POST PLANET ROCK RADIO

I was looking for some Afrika Bambaataa stuff and ran across this archive of True School Radio Shows with his name attached, as DJ or whatever, it's immaterial. These archived shows (from 2005-2012) are awesome on their own merit, for those times when you just want to roll for a couple hours and you don't really want to hear stuff that you already have. If you can shake your ass to it, all the better.

They're available streaming or as downloads. Each show is roughly four hours. When you get to the page for whatever show you select, look to the right column, click on "Download Options".

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
True School Radio Show,  2012-04-10 at Internet Archive Afrika Bambaataa, Dr. Shaka Zulu, Lord Yoda X, Cutman LG, DJ Hektek, Universal Zulu Nation
True School Radio Show - More episodes at Internet Archive

KA-BOOM! KA-BOOM!

Ho-ly shit. This song is more relevant now than when it was released in in the mid-eighties. Check the lyrics while you're listening. It's almost prophetic. Note too the left field pairing of Afrika Bambaataa and John Lydon. One for the ages, including, unfortunately, this age.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Time Zone - World Destruction mp3 at ATumblr (?) Featuring Afrika Bambaataa and John Lydon
Video:
Time Zone - World Destruction at YouTube
Visit:
World Destruction - Lyrics at Google Play
Time Zone - Wikipedia entry

I THROW MY HANDS UP. I DON'T CARE.

I'm not going to try to convince you rap and hip hop haters to loosen the hell up. We just listen to music differently. No big thing, your loss, and all of that. But one or two of you might dig these jams. It's some early rap, with an ESG chaser, because that's what I've been listening to for the past couple hours. Some of these you may have heard, but I bet it's been sometime since you really listened to them. Start with Kraftwerk fan Africa Bambaataa and the Soul Sonic Force, followed by the polished and repetitive, but still infectious, beat of Gramdmaster Flash and the Furious Five's "The Message". Next up is JJ Fad, genderless sass, with a beat. The sparseness of that one made me think of ESG, who really aren't rap, or no wave, or post punk, all of which they're sometimes lumped with, They're a whole different ball game. No one sounds like ESG.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Afrika Bambaataa and the Soul Sonic Force - Looking For the Perfect Beat mp3 at Plugged Not Thugged
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five - The Message mp3 at ATumbr
JJ Fad - Supersonic mp3 at ATumblr The good stuff starts at :25
ESG - Erase You mp3 at DJ or No DJ
ESG - Moody mp3 at Loft and Lost
ESG- It's Alright mp3 at DJ or No DJ

WE AREN'T THE WORLD

In the early 80s, Afrika Bambaataa, former gang member turned rapper, had already pushed the limits of the relatively new genre by incorporating breaks and samples, not just from soul, funk or other sources commonly used, but from artists as diverse as Kraftwerk and Billy Squire (?). He just flat out ignored what was expected and, in "what the heck" fashion, broke barriers. In doing so, he enabled others to follow suit. But Bambaataa had a good knowledge of all types of music, which other rappers didn't necessarily share, and it led to some rather corny combos (Run DMC's "Walk This Way" anybody?).

After sampling unusual source material, the next step was collaborations. Two years before the questionable Run DMC-Aerosmith ditty, Bambaataa had his Time Zone project, a series of one-off singles, each with a different collaborator. The second of these, in 1984, was World Destruction, in which he enlisted then Public Image singer, and former Sex Pistol, John Lydon.

Knowing their mutual admiration for each others work, producer Bill Laswell suggested Lydon. As Bambaataa told, "I was talking to Bill Laswell saying I need somebody who's really crazy, man, and he thought of John Lydon. I knew he was perfect because I'd seen this movie that he'd made (Copkiller), I knew about all the Sex Pistols and Public Image stuff, so we got together and we did a smashing crazy version, and a version where he cussed the Queen something terrible, which was never released." The recording took less than five hours to complete.

Let me tell you, if you haven't heard it, It's powerful, and it's a damn downer. Unfortunate as it is, "World Destruction" is still a more accurate commentary of the state of the world than other well meaning songs. With lyrics like "The human race is becoming a disgrace," it isn't the kind of song you could imagine pop music elite swaying back and forth to. It wasn't a feel good song. It was a damn wake-up call, still left unheeded 27 years later.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Time Zone - World Destruction (via DivShare) mp3 at The Bomarr Blog
Afrika Bambaataa and Soulsonic Force - Planet Rock mp3 at Darrell Kim's blog (Samples Kraftwerk & Baby Ruth)
Public Image Ltd - Rules & Regulations mp3 at UtahDave
Public Image Ltd - This Is Not a Love Song (live, 2010) mp3 at The Sound of Indie
Watch:
Time Zone -World Destruction video at YouTube
Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force - Planet Rock (live) at YouTube
Public Image Ltd - Rise video at YouTube
Read:
Time Zone entry at Wikipedia
Afrika Bambaataa at Wikipedia
John Lydon at Wikipedia
Afrika Bambaataa page at WhoSampled