Went to see a band that I would call a Reggae Band. I like reggae and was eager to see this lineup, having seen the bass player and hand drum guy in different bands over the years. As the band set up, the bass player recognized me and came over to chat. He introduced me to the rest of the band (like ten people) and gave me a flyer for the band that listed their performance dates and their styles of music, namely: Ska, Rocksteady, Dub, Roots, Early Dancehall, New Roots.
So, being a jerk I sighed and said maybe we’d leave, as I was there purely for Dubstep. They all chuckled (probably just being polite) and went back to setting up.
Midway through their first set, the bass player announced that “friend of the band, kayaker” was in the house and the band was sending the next song out to him…and it was…dubstep. Hah!
The thing is, every song they did I would just call reggae. “Waiting In Vain”, “Dancing Shoes”, “Long Shot/Kick The Bucket”, “Red, Red Wine”, “Stop That Train”…all are (to me) reggae songs. I get that they have a trombone playing so that they can cover ska songs, but really why all the subdivisions?
I’ m assuming there must be some subtle differences but I don’t know what they are. Like you, I mentally file them under “r” for reggae. Thanks for posting this question.
I’d say it’s because the musicians who play the music, and listeners who know Reggae and the various related styles in more depth can more clearly hear and distinguish from the different subcategories, and can appreciate the history of the way the musical styles evolved to create the subcategories.
I’m thinking it’s kind of like accents-- if you’re not familiar with regional accents, you might say “what’s with all these Manchester, or Liverpool, or Queen’s ‘posh’ accents people talk about? It all sounds like the same English accent to me”.
Internet marketing is based around any keywords that are even remotely related to the product. Someone just created a flyer the same way they would a web page.
Technically, reggae is a sub-division of what is popularly known as “reggae”. For example, ska and rocksteady are not technically reggae, which started in 1968. Wikipedia on rocksteady:
“Stop That Train” was originally a ska song by the Spanishtonians, released in 1965:
The most famous version of the song, by Keith & Tex, was released in 1967. It’s in the rocksteady style, with a slower tempo and more prominent bass line:
Here’s a version of the song from 1983 in the reggae style, by Clint Eastwood & General Saint:
The other weird thing that happened involved my hat. One of the guys in the band is originally from London, so I wore a hat my gf brought home for me from there. It says MIND THE GAP on it.
I was talking with the band, sharing our vape pens, when a woman approached. If she complained about vaping I would have understood and apologized. We were outside, but still I try to be courteous. Nope, she complained about my “obscene” hat and said there were kids present and I was being rude.
She stormed off, leaving us perplexed. A few minutes later the owner of the place approached and asked if I was wearing a different hat earlier. The woman had complained to him about my hat, and now he was perplexed. He ended up buying me a beer.
Thank the suits - lawyers, accountants, that have hijacked the music business (& just about everything else). These are people that know little to nothing about the creative process. All they care about is results, which to them means money. They aren’t happy unless they can fit something into a category. Thanks to them and their marketing there are now main genres; rock, jazz, etc., but under each there can be as many sub-genres as these clowns can make up.
Yacht Rock - really?!
And yes I get that it’s a business and money has to be made in order for it to survive. But in such a creative field it can’t be the sole driving factor.
These days recordings can be made in someone’s bedroom but still, to achieve much success one must rely on the marketing muscle of about 3 major corporations and if it don’t fit their category . . .
I think Chris Blackwell was one of the last major label owners that gave more independent minded artists a chance. He was partially responsible for helping make Reggae popular. But now his labels have been sucked up by the mega marketing corps.
To be fair, some sub-genres can be helpful descriptives of certain types of music, but it’s become ridiculous. If an artist doesn’t quite fit a category they might as well quit because the industry bigwigs can’t/won’t market them.
At one time radio would play all across various genres. That would now be almost unheard of to hear on a single station. Now there’s separate stations for each genre. Of course radio is now controlled by only about 3 large corporations. It’s been years since I’ve had a radio in my home.
You need to avoid people like this. They proliferate because too few people (especially politicians) have the backbone to simply tell them to F Off. Common words & phrases have had their meanings skewed to suit whatever agenda might be popular that month. Largely thanks social media & the attention hounds it attracts.
More seriously - that was a real nice elucidation of the development of a music. As for dubstep, I remember (a dozen or so years ago) asking Trep jr what young people were listening to these days (hey, a parent’s supposed to ask) and he proffered dubstep. I never have figured out what the point is.
And on another genre - was Lovers’ Rock ever a thing in the US?
So music can be compared to other music without trying to compare apples to oranges.
That second one is why I think the whole idea of “Genre-Free” music is idiotic: You really think your music can’t be compared to what other people are doing? You think you’re so special you can’t be talked about in the context of anyone else? Sit down and shut up, you pretentious ass. Your music fits in a genre just like everyone else’s.
