Wow it's been a long time since we rapped at ya .. But things are still happening ... Next couple weeks we're gonna be up on this BLOG ish quite a bit .. Some new tracks, some previews of other new tracks, some upcoming shows, solo tours, yeahhhhhh ya know!

And so to start it off we got a brand new mixtape for ya'lls ... A special collaboration with Chicago's 'Simmer Down Sundays' ( Our friends Akasha's free reggae night held every last Sunday at the Double Door). Simmer Down Sundays features a rotating cast of selectors, deejays and bands is arguably the most important reggae happening in the city. Drastics drummer Anthony (aka King Tony) has dropped his 'live-dub-via-cassette' performance there a couple times now, and collaborated with The Blends on this new mix .. Reggae Synthesis .. It's ya know, like, when the guy (or gal) in your band gets a new pedal or new percussion toy and just throws-up all over the track using it to death? Well this mixtape is orta like that, but with rastas and synthesizers.

Stream It
MOOGS & BINGHIS


Download It
ARP ODYSSEYS & CHALWA


Track List
Introduction - The Blends
Spying Glass - Horace Andy
Willow Tree - Black Uhuru
Accept My Apology - B.B. Seaton
Interlude 1 - The Blends
Tell Them A Ready - Barrington Levy
Lazer Eyes - Sly & Robbie
How Could I Live - Byron Lee & The Dragonaires
Social Justice - Mighty Two
Unknown - Unknown
Take Care of the Youths - The Viceroys
Mackarus Serenade - Joe Gibbs & The Professionals
Interlude 2 - The Blends
Single Barrel - Dave and Ansil Collins
Time of Decision - Ken Boothe
Roots Train - Derrick Harriott
Star Trek - The Vulcans
 

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
 

Missed you last month. We really did. What? No I tried calling! But, my phone was dead! I was stolen by gypsies! My arm was broken! I was attacked by feral weasels! Aw baby don't be like that ... but but but but baby, don't you understand that I do the things I do because I LOVE YOU????

Anyway ... spent last month gettting geared up for our first Sound Craft All Night Dub Session and didn't have the wherewithall to get a mix together. With next month's Sound Craft Series 2 rapidly approaching (August 5) we put together a hardass dubwise mixtape for ya'lls little boiled cauliflower ears.

Definitely some rareities in this pile of chune but familiar names and melodies abound as well. ABOUND.

And hey! If this doesn't satiate your depraved musical needs, your PalmDown Sound Crew will be back at The Charleston on Saturday July 30th with extra special guest DJ Tropicaza form Mexico City in the house. Reggae vs Latin Funk. The gloves will be off. All Vinyl. No Cover. Good Drinks.

DUB WILL FIND A WAY

Playlist
Martin Luther King - Scientist w/ The Forces of Music
Firehouse Special - Prince Jammy
Peaceful Man Dub - Rockers All Stars
March Down Babylon Dub - Prince Douglas
In Those Days - Burning Spear
Galong So Dub - Bunny Wailer
Mr. Walker Dub - King Tubby
Wicked Dub - The Revolutionaires
Iron Bar Dub - Linton Kwelsi Johnson
Idlers Rest - Joe Gibbs & The Professionals
None A Jah Jah Children No Cry - Ras Michael
Fun & Games - Lee 'Scratch' Perry
Round 9 - Scientist w/ Roots Radics

Back on the regular! Lil late on a Thursday, but we got yer monthly mixtape RIGHT HERE PAL. But seriously we do.

And it's another first for The Blends/Third Thursday mixtape series (that I hope becomes a regular thing)... At 30 minutes and 45 seconds, say hello to you brand new collaboration mixtape ... with Nic The Graduate .. the beat-maker/producer behind Illuminati Congo who's been filling in for Chris/Bassie at our Charleston DJ monthly the last couple of sessions ... Graduate wanted to do a deejay mixtape, and my mother always told me to be polite/baby-gets-what-baby-wants so BAM! Strikkly deejay style pon yer mix ... Kept 'em short n sweet and tried to cram as many styles on the list as possible. Some you know; Yellowman, Super Cat.. some you (might) not; U Mike, Shorty The President ... regardless, this milkshake will surely bring all the boys/girls to your yard when you put yer speakers out yer window and bump it in the warming weather ...

And hey! If you dig the tracks, you can come check get more chat for your dollar (though it's all free) LIVE at the Charleston in Bucktown, Chicago on Thursday May 26, 10pm when PalmDown Sound (your resident Drastic DJs) spin on a Deejay-themed tip. Special Guest Nic The Graduate on board for the musical throwdown.

All Vinyl. No Cover. Good Drinks.

JUST CALL US CHATTY CATHYS!

Playlist
Bump Skank - Dillinger
Welding - I-Roy
Jamaican Thing - Shorty The President
Dread A The President - U Brown
Live Upright - Jah Woosh
Spanish Omega - Dennis Alcapone
Forty Leg Dread - Prince Mohammed
Try It You'll Like It - Scotty
Wrong Girl To Play With - Yellowman
Super Duper - U Mike
Ghetto Dance - Jim Brown
Mosquito 1 - Ringo
No Meat - Jah Batta
Cure For Fever - Josey Wales
Big And Ready - Super Cat
 

Our sabbatical was well needed.

And we now return you to our regularly scheduled programming. Finally, after 2 months of waiting, pining, fighting and reclining .. we got a new mixtape for ya'lls. This one is a special request and a popular demand to our boys at Impala Sound and Soul Summit. We humbly offer to the court of yer listening pleasure, surprise witness Reggae/Soul. An all thriller, no filler, 15 track attack of soul tunes gone down the JA-way. Of course to the inundated listener, the connection between soul and reggae is obvious, and soul/reggae comps aren't exactly hard to find, but we think you'll enjoy our special blend of common-and-obscure, northern-and-southern, contemporary-and-classic styles on this mix. I mean, Teddy Pendergrass tunes covered in a reggae style? WHACHUTHAWTYOONOO??.

Good chance there will be a Part 2 of these as I had more source material than I knew what to do with. 

But in the meantime, if you like what you hear, you can come check out more of these jams LIVE at the Charleston in Bucktown, Chicago on Thursday April 28, 10pm when PalmDown Sound (your resident Drastic DJs) spin a Reggae-Gone-Soul themed night. Special Guest Nic The Graduate on board for the musical throwdown.

All Vinyl. No Cover. Good Drinks.

anyway ....

HAILE SOULAISSIE

Playlist
Turn Back The Hands of Time - Winston Francis (Tyrone Davis)
Gonna Take A Miracle - Cornell Campbell (The Royalettes)
Fever - Junior Byles (Little Willie John)
Love T.K.O. - Hugh Porter (Teddy Pendergrass)
Gimme Little Sign - Hepcat (Brenton Wood)
So Unusual - George Allison (The Impressions)
You Dont Care - Lloyd Sparks (The Impressions)
Human Nature - Jrn Reid (MJ)
Baby Now That I Found You - Alton Ellis (The Foundations)
Private Number - Honey Boy (Judy Clay and William Bell)
Aint No Sunshine - Horace Andy (Bill Withers)
Never Had A Dream Come Through - Glen Adams & Upsetters (Stevie Wonder)
Moving Away - Ken Booth (Kenny Lynch)
Lonely Man Am I - The Techniques (The Temptations)
Too Late To Turn Back - Alton Ellis (Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose)

Oh yeah ... we blew it big time.

Where did January go ? Well, a large chunk of it went to moving the Dirty North. That's right, the Drastics resident recording studio Dirty North has moved on up to a bigger and badder home. We'll miss the old digs for sure, but our new space is nearly twice as big and has room for building out a much more professional space. I plan keeping a progress blog of things which will surely make some guest appearances here. So anyway, here is January's installment of The Blends free mixtape (in February, yes WE KNOW) ... appropriately entitled "Move/Home"! And if you detect a theme, you'd be right ... all of the songs either have to do with (or are named) on the theme of moving or home.  Once I scratched the surface I realized how daunting it was to catalog/pick what songs to use ... Moving and Home are pretty ubiquitious themes amongst musicians.  Anyway, the usual gamut is run, featuring reggae, hiphop, soul and  jazz. Some cool/rarer tracks with some older standbys ... Always remember, if you want more of this, you can always come by and check out The Charleston (in Chicago) every Last Thursday to hear Anthony & Chris spinning only the nice grooves ...

And though your Drastics haven't made any formal updates in a minute, rest assured we've still been busy ... Before vacating the Old Dirty North we recorded 5 brand new tracks for an exchange/dubclash with The Dub Robot out in California .. Not to mention the 10 track 'Roots Radics' inspired album we are still putting the final-touches on. When it rains it pours, and chances of precipitation are in the high 90%s.

COMIN' HOME TO ROOST

Playlist
Move - Miles Davis
Gonna Move - Paul Pena
No More Shall I Roam - Jah Woosh
Sad To Know (Your Leaving) - Gregory Isaacs
Move Up - Al & The Vibrators
Flying Home - Tommy McCook & The Supersonics
Move On Up - Greyhound
Won't You Come Home - Delroy Wilson
Move It Up - Wentworth Vernal
Move It - Declaime
Next Movement - The Roots
Changes - Clarence Carter
Move - Ty
We Are Neighbors - The Chi-Lites
Home Made - Jackie Mitoo & The Soul Brothers
Move Me - The Upsetters
I Want To Go Home - Derrick Morgan
That Place - Buddy Miles

So I realize it's technically closer to the 4th Thursday, but ... what the hell December ? Five Thursdays in 1 month!? That's some Mayan harbinger of doom-style-shizz! Well, as you may or may have not noticed, we added yet another holiday tune to our big-player-up-top! Auld Lang Syne in a rocksteady fashion! Oh yeah! We used this as the backdrop for our WXRT promo a few years back, but realized we had never put it up as an instrumental ... so please to enjoy!

Anyway, twenty-and-a-half? You may ask yourself? What am I doing here? This is not my beautiful home! Twenty-and-a-half 'cause it's not really a Blends mix and it's not really themed with anything ... As you can read here we took over the airwaves at KDHX in St. Louis a few weekend ago for a guest set on Ska's The Limit. So this is a 1-track mp3 of that set, plus some bonus material we couldn't fit in, and alot of the talkover stuff taken out as well ... there is some blending, but it's mostly just a hard/rare dub/dee-jay mix. Drastics Radio.

10000 WATTS OF MEGAWATTS!

Playlist
The Skatalites - Lon Chaney
Prince Jammy & Black Uhuru - Eden Dub
Jah Batta - Youthman Time
The Senior Allstars - Sniff Dub
Rhygin Rockers - Spooky
Derrick Harriot - Harmony In Dub
The Drastics feat. MC Zulu - Striped Curtain Dub
Prince Jammy - Sleng Teng Riddim
The Drastics feat. MC Zulu - No Lies
Duke Reid & Alton Ellis - Willow Tree Dub
Dillinger - Middle East Rock
Jah Woosh - Danger Man
The Wailing Souls - Jah Give Us Life/Don't Feel No Way
Prince Jammy & Black Uhuru - Firehouse Special
U-Roy - Fire In A Trenchtown
The Skatalites - Lon Chaney

1 day early cause The Great Turkey Claus told me how good you've been!

Yes! Holy crap-on-a-log ... twenty freakin' mixtapes. As I sit here at 4am sipping scotch, it's hard to believe we actually made it to twenty. The big two-oh ... What does it all mean!?  Well, at the least it's a sure sign I spend way too much money on records. So here we go, grab a kazoo and skip yer way through the looking glass into a magical musical mysterylogical madrigal madagascarian misanthropic medley of magnanimous melodies. How's THAT for alliteration! I mean, besides the fact it don't make no sense... We got another "killer party tape"^(tm) for ya on the d/l (that's download not downlow)! Bunch of soul on this one ... and generally less eclectic than last months, but once you get up into the 120+ bpm range, there's not alot of hiphop and reggae to choose from. So deal with it. There is some latin, skinhead reggae, 80s rock, etc ... ya know .. the usual bag ... so I don't even know what I'm talking about anymore!!  So just grab it and let 'er rip BROTHER!

ALMOST OLD ENOUGH TO DRINK!

2 hours late cause my internet was acting weird!

Saddle up buckaroos cause this month's mixtape is another series-within-the-series edition! Like our 80s Dancehall and Drastics Profile mixes. Presenting for thine listening holes we humbly offer up "No DJs, Volume One". Rare tracks? ehhh, maybe one .. Pop and party jams? That's a big booya! This is actually a segment of a verrrrry long DJ set I did at a Halloween party 2 years ago .. and this years impending hollows eve is what reminded me of it. All I really remember from that night is people losing their sh*t as this mix went on and the record player skipping with more and more frequency as more and more feet befell the wooden floor.   Which is weird cause I barely drank and you'd think I'd remember more ... The mix is eclectic (nothing new for The Blends as you regular subscribers can verify) but the selections jump from Jackie Wilson to Nena, Foreigner to Salt N Pepa, De La Soul to Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers... well, you get the picture.  The whole thing fades out on one of the best party jams ever as I wanted to leave you with a sense that it was just getting started ... cause the mix went on for another hour after that ... and started an hour before the opening track ...

So the bad news is I won't be able to crib parts of this mix for this year's Halloween party but the good news is that YOU will be able to bump this at your very own sans-dj costume gala. Act now and we'll include 3 drunk people you don't know to show up at 2am and weird everyone out! Please hurry as supplies are limited. But not really ...

SPUMKIN BEETS

July is just the gift that keeps on giving! It's like Christmas ... in July. And this month's mixtape is Hotter ... than July. With the passing of Sugar Minott a few days ago, I toyed with the idea of doing a tribute, but the incompleteness of my Minott vinyl made it clear it wasn't going to happen. So instead we are focusing on the whole 80s/Rub-A-Dub style! I think this era of reggae gets a bad rap, but knowing how trends cycle every 20 years (30 for Jamaican trends) it will be popular in about 10 years. This is a real nice mix of both singers, crooners, djs, dubs, live bands, digital productions, etc ... Worth the download just to hear Lee Van Cliff shamelessly ripping off Eek-A-Mouse and Papa Kojie toasting about Nancy Regan sitting on Mr. T's lap! Folks who have collected all the mixes here should also notice a Sly and Robbie version of "Love and Devotion", the first track off the "Anthony Mix" .. And not to worry, the "Jam Rock Dub" is not a dub of the Damien Marley track overplayed by every cd-carrying reggae "DJ" under the sun, but a bizarre little piece on the "Nura" label from '81. The A-Side of the 7" is simply titled "Festival ........ Jam Rock" and is credited to Sam Carty and The Astronauts. Also, "A Horseman Skabay is the new Stylee". Of course old faithfuls like Yellowman, Roots Radics and Freddie McGregor make appearances as well. The mix starts out with a Mikey Dread production of Sugar Minott's "In This Time". And there is a Part 2 coming next month! The tracks are already picked out, so shutup and quit bugging us about it already!!

SWEATBANDS OPTIONAL, BUT NOT FOR REAL!!
 

Well we had to go and dust off another one from the archives cause the killer bees came back. This here a mixtape I put together for a good friend years ago who loves the downtempo and abstract hiphop. This is oddly the only hiphop mix in The Blends repetoire .. so that might have to change. Musically speaking we're gonna jetset from the UK (Roots Manuva, etc) to Russia (Vadim, etc) to both coasts and the midwest ... this is another good one for the warming weather or if you got a house par-teh going with no deejay around .. and you're friends like good tunes. Oooooooooh... sick burn.

On the real though, this mix has got some wicked instrumental cuts from obscure groups like The Prunes, The Khromozones and Slide Five Trio as well as joints from household names like Common and The Roots ...

85 GET LIVE!
 

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!
 

And here we go again. Put another nickel in the jik juke machine, put on a silk tie and order another egg cream cause we're here with Part 13 in our Third Thursday Free Mixtape Series! Lucky 13 ... This month we got a very personal mix for your Panama Ear Canals .. Pop's Stacks. These are all tracks off records I've got from my dad, Frank Abbinanti .. though a couple tunes are off records he's picked up for me at swap-meets and 2nd hand stores over the years. The man is/was an avid record collector amassing a significant collection of LPs and 45s since the late 1950s ... and I attribute my propensity for meshing genres in songwriting and djing to being brought up listening to this kinda stuff ...

I put this mix together a few years ago, and originally only shared it with friends .. judging by the response I got; I think you'll dig it. Your brain will probably notice a penchant for latin, soul and latin/soul in the mix .. Some real gems in this set; including tracks what been sampled for your hip-hops, latin versions of Eddie Harris tunes, and tracks covered by Yesterday's New Quintet ...

Track List
Talkin' Wit Pops - Anthony & Frank Abbinanti
Right Now - Herbiee Mann
Fat City Strut - Mandrill
Uno Esta - Bobbi Humphrey
Umqokozo - Miriam Makeba
We're A Winner - The Impressions
You're Doing It With Her, When It Should Be Me - Rhetta Hughes
Pfumvu Pa Ruzevha - Thomas Mapfumo
"T" Plays It Cool - Marvin Gaye
You Better Stop It - Barbara Mason
Magnetic Feel - Enchantment
Mira Como Los Pollos - Jack Constanzo
People and the World - Roy Ayers Ubiquity
Stormy - Gabor Szabo
Bang, Bang - Joe Cuba
You Be My Baby - Ray Charles
Ethiopia - The Hiltonaires
Y Vengo A Bailar - The Gilberto Sextet
Lo Que Quiera Lola - Bobby Capo
Listen Here - Mongo Santamaria
We Got Latin Soul - Mongo Santamaria
Navidad Negra - Pedro Laza y sus Pelayeros

WE'RE LOOKIN BEAUTIFUL

Well, 1 day, 2 days ... 4 days .. 2 business days. Yeah well .... it's cause this month's Free Mix is actually brand new music from our boy Moongriffin. Him and the crew been working on this disc for a hot minute .. but when your recording sessions keep getting broke up by dudes rolling in and pullin' they own heads off to unleash 50 ghosts ... well ... sh*t takes a minute, aight!?

Part-time door-to-door lightbulb salesman, part-time intergalactic space warrior, Moongriffin in locked in constant combat with the forces of evil who are out to destroy him. Whether they come as goblins, zombie free-jazz musicians, or his evil twin brother he didn't know he had .. he's ready with an arsenal of weapons ranging from battle axes to the most intense stare this side of a corpse with it's eyes open. Picking up help when he needs it from his boys Phantom Crew of Intelligent Robots, HalFlife, Ankleface, Bill Collecta and Dr. Axe .. they'll be chillin' in a train yard swingin' chainlocks and hangin' wit real scary bums until they gots to get to the Elk's Club!!!!!

Download the whole album in CD quality via Bandcamp ....

DUKE PEARSON DROPPIN' AN AXE ON A GOBLIN

This month's Third Thursday Free Mixtape will be delayed one day due to how awesome it is. Check back tomorrow ... new music comin' yer way ....

Hoodooyoudoo? Well, it's late on a Thursday afternoon and in Drastopia that means it's time for a visit from our resident DJ .. The Blends! Yes, it's time for another installment of our Third Thursday Free Mixtape series .. Number-freakin-Eleven! This month's installment is entitled Hypnagogia. A ten dollar word worth every penny. It's really just a fancy word for that area your mind goes to before you fall asleep ... when yer still kinda awake, but are still kinda dreaming, but still kinda asleep. It's how I spent 90% of my CTA rides when I had to take the train to work. Hypnagogia Hallucinations. So strap on your granmas velcro shoes 'cause we're going to some dark and strange aural areas. Let it be the crushed ice in the Tom Collin's cocktail glass of YOUR MIND! Now quit reading and download it already!!

Track List
A Very Special Message From Dick Clark - Dick Clark
Sivaya - Alice Coltrane
Clap Hands - Tom Waits
Last Walk Around Mirror Lake (Boards of Canada Remix) - Boom Bip
Dub Of Protection - King Tubby
Jimmy Mack - Laura Nyro and Labelle
Bakai - Archie Shepp
Everybody Loves The Sunshine - Roy Ayers Ubiquity
Footsteps In The Dark (Parts 1 & 2) - The Isley Brothers
Black Man's Cry - Fela Ransome-Kuti and The Africa 70
Ain't There Something Money Can't Buy - The Young-Holt Unlimited
Games People Play - Johnnie Taylor
Freedom - David Axelrod
Alfeila - Sami Rageb Trio

LETS ALL DO THE HYPNIC JERK!

Well, its 6am and I still haven't gone to sleep so technically it's still Thursday and so I'm in time for our Third Thursday Free Mix ... Our 10th Mixtape! Good God, we actually made it to double digits ..... My brain is fried right now so pardon the brief description .. This month we present Potluck as the finger in the fjord of your ear canal.  So put on your wooden shoes and get ready for the storm.

Except for the self-contained Christmas-themed Mini-Mix at the end, this collection makes almost no sense. We got soul into hiphop into latin into downtempo electronic into ska ...

Eclecticism is the theme.

Happy Holidays ya'll.

We're gonna have aother download for you either this afternoon or Monday. Another holiday treat from The Drastics. So put that in yer stocking/menorah/kinara/hoa mai/yule log/boxing day gift/festivus pole and smoke it.

Track List
Proud Mary - Ohio Players
Proceed (Roy Ayers Mix) - The Roots
El Negro Bembon - Cortijo Y Su Combo Original con Ismael Rivera
Ya Mama (Cosby Mix) - Pharcyde
I Miss You (Remix) - Bjork
The Bridge Is Over (X-Rated Version) - KRS-ONE
Jericho Skank - Jackie Mitoo & Ernest Ranglin

Beatstumental Mix

The Prunes - D.S.B. Style
The Khromozomes - Seein'
Art & Science - Communication
DJ Vadim - Ghetto Rebels (Inst)
Palmskin Productions - Slipper Suite
Southside Crew - Time To Rock The Party

We'll Be There (10 second Remix) - People Under The Stairs
Spread Love (2:20 Remix) - Bozo Meko
Enamorado - Oscar D'Leon
Back Door Santa - Clarence Carter
Merry Christmas Baby - Otis Redding

Christmas Time Growing Up

Christmas In The Stars
Beach Boys
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
The Drifters
The Jackson 5
The O'Jays
The Ventures
Dodie Stevens
Miss Piggy

This Christmas - Donny Hathaway
Christmas Rappin' - Kurtis Blow

GRUSS VOM KRAMPUS

Yes yes ya'll and ya don't stop! To the beat ya'll and ya don't stop. We got the rhythm that'll make ya body rock.

Aight, now that we got that out the way, welcome back, and please to be considered for you prompt consideration ... another Third Thursday, another Mix Tape for ya courtesy of The Blends! This month's collection is titled "Cornucopious" as a sort of early Thanksgiving treat for ya'll good lil pilgrims out there. The tracks are mostly dubs and versions of pretty chilled out reggae joints, in some cases we've included the original and the version for contrast .. but there's no "Mayflower" or "Turkey" themes on any of these tunes ... just hard hittin reggae jams for ya lil cranberry sauce filled earholes!!

Track List
Intro - King Stitt
Rock and Groove - Bunny Wailer
Dub and Groove - Bunny Wailer
Hap Ki Do Version - Augustus Pablo
You Rest On My Mind - Naggo Morris
You Rest On My Mind Dubwise - Bullwackie
Look Out For The Devil Version - Junior Dan
Juggernaut Dub - King Tubby
Third World Shuffle - Mercenarys
Natty Dread A Weh She Want - Tappa Zukie
Rub A Dub A Weh Them Want - Musical Intermidates
Our Man Flint - Lloyd Young and Augustus Pablo
Harvest in the East - Tommy McCook and The Impact Allstars
Heavenly Dub - King Tubby
Dub Along the Shore - Dr. Ring-Ding & Victor Rice
Rasta Locks - Derrick Harriott
Touch A Dub - Phyllis Dillon
One Way Love - Barry Brown
One Way Dub - Scientist

WORTH 23 DOLLARS OF TRINKETS!

And here we go once again ... gonna keep this entry short and sweet cause I gotta finish squeezing the OJ. So this month we place on the altar of your aural consciousness; Instajam! This is the first mix up here that isn't strictly reggae .. it's a collection of some of my favorite tunes, plus tracks that just make ya nod ya head ... nawsayin? Now drink the whole thing or you don't get none of Uncle Abbinanti's famous chocolate covered biscuits n gravy for dessert!!!!

If the download link stops working, drop us a line and we'll try to get it back up and running

Track List
Intro - Reiner & The Blends
Comin' On Strong - Hepcat
Snatching It Back - Clarence Carter
Magic's Wand - Whodini
Magic Carpet Ride - Steppenwolf
Compared To What? - Roberta Flack
Jokes Fro Redd - Redd Foxx
Dig On It - Jimmy McGriff
Oh My God - A Tribe Called Quest
Lovely Day - Bill Withers
Time Tough - Toots & The Maytals
I Want You Back - The Jackson 5
Day To Day - Apani B
Rock Steady - Aretha Franklin
For Once In My Life - Stevie Wonder
Alone Again - The Slackers
Mr. Pitiful - Otis Redding


PART OF A BALANCED BREAKFAST

Well here we go! Back to our regularly scheduled program so put your little busted-ass Speak 'n Spell down and take that damn Play-Doh out ya mouth! I know it says it ain't toxic but what if someone else wants to play with it? Ever think of that? Nah, you didn't did ya? Cause yer too busy practicing yer long division on yer damn Speak n' Math while shoving yer lil bitch mouth full of Mallomars like it's goddamn Halloween! Now listen up ... it's another Third Thursday and YES, it's time for another Free Mix ... Part 7 in our series.

Finally had a minute to get a new mix together and so this month we are taking a hard look at long-standing Drastic hornsman Tom Riley. For some reason I always associate ol' MushMouth Riley with Studio One, ethereal whistling, and instrumentals ... Tom is also a big fan of the ska-steady beat ... that kind of ska that's so slow as almost to be rocksteady, but it's definitely NOT rocksteady ... well, if you don't know what I'm talking, check out the later half of this mix and then go watch some Golden Girls reruns for christ sake. I didn't even tell ol' T-Bot Rizzle that I was doing this so he'll probably be just as surprised as you! So this one goes out to the White Larry Bird of the Tenor ... Uncle Term Rerry.

If the download link stops working, drop us a line and we'll try to get it back up and running

Track List
I'm Sweaty - Tom Riley
Tommy's Rocking Vibration - Tommy McCook
Love Devine - John Holt
Jah Rock Style - Jackie Mittoo
When Revelution Come - Big Youth
Cool Down The Pace - Gregory Isaacs
Close To Jah - The Skatalites
Rocking Time - Burning Spear
Pepper Rock - Prince Jazzbo
Stick By Me - Dennis Brown
Ghost Capturer - J. Gibbs Allstars
Sweet Loving - Lennie Hibbert
Don't Rock My Boat - Bob Marley & The Wailers
Dinah - J. Higgs
Here I Stand - Justin Hinds & The Dominoes
Come Running Back - Ken Boothe
Come Running Back Version - Coxsone Dodd
Occupation - Cedric Brooks & The Mystic Revelation of Rastafari

SKY HOOK STYLE

Well ... I am back-dating this post, but don't you judge me!

We teamed up with our friend Andrew Barker over at Musical Occupation to host this month's free mix tape! If you're not familiar with Musical Occupation, they put up a consistent amount of great content: ska/reggae news, interviews, podcasts, etc ... check 'em out!

This month I had to dig deep into the vaults as I was overwhelmed trying to finish up our MJ A Rocker project in-time for MJs birthday. So after perusing the warehouse I decided to dust off the very first mix I ever made .. Reggae House Party! These tunes are like a slow cooker, perfect for chillin' out too, or (if the feeling's right) gettin' up and shakin' it to .. ! I'm pretty sure this dates back to 2006, and for those of you who have collected the previous 5 mixes, you'll probably notice a few rough edges on this one, but it's still a solid play!

Track List
Dust A Soundboy - Super Beagle
Bam Bam (Version) - Techniques Band
Walk Away From Love - Bitty McLean
You've Changed - Al Campbell
Go If You Want - Buju Banton
Take A Ride - Al Campbell
The Rights - Johnny Osbourne and Buru Banton
Bad Boys - Barry Brown
The Big Match - Lone Ranger
Bobby Babylon Pt. 2 - Freddie McGregor
Why Keep A Good Man Down - The Immortals
Why Keep A Good Man Down Dub - The Immortals
Sing Along - Scotty
Guidance - Derrick Harriot
Badness A Madness - Yellowman
Isso (Victor Rice Dub) - Strikkly Vikkly
Till Sun's In Our Eyes (Version) - DJ Vadim and Demolition Man
No More Crying - The Slackers
Are You Satisfied? (Instrumental) - J-Live
East Of The River Nile - Augustus Pablo

YEEHAW LIL DOOGIES!
(hosted at Musical Occupation)

Oh yeah! Santa comes early like Christmas in July and a monkey with a gun with an preemptive installment of our Third Thursday Mixtape Series! For those of you who liked our "Drastics Profile Series", we will be bringing those back once the team at DrasticConLabCo returns from the field with the results of our remaining personnel.

So for this month we've dusted off archives once-again and pulled up "Cool Down the Pace" in honor of Chicago's latest heat wave. A tasty chilled out and dubby kind of mix ... perfect for a summer day just cruising or stone cold lampin' on ya stoop. This one comes from back in August of 2008 and was actually done while both my arms were in casts. A sort of "f you" to fate for putting me in that condition, I needed to prove that I could still be productive ... Anyhow , I dug a little deeper for this compilation which features more obscure names like Super 8 Corporation, Junior Moore and Prince Douglas ... Except for a handful, all of the cuts used on this mix are B-Side dubs .. the A-sides used were just too hard to pass up

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
King Of Zion Dub - King Tubby/Brad Osbourne
tubbys Daddy Dub - Roots Radics
Grumbling Dub - The Upsetters
Tribal War Version - Little Roy
23rd Version - Super 8 Corporation
Love Me Little Girl - Jnr Moore
Lippy - The Crystalites
Jah Peoples Dub - Linval Thompson
Wa Di Is Free - Scientist
Human Nature Version - Jr. Reid
Jah Jah See Them Come Version - Culture
Shango - The Revolutionaires
Sunshine Dub - Prince Douglas
Roots of Africa - Tommy McCook
Prophesy - Horace Andy
Lovelight Crucial Version - The Tamlins
Killa Dub - King Tubby
Serious Time Version - The Heptones and Lee Perry Allstars

SMOKE EM IF YOU GOT EM

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!?

Wow! Well ... look at this ... another month another mixtape for ya'll to download ... thanks to everyone who has downloaded the previous months ... they should still be available but if not, feel free to give a holla ... This month I've gratuitously profiled myself, so it's more just a collection of tunes I like rather than an actual cross section of the reggae part of my brain ... I like alot of styles of Jamaican music but as you'll hear (and may be surprised that) I really really like catchy rocksteady jams ... especially if they're about loves lost ... couldn't exactly tell you why ...

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 ...

Next month up on the chopping block is our dear dear tenor saxophonist Tom Riley. For those of you who don't know, Tom's getting hitched in June! So instead of just doing a profile, I'll do my best to commemorate the occasion by putting together a mix of strictly lovers rock, lovey dovey and generally sappy kinda jams ... Can't you just feel the love?

Track List
The Uniques - Love and Devotion
The Heptones - Fattie Fattie Dub
U-Roy - Natty Rebel
Scientist - Girlfriend in Dub
Bitty McLean - A Cruising
The Hurricanes - You Can Run
Cedric Im Brooks - Mun-Dun-Gu
Big Youth - Feed A Nation
Alton Ellis - Willow Tree Dub
The Termites - Have Mercy Mr. Percy
Freddie McGregor - Reggae Feeling
Original Survivors - Come Away Jah Children
T.S.O.S.A. - Theme for Ras 'G'
Justin Hinds & The Dominoes - Do All The Good
The Skatalites - Rocky Road
Bob Marley & The Wailers - Cry To Me
Lee Perry & The Upsetters - Wind Up Doll
The Aggrovaters & King Tubby - Straight To Jackson's Head
Gregory Isaacs - Hot Stepper
Roots Radics/Scientist - Dance Of The Vampires
Barrington Levy - Under Mi Senci (High Grade Mix)
The Wailing Souls - Fire Coal Man

OMG TEH DWNLDS!

Whoa ...OK, well .... I just slept on this months' installment of the Third Thursday Mix ... today just feels like the Third Thursday of the month so it's when I had planned on dropping this mix (the mix itself has been ready since last month) and that's what we's all bout round here ... feel .... not no special calendars aligned to a papal decree or stone henge or ancient Mayan pyramids or what have you ... OK!? 

This month I've profiled Drastic bassman, bassie, bassist Chris ... Definitely more on the heavy and dub side than Bijan's mix, we open this collection of jams with Chris explaining how to properly drink a bottle of cognac we stole obtained legally after we opened for Mad Prof. After that it's more or less just that gangsta style ...

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 ...

Next month I'll gratuitously be profiling myself ... too bad I barely know the guy

Track List
Chris Merrill - How To Drink Mad Prof's Cognac
Sizzla -I Got To (Raw)
Sun is Shining Version - Bob Marley & The Wailers
Strikkly Vikkly- Isso
T.S.O.S.A. - 9 to 5 Dub
King Tubby - Long Run Dub
Barrington Levy/Beenie Man - Murderation
Barrington Levy/Beenie Man - Dub Murder
Roots Radics/Scientist - Fighting Radics
The Hardy Boys - Chucky Dub
Tristan Palmer - Miserable Woman
Roots Radics - Miserable Version
Yellowman - Ganja Business
Little Joe - Gun Court
I Kong - The Way It Is Version
Lee Perry & The Full Experience - Disco Devil Dub
Gregory Isaacs - Hush Darling
Tenor Saw - How Water Walk Go Pumpkin Belly
Chaka Demus & Pliers - Gal Wine (Dance Hall Mix)
The Upsetters - Panta Rock

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In our tireless effort to give YOU the people more of what you want, I'm introducing a new series on the ol' Drastics blog ...

Third Thursday DJ Mix ... Some of you might be aware of the mixes I put together under "The Blends" ... a couple are posted on our myspace page ...

Anyway, I decided to start a collection of reggae mixes each profiling a member of the group here ... We all (obviously) like Jamaican music but we all like certain styles a lil more than others ... This month to kick things off I humbly offer The Bijan Mix. There's something very specific to the kind of jams Bijan gets down on ... specific to the point that amongst the group the term "Bijan-Reggae" is used without definition to describe certain tunes ... the tunes are usually steppers-reggae with 3 part male harmonies in falsetto ... and there's usually something a lil cheeseball about it too ... but in a good way. Obviously not every joint on this mix is steppers or has three part harmony, but they all make out (at least in my mind) where this guy's coming from ... Part of the reason for making the Bijan tape (beside the fact it was easy for me) is Mr. Warner has departed the keys chair in pursuit of more scholarly and worldly conquests, and we all wish him well ... so think of this as a lil send off ...

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 ...

Next month I'll be profiling Chris ... which might as well be called "A Tribute to Flabba Holt" ....

Track List
Mighty Diamonds - I Need A Roof
U-Roy - Crashie Sweepie
Gregory Isaacs - Dread Locks Love Affair
Black Uhuru - Happiness
Eek-A-Mouse - Assassinator
Al Campbell - Come Fi Test
Horace Andy - My Time
Cartlon & The Shoes - Don't Change
Errol Dunkey - OK Fred
Warreika Hill Sound - Throne
Bob Marley & The Wailers - No Woman No Cry
Toots & The Maytals - Fever
Bijan Warner - All Night Long
Burning Spear - No More War
The Meditations - Running From Jamaica
The Wailing Souls - War
Pablo Moses - In The Future
Night Nurse - Just Enough

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