So, what about reggae?

Subject: So, what about reggae?
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 12 Dec 04 - 11:10 PM

I've been watching the Black American Folk Singers thread with interest, and I keep thinking about Reggae (which is not American.)
I don't ever remember anyway commenting on reggae in the couple of years I've been coming here. It has many qualities of folk music, but if rhythm and blues, blues and early rock and roll aren't folk, then I guess reggae isn't either. Not that I particularly care whether it's included under the umbrella of "folk," anyway. I like I Shot The Sherrif like I like Stagolee and electric Avenue has the heart of Down On Penny's Farm and Woody Guthrie Dust Bowl songs, even with synthesizers.

What do you folks think about reggae? No need to determine whether it's "folk" music..

Jerry

Subject: RE: So, what about reggae?
From: Nerd
Date: 12 Dec 04 - 11:14 PM

Reggae is cool, especially the old old stuff. Songs like "Hard man fe dead" might as well be folk songs; it's like "Finnegan's Wake" with Jamaicans. Reggae and the other styles of Jamaican sound-system music were also hugely influential on rock and pop, rhythmically as foundational as the Blues. Great stuff, much of it. Of course, like many styles, now it's all about girls, fast cars, and cussing.

Subject: RE: So, what about reggae?
From: GUEST,Ron Davies
Date: 12 Dec 04 - 11:19 PM

Reggae is just great--especially a lot by Bob Marley, like "Exodus", "No Woman No Cry"---- and probably everything on the soundtrack of The Harder They Come, with hypnotic stuff, by Jimmy Cliff, and others like" One More River To Cross", "Pressure Drop" and a lot whose titles I can't recall. Absolute classics.

Is "By the Rivers of Babylon" considered reggae?

Subject: RE: So, what about reggae?
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 12 Dec 04 - 11:19 PM

G'day Jerry,

I'm not sure if just a title search picks them up, but I seem to remember a few threads covering Reggae over the recent years. (I tend to check them because Patricia is the house fan of Reggae ... I like it, but it's not my main interest.)

I think Reggae has every bit as much relevance as Rhythm & Blues and Rock ... perhaps not quite as much as Blues ... but that's a very personal opinion.

"Folk" can be very inclusive ... "Tradition" is a very slippery subject ... perspectives are very shifty!

Regard(les)s,

Bob

Subject: RE: So, what about reggae?
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 12 Dec 04 - 11:30 PM

The Sound Track to The Harder They Come repeatedly makes the all-time top 100 albums in lists. And, it's well deserving. I have a CD of the Melodians (who recorded Rivers of Babylon) on the soundtrack. It's definitely a reggae song, although I heard a woman sing in unaccompanied at a folk festival a few years ago. Worked like Bethoven's 5th, unaccompanied.

Reggae is extremely popular in many parts of Africa, too. When my wife and I were on the Ivory Coast three years ago, they had a great reggae band playing in the lounge of the hotel where we stayed one night.

The tenor in my gospel quartet is from Kingston, and has his own reggae band. We had a great time one night a surprise birthday for his wife, doing old rhythm and blues with a little bit of a reggae touch, with some black gospel sounds mixed in. There's a lot of reggae gospel, too..

My kinda music, Ron

Subject: RE: So, what about reggae?
From: PoppaGator
Date: 12 Dec 04 - 11:32 PM

I like it well enough. We have friends who live and die for reggae, it's their main interest, but to me it's just another one of several genres that include songs and performances I really love.

Subject: RE: So, what about reggae?
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 12 Dec 04 - 11:35 PM

Have to admit that I am ignorant about reggae. Books tell us it originated in the 1960s and came of age with Bob Marley and Tosh. Something of its origins here, although wikipedia is notoriously inaccurate or downright wrong on many subjects: Reggae
It has become popular in Hawai'i among other places. A band here in Calgary plays it but I haven't gone to see them. Jerry, you started this, so please tell us more about it.

To me, the sound is agreeable, but I don't know the content except for a few Bob Marley lyrics.

Subject: RE: So, what about reggae?
From: mack/misophist
Date: 13 Dec 04 - 01:10 AM

KPFA radio used to have a program of reggae that was outlawed in the Carribean. Great stuff. However you want to define it, it was true folk.

Subject: RE: So, what about reggae?
From: Kaleea
Date: 13 Dec 04 - 01:55 AM

Believe it or don't, there has been Raggae going on in Tulsa, OK for several years as part of the downtown festivals. I enjoy listening to acoustic Music, to include Raggae.

Subject: RE: So, what about reggae?
From: alanabit
Date: 13 Dec 04 - 02:19 AM

I did not realise what a brilliant band Bob Marley and the Wailers were until it was all over. They seemed to have a psychic bond which let the musicians know when to leave space for each other. It was rhythmically very complex, but there was no neglect of melody or harmony. I particularly like the dynamic effect which they got from their harmony and rhythm. "Stir It Up" is an erotic masterpiece, without being the slightest bit smutty. It's not my favourite music, but I am a great admirer.

Subject: RE: So, what about reggae?
From: Metchosin
Date: 13 Dec 04 - 03:33 AM

My first encounter was in what was called a Bluebeat club in London years ago, I still love it because I love to dance and there is nothing that can get me up on the floor quicker and keep me up longer.

I had the pleasure of meeting the Reggae Cowboys from Toronto recently and attending a couple of their shows. Great guys, great musicians, wonderfully hypnotic music. If you like reggae, don't miss them if the opportunity arises.

Subject: RE: So, what about reggae?
From: fat B****rd
Date: 13 Dec 04 - 03:51 AM

I like it a lot but I wouldn't presume to adopt any philosophy involved.There are white people who like Reggae simply because of it's association with Ganja.
Me ? I love the rhythms and bass lines. Favourites must be Toots and the Maytals. Funky Kingston !!

Subject: RE: So, what about reggae?
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 13 Dec 04 - 04:11 AM

As I mentioned on the aforementioned thread, I love reggae...and not because of its association with ganja. Danced to reggae music many a time and have had many Anglo/Jamaican acquaintances over the years which helped my "style" and movement. Occasionally take out my "Bob Marley..Legend" video and have a watch. "No woman no cry" being the firm favourite.
Hum some of the reggae tunes to yourself without the reggae beat and perhaps you may recognise a few folkie sounds.........
Best wishes, Mike.

Subject: RE: So, what about reggae?
From: Crystal
Date: 13 Dec 04 - 05:06 AM

I really like reggae. The tunes are upbeat and great to listen to. Music which you can sing AND dance to!

Subject: RE: So, what about reggae?
From: Pete Jennings
Date: 13 Dec 04 - 05:37 AM

I like it, but in relatively small doses because, like pure 12-bar blues, it can get a bit repetetive for me. Some great songs and performers mentioned here - Marley was hypnotic - and Dylan did a good reggae version of Knockin' On Heaven's door.

Subject: RE: So, what about reggae?
From: alanabit
Date: 13 Dec 04 - 07:56 AM

Am I right in believing that Dylan's reggae version of that song was actually Marley's, which he had heard via Clapton? That sounds a bit like the folk process at work!

Subject: RE: So, what about reggae?
From: muppett
Date: 13 Dec 04 - 08:23 AM

Reggae & Folk in my mind are the best styles of music around, hence me liking bands like the Afro Celts (sound system) and E2 (Edward the second)

Subject: RE: So, what about reggae?
From: Pete Jennings
Date: 13 Dec 04 - 09:23 AM

Could well be right, alanabit - the first time I heard the reggae version, Clapton played it on a TV programme (Chas and Dave in a pub setting?).

Subject: RE: So, what about reggae?
From: rhyzla
Date: 13 Dec 04 - 09:39 AM

Muppett , you took the words right out of my mouth - once saw Edward 2nd at a festival - a fantastic blend on English tunes and reggae - I'd defy anybody to stand still during their set - totally infectious!

Also, I'm a big Marley fan, along with Peter Tosh, even UB40!!

Subject: RE: So, what about reggae?
From: Pete Jennings
Date: 13 Dec 04 - 10:02 AM

A solid reggae/folk link: Ali Campbell (guitar, lead vocals) out of UB40 was the son of Ian Campbell, who used to have one of the most popular folk bands in the UK, based in Birmingham.

Subject: RE: So, what about reggae?
From: Wesley S
Date: 13 Dec 04 - 10:22 AM

I love it. But if you think about it reggae is what happens to polka music after you smoke a lot of reefer. The beats are the same - just a lot slower.

Subject: RE: So, what about reggae?
From: Steve Parkes
Date: 13 Dec 04 - 10:24 AM

And managed at some time (if not still) by Dave C, older son of IC, and no mean folkie himself, Pete.

I used to enjoy all that Jamaican stuff -- ska, bluebeat, reggae -- in my disco days ... that was in the mid/late 60s, when we still called it discotheque, and they wouldn't let you in if you wore outrageous clothing like, say, a hat.

Steve

Subject: RE: So, what about reggae?
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 13 Dec 04 - 11:42 AM

Glad to see all the remarks here, and that so many others enjoy reggae. There's a great introduction to the music of Jamaica, titled The Story Of Jamaican Music on Island records. It's a 4 CD set covering Ska, Rock Steady, Reggae, Dub, Dance Hall and Ragga. I mostly respond to ska and reggae, myself. There's aslo a wonderful two CD compilation (which can be purchased individually) titled on Columbia/Legacy, and of course/ the sound track for The Harder They Come is great.

One of the hot spots of reggae and ska is the skateboard crowd. The son of my niece lived in Rockford, Illinois until a couple of years ago when he went off to college. The skateboard crowd all listened to reggae and ska, and his friends all seemed to have ska bands. Who wuld ever think of Rockford, Illinois as a hotbed of ska? I think yoiung kids respond to ska and the early reggae for the beat and the energy, just as they do to punk rock.

And then, there was all the reggae infused into rock in England, from the Police to the Specials, UB40 and my favorite, The English Beat.

Can hardly get away from it, even today...

Suits me fine

Jerry

Subject: RE: So, what about reggae?
From: alanabit
Date: 13 Dec 04 - 11:54 AM

Oddly enough enough, there is currently another thread up by Azizi, asking about the influence of black musicians on British folk. Some interesting replies there. In this case, however, it is much easier to assesss the effect of black musicians and black music culture on our scene. It has clearly given us an awful lot to enjoy.

Subject: RE: So, what about reggae?
From: David Edwards
Date: 13 Dec 04 - 12:12 PM

I like a good bit of reggae now and again. Steel Pulse, Aswad, King Tubby and reggae/folk fusion band Edward II are among my favourites.

Subject: RE: So, what about reggae?
From: Metchosin
Date: 13 Dec 04 - 01:01 PM

And because I'm an absolutely shameless promoter of music by people that I like get ready to Reggae Rodeo

Subject: RE: So, what about reggae?
From: Azizi
Date: 13 Dec 04 - 07:05 PM

Jerry, I'm delighted to see this topic!

The wikipedia link that Q provided upthread provides an excellent historical and musical overview of Reggae music. One minor disagreement that I would make is the first sentence that says that "Reggae is... closely linked to the religion Rastafarianism". I think that best[only?] refers to Roots Rock Reggae [conscious Reggae] such as that composed and performed by the late great Bob Marley.

As that link summarizes so well, there are different types of reggae music. One book that I have on that music: "The Rough Guide To Reggae Music, The Definitive Guide to Jamaican Music from Ska Through Roots To Ragga":[Steve Barrow & Peter Dalton; London, Rough Guides, Ltd.2001] echoes wilipedia [or vice versa]in listing the following forms of Reggae music: Roots Reggae; Dub Reggae; Dancehall Reggae, Ragga. Needless to say, there are sub-categories for each of these. And for some time, at least in the United States, and as I gather from this book, elsewhere throughout the world, the Roots Reggae category appears to be the least popular of the genres, though Bob Marley music always are best sellers.

Reggae music has its own vocabulary-much of which comes from the Rastafarian religion & cultural/political movement. A glossary is included in the book that I referenced above. Some lovers of Reggae music and the study of word meanings might be interested in the definitions of a few words that are commonly used in Reggae songs:

Babylon- oppressive Western society, in general or the police in particular

Baldhead- Someone who is not a Rastafarian [also I have heard it used as a reference to members of the oppresive Western society]

Bangarang-Noise or disruptive commotion, often used by rival sound systems

Big up-to praise someone

Dancehall- where the music is played, not usually a hall [room] but some enclosed [outdoor] open space into which gigantic speakers and record playing equipment has been placed

Don- the big man in the area

Dread- abbreviated form of 'natty dread' but also used to describe anything serious -we're living in a 'dread time', say

Irie-fine or good, often used as a greeting

Massive- large or important

Natty dread- A Rastafarian with dreadlocs [also written as "dreadlocks" and in the USA & often shorten to "locks" {because the African texture of hair is allowed to naturally curl up or "lock" into a curl..from nappy? dreadful??; turning something preceived bad into something considered good??}]

Ras- Ethiopian [Amharic} for "prince" or "lord" ["Ras Tafari" was the title and personal name of Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia and {independent of himself} an extremely important figure in the Rastafarian religion

Raggamuffin- a young street wise ghetto dweller

Rude boy- a young ghetto crimi9nal or hooligan

---
As you might expect of a book published in London, this book has a chapter on Reggae in Britain. It also has a chapter of Reggae in the USA, and African Reggae. Of course, Reggae is all over the world now.

Big up & much respect!!

Subject: RE: So, what about reggae?
From: GUEST,Ron Davies
Date: 14 Dec 04 - 08:36 AM

Azizi--

Thanks so much for that reggae glossary!

Subject: RE: So, what about reggae?
From: GUEST,Bob P
Date: 14 Dec 04 - 09:56 AM

I was hoping someone might mention what I've noticed, or maybe it's just me.

It seems that, for several years now, recordings identified as reggae are quite a bit speeded up compared to stuff from Bob's day.