The Way Of The Dragon

Martial Arts
Bruce Lee was born in San Francisco in 1940 and grew up in Hong Kong. He was introduced to martial arts by his father and began formal training at the age of 13. He excelled in Wing Chung Gung Fu and was eventually trained privately for several years by his master, who greatly influenced him. In addition to studying Gung Fu, he also boxed and became a champion at the age of 18, beating many of the best amateur fighters his age in Hong Kong. Lee's brother, Peter, was a champion fencer and Bruce learned the techniques of the sport from him. This wide range of influences and abilities helped Lee formulate his own style of Kung Fu later in life.

Lee's father forced him to move back to America when he was 19 after getting into a fight and severely injuring his opponent. Upon returning to the States, he moved to Seattle and began teaching martial arts. He modified what he had learned and improvised techniques in an effort to develop his own system with an emphasis on practicality, flexibility, speed and efficiency.

By 1965, he originated Jeet Kune Do whose symbols indicated that 'using no way as the way' and 'having no limitation as a limitation'. He threw out the formalised approaches that he felt held back the traditional styles of martial arts. He adopted and emphasized 'the style of no style'. He lived his life and taught his students how to exist outside of parameters and boundaries.

Lee met and taught several famous people in his studios, including:
Kareem Abdul-Jabar
Steve McQueen
James Coburn
Roman Polanski
Chuck Norris



Physical Abilities
Lee's philosophy and exceptional training program meant that he was able to achieve a phenomenal level of fitness and perform exceptional physical feats, which included:

* Achieving striking speeds of five hundredths of a second from three feet away with his hands down by his side.

* Lifting a dime off a person's open palm and leaving a penny behind before they could close their hand.

* Performing push-ups using only his thumbs.

* Performing up to 50 repetitions of one arm chin-ups.

* Throwing a grain of rice in the air and then catching it in mid-flight with a pair of chop sticks.

* Thrusting his fingers through unopened steel cans of Coca-Cola.

Acting
Lee began acting (if you can call it that) at the age of only three months and continued throughout his entire life. He died shortly after filming completed for 'Enter The Dragon'.

Here is a list of his film credits:

Childhood
1940 - Golden Gate Girl
1946 - The Beginning Of A Boy
1946 - The Birth Of Mankind
1946 - My Son, Ah Cheun
1958 - It's Father's Fault
1958 - The Orphan

Adulthood
1969 - Marlowe
1971 - The Big Boss / Fists Of Fury (US)
1971 - Fists Of Fury / The Chinese Connection (US)
1972 - Way Of The Dragon / Return Of The Dragon (US)
1972 - Game Of Death (completed and released after his death)
1973 - Enter The Dragon

Philosophy
Lee was believed to have more than 2500 books in his personal library and his eclectic philosophy was a result of borrowing something from everything that he read or studied. Ultimately, he believed that any knowledge led to self-knowledge and that each person had a chosen method of self-expression based on their knowledge.

Quotability
"A fight is not won by one punch or kick. Either learn to endure or hire a bodyguard."

"A glass that is half empty is better than a fully broken glass."

"A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer."

"Balance your thoughts with action. If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you'll never get it done."

"Cease negative mental chattering. If you think a thing is impossible, you will make it impossible. Pessimism blunts the tools you need to succeed."

"Don't fear failure. Not failure but low aim is the crime. In great attempts it is glorious even to fail."

"If you always put a limit on everything you do, it will spread into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus and you must not stay there. You must go beyond them."

"In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity."

"Know the difference between a catastrophe and an inconvenience. To realise that something is just an unpleasantness is part of coming into your own, part of waking up."

"Optimism is a faith that leads to success."

"Simplicity is the key to brilliance."

"Take inventory of everyone with whom you have contact."

"To be perfectly frank, I really do not. I believe in sleeping."
- When asked if he believed in God.

"To me, the function and duty of a quality human is the sincere and honest development of one's potential."

"Use only that which works and take it from any place you can find it."

"We all have time to spend or waste and it is our decision what to do with it. But once passed, it is gone forever."

"We are always in the process of becoming and nothing is fixed."

"What you habitually think largely determines what you will ultimately become."

"Your best move is the one you regret not doing."

Music
Kick or chop here to listen to the Bruce Lee mix.

01. Bruce Lee Speaks (Part 1) :: Bruce Lee
02. The Dragon :: Homeless Balloon
03. Bruce Lee :: Underworld
04. Bruce Lee Speaks (Part 2) :: Bruce Lee
05. Kung Fu Fighting :: Karl Douglas
06. Martial Beat Arts :: The Quiet ft DJ Silent
07. Bruce Lee Speaks (Part 3) :: Bruce Lee
08. China :: Red Rockers
09. Karate Stance :: The Combovers
10. Bruce Lee Speaks (Part 4) :: Bruce Lee

MTV - Day One

Date: 01 August 1981
Time: 00:01 EST
Place: New York City, NY
Purpose: To play music videos (no, really it was).
Slogan: "I want my MTV!"
VJs: Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter, JJ Jackson and Martha Quinn



With the words, "Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll", a crunchy guitar riff and footage of the Apollo 11 moon landing (with the US flag replaced by an MTV flag, of course), MTV was born.

Even though only a few thousand people from a single cable channel system in New Jersey saw the initial transmissions, a revolution was started.

The format when MTV began was modeled after a Top 40 radio station. But instead of DJs (disc jockeys), MTV had VJs (video jockeys). The original five eventually became superstar celebrities and were, collectively, the face of the station.

Most of the early videos were very crude and usually consisted of either promotional footage or concert footage of the band. But that didn't matter. Now you could SEE the music as well as HEAR the music.

Rock, Alternative and New Wave were the flavour of the day. A lot of the bands that made this kind of music and, indeed, some of the biggest bands of the 1980s can attribute their success directly to the amount of airplay they received on MTV in the early part of the decade. But when the president of CBS Records complained about the lack of black artists being played, especially his heavy hitter Michael Jackson, things began to change.

'Billie Jean' was the first video by a black artist to be shown and by the end of 1983, when the 14 minute epic 'Thriller' was released the entire format was changed from Rock to Pop and R&B.

For the next five years MTV ruled the airwaves. Everyone had it. Everyone wanted more. And everyone talked about the bands being played. It was a great time to be a kid in the 'know' and a music fan.

In 1984 the MTV Video Music Awards started. 1986 saw the introduction of the Alternative show '120 Minutes'. 'Headbangers Ball' started in 1987 and 'Yo! MTV Raps' in 1988.

The early 1990s saw the beginning of other shows such as, 'MTV News', 'Club MTV', 'Remote Control', 'MTV Unplugged' and 'Liquid Television'.

Unfortunately, all of these conventional shows, as good as they were, began to take away from the time that videos could be shown. And the demise of the station began.

By the mid-1990s nearly all of the programming was non-music or reality based. MTV still carries on today but now they have had to start several other channels (MTV2, MTV Tr3s, MTV Hits, MTV Jams and mtvU) in order to show any music at all.

But fear not! I am going to take you all the way back to the beginning. This mix includes some of the songs that were played on MTV on 01 August 1981. I must admit a few tears were shed in compiling and mixing this set and lots of memories came flooding back. I hope that you enjoy listening to it as much as I did creating it.

Shout at the top of your lungs 'I want my MTV!' to hear the mix.
Click on each of the track names to see the video.

01. Video Killed The Radio Star - The Buggles
02. You Better Run - Pat Benatar
03. You Better You Bet - The Who
04. We Don't Talk Anymore - Cliff Richard
05. Brass In Pocket - The Pretenders
06. Take It On The Run - REO Speedwagon
07. Just Between You & Me - April Wine
08. In The Air Tonight - Phil Collins
09. I Wanna Be A Lifeguard - Blotto
10. Oliver's Army - Elvis Costello
11. Tusk - Fleetwood Mac
12. Rapture - Blondie
13. Ashes To Ashes - David Bowie
14. Once In A Lifetime - Talking Heads
15. Cruel To Be Kind - Nick Lowe
16. Kiss On My List - Hall & Oates
17. Da Ya Think I'm Sexy - Rod Stewart
18. While You See A Chance - Steve Winwood

Video Killed The Radio Star
This was the beginning. Ground zero. The video that started it all. At 00:01 on 01 August 1981, MTV aired this video and ushered in a new era in music. Ironically, it was also the one millionth video that MTV played nearly twenty years later on 27 February 2000.

The tune was originally released on the LP 'The Age Of Plastic' in September 1979 and it became the first Number 1 song for the Island label in the UK.

The band featured Trevor Horn, who had previously been in Yes and would go on to be a highly respected producer, working with numerous Dance acts in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

You Better Run - Pat Benatar
This was the second video that MTV ever played and it highlights their early fondness for Rock music.

The song is from Benatar's second album titled 'Crimes Of Passion', which featured her biggest single, 'Hit Me With Your Best Shot'. The album spent more than 90 weeks in the Billboard Album charts, including a month at Number 2, and earned her a Grammy for 'Best Female Rock Vocal Performance'.

You Better You Bet
This song is from 'Face Dances' and was the Who's last crack into the Billboard Top 20 singles.

The video was shot in black and white for 'artistic' reasons and featured the band performing on stage.

We Don't Talk Anymore - Cliff Richard
This song marked a big comeback for Cliff Richard and was his biggest selling single worldwide. The single was released just before his 40th birthday and before the announcement that he was to receive the OBE for services to music.

It was Number 1 for four weeks in the UK in August of 1979, Number 1 in Germany for five weeks and peaked at Number 7 in the Billboard Singles chart in America.

Brass In Pocket - The Pretenders
This was the breakthrough hit for Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders, even though Hynde didn't like the song after it was recorded and didn't want to release it.

The title was lifted from an expression that Hynde overheard someone from a support band say one day when he was trying to find his money.

The video was cheesy enough and featured Hynde as a waitress serving 'specials' to three gentlemen (the rest of the band) in a cafe.

Take It On The Run - REO Speedwagon
The band who took their name from a flatbed truck, used the initials (REO) of the founder of Oldsmobile and are renowned for their 'power' ballads also got a shout out on the first day that MTV hit the airwaves.

'Take It On The Run' was from the album 'Hi Infidelity' that spent three months at Number 1 in 1980 and 1981.

Just Between You And Me - April Wine
This tune was played on MTV's first day of broadcasting and owns the distinction of being the first video by a Canadian band to be played. It was also the first video that the station repeated (most likely when they ran out of videos to show).

In The Air Tonight - Phil Collins
Released in January of 1981, 'In The Air Tonight' was Phil Collins' first solo single. It was atmospheric. It was menacing. And it was big.

The song was an instant hit. It has been used in numerous advertisements through the years as well as featuring in the pilot episode of 'Miami Vice'.

I Wanna Be A Lifeguard - Blotto
These guys were quirky. Really quirky. They were:
Broadway Blotto
Sergeant Blotto
Bowtie Blotto
Cheese BlottoLee Harvey Blotto

There was also (at different times throughout the years)
Bert Blotto
Johnny Blotto
Bluto Blotto
Scott Blott (the only one without an 'o')
Chevrolet Blotto
Blanche Blotto
Clyde Blotto
Hammerhead Blotto
Ink Blotto
Juan Pablo Blotto

They formed in Albany, New York and always did their best to combine music and humor. Not always in equal parts though.

The band rose from the ashes of what was the Star Spangled Washboard Band, a post-hippie, comedy jug band.

They were New Wave. They played and released comical songs. They made a video for this track and MTV loved it, putting into heavy rotation for months after bringing music to the world of television.

Despite some exposure and recognition from the song on MTV, they broke up in 1984 and, thankfully, only ever recorded enough music to fill one CD. It's called 'Collected Works'.

Oliver's Army - Elvis Costello
The song that almost got away.

During the recording of 'Armed Forces', this song almost got dropped from the album but was rescued after the keyboardist wrote the piano part, which he based loosely on 'Dancing Queen' by Abba.

Good thing too. The song went all the way to Number 2 in the UK charts.

Tusk - Fleetwood Mac
This album, 'Tusk', was the quirky follow-up to the massive LP 'Rumors'. Guitarist Lindsey Buckingham had discovered 'New Wave' music and he convinced the band to be a bit more experimental with their music. He was also allowed to use more creativity in his writing, which resulted in the twenty song double album.

But the critics didn't like it and neither did the fans. Where 'Rumours' had managed to sell over 30 million albums worldwide, 'Tusk' could only manage four million. The label saw it as a failure and blamed Buckingham. The band, however, blamed a major radio station for playing the album in it's entirety prior to the release and allowing people to copy it. Indeed, home taping was killing music.

Rapture - Blondie
'Rapture' was a New Wave pop song that featured a Rap section released by Blondie at the beginning of 1981.

It was the third song to feature Rap and place in the charts but it was the first to go all the way to Number 1. Previously, 'Rapper's Delight' by The Sugarhill Gang and 'The Breaks' by Kurtis Blow were the first Rap songs to have some commercial success.

After this single, Blondie took a break but the record made strong headway into the world of Hip Hop. Grand Master Flash used pieces of it in his classic single 'The Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel' and it has been sampled or used as the basis for several other tracks.

Ashes To Ahes - David Bowie
'Ashes To Ashes' was a song about space men becoming junkies written in the style of a nursery rhyme. Due to the lyrical content, it is believed to reference Bowie's previous work including, 'Space Oddity' and the album 'Low'. In his own words, the song "wrapped up the seventies really well."

The video was one of the most expensive at the time, costing over 250,00 pounds to make. It featured solarised shots, black-and-white shots and Bowie in a Pierrot costume, which made the clip one of the most iconic of the early 1980s.

Once In A Lifetime
This track was released in October 1980 on the album 'Remain In Light'. It was written by David Byrne and Brian Eno after they heard a preacher speaking on the radio while driving through New York. It's a song believed to be about a middle age crisis and the inevitable sacrifice of youthful ideals and dreams for more conventional success.

The video features Byrne dancing and moving like a marionette, flinging his arms and tapping his head. It was choreographed by Toni Basil (of the hit song 'Mickey' fame) and inspired by footage of people suffering from epilepsy.

The video is another that was on heavy rotation for many months on MTV and was also on exhibition in the New York Museum of Modern Art for a period of time.

Cruel To Be Kind - Nick Lowe
Nick Lowe doesn't mind change.

He was once referred to as 'Basher' because of his rough and ready aesthetic and approach to production.

He began his recording career in the mid 1960s playing Country and Blues Rock. Then he switched to ironic Pop and animated Rock in the mid 1970s.

This track was released in 1979 - the same year that he married Carlene Carter (daughter of June Carter Cash and stepdaughter of Johnny Cash). It was part of another transition into more mainstream Pop music.

Then he became a millionaire in the 1990s. '(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding' was covered on the soundtrack to 'The Bodyguard'. The album sold 15 million copies and since Lowe wrote that song, he received a lot of money in royalties.

In his own words, Lowe said that his greatest fear was, "sticking with what you did when you were famous". In an effort to avoid that, he continues recording today and still incorporates different kinds of music into his sound.

Kiss On My List - Hall & Oates
Daryl Hall and John Oates began their recording career in 1972 with the album 'Whole Oats'. It flopped. So did their second and third albums. The problem was they couldn't settle on a particular style or sound and jumped from Folk to Soul to Rock to Pop and back again.

However, the song 'She's Gone' did appear on their second album and, despite any real sales, received a lot of airplay on the radio.

Their fourth, self-titled album contained 'Sara Smile' and that was a Top Ten hit for them. Things began to change and they had more hits in the following two years.

Then, in 1978 they hit a wall. They struggled for two years with producers and musicians who didn't understand their musical tastes and visions. So, they ditched LA, moved to New York, started producing their own records and recorded the album 'Voices' in Electric Lady Studios. It was a massive hit.

'Kiss On My List' went all the way to Number 1 in April of 1981 and they never looked back from there. By 1984, the Recording Industry Association Of America declared them as "the most successful duo in the history of recorded music".

Da Ya Think I'm Sexy - Rod Stewart
In the late 1970s, everyone jumped on the Disco bandwagon. Even Rod Stewart. But not without controversy.

His Disco song 'Da Ya Think I'm Sexy' angered Brazilian musician Jorge Ben because he claimed that it was derived from his song 'Taj Mahal'. He filed a lawsuit and Stewart agreed to donate all the royalties from the song to the United Nations Children's Fund.

Stewart was also slated by the Rock press for 'selling out' and betraying his Blues-oriented Rock roots. But the song was a huge hit. It spent one week at Number 1 in the UK and four weeks at the top spot in the Billboard charts in America. And MTV played the video more than most others in the early days.

While You See A Chance - Steve Winwood
The 1980 album 'Arc Of A Diver' produced this breakthrough hit song for Steve Winwood and made him a successful, viable solo artist.

It was another heavily played video that reflected MTV's early affinity to Rock and Pop music.

Yo! Kub Raps

Memba them good ol' Yo! raps...

01. Weak Become Heroes $ The Streets
02. Still A G Thang $ Snoop Dogg
03. My Name Is (Explicit Version) $ Eminem
04. Can It All Be So Simple $ Wu-Tang Clan
05. 21 Questions $ 50 Cent
06. Accordion (Fourtet Mix) $ Madvillain
07. It Was A Good Day $ Ice Cube
08. That's The Joint $ Funky 4 + 1
09. Straight Out Of The Jungle $ Jungle Brothers
10. Montego Slay $ People Under The Stairs
11. Life's A B***** $ Nas
12. Coming Of Age $ Jay-Z
13. Hate It Or Love It $ The Game ft 50 Cent
14. Pop Shots $ Ol' Dirty Bastard
15. Hypnotize $ Notorious BIG
16. Pop Goes The Weasel $ 3rd Bass
17. Fight The Power $ Public Enemy
18. Touch The Sky $ Kanye West
19. Baby Got Back $ Sir Mix-A-Lot
20. More Bounce To The Ounce $ Zapp
21. Small Talk At 125th & Lenox $ Gil Scott-Heron

Weak Become Heroes $ The Streets
This track is from the 2002 album 'Original Pirate Material' and is sung / rapped by a twenty-something white kid named Mike Skinner from Birmingham who sings / raps with a 'mockney' accent.

The album blends Electronica, UK Garage and Hip Hop with Skinner's take on what-was-then modern day living and clubbing. Even the Rock and Indie peeps liked it.

Even though it really should not work, it does. Who says white men can't rap?

Still A G Thang $ Snoop Dogg
Some things you may not have known about Snoop:

* Snoop was nicknamed Snoopy by his mother.
* He was born in Long Beach, CA.
* He was playing the piano at the age of five.
* He began rapping when he was in the sixth grade.
* He was a member of the Crips.
* His cousin is Nate Dogg and his best friend is Warren G.
* He was discovered by Dr Dre when he heard a mixtape with En Vogue's 'Hold On' that was rapped over by Snoop.
* He was taught how to structure lyrics and separate his songs into verses, hooks and choruses by The DOC from NWA.
* 'Snoop Speak' was based on words in the song 'Double Dutch Bus' by Frankie Smith.

Izzle kizzle, fo' schizzle. My nizzle, what you sizzle?

Fo' schizzle bizzle, my nizzle...

My Name Is (Explicit Version) $ Eminem
Dr Dre produced this song and the album 'The Slim Shady LP' in 1999. He wanted to use the Labi Siffre song 'I Got The...' as the basis for the rhythm of 'My Name Is' but Siffre refused when he heard the lyrical content.

He felt that Eminem was taking the easy way out and attacking the usual scapegoats in his rhymes. Eminem took the criticism on board and rewrote the lyrics. Siffre cleared the sample.

A 'clean' version was released as a single and on subsequent compilations and this explicit version was the one contained on the album. It was Eminem's first major success and helped him establish his unique style.

Can It All Be So Simple $ Wu Tang Clan
Witty Unpredictable Talent And Natural Game...

This is the third single lifted from 'Enter The Wu-Tang Clan (36 Chambers)' and is considered a classic by most fans of the group.

It features Raekwon and Ghostface discussing the hardships of growing up in New York in the 1980s and rapping over a sample of 'The Way We Were' by Gladys Knight & The Pips.

21 Questions $ 50 Cent
Even the toughest of rappers have a soft side. It seems.

Here is an apparent conversation that took place between Fiddy and Dre in the studio during the recording of 'Get Rich Or Die Tryin':

Dre: "How you gonna be gangsta this and that and then put this sappy love song on?"
Fiddy: "I'm two people. I've always had to be two people since I was a kid to get by. To me that's not diversity, that's necessity."

I'm sure both Fiddys were delighted with this song. It was Number 1 in nearly every Singles chart in America and placed in Singles charts in sixteen other countries.

Accordion (Fourtet Mix) $ Madvillain
MF Doom and Madlib are Madvillain and they take a very unique approach to Hip Hop. They write short songs with obscure lyrics that contain few choruses and are generally 'unfriendly' to radio stations.

Foutret got their hands on this track and made it slightly more melodic. All the other awkwardness remains.

It Was A Good Day $ Ice Cube
Ice Cube was born O'Shea Jackson and began his career as a founding member of NWA, one of the groups that helped originate Gangsta Rap.

In 1992 he converted to Islam and slowly began to drift away from hardcore Rap and focused more on acting.

That same year he released 'The Predator', which contained this song. The album was recorded during the height of the LA riots and went straight to Number 1 in both the Pop and R&B Album charts. It was the first album to ever reach the top spot in both charts.

The track contains a sample of 'Footsteps In The Dark' by the Isley Brothers and was written as a reflection on the good times that he had during his rise to fame and wealth.

Despite being his biggest, most successful song, he lost a lot of credibility and his audience began to diminish after this song and album.



That's The Joint $ Funky 4 + 1
They formed in 1979 and were the first Hip Hop / Rap group from The Bronx, New York.

They featured a female MC, Sha Rock.

After the success of 'Rappin' And Rockin' The House', when most of the group were only 17, they released this track on Sugarhill Records in 1980.

They were also the first Hip Hop group to appear on national television when they were guests on 'Saturday Night Live' in 1981.

Unfortunately, differences with the record label led them to split and quickly disappear into obscurity.

Sugarhill Gang may have followed and been bigger and better. But these guys were first. And first is forever.

Straight Out Of The Jungle $ Jungle Brothers
The Jungle Brothers were first off the mark with a couple of things.

They pioneered the fusion of Jazz and Hip Hop that later went on to form the basis of Drum 'n' Bass.

They were also the first Hip Hop artists to use a House music producer (Todd Terry) on their debut album 'Straight Out Of The Jungle'.Their first few albums received critical acclaim but didn't sell very many copies and were largely ignored by Hip Hop audiences. However, without them and their music, one could argue there would be no De La Soul or A Tribe Called
Quest.

Montego Slay $ People Under The Stairs
Thes One met Double K in Los Angeles, they formed People Under The Stairs (or PUTS) and quickly started recording their first album, 'The Next Step'.

They recorded it themselves and had to sell it on the street from backpacks until it was eventually released in 1998.

The head of OM Records, Chris Smith, heard it, gave them a deal and two years later they released 'Question In The Form Of An Answer'.

The second album received a warm welcome and they began touring more intensely. Two years later they released OST, which provided twenty little gems, including this track.

Thes One described it as, "An album made up of old records and personal experiences. No more, no less." Check it.

Life's A B***** $ Nas
This tune is lifted from his first album, 'Illmatic', which features Pete Rock, Q-Tip and DJ Premier (among others).

On this laid-back, jazzy track, AZ raps with Nas and his father, Olu Dara, plays the cornet. It samples 'Yearning For Your Love' by The Gap Band and 'Black Frost' by Grover Washington Jr.

Seven years after it's release, the album was certified platinum and was still selling over three thousand copies a week.

Coming Of Age $ Jay-Z
'Reasonable Doubt' is Jay-Z's (Sean Carter's) debut album and is considered, by some, to be his crowning achievement.

It has been classified as 'Mafioso Rap' because of the strong references to crime throughout all of the songs.

Production was handled by DJ Premier, Clark Kent and Ski. Kent worked on this track that contains a sample of 'Inside You' by Eddie Henderson.

'Coming Of Age', like all the tracks on the album, feature what have been called Carter's "effortless, unaffected cool, disarming honesty and acrobatic rhymes."



Pop Shots $ Ol' Dirty Bastard
Enough Said.

Hypnotize $ Notorious BIG
'Hypnotize' was released in April of 1997, after Biggie Smalls had been killed. The song had been a huge hit on the radio and when the single was finally released, it went straight to Number 2 in the charts. A week later, it was Number 1.

Biggie became the fifth artist to have a Number 1 single in the charts posthumously. The track was also nominated for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 1988 Grammy Awards.

Pop Goes The Weasel $ 3rd Bass
This track was released in 1991, brought on by the success of white artists bringing Rap into the mainstream.

Ironically, the success of the song was due to the criticism of such white artists, in particular Vanilla Ice. The track attacks the artists for being culture thieves and watering down the sound of rap in order to make it more accessible to the mainstream audience.

'Pop Goes The Weasel' features elements of a JB's song and a Stevie Wonder song as well as sampling 'Eminience Front' by the Who and 'Sledgehammer' by Peter Gabriel.



Fight The Power $ Public Enemy
Chuck D. Flava Flav. PE.

This track is considered by most to be PE's defining song. Their anthem. It is also one of the most popular and influential Hip Hop songs of all time. It's from the album 'Fear Of A Black Planet' and features in Spike Lee's joint 'Do The Right Thing'.

The classic lines from the song are:

Elvis was a hero to most But he never meant sh*t to me
You see, straight-up racist that sucker was simple and plain
Mother**** him and John Wayne

Yo! Bum Rush The Show.

Touch The Sky $ Kanye West
When you cross the sharpest dressed man in Hip Hop with the flyest brother in Soul, how could you NOT have a massive hit and sell millions of records?

From West's second album, 'Late Registration', that Rolling Stone called, "an undeniable triumph" and Spin magazine described as, "ornate and bloated just like West's ego", comes 'Touch The Sky'.

The song samples 'Superfly' by Curtis Mayfield and features Lupe Fiasco. The video is a short movie about Evel Kanyevel and his attempt to fly a small rocket across the Snake River Canyon.
Not bad for someone who dropped out of Chicago State University.



Baby Got Back $ Sir Mix-A-Lot
The original Bumpasauraus who hails from Seattle, Washington and introduced the world of Hip Hop to deep bass.

This track was his biggest. It won him fame and a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance in 1993. However, following this success he struggled to try and repeat it. Eventually, he fell out with his record label and disappeared for several years.

During the break, he apparently collaborated with The Presidents Of The United States but nothing was ever released.

Recently, he has been featuring as a guest on tracks for several artists, including Nas in 2007 with 'Where Are They Now'.

More Bounce To The Ounce $ Zapp
Zapp were five brothers who formed a Soul and Funk band in 1978. This track highlights their style, hand-clapping drum beats and the use of a talk box.

The band only had a couple of hits but have influenced numerous artists in West Coast Hip Hop and G-Funk (Gangsta Funk).

Small Talk At 125th & Lenox $ Gil Scott-Heron
The Black Arrow is back on djkub.com with another insightful, articulate, no-nonsense poem that spoke to the political consciousness of those in the know in the early 1970s.

Drum 'n' Bass 1ne

Drum 'n' Bass started as a tangent of the UK rave scene in the early 1990s and is electronic music characterised by two unique elements. First are the fast tempo, broken beat drums, largely programmed by the use of a Roland 808 drum machine with the dial set to about 160 - 180 bpms. The second are the gut-wrenching, chest-pounding sub bass lines that are usually sampled or created by the use of a synthesizer and looped.

The genre began as and remains an underground phenomenon, although a couple of tracks did make an impression on the charts during it's peak. As an ever changing style of music, it reflects the many and different elements in it's roots from ragga, dancehall, electro, funk and hip hop through house, jazz, reggae and rock to techno and trance.

These diverse influences helped shape the style that covers the entire spectrum of sounds from heavy, hardcore, industrial electronic music all the way through to the jazz-influenced use of acoustic instruments.

Drum 'n' Bass is probably best listened to and experienced in a club. However, that is not where I first heard the music. When I arrived in Dublin, fresh-faced and innocent, in 1997 I wandered into Tower Records on Wicklow Street for the first time and came across a compilation called 'Earth II'.



Packaged in a copper coloured box and curated by LTJ Bukem (Danny Williamson) it intrigued me. I listened to it and was blown away. The jazzy atmospheric electronic music blended perfectly with the heavy drum beats. This was some dope shit and nothing like what I had been listening to in America.

I worked hard and saved my punts for about two months so that I could by the CD. 'Earth II' was the very first album that I bought in Dublin and I spent many months and lots more money on the output of Good Looking Records.

This mix is my take on the genre. There are some obvious tunes and some not-so-obvious that may or may not really be Drum 'n' Bass. But the intention was to push the boundaries a bit and create an interesting listen.

Drum 'n' Bass 1ne

01. Fictions // Rollercone
02. The Sun Rising (Tom's Drum & Bass Mix) // The Beloved
03. A Festa // Truby Trio
04. Sweet Sunshine // Ils And Solo
05. Nightlines (Original Mix) // Alexkid
06. Rainfall // LTJ Bukem
07. Heroes // Roni Size Reprazent
08. Sugar Is Sweeter (Drum 'n' Bass Mix) // CJ Bolland
09. Distorted Reality // Bjorn
10. Inner City Life (Album Version) // Goldie

Things kick off with an excerpt of Roni Size's 'Heroes', serving as an introduction.

01. The first full track in the mix is 'Fictions' by Rollercone, which is the first track on 'Earth II' and seemed like the best place to start.

02. The Beloved's track 'The Sun Rising', released originally in 1989, got a loving re-work several years later by Tom Middleton and has appeared on more compilations than you could shake a stick at.

03. 'A Festa' by Truby Trio is a song released on the Compost label that reflects the group's love of Downtempo, Breakbeat and Bossa Nova music.

04. Ils And Solo recorded several tracks for Good Looking Records in the mid 1990s. 'Sweet Sunshine' is a perfect example of Intelligent Drum 'n' Bass and appears on 'Points In Time 004'.

05. Alexkid is a French knob twiddler with a love for all things dance-y. 'Nightlines' is from his album 'Bienvenida' but I came across it on 'Cafe del Mar Chillhouse Mix 3'. It is a really unique tune that connects the dots between Deep House and Drum 'n' Bass. All in less than seven minutes.

06. No Drum 'n' Bass mix would be complete without an LTJ tune. I chose 'Rainfall' in an effort to shy away from the obvious. But believe me it was tough. There were about another two dozen other songs I would have loved to include by him.

07. 'Heroes' is one of the biggest Drum 'n' Bass songs ever recorded. Full stop. A stone cold classic.

08. Is it House or is it Drum 'n' Bass? Is it both? Who cares? It's a fucking great song. CJ Bolland does his best Alexkid impersonation by combining Deep House and Drum 'n' Bass to perfection with 'Sugar Is Sweeter (Drum 'n' Bass Mix)'.

09. Bjorn recorded and released a handful of 12" singles on Good Looking Records and Cookin' Records. 'Distorted Reality' can be found on 'Earth III' and is a tune that HAS to be heard LOUD.

10. Released in 1994 'Inner City Life' is the biggest selling and probably most recognizable Drum 'n' Bass song ever recorded. The song has sold over 15,000 copies on vinyl alone. The album, 'Timeless' is the considered the best Drum 'n' Bass album of all time. Both have made Goldie famous and a bit of a household name for a couple of years.

And that's it. There you have it. Drum 'n' Bass 1ne. Enjoy...

The Young Knives - Whelans, Dublin, Easter Sunday 2008

Words: Paulo
Tunes: Kub

When one mentions this band, I find myself drifting back to the summer of ’07 and the U.S. Road trip I did. It was in a quality little music establishment called “Grimey’s”, Nashville, Tennessee (another story!) that I came across the wonderful first album “Voices Of Animals And Men”. It was my good mate, Kub, who encouraged me to buy it and for this I say “Cheers lad”.

Anyway, back to the present! I found myself at the infamous music venue that is Whelan’s of Wexford Street on a cold Easter Sunday accompanied by the aforementioned Kub. Having picked up the second album “Superabundance” earlier in the week and found it to be as good if not better than the debut, I was naturally excited about hearing the tunes live. I hadn’t witnessed them on stage before so I was curious and buzzing!

A newspaper article on the previous Friday had recommended the gig and advised, in particular, that anyone in attendance should pay special attention to the ‘in-between-song-banter’!

The venue quickly filled up and both Kub and myself were happy to see the back of the support band (called Unicorn something or other). We moved down towards the stage, took up our positions next to the sound desk and watched as the roadies meticulously put the bands gear together.

At approx. 9.30pm the lights went down and a cheer went up as the band took to the stage. Lead singer Henry Dartnall said a quick hello and they were off, opening with the snappy “She’s Attracted To”. I was also off, getting straight into gig pose with air guitar/bass/drums at the ready (sorry, I probably look like a twat but I can’t help it and those who know me well understand what the music buzz does to me!). Having finished the first tune Henry thanked the crowd and dived straight into the ‘in-between-song-banter’ I mentioned earlier. “We’re gonna be playing a lot of songs from our new album which is called Superabundance. We will of course also be peppering the set with all of our chart topping hits!” I turned to Kub and smiled. The tone was set for the evening!

They breezed through singles “Terra Firma” and “Turn Tail” with gay abandon and you could tell they were enjoying themselves. Henry then quipped that it was “great to be back in Whelan’s” and went on to introduce the band – “on bass we have the wonderful House of Lords! And on drums is Oliver”. Now, I was aware of the fact that the bass player held this quirky title but on the night, the lead singers’ reference to him was particularly humorous. What was even more comical was the fact that a few songs later the lead singer went about introducing the band again at which point The House of Lords interjected to inform the “slightly chubby” (he referred to himself as this) Henry that he had already done this. “Oh did I” was his reply, “Well you obviously didn’t say anything when I did as otherwise I wouldn’t have forgotten!” which brought a hearty laugh from the enthralled crowd.

Upon introducing one of the “chart toppers” the lead singer blasted “This is another one of our singles. One of our chart topping, best selling singles. Singles... Singles shmingles… what does it matter? Singles shmingles. I’m not even Jewish by the way”. The House Of Lords then pointed out that his remark was rather racist which led into a lengthy and clown-like debate on racism between the two front men. Henry made some comment about how the House Of Lords doesn't speak much to him and then comes out with that attack. Without missing a beat, HOL replied, "I can't ever talk to you backstage because you always have your head buried in 'Mein Kampf'!" Ouch. All Henry could say was "touche". “Why can’t all gigs be like this” I thought to myself.

They continued to bang out the tunes with the crowd getting more and more involved as they did so. “Fit 4 U” was then announced as the next song at which point I let out a roar of appreciation that came out very high pitched, sounding like a teenager whose adult vocal chords were breaking in! But I didn’t care. My favourite song of the new album was played to perfection by the boys and it made my night!

Henry then announced that time was closing in on them and that they were coming to their final two tunes. The crowd sighed with disappointment! “However, there is a line drawn under these on the set list with 3 more songs underneath”, he cheekily chirped (one of which was Adam & the Ants ‘Stand & Deliver’ – legendary!). The crowd went bananas and all was OK again!

They finished off with the harmony-tastic “The Decision” and bounced offstage to a barrage of applause and cheers. It left me longing to see them play live again very soon. Whelan’s is just a great little venue too… if only it could play host to every band!

Hot summer… here’s hoping! Hot band… ooooooooohhhh yeah!!!! Mother Nature sighs with relief… for now!

The set list was:

01. She's Attracted To
02. Counters
03. I Can Hardly See Them
04. Coastguard
05. Terra Firma
06. Rue The Days
07. Rumor Mill
08. Dyed In The Wool
09. Turn Tail
10. Fit 4 U
11. Up All Night
12. Weekends And Bleak Days (Hot Summer)
13. Current Of The River
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
14. Loughborough Suicide
15. Stand And Deliver
16. The Decision



If you want to learn more about this English three-piece, tweed-loving group of geek rockers, go here.

If you want to hear some of their quality tunes (listed below) mixed by Kub, go here.

01. Turn Tail
02. The Decision
03. Walking On The Autobahn
04. Weekends And Bleak Days (Hot Summer)
05. Fit 4 U
06. Dyed In The Wool
07. Here Comes The Rumor Mill
08. English Rose
09. Terra Firma
10. Flies

Finally, Henry in his own words (courtesy of www.myspace.com/theyoungknives):

Thursday, March 13, 2008

"Our new album "Superabundance" is out this week. This is the week to make a difference. If you are sick of rubbish music then stand up and be counted. If it is your birthday next week and you were hoping someone might buy it for you , don’t wait, they have probably bought you a Sugababes (nothing wrong with this, just not the same) record, so get Superabundance immediately. If you think that maybe Young knives have gone a bit crap on their second album, then rest assured, it’s a pretty good record, so take a chance and splash out on Superabundance. If you thought you would just download it for free from the internet, then just don’t, it ruins music for everyone, buy Superabundance (and everyone else’s albums that you were considering stealing). If the tone of this message has put you right off buying our album then a) I’m sorry and b) never pay attention to the pish that spews out of musicians mouths, judge them purely on their music (ie, buy Superabundance). "

The Rebirth Of The Cassette

Roll tape...

In addition to my monthly serving of new tunes, called Digital Kicks, I am now beginning a new series called Cassetricity as a means to introduce you, my beloved readers, to even more music and to share some interesting (perhaps useless) stories about the music and my life.

The culture of cassettes and mixtapes began in the late 1970s and peaked in the mid-1980s, enabling every single person who had a few slabs of vinyl to record, make, package, distribute and share the best bits and their favourite pieces from their music collection. It was total DIY. It was no to low budget. It followed on the heels of punk and was the driving force behind the post-punk ethos. There were no rules and anyone could do it. Everything is digital now but I believe the spirit of compiling and sharing good music lives on. The mixtape will never, ever die.

I have chosen to post, as my first installment of Cassetricity, a cracking little mix of Chillhouse tunes called the 'Foundations' mix. Each of the songs have been carefully selected, sequenced and lovingly mixed to entertain and provide some background to how my love of house music was born and nurtured.

Enjoy the mix and remember that they used to say home taping killed music. Respect the artists and their work! If you hear something that you like, go buy it or download it (legally).

First, the geek stuff.

The equipment / resources used to create this mix was:

01. A Dell XPS M1210 laptop - my stereo and general music container.
02. A Western Digital 250GB external hard drive - stores all of my music in mp3 format.
03. Traktor DJ software - the original and in my opinion still the best DJing software. I bought this in 2001 and have never looked back. I use it to edit and tag all of my music and to compile and store my endless amounts of playlists. I DJ with it as well as record and mix all of my compilations and podcasts.
04. Sennheiser HD 202 headphones - my favourite pair of 'cans'.
05. CD-DA Extractor software - this is the file converter. Once the mix is recorded and exported to a WAV file, this application converts the file to .mp3 format.
06. www.podomatic.com - a good hosting site that is (slowly) getting better. All of the .mp3 files are uploaded to this site and hosted for free. The once agonising slow upload speeds are getting better and I just may eventually start paying for the service to avail of all the extra bells and whistles.

And now, the music:

Normal Bias
Noise Reduction - IN
EQ-70us
C-46

Click here to listen to: Kub - MXT - 001

Side (A) - 'Chill' Side

Orange Sunshine - Superstars Of Rock
Cafe del Mar, Sunset Beach, San Antoni, Ibiza. This is the beginning. Ground zero. Square one. The original chill out. Jose Padilla was the first resident DJ in Cafe del Mar and he will always be the best. When the 'English' invasion began and dance culture was born in the late 1990s, Padilla sensed that things were changing and he left before they went pear shaped. Exit Jose, enter Bruno. Mr. Leparte became the new resident spinner of all things chilled and quality. He had big shoes to fill but he held his own and took Cafe del Mar to even bigger and better things.

'Orange Sunshine' kicks off this mix and is an acapella song that I first heard on a Bruno-compiled and blended CD called Real Ibiza. It is by a crowd called Superstars Of Rock, who as far as I can tell, are not superstars and have nothing to do with rock music. They are, however, a collection of very good producers and musicians. Guest singer Yvonne Leybold talks about "the music, the lights, the sweat and the uncontrollable urge to laugh." Welcome to Chillhouse.

Thru 2 You (CJ One Vocal Mix) – Echomen
When Bruno stepped in to Cafe del Mar he had a huge task ahead of him. The question - how was he not only going to DJ every night but be able to create the same atmosphere as Mr. Padilla while the sun was setting? The answer - do the same thing but do it differently. He compiled and released a couple of Real Ibiza CDs and he carried on the Cafe del Mar CD series as well. But he started a new series called Chillhouse, which took the chill side of the bar scene and combined it with four-on-the-floor House music. The result is what I heard the first time I went to Ibiza in 2001 and it blew me away. I bought Volumes 1 and 2 in the Cafe del Mar shop, played them non-stop for about three months and fell in love with House music. They were like nothing I had ever heard before. The music was up-beat but down-tempo. You could play it in the morning, the noon or the night. You could listen to it anytime and no matter what you were doing or how you felt it was a total lift. A real pick-me-up.

'Thru 2 You (CJ One Vocal Mix)' is actually a brilliant tune from the equally brilliant third volume in the Chillhouse series. The Echomen are Chris Scott and Anton Fielding. They are from the north of England. They make fantastic music that is deep, minimal and overflows with funk. It is the kind of House that is sometimes hard to find but always easy to listen to.

Lone Cat - Ben Watt
Ben Watt has had quite a career. In fact, he has had quite a life.

He began recording in the early 1980s for the legendary independent label Cherry Red. In 1982 he met Tracey Thorn and began life as Everything But The Girl, recording together for eighteen years. In 1995 they took a turn away from their alternative, folk, acoustic focus and embraced dance music. The result was the song 'Missing', which was remixed by Todd Terry and turned to gold. They were a great example of an overnight success that took over 12 years to achieve.

During this time Watt grew very sick and after a long time was finally diagnosed with Churg-Strauss Syndrome. The disease begins with allergy-type symptoms, progresses into acute asthma and eventually attacks the organs. Watt was unlucky because it took so long to properly determine the cause of his declining health but he was lucky because the disease did not affect his lungs. It was treated and he recovered with the only side effect being a permanently restricted diet. The book 'Patient' was written by him and tells his story about the battle with the disease.

In 1998, after recovering, Watt established a Sunday club night with his mate Jay Hannan in Notting Hill called Lazy Dog. The night (in the Notting Hill Arts Club) and the club-based compilation CDs were massive. A cult following developed and the queues to get into the bi-monthly gigs became more famous than the club itself. After an unbelievable five years of sell-out nights, the two decided to part ways and move on to bigger projects.

Ben started remixing. Then he started producing. Then he founded his own label called Buzzin' Fly and toured all over the UK and Europe. When Buzzin' Fly started, the great records came thick and fast and the compilation CDs followed. 'Lone Cat' is a track from the first CD and, like it says on the tin, proves to be 'replenishing music for the modern soul'.

That first Buzzin' Fly CD didn't leave my player for several weeks after I bought it. And it proves what a master Watt is at his craft - selecting and mixing killer tunes with incredible skill. It is one of my favourite tunes because it crosses the (barely trodden) line between House and Rap. Yo.

Long Time - Inland Knights
This track is from an album that had a huge impact/influence on me while I was putting together my first demo in 2001. During that time, I was buying a lot of dance music - mostly mixed House compilations. The reason is because I was learning how to mix and beat match two songs. Part of the process is listening to the pros do it and these guys do it better than most.

Inland Knights aka Laurence Ritchie and Andy Riley are both from Waterford, Ireland. They met and started their careers by organising and promoting free dance events in the 1990s. When the underground dance scene was hit with heavy, curtailing legislation in an effort to stop these massive parties, they moved on. They continued DJing and promoting, started producing and founded their own label, Drop Music, which has seen lots of quality releases over the years.

'Long Time' is lifted from an album called 'Creative Spaces' which I bought in Carbon Records in Urban Outfitters, Temple Bar. I used to shop there all the time and had become friendly with the lads in there who all DJed and knew the score. Basically, I would go in once a week or every two weeks and look for the albums that I had heard about or read about. Then I would ask them what else they could recommend and 'Creative Spaces' was one of the suggested gems.

The CD is mixed but it is in no way boring. The Knights know how to put together a great piece of dance music - good beats, funky bass lines, deep keyboard sequences and interesting vocal samples. They keep things minimal and make house music for both people who love house music and for people who don't like house music (but secretly want to).

I have since bought a few more of their compilations and found them on eMusic and Beatport. 'Long Time' is the only track I have thus far been able to buy from 'Creative Spaces' in it's original, unmixed glory. Listen and be amazed.

Get Deep – Lorenzo
Lorenzo are Joachim Schafer, Tim Bernhardt and (sometimes) Linda Mathews. They make deep, minimal House with other chillful sounds and refreshing beats. Although they are dedicated to the dance floor, they remain very suave and stylish in all of their records.

When I was compiling the songs for this mix, I came across 'Get Deep' and thought that it fit in perfectly beside the Knights' tune. It's funky somewhat filtered sound is also very characteristic of the kind of music that I was trying to find and listen to in an effort to understand the art behind beat matching back in 2001 and 2002.

There is an intentional five second gap in the mix to facilitate the switch from Side A to Side B.

Side (B) - 'House' Side

Finally (Original Album Version) - Kings Of Tomorrow
What can I say or write about this song that has not already been said or written? It is one of the biggest House tunes of all time. Full stop. You couldn't go anywhere - any bar, any club, any cafe, any high street shop or any house party in the early 2000s without hearing this song. It was also featured on every single two-bit dance compilation released by the likes of Hed Kandi, Ministry Of Sound, Defected and Warner (to name but a few). And it became a seminal, Balearic wave-your-hands-in-the-air tune that any DJ worth his weight carried in his record box and caned to death summer after summer after summer after...It has also been remixed about 1300 times by every single producer / DJ looking for a sure fire hit.

Sandy Rivera had been a professional DJ and producer for about eight years when he enlisted Julie McKnight to sing on his new track. In an effort to become a bit more radio-friendly, Sandy dropped his name and adopted the Kings Of Tomorrow (KOT) moniker. It worked and the rest is, as they say, (House music) history.

Music Sounds Better With You (Sinclair Remix) – Stardust
Another larger than life song. This track did every single thing that 'Finally' did but two years earlier. It is one of the tunes, if not THE tune that created the entire 'Superstar DJ' movement in the late 1990s. I heard that entire bands were selling all of their equipment (guitars, drums, keyboards, amps, mics, etc) to buy turntables after hearing this song. I personally have never known anyone who does not love this song and I personally have never seen anyone not turn immediately happy and start moving when the song is played in a bar or a club.

Stardust were Alan Braxe, Thomas Bangalter (half of Daft Punk) and Benjamin Diamond (French singer). The song sampled the Chaka Khan's 'Fate' which was buried deep on her 1981 album 'What Cha' Gonna Do For Me'. And, perhaps most importantly, the song was a one-off. There was no album, there was no second single, there was no tour. Stardust were a true one hit wonder and that has probably only added to the love of the song.This version was reworked by Bob Sinclair and gives the song a darker, deeper sound. It's a great tune to break out after midnight when the night starts to move on.The