words & photos by Benjamin Lozovsky

Happy Holidays! I take on more than I can handle. That results in a lot of unposted content. In the name of catching up, while also taking it easy during this final/first week of the year, here's some of that lost material.

With golden-encrusted boots, bristly magenta beard and childlike eyes that could sit deeply sunken on any familiar septuagenarian relative, Lee 'Scratch' Perry wheeled his suitcase on stage. By the time he departed his performance at the Highline Ballroom, Perry took with him more than his Selassie-emblazoned luggage; he had ran off with the crowd's sanity.

Although the reggae world has its fair share of pioneers still eluding that eternal cloud of weed smoke in the sky, few remain as colorful and essential of a performer as Perry. Arguably one of the genre's originators and certainly greatest innovators, the 73 year-old singer/producer continues to tour and be a playful if not amusingly confounding stage presence. With more patches and flair on his jacket than an alt-rock preteen, his outfit alone was eye candy; Perry's music, navigated by a top-notch touring band, was equally appetizing.

Perry was preceded by a set of sarcastic battle hip hop by underground vet Pacewon and DJ Mr. Green, as well as a performance of one-dimensional, sloppy garage rock from Philly duo PO PO. Fans seemed to appear out of nowhere to fill up the venue just in time for Perry, whose soft voice shot through the sound system before he joined his already skanking backing group on stage. Surrounded by younger musicians, Perry's characteristic style was at moments more aggressive than laid-back and ethereal, and there weren't as many stuttering snares and waves of reverb as one might expect from this progenitor of dub. Despite that, the plinking keyboards and tiptoeing riddims of classics like "Roast Fish and Cornbread" and "Dreadlocks In Moonlight" were still worn in and luxurious.

More pictures from Lee Perry's December show at Highline Ballroom, below...

Continue reading "Lee Scratch Perry @ Highline Ballroom in NYC - pics & setlist"

Lee 'Scratch" Perry' @ Central Park Summerstage - July 19, 2009 (by Tim Griffin)

HR of Bad Brains of Fun Fun Fun Fest 2008 (by Tyler Nutter)

DOWNLOAD: Franz Ferdinand - Katherine Hit Me ("No You Girls" dub version) (MP3)

Franz Ferdinand @ Roseland Ballroom (more by Natasha Ryan)

Blood is a compilation album of dub music versions of songs from Tonight: Franz Ferdinand, the third studio album from British band Franz Ferdinand.

Like Tonight: Franz Ferdinand, Blood is the result of Franz Ferdinand's recording sessions with producer Dan Carey in 2008. It was originally packaged in the deluxe and box-set versions of Tonight: Franz Ferdinand that were available in January 2009 in Europe only. However, the newly packaged version of Blood will be released worldwide and will feature one new song, "Be Afraid", which is a reworked version of "Dream Again". All of the track titles are taken from lyrics from the original songs, with the exception of "Katherine Hit Me" whose title refers to lyrics from both "No You Girls" and "Katherine Kiss Me". [Wikipedia]

Blood is out June 1st via Domino. Check out a stream of "Katherine Hit Me", the whole Blood tracklist, cover art, and Franz Ferdinand's upcoming tour dates with... Green Day, below...

Continue reading "Franz Ferdinand releasing 'Blood' ('Tonight' dubified) --- MP3 "