All jokes aside, New Jersey is a pretty great place. While it has a lot to offer as a state, it also has a rich musical history of which many people remain unaware. Everyone knows Sinatra and The Boss, but there’s much more.
P.M. Dawn always presented themselves as cosmic and interplanetary, but they did most of their work right here in Jersey City. I didn’t have cable through much of the ’90s, but I recall watching some show on network television that aired that week’s most played music videos, the replays were on Saturday morning.
I’d watch the usual offerings and then P.M. Dawn would come on and I wouldn’t know what to think. This was hip hop? R&B? What did I know? I was 13. Anyway, what I did know was that this was not the usual video, or musical, fodder.
I won’t say that I’ve been a dedicated P.M. Dawn fan since those early days, but I always retained a curiosity about their unique voice. Upon Prince Be’s (Attrel Cordes) death last month, I knew we’d do a P.M. Dawn episode, so I enlisted the help of renowned NJ music critic, Jay Lustig, now writing for NJArts.net. He has been dedicated to them since those early days.
Join myself and Mr. Lustig as we tread through the P.M. Dawn waters.
