H
Hippie Dribble
Guest
2008. The Mountain Goats (John Darnielle).
another shaky Saturday morning...in bed at 3am last night, up at 5am feeling dried out and hungover, though I hadn't been drinking. Alas, that's where the depression lurks and creeps up behind you. Somehow this eerie song seemed appropriate.
I've always been intrigued by the story behind this tune. Chaos, inner tumult, violence, blood, twisted spirituality...welcome to the world of The Mountain Goats.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Towmwh-NaxA
Thanks to wee_ginga_yin (Rob) for filling me in on the real story at hand..
Intrigued about the character mentioned in the song it turns out to be a Jamacan DJ "Prince Far I" who was shot at his home.
Prince Far I (c. 1944 -- 15 September 1983) was a Jamaican reggae deejay, producer and a Rastafarian. He was known for his gruff voice and critical assessment of the Jamaican government. His track "Heavy Manners" used lyrics against measures initiated towards violent crime.[1]
He was born Michael James Williams in Spanish Town, Jamaica. Williams' first job in the music industry was as a deejay on the Sir Mike the Musical Dragon sound system,[2] also working as a security guard at Joe Gibbs' studio, and later as a bouncer at Studio One, but after recording "The Great Booga Wooga" for Bunny Lee in 1969 (under the name King Cry Cry, a reference to his habit of breaking into tears when angered),[2][3][4] he got the chance in 1970 to record for Coxsone Dodd when King Stitt failed to turn up for a session.[5] Dodd was sufficiently impressed to release the resulting recordings,[5] Williams now using the name Prince Far I at the suggestion of another producer he had worked with, Enos McLeod).[3] With a unique deep bass voice and talking over style, preferring to describe himself as a "chanter" rather than a "toaster",[4] he became a popular reggae musician, styling himself "The Voice of Thunder".
His first album, Psalms For I, featuring the Lord's Prayer and various psalms, was dedicated to the illiterate who could not read the Bible for themselves. He then worked with Joe Gibbs on the second album, Under Heavy Manners, before being signed by Virgin Records for their Frontline label. Twelve albums followed between 1978 and 1981, including the highly regarded Cry Tuff Dub Encounter series of dub albums, produced by Williams and released on his Cry Tuff label, and featuring the Roots Radics under the pseudonym The Arabs.[4] Spending an increasing amount of time in England, he also collaborated with UK On-U Sound Records including providing vocals in the reggae collective Singers & Players and may be considered a mentor figure to Adrian Sherwood. In 1983, he was recording the album Umkhonto We Sizwe (Spear of the Nation) with producer Roy Cousins in Kingston. Before the album was finished he was shot at his home in Kingston, Jamaica during a robbery, allegedly relating to a dispute over money,[6] and died later in hospital.
He is referred to by The Clash in their single "Clash City Rockers" and also by The Mountain Goats in the song "Sept. 15th 1983", a reference to the date of his death.
This is the first song I recorded in my new flat, and the first time I tried using some of you tube's editing tools. I used an all sycamore Mya Moe concert ukulele. The chords are very straight forward: just D and Bm in the verses, then G-A-D-A-Bm (x2) in the verses. Thanks for watching.
another shaky Saturday morning...in bed at 3am last night, up at 5am feeling dried out and hungover, though I hadn't been drinking. Alas, that's where the depression lurks and creeps up behind you. Somehow this eerie song seemed appropriate.
I've always been intrigued by the story behind this tune. Chaos, inner tumult, violence, blood, twisted spirituality...welcome to the world of The Mountain Goats.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Towmwh-NaxA
Thanks to wee_ginga_yin (Rob) for filling me in on the real story at hand..
Intrigued about the character mentioned in the song it turns out to be a Jamacan DJ "Prince Far I" who was shot at his home.
Prince Far I (c. 1944 -- 15 September 1983) was a Jamaican reggae deejay, producer and a Rastafarian. He was known for his gruff voice and critical assessment of the Jamaican government. His track "Heavy Manners" used lyrics against measures initiated towards violent crime.[1]
He was born Michael James Williams in Spanish Town, Jamaica. Williams' first job in the music industry was as a deejay on the Sir Mike the Musical Dragon sound system,[2] also working as a security guard at Joe Gibbs' studio, and later as a bouncer at Studio One, but after recording "The Great Booga Wooga" for Bunny Lee in 1969 (under the name King Cry Cry, a reference to his habit of breaking into tears when angered),[2][3][4] he got the chance in 1970 to record for Coxsone Dodd when King Stitt failed to turn up for a session.[5] Dodd was sufficiently impressed to release the resulting recordings,[5] Williams now using the name Prince Far I at the suggestion of another producer he had worked with, Enos McLeod).[3] With a unique deep bass voice and talking over style, preferring to describe himself as a "chanter" rather than a "toaster",[4] he became a popular reggae musician, styling himself "The Voice of Thunder".
His first album, Psalms For I, featuring the Lord's Prayer and various psalms, was dedicated to the illiterate who could not read the Bible for themselves. He then worked with Joe Gibbs on the second album, Under Heavy Manners, before being signed by Virgin Records for their Frontline label. Twelve albums followed between 1978 and 1981, including the highly regarded Cry Tuff Dub Encounter series of dub albums, produced by Williams and released on his Cry Tuff label, and featuring the Roots Radics under the pseudonym The Arabs.[4] Spending an increasing amount of time in England, he also collaborated with UK On-U Sound Records including providing vocals in the reggae collective Singers & Players and may be considered a mentor figure to Adrian Sherwood. In 1983, he was recording the album Umkhonto We Sizwe (Spear of the Nation) with producer Roy Cousins in Kingston. Before the album was finished he was shot at his home in Kingston, Jamaica during a robbery, allegedly relating to a dispute over money,[6] and died later in hospital.
He is referred to by The Clash in their single "Clash City Rockers" and also by The Mountain Goats in the song "Sept. 15th 1983", a reference to the date of his death.
This is the first song I recorded in my new flat, and the first time I tried using some of you tube's editing tools. I used an all sycamore Mya Moe concert ukulele. The chords are very straight forward: just D and Bm in the verses, then G-A-D-A-Bm (x2) in the verses. Thanks for watching.
