After posting about Rockers yesterday, I realized we’re celebrating the 45th anniversary of The Harder They Come (1972) this year. Both films are usually found at the top of any list of reggae music films. For me Harder is a fun, flashy crime genre flick about an antihero on the run, but Rockers is a deeper film with a more earnest social message and an almost otherworldly glimpse of life in one of Kingston’s Rasta communities. They serve as great bookends for one another and I wouldn’t choose one over the other.

One thing’s for sure, they both have great soundtracks. I shared Rockers‘ tunes yesterday. Here is the great music from The Harder They Come…

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Here’s yet another post looking back on the breakup of The Clash 30 years ago in 1986. Although bands like The Police and the Rolling Stones experimented with bringing reggae sounds to rock, The Clash did it better than most covering classics like “Pressure Drop” and creating classics of their own like “Rudie Can’t Fail.” Bassist Paul Simonon’s Brixton neighborhood had a large West Indian population and Simonon grew to love reggae and ska’s mixture of danceable rhythms and social messages. While I was picking out The Clash songs we’ll be playing on Edward Brinson’s Eigthties/Schmeighties show on WXNA radio in Nashville this Friday to celebrate Joe Strummer’s birthday a few days later, I was surfing YouTube and listening to make my final decisions and I came across a cool playlist that compiles most of the band’s reggae-inspired cuts.

Enjoy!

Stay Awake!

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