Maybe I paid too much, but .........

Fallon's birthday was last Wednesday and she wanted to go to Vinal Edge to get some records so I was more than happy to oblige because neither of us had ever even been there. What a good decision that was. Fallon found a bunch of cool stuff in the dollar bins (The Ink Spots, The James Gang, Blood,Sweat and Tears, a gang of Steely Dan, Boston) and I picked up three things that are pretty unique.

I found five or six reggae 45s straight from yard (lawdamerceh!) with one being "Unmetered Taxi" by Sly and Robbie. I got it for a buck and it's going on eBay for six so I feel pretty good about that one. It's in awesome condition as well and you already know there's a sweet, sweet dub version on the b-side as is the same with most reggae 45s.

Sly and Robbie were famous as hell before they made this song, but this was the one that just mashed up de dancehall and became the "Taxi Riddim". Seriously, Google it. I found 113 songs that used it. It's easily on par with the Stalag riddim ("Bam Bam" by Sister Nancy) as far as recognition goes. You wont get more than five seconds into the song before you start yelling "BO!BO!BO! BUMMMBOCLAAAAAT!!" or some other equally excited patois. It's that good.

The more I find out about these two, the more impressed I get. In addition to working with EVERY prominent reggae artist since 1975, they've produced Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Sting, No Doubt, and many others. They also invented the pivotal "rockers" sound which changed reggae forever. Also, without these two men, the genre of Drum and Bass would not exist. Sheesh.

So I guess that was a good get. Let's move on to the records that I paid too much for........

I'll pay too much for a record without any reservations if I want it enough and the ones that really jack my wallet up are hip hop singles. When I was a teenager, I would usually buy different records than my friends so we could get more out of our trip to the record store and have a wider variety of songs to listen to when we went back home and got high. This was a good idea at the time, but made for huge gaps in my collection. I never bought any Gang Starr records because Greg or Nate would so now I've got dick as far as that group is concerned. I bought all the old school and Native Tongue stuff while Andrew was getting West Coast , etc, etc...... Now these records that I passed on back in the day are tough to get without using the Web which is no surprise. So considering all of this, I get a bit shall we say, stupid when I come across a record that I haven't seen for fifteen years which brings us to.....

"Nuttin But Flavor" by Funkmaster Flex and the Ghetto Celebs on Wreck Records which was a spin-off of Nervous Records.
The "Ghetto Celebs" mentioned are none other than Charlie Brown of Leaders of the New School, Biz Markie, Ol' Dirty Bastard. Muthafuckin' together at last, I guess. I've yet to come across a weirder combination of rappers on a record produced and released by a DJ. This was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay before Flex got all of that fame he's soaking in. (Come on, Flex. A truck?)

Anyhow, It's banging on several levels. First of all, it's a pretty fucking rare record. Wreck was a mid-level label at best and none of the guys on this song were very famous at the time. (I guess Biz was but he has a very special type of fame reserved for people who are known all over the world yet nobody thinks they're famous.) Secondly, the track itself is pretty good. I don't think Flex had done anything like this before so it's a nice start. It's a pretty sparse beat with some piano and some good scratching. Third.......Ol' Dirty Bastard, Dirt McGirt, Unique Ason, Russel MFing Jones, party people. His verse is his typical crazy, left field style which never failed to impress. He was at the top of his game at this point and it shows. It's a really complex rap that sounds like he just walked out of the bathroom and into the booth, still zipping up his pants. He probably did. Rest in peace O.D.B.

Finally, Biz sings on it.

It cost me 10 bucks. I honestly think I could've talked him down but I acted like a freak when I pulled it out of the stack and he saw me doing it, cuz he looked up from his Stouffer's lasagna long enough to see me holding it over my head saying "Yesssssssssssssss". At that point I was a mark. Whatever, though. I've got the record and it's like new.

"Crazy Cuts" by Grandmixer D.ST was my final purchase for six dollars. I already had it too, but apparently forgot when I found it in the crate. It's a pretty cool record for the historical aspects of it, but the song itself would probably be considered to be a bit of a dud. The single was released off of the album "Real Deep" (which I've never seen or heard) in 1983 by Island and has Bill Laswell (Praxis) on bass. This record could mark Bill Laswell's first of many collaborations with DJs and other rap-type dudes. I probably could've saved my money though. Oh well, now I've got two.

All of my desserts got wiped out last night so I've got a pretty busy Sunday to look forward to. Kafir Lime Creme Brulee will hopefully make it's debut tonight or tomorrow night.