What’s That Tune?

This post was written by admin on January 21, 2010
Posted Under: Music

It’s happened to all of us once or twice. An unfamiliar song comes on the radio with a catchy beat that we notice right away. You can always tell a good song when you find yourself toe tapping along the first time you hear it!

Reggae Band performing on the Beach

The lyrics are infectious, and stick in your head as you sing it over and over again. After a while you find yourself listening for it in anticipation. Wondering and waiting for “That Song” to be played again.

I can’t tell you how many times this has happened to me while traveling. I’ll be sitting on a bus or in a bar and an amazing song comes over the radio. Funny thing is there is never anyone around to ask what the title or artist is. If I am lucky enough to figure it out, then I usually have to try and commit it to memory since I never seem to have someplace to write it down. As scatterbrained as I am this is often a lost cause. Soon the words are forgotten, then the tune itself becomes just a distant memory.

Many people visit the Caribbean and fall in love with the rhythmic beats of music like Reggae and Soca. Only to return home and forget exactly what it was they liked so much. Some will go in search of their new favorite music only to be confused and discouraged by the number of choices and unfamiliarity with the artists.

Caribbean music can be broken up into hundreds of different genres, just like the music we are more familiar with at home. Understanding some of these basic genres is the first step to finding more of the music you like.

Take Reggae for example. Today the word Reggae is a general term that can mean any number of different music styles including: Roots Reggae, Ska, Dancehall, Rocksteady and more.

Here is a little comparison between two of the most well known Jamaican artists Bob Marley and Shaggy. Both could be considered Reggae in the general sense of the word, but as you can see the differences are as staggering as comparing Southern Rock to Heavy Metal.