I'm trying to figure this essay out - it's aimed at hip hop fans who need convincing that something that came out in 1965 could actually be relevant? Otis Redding needs no comparison to something more contemporary to prove his relevance - he does it more than enough on his own, and then some.

oh, yeah . . took me a sec - this must be the dude that did "Bennie & the Jets" before Biz Markie

I'm probably not the only one who thinks that they peaked at "Leave Home". It's kinda like the Replacements going from "Customer" to "Sadly Beautiful" in three years - maybe less slow but painful deaths are . . less slow but still painful?

That there is debate over whether Burning Spear should be classified as roots, and that there have been so many suggestions and comments, makes this music geek happy. For so many, Jamaican music begins and ends with Marley and Tosh . . . what an amazing island, rightly called the loudest on the planet!