skank bloc bologna

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Does anyone know the track "skank bloc bologna" by scritti politti?
Can I download it somehow.
It was released in the late 70s.
I havent heard it for over 23 years.
Scary isnt it.Yes.
Cal

― callum mccormick, Monday, 24 November 2003 21:48 (twenty-two years ago)

it's floating around out there on slsk. it's also on the rough trade post-punk comp.

― fiddo centington (dubplatestyle), Monday, 24 November 2003 21:50 (twenty-two years ago)

I really love this song

― Sonny A. (Keiko), Monday, 24 November 2003 21:51 (twenty-two years ago)

skank block bologna

― Dean Gulberry (deangulberry), Monday, 24 November 2003 21:52 (twenty-two years ago)

Now, only if they'd just release a damn pre-Rough Trade anthology on CD, we can all die happy.

― donut bitch (donut), Monday, 24 November 2003 23:02 (twenty-two years ago)

i am going to listen to those singles tonight. there's something very much about this time of year that makes them "appropriate" somehow.

― fiddo centington (dubplatestyle), Monday, 24 November 2003 23:15 (twenty-two years ago)

you can get it from here. let me know when you get it so i can take it down again.

― stirmonster, Tuesday, 25 November 2003 00:02 (twenty-two years ago)

Great to hear it again, thanks: Note: I'm not callum, don't take it down yet...

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 09:59 (twenty-two years ago)

Now, only if they'd just release a damn pre-Rough Trade anthology on CD, we can all die happy.

Oh YES!! This is sorely needed - that stuff is quite superb. Have those other tracks ever really been reissued anywhere?

What is Green's position on them anyway? Could it be him keeping those early tracks so hopelessly unobtainable?

― Nag! Nag! Nag! (Nag! Nag! Nag!), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 12:27 (twenty-two years ago)

Agreed. Those early 45s are Scritti's most interesting records. Some of these recordings are on the Messthetics comps available at www.hyped2death.com. But I'd guess Green isn't too excited about their reissue (cf Kraftwerk 1/2/R&F, or the entire Desperate Bicycles catalogue)

― harveyw (harveyw), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 12:40 (twenty-two years ago)

"They can't do it to me ME ME ME!"

why not, re: Desps?

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 12:41 (twenty-two years ago)

A reissue is long overdue - like most 'lost gems' it would probably result in a swift drop in critical fortune as snob value vanished (not accusing anyone on ILM of this, natch) (people used to talk up Songs To Remember all the time and have been somewhat quiet about it since the reissue) (anyway the hits were the best, hurrah!)

― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 12:44 (twenty-two years ago)

Mark, re Desps: Apparently head Bicycle Danny Wigley has refused all requests for reissue of material, even to a request of a track for the "20 Years Of Rough Trade" box of a couple of years ago (which really needed more DIY-punk to bolster its content). It's such a shame. Their run of 45s is extraordinary, I wish I had the LP.

― harveyw (harveyw), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 15:23 (twenty-two years ago)

I was stunned to be able to download "The medium was tedium" and "Advice on arrest" on goodol' Kazaa last year...

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 15:26 (twenty-two years ago)

Perhaps, but they were quite famous at the time, and those records -at least the first three- did actually sell in bucketloads. I remember reading about the band in the Sunday Times colour supplement, and seeing them featured in an Arena/Omnibus-type thing on the workings of the music biz. They were available all over, even in my favourite local record shop in Penzance. There's no reason to pay Kugelberg-type sums for 'em.

― harveyw (harveyw), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 15:53 (twenty-two years ago)

green's guitar playing is really wonderful on some of the songs...he sounds like derek bailey\1

― fiddo centington (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 16:37 (twenty-two years ago)

My friend went to a wedding last year and GG was one of the guests. she didnt know who he was though.

― jed (jed_e_3), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 19:09 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm hoping Green allows it, only because he apparently let Rough Trade release the one track (heh, "let".. maybe Rough Trade still owned the rights to it and did it without Green's approval anyway). I don't think Kraftwerk ever allowed any of their pre-AutoBahn material to be released in single moments at a time since the early 80s, though.

― donut bitch (donut), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 19:24 (twenty-two years ago)

rough trade never owned the rights to "skank..." though did they? i thought it was self-released?

(yes, i know it was on wanna buy a bridge too.)

― fiddo centington (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 19:25 (twenty-two years ago)

I have no idea! You know more than me.

Also, Tom does have a point. Reissues usually extinguish the notoriety of one's "seminal" early works, doesn't it. Notice how no one really talks about Neu! anymore since Astralwerks gave them the full treatment. Question is: does this necessarily mean a bad deal to anyone involved, mostly the record label who undertook the reissue? (Obviously, the artists and the fans benefit from legit reissues more than boots)

― donut bitch (donut), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 19:29 (twenty-two years ago)

(i meant "benefit from legit reissues more than they benefit from boots")

― donut bitch (donut), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 19:30 (twenty-two years ago)

(and putting aside the, in retrospect, somewhat selfish notion of being so embarrassed of one's early work therefore resulting in pretending it never existed)

― donut bitch (donut), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 19:32 (twenty-two years ago)

surely that's more cultural capital than actual capital though. the neu! reissues probably haven't sold many records since the first year they were out, but the sales from that year alone were obviously more than they made during any years they were oop. but now that the demystification process has been finalized, it's doubtful anyone will be copping their tricks again for a while. (i guess the same reason stereolab didn't borrow from whatever was being reissued in the early 90s...)

(nb: i would LOVE for some new bands to approach the early scritti sound)

(for the later scritti sound we have justin timberlake, ha ha)

― fiddo centington (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 19:33 (twenty-two years ago)

(nb: i would LOVE for some new bands to approach the early scritti sound)

Sounds good now, but dear god, I fear it will just be more New York bands half-copping slightly bent dub twists into otherwise yet more bland "post-punk" fare. Anyway, I thought the best part of early Scritti were the lyrics. Minutemen were the only band bent enough to properly harness the weirdness ratio of Scritti's lyrics, and my current pessmism tells me they will remain the only band for a while. (No coincidence Watt is a huge fan of early Scritti Politti) All in all, le sigh.

― donut bitch (donut), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 19:46 (twenty-two years ago)

Even having said that, much respect to Boon and Watt, they just didn't have the sweet timbre of Green's singing.

― donut bitch (donut), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 19:46 (twenty-two years ago)

How many pre-Songs to Remember tracks are there? I have 11

I was not aware the lyrics were supposed to make sense

― Sonny A. (Keiko), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 19:48 (twenty-two years ago)

Maybe people were just all "talked-out" by the time the legit Neu reissues finally appeared. Does anybody really talk about the Desperate Bicycles? I'm sure Neu continues to get name-dropped more than the latter ever have. 'Bands approaching early Scritti' - weren't they just the sort of hardscrabble post-punk stuff similar to Josef K or Big Flame or whoever, stuff that's always had certain strain of reverent followers? I've only heard the 4 A-Sides EP, of the really early stuff.

― Broheems (diamond), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 19:49 (twenty-two years ago)

Josef K has the advantage of being hyperthoroughly reissued by LTM, at least.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 19:51 (twenty-two years ago)

No, I know that Ned! (So does Big Flame for that matter) I'm just wondering if there is anything in those earliest Scritti records that places them a cut above their contemporaries (and would warrant Fiddo singling them out, in particular, to be hearkened back to).

― Broheems (diamond), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 19:57 (twenty-two years ago)

I've made many attempts at a Desperate Bicycles reissue, and passed the info along to Johan who wanted to do it for Omplatten at some point, and they've always turned all offers down. They were quite nice about it though. I've only ever heard that Green is against all that old stuff, but when was the last time anyone asked? I put them all on CDr, there's the 2 singles and 4 A-Sides 12" which is DAMN NEAR PERFECT. Another Acute Records dream project is the Prefects, who have a CD worth of stuff, have sold their own CDr-s at reunion shows, but last I had any contact(which was like 4 or 5 years ago) I was told Robert Lloyd wasn't interested in a Prefects CD. Of course this was before the Nightingales collection. Anyone in touch with Robert Lloyd?

But I do think the early Scritti stuff is a cut above most of their contemporaries, especially 4 A-Sides, how many angular, avant post-punk DIY bands had a singer with Green's capabilities and his ear for melody?

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 20:07 (twenty-two years ago)

Good point re: Green. So like, if we had a The Rapture with a real singer? But then everyone would probably hate it.

― Broheems (diamond), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 20:23 (twenty-two years ago)

I think Luke is a fantastic singer. He comes from the punky screamo background, but actually has a voice. Sure it channels Roberts Smith and Plant often, but he hits the notes, does some pretty expressive Meredith Monkism, and it's a million times more interesting then most other bands vocalists with the same background. You know, the punk ideals, anyone can do it, even the singer, so why bother getting a good singer? Listen closely, he's not just screaming, he absolutely knows what he's doing.

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 20:41 (twenty-two years ago)

oh, i was totally just pulling a name out of the hat to make the broader point; i've barely heard any of the Rapture. You actually make me want to investigate them further..

― Broheems (diamond), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 20:53 (twenty-two years ago)

I am a big fan, and they are also friends of mine. At the time I met them I was pretty much a luddite on the neo-post-punk revival stuff, and pretty much avoided most new bands. I avoided The Rapture as well because I was sure I'd hate them. The first time I saw them I was taken by the PIL and Gang of 4 similarities, but also noted their melodies and songwriting and live skill. The next time they had added the sax player and headlined the Knitting Factory for the first time and pretty much destroyed the room. It's like, who cares about debating about the details when a band is just that goddamn hot. Little indie rock girls were practically throwing their underwear on stage, record collecting snobs were dancing like never before, and it was damn good. As a big fan of late 80s house music, their recent directions have kept me interested. But this is all for another thread.

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 21:16 (twenty-two years ago)

They get a crowd moving, that's for sure. I do like that about them.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 21:17 (twenty-two years ago)

god, i need to stop listening to this. literally nothing else for the last two days.

― fiddo centington (dubplatestyle), Thursday, 27 November 2003 04:57 (twenty-two years ago)

anyway, yes, to answer mr. broheems question it IS mostly about green's voice and the lyrics. but i also think the band is a helluva lot more "accomplished" than, say, the desperate bicycles or whatever, and that's not a diss or a value judgment, just a fact. (which is why i think the comparison is kind of moot.) the minutemen comparison is spot-on, i think, but yeah, i would def place this phase of scritti even above them. you listen not terribly closely and it sounds clumsy, like a big fucking mess. (green's guitar playing really does sound like d. bailey on a few tracks. i'm not even sure he's playing scalar notes sometimes, and all those weird "pings" and "boings" at the end of his bars.) but the rhythm section is stop-on-a-dime tight, and i've never heard such fracture/fractous music that still sounds "pop" oweing solely to the singer and his ability to carry things along. and that voice! so moistly melancholic it makes me swoon every time.

― fiddo centington (dubplatestyle), Thursday, 27 November 2003 05:05 (twenty-two years ago)

I know this is old potatoes but I remember hearing "Sweetest girl" on the NMe cassette in 1981, and thinking Michael Jackson.

And note the similarities between "Lions after slumber" and the last half of "Will you be there". That's no coincidence.

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 27 November 2003 09:23 (twenty-two years ago)

Oh yeah, a friend of mine saw them play live at uni. They did Lee Perry's "Bafflin' Smoke Signals" as well!

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 27 November 2003 09:25 (twenty-two years ago)

"Songs To Remember" - "anyway, the hits were the best, hurrah!"

The Sweetest Girl - #64, Faithless - #56, Asylums In Jerusalem/Jacques Derrida - #43.

If Rough Trade distribution had been any cop these probably would have been hits. As it is, upon signing to Virgin, "Wood Beez" immediately goes top ten. Aargh!

(but then were the Cupid & Psyche hits better than the Songs To Remember "hits"?)

― Marcello Carlin, Thursday, 27 November 2003 09:29 (twenty-two years ago)

Well there was a world of difference between the two.

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 27 November 2003 09:32 (twenty-two years ago)

I was being a bit sarky but I did honestly think Sweetest Girl went Top 40 - shame it didn't really. (It did for Madness, yes.)

There is a world of difference indeed - actually IMO the Songs To Remember queasy soul sound has been imitated even less than the early post-punk/dub stuff (probably because it relies even more on having a classy singer and it's less 'difficult' on the surface).

― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Thursday, 27 November 2003 10:04 (twenty-two years ago)

But if I had to take one Scritti artefact to a desert island Cupid And Psyche would still be it.

― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Thursday, 27 November 2003 10:04 (twenty-two years ago)

Still can't get it out my head now.

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 27 November 2003 12:27 (twenty-two years ago)

It's nearly gone now...

― mark grout (mark grout), Friday, 28 November 2003 13:14 (twenty-two years ago)

jess you fucker what are the tracks apart from the skanc bloc single & biblioteque (4-a sides) ep i found in neds sock drawer?

also: confidence!

― gaz (gaz), Friday, 28 November 2003 13:28 (twenty-two years ago)

Early tracks (I found a discog)

SCRIT 1 :
Skank Bloc Bologna
Is And Ought The Western World
28/8/78

SCRIT 2: work in progress ep
Scritlocks Door
OPEC-Immac
Messthetics
Hegemony

SCRIT 2: (yes really! ) 4 a sides 12"
Confidence
P.A.s
Bibly O Tek
Doubt Beat

other peel session:
The Humors Of Spitalfields
Knowledge And Interest
Doubt Beat
5.12.78

SCRIT 3 was the "how to make a record" book

― mark grout (mark grout), Friday, 28 November 2003 13:32 (twenty-two years ago)

**Does anybody really talk about the Desperate Bicycles?**

Oh yes! Bloody fantastic they were.

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Friday, 28 November 2003 17:07 (twenty-two years ago)

Are these Messthetics and related thingys legal then? Or just home-made CDRs?

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Friday, 28 November 2003 17:09 (twenty-two years ago)

one year passes...

early!

― cozen (Cozen), Thursday, 10 February 2005 11:28 (twenty-one years ago)

bleedin late more like haha sorry.

― cozen (Cozen), Thursday, 10 February 2005 11:28 (twenty-one years ago)

I've got a badge like the one on the cover of this CD! Christ, I don't even remember where and when I got it.

― Oh Dadaismus, Poor Dadaismus, Mama's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' (Dad, Thursday, 10 February 2005 11:30 (twenty-one years ago)

interview.

― cozen (Cozen), Thursday, 10 February 2005 11:36 (twenty-one years ago)

i'm in a scritti phaze.

― jed_ (jed), Thursday, 10 February 2005 18:26 (twenty-one years ago)

Nice that the new stuff seems informed of his roots, once again.

― mark grout (mark grout), Friday, 11 February 2005 08:50 (twenty-one years ago)

new stuff?

― jed_ (jed), Friday, 11 February 2005 10:10 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, on that interview, the stuff he's currently doing. Who knows when, though...

― mark grout (mark grout), Friday, 11 February 2005 10:11 (twenty-one years ago)

Oh please, please tell me Dr. C has heard Messthetics compilations by now.

― Bimble... (Bimble...), Friday, 11 February 2005 16:15 (twenty-one years ago)

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