infrequently a re-cut of a rocksteady hit everyone in Jamaica knew well), mixed to a wicked
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Aug 5, 14 •
8963 Views •
British, Featured •
iyswim •
Comments Off on Motorhead – 1916
Commemorating the great war in song is a serious business, and yet it’s the heartfelt works that spring to mind on the anniversary. Lemmy Kilmister was and still is one of British rock’s legend outsiders. Never taken seriously by critics, he was
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Jul 30, 14 •
4448 Views •
British, Featured •
iyswim •
Comments Off on Shipbuilding
The song Shipbulding came at us quite literally out of left field. Written by a singer still struggling to to shake off a superficial “angry brainic” persona – Elvis Costello – in response to a complicated political war.
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Jul 27, 14 •
3683 Views •
British, Featured •
iyswim •
Comments Off on Whole Lotta love
As a kid living in a coalfield backwater and getting into punk rock there was a big local problem. Everyone else. At 15 it was clear that all my musically-inclined peers were into traditional long haired rock, and Led Zeppelin were, at the time, considered
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Jul 26, 14 •
2614 Views •
Featured, Reggae •
iyswim •
Comments Off on Keith Hudson – Nuh Skin Up
Keith Hudson’s Nuh Skin Up was something else. Some fine 12″ version vinyl had been emerging from Jamaica for a few years – one being Hudson’s ‘Brand’ from ’77. But suddenly there was this menacing and downright angry
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Jul 26, 14 •
2562 Views •
Americana, Featured •
iyswim •
Comments Off on Lonesome Jubilee
If I’m going to write this blog I have to start somewhere and it might as well be in the back of a beat up Thunderbird throwing up dust along some Indiana highway, the Fork White River down there somewhere.
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May 2, 14 •
3656 Views •
Americana, Featured •
iyswim •
Comments Off on Iggy’s Lust for Life
I fell for Iggy Pop not because of his music, but because of a photograph. Let me explain. As a kid I loved the glam rock stylings of David Bowie and specifically a larger than life theatrical character Bowie created called Ziggy Stardust.
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Oct 2, 13 •
10970 Views •
Americana, Featured, The Rhythm The Rebel •
iyswim •
Comments Off on A New York Conversation
Written October 27th 2013 I learned, just now, that Lou died today. I never met him or even saw him perform. But in so many small ways he made my life bigger and brighter and sharper and more inspirational.
A blog for me to let off steam about music.
I've had this idea for a while that there's nothing new under the musical sun, so this blog puts me on a mission to travel through music I haven't heard before, and to re-examine the songs I know and love.