There can be little doubt what his Mikeyness is talking about here. Backed by fab cartoon sound effects, a tight roots dancehall groove, and lush, blissful female harmony vocals, the gr8 Mikey Dread kicks some herbal wisdom for four minutes and twenty seconds. Well, actually it’s 3:22 but one does lose track of time, doesn’t one? An impeccably produced track with a lot of joy and humor. Smoke this mp3.

Mikey Dread
“Pound a Weed” (mp3)
from “Life is a Stage”
(Dread at the Controls)

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Here’s a lovely choral rendition of “O Come, All Ye Faithful” by The Choir of Durham Cathedral in Durham, England. A little traditional for me? Well, I am full of surprises. And I hope your holiday is, too! Merry Christmas everyone.

The choir of Durham cathedral
“O Come, All Ye Faithful” (mp3)
from “A Festival of Carols- Music of Christmas from the cathedrals of England”
(Classic Fox Records)

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Methinks the eve of xmas eve calls for a de-stressing, most chillaxing reggae dancehall track. Thankfully, the gr8 Barrington Levy is offering up his hit “Collie Weed” for our enjoyment. A simple and direct song, with a simple and direct message. Pick up “Original Ragga Muffin Part One” for more from this top Jamaican star. Happy holidays =)

Barrington Levy
“Collie Weed” (mp3)
from “Original Ragga Muffin Part One”
(Azra Music Publishing)

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Marijuana has been legal for medicinal purposes here in the state of California since the passing in 1996 of Prop 215, and pot dispensaries and clubs have popped up everywhere in its wake as growers further perfect myriad finely cultivated strains of pungent buds. This is therefor, a good place to live if you have such needs, and as it happens, downtown Oakland near my place of residence is the capital of the pot club world! Along with a number of these specialty pharmacies, there’s even a new college offering “Quality Training for the Cannabis Industry” which takes its name from the neighborhood’s unofficial moniker – Oaksterdam University. “Medicine Man,” a classic reggae rocker by UK’s I-Plant, could be the school’s anthem. So put this mp3 in your pipe and smoke it, all you 420 scholars. Quality product from I-GROW RECORDS.

I-Plant
“Medicine Man” (mp3)
from “Medicine Man / Hard Road to Travel”
(I-GROW RECORDS)

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It seems Lee “Scratch” Perry‘s musical evolution will never stop. Jamaican music innovator number one, Perry has from the early 60′s to the present been a core author of the operating systems for ska, reggae, and dub, spawning myriad sub-genres and altering the perceptions and priorities of generations of fans and musicians world wide. Quite a resume. Now on, like, his ten thousandth LP or something, “madman scratchy” has a new release on the lovely Narnack Records label. This track, a wild riff on Perry’s already wild “Having A Party” which I posted earlier, is closer to a dubby downtempo or house vibe than the Reggae based work he’s most famous for. But the unique voice and mind bending take on life are instantly recognizable as no one else’s. Here’s holiday music of a kind I promise you, you have never heard before. Santa Claus is coming, so catch Scratchy on his short US tour they just announced, and be good!

Lee “Scratch” Perry
“Repentance”
Narnack Records

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Dj Subverse brought this to my attention last week, and it has worked its colors into my gray matter. A hyper contemporary soundscape featuring a beguiling mix of eastern and western sounds and melodies all tossed about in dub stylee. This mp3 packs a lot of music into two minutes and fifty seconds! Seductive and creepy, soothing and disturbing all at once. Is this what it is like to be haunted? Lovely work.

Rainbow Arabia
“Haunted Hall” (mp3)
from “Kabukimono”
(Manimal Vinyl Records)

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Why, it seems everyone and their cousin has a reggae band these days. Coming from the jazzy swingy new skool funky side is a band from Wellington City, New zealand called The Black Seeds. Boasting monster horn players, sophisticated arrangements and a scary solid rhythm section, they are not a simple reggae knock off, as they have been proving to a growing international following. “Slingshot” is their latest and gr8est, a powerful single with lyrics that work a karmic angle somewhat reminiscent of Peter Tosh’s “Downpressor Man” or The Heptones’ “Hypocrite.” Nice one.

The Black Seeds
“Slingshot” (mp3)
from “Solid Ground”
(Easy Star Records)

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Pere Ubu is not exactly a household word, but their art has influenced decades of popular and influential acts like the Pixies, Joy Division, REM, Bauhaus and others.  The songs on their new album make up the backbone of a theatrical production, “Bring Me The Head Of Ubu Roi”, that premiered in 2008 at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall. Based on the play “Ubu Roi” which premiered in Paris in 1896 provoking riots, the story is a re-telling of “Macbeth,” as a ruthless satire of the bloated and corrupt state of pre-World War I Europe. The new piece is “Brutal, lacking charm, and without redeeming values, an album for our times,” boasts Pere Ubu’s founder David Thomas, “It is, in fact, the only punk record that’s been made in the last 30 years.” Quite a statement, yet one that a man with his credentials can make, when the music and text is this far outside of the norm. Entertaining, scathing, and very funny work.

Pere Ubu
“Act 2 Scene 1″ (mp3)
from “Bring Me The Head Of Ubu Roi”
(Smog Veil Records)

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Not that they ever went away, but Los Fabulosos Cadillacs just released their first studio album in ten years, and it is gr8. “Contrabando de Amor” is the lead off single, and it is an undeniable smash. Truly anthemic, joyous, fun, passionate, tight, unpretentious.. let’s see, did I leave anything out? Oh and glorious! K? SuperFan approved, hit it up.

Los Fabulosos Cadillacs
“Contrabando de Amor” (mp3)
from “El Arte de la Elegancia de LFC”
(Nacional Records)

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San Francisco DJ and producer Egadz! has bent beats and busted boundaries for about a decade, and he’s calling it.. quits? Sort of, his l8est release, “Egadz is Dead” is a farewell to his current moniker, with a promise of new projects to come. Why do I care? Well, because his music is brilliant and I’ll be fascinated to see where it goes next. Gaining the kind of peer respect that Egadz! has done already is no easy feat in the fast moving and highly critical world of electronic music. I think the essential reason for his success is the compositions themselves. Check out “Going Home” for example. Almost classical in its tonal language, there’s a care and love put into every detail of the beats, melodies, sounds, and overall production that you don’t always hear in this genre. Frankly, a lot of electronic producers can be perfectly lazy, setting their filter sweeps and beats and walking away and going “Wheee! I made music!” Not so with more the dedicated and cre8ive practitioners. Egadz is Dead. Long live Egadz!

Egadz!
“Going Home” (mp3)
from “Egadz is Dead”
(Kid Without Radio)

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