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Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Mischief Reggae: is it Vile?

Posted by Derek Erdman on Wed, Nov 30, 2011 at 9:16 AM

There's a store in the Westfield Southcenter Mall that sells mostly Bob Marley tapestries and t-shirts. As a genre of music, reggae is pretty misunderstood.

I'd reckon the common person doesn't know much more about it than weed leafs and use of the word "Jah." I've had friends become incensed (har har) by this, firing off names like the Wailers, Lee Perry, King Tubby, & Coxsone Dodd with a fury. They'll yell at you for not even knowing the soundtrack to The Harder They Come. I know that soundtrack! It's really great!

You Can't Get It If You Really Want.

Last night, I was reading about the history of Morrissey's alleged racism. One missive claimed that the lyric "burn the DJ" in the Smiths song "Panic" was aimed at black disco DJs of the time. Morrissey's flirtation with skinhead imagery in 1992 didn't help his cause. In 1985, Morrissey declared that "all reggae is vile," sparking cries of racism. Later he claimed that the quote was just a joke and that he was a fan of reggae music.

I made a drawing of a t-shirt with Morrissey's quote drawn on the front and posted it on the Internet. People really liked it! Maybe not because they liked the drawing but because they hate reggae. I cannot tell, that's why I'm asking you. Is reggae vile?

"THIS IS THE BEST THING IVE EVER SEEN" - Lelah Maupin, 2011 (h/t Joe Rufa for the above video)

I guess this is as good a time as any to unleash the power of Hannah's Field's "Puff Puff Give" video (according to YouTube, 132 likes / 912 dislikes):

Comments (14) RSS

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It's not the music that's bad, it's the people who like it. SNL nailed it:
http://www.hulu.com/watch/40968/saturday…

Posted by carnivorous chicken on November 30, 2011 at 9:23 AM

A couple of years ago Rachael and I were visiting friends in Mexico, and on the way to their village we all stayed in a surfer/tourist town camping on the beach for a couple of nights.

There was a little bar/hut on the beach that would play music from early in the morning to late at night, which was pretty nice, and they played a LARGE variety of songs as well, all KINDS of hits and more from the last 30 years or so. EXCEPT, every song was a cover version done reggae style. Pick any popular song of the last 30 years and they had it, in reggae style, morning to night, no repeats. Surreal.

Posted by Avtar on November 30, 2011 at 9:39 AM

Speaking of reggae food products, I saw something from this line in a grocery store in Ireland and became very excited: http://www.reggae-reggae.co.uk/

"PUT MUSIC IN YOUR FOOD!" indeed.

Posted by Levislade

on November 30, 2011 at 9:56 AM

@2:
There is one big reason that this can happen, Jamaica doesn't have the same restrictive copyright laws as America. If you want to cover a song, you just do it, no lawyers needed. When an artist has to live by their wits rather than relaxing on a cache of old hits, then culture and art moves forward at a much more rapid pace.

Posted by cosby

on November 30, 2011 at 10:08 AM

I personally don't expect the average person, Morrissey included I guess, to know much about reggae. Like any genre of music, reggae has amazing talent underneath the Bob Marley / ska revivalist / Cops Theme Song surface.

I don't know anything about hardcore music. To me it's Xs on hands and beating up people who have slightly different world views. I'm sure there is more to it... maybe.

Posted by cosby

on November 30, 2011 at 10:13 AM

Here, in case you want to reggae-fy your computer:
http://code.google.com/p/reggaetoolbar/

Posted by Kelly O on November 30, 2011 at 11:17 AM

@5 - i think you hit the hXc nail on the head.

Posted by yos-wa on November 30, 2011 at 12:24 PM

I have lots of good reggae music but to me as a performance medium it always brings to mind rich tipsy Italian girls in in resort bars lifting their arms in the air swaying and singing along loudly and out of tune and out of time to "No Woman No Cry". Ruins it for me.

Posted by Fnarf

on November 30, 2011 at 12:58 PM

Boring.

Posted by Line Out

on November 30, 2011 at 1:53 PM

@9: Exactly the response that I was "dreading."

Posted by derek_erdman

on November 30, 2011 at 2:17 PM

Reggae! I hate that song!

Posted by toxicmommy

on November 30, 2011 at 2:36 PM

I don't 'get' reggae but I appreciate its influence/apporpriation in other forms of music. Sometimes.

Also, whenever I see the aforementioned displays of drunk white people dancing to reggae I think of this: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=…

"Kill the white people, but buy my record first"

Posted by blip on November 30, 2011 at 3:04 PM

I'm sorry, Whhhhhhhhhhhhhhhat? I got so distracted by that Cybil Shepherd poster in the background that I can't even form a sentence/type/give a shit about reggae. SHE WENT OUT WITH ELVIS! As a 42 year old dude that lived through it... I have zero connection to the "born after '75 set's obession w/80's nostalgia... but bring back Moonlighting and I'm a happy dude.

Posted by McKeag on November 30, 2011 at 4:32 PM

Reggae is probably my most favorite genre. An enormous amount of great music came from Jamaica from the late 60s to the early 80s. Those that are interested should read 'This Is Reggae: The Story of Jamaica's Music' by Lloyd Bradley. It's a wonderful history of the evolution of Jamaican music.

http://www.amazon.com/This-Reggae-Music-…

The more you know about the political and social climate of Jamaica and the people who helped develop the sound, the more you'll appreciate the genre.

The Michael Veal book on Dub is also highly recommended.

Posted by Brian Geoghagan on November 30, 2011 at 8:13 PM