V01-T04b Jamaican In New York

.....The preceding interstitial with New York DJ's speaking with some kind of Caribbean accents seemed the perfect lead-in to this next song:

Volume 1: THE PITCHFORK APPROACH, track 4b

• 04:19 JAMAICAN IN NEW YORK (Urban Radio Mix) (Sting[Gordon Sumner], with additional lyrics by E.C. Aiken, Jr.)
• performed by Shinehead
• original source: promo-only CD5 Elektra/African Love PRCD-8716 (US)1993
• and my source: the same

.....Press releases at the time suggested that Shinehead's childhood was spent being sent back back and forth between family members in Jamaica and New York. He was never really abandoned, per se. He was always with people who cared about him. But there was almost inevitably the paradox of feeling both at home and alien in both environments; of simultaneously belonging and not belonging. This enabled him to turn a sharp wit to things that he knew and bring them to life with the clear eye of an outside observer.

.....With that in mind, the liner notes that I wrote for my compilation tape in 1993 still hold up well enough: The original mix is on Shinehead's "Sidewalk University" album. I haven't heard it yet, but I do recommend his second album, "Unity", very highly. Shinehead has a history of stealing from thieves.On "Unity" he lifts from the Beatles' "Come Together", which in turn robs from Chuck Berry's "You Can't Catch Me". This song, more obviously from Sting's "Englishman In New York", which in turn borrows heavily from Quentin Crisp's memoirs and spoken word performances. (I even think he shows up in the video.)

.....All I can add to that is that the video I was referring to was Sting's and that it's possible that I've picked up "Sidewalk University" since writing this. I know I've got "The Real Rock" album and some other singles. I haven't seen much more from him but I don't know if that's because of the vagaries of the market or because it's that much easier to make witty observations when you're younger and everything is still new and grabbing your attention. It's common for artists to become less prolific with age, even when what they do produce is still of good quality. The reasons for that could be anything from physically tiring to becoming a harsher self-critic during the editing process.

.....Next up is another song about transplanting from a sunny, open setting to an urban landscape.