The Harder They Come

I recommend that you watch The Harder They Come. It’s a classic. Not because of the story it tells. The movie is incoherent and I had trouble making sense of the actors’ accents. What made the film a hit in 1972 and what makes it still worthy today, is that is showed a world most American had never seen before. The bustle, hardship, violence, and vitality of life in Jamaica was novel then and it’s still novel now. It was vivid and it still feels authentic. Jamaica has become a major tourist destination, thanks in part to the worldwide popularity of its music, but outside of the fancy beach resorts, life hasn’t changed all that much since The Harder They Come was filmed. The poor neighborhoods of Kingston are still often torn by violence, and many gifted young men have turned, tragically, to crime, just like Jimmy Cliff’s character in the movie. What the people still turn to for solace and self-expression is the music. The music is what makes The Harder They Come a great movie – it’s not just a soundtrack, it’s part of the story, part of the culture, part of what keeps people alive.

Draw Your Brakes

You’ve probably seen The Harder They Come, the Jamaican cautionary tale which became a cult hit in America in 1973 and helped popularize reggae music. If you haven’t (and you should) you’ve no doubt listened to the soundtrack, which is a seminal reggae album. The film’s star, Jimmy Cliff is the biggest name on the roster, so it’s often that all the songs from that movie are wrongly attributed to him. In fact, the soundtrack is a who’s who of reggae artists from that time. There are songs from The Melodians, Desmond Dekker, The Maytals and The Slickers as well as Cliff. It’s also worth noting that aside from the title track, none of the songs were meant to be movie songs, but were popular singles in Jamaica at the time the movie was made. DJ Scotty’s Draw Your Brakes  is a version of an earlier hit, Stop That Train by  Keith & Tex.