Name-Dropping

Whoops, sorry, I actually had this done on time, but April Fool’s! It turns out Uncle Sam actually thinks I’m now grown-up enough to click “publish” all on my own! …Click any key? I don’t see any “any” key! Anyway, as I mentioned in the introductory write-up, this month’s selections are all about proving it’s not what you know, but WHO you know. I noodled with the idea of maybe instituting some kind of point sytem; he whose playlist mentions the most artists wins. But it’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how well you hide your HGH. Here’s my list, name-checked for your following-along pleasure.

1. Arthur Conley, “Sweet Soul Music”
names: Lou Rawls, Sam and Dave, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, James Brown
This one pretty much speaks for itself, just a rollicking celebration of “good ole music”, mentioning all the heavy hitters of the day. No mention of Aretha Franklin, Carla Thomas or Ann Peebles however? To quote Montgomery Burns, “well I don’t know what ‘phallocentric’ means, but NO GIRLS!!!”

2. Toots & The Maytals, “Desmond Dekker Came First”
names: Desmond Dekker, the Techniques, Clancy Eccles, Derrick Harriot
I love this song because it’s basically just Toots bitching about not winning the 1968 Jamaican Festival contest, and implying there might have been some funny business going on with the judges. But for me this song was a gateway drug, for after finding Toots through a song credit in “Blood Simple” and Sublime’s cover of “54-46 That’s My Number”, these lyrics pointed me in all sorts of other interesting directions for good roots reggae. Thanks for sulking about coming second, Toots!

3. The Tom Tom Club, “Genius Of Love”
names: Bootsy Collins, Smokey Robinson, Bob Marley, Sly & Robbie, Bohannon, Kurtis Blow, James Brown
I’m sure when I first heard this song at the age of 9 (sorry Bob), I didn’t recognize most of these names, let alone know that these guys were the rhythm section of Talking Heads. Rest assured, I’ve come to explore and appreciate all of the above.

4. Marc Cohn, “Walking In Memphis”
names: W.C. Handy, Elvis Presley
Okay so this song only mentions two musicians (well two we know, and a piano player named “Muriel”), but that’s still twice as many as Weezer’s “Buddy Holly”. And this song exists (in all its overplayed glory) as more of a loving tribute to Memphis as a whole, as the crucible in which was forged American rhythm & blues, racial segregation be damned. Having been actually walking in Memphis last month (at one point past a statue of Handy on Beale St.), I can tell you the place is just oozing musical legacy, and everywhere I went this song was stuck in my head.

5. Duncan Sheik, “That Says It All”
names: Mick Jagger, Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Brian Wilson, Jimmy Page, Nick Drake
That says it all indeed. “Mr. Sheik, who would you consider to be your musical influences?” um… press play. I’m just glad he finally gets around to Nick Drake at the end there, putting in words what he’d been saying musically for years. And then you get to his “Phantom Moon” album, and it’s just Draketastic! And also suicidal to put on in a car on a long night drive. ZZZZzzzzz… (CRASH!)

6. The Long Beach Dub Allstars, “Listen To DJ’s”
names (first a moment for me to crack my knuckles before typing all this): Echo Minot, Major Worries, Little Rosie, Admiral Bailey, Josie Wales, King Kong, Wayne Smith, Peter Metro, Charlie Chaplain, Early B, Coca Tea, Brigadier Jerry, Tiger, Papa Son, Wilton Irie, Mad Cobra, Tristian Palma, Yellowman, Mega Bonton, U-ROY, Michigan & Smiley, Buru Banton, General Trees, Tenor Saw, General Echo, Papa Dorian, Steely Ranks, Jah Thomas, Cutty Ranks, Buju Banton, Tippa Irie, Supercat, Sizzla, Half Pint, Yami Bolo, Johnny Osborne, Risto Benji, Sassafras, Big Youth, Daddy Freddy, Chaka Demus, Junior Reid, Frankie Paul, Shinehead, Major Mackeral
whew! I think that’s it, I’m sure I heard and spelled a few of these very wrong, corrections will be appreciated. This is just LBDAS waxing poetic about all the reggae and dancehall DJ’s whose shoulders they proudly stand upon. That’s a lot of shoulder.

7. Porn Theatre Ushers, “The 90’s”
names (here we go again): The Youngstas, Lady Of Rage, The Alchemist, Flavor Flav, Black Sheep, A Tribe Called Quest, Organized Confusion, Funkmaster Flex, Young Black Teenagers, Das EFX, Busta Rhymes, Leaders Of The New School, Fresh Prince, Biggie Smalls, Tupac Shakur, Old Dirty Bastard, Slick Rick, Apache, Chubb Rock, as well as numerous allusions to hip-hop lyrics and culture of the time - “Jenny Was A Fly Girl”, “The Source”, etc.
Okay so I may have gone and made Bob and Alan feel old by mentioning I was only 9 when Tom-Tom Club came around, but here these guys go making me feel old. I worked with Mike (Nabo) DeStephano briefly back in the mid-90s, recording a few solo freestyles as well as a song he did with 7L & Esoteric in my bedroom in Medford, with the turntables set up out on the kitchen table. I’ve since lost touch with those guys, and they’ve gone on to prolific recording careers. 7L& ES have never been my particular cup of tea, but I really like Nabo’s group Porn Theatre Ushers. He seems to fit and work with his producer Frank White just as well as Tom and I complement each other in TYPE 4. Anyway, back to feeling old… I’ve been into hip-hop, both listening and performing, since 1984. This hardly makes me “old school” or anything, I mean I was a kid caught up in a fad like many others but it just didn’t go away with me or my friends. But then along comes Nabo with a song designed to “take ‘em back”, way back to the 1990s! sigh… He’s a bit younger so I get it, and I do like the song, but it’s kinda shocking to be reminded that the majority of hip-hop artists these days grew up in a world where rap was already established as successful pop music, where Craig Mack and Notorious B.I.G. had top-40 pop hits and people like Public Enemy and De La Soul were thought of the way I used to think of The Sugarhill Gang and Grandmaster Flash! To reiterate: sigh…

Download: Arthur Conley, “Sweet Soul Music” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Toots & The Maytals, “Desmond Dekker Came First” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Tom Tom Club, “Genius Of Love” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Marc Cohn, “Walking In Memphis” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Duncan Sheik, “That Says It All” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Long Beach Dub All-Stars, “Listen To DJ’s” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Porn Theatre Ushers, “The 90’s” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)