Reggae

Last weekend I took in a show at Amigo's by a Rastafarian named Mishka. I love reggae. I'm not special really for this reason. I can't say I've ever even heard someone disparage it. It has broad appeal. I love the baseline, that chilled out tempo, the grittiness of it, the religious undertones, the 'world musicness' of it, the head bobbing and foottappingness of it, and most importantly the message. It's just another genre of music, I tell myself. And yet everything I've heard I've loved. So much so that I can't even really evaluate it.

But then I wonder how wide or deep my experience really goes with reggae? Not very wide and pretty darn shallow. It's embarrassing really. Marley, Marley, um, yep, Marley (am I missing any?), Peter Tosh, Matisyahu, Mishka, Michael Franti, a maybe one or two more - Soulja Fya? A couple of these are relatively small time too - local touring bands. And a couple are so new to me that they wouldn't have been included had I written this a couple weeks ago. Strange to include random small venue bands playing for cover and bands I've just heard of in my 'reggae' definition.

At any rate, I'm looking for more reggae artists and albums so I can stop touting something I really don't understand or know anything about. I'm trying to cultivate an interest here people - help a brother out.

Anyways, the message. The content of the message. Peace. Love. Unity. Respect for all life. Ganja. Not real hard to get behind these ideas. Maybe that's why I can't evaluate it. How can you be like "this shit is not cool man" when Mishka sings "Peace and Love." Or "Marley's Redemption Song sucks balls - I hate that song?" Who even talk this way with the 'balls,' and the 'sucks' and all the cursing? Or maybe I just haven't explored a wide enough selection of reggae? Maybe I just haven't come across all that shitty reggae out there.

Neither sounds quite right.