In 1982, the teenage me hits the āRecordā button on a mixtape and captures a heavy reggae dub tune. No idea who it was, and I never came across it since
Years later a friend in Switzerland sends me a load of mixtape songs (incl. some of mine) that he wants me to identify. Encyclopedic knowledge, Shazam and the search function for lyrics on the Google-beast sorted out most puzzles, but not this one
I was fairly sure the lyrics contained ālong time and I have no funā¦ chalice and the palaceā¦ Dancing to the sounds of the dubā¦ā With that much info, I was really surprised I still drew a blank
Today I decide to have another bash and upload a snippet of the song my friend had sent me to ask FB and the community here if anyone had any ideas, but Soundcloud wouldnāt let me upload it due to ādigital rightsā. OK, that means they recognise it
Try Shazam again. Bingo! Now it comes up with Michael (Mikey) Smith from his album Mi Cyaan Believe It (Yup, I couldnāt find the lyrics because they are all written in Jamaican patois).
Iām sitting here with a wide grin on my face listening to some of the finest reggae-dub (in the style of Linton Kwesi Johnson) after having downloaded the whole album. (Poor guy was murdered for heckling a politician.)
Thats awesome. I know that relief when you finally get that song figured out and in your possession. I have a similar story about a song from a movie from when I was a kid that I could never find a soundtrack for. Now with Shazam and internet and such I was able to get it into my phone and I Iisten to it all the time now.
Ignorant me would just have called this reggae, no idea about dub and ska and all the other subtleties.
Mention of LKJ reminds me of my high school years, the big parties weād go to in a local hall run by a few kids who had a couple of turn-tables and a lot of LP records ā¦ back in '81/82.
Also reminds me of my own similar experience. In 1991 I lived in a townhouse complex and used to hang out with an older guy who lived a few units down. Would sit late into the night drinking beer, talking, and listening to music. He made me a mixed tape with many many cool songs. Later when the tape was lost and I wanted to obtain those songs I had no idea of my favourite from that tape. Until one night, many years later, my wife and I were having dinner with a work colleague at his place. He kept the music playing until out of the blue, there it was ā¦ Del Amitriās Nothing Ever Happens, as played by Eric at a Community OM and who knows maybe played by me one fine day ā¦ if I am a good boy and practice a whole lot more.
I might respond with āeye n eye maaanā but after the op thought better. Then hit play and thought nah āGo rasta Daneā. Well ma heads bobbing up and down like a seagull in the Channel. Let me hear you say yere.
Rachel can you post the track in the what you are listening to thread and ask the question there maybe that will hit a wider audience and someone will recognise it. Just an early morning thoughtful stop
