Gomek Makasound Podcast

This all-reggae podcast is the result of a great recent purchase... 12 CDs from the outstanding French label MAKASOUND. This label specializes in rare, and rarely heard, roots reggae–and they come up with some truly amazing finds. I sat on the CDs for more than a month while the songs sunk in so I could really present the best. The results are here.

All the albums are good, with the Slickers' and Hugh Mundell's offerings off-the-charts amazing.

Remember, just click on the links below to get to the download screen. You can either listen online or download for later listening. Grab them and... ENJOY!

GOMEK MAKASOUND PODCAST 

Give Us a Break by the Slickers, from Break Through

Break Outs by Carl Harvey, from Ecstasy of Mankind

Judgment by Knowledge, from Straight Outta Trenchtown

Money Barrier (7" Horns Version) by Leroy Brown, from Color Barrier

Old Time Religion by Mikey Ras Starr, from Fire & Rain

Rastafari Tradition by Hugh Mundell, from The Blessed Youth

Safe Sail by Trinity, from Rub-a-Dub Soldiers

Sata (version 1) by the Mighty Threes, from Africa Shall Stretch Forth Her Hand

Tribal War by Black Roots, from Black Roots in Session

Your Mind by Delroy Williams, from I Stand Black

Grab it HERE.

Schmooove

Time to get schmooooovve, with some super slinky sexy soul. First off is James Brown-lookalike Lee Fields, a funkateer from the ´70s that got a new lease on life with the increased interest in vintage funk & soul that occurred in the ´90s. He found a home at Sharon Jones' excellent home label Daptone before moving on to Soul Fire to cut this sticky sweet soul track to start the new millennium off right!

Honey Dove by Lee Fields & the Expressions, from Problems (Soul Fire, 2002)

Once known only in the Bay Area and amongst dedicated crate-diggers, Darondo is finally getting his props. He recorded a smattering of material around 1970, but then left the music scene for pursuits as varied as being an electrician, pimp, and bumming around Fiji. But thanks to the reissue-mania phenomenon that's benefitting so many music lovers like myself, his small but sweet output was finally gathered by Ubiquity Records offshoot Luv 'N Haight three years ago. It's mostly uptempo funk, but it also includes this oh-so-sweet tune that's all but impossible to resist. So don't. 

Didn't I by Darondo, from Let My People Go (Luv 'n Haight, 2006)

BTW, this is an anniversary of sorts: Soundbombing's 25th post! Hope you've enjoyed the ride so far and I plan on keeping this going for a long time to come. 

Lastly, a shout out to MemorySuppliers.com, home of super cheap computer memory that's going to have my iMac screaming along at high speeds soon, so I'll be able to pump out the audioblogs and podcasts even more frequently. Seriously, they have some great deals, so check them out.

Mash Upside Yo' Head

Mash-ups burst onto the scene a few years back, and captured my interest with the inventive merging of two or more completely different songs to create something brand new. For those of you who haven´t heard them yet, it´s nothing more than taking a vocal track (or two) from one song and pairing it with the music from another song. 

Some songs work better than others... some are simply combined because they are so different, and may match for a part of the song but sound sour or off-key in others. Similarly, the ones that use a rap vocal are almost too easy... as long as the vocal rhythm meshes with the rhythm of the track you've got a nice finished product without having to worry about the clash of dissonant notes. 

Here I present the two most perfect mash-ups I've ever heard. I came across both pretty early in my experience, but they have yet to be beat. In both cases, the songs use a vocal by an R&B chanteuse. Also in both cases, everything meshes PERFECTLY... the tune, the rhythm, the natural peaks and valleys of the track. It's like they were always meant to go together. So even if you don't like the singer, or if you don't like the musician, you should still check these out, as the result of the meld produces a sublime hybrid...

Bootystition by Beyoncé vs. Stevie Wonder

Girl Wants Rock 'n' Roll by Christina Aguilera vs. Velvet Underground

These next two are examples of strange hybrids that just work, like getting your chocolate in my peanut butter. Beyoncé seems to be particularly suited to mashing up, as I could've chosen at least 3 others by her... but Beyoncé and Fugazi?! The Outkast vs. Devo track answers the question of how a blending of self-described descendants of brain-eating apes (Devo) and Atl-liens from outer space (Outkast) would sound. One last note... there's no label info on these because mash-ups are very seldom released through traditional means. Instead, they're created by DJs and posted on the internet... so go surf for some great finds of your own!

Independent Room by Destiny´s Child vs. Fugazi

Whip Ya by Outkast vs. Devo

One More Cover

I wanted to include this one in my Gomek Covers Podcasts (see post immediately below), but for whatever reason, the MP3 was strangely resistant to Garageband, so I´m posting it here instead... Paul Kelly is a legend in Australia, a singer-songwriter that mostly mines the folky and even country side of music to tell his stories. He´s even got a few songs where he sings from a female perspective... so maybe it´s not so strange that he´d choose to cover Prince. No, wait... it´s still strange. 

Little Red Corvette by Paul Kelly

BONUS

And just 'cause it´d be a shame to post only one song, here´s another... say Yee-Haw!

Dukes of Hazzard Theme by Weezer

Gomek Covers Podcast Part 1 & 2

To quote Everlast, "just like the Prodigal Son I´ve returned!", with TWO brand new Gomek Podcasts... the first since October. No excuse except I´ve had too much fun audioblogging, but it was nice to get back in the recording booth and crank these out. My inspiration was Malia, who said she missed hearing my voice on the stereo.

I´ve also hopefully simplified the process of getting them... now you just have to click on the links below to get to the download screen. You can either listen online or download by choosing the "download original" option on the right. Grab them and... ENJOY!

Here´s the complete tracklistings for both shows...

GOMEK COVERS PODCAST PART 1 

Police & Thieves - the Clash (original by Junior Murvin)

Lee Remick - the Meanies (o. the Go-Betweens)

More Than a Feeling - Sleater-Kinney (o. Boston)

My Girl - Spiderbait (o. Hoodoo Gurus)

Venus-the Riptides (o. Shocking Blue)

Uptown Girl - Weezer (o. Billy Joel)

War Pigs - Cake (o. Black Sabbath)

Pretty Flamingo - Paul Weller (o. Manfred Mann)

What Goes On - Bryan Ferry (o. Velvet Underground)

Download Part 1 HERE. 

GOMEK COVERS PODCAST PART 2

River Deep, Mountain High - the Saints (o. Ike & Tina Turner)

Search & Destroy - You Am I (o. Iggy & the Stooges)

There Is a Light That Never Goes Out - Neil Finn (o. the Smiths)

Crazy - the Kooks (o. Gnarls Barkley)

Stairway to Heaven - Rock Lobster (o. Led Zeppelin)

Safety Dance - Dandiwind (o. Men Without Hats)

Let´s Get It On - Lloyd Charmers (o. Marvin Gaye)

Satisfaccion - Modern Art Studio (o. Rolling Stones)

Download Part 2 HERE.