Caribbean movies, literature, music, art

[Queen Amaranthine]

I feel like a party crasher. . .again. Every year I make this kind of request for a project I'm part of, and this time I think it's been a full year since I've last posted here! My life is just incredibly busy. Anyway. . .

 

My topic this year: arts in the Caribbean! What movies from or about this region can you recommend? What literature from or about this region is a must-read? What type of music, or specific musicians, is worth hearing (Bob Marley of course, but who else?)? Art--painting, sculpture, etc.? Photography?

[u2roolz]

She's simply awesome.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkXV5O5GfJ8

 

I figured I'd help get the ball rolling. It's all downhill from here.

[GtrPlyr]

This is a must for the movies/music category:

 

 

Music:

 

Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, Toots & The Maytals, Desmond Dekker, Peter Tosh, Augustus Pablo, Junior Murvin, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Max Romeo, King Tubby...

 

Movie: Rockers (1978)

[keylime]

I haven't read much of her work, and what I have read has been alright, but Lorna Goodison is a Jamaican poet/author who I've heard a few people rave about.

[Sir Stewart]

Echoing Gtr's music recommendations:

 

http://www.roots-archives.com/release/3734

[Three dollars and 63 cents]

Haitian-born Edwidge Danticat and DR-born Junot Diaz are probably two of the best known Caribbean writers. Danticat is probably best known for her first novel (sometimes considered young adult literature, though I'm always puzzled by that classification, since it deals with some very traumatic and very adult themes) Breath, Eyes, Memory. I also liked her novel The Farming of Bones, and I've been meaning to read The Dew Breaker but haven't gotten around to it yet. Diaz won the Pulitzer Prize in 2008 for his novel The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, but his short story collection Drown is also very good. If you're open to or interested in experimental literature, I'd also suggest Jamaican writer Thomas Glave.

[sonicshoulder]

Live and Let Die

 

 

Plot Summary for

Live and Let Die (1973) More at IMDbPro »

advertisementSeveral British agents have been murdered and James Bond is sent to New York, to investigate these mysterious deaths. Mr. Big comes to his knowledge, who is self-producing heroin. Along his journeys he meets Tee Hee who has a claw for a hand, Baron Samedi the voodoo master and Solitaire and her tarot cards. Bond must travel deep inside New York, through marshy grass and on water as he completes his mission. Written by simon

 

James Bond is sent to New York to investigate the mysterious deaths of several British agents. He soon senses that there is a drugs link between the notorious Mr. Big, and Dr. Kananga, the secretive owner of a small Caribbean island. However, Kananga is not a man to be dealt with lightly, and the fact that his beautiful Solitaire has already been seduced by 007 makes matters worse. Written by Graeme Roy

 

When Bond investigates the murders of three fellow agents, he soon finds himself a target, evading the vicious assassins as he closes in on the powerful Kananga. Known as "Mr. Big," Kananga is coordinating a globally threatening scheme using tons of self-produced heroin. As Bond tries to unravel the mastermind's plan, he meet Solitaire, the beautiful Tarot card reader whose magical gifts are crucial to the crime lord. Bond, of course, works his own magic on her, and the stage is set for pulse-pounding action sequences involving voodoo, hungry crocodiles and turbo-charged speedboats. Written by Robert Lynch

 

Three British agents investigating drug smuggling are killed under mysterious circumstances. Each murder is linked to a Harlem crime boss, Mr. Big, and an international diplomat, Kananga. The British send agent James Bond to investigate. When 007 arrives in New York he is nearly killed by one of Mr. Big's hoods, but the attempt gives Bond a lead and he soon discovers a plot to flood the US mainland with a billion dollars' worth of heroin. Written by Dave Jenkins

[calvino]

I 2nd The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Diaz. Wonderful Book.

[Winston Legthigh]

I second the recommendation for Rockers.

 

Any music released from Studio One.

 

Harry Belafonte.

[LouieB]

This is a must for the movies/music category:

 

 

Music:

 

Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, Toots & The Maytals, Desmond Dekker, Peter Tosh, Augustus Pablo, Junior Murvin, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Max Romeo, King Tubby...

 

Movie: Rockers (1978)

That was going to be my suggestion too.

 

Let me think....The King Kong sessions for early Jamacian music of the same period.

 

LouieB

[Queen Amaranthine]

Thanks so much for these titles and names, everyone! I'll start checking some of them out soon.

 

Haitian-born Edwidge Danticat

 

I'd forgotten about her--I read Breath Eyes Memory when it was first published and loved it, as emotional as it is.

[LouieB]

 

 

Harry Belafonte.

REally? As probably the only VCer who owns any Belefonte records, yea, I suppose if you count is calypso period...

 

There are many Trojan box sets actually. I have an entirely different one that is also very good. I have no idea how many there are, but enough to bankrupt the average music buyer.

 

Actually I woke up this AM realizing no one had mentioned the most obvious type of music: Afro-Ciban or more accurately Afro-Caribbean. If you google these terms you will find a wealth of information on musical artists, many of whom are some of he most skilled jazz type musicians. The radio show "Mambo Express" features music of this type. Two of the more widely know early musicians are Mongo Santamaria and Machito. More broadly Afro Carribian includes one of my favorite artists named Eddie Palmieri and of course Tito Puente. Considering the influence this type of music has had on jazz and other pppular musics, I am surprised we all forgot about it on our first go around.

 

Don't forget the Buena Vista Social Club folks and the original ska musicians, the Skatalites. There is also dancehall music, steal drum, rock steady, etc. Only including reggae in this discussion was sort of short sighted. There is a very rich and varied musical history coming out of the myriad of islands in that part of the world.

 

LouieB

[Winston Legthigh]

REally? As probably the only VCer who owns any Belefonte records, yea, I suppose if you count is calypso period...

 

Yes. Really. Not quite the only VCer who owns Belafonte records, as I do too. There were about 5-6 albums my parents had that I grew up on, and Belafonte Live at Carnegie Hall was one of them.

 

He was very important in popularizing the "calypso sound" in the 50s, so why ignore him?

[Queen Amaranthine]

the most obvious type of music: Afro-Ciban or more accurately Afro-Caribbean. If you google these terms you will find a wealth of information on musical artists, many of whom are some of he most skilled jazz type musicians. The radio show "Mambo Express" features music of this type. Two of the more widely know early musicians are Mongo Santamaria and Machito. More broadly Afro Carribian includes one of my favorite artists named Eddie Palmieri and of course Tito Puente. Considering the influence this type of music has had on jazz and other pppular musics, I am surprised we all forgot about it on our first go around.

 

Don't forget the Buena Vista Social Club folks and the original ska musicians, the Skatalites. There is also dancehall music, steal drum, rock steady, etc. Only including reggae in this discussion was sort of short sighted. There is a very rich and varied musical history coming out of the myriad of islands in that part of the world.

 

LouieB

 

That is all perfect for what I need! Thanks!

[Synthesizer Patel]

If you can get hold of the doc "Roots Rock Reggae" by Jeremy Marre it'll be worth seeing.

 

It includes this clip of Lee Perry, Junior Murvin & The Heptones recording this made up song for the documentary:

 

[LouieB]

Yes. Really. Not quite the only VCer who owns Belafonte records, as I do too. There were about 5-6 albums my parents had that I grew up on, and Belafonte Live at Carnegie Hall was one of them.

 

He was very important in popularizing the "calypso sound" in the 50s, so why ignore him?

I was half fucking around really. Belafonte was an artist of great importance and certainly his popularizing of calypso was important. But it is sort of like suggesting one listen to the Dave Clark Five to understand rock and roll. Belfonte's importance as a major black pop music person can't be denied. The other night though an old friend and I were listening to one of his lesser known albums (he made alot) and I said "no one sings like that anymore...they couldn't get away with it." The type of music we listen to now is so removed from the "folk-pop" music he sang it is stunning. It was particularly entertaining to play his version of Delia, a song that got Johnny Cash some airplay not to many years ago and realize that Belfonte turned a murder ballad into a smooth folk-pop number. It was really pretty entertaining. Lots of strings and back-up singers. His style of music simply has not aged well. But those Carnagie Hall albums were certainly important in their time as well. His popularity helped fund the civil rights movement and that was no small contribution either. (And he gave Bob Dylan one of his first recording jobs too.)

 

LouieB

[PopTodd]

This is a must for the movies/music category:

 

 

Music:

 

Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, Toots & The Maytals, Desmond Dekker, Peter Tosh, Augustus Pablo, Junior Murvin, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Max Romeo, King Tubby...

 

Movie: Rockers (1978)

 

Of course, GtrPlyr nails it.

All that!

 

He mentioned Toots & The Maytals, and for me, this album was a complete revelation:

My Amazon review of this record:

I picked this album up on a whim. I am a bit of a music geek and, having heard my other music geek friends sing the praises of this collection, I decided to pick it up. I am so glad that I did, as it has since become one of my favorite albums of all time; certainly a top-10. Toots is to reggae what Otis Redding is to soul music: tough, weathered, and deeply soulful, with a voice to match. When he howls, "It is you... oh yeah!!!!" on "Pressure Drop", you feel it in your soul. Likewise, when he pulls you closer with "Everybody don't cry... today might be a happy day!" (on my favorite song: "Pomp & Pride") you believe him. Because you can hear in his voice the hopefulness of a man who has been through hell and knows that there are better things ahead -- because there have to be.

Covers -- of "Take Me Home Country Road" and "Louie Louie" -- are equally revelatory. This is reggae music for those of you, like me, who love the music, but are so sick of Bob Marley that you think you can't stand to listen to another not from the islands. You are wrong. You won't be able to live without some island music after hearing Toots.

It's deep soul. And you need this.

[Winston Legthigh]

But it is sort of like suggesting one listen to the Dave Clark Five to understand rock and roll.

Perhaps that makes sense if I was suggesting that Belafonte was a one-stop shop to understand all Caribbean music. I wasn't. I'm merely adding him to the list, as I feel that leaving him out would paint an incomplete picture.

 

Or maybe it makes sense if the Dave Clark Five were singularly instrumental for making rock and roll a popular genre in their day. They weren't.

 

Perhaps Belafonte's music is squaresville to you, Daddy-O. That's fine. It doesn't change the cultural impact he had.

[LouieB]

Yea, okay I suppose.

 

And on the other side I was suggesting the entire field of afro-cuban/caribbean musics of other sorts needs some recognition. The jazz and dance musics produced by those artists, while not as popular, are fairly significant.

 

LouieB

[Synthesizer Patel]

My Amazon review of this record:

 

 

you've gotta be pretty careful when you pick up toots & the maytal albums. there are loads with the same names. the most famous one is "funky kingston" with that colourful painted cover, which is a mixture of "funky kingston" and "in the dark" tracks. that album you've mentioned there looks fine - it looks like it contains all the tracks from both albums.

 

the other 2 albums which are essential are "sweet and dandy" & "monkey man" - these are harder to find at a reasonable price, and there are also shitty compilations with the same names. but, if you get the real albums, they're equal to "funky kingston" and "in the dark" - i think it's cos they were all produced by leslie kong.

 

"jimmy cliff" & "struggling man" are two essential albums by jimmy cliff (again, be careful - there's loads of shit compilations out there).

 

"heart of the congos" by the congos is another album i'd recommend, and obviously "police & thieves" by junior murvin.

 

oh, also the first 3 desmond dekker albums are essential too. when it was "desmond dekker and the aces" then it went downhill a bit when it was just "desmond dekker."

[PopTodd]

you've gotta be pretty careful when you pick up toots & the maytal albums. there are loads with the same names. the most famous one is "funky kingston" with that colourful painted cover, which is a mixture of "funky kingston" and "in the dark" tracks. that album you've mentioned there looks fine - it looks like it contains all the tracks from both albums.

 

the other 2 albums which are essential are "sweet and dandy" & "monkey man" - these are harder to find at a reasonable price, and there are also shitty compilations with the same names. but, if you get the real albums, they're equal to "funky kingston" and "in the dark" - i think it's cos they were all produced by leslie kong.

 

"jimmy cliff" & "struggling man" are two essential albums by jimmy cliff (again, be careful - there's loads of shit compilations out there).

 

"heart of the congos" by the congos is another album i'd recommend, and obviously "police & thieves" by junior murvin.

 

oh, also the first 3 desmond dekker albums are essential too. when it was "desmond dekker and the aces" then it went downhill a bit when it was just "desmond dekker."

 

The one that I wrote that review for contains the ORIGINAL Funky Kingston and In the Dark albums (original Jamacian tracks and running order, per the liner notes). So, yeah, it has all the tracks like you mentioned. So damn good.