Music of the Ghetto
June 26, 2012 1:16 PM   Subscribe

"The early death of I-Roy and dozens of other great reggae personalities is first and foremost – directly as well as indirectly – a legacy of the colonial power structures which still dominate the third world and cripple its inhabitants...We who survive due to the same structures must honour those who did not – and incidentally also whose who are still out there – by listening carefully to their music." An entreaty from a Norwegian gal on a an epic journey learn about early reggae music.
posted by Jibuzaemon (5 comments total) 18 users marked this as a favorite
 
Thanks. The relationship between reggae and colonial conflict, particularly in its Cold War form, is on full display in the documentary Marley.
posted by mondo dentro at 1:21 PM on June 26, 2012


Aside from the green background (seriously, go right from staring at that to the MeFi blue and your eyes go glassy), it was a fascinating essay And behind the essay (and past the Norwegian) is a great collection of sound and pictures, with a very small amount of English text.

However, the FPP quote isn't really a great intro to the essay or what I can read of the text, which barely mentions colonialism, and is mostly a memoir about book, published in 1979 by the author, about Reggae and what the reaction in Norway was to it (the chapter about ganja got the book pulled from the shelves).
posted by blahblahblah at 1:50 PM on June 26, 2012


A colleague of mine is a bit of a bibliomaniac. He has what I've often referred to as "the world's best collection of reggae literature". If it's not that, well, it's likely the largest private/amateur collection. We're talking dissertations from 1984.
posted by knile at 1:54 PM on June 26, 2012 [1 favorite]


Holy shit. I've actually read this book. It was a lot more star-struck and fangirly than the website.

Of all the things to resurface.
posted by flippant at 7:22 AM on June 27, 2012


This is great! I too am a white girl with a fanatical devotion to roots reggae. Thanks for posting.

flippant, did you read the book in English (was it available in English)?
posted by désoeuvrée at 6:55 AM on June 28, 2012


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