things and time will tell.

Various Artists (Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad) ‎– Luke Cage Marvel, Netflix ‎– D002532221 Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Limited Edition, US, 19 Jul 2017 Info A few days ago, I was listening to a member of the union jump into an important discussion at a training I attended. He made some really thoughtful points, but in the middle of his comment he mentioned Luke Cage. Right away he paused to explain to everyone: "Sorry. Luke Cage was a comic book reference if that didn't make sense." Well, apparently we live a world right now where a good number of union members sitting in a meeting not only know who Luke Cage is, but have opinions on where he would stand on police, black lives matter, and union struggles. (The consensus, by the way, among people I spoke to was that he would clearly be on our side.) Ten years ago, if you had told me that one day there would be a Luke Cage TV show and that it would actually be good, I'd have been skeptical. If you said that the s...

Little Axe ‎– Bought For A Dollar/Sold For A Dime Echo Beach ‎– EB 133C Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Remastered, Germany, Sep 2018 (original release: digital 2008/CD 2010) info This is the 2018 vinyl version of Little Axe's sixth LP, Bought For A Dollar/Sold For A Dime . Skip McDonald's blues-dub-hip hop hybrid "band" again features the rest of Tackhead (Doug Wimbish on bass, Keith LeBlanc on drums, and a mixdown by On-U Sound main man Adrian Sherwood) on nearly every track. But this is Skip's show, with the guitarist leading the group in some subtly different directions on their second set of recordings after signing to Peter Gabriel's Real World Records.  Bought For A Dollar...  is probably the slickest and most commercial sounding Little Axe production, but that's not a critique (and it may be my favorite of their records). Cutting to the chase: it's a remarkable record. I promise you'll love it with no background, history lessons, or color commen...

Raphael Green & Dr. Alimantado / Hugo Blackwood & Dr. Alimantado – Rasta Train / Reggae Music Upsetter – no catalog number Vinyl, 12", 45 RPM Jamaica, 1977 info I got a really nice email the other day from a good friend who I haven't seen in far too long due to a conspiracy of the pandemic, many miles, work commitments, and my pathologic inability to pick up the phone and talk to people. (Sorry.) He told me that listening to the Police And Thieves 12" that I posted recently had sent him down a Lee Perry rabbit hole. So a contribution to that particular obsession... This 1977 single has Lee Perry producing two very different songs with two obscure singers, each paired with the great deejay, Dr. Alimantado for these extended 12" disco mixes. The A side features Raphael Green and the good Doctor on the upbeat Rasta Train . Backing vocal "shoobee doobee doo" harmonies might be from the Heptones? It would have been right around the same time that they we...

Junior Murvin ‎– Police And Thieves Island Records ‎– 12WIP 6539 Vinyl, 12", 45 RPM, Single, UK, 1980 info Junior Murvin's Police And Thieves has to be one of the most memorable pieces of reggae songwriting ever. Urgent lyrics delivered with the gentleness of Murvin's unmistakable Curtis-Mayfield-in-JA falsetto and the production magic worked up by Lee Perry on the Upsetters' backing track combine to make something special. It's one of the reggae songs that everyone would know if there was any justice in this world. Of course, the lack of justice in this world inspired the lyrics when Junior Murvin and Scratch wrote this in 1976, then quickly recorded the single at Perry's Black Ark studio. The lyrics tell of gang violence and even worse police brutality. The words were clearly spilling out of the Kingston headlines of the day, but they've also tragically proven timeless. New versions of this still get cut every few years, easily translating to different c...

Aaliyah ‎– Rock The Boat Label: Blackground Entertainment ‎– 72438-38814-7-5, EMI-Capitol Music Special Markets Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Single, US, 2001 Info DJ Still Life ‎– Try Otra Vez BSTRD Boots ‎– BJX7:10 Vinyl, 7", US, 2011 Info A friend recently mentioned Aaliyah holding a special place in her heart, so I was very happy when I actually managed to hunt these down as I sorted through a stack of singles the next day. First up, two of her hits on a 45, helpfully labeled "FOR JUKEBOXES ONLY!" (I don't remember real jukeboxes that played vinyl still being much of a thing by 2001. What diner was playing the latest by Aaliyah if you popped in a quarter? And what would they be playing if we went there for lunch this weekend?) Rock The Boat  is a great track, but it's More Than A Woman on the flip that really gets me. Aaliyah is pretty much at her best with a killer hook, pounding drums, the squelchy synth bass and strings... Some of Timbaland's sci-fi funk fo...

Afrika Bambaataa & The Godfather Of Soul James Brown ‎– Unity Tommy Boy ‎– TB 847 Vinyl, 12", 33 ⅓ RPM, US, 1984 info 25 minutes of James Brown diving head first into hip hop ala 1984, brought to the party by his greatest NYC disciple, Afrika Bambaataa. They rap against cold war greed and violence and the virtues of funk over live breakbeats supplied by some of my favorite musicians. It's a shame this record isn't more remembered, it's a gem. The '80s weren't packed with new highlights in the James Brown discography, but hanging out with the Universal Zulu Nation brought something out in him and the Godfather of Soul gives a great performance on Unity . Maybe he enjoyed hearing his music being kept fresh. Maybe he was moved by Bambaataa's obvious joy at getting to record with his hero. Or maybe he was just feeling inspired to preach that day on the power of funk, the dangers of nuclear war, the importance of education and the gospel of " peace, uni...

Bobbi Humphrey ‎– Chicago, Damn Blue Note ‎– BN-XW395-W Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, US, 1973 info I think I've mentioned this before, but there aren't really enough quality flute-led funk songs in my life. Here's a favorite by flautist Bobbi Humphrey, served up on a 45 from Blue Note in 1973 in the midst of their soul jazz years. You can usually sign me up for the extended, 8 minute plus disco mix of a song I love, but I do really enjoy the shortened single edits of these two tracks from Humphrey's excellent Blacks And Blues  LP. Each has been chopped to less than half the length of their full album version, but, especially on the A side, it really does highlight the song's funk strengths. Chicago, Damn  is a classic in my book (and not just because it has one of the greatest song titles of all time). The song is written and produced by the great Larry Mizell and I'm pretty sure it features his brother Fonce on the Clavinet. Great synth and percussion, but of course...