"The First King of Jamaican Music"

"I don't suppose Prince Buster ever made an enormous amount of money himself , but I truly believe he turned out to be among the most influential figures in late 20th century music worldwide. Myself and all the Two Tone bands owe him an enormous debt of gratitude. None of us would have had the career in music we have had if it hadn't been for Prince Buster and his fellow Jamaican musicians.
"In the words of Madness: 'Bring back the … we want the … bring back the Prince'."

In The Guardian, Jerry Dammers writes an appreciation of the King of Ska.

"More Salad Bowl Than Melting Pot"

"The passage of the 1965 Hart-Celler immigration bill transformed the face of immigration to America. The disproportionate allocation of quotas to the U.K., Ireland, and Germany was removed, beckoning immigrants from everywhere else to America's coasts. The number of Caribbean-born foreign immigrants doubled over the next ten years. Among these were Grandmaster Flash (born in Bridgetown, Barbados) and the family of Afrika Bambaataa (born to parents of Jamaican and Bajan descent) who along with DJ Kool Herc would form the three wise men who heralded the birth of hip hop. The descendants of this wave of immigration from the West Indies would include hip-hop luminaries like Busta Rhymes who has made songs in patois, Phife Dawg whose rhymes are littered with nods to his Caribbean roots, down to Biggie Smalls all of whom would occasionally put on their parents' accents into their songs."

Anakwa Dwamena at The New Republic discusses the immigrant roots of New York hip-hop.

"The Real Story Is Stranger Than the Legend'

"If you've heard a version of the sleng teng story before, it probably went something like this: The rock preset on the Casio MT40 was meant to sound like Eddie Cochran's "Somethin' Else," but whoever programmed it didn't quite get it right. The wonky rhythm was later stumbled upon by reggae artists Noel Davy, King Jammy and Wayne Smith in the mid-'80s. The trio used the preset as the bassline for the 1985 single "Under mi sleng teng" (a patois ode to the perils of drugs) and the rest, as they say, is history.
"Most of this story is true, but it's mixed with folklore."

James Trew at Engadget explains how a Casio keyboard preset changed Jamaican music in the 1980s.

Peter at Axis Chemicals writes, "I don't have contact information for Hiroko Okuda, but I am positive that the track she is referring to is 'Hang Onto Yourself' by David Bowie."

"A Timeless, Endlessly Re-Inventable Signifier of Dashing Badassery"

"As with many illicit affairs, official censure only heightened the passion of Clarks collectors in Jamaica. When Clarks introduced the Wallabee (a boxier, moccasin-inspired version of the suede chukka) in 1967 and the Desert Trek (a center-stitched hiking shoe, instantly rechristened as 'bankrobbers' in Jamaica) in 1971, they practically flew off the stockists' shelves straight onto the album covers of reggae's most influential singers and DJs, dreadlocked Rastas and razor-trimmed lyrical gangsters alike. "

Edwin Houghton in Vogue discusses the popularity of Clarks Desert Boots in Jamaica.

"Bob Marley Rises From Grave To Free Frat Boys From Bonds Of Oppression"

"Marley has been touring the country, acting as the voice for America's fraternities.
"'Frata mon's life is hard,' said Marley during a press conference Monday at Iowa State University's Acacia fraternity. 'Professor, he flunk you all the time. Policeman, he ticket you for the noise. Board of Regents, they make so many rule, try to keep the fraternity music down.'"

From The Onion, 2005.

Looking for Answers from the Great Beyond

The New York Times runs obituaries for photographer Robert Whitaker, singer Leonard Dillon, songwriter Marv Tarplin, market researcher A.C. Nielsen, Jr., guitarist Bert Jansch, the Rev. Fred L. Shuttlesworth, and businessman Steve Jobs.

Final Notes

The Los Angeles Times runs obits for Neal Hefti, composer of the Batman TV theme, "Godfather of Rock Steady" Alton Ellis, and Four Tops lead singer Levi Stubbs.

A It Mek

The Jamaica Gleaner reports the death of singer Desmond Dekker at age 64.