Ok, no more pissing around it, I love reggae. Over the past 5 years, my collection has blossomed from a single disc of non-Bob Marley tracks (mostly made up of songs from The Harder They Come), to anywhere from 5,000-6,000 songs on my computer.
At first, nothing really clicked for me. Then, as I was sitting in an intro to film class at 8:30 one morning watching Wong Kar-wai's Chungking Express, a mournful song started playing on the jukebox (in the movie, of course). Dennis Brown's "Things in Life."
That melody and smooth voice transported me far away from the movie. At the time, the only comparison I could think of was Otis Redding. As Dennis Brown's voice melted away, I had to ask myself, how much other amazing soulful reggae had I been missing out on?
(For some reason the videos won't load unless you click read more. So what are you waiting for?)
I haven't stopped collecting since. While songs that I had initially discarded or ignored came alive on a second listen. I plowed deeper and deeper into rare reggae music, adding to my collection and finding new favorites.
A recent acquisition reminded me of the joys of the first listen. Horace Andy, one of the most distinctive voices in Jamaica, with a 12'' version of "Stop the Fuss" produced by Bullwackie. I particularly love the deep, foreboding beat combined with the background vocals.
Although I listen to all the reggae I can get my hands on, I promise I'm not Ras Trent (hey SNL can be funny once every five years).
Have a great Music Monday!
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