As a filmmaker who’s shot documentaries on both Lil’ Wayne and Lee “Scratch” Perry, Adam Bhala Lough thought it a good idea to cross wires a bit and let the eccentric 76-year-old dub master bestow a bit of mellow wisdom upon the drank-sippin’ 30-year-old rap supastar.
 

 
Previously on Dangerous Minds:
Rubber Dubber: Lee “Scratch” Perry action figure
Lee “Scratch” Perry’s Classic dub album Blackboard Jungle
Surreal Lee “Scratch” Perry beer commercials

He lets the rhythm hit ‘em…
 
Yep we love Jerusalem-based Kutiman for his rhythmic scavenger video mixes. But we shouldn’t forget the pioneers that put the practice into place.

Nearly a year ago, someone called The Forger—who we’re thinking is a composite character of videographer Ben Stokes and rhythm master Jack Dangers, both of Meat Beat Manifesto—started releasing beat videos that looped, sampled, layered and scratched up found footage of subjects both unknown and iconic. And instead of just slicing in nice people playing instruments in their bedrooms, we also get movie scenes, bits of news, and other lovely ephemera.

The Forger’s expert curating and editing in the mixes to stripped-down funk and dub help evoke an almost spectral feel to the pieces, as if these people and characters in them are bound to repeat their musical and other actions forever in the fog of media.

To start with, check out Peter Tosh, James Brown and Fred Wesley backing the King of Pop beatboxing in “The MJ Bumbaclot Element”
 

 
After the jump: check The Forger’s salute to spaghetti Westerns and Russian beatboxers…

I and I can leap tall buildings.
 
The documentary Dub Echoes explores Jamaican dub and its influence on electronic music and hip hop via interviews with some of the music’s leading practitioners.

Directed by Bruno Natal and featuring reggae legends and dub pioneers King Jammy, Sly and Robbie, U-Roy and Lee “Scratch” Perry, as well as beat experimentalists like Bill Laswell, DJ Spooky, Mad Professor and Basement Jaxx, Dub Echoes gets deep into the groove and takes you inside the echo chamber.
 

 
Somehow I feel better about life knowing that there are 1000 of these on the planet.

The Lee Scratch Perry vinyl figure is a Japanese import from PRESSPOP and is limited to 1000 units. Officially approved by Lee a.k.a. The Upsetter: the father of reggae and dub music. Designed by Sofboy comic creator, Archer Prewitt, this figure of Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry has adjustable arms and head and comes with accessories such as cloth hat, gold bracelet, and gold necklace with star charm. The figure also boasts details such as lighter being held in hand with microphone, wild hair, shoes and rings. Packaged in a beautifully designed box and a limited and very special item, this is a must-have for all reggae, dub music, and fans everywhere!

You can have your plastic Jesus, I’ll take the Upsetter.

From those nutty folks at Aggronautix.
 

 

 
John Peel’s Record Collection will go online tomorrow, 1st May. The John Peel Center for Creative Arts will start uploading details of the DJ’s famed collection. Each week 100 discs will be made available, covering every genre of music, and unveiling 2,600 albums over the coming 6 months.

Tom Barker, Director of the John Peel Center for Creative Arts explains:

Each of these releases of 100 records will be accompanied by one mini documentary video of a featured artiste for that week. These are pretty special, as the artistes have been chosen by Sheila, John’s wife, and their children - so they are all artistes who meant something to John and his family.

When you come to the website you will see John Peel’s home studio, from which you will be able to access the contents of the record collection as it is added each week, as well as other videos added each week, photos, peel sessions and radio shows. Once in the collection you will be able to move up and down the shelves of the record collection, picking out certain choice records and going through the first 100 as though you were standing in front of the shelves in John’s studio.

You will be able to see the hand-typed cards that John diligently typed for every album in the collection, the record sleeves, as well as listening to tracks via spotify and itunes where available.

And because we know that John meant a great deal to many people, we will be helping you to connect with other music lovers and Peel fans through our John Peel Archive social media accounts. Look out for never-before seen material, like letters to John, being exclusively released via social media. This will also be a great way to stay up to date with new material being released each week - so please do ‘follow’, ‘like’ and say hello - we want to hear from you and your stories of John.

In our heads throughout the planning process, has been making sure that we do John (and his fans) proud and ensure that the legacy of this legendary man lives on.

We hope you like the John Peel Archive - and that John would have done too.

Check the site from tomorrow on to see what goodies will be uploaded.

Updates will be tweeted on the John Peel Archive .

John Peel on Facebook, G Plus and Pinterest

Now here’s a John Peel Day Mix made by ttfb.

01. “Itchy Cut” - Cowcube
02. “New Rose”  - The Damned
03. “The Voice Of John Peel” - Delia Derbyshire
04. “O Superman” - Dan The Drummer
05. “Hard Row” - The Black Keys
06. “Cuntry Music” - Listen With Sarah
07. “Diddy Wah Diddy” - The Magic Band
08. “Shotgun Funeral” - Party Of One
09. “High Resolution” - Dj Rupture
10. “Two Sevens Clash” - Culture
11. “Death Letter” - Son House
12. “The Classical” - Pavement
13. “Groovin’ With Mr Bloe” / “Green Eyed Loco Man” - The Fall
14. “YMCA” - Galactic Symposium
15. “The Light At The End Of The Tunnel (Is The Light Of An Oncoming Train)” - Half Man Half Biscuit
16. “My Radio Sounds Different In The Dark”  - The Would Bes
17. “The Kill” - Napalm Death
18. “Live At Maida Vale” (Excerpt) - Jeff Mills
19. “Abridged Too Far” - People Like Us
20. “Speed” - Pico
21. “Roy Walker” - Belle And Sebastian
22. “Doctor ?” / “Chime” - Orbital
23. “Dr Dre Buys A Pint Of Milk” - Grandmaster Gareth
24. “Tokyo Registration Office” - Hyper Kinako
25. “Dracula Mountain” - Lightning Bolt
26. “The Nation Needs You” - The Cuban Boys
27. “John Peel Is Not Enough” - Clsm
 

H.R. takes flight
 
There are folks who think H.R. flipped his wig a long time ago. That may be true - but if this is what being crazy looks like, I’ll have a hit.

H.R. is making the rounds to drum up some excitement for the terrific new Bad Brains documentary, A Band in DC.
 

 
Previously on Dangerous Minds: Dangerous Minds interviews H.R. about new film ‘Bad Brains: ‘A Band In D.C.’

Bruce Springsteen and Eric Burdon performing “We Gotta Get Out Of This Place” in Austin. 3/15.

Bruce Springsteen’s keynote address at SXSW 2012.

Springsteen spoke passionately about the music that had had a profound impact on his own writing. The Boss rhapsodized about Elvis, James Brown, the Animals, and the Beatles, and the anecdotes he told about his encounters with each were revealing, mesmerizing, and sometimes hilarious. But it was the story of his awakening to Woody Guthrie’s work that tells the most about how Springsteen’s writing has changed over the last twenty years, and where he’s likely to going next.

Whether you’re a fan or not, this speech by Springsteen is full of heart and truth. And having just come home from his phenomenal performance at SXSW, I am fully prepared to take on all comers. This cat still rocks and rocks hard!
 

 
When Springsteen introduced special guest Eric Burdon at the show he did so by commenting on The Animals hit We Gotta Get Out Of This Place, “That’s every song I’ve ever written. I’m not kidding, that’s all of ‘em.” Burdon proceeded to prove him right. A lovely rock and roll moment.

Fan shot video:
 

 
Reggae music is one of those things that really divides people. Like country music. You’re either all in or all out. And it’s usually impossible to change someone’s mind about the subject.

BUT… but… if I was trying to Jedi-mindfuck all of you reggae skeptics out there reading this, en masse, into giving it a chance, then the track I think you should listen to—preferably LOUD and with you as stoned as hell—is this, the lead track from Lee “Scratch” Perry and the Upsetters’ classic Blackboard Jungle Dub, a tune called “Black Panta.”

Blackboard Jungle Dub, recorded in 1973, is considered the first full-length dub album. Apparently the great dub producer KIng Tubby was in control of the echo-drenched mixes. If you listen closely, this would appear to be a stereo mix, but it’s not. It’s two different mono channels. Each channel is mixed down to a insanely trippy conclusion—in mono—and then married to the other. Fantastic! It’s a sonic masterpiece of incredible genius. (Whoever uploaded this did a good good of keeping the separation, so you can really hear it properly).
 

 
Below is a mini-documentary about the album and Perry’s first foray into dubstep, remixing Blackboard Jungle Dub with Dubblestandart, Subatomic Sound System and Jahdan Blakkamoore:
 

 
One of the highlights (so far) of the 2012 SXSW Film Festival was Sunday’s screening of Kevin Macdonald’s two and a half hour documentary on Bob Marley, Marley. Watching the film is a powerful experience and I plan to review it in full in the next few days. In the meantime, I want to share this interview with Marley conducted by Gil Noble for his New York-based show Like It Is from 1980, portions of which are featured in Macdonald’s documentary. It captures his bullshit-free forthrightness, his grace and passion. It was one of Marley’s last interviews before he was decimated by cancer.
 

 
DJ Steve Lamacq premiered the new PIL song earlier today on BBC 6.
Our John may have lost his upper register, but it is nice to hear him strain at it in such a raw way over the type of back-to-basics reggae-rock bed that’s screaming for a remix/dub-out…

According to the alt-‘80s blog Slicing Up Eyeballs:

The song will be released on a vinyl EP as part of Record Store Day on April 21 in advance of the release of the full-length This Is PiL in May or June.

Enjoy…
 

 
Previously on Dangerous Minds:
PiL : Design
Public Image Ltd: The infamous riot at the Ritz gig