This post marks a first for the blog and a new chapter in my unquenchable quest for new music and records. I've now begun the slow and wallet-crushing descent into buying rocksteady 45s. I've always been a fringe fan of the genre: I've owned a copy of The Harder They Come soundtrack for a long time and have regularly co-opted Toots and The Maytals as a summertime staple. Upon a recent trip to New Orleans I visited my favorite record store there (and in the entire United States of America out of all the ones I've been to). It's called Domino Sound Record Shack and it is an absolute imperative if you should ever find yourself in New Orleans. They carry an expansive selection of soul, funk, punk, metal, and rock 45s and LPs but their real bread and butter is Jamaican records. Owner Matt's knowledge of rocksteady, ska, reggae, dub, etc, etc is kind of overwhelming but fortunately he is a ridiculously humble dude who is willing to help you out if you're a lost puppy in the wide world of Jamaican music. Did I mention that his prices are RIDICULOUS, deals to be had all over the place. Alright, so that was my plug for a record store that has my unwavering support. Digressions aside, Matt hooked me up with a tape he made called "Prince Pauper's Rocksteady Revue" and the tune I'm posting today happened to be on it. After the first listen I became obsessed, and I really truly mean OBSESSED, with the song. Obviously as a consequence I had to find the record. Lucky for me it's relatively easy to track down and not very expensive (in the ten dollar range).
I'm by no means knowledge on the genre or the record so I'm just going to link you to the wikipedia post about Hugh Roy. I do however know that "Flashing My Whip" is an absolutely celebration of life. I could listen to this song on repeat and be in completely bliss. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do. See y'all soon with more selections from my collection.
The record is lovely. Domino is truly one of the great shops isn't it?
ReplyDeleteI purposely stay away from the Jamaican/Island stuff. There just isn't enough money in the budget to buy everything I'd like and I have to draw the line somewhere. Pretending those 45's aren't even there goes a long way towards saving my sanity.
However, I do buy all the old Maytals singles I can find. Can't very well pass those up, can I?