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Reggae is too religious

Louloubelle said:
The Eritrean nurse I spoke to in hospital recently said that Eritrea and Ethiopia are still at war and that members of her family were still being killed because of it :(
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Well, there's still no sign of a final resolution to the war, and it was looking really bad a few months ago. But I'm suprised that she said members of her family were still being killed over it. This could have been in relation to the occasional clashes that happen along the disputed border area, I suppose, or in relation to the internal repression in Eritrea.
 
5T3R30TYP3 said:
Reggae is too religious! All of the good Reggae artists that I like, are really deeply into singing about Jah and the lion of Judah and Haile Selassie I and King of Kings Lord of Lords, praying to the Almighty Father, fire pon Babylon and all Downpressor, Nyabinghi, Jah light guide and protect I and I!

WTF!!!

If I wanted a religious education I'd go to church FFS!!!

Shame cos the music is really good :(
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All the religious stuff is analogies most of, dub reggae dont have singing and preaching in it.
 
Louloubelle said:
The Eritrean nurse I spoke to in hospital recently said that Eritrea and Ethiopia are still at war and that members of her family were still being killed because of it :(
Click to expand...
IMO the conflict will be never ending for as long as Eritrea exists as an independent state, Ethiopia becomes a landlocked country - this situation is the cause of more than one war - being landlocked is a historically proven catalyst of poverty.
methiop.gif
 
Tricky Mickey said:
I've always thought that if you replaced the word "Jah" in reggae with "Jesus" most right-minded folk would drop it like a shit sandwch. I know I would.

This is an interesting exercise:

eg, randomly from my iTunes library:

Jesus Rule (with Paul St. Hilaire) by Rhythm & Sound
Jesus World (featuring Junior Reid) by Wu-Tang Clan
Inna Jesus Children by Daima
Jesus Jesus Children by Horace Martin
Stop Them Jesus by Augustus Pablo
Children of Jesus by The Chantells
So Jesus Jesus Say (extended) by Prince Alla & Junior Ross

All cracking tunes. But drop JC in the title and I'd never have bought them.
What's a good atheist to do?
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I think this is a bit stupid, no offence - what if we swapped Jah for Hitler? or Sperm Whales? - As I outlined above, the Rasta take on religion is not christian, and not even strictly Old Testament...and there are plenty of roots acts that explicitly espouse a universalist message, but still draw on bible stories as moral tales.
 
niksativa said:
I think this is a bit stupid, no offence - what if we swapped Jah for Hitler? or Sperm Whales? - As I outlined above, the Rasta take on religion is not christian, and not even strictly Old Testament...and there are plenty of roots acts that explicitly espouse a universalist message, but still draw on bible stories as moral tales.
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no offence like, but I was talking about religious idolatry from an atheist perspective, rather than worshipping murderous dictators or sea-life...
 
niksativa said:
IMO the conflict will be never ending for as long as Eritrea exists as an independent state, Ethiopia becomes a landlocked country - this situation is the cause of more than one war - being landlocked is a historically proven catalyst of poverty.
methiop.gif
Click to expand...

There are loads of landlocked countries in Africa, you don't see them making war with their neighbours.

Back home I've got a book with an interview with Issaias Afeworki, Eritrean president. The interviews from the 1980s and he says 'maybe we could negotiate about giving them a port'. That might have been for external consumption, but then again ERitreans don't really care what the outside world thinks of the, especially not the government.
 
how bizarre.

should i also get rid of all my records by Nick Cave, Van Morrison, The Carter Family, Bob Dylan, Mahalia Jackson etc etc etc that contain religious references and expressions of faith? :confused:
 
My all time favourtie gospel song is I Remember Mama (In a Happy Way) live version by Shirley Caesar and it's possibly the most profoundly personal religious song I've ever heard

I'm not a Christian but I would defy anyone to listen to that song and to not be deeply moved

I'm in tears just sitting here thinking about it

*sniffs*

:)

You don't have to be a Rasta or a Christian to feel the spiritual element of a song and be moved by it. The best songs tap into something much deeper that we all share and can identify with and great reggae and great gospel do exactly that IMO
 
to echo what Louloubelle said, people often make their best work when they're either yearning for something or expressing deep joy. You don't have to share the object of their yearning or joy to be moved by it..
 
Out of interest

Does anyone know the song I mean?

It starts off in a rousing appreciation of her mother who struggled to look after her family through hardship but then moves into something very special where Shirley remembers being a little girl and 'playing church' with her brother who was the pastor with a little pair of glasses pearched on his head.

While Shirley tells this story from her childhood the song becomes less rousing and has a feeling of quiet anticipation, the choir sings harmonies gently in the background in a way that for me resonates with the soundtrack to Night of the Hunter (not the same at all, just has that childhood lullaby feeling) I don't want to spoil it by saying what happens next but it's very powerful and very moving.

I just wondered if anyone else knew of it.

:)
 
Dubversion said:
how bizarre.

should i also get rid of all my records by Nick Cave, Van Morrison, The Carter Family, Bob Dylan, Mahalia Jackson etc etc etc that contain religious references and expressions of faith? :confused:
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Absolutely not, and for the record, I don't find references to Jah overly offputting. I just reckon it's an interesting contradiction that a countercultural musical form is so often predicated on a certain religious and moral orthodoxy.

I agree too that the most profound music aspires to the mystic, and love it when it hits those heights. As an avowed atheist, though, I do find it hard to reconcile my love for reggae/country/folk music with my own ideas on spirituality.
 
Tricky Mickey said:
I've always thought that if you replaced the word "Jah" in reggae with "Jesus" most right-minded folk would drop it like a shit sandwch. I know I would.

This is an interesting exercise:

eg, randomly from my iTunes library:

Jesus Rule (with Paul St. Hilaire) by Rhythm & Sound
Jesus World (featuring Junior Reid) by Wu-Tang Clan
Inna Jesus Children by Daima
Jesus Jesus Children by Horace Martin
Stop Them Jesus by Augustus Pablo
Children of Jesus by The Chantells
So Jesus Jesus Say (extended) by Prince Alla & Junior Ross

All cracking tunes. But drop JC in the title and I'd never have bought them.
What's a good atheist to do?
Click to expand...
I don't know anyone who refuses to listen to Mozart because it is a requiem mass or whatever. Most people just consider it to be beautiful music and that the religious aspect is just the cultural 'context' or background of the place/society where and when it was written, and it can be more or less ignored or at least not taken too seriously.
 
rahsklat

5T3R30TYP3 said:
Reggae is too religious! All of the good Reggae artists that I like, are really deeply into singing about Jah and the lion of Judah and Haile Selassie etc.

well its not exactly christian rock u dingus, chill out or listen to sumthing else! :rolleyes:
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:) I have never really thought about it,, and tbh i doubt i will again,,,
It really doesnt bother me,, I love reggae,,,
I find all the chanting music(dont know what its called) you know the sort,, like indiany,, pan pipes stuff,,i think,,
anyway i find it can be quite moving even tho i dont understand the language, and know that its some sort of religious tribal thing,, but i still enjoy it,,,
sorry to go off topic
 
I find the religious element to reggae appealing , uplifting and sad.

An integral part to me of reggae, otherwise it's just a musical form.

Mourning,pleading with God to intervene and deliver that's not going to happen.
 
5T3R30TYP3 said:
Reggae is too religious! All of the good Reggae artists that I like, are really deeply into singing about Jah and the lion of Judah and Haile Selassie I and King of Kings Lord of Lords, praying to the Almighty Father, fire pon Babylon and all Downpressor, Nyabinghi, Jah light guide and protect I and I!

WTF!!!
Click to expand...

I like punk but its too angry, why can't they calm down...also like late period Coltrane too, but the tunes go on too long...
 
5T3R30TYP3 said:
Good roots-style reggae doesn't have to be inherently religious does it?? :confused:
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But with all music you take it or leave it don't you? :confused:

Religion is an essential part of reggae music i doubt very much you would find a non-religious reggae singer, why should it make any difference to your enjoyment of the music? It's not like they are trying to convert you, what would you prefer them to sing about??
 
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