Heavy Rotation: The We Shot J.R. Playlist

I continue to be pretty bored with new music this year, and I still can't decide if its just me, or if 2006 has been one of the slowest years for indie releases in recent memory. Who knows. Anyway, here is some stuff we've been listening to round these parts lately. Most of it isn't new, but we've posted some MP3s in case you haven't heard some of it and are interested in checking it out.


Lee Perry Arkology: I've never been an absolutely huge reggae fan, but I've maintained something of an interest in 60's and 70's reggae for quite a while, which inspired me to finally pick up Arkology, a 3 cd collection of the "best" of Lee Perry. Of course, spending just a short bit of time with these songs reveals the vast reach of Perry's influence on popular music in all forms, but his innovations in dub and the revolutionary way that he approached production can be most clearly heard and felt in hip hop and dance. But shit, even Ariel Pink seems to be heavily influenced by the guy, so I'm sure you can come up with a million more names to prove that quite a bit of the music we like could sound quite a bit different if Lee Perry had never been around. The MP3 below is his recording of The Heptones' "Sufferer's Time."

MP3


Ethiopiques Series: Ever wonder what Jabba the Hut's band in Return of the Jedi was influenced by? Well, some dork on here probably knows the real answer, but I'm going to pretend that they were influenced by 60's soulfunk from Ethiopia. We were inspired to check out the Ethiopiques series a few weeks ago when Ray from Castanets mentioned it in our interview, and we are quite glad we did. The French record label Buda Musique has put together this series of over 25 discs compiling Ethiopian soul and funk in the 60's and 70's, as well as a couple of discs of modern african electronic music. How the hell did Ethiopia have a funk scene that produced material to fill 25 plus discs, you ask? Well, Ethiopian capitol Addis Abbaba was one of Africa's most happening party towns during the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie in the 1960's and 1970's. This, combined with American students, aid workers and missionaries introducing western records to elites in Addis Abbaba, produced a very prolific scene of talented African musicians inspired by both western musicians like James Brown and the traditional Ethiopian folk music that they had been playing all of their lives. Take a listen to the MP3 below, from Ethiopiques Vol. 3. The vocalist is Tey Gedyeleshem, and the song is called "Alemayehu Eshete." You'll likely discover that this strange combination of soul, funk, african rhytms, and middle eastern influences is quite interesting and instantly enjoyable.

MP3


Ratatat Classics: I truly don't know how to describe Ratatat's new album, but it is shaping up to be one of my favorites of the year. Everyone is jumping all over the "Wildcat" single already (which happens to be one of my favorite tracks of the year), so I thought I might post the first track from the album, which has a slightly more subdued feel. Let the amazing melody and percussion grow on you a bit, as you start to see how everything fits together, and why Ratatat's music makes so much damn sense. The song is called "Montanita."

MP3

Flosstradamus "Overnight Star": I pretty much can't fucking stand mash ups. I've never really liked them (although a couple of those Pavement- Jay Z songs were pretty cool), and I never thought I would change my mind. This track alone hasn't converted me by any means, but Flosstradamus has probably created the best mash up I've ever heard. I'm not sure why I like it so much, but it might be because it combines Sigur Ros' "Staralfar" with Twista's "Overnight Celebrity," creating an amazing dance track that is truly ass shake worthy while still somehow maintaining much of the emotional power of the Sigur Ros track. Don't believe me? I don't blame you. But Flosstradamus has been spinning to packed houses in pretty much every club they've set foot in around the country this year, and there is a good reason for it. Give it a shot.

MP3


And has anyone else been dusting off some late 80's/ early 90's shit like Jesus Lizard, Melvins, Swirlies, Nirvana's Bleach and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion lately? Well I have, and I'm happy about it.