Misery Is the River of the World

Misery Is the River of the World - Tom Waits from Blood Money, released 2002

This is one of those special songs. I can almost picture some cartoon devil singing this song with his backing band on the bank of the river Styx under some red-tinted light. Its almost too intense. My wife listened to about two seconds and made me turn it off. I think its great, love the beat, his voice, and the marimba, as well as the gong.

It was written for a play called Woyzeck by Georg Buchner, loosely based on a Leipzig wigmaker who became a soldier, killed a women in a jealous rage, and was publicly beheaded.The play deals with social themes such as poverty, status and morality. 

After the Laughter

Tearz, along with Protect Ya Neck, was the first release from the Wu-Tang Clan in 1993. RZA produced the track, sampling Wendy Rene's After Laughter (Comes Tears) and making great use of Booker T. Jone's organ riff. RZA takes the first verse and Ghostface Killah the second, each telling a dark story. Great early 90s storytelling rap over a raw beat.

After the Laughter (Comes Tears) was written by Wendy Rene and released in 1963 on Stax Records. Wendy passed on 12/18/2014 at 67, which caused me to write this post. She quit the music business right before the death of Otis Redding in 1967 and became a music teacher. She was supposed to play a show with Otis the night he died.

Never Lost My Way - Ginjah

Great roots tune on the Rub-a-Dub Riddim, title track from Ginjah's new album on Flava McGregor's No Doubt label.

http://www.flavamcgregor.com/

Duppy Gun Man - Ernie Smith

Classic tune by Ernie Smith from 1974.

The song is about a time when he left a show with a girl to "get down to movement," and was run up on by a duppy (ghost or evil spirit) or a gun man, "I-man no find out yet."  He ran away, leaving the girl - "the daughter name I forget."

The next day the girl asked him what happend - "just when you ready fi work your show, you get stage fright."

Finally, he tells the listener the moral of the story - "no try to run before your feet touch the ground."

January 2011 Mix

Jan 2011 Binsta by Binsta


Tracklist:

Alix Perez - Menacing Ways - Shogun Audio
Phace - Hot Rock - Subtitles
Phace - Cold Champagne - Neosignal
Icicle ft Noisia - Driftwood - Shogun Audio
Binsta - Hallowed - Unsigned
Cyantific - Empty Streets - Hospital
Icicle - Cause - Shogun Audio
Phace - Strange Science - Shogun Audio
Spor - Do Not Shake - Shogun Audio
Binsta - Promises - Unsigned
Spor - Breath in Scream out - Subtitles
Alix Perez - I'm Free - Shogun Audio
Alix Perez - Loose Ends - Shogun Audio
Noisia & Phace (Misanthrop RMX) - Outsource - Syndrome Audio