Rebel Music: The Bob Marley Story

Today is Bob Marley's 63rd birthday. While musically living in the past is a common mistake, the occasional looking back to the music of a different time can be inspirational. Like all life on earth, music is in a constant state of evolution. Each new artist that comes along builds upon what came before, creating something new. That's why seasoned musicians always urge the younger generation to listen ferociously. Plus, I don't know anyone who doesn't enjoy Bob Marley. Take Rebel Music: The Bob Marley Story for a spin. It streams off of archive.org in Real format-please contain your moans of frustration-but the sound and video quality are pretty good.

Matisyahu 2006-6-18

Matisyahu 2006-6-18 Bonnaroo Music Festival Manchester, TN (download)

I always try to keep an open mind on most things, particularly when it comes to music. However, in an age where marketing is so pervasive and subversive and where the cool video you saw on Youtube or the street graffiti promoting a website winds up being a viral marketing scheme, it's really tough not to be skeptical that you're not being sold something at any given time.

Such was my intro to Matisyahu, the Hasidic reggae beatboxer. I caught a Letterman clip almost two years ago selling him as such, and then a news article soon after that. As I checked out his music, I figured the labels surely must be pulling a fast one on me. "There's just too many silly points to market this guy on," I said to myself. "He's a Hasidic Jew who plays reggae, and beatboxes, and stuff," I thought. I figured for sure Matisyahu was another act to make rounds through, and then be supported by, the musical underground, only to find out that yet again we'd been tricked into promoting another act being guerrilla marketed by a major label.

Good Morning America addressed exactly that when they did a segment on him, in the fumbling way that most reporters approach culturalphenomena they're not familiar with:

I was pleasantly surprised to find that, as far as I can tell, Matisyahu is the real deal. The real selling point involved my trip to the Bonnaroo Music Festival in 2006. In the middle of a hot day, Matisyahu commanded a large crowd while playing Which Stage at the festival. He and his band represented well what has made them so popular to this point.

Trey puts it pretty well, too...

"When he's singing, he's singing for God," says Trey Anastasio, the former Phish frontman, who invited Matisyahu to perform with him at Bonnaroo 2005. "It's incredible to be next to him onstage."

Anyway, I had the great pleasure of baking under the Tennessee sun to catch this set personally back in June '06. Matisyahu opened with a prayer, and the set continued to rock throughout. The whole set is pretty fantastic, his 2nd prayer break (track 9) is mesmerizing. It's honestly difficult to pick other favorites, this set is pretty solid as a whole. I remember it being worth it in the baking heat and it's even more worth it now that you can enjoy this set in the comfortable shade of your home.

The full set list:

SEA TO SEA, BLESSING, X OF YOUR SONG, EXALTATION, ANCIENT LULLABY, CHOP EM DOWN, TZAMA L'CHOL NAFSHI > GOT NO WATER > CLOSE MY EYES, BONNAROO BOX JAM, NIGUN, JERUSALEM, KING WITHOUT A CROSS, E: FOH/AOE INDESTRUCTIBLE > HEIGHTS

Sound is a B, and the show was recorded by Michael Miller.

State Radio 2006-4-10

State Radio Fox Theater Boulder, CO 2006-4-10 (download)

As the presidential campaign has hit high gear, it's gotten me thinking a lot more about the situation we're in here in the US, and what qualities we will need from our next leader to fix them. Dave and I are both very politically aware and active, but this isn't the forum for a diatribe on politics. You're here for some free and legal music, and that's exactly what we aim to deliver. These sorts of politically important times do tend to steer me to certain bands, and atop that list for the past few years has been State Radio.

State Radio was formed by former Dispatch member Chad Stokes Urmston in the wake of the breakup of Dispatch, one of my favorite bands to follow through their live shows around New England, first in college gyms and small clubs and later at larger venues such as the Garden and the (then) FleetBoston Pavilion.

Urmston took State Radio in a decidedly more politically active direction, actively speaking out against the war and the current administration along with other themes.

MM: How has doing your own thing with State Radio been?
CU: It’s been fun. Great people. Great musicians. Politically, we feel no holds barred on what we say. In Dispatch, the other two guys don’t necessarily feel the same way that I do about different issues. What was important to me about this band is that we wanted to be on the forefront and be very politically conscious. We want awareness and involvement and activism and education. Because it is an interesting but terrible time in our country. I wanted to be a part of a band where we can express those views.

MM: Do you think that rock and roll can create actual positive change in the world?
CU: Yes, I do. Even with some of those big tours, people are there for the music and to have a good time. There is always a fraction of the audience who take it to heart. We may not see that in consensus numbers but there are always a few people, a fraction of the total audience who really take it to heart. We’ve noticed it and it keeps us going.

One of their better sets I have heard comes to us from Boulder, CO. State Radio brought their message and sound out to the mountains, and they didn't hold back. Before a wild crowd at the Fox, they ran through a classic State Radio setlist, including favorites such as "Democracy in Kind" and my personal favorite, a frank commentary on the old mental asylum called "State Inspector". Here's the whole set, free and legal:

Intro, Right Me Up, Mr. Larkin, CIA, Democracy in Kind, Gunship Politico, Held Up, Man in the Hall, Camilo, State Inspector, The Harder They Come*, First One Shot -> Just Like Larry, Time Served, The Diner Song, Encore break, Black Cab Motorcade, Rushian

Sound quality is a B+. Thank you Ethan Alper for taping this show. Photo Credit.