The Anti-Valentine's Day Love Mix

This post in no way reflects my current romantic situation, it's just my way of protesting against this stupid-ass Hallmark holiday and all the fools who spend their hard earned money on candy, inflated priced flowers and sappy cards! Do we need a card company to dictate when to tell someone we love them? Tell them often whenever the mood hits you, just don't tell them today! ;)

I started the anti-Valentine's mix a couple years back with a "Lost Love" theme... this year I've decided to go all out with an anti-love song theme. Now, this mix doesn't involve any trickery or outrageous Garageband stunts, it's just a mix of 18 songs following today's appointed "bad love" theme.

Here's what you're gonna hear...

We start it off with the man Rod Taylor and his tune "Lonely Lonely Lonely" from his 1980 Greensleeves LP Where Is Your Love Mankind. A tune expressing a symptom all of heartbreak that the heart broken know all too well.

Delton Screechie is up next with his song "Evil Woman" and comes from a 7" on the Nigger Kojak label. This one is kinda mean spirited in its approach to a key component to this relationship in which Screechie sings, but it fits the theme we got goin' on here today!

Cornell Campbell tells his woman the way it's going to be with a wicked tune called "Love Trap." This one is an early 80's Bunny Lee production on the UK based Shuttle label. I can't tell you how much I love this song!

Goin' a little "older school" with the next tune... Dave Barker gives us the tune "Your Love Is A Game" and it was borrowed from the Pressure Sounds release highlighting producer Winston Riley's roots music. The CD is called Roots Technique and it comes highly recommended!

Anthony Johnson throws us back in a rub-a-dub groove with his song "I'll Never Fall In Love Again." It's a nice broken-hearted love song on a well-known and well-loved riddim and it is from a 12" on the Rusty International label.

One of my favorite anti-love tunes comes from my favorite DJ... Winston "Yellowman" Foster gives us "Wrong Girl To Play With," and it's one of those tunes that I've always wanted to sneak into a mix somewhere but couldn't find the right place... this spot will work just fine! This comes from a fantastic album on the Greensleeves label from 1984 called Two Giants Clash - Yellowman Versus Josey Wales.

Taking it 21st century with the next track... Junior Kelly gives us a veritable break-up anthem of epic proportions... the song is called "Love So Nice" and comes from the 2001 album of the same name released on VP Records. I know this song was real popular but hearing Kelly chatting "don't let the door hit ya, where the good lord split ya" while riding Bob Marley's Stir It Up riddim is just hilarious and classic at the same time!

Falling back quite a few years for the next one... circa 1970. The man Rudy Mills gives us "I'm Trapped" and it comes from the Jamaican Gold CD called From Chariot's Vault Vol. 1... the CD features 16 late rocksteady/early reggae productions from Derrick Harriott and it's a good compilation.

Lone Ranger is up next with "Love Affair Problem" and gives props to Janet Sinclair, a love advice columnist, who I can't determine was real or not but is mentioned in this song as well as a tune by Little John and Billy Boyo from the same era. This one comes from Ranger's 1982 LP, also on Greensleeves, called Hi Yo Silver Away.

Getting a little wacky with the next tune... Wackies that is. Next tune is by Jezreel and it's called "Cheating Girl" and it's taken from a 12" on the Wackies label, of course. This is a bad-ass tune!

Hittin' up the Studio One vaults for the next four... we start it with Dawn Penn's classic "No, No, No" and it comes from the Soul Jazz compilation called Studio One Rockers. We continue the Coxsone stylee with Johnny Osbourne and the tune "Can't Buy Love" from his album Truth and Rights... we go right into Ken Boothe's "You Don't Like Me" and it comes from Boothe's 1978 Coxsone Dodd produced LP, Live Good, released on the United Artists label. And we wrap up the little Studio One excursion with Horace Andy and the tune "Just Don't Want To Be Lonely" from his classic album Mr Bassie! A wicked group of tunes if I say so myself!

Goin' older school again... the late great Musical High Priest Roy Shirley and the Uniques give us the tune called "Evil Love" and it's lifted from the 2004 Westside CD compilation called Your Musical Priest, showcasing Shirley's talents.

"Please Don't Take Your Love Away" begs Owen Gray and all we can do is listen and enjoy. This tune comes from the 2004 Owen Gray CD anthology Shook, Shimmy and Shake on the Trojan Records label. A nice tune!

Linval Thompson is up next with a word of advise... the song is called "Sure Of The One You Love" and it is lifted from his 1982 LP Look How Me Sexy on the Greensleeves record label. Words of wisdom to those looking for love!

And we wrap it up with one of my all-time favorite smooth love tunes, "To Be A Lover (Have Some Mercy)" by the late great George Faith. This tune is from the Lee Perry box-set Arkology and is without a doubt one of the slickest songs on the entire compilation. This tune builds slow but once it gets going I don't want it to stop; Faith's smooth delivery mixed with Perry and the Upsetters' near hypnotic groove makes this a killer "troubled love" song.

Enjoy... oh, and Happy Valentine's Day!