Trojan Records, founded by Jamaican Duke Reid and based in North-West London, was instrumental in bringing Jamaican music, initially rocksteady (as in this song) and then reggae, to a European audience, paving the way for the likes of Bob Marley. This track was later covered brilliantly by Blondie and also Atomic Kitten amongst others.
Don Van Vliet, aka Captain Beefheart, was idiosyncratic to say the least, blending a range of often experiemental musical styles over 13 albums before giving it all up and devoting himself to abstract expressionist painting (see earlier item) which, to be fair, made him far more money.
Beefheart can be very inaccessible, at least on the first 45 hearings. But fear not, this is him at his most accessible.
Tribute bands are ten a penny, but parody bands, where the songs are imitative but original, are rarer and none reached the brilliance of Neils Innes' Beatles parody, the Rutles. So good in fact that the Beatles themselves loved them (Beatle George Harrison funded the documentary) and the songs are now widely recognised on their own merits. Let's be natural.
New Order were formed after the death of Ian Curtis ended the career of Joy Division. At first they struggled. They seemed to, er, quite like dance music and the first album was over-produced. But when 'Temptation' was released you knew something was afoot. Brilliant drumming, years ahead of its time and worth waiting for the lines towards the end: 'oh you've got green eyes, oh you've got blue eyes, oh you've got grey eyes'. Yes, a love song.
More famous songs were to come, but any better than this?
Can were part of the German Krautrock (a crass label from UK journalists that stuck) or Kosmische Musik (Cosmic Music) genre of which Kraftwerk are the best known, though it was about more than electronic music as Can demonstrate with their mix of styles and experiment.
If at first it is not your thing, stick with it because it will get you. Hard to believe that it is over 50 years old.
Take the "A' Train was composed in 1939, after Ellington offered composer Billy Strayhorn a job and gave him money to travel from Pittsburgh to New York. Ellington wrote directions for Strayhorn to get to his house by subway. The directions began with the words "Take the A Train", referring to the then new A subway service in New York City.
Happy 2025 Bulletinies