HO HO HO HO HO!
Well what is this early stocking stuffer for all you good boys and girls?

Yes!

It's the return of the Third Thursday Free Mixes series ... Part 25!

Yeah we've missed (you!) more than a couple over the past couple of months so we've gone out of our way to make it up to you with an extra-long jam-packed mix featuring ... you guessed ... nothin' but B sides.

Now, the B side gets a bad-rap, so don't start thinkin' this is some of yesterday's jam sittin' in a mason jar on your aunties windowsill gettin' all moldy. These are slammin bees, deadly bees, boss bees, ill bees, even .. well, you get the idea. Now there are more ballads/downtempo jams on this mixtape than any other but they are still slammin! Highly recommended would be 'You'll Be Sorry' by The Fascinations (dig the piano fo sho) and 'Never Had It So Good' from Chuck Jackson & Maxine Brown. Also, fans of polyrhythmia will appreciate the bizarre (BIZARRE!) transitions from 4/4 to 6/8, swing to straight and other things that make musicologist wet themselves.

THEY KILLED KILLER B

Track List
Ain't No Sunshine - Lyn Collins
He Is The Boy - Little Eva
Tribute To The Don - Tommy McCook
Chicken Necks - Don & Juan
Stalkin' - Duane Eddy
You'll Be Sorry - The Fascinations
Hit And Miss Affair - Night Doctor
Part Two Why DId You - Barbara Jones
Mary Poppins - Danny Simpson
You Can't Stop Me From Dreaming - The Playmates
I'm So Glad - Frankie Karl & The Dreams
Keep On Dubbing - Bigger T
May I Baby - Sam & Dave
The Love I Found In You - Brothers Of Soul
Never Had It So Good - Chuck Jackson & Maxine Brown
Going In The Hole - Ted Taylor
Hip To Your Game - Renaldo Domino
Drop By My Place - Little Carl Carlton
Can't Get Him Off My Mind - Sheryl Swope
No Love Like Your Love - Fantastic Four
Hot Pop - Jo Jo Bennett
Listen To Me - The Esquires
How Can You Tell Me - The Flirtations
Nine Times Out Of Ten - Simtec & Wylie
Keep Him - Barbara Mason
 

Well this one really is a special request and a popular demand! This month's Third Thursday Mix Tape is a doozy. 36 tracks, over 75 minutes of music .. all dedicated to one man .. The Cool Ruler himself .. Mr. Gregory Isaacs. I've had a couple people bugging me to do this mix for a while now, and finally had the time to do the proper research to bring you a near definitive mix of The Lonely Lover. "Near definitive" because a definitive Gregory mix would have to be something like 2+ hours long and boast rare 45s and dubplates I can't afford! But we humbly offer a nice cross section of the man's catalog... starting off with his first 45 release "Another Heartache". The mix isn't chronological and jumps through the decades from rocksteady to roots to lovers rock to 90s dancehall .. the man is a living history of Jamaican music.  Also featured are some of the great Jamaican rhythm sections: Sly & Robbie, Roots Radics, Soul Syndicate, The Revolutionaries, The Upsetters, etc ... Definitely some tongue-in-cheek entries in here, specially from his late 80s albums "Private Beach Party" and "Red Rose for Gregory" ...

I did my best to hunt down dubs and versions ... this is the perfect music for the warming weather, so get on the stoop and turn it up!

Track List
Introduction - The Blends
Another Heartache - Gregory Isaacs
My Religion - Gregory Isaacs
Unitone Skank - Dr. Alimantado
Idler's Corner - The Mighty Diamonds & Gregory Isaacs
Soon Forward - Gregory Isaacs
Ezekiel 29:13 - Sly & The Revolutionaries
Love Is Overdue - Gregory Isaacs
Love Is Overdue Version - Gregory Isaacs & U Roy
Philistines - Gregory Isaacs
Fugitive Dub - Gregory Isaacs
Night Nurse Intro - The Blends
Night Nurse - Gregory Isaacs
Night Nurse Dub 2 - Gregory Isaacs
Grow Closer Together - Gregory Isaacs
My Number One - Gregory Isaacs
Number One Version - Trinity
Sad To Know (You're Leaving) - Gregory Isaacs
Way Of Life - Gregory Isaacs
Something Nice - Gregory Isaacs
Ghardaia Dub - Prince Far I
Jailer - Gregory Isaacs
Waterfall Dub - Gregory Isaacs
Permanent Lover - Gregory Isaacs
Can I Change My Mind - Gregory Isaacs
Changing Dub - Gregory Isaacs
Feeling Irie - Gregory Isaacs & Carlene Davis
Loving Pauper - Gregory Isaacs
I Am Alright - Big Youth
De Pauper A Dub - Duke Reid
My Time - Gregory Isaacs
Downpressor - Gregory Isaacs & Baja Jedd
Guilty - Gregory Isaacs
In My Nest - Gregory Isaacs & General TK
Overdrive - Gregory Isaacs
Each Day - Gregory Isaacs


The Original Lovers Rock

Bonus Videos!
 

An amazing singer/songwriter residing in Chicago going by the name of Algebro. Yeah, it's a nepotistic love affair with lots of Drastics friends and family participating in the album but this guy is too gifted to be this unknown. Currently digging the full-length that just dropped ... get a taste of the man's music .. dig station or myspace ... personal favorite tracks are "9 Or 10" and "Miracle Lipstick" ..

We're more than pysched to announce this month's new single: Lightning Train featuring Drastics long-time collaborator and semi-permanent frontman MC Zulu. A bouncy rocksteady/gospel joint with slave-spiritual inspired lyrics. The B-side features the original instrumental version of the track; UV Rockers.

BIG TUNE!

TAKE THIS TRAIN TO FREEDOM

NEXT WEEK!
We'll be dubbin' it on up at The Whistler in Chicago ... 2 Sets .. No Cover. Enjoy fancy cocktails and this. Instrumental set, MC Zulu set. Nice!
 

And here we go once again ... We got another brand spankin' new cut for your listening pleasure up on the MySpace wax cylinder, this month we present "Marionette Rock". This is for all you Fela, Femi, Mulatu, Ethiopiques, etc fans out there who have been left stranded in the no-mans-land between reggae and afropop. Another Drastic innovation ... maybe? Featuring the guitar work of Brian Citro and solos from Tom Riley and Elliot Ross. I feel like I type this a lot, but you've prolly never heard something like this ...

UNDER CONSIDERATION TO BE THE NEW ANTHEM OF PIANO TUNERS LOCAL 382!



BIG NEWS/7" PRE-SALE EXTRAVAGANZA!

Holy crap have we got one sweet sweet deal for you when pre-ordering both of our newly minted 7"s ... Love Is War and Lonely No More, both featuring MC ZULU ...

All orders received on or before July 31 will receive free shipping (US only) ... and there's more! On top of free shipping there's free CDs and Vinyl for the first 50 orders!

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE/ORDER

Ahhhhhhh yes .... gather 'round the fire all you rosy-cheeked little cherubs, it's time for another installment of our Third Thursday Mixtape Series! Those astute readers might recall that in our last episode I had a premonition this month's issue would be in honor of Tom's upcoming shotgun wedding and would be packed full of lovey-love-lover's rock tunes 'n what not. Well, we're once again a day late and a dollar short. At the last minute, Tom was all like "oh, hey, can you do the music for my wedding, but, like, I don't want you to have to DJ so can you just make the mix ahead of time, and it needs to be like about 90 minutes and can you get it to me soon so I can tell you how much I need changed" (liberties in actual conversation were taken for this dramatic reenactment). So yeah, long story even longer, I didn't have time to complete a lovely mixtape as all the time I could allot over the last couple weeks for the DJing was devoted to the "non-typical but still cool wedding music" mix.

But fear not fair denizen of the deep, I just pulled an old mix out the vaults, made up some artwork and voila! SO! This month we have Down 'n Dirty Rocksteady. I realize (now, literally right now as I type this) that the title might be misconstrued as meaning a "slack" or "x-rated" mix, but what I meant was this is a sort-of no-frills mix. I think this mix was made in fall of '07, and was one of those "I should make a rocksteady tape" thing ... don't feel like I even dug that deep into my own records to make this one, just whatever was hanging around the turntables ...

What do the stars hold for next month!? Madam Zoltran forsees good things in your future ...

These files will be linked from a file/share site and I don't know what the restrictions are ... they do limit downloads by number or days ... so if you want it and can't get it, drop us a line ...

Track List
Let Him Try - Alton Ellis
Lonely Man - Scotty
Congo Call - Bob Andy
Real Hot - Lennie Hibbert
Swinging Chariot - Derrick Harriott
Undying Love - Al Campbell
Undying Dub - Al Campbell
Moody Dub - The Techniques
Once Ago - Gregory Isaacs
whipping the Prince - The Soul Vendors with Alton Ellis
Rock Fort Shock - Price Francis
Natural Natty - the Mighty Diamonds
Young Love Version - Barbara Jones with Big Youth
Puppy Love - The Heptones
Puppy Love Version - The Heptones
Puppy Love - Tiger
Since I Fell For You - Alton Ellis
Stop The Fussing & Fighting - Byron Lee & the Dragonaires
Liquidator - The Harry J. All Stars

WHO GOT THE NUMBER!?