Download Central: The Reggae Rajas - Hindustan Times
close_game
close_game

Download Central: The Reggae Rajas

Hindustan Times | By, New Delhi
Jan 30, 2016 07:03 PM IST

If you like your reggae shaken up with ska, punk, funk and groove, then Sublime is the band for you.

The first time I heard Sublime, the band had already broken up and its talented lead singer, driving force and the man who can be credited for the band, its sound, and its essence, Brad Nowell, was already dead. And, as it happened, the first song by Sublime that I heard and that made me sit up and take notice of the band was not even (well, not fully as we shall see in just a bit) written by the band. It was Scarlet Begonias, originally written in 1974 by Robert Hunter (words) and Jerry Garcia (music) for the Grateful Dead.

Of delightful metamorphoses: Sublime may have had a short run when lead singer Brad Nowell (above) died of a drug overdose at the age of 28, but their albums (below), compilations and a box set still find loyal takers.(Getty Images)
Of delightful metamorphoses: Sublime may have had a short run when lead singer Brad Nowell (above) died of a drug overdose at the age of 28, but their albums (below), compilations and a box set still find loyal takers.(Getty Images)

As a long-time Deadhead, I instantly took note, especially because Nowell had added a verse or two to give the song a nice and edgy twist. In the Sublime version of the song – I’d highly recommend Deadheads who haven’t to listen to it – Nowell references the “Summer of Love”, a “microbus”, a hippy lifestyle that involves a bit of dealing in mushroom, ecstasy, nitrous oxide and sundry other, um, psychotropic substances, as well as a not-so-happy brush with the law. As a bonus, the band also sampled James Brown’s Funky Drummer on the song. That was enough to hook me.

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

To read the entire blog click here.

Follow @sanjoynarayan on Twitter

Download Central appears every fortnight

Download PDF

Oscars 2024: From Nominees to Red Carpet Glam! Get Exclusive Coverage on HT. Click Here

Get more updates from Bollywood, Hollywood, Music and Web Series along with Latest Entertainment News at Hindustan Times.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Share this article
  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    author-default-90x90

    Last summer, while a debate over net neutrality was on in the US, in his very funny news satire show, Last Week Tonight, the comedian John Oliver used a typically risqué example to explain what a non-neutral Internet could do to small web-based entrepreneurs and startups.

SHARE
Story Saved
Live Score
OPEN APP
Saved Articles
Following
My Reads
Sign out
New Delhi 0C
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Start 14 Days Free Trial Subscribe Now
Follow Us On