Happy New Year!

2010 was a great year for Ska and Reggae, and it was tough to choose my Top Albums of 2010.  Last night’s episode was audio companion to this list, a variable round-up of my favorite tunes from my favorite records of last year, presented as deconstructed rock blocks.  Each artist is represented 2 or 3 times throughout the episode, giving you a chance to really get a feel for each of my Top 10s.

If you missed it, you can check out this episode for the next two weeks, while KDHX holds it in their archives.  Let me know what you think about this format, this music, or even the show in general.  I’m well open to feedback and I don’t get enough of it.

Ska Cubano “Cumbia Del Monte” from “Mambo Ska” on Casino Sounds
Maddie Ruthless and The Secret Affair “Abracadabra” from “Hold The Phone” on Community Records
The Caroloregians “Alton Knows” from “Funkify Your Reggay” on Grover
Bobby Pins & The Saloon Soldiers “The Revenge” from “Dancing On The Moon” on Rain
Green Room Rockers “Broke” from “Green Room Rockers” on Jump Up!

The Slackers “The Same Everyday” from “The Great Rocksteady Swindle” on Hellcat
The Gramophone Allstars “In A Sentimental Mood” from “Simbiosi” on Liquidator
The Bullets “On That Side” from “Sweet Misery” on Jump Up
Open Season “Louder!” from “Louder!” on Leech
The Caroloregians “Super Sonic” from “Hot Blood In Cold Weather” on Jump Up
The Beatdown “Justice” from “The Beatdown” on Stomp
Maddie Ruthless and The Secret Affair “Funeral Dirge” from “Hold The Phone” on Community Records

The Moon Invaders “I Believe” from “Hot Blood In Cold Weather” on Jump Up
Bobby Pins & The Saloon Soldiers “My Best Boy” from “Dancing On The Moon” on Rain
The Gramophone Allstars “Song For My Father” from “Simbiosi” on Liquidator
Ska Cubano “Pachito E’Che” from “Mambo Ska” on Casino Sounds
Green Room Rockers “Alone” from “Green Room Rockers (promo)” on Jump Up
Open Season “Hey Darling” from “Louder!” on Leech

The Bullets “Realies” from “Sweet Misery” on Jump Up
The Beatdown “Get Ready” from “The Beatdown” on Stomp
The Slackers “How It Feels” from “The Great Rocksteady Swindle” on Hellcat
Bobby Pins & The Saloon Soldiers “Duel By Dawn” from “Dancing On The Moon” on Rain
The Gramophone Allstars “Love You Like a Woman” from “Simbiosi” on Liquidator
The Bullets “Hotter Reggae” from “Sweet Misery” on Jump Up
Open Season “Hello” from “Louder!” on Leech
The Beatdown “Beatdown” from “The Beatdown” on Stomp

The Caroloregians “Super Jet Set” from “Hot Blood In Cold Weather” on Jump Up
The Moon Invaders “All I Have To Do Is Dream” from “Hot Blood In Cold Weather” on Jump Up
The Slackers “Long Way Off” from “The Great Rocksteady Swindle” on Hellcat
Maddie Ruthless and The Secret Affair “Inside Out” from “Hold The Phone” on Community Records
Ska Cubano “Lupita” from “Mambo Ska” on Casino Sounds

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Last night’s episode flowed so well, didn’t it?  Well, I was happy with it-  I started things off nice and sweet with a couple of slow and spooky numbers from Lord Kitch and Maddie Ruthless, before digging into the straight ska portion of the set.  There was new stuff from The Simmertones, The Beatdown, Dionne Bromfield and more; and the show finished up with a set of dubby ska and reggae from the likes of Scrappy, Victor Rice and The Skatalites.

If you missed the show, all is not lost- head on over to KDHX.org, where the episode will stream for the next two weeks.

Lord Kitchner – Love In The Cemetary – Trojan Calypso Box – Trojan – [Caribbean oldies are so much more fun when you know the words.]

Miss Maddie Ruthless – Graveyard Rocksteady – Unreleased Demo – Self

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The King Blues – Blood On My Hands – Under The Fog – Household Name

The Dualers – Kiss On The Lips – Melting Pot – Galley – [Here's an alternate version of this Dualers' hit, nice quality too!]
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Open Season – Hey Darling – Hey Darling – Leech Records

Th Simmertones – Sammy Dead – Presenting The Simmertones – Self

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Stranger and Patsy – Hey, Hey Baby – Deep Ska – Proper/Treasure Isle

Hortense Ellis – Hold Me Tenderly – Duke Reid – The Trojan – Nuclear Weapon – Trojan

Dionne Bromfield – Oh Henry – Introducing Dionne Bromfield – Lioness

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The Toasters feat Lester Sterling and Laurel Aitkin – Speak Your Mind – Hard Band For Dead – Moon Ska

Prague Ska Conspiracy – Madness – Life On Ropes – Grover

Ringo Ska – Should Have Known Better – Betolzkahitoparat – Pork Pie

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Eric Donaldson – Cherry Oh Baby – Don’t Call Me Ska Face Vol 3 – Dressed To Kill

Lord Mike and His Dirty Calypsonians – Shake Shake Sonora – Live in Chicago 10-04-08 – Live Recording

Jamaska – Skaravan – Live Bash! – White

Errol Dunkley – Please Stop Your Lying – Joe Gibbs Scortchers From The Early Years – Vp Records

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St. Petersburg Ska-Jazz Review – Too Good To Be True – Too Good To Be True – Megalith

Sublime – Doin’ Time (uptown remix) – Second-Hand Smoke – MCA

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King Hammond – King Hammond Shuffle – Don’t Call Me Ska Face Vol 1 – Dressed To Kill – [Read all about The Resurrection of King Hammond]

The Beatdown – Today – The Beatdown – Stomp – [It's been several weeks that I've been playing new Beatdown tracks, but now that the album has dropped, you can play them for yourself.]

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The Caroloregians – Robbery – Hot Blood In Cold Weather – Jump Up!

The Slackers – Have The Time – Live On The West Side NYC June 4, 2010 – Whatevski.org

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Smiley Culture – Shan a Shan – You’ll Never Know… – White – [Okay, I'll let you listen to it, one more time]

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Scrappy – This Generation – The Smart Sensation – Grover

Banana Crusher – Hot Keawi – Ska, Rock-Steady, Reggae Vol 1 – White

Big D and The Kids Table – My Thoughts Take Me Away – Fluent In Stroll – Side One/Dummy Recordings

Victor Rice – Gravity – @ Version City – Stubborn

The Skatalites – Outback Dub – On The Right Track – Aim – [Can you handle The Skatalites in Dub?]

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Arrrrgh!  What a frustrating show it was!  Computer glitches and a general lack of preparedness conspired to nearly derail the entire show.  Ironically, a big part of the show was dedicated to boastful DJ chatting.  While the show went smooth enough during the Open Season segment, where I played every track I could find in the Open Season DJ battle-  I proved to not be a “boss dj” as the show descended into chaos.   No matter, I learned a few lessons on not trusting my technology, and having backup music close-by.  Good thing I’ve never recorded a track- claiming to be the best.

Below, you’ll find last nite’s playlist with the usual links to explore… pay close attention to the links within the Open Season segment for a little bit of history on the matter.  You can also click here to hear the online stream of the episode, if you’re into the whole morose delectation thing.

Skandalous All-Stars – American Psychopath – Age Of The Insects – Shanachie

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Green Room Rockers – Reggae Revival – Reggae Revival Single – Dashiki Clout Records*

Westbound Train – Check Your Time – Live at KDHX – KDHX*

The Pinstripes – The Boot – Demo – NA – [The Pinstripes are coming to St. Louis!]

The VOID UNION – Plain Jane – The VOID UNION – Megalith* – [...so are The Void Union]

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Stubborn All-Stars – Open Season – Open Season – Stubborn – [Here's Ink 19's take on the Open Season feud]

Hepcat – Open Season… is closed – Right On Time – HellCat

Skinnerbox – Hepcat Season – Demonstration – Tripple Crown – [Read King Django's explanation of the Hepcat feud]

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Dr. Ring-Ding – My Sound – Ram Di Dance – Moon

Crazy Baldhead feat Happy – Fishing Season – Crazy Baldhead has a Posse – Stubborn

Dr. Ring-Ding – No Reason For Season – Trombone Sound – Grover – [Dr. Ring-Ding gives his reason for joining the battle]

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King Django – Next Season – Reason – HellCat

Unknown – Unknown – Unknown – Unknown

Matt Wixson – Season Finale – Season Finale Single – Self Released* – [Wixson's MySpace]

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The Amnesiacs – Top Yourself – Forget To Remember – *

Sonic Boom Six – Monkey See Monkey Do – Sounds To Consume EP -

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The Selcter – Return of The Selecter – Web Promo – NA – [Download this track from The Selecter]

Lord Sluggo AKA Vic Ruggiero – Cocain – Version City – Stubborn

Looner – Dutchie – Promo – Two Sheps That Pass… [Learn more about Looner]

The Pinstripes – Everybody – The Decay – Grover*

The VOID UNION – Future 86 – The VOID UNION – Megalith*

Hortense Ellis – Secretly – Studion One Women – Studio One/Soul Jazz

Roy Ellis w/Eastern Standard Time – Banana – Live from Chicago’s Bottom Lounge 10-04-08 – NA

Key:  Artist – Title – Album -   +=Request   *=New
[Notes]

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