The Harder They Come

Hey everyone....we're back. Spring Break was pretty awesome. Alec and I spent it playing ultimate/chilling at a beach house in Georgia, SC, and NC...all of which were insanely fun. I hope that all of yours went well also! Now when we drove back to Chicago, the first day of the new quarter was just as warm as spring break...and then it just dropped off. So to conjure back the warmth, beaches, and sun, I've been listening to a lot of reggae music lately, most specifically the sountrack to the 1973 film The Harder They Come.

The film stars Jimmy Cliff, a famous reggae singer, who as a kid who comes to the city (Kingston perhaps?) in Jamaica with an idea for a hit reggae song. He records it for a man who offers him an incredibly low sum of 20 dollars. He decides not to sign the deal and try to sell it elsewhere. However, apparently this man owns the entire music industry in Kingston...so he goes back and gets his 20 bucks. Since this isn't enough to live on, he turns to a life of drug dealing. I won't spoil anything else just in case you want to check the movie out. However, this is really only my vague understanding. The movie is all in super-thick Jamaican accents and quite hard to follow due to some pretty poor directing.

The soundtrack is where the movie really shines. Apparently this soundtrack is what really popularized reggae in the western world. The soundtrack is recognised by Billboard as one of the 150 most influential records ever. It has songs by reggae greats such as the Toots and the Maytals, Desmond Dekker, and Jimmy Cliff himself. If you are sick of just spinning Bob Marley when you want a reggae fix....check these tunes out from the soundtrack and you too can reconjure sun, beaches, and palm trees. The first is the title track by Jimmy Cliff, and the second is the offering by the Toots and the Maytals called 'Sweet and Dandy'.




Toots and the Maytals - Sweet and Dandy

Apparently, divshare didnt like this one....so here's the link.

Enjoy!