Watching You

from the LP Stone Jam, Cotillion Records, 1980




This is probably an opportune time for me to make a general declaration: I make absolutely no apologies or excuses for my taste in music; yes, it is totally possible to enjoy both dark, hardcore punk and Splenda-sweet sofisti-funk. If there are styles you just will not get down with, just slide along peacefully to the next applicable entry, and try not to hold it against me. I always take a lot of shit for my love of early ‘80s boogie tunes like this one, so I’m just anticipating a response here. I got mad love for Ohio, due to a number of reasons which I won’t bore you with---among them, though, is the rich tapestry (fuck man, did really just say “rich tapestry”?! watching to much PBS…) of dank music which the state has propagated; it is no coincidence that the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame is in Thieveland, just go google the terms “proto-punk” and “Cleveland” for one piece of the puzzle. Another sizeable ingredient of that state’s viscous, music-based bouillabaisse was/is the deeply ghetto hamlet of Dayton, motherland to such luminaries as the Ohio Players and indie-cult superheroes Kim Deal (Pixies, Breeders) & Robert Pollard (Guided by Voices). Slave also hails from Dayton, and came out of the ‘70s with a reputation for really grimy, tough funk; at the end of 1979, however, after losing three original members who left to form Aurra, Slave’s drummer/vocalist Steve Arrington took control of the band’s musical focus and polished their sound a great deal. This track represents that new aim nicely; the breakbeat on the chorus really keeps it moving, the vocals are smooth and right up front, the synth washes in and out with precise attention to detail. Then suddenly, it hits you---wait a second, why does this sound so familiar? Keeping the pace of the track, try these lyrics instead: “Walking down the street, smoking indo, sippin’ on gin & juice”. Yep, the mighty Snoop Dogg is a big Slave fan, and this song was the direct inspiration for his hip-hop megahit ‘Gin & Juice’…‘nuff said.