things and time will tell.

Gina Birch – Feminist Song Third Man Records – TMR719 Vinyl, 7", 33 ⅓ RPM, Limited Edition, USA, 2021 info This 2021 single was Gina Birch's first "solo" record, 40+ years after founding the Raincoats in London. That band, started when she was just over 20 years old after seeing a Slits gig, has popped up on these pages before. (And if you don't already know them, that is the track to hear .) I've always enjoyed their messy embrace of feminism, art, anger and fun. In her late 60s now, Birch still has it. Feminist Song isn't built around the funkiness that worked its way into my favorite Raincoats cuts, but those other threads are still there: her painted cover art, the sharp politics, the tongue in cheek honesty ("and yes, sometimes I'm a pushover"), the catchy hook of a chorus buried under all the noise. Fellow Raincoat Ana da Silva supplies some analog synth and Youth produces the track (also contributing a B side "ambient mix")...

The Raincoats – Running Away / No One's Little Girl Rough Trade – RT093 Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Single, UK, Jul 1982 info By 1982, punk had helped opened doors for things that would be much more interesting than four white guys making rock and roll fast again. I guess that's part of the story: punk never was all white, definitely not just for boys, and (after that initial burst onto the scene anyway) wasn't always even very rock and roll. Cue the Raincoats. All women (except when they weren't quite), punk-ish... but less so with each recording. Violins, melodies, feminist, art, reggae and more were thrown in the mix leaving a short string of records that I think are among of the best arguments that some wonderful things came out of punk rock for those who might be skeptical. The Raincoats had already pounded out two albums in about 2 years' time when this single came out. The band shows off a new level of confidence and... funkiness? One side features their take on ...

Grace Jones – Private Life: The Compass Point Sessions Island Records – 314 524-501-2 2 x CD, Compilation, US, Jun 16, 1998 info In my last post I said that Sly & Robbie's work with Grace Jones "sounded like the future." Seemed like that made it a fitting post for a new year... Happy New Year, everyone. Wish everyone peace, health and strength as we head into 2022. _______________________________ In 1979 and 1980, Island Records completed construction on their new Compass Point recording studios in Nassau. Label chief Chris Blackwell was worked to pull together his dream band of in-house musicians to work with the stars he'd soon begin flying to the Bahamas to record. Blackwell had lived in JA in his youth and had some success promoting the reggae artists he'd signed to Island abroad (especially some guy named Marley), so it's not completely surprising that he'd decided that he wanted a Jamaican rhythm section for the new house band. Sly Dunbar and Ro...

Chumbawamba ‎– (Someone's Always Telling You How To) Behave Agit Prop ‎– AGIT 666 Vinyl, 12", Maxi-Single, UK, 1992 info Ahem. Ok, let's deal with a few things up front.  1. Yes, they are the same band that did that one song in the late '90s .  2. No, that isn't their only song. They were together for 30 years, roughly 15 on either side of their one bonafide international hit. Started as a punk band before discovering samples and dance music and ended their career as a legit folk music group, but had a good long run as an anarchist pop band in the middle.  3. Yeah, I got it- you remember their song being  about drinking booze and getting up again . But I swear, they spent decades as serious radicals playing music . They funded and supported 100 causes, have the only 1990s pop music video I know of about shooting racists , and kept trying to figure out what a pop band could contribute to the movements . (It's not in the video, but at that same awards show, after...

I mentioned this 1981 On-U Sound classic in the last post, so we'll go with it as the next record to share. Low hanging fruit seems like a good idea while I try to get back into the swing of this... New Age Steppers - Action Battlefield Beat Records ‎– BRC-96 CD, Album, Reissue, Remastered, Paper Sleeve Japan, 2004 (Originally released in 1981 on Statik Records in the UK) More info Tracklist 1 My Whole World 2 Observe Life 3 Got To Get Away 4 My Love 5 Problems 6 Nuclear Zulu 7 Guiding Star "Bonus Tracks For Japan" 8 Wide World Version 9 Unclear New Age Steppers, like many On-U Sound "bands" from the early years of the label, featured a rolling roster of the musicians and vocalists working with producer Adrian Sherwood at the time. The center of the group's orbit though was Ari Up, fresh from her years singing for the Slits as they dove from the punk platform at the end of the 1970s into the noisy dub, reggae, and funk experiments that chri...

For the three of you still following these, sorry for the absence! I'll be trying to catch up a little this week. A request: Even if you are pretty sure that a group of white, British (and German?), punk rock women doing noisy covers of classic reggae songs could not possibly be your thing, give this one a chance. If any of you enjoy it, we could go some interesting new directions with this little music exchange... The Slits ‎– Man Next Door Human Records ‎– YUS 1 Vinyl, 12", 45 RPM, US, 1980 A1 Man Next Door A2 In The Beginning There Was Rhythm B Animal Space The Slits ‎– Man Next Door Y Records ‎– Y4, Rough Trade ‎– RT 044 Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, UK, 1980 A Man Next Door B Man Next Door (Version) The women who formed the Slits as part of the original 1976-77 wave of London punk bands stood out in the decidedly male dominated scene. There were some lineup changes along the way, but the band remained almost entirely women until they ...