This is simply the American edition of Bass Culture and should be avoided.
Very tired take by a generally uninformed dude averaging probably two typos per page. And he makes schitt up a la Nick Sylvester.
An insult to the music.
Respectfully disagree. During the 1980's, Lloyd Bradley, as well as being a DJ on London's legendary reggae pirate, Dread Broadcasting Corporation, was one of the few writers in the mainstream UK music press whose work on reggae (and black music generally) was actually worth reading. "Bass Culture"/"This Is Reggae Music" does bewilderingly overlook a few key players, though, and considering when it was written, could have given more coverage to the digital era than it does. It's a good few years since I read it, and I recall thinking it wasn't as comprehensive as I expected it to be. Perhaps understandably, there's quite a bit on reggae's development in the UK, which may not be of interest to everyone, but I thought it was an entertaining read.
That may all be true, which I suppose would make him a Christgau-like figure: somebody who was among the first members of the mainstream white music press to recognize the value of an emergent Black music but whose writing on it still isn't very good.
I just can't get around the fact(s) that Bass Culture/This is... is:
1. Poorly written
2. Rife with factual errors
3. Contains too many of the author's weird pet theses that aren't really supportable
4. Occasionally verges on groupiedom. See: "I only met Marley once, but let me tell you about it..."
And before some little dude challenges me to point out examples of the above, I'm sorry, but I read the book half a decade ago and don't keep a reference copy at my desk--you will all have to do your own homework.
Basically, it's beyond me why anyone would continue to promote this book when there are numerous better written, more accurate and more comprehensive books out there on the subject; there is simply nothing uniquely worthwhile to be gotten from it.
Damn. I knew there was going to be a hater out there. I still like the book. First of all it wasn't boring. Someone mentioned People Funny Boy. You'd think Lee Perry's life couldn't be boring, but for some reason that book was boring to me. What I really enjoyed about Lloyd Bradley's book was the political context and the beginning of reggae. The stories about the early soundsystems and competition to get ahold of records others didn't have was very cool to me.
Maybe I'm ignorant. Maybe I don't know a shitload about reggae, but that book was a good book. It's probably just about different tastes. I can't stand books about music that are purely accademic. This book for some reason spoke to me. So, I would say it is not garbage.
HarveyCanal"a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
You know, sometimes it's just a matter of what's available for 5 bucks at Half Price Books.
Never a valid excuse for bigging up bad books--at least not when you've got internet access and can get a used copy of just about anything for 5 bucks of half.com.
Fair enough...but you may find that hardly anyone aside from a few really subscribes to your the-internet-is-the-Magister-Ludi-boardgame-for-the-future credo.
Not a reggae book per se, but should be of interest to anybody that wants to know more about the cultural context from which the music comes:
Hearty co-sign. She's a history professor (I believe), so I half expected the book to be dry in the way that "Wake the Town..." was, but she manages to give an in-depth history of the "tribal wars" that is completely fascinating.
Another thing that i'm peeved over is the use of word "Ragga" instead of "Dancehall" You know Jamaicans dont use or acknowledge that word right, when it comes to labeling the music form.
You know, sometimes it's just a matter of what's available for 5 bucks at Half Price Books.
Never a valid excuse for bigging up bad books--at least not when you've got internet access and can get a used copy of just about anything for 5 bucks of half.com.
Fair enough...but you may find that hardly anyone aside from a few really subscribes to your the-internet-is-the-Magister-Ludi-boardgame-for-the-future credo.
Could you repost this in English?
Are you trying to say that not everybody has access to the internet?
Fair enough, but I'm thinking that most people that frequent bookstores can also contrive to get themselves in front of a computer. You know, at like the library.
Another thing that i'm peeved over is the use of word "Ragga" instead of "Dancehall" You know Jamaicans dont use or acknowledge that word right, when it comes to labeling the music form.
Another thing that i'm peeved over is the use of word "Ragga" instead of "Dancehall" You know Jamaicans dont use or acknowledge that word right, when it comes to labeling the music form.
True. Real yardies call it jump-up.
Yes that's what the older folks like myself call it. Especially the stuff that's approaching the 120 bpm mark. Dancehall is in it's E taking rave phase now.
I just can't get around the fact(s) that Bass Culture/This is... is:
1. Poorly written
2. Rife with factual errors
3. Contains too many of the author's weird pet theses that aren't really supportable
agreed. dude's writing annoyed the f*ck out of me - i really got sick of all his little asides and personal flourishes at the end of almost every sentence.
i just finished Ritz's book on Gaye and liked it alright...wish it had more music/studio stuff in it. i do realize Ritz was coming it at it from a much more personal angle. the injection of poetry here and there was a nice touch and a bit goofy too.
I just can't get around the fact(s) that Bass Culture/This is... is:
1. Poorly written
2. Rife with factual errors
3. Contains too many of the author's weird pet theses that aren't really supportable
agreed. dude's writing annoyed the f*ck out of me - i really got sick of all his little asides and personal flourishes at the end of almost every sentence.
Constant spelling of the word "love" as "lurve," which he found excuse to use at least once per page.
i just finished Ritz's book on Gaye and liked it alright...wish it had more music/studio stuff in it. i do realize Ritz was coming it at it from a much more personal angle. the injection of poetry here and there was a nice touch and a bit goofy too.
Catfight with Marvin over who really wrote "Sexual Healing".
I just can't get around the fact(s) that Bass Culture/This is... is:
1. Poorly written
2. Rife with factual errors
3. Contains too many of the author's weird pet theses that aren't really supportable
agreed. dude's writing annoyed the f*ck out of me - i really got sick of all his little asides and personal flourishes at the end of almost every sentence.
Constant spelling of the word "love" as "lurve," which he found excuse to use at least once per page.
shudder
i just finished Ritz's book on Gaye and liked it alright...wish it had more music/studio stuff in it. i do realize Ritz was coming it at it from a much more personal angle. the injection of poetry here and there was a nice touch and a bit goofy too.
Catfight with Marvin over who really wrote "Sexual Healing".
could tell Ritz had a lot of love/respect for Marvin and his family. he could have gone to town on him regarding the song dispute and included all the gory details of his exploits, but it was all told very tastefully. whether this makes for a great biography though is another question.
thanks for all the suggestions. i ended up ordering the rough guide and solid foundation since none of the bookstores on the island seemed to carry either. within the next 5-9 days, these two books will arrive along with the accompanying no limit da last don and i'm bout it dvd courtesy of my amazon gold box.
What I really enjoyed about Lloyd Bradley's book was the political context and the beginning of reggae.
BINGO.
no other book puts the political context of the island into the history of the music the way this one does.
like all books, it has issues, but to me this book has been like "England's Dreaming" was for punk, one of those books i return to over and over again...
as Doc McCoy noted, there is a heavy UK slant, but i don't mind it... dude talks it like he knows it... i think his writing voice is nice mix of the factual and the personal and the Christgau comparision is so far off it borders on the ridiculous...
Comments
Damn. I knew there was going to be a hater out there. I still like the book. First of all it wasn't boring. Someone mentioned People Funny Boy. You'd think Lee Perry's life couldn't be boring, but for some reason that book was boring to me. What I really enjoyed about Lloyd Bradley's book was the political context and the beginning of reggae. The stories about the early soundsystems and competition to get ahold of records others didn't have was very cool to me.
Maybe I'm ignorant. Maybe I don't know a shitload about reggae, but that book was a good book. It's probably just about different tastes. I can't stand books about music that are purely accademic. This book for some reason spoke to me. So, I would say it is not garbage.
Fair enough...but you may find that hardly anyone aside from a few really subscribes to your the-internet-is-the-Magister-Ludi-boardgame-for-the-future credo.
Hearty co-sign. She's a history professor (I believe), so I half expected the book to be dry in the way that "Wake the Town..." was, but she manages to give an in-depth history of the "tribal wars" that is completely fascinating.
You know Jamaicans dont use or acknowledge that word right, when it comes to labeling the music form.
Could you repost this in English?
Are you trying to say that not everybody has access to the internet?
Fair enough, but I'm thinking that most people that frequent bookstores can also contrive to get themselves in front of a computer. You know, at like the library.
True. Real yardies call it jump-up.
And I'm surprised you didn't correct me. I meant to say David Katz[/b].
I didn't you not to be referring to Ritz--he's written a million music books. Could be one about reggae in there.
Yes that's what the older folks like myself call it.
Especially the stuff that's approaching the 120 bpm mark.
Dancehall is in it's E taking rave phase now.
agreed.
dude's writing annoyed the f*ck out of me - i really got sick of all his little asides and personal flourishes at the end of almost every sentence.
i just finished Ritz's book on Gaye and liked it alright...wish it had more music/studio stuff in it. i do realize Ritz was coming it at it from a much more personal angle. the injection of poetry here and there was a nice touch and a bit goofy too.
Constant spelling of the word "love" as "lurve," which he found excuse to use at least once per page.
Catfight with Marvin over who really wrote "Sexual Healing".
shudder
could tell Ritz had a lot of love/respect for Marvin and his family. he could have gone to town on him regarding the song dispute and included all the gory details of his exploits, but it was all told very tastefully. whether this makes for a great biography though is another question.
BINGO.
no other book puts the political context of the island into the history of the music the way this one does.
like all books, it has issues, but to me this book has been like "England's Dreaming" was for punk, one of those books i return to over and over again...
as Doc McCoy noted, there is a heavy UK slant, but i don't mind it... dude talks it like he knows it... i think his writing voice is nice mix of the factual and the personal and the Christgau comparision is so far off it borders on the ridiculous...
Speakjamaican.com