2015: The Shoes of the Fisherman's Wife Are Some Jive Ass Slippers or Where do we go from here?

Things have been awfully quiet 'round these parts recently, and I'm not completely sure thats going to change much in the immediate. I'm reserving the right to play it by ear.

In the meantime, the end of this calendar year is turning out to be quite the doozy with Lemmy leaving the building, and just a few minutes ago, John Bradbury of the Specials going as well. Life is hard, and then it gets harder.

If you're so inclined, please keep up with my current goings on at my much more active places:

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Otherwise, vote for Bernie Sanders.

Movie of the Week Double Feature: Dance Craze (1962 and 1981)

Dance Craze (1962)

Dance Craze (1981)

Cedric Brooks RIP

Cedric Brooks - RIP

Movie of the Week: Sound Business (1981)

Following on from yesterday, today we bring you Sound Business, another terrific reggae documentary. This one dates from 1981, and so focuses a bit more on the later stuff than The Studio One Story does.

Movie of the Week: The Studio One Story (2004)

Lets get the weekend started properly today with this lengthy but incredible documentary on reggae which mainly focuses on Studio One - the label and studio run by Clement "Coxsone" Dodd (pictured above). This doc was originally put together & released by the folks at the great Sounds of the Universe record store & Soul Jazz label in London. They know their shit. Buy it here.

Lloyd Brevett (Skatalites) RIP

Lloyd Brevett - RIP

New book alert: The Cover Art of Studio One Records

Here's yet another item I've been meaning to highlight, but have been procrastinating on - an upcoming book from Soul Jazz, The Cover Art of Studio One Records.

From the review in the Guardian: "More than most labels, Studio One proves that the saddest aspect of the switch to digital formats is the loss of the 12-inch sleeve. In an era where we take "good" (ie tasteful, slightly boring) design as a basic norm, achievable by anybody with a computer, this book is a vital window into a period when design – like music itself – was a hands-on process."

Lloyd Knibb RIP

Lloyd Knibb - RIP

Beat Jazz movie of the week - This Is Ska!

This Is Ska! is a fun film from 1964 featuring performances by Jimmy Cliff, The Maytals, The Blues Busters, Byron Lee and more. Plus, there’s dance lessons! Shot on location at The Sombrero Club in Kingston, Jamaica.






Via Dangerous Minds

Friday Ephemera - the Specials' Ghost Town

Before and After: Wrong Em Boyo

Before - the Rulers:


After - the Clash:

The Specials at Terminal 5

Just wanted to let all of you know that the Specials, last night, performed as advertised. They played the vast majority of the first 2 albums plus "Ghost Town" as an encore, and a b-side or two. All in around 90 minutes with no support. Terry Hall is definitely an odd bird...going from threatening to kick someone's head at one moment, to sincerely thanking the audience the next. At one point he removed his shoes and put them back on before the next song. In the mean time, Neville Staple had stolen his socks and threw them into the crowd. Terry, stopping the band mid-song, asked for them back to no avail, claiming they were his only pair. The band picked up right where they left off.

My favorite moment of the night was when they performed "Little Bitch." As the song started, watching from the middle balcony, I happened to turn around, and much to my delight everyone was dancing. Because of poor sight lines at Terminal 5, they couldn't see the band anyway. So they danced like crazy. It was like my secret little Busby Berkeley moment. My most chershed moments at any gig are when the crowd & the band really come together through the music like that. It's one big (un)choreographed number.

For photos from both nights, visit Brooklyn Vegan. It took me a bit, but I managed to find some video with decent audio on Vimeo. Here you go:

Gangsters:


It's Up To You:


Rat Race:

More Specials

I'm looking forward to the Specials show tonight especially as Brooklyn Vegan had good things to say about last night's show. The shot above is last night's setlist from Terminal 5 courtesy of Brooklyn Vegan.

I also wanted to point out that, in honor of the shows, Godlis dug out some oldies but goodies from his endless photo archives. The shot below is one them, and they all date back to a daytime press conference the band did at Hurrah in January of 1980. See them here. Do bands do press conferences anymore? What a quaint idea.

Friday Ephemera - The Specials

Back when I was but a wee lad, I used to do things like write letters to record labels to see what they'd send me. With the exception of the guy who responded to me from Nemperor/Epic who went above & beyond, and actually sent me copies of the first two Romantics albums (god bless him), most of the responses contained what PR departments used to send out for press - a customized folder, a bio, and an 8x10 publicity photo. In honor of the Specials first shows in NYC since 1981 (next week at Terminal 5), I give you some bounty sent to a grateful adolescent kid in the 'burbs from the way-back-machine:


Publicity photo, Specials second album, More Specials, 1980

Specials first album publicity kit, 1979 - folder cover, photo, and two page bio:

The Specials on Jimmy Fallon

Last night on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon - A Message To You Rudy:



Web exclusive - Little Bitch:

You're (not) wondering now

Following the recent announcement of their appearance at this year's Coachella festival, I figured it was just a matter of time before the Specials announced any other US dates. Brooklyn Vegan reports that they will be playing April 21 at Terminal 5. Tickets go on sale January 29.

Jerry Dammers remains persona non grata unfortunately. For his side of the story, see the letters section of the February issue 2010 of Mojo magazine. Also, according to the Brooklyn Vegan report, the Specials have not played in the US since January 1980 - this is incorrect. The last time they played here was in August 1981. I know because the NYC show was at Pier 84. I couldn't go for some reason or another, but my friend Neil went, and he bought me a t-shirt which I wore for many years afterwards...I wonder what happened to it?

On a side note, besides the Specials, other so called 80's bands appearing at Coachella will be Public Image Ltd, Echo & the Bunnymen, Gary Numan, and Devo. Not to mention Grace Jones, De La Soul and Sly & the Family Stone.

The Specials

For anyone, like me, who couldn't be there, the reports are in on the first of the Specials reunion shows in Newcastle. They are nothing short of stark, raving mad.

From the Guardian: The moment was ... well, yes, special. Twenty-nine minutes past nine on Wednesday night, the sticky floor of the Academy was sweating like nitroglycerine, heaving with hope and beer. There were many who hadn't been born when this lot last toured: many other fans, old friends, who took a few seconds to recognise one another, what with their hair having grown back in all those long years as whipsnake jeans, RAF parkas and Attitude morphed into man-boobs and mortgages. Continued here.

Performing "Gangsters" on Jools Holland:


Performing "A Message To Rudy" on Jools Holland:


Performing "The Man At C&A" on Jools Holland:


Interview from Jools Holland:

Dance Craze

Is this the in place to be? What am I doing here? Ah, the wonders of the internet. As time marches on, I find myself watching a lot more TV as broadcast from the web than actual cable. With the ability to stream movies from Netflix or TV shows from sites like Hulu who needs 500 channels of crap, give or take a few?

Here's a great example. The Dance Craze ska documentary from 1981. Its been out of print so long I've never actually seen it, but I remember getting the soundtrack album when I was a kid. Classic!

Jerry Dammers speaks out...

...on his not appearing with the Specials on their recently announced reunion gigs:

"Jerry Dammers has hit out at the Specials reunion, claiming he's been driven out of the band. The founding member of the 1970s ska group, who will not be part of their 30th anniversary shows, released a statement claiming the band are trying to "rewrite history".

According to the statement issued on his behalf: "Many people are under the impression it is the original Specials [re-forming for the reunion dates]. As was common knowledge at the time of their success, Jerry Dammers was the founder, main songwriter and driving force of the Specials. He recruited every member individually, and the musical and style direction was guided by him. He designed the 2 Tone logo and formed the 2 Tone record label. Jerry has a duty to inform anybody who may be interested, of the true situation, which is that he was not invited to take part in this proposed tour, or even told about it." Continued here.

Specials to reunite for 2009 UK tour

From the Guardian:

After months of speculation, the Specials have confirmed they will be reforming for a 2009 tour. Singer Terry Hall told NME that the ska legends will be reuniting next year to celebrate 30 years since they first had a UK Top 10 hit. He said: "It's the right time to [reunite]. We talked about it at 25 but we weren't together enough. Now we're all getting on and it feels comfortable again."

Hall confirmed that Neville Staple, Roddy Radiation, Sir Horace Gentleman, John Bradbury and Lynval Golding, all original members, would be taking part in the reunion. Jerry Dammers will not be involved because he "doesn't want to tour". However, Hall added: "I think he wants to do stuff ... so the door is definitely not closed."

Hints that this seminal British band would be reuniting began in March, when Hall told the BBC that the criteria for the band reforming was, "do it with dignity or don't do it at all". Both he and Specials guitarist Lynval Golding joined Lily Allen on stage at Glastonbury 2007 for a rendition of their song Blank Expression.

The Coventry-based band emerged in the late 1970s and were pioneers of the 2-Tone movement. The multi-racial group reflected the dire political and economic climate of the time with songs such as Ghost Town, while fusing elements of reggae music with a distinctively British sound.

Hall has said he can't wait to play old favourites: "I'm looking forward to playing Ghost Town. Stereotype will also be fun and I think we might be doing Maggie's Farm too."

The Specials tour dates

Newcastle Academy (April 22)
Sheffield Academy (23)
Birmingham Academy (25, 26)
Glasgow Academy (28)
Manchester Apollo (May 3)
London Brixton Academy (6, 7)

Tickets go on sale December 11, go to www.thespecials.com for more information.