December 6, 2006
Sad News from Jamaica
For anyone who has ever had any interest in ska or reggae, The Harder They Come was a landmark film. Its director died recently.
When I played ska, we were definitely out of the Two Tone School, and that was the stuff that my bandmates were really into. My first love in Ska/Reggae, however, was the Studio One sound, with its more relaxed rhythm, its complex horn lines, its more Latinate percussion, and its rougher edges. The early reggae of The Harder They Come, including the title track, came right out of that great sound.
By the way, if you want a more modern and very fun cop film set in Jamaica, check out Third World Cop. It definitely owes a debt to The Harder They Come. Sort of like Spillane in Jamaica with a Sly and Robbie soundtrack.
Posted by erik at December 6, 2006 2:44 PMA definite YES to both of those guys. Recently I have been listening to a lot of Toots, as well. I have always liked him (the band I was in used to do "Monkey Man" as an encore), but I had gotten away from ska for awhile (not that I was against it or bored with it, just that I was exploring different aspects of music), and have, in the last year, gone back into listening to ska and reggae more frequently. And it is Toots that really grabs me these days.
Posted by: Erik Keilholtz at December 8, 2006 9:52 AMI didn't know you were a Coxsone Dodd and Desmond Dekker fan.
Posted by: little john at December 8, 2006 8:46 AM