House is Fun and Night Boat to Cairo (and a bunch of other Madness songs) are way better than Our House, but Our House is way easier to understand and, maybe catchier. Add Ghost Town by the Specials. Amazing song. Good list, overall!
Personally, my favorite Madness song is Yesterday's Men, but I needed more horns for the kids. And I wanted to get a solid diversity in eras of ska. Was gonna be Sell Out instead of The Impression That I Get for the late 90s/early 00s representation, but the skit takes too long. And McDonald's at the Pentagon is one of those songs that got really big on TikTok this past year.
The Story of Jamaican Music https://www.discogs.com/release/579332-Various-The-Story-Of-Jamaican-Music-Tougher-Than-Tough
That's a cool playlist! Happy to see Big Youth on there...Aluta continua is a fantastic album Shout out for the dub branch... And the for the dancehall + NYC evolution...Shinehead's Unity album was a gem
Reflecting...there are a handful of 'seminal' live performances that remain in your psyche...here's a couple that I can't adequately verbally explain how transformative there were: 1977 New Years Eve 'Alive', for me, is such a fantastic moment in time and capture...I was not at this specific show, but anyone that has saw the Ramones live in the 70s and 80s...you can feel this...this IS the Ramones. I say this because the marketing machine tried too hard to package them. 1980 Guns of Brixton - The only band that ever mattered 1980 Clampdown - The only band that ever mattered Somewhere between 1980-1983 Devo - Freedom of Choice 1983 Something I learned Today - Husker Du The DKs had a few that are on topic again... https://youtu.be/0UnNyyNJkq4?si=9DSJ3pXAasztGl7N https://youtu.be/0tQ19tAw6h0?si=3Clro7AtKMbYylUn 1989 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmo3HFa2vjg early 90s Sonic Youth https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVyTcdIYClU
Was a bit difficult fitting in three songs given the time restraints, but it's working out so far. And the students walk out of the room so quickly that none of them get to watch one of the greatest music videos of all time.
Scrambled to put this together before classes this morning. Regretting choosing The Killers instead of going for Wilco. Couldn't find a Decemberists song that fit the more acoustic theme that was short enough to take the slot (If break time was 15 minutes instead of 10, I'd play all three parts of Crane Wife).
Sorry @Pennsylvania Dave I was going to swing by Reggies after this show but I was plum tuckered out. Shows Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Two more this week.
43yrs since my first English Beat show…D.Wakling is the only one left, the others have all finished their time in this dimension. Nice to see the vibe is still kicking!