Back in the Saddle… (Something Else! for www.WtnrRadio.com 4/8/10)

Stream or Download (Ctrl/Right Click and \”Save As\”)

As always, the Something Else! Intro starts out the show. As I mention, \”Kulee Baba\” by Steely Dan is from an obscure outtakes album Gaucho Outtakes which I only found online at a site dealing exclusively in outtakes and live recordings not commercially available called T.U.B.E.
\”Gone Baby, Don\’t Be Long\” by Erykah Badu is an official leak in promotion of New Amerykah Pt. 2 – Return of the Ankh. One of the things I really love about the format of my show, musically speaking, is that I can dig in the crates and pull out old gems whenever it suits me… \”4 AM\” by Herbie Hancock from Mr. Hands, \”Blue Sky (Ashley Beedle\’s Ski Fi Dub)\” by Outside and \”Chok There\” by Apache Indian are great examples. As many of you know, I\’m a huge fan of Herbie Hancock and miss few opportunities to play his music when appropriate, especially tracks that feature other musicians I\’m fond of, such as Jaco Pastorius (best known for his bass work with Weather Report) who contributes his unique sound to this tune. Outside is one of my favorite groups from the 90s, primarily, with Matt Cooper at the helm on keyboards and drums (!) and help from many other heavyweights like Andreas Allen and \”Origin\” (aka Cleveland Watkiss, MC/Vocalist for Project 23 & Metalheadz night at The Blue Note in Covent Garden during the 90s.) Apache Indian is someone else who\’s identified with the 90s as well, another UK artist making his name by combining elements in a new way–East Indian culture with dancehall reggae, something uniquely UK at the time. Dwele isn\’t from the UK (he calls Detroit home) but his track gets a touch of the jazzy broken beat vibe courtesy of a remix by English producer Atjazz–\”Money Don\’t Mean A Thing (Atjazz Remix)\” by Dwele. As mentioned in the intro, \”Jam On It (Extra Super Extended Disco Mix)\” by Mos Def is an update of the 80s hiphop classic originally by Newcleus. Electro and electro-house owe a great debt to the original and its sequel, \”Jam On Revenge.\” New track from the Outkast camp, \”Shutterbug Dirty\” by Big Boi continues in the electro-hop vibe before switching gears into classics like \”Same Beat (Pt. 1, 2 & 3)\” by Fred Wesley & The JBs and \”Out Of Order\” by Prince Jammy & The Aggrovators. The reggae dub track I found out about through a compilation by a very important DJ, Don Letts Presents The Mighty Trojan Sound. Don Letts was the DJ at the early English punk clubs–so early, in fact, that none of the groups had records out yet. Since he was a reggae DJ, he played reggae & dub and the punks dug the message and the grooves. If you liked Blackmarket Clash by The Clash, the reggae tunes on that album are a direct result of Don Letts\’ influence. The next track is from another influential person, Leon Ware. Leon collaborated with Marvin Gaye and recently covered one of his own old songs called \”Rockin\’ You Eternally\” with Jazzanova and Dwele. \”Sure Do Want You Now\” by Leon Ware is from the same album as the original of \”Rockin\’…\” called, guess what, Rockin\’ You Eternally. On an earlier show I featured \”Baby Don\’t Stop Me\” from the same album. I close out with a \”live\” version of another classic from the 90s,
\”Gangsta (Live)\” by Dj Cam–the jazzy downtempo master of French hiphop.
Enjoy!