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Serve Where We Serve South America
Peru is the third-largest country in South America. The greater part of the Indian population lives in the rural, central Andean mountain zone and in the eastern jungle area of Peru. In the western, coastal region the people are mainly mestizo and European.
Constitutionally, religious liberty is granted. The prominent religion is Roman Catholicism, which is protected by the state.
Since 1937, over 50 missionary couples and singles have labored in Peru under Baptist Mid-Missions. By 1965, there were five churches and five mission works. About this time God started using Peruvian workers in a marvelous way to start many more churches than the missionaries have. Over 500 churches trace their ancestry to BMM.
The work in Peru has focused on three major areas: the Cuzco area, the Northern Peru area, and the Greater Lima area.
Cuzco region
The work in Peru began in 1937 in the Cuzco area. Today in this area there are around 100 organized churches or mission works with which BMM works. Peruvians pastor almost all the churches, and the great majority have been started by Peruvians. Renewed church planting efforts by a team of Americans and Peruvians in the city of Cusco have been successful. Most of the services in the countryside are in Quechua. An FM radio station in Urubamba aids evangelism and edification. Churches in this part of Peru now have the benefits of a Bible college and a Christian camp, fruit of American and Peruvian teamwork.
Baptist Mid-Missions next began working in the northern Peru area in 1938. The work has centered in the coastal city of Trujillo. Today in the broader Trujillo area, BMM fellowships with over 40 churches. Here, the Seminario Bautista del Perú is a joint effort between Peruvians and missionaries for training laborers from the entire country. The area also enjoys a camping ministry, with its own property since 1998.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Lord enabled BMM to start a church in both Chiclayo and Sullana. Since the middle 1960s, BMM has not had resident missionaries there and has only provided indirect help. The Peruvian pastors of these two churches and their daughter works have started over 300 churches in the northwest area of Peru.
Lima region
Baptist Mid-Missions' efforts in the capital city, Lima, began in 1954. With over 10 million people, it is the largest city in Peru. Thirty percent of the people in Peru live here. As in the other areas, God has raised up many Peruvian laborers to multiply BMM's efforts. Today BMM fellowships with over 40 established churches in the Lima area. Since the late 1960s, Lima's camp has bolstered church planting by producing many decisions for salvation and full-time ministry. In 2010, Stan and Ruth Templeton began a radio ministry, Integrity Radio Network, to reach Lima. This ministry helped them start two churches, and now they are establishing additional radio stations across Peru.
Since 2002, Lima has been the home base for the Arriba program. Arriba is an 11-month missions internship program for college students who have a heart for missions. Over 30 hours of academic credit are earned in conjunction with Faith Baptist Bible College.
Lima personnel needs
Church planters, camp director
Trujillo personnel needs
Church planters, Bible college professors with postgraduate degrees (theology, pastoral, women's ministries, music), camp director
Cusco personnel needs
Church planters, Bible college professors with postgraduate degrees (theology, pastoral, women's ministries, music), camp director, computer technician
Camp director needed in Lima, Peru
A camp director is needed for the camp ministry in Lima, Peru. Currently the camp runs programs seasonally; however, the ministry holds far more potential for year-round impact.
Lima, the capital of Peru, is home to over 10 million people and a growing network of Peruvian churches. The camp ministry, located outside of the city to the north, provides an ideal, relational setting for gospel ministry. Serving in this camp ministry also allows you to be involved in a local church near the camp with growing ministry.
Perhaps your skills are geared toward the various needs of camp ministry. Perhaps you have a heart for youth and a desire to use your camping skills in missions. If you are willing to learn Spanish and put these interests to work in this important ministry, contact us today.
Peru Mountain Region internship
Spend several weeks working alongside hard-working missionaries that make up our Cusco Ministry Team. Your experiences may include helping out in children's Bible club in a local church plant, passing out evangelistic literature in the city, completing menial tasks, and reaching out to remote peoples who have little gospel witness. The Cusco region of Peru is rich in history and full of diverse and needy people. You will meet people from various ethnic backgrounds and language groups and will develop a vision for continuing the great task of advancing the gospel in the interior parts of South America. Get a taste of frontier, next generation missions in Latin America which focuses on training and partnering with national believers and using creative means to accomplish God's mission. You will not regret the opportunity to learn from a passionate team of God's servants.
Bible college module instructor in Peru
Teach module Bible and ministry courses in English with a translator or in Spanish at a resident Bible college in Urubamba of the mountainous Cusco region of Peru. You would also enjoy opportunities for ministry in churches throughout your stay. Situated at a high altitude, the Cusco region is made up of Spanish speakers as well as other ethnic groups like the Quechua people. It neighbors remote, jungle regions of Peru where there is a great need for churches. The Bible college supports the church planting efforts all across this region. If you are a pastor or have past experience in theological education, this is a tremendous way to touch generations in Peru. Plus, classes can be conveniently scheduled to fit into a short time frame. Perhaps you are considering long-term ministry in this region. Seize this ripe opportunity for involvement with potential for longer impact.
Theological instruction in Peru
Theological professors with advanced degrees are needed for the Bible college in Trujillo, Peru, to help start masters level instruction. You will also enjoy many opportunities for ministry in local churches in the area. Situated on the West Coast of South America, Peru is made up of Spanish speakers as well as other ethnic groups. It contains large cities but also neighbors remote, jungle regions where there is a great need for churches. The Bible college ministry in Trujillo supports the church planting efforts all across this region, even beyond Peru's borders.
The gospel is spreading in Peru through missionaries and through the faithful witness of Peruvians. They need training in the Word to establish biblical churches that will reproduce themselves. If you are a qualified theology teacher and that vision draws your attention, why not consider Peru? Complete a Next Steps form today!
Music instructors in Peru
Music instructors with a bachelor's degree or higher are needed in Baptist theological schools in Cuzco, and in Trujillo, Peru. You will also enjoy many opportunities for ministry in local churches in the area. Situated on the West Coast of South America, Peru is made up of Spanish speakers as well as other ethnic groups like the Quechua people. It contains large cities but also neighbors remote, jungle regions where there is a great need for churches. BMM's two Bible college ministries support the church planting efforts all across this region, even beyond Peru's borders.
Have you dreamed of using your love and skill in music on the mission field? Do you also have a deep desire to see lives changed through your faithful witness? Consider Peru today!
Camp director needed in Trujillo, Peru
A camp director is needed for the camp ministry in Trujillo, Peru. Currently the camp runs programs seasonally, however, the ministry holds far more potential for year-round impact.
The Northwestern coastal area of Peru hosts a dynamic and growing Peruvian church. The camp ministry provides an ideal atmosphere for biblical ministry to advance in a relational setting.
The predominantly Roman Catholic region is filled with lives both young and old that would benefit from a growing camp ministry.


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BagoGames > Articles > Game Reviews > PC Reviews > Immortal Redneck Review – A Fun and Fast-Paced Trek Through Ancient Egypt
Immortal Redneck Review – A Fun and Fast-Paced Trek Through Ancient Egypt
in Game Reviews, PC Reviews
Immortal Redneck, CremaGames
Every once in a while, the hillbilly way of life makes its way back into the pop culture spotlight. We seem to be reaching the end of this phase, as poor ratings result in the cancellation of TV shows like Duck Dynasty and Honey Boo Boo. However, Immortal Redneck is flying in completely undeterred, with a brand new fish-out-of-water hillbilly story: a redneck wakes up mummified in Egypt. Yes, you read that right.
CremaGames has had great success in mobile games market, with tens of millions of downloads worldwide, and Immortal Redneck is their debut PC game. It features a vacationing redneck who drives off a cliff in Egypt and wakes up mummified. It's a fast-paced first-person-shooter that feels a whole lot like Doom or Serious Sam. The developer's goal was to create something outrageous and entertaining, and they've nailed it.
As your redneck awakens from his slumber, he finds himself surrounded by three large pyramids. Your objective is to climb to the top level of each of the three pyramids, taking out monsters and finding treasure chests as you go. You start the game with three basic weapons, and you discover more by killing monsters, finding treasure, and unlocking new classes.
The pyramid levels are procedurally-generated, meaning each time you enter a pyramid, your experience will be different than the last. Guided by a mini-map, you must find your way to the staircase of each level until you reach a boss. It's impossible to sneak your way through the game, as the doors lock behind you upon entering a new room. You are forced to clear every enemy from each new room in order to continue, even if the room you've entered is a dead end. The procedural generation of the pyramids prevents you from memorizing the floor plan and enemy locations of a specific level. Although some patterns may eventually be recognized, each new game results in a new maze puzzle to solve.
The intelligent sound design of the game provides some assistance when you've cleared a room. The up-tempo fighting music dies down as the last enemy is defeated, giving an audible signal that you can continue to the next room. This is an excellent design choice and saves the player from having to run around the room to make sure its clear. Combined with colorful, clear graphics, the visual and audible design is spot on.
Immortal Redneck does an excellent job of playing with room layouts and ceiling heights. Although each room is procedurally-generated, if a monster is situated in such a way that he could see you enter the room, he immediately begins attacking, no matter his distance. Monsters who cannot see you continue on their usual path until you slide into view. This creates an interesting challenge when entering a room. You may be attacked by a swarm of terrestrial monsters at the same time a bunch of flying monsters spot you from across the room. While you are dodging attacks from both of these enemy types, an archer may be shooting flaming arrows at you from a platform two levels above your head. Many games prevent the monsters from attacking until within a certain range, but Immortal Redneck feels more realistic in its combat design. Well, about as realistic as a game about a mummified redneck can feel.
Early enemies include a flying skull monster who has the tendency to team up on you and follow you around like a magnet. Shooting a rubble pile may uncover half a dozen tiny eyeball monsters who swarm at you maliciously. You will come across Anubis-like creatures who shoot flaming arrows from afar and solid, round monsters who wield slow but strong melee weapons.
Weapon options vary just as much as the monsters. You start the game with a pistol, a shotgun, and some dynamite. These follow the standard rules of most FPS games: the pistol is fast but weak, the shotgun slow but strong, and the dynamite the slowest and strongest. At first, you are only allowed to carry three weapons, so when you come across a new weapon in a pyramid, you must carefully decide which of your existing arsenal to replace. You can find things like a potato launcher, rocket launcher, or double pistol. When playing as a class other than the redneck, you'll use class-specific weapons like a magical staff or coilgun.
One interesting aspect of Immortal Redneck is the skill tree, which is a literal tree found outside of the three pyramids. Every time your character dies, he respawns with all of the gold he had obtained upon his death. This gold must be spent before entering a pyramid, or else it's all forfeited at the door. Gold can be spent to level up things like strength, defense, health, critical chance, and critical damage. New classes can also be purchased by utilizing the skill tree. These skills stay with your character, no matter how many times he dies while battling monsters or falling into lava. Hardcore players have the option to bypass the skill tree entirely, but they'd miss out on the creative weapons unlocked with the purchasable classes.
Fans of first-person shooter games like Ziggurat or Serious Sam will enjoy Immortal Redneck's new take on the genre. CremaGames succeeded in their goal of creating a fast-paced, exciting, and outrageous game. If you are interested in hearing more about Immortal Redneck, please check out our interview with CremaGames co-founder, Enrique Paños.
A Steam Product Key for Immortal Redneck was provided by CremaGames for the Purpose of this Review.
Immortal Redneck
Colorful, clear graphics
Fast-paced, fun gameplay
Unique FPS skill tree
Dozens of weapons to choose from
Similar to other FPS games
Tags: GamesPCSteamTop StoriesXbox
Donnie Darko Review: Dark, Brooding and Unconventional
Retro Review – Super Mario Bros. 3

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Details on Lord's Prayer at Dr. Hamman School
Posted on June 24, 2015 by Taber Times
By J.W. Schnarr
Taber Times
jwschnarr@tabertimes.com
Students who do not take part in the recitation of the Lord's Prayer at Dr. Hamman will have the opportunity to be the go-to students to take attendance down to the office while the practice is observed, Horizon School Division school superintendant Wilco Tymensen told the board of trustees at their final regular meeting of the school year.
"The families that are making a request to remove their kids from the classrooms, the intent and practice for the school is that those kids will be taking the attendance down to the office," he said. "Normally, that is a coveted, special, privileged position. When you have a small elementary student, often they are eager and excited, so if there are students who intend to opt out, the intent would be to just walk down to the office, and by the time they come back the prayer would be finished."
The decision to re-institute the practice came from the board in April of this year following a request by the parent council, and resulting in a fevered public debate on the issue. A previous decision to end the recitation of the prayer occurred in late 2013 after complaints from some local residents. At that time, there was no mechanism in place for HSD to deal with the issue of prayer in public school.
The resulting controversy made national headlines and shone a light on the issue of religion in publicly-funded public schools.
Last year, the board instituted a new policy, which would serve as a mechanism to either allow or disallow the practice depending on the wishes of parents.
Tymensen said in spite of the active discussion through social media and traditional media, HSD has not received anything in writing wither for or against the decision.
"I can let you know right now that following your motion, the board has not received any formal written communication, either in support or against," he said.
"There have been some phone calls," he added. "But there has been no written communication one way or the other."
Tymensen said the goal is to allow for the prayer in such a way that children not taking part will not be singled out in any way. To that end, the prayer will be performed sitting, so that it won't be obvious which students are not participating.
"Part of our expectation is that we want to maintain a safe and caring environment," he said. "We want to make sure we are trying to treat kids discretely and respectfully, so the intent of the school is that when the Lord's Prayer is being said is to say it sitting down. Those kids who don't want to say it can remain seated, and you can't really tell which ones are actively involved and which ones aren't."
One question involved whether the children would stand for the national anthem, and Wilco said those schools participating in that morning ritual generally stand. The students would then take a seat for attendance, and it is presumed the school prayers would take place after.
The act of prayer in public schools is protected by the Constitution in the province of Alberta, but, in order to be allowed must fall under the confines of the Alberta Act, 1905, and Ordinance of the Northwest Territories, 1901. The School Ordinance of the Northwest Territories, 1901, the Alberta Human Rights Act, and the School Act contain a requirement that a student be permitted to be exempted from religious instruction and religious exercises. The Alberta Human Rights Act contains a requirement that parents receive notification of school subject matter dealing with religion.
One response to "Details on Lord's Prayer at Dr. Hamman School"
glendaaus says:
In response to comments in this article:-
"I can let you know right now that following your motion, the board has not received any formal written communication, either in support or against".
I have personally written to Mr Tymersen and all the members of the Horizon District School Board, in my capacity of advocate for the Dr Hamman Children's Equality Group since May 4th of this year. Mr Tymersen responded to my emails, although there was no response from the Board.
I am unsure of what my discussion with Mr Tymersen equates to – but the general gist of the conversations were definitely "against", and shows the disregard towards our request.
Our work will continue, and we would request that correspondence received from members of our group be taken as a representation of concerned parents who's children attend Dr Hamman, interested citizens and professionals.
Glenda Richards


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Penge Congregational Church is a Congregational church in Penge in the London Borough of Bromley located on Penge High Street between Sainsburys & Tesco Express, on the corner of Kenilworth Road. It is organised under Congregational principles for all who believe in Jesus and is run under a basis of fellowship that includes all members of the church.

It was built 1912 to designs by P. Morley Horder "with passage aisles and clerestory. Shafts on large, excellently carved corbels." The structure appears fortress-like in its Romanesque Revival architectural style massing. Its elevated situation and tower dominate Penge High Street, more so than the stone broach spire of St. John the Evangelist, Penge.

The church currently is in-between Ministers (in an interregnum) but the current Associate Minister is Pam Owen. Sunday Services are at 10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Penge Congregational Church is part of the Congregational Federation.

References

Penge
Churches in the London Borough of Bromley
Churches completed in 1912
20th-century Protestant churches
Romanesque Revival church buildings in England
1912 establishments in England
20th-century churches in the United Kingdom

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Children from Kirby Hall Elementary School are the first to try out "Beat the Thief," the new IDWise interactive cyber security simulator that was released Tuesday morning.
The UT Center for Identity launched a new program at the Etter-Harbin Alumni Center on Tuesday intended to combat the growing threat of identity theft.
Brenda Berkelaar, communication studies assistant professor, said the center and the program, called IDWise, provide tools for consumers to protect themselves from identity theft, a crime of which 20 percent of Americans are victims.
"What we want to do is make sure the research and the teaching and the things that are happening at the University actually make it out to the consumers who are impacted by [identity theft]," Berkelaar said.
Anna Griffin, communications coordinator at the Center for Identity, said the project is meant to help the groups that are most susceptible to identity theft — including older adults, children, small businesses, veterans and active-service men and women.
State Comptroller Susan Combs said, as the chief financial officer of the state, she understands how serious a problem identity theft is to the average consumer. According to Combs, the average consumer will pay $1,409 every time their identity is stolen. Together, she said, the total economic impact is in the billions.
"The Department of Justice tried to add up and figure what the financial losses were, and they said, if you aggregate direct and indirect costs of identity theft, you're looking at about $24.7 billion," Combs said.
U.S. Rep. John Carter said he has been working to combat identity theft since his first days in Washington D.C., when he was a member of the House Judiciary Committee. He said even though members of the committee knew that identity theft was a growing problem, there was nothing they could do about it.
Carter passed a bill in 2004 that made punishment for identity theft harsher. He said in order to get prosecutors to bring more cases against people accused of identity theft, the punishment would need to be higher because prosecutors want to spend their time on more serious crime.
Joe McGlynn, communication studies graduate student, said there are many ways to protect your identity, and they should be taken seriously.


Now you can trace your network activity on world map.
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TRISTAT module is a software for the statistical analysis of traffic on Web pages and downloads with integrated content management for downloads.
TRISTAT module is a freeware Server Script for statistical analysis of web traffic to pages, downloads and links with integrated content management for downloads.


The Super Snippit, designed to be a heavy-duty version of the Snippit, is a tool with unlimited uses. It is currently being used for everything from an emergency seat-belt cutter, to a table-mounted sauce bag cutter in the restaurants. As a safer alternative to a utility knife or scissors, the Super Snippit is great for cutting all types of plastic bags. The stainless steel or carbon blade and finger hold were designed to make the cutting as quick and easy as possible. Standard colours are red, white and yellow. Custom colours are available with a minimum order.


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Home NATIONAL Why I annulled June 12 election involving MKO Abiola – Babangida
Why I annulled June 12 election involving MKO Abiola – Babangida
Former Nigerian head of state, Ibrahim Babangida, has given reasons why he annulled the June 12, 1993 election, widely believed to have been won by Moshood Kashimawo Olawale, M.K.A, Abiola of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
Babaginda, who was the military ruler then, cited the possibility of a deadly coup and pressure from both the military and civilians.
However, the annulment led to protests and political unrest across Nigeria, including the resignation of Babangida, giving way for an interim civilian government.
It later culminated in the continuation of military rule in the country, with General Sani Abacha ascending power through a bloodless coup later in the year.
Speaking on the development, Babangida, in an interview with Arise TV on Friday, was asked why he annulled the election, widely considered to be the best in the country's history and the elder statesman responded, "Do you want me to be honest with you?"
He continued: "If it materialized [If the election had gone through], there would have been a coup d'etat which could have been violent. That is all I can confirm.
"It didn't happen, thank God for the Maradonic way we handled you guys in the society."
He added that the election "could have given room for more instability in the country."
Asked further if he was pressured by the military or civilians to annul the election, Babangida said: "Both."
"Both, the Military, they can do it because they have the weapons to do it. The other is the social agitation."
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Apartment for rent in My Phuoc building in Phu My Hung in district 7 in Ho Chi Minh City. The interior is spacious, comfortable with a new equipment. The building has a swimming pool, gym, garden, tennis court.. It is located at 15 minutes to the center of Ho Chi Minh City.


The Barling Faux Leather Power Recliner w/ Adjustable Headrest by Signature Design by Ashley at Beck's Furniture in the Sacramento, Rancho Cordova, Roseville, California area. Product availability may vary. Contact us for the most current availability on this product.


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Las barcazas de desembarco son embarcaciones de tamaño mediano usadas para transportar un fuerza de desembarco compuesto de tropas, vehículos y equipamiento, desde el mar hacia la costa durante un asalto anfibio. Son indispensables en acciones anfibias, como las realizadas en Normandía y las islas del Pacífico durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Esta época fue el punto álgido del uso de barcazas de desembarco, con una significativa cantidad de diferentes diseños producidos en grandes cantidades por Estados Unidos y el Reino Unido.

Una barcaza de desembarco según el Diccionario de la RAE es "Barco de poco calado con portón abatible para el desembarco de tropas o armamento".
La barcaza siempre es con fondo plano y poco calado, bordas rectas, bastante ancha en relación con su longitud, de velocidad lenta.

Etimológicamente, proviene de barca,  siendo una barca mucho más grande.

La lancha es una embarcación más pequeña, más rápida, más ágil y más estable en el mar, debido a su casco más hidrodinámico y a que no tiene el fondo plano, tiene quilla.

Por ejemplo, las Daihatsu sí son lanchas de desembarco.

Debido a la necesidad de avanzar sobre una playa designada, las barcazas de desembarco de la Segunda Guerra Mundial tenían el fondo plano y poco calado, muchos diseños tenían su parte frontal aplanada con una rampa que se podía bajar, en vez de una proa normal. Estas características hacen que fueran difíciles de controlar, sobre todo mar picado.

Historia

Origen

En los días de la navegación a vela, los botes o barcas de la nave era usados como barcas de desembarco. Estas barcas a remo eran suficientes, si bien algo ineficientes, en una época en la que los infantes de marina eran efectivamente infantería ligera, principalmente participando en campañas a pequeña escala en alejadas colonias contra mal equipados oponentes nativos.

Con el propósito de apoyar las operaciones anfibias durante el desembarco en Pisagua  y transportar significativas cantidades de carga y desembarcar las tropas directamente en una costa no preparada, el gobierno de Chile construyó barcazas de desembarco de fondo plano, llamadas chalanas. Estas transportaron 1200 hombres en el primer desembarco y recibieron 600 hombres adicionales en menos de dos horas para el segundo desembarco.

Sin embargo durante la Primera Guerra Mundial, la movilización en masa de tropas equipadas con armas de disparo rápido convirtió rápidamente a aquellos botes en obsoletos. En febrero de 1915 se impartieron órdenes para el diseño de embarcaciones de desembarco construidas específicamente para ese propósito. Se creó un diseño en cuatro días que resultó en un pedido de 200 Lighters X (en español: Ligeros X) con una proa en forma de cuchara para encallarse en las playas y dejar caer una rampa frontal. El primer uso ocurrió después de que estas embarcaciones fueron remolcadas al mar Egeo y se emplearon exitosamente en los desembarcos del 6 de agosto en Suvla, batalla de Galípoli.

Los X Lighters, llamados por los soldados 'escarabajos', desplazaban 135 toneladas y estaban basados en las barcazas londinenses de 32,20 m de largo, 6,4 m de ancho y 2,29 m de calado. Los motores normalmente consumían fuel-oil pesado HFO, y podían funcionar con cualquier otro combustible que estuviera disponible. Algunos fueron convertidos para transportar agua potable y fueron renombrados L Lighters. Los británicos usaron cinco de estas embarcaciones durante la evacuación de Dunkerque.

Se desarrolló un plan para desembarcar carros de combate pesados británicos desde pontones en apoyo durante la Tercera Batalla de Yprés pero este fue abandonado.

Los británicos produjeron la Barcaza de Desembarco de vehículos de Motor MLC  (en inglés: Motor Landing Craft) en el año 1920, la cual podía poner directamente en la playa los tanques medios de esa época. Desde el año 1924 son usadas barcazas de desembarco en los ejercicios anuales de desembarcos anfibios. Más tarde fue llamada Landing Craft, Mechanized (LCM). En la década de 1930, el Ejército Británico llevó a cabo ejercicios de asalto anfibio de nivel de división. Después de una investigación realizada por el Centro de Entrenamiento y Desarrollo Inter-Servicios (en inglés: Inter-Service Training and Development Centre) en el año 1938 fue diseñada una embarcación usada para el desembarco de infantería, la Barcaza de desembarco de asalto (en inglés: Landing Craft Assault) y un nuevo diseño para desembarcar un carro de combate, la Barcaza de Desembarco de vehículos Mecanizados (en inglés: Mechanized Landing Craft (o LCM 1).Maund, LEH Assault From the Sea, Methuen & Co. Ltd., Londres 1949

Estados Unidos revivió y experimentó la aproximación moderna a la guerra anfibia entre el año 1913 hasta mediados de la década de 1930, cuando la Armada de Estados Unidos y el Cuerpo de Infantería de Marina se interesaron en establecer bases avanzadas en países enemigos durante tiempo de guerra; la Base Avanzada de la Fuerza (en inglés: Advanced Base Force) prototipo evolucionó oficialmente en la Fuerza de Marines de la Flota (en inglés: Fleet Marine Force, FMF) en el año 1933. En el año 1939, durante los Ejercicios de Desembarco de la Flota (en inglés: Fleet Landing Exercises), el FMF se interesó en el potencial militar del diseño de Andrew Higgins de una barca con motor de poco calado. Estas LCVP, apodadas las 'Barcas de Higgins', fueron revisadas y autorizadas por la Oficina de Construcciones y Reparaciones Navales de Estados Unidos. Rápidamente, las barcazas Higgins fueron desarrolladas en un diseño final con una rampa y fueron construidas en grandes cantidades.

Tipos de la Segunda Guerra Mundial
La Barcaza de Desembarco de Navegación (en inglés: Landing Craft Navigation, LCN) de nueve toneladas fueron usadas por las "Partidas de Pilotaje de Asalto de Operaciones Combinadas" (en inglés: Combined Operations Assault Pilotage Parties) británicas (tripuladas por los Royal Marines y Special Boat Service) para explorar los sitios de desembarco.

Las Barcazas de Desembarco de Control (en inglés: Landing Craft Control, LCC) eran embarcaciones de  de la Armada de Estados Unidos, que solo transportaban una tripulación de Exploradores e Incursores y el recientemente desarrollado radar. Su trabajo principal consistía en encontrar y seguir las rutas más seguras hacia la playa, sendas que habían sido limpiadas de obstáculos y minas. Había solo ocho de estos en toda la invasión de Normandía (dos por cada playa). Después de liderar la primera ola, estas embarcaciones regresaron y llevaron a la segunda ola. Después de esto, fueron utilizadas como recursos de mando y control de propósito general durante el resto de la invasión.

Las barcazas de desembarco  eran complementadas por los vehículos anfibios tales como el vehículo de desembarco de tracción por orugas (Landing Vehicle Tracked, LVT) diseñado por Estados Unidos, un transporte de personal anfibio (algunas veces blindado). Estos tenían una capacidad de transportar tres toneladas. Los británicos introdujeron su propio anfibio, llamado Terrapin.

La barcaza de desembarco más pequeña estadounidense era la Barcaza de Desembarco para Personal, Grande (en inglés: Landing Craft Personnel, Large, LCPL) de 10 toneladas. La más pequeña británica era la Barcaza de Desembarco de Asalto (en inglés: Landing Craft Assault, LCA) de 13 toneladas. Estas eran barcazas pequeñas que eran transportadas por buques más grandes y bajadas al agua frente a la playa objetivo. Normalmente, transportaban a 36 soldados totalmente equipados. Algunas veces la LCPL venía con una cabina de pilotaje cerrada y a menudo era usada como bote de mando. Carecía de una rampa de carga, pero la LCA si la tenía.

La Barcaza de Desembarco de Vehículos y Personal (en inglés: Landing Craft Vehicle and Personnel, LCVP) estadounidense, también conocida como un Higgins Boat (en castellano: Barcaza Higgins), era una variante más flexible de la LCPL con una amplia rampa. Podía transporta 36 soldados, un vehículo pequeño como un Jeep o una cantidad equivalente de carga.

La Barcaza de Desembarco de vehículos Mecanizado LCM (en inglés: Landing Craft, Mechanized) era más grande (36 toneladas), capaz de transportar un tanque pequeño o 100 soldados.

Ninguna de las embarcaciones anteriores era capaz de realizar un viaje más largo que aproximadamente entre 6 y 12 horas, principalmente por limitaciones en la cantidad de combustible transportada. La Barcaza de Desembarco de Uso General (en inglés: Landing Craft Utility, LCU) es usada para transportar equipos y tropas hacia la costa. Estas son capaces de transportar vehículos con orugas o de ruedas, y tropas desde los buques de asalto anfibio hasta las cabezas de playa o muelles.

También estaba el Barco grande de desembarco de Infantería (en inglés: Landing Craft Infantry (Large) o LCI(L)), capaz de realizar viajes largos por sí misma. Algunas zarparon directamente desde el Reino Unido para tomar parte en los desembarcos de la Operación Torch y en las operaciones de salto de islas realizada por la Armada de Estados Unidos a través del Pacífico. Las LCI(L) tenían aproximadamente  de largo,  de ancho y transportaban aproximadamente 200 soldados. Existían varios subtipos de embarcaciones, con la versión de transporte de infantería de la LCI(L) siendo la más frecuente, pero también sirvieron como plataforma de lanzamientos de cohetes (LCI(R)) y para instalar morteros (M) y cañones (G), así como buque insignia de flotilla (FF). Mientras que estaba diseñada para encallar en la playa, estas tendían a tener una proa normal con rampas instaladas a cada lado para que las tropas pudieran descender. Las LCI fueron reclasificadas por Estados Unidos como Buque de Desembarco de Infantería (en inglés: Landing Ship Infantry, LSI) en el año 1949.

Una de tamaño similar era la Barcaza de desembarco de tanque LCT (en inglés: Landing Craft Tank), que podía transportar hasta cuatro tanques u otros vehículos. Estas tenían una rampa al frente que se bajaba para que los vehículos pudieran descender a la playa. Un espacio abierto detrás de la rampa, la cubierta de tanques, era donde se ubicaban los vehículos. Existían muchos diseños y tamaños diferentes.

El siguiente paso en tamaño era la Buque de Desembarco TanquesLST (en inglés: Landing Ship Tank). Este llevaba más vehículos que la LCT (20 en las versiones estadounidenses) y poseían proas de aspecto normal, aunque realmente las proas estaban formadas por puertas que se abrían para que se pudiera desplegar una rampa de bajada. Totalmente cargada, estos buques desplazaban más de 3.000 toneladas, esto era más que lo que desplazaban cualquier destructor de la Armada Real de ese período.

Finalmente, tenemos el Buque dique de Desembarco Dique LSD (en inglés: Landing Ship Dock, LSD), que poseía un gran compartimiento abierto en la parte trasera. Al abrir una puerta en la popa e inundando compartimientos especiales hacía que esta área fuera accesible desde navegando directamente desde el mar para embarcaciones del tamaño de las LCI, permitiéndoles entrar y salir usando sus propias medio de propulsión. La nomenclatura británica inicial usaba diferentes tipos de nombres que llevaron al uso de variaciones tales como Barcaza de Desembarco de Asalto (en inglés: Assault Landing Craft), Barcaza de Desembarco de Infantería (en inglés: Infantry Landing Craft) y Barcaza de Desembarco Tanques (en inglés: Tank Landing Craft).

Debido a su pequeño tamaño, la mayoría no recibía nombres y simplemente les eran asignados números, por ejemplo: LCT 304. Los LST eran una excepción a esto, dado que eran de un tamaño similar a la de un crucero pequeño. Tres LST construidos por los británicos también fueron bautizados como HMS Bóxer, HMS Bruiser y HMS Thruster, que eran más grandes que el diseño estadounidense. También estaban equipados con chimeneas adecuadas.

Armamento
Muchos DUKW fueron equipadas con ametralladoras antiaéreas Browning calibre .50. A las tripulaciones de las LCA les entregaban ametralladoras Lewis calibre .303 para ser usadas como protección antiaérea, o contra blancos costeros montada en una posición protegida en la parte delantera a babor de la embarcación. Los modelos posteriores estaban equipadas con dos morteros de  y dos ametralladoras Lewis o Bren de calibre.303. Las tripulaciones de las LCM 1 estaban equipadas con ametralladoras Lewis, y muchas LCM 3 tenían montadas ametralladoras Browning calibre.50 para protección antiaérea. También se presentaban oportunidades para que las tropas a bordo pudieran usar sus propias armas.

Las LCI y las LCT llevaban armas tales como el cañón de Oerlikon de 20 mm instalado a cada lado de la estructura del puente. Las LST tenían un armamento más pesado.

Lanchas de desembarco de la Armada Imperial Japonesa
La Armada Imperial Japonesa operó los siguientes tipos de lanchas de desembarco durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial:
 Chuhatsu
 Daihatsu
 Mokusei Daihatsu
 Shohatsu
 Toku Daihatsu

Barcazas de desembarco especiales de la Segunda Guerra Mundial

Algunas barcazas de desembarco fueron convertidas para propósitos especiales ya fuera para proteger a otras lanchas de desembarco durante los ataques o como armas de apoyo durante los desembarcos.

Barcaza de desembarco de asalto (erizo)
La LCA(HR) (en inglés: Landing Craft Assault, Hedgehog) era una LCA británica convertida. Estaba equipada con una batería de 23 morteros de espiga, el arma antisubmarina Erizo de la Armada Real, en vez de tropas. Los morteros eran disparados como una barrera hacia la playa para limpiar las minas y otros obstáculos ubicados en ella. Habiendo disparado sus morteros y terminado con su servicio, la LCA(HR) dejaría el área de la playa. Ellas eran remolcadas a la playa objetivo por medio de embarcaciones más grandes, tales como un LCT, mientras se usaban equipos de asalto de los Ingenieros Reales equipados con sus vehículos y equipos especializados para completar la limpieza de la playa.

Fueron usadas tres flotillas (compuestas de 18, 18 y 9 embarcaciones) en las playas Juno, Gold y Sword.

Barcaza de desembarco antiaérea

La Barcaza de Desembarco Antiaérea (en inglés: Landing Craft Flak, LCF) era una conversión de una LCT, con el propósito de dar apoyo antiaéreo al desembarco. Ellas fueron usadas por primera vez en el desembarco de Dieppe a principios del año 1942. La rampa era soldada y se construía una cubierta encima de la cubierta de tanques. Estaban equipadas con varios cañones antiaéreos ligeros, una configuración típica era de ocho cañones de 20 mm Oerlikon y cuatro "pom-poms" QF de 2 libras y tenían una tripulación de 60. En los ejemplares británicos la operación de la embarcación era la responsabilidad de la tripulación de Real Armada y los cañones eran operados por Infantes de Marina. Estas eran comandadas por dos oficiales de la Armada y dos oficiales de la Infantería de Marina.

Barcaza de desembarco artillada

La Barcaza de Desembarco Artillada (en inglés: Landing Craft Gun, LCG) fue otra conversión de una LCT, ideada con el propósito de dar apoyo artillero al desembarco. Además del armamento de cañones antiaéreos Oerlikon de 20 mm normal de una LCT, cada LCG(Media) tenía instalado dos cañones-howitzer de 25 libras en montajes blindados, mientras que las LCG(L)3 y LCG(L)4 ambas tenían dos cañones navales de . La tripulación era similar a la de la LCF. Las LCG jugaron un muy importante papel en las operaciones de Walcheren en octubre de 1944.

Barcaza de desembarco lanzacohetes
La Lancha de Desembarco Tanques (Lanzacohetes) (en inglés: Landing Craft Tank (Rocket), LCT(R)), era una LCT modificada para llevar una gran cantidad de lanzadores para usar los cohetes británicos RP-3 de "" montados sobre la cubierta de tanques. Todo el conjunto de lanzadores sumaban más de 1.000 y las recargas totalizaban 5.000 unidades mantenidas bajo cubierta. Se decía que el poder de fuego era equivalente al proporcionado por 80 cruceros ligeros o 200 destructores.

El método de operación era anclar frente a la costa apuntado hacia donde se iba a realizar el desembarco. La distancia a la playa era medida usando un radar y se ajustaba la elevación de los lanzadores de acuerdo a la distancia calculada. La tripulación se protegía bajo cubierta, excepto por el oficial al mando que se instalaba en un espacio protegido para disparar los lanzadores, la secuencia de lanzamiento era activada eléctricamente. El lanzamiento podía incluir a todo el conjunto de lanzadores o filas individuales de cohetes.

Una recarga completa era una operación muy intensiva en mano de obra y al menos una LCT(R) se puso al lado de un crucero para obtener la ayuda de una partida de trabajo proporcionada por el buque más grande para asistirlo en el proceso de recarga.

Barcaza desembarco de apoyo

Las Barcaza de Desembarco de Apoyo (en inglés: Landing Craft Support, LCS) eran usadas para dar apoyo de fuego cercano a las operaciones de desembarco.

Las Barcaza de Desembarco de Apoyo (Media) (en inglés: Landing Craft Support (Medium), LCS(M)), Mark 2 y Mark 3 fueron usados por las fuerzas británicas en las operaciones de desembarco de Normandía. Las tripulaciones pertenecían a la Armada Real y los Infantes de Marina Reales operaban las armas: dos ametralladoras Vickers de  y un mortero de  para disparar proyectiles de humo.

A la Barcaza de Desembarco de Apoyo (Grande) Fairmile H (en inglés: Landing Craft Support, Large, LCS(L)) se le agregó blindaje a su casco de madera y una torreta con un cañón antitanque instalada en ella. La LCS(L) Mark 1, tenía una torreta de un auto blindado Daimler con su cañón QF de 2–libras (40 mm). El Mark 2 tenía un cañón antitanque QF de 6–libras (57 mm).

La barcaza de desembarco de apoyo estadounidense era más grande, cada una armada con un cañón de , varios cañones más pequeños y 10 lanzacohetes Mk 7.

Bote de desembarco inflable

A menudo los botes inflables eran usados para desembarcar tropas en operaciones anfibias, que habían sido llevadas en transportes de alta velocidad y submarinos. Estados Unidos usó dos tipos de botes inflables, un Bote de Desembarco, Goma (Pequeño) (en inglés: Landing Craft, Rubber (Small), LCR-S) de 7 hombres y un Bote de Desembarco, Goma (Grande) (en inglés: Landing Craft, Rubber (Large), LCR-L) de 10 hombres.

Las Barcazas de desembarco actuales

Barcazas anfibias de uso general y de desembarco de vehículos mecanizados
Las barcazas de desembarco y de uso general mecanizadas son  comúnmente conocidas como lanchas de desembarco o anfibias. Estas eran del mismo tipo utilizado durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial y mientras que las barcazas de desembarco de vehículos mecanizados actuales son similares en su construcción, se han realizado muchas mejoras. Normalmente usan motores diésel, las barcazas de desembarco (tales como la LCM-8 de la Armada de Estados Unidos) son capaces de llevar una carga militar de 183 toneladas a una velocidad de 22 km/h, pudiendo llevar equipos pesados tales como carros de combate M1 Abrams. Normalmente las barcazas de desembarco anfibio tienen instaladas varias ametralladoras o armas similares para ser usadas en defensa de las tropas y vehículos que lleva en su interior.

Aerodeslizador de desembarco

Un aerodeslizador no es una embarcación de ningún tipo, no es un barco, ni una lancha, ni una barcaza.  Es un vehículo con colchón de aire que puede flotar y circular sobre playas, desiertos, campos de hierba, carreteras, marismas y el mar.

Una LCAC  es un aerodeslizador multipropósito  de desembarco de vehículos
que permite que las tropas, materiales y vehículos puedan tener acceso a más del 70 por ciento de la línea costera del mundo, mientras que las embarcaciones de desembarco tradicionales solo pueden acceder al 15 por ciento de dicha línea costera. Como las lanchas de desembarco mecanizadas, estas embarcaciones usualmente están equipadas con ametralladoras, aunque también pueden estar equipadas con lanzagranadas y armas pesadas. Este tipo de vehículos son usadas por la Armada de Estados Unidos, la Real Armada británica, la Armada de Rusia y la Armada Griega.

Barcazas de desembarco

Las barcazas de desembarco fueron adaptaciones para el desembarco de las barcazas del Támesis y de las gabarras británicas. En tamaño ellas estaban entre las botes de desembarco y de los buques de desembarco. Ellas fueron usadas en todas las playas durante los desembarcos en Normandía manejadas por tripulaciones británicas.

Algunas estaban equipadas con motores mientras que otras fueron remolcadas hasta las playas. Fueron usadas para la defensa, transporte, logística (comida, agua y combustible) y reparaciones (equipadas como talleres).

Aquellas equipadas para transportar vehículos estaban configuradas con una rampa instalada en la parte trasera y tenían que acercarse retrocediendo a las playas. Estas usaban otros buques y barcos de cabotaje para ser empujadas o retiradas desde las playas.

Dos flotillas fueron configuradas como "barcazas antiaéreas" para proporcionar defensa a las playas. Del mismo modo que las lanchas de desembarco, las barcazas estaban equipadas con cañones antiaéreos: dos Bofors de 40 mm y dos Oerlikon de 20 mm, con artilleros del ejército y tripulación de la armada.

La Barcaza de desembarco, cocina (en inglés: Landing Barge, Kitchen, LBK) estaba configurada con un gran superestructura que contenía una cocina. Con una tripulación de más de 20 tripulantes ellas podían transportar comida para 800 personas para una semana y proporcionar 1.600 comidas calientes y 800 comidas frías por día, incluyendo pan recién horneado.

Véase también
 Buque de asalto anfibio
 LCM-1E

Referencias
Notas

Bibliografía
 Buques y Embarcaciones Anfibias Estadounidenses: Una Historia Ilustrada del Diseño, por Norman Friedman (en inglés)

Enlaces externos

 Navy Fact File: Landing Craft, Air Cushioned  (en inglés)
 Landing Craft Infantry (LCI) Assn. (usslci.com) (en inglés)
 Landing Craft Infantry (LCI) Datos y fotos (en inglés)
 USS Rankin (AKA-103): Her Landing Craft (en inglés)

Buques de asalto anfibio


On the 23rd June 2016, The UK voted 52-48% to leave the European Union.
With nearly a year to go before we Leave and enter the transitional deal, it seems some people still think it won't happen and that there is a chance we will end up staying in the EU.
Remainers will argue and say anything to undermine the referendum and try and keep us in the EU. Ever since the vote, remainers have always claimed that voters didn't know what they were voting for, we were cheated, the referendum is only advisory and not binding and that the majority wasn't enough for us to leave the EU.
I am clear, while I was unsure about what the end goal of Brexit would look like, I voted to leave the bureaucratic European Union, the Single Market and the Customs Union. Like many others, I took the chance that the UK could be better off if we open up to the rest of the world. Back then, I did not think Leave would win but I still wanted to take the chance.
Since the vote, any chance that any remainer gets to discredit the vote or people who vote leave, they take. The latest claim is that the 'Vote Leave' Campaign broke election spending by funnelling funds into another organisation that was connected to 'Vote Leave'.
The Liberal Democrats and their "Exit from Brexit" campaign argue these claims mean that the British people were cheated and lied to and we should obviously have another referendum to overturn the 2016 referendum.
Tom Brake MP, the Party's Brexit Spokesperson stated to Sky News: "We need to confirm to the British People, who believe in fair play, if they were cheated in that referendum campaign". This again amounts to their claim that the public were misled about Brexit. Of course, it all comes back to their attempts to disrespect the will of the people and the result. He goes on to say "I think that would help to build further steam behind a vote on the deal".
What the Liberal Democrats and remainers forget is that 52 per cent of people voted for this, and any of these claims would have surely not swayed the vote of hundreds of thousands of people on the basis of any internal wrongdoings of the Leave campaigns. They also forget that the Cameron Government pumped £9million into their campaign, I think that amounts to cheating the British people!
Of course, disrespecting the result of the referendum is the only thing the Liberal Democrats can do. They are clearly the most Pro-EU mainstream party and this is their niche, trying to win over the 48 per cent.
They also forget that over 85 per cent of voters in 2017 voted for parties that will ensure the UK will leave the European Union. Both Labour and the Conservatives promised in their manifesto to leave European Union, as per the referendum result and not to hold a second referendum. These 85 per cent of voters clearly respect the referendum and want us to move on with the result. That leaves the potential Lib Dem votes to under 15 per cent of people. With the polls currently showing the Lib Dems on 7-8 per cent, it seems like they can only convince half the core pro-EU, "Exit from Brexit", "#FBPE" voters to vote for them.
What is shows is that thankfully most of the voters in the UK accept the referendum result, do not want another referendum and want us to just get on with the job of leaving the European Union.


Purpose of the Job: To supervise dispatch and delivery operations, with an aim to retaining superior customer service level in the most cost-effective way.
· Supervise Dispatch Clerks, Dispatch drivers and loaders.
· Manage the fleet of delivery vehicles, and ensure sound mechanical condition at all times.


This would just look perfect in a large open space living room! the iTree is a piece of art for audio-lovers. The iTree is a top-quality iPhone and iPod docking station made out of a simple tree trunk. KMKG Studio produces the iTree, it is made from a tree trunk that has been hollowed out to create a suspended HiFi sound system with optimum sound quality. Each iTree is unique, costumers get to choose the wood, the length and the built-in technology.


text:
Trang chủ / World / Asia / Singapore Covid: authorities probe unusual surge in cases
Singapore Covid: authorities probe unusual surge in cases
Ten new deaths on Wednesday carried the toll to 349, after 3,277 infections the previous day, while the ICU utilization rate is nearing 80%, despite a population that is 84% fully vaccinated, with 14% receiving booster doses.
"The infection numbers are unusually high today, mostly due to many Covid-positive cases detected by the testing laboratories within a few hours in the afternoon," the health ministry said in a statement.
"The Ministry of Health is looking into this unusual surge in cases within a relatively short window, and closely monitoring the trends for the next few days," it added in Wednesday's statement.
While nearly 98.7% of the past month's 90,203 cases had no symptoms, or only mild ones, about 0.2% of those had died, and 0.1% each were being monitored closely in intensive care units (ICU) or were critically ill and intubated there.
About 72 ICU beds were vacant by Wednesday, at an overall ICU use rate of 79.8%, with 142 coronavirus sufferers accounting for about half of occupied beds.
The ministry said it was adding more ICU beds. The Asian city-state, which has set aside 200 ICU beds to be used by Covid-19 patients, can add 100 more at short notice.
Last week, it extended some social curbs for about a month, to rein in the spread of Covid-19 and ease pressure on health care facilities.
Alex 'Chumpy' Pullin: Olympian widow welcomes daughter 15 months after his death
'Star Trek: Prodigy' takes off in too-familiar animated directions
Buddhist monk and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh dead
South China Sea: US Navy warship USS Benfold challenges Chinese territorial claims
The cost of visiting family in the US from Hong Kong: How I ended up at a government quarantine camp
Liberia: Stampede at church event kills 29


With the forecast now pointing towards strong thermal winds for the next few days sailors have been taking the opportunity to re-charge their batteries following the first day's incredible action.
To re-cap on the situation, Dutch sailor, Remko De Weerd (Gaastra, Fanatic) is currently in pole position after winning the first round final against seventeen-year-old French hotshot Nicolas Akgazciyan (AHD, Neil Pryde). The double elimination has yet to be settled so Remko is on standby to defend his top slot when the wind returns.
Vidar Jensen, is a past winner here and looked like he was cruising towards the finals yesterday. His advancement was eventually halted when Argentinean young gun Mariano Estivill (Arrows) pulled out all the stops. Jensen excels when the wind is cranking and he will be hoping for balls to the wall conditions so he can use his jumping skills to gain the advantage over the new school freestylers.
Vidar's elder brother Orjan is also capable of going all the way and has already proven he is a force to be reckoned with earlier this season after placing 3rd at the Tarifa PWA qualifier. Orjan can also bust out the big moves when required and now he has a taste for the podium, will no doubt be determined to put the record straight if given the opportunity.
Alternative activities taking place today at La Ballena campsite, the event headquarters have included beach golf and tennis tournaments. In the golf, French sailor Julien Taboulet (JP, Neil Pryde) is currently holding the record for the longest drive although, Remko De Weerd, Leo Ray (Naish) and Nicolas Akgazciyan are all learning fast. On the tennis courts Mariano Estivill (Arrows) of Argentina has been serving up a few aces much to the dismay of his Austrian opponent Christian Sammer (F2, Arrows). Other sailors have been enjoying the hot sunshine and sunbathing beside the campsite pool, chilling outside their chalets or fine tuning their rigs in preparation for the next round of competition.
The tourist season is just kicking into action here in Costa Brava so we are expecting huge crowds to hit the beach over the weekend. Many will be coming here especially for the windsurfing although the area is also popular for golf, skiing, Parachuting, canoeing, sailing and diving. The Costa Brava coastline actually extends for 200km from Portbou to the French Border but it is here in Roses Bay where the water sports facilities and conditions are second to none.
With three days of possible competition remaining here at the event headquarters anything could happen. Can Remko hang on? Will newcomer Nicolas Akgazciyan be able to handle the pressure? Or will the Canarians fight back? Tune into this space for all the latest news and updates.


text:
Baltimore City Paper
Moments In Club: 61 digressions about Baltimore Club music
By Brandon Soderberg
Moments In Club
61 digressions about Baltimore Club music
"Which is better?—to lay open a new sense, to initiate a new organ for the human spirit, or to cultivate many types of perfection up to a point which leaves us still beyond the range of their transforming power?"
-Walter Pater, "The Renaissance" (1873)
Briefly: Baltimore club music was borne out of a dearth of the cheap strong stuff. Hip-house, a brief moment when house music and hip-hop merged, took hold in Baltimore for good and made a demand for quick (130 BPMs or more) music based around two popular breakbeats, the grimy soul of Lyn Collins' 'Think (About It)' and the dumb-dumb disco of Gaz's 'Sing Sing.' Merging it with the cheap breeziness of Miami bass and a number of brass-knuckles-tough tracks from Chicago and the U.K. resulted in Baltimore club music.
But please, try and call it "club music." Baltimore club or Bmore club are useful when you're talking about the genre in some grander scope (and it's better for branding and, these days, for SEO) but most producers and DJs here call it "club music" and if you call it something different, you can see them understandably bristle a little bit. It's a redundancy to stick Baltimore in front of it as far as they are concerned.
"Black lovers of life caught up in their own free native rhythm, threaded to a remote scarce-remembered past, celebrating the midnight hours in themselves, for themselves, of themselves..."
-Claude McKay, "Home To Harlem" (1928)
A month or so after the Baltimore Uprising, Vice's dance music site Thump came to town to make a documentary about how club music responded to the uprising. The documentary that came out of it is a waste of time and I'll repeat what I told someone involved in it when they asked me for some tips before parachuting in for a couple of days. The short answer: club didn't respond to the uprising. The long answer: By virtue of existing in Baltimore, a deindustrialized, arguably apartheid-like city that is majority black, club music—which is deeply informed by the city's street culture as well as its queer culture—is the party music of an oft-wounded city. That means it is always political and always responding. Overtly political club songs are rare mostly because club is the sound people look to so that they can allow how fucked up everything is to sit there implicit for a bit. Like, "We won't address all that for the next six sweaty hours, okay?"
"When he plays the blue note/ And adds a new note/ You'll think that he wrote a symphony."
-Cab Calloway, 'Black Rhythm' (1931)
DJ Technics is not only a great club producer but a dots-connecting musicologist. His infamous club flip of the Marvelettes' 'Please, Mr. Postman,' is one of the most popular and accessible club tracks of all time. And by sampling the terse 1961 song, a raw, dirtied slab of raucous, black pop, he frames club music as the grandchild of early rock n' roll and rhythm & blues; on the same rebellious spectrum as Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard—a pre-Beatles wildness that rock n' roll lost as it got conventionally masculine and hippie-dippie and self-serious. Club music looks back to when pop music was still allowed to sound like it was frayed around the edges.
"At the height of the music, the moaning and screaming came on in earnest. This is the ecstasy of the new music. At the point of wild agony or joy, the wild moans, screams, yells of life, in constant change."
-LeRoi Jones, 'Apple Cores #4' (1966)
A white friend of mine recalls going to get his driver's license at the Mondawmin Mall DMV in the late '90s. A young black dude outside tried to sell him some club tapes. The sales pitch after eyeing this white boy up: "Similar to techno/rave."
"They will interrupt you, put you down and suggest it's personal. And the world won't end. And the speaking will get easier and easier. And you will find you have fallen in love with your own vision, which you may never have realized you had. And you will lose some friends and lovers, and realize you don't miss them. And new ones will find you and cherish you. And you will still flirt and paint your nails, dress up and party, because, as I think Emma Goldman said, 'If I can't dance, I don't want to be part of your revolution.' And at last you'll know with surpassing certainty that only one thing is more frightening than speaking your truth. And that is not speaking."
-Audre Lorde, 'The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action' (1977)
At the Charles Village Pub, you can purchase a sandwich called the Baltimore Club. It's $9.59, contains turkey, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and mayo and comes with potato chips. It's not named after our city's homespun subgenre (other sandwiches at CVP include the Charles Village Club, the Hopkins Club, the Morgan Club, and so on) but I often order it just because it's called the Baltimore Club. What would the sandwich equivalent of Baltimore club music have on it? Some kind of inexplicable Guy Fieri-ian mish-mash of intense flavors and ingredients that somehow all work together despite the fact that by all logic and "good taste" shouldn't work at all? Maybe it would just be a pair of fresh sneakers and a blunt stuffed between two pieces of toast?
"One of the most liberating aspects of club music is how it unabashedly cannibalizes pop music, taking what it wants from it to repurpose in its kinetic productions. There's a pragmatic element to that practice—you want to play to what the people on your dance floor recognize—but its also a joyously defiant creativity, taking the so-called dominant culture and making it fit your nightlife rather than the other way around."
-Bret McCabe in City Paper (2009)
Baltimore has been messing with memes before there was a word for them. Johnny Blaze's club takes on the theme songs to "Spongebob Squarepants" and "Dora the Explorer"; Debonair Samir's remix of "Southpark" song 'Uncle Fucker'; DJ Excel's 'That's What a Pimp Does,' which set clips from anti-Obama preacher Pastor Manning ("Obama is a mack daddy") to a Bmore bounce. More recently, in concert with Vine culture, there's an endless amount of meme-brewed club songs: Matic808's 'Rosedale Explosion' and DJ Dizzy's 'P.O.P. Hold It Down' are the best recent examples. Perhaps the earliest meme club music track is 1993's 'Kill Barney' from Sounds of Silence (another name for early club DJ/producer DJ Equalizer) which gave the theme song to "Barney & Friends" the club treatment and featured a little girl singing a violent parody of the kids show's "I love you, you love me" lyrics. Last year, Matic808 parodied club's meme-hopping when he made a song called 'The Dress,' based on that viral BuzzFeed post about a dress which some people saw as blue and black and others as white and gold. This being a purely visual meme, there was no audio to cut-up, so Matic just took a grinding robotic club track and chanted over it, "What color is that dress? What color is that motherfucking dress?"
Scottie B and DJ Equalizer's shuffling hard house track 'I Got The Rhythm' from 1991 is debatably the first club record. At the bottom of the label it reads, "He's no white boy, he's my nigga," a reference to both Scottie and Equalizer's whiteness—a way of claiming "cred" and poking fun at the idea of cred. See also: 2 Whyte Kidz, the club project of DJ Kool Breez and DJ Big Red, two white club producers. White boys making, spinning, or just plain jacking club music these days could learn a thing or two from club's self-aware honky pioneers.
This year, 2 Hyped Brothers & a Dog's 'Doo Doo Brown' turns 25 years old. A project put together by Baltimore DJ Frank Ski, 'Doo Doo Brown' is arguably the most popular club song of all time and also one of the earliest. Ski's song came after 'I Got The Rhythm' and was based on a looped sample from 2 Live Crew's 'C'mon Babe,' which, not long before, DJ Equalizer had included on a white label record full of house-friendly loops ready for sampling. Ski added some drawling, declarative hip-house raps and a wad of rap and soul samples to the loop and with the power of Baltimore radio and his past Miami connections, he had a Baltimore club hit before Baltimore club was really a thing. Sometimes club music is called "doo dew" because of this song (the second "dew" spelled that way to account for the o-stretching Baltimore accent) and because of the Doo Dew Kidz, the club supergroup of KW Griff, DJ Booman, and Jimmy Jones.
Hold up though. Maybe the first club track is 1987's 'Git The Hole' by Dem Niggas, an alias of Thommy Davis, a crude back-and-forth between a few smudged vocal samples ("get the hole!" and "yeah!") and muddy drums. Davis is best known as one third of house production crew the Basement Boys, along with Jay Steinhour and Teddy Douglas, who would go onto have big house hits in the '90s like Crystal Waters' '100% Pure Love' and Ultra Naté's 'It's Over Now.' It's some of the most sophisticated pop music ever made. In a way, club music had an anxiety of influence-style battle with the Basement Boys' fluttery dance music, kicking against its sleekness, so it's even stranger that a Basement Boy made this proto-club. Thommy Davis would leave the Basement Boys in 1993 at about the time the crew began heavily flirting with the mainstream. He continues making decidedly-not-ready-for-primetime house music and is president of the Collective Minds Festival, a free house fest that takes place every year in Druid Hill Park.
"Baltimore radio is a monopolized mass program-derived business that has nothing to do with what is relative in music. It's aimed at demographical audience that is statistically schemed for the simplistic redundant overplay to play the most commercials. House would make it a wider genre that wouldn't give the programmers the control that they need. What happens is that the underground is always on the cutting edge and then the commercial artists take the ideas and water them down to market them to their format. It's nothing to hear an established artist do a song that is totally from the underground and make millions while the originator is still struggling. As an example, when me and the boys did Crystal Waters, we couldn't get our hometown to play it, but after the nation made it a hit, then Baltimore added it. For me, [national interest in house music and club music] doesn't change a thing. I would rather do what I like and be proud of it than to be concerned about the short sightedness of radio here."
-Thommy Davis to me (2011)
Attitudinally, consider club a kind of baleful fusion of the wildest elements of some of Baltimore's most iconic musicians, or the ones who passed through long enough for the city to claim them: the cathartic, slowly molting minimalism of Philip Glass; the puckish, laughing-to-keep-from-crying snark of Frank Zappa; the floppy, poppy, art-kid weirdness of David Byrne; the unabashed, gutpunching soul of Billie Holiday; the springy big band immediacy of Cab Calloway; the DGAF prettyboy swag of 2Pac.
"The past is reinvented and becomes the future. But the lineage is everything."
-Philip Glass "Words Without Music" (2015)
Slept On Bmore Club Song #1:
DJ Precise's 'En Mochen' off 1992's "Precise and the Boys" EP wherein some really cheap synth beeps attempt something that sounds like a slowed-up version of the song from the circus as brumous percussion pumps (it sounds like house music playing from down the block). 'En Mochen' peaks with a chipmunk'd sample of Michael Jackson's 'Human Nature,' a bit before Large Professor similarly, subtly slipped it into Nas' 'It Ain't Hard To Tell,' mind you. A Michael Jackson sample also makes an appearance on the rap B-side of this record and suggests that maybe the only record Precise had on hand that day was Lyn Collins' 'Think' single and a copy of Michael Jackson's "Thriller." He finessed so many sounds out of both of them for this EP.
"One time when I was playing, I saw this guy in a beehive kind of like strut and open up the dance floor and vogue down the middle of the dance floor. Here was this big guy, that was gay, that was in the middle of a hip-hop party, understand what I'm saying?"
-Frank Ski describing the first time he saw Miss Tony back in the late '80s to City Paper (2014)
What to even say about Miss Tony? Songs such as 'Tony's Bitch Track,' 'Get Ya Gunz Out' and 'Whatzup? Whatzup?' remain club favorites. A radio personality as well as a club fixture, he was a character and then some—and a complex one. Openly gay (a little known Tony track is 'Bitch Track II - Yes!,' whose hook howls, "Yes I am gay, no I'm not afraid" and arrived just in time to respond to Bill Clinton's Victorian "don't ask, don't tell"), he rattled off monologues that John Waters could've penned over club. From 'Tony's Bitch Track': "You fellas with these sweaty balls. You think them girls want them sweaty balls in their mouth? You motherfuckers better wash them balls. Yes, ask me about balls. I've got a PhD in dickology, don't try it." Usually seen in drag, Tony became saved in 1998 and changed his name to Big Tony. He stopped dressing up after that though he remained a gay man. Tony died of kidney-related complications in 2002. We are still waiting for a whole generation to discover this queer icon. You can hear Tony's best and a few late-in-life, gravel-voiced Big Tony tracks on a Diamond K-assisted compilation, "Big Tony: Master Of Ceremonies," available on iTunes, Spotify, and all the rest.
"To my homeboys in Clinton Max doing their bid, raise hell to this real shit and feel this"
-2Pac, 'Hail Mary' (1996)
Tupac Shakur was a Baltimore resident for a bit and, I maintain, must've absorbed some of the same locally-brewed fabulousness as Miss Tony—just look at Pac's gorgeous eyebrows!!!
Miss Tony's influence over the city only seems to grow. Over the years, 'Whatzup? Whatzup?' and its hook, "How you wanna carry it," have become common parlance and leaked into other Baltimore songs, including E Major's 'How You Wanna Carry It' and Al Rogers Jr. and Drew Scott's 'Conversations.' I'm particularly intrigued by Young Moose's 'How Would U Carry It,' from his 2014 mixtape, "OTM2." There, Moose turns Tony's words into a dopeboy flex and even gets a little existential about street life: "If a nigga jack you, how would you carry it, boy?"
"The tape is the full dance mix of a local song that's all over the Baltimore stations this winter; a rollicking seven minutes of audio dissonance with lyrics that amount to a listing of bad-ass drug corners and housing projects, followed by a shouted one-line chorus.
'Here we go...Cherry Hill.'
'Get ya guns out,' shout the C.M.B. boys, delighted.
'La-fay-ette."
'Get ya guns out.'
Tae lifts Tyreeka off his lap then jumps up to dance. The good part is coming up. 'Mount...and Fayette,' chants the rapper. 'Get ya guns out.' The boys shout and stomp and fill their corner of the room with high-fives. Mount and Fayette spoken like it was a place that mattered."
- David Simon and Edward Burns, "The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood" (1998)
Simon and Burns capture so much about Baltimore back then that some of the precise club music facts it misunderstands a bit are less important. Miss Tony shouts out those places because people lived there, not because they are drug corners (though they might sometimes be that, too) and Tony's significance is such that when he, a hero of black Baltimore, mentioned Mount and Fayette and elsewhere, they did matter (also everywhere matters, duh). "Get your guns out" was also something of a corrective to violence, with Miss Tony and Frank Ski taking a gang chant they heard at Facade's on Reisterstown Road and turning it into a new club dance. "You don't need a real gun, just come to the club and shake your hands in the air like a gun," Tony explains on the track.
Club music often restoratively responds to violence like this. Echoing the early days of hip-hop, where gangs battled it out with words and dancing, clubgoers will tell you that people squashed beef at the club (these days, dirt biking serves a similar function). And Tony here twisting a threat into a catch-all club song is the same as the current crop of producers, who often use gunshot sounds as percussion. It's catharsis and therapy: A sound that's heard all too often in Baltimore, always brings with it pain and death, becomes a command to get out there and dance harder and have more fun. A negative becomes a positive.
"I love Baltimore. This city has made me the man that I am. Like an old friend, I've seen it at its best and its most challenged. From Ms. Rainey's second grade class at Rosemont Elementary School to the mixes of K-Swift & Miss Tony on 92Q, to the nights at Afram, Shake N Bake and the Inner Harbor, I was raised in the joy and charm of this city."
-DeRay Mckesson 'I Am Running for Mayor of Baltimore' (2016)
Slept-On Club Song #2
'Lick Yo Clit,' off 1997 "Theo EP," wherein Theo, a high-pitched, chaotic crooner (imagine, say, you and your friends drunkenly sucking in helium and trying to sing like 1992-era Mariah Carey and you're close) scream-sings, "I would like to lick your clit, if you suck my dick, I'm gonna lick your clit," elongating the "i" sound in "clit" like he's Minnie Riperton on 'Loving You.'
Club music is still, for the most part, a straight boys' club, and what black feminist Tricia Rose said of hip-hop (it's "basically a locker room with a beat") certainly applies to club, though it's still more inviting than most hip-hop. There is TT The Artist's 2013 song 'Pussy Ate' ("Don't want no car, don't want no cash, don't want no date/ I just want my pussy ate"). And there are plenty of equal opportunity "fuck me" tracks such as DJ Snoopy and Lil Momma's 'Clits and Dicks' ("Where da bitches who suck the dick?/ Where da niggas who lick the clits?") and KW Griff and DJ Booman's 'Git Ya Freak On' ("ladies shake your tits...fellas grab your dicks"). And then there's K-Life's 'I Get Too Much Pussy' which asks, "Who's that girl with that good pussy?" and then the vocalist meekly chirps, "your pussy taste so good." Briefly it seems, this lip-smacking sexual harasser on wax gets deferential.
"The blues gives an epic sense of the erotic to American music and tears the cotton candy shroud from the boudoir, speaking of the elegant and the raw, the ennobling and the debilitating—all pushed down the listener's consciousness with often bittersweet and sardonic images."
-Stanley Crouch in his Introduction to "Love in Vain: A Vision of Robert Johnson" (1983)
DJ Reggie Reg, who died earlier this year at the age of 50, is known for his 9 p.m. club mixes on 92Q back in the day. His 2000 mix CD, "The 9 O'clock Mix" is, along with Rod Lee's "Vol. 5: The Official" one of the more ubiquitous club CDs around. One of its most exciting choices is the inclusion of Stardust's 'Music Sounds Better Than You,' a honeyed, French neo-disco track from 1998 put together by the one-off trio of Thomas Bangalter (of Daft Punk), Alan Braxe, and vocalist Benjamin Diamond. It's a continuation of the club-not-club that got the genre going.Those tracks from back in the late '80s and early '90s that for one reason or another felt like club music: Cajmere's 'Percolator,' Kicks Like a Mule's 'The Bouncer,' The Prodigy's 'Charly,' Blapps Posse's 'Don't Hold Back,' and Stereo MCs 'On 33,' just to name a few.
Slept On Bmore Club Song #3
'Pop Club' off Krazy B's 2000 EP of the same name wherein a slightly crazed or I guess, um, "krazed" instrumental free of the obvious rap sample or club classic refix that dominated the club music style by the start of the aughts is replaced with a nervous, occasionally effect-filled fidget of an instrumental, with some Salsoul Orchestra swoop and the French House fizzle of Thomas Bangalter's 'Club Soda.'
Blaqstarr is club music's John Coltrane and Lee "Scratch" Perry. Tracks like 'Get My Gun,' 'Hands Up, Thumbs Down,' 'Ryda Girl,' and 'Feel It In The Air' bent the structural rules of club, adding more instruments (including some butt-rock guitar from time to time) and introducing more singing (in an androgynous, alien-like whine), all the while making tracks leaner, faster. In other ways, Blaqstarr seemed to move club back to its pre-club era, when any kind of music could become "club" as long as it got people moving. There's a clip on YouTube of Blaqstarr back in 2009 at a Los Angeles nightclub called Control, throwing out flurries of "hey" and "what" samples to the crowd and scratching feverishly. When the energy seems too much, he doesn't drop a known dancefloor-filling club track but the Smashing Pumpkins space-rocker, 'Zero.' It works. Blaqstarr changed club music, got M.I.A. to meander, flirted with the mainstream music industry but ultimately told them "nah," and has raced through side hustles that have included an alkalized water business, cold-pressed juice, and an adult coloring book. We're still figuring out Blaqstarr.
"1. To have inexhaustible freshness in my music. I'm stale right now.
2. Immunity from sickness or ill health.
3. Three times the sexual power I have now. And something else too: more natural love for people. You can add that on to the other."
-John Coltrane's answer when Pannonica de Koenigswarter asked what his three wishes would be
Debonair Samir's 'Samir's Theme,' from 2005, is a mammoth track made up of just a few sounds: mostly a wavering, wobbling horn, and then some synths, snares, kicks, and claps that just kind of circle each other over and over. Eventually those splatty 'Sing Sing' drums sneak through and then it gets kind of hippity-hoppity, but all you need, like most club songs, happens in the first minute and after that it just gets exploratory because it's got some time to kill and space to jump around and act out. It is a worldwide underground hit, an easily accessible wild-out song that does what bro-ish EDM and dubstep does with about a quarter of the tools those hot mess songs employed five years earlier. Netherlands label Digidance reissued 'Samir's Theme' in 2007, rapper/producer Swizz Beatz bleated over it in 2009. More recently, Dutch housers Firebeatz released a song also titled 'Samir's Theme' that is basically Samir's song with a few alterations—all of them for the worse, mind you.
The best review of 'Samir's Theme' came from a friend of mine, a house DJ in his forties from North Carolina only loosely familiar with club music, in a hot and sweaty garage in Raleigh with an Olde English 40 and a half in his belly. We were trading off access to his turntable, playing house, disco, and electro classics, the tracks getting bigger, louder, and busier. Finally, it seemed appropriate to play 'Samir's Theme' for him and pretty much once its horns got honking, all raw party music power, he immediately exclaimed "DAAAMNNNNN, WE NEED SOME BLOWWWWW RIGHT NOW."
Back in 2005, musician Jason Urick organized a few club shows at the Floristree, including a seminal K-Swift show for an almost entirely white audience. That this took so long to happen in retrospect seems absurd and now sweaty white hipsters and punks going wild to club seems commonplace, but it wasn't so back then. White kids were already hearing the stuff on the radio, cranking it at parties, and occasionally venturing into record stores looking for club music, but the idea of reaching out to the people responsible for the stuff took longer. A few years before that, Eric Hatch, now director of programming for the Maryland Film Festival, could be found occasionally playing club records at the Talking Head. Just playing them through, by the way. Like, no mixing them or anything. Also significant was Cullen Stalin's prescient Taxlo parties and his role as something of a go-between for then club-dabbling undergrounders (and imminent superstars) such as Diplo and M.I.A. and Baltimore club producers proper. It's a strange piece of club music history that sometimes seems lost but it planted the seeds that grew into the now diverse and black-organized underground club scene that swirls around the Crown spearheaded by people like Abdu Ali, Balti Gurls, Llamadon, and others.
"But there arose in our pathway a shrouded human figure, very far larger in its proportions than any dweller among men. And the hue of the skin of the figure was of the perfect whiteness of the snow."
-Edgar Allen Poe, "The Narrative Of Arthur Gordon Pym" (1838)
Out of Baltimore club came Philly club (sometimes "party music") and Jersey club (until recently, "Brick City club" thanks to DJ Tameil of Brick City Bandits, but now just Jersey club), regional variations of club music. While the sounds are quite similar—both rely on the same 'Think' and 'Sing Sing' breaks—there are some differences. Philly club tends to be even faster and more A.D.D., with hints of gabber and trap, while Jersey Club is also faster though more melodic and smooth with a penchant for the limp wit of the mash-up. "Corny and hot at the same damn time," is how Tim Dolla described Jersey club to SPIN's Puja Patel, who, before moving fully into journalism, was a club music promoter and was responsible for the Paradox-hosted My Crew Be Unruly and My Crew Be Unruly 2 parties which brought plenty of Philly and NJ DJs to Baltimore in a big way.
"You know when people get mad, though? When you brand something that's already something and brand it something else. Tameil's branded it through his name—he's bigger than Brick City. [Philly] started calling it 'party music' because New York's first, Philly's second, Baltimore's third, and you can't go up the chain. Philly's not gonna call anything Baltimore something."
-Scottie B to City Paper (2009)
Partlow: We gotta make sure he from New York first, right? Gotta ask.
Snoop: Ask what? "You from New York?"
Partlow: No, ask a Baltimore question, something a New York nigga won't know.
Snoop: What's a Baltimore question, yo? I don't know.
Partlow: Like, maybe something about club music. They don't know nothing about that shit up in New York. Ask him, like, who Young Leek be.
-"The Wire" episode 'Corner Boys' (Season four, episode 45)
DJ Class' 2009 auto-tune club semi-hit 'I'm The Ish' moved closer to major hit status thanks to a remix featuring Lil Jon (it would make it into the 20s on Billboard's 2009 Rhythmic Songs and Hot Rap charts). This was a big deal. It was also of note because Lil Jon's voice had been sampled on club tracks for years and well, here he finally was screaming on a club track himself. 'I'm The Ish' never quite took off, but it helped resurrect Lil Jon's career. He would return to pop by screaming on hard-hitting EDM songs that were in part, Bmore club-derived: LMFAO's 'Shots' and DJ Snake's 'Turn Down For What.' Baltimore club music is one of the secret ingredients of American EDM.
Say Wut's 'Streets of Baltimore' from 2010. Early on credited as Nigga Say What or just NSW, he eventually settled on the name Say Wut and crafted a bouncing-of-the-walls style of club dominated by horns and jet-propelled BPMs. 'Horn Theme,' which took DJ Class' 'Tear Da Club Up' and made it eerily celestial is a favorite (it was cleverly used at the end of Rod Lee's "Vol. 5: The Official," a triumphant closer). And then there's the tangled 'Streets of Baltimore,' which sounds as if it tied the shoelaces of the theme song to '70s cop show 'Streets of San Francisco' together and then booted it down the stairs, letting it tripping all over itself for four minutes.
Teens kept Baltimore club music alive throughout the fractious, embattled 2000s. Following the dissolution of the major clubs in the late '90s, which coincided with club's first generation getting older, the ascent of hip-hop, and stricter nightclub and after hours rules in Baltimore, club became essentially a teenaged activity. And slowly but surely, the teens reignited club and made it something quite different—Blaqstarr's busier, full of fluttering "hey" and "what" samples style, ideal for dancing competitions was on the vanguard. Even when it seemed as though the whole world was discovering club, a lot of the club they were discovering was old. Stuff for the "over 30 crowd," fresh-faced, producers, dancers, and DJs would scoff. Out of Blaqstarr's influence came producers like Murder Mark (now Mighty Mark), DJ Pierre, and DJ Juwan, whose wiry skeletal club soundtracked kiddie parties at the Paradox and smaller club shows in rec halls and community centers and thanks to KW Griff's open ears and open mind, snuck onto the radio.
"Well, with social media, email, etc. these days, the internet is the best way to connect with people. In the case of DJ Juwan and many others, these individuals contacted me via email. A few of them are actually in their early teens—devoted producers who love and respect the art of Club Music and are extremely passionate about their work. I definitely applaud them for being such an asset to the movement of Club Music and continuing the legacy."
-KW Griff to me (2014)
November 22, 2011 was an interesting day for club music. It marked the release of Kanye West's "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" and Nicki Minaj's debut album, "Pink Friday," both of which have a little bit of club music in them. Kanye West's 'All Of The Lights,' with its waves of taffy horns seems heavily indebted to DJ Class' 'Tear The Club Up' and towards the end of the album, as Gil Scot-Heron asks, "Who'll survive in America?" West allows the 'Think' break to shuffle under the track in a distinctly Baltimore-fashion (sped-up a little, looped, not chopped much at all). This is not a stretch: two years earlier, West was on a remix of DJ Class' 'I'm The Ish,' murmuring, "My crew be Unruly," and a Scottie B remix of West's 'I Wonder' appeared on a semi-official Kanye West mixtape. On Nicki Minaj's "Pink Friday," there's 'Check It Out,' a will.i.am-produced song that samples the Buggles' 'Video Killed the Radio Star' and reconfigures it using club music style, 'Think' break and all. At the time, there were rumors in Baltimore that 'Check It Out' was ghost-produced by a Baltimore club beatmaker whose name won't be revealed here because, well, rumors.
Club music never quite recovered from the death of K-Swift, who died on July 21, 2008, in a swimming pool accident. A figure who bridged club's establishment figures with its buggy youth scene, Swift was particularly significant because she wasn't so territorial about club. She embraced young producers and at Artscape, which was held the weekend she died, she told the crowd that Diplo was the future of club music—a cosign that bugged quite a few people, though few will admit that these days. Another unpopular though occasionally murmured opinion: Had Swift not died, it's possible that 92Q, Baltimore's hip-hop and R&B station—which DJs and producers claim has always disliked club music—would play even less club than it plays now. Swift's death made it hard to push club out for good. DJ AngelBaby, an heir to Swift in so many ways, introduces a brief daily K-Swift memorial mix wherein we get a good ten or less minutes of club every day. AngelBaby has also continued Swift's non-territorial ethos through a series of mixtapes titled "Get Pumped" which often include tracks from producers from Philly, New Jersey, and the internet.
"I get bored quick. Most of the tracks on ['Get Pumped'] are maybe 30 seconds and then they start blending into something else. Some DJs may think that's not enough time, but I want you to sweat all the way through. I don't like any parts lacking energy. Only the pumped-est—if that's a word—parts of the songs."
-DJ AngelBaby to City Paper (2013)
The past decade or so has led to a lot of meta-dance music—stuff that doesn't seem to be so much for the club as about the club (the house-through-warehouse-walls warmness of Jamie xx's "In Colour" is the best example; Matthew Herbert's "One Club," the most oblique). It's all an extension of the "hypnagogic pop" David Keenan diagnosed in 2009 in British music magazine Wire—songs that seemed to dissolve the formal aspects of a given genre in an attempt to recreate what it feels like to hear music via subjective memory and mood. Club music has no time for such nonsense for the most part, though if you want something that sounds like what it feels to leave a club after dancing all night, listen to James Nasty's 2011 mix, "The Truth About James Nasty," a 30-minute, cassette-tape-like mix of mostly his own productions. It ends with 'I Got Sunshine,' a balmy club take on The Temptations' 'My Girl' that captures the weary joy of wandering out of an after hours spot at 6 a.m. or so, limbs tired, still stupidly happy but maybe a little melancholy because the night's over.
That baby-talk babbling you often hear in club songs comes from George Kranz's 1983 German b-boy dance hit, 'Din Daa Daa' (official title: 'Trommeltanz' which translates to "drum dance"), in which the Berlin percussionist smacks a bunch of electronic drums and shouts onomatopoeia nonsense for nearly four minutes. Or it comes from the 1997 cover by New York queer hero Kevin Aviance. There's an elastic lope to 'Din Daa Daa' that fits nicely with the more rubbery end of club music—especially when a DJ set needs a respite from the harder hitting stuff—so it finds its way into club music frequently (Kool Breez's 'Din Dew Doo' most famously). Most recently, KW Griff and Porkchop even smuggled it into 'Bring In Da Katz.' Once Porkchop announces, "Bring in the cats," splintered, staccato pieces of Kevin Aviance's Bib Fortuna from "Star Wars: Return Of The Jedi" impression blast through the song.
Why did it take so long to crack the code on rapping over club music? In one sense, it was because the clubs didn't need the rapping part, so it often came from a semi-cynical perspective: only if it had rhymes ricocheting against the beat could it become a hit song and "crossover" and all the rest. There are earnest examples of club music with rapping though. The premier example remains Labtekwon's collaboration with DJ Booman and Jimmy Jones, 410 Pharaohs, wherein you can hear Lab catching up to club's quick rhythms, sometimes outrunning them, and often kicking back and nibbling on club's jagged breakbitten edges. It helps that they've got Jimmy Jones crafting the hooks and that Booman is a heck of a hip-hop producer as well (my favorite rap track produced by Booman: .45 and Trauma's 'You Ain't Doin' It Right' where the theme to "The Pink Panther" struts-along as shiny, Ma$e-like boom-bap). Then there's Booman's breezy beat for 'Party Walk' by Mullyman and Nik Stylz, which rattles with claps and horns and builds to a sing-along of "The Wire" theme song that's way better than any of the show's proper theme songs. Also the Doo Dew Kidz and Mullyman's 'Step Aside.' And while Tate Kobang's 'Bank Rolls,' is not club music, it was produced by Rod Lee (it dates back to 2000, originally 'Bank Roll' by Tim Trees) and mentions K-Swift. Does that count?
"My friends and I attended lusty preteen parties every week. Baltimore club music ripped out of blown speakers while we grinded up against the prettiest-roundest-fastest girls from our neighborhood. New sneakers got stepped on all night, but we didn't care."
- D. Watkins "The Beast Side" (2015)
Following the decision to not indict Officer Darren Wilson in the murder of Michael Brown in November of 2014, club maximalist Schwarz, who is originally from St. Louis, released a track titled 'Hands Up, Don't Shoot.' It borrows its hook from Blaqstarr's 'Hands Up, Thumbs Down' and mashes it up with audio of protestors yelling, "Hands up, don't shoot." Here, club's gun shot sounds take on an even more ominous light in this context—rather than an antidotal one—and the de rigueur siren sounds comes from the Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) used in Ferguson to disseminate instructions and disorient protestors (LRAD also causes long-term hearing damage).
You cannot stop the development that is taking over Baltimore. You can protest it (and you should) but it seems as though our representatives worship the neoliberal myth too much for even that to do much good. You could (though you should not) blow up one of those new same-y looking buildings being constructed but, well, whatever out-of-town construction crew that got the gig would just collect insurance and start rebuilding. What does this have to do with club music? Development is, in part, why the Paradox is going away (it is also why Club Fantasy went away). You know that weird like, almost German Bierhaus-looking building next to Jerry Carryout on North Avenue? It used to be Odell's, another legendary dance club. Down the street is Club Choices, also closed. Club Hippo is now a CVS. Where can you dance your pain away when they demolish and then gentrify all the places for dancing?
"Remember, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Intensifying noise also makes signal stronger and more intense. So, investments in challenges (like dissonance, trangression, and noise) are also investments in your own resilience."
-Robin James, "Resilience & Melancholy: Pop Music, Feminism, and Neoliberalism" (2015)
Rip Knoxx, 'Freedom and Liberty (Remix).' The USA Freedom Kids, a jingoistic, tween-to-teen girl group performed their song 'Freedom and Liberty' at a Donald Trump rally earlier this year. Set to the tune of a World War I song, 'Over There' and featuring lines like, "Cowardice/ Are you serious?/ Apologies for freedom/ I can't handle this," it appears to, like Trump himself, render camp useless—or so it seemed. But then Baltimore club producer Rip Knoxx cut the track up into a noisy, glitching, electro slur and made it even more absurd by just regurgitating its lyrics and making it all feel, well, a bit more off. "I feel as though [Trump is] a narcissistic talking turkey. ^_^," Rip Knoxx wrote to me via email.
I'm sitting here writing this less than 24 hours after a shooting at Pulse, a LGBTQ club in Orlando, left 49 dead, 50-plus injured while politicians reach new heights of cognitive dissonance to twist this into anti-"terrorism" talking points and nothing more, and all I can think of is Miss Tony's 'Bitch Track II - Yes!' from 1993 wherein Tony shouts, "YES I AM GAY NO I'M NOT AFRAID, YES I AM GAY, NO I'M NOT AFRAID" a whole bunch of times.
"The shooter from Orlando used to beat his wife until she left him. Figures ... He can condemn people he considers not a 'real man,' but he beats women. His bitch ass couldn't even go in there and fight nobody.…He would have got his ass whipped by anybody he chose to fight in that club. Fuck him and fuck ISIS…He's a bitch. And it was good to see righteous Muslims condemn the real bitch, cuz he is a disgrace to his religion and to humanity. We all need to support the LGBT community more than ever. They deserve to have always been supported, and they have always supported everybody else. Everybody reading this has family members in the LGBT community. They could have been in the club that night."
-Scottie B via Facebook on June 13, 2016
It's the year 2075. Emperor Trump, or what's left of him—just a brain, penis, and toupee in a fishbowl being carted around by a gold-plated Segway-like robot (most of his body was destroyed when he accidentally blew himself up at a ceremonial fart-lighting-for-fracking event)—has heard about an insurgent group hiding out in what is left of Port Covington. As the Velvet Underground were to Vaclav Havel and the Velvet Revolution, Baltimore Club is to these gender-fucked freedom fighters from the future. They pass around a time capsule of club music, featuring a 50-song summation of the sound. It includes:
-2 Hyped Brothers and a Dog, 'Doo Doo Brown'
-2 Whyte Kidz, 'Beat Da Pussy '
-410 Pharaohs, 'Fresh'
-Abdu Ali, 'I Exist'
-Big Ria, 'The Answer (Am I Bomb?)'
-Blaqstarr, 'Get My Gun'
-Blaqstarr, 'Ryda Girl'
-Blunted Dummies, 'Yo Yo Where The Hoes At'
-Chavy Boyz of London, 'London Wild'
-DDm, 'Fake Girls'
-Debonair Samir, 'Samir's Theme'
-Dem Niggas, 'Git The Hole'
-Diamond K, 'Hey You Knuckleheads'
-Diamond K, 'Put Ya Leg Up'
-DJ Boobie, 'You Know How We Do It'
-DJ Class, 'I'm The Ish'
-DJ Class, 'Tear The Club Up'
-DJ Excel, 'That's What A Pimp Does'
-DJ Juwan, 'Clap Go'
-DJ Patrick, 'Blunt Theme'
-DJ Pierre, 'Uhh Break'
-DJ Snoopy feat. Lil Mama, 'Clits & Dicks'
-DJ Technics, 'Everything In Its Right Place (Remix)'
-DJ Technics, 'Mr. Postman'
-Dukeyman, 'What'
-James Nasty, 'I Got Sunshine'
-Jimmy Jones, 'Watch Out For The Big Girl'
-Johnny Blaze, 'Spongebob Square Pants'
-K-Life & DJ Booman, 'Puff Alotta Weed'
-Karizma, 'Kong'
-Kenny B, 'Get The Fuck Out'
-King Tutt, 'Justin'
-KW Griff feat. Porkchop, 'Bring In Da Katz'
-KW Griff and DJ Booman, 'Pick Em Up'
-Matic, 'Hustle Hard (Remix)'
-Mighty Mark feat. Mike-Mike, Young H.I.D., DJ K-Spin, 'Cherry Hill and Down Ya Block'
-Miss Tony, 'Tony's Bitch Track'
-Miss Tony, 'Whatzup, Whatzup'
-Mullyman feat. Nik Stylz, 'Party Walk'
-Rod Lee, 'Dance My Pain Away'
-Rod Lee, 'Rump'
-Rye Rye, 'Shake It To The Ground'
-Say Wut, 'Horn Theme'
-Scottie B, 'Niggaz Fightin'
-Scottie B, 'Paper Planes (Remix)'
-Scottie B and DJ Equalizer, 'I Got The Rhythm'
-Tapp, 'Shake datass'
-The Sounds Of Silence, 'Moments in Club'
-Theo, 'Shawty You Phat'
-TT The Artist, 'Pussy Ate'
Brandon Soderberg
Brandon Soderberg has been writing for the Baltimore City Paper since 2007. He is currently the Deputy Editor and Arts Editor and writes the No Trivia column, which previously ran at SPIN and before that as a personal blog (he also used to write Almost Art, a music video column for Noisey). He is especially interested in moments when the arts collide with race and politics which is often or always if you think about it hard enough. Formerly, he was a contributing writer to SPIN, currently writes for the Comics Journal, the Independent Weekly, and Vice, and has written for, among others, the Museum of Moving Image, Pitchfork, the Village Voice, and the Washington City Paper.