this is prob old hat to 99% of you but i hadn't seen it before
Rewind Selector
Heidi Sigmund Cuda on Rewind Selector: “...I love the fact that Sublime ‘robbed the hood’ and made everything their own. I went to Jamaica after I wrote the book [Crazy Fool: Portrait of a Punk] and heard Toots and the Maytals for the first time (really heard them) and discovered just how far Bradley took everything. He left all the clues behind for people to figure it out on their own…”
Rewind Selector is an album that is loved or hated. Some people cry foul over the liberties that Sublime took in their sampling and mixing of sounds. I am not alone when I say that I love it. The “rub-a-dub blender” that is Sublime shows that they were a sound creating machine, extremely prolific, and diverse in musical taste. They certainly had their own sound and were able to incorporate music that would otherwise be dichotomous (Minor Threat George Gershwin).
The type of question I hate to hear is “What bands sound like Sublime? Ever hear Pepper, O.A.R….?” That is the wrong perspective and only leads to following derivatives of music, simplifying music to pop-Sublime – any band with a crooning voice and a taste of surf-guitar. It’s far more important to ask “What bands did Sublime sound like?” – which will move you up in your musical knowledge and broaden your chance for discovery. Rewind Selector attempts to rewire the biggest fans of Sublime into bigger fans of music, teaching them where Sublime got its roots, and hopefully finding several more favorite bands for each person who takes the time to listen.
Rewind Selector is more of a project than a bootleg. It began in the 90s by a guy who went by the moniker heLTa on the Sublime board at
http://www.skunk.com. There were 14 tracks including a track by the Vandals covering Sublime’s “Ball and Chain.” True, that track is out of place, but I respect the original creator of this album and have left it in intentionally through the years. Thanks must go out to many who helped and many who researched. In particular, Sean (aka Agent4TwentyR) compiled one of the most detailed lists when everyone around him was just thinking to themselves “Wow, I recognize a lot of Sublime songs as partial covers or full of samples.” Without him, I wouldn’t have had the energy to knock out all of these tracks. The 36 track and the 56 track versions of Rewind Selector were made by me in 2000 and 2001. A million times I told myself that I would eventually create many more and had made lists of some as I came upon the originals. Unfortunately, I spent more time linking the songs and noting similarities than actually creating until Vince messaged me and offered to do some of the leg work. I taught him how to merge the tracks to make them sound like the ones I had created and he took it from there. Without him kicking me back into gear, these tracks may have been left on the shelf. Extra special thanks to Juhani over in Finland for supplying some of the rarer tracks -- even from vinyl -- for free.
The cover art is my original, composed of 104 pieces of album covers, each representational of one or more songs that were covered or sampled. They are not necessarily all on the album, but they are used in some way by Sublime. The large version is for printing while the compact version is for use in iTunes’ Cover Flow.
-Matt Maguire
Do you have the most recent and updated version of this supplement?
This was updated on July 10th, 2007 (RSText-07-10-07.doc).
Always check
http://www.myspace.com/rewindselector for the latest!
2. Loving / What I Got (Half Pint)
This song may be the perfect example of what made Sublime so good at what they did. What I Got was a world-wide sensation and is still the song that gets requested every first day of summer. Few know that it is a medley of direct influences, and when I say influences, I mean DIRECT influences. This track spells out the origins of the hook, but no one can say it is “copied”. It is thrown in a blender, chopped up, and born anew with a completely different spin. It’s seasoned with a little bit of Lady Madonna by the Beatles (find that track and sing “Lady Madonna, children at your feet/ Wonderin’ how you’ll manage to make ends meet” and then break into “Got to find a reason, reason things went wrong/ Got to find a reason why my money’s all gone” and you’ll see some musical genius that your local DJ hasn’t ever noticed), folded in with some Fugees lyrics, and given a classic reggae feel to be that perfect summer treat.
3. Get Out! / The Lemon Song (Led Zeppelin)
Led Zeppelin loves to sue the pants off anyone who profits from a track with any bit of their song in it, hence this song was revised and re-released. If Sublime paid royalties to every song sampled in this song alone, they would probably be paying $5 for every copy of 40oz to Freedom sold. Luckily for the creators of this album, not one cent will be paid for this track from listeners, so we won’t be hearing from their legal army. Cue Cadillac commercial.
4. Scarlet Begonias (Grateful Dead)
This song is a straight cover for the “hippy f*ck” around the world. It seems that Sublime can rarely entertain one musical influence in their covers, so the sound is completely different and some original lyrics are thrown into the mix.
5. Don't Push / Wake the Town (Tenor Saw)
I wouldn’t say that Sublime mainstreamed reggae for the alternative charts because what they created was so different. However, their influence by and obvious respect for reggae led so many people who would have otherwise passed the genre over to appreciate it and listen. They at least “told them reggae music was on the loose.”
6. One Cup of Coffee / Judge Not (Bob Marley)
These are Bob’s third and first recordings ever, respectively after being signed by Leslie Kong in 1962. After his trip with his father to Jamaica, Brad delved past the “Buffalo Soldier” and “Redemption Song” hits of Bob Marley and absorbed the whole catalog. Hopefully for his love will be passed on to a few readers/listeners who will also find some artists with which they can be obsessed.
7. 54-46 That's My Number (Toots and the Maytals)
Toots is in his 60s and still performing like a beast. Look Toots and the Maytals’ tour up right now and go see one of the most energetic shows around while you still can. Probably the second most famous reggae group to come out of Jamaica during the era of Bob and the Wailers, Toots and the Maytals are reggae and ska legends that grabbed Bradley’s attention with this song about Toots’ prison number for drug charges in Jamaica. For those of you who don’t know, Toots is not a small act – just listen to Punky Reggae Party by Bob Marley where he mentions the band.
8. Steppin' Razor (Peter Tosh)
Music from Jamaica is not all peaceful and pot-related. The music grew out of poverty (hence its simplicity) and violence. Steppin Razor was written by Joe Higgs and sung by the Wailers, but Peter McIntosh made it his own in his seconds solo album. It matches his personality which is defiant and quick to fight – a stepping razor. This was not an uncommon persona to adopt in the slums from which he came, Trenchtown of Kingston, Jamaica. I believe this is the first song I mixed when I expanded upon heLTa’s first version of Rewind Selector. The lawyers of Joe Higgs got wind of the success of Sublime and the use of the song, however, and sent a letter that seemed almost threatening, casually noting the murder of Peter Tosh which can be seen in the Everything Under the Sun booklet. “Send money, etc.”
9. Roots of Creation / Mi Believe, Summer Holiday (Yellowman)
Roots of Creation was on the EP Living in a Boring Nation, a line from the song. The original name was a derivative of that line; on the Zapeda tape it is listed as The Boring Song while on the same tape Ebin was originally titled Ebennz Change to completely set the song apart from the man who originally wrote the music, Eben Sterling… These lyrics found there way into a few songs, including Slightly Stoopid’s Fire Shot. Trivia: name the guest bass player on Slightly Stoopid’s self-titled CD (Prophet). Answer: Bradley James Nowell.
10. DJs / A Message To You Rudy (The Specials)
The Specials are an original ska and reggae band that were trailblazers in the United Kingdom during the decline of punk rock. They have many great songs worth checking out such as Rat Race, Pressure Drop, and Ghost Town (used in the opening credits to Shaun of the Dead). The group is surprisingly predominantly white.
11. We're Only Gonna Die For Our Arrogance (Bad Religion)
For a dose of rebellion and politically charged lyrics, Sublime looked toward Black Flag, the Descendents, and of course, Bad Religion. Consequently, Sublime’s version included some illegal samples of the 1976 movie Network and they had to reprint 40oz without the “I’m Mad as Hell” rant, but that version is very fitting and you should do your best to track it down. The speech is included nearly in its entirety on another Rewind Selector track.
12. Dub Medley II / Elementary (Horace Andy)
Horace Andy is known for roots reggae, singing about religion and social issues. This song finds its way into various live songs as a musical interlude that many people assumed was Brad scatting freestyle. Oddly enough, Horace Andy’s projects have included working with Easy Star All-Stars on Radiodread, the group that did the reggae Pink Floydd album Dub Side of the Moon.
13. Falling Idols (Falling Idols)
Basically a version of this surf-rock song on speed, Sublime’s Falling Idols was a tribute to one of their favorite bands. As you can see in the tracklist they covered them often, but this song is one that they actually played live very frequently. The original is a completely different thing from Sublime’s punkier rendition, but it is a great summer listen, nonetheless.
14. She's Mine / Saw Red (Barrington Levy)
Punk rock grew from ska which grew from reggae, so as dichotomous as these two tracks are (emphasized by some hasty mixing) it is only natural for Sublime to create a punk rock song from what was slow and sultry. I would not like to hear “that’s obvious!” from the fanboy crowd, but for those of you who don’t know, this is a Sublime and No Doubt collaboration. Sublime collaborated on Total Hate that can be found only on a fantastic No Doubt CD, Beacon Street Collection. Grab that album now that it’s in reprint.
15. The Ballad of Johnny Butt (Secret Hate)
Sublime was very aware of every local band and Secret Hate was the band next door. They grew out of Long Beach, California, and were popular with the underground punk scene. Eric Wilson often uses the Secret Hate middle finger symbol in his signature which can be found on the cover of the CD where this track originated, Vegetables Dancing: Live and More.
16. Rivers of Babylon (The Melodians)
Keep in mind when you listen to a song here that Sublime was directly influenced by, that song may not be original itself. The Melodians are a reggae group, and like many reggae groups, their lyrics heavily borrow from the Bible. Crack one open and check out Psalm 137. Some versions are verbatim; some are variations on the same theme (as with any passage of the Bible due to thousands of iterations of translations):
1 By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion.
2 There on the poplars
we hung our harps,
3 for there our captors asked us for songs,
our tormentors demanded songs of joy;
they said, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!"
4 How can we sing the songs of the LORD
while in a foreign land?
17. Diseases / Greatest Hits (Michigan & Smiley)
There are certain songs that are obvious influences of Sublime, but without looking at the band’s record collections, it is impossible to know which came first for them. The guitar riff is identical, but through my research on this particular reggae influence I met a man who has developed an entire thesis upon this song/riddim. His name is Wayne Marshall and after several emails back and forth in which we helped each other understand this trend better, he had this nugget of wisdom: “…I quite agree, as is true for the reggae (and hip-hop) tradition more generally: understanding someone's influences doesn't subtract from their ‘originality’; rather, it enriches one's sense of their distinctive voice.” This is part of the idea of Rewind Selector as a project. Please check out his paper on this famous riddim:
http://wayneandwax.com/?p=137And please also check out Yellowman’s Zungazungazeng.
18. Jailhouse (Bob Marley & The Wailers)
Again Brad mentions the ’89 Vision, but this time he uses it in proper context with “we didn’t fuss or no fight” line. Please see the paragraph on 89 Vision for an understanding of that phrase. Sublime anglicizes the hell out of Bob’s Jamaican lyrics, but the message of standing up against oppression remains.
19. Romantic Girl (Winston Reedy)
There are many live versions of this song and I love them all. The energy Brad gives each line is the epitome of what Sublime represented for many. In this version Brad gets so immersed in the music in his mind that he starts singing to the crowd or to the sky or to himself, but leaves the microphone behind momentarily, completely lost in the song.
20. Eye of Fatima, Part One (Camper Van Beethoven)
Often underrated and rarely imitated, Camper Van Beethoven has been around and is still somewhat around today. This is one of the groups that I have not had the time to really check out myself, but I hope to get past the first few tracks that I enjoyed. There is only so much time per day that can be spent listening to new music and appreciating old music.
21. 100 Weight of Collie Weed (Carlton Livingston)
Sublime paid tribute to the marijuana-friendly mentality that comes hand in hand with most reggae music. See also, Smoke 2 Joints, Legalize it, and others.
22. Dr. Wu (Minutemen)
Yes, Steely Dan originally sang this. Listen to both Steely Dan’s and the Minutemen’s versions and decide for yourself which Sublime copied. With their use of “Minutemen loops” in mind, I made a decision in this case and didn’t pick Steely Dan.
23. Steady B Loop Dub / Bring the Beat Back (Steady B)
The name of the track makes it obvious enough, but most Sublime fans don’t listen to a great enough variety of music to recognize that Steady B was a famous rapper from the 1980s. You probably won’t hear anything from him now that he’s in jail for life for his role in the murder of a female Philadelphia police officer. He and Will Smith took very separate paths, it seems.
24. Loser (Descendents)
This song is from some original punk, but now is almost cliché as the poster song for teen angst rebellion against social norms.
25. Seed / Mr. Moto (The Bel-Airs)
The Bel-Airs are that kind of great old surf rock similar to the Ventures (a far more successful band). The fact that Seed contains the guitar of a 1960s band transformed to a hard solo helps illustrate the depth of Sublime’s influences, and emphasizes what everyone who has heard Doin’ Time already knows: their influences were not limited to contemporary sounds.
26. Right Back / Mix Up, Mix Up (Bob Marley & The Wailers)
I always thought that there was a cover of lyrics in this section of the song because of his backup-singer style high-toned “Holiday!”, but I expected to find my answer in a Motown track from the Supremes or the Temptations. The general rule should be: check all reggae music first, then move on to other genres.
27. Pawn Shop / War Deh Round a John Shop (Wailing Souls)
This song is generally true to the original, but it’s missing that Atari-like ping sound. I have heard some speculation that Brad chose the lyrics “pawn shop” because he frequented them, selling the band’s gear and his guitars. I can’t be sure of that reason for the lyrics, but Heidi Sigmund Cuda’s Portrait of a Punk does mention that he did as does Stories, Tales, Lies, and Exaggerations.
28. Little District (Eric "Monty" Morris)
Eric “Monty” Morris is old school reggae, the era of Jimmy Cliff and other early sixties reggae artists. He isn’t well known, but he and others represented Jamaican music at the 1964 New York World Fair.
29. It's Up To You / Wrong Way (The Specials)
Message to You Rudy is an obvious tribute to the Specials, tacked on to the end of DJs, but the Specials were extremely influential to all of music at the time Sublime was listening to them, so it is no surprise that you can find clear bits of borrowed lyrics, tempos, and rhythms from the other songs.
30. Smoke Two Joints (The Toyes)
In the words of Miguel in the Thanks Dub, “that song Smoke 2 Joints was jacked from the Toyes.” The lyrics in the original are fairly different, so please check it out.
31. A Ninja Mi Ninja (Courtney Melody)
Although Sublime covered this song fully in unreleased work, the bassline is used in the studio version of Garden Grove at the end, mixed with samples from Linton Kweski Johnson’s Five Nights of Bleeding.
32. Minor Threat (Minor Threat)
Don’t let the rage fool you, Minor Threat is a straightedge band – hell, they invented the phrase straightedge. A very good explanation can be found at , summarized in these words: “[The US punk scene] was brought to a new level when, instead of singing about the naughty, naughty government and how unpleasant everybody is, Minor Threat's frontman, Ian MacKaye, chose to write songs about the pressures of youth culture. In the underground scene of Washington DC, he watched as kids mindlessly developed drug habits, beat each other up under the influence of excessive alcohol consumption, and sold their lungs to tobacco companies. He wanted out [and wrote Straight Edge].” Sublime may have liked the music more than the message, but here are those lyrics:
I'm a person just like you
But I've got better things to do
Than sit around and f*ck my head
Hang out with the living dead
Snort white shit up my nose
Pass out at the shows
I don't even think about speed
That's something I just don't need
I've got the straight edge.
33. April 29, 1992 / Shook Ones Pt. II (Mobb Deep)
The live police scanner recordings were obvious “samples” to all, but the line “As long as I’m alive I’m gonna live illegal” was not unfamiliar to many either. Mobb Deep’s album The Infamous was a huge hit in 1995 and Shook Ones Part II had plenty of radio play. The use of popular contemporary music in April 29th, 1992 follows the trend that samples and covers are not meant to subtly build up Sublime’s own songs, but are used to pay tribute to any form of music they had on repeat in their cassette decks.
34. Big Salty Tears (The Ziggens)
This track originally used the wrong version of the Ziggens’ song. Vince has been very organized and detail-oriented and insisted we switch out the original Rewind Selector version for this one. If you have the past one, great (it’s a collector’s item!), but this one is better. Thanks to Vince for having pride in his work and in mine. He has also been the second set of eyes reading for typos, misinformation, and just general bullshit from me in this supplement, so if you find anything we can blame him. But seriously, this project was gathering dust on the shelf for a while – I had done plenty of work on it, but only with some real pressure and assistance from him was this possible. Thanks Vince. Also, this song is the influence for the line in Wrong Way.
35. New Song / Atomic Dog (George Clinton)
These days every college student knows George Clinton, but he has been around a long time and has been very prolific. Atomic Dog is his most popular song, but check out Bop Gun with Ice Cube and several others.
36. Pass Me the Lazer Beam (Don Carlos)
So many of Brad’s tangents into obscure reggae and ska are labeled as freestyles in other songs or interludes of live songs, but this track, after the Pass Me the Lazerbeam influence seems to be mostly freestyle. Angelo might have more lyrics off the top of his head, but even then he breaks into Salt-N-Pepa:
-- Angelo --
no time for funny games
that ain't even why i came
baby i'm in love
to you i'm just another brother under the club…
BJN
-- Do You Really Want Me --
do you really want me, baby
let me know
cuz if you really like me
I suggest you tell me so
got no time for silly games
that ain't even why I came…
S-n-P
37. Ring the Alarm (Tenor Saw / Buju Banton)
Not to cause any unease, but did Christina Aguilera use this song as a direct influence in Dirrty? I could say she should be respected a bit more for that, but instead I’d rather just say that Jack Johnson covers Garden Grove and Ring the Alarm together in one mix, live. I assume that is because he heard Sublime do Ring the Alarm (otherwise he would have played it on its own) and that means he has some Sublime bootlegs. Respect to that.
38. What I Got Alternate / Round 6 (Prince Jammy)
This sample does not include any music from the original track, but the music is actually very important. If you listen to the drumming, bass, guitar twangs, and even the reverb on the keyboard, it all exists in Sublime songs in one way or another. This song could be confused with a Sublime jam session if it was mislabeled.
39. Foolish Fool (Dee Dee Warwick)
Dee Dee Warwick is not to be confused with her more famous older sister Dionne Warwick despite the similar style and vocals. This Grammy nominated song was her most famous and is another example of music outside of the realm of reggae and rock that Sublime absorbed as an influence.
40. Saw Red / Bandelero (The Pinchers)
This seems to follow the path of taking a reggae song (She’s Mine) and making it a punk song (Saw Red) and then taking that song and bringing in reggae influence from a different group (Bandelero). Love it.
41. Johnny Too Bad (UB40)
This song is originally by the Slickers, but Brad says “Remember that song by UB40” and as a result I picked the second version.
42. Let's Go Get Stoned / Rebel Without A Pause (Public Enemy)
Sample rewind track on Let’s Go Get Stoned; which do you choose?
a) kickass rap track by Public Enemy
b) oldie but goody song by Ray Charles
c) vulgar gangsta rap about, um, “…Splash!” by Niggas With Attitude
d) just the first, but mention the others in a text supplement
43. The Hukilau Song / Freeway Time In LA County Jail (Don Ho)
I have been collaborating and collecting for more than 8 years to create this album, and it seems like every week I learn something new. Ezra Nuite emailed me saying that her brother lived in Hawaii and he would always sing lyrics from Freeway Time in LA County Jail but said it was a Hawaiian song. She didn’t know the track or artist, but with those key lyrics (“I throw my net out into the sea”) I was able to search for that string minus Sublime and found Jack Owens. This is hugely popular and I’m sure millions have sung it and found the connection to Sublime, but it wasn’t until recently that I made the discovery. It is always a pleasure. Jack Owens was inspired by a Hawaiian hukilau thrown as a fundraiser for a burned-down church. He wrote it and recorded a very old and very basic version with a ukulele, but Don Ho popularized it. Brad’s voice may match the 1948 crooning version best, but we made the choice to use Don Ho’s lounge-style. Check out the original here:
http://www.rogerowenspeanutman.com/mp3s ... sample.mp344. Real Situation (Bob Marley)
I have a promo disc for the box set that was for the promotional parties and was two discs. This version had some more pre-audio that was cut from the final version of Everything Under the Sun and came UNCUT from the tail end of the EUTS New Realization. There is literally a ten second pause where he sips his drink before going right into the album version of Real Situation. That’s some talent.
45. Sour Grapes (Descendents)
Sublime’s departure from covering all of Milo Goes to College – during their studio time in Austin, Texas they recorded many studio tracks of songs they never played live: Prince of Sin (Falling Idols), Vocab (The Fugees), What’s Really Going Wrong (Matt “Chicken” Willy), etc.
46. Rawhide (Frankie Laine)
One of at least two TV themes that Sublime covered, Rawhide is found on the original pressing of 40oz to Freedom, but had to be removed. It could then be found as part of The Missing Shit, an mp3 collection of the tracks that were cut for the second (legal) printing of 40oz to Freedom. The show was a bit newer than Cisco Kid, but in the same pre-60s era. The taping of this song cuts off abruptly, even on the CD.
47. STP / I Second That Emotion (The Temptations & The Supremes)
The original song was by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles but was covered by The Temptations and the Supremes only a year later. This version is the latter, by the collaborative of two already-proven, huge Motown groups.
48. It's Expected I'm Gone / Get Out! Remix (Minutemen)
Get Out! is one of those tracks that could have its own mix disc it has so many direct influences. The aim for this disc is variety and musical breadth, so this track had to be included multiple times. What other song can you name that takes from a 1970’s female R&B hit (Clean Up Woman by Betty Wright), an educational children’s program (Four-Legged Zoo from Schoolhouse Rock), a drum beat that is looped, and a bassline from the group that does not allow anyone to sample their work (The Lemon Song by Led Zeppelin)? There are nearly a dozen direct influences in this track. If you listen to the first pressing version, the rap about Sublime mentions “Minutemen loops” referring to this drum beat.
49. Doin' Time Eerie Splendor Remix / Green Eyed Lady (Sugarloaf)
Eerie Splendor Remix was a posthumous version, but whoever came up with the mix of Sugarloaf’s bassy synth-organ may have had Cisco Kid in mind; its use reminds me of the Doors sample.
50. Cisco Kid / When the Music's Over (The Doors)
This horn dubbed over in this song is from Guru's (Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal=G.U.R.U.) album Jazzmatazz called Introduction, the voices are obviously from the old television show Cisco Kid, and the organ is the Doors’. Throw that together and you have a very creative and surprisingly listenable song and Brad’s favorite on Robbin’ the Hood.
51. Waiting For Bud / Basketball Throwdown (Fantastic Freaks & The Cold Crush Brothers)
One of Vince’s favorites and a straight sample from a movie titled Wild Style, this song off the soundtrack was first heard in 1983. I couldn’t figure out how to mix it, but we agreed to keep it simple and just flow from the end of Waiting for Bud to Basketball Throwdown despite my original vision that it would need to be placed into context by having the next Sublime track run behind it for a bit to the same beat (Steady B Loop Dub). It ended up being a lot more trouble than it was worth and the idea was scrapped. I hope you like the track in its simple form.
52. Free Loop Dub / Loaded (Primal Scream)
There are many songs that Sublime incorporated where I just love the recycled version so much more than the original. And then there’s Primal Scream’s Loaded; such an awesome track independent of the band we all love. Few got the mention they deserved on Robbin’ the Hood; the insert only says “Thanks to all the artists we sampled.”
53. What Happened? / Tequila (The Champs)
The great thing about this song is that it uses the horn riff, but leaves out the world-famous hook in exchange for “What happened?” The song is about blacking out drunk, so the answer to the repeatedly asked question may very well be the title of the song Sublime mimics. That can sometimes be the result for plenty of people.
54. Foreman Freestyle / Lowrider (War)
The (Todd) Foreman Freestyle is named after their sax player who is not really freestyling in his sax solo so much as experimenting with a tune from War. I truly believe Bradley when he said in an interview that most of the tracks were made on the spot in the studio (“Thank god the tape was rolling. If we did it all the time, we’d have about a million albums”). On the Hong Kong Phooey bootleg, as poorly done as it may be, the track lends recognition with the title Reggae Lowrider.
55. Just Another Day (Falling Idols)
Some people might be less familiar with this track that is “new” to some collectors, having only come out to the general public on the bootleg War on the Boulevard. If you don’t have War On the Boulevard yet, try to grab yourself a copy. It shows the influence of Falling Idols beyond, well, the song Falling Idols. Good luck tracking it down, though. The guys who made it only pressed 200 numbered copies in 2003.
56. Hip Hop Rules / 89 Vision (Boogie Down Productions)
What is the 89 Vision? The borrowed lyric in the Sublime song is out of context and tells next to nothing, because it has nothing to do with Bradley’s anal fetishes. It is also mentioned in Jailhouse (“…89 vision, we didn’t fuss or no fight…”) but this time in context. The term refers to 1989 and KRS-One’s vision of non-violence in hip hop/the black community. His 1987 album Criminal Minded is said to be one of the original gangter hip hop albums, but his DJ and the other part of BDP Scott La Rock was gunned down. Shortly thereafter a fan was killed during a fight at his concert and it permanently changed his outlook on hip hop music. Kris Parker aka the Blastmaster aka the Teacher aka KRS-ONE began preaching against violence starting with his single Self Destruction in 1989. Thus the ’89 Vision was born. Guess who was on that single: Just I.C.E.
57. Warning Sign (Born Jamericans)
Love the Born Jamericans. Check out Yardcore, Gotta Get Mine, Sending My Love, and Boom Shak-a-Tack to enjoy something rough, but modern. If you’re feeling sentimental, get their rendition of Take That’s Back for Good with the Long Beach Dub Allstars at the House of Blues. Warning Sign might be their best.
58. Cost of Living / Level the Vibes (Half Pint)
Cost of Living/Level the Vibes is another two-for-one like One Cup/Judge Not, and this one again includes both originals by the same artist. Half Pint was such a tremendous influence to Sublime (see What I Got) that it makes plenty of sense that they would jam to his songs in the recording studio. If only Mike “Miguel” Happoldt would open that vault and let us hear some more.
59. All You Need / Fight Like a Brave (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
Again, a song that is mostly original, but always has a flavor of some direct influence – in this case a line from Red Hot Chili Peppers – displays the originality of Sublime, but their attention to their roots. Respect must be paid to the Red Hot Chili Peppers who have been doing reggae influenced rock for a long time.
60. The Youth Are Getting Restless (Bad Brains)
Sublime loved playing this political reggae-influenced song at many concerts. The song came out after House of Suffering on a live album that ended up being a best seller for Bad Brains.
61. Dachau Cabana (The Vandals)
From Barry Manilow’s Copacabana to the Vandal’s Dachau Cabana to Sublime’s rendition, this song is very catchy. The problem is it’s not a song to sing out of context. Try to get away with singing “…they were throwing them into ovens/ They weren’t playing games/ At that Dachau, Dachau Cabana…” in an elevator and then realizing it shortly after the doors close. It makes for an awkward 10 floors. All Nazis die.
62.DJs Live / Ride Natty Ride (Bob Marley & The Wailers)
Similar to the use of the Specials’ Message to Rudy these lines are tacked on to the end of an otherwise great and independent song. If you recognize the line from Cornerstone (“the stone that the builder refuse…”), understand that the lyrics aren’t original themselves; check your Bible:
Matthew 21:42
Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes?
63. Prince of Sin (Falling Idols)
This was part of a predominantly Falling Idols set in the recording studio at Austin, Texas that never made it to CD until the bootleg War On the Boulevard was released.
64. Have Your Ass Home by 11:00 / What I Got Demo (Richard Pryor)
I remember the moment I discovered this sample myself. For some of you, hopefully most of you, there is that instant of realization when you hear the sample/song/baseline/whatever where your mind comes alive and you think “Sublime used that!” For me, it came with a tingle on the back of my neck, but I don’t expect that for all, really. I was working in 2000 at a place that has probably gone belly up since the Dot Com Bubble burst, called eDocs. They gave me plenty of money but very little work, so when I wasn’t playing pool or grabbing something from the free vending machine, I was listening to comedy on streaming internet radio. What every friend of mine though was “f*ck you Kenny” (with theories about it being Sublime’s drug dealer, Kenny) became instantly clear. I wrote it down, downloaded it at home, and added it to my list after my first release of Rewind Selector (36 track version). This was the 51st song on the 56-track album.
65. Tim the Dinosaur (The Ziggens)
Trivia: Who was the first band on the Skunk label? Answer: The Ziggens. That is Bert Susanka who made Brad drink in Greatest Hits and Bert sampled in Smoke 2 Joints saying “Smoked cigarettes ‘til the day she died!” Sublime loved that band and showed it by covering (and popularizing) several of their tunes.
66. 54-46 Live / Boops (Supercat)
AllExperts.com is a division of Ask.com and allows people to sign up to answer questions about subjects. I started as the Sublime expert to fill the need and loved my first question: “Alright Matt, about 1 minute 12 seconds into 5446, what in the HELL is Brad saying?? I've looked everywhere for this but all the lyric sheets I find skip that part.” I pointed Mike to this song and gave him this answer: “It's hard to tell you what Brad is singing because he doesn't even get the lyrics right and the lyrics themselves are not all words. The lyrics are freestyle collections from a ‘popular’ dancehall song by Supercat called "Boops" which came out in 1986… Supercat is the guy who was scatting in the background on Sugar Ray's first pop hit ‘Fly’ (for better or for worse).”
67. We're Only Gonna Die OG / Mad as Hell (Peter Finch in Network)
This movie ought to be your next homework assignment. The film totaled four Oscars and presents a story that is chillingly relevant to today’s media-as-entertainment world. It certainly belongs mixed into the music of anything by Bad Religion – a band that has socially conscious lyrics rather than anti-religious tones as their name might suggest. Some of the stars: Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch, Robert Duvall, and Ned Beatty.
68. Zungguzungguguzungguzeng / Greatest Hits Live (Yellowman)
There are certain songs that are obvious influences of Sublime, but without looking at the band’s record collections, it is impossible to know which came first for them. The guitar riff is identical, but through my research on this particular reggae influence I met a man who has developed an entire thesis upon this song/riddim. His name is Wayne Marshall and after several emails back and forth in which we helped each other understand this trend better, he had this nugget of wisdom: “…I quite agree, as is true for the reggae (and hip-hop) tradition more generally: understanding someone's influences doesn't subtract from their ‘originality’; rather, it enriches one's sense of their distinctive voice.” This is part of the idea of Rewind Selector as a project. Please check out his paper on this famous riddim:
http://wayneandwax.com/?p=137And please also check out Michigan and Smiley’s Diseases.
69. Zimbabwe (Bob Marley & The Wailers)
When Rhodesia/Zimbabwe earned its independence from Britain in 1980, Bob was asked to sing this at their freedom rally. The song had been an inspiration to the ZANLA (Zimbabwe National Liberation Army) and the demand for the song was so strong that a riot erupted and the chaotic crowd was dispersed with tear gas.
70. Lou Dog Went To the Moon / The Day That Lassie Went To the Moon (Camper Van Beethoven)
Anyone who is listening to this album and reading these details must have seen Stories, Tales, Lies, and Exaggerations, but in the off chance that you didn’t, go grab a copy and watch it through a few times. Troy mentions the time Brad “made up” this song off the top of his head as an answering machine message when someone stole Louie when he was left outside. As a dog lover it was touching to hear the stories of how broken up he was about the band mascot missing for the few days it took to get him back. Lou Dog was named after Louie Nowell, Brad’s grandfather and was mentioned in the most bizarre eBay post I’ve ever seen. Someone claimed to have bagged a Louie turd from the stage and wanted a couple hundred bucks. My moniker “LouIsFatAndSassy” was derived from the Second Hand Smoke insert in which Mike Happoldt writes that Lou is fine and sitting with him; “He’s fat and sassy.”
71. House of Suffering (Bad Brains)
A favorite song of the band and often referred to simply as House, this song, like many of heLTa’s original tracks, is a straight cover. Sublime makes it their own by making a punk track even faster.
72. Legalize It (Peter Tosh)
Peter (McIn)Tosh was 1/3 of Bob Marley and the Wailers. This was the title track off of his first solo album and kind of his raison-d’être. His campaign for the legalization of marijuana led him to even smoke pot on the stage at the famous One Love Peace Concert in 1978 and demand its legalization in front of both political parties. You may know this concert as the one Bob Marley attended immediately after an assassination attempt by a gunman. In a sling, suffering from a gunshot, Marley called up Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley and his rival Edward Seaga to the stage to pronounce a truce and peaceful relationship. Sublime’s use of the song was less politically charged, of course, probably using its curing qualities (asthma, glaucoma, etc) to promote their recreational use…that and to keep Bud out of jail for a full tour.
73. Myage (Descendents)
If anyone can tell me the significance, I’d love to know it, but on Milo Goes to College, the Descendants have many –age songs: Myage, Bikeage, Toniage, and Marriage. Email me at
mdmaguirespam@comcast.net.
74. History Lesson Part II / Waiting For My Ruca (Minutemen)
Sublime may have the best use of a dog barking sample in their music, but when 40oz to Freedom was being made, oddly enough, this idea wasn’t original. Sorry, Louie/Toby, but Jane’s Addiction recorded Been Caught Stealing in 1990. That’s a small history lesson, but it goes with the theme from Sublime’s use of the Minutemen’s sample. D. Boon is the one who says “Punk rock changed out lives,” but is often confused with Bradley as Bert Susanka is confused with Brad in the line “Smoked cigarettes ‘til the day she died!” D. Boon, Mike Watt, and George Hurley are all mentioned in the Thanks Dub at the end of 40oz to Freedom. Speaking of the Thanks Dub, most people have only heard the short version. There is a long version that doesn’t cut out that was only available on the original and very rare 40oz cassette tape. That runs six minutes, so if you have never heard Miguel thank Queen Latifa or the Beastie Boys or you, then you are missing half of it.
75. April 29, 1992 Leary / Give Me My Share (Jah Rubel)
This probably isn’t the most obscure influence, but it proved to be one of the hardest to come by. On Feb. 10th 1982 Yellowman and Fathead played a dancehall reggae show live at Ace’s. This was the first live dancehall reggae album pressed on wax and was very popular. It can’t be found easily today, and yes, the quality really is that terrible. Jah Rubel came on stage and threw out a “Give Me My Share” freestyle, which we all recognize and love from April 29th 1992 many years later. Thanks to Ernie B’s Reggae for this hard to find track.
76. Same in the End / I Can See For Miles (The Who)
Again, Brad grabbed lyrics from contemporary and classic, obscure and popular. In this case a popular song by a popular classic band. I Can See for Miles is apparently ranked number 258 on Rolling Stone’s greatest songs of all time, so give it a listen and see if you can discover something I can’t seem to hear. I don’t like it, but de gustibus non est disputandum, I guess.
77. Celebration / Ebin (Stranger Than Fiction)
This track has a story that is not worth me rehashing because I have the words from the original artist himself. Search this document for “***” for a hell of supplement. All I can say is that this song is so closely mimicked, but it doesn’t “fit” like other tracks. For that I apologize. The best fit would be the final seconds of Ebin and 2:22 of Celebration but the guitar and bassline are similar throughout. According to Eben, Brad promised he shouldn’t be furious about the song using his name and mentioning a neo-Nazi because the spelling was different. Few know, but the original version of Sublime’s song was titled Ebennz Change (Zapeda cassette tape info courtesy of Damon Crucani).
78. Party At Ground Zero (Fishbone)
This version of Party at Ground Zero is not the only instance of Fishbone influence in Sublime’s music. What Happened? has Brad yell “Play it Boy Wonder!” to Todd Foreman during his sax solo a la Party at Ground Zero – the phrase used in the same fashion.
79. Do It Twice / Boss DJ (Bob Marley & The Wailers)
Bradley takes from many songs and many genres, perhaps few as heavily as Bob Marley and reggae music. It might just be a line or a theme, but you can imagine the man crooning every line from every album. There are dozens of Bob Marley CDs for you to check out, but to get a nice cross section with a lot of bang for your buck, please grab a copy of Songs of Freedom which chronicles the growth from One Cup to No Woman No Cry. You can be sure that Sublime listened to all of those tracks and soaked them like a sponge.
80. Get Ready / Are You Ready? (Frankie Paul)
Tracking down the rare or vinyl reggae and punk songs could be a total hassle. When I ran the Hotline server for a few years, the collective input of thousands of people grew my list considerably. Every 10th person knew at least one thing I was missing and they contributed. Knowing the title and artist is one thing, but finding the song is harder. In this instance, a guy under the moniker “ur done” emailed me Frankie Paul’s Are You Ready? Countless others contributed, but were lost in the jumble. This living tracklist and influence list should be helpful to many/all, but please email me if I am missing anything; I would greatly appreciate it, make the addition, and give the credit if you’d like.
mdmaguirespam@comcast.net 81. It's Who You Know (X)
The band’s name is simply X and I don’t know much of anything about this obscure band. Searches are difficult with just a letter, but reviews I have found suggest that this band is extremely popular and well reviewed to those who have heard their punk albums. This song came from the second album Wild Gift which has a straight five-star rating from reviewers on Amazon.
82. Let's Go Get Stoned Live / #1 Hit Song (Minutemen)
After Brad counts uno, dos, tres, cuattro, Sublime goes into this Minutemen track. The guitar doesn’t match perfectly, but the influence is obvious, especially since this part is omitted in the studio version.
83. Farther I Go (Mudhoney)
You can find this studio version at the end (hidden) of the Skunk pressing of Robbin the Hood, but it has since been released to the masses on Everything Under the Sun. Lyrical accuracy is unimportant even for album releases, it seems.
84. Welcome, Tomorrow (Love and Rockets)
Firecracker Lounge is a treasured album not for quality of sound or Brad’s playing, but because it was so personal. Oddly enough, the most personal times don’t necessarily mean that the artist plays personal work. In this case, Brad kept picking obscure favorites of his and shared them with the crowd while he was hammered. Love and Rockets was a band without a major hit that drifted through genres and had enough small successes to release eight albums over twenty years.
85. At It Again / Ko Lo Ko (Clement Irie)
Even the new audio has references to reggae roots. This anti-illicit drug song is eerie with sampled screams and laughter and the video has the typical 1980s video effects that make put the viewer under the influence. Check out the video and hear the complete audio on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=In7TQiH84ng86. Hong Kong Phooey (Scatman Crothers)
Trivia: what famous child-actress stars in this music video? Drew Barrymore. The band has incredible fun with this song, which was part of a cartoon theme compilation called Saturday Morning Cartoons and included many other artists of the day. If the show ever makes a comeback, the decision should be made to go with this celebrity theme, like Spiderman’s by Aerosmith. Bonus trivia: Scatman Crothers sang this song, but what else is he known for? Answer: He is the voice of Phooey in the show.
87. Hope (Descendents)
This song is a straight cover with the tempo picked up. Sublime was heavily influenced by the Descendents (or at least loved their music) as you can tell from other covers off the same album. No matter your musical tastes, pick up the album Milo Goes to College which is a veritable necessity for anyone who wants to expand his musical palette. What a great song about hope/hopelessness at the end of a relationship.
88. Caress Me Down (Clement Irie)
I am surprised how few people know that the most famous hooks have deep rooted reggae influence. Clement Irie was one of those artists that the band used in jam sessions and naturally his lyrics found their way into a hugely popular song with a whole new sound. The words and timing are so similar, but the songs couldn’t be more dissimilar.
89. Speech / Miami (KRS-One)
If you play this track, you’ll hear more than one sample that you’ll recognize from several Sublime songs. It comes from an incredible compilation of hip hop pulled together by Funkmaster Flex called Funkmaster Flex Presents: The Mix Tape Volume 1: 60 Minutes of Funk.
90. What I Got Reprise / Nappy Heads Remix (The Fugees)
I love the Fugees and recognized this right off the bat before I knew about the Richard Pryor sample, the Beatles influence, Half Pint, or the Rolling Scabs. Blunted on Reality is a fantastic album. Grab that and Wyclef’s Carnival (you should have The Score, of course) and queue up Nappy Heads (Remix) with Mona Lisa ft the Neville Brothers for some quality recycling of lyrics and sound, Wyclef sampling himself.
91. Slow and Low / Doin' Time (The Beastie Boys)
I’d also have loved to have Lookin Down the Barrel of a Gun (“racism is schism…”) on this album or The New Style (“…kick it!”), but there’s only so much space and time. It is necessary to have the Beastie Boys on here though, because despite being worlds apart in style, they are one of the most similar bands to Sublime that I can pick. They are eclectic and prolific, dipping into every realm of music and create jigsaw masterpieces from various elements for their tracks.
92. Garden Grove / Five Nights of Bleeding (Linton Kwesi Johnson)
Garbage/Garden Grove has Marshall sampling and mixing in this lyric over a borrowed bassline (Ninja Mi Ninja by Courtney Melody) and a sample from The Funky Worm by the Ohio Players all after the song has basically finished (and after it does end on Second Hand Smoke. This was a last minute addition that was mixed well and took the place of a lesser track in the final 100.
93. Leaving Babylon (Bad Brains)
The video on Everything Under the Sun shows the band performing this live in Costa Rica in 1993. Bad Brains formed a longstanding relationship with the members of Sublime, HR performed in some live shows and collaborated on Long Beach Dub Allstars’ New Sun from Right Back. “Babylon” is a general Rastafarian term that refers to the Caucasian patriarchy (generally the government) that oppresses the oftentimes majority black community by means of economic or physical slavery. For those of you who have never heard reference to Rastafarianism beyond Legend by Bob Marley and Sublime’s music, look up the history for Haile Selassie of Ethiopia and the creation of Rastafarianism independent of him, but based upon him.
94. Unite (Courtney Melody)
Vince and I both love Courtney Melody’s Unite and agree it has a place in this album, even though it wasn’t performed live, so much as it was bumping in the background of the Groove Tube interview. There’s a bit of musical influence in every video and Brad crooning that one line was enough to give away that bass-line. If you take it further and listen to more Courtney Melody, you’ll hear the song A Ninja Mi Ninja, but not only in Sublime’s cover of the song, but in the studio version of Garden Grove. Throw that song to the end and at 3:30 (and before and after) the bassline is unmistakably identical to A Ninja Mi Ninja.
95. Hammer (Bob Marley & The Wailers)
This is the only track that is done by a third party without my collaboration. I was in the middle of the 56 track version when someone just emailed this to me as a tribute to past work and an addition to the present project. I wish I knew who, but that is the background story to this particular track.
96. King Step (Pato Banton)
Sublime’s version is cursory compared to the original, but this mix gives an idea of the religious direction of the song. I am not religious in any way, but the flow throughout is so fantastic, especially the line “…who Jah bless no man curse, who Jah curse no man no bless.” Pato Banton has nothing to do with Buju Banton; both used the name which means gifted in speech or superior DJ, but Pato is British and Buju is Jamaican.
97. Secret Dub / Send a Moses (Barrington Levy)
Sound check jams are for tuning instruments and making sure the levels are correct, but you need to play real songs. When Sublime wasn’t jamming a Santeria instrumental, they sometimes played other people’s work. In this instance it is Barrington Levy’s Send a Moses. Obviously this is a song they practiced before – just imagine how many other great tracks must have been played that never were released or even recorded. No, not Smilin’…that was not Sublime.
98. I Love My Dog / I Love I Jah (Bad Brains)
Brad struggled with religion and was often at odds with the idea with lines like “Sunday morning hold church down at the bar” and substituting “Lord have mercy” with “Lord have his grilled cheese”. In Garden Grove he often switches “Don’t f*ck around with my God” to “doG”, so it makes sense that he would do the same thing with the Rasta’s Jah.
99. Trenchtown Rock (Bob Marley & The Wailers)
Another great thing about music is that is lasts long after the singer dies. Here we again have two greats who have passed on. Technically there are three on this mix because Peter Tosh of the Wailers was murdered after Bob Marley died. This song is about the slums where Peter McIntosh grew up. Bob Marley came from a more affluent family – his black side was relatively wealthy compared to the slums of Jamaica and his white father was a British captain. After his father’s death, however, he moved to Trenchtown and dealt with violence and prejudice for being half white.
100. Guava Jelly / This Train (Bob Marley)
By far my favorite mix, this acoustic medley of Marley songs is one of the stronger products of the Rewind Selector project. The tempo is mostly identical so there was some real opportunity to create duets between Brad and Bob. The length of the track is truncated however, because Brad only covers half of the medley. I highly recommend listening to Bob Marley’s full twelve-minute version that includes Comma Comma, Dewdrops, Stir It Up, and I’m Hurting Inside. If you are just discovering Bob Marley beyond the songs you hear on the radio and at frat parties, a budget choice for a first purchase is the four-disc set Songs of Freedom. The album gives a great cross section of all of his music and can give a starting point better than Legend to lead you to the other few dozen albums.
101. Winner Takes It All (Half Pint)
Brad and Mike did this impromptu harmonizing duet before a show during an interview. It seemed appropriate to have Half Pint, a major contributor to Sublime’s music, bookend this 100-track album. Thanks for listening and thanks for reading. Enjoy!
cut short to fit...
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