Sam’s Place

The Wire

Posted in DVDs & Movies on October 30th, 2008 by samkoritz – Comments Off

The Wire (Series, 2003-07)

Sam: ★★★★★

The best TV series ever. Well made, with complex plots & ethics. Sorry to see it end.

Emma: ★★★★★

A TV show that doesn’t treat you like an idiot. Acting, story, directing — all good or great. Also: Omar!

The Visitor

Posted in DVDs & Movies on October 23rd, 2008 by samkoritz – Comments Off

The Visitor (2007)

Emma: ★★★★

A nice story, well-told. First-timers Haaz Sleiman and Danai Gurira are especially impressive as the young immigrant couple.

Sam: ★★★★

The cynical side of me had trouble with the liberal propagandizing: an uptight, lonely, alienated white American benefits from meeting beautiful, talented, model illegal aliens. But it’s just a movie &, yeah, it is well-made and well-intentioned. In the words of Paul McCartney: what’s wrong with that?, I’d like to know. I also like the film was written & directed by Thomas McCarthy, the actor who played the despicable, lying reporter in the final season of The Wire

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Burn After Reading (2008)

Sam: ★★★★

The Coens’ misanthropy gets tiring, and the plot leads to nothing but good acting and an interesting story makes up for a lot.

Emma: ★★★

I really enjoyed Brad Pitt as a over-enthusiastic, moronic, fitness instructor but I had trouble with the Coen brothers’ usual excessive violence.

Married Life

Posted in DVDs & Movies on October 5th, 2008 by samkoritz – Comments Off

Married Life (2007)

Emma: ***

Nice to see Pierce Brosnan doing some acting. And I liked the late-’40s sets and costumes.

Sam: ***

This started out looking like it might be a good neo-noir, then just fizzled out.

Recount

Posted in DVDs & Movies on September 25th, 2008 by samkoritz – Comments Off

Recount (2008)

Sam: ****

I was aware that something strange happened in Florida in 2000, & of course in SF everybody knows Bush stole the election there, but I didn’t really know the details. I had low expectations of this but found it pretty good & fair. Also, I like that it was written by the actor who played one of the nerds in Buffy. Contrast the James Baker here with the sinister one in Syriana. The dude was behind lots of political skullduggery. His life would make a fascinating biography.

Emma: ***

Oursourced

Posted in DVDs & Movies on September 14th, 2008 by samkoritz – Be the first to comment

Outsourced (2006)

Emma: ****

Surprisingly good movie about cultural differences and outsourcing.

Sam: ****

Not “edgy” or anything but good at being what it was trying to be, though the romantic part of the romantic comedy wasn’t very effective, and it was whimsical rather than comedic.

Liner Notes to Upcoming 3MPMP2 Mix

Posted in Music on September 12th, 2008 by samkoritz – Be the first to comment

Long Shot Liner Notes

1. “Long Shot Kick de Bucket” – The Pioneers

I had basically not listened to music for years when I saw a Trojan Records CD box set sitting on top of the check-out machine at the main SF library. Since it was sitting there & no-one seemed to want it, I saved a librarian the effort of filing it & checked it out myself. The music — late-’60s Jamaican dance music — was so exciting to me that I eventually checked out all of the library’s Trojan CDs & other Jamaican music besides. This was my favorite song on that collection, I think. It’s just crazy — a groove that goes on & on w/ only slight alteration but also a catchy verse & chorus, & harmony vocals (little Bea sings along w/ “kicky bucket”; if a toddler likes it you know it’s catchy). I later read the story of the recording in Solid Foundation: An Oral History Of Reggae (recommended).

The Pioneers had had a hit called “Long Shot,” about a racehorse (the sport is huge in Jamaica). Then, one day, The Pioneers and a bunch of session men (in Jamaica the producers were the stars & the musicians were all session men) were loafing around the studio. In rushes the producer (Leslie Kong, I think) who tells them that Long Shot has just lost a big race or died or something (I’m not going to look up any “facts” in these liner notes. Reader beware) & tasks them to write & record a song about the event before leaving the studio. Which they do. Like a news flash. The song becomes a big hit, & it is much better than the song it was following up (I’ve heard it but can’t remember it). The song is later re-recorded (or semi-re-recorded; producers would sometimes have musicians play over their old tracks — bass, drums, everything) with a dj talking over parts of it. (I’ll include that version at the end my bonus dub mix made for next week’s get-together.) Not nearly as good.

“Long Shot Kick de Bucket” was a hit in Britain in 1969, & The Pioneers eventually moved there. I think some version of the group is currently on tour in the UK. Here are the lyrics, according to someone on the Internet:

“What a weepin’ and wailin’ dung a Caymanas park [a racetrack near Kingston]
Long Shot – him kick de bucket
Get up, get up in the first race
and them pull up the pace
and Long Shot – him kick de bucket
Long Shot kick de bucket
Them wail, them wail, them reel
but they couldn’t take the trail
and Long Shot – him kick de bucket
Long Shot kick de bucket
It was Starbright, Combat, Corazon, Long Shot on the rear
Combat fell, Long Shot fell all we money gone a hell
all we money gone a hell
and Long Shot – him kick de bucket
Long Shot kick de bucket”

You gotta love how they start a song about a racehorse with a Biblical reference!

Earlier in their career, The Pioneers mainly recorded with Joe Gibbs (see song #11, below), & the band included Desmond Dekker’s half brother (see song #4).

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2. “If I Had a Hammer” – Ace Cannon

I first remember hearing Ace Cannon’s music only recently — on Pandora (the best music-discovery media since the invention of radio; its very existence is threatened by the decaying music industry & government bureaucrats). He was in Bill Black’s Combo, Memphis, Tennessee, Sun Records, along w/ Elvis, Carl Perkins, etc. I just looked up his website & read that he’s been very popular in the Caribbean since the late-’50s (toured Barbados in ‘59) — so there you go.

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3. “A Groovy Kind of Love” – Boris Gardiner

I had wanted to use Gardiner’s instrumental cover of the Association’s “Never My Love” but it wasn’t available on itunes (even though it is on Pandora — where’s that “long tail” when you need it?), so I went with this. Sometimes I love it; other times not so much. What do you think? This is circa 1970, I think. Previously Gardiner was bassist in The Upsetters (see track #12). As an example of the weird ownership issues in Jamaican music: Gardiner’s 1st album was originally released under the name of his producer.

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4. “Israelites” – Desmond Dekker

They used to play this song on Boston rock radio when I was kid in the late-’70s. I didn’t know what to make of it; it didn’t sound like anything else, & I don’t remember anyone mentioning that it was Jamaican. What a great song! Kinda obvious for this compilation, but what the heck! Lotsa loud electric rhythm guitar; catchy, catchy, catchy; great intro w/ surprise jump to falsetto…

This song was an international hit in 1968. The 1st Jamaican recording to chart in the US, & the 1st UK #1. Dekker, like The Pioneers, recorded with Leslie Kong, & then, like them, moved to the UK, where he died a couple of years ago.

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5. “Ap Special” – Augustus Pablo

Why? Because it doesn’t include the melodica! (And cuz it’s good.)

Horace Swaby took the name Augustus Pablo from producer Herman Chin-Loy (Leslie Kong’s cousin), who had used the name on keyboard LPs he’d produced. Most of the latter Pablo’s albums were melodica jams over dubbed out versions of old Studio One classics. Studio One was the label home of Perry, Sugar Minott (see track #16), Bob Marley (track #19), etc.

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6. “Rudy, A Message to You” – Dandy Livingstone

Rico Rodriguez (MBE) played trombone on this & also on The Specials’ version (see track #18). This version (released 1967) must have been recorded live, or nearly live. Hear that great horn riff? Listen during the sax solo & notice that the sax drops out of the riff, & the same for the trombone during the trombone solo. And what are those drums? Certainly not any kind of conventional kit. Sounds a little like a punching bag.

Livingstone moved from Jamaica to the UK when he was 15, circa 1958, then moved back to Jamaica in the ’70s, then back to the UK.

Rodriguez moved from Jamaica to the UK in the early-’60s.

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7. “Dreams to Remember” – The Hippy Boys

Aka Lloyd Charmers & the Hippy Boys. “Charmers” was a keyboardist & producer who used a number of aliases, & was known for producing songs with naughty lyrics. The Hippy Boys recorded with Max Romeo, whose song “Wet Dream” was a “rude boy” anthem. I think this “Dreams to Remember” is an instrumental version of “Wet Dream.”

I sometimes think this song totally rocks & sometimes think it’s too calliope-like. (What do you think?) The band released an album called “Psychedelic Reggae” circa 1970, which (isn’t really psychedelic,) features acoustic piano, & is mellower.

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8. “The Dog” – The Harry J. All Stars

This was the session band of producer Harry Johnson (Bob Marley, Augustus Pablo, etc.). I initially intended to used The Harry J. All Stars’ version of the Beatles’ “Don’t Let Me Down,” but I just love this song’s lazy hand-claps. Is this a good time to mention that Jamaican artists could record songs by anyone because the country wasn’t part of international copyright conventions?

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9. “Walk On the Side” – Tommy McCook & The Super Sonics

Tommy McCook was the band leader of The Skatalites, & recorded loads of great sax instrumentals, which I was introduced to on Pandora. McCook was born in Cuba, moved to Jamaica as a child, & then lived in the US, where he heard John Coltrane, before returning to Jamaica.

I chose this song cuz it has electric guitar solos, something pretty rare in this kind of music. Also, cuz it’s great & McCook should be more famous than he is.

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10. “Save Me” – Jem

Uh, uh.

And I like the outro.

Wales to Sussex.

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11. “Worrier” – Joe Gibbs & The Professionals

A Jamaican who lived for a while in the US, he was a business partner of Lee Perry in the ’60s. Went on to record The Pioneers, Tommy McCook, Hippy Boys, etc. The Professionals included Sly & Robbie. Also co-produced Culture’s punk-influential “Two Sevens Clash.”

Besides being a studio innovator on other’s albums, Joe Gibbs released a series of 4 great “African Dub” albums under his own name. This song is from the 1st one. He died this February, & an obit I read said that he’d been silenced towards the end of his life by a copyright lawsuit brought by country artist Charlie Pride in the ’80s — by then international copyright law had reached into Jamaica.

The basic tracks of this song, “Worrier,” have been used many times. I own another version or two of it (did I put one on my 1st 3mpmp mix?) but, unlike the others, this is really tasteful. I love the quiet piano part. Dub with acoustic piano: good stuff.

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12. “Dyon-Anasaw” – Lee “Scratch” Perry & The Upsetters

What can I say? Except that what they’re singing should not be spelled “dyon-anasaw.” I like the outro sound effects.

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13. “Police & Thieves” – Junior Murvin

Simply a classic. But you’ve gotta include classics sometimes. Lee Perry produced and co-wrote this, psychedelically, & The Clash covered it well.

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14. “Warning Sign” – Talking Heads

I don’t care what anyone says, they used to be good. Radiohead (see #16) got their name from Talking Heads’ “Radio Head.”

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15. “Black Messiah” – The Kinks

OK, he says “honky” and the narrator is, arguably, racist. Still, it fits musically, &, anyway, if “enlightened” knowledge workers would listen to poor whites more maybe they’d win more elections. Not to mention that conservatives have been right about a bunch of stuff.

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16. “Exit Music (For a Film)” – Easy Star All-Stars & Sugar Minott

The Radiohead song. I’ll admit I like the Easy Star record more. (And I like their “Dub Side of the Moon” better than the Pink Floyd original — fun video here.) But, to be fair, Jonny Greenwood was the Trojan Records controller.

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17. “The Tide Is High” (fun video with Darth Vader here) - Blondie

Not actually a great version of the song (which is yet another late-’60s Jamaican tune) but it is from my youth, not bad, & appropriate.

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18. “Ghost Town (Extended Version)” – The Specials

The un-extended version hit UK #1 in 1981. I’m thinking that must be Rico Rodriguez on the trombone solo.

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19. “Crazy Baldheads” – Monty Alexander & Delfeayo Marsalis

Alexander, a pianist, was born in Jamaica & played with Sinatra. Not many people can say that. I’m still checking it out but I think Alexander has a better album — with Ernest Ranglin — than this all-Bob Marley covers album. But still it’s pretty cool, & marketing genius.

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20. “Alley Oop” – Bonzo Dog Band

This is a cover of an old US doo wop song by British eccentrics. (One of these dudes used to be in The Scaffold, Paul McCartney’s brother’s band. I had wanted to use The Scaffold’s “Thank U Very Much” but it’s not available on itunes.) The Beatles were big fans of the Bonzos, & put them in the Magical Mystery Tour movie. They toured the US with the Who & played with The Kinks. One of the Bonzos apparently went to “university” with my father-in-law. Small world.

Tell No One

Posted in DVDs & Movies on September 10th, 2008 by samkoritz – Be the first to comment

Tell No One Ne le dis à parson (2008)

Sam: ***

The 1st 2/3rds of this French suspense film is good (pretty slick, even had a pile-up car crash scene), the last 1/3 not so much.

Emma: ****

A good movie — I especially liked the part when the main character is aided by urban gangsters — but it dragged in places & the music was inappropriately overpowering.

Traitor

Posted in DVDs & Movies on September 2nd, 2008 by samkoritz – Be the first to comment

Traitor (2008)

Sam: **

Especially for a Hollywood-budget movie that’s full of exotic locales, this is pretty disappointing.

Emma: **

Predictable in an audience-patronizing way. A terrible use of good actors, such as Don Cheadle and Archie Panjabi.

Rambow

Posted in DVDs & Movies on August 30th, 2008 by samkoritz – Be the first to comment

Son of Rambow (2007)

Sam: ***

Children in early-’80s England remake Rambo. Seems like something I’d like, especially since the acting wasn’t bad & the cinematography was fairly creative, but actually I didn’t like it much. It was too fanciful, so my suspension of disbelief didn’t kick in.

Emma: ***

I liked the ’80s soundtrack but overall didn’t care for the movie.

Nanny Diaries

Posted in DVDs & Movies on August 30th, 2008 by samkoritz – Be the first to comment

The Nanny Diaries (2007)

Sam: **

This movie is predictable, uninspiringly acted (which, for Scarlett Johansson is a little better than usual), and unfunny when trying to be funny. I really felt the mush fatherhood has made of my brain when the child neglect depicted upset me.

Emma: ***

An OK movie… Uh, if you’re a sappy parent who likes Hollywood crap.

The Wire

The Visitor

Married Life

Recount

Oursourced

Liner Notes to Upcoming 3MPMP2 Mix

Tell No One

Traitor

Rambow

Nanny Diaries

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