Entre Casa y Babylon

Born in Spain, grown up in Paris, France, Manu Chao absorbed influences of all kinds - punk, hardcore, rockabilly, ska, dancehall reggae, flamenco, African music, RnB, etc.

Now a solo artist, this was the last album by his band Mano Negra. I first heard this when a penpal sent a TDK cassette of it to me when I was in college. This was one of my favorite albums for years.

While maybe not as palatable to english-speaking ears as to spanish/francophone ones, I think this CD from 1994 still holds up in a BIG way. Later, when I was in New Orleans and discovered all the great, unknown New Orleans 50's RnB, I found that the song "The Monkey Speaks His Mind" was not a Manu original, but a NOLA hit penned by Dave Bartholomew (which you will soon see here). Then, back here in Medellín, I discovered one of my favorite Cuban artists, Bola de Nieve (also to make a future appearance on HSR), and I recognized Bola's song "Drume Negrita" as being the original of "Mamá Perfecta"!! Talk about mindblowing!

This album was written between Paris, New York, Buenos Aires and Bogotá, after a crazy tour on a train that was transformed into a traveling circus that went from the Colombian Atlantic coast to Bogotá (and which some credit for the demise of the band).

The song "El Señor Matanza" ("Lord Massacre", kind of) was about the political/social climate at that time and still to a great extent, at this time (no matter what Prez Uribe would like you to believe). Including guest cameos from people like Fidel Nadal of (Argentina's answer to the Bad Brains) Todos Tus Muertos, and backing vocals from one Jello Biafra, you are respectfully invited for a stay at:

CASA BABYLON:

"Viva Zapata" – 2:04
"Casa Babylon" - 2:34
"The Monkey" - 2:47
"Señor Matanza" - 4:06
"Santa Maradona" - 3:27
"Super Chango" - 2:53
"Bala Perdida" - 2:13
"Machine Gun" - 4:25
"El Alakran" - 3:50
"Mama Perfecta" - 1:54
"Love And Hate" - 2:28
"Drives Me Crazy" - 3:38
"Hamburger Fields" - 3:14
"La Vida" - 2:41
"Sueño De Solentiname" - 3:51
"This Is My World" - 4:57

The video for SEÑOR MATANZA, filmed in Bogotá:

The Have-Nots: >>X<< Part 2

Ok, so finally, I was able to upload cd2 through sendspace.com! X's Billy Zoom was always one of my guitar heroes. He was the baddest of the bad and the coolest of the cool, to quote Run DMC!! I even got a guitar that was the closest approximation to his Gretsch (that i could afford), a silver sparked Silverjet. Mine is a Dearmond, sparkle blue, big bigsby tremolo.

This is Billy with his Silverjet:


This is my Dearmond without me! :

Not too shabby, buddy!

Ok, and now, what you're really here for, the music:

MAKE THE MUSIC GO BANG! CD2:

26 (CD 2) Wild Thing (7" Single Edit) (3:33)
27 (CD 2) Poor Girl (2:53)
28 (CD 2) Call of the Wreckin' Ball (2:57)
29 (CD 2) Someone Like You (2:42)
30 (CD 2) What's Wrong With Me... (3:45)
31 (CD 2) Burning House of Love (3:55)
32 (CD 2) My Goodness (4:37)
33 (CD 2) 4th of July (4:06)
34 (CD 2) You (3:30)
35 (CD 2) When It Rains... (4:33)
36 (CD 2) Surprise Surprise (2:52)
37 (CD 2) I'm Lost (2:57)
38 (CD 2) See How We Are (3:49)
39 (CD 2) Skin Deep Town (Live) (3:19)
40 (CD 2) Around My Heart (Live) (4:26)
41 (CD 2) Just Another Perfect Day (Live) (4:34)
42 (CD 2) Devil Doll (Live) (4:39)
43 (CD 2) Big Blue House (4:05)
44 (CD 2) Clean Like Tomorrow (3:58)
45 (CD 2) Country at War (4:15)
46 (CD 2) New Life (3:24)

The Haves - >>X<< Part 1

Here is the first half of the 2cd best-of set in honor of the band X, pithily entitled "Make The Music Go Bang".

"Los Angeles" was the first "punk rock" record I ever bought and they have been one of my favorite bands since, throughout all their phases. They were, I think, one of the first truly "Americana" type bands, mixing punk, rockabilly and kitsch in a way that had never done before.
I have been having a hard time uploading the second cd thru sharebee or zshare, so i think i will try it again tomorrow through a different service. Enjoy, people all over the world (and you know who you are). (And leave a message why don't you??).

John Doe, Exene Cervenka, Billy Zoom,DJ Bonebreak are:

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

MAKE THE MUSIC GO BANG! CD1:

1 Adult Books (Single Version) (3:14)
2 We're Desperate (Single Version) (2:03)
3 Angeles (2:24)
4 Your Phone's Off the Hook, But You're Not (2:25)
5 Johny Hit and Run Pauline (2:50)
6 Soul Kitchen (2:26)
7 World's a Mess; It's in My Kiss (4:28)
8 Unheard Music (4:45)
9 White Girl (Single Mix) (3:29)
10 Once Over Twice (2:31)
11 Universal Corner (4:33)
12 Some Other Time (2:17)
13 In This House That I Call Home (3:33)
14 Beyond and Back (Live) (2:41)
15 Riding With Mary (Single Version) (3:12)
16 Hungry Wolf (3:47)
17 Motel Room in My Bed (2:41)
18 Blue Spark (2:08)
19 Have Nots (4:46)
20 Under the Big Black Sun (3:24)
21 New World (3:25)
22 Breathless (2:19)
23 We're Having Much More Fun (3:08)
24 True Love (2:15)
25 I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts (4:15)



BEYOND AND BACK:


DEVIL DOLL:

Concepts in Unity

I have wanted to post this album (well, double album, actually) for a long time, since it is one of my favorite NYC salsa ouvres, a bonified classic, and pretty hard to find, I believe. It is the first of two releases from a supergroup of sorts, featuring, among many, the great Cuban trumpetplayer, Alfredo “Chocolate” Armenteros.


Recorded undubbed in just two days in April of 1975, ladies and gents, I offer you, El Grupo Folklórico Y Experimental Nuevayorquino:

Concepts in Unity:

1. Cuba Linda
2. Choco's Guajira
3. Anabocoa - Grupo Folklorico y Experimento
4. Adelaida
5. Canto Asoyin - Grupo Folklorico y Experimento
6. Carmen la Ronca
7. Luz Delia - Grupo Folklorico y Experimento
8. Canto Ebioso
9. Papa y Mama
10. Iya Modupue

P.S: you can also find this cd as well as their second cd, HERE!!!:

Los Lobos Acoustic Live

This is an authorized bootleg from Los Lobos. Live, March 2, 2005 at McNear's Mystic Theatre
in Petaluma, CA.

Here's the tracklist:

disc I (41:41):
first set

01 introduction by John Skeels 01:32
02 Canto Veracruz 02:50
03 Colas 02:54
04 El Paloma 03:42
05 La Pistola y El Corazón 04:10
06 El Cuchipe 03:41
07 Saint Behind the Glass 03:40
08 Los Ojos De Pancha 03:15
09 Porro Por Pedrito 04:21
10 Kiko and the Lavender Moon+ 04:23
11 Arizona Skies > 01:47
12 Borinquen Patria Mia 05:19


disc II (64:08):
second set

01 Llorona* 03:44
02 Sabor a Mí* 04:20
03 La Feria De Las Flores* 03:24
04 Gema* 05:19
05 Que Nadie Sepa Mi Sufrir* 03:47
06 Cielito Lindo (Huasteco)* 03:42
07 Wreck of the Carlos Rey^ 05:47
08 Ay Te Dejo en San Antonio 02:45
09 How Much Can I Do? 03:39
10 Teresa 06:04
11 Guantanamera 06:05
12 --encore break-- 04:02
13 Our Last Night# 03:15
14 Corazón > 03:33
15 Guajira 04:34

Til Things Are Brighter 3

Disc: 3

1. You’re the Nearest Thing to Heaven (#5 country)
2. The Story of a Broken Heart
3. Sugartime
4. Born to Lose
5. Always Alone
6. You Tell Me
7. Life Goes On
8. You Win Again
9. I Could Never Be Ashamed of You
10. Hey, Good Lookin’
11. I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still in Love with You)
12. Cold, Cold Heart
13. Blue Train
14. Katy Too (#11 country / #66 pop)
15. The Ways of a Woman in Love (#2 country / #24 pop)
16. Fools Hall of Fame
17. Thanks a Lot (#12 country)
18. It’s Just About Time (#30 country / #47 pop)
19. I Forgot to Remember to Forget
20. I Just Thought You’d Like to Know
21. Down the Street to 301

FOLSOM PRISION BLUES ON YOUTUBE:

Til Things Are Brighter 2

Disc: 2

1. Next in Line (#9 country / #99 pop)
2. Don’t Make Me Go
3. Give My Love to Rose (#13 country)
4. Home of the Blues (#3 country / #88 pop)
5. Rock Island Line (#35 country)
6. Wreck of the Old 97
7. Country Boy
8. Doin’ My Time
9. If the Good Lord’s Willing
10. I Heard That Lonesome Whistle Blow
11. I Was There When It Happened
12. Remember Me (I’m the One Who Loves You)
13. Belshazzar
14. Big River (#4 country)
15. Goodnight Irene
16. Ballad of a Teenage Queen (#1 country / #14 pop)
17. Come in Stranger (#6 country / #66 pop)
18. Guess Things Happen that Way (#1 country / #11 pop)
19. Oh, Lonesome Me (#13 country / #93 pop)
20. Leave that Junk Alone

BIG RIVER ON YOUTUBE:

Til Things Are Brighter

Today's turn is for the late, great, Mr. Johnny Cash. This godfearing, pillpopping genius was a strange mix of holy, damned and hellbent. This is a 3cd set that documents his time recording at Sam Phillip's Sun Studios, where it all began.

You were a good man, John. Rest in Peace.

the first CD:
1. Wide Open Road
2. Hey Porter
3. Cry, Cry, Cry (#14 country)
4. My Two Timin’ Woman
5. Port of Lonely Hearts
6. I Couldn’t Keep from Crying
7. Trail to Mexico
8. Folsom Prison Blues (#4 country; later re-recording #1 country and #32 pop)
9. So Doggone Lonesome (#4 country)
10. Mean Eyed Cat (#30 country)
11. Luther Played the Boogie (#8 country)
12. Get Rhythm (#23 country)
13. I Walk the Line (#1 country / #17 pop)
14. Train of Love (#7 country)
15. There You Go (#1 country)
16. I Love You Because (#20 country)
17. Goodbye Little Darlin’ (#22 country)
18. Straight A’s in Love (#16 country / #84 pop)
19. You’re My Baby (Little Woolly Booger)
20. My Treasure

I WALK THE LINE ON YOUTUBE:

Los Van Van

Founded on on December 4, 1969, this big band is an institution in Cuba. Led by bassist Juan Formell, they were the pioneers of a music called "timba" which mixes traditional Cuban music with jazz, rap, funk, and pop. This is a "best of" double CD I bought here in Medellín, which I doubt is an official release, but which I consider representative of their sound up til the late 90's. They are still around, with an ever changing lineup, touring the world despite the U.S. embargo (check out the two youtube videos in Miami, directly below the songlist!!). Enjoy.

LOS VAN VAN - "Grandes Éxitos":

CD1
1l. Ya Empezó La Fiesta
2. Que Sorpresa!
3. Que Le Den Candela!
4. Sandunguera (Por Encima Del Nivel)
5. La Titimanía
6. Lo Que Dejó Sebastián
7. Azucar
8. Ahora Dime Que Me Quieres
9. El Negro No Tiene Na'
10. Recaditos No
11. Un Socio
12. Soy Normal, Natural


CD2
1. Que Tiene Van Van
2. Aquí El Que Baila Gana
3. La Shopimaniaca
4. Muévete
5. Ese Es Mi Problema
6. Tranquilo Mota
7. La Protesta de las Gallinas
8. Esto Sí Es Distinto
9. Tú, No Colabores Si No Es Contigo
10. Qué Palo Es Ese
11. Llévala a tu Vacilón
12. Solo Quería Bailar

in Miami:

"Ya Empezó La Fiesta", always the opening song:


"Sandunguera", one of their biggest hits:


Also, an early video, "Titimanía":

The Coup

I am taking advantage of this three day weekend here in Colombia to pretend that I am a prolific audioblogger. Is it working? Ok, well..


The Coup is a way underrated hip hop group from SF that do something which is almost impossible: mix politics and bootyshakin'. After surviving a horrible accident on their tourbus which destroyed all of their equipment, they have recently signed with punk rock label "Epitaph" and released "Pick a Bigger Weapon", which is their first label deal where they'll actually be making any dough, as their past labels stole them blind (how strange), so if you like THIS CD, you should buy THAT one, because they are worth supporting. This here is their first record, "Genocide and Juice", featuring some way funny, way scathing and way funky songs. I am particularly fond of "Pimps", which trascends at a posh soirée where J. Paul Getty, Donald Trump and David Rockerfeller bust out rhymin'.

An excerpt:

Well if you're blind as Helen Keller
You could see I'm David Rockafella
So much cash up in my bathroom is a ready teller
I'm outrageous, I work in stages, like syphills
But no need for prophylactics
I am up your own, so me know wretched ain't funk
But my cream got amino acid
Keep my hoes in check no rebellions
If your ass occur shit it wouldnt be the first time
I done make a massacre, nigga please how you figure these
Motherfuckers like me got stocks bonds and securites
No impurities, straight anglo saxon
when my family got their sex on
Don't let me get my flex on, do some gangster shit
Make the army go to war for Exxon
Long as the money flow, I be making dough
Welcome to my little pimp school
How you gonna beat me at this game I make the rules
Flash a little cash make you think you got class
But you really selling ass and hoe keep off my grass
Less you cutting it, see Im running shit
Trick all y'all motherfuckas as simps
I'm just a pimp

GENOCIDE AND JUICE



Intro (G-Nut Talks Shit From The Gut)
Fat Cats, Bigga Fish
Pimps (Free Stylin At The Fortune 500 Club)
Takin' These
Hip 2 Tha Skeme
Gunsmoke
This One's A Girl
The Name Game
360 Degrees
Hard Concrete
Santa Rita Weekend
Repo Man
Interrogation
Outro

Here's "Fat Cats, Bigga Fish" live:


and a couple of other Coup vids:

Van Swings With Fame

This is one of my favorite Van Morrison albums, 1995's "How Long Has This Been Going On", recorded by Van along with his pal Georgie Fame, doing some great RnB/Jazz tunes. I wish he had recorded more records like this one instead of the middle of the road pap that he sometimes did. I saw him do this repertoire at Jazzfest in '96, and even if The Man wasn't at his best, he cranked them out pretty sweet, while Georgie picked up the slack when the leprechauns got up Van's ass (moody bugger, isn't he?).

Highlights, for me, include: "The New Symphony Sid" (my favorite one, actually - especially Georgie's genius vocal take in the bridge), "Sack O' Woe", "Centerpiece", "Blues in the Night", and "That's Life" (Sinatra's).

Here is an excerpt from an interview about this recording:

JF: There's quite a feel of the Ray Charles band in some of this. It's got that... Particularly the way the horns are written for and everything. Was Pee Wee Ellis involved in writing?

VM: Oh yeah, he wrote the horn charts. Yeah

JF: By the standards of a lot of record making, this was all put together pretty fast, wasn't it?

VM: Yeah it was, but I think it's because we rehearsed, had a couple of good rehearsals. And so everybody was ready and clued-in.

JF: And how long did it actually take to do?

VM: An afternoon. We were there four hours maybe, five hours. All these musicians are very good and very clued-in. They're very fast, you know? So... You know, it's great to work with these kind of people. You usually don't find these type of musicians in the rock field. 'Cause it's much more sort of plodding.

JF: Where was the record recorded, Van, and what was it about the venue that you like?

VM: Um, we just sort of did it at Ronnie Scott's for, sort of, just the vibe.

HOW LONG HAS THIS BEEN GOING ON?

1. I Will Be There
2. The New Symphony Sid
3. Early In The Morning
4. Who Can I Turn To
5. Sack O' Woe
6. Moondance
7. Centerpiece
8. How Long Has This Been Going On?
9. Your Mind Is On Vacation
10. All Saints Day
11. Blues In The Night
12. Don't Worry About A Thing
13. That's Life
14. Heathrow Shuffle

PS: I am trying out a new upload service, so let me know if you have any trouble/complaints!!

Damon Albarn's Mali Music

Before Gorillaz, before The Good, The Bad and The Queen, there was Mali Music:"It was quite a random thing, " he says, picking up the story. "I was approached by Oxfam to go to Mali as their ambassador and get involved in their various initiatives out there. But I felt that was missing the point of using me, a musician."

"I'm not really one of those people who believes that if you're a musician you can just leave that behind and start getting into politics," he explains. "So I went back to them and said that I'd rather go and meet the musicians and see if there is some kind of common link that I could develop something from."
Oxfam set up chances for Albarn to meet and play with Malian musicians and the experience worked. "I just listened and talked and occasionally joined in with my melodica," he says, sounding rather proud.

"I played it on the last few albums I've made and it's just become my instrument of choice. In the context of Mali music it worked really well. It's a very simple instrument and it sonically fits in, for some reason."
Armed with a DAT tape, he recorded his collaborations in Mali and returned to his London studio with over 40 hours of music. "I spent two years figuring out how I could turn it into something that would satisfy me as a musician but also make some kind of cross-cultural link," he says.

Damon Albarn - "Mali Music"

1. Spoons
2. Bamako City
3. Le Relax
4. Nabintoue Diakite (Live)
5. Makelekele
6. Djembe
7. Tennesse Hotel
8. Niger
9. 4am At Toumani's
10. Institut National Des Arts
11. Kela Village
12. Griot Village
13. Le Hogon
14. Sunset Coming On
15. Ko Kan Ko Sata Doumbia On River
16. Les Ecros

Jimmy II + III

Ok, here, after more than a few days, I know, are the second and third installments in the Savoy box set of Jimmy Scott's early years. Enjoy the heartache!

DISC 2:
1. If You Only Knew
2. Am I Wrong?
3. Laughing On The Outside
4. I'll Be All Right
5. Please Be Kind
6. Never Peace Of Mind
7. Oh, What I Wouldn't Give
8. All Or Nothing At All
9. I'm Through With Love
10. Address Unknown
11. I May Never
12. What Wouldn't I Give
13. I Need Some Lovin' Baby
14. When It Comes To Love
15. There Will Never Be Another You
16. I'm Afraid The Masquerade Is Over
17. Once
18. What Good Would It Be
19. Way You Look Tonight, The
20. Things That Are Love
21. Everybody's Somebody's Fool
22. Time On My Hands
23. Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child
24. If I Ever Lost You

DISC 3:
1. Please Forgive Me
2. How Else
3. If You Are But A Dream
4. Evening In Paradise, An
5. My Romance
6. When You Wish Upon A Star
7. Blue Bird Of Happiness
8. These Are The Things I Love
9. Smile
10. I'll Be Around
11. You've Changed
12. Way We Were, The
13. Anchored By My Side
14. Can't We Begin Again
15. Close Your Eyes
16. More I See You, The
17. When I Fall In Love
18. What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life?