Like a shoplifter out of nowhere…

Two Paradise Garage classics were heard in a couple of retail establishments earlier today. The first was “My Love is free” by Double Exposure heard in a coffee/expensive sausage roll shop in Herne Hill at 9.30 am.

Later on while walking through Lewisham Shopping Centre (home of probably the cleanest public loos in London) at about 12.30 pm The Fatback Band‘s “Going to see my baby” was coming through the speakers. What next, a bit of Death Metal in the meat aisle in Tesco sometime this week?

What’s the best tune you have heard being played in a shop? Answers please via the comments and we’ll blog up a chart.

By the way here’s a classic Paradise Garage cassette from supposedly1982 but possibly recorded a few years later.

Gil Scott Heron – The Bottle
The Clash – The Magnificient Dance
Cymande – Bra
Loose joints – Is it all over my face
Double Exposure – My love is free
Exodus – Together Forever
First Choice – Double Cross
First Choice – Dr Love
Lenny Williams – Running (mixed with Man Fridays Love Honey, love heartache acapella.)
Fatback Band – Going home to see my baby
Loleatta holloway & Salsoul orchestra – runaway
Shades of love – Body to body
Positive force – We got the funk
Roy Ayers – Running away
Salsoul orchestra – Ooh, I love it (love break) 
Salsoul orchestra – You’re just the right size
Carl Bean – Born this way

Cosmos fever

A big thanks to Debby H for starting this current wave of cosmos appreciation here at Weeds. Hers are presently looking great in situ (above).

We know a couple of us had some problems with slugs eating some of our seedlings but that’s not going to stop us trying again next year. We started off a good few but the only ones that survived were the plants under the dying cherry tree which are giving us a few nice blooms at the moment (above).

And above and below are from Mike & Julia‘s garden near Coventry. Great stuff!

Gardening is about having a go and if the slugs got your seedlings this year it doesn’t mean they will next year. Out with the beer traps and the copper tape and your other favourite anti-slug tricks and see what happens. Another good thing about the old horticulture is the practice of swopping and passing on plants and seeds. Keep the old circle going around! Cheers again to Debby H!

Saturday night mellow

While doing another mix for the shortwaves we found this excellent track from out of stockport from J-Walk called Winter Moon Rendezvous. It’s a nice mellow track for a Saturday night.

And the other night we (re)discovered the cassette label PetPets’ TAPES out of France. There’s some wonderful stuff on their Bandcamp page here and the releases are as cheap as chips. Here’s a couple of tunes from a tape called Majaal – Songs of Naam.

 

It’s in mint condition mate, honest

We’ve just looked at that John Peel auction that Gerry Hectic alerted us to last month (original post here), that had a couple of lots which contained our fanzine Ded Yampy. Looks like they’ve been sold! £190 and £140 (above) but that’s nothing compared to a John Lennon signed LP for £10,000 (below). Who’s got the money for that?

We’re now thinking of getting into the auction game ourselves and our first “lot” will be the 30 or so reggae 12″ers we found at a south London market last year. We were so excited with finding them we put on a poker face while flicking through the boxes as not to alert the seller/other record hunters that we had found some gems (or so we thought).

We omitted to check the condition of the records at the time as we were so excited. On the bus home we took a look and were shocked to see how bad they were. We learned a lesson that day, check the condition! Even a good clean didn’t help (above).

That is nothing compared to the time we popped out for a pint of milk and came back 2 hours later relieved of £20 but the owner of some great rare old reggae sevens procured from the back of a Peckham nail bar that once been a record shop. Our excuse this time was that the lighting was dim in there so didn’t look too hard at the actual vinyl. More likely our eyes and brain were on dimmed if you have a look at this one from The Wailers (above). There’s even a phone number scratched into the other side. Check before you buy, excitement or no excitement!

Let’s get cool in the pool

Here’s a lovely chilled-out balearic mix from a long time friend Will J, who actually introduced us to the exellent Echo Chamber radio show on KFAI many many moons ago we remember (Dr Strangedub of said show’s raised beds were the feature of last post funnily enough!)

Reminiscent of those old C90’s from Jose Padilla and the balearic bailiff himself Phil Mison, the hour’s tape includes some excellent tracks including this one:

It’s a mix well worth playing loud when the sun comes out next (or even when it’s raining as it will cheer you up). Good stuff Will!

Answering the call of the cosmos

It has finally come, the day the first cosmos flower appeared. We may have lost a few plants to the slugs earlier on this year but the few we started off in pots and are now undernearth the dead cherry tree have got buds on them and this afternoon one actually opened. Cheers to Debby H for starting us off on this cosmos journey. Anyone else got any cosmos pictures to post up here? One deck pete at gee mail dot com if so.

And today also saw one of the cardoons showing their first purple dyed spikey top with more growth to come in time we hope. The bee on it seems happy enough.

And for a Saturday evening here’s  a couple of excellent tunes, the first being from Cantoma (AKA Phil Mison The balearic fare dodger) called Light Before – Ambient Outro. It’s one piece of ambient chillout to end the day with!

 

And a lovely bit of dub from a set called Mid City Dub Encounters Vol.1 by Irie One and Lord Sekou on Jah Thunder Records and this track is called Kalimba Dub.